Mario is a master of many moves. Not only has he perfected the art of pipe maintenance, but he has also become quite the unexpected acrobat! He is capable of jumping great distances, sliding with great speed, and even swinging around on vines!
It’s almost as if he learns a new skill during each adventure! The following pages detail all of Mario’s extraordinary skills!
The Basics
Jumping
As you may already know, Mario’s most basic skill, jumping, is also his most useful. After all, without it he can’t cross dangerous chasms, avoid deadly obstacles, or more importantly, eliminate enemies. In fact, jumping is so much a part of Mario’s arsenal, you’ll do it regularly.
Chances are, if you’re not running, then you’re jumping. The distance you jump depends on the amount of pressure you put on the Jump button. If you want to gingerly hop up and cross a small gap while avoiding a hazard overhead, then lightly tap the Jump button to skip over the gap.
If you need to jump higher to avoid a tall obstacle, press down all the way on the Jump button. Similarly, you can jump shorter or longer distances depending on the speed you’re moving when you jump. To cross wide gaps, run at full speed and then jump at the very last second.
The same goes for short distances: To cross over a small gap and not overshoot your landing area, run at normal speed and jump toward your destination. While in midair, you can also press left or right to shift your momentum and redirect your jump.
Mario is a master of many moves. Not only has he perfected the art of pipe maintenance, but he has also become quite the unexpected acrobat! He is capable of jumping great distances, sliding with great speed, and even swinging around on vines!
It’s almost as if he learns a new skill during each adventure! The following pages detail all of Mario’s extraordinary skills!
The Basics
Jumping
As you may already know, Mario’s most basic skill, jumping, is also his most useful. After all, without it he can’t cross dangerous chasms, avoid deadly obstacles, or more importantly, eliminate enemies. In fact, jumping is so much a part of Mario’s arsenal, you’ll do it regularly.
Chances are, if you’re not running, then you’re jumping. The distance you jump depends on the amount of pressure you put on the Jump button. If you want to gingerly hop up and cross a small gap while avoiding a hazard overhead, then lightly tap the Jump button to skip over the gap.
If you need to jump higher to avoid a tall obstacle, press down all the way on the Jump button. Similarly, you can jump shorter or longer distances depending on the speed you’re moving when you jump. To cross wide gaps, run at full speed and then jump at the very last second.
The same goes for short distances: To cross over a small gap and not overshoot your landing area, run at normal speed and jump toward your destination. While in midair, you can also press left or right to shift your momentum and redirect your jump.
Spin-Jumping
The Spin-Jump is a very special type of jump that Mario can do to get a little extra distance and height out of a regular jump. To Spin-Jump, simply shake the Wii Remote. This will cause Mario to hop into the air slightly, spin his arms around like a helicopter, and hover over the area.
If you execute this maneuver while in mid-jump, you’ll also get a bit more out of your jump, which can allow you to clear tall obstacles that you couldn’t otherwise clear—even with a maximum jump.
If Mario is standing still, however, and you execute a Spin-Jump, he’ll hop into the air and create a gust of wind at his feet. This is helpful for dodging slow enemies as they approach.
If you need to jump over an enemy as it comes toward you, but you don’t want to jump forward, Spin-Jump over it! Better still, if you’re Fire Mario, Ice Mario, or Penguin Suit Mario, you’ll shoot fireballs or snowballs! While wearing the Propellerhead power-up, you’ll zip high into the air after a Spin-Jump.
Pounce-Bouncing
Pounce-bouncing is another way for Mario to get more height out of his jumps. This move frequently serves two purposes, in fact. If the enemy you bounce off is vulnerable to jump attacks from above, then you can destroy the enemy while using it to get extra height from your bounce.
To do so, jump onto an enemy’s top, then hit the Jump button a second time as you bounce off the enemy. If you time it right, you’ll jump extra high off the bounce!
Spin-Jumping
The Spin-Jump is a very special type of jump that Mario can do to get a little extra distance and height out of a regular jump. To Spin-Jump, simply shake the Wii Remote. This will cause Mario to hop into the air slightly, spin his arms around like a helicopter, and hover over the area.
If you execute this maneuver while in mid-jump, you’ll also get a bit more out of your jump, which can allow you to clear tall obstacles that you couldn’t otherwise clear—even with a maximum jump.
If Mario is standing still, however, and you execute a Spin-Jump, he’ll hop into the air and create a gust of wind at his feet. This is helpful for dodging slow enemies as they approach.
If you need to jump over an enemy as it comes toward you, but you don’t want to jump forward, Spin-Jump over it! Better still, if you’re Fire Mario, Ice Mario, or Penguin Suit Mario, you’ll shoot fireballs or snowballs! While wearing the Propellerhead power-up, you’ll zip high into the air after a Spin-Jump.
Pounce-Bouncing
Pounce-bouncing is another way for Mario to get more height out of his jumps. This move frequently serves two purposes, in fact. If the enemy you bounce off is vulnerable to jump attacks from above, then you can destroy the enemy while using it to get extra height from your bounce.
To do so, jump onto an enemy’s top, then hit the Jump button a second time as you bounce off the enemy. If you time it right, you’ll jump extra high off the bounce!
Flutter-Jumping
Flutter-Jumping is something only Yoshi can do, or, to be more precise, it’s something Mario can do only while riding on Yoshi. Flutter-Jumping is a way to get extra distance and height in midair while riding Yoshi.
After jumping, hold the Jump button and Yoshi will quickly kick his feet and create just enough push to flutter up a bit higher. The result is a short flutter that extends the leap longer than normal
Swimming
Believe it or not, Mario is a very capable swimmer. He may be a pudgy plumber, but when it comes to diving into the drink, he might as well be an Olympic athlete. While underwater, Mario can hold his breath indefinitely. But just because he can swim like a fish, it doesn’t mean he’s a friend to all pesky pisces.
Unfortunately for Mario, he’s extremely vulnerable underwater. While swimming he loses the ability to jump, and as a result, he can’t bounce on enemies’ heads to dispatch them. The only way to defeat underwater enemies is to use power-ups such as the Fire Flower, Ice Flower, Penguin Suit, or Star.
Mario can also destroy water-based enemies by throwing things at them, but this can only be done while Mario is outside the water. Once he’s submerged, Mario can’t pick up objects to toss them again.
Mario is very buoyant, which makes him less agile underwater. As he swims, he’ll propel himself up and forward with each stroke. Keep this in mind as you swim through a level and you’ll safely dodge enemies, obstacles, and other dangerous objects in your way.
The only way to make Mario an agile swimmer is to use the Penguin Suit. This power-up allows Mario to swim straight in any direction with precision and completely removes the “bounciness” from Mario’s stroke. The Penguin Suit also makes him a faster swimmer!
Running and Dashing
With so many enemies about, Mario often has no choice but to run everywhere he goes. Thus, he’s developed the ability to run at full speed and dash over small gaps! When running through a level, Mario maintains a surprising speed.
But if you hold down the Jump button while Mario is running, he’ll hit top speed almost instantly and dash straight ahead! While dashing, Mario is lighter on his feet, which allows him to cross small gaps without falling into them and to cross unstable platforms without causing them to fall.
Swinging and Climbing
On occasion, you will come across tall vines leading high up into the sky or short vines swinging back and forth ahead of you.
Leap onto the vines to grab on! Press up on the +Control Pad to climb up and down the vines, or, if the vine is swinging, you can leap off the vine to reach a distant location, another vine, or just to dodge an obstacle or enemy. If you come across several swinging vines, wait until the vine you’re on swings toward the next vine, then jump off and grab onto the next.
Sliding
Sliding is almost as important as running and jumping. In levels with hilly paths, you can slide down tall hills to get down quicker—and even take out enemies along the way. When you do, Mario will drop down on his bottom and slide down the hill, knocking enemies out of the way as he goes.
Not all enemies are vulnerable to sliding attacks, however. Enemies like the Piranha Plant, Pokeys, and other tough enemies will still inflict damage if you touch them, so don’t. Goombas, green Koopas, and other lesser enemies, however, will go down with ease.
Another method of sliding is to use the Penguin Suit on snowy or icy levels. Get a running start, then press down on the +Control Pad to begin sliding on your stomach. As you do, you’ll spear enemies in your way with your suit’s beak!
Attacking
When Mario doesn’t have any power-ups, he has fewer methods with which to attack enemies. The two most basic attacks are jumping and tossing objects. The most common way Mario will eliminate enemies is to either jump on top of them or to hit them from below by jumping and hitting the block the enemy is walking on.
You can string together a series of jumps as you bounce from one enemy’s head to another’s and take out multiple enemies without ever touching the ground. Be careful, though. Some enemies can still harm you if you mistime your attack. Hammer Bros., for example, can toss a hammer at you before you’re able to reach them.
If you come across an enemy that is walking on blocks overhead, you can jump up from below and knock the enemy away by hitting the block it’s walking on. This is usually the safest method of removing enemies since they are above you and can’t attack you easily.
The other method for taking out enemies when you don’t have any power-ups is to use nearby objects and even other enemies as projectiles. Jump onto a Koopa’s head to knock it into its shell, then grab the shell and toss it ahead of you to create an instant weapon!
This also works with frozen enemies, certain special blocks, and even explosive Bob-ombs!
Advanced Plumber Techniques
Now that you’ve mastered the basics, take a moment to learn some more of Mario’s many maneuvers. These tricks and techniques are slightly more advanced and require more button presses and precise timing.
Wall-Sliding and Wall-Jumping
To execute a Wall-Slide, jump toward a wall and press the +Control Pad in the direction of the wall as you hit it. Mario will place a hand on the wall and slowly begin to slide down. Use this technique to keep from falling to your death or to reach ledges, coins, or other objects that would be otherwise out of reach.
Not only can Mario slide down walls, he can also jump off them to reach high ledges. As you slide down, execute a Wall-Jump by pressing the Jump button. Mario will kick off the wall and leap up into the air, away from the wall.
If you are sliding down a long gap where the two walls are close to each other, you can also execute several successive Wall-Jumps, zigzagging back and forth between the walls as you Wall-Jump all the way up!
Ground-Pounding
The Ground-Pound is a very special attack that can instantly dispatch some enemies and break through tough obstacles like crates and bricks! To Groud-Pound, jump into the air, then press down on the +Control Pad to come down with all your weight.
If you hold down, you can continue to break through bricks indefinitely or knock all of the coins out of a Coin Block. If an object has a hidden item in it, like a power-up, you’ll also knock the item out when the object breaks.
Triple Jumping
You can also do a triple jump by running at full speed then jumping three times. Press the Jump button the second you land from your previous jump and you’ll finish your triple jump with an extra long flip!