Mystery Houses are formatted differently from other levels. You’re thrown at a gauntlet of short, 10-second challenges that you must complete to earn a Green Star. This first Mystery House presents five challenge rooms that are fairly simple, but later Mystery Houses will ramp up the difficulty and number of challenge rooms. The challenges keep going until you pass them all, or you fail and are forced to start from the beginning. You have as many tries as you want, and failing a room doesn’t cost you a life (unless what you did to fail was something that did cost you a life). Note that even after a Green Star appears in these rooms, the timer will keep counting down. Don’t give up even if the timer reads zero—you can still get the Green Star and pass the challenge so long as the game hasn’t booted you back to the start!
Green Star #1
Two Galoombas rush you in this room, but they’re easy pickings! Take them out and grab the Green Star.
Green Star #2
The next room throws two Koopa Troopas your way. Knock them aside and collect your prize.
Green Star #3
Now it’s two Cat Goombas. Don’t be too overconfident and get blindsided by their diving attacks! You might be able to snag a Super Bell from one of them.
Green Star #4
The four Conkdors in this room are fenced off, which means you’ll have to jump to score hits with fireballs, if you have that Power-Up. If you’re stuck without special abilities, you’ll have to bait them into attacking so that you can jump on their heads.
Green Star #5
You haven’t met the Fire Bros. before now, but rest assured, they mean business. With a Cat Power-Up you can rush them down before they become a problem, and a Fire Flower helps you beat them at their own game. If you’re stuck with using jumps alone, watch your timing so that you don’t land on a fireball just as the Fire Bros. start throwing one. This is the last room of this Mystery House!