The One About Power-Ups

Hello there, readers! I'm Reed, new part-time writer for Waluigious. I'm currently a college student, and have been a lifelong Mario fan. I have a passion for writing, though I'm new to blogging, so bear with me.


Our hero has made use of a great deal of outlandish power-ups throughout his esteemed career. These items usually make the game a lot more interesting, and sometimes, are the highlight of the game in question. The following are the top five power-ups in the entire Mario universe according to…me, and explanations why. Generally, I picked them due to functionality, accessibility, style, and of course, fun factor.

5. Hammer Bros. Suit (Super Mario Bros 3): A relative rarity from SMB3, this suit can only be obtained in Iced Land and Pipe Maze (though it can be used anywhere). First off, these duds look cool (which a king will tell you in a hidden message if you beat an airship with it). Crouching with the suit bares your carapace, and while it prevents sliding, it’s also fireproof. Kinda. Actually, it’s only immune to a particular type of fireball (the kind spat by Venus Fire Traps and Fire Bros), which is kind of ironic, given how a Fire Flower is consistently your best friend in dealing with Hammer Bros. Maybe if they just bothered to duck…
Anyway, the prime attraction of this suit is hammer throwing. You can lob up to two onscreen at once. These suckers are powerful. Boos, Thwomps, Hotheads, Chomps, virtually anything a jump or fireball can kill: all will fall to a single hammer. It works just fine underwater, too. Boom-Booms are also flattened by 1 hammer, Koopalings take 2, and Bowser himself can withstand 5.
The problem with the hammers is accuracy. They’re difficult to aim, given that walking and running speed give them completely different trajectories. Furthermore, their hit detection against bosses seems rather poor. Still, for the most powerful projectiles around, this is the suit to don.

4. Fire Flower (Super Mario Bros): When this beauty debuted, it was the stuff of legend. Only Bullet Bills and Buzzy Beetles could shrug off its flaming projectiles. Every other enemy in the game could be dropped by a single blast (it’s the only way to deal with Spinies, other than Troopa/Beetle shells). It was Mario’s only form of offense underwater, and it was the only way to kill Bowser for points (and without feeling like a pansy). With the difficulty cranked up in Lost Levels, it became even more prized. Always a luxury against Hammer Bros, it’s an absolute godsend against the rushing variety.
While the Fire Flower got serious competition in SMB3, it remained a solid choice to stick with. In the projectile category, it only had to vie with the Hammer Bros Suit, which it has range and accuracy over (though it sacrifices power). Incidentally, 5 fireballs will drop a Boom-Boom (it can usually done before the Boom-Boom even realizes he’s fighting you), about 10 against a Koopaling, and 25 to defeat Bowser.
In Super Mario Land, the F.F. was replaced by the “so similar it may as well be the old power-up,” or the Super Flower. In Mario Land 2, the Fire Flower was highly useful as both a boss-killer and simply for navigation. In Super Mario World, its role was diminished somewhat, with many enemies either fireproof or much easier to kill with the Cape and/or Yoshi. Still, this game introduced the concept of getting coins for defeating enemies.
While flowers and fireball-tossing were commonplace, the power-up didn’t have the same effect until New Super Mario Bros, where it reasserted its authority as the primary offensive weapon of the game, dropping enemies and bosses alike with the greatest of ease. It even kept the coin-spawning trait to boot. A true powerhouse in Mario’s arsenal, it will hopefully have many more memorable appearances ahead.

3. Blue Shell (New Super Mario Bros): The most recent power-up to make the list, and also one of the least appreciated (at least that’s the impression I got from various message boards). Why, I don’t know, because the Blue Shell is extremely useful and well-rounded. For one, it improves the Bros’ swimming abilities drastically, providing a nice alternative to the Fire Flower’s underwater offensive prowess. On land, crouching with the Blue Shell offers up some of the most impressive defenses a single power-up has provided: physical contact with any enemy will not harm Mario; nor will fireballs. Non-fire projectile attacks are all you have to worry about.
On the offensive, the Blue Shell is deadly as well. Shell dashing can defeat virtually any enemy: Boo Balloons, Bag Bandits, Super Thwomps, Chain Chomps, etc. 3 or 4 hits will also finish off most bosses, though only a few boss arenas allow you the necessary running start. And like shell surfing in Mario 64, it’s just insanely fun to see how far you can make it tearing through the levels.
Granted, the dashing can be inconvenient at times, but simply releasing the run button should prevent any disasters. For a power-up that delivers devastating offense, near-impenetrable defense, and increased mobility, that’s a small price to pay.

2. Cape Feather (Super Mario World): As I mentioned earlier, the Cape really stole the Fire Flower’s thunder in Super Mario World. It also proved superior to the much-flaunted Raccoon Leaf of SMB3 in every respect. They function similarly: you can strike enemies with a spin attack, make controlled descents, and fly. But while Raccoon Mario had limited flight time (and even the P-Wing’s limitless flight only lasted a stage), Caped Mario could fly indefinitely with some D-Pad dexterity. Spin attacking a Dry Bones would damage Raccoon Mario, but Caped Mario could tear through the most powerful of enemies (even underwater, breaking into the Fire Flower’s territory further). Then there’s the ability to dive bomb with the cape, as well as being invulnerable when in open flight (getting hit would only force you to fall). Plus, you could still make gliding jumps and controlled descents with Yoshi in tow. Finally, the Cape was extremely common, and you never had to go too far out of your way to get one.
I suppose it’s worth mentioning that the Cape Feather returned in Super Mario Kart. It would cause the character to launch into the air. Since the barriers in that game were all flat, it essentially functioned as a “create-a-shortcut” item, and could be useful in a variety of situations.

1. Tanooki Suit (Super Mario Bros. 3): While the Cape proved superior to the Raccoon Leaf and P-Wing, the Tanooki Suit is truly the ultimate flight-granting power-up. It is mostly identical to the Raccoon Leaf, with the benefit of looking far less freakish. So how does it make up for the Cape’s stronger spin attack, indefinite flight, and dive bombing? Well first, it comes with a hidden message if you beat an airship with it. Second, and much more importantly, there’s statue mode.
Hold down and press the run button and Mario will transform into a statue. Enemies will ignore him and walk right past, projectiles won’t harm him, he’s basically completely invulnerable for about 3 seconds. But the statue offers offensive capabilities as well. Falling on enemies in statue form will crush most of them. Spike-topped enemies, the circling orbs in fortresses, Chain Chomps, underwater enemies (except for Jelectros), and flamethrowers all crumble beneath the statue’s weight. That’s right, you can kill flamethrowers. How awesome is that? Take a solid flight power-up, add some incredible defense and offense, and you have the best Mario ability ever.

Feel free to let me know what power-ups you think I gave the shaft, or just what you think about my writing style in general. You should be hearing from me once a week.

~Waluigious: Murdering afterburners by transforming from a raccoon-suited plumber into a stature and dropping on them is slightly unlikely.