Super Marioand his brother Luigi Mario hit the platforming scene for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1985 withSuper Mario Bros. This was a follow-up to the 1983 arcade titleMario Bros, which was a very different offering from the plumber-based adventures that popularisedSuper Mario. Becoming Nintendo’s official mascot,Mariohas grown from strength to strength on each iteration of Nintendo’s home consoles. Featuring several cartoons, books a cult classic 1993 live-action movie and a CGI movie from Illumination releasing in 2023.
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Mario’s origins have changed over the years, but he began as an Italian plumber who ended up in the mysterious Mushroom Kingdom on a quest to rescue Princess Daisy. This strange fungus-based land was filled with Koopa Troopers, Goombas, Bullet Bills, Piranha Plants and many more deadly creatures. A simple plumber was not going to be able to defeat them without some help. Smashing the blocks floating in the air, Mario discovered inside some of them were strange items that would bestow upon him some really weird powers.
7Bee Mushroom
Super Mario Galaxy 2was a well-loved entry to the series and afollow-up to the Wii’sSuper Mario Galaxy. Set across an entire galaxy instead of a world or land gave players an incredible amount of exploration and variety to experience.
This bee mushroom gave Mario the powers of a bee, quite literally. Once Mario obtained one of these bee mushrooms it gave him the ability to fly, he could walk on clouds, and he could also stick to honeycomb in levels. Becoming a bee was one of the wackiest powers in the entire Mario franchise.
6Carrot
In the world of Mario Land inSuper Mario Land 2for the GameBoy, carrots were not just a healthy snack. Picking up one of the carrots would turn Mario into Bunny Mario, one of if not the best transformations in the entire game.
Small rabbit ears would pop out from Mario’s hat, and they would allow him to slowly descend by flapping or even hovering in midair for a short period of time.Super Mario Land 2is also the placewhere a certain angry nemesis known as Warioappeared for the first time.
5Double Cherry
This strange transformation appearedfor the first time inSuper Mario 3D World. These cherries when eaten, would create a clone of Mario that could be used in clever ways to get through some of the puzzles seen throughout the game.
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On top of solving puzzles, having a clone of Mario gave players an advantage. As long as they could control both Marios well, it effectively provided an extra life, as long as the clone remained alive. If an enemy attacked the clone it would disappear leaving Mario clone less once again.
4Mega Mushroom
One of the first power-ups players will likely see in any Mario titlein the Mushroom Kingdomis the super mushroom. These mushrooms double Mario in size and allow him to take an extra hit of damage. Instead of dying Mario would shrink back to normal size.
Mega Mushrooms introduced inNew Super Mario Brosare much bigger than the super mushroom. That is because when consumed they turn Mario giant for a short period of time. While giant, Mario can stomp through enemies, blocks and pipes without taking any damage whatsoever.
3Metal Cap
Super Mario 64was the first jump into 3D the world’s favorite plumber took. It was a smash hit, and is still considered to be one of, if not the greatest 3D platform titles of all time. InSuper Mario 64the power-ups were given in the form of various caps.
Strangest of them all, the metal cap turned Mario into pure metal for a limited time. Along with invincibility, this cap allowed Mario to sink to the bottom of the water to press switches and walk around on the floor underwater. Mario also does not need to come up to breathe while underwater wearing the metal cap.
2Super Bell
InSuper Mario 3D Worldthe main transformation is given by collecting these super bells. Grabbing one of the bells will turn Mario into a cat. Featured on the box art as well as receiving its own amiibo,and Jakks action figure, Cat Mario is a really odd power-up.
Using cat powers Mario can climb previously unavailable walls, he can do a midair bounce attack and can also swipe enemies with his claws to take them out. Climbing speed is also vastly improved while using a super bell to become Cat Mario.
1Tanooki Suit
Perhaps the most famous Mario transformation outside of Fire Mario is the Tanooki Suit.Finding one of these inSuper Mario Bros 3would turn Mario into a Racoon. Not to be confused with Racoon Mario, as the Tanooki suit grants additional powers.
Like Racoon Mario, the Tanooki suit allows Mario to use Racoon powers. He can build up speed and use the tail to take off into the sky, also the tail can be used to slow his descent as well as swiping blocks to break them. Mario in this form also can use Statue Mario power, which provides him with invincibility however he cannot move in this form.
