Star bonus:
Collect all 150 stars and go outside the castle, then climb inside the cannon opening that is now located where the grating was near the Fish Pond. Aim to land onto the roof, to get three lives and a red block for flying Mario.
Rabbit for Luigi:
To get a green rabbit for Luigi, go to the area with all the ghosts and where the door is located. Jump, then grab the ledge. Climb it, then jump up again. There will be a green rabbit there.
Glowing rabbits:
There are seven glowing rabbits that randomly replace each of the character’s mini-game rabbits. After catching all seven, you will receive a key that unlocks the white door to the right of Wario’s. You will receive a Star. In order to find the glowing rabbits, you must first find all the regular rabbits for each character. The location of the glowing rabbits is as follows:
Rabbit 1 – Catch it with Luigi. It is found in the underground hallway near the Lethal Lava Land course.
Rabbit 2 – Catch it with Yoshi. It is found in the garden on the outside of the castle near the bushes.
Rabbit 3 – Catch it with Wario. It is found in the hall of the Tiny-Huge Island course.
Rabbit 4 – Catch it with Mario. It is found on the staircase leading up to the Tick-Tock Clock course and the Rainbow Ride course.
Rabbit 5 – Catch it with Luigi. Found in the Bob-Omb Battlefield hall.
Rabbit 6 – Catch it with Wario. Found in the same place you found it with Wario. It is found in the hall of the Tiny-Huge Island Course.
Rabbit 7 – Catch it with Mario. Found in the Jolly Roger Bay hall.
To unlock to glowing rabbits, you must find all seven rabbits for each character. Luigi only has six, as his seventh one is on the roof of the castle which cannot be accessed until all 150 Power Stars are recovered. After this, eight white rabbits will appear at random. For the most part, each character has about two rabbits. Generally, the glowing rabbit for each character can be found by going to all the rabbits, then the last one is the glowing rabbit. Once a rabbit is found that is glowing, you do not have to go to that one to make the last one glowing. There is no order on the characters; just start with Luigi and go to all rabbits until a glowing rabbit or all have been checked. Then, switch to Mario, Yoshi, and Wario. Continue until the final rabbit is found. The eighth glowing rabbit will give you a key that will open the door next to Wario’s refereed to as “The Empty Room.” This room contains a Power Star and nothing else.
More mini-games:
To unlock more mini-games in the rec room, catch a rabbit with the character you want more mini-games with. For example, catch a rabbit with Mario to unlock a Mario mini-game. Additionally, after you have been in Princess Toadstool’s room with the big dresser and all the drawers, go outside in the front yard of the castle. You will need to be playing with Yoshi. You will see three rabbits grouped up together. If you go near them, they will run away very fast. Run after them and catch them with your tongue. The rabbit will plead to let it out. You will automatically spit it out. After it complains about you about almost swallowing it, it will give you a key to the drawers, which will unlock more mini games in the rec room for Yoshi. You will get three keys, because there are three rabbits.
Mini-game requirements:
Mario
Sort Or ‘Splode – One rabbit.
Trampoline Time – Two rabbits.
Shuffle Shell – Three rabbits.
Bounce And Trounce – Four rabbits.
Connect The Characters – Five rabbits.
Shell Smash – Six rabbits.
Trampoline Terror – Seven rabbits.
Wario
Coincentration – One rabbit.
Bingo Ball – Two rabbits.
Psyche Out! – Three rabbits.
Slots Shot – Four rabbits.
Lakitu Launch – Five rabbits.
Intense Coincentration – Six rabbits.
Giant Snowball Slalom – Seven rabbits.
Yoshi
Hide And Boo Seek – One rabbit.
Puzzle Panel – Two rabbits.
Boom Box – Three rabbits.
Tox Box Shuffle – Four rabbits.
Which Wiggler? – Five rabbits.
Luigi’s 5 Card Draw Poker mini-game:
To insure you get a very high score, exit the game and come back to it if you get a bad hand.
Luigi’s key:
To get Luigi’s key, go to the courtyard with the fountain and the ghosts. Look for the ghost that is larger than the others. Use Mario to stomp on him. Enter the small object that it drops to reach Boo’s mansion. Get the first Star. On the second one, go up to the second floor. Continue on to defeat Big Boo and get Luigi’s key.
Getting Mario:
To rescue Mario, you need at least 8 Stars. Go into the castle version of the rec room, where Toad is worried about losing Peach’s rec room keys. Open the 8 Star door. Go forward, jump across the platforms, climb the pole, and reach the top of the huge tree. Jump down the hole on top of it. To defeat the following Boss, Goomboss as Yoshi, just run behind him, swallow a minion, and throw it back at him. After each hit, he will grow and redden. After three hits, he will be defeated and you will get the key to Mario’s room. Then, just unlock the door and go inside.
Getting Wario:
To get Wario’s key, play as Luigi in the Mirror Room. Jump into Wario’s painting and defeat the Giant Ice Bully to get Wario’s key.
Secret Star:
When you go upstairs and have one Star, you can go through a door with a number one on it. When you go in, go through one of the pictures of Peach. One of them contains a level with a secret Star.
When you go into Luigi’s picture frame (located in the ghost place), get Luigi’s cap. Find a “?” box after killing everything in there. When you use a Power Flower and you are invisible, in the final room where you enter the hole to face King Boo, there will be a Star on the map. Because you can go through walls, go through the ghost picture and there will be a Star.
As Luigi, from the main hallway go into the door at the top of the first staircase. Go up the stairs and into the door at the top of this staircase. Then, go into the door with red carpet around it. There will be a room with a huge mirror in it. Get a flower on one of the pedestals and go through the mirror. Enter the door in the reflection. You will be in a room that is all yellow, with a lone Star.
Go to the rec room where you play mini-games. Jump into the painting in that room. Collect the five Blue Stars to get the real Star to appear. This is also a level that appears when you play in multi-player mode.
Go to the second floor with Luigi. There is a Toad across from the Tall Tall Mountain entrance, located directly behind the steps that go to the third floor. Speak to the Toad and he will tell you about the mirror room. Before he finishes, he also gives you a Star.
Go into the basement with Wario. Go to the entrance to Hazy Maze Cave but do not jump in. Go all the way around and down the steps. You should see a Toad in the left hand corner. Speak to him for a Star.
There are secret Stars in the hole in wall across from rainbow place. You can get one by collecting red coins and one in a black brick. First, fly to the place with Wario’s cap then use the canon. Aim it to the tree and put it slightly higher. Break the black brick and a Star will appear.
In all the levels leading up to a Bowser fight (the levels that bring you to a transport pipe), there are a possible of two secret Stars. One is to find all eight red coins. The other is to find a switch Star by stepping on a Star button.
Finish the secret level in the character selection room in less than 21 seconds to get another Star.
On every course in this game, you are able to get a Star if you collect 100 Coins.
Secret Star in Castle:
To get the Secret Star in Castle, stand on the sun platform in the middle of the main room in the castle with Mario. Gaze up at the sun above the final Boss door. You must perform this trick with Mario because he is the only person that can fly. Inside, you must collect eight red coins and a Star will appear on the center platform. Note – You can only receive this star after you reach a certain point in the game. You will know you have reached this point when the sun shines through onto the platform.
Secret Star in Hazy Mazy Cave:
To get the Secret Star in Mazy Cave, go to the Hazy Mazy Cave course. Go to the left and follow the path to the underground lake. Jump on the dinosaur and grab the Wario Cap. Point in the direction of the metal doors and he will take you there. When you get inside, jump in the metal pool. Collect eight Red Coins to get a Star.
Secret Star in Mirror Room:
To get the Secret Star in Mirror Room, once you have access to the second floor, visit the Mirror Room with Luigi. Grab a flower and walk into the mirror to pass through it. Go straight to the door in the background and it will open, bringing you to a completely white room with a star in it. To get back into the main area, grab another flower or go to the right to free Wario.
Secret Underwater level:
To access the secret Underwater level, when you enter the castle, go to your right. There will be a door with a “3” on it. Enter it. There will be a painting with bubbles inside. Go to your right. There will be a raised box up in the wall. Jump inside and it will take you to an underwater level. Collect all the red coins and a Star will appear in the center, on the bottom.
Secret in Peach’s Castle:
Enter the room where you can change into different characters. Jump into the glass window of Peach next to Yoshi’s door. You will enter a Castle Secret. You can get three Stars here. Make it to the bottom of the slide to get the first. Make it to the end of the slide in under twenty seconds for the second. Get every coin in the level for the third.
Secret in Ship:
Go to the room on the first floor with the entrance to the level with the sunken ship picture. There all small square holes on the walls. Jump in the one on the left to get a 1-Up. Jump into the one on the right to enter the Castle Secret. To earn a Star you must swim through the tank and get all eight red coins. To get air, you must grab the other coins; their is no way to get out of the water.
Secret area:
When you have a large amount of Stars, go to the part of Peach’s castle, where there is a flame-like painting on the wall. Then, go down the left hallway until you reach a dead end. Jump through the wall at the dead end. If done correctly on the correct wall, you will access a secret level.
1-Up Mushrooms:
When you get a power-up mushroom, start plowing down enemies, signs, etc. A number will appear after every object you hit. After the number “8” appears, you will earn a 1-Up for each enemy hit. Additionally, when you enter the castle, go to your right. There will be a door with a “3” on it. Enter it. There will be a painting with bubbles inside. Go to your left. There will be a raised box up in the wall. Jump inside and there should be a 1-Up Mushroom.
Easy lives:
Play a level with a 1-Up, such as Bomb-Omb Battlefield. Collect the 1-Up mushrooms, leave the level, then go back in and repeat. You can do this as many times as desired.
You must have at least 8 Stars and Mario unlocked for this trick. Go to the area where you unlocked Mario as Mario. Go down the tree stump to fight Goomboss, then kick the back of his head to get the mushroom. Eat it and wait for him to turn. He will create three Goombas at a time. Because you are big, you will automatically kill them. Continue to stand there and you will start racking up lives. You can get up to fifteen lives at a time by doing this. Once the mushroom wears off, kill yourself and jump back in. Repeat the process.
Go up to the room with each character’s door. There will be a stained-glass portrait of Princess Peach. Jump into the portrait on the right hand side of the of the room to access a Secret Star room. Go down the slide in front of you and about halfway down, you will run into a 1-Up. Repeat this as many times as needed.
If you die during the final battle and need lives, go behind the pillar to your left to find a 1-Up. If you die at Bowser, it will be there again.
Easily refill health:
If you are low on health, just find a body of water and jump in. Stay at the surface and your health meter will refill. Additionally, to regain health, just collect coins. You can also try to destroy an enemy to see if an item appears.
Psyche Out! mini-game:
The mini-game will test your psychic abilities. If you look carefully at the waving card, you should see a faint outline of the image that is on the back of the card. If you can not see the image immediately, wait a few seconds and you should get a glimpse. This will happen more frequently on the harder levels.
Avoid death from high falls:
If you fall from a very high location, wait until you are just above the ground and press R. You will do a butt slam and will not get hurt.
Mario loses hat:
Go to the level where you can see the snow level in the mirror. Climb the mountain when you get to the head where the penguin is found. The snow head guy will blow you off. If you are Mario, your hat will fall off and you can leave the level without it.
Drain water under bridge and Star
After getting Wario, go to the basement type place. Go though one of the doors with no star on it. You will reach a sign that says something about the two pillars in front of you. Ground Pound both of them, and the water will sink. After that, go outside close to under the bridge. There will be a one of those black brink type things — make sure you have Wario. Then, ground pound it. You must collect all the red coins to get the Star in that secret spot.
Shortcut to King Bomb-Omb
When you get past the gate, you will see hill with a red coin. The only way to get up that hill is to hold Y (dash). Every once in a while, change the camera angle. Another way is by transportation. Go along the normal path of the level and you will eventually see a hole in the wall. Stand in that hole and do not press anything. You will be instantly warped to the second top layer of the mountain. The last way are the cannons. Just blast yourself up there, but be careful. Mario flies slightly below the target. Make sure you raise the cannon a little above your target. This will save some time.
Snowmans Land:
Go in the mirror room and find the snowman painting in the mirror. You will see that it is only in the reflection. Jump in the wall that the snowman painting should be on and you will be in Snowmans Land.
Stop The Clock level:
To stop the clock level on the third floor of the castle, jump in at exactly 12 o’clock. Additionally, go in at 3, 6, or 9 o’clock to make it slow, medium, or fast; respectively.
Shifting Sand Land:
To get to Shifting Sand Land you must enter through a wall hidden down near the Lethal Lava Land level.
Easy lives in Hazy Maze:
Go to the part with the poisonous gas maze. Get to the section aboveground that has two gopher holes on it. Near that area should be a breakable box with a Super Mushroom inside. Get the Super Mushroom and run to the two gopher holes. Walk over the holes, killing the alternating gophers back and forth until the mushroom wears off. It is possible to get 40 lives this way. Note – This works best with Wario.
Extra life on Princess’ Secret Slide:
If you get the first 1-Up mushroom, there is a second 1-Up behind the Star Box’s platform.
Slide in Tall, Tall Mountain:
Go to the bridge at the top of the mountain. Go underneath. There should be a cloud that is trying to blow you down. Follow the coins. At the end of the slide, you should end up in a cage. There should be a Star here.
Mysterious mountainside in Tall, Tall Mountain:
Go to the top of the mountain and get the Wario hat. Jump down until you see a group of coins on the side of the mountain. Jump through the wall to enter a secret slide game, in which the reward is a Star.
Star in Tick Tock-Clock:
As you enter the room with the Tick-Tock-Clock level, there is a Toad standing against the right brick column. Talk to him as Mario and he will give you a Star.
Flood in Wet Dry World:
After getting the key from the second Bowser, go upstairs and walk through the door that leads to the room with all the pictures. Stop when you get through it and look around. In front of you is a picture of a spider. It is Wet Dry World. To flood it, jump very high into the picture. If you time the triple jump extremely well, you will flood Wet Dry World.
No water in Wet Dry World:
This trick is very similar to the “Flood in Wet Dry World” hint. The only difference is, instead of jumping high into the picture, jump very low into it. You should try to jump directly into the bottom of the picture.
Star in Whomps Fortress:
Use the following steps to get the sixth Star in course 2. Go into the cannon by the water. Aim the cannon by the far, thin wall. Hit the corner and the wall will break. Soon after that, a Star appears.
Blast away the wall in Whomps Forest:
Go to the canon located near the water. Go in, and if you move the canon to the correct place, you will see two walls. Aim the canon to one wall. Aim it to the tip/corner of the wall. When you press A, you will see that you have chipped a piece of the wall. Chip the other wall in the same place and a Star will appear.
Extra lives in third Bowser battle:
Walk behind the top left pillar to collect an extra life if you lose a life during the battle. Additionally, when you get to the pipe where Bowser is on, there is an extra life at the last pillar on the left. Get it, and every time you fight Bowser and lose go to the same location and get the extra life.
Fun with Goomboss:
Go back to the place behind the Princess’s Drawers to the door with an 8 on it with Mario. Enter the fight with Goomboss, and eventually he will throw a mushroom. Touch the mushroom and Mario will grow tall, just like in the classic Mario games.
Defeating the Goomboss:
As Yoshi, run around the arena as fast as possible and try to get behind the Goomboss. Swallow a Goomba that follows him. Wait for it to become an egg and throw it at him. Repeat this two more times.
Defeating King Boo:
Get to King Boo by going through the Luigi picture in the Boo House. You can tell where he is when he disappears in the mirror by looking for his shadow on the floor.
Defeating Koopa the Quick:
After you challenge Koopa the Quick, run up the bridge as usual. However, when you get past the bridge, run over to the flower patch near the red block. If you go to around the middle of it, you should teleport directly in front of the mountain. From there, instead of going to where the rolling bowling balls are found, go up the steep hill. This may not seem it is faster, but it is. Continue running up the mountain until you reach the first hole where the bowling balls are coming from. Jump into the hole. You should be teleported to the second bowling ball hole. Then, run up to the flag. If done correctly, this should be an unbeatable strategy for defeating Koopa the Quick.
Defeating Lethal Bombs:
To kill the Lethal Bombs, either jump at them or punch/kick them ahead of time.
Get on top of the roof without 150 Stars:
Change your character to Luigi and go outside near the waterfall. If you are in the correct place, which is near the fence, turn your back to the little piece of land across the water. Do a backflip (R B) and you will start twirling. Try to twirl to the little piece of land (not the steep side). Turn your back to the steep part of the hill and change the camera position so the it is showing your back. Jump and scuttle while holding Down and you will get up the hill a short distance. Then, just as you touch the ground press B(2) and hold it while pressing Down. Keep doing this until you get to flat surface at the top. Jump onto the red roof. It is steep, but it has a lot friction so that you will not slide down. There will be a rabbit, a “?” box, and three 1-Ups here.
Change your character to Mario, go outside, then keep going to the left. You will see that there is a corner formed by the castle. Do a triple jump, then wall jump kick on the wall. Then use another wall jump kick on the other wall and continue until you reach the top.
Change your character to Yoshi. Go near the waterfall, but not in it. Turn your back to the steep hill. Press B, then when you touch the ground press B (2) (Luigi’s technique). Keep doing this until you are high up the hill. Try to slide down onto the little piece of land. Do the same thing up the hill and you will be there.
Alternate roof:
In versus mode when you get a Luigi, Yoshi, or Mario cap and get onto the roof, the friction is different, and there are no 1-Ups or the “?” box.
Glowing rabbits:
When you catch all the normal rabbits, shining/glowing rabbits usually appear. However, if you catch all normal rabbits for one character ( for example, Mario), you can catch more than two rabbits with him. You can actually catch all the glowing rabbits with one person. They appear in locations where other rabbits are found; check where you have seen rabbits for that person. Once you catch eight, the door beside Wario’s door will open, containing only one Star.
Walk while underwater:
Play as Yoshi and find Wario’s hat. Then, get his power-up so that you are metal. Before it runs out, get hit by an enemy while near a slope like the sunken ship. For example, jump off the bow to the wall and get hit by the eel. Yoshi will lose his cap, but not swim. You can walk around on the bottom slowly, but can still drown.
Mario, Luigi, or Mario acting like Yoshi:
While playing as Yoshi, get anyone’s cap. While flashing blue, use Yoshi’s tongue power. You will see Mario, Luigi, or Wario bending over like Yoshi when he uses his tongue attack.
Mario’s floating power in Bob-Omb Battlefield:
Select Mario and collect either Wario’s or Luigi’s cap to turn into that character. Then, lure an enemy to the red power-up box. Break the box while wearing Wario or Luigi’s cap and a Power Flower will appear instead of the Feather. Then. get hit by an enemy to turn back into Mario and collect the flower. Mario will float instead of getting the Wing-Cap. This trick can also be done in other levels that will give Power Flowers to Wario or Luigi (but not to Mario), as long as you can get hit to lose the other character’s cap and collect the Power Flower as Mario before it disappears.
Mario’s basic techniques:
Run – Press any direction then Y to accelerate. Hold Y to remain that way.
Run Dive – Start running then press A. Mario will do an instant dive, then slide on his stomach. While sliding it would be best to press B to hop quickly back on his feet.
Run Jump Dive – Start running, then press B. Mario will jump with medium acceleration. Then, press A and Mario will dive in mid- air. Note – This works best for gaps that you can get the triple jump to work. Then as you slide on your stomach, press B.
Running Slide Kick – Start running, then hold R and press A while still moving to do a sliding kick towards an enemy.
Dash – Do not press any direction and hold Y. Mario will charge up and run in place. Then, hold any direction to dash off.
Double Jump – This requires timing. When standing still, press B to jump. Just as you land, jump again. You should go higher. Note – It will not work a third time.
Triple Jump – You must be moving. Do the same thing as the Double Jump, but time it correctly one more time to do a super high jump.
Triple Jump Dive – Perform the Triple Jump, then press A.
3 hit combo – Press A(3) while standing still to do two punches and a jump-kick.
Ducking – Press R to duck, crouch, or get down.
Ledge Grabbing – When you grab a ledge quickly press B to get up or R to descend.
Tree Climbing – When climbing on a tree, hold Y to accelerate up. When at the top of the tree, do not move then press Up. You will do a hand stand on top of the tree. Press B to go flying high into the air. Note – This is useful for places that you cannot reacy by foot.
Power Dunk – When in mid-air at almost any time, press R. Mario will stop in mid-air for a full second, curl up, then descend at a good speed directly downward. This is useful for boxes that need smashing.
Crawling – Hold R and press in any direction to crawl. Crawling works best in small narrow spaces where it is easy to fall.
Super Backflip Somersault – Hold R and make sure you are crouching, then jump. You can maneuver slightly while in the air.
Super Hop – Long jump when needed to get to the other side of a gap. Run or jog, then hold R and jump.
Wall Jumping – Jump on a wall at a certain angle. Mario will slide down the wall. Press B to jump very high off of the wall.
Breakdance Sweep Kick – Remain still, then hold R and press A. Mario will sweep his feet around, then get back in crouching position.
Character power-ups:
Luigi
Flower – Makes Luigi invincible to most things. He can go through screens and other objects.
Note: Luigi can run on water for a short time. Also, if you jump and hold it, he kicks his feet fast and falls slower. If you try to do a triple jump with Luigi it can be more difficult — if you hold it for about one second, he kicks and you will not be able to finish the triple jump.
Mario
Feather – Jump three times to make Mario fly.
Flower – Make mario inflate and float slowly; handles easier than the feather.
Note: Mario is just the basic character with no special abilities.
Wario
Flower – Metal Wario; he is invincible and can stay underwater.
Note: Wario is the slowest character. He also lacks jumping skills, but he is the best at Ground Pounds. He can break black bricks.
Yoshi
Flower – Makes Yoshi’s mouth full of flame and can breath fire. If you ever see fire, such as in the basement, you can eat it and can spit fire once.
Note: Jump and hold it for about a second. Yoshi will with kick his feet (faster than Luigi) and hover for about two seconds.