Collecting all the Star Coins within a world unlocks one course from the secret World 9 that can only be played after the main game has been completed.
There are three Star Coins hidden in each course which can be spent on hint movies that show certain secrets, such as the location of a secret goal or how to gain infinite 1-ups. At some points, a Toad will appear trapped in one of the previously completed levels, and the player can choose to rescue him from a block and carry him safely to the end of the stage to earn bonus lives (this can only be done with one player). There are also Toad Houses where players can earn additional lives and items that can be equipped on the map screen. If the player bumps into one while traveling the map, a "mini-boss" fight will be initiated if successful in the fight, players can earn three extra Super Mushrooms. Īll the levels can be accessed via a map screen, and enemies are often roaming it. Players are also able to ride on Yoshis, who appear in certain levels and can swallow enemies and flutter in the air.
During single player mode, losing a life sends the player back to the map screen.Īlong with the usual Mario series items, as well as the Mini Mushroom from New Super Mario Bros., new items have been added, including: the Propeller Mushroom, which allows players to fly the Ice Flower, which allow players to freeze enemies with snowballs and the Penguin Suit which, on top of the Ice Flower's ability, allows players to slide along the ground and across water as well as have better control on ice and in water. The game does not feature online multiplayer. Reaching this goal will open up a new path on the map, leading to new stages on the overworld map and on occasion a warp cannon (which will blast the player off to a later world). In a few levels, in addition to the normal goal and flag pole, there is an alternative exit leading to a red flag pole. The stage is completed by getting at least one player to touch the goal at the end, though a bonus is awarded if all players manage to grab hold of the flag within three seconds of the first player grabbing it. For most levels, there is a midway flag that if touched will return the player to that point after dying and being sent back to the map screen.
Players return to the map screen if they all run out of lives, or if all players lose their lives at the same time, leaving no one to free them. On the world map, Mario (Player 1) controls navigation. On vertically scrolling courses, being left below the screen results in losing a life. without the others, the other players will warp to the same place after a short time, or have a limited amount of time to grab the pole before the course ends. If one player enters a pipe, climbs a vine, grabs the flagpole at the end of the stage, etc. If the players still do not catch up, they are then dragged by the edge of the screen, until they move forward faster or lose a life by a fall or other object. In multiplayer mode, if one or more players do not keep up with the one in the lead, on some levels, the view will pan out a bit so that the player in the rear will still be in view. If every character in a co-op session enters bubbles at the same time (whether through death or pressing the A button), the level is lost, and they must restart. Players can also encase themselves inside the bubble by pressing the A button while a more skilled player traverses a difficult segment. If a player loses a life and does not have any more lives, a Continue must be used to start over with five lives. If a player character loses a life and has at least one life in reserve, they will re-emerge encased inside a bubble, and can resume play once another player frees them by touching the bubble or a fire/ice ball (the player can shake the Wii Remote to move his bubble closer to an active player, but cannot free themself).
In multiplayer mode, players can play up to four players simultaneously. Controls are similar to those of New Super Mario Bros., with the added abilities of spinning in mid-air by shaking the Wii Remote and picking up, carrying, and throwing other players. Players can play as either Mario, his brother Luigi, or two Toad characters: one blue navy and one yellow (with the first player always as Mario).
Wii is a 2D platform video game, some of the characters and objects are 3D polygonal renderings on 2D backgrounds, resulting in a 2.5D effect (also seen in New Super Mario Bros.) that visually simulates 3D computer graphics.