| SUPER MARIO BROS. 2 FAQ/Walkthrough |
Complete with level solutions and shortcuts!
Written by Snow Dragon (C) 2001-2002. All rights reserved.

I. Updates
II. Intro and Notes
III. Controls
IV. Item Summary
V. Enemy Summary
VI. Level Solutions Worlds 1-7
VII. Copyrights and Credits

7-24-01: I have changed my e-mail address, so if you now have any 
         questions about this walkthrough, you need to e-mail me at the  
         following address: <eubanks1084@hotmail.com>. Any questions, 
         suggestions, or complaints should now be directed to this 

3-12-02: Most of my older FAQs now appear outmoded in comparison to
         some of my newer ones, so this one is getting some major work
         done on it. The renovation process usually doesn't take too
         long, but this walkthrough pasted to Word with some formatting
         problems, so I've fixed those as well as older ones. Other
         things have been changed too.
           Also, a source that wishes to remain anonymous has sent me a
         great code for World 6-2 (the Albatoss-riding level). Be sure
         to dig it!

4-3-02:  A source that wishes to remain anonymous has sent me a quirky
         deal for World 6-2 having to do with the Princess. You'll need
         a Game Genie or an emulator equipped with one to do it, but if
         you've got either one, you'll have to be sure to check it out!

4-14-02: Fixed a misprint on the Game Genie code from the previous
         update. The code is PPXAOIAA.

6-11-02: An ever-vigilant reader, Tyler Wishall, has informed me of
         some incorrect enemy names - among them, Sparky should be
         Sparks, Hoopstar is Hoopstar, and in some cases, I used 
         Phantos as the singular form when it should have been Phanto.
         But, however anal the error, it's my job to please, and so
         those names have been changed. Thank you, Tyler!

8-26-02: Supercharged update, as I have added three new sections to this
         guide that will make it more in-depth and a heck of a lot better.
         I hope this makes the guide more comprehensive for all those who
         come to it seeking assistance.

Before you get right into playing what is one of my favorite NES games 
of all time, you need to know a few things about my walkthrough. This 
will help you keep from getting confused by my layout or by the wording 
I use in certain areas. In all reality this game is not terribly 
difficult - I expect pretty much all the traffic for this FAQ to be 
under 10 years old at the very most - but if you're bored or you're my 
friend or a relative and you want to see what an accomplished writer I 
am, you can check this out.

** I played through the entire game (except for World 3-2) as Mario for  
   this walkthrough because of his averaged-out abilities. You may be  
   able to reach certain areas better with other characters.

** I will clearly indicate when a level contains a warp although I did 
   not use any for the purposes of writing this walkthrough.

** I'm not into all the funky stuff like carrying items that aren't 
   there or doing the trick that plays the music from the original 
   Mario game. If you want that kind of stuff, go to Jdude84's FAQ. I'm 
   here to provide straight-up level solutions.

** If you're being introduced to Mario 2 through Super Mario Advance, 
   you will have no problem recognizing everything in this game. Just 
   be aware that the original Mario 2 did not have enormous vegetables 
   and enemies or Ace Coins or even a score.

** To contact me about anything that needs rectification, e-mail me at
   <eubanks1084@hotmail.com>. All my mail gets answered eventually.

** With that in mind, enjoy Mario 2! 

Mario 2 doesn't have a control scheme like the other games in the series, but 
it's still a great game in its own right. There's plenty of stuff for all 
four characters to do on their journey to defeat the evil Wart. Here's a 
quick rundown of how everybody works in this game.

-> Left and Right let you walk left and right.
-> Up and Down are used to climb ladders, vines, etc. and go through doors.

A Button
-> Jump. Each character has a different sort of jump, which is explained in
   further detail below.

  Mario: An average jump. It should be able to get you most places.

  Luigi: When Luigi jumps, I can't help but think he's wiggling his legs as
         if he's doing the Peepee Dance and has to go to the restroom really
         bad. In spite of his bladder control problem, Luigi can jump quite
         high and can reach some spots that Mario cannot. You'll have to
         trade in handling for vertical distance though. It can be hard to
         get Luigi to stop on a dime.

  Toad: This little Mushroom Kingdom citizen is short and therefore doesn't
        get much height from his jumps. Because of the little bugger's speed
        though, he can get some major length from his running leaps.

  Princess: She probably has what is the most useful and coolest jump in the
            entire game. Maybe that dress of hers has some super wind-storing
            capability, because if you hold down the jump button, she'll do a
            sort of gravity-defying float in the air and will stay there for
            a few good seconds. Because of the distance you can get out of
            this one, the Princess is good for finding secret places that lie
            far out of reach of those characters of the masculine gender.
            Running before you do the lunar float can get even better mileage
            out of the fair lady.

B Button
-> Pluck objects from the ground or another surface.
-> Hold down while walking to run.

-> Start the game from the title screen.
-> Confirm character selections.

-> Choose a character at the selection screen.

Super Mario Bros. 2 is not without a weird assortment of items, and they are 
listed here in no particular order.

Small Vegetable
Easy to uproot, can be thrown very far without the aid of other buttons.

Large Vegetable
These are a lot bigger than the little dried-up radishes mentioned just above 
in the previous entry. You might have to hold the run button to get some 
distance from these bulkier turnips.

Small Heart
Kill so many enemies - five to ten or so - and a small heart will float up 
from the bottom of the screen. Touch it and will restore one heart on your 

Pull five of the large turnips out of the ground and you'll receive this, a 
nifty little pocket clock that temporarily freezes all sentient life except 
for you. You can still be injured by frozen enemies, so just go around them 
or pick them up or something.

These seem to be an odd little treat to be in this game, but picking up 
several yields a generous reward. Just you wait.

Pick up enough cherries and this will start to weave upward back and forth 
from the bottom of the screen. Invincibility is bestowed upon you for a few 
seconds when you touch a Starman, so don't waste the few moments that it's in 
your possession.

Certain doors in the game are locked and require a key to gain entry to them. 
Picking up a key almost always means having to run away from Phanto (see the 
Enemy Summary below).

POW Block
Drop this in range of a group of grounded enemies and they'll all die from 
the resultant tremor (or be turned upside-down on their heads, depending upon 
the enemy).

Mushroom Block
They look like mushrooms and can be thrown at enemies. That's pretty much all 
they're good for. Oh, and if you stack them up, sometimes you can get to 
higher-up places. That might be good to know :)

Magic Potion
This red bubbly concoction is your key to getting to Subspace from the real 
world. Subspace is totally black, and while there you can get items that let 
you play in the bonus games and regenerate your health. Just break the beaker 
on the ground and a door will magically appear that leads you to this shadowy 
world. You only have a few seconds in Subspace, so it's best to use them 
wisely. Also, depending on where you drop them, you can also access other 
things as well as items. Sometimes a door will not appear if a potion is 
thrown down on a certain surface, so make sure where you're placing a portal 
is stable terrain.

All grass that is uprooted in Subspace yields one coin per tuft of grass. The 
more coins you collect, the more times you can participate in the slots at 
the end of a level. If you don't got the cash, you can't play no slots. Pick 
up as many as you can during your limited stay in the silhouette land of 

Also only found in Subspace. They'll add a heart to your life meter. You 
can't more than four hearts per level, and they don't carry over into other 
levels (you always start back at two when you get to a new area).

This is just what I call them because that's why they look like. If you duck 
into one, you can sometimes reveal new areas with items that are essential to 
your survival. Try also ducking into them in Subspace, because some act as 
warp zones when you're in Subspace, but never in the other world (the "real" 
world, as it were).

Red Bomb
These go off shortly after being plucked from the ground. Use them to blow up 
stone walls to open up new areas.

You can also pick these guys up from inside the ground, but they go off a lot 
faster. Getting rid of them in hot-potato fashion often results in 
expressions of hilarious panic on the faces of people who have never played 
this game.

1-up Mushroom
1-ups are plucked from the ground in this game when you're not earning them 
at the slots at the end of a level. Just uproot one and you'll have an extra 
life, simple as that.

Turtle Shell
Throw a turtle shell and it will roll along the ground, taking out everything 
in its path, until it runs into a wall or some such other surface it doesn't 
agree with. Follow a turtle shell as it rolls along the ground to kill more 
and more enemies.

Birdo hides an orb in the first and second level (sometimes the third) of 
every world except the last one. Knock him out three times with the eggs 
he/she/it spits or another viable heavy object to coax it out of him. Picking 
up the orb opens up the Hawkmouth, which will either lead to another level or 
the slot game if you picked up coins.

Occasionally you can pull a rocketship out of the ground. This occurs only 
whenever you've come to a dead end and the only way to go from there is up. 
It's fun to hear the noise it makes and then watch the animation that ensues.

Being the black sheep and all, Mario 2 has enemies that weren't anything like 
the ones in its predecessor but have still found their way into some Mario 
games of the present day, such as Mario 64. Although all of these can be 
found in the credits at the end of the game, I'll catalog them here for your 
reference convenience. Enemies are listed in the order that you find them in 
the game's original instruction manual. I don't have the original copy 
anymore, but I found one thanks to the miracle of the Internet! Oh, I love it 

Shyguys come in two varieties, red and pink. Red ones walk mindlessly off 
ledges, akin to the green Koopa-Troopas from Mario 1, whereas pink ones stay 
on a given platform much as the red Koopa-Troopas once did.

These birds hop around in fairly predictable patterns. The hop is more like a 
bumble, so it's easy to get on top of one and use it as a projectile.

Red Snifits just stay in one spot and spit out bullets. Gray Snifits jump and 
spit bullets, but they still only stay in one spot. The pink ones are 
probably the biggest problem, walking and firing at the same time. Either 
way, the key is to avoid the bullets.

Like most enemies we've listed so far, there are two varieties: one that 
walks and tries to pounce on you, and another one that just stands in place 
and jumps up and down. Neither is too difficult to deal with.

Red ones swoop at you from the sky while pink ones come straight at you like 
little torpedoes carrying tridents. You'll either be jumping or ducking a lot 
around these guys - or both.

So named because apparently, to the game's developing crew, he looks like a 
basketball. You can jump on them and ride them instead of climbing vines 
yourself. They don't bounce off the ground when you throw them down, so 
they're basically pretty useless enemies.

This is the guy I was talking about in the enemy summary. They usually guard 
keys in small groups, and one of them will chase you down until the day you 
die so long as that key is in your hands. Throw it down to ward him off for a 
while, but he'll be on you as soon as you pick it back up. The only way to 
get a Phanto permanently off your back is to open the door that the key goes 

Trouter jumps in and out of the water. It's not advised that you pick up and 
toss these fish around, but rather that you use them as rides across long 
stretches of water (such as in World 5-1).

His back will tear you to shreds. The most effective way to kill one is to 
throw a Mushroom Block or other enemy at it or drop a POW Block in its 

The ones you run into on land don't detonate quite as fast as the ones that 
you pull up from underground. Still, you need to get away when they start 
flashing. That's the sign that you should be evacuating the area lest you be 
at the brunt of an explosion.

You can't pick Albatosses up, so they can be used as handy rides across long 
expanses of abyss. Sometimes they fly solo; other times they use their talons 
to drop Bob-ombs on you from the skies.

If you pick him off the carpet he rides, you can cruise around on it for a 
short period of time. Try and get him when he swoops down at you.

Cobrats hide inside jars or sand until you get close to them, and then they 
jump out and fire bullets at you while moving around in a haphazard fashion. 
They're one of the harder enemies to kill.

There are several varieties of Panser - some that move and shoot fire, some 
that stay still and shoot fire. Some even jump! In any case, they're tough to 
deal with, so throw some kind of object that you can pick up at them.

In the original manual, this enemy is referred to as Birdo, and the boss at 
the end of every level being Ostro, but since this enemy clearly looks more 
like an ostrich, I'm giving this one the title of Ostro. Shyguy rides around 
on him, so pick him up and throw him at Ostro to take them both out of the 
picture. Besides, the trophy on Super Smash Bros. Melee says "Birdo" for the 
end-of-level boss, so I'm just going with what I think is appropriate. DO NOT 

Since this game, Pokey's made a few appearances in other Nintendo games (like 
Super Mario World and Super Mario 64). You can take out each of his segments 
separately or handle him in one fell swoop by throwing a POW Block down on 
the ground.

Grab the Shyguy off the top and take a ride on this rolling cannon device 
that blows fire. You will occasionally have to hitch a ride on one to get 
across beds of spikes.

They come at you at breakneck speeds, but their handling isn't very good and 
they often skid a whole lot before they come back around to chase you. 
Jumping over them is the best course of action, but if you feel you can land 
on top of them, they make good objects for throwing at other enemies.

These travel either fast or slow along a surface. They can killed with 
objects, but don't you dare touch them.

The boss at the end of every level that keeps the orb that lets you go in the 
Hawkmouth. Usually they shoot eggs, fire, or a combination of the two. You 
can't grab fire, so use either the eggs or another object in view to take him 
out in three hits.

Mouser throws bombs at you that you need to throw back at him. If one blows 
up while he's standing on it, you'll score one of the three hits needed to 
kill him. He throws them all fast and furiously at you, so it'll take a 
fierce amount of concentration to keep up.

Starts out as a large fireball, will split into tiny ones that move faster 
and faster as you decimate their number. Stay above these little ones as best 
you can.

A three-headed snake who can't do much else aside from spout fire at you with 
its three craniums. It's not triply difficult to defeat though, just chunk a 
lot of Mushroom Blocks at it and it'll be down for the count.

For a crab, Clawgrip has quite the throwing arm. Were it not for the fact 
that the NFL discriminates against crabs, he'd probably be a shoo-in for a 
quarterback on some team. The key against him is to pick up the rocks he 
throws at you and use them against him. Give him a dose of his own medicine, 
so to speak.

The main bad guy in the game. Wart has a strong aversion to vegetables, which 
doesn't explain why he would choose to invade a land that is so rife with 
them. He has proclaimed himself the king of Subcon and created all kinds of 
monsters - the ones you've presumably read about above - using the "dream 
machine" (that funky-looking device in the middle of his lair). Beat him and 
you'll beat the game. It's that simple.


World 1-1
It's a massive drop through a dark black sky! Make your way to the 
bottom, killing the pink Shyguys if you wish.

Climb up the vine to the tall plateau and throw the pink Shyguy off the 
edge. Uproot the plant on the right to get a potion and drop it where 
you're standing. Go into the parallel world and get the three coins and 
a mushroom that will increase your maximum life by one heart. You can 
get four hearts at the most in a level, and they don't carry over into 
other levels.

Kill everyone on the ground with the POW block provided. Doing this 
makes a small heart float upwards that can heal you for one heart if 
you're injured. Get the cherries around you and go up to the log 
bridge. Kill the red Shyguys and the Tweeter and jump across the two 
logs floating down the waterfall. Across the way on the top ledge is 
another POW block. On the same ledge as this one is a 1-Up. Pull it out 
of the ground to get it.

If you get both sets of cherries hanging in the air, a star should 
start floating slowly up from the ground. This happens when you get 
five cherries. Haul your body to the door past the log and kill the 
Ninji that's there when you get in.

There are two ways you can go after climbing up the vine. If you run 
and jump to the area past the waterfall, you will find a door encased 
within a rock barrier. Squat and do your mega-jump to make it to the 
top and throw the pink Shyguy down the ladder. The two plants in the 
ground are bombs. If you time it right, they will blow up the wall when 
you throw them down there. If you throw it too late you'll get hurt, 
and if you throw it too early you'll kill the Shyguy. You'll know when 
a bomb is about to go off because it will flash. The door then leads 
outside. Go over the wall and you'll be right at Birdo.

If you want to do things the long way though, head out the door to the 
right.The first tuft of grass to the right of the door is a potion. 
Walk about to the midpoint between the top plateau and the vine. If you 
place the potion right, you get a mushroom and up to seven coins, which 
amounts to a chance for big winnings in the slots at the end of the 

Kill the Hoopstar with the Shyguy and go up the vine. This leads to a 
high mountain area in which you will have to navigate upward. Kill 
enemies as needed until you're at the top. Climb the vines all the way 
up, avoiding or getting rid of the Hoopstars, until you make it to the 
top. Find Birdo and kill him by tossing three of his own eggs at him. 
When he dies, you'll get the crystal that opens the hawk's mouth, and 
you can exit the level.

World 1-2
Pull Pidgit off his carpet and ride it across the pit, dodging Beezos 
as necessary. Ride it until you reach the safe ground, or you can keep 
riding it to reach the high-up cherry. Near the edge there is a potion. 
Drop it about in the middle between the two pipes and get the mushroom 
and whatever coins are available.

Inside the first pipe are a Tweeter and a lone blade of grass in the 
middle. It's a 1-up - take it.

The second pipe is a different story, although you really don't have to 
go in it at all. To avoid the mess involved in the second pipe, take 
one of the Ninjis and throw him next to the locked door. Stand on him 
and squat until you begin flashing, then pull a mega-jump to the top 
plateau. This works best with either Luigi or the Princess.

If you have to do it the long way though, go in the second pipe and 
grab the key. Taking the key will awaken one of the Phantos, who will 
follow you until you unlock the door or you drop the key. Luckily, it's 
a short trek to the locked door, so get out of the pipe as fast as 
possible and unlock the door, killing the Ninjis with the key to get 
Phanto off your tail if you wish.

Inside are three cherries. Getting them all will almost certainly 
result in you getting a star. While you're invincible, quickly blow up 
the wall and kill the gray Snifit.

Climb up the ladder and place bombs at the far right end until you can 
get through. If you pick up the potion at the top that's all right, but 
take it to the far right and don't go in until you have a clear path to 
the bottom. At the bottom is a mushroom that you can't get unless you 
bomb a path to the bottom beforehand. Avoid the walking Ninjis and jump 
to the exit.

Once outside, go to the top platform and kill the Snifit with the 
walking Ninji. Get the potion and take it to the area with several 
spots of grass to rake in the dough for the slot game.

When you've amassed a plentiful amount of coins, go into the door on 
the right and face Birdo, using the same tactic as before to bring him 

World 1-3
Use the hawk's head to get up to the first plateau and then move along, 
killing Snifits and collecting cherries. Get the potion and place it 
where you're standing and get the mushroom, but DON'T TAKE ANY 
CHERRIES! The star will appear in the parallel world and you'll miss it 
if you take the fifth cherry. Instead, get it in the real world and 
move as far ahead as possible once you have it.

If you jump across the logs at the waterfall and make it to the top of 
the cliff, there is a row of five vegetables. They are all the same 
vegetable (the big turnip), and if you get five, the fifth one is a 
stopwatch that temporarily freezes enemies.

When you get to the part that looks like a log supported by two other 
ledges, pull the first one on the bottom to get a potion. This is one 
of two things: a coin opportunity or a warp opportunity. If you want 
coins, drop the potion now and get them. If you want the warp, advance 
all the way to the right, avoiding the Ninjis and Tweeters in your 
path. When you get to the pipe, drop it and go in the door, then jump 
on the pipe and go inside it. You'll be taken directly to World 4.

If you are not using the warp however, use the potion for whatever you 
want and go in the door in front of the large brick wall. Start making 
your way to the top.

Climb up the chain. It works just like a vine. Kill the Sparks to your 
left with a Shyguy to avoid a mess. Start stacking Mushroom Blocks on 
the ledge above you. You can make it up to the next one with one 
Mushroom Block and a mega-jump or three Mushroom Blocks and a normal 
jump - whatever floats your boat.

Take either fork in the path up. Evade the Sparks and go in the door. 
Oh great, another Phanto. Just to be safe, kill the Sparks with the 
key, then pick it back up, head out the door, and start moving quickly 

Run and fall as fast as you can to the bottom, but make sure you hang 
to the right once you fall in the pit near the Snifit. If you fall in 
the spikes it will be very hard to get out.

Now that you're inside, you should be on higher ground with a Sparks 
running amok below you. If you got enough cherries earlier, the first 
one you get should yield a star, and there's still another star 
opportunity in this room! Move swiftly but cautiously and get every 
cherry you see to make sure you get another star. Once at the end of 
the corridor with the Ninjis, pull the crystal, go in the hawk's mouth, 
and get ready to face Mouser.

Blow through the wall with a bomb and catch the bombs that Mouser is 
throwing out. (Where does he get all those?) When you catch one, throw 
it onto the ledge that he's on, and if you got it right, the bomb will 
blow up and hurt him. Three bomb blasts will do the trick; when he's 
dead, go in the door that materializes and play some slots.

World 2-1
Watch out for the Cobrats that pop up out of the ground and out of 
pipes; they fire bullets at you. If you go in one of the tubes along 
the way here you'll find a green Snifit guarding a tuft of grass on the 
ground (a turtle shell). You can either take the turtle shell with you 
or leave when you find the place useless.

When you get to the stack of blocks with grass on them, pull the 
leftmost blade up to get a potion. Throw it down, go in, and get the 
three coins and the mushroom.

Kill the Panser up ahead with whatever you can find - a pink or red 
Shyguy being available will do it for you. The next cherry you find 
gives you the almighty star, so get it and run to the pyramid.

Eliminate as many enemies as you can before the star peters out. Once 
it does, start digging through the sand to the bottom. Get as many 
cherries as you can. Unless you can't get your butt in gear, the only 
real danger here is the Snifit that jumps up through the sand and fires 
bullets at you. The Shyguys don't present any real danger.

At the bottom is a ladder. Move down the ladder and go into the door. 
Once again, you'll be confronting Birdo. Throw eggs at him and go to 
the exit.

World 2-2
Jump up the ledges in the cave and go outside, being wary of Cobrats 
hiding in quicksand. Make it over to the first Cobrat stowing away in a 
pipe. Pick him up and throw him at the red Shyguy, then seize the 
potion and move over to the right a few steps before tossing it. When 
you go in the door, pick up the mushroom and however many coins are 
there for pickup.

Jump to the very tall pipe with the Cobrat in it and use him to kill 
the Beezo up ahead that will swoop down in an attempt to hurt you. Do 
as you wish with the next Cobrat, but be careful of the quicksand. Stay 
on the spring acting as a log, because if you get in the fast-sinking 
quicksand, you'll have to do some very fast A-tapping.

Go in the door tucked into the wall once you're on safe ground. There 
is a destructible wall next to you. The bombs are all on the ledge just 
below you. To make it through the wall, you'll have to pull up a bomb, 
ground with the door and throw the bomb at the wall. You might also 
want to uproot the plant at the very bottom - it's a 1-up.

Enter the area you just bombed through to and you'll find a stack of 
blocks with two pink Shyguys and five tufts of grass. The one in the 
middle on top is a potion. Just activate it and go inside to get the 
mushroom and however many coins you can get (up to four in this one).

When you come out, you can easily get rid of the recovered Shyguys with 
the item to the left of where the potion was - a POW block.

Exit the cave and pick up the Cobrat in the last pipe. Jump over the 
cacti and throw him at the Panser when you have an opening. Climb down 
the vine to the cave below - yes, more digging.

When you get the star, keep digging. Don't worry about Shyguys falling 
on you while you're invincible. When you come to the fork in the path, 
dig down to the right and avoid the green Snifit as he moves up. When 
you go into the door, you will face a Birdo, but not like the other 
three that you've had to fight. This one is red and will spit out a 
combination of eggs and fire. You can either chance getting eggs along 
with the fire, or you can use the Mushroom Blocks provided to romp all 
over Birdo.

World 2-3
Climb out of the cave and get the first plant on your right, which is a 
potion. Take it all the way to the left for only one coin, but also a 
very valuable mushroom.

Be careful when you go back to the right. A swarm of Beezos are 
infesting this area. There is a potion in the door at the top, but it 
is very hard to get unless you are Luigi. If you can jump up on Beezos 
as stepping stones to make it to the top you can try, but don't try 
mega-jumping as you won't stay standing on a Beezo while you try to 

If you do happen to make it into that room however, the potion is the 
first plant to your right. Do not throw it in the same spot as the door 
or the door to subspace will not appear. You have the potential to get 
nine coins in this room, but five or six is a more reasonable number to 
aim for. You also will already have four hearts, making you well-
equipped for this level.

Go out the door and head right, grabbing cherries until they yield a 
star. When you reach the Cobrat, pick him up and throw him at Pokey, 
then go into the pyramid.

Fall down to the left, but stay to the right so you can kill the red 
Shyguys in the small alcove with a POW block and hopefully gain a heart 
if you're hurt. When you reach the sand, starting digging to the 
bottom. Seeing those Phantos is definitely not a good thing...

The key is in the door at the bottom, and you have to take it up to the 
locked door to get any farther. If Phanto gets too close to you, throw 
the key somewhere in the sand, then jump and dig to it to pick it back 
up. If you get a star, it will be extremely helpful; just keep jumping 
and jumping with reckless abandon until you make it to the door.

The boss music starts playing when you get in this door. Get more 
cherries by digging through the sand and hopefully getting another 
star. If you get the star, no matter what you're doing, plow ahead to 
the hawk exit. Once you get there, you will be confronted by Triclyde, 
a three-headed snake that blows fire so much it's a wonder its lungs 
aren't wearing out.

When you hit him three times, he will die and the door will materialize 
for you to enter and hopefully play some slots in.

World 3-1
Go into the door to the right, and instead of making your way up, fall 
down the waterfall. Stay in the middle so you don't die in the foam at 
the bottom though.

Once you go in the door, you will see a plentiful garden inside. With 
this grass around, you're going to wonder which one is a potion so you 
can get as many coins as your hands can pull out of the ground. Well, 
here's a little hint: if you count from the right, it's the sixth one 
down the row. Drop it here for your cash flow, and if you wish, come 
back again; the pipe next to the exit is a warp to World 5. Going in 
the exit will send you back to the cliff you took the plunge from.

Go all the way up on the clouds. When you get to the Pidgit, steal his 
magic rug from him and just make a straight beeline up. The Beezos 
won't get you as long you're moving straight up. Jump to the vine when 
you get there. There is a special shortcut at the top of the level 

If you are Luigi or the Princess, you can either make a running jump 
with Luigi or use the Princess's super floating abilities and make a 
huge leap to the left. There is a door much like the one in World 1-1 
that takes you to a spot where you can easily reach Birdo and the end 
of the level.

If you are Mario or Toad, or you are Luigi or the Princess and feel 
like going the long way, here's what you're looking for. Kill the gray 
Panser with a Mushroom Block or the pink Shyguy wandering around, then 
take the leap to the narrow ledge with the two plants. Drop the potion 
(the one on the left) on the narrow ledge, then go in and bound over to 
the mushroom. This is probably by now a much-needed energy refill. The 
other plant is a small radish which you should use to take out the red 
Panser up ahead.

On the mountain here with the ladder is a pink Panser that moves and 
shoots fire. The first time you see it, kill it with either a vegetable 
or the pink Shyguy sharing the ground with him. Climb down the ladder 
and find the potion in the row of six plants here - it's the first one 
in front of you. Take it over to the left by the ladder and drop it. 
When you go in, you have to be quick - the mushroom is on the other 
side of the wall, so you have to go in, climb up the ladder, and 
basically run down and hope you land on the mushroom and grab it in 
time. The pink Panser will be back, so take the hit and run forward to 
the door.

Inside is another red Birdo. Since the Mushroom Blocks are behind 
Birdo, it's best to just chance it with the eggs.

World 3-2
** Unfortunately, because of some experimentation I was doing, I had to 
   play this level as the Princess. Now for you fans of Toadstool, I'm 
   not saying she's a bad character - I'm just not the first in line to 
   play as her when I pick up this game.

You start off with a Shyguy riding an Ostro coming at you. Clear them, 
then either pick up one of the Beezos and keep it in your hand or pick 
up one of the two plants you see just ahead. You're going to need 
either one to take out the gray Panser shooting fire as an obstacle 
ahead of you. When you get to the pairs of Ostros and Shyguys, either 
pick up a Shyguy and do them all in or eradicate them as best you can 
with a POW block.

I tried clearing the pit to your left in the sand cave with the black 
background - even with the Princess, it is just beyond your reach.

On the surface, go all the way to the right and kill the gray Snifit 
with something - anything - and get the leftmost blade of grass on the 
green ledge. It's a potion. Just throw it down and get the mushroom and 
coins. When you get all that, either bomb to the underground or go back 
and pick up one of the POW blocks (the bombing is easier).

This cave is going to require more than a little thinking to get 
through. When you first move down the ladder, you'll see a ton of 
destructible walls. Take a bomb from the top and blow up the first wall 
on the bottom floor with it. Before the next wall are two tufts of 
grass which are also bombs. DO NOT USE THEM BOTH FOR THE NEXT TWO 
WALLS! If you do, you'll have to take a bomb from the top floor all the 
way to the fourth wall on the far left of the bottom floor and it will 
blow up in your hands. Instead, use a bomb from the top floor for the 
second wall. You can then use both bombs on the bottom floor to 
excavate forward. Ahead are three Tweeters. Kill them all and jump up 
to the ladder, which of course you should climb.

Back outside, run through the sporadic bursts of falling fire when it's 

Once again, you will climb a ladder down to the underground. Jump the 
narrow cliffs until you get to the ladder. If you are the Princess, you 
can skip going up the ladder and float across to what would ordinarily 
be the next room anyway. If you're not the Princess, climb this ladder 
and go down the next one.

If you took the shortcut in World 1-1, you'll know how to do this next 
part. Wait until the bomb is about to explode all over you, then throw 
it down. Executed perfectly, this can actually blow up three bricks at 

Climb up the ladder and move to the left. There are two holes bricked 
off, and each contains two Porcupos, an enemy you haven't encountered 
yet. Blow a hole in the bricks to the right. The first blade of grass 
(from the left) is a bomb, the second is the potion, and the other two 
are vegetables you can kill the Porcupos with. Drop the potion after 
you bomb the hole and heave up the mushroom down inside. Go and climb 
back up the ladder.

To the left is the door to Birdo. Once again, Birdo is red, so you can 
either use the Mushroom Blocks or take your chances with the eggs and 
fire. I wouldn't suggest using the Mushroom Blocks unless you hold 
right or left while you're picking them up to avoid falling to the 
lower level.

World 3-3
From the entrance, jump up to the door and enter it. Outside are 
several Albatosses, so named because they toss Bob-ombs down onto you, 
which stop in their tracks and blow up after a moment. Out of the four 
spots of grass in front of you, the one farthest to the right is the 
potion. Throw it near the small red pillars (the ones that go smallest 
to largest). When you enter the door, you can take a mushroom and three 

Run to avoid the Albatosses, Bob-ombs, and the Ostro and Shyguy and 
enter the large brick building.

The four plants next to you when you enter the door, starting from the 
left, are a Bob-omb, a potion, a turtle shell, and a POW block. Take 
out the walking Ninjis with the turtle shell and take the potion 
between the normal door and the locked door. When you go into subspace, 
there will be a mushroom at the top of the ladder.

The open door next to the locked door is useless. Go up the ladder and 
kill the Ninjis, then start making your way to the right, jumping to 
each brick ledge in your path. There is a POW block to the left if you 
wish to use it.

In this next room are small pots that are overflowing with red Shyguys. 
Do not worry about a single one. Just get to the top. You can cross to 
the left side of the screen by walking through the right side and vice 
versa. In the door at the top is the key to the locked door. Kill the 
Sparks with it first, then haul out of the joint. Throwing the key on 
top of the small pots will not only get rid of Phanto, it will block 
the flow of Shyguys and give you a bit of relief if you need it.

Run down through the pots until you get to the door at the bottom. When 
you do, run to the locked door. Phanto should not get you as long as 
you chug along to the door. When you enter, be prepared to do a little 
bit of hot-footed jumping.

Jump up through the small space on the right, dodging every Sparks you 
see. When you get to the top of the wall and the first big plus sign, 
go to the left when it's safe, climb up the ladder, and drop down onto 
the big plus sign. Leap around on all the plus sign ledges until you 
come to a ladder to your right. Make a running jump over to it, then 
get on top of the rectangle-shaped metal floor and jump to the ledge 
with the door. Go in the door.

Watch out for the Tweeters from above, then when you get to the top, 
make a running jump and land on the middle of the chain to avoid the 
fire being shot by the red Pansers. When you get to the top of that 
chain, hold up while moving to the right to stay out of their line of 
fire. Go through the door when you make it to the top.

More Sparks await you in this room, so be extra careful here. There 
are enough cherries in this room to yield a star, so when you get it go 
on up to the top. Climb the big ladder and go in the door to the 

Pick up the turtle shell outside and run along with it as it knocks 
Ninjis out cold. There are enough that killing them all will give you a 
heart in case you're injured.

The boss here is once again Mouser, but his ledge is higher up and he 
will take five hits to kill this time. Employ the same bomb throwing 
tactics that you did in World 1 and he'll be a goner.

World 4-1
Ah, an ice world. How discomforting.

Avoid the Flurrys as they fly at you on their skates. Go get the potion 
between the ice ledges and wait for any Flurrys to fall in the water 
before you throw it down. Throw it where you're standing for a 

When you get all the way to the right, there is another potion in the 
left tuft of grass on the topmost cliff. Throw it down and get the 
mushroom, then drop down into the alcove with the single blade of grass 
and pull it up. It is a rocket that will send you up to the next area.

All you have to do in this area is make it past the Flurrys and the 
Shyguys manning the Autobombs. The Shyguys are able to blow fire at you 
from the cannon as long as they are riding the Autobomb, but if you 
take them off, the Autobombs will be disarmed. Best of all, there's no 
Birdo in this area! You just have to pick up the crystal ball and go 
into the hawk's mouth! Yay, a freebie!

World 4-2
Go to the right and climb up the vine, then do whatever you have to do 
to evade the Beezos. Unlike most of the time where they swoop down at 
you, this time they headed on a beeline path (no pun intended) toward 
you, so jump, duck, run and whatnot as you see fit to avoid the little 
buggers (again, no pun intended). Also watch out for the Flurrys that 
come at you while you're oing around the Beezos. Jump on the cloud and 
go into the door when you make it.

What's this? A bunch of whales? Why yes, and you can ride the water 
spouts that come out of their blowholes! (But if you run into the water 
spouts they do hurt you.) From your cloud of safety, go to the left 
onto the short whale. The clump of grass on the left side of his back 
is a potion. If you drop it where you are, you can get a mushroom 
resting on his tail. This whale does not blow a water spout.

At the three white rock ledges in the water, the tallest one contains a 
potion. You can either use it as a coin opportunity or take it to the 
warp zone here (that's right, I said warp zone!). If you're going to 
take it to the warp zone, you'll have to make some well-placed jumps. 
Leap carefully from one whale to the next until you get to the last 
one. Ride his water spout to the ice ledge above you, then jump to the 
next one and drop the potion so that you can go from the top ledge to 
the whale to the warp pipe. Make a running jump from his tail (it's 
difficult, I know) to the pipe and duck inside it to transport yourself 
to World 6. If you don't use the warp pipe, take the potion down to the 
middle white rock ledge and rack up some coinage.

One of the cherries up ahead should release the star, so when you get 
it take off running as usual, all the way to the metal ledge with a 
plant in it. This one is another rocket that takes you up to another 
area. Oddly enough, when you touch the whales' water spouts with a star 
equipped, it blocks the flow of the water when you stand on their 

Rip the Shyguy off his Autobomb and ride it down across the spikes. If 
you picked up the cherry wedged between the wall and the ice pole, you 
can get a star here too. The plant next to the spike pit is a potion. 
Ride the Autobomb across and throw the potion on the ledge with the 
door to get a fourth heart before facing Birdo.

Once again, Birdo is red, and this time you don't have Mushroom Blocks, 
so avoid the fire when it comes and take every egg-throwing opportunity 
you can get.

World 4-3
Climb up the ladder to the outside and - huh? Wh-wh-what? Birdo??!? 
Yes, sadly, it's Birdo, but don't kill him. You need his help to get 
across the lake to the right. First though, get the potion on the white 
ice cliff with the door you just came out of and take it to the left. 
Jump on the tallest ice pole to nab the mushroom and an early third 

Ride one of Birdo's eggs across the sea and jump to the thin red ledge. 
Don't waste your time with the clumps of grass here, they're all tiny 
vegetables that are useless to you. Enter the green brick building.

Move all the way to the top as quickly as possible, bounding over any 
Flurrys that speed at you. Most of them can easily hit you, so avoid 
every one you see. Outside is a green castle with two spots of grass to 
your right. Since there are two "towers" here, here's what to do, take 
the potion (the one closest to you when you come out the door) and 
carry it to the left where the clouds are. Jump to the first one and 
mega-jump up to the second one, then carefully leap to each of the top 
bricks on each tower. The last one on the far right has the mushroom 
sitting on top of it. Get it and leave subspace and go in the door to 
the tower on the right.

In here, you will have to ride the red Shyguy across the spikes and 
down into the pit. To get all the cherries, move to the left right 
after your fall, then hug the wall on the right, then move slightly to 
the left, and then move up against the wall on the right again. GO IN 
bottom is in here, and so is Phanto and a couple of mindless Flurrys. 
When you get the star, run to the bottom and unlock the door.

Outside, while moving to the door on the right, a Beezo will fly at 
you, but nothing else special will happen, so avoid him and enter the 

This is the room before the boss, so if you're low on energy, fall in 
the pit on purpose. You'll lose a life, but you'll have full energy.

Fryguy is not difficult, he's just fast. He can also only be hurt with 
Mushroom Blocks, so take one from the top and move over so you're still 
on the top ledge. When he crosses under you, drop it on his head. 
Repeat this with the remaining Mushroom Block, then just pick anyone 
and throw it at him.

That's not the end of Fryguy! Now he splits into several tiny Fryguys, 
and for every one you kill the remaining ones move faster and faster. 
If you can group some together and kill more than one at the same time, 
that will make your job easier. When you kill all four mini-Fryguys, go 
through the door that materializes.

World 5-1
Use Luigi throughout all of this world - his supreme jumping abilities 
will pay off in each level. Take the red Shyguy off his Ostro and use 
either the Shyguy or the Ostro to kill the red Panser up ahead. Fall 
down to the rock ledges and jump to each one until you reach the door.

There is a potion on the very tip of the ledge you enter this cave on. 
This one is merely a coin opportunity, so get what you can.

This next part is a true test of your jumping ability. You will have to 
hop successfully over several falling logs, and in some cases, leaping 
fish. You can't pick up the logs, but you can pick up the fish, so be 
careful when you hold down the run button.

When you get to the ledge with two blades of grass, the one on the left 
is a 1-up and the one on the right is a potion. Take the potion to the 
low ledge near where the lone Trouter is capering to get a mushroom.

The next mushroom is a little harder to get but is not far from where 
you are, and any character can make the jump needed to get it. At the 
last log, make a running jump above the screen so that you land in an 
area where two Mushroom Blocks are wedged between the walls. Go over to 
the one on the right and pull it out of its tight spot. The potion is 
all the way to the left, so when you throw it on the ground and enter 
the door, the mushroom will fall all the way down to the ground where 
you are. If you didn't make it up there to pull out the Mushroom Block 
... tsk, tsk.

In the next room is a Birdo unlike any you've seen yet - a gray Birdo. 
Since it blows nothing but fire at you, you'll have to use the Mushroom 
Block provided to kill him. Jar its brain with the Mushroom Block three 
times and this one's in the bag.

World 5-2
Go up the ladder and all the way to the right until you see a pipe. The 
potion you need for the mushroom is inside, so duck into it and bomb 
through the floor with the explosive device provided. Avoid the 
Porcupos and seize the potion, then make your way outside with it and 
just drop it to the right. The mushroom is on the low ledge below, so 
get coins first.

Use the Hoopstars scaling the palm trees to get up to the higher 
ledges. When you get to the gray Panser, kill it with a Hoopstar. The 
fiery flower is nearly impossible to vault over. After pulling up so 
many vegetables, there should be a stopwatch up ahead. Skip the Ninjis 
and pull up the POW block. Take it over to the Porcupo, Ostro, and 
Shyguy at the vine, but wait until they unfreeze to drop the POW - it 
won't work while the stopwatch is in effect.

Climbing the vines on the next screen is easy - just avoid the Snifits, 
Beezos, and Hoopstars trying to thwart you.

When you enter through the next door, there is a POW block that is 
getting in your way to the bottom. It's a pain to have to fall with it, 
so take it and move right or left while you're picking it up to keep it 
up where you are. Toss it on the thin red ground to rid yourself of it.

The spikes at the bottom can be hard to evade, but with a few tries 
it's nothing. Stay to the left, then hang a hard right, then move left 
some, then move to the right, but not all the way to the right. There's 
still a spike or two at the bottom. Birdo is through the next door, and 
luckily, he's red this time. You can actually get a freebie on him by 
tossing the Trouter that's leaping up and down at him, but the rest of 
the hits will have to be with eggs.

World 5-3
If you're looking for warp zones, Luigi is the only one who can get to 
this one. Climb up the ladder and observe the pipe above you. Have 
Luigi squat and do a mega-jump to get up to the pipe. Just pull the 
potion out of the ground and enter the pipe for quick transit to World 
7 - the last world!

If you don't want to or can't use the warp, move cautiously to the 
right and prepare for a massive air attack. Albatosses will be coming 
from every which direction releasing Bob-ombs on you, and you're going 
to have to engage in some hot-footed jumping to get by them all. The 
first blade of grass is a potion; throw it near the last brick wall to 
get a mushroom which you more than likely need desperately right now. 
There is another potion just after it; use it for getting coins.

Run until you see a brick wall blocking a plant. Jump on top of the 
wall and get the potion (it's the middle of the three), then drop it on 
the brick wall to the left. You'll have to get one of the Bob-ombs to 
blow through the wall successfully to get the second mushroom. The 
plant inside is a normal bomb that will let you get to the ladder 

Down the ladder is a small pot held shut by a spotted Mushroom Block. 
Take it off and make one of the Bob-ombs blow through the hole in the 
floor. You can use a bomb to blow through the wall in front of you 
easily enough, and there is a turtle shell on the opposite side of the 
wall. Kill the next Bob-omb with it. Take out the red Panser with 
either the vegetable in the ground or a Bob-omb who comes around as a 
result of backtracking. Go through the teal-colored door to the left.

Avoid the Sparks as you extricate the Mushroom Blocks from their cozy 
spots in the wall. Plug up any small pots you see. Red Shyguys will 
flow out like crazy if you don't.

Making the trip up through the left side is easy. Just avoid the pink 
Pansers that move and shoot fire at the same time. Boss music starts 
playing when you go through the door at the top, so be ready to fight 
Clawgrip. This is the only time you'll fight this boss, and that's 
probably a good thing.

Pull up all the vegetables and get the stopwatch. You can kill the 
Pidgit with the Snifit or wait for time to start going again and burgle 
his carpet yourself. Stay high on this carpet - another Pidgit lies in 
wait when you make it back to land.

There are more vegetables on land - enough, in fact, for another 
stopwatch opportunity. Hop across the clouds and pick up a frozen pink 
Shyguy. Take him with you to the log bridges and ... aw, geez, you 
gotta fight Birdo first. He's red, so chunk your stupid Shyguy at him, 
then finish him off with eggs. The hawk's maw will expand, and when you 
go in you'll have to fight Clawgrip.

Clawgrip is not like Mouser in that you cannot catch what he throws at 
you, which is some really hard rocks. You'll have to wait till they 
tumble across the ground and pick them up as you would a POW block or a 
vegetable. Five hits will do Clawgrip in for good. Be warned: this guy 
can chunk these rocks at you pretty hard, and if you're keeping your 
distance, he can go long too. The best strategy is probably just to 
stay in close and jump when boulders start dropping to your level. From 
there you can pick them up and toss them at him. As usual, go through 
the door when it materializes.

World 6-1
It's your triumphant return to the desert world! Ha ha ha haaaa ...... 
bleah. That means more Cobrats = more enemies = less fun. This is not 
the greatest world to be in. I suggest skipping it with the warp when 
you make it to World 5-3.

In the first pipe there is a potion. Throw it down on the spring lying 
on top of the quicksand. In this spot you'll have to be fast - the 
mushroom will sink through the quicksand if you aren't fast enough. It 
moves down slowly though, so there's a good chance of you making it. 
Kill the Pokey to the right however you have to; just get rid of him. 
He's annoying.

The first mass of quicksand ahead of you pulls you in fast. Don't get 
mired down. Take the pink Shyguy and kill both Cobrats with him. There 
is a turtle shell in either pipe if you want it. Use it to kill the two 
Cobrats hiding right next to each other.

Up next are two annoying Pokeys. Between the group of cacti are two 
plants. The first is a pumpkin; kill the first Pokey with it. The 
second one is a potion. Jump on top of the second Pokey and move past 
the pink Panser (it doesn't matter if you get hit once) and run all the 
way to the right. Once at the small building, throw the potion anywhere 
nearby to get the fourth heart.

In this room there are a whole lot of small pipes. Pull the Mushroom 
Block off the third one. A Cobrat will pop out and hurt you. Just throw 
him away somewhere. There is sand inside this pipe - something that is 
in very few of the others. At the bottom are four plants. The one on 
the left is a 1-up. You can earn a heart in here easily in case you're 
hurt too.

There is sand in the first tall pipe you see, but there are only tiny 
vegetables at the bottom. You're looking for one with a key in it. Yes, 
a key. That should alert you to the presence of Phanto nearby. The key 
is in the fifth pipe from the right. Once you have it, jump, but drop 
it frequently because this Phanto is a little harder to avoid. Once out 
of the pipe, run with the key to the small building ahead.

You will have to fight a green Birdo here that blows nothing but fire. 
The Mushroom Blocks can be used to eradicate it.

World 6-2
If you have an aversion to heights, avoid this level.

What I mean by that is that this level will have you high up in the 
sky, fearing for your life. You have to fly across Albatosses (don't 
worry, they have no Bob-ombs this time) to make it to the Birdo at the 
end of the level. First, pick up the pumpkin at the beginning and keep 
it in your hands. Throw it at the green Panser when you come to him. 
After defeating him, quickly reboard your Albatoss.

Squat until you are flashing, because it will take a mega-jump to get 
up to the next ledge. There are two plants up here. One is a potion. 
Gee, I wonder where they're going to put the mushroom...? :)

After getting the mushroom, catch the Albatoss flying to the left (yes, 
the left) and fly back to the beginning of the level. There is one 
flying at a higher altitude that you need to catch. Fly back over 
familiar territory, leaping over the Beezos and the wall of Albatosses 
when you come to them. From here it's a steady, non-turbulent flight to 
the end of the level.

Another green Birdo awaits you inside the cave. Employ the usual 
Mushroom Blocks and you'll easily succeed.

Also, an anonymous source has given me the Game Genie code PPXAOIAA, 
which allows the Princess to clear the whole chasm in an enormous lunar 
float. If you like the Princess and want to get out of this one quick, 
use this code, as her floating capacities are gazillionupled with this 
code in place.

World 6-3
Climb up the ladder, then if you want it, go to the left for a nifty 
trick. (Okay, so I know this one. Sue me).

It works best with Mario's measurements, if you want to pull this off 
the easiest. With Mario, hold left against the wall and sink in the 
quicksand until all you can see is Mario's hat. You will amazingly 
start moving to the left! Yes, it's a secret passageway, the only one 
in the game. Keep jumping and holding left until you make it to the 
other side of the wall. Go in the door and you'll be high up on a 
cloud. Jump across the other clouds to the pyramid at the bottom and go 
in, where you'll have to fight a red Birdo to get to the boss. I'm not 
saying who the boss is yet. (No Tony Danza jokes, please.)

If you think that sounds too complicated, here's the long way, as if 
it's not. Pick up the potion and fall in the quicksand, throwing the 
potion on one of the two small cacti sticking up at the same time. This 
is the only way to get the mushroom, and you will have to do some major 
A-tapping, both to avoid the incoming Pokey and to keep the quagmire 
from bogging you down, because it's the kind that pulls you down really 
fast. Kill everyone in your way and go into the cave that is supposed 
to look like a scary face but instead looks like a sad, depressed face. 
(I do like how big the door is on the inside, though.)

There are a lot of cherries in here, and a lot of small pots that 
release Bob-ombs. Actually these should not be a threat to you. If you 
get them close enough to the pots when they're flashing, they'll blow 
up the pots and you won't have to worry about them at all!

Bomb through the wall and prepare for a Ninji onslaught. Really, only 
one can get you, so dig up one patch of dirt and throw him in it. 
Chances are he'll leave you alone.

Unless you want the mushroom (which requires a lot of bombing to get 
to), just bomb through all the walls on the top level to make it to the 
exit. The mushroom here just isn't worth the effort.

Everyone in the vine-filled area is easy to go by, so just skip past 
everyone and go to the top. Lo and behold: to your right is the pyramid 
SHORTCUT. Don't you feel like a fool? :)

Kill the red Birdo with eggs (easier) and go through the door. It's the 
Triclyde from the previous desert world! He still takes three hits to 
kill and he spits out fire more aggressively, but he's still the same 
old easy Triclyde. Slaughter him with Mushroom Blocks and he'll be 
kaput in no time.

World 7-1
Don't celebrate yet. You haven't beaten the game. Even though there's 
only two levels left, you're still a long way away.

Avoid the air assaults from the Albatosses and go get the potion. It's 
not on the white and green ledge with the three clumps of grass - 
that's where the mushroom is. Go farther to the right and uproot the 
plant on top of the pillar, and THEN bring it back to where the other 
grass was. THAT'S where your mushroom is.

At the far right side of the level, clog up the pot of Shyguys and go 
in the mushroom house. Did you notice which way the Albatosses are 

Inside is a ledge full of coin opportunities, and there's a mushroom up 
there too! It's just that which one is the potion? Counting from the 
right, it's the third one. Get the mushroom and the massive amount of 
coins for big winnings at the slots.

Outside the mushroom house, hop onboard an Albatoss and ride him all 
the way to the far left side of the screen, jumping over pillars and 
reboarding as necessary. The tuft of grass all the way over at the left 
is a rocket like the ones from World 4.

This is probably one of the few spots in the game that requires exact 
timing to get through successfully. In fact you probably won't make it 
if you don't get the star that the cherries yield. If you do make it 
you'll probably be the tiny version of whoever you're playing as.

Climb up the ladder to another complex area. Avoid all the Sparks 
until you get to one trapped in by Mushroom Blocks. You'll want to kill 
both of them. Make a stack of blocks big enough to make up to the 
ladder area once you've killed both Sparks. Avoid the Hoopstars and 
the Snifit and go inside the mushroom house at the top. There is a gray 
Birdo who shoots nothing but fire, but now you only have one Mushroom 
Block to throw at him, so don't just throw it around and end up getting 
cornered. The last level awaits...

World 7-2
Kill as many people as possible outside before going in. Having two 
hearts when entering the castle is to your advantage.

You'll enter the castle on a conveyor belt - not the best way to start 
out. Shyguys will be pushing toward you. Jump over the first one and 
pick up the second one. Throw it at the one that comes out of the small 
pot at the end of the belt.

If you get hit, killing the Ninjis at the top should bring up a heart.

Avoid the Bob-ombs coming out of the pot and run down to the chain 
leading down to a lower floor. If you lose a heart, just make sure you 
don't get hit. Gaining one back in this lower room would be nice.

When you pull up enough Mushroom Blocks to make it to the bottom, go 
through the door. Staying on chains will keep you from being hit by 
Sparks; this is especially useful in the small compartment with three 
Sparks (two are moving fast). Go in the first new door you see. It is 
an empty room with a potion and an easily accessible mushroom. The 
potion is the one on the left - if you pick up the one on the right, 
get rid of it fast, because it's a Bob-omb.

With three newly replenished hearts, go back through the door and keep 
moving right until you enter another door. Climb up the chain provided. 
There are plenty of cherries in here, so move past the Sparks when 
it's safe. Kill them with your invincibility until it yields a heart.

When you go in the next door, there's a large room with chains for 
walls. Stand inside the chains to keep from getting hit by the Sparks, 
and run under the vertically-moving Sparks when he's moving up. Climb 
the chain to the next room. The only thing making this difficult is the 
conveyor belts. Make your way swiftly to the top and climb up the next 
chain for a pleasant surprise.... ;)

Yes, yes, it's a red Birdo. Not exactly welcome at this hour, or any 
hour, but it's too hard to move past him so kill him while you still 
can. Funny, it starts playing the boss music AFTER Birdo this time.... 
You notice a locked door to the right. I promise this is the last time 
you'll ever have to worry about Phanto ever again.

Go in the door to the right of the locked door to meet your archnemesis 
Birdo AGAIN! You have to kill him because he has the key to the locked 
door in his stomach. Throw three eggs at him to make him barf it up. 
Throw the key as much as possible to avoid Phanto's hovering face. Kill 
at least one Sparks with it to keep from doing anything stupid.

Pick up the crystal inside the door and RUN. Wart's not letting you off 
this easy. The hawk's face will come to life and start chasing you 
down, and it's even more annoying than that stupid Phanto. You'll have 
to hit him three times square in the jaws with Mushroom Blocks, at 
which time he will submit and open up, leading you to the final battle.

Wart hates vegetables, but for some reason, in his lair he has a 
machine that dispenses vegetables at random. You will have to toss 
vegetables when he opens up his mouth to blow death bubbles at you. If 
you're holding onto a vegetable and you see his mouth open, throw it 
in. Once you victoriously lob six veggies into his mouth, he will die 
and you will be able to save all the inhabitants of Subcon. Now watch 
the little cartoon where the Subconners beat up Wart and they honor the 
contributor (whoever you used the most - in my case Mario).

Congratulations on beating Super Mario Brothers 2!!!

** First of all, thanks goes out to Nintendo for this finest piece of 
   work on the Mario series.

** To GameFAQs and whoever else I let post this for posting it.

** To my cousin Chris for his awesome computer that I typed this whole 
   FAQ on.

** The anonymous source who gave me the Game Genie code for World 6-2.

** Tyler Wishall for his enemy name corrections.

** To anyone who helped develop my writing talent.

** Nintendo World, where I got a text-based copy of the instruction manual.

This version of this walkthrough (4.0) is (C) August 26, 2002 by Snow 
Dragon. I will do one of a vast number of things to you if I or someone 
else finds out that you jacked this FAQ from me. Mail me at 
<eubanks1084@hotmail.com> if you want to post this walkthrough on your 
site or if you want to e-mail me suggestions or errors that you found 
in my walkthrough.

Also, some things I forgot to include in the last version: if I do 
allow you to use this walkthrough, don't change the text in any way, 
shape or form. Don't change any of the text at all, but add pictures as 
you feel so inclined. I think that's a good way of helping understand 
the text. Don't plagiarize my walkthrough and give yourself the credit, 
because that's illegal no matter who you ask. Also, do not link 
directly to this FAQ, as GameFAQs, the site that is home to all my 
walkthroughs, explicitly forbids this. 

The latest version of this walkthrough can always be found at GameFAQs.

Have a great time playing Super Mario Bros. 2!