Star, Star, (Aw...Crud...) Mushroom Quiz

Answer: A 1-up

To end any non-castle/boss stage in "Super Mario Bros. 3" you must hit a flipping card found on a black end-of-stage background. The card flips between Mushroom, Flower, and Star, and each has ascending value in that order. Your goal is to get three in a row in three different levels to get a 2-up, 3-up, or 5-up respectively, but breaking the streak at any time will result in a humble 1-up.

It is overwhelmingly dissatisfying to break your two-star streak, let me tell you.

Answer: Princess Toadstool

Each of the characters in this off-the-wall game featuring Birdo and a slot machine had their own perks. Mario and Toad were relatively normal but Luigi had a noticeably higher jump than his brother and Princess Toadstool, regularly a damsel-in-distress character, joined the fray with the ability to float herself across large distances.

The ability became quite popular amongst fans and Peach was added with it in later games (including "Super Smash Bros. Brawl").

Answer: World 5

Descending into the underground depths beneath the castle at the end of World 1-1, Mario will make his way across rising and lowering platforms to the end, but taking a last-second detour above the stage at the end of the level will bring him to a trio of pipes, each leading to one of the next three worlds.

They're labeled; there's no guesswork. It's up to you how far ahead you want to travel-- and there's more later on in the game! In each case you'll be brought immediately to the first stage of that respective world, skipping all in between.

Answer: Donut Ghost House

The Donut Ghost House, found on the Donut Plains, is probably the first Ghost House you'll come to in the game if you don't decide to jump into the Donut Secret Levels by taking a detour through the lake (in which case you can head to Star Road early). To get to the Top Secret Area, a small stage containing all the items you need for a stacked arsenal, you need to fly up and over the first room of the stage filled with ghosts and run to a door. Top Secret Area contains a Yoshi and, depending on the order in which you open your rewards, you'll find mushrooms, capes, flowers, etc.

Answer: Cookies

Descending into the Pipe Vault in World 2 (after completing the boss battle against Bowyer in the Forest Maze) you can find a secret passage leading southward to Yo'ster Isle, a tropical paradise populated by Yoshi and other dinosaurs. This spot is home to the Mushroom Derby, a Yoshi-run race that Mario can join in on the back of the famous green Yoshi.

The only way to beat out the super-cool blue Yoshi (named Boshi) is by using Yoshi Cookies to the best of your ability and marching in time to the beat to succeed. Doing so will reward you handsomely.

Otherwise there is no real bonus to this area.

Answer: By collecting seventy stars

The never-ending staircase is found in the highest part of Princess Peach's tower in this platformer and to get there you need to conquer a great chunk of the game, collecting seventy stars (though you can get one hundred twenty total) by completing the fifteen worlds (eight stars each) and little bonuses around the place.

The stairs are never-ending in that Mario can just keep running up them indefinitely until he has seventy stars, after which he'll face off against Bowser in the final stage of the game.

Answer: Braking

In "Mario Kart 64" there are two hazards that can be dropped to affect players: the banana and the upside-down question box. The latter of these can't be protected against unless you have a series of shells surrounding you (and even then...) but the banana, while protected against by the same shell circle, can also be beaten with careful braking. Pressing B and maintaining control of your kart can protect you from the most dire wipe-outs if you're lucky and skilled enough.

This technique was altered a bit in some later games but can still prove effective under the circumstances.

Answer: Absolutely nothing

Mecha Fly Guy can be bought at the local shop once you earn enough money but as most original "Mario Party" players know, he's about as much use as playing that darn 'Tug of War' mini-game. When you visit him in the Mini-Game House the goal is to rotate the analog stick as much as possible to set a record for fly time as he hovers around the room. Beating your time sets a record but does little else and, considering most players used the palm of their hand to turn the stick, it amounted to little more than rough blistering-- so much so that companies made gloves to protect against the repetitive chafing. Nintendo removed these analog-stick-spinning actions from later games and the rest of us breathed a sigh of relief.

Answer: Pigs

The pen can be found in South Toad Town, right next to the station, and it's actually quite cute. Next to the enclosure is a machine which, when used (for ten coins) will spawn an egg. When Mario hammers the orb he'll hatch a Li'l Oink, a pig-like creature which will appear with a specific pattern or colour.

The pen fills with ten pigs but when an eleventh is added the first will flee and leave behind an item corresponding to its appearance. Going in and collecting the item may cause all the others to flee though.

Answer: Whomp's Fortress in "Super Mario 64"

Thorwback Galaxy was a nostalgia trip for the super-fan. Modeled after the second stage in "Super Mario 64", Whomp's Fortress, it featured many identical enemies and set-ups seen in the original game. Although some modifications have been made to enhance the possibilities and produce something new for the savvy player, the first mission still involves ascending to the top of the fort to go face-to-face against the daunting Whomp King who, sadly, never seems to realize his fatal weakness. Ah well.