One thing Super Mario games are famous for is power-ups. Power-ups have been an integral part of these games since Super Mario Bros. in 1985. However, since the age of shooting fireballs and becoming invincible, Mario games since have expanded the concept of power-ups to the point where throughout the games Mario has transformed into a raccoon, a boulder, a cat, and even a bee. Each power-up (for the most part) is unique and fun to use in its own way. So, let’s take a look at each and every power-up and rank them all. All 53.
Disclaimer:
Some power-ups will not be included for a variety of reasons. Power-ups exclusive to any Mario spin-offs (including Super Mario Run and Super Mario 64 DS) will not be included in this ranking. Here’s some other power-ups that won’t be included:
- Yoshi (Super Mario Galaxy 2 Yoshi abilities, like blimp fruit and dash pepper, will be included)
- Giga Bell or Invincibility Bell from Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury (Invincibility Leaf will be included)
- Super Mario Maker 2 Exclusive Power-Ups (Dry Bones Shell, Shelmet, SMB2 Mushroom, etc.)
- NSMBU Boost Star
This list also has the Ice and Fire Flowers separated between the Super Mario Galaxy games and the rest of their appearances because of their temporary usage in the Galaxy games.
With that, let’s get started.
#53: Super Crown
This has to be the weirdest Mario power-up of all time. When you play as Toadette in New Super Mario Bros. U, you can use a Super Crown to turn into Peachette. It’s very strange no matter which way you look at it. It’s very dumb. (Bowsette died, right?)
#52: Goomba Mask
Though this mask does allow you to run past enemies without being noticed, it barely does anything since it doesn’t give you any truly remarkable powers, plus goombas are very easy to kill anyway. So, even though it is funny, it’s pretty trivial.
#51: Green Shell
Don’t get me wrong, it is fun to ride around in a Green Shell. However, it’s a bit hard to control and it won’t stop at all. It does help when there are lots of enemies in your path, but it’s otherwise a power-up that won’t help much.
#50: Coin Box
Although it gives you lots and lots of coins as you run around in Super Mario 3D World, it doesn’t do anything against enemies or obstacles. It’s just a temporary item that gives you coins. However, it is funny to see Mario running around with a block on his head.
#49: Gold Block
It’s pretty much the same as the Coin Box, however if you hit it from the other sides of it, it will give you 50 coins, as well as 50 coins once you get it off, which I suppose makes it slightly better than its 3D World counterpart.
#48: Light Box
This box shines a light beam that can cause ghosts to disappear after shining on them for a couple seconds. Though effective, it is a bit annoying to stare at each ghost until they die. It’s still a smart item that helps stop enemies.
#47: Mini Mushroom
In every version of the Mini Mushroom, it’s a pain to use. In New Super Mario Bros. it gives Mario anti-gravity jumping, which is really annoying to control. In New Super Mario Bros. U you can run up walls, so that’s a TRULY revolutionizing concept, right? Plus, since you’re technically small, one hit means you die instead of losing the power-up, which sucks.
#46: Propeller Box
This power-up allows Mario to fly upwards a short distance before floating downwards. It can only be used once before you touch the ground, which is a little annoying. It is still a helpful power-up in a handful of 3D World levels, though.
#45: Cannon Box
Here’s another fun power-up in 3D World. This box will fire cannon balls as you walk around. If you want to shoot a cannonball farther, you can charge it up before letting it go. While fun, you have no control over normal shots, so they’ll just continuously come out until you lose the box.
#44: Gold Flower
One of the most strange Mario power ups, the Gold Flower lets Mario shoot golden fireballs, which not only kills enemies but also rewards Mario coins. Though fun to use, it’s a bit gimmicky and has a very small blast radius when the fireballs explode. However, it did give us the awesome Gold Mario Amiibo, so that’s a plus! (Just kidding)
#43: Spring Mushroom
Super Mario Galaxy‘s Spring Mushroom takes the award for the most annoying power-up to control. Mario will bounce around the stage and, if timed right, will launch into the air. While interesting, controlling Mario to go in one direction can be difficult and can sometimes result in falling off the stage, which is very irritating.
#42: Boo Mushroom
The Boo Mushroom is pretty much what you’d expect: Mario becomes a Boo and can go through walls and hover upward and downward. It’s neat, but also feels a bit of a slog to control because of how slow it is. However, you can read Booish, the language of the Boos. I guess that’s interesting.
#41: Double Cherry
3D World’s Double Cherry is a very odd power-up because it clones Mario when you get one, and you’ll keep getting clones every time to get a cherry. Though interesting, it feels like a chore controlling multiple Marios, and it isn’t very useful in most cases.
#40: Metal Cap
The Metal Cap in Super Mario 64 is pretty much a standard Invincibility Star but worse. Though he is able to go underwater without worrying about air, he’s also heavier making jumps much shorter. It’s an interesting concept, but not very fun to play with.
#39: Super Mushroom
It is the original Mario power-up, but compared to every power-up that followed, it’s incredibly simple. Mario gets big and can take an extra hit as well as break bricks. It’s very simple, but it is also the original, so it wasn’t trying to be super creative and unique.
#38: Dash Pepper
Though it is fun to see Yoshi blast forward at high speeds, it is a bit hard to control. Mario can temporarlily control Yoshi to dash forward and even up walls. While useful in some sections, it doesn’t have much precision.
#37: P-Acorn
The P-Acorn can be used in a single level, and uses the Super Acorn’s powers to let Mario to continue flying forward without a limit, letting you skip the level. Plus, you get a Super Acorn once you finish. Isn’t that nice?
#36: P-Wing
It’s pretty much the P-Acorn, but it uses the Raccoon Suit’s controls. Plus, it just feels more right to put the original P-Wing above the new version.
#35: Boomerang Flower
The Boomerang Flower is always fun if you miss your shot with a boomerang but then get the hit as it comes back to you. It’s always fun, but the precision isn’t quite as good as something like a Fire Flower.
#34: Ice Skate
It’s always fun to jump into a Goomba Shoe in Super Mario Bros. 3 and start running around, but what about an Ice Skate? Yes, in Super Mario 3D World, you can steal a Goomba’s ice skate and start skating all over the place. However, you can’t lose this power-up without running into something, and it can be hard to control with precision on narrower platforms.
#33: Blue Shell
The Blue Shell can do a lot in New Super Mario Bros. You can slide around in the shell destroying enemies and obstacles in your path, block most attacks by crouching, and swimming underwater with more ease. Though it is very helpful, the controls were a bit janky.
#32: Wing Cap
The classic Wing Cap from Super Mario 64 is a bit fun to use, but it doesn’t control well. It can be very difficult to control Wing Mario in missions like Wing Mario Over the Rainbow, and it gets very annoying.
#31: Red Star
It’s pretty much the Wing Cap, but the controls are slightly more pleasurable. They don’t feel as stiff and janky as the Wing Cap, but the Red Star only appears in two levels, one being the Comet Observatory. That’s a bit lame.
#30: Spin Drill
The Spin Drill is always fun to use when you dig under an enemy before popping out and surprising them to death (sort of). The Spin Drill lets Mario underground and across certain parts of the stage. This makes for some neat puzzles and bosses in the game.
#29: Frog Suit
Though a hassle on land, the Frog Suit gives Mario simpler and better control when swimming underwater. When on land, Mario can jump higher, but that ability isn’t used in many interesting ways, making it annoying to use on land.
#28: Vanish Cap
It does exactly what it says: it makes Mario disappear. It’s pretty much the Super Star or one of the other Invincibility power-ups, just without the satisfaction of killing enemies as you just walk through them like a ghost.
#27: Super Acorn
New Super Mario Bros. U‘s new flying ability is pretty lacking. Squirrel Mario lets Mario glide down as well as ascend a short distance by pressing the trigger buttons. While it makes it easy to avoid enemies since you can fly over them, it still isn’t very engaging to use.
#26: Superball Flower
Super Mario Land decided to replace the famous Fire Flower with a weird flower that bounces a projectile all over the place. It’s like Brick Breaker, but the bricks are enemies in this case. While it does make it very hard to aim directly, it is still fun to strategize the best angle to hit so you can snipe an enemy.
#25: Rock Mushroom
Why not have Mario become a giant rock? In Super Mario Galaxy 2, Mario can turn into Rock Mario, allowing him to roll right through enemies and obstacles. While interesting, it isn’t used in many interesting sections and the ability is another with strange controls.
#24: Hammer Suit
The hammer suit essentially turns Mario into a hammer bro. You can fire hammers and crouch down to block incoming projectiles. Its multiple uses come in handy, and it’s fun to become one of the enemies for a change.
#23: Power Balloon
The Power Balloon lets Mario float for a short amount of time around a stage. While neat, the ability isn’t used too much in Super Mario World and its temporary nature makes it a bit useless in some cases. Still fun to control though.
#22: Goomba Shoe
For some reasons, Goombas decided it would be safer to run around in a shoe, but they’re still no match for Mario. Once you take out the Goomba, you can jump around on hazardous platforms and enemies like munchers. While silly, it’s still fun to use.
#21: Bulb Berry
Once Yoshi eats one of these berries, it temporarily lights up the surrounding area, revealing obstacles and platforms. Out of all the power-ups in the Galaxy games, I’ve always thought that this one is used in the most clever and creative levels. It’s so much fun to play these levels.
#20: Carrot
Even though it is a bit overpowered, the Bunny Ears in Super Mario Land 2 are very fun to play with. My constantly clicking A, Mario can consistently flutter in the air. If you’re a good button masher, you can essentially skip some levels.
#19: Mega Mushroom
Plowing through levels as a gigantic Mario sure is fun. However, there isn’t much to it, and once you lose the Mega Mushroom you go back to just Super Mario, even if you had another power-up before.
#18: Blimp Fruit
Using the Blimp Fruit, Mario can temporarily float in the air. While fun to use, it isn’t used in many creative segments in Super Mario Galaxy 2.
#17: Ice Flower (SMG)
The Ice Flower in Super Mario Galaxy is a bit different to its 2D appearances as it lets Mario skate across deadly substances like lava to get across areas.
#16: Ice Flower
In the 2D games, Ice Mario can fire ice balls at enemies, freezing them inside cubes or ice. Mario can either kick the cube of ice into other enemies or ground pound it to kill the enemy before it breaks out. It makes for a fun power-up to play with.
#15: Invincibility Leaf
If you die several times in Super Mario 3D Land and Super Mario 3D World, a box will spawn granting Mario an Invincibility Leaf. It’s basically a tanooki leaf but Mario is invincible to enemies and deadly surfaces. It’s just a helper tool for players struggling on certain levels.
#14: Bee Mushroom
Even though it’s still very creepy that Bee Mario can just crawl all over the Queen Bee, the Bee Mushroom is still fun to use. Mario can temporarily fly, stick to honeycombs, and jump on platforms normal Mario can’t, like clouds. Bee Mario levels in the Galaxy games can get pretty creative (except for the Queen Bee one) and the mushroom is fun to use.
#13: Cape Feather
The classic flying power-up in Super Mario Bros. 3 is the Raccoon Suit, and in Super Mario World it’s the Cape Feather. With the cape, Mario can ascend high into the air, glide, and do a spin attack on enemies. While it is fun to use, it’s much more confusing to control compared to the Super Leaf, which I definitely struggled with when I first played the game.
#12: Propeller Mushroom
The original overpowered Mario power-up. In New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Mario can use this mushroom to boost himself in the air, as well as rush downwards after propelling. Because of its slow descent after propelling, it’s very easy to use the power-up to skip levels, especially since you don’t have to do any button-mashing like with the Carrot.
#11: Tanooki Leaf
While not quite as intuitive as the Super Leaf, the Tanooki Leaf from Super Mario 3D Land and 3D World is very fun and helpful to use. After a jump, Mario can flutter down, as well as spin attack enemies. Fluttering down helps make jumps easier and it’s very fun to use overall.
#10: Statue Leaf
It’s the Tanooki Leaf, but ground-pounding turns you into a statue in which you are invulnerable to enemies. It’s the same power-up, but with an extra, helpful feature.
#9: Super Star
The original invincibility power-up. Once you snag one of these, Mario can run around invincible for a short period of time. At this state, you can run into enemies to kill them, and the hype-inducing music is perfect.
#8: Fire Flower (SMG)
It’s pretty much the standard Fire Flower, but like with the Ice Flower, it’s temporary. Otherwise, it’s the same Mario power-up we all know and love.
#7: Fire Flower
The classic power-up. Mario can shoot fireballs at enemies to kill them, and that’s it. While very simple, it’s still really fun to use, especially in the modern games where you can fire a fireball at obstacles to make something happen, like unlit torches in Super Mario 3D World.
#6: Tanooki Suit
It’s the Super Leaf, but Mario can turn into a statue. It isn’t found too often in the game, though, but it’s still the same old Super Mario Bros. 3 power-up.
#5: Cloud Flower
What’s great about the Cloud Flower is that it can be overpowered if you know the right way to use it. By making very precise and accurate jumps, spawning a cloud just gives you an extra platform. Every time you pick up a Cloud Flower, you’re granted 3 clouds that you can spawn as extra platforms. It might be simple, but as Mario has taught us, the simplest things are what become the most memorable. The Cloud Flower is used in many cool ways in Super Mario Galaxy 2, such as spawning a cloud in front of wind blowing one way so it can move you somewhere, and more. Mario also has slightly flotaier jumps, but that isn’t too recognizable. Definitely a top-tier Mario power-up.
#4: Penguin Suit
It’s the Ice Flower, but so much more, including Mario with flippers (because that’s awesome.) The Penguin Suit lets Mario throw ice balls, belly slide across levels, and easier swimming controls. It’s essentially the Ice Flower, Blue Shell, and Frog Suit all molded into one, and it’s simply awesome. I mean, you wouldn’t want to slip and slide around levels as a penguin?
#3: Super Bell
Of course, you can’t forget about the Cat Suit. While a strange idea, it works incredibly well in Super Mario 3D World. Cat Mario can climb up walls, perform a cat dive, swipe at enemies, and even run slightly faster. Cat Mario is just so awesome. Climbing across the walls of levels to find secrets or pouncing at goombas and koopas in your path is simply awesome. Plus, the Super Bell gave us Meowser, which you will never ever forget.
#2: Lucky Bell
It’s the Super Bell, but ‘lucky’. Lucky Mario has all the same abilities as Cat Mario, but when you ground pound you turn into an invulnerable statue. Also, when you ground pound, you’ll get coins before you hit the ground. There’s nothing more satisfying than climbing to the highest point in a level and ground-pounding down while you get tons and tons of coins. It’s just so much fun.
#1: Super Leaf
It’ll always be the most recognizable and famous power-up in Mario history. Raccoon Mario can fly temporarily after running long enough to max out your P-speed, glide down (similar to the Tanooki Leaf in 3D Land & 3D World), as well as swipe enemies with your tail. It’s so much fun to fly to the top of a tall platform you didn’t know had a pipe before going into a pipe and finding a secret area. The Super Leaf is a classic power-up that has pretty much been inspired by almost every Mario power-up since. So, it has to be the greatest power-up in the Super Mario games.
What’s you favorite Mario power-up? Let me know in the comments.
Ryan’s Fortress Twitter: @RyansFortress