Hobbies And Interests
Power-Ups
If you've played a "Mario" game before, you already know that the mushroom turns small Mario into a larger Mario and the flower turns Mario red and allows him to shoot fireballs. The super leaf gives Mario a raccoon hat and tail and allows him to fly after running and picking up speed. Grab a Frog suit to improve Mario's swimming ability. Use the Tanooki suit to give Mario a full raccoon-like costume. It allows Mario to fly and turn into an invulnerable statue. Use it to jump over an enemy, turn into a statue in mid-air, and then crash down on the enemy. The Hammer Brothers suit basically turns Mario into a Hammer brother (an enemy in the game) and lets him throw hammers using the "B" button. The suit includes a helmet so you can make Mario invulnerable by ducking.
Warp Whistles
You can find three different warp whistles that let you skip levels. Find the first in Stage 3 of the first world. Find the only white platform (toward the end of the level), jump on it, and press and hold "Down." Mario will fall through, and you'll be in the background. Run straight through, past the end of the level, and you'll end up in a mushroom house containing the warp whistle. In the fortress at the end of World 1, run as far as you can to the right until you reach an area with a door, a flashing power-up and a Dry Bones enemy. Grab the flashing power-up in its super leaf form and run to the far wall. Run, jump and take flight straight up. Head as far as you can to the right, and you'll find a door. Inside lies the second warp whistle. The third and final warp whistle can be found from the map screen in World 2. Take on the wandering Boomerang brother and you'll earn a hammer. Use this to break the rock found in the upper-right corner of the map. Head down the new path and defeat the pair of Fiery brothers to earn the final warp whistle.
Extra Lives Trick
Certain levels have an enemy called Lakitu, a guy flying in a cloud and dropping spiky shelled turtles. Let him follow you for the whole level. When you reach the end, hop around for a bit and avoid the spiky turtles until there are too many to avoid. Hit the card to end the level, and all the on-screen enemies will turn to coins and net you a few lives.