Putting the best Super Mario power ups in ranked order is a trip through the long-running franchise’s history, a tale of failed experiments and surprisingly creative endeavors. Any series that’s been knocking around for over 30 years inevitably puts out some duds, and Mario is no different. Tempting as it may be to lay the blame on the (rightly) maligned New Super series, some of the classic Super Mario games have their fair share of stinkers.
We put our favorite Mario power ups in order here, though since Super Mario Wonder wasn’t available at the time of publication, we didn’t include those yet.
If you’re after more Mario fun, check out our 2D Mario cover art ranking and the best Charles Martinet voice lines.
Mega Mushroom
I harbor such a strong dislike for this power up. New Super Mario Bros positioned it as a Big New Thing, and then it only shows up a scant few times throughout the whole game. Worst of all – and most surprising for a Mario game – it’s counterintuitive. You destroy everything in sight, which wipes out a good quarter of a stage’s secrets in the process. Why would you do that.
Blimp Fruit
It’s just the P Balloon, c’mon Nintendo.
Dash Pepper
Yoshi goes real fast when he eats this in Galaxy 2. It’s cute, but kind of underwhelming.
Gold Flower
The Gold Flower comes from New Super Mario Bros 2., so the function should come as no surprise. It turns enemies into gold coins. The concept has some flair to it, but in a game where things explode into coins when you so much as look sideways, the effect is a little hollow.
Bulb Berry
The Bulb Berry is one of those power ups that only exists to solve a puzzle designed for the power up. It lets Yoshi see invisible platforms, which is great! Unless you’re not dealing with invisible platforms, and then it’s pretty useless.
Mini Mushroom
The Mini Mushroom falls into a similar category. The New Super games lock extra stage exits behind mini doors, which sort of takes the fun out of finding them yourself. They’re just right there.
Frog Suit
The frog suit is cute, and extra mobility is already nice. Mario gets around pretty well in the water already, though, so it’s not too surprising we only saw this in one mainline Mario platformer. There’s just no need for it.
Carrot
I know the Carrot is just a bargain-bin version of the Raccoon Suit, one that doesn’t even have any attack benefits. I can’t help but love it, though. Mario turning into a rabbit after eating a carrot is such a weird idea to come up with, and it’s really fitting for the equally weird Mario Land 2.
Super Mushroom
The Super Mushroom, Mario’s iconic power up, your tether to life in the early stages when little tiny Mario stumbles on the verge of death at every turn. It loses its luster pretty quickly, though. Other power ups – the Fire Flower, the Cape Feater, pretty much everything – bundle the Mushroom’s super-sizing power into their main function and make it a less than helpful option.
Super Leaf
Speaking of the Raccoon Suit, the Super Leaf turns Mario into a Raccoon, which is adorable and functional simultaneously. Raccoon Mario gets a nifty tail spin that whacks foes off the stage, and if that wasn’t handy enough, he can even glide over large gaps. It makes no physiological sense, but who cares. It’s fun.
Vanish Cap
The Vanish Cap does what it says on the package. It’s pretty gimmicky as well and only shows up in Mario 64, but it opens such an array of opportunities. Mario can walk through ice, slip past enemies and even crash through mirrors. It’s a whole new way of looking at levels and dealing with obstacles, which makes it such a shame that it hasn’t been seen since. 64 introduced several abilities that I’d love to see return in some form, and this is one of them.
Ice Flower
The Ice Flower is essentially just a reskin of the Fire Flower, with one small exception: It lets you walk on water. Turning enemies into ice blocks is fine, if not exactly useful. I’d like to see more scenarios where puzzles require ice enemies to solve. Walking on water, though? Now that has potential. Shame it fizzled out, though.
Propeller Box
The New Super games developed a reputation for lacking creativity, and while it’s deserved for the most part, the Propeller Box is an exception. The silly looking box takes the idea of a double jump and does one better. It gives Mario extra height, propels – naturally – him high into the air, and then helps him glide to a safe landing, depending on how well you planned your moves. It’s the classic Nintendo trick of taking something simple and making it fun to use.
Wing Cap/Wings
Sure, the wings in Mario 64 are just a limited-use gimmick – but what a gimmick. Even aside from leting you explore more thoroughly and find new secrets, soaring through the air feels so liberating. It’s one of the few power ups that deserves a comeback.
Double Cherry
The Double Cherry is just a gimmick as well, but Nintendo uses it to create some pretty clever puzzles in Mario 3D World. Controlling mirrored Marios involves a whole different part of the brain, and it’s always a high point when 3D World throws one in the mix.
Cat Bell
3D World’s other special power-up only gives you a climbing ability and scratch attack, but it completely changes how you approach levels. It gives stages a new element of verticality that wasn’t present before, even with the Cape Feather, and since getting close enough to scratch also puts you in range of their attacks you even have to re-evaluate how to handle enemies, sometimes.
The Cat Bell’s souped-up version in Bowser’s Fury is pretty nifty as well, though it’s a shame you can only go Super Saiyan Mario in fixed circumstances.
Tanooki Suit
The Tanooki Suit has all the benefits of the Racoon Suit with the added bonuses of being even cuter and letting Mario turn to stone. Enemies can’t hurt Mario in his statue form. It’s pretty handy, and it seems unfortunate that the suit remains confined to Mario Bros 3.
Fire Flower
Trite as it sounds, the Fire Flower is a literal game changer. Transforming into Fire Mario gives you unparalleled power, the option to handle enemies from afar without putting yourself in danger. Gone are the moments of nail-biting tension as you approach a Goomba or deadly-looking Koopa. Just stand at the edge of the screen and hurl balls of fire at everything.
It’s simple, but incredibly effective and creative.
Cape Feather
The Cape Feather is such a clever upgrade. Nintendo smushed the Raccoon Suit and the P Wing together with the welcome extra ability to control your flight. You can swirl and hit enemies, soar through the air, turn into a cute lil’ balloon, crash down onto the ground and smash your foes – the sense of freedom you get with this one is unparalleled.
Super Star
Who wants to live forever? I do, if I’m playing a Mario game, and that’s exactly what this wonderful little gem is for. It’s been around for ages and taken on a few extra names – Galaxy’s Rainbow Star for example – but it remains the best power up in the series no matter what guise it’s in. Nintendo almost always pairs these power ups with particularly difficult platforming runs or gauntlets of enemies that make you feel, well, super when you manage to make it to the end.
Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF
