Like the games that came before it, Super Mario Wonder contains power-ups that change your characters’ form and give them new abilities. While a few familiar costumes are available, the game introduces three new ones we’ve never seen before. However, there is one power-up that’s notably better than the others.
Super Mario Wonder power-up forms list
You can pick up six items to power up into new forms in Super Mario Wonder. Half of these are long-time series mainstays that date back to the first Super Mario Bros. game. The other three are entirely new creations that allow Mario and the gang to use abilities we’ve never seen before.
Here’s a full list of the power-ups in Super Mario Wonder:
Super Mario (Super Mushroom)
The very first power-up seen in the Mario series returns here. When a character touches a Super Mushroom, they are transformed into their Super form, which makes them taller and allows them to break blocks. Upon taking damage from an enemy or obstacle, a character in Super form returns to their small state.
Interestingly, the series typically shows characters in their Super form in cutscenes. So, the canon mechanics are that a Super Mushroom doesn’t give a character more power. Instead, it returns them to their normal form from the weakened Small state.
Fire Mario (Fire Flower)
Picking up a Fire Flower allows a character to toss fireballs. These are highly effective against most enemies, and few are immune to them in this game. When a character takes damage in this form, they return to their Super state.
Invincible Mario (Super Star)
The Invincible form is the only one that’s temporary in Super Mario Wonder. Grabbing a Super Star infuses a character with rainbow energy, which both protects them from all damage and makes any contact with them fatal to enemies.
Elephant Mario (Elephant Fruit)
The first of the new power-ups you’ll encounter in Super Mario Wonder is the Elephant. This form allows characters to attack or break blocks and obstacles by whipping their trunk to the side. It also lets you store water in the trunk and use it to make flowers bloom. Additionally, the Elephant can run across two-block-wide gaps instead of just one-block like all other forms. Getting hit when in Elephant form returns the character to their Super form.
Bubble Mario (Bubble Flower)
When you use the Bubble Flower, characters can shoot bubbles from their hands. These control similarly to Fire Mario’s fireballs, but travel slower and can pass through walls. When they make contact with an enemy, they typically transform into a coin. These can eliminate some foes like Dry Bones that can’t be defeated by other means. You can also jump on the bubbles after shooting them and use them to boost to new heights. However, it’s tough to pull this off and only advanced players will get a lot of use from this ability. Taking damage while playing in Bubble form returns a character to their Super form.
Drill Mario (Drill Mushroom)
You won’t get a chance to get a Drill Mushroom until World 4, but the wait is worth it. In Drill form, characters can deflect attacks coming from above them, break through blocks and other obstacles much quicker, and burrow into the ground or ceiling. This is a very powerful form, and it allows you to bypass enemies and obstacles that would be a significant threat otherwise.
What’s the best power-up in Super Mario Wonder?
The Drill Mushroom is the best power-up in Super Mario Wonder by far. The ability to burrow into the ceiling or floor makes many levels trivial as you can just avoid anything that could cause you harm. Most players will make this their primary form as soon as it becomes available.
