When we wrote about the best items in video games there were some glaring, but intentional, omissions. For example, we didn’t include a single “item” from the Mario series. That’s because all those items that Mario uses are actually power-ups, and before we could ever do a best power-ups list, we had to first address the elephant in the room. Mario has the best power-ups in video games, all of them fun, creative, and designed with the levels in mind.
To avoid a best power-ups list being dominated by Mario, we decided to give him his own list first. So with that in mind, here are the best power-ups our favorite Italian plumber has used in his long and storied video game career.
Power Star, Super Mario Bros.
Honestly, there is no comparison. The best power-up Mario ever got was the power star from the original Super Mario Bros. The concept of it is simple: Mario becomes invincible once he collects the star and every enemy he touches is immediately defeated. The player will know their star power has run out when the invincibility music ends and the glow surrounding Mario goes away. However, lots of games have done invincibility before, so what is it that makes the Power Star so special? It really has to do with what the star became in later games.
While the star began as nothing more than a power-up for Mario, it eventually became one of the most important items in the Mario universe. In Super Mario 64, Mario has to collect them to complete levels and defeat Bowser. Every level in Super Mario Galaxy ends with him getting a star. In Mario Party, the player who wins is the one with the most stars. No power-up in the Mario universe has become as important as the power star. Add in how practical it’s been in every game and it’s clearly the best Mario power-up.
Fire Flower, Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros. really brought out all the hits, didn’t it? Another series staple, the Fire Flower became a favorite for anyone that played a Mario game because of how powerful it was. While the mushroom gave Mario an extra hit, the fire flower gave him powerful projectiles capable of destroying most enemies in one hit. It was even capable of destroying Bowser if you hit him enough times with fireballs.
The Fire Flower was so perfect the first go-around that it rarely changed anytime it made later appearances. It’s largely seen as Mario’s most iconic power-up. It’s his special item in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, he fires a super fireball in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and it’s one of his specialty moves in the Mario & Luigi RPG series. Mario and fireballs are a perfect match.
Tanooki Suit, Super Mario Bros. 3
When Super Mario Bros. came out alongside the original NES, it was this incredibly innovative game that spawned dozens of games trying to emulate the formula. Even now, the original game’s formula can still be seen in parts of every side-scrolling platform, but only one game managed to perfect it. That would be Super Mario Bros 3., Mario’s third and final adventure on the NES which saw the developers let their creativity run wild with a map, slightly branching pathways, and easily Mario’s biggest adventure yet. It also spawned many great power-ups.
The one that stood above the rest though was the Tanooki Suit. While many American players didn’t know what a Tanooki was, they all immediately saw the power of the suit. It featured the ability to float and fly just like the Super Leaf power-up, but it also allowed players to turn themselves into an invincible statue. This allowed Mario to avoid almost all hazards by either flying, turning into stone, or destroying whatever was in his path. This power-up was so powerful that it, unfortunately, didn’t make another appearance until Super Mario 3D Land beyond a few references in some spin-off games.
Cape Feather, Super Mario World
What if you took the power-ups of the Super Leaf from Super Mario Bros 3., added the ability to fly continuously, and gave Mario a cape like some kind of superhero? Well, you would get the Cape Feather from Super Mario World. This power-up does lose points because it’s so similar to the power-up from the third game, but this has two distinct advantages. One is that a cape looks cooler than a raccoon suit, but the actual reason is that the cape gives particularly skilled players the ability to fly almost forever.
A skilled Mario World player can fly practically across entire levels using only the cape. Only players that have mastered the mechanics can unlock every single secret. This skill gap represents one of the best parts of all the Mario games. They’re all extremely accessible to anyone that wants to play the game for fun, but the best players that want to complete it 100 percent will need to master everything. That’s something we still see in Mario games today.
Cat Suit, Super Mario 3D World
When Mario made his jump to the world of 3D, his reliance on power-ups decreased drastically. Sure, we saw some cool ones like the Wing Cap and the Ice Flower, but none of them had quite the same feeling that those original NES and SNES games created. That changed with the Cat Suit in Super Mario 3D World. This suit allows Mario to, as the name suggests, turn into a cat and gain cat-like powers. He can climb, claw at enemies, and can run around on all fours. It sounds silly, but it’s an incredibly satisfying power-up to use and lets the developers get really creative in their level design.
The Cat Suit was such a fun and silly idea that it was easy to gravitate to. Its power-up even became a part of 100 percenting the game — anyone who wants to complete the game has to land on the top of every single flagpole on every level. Doing so will unlock a new world and bragging rights, but with the Cat Suit, the player can easily scamper up the flagpole to finish levels. This goes back to the earlier mentioned fun of Mario games. They’re accessible and fun to play, but only those who are willing to put in the sometimes ridiculous amount of work get to unlock the secrets. The Cat Suit, and Mario 3D World, is another great example of that.