Super Mario Bros 2 Tricks
The purpose of this page is to document all of the known tricks
of the NES Super Mario Bros 2 (aka. Super Mario USA) game so far.
Because of the nature of this site, we concentrate here on tricks
that are nearly difficult to play in real play, but are useful
in the making of tool-assisted speedruns. For most of the tricks,
a
frame advance feature in an emulator is a definite must-have.
Table of contents [
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To see movies of game completions using these tricks, click
here.
Running with an item with Toad
Toad is the only character in SMB2 who runs faster than normal running
speed while carrying an enemy or certain items (the heavier the item
the better), so you should always choose Toad unless you need Luigi to
make big jumps in the level.
Double jump
How it's done: While moving towards an enemy, jump and go through the top left or right corner of the enemy.
You can either jump just before you hit an enemy on the ground that you were running towards, or it can be an enemy in the air or on a platform above you.
If you timed the jump correctly, the character's feet will pass through the top of the enemy without taking damage, and this will trick the game into thinking that you're standing on the enemy, and it will still think that even after you move farther up.
Any time before you begin to fall, you can jump again in midair and go much higher than you normally can.
If the enemies are positioned correctly, you can even pass through the corner of another enemy during your second jump and jump a third time.
You can use double jumps to reach high places more quickly.
Note: This trick can also be done with anything that can hurt you and that you can stand on, such as Birdo's eggs and water columns on whales.
Uses: In 1-1, use a double jump with Toad to reach the high platform so that you don't need Luigi's high jumping ability in that level.
Even though it'll take longer to get up the steps after taking the shortcut, Birdo always throws his eggs at the same time so it doesn't matter exactly how fast you get there unless you can get there a lot faster and on time to get his previous egg.
All that matters is how fast you can pick up the last egg, so Toad is slightly faster than Luigi in 1-1.
In 1-2, after getting the key from the jar, move an enemy so that it's just at the edge of the cliff, and use it to double jump over the big pit. As you make the jump in midair, duck so that you don't hit Phanto.
In 7-1, you can use a double jump to get over the big pole next to the ladder.
In addition to saving time, you can also use a double jump to do tricks and make the run look fancier.
Mushroom block bouncing for multiple hits
I'm not sure exactly how this works, so maybe someone else can
type an explanation, or I can experiment with this when I get a
chance. -
Michael Fried
Turning around quickly
How it's done: I studied the way the characters turn around at 5% speed,
and I could not notice any difference between how fast they turn around
in the air or on the ground (unless the ground is ice, in which case you
could turn around faster in the air).
The only way to turn around faster is to let go of B (this works both in
the air and on land), which seems to somehow cause the character to lose
it's momentum faster.
To turn around as quickly as possible, let go of B for 1 frame during the
next frame after you let go of the original direction.
-
Michael Fried
Jumping to accelerate on ice
Since you accelerate slower on ice, if you're not moving
at full speed, you should jump to accelerate faster.
Uses: Jump as soon as you start 4-1 and also in the next part
of the level as soon as you get dropped out of the rocket.
Running across the ceiling
When you climb a chain or vine to the top of the screen, you can
jump from it and run across the top of the level.
This allows to take some radical shortcuts or to explore the level.
Fast ladder climbing
Pressing up+down (on an emulator that does not filter input) while on a ladder will cause a movement glitch that results in the player being shot upwards at super high speed. This can be used for fast climbing of ladders and makes the activation of the above trick easier.
See also