

Slow hopping enemies that can only be stunned by hitting their sides. Triple-spiked turtles that can only be stunned by hitting their sides. Single-spiked turtles that can be defeated with a single shell collision from any angle. There is no save function and high scores are not recorded. It is also impossible to hit if it appears after Mario defeats the last target. This sign won't show up if the threshold is crossed during Bonus Chance. If Mario hits it with a shell, he will get a second extra life. When this is achieved, a 1UP sign will fly across the screen. The other method of getting extra lives is to accrue enough points. Between some levels is the Bonus Chance where Mario can collect coins for extra points or get an extra life. There is no true ending but reaching the maximum number of points (999,999) will award the player with a cutscene. After clearing all 99 levels, the game loops back to Level 1 but all the enemies move faster. The game allows the player to select any of the first 40 levels to start. Defeating multiple enemies with a single throw will give bonus points. Stunning a target is worth 100 points while dispatching one is worth 500. Also, the last target of each level will move faster. However, all stunned enemies can recover, including the Koopa he is holding. Stunned targets can be dispatched by kicking them or throwing a shell at them again. It is also possible to ricochet off of multiple enemies this way.

Many enemies need to be hit from the side to stun them, thus Mario must throw shells from the background to the foreground and vice-versa in order to hit them but the shell will be lost if he misses. Enemies and thrown shells can travel through the pipes. There are always two Koopas if one gets knocked off, another one takes its place. Stomping on Koopas will provide Mario with his only weapon, their Turtle Shells. To beat each level, Mario must knock targeted enemies off the stage before the Time Limit. Later levels will have slippery frozen platforms. Each layer may have two floors or floating platforms between the two floors.

When Mario enters the stage through the rope, he can decide which layer to start in. Mario battles Thornies by throwing Turtle Shells from the foreground to the background.Įach level consists of two layers, a foreground and a background, that are connected by Warp Pipes.
