Recorder

"Flute" redirects here. For the item in Mario's Time Machine, see Flute (Mario's Time Machine).

“One toot on this whistle will send you to a far away land!”

—Toad, Super Mario Bros. 3

A Recorder, also known as a Magic Whistle or Warp Whistle, is a rare item. It is originally from The Legend of Zelda; the six notes played upon use are identical, as is the whirlwind it summons that whisks the player to another location.

History

Super Mario Bros. 3

In Super Mario Bros. 3, using a Whistle summons a whirlwind that takes Mario or Luigi to World 9, the Warp Zone, where the player can skip ahead to the start of a later world. Using the Whistle in World 1 will allow Mario or Luigi to warp to World 2, 3, or 4; using it in Worlds 2 through 6 will allow him to warp to World 5, 6, or 7; and using it in World 7, 8, or 9 will allow him to warp to World 8.

There are a total of three Whistles that can be collected from treasure boxes: two in World 1, and one in World 2. However, in the original Japanese version, a glitch in World 5-1 allows the player to obtain a fourth Whistle.

World 1-3

Mario obtaining a Whistle from a Toad House.

The first Whistle is obtained by holding the down button on the while standing on the white block at the end of the level, so that Mario drops behind the background, and then quickly getting behind the black curtain at the end of the level before the white block's effect wears off. Behind the curtain is a secret Toad House, whose single box contains the Whistle.

World 1-Fortress

A Whistle in World 1-Fortress

The second Whistle is obtained by flying above the ceiling at the end of the first room, where there is a door hidden above the top of the screen. The door leads to a small secret room where a treasure box contains the Whistle.

Clearing World 1-Fortress in this way will not open its lock on the map.

World 2-

A Whistle in World 2-

To obtain the third Whistle, the player must defeat the Boomerang Brother on the map, who gives out a Hammer. The Hammer must be used to break the rock at the top right of the map screen, opening a secret passage behind a palm tree. The passage contains a Toad House (with a Frog Suit) as well as a pair of Fire Brothers. Defeating both Fire Brothers will award the player with the Whistle. According to Princess Toadstool's letter upon completing Giant Land, the Whistle had been stolen and taken to the sand dunes on the east side of Desert Land.

World 5-1 (Japanese version only)

The box containing a Whistle that appears inside the stack of blocks when the glitch is performed.

In the Family Computer release, a glitch in World 5-1 can cause the treasure box to appear at the end of the level instead of in its usual location. The glitch is performed by reaching the end of the level, then turning around and flying above the wall of blocks until the player hears the sound of a treasure box appearing. After this, if the player returns to the goal, they will notice glitched graphics (as it is not supposed to be possible to activate a treasure box and the goal simultaneously). If the player then hits the goal from the far left corner, the treasure box will teleport to the goal, and picking it up will earn the player either five extra lives or a Whistle.

The level was shortened by replacing the Warp Pipe to this area (as well as a Buster Beetle) with the goal in international NES releases, as well as Super Mario All-Stars and Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3, thus removing the glitch and no longer allowing the player to obtain this Whistle.

Paper Mario: Color Splash

In Paper Mario: Color Splash, this item (now known as the Recorder, its original name from The Legend of Zelda) makes a reappearance after 28 years of absence and in time for its 30th anniversary debut. It is hidden in the Green Energy Plant, in a course specially dedicated to Super Mario Bros. 3. It is also given developer's notes in the game's digital manual. When the Recorder Card is used in battle, four Recorders appear, playing the original melody and the Super Mario Bros. 3 Coin Heaven/Sky Land/Warp Zone theme, which causes a tornado to appear. The effect of the attack is increased if the player presses a bunch of buttons while the melody is playing.

References in other media

• In The Legend of Zelda series, it reappears in the TV series and comic under the name "Magic Whistle"; in addition, its melody has been remixed throughout the series, most notably as the title theme of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
• During the climax of The Wizard, Haley tells Jimmy to seek out the Magic Whistle (which she refers to as the "Magic Flute") in the World 1 Fortress, which he succeeds in doing. However, Super Mario Bros. 3 was a game that the characters had never played before, making it unknown as to how Haley even knew of its existence.
• In the Nintendo Adventure Book Leaping Lizards, a Magic Silver Whistle is the prize of the International Mushroom Games, which is held in a neutral area of the Mushroom Kingdom every six years. Iggy Koopa is the whistle's current holder, and the heroes compete against him in order to reverse the spell placed on the Mushroom King, who was transformed into a rabbit.
• Another flute is found in the game Mario is Missing!, stolen from the Teatro Colon by Koopa Troopas. Luigi had to return it to the opera house.
• In the 2006 version of Nintendo Monopoly, the Warp Whistle is referenced by the Coin Block "Advance to Go" card.
• Mystical Whistle, the name of a Sammer Guy in Super Paper Mario, is a reference to the Magic Whistle.
• Warp Whistle is the name of the 9th track on the debut album by the band FartBarf: "Dirty Power".
• In the Steven Universe episode "House Guest", playing an instrument called the Warp Whistle allows humans to activate Warp Pads.
• The Warp Whistle is mentioned by Mike Mictlan in the Doomtree song Final Boss.

Profiles

Super Mario Bros. 3

• Wii Virtual Console manual: "Not much is known about the Magic Whistle. See if you can find it!"
• 3DS Virtual Console manual: "Warps Mario to a different world."

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	フエ Fue	Flute / Whistle / Recorder
German	Zauberflöte[?]	Magic Flute
Italian	Fischietto Fischietto Magico[?]	Whistle Magic Whistle
Spanish	Flauta Mágica[?]	Magic Flute

Trivia

• A remix of the tune for the Recorder can be heard if the player wins three times in a row in the minigame Loves Me...? from Super Mario 64 DS.