Point

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The score bar as it appears in New Super Mario Bros. Wii

Points are units of score in games of the Super Mario franchise, acquired by defeating enemies or bosses, collecting coins, etc. The total of all received points is usually called the score. The first game of the Super Mario franchise to include points was the original Donkey Kong arcade game, where they determine the player's ranking.

Description

The score bar as it appears in Super Mario Bros.

In Super Mario Bros., Mario can earn points by interacting with the environment in various ways. For instance, he earns 50 points for breaking Bricks, 200 for collecting a coin, and 1,000 for collecting a power-up. Points can also be earned upon defeating an enemy, with higher points earned for sequences of defeated enemies without landing back on the ground. There are different sequences for different methods of defeating enemies:

• Stomping on multiple Goombas, Koopa Troopas, and Buzzy Beetles grants the following sequence of points: 100, 200, 400, 500, 800, 1,000, 2,000, 4,000, 5,000, 8,000, and then all 1-Ups.
• Enemies defeated by a Koopa Shell or Buzzy Shell grant the following sequence of points: 500, 800, 1,000, 2,000, 4,000, 5,000, 8,000, and then all 1-Ups.
  • Kicking a shell itself usually grants 400 points, though it may grant 500 or 800 points if done after the player stomps on the enemy.
• Stomping two Goombas with one jump grants Mario 100 + 400 points (200 + 500 if it occurs just after he stomps on another Goomba).
• Defeating most enemies with fireballs grants 200 points, though defeating a Goomba grants 100 points, defeating a Hammer Bro grants 1,000 points, and defeating Bowser with fireballs grants 5,000 points.

Less common enemies may earn more points, even when not in sequence. Stomping on a Lakitu grants 800 points, and stomping on a Hammer Bro grants 1,000 points.

At the end of each stage, pulling down the flag on the flagpole grants 100, 400, 800, 2,000, or 5,000 points depending on how high the flagpole is touched. At the end of a level, there is a bonus that grants 50 points for each remaining second on the timer, though no such bonus is present in castle levels in the original NES version; it is, however, in Super Mario All-Stars and the Challenge mode of Super Mario Bros. Deluxe.

Later games use a point chain of 200, 400, 800, 1,000, 2,000, 4,000, 8,000, and then all 1-Ups (it is preceded by 100 in Super Mario Bros. 3). This chain typically applies to stomping on multiple consecutive enemies, kicking a shell at enemies, running into enemies while invincible (starting with Super Mario World), and hitting enemies while sliding down slopes (as of New Super Mario Bros.); in Super Mario 3D World, the chain loops back to the start while the player is invincible.

A chain started with Lakitu or any member of the Hammer Bro family starts at 1,000 since New Super Mario Bros., as do enemies defeated by touching goals. However, certain items can affect these chains, as stomping enemies while using a P-Wing in Super Mario Bros. 3, shell-dashing into foes in New Super Mario Bros., or running into foes while in the White Raccoon form or White Tanooki form in New Super Mario Bros. 2 and Super Mario 3D World, respectively, grants only the initial point value for each enemy beaten.

In Super Mario Bros. Wonder, due to a lack of points, the chain displays differently: Good, Great, Super, Fantastic, Excellent, Incredible, Wonderful, and then all 1-Ups. Super Mario Run uses coins instead of points and lacks lives. The chain's length is reduced as well, with the chain being one coin, two coins, and four coins from then on.

History

In many games, points are largely aesthetic and serve only as a secondary goal, such as in Super Mario World and the New Super Mario Bros. games; in others, such as Super Mario 3D Land, they may be replaced entirely by another mechanic, such as coins. However, there are a few times where points hold a purpose for the gameplay.

Super Mario series

Super Mario Bros. 3 / Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3

The score bar, below the P-Meter, as it appears in Super Mario Bros. 3

In Super Mario Bros. 3, an N-Mark Spade Panel spawns for every 80,000 points earned. Its Game Boy Advance reissue, Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3, features two e-Reader cards that made changes to how points were earned: a Japan-only card that doubled any points gained, and an unreleased card that made the point chain start at 4,000 instead of 100.

Super Mario Land

In Super Mario Land, points return with the same methods as in previous games, albeit adjusted for the new enemies and Superball Mario. Earning 100,000 points gives Mario a continue after getting a Game Over.

Super Mario World / Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2

The score bar as it appears in Super Mario World

In Super Mario World, points return as a largely aesthetic factor like the rest of the series. Running into enemies as Invincible Mario now gives an increasing number of points for the first seven foes defeated (and 1-Ups for the eighth onwards), and the first four Dragon Coins in a level give 1,000, 2,000, 4,000, and 8,000 points, respectively. Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2, in addition to the original game's score system, tracks the best scores for the Special Zone's courses once they are all cleared.

Super Mario Advance

Super Mario Advance adds a scoring system based on that of the other 2D Super Mario games to its version of Super Mario Bros. 2; this includes the combo racked up for kicking shells into foes or running into enemies while invincible.

Super Mario 3D World / Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury

The results screen that appears after every course in multiplayer

In Super Mario 3D World, points reappear, though they serve a purpose only in multiplayer mode: The game keeps track of the points each player gains (though any points earned while riding Plessie are awarded to all players) and displays the totals at the end of each level, with the player with the most points getting a crown as a prize. This crown is worth 5,000 points if an active player wears it to the end of the next level, but the crown can be lost if the player who holds it gets hit by an enemy, and it can be stolen if another player ground-pounds the crowned character. If the crowned player grabs a Double Cherry, only one instance of their character wears the crown. Unlike most other games, Super Mario 3D World simply tracks the highest score for each level, rather than having a running total throughout the game.

This system remains the same in the Nintendo Switch port, although points are not present in the Bowser's Fury side mode.

Super Paper Mario

The score bar as it appears in Super Paper Mario

In Super Paper Mario, points are used to level up the characters, replacing Star Points from Paper Mario and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. Super Paper Mario features Speed Flowers and Slow Flowers, which speed up or slow down gameplay, respectively, and also triple any points gained while the items are in effect. The game also subtracts points instead of giving extra lives when the point chain gets far enough; this is because the game has no extra-life system.

Mario Kart series

In the Mario Kart series, the Grand Prix and Versus modes award points based on the player's finishing position. At the end of the course/tournament, the player with the most points gets a gold trophy, and the second- and third-place finishers receive silver and bronze trophies, respectively. Points are also used in Battle Mode, with different uses throughout the games.

In Mario Kart: Double Dash!! and Mario Kart DS, the player can set a rule that makes the winner gain a point, and (in Mario Kart DS only) win the match when reaching a predetermined number of points. In Mario Kart Wii, the player earns a point for every balloon popped or coin collected. At the end, the teams' points are totaled and the team with more wins the match. Winning a predetermined number of matches means winning the battle.

In Mario Kart 7 and Mario Kart 8, points work as in Mario Kart Wii but are summed individually. In Balloon Battle, players can earn an unlimited number of points, but in Mario Kart 7's game Coin Runners, a player can earn only 10 points per battle due to the game's limit of 10 coins carried at a time.

Super Mario sports games

Various Super Mario sports titles use the same point system as in the real sport depicted, such as shooting a basketball into the net in Mario Hoops 3-on-3 and Mario Sports Mix, scoring goals in the Mario Strikers series, and trying to get the lowest score in the Mario Golf series.