Sky Land
Sky Land, otherwise known as The Sky is the fifth world in Super Mario Bros. 3. Sky Land has nine levels, three Hammer Bros., two Fortresses, three Toad Houses and a special Tower level. There are two parts to the world, The Ground and The Sky, connected by the Tower level. The first three levels, the first Fortress, and two of the Hammer Bros. are on The Ground, while everything else is in The Sky. The world's Airship can move between the two.
The rough-and-tumble Koopaling Roy Koopa presides over Sky Land.
Brief Level Info
- 5-1: Find the way to the the center of a hill-climbing expedition for coins and four 1-Ups!
- 5-2: A split route offers a choice between a hilly, sloped setting and a dank, underground tunnel.
- 5-3: Hijack a Goomba's Shoe from its unlucky host and enjoy a run through the countryside.
- Fortress: Be ready for a sprint through a diabolically difficult Fortress lined with traps.
- Tower: Climb a sky-scraping tower to take Mario to the latter part of the world.
- 5-4: Flipping and tipping platforms make for a nightmare high in the cloudy skies.
- 5-5: Don't stop for a breath of fresh air or Mario will topple along with the shaky bridge.
- 5-6: Hitch a wild ride into the sky on soaring Para-Beetles
- 5-7: Start with a Starman and gather more Starmen as you lay siege on a curious castle in the clouds.
- Fortress: Fire spurts from above and below in a strange lava-dripping dungeon. Don't get seared.
- 5-8: Lakitu's back and ready to challenge Mario on his home turf in the sky.
- 5-9: Keep a brisk pace during this platform-climbing level, or face plummeting from the clouds.
- Airship: Roy Koopa commands his airship to unleash a barrage of lead. Find out how hard dodging bullets can be.
In-Depth
5-1
This world starts out with a Buster Beetle (new enemy) running toward Mario. A stomp will defeat the Buster Beetle it easily. On the brick formation, the wooden block contains a power-up, and to the left... A Chain Chomp! There are quite a few of them in this level, and the second one guards the way to another powerup. There are no special secrets, except a Starman hidden in a long row of ? Blocks. Also, the Nipper Plants here can only be defeated by a swipe from Raccoon Mario's tail.
Alternately, if Mario has a P-wing, he can enter a pipe, and then fly through narrow corridors to get a music box. There is also another pipe exit that Mario can use to gather four 1-Ups! Then, he can fly up and reveal a P-Switch which, when pressed, makes two giant numeral 3s made of coins (a 3 and 4 in the Game Boy Advance version) appear!
5-2
This underground level can be very confusing! After the pipe is entered, there are two routes. Falling down, down, down will give the Lower route, while bouncing along the Note Blocks and climbing a block staircase will give the Upper route. See below for summaries of each.
Upper: The hardest to get to, but pays off. Mario must leap on the ♪ Blocks and hop on the blocks to get to the pipe, guarded by two Koopas he must dispose of. After entering the pipe, there are plenty of slopes and Goombas to slide on. When a pipe is spotted, Mario can duck into it to unlock a secret room. The jutting block has a power-up with which to break the blocks and get to the big ? Block that has three 1-Ups inside. Outside, none of the ? Blocks contain anything but Coins, but the pipe nearby leads to the Goal Panel.
Lower: If Mario took the bottom route, he should duck into the middle pipe at the bottom to find himself underground, where nasty Buster Beetles throw Ice Blocks! Mario can throw them back, fortunately. But with the combination of the Beetles, Piranha Plants, lack of power-ups and Venus Fire Traps, this part is very hard to survive in. All the pipes are solid except the last, which leads to the Goal Panel.
5-3
This level is the only place to get the legendary powerup, Kuribo's Shoe! By ducking into the pipe, Mario is transported to the bottom part of the stage, where, if a Goomba in a green shoe is seen, Mario should hit a block under it to bop it out, letting him hop into it. It is very powerful, and can defeat any enemy with a stomp. But Mario can not use the Shoe if he stomps or fires the Goomba, as it will defeat the Shoe, too. In the first part, there is only one secret: above the Nippers, in a row of blocks, a 1-Up is concealed. Shoe-clad Mario can grab it without being damaged! Hopping in the pipe against the wall will bring Mario to the third part of the level, where the Shoe is very, very useful. No more secrets! The Shoe, sadly, will disappear when the Goal Panel is hit.
Fortress
This fortress is very tricky. The only secret is that if Tanooki or Raccoon Mario races back and forth along the first corridor (with a Thwomp in an alcove that must be avoided) then takes off, he can fly up, up, up, past two blocks and a ? Block until he gets to a pipe that will take him to a secret room. Inside, he must fly up to reveal three 1-Ups.
Tower
Every pipe in this Tower will take Mario higher and higher up, until he is at the top, on towers made of blocks (and some pesky Microgoombas posing as blocks). On the second tower, in the middle block, is a 1-Up. Afterwards, by the pipe, every block is a Ten Coin Block! The pipe leads back inside. Dodge a Thwomp and Roto-Disc to get in both pipes. Outside again, there are no secrets, but in the row of ? Blocks, the ordinary block holds a Magic Vine to the pipe to the second part of the world, in the clouds. Mario can get back to the ground by taking the Pipe, but if he wants to get back to the sky part, he must re-do the tower.
5-4
This level has lots and lots of moving platforms! Some twirl constantly, some twirl occasionally, and some never spin, but will act as a scale of sorts when jumped on. Mario can swim up the waterfalls in this level, so if he falls in one, all is not lost. Raccoon Mario, by taking off from the first cloud, can uncover three clouds way up high, with a few coins for his trouble! By taking off from the last one and flying as far as possible, this is a very effective way of skipping the whole level. At the Goal Panel, Lakitu shows up, and if Mario can get enough Spinies on screen when he hits the panel, he might get a few 1-Ups.
5-5
A very difficult and stressful level, this one also is rich in rewards. As this level is based on Donut Lifts, Mario must keep moving to avoid a nasty fall. In the first part, Mario should grab a Koopa Paratroopa and, when some pipes are seen with bricks blocking them, throw the shell to clear them. Mario, don't jump in just yet! To the right, a row of ? Blocks has a power up and a few coins. Mario should gather all the coins and continue to the right to find coins above and below a row of Donut Lifts. He can gather them all by standing on a Lift until it falls, and just as he hits the coin, jumping to safety. After gathering them all, Mario should continue back to the pipes and enter the one on the right. After falling through a bunch of coins, the big ? Block has a Tanooki Suit! After exiting, Mario must go back to the left, hit the ? Blocks after the pipes again for a few more coins, then race back to where he came from the secret room. In the formation of wooden and ordinary blocks, one has a coin. There are no more secrets, so get to the pipe, hit the Goal Panel, and end the level. If Mario got all the coins, a White Toad House will appear on the map, and when entered, Toad will supply a P-Wing.
5-6
Parabeetles are introduced in this level, flying beetle shells that Mario can leap on to reach new heights. But they are enemies, so avoid them when on the ground, Mario. No secrets, but when two rows of bricks are seen after most of the Parabeetles are gone, Mario can drop to the lower one and bop the bricks overhead to get a P-Switch. He can stomp it to make the going a little easier.
5-7
This stage is filled with blocks, and block-impostor Microgoombas. No secrets until the first huge hunk of bricks; the block right by the ? block by the Venus Fire Trap has a 1-Up. Ducking into the Fire Trap's pipe will lead Mario to a platform like World 1, and if Raccoon Mario flies up, up, up, he can find a big formation of bricks. A P-Wing is best used for this, as Mario must hit them from below to find a P-Switch (below the gap in the blocks) that will turn all the blocks into coins for some serious money. Afterwards, in the sky, Lakitu appears again! Mario should try to avoid him and the Bill Blasters as he makes his way to the pipe to the exit.
Fortress
Mario begins this lava-filled Fortress by ducking in a pipe. Hmm... Looks easy, with only Podoboos and Dry Bones about, but there's a catch. Hovering Podoboos! These fly up and down, suspended in air. Fortunately, in the long row of ? Blocks, there is a Starman! Mario can grab it and gain invulnerability to everything but lava. After completing the main stretch, Mario will be taken straight to Boom Boom's room.
5-8
At first, this level looks easy. Not so. Lakitu will soon turn up, and he seems to have increased his throwing arm! Mario should dodge like crazy here, lest he get stuck with Spiny Eggs. Oh, and those tiny platforms don't help, either.
5-9
One of the hardest levels, this has poor Mario going high, higher, and highest in an auto-scrolling up level. He must jump, jump, JUMP to avoid a quick death, and the Fire Chomps and Paratroopas just add to the stress. As there are no secrets in this level, Mario's only concern should be to survive.
Airship
As one might guess, this Airship is the hardest yet. All the traps and obstacles (except Rocky Wrench, thank goodness) are back to haunt Mario. Bullet Bills, Cannonballs, and Rocket Engines all return. And Roy's pretty hard, too! Like a Sledge Bro., when he jumps, Mario should too, as he can paralyze the poor plumber! Three hits, though, and he's a goner. Mario then can grab the wand to return the King from an Albatoss to a human again.
