Secret exits[1] (also known as special goals[2] and hidden goals[3]) are secondary, alternate goals found in several games in the Super Mario franchise. While most levels feature a single goal each, some games feature levels with another goal, often hidden or harder to reach. Secret exits might unlock alternate levels, shortcuts to further points in the game, optional bonuses, or they might even be required to progress through the game.
History
Predecessors
- Main articles: Warp Zone, Warp Zone (Super Mario Bros. 3)
warp zones in SMB1/2, warp whistle in SMB3
Super Mario series
Super Mario World
- “The red dot areas on the map have two different exits. If you have the time and skill, be sure to look for them.”
- —Message Block in Donut Plains 1, Super Mario World
Super Mario World introduced secret exits to the Super Mario series. Appearing as either a second Giant Gate or a keyhole, they open an alternate path through the game's map when reached. Some secret exits unlock access to Switch Palaces, some provide shortcuts further into the world, and many unlock entire secret levels (or in some cases, multi-level detours).
A minimum of two secret exits are required to clear the game, due to their corresponding level's normal exit either leading back to the same level dot, a previously unlocked one, or simply not creating any new paths. Out of the game's 96 exits, 24 are secret exits, and all of them are required for 100% completion.
Levels with a secret exit are denoted by red level dots on the overworld. Four of the game's six Ghost Houses feature secret exits as well, despite not having a level dot. There are no secret exits to be found in any of the game's castles or fortresses, or in any levels in Yoshi's Island or the Special Zone.
Super Mario World’s secret exits are:
- Donut Plains 1 to Donut Secret 1
- Donut Secret 1 to Donut Secret House
- Donut Secret House to Star World 1
- Donut Plains 2 to Green Switch Palace
- Donut Ghost House to Top Secret Area
- Vanilla Dome 1 to Vanilla Secret 1
- Vanilla Secret 1 to Star World 2
- Vanilla Dome 2 to Red Switch Palace
- Cheese Bridge Area to Soda Lake
- Forest of Illusion 1 to Forest Ghost House
- Forest of Illusion 2 to Blue Switch Palace
- Forest of Illusion 3 to #5 Roy's Castle
- Forest Ghost House to Forest of Illusion 1
- Forest of Illusion 4 to Forest Secret Area
- Chocolate Island 2 to Chocolate Secret
- Chocolate Island 3 to Chocolate Fortress
- Valley of Bowser 2 to Valley Fortress
- Valley Ghost House to #7 Larry's Castle
- Valley of Bowser 4 to Front Door and Star World 5
- Star World 1 to Star World 2
- Star World 2 to Star World 3
- Star World 3 to Star World 4
- Star World 4 to Star World 5 and Front Door
- Star World 5 to Gnarly
Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins
Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins features secret exits as well, through alternate Goals marked with a star above them. Unlike Super Mario World, all secret exits lead to optional secret levels, all but one of which do not unlock any paths forward or aid in progress. Nevertheless, they are still required for 100% completion. Also unlike Super Mario World, secret exits are nor marked in any way in the overworld. Mario Zone is the only zone in the game to not feature any secret exits (ignoring the zone-less Mario Land levels), and Pumpkin Zone is the only one to feature more than one.
Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins’ secret exits are:
- In the Trees to Secret Course 1
- Moon stage to Secret Course 2
- The Ant Monsters to Secret Course 3
- Pumpkin Zone Level 2 to Secret Course 4
- Pumpkin Zone Level 3 to Secret Course 5
- Turtle Zone to Secret Course 6
New Super Mario Bros. series
Secret exits return in all New Super Mario Bros. games, functioning similarly to Super Mario World’s incarnation; unlocking the path to shortcuts, optional stages, and new to the series, Warp Cannons to send the player to later worlds. Unlike Super Mario World and more like Super Mario Land 2’s version, they are completely unmarked in the overworld.
Instead of the standard black-flagged Goal Pole and brown fortress, they're marked by a red-flagged Goal Pole and (from New Super Mario Bros. Wii onwards) a dark gray fortress. Just like in previous games, they are required for 100% completion. Every Ghost House in the New Super Mario Bros. contains a secret exit. Conversely, there are no secret exits in castles.
New Super Mario Bros.
New Super Mario Bros. features 16 secret exits, and none of them are mandatory to finish the game. Neither World 6 nor World 8 feature any secret exits.
Additionally, Worlds 4 and 7 are unlocked by defeating Mummipokey and Petey Piranha respectively as Mini Mario, although this is not counted as a secret exit by the game. While neither is technically required for 100% completion, World 4 can only be accessed through this method, rendering its optionality moot. World 7 can instead be accessed through World 4's Warp Cannon, thus making Mummipokey the only boss that must be beaten as Mini Mario to fully complete the game.
New Super Mario Bros.’s secret exits are:
- World 1-2 to World 1-
Tower and a red Toad House - World 1- Tower to the Warp Cannon to World 5
- World 2-3 to World 2-A
- World 2-A to the Warp Cannon to World 5
- World 2-4 to World 2-6 and a red Toad House
- World 3-2 to World 3-B
- World 3-
Ghost House to the Warp Cannon to World 6 - World 4-1 to World 4- Tower and a green Toad House
- World 4- Ghost House to the Warp Cannon to World 7
- World 5-2 to World 5-3
- World 5-B to World 5-
Castle - World 5- Ghost House to Warp Cannon to World 8
- World 7- Ghost House to World 7- Tower and a Toad House
- World 7-4 to World 7- Castle and a green Toad House
- World 7-5 to World 7-A
- World 7-6 to World 7-7
New Super Mario Bros. Wii
New Super Mario Bros. Wii features 14 secret exits.
By design, at least one secret exit must be found to complete the game; World 3-4's secret exit is required to allow access to its regular exit. Worlds 1 and 2's Warp Cannons can be utilized to skip World 3 entirely, but they too require a secret exit to unlock. World 3-4's normal exit can technically be reached before its secret exit by using Ice Mario or Penguin Mario, but it is near-impossible for a human player to achieve it.[4]
New Super Mario Bros. Wii’s secret exits are:
- World 1-3 to Warp Cannon to World 5
- World 2-4 to World 2-
Castle - World 2-6 to Warp Cannon to World 5
- World 3-
Ghost House to Warp Cannon to World 6 - World 3-4 to World 3-5 and a red Toad House
- World 3-5 to a yellow Toad House
- World 4-
Tower to Warp Cannon to World 6 - World 4- Ghost House to World 4- Castle
- World 5- Ghost House to Warp Cannon to World 8
- World 6-5 to World 6- Castle
- World 6-6 to Warp Cannon to World 8
- World 7- Tower to World 7-6
- World 7- Ghost House to World 7-5
- World 8-2 to World 8-7
New Super Mario Bros. 2
New Super Mario Bros. 2 features 15 secret exits. Although secret exits are required to reach the optional Worlds Mushroom and Flower, they are not required to finish the game.
New Super Mario Bros. 2’s secret exits are:
- World 1-
Tower to World 1-
Warp Cannon and a green Toad House - World 2- Ghost House to World 2-B and a red Toad House
- World
Mushroom-1 to World Mushroom-A and a red Toad House - World Mushroom- Ghost House to World Mushroom-B
- World 3- Tower to World 3- Warp Cannon and a green Toad House
- World 3-4 to World 3-B
- World 3- Ghost House to World 3-
Castle - World 4- Ghost House to World 4-B
- World 4- Tower to World 4-C and a yellow Toad House
- World
Flower-1 to World Flower-A - World Flower- Ghost House to World Flower-B
- World 5-1 to World 5- Ghost House
- World 5- Ghost House to World 5-A
- World 5-A to World 5- Castle and a green Toad House
- World 6- Ghost House to World 6-A and a green Toad House
New Super Mario Bros. U / New Super Luigi U / New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe
New Super Mario Bros. U, and its Deluxe version feature 12 secret exits. As the game does not feature Warp Cannons, secret exits between worlds create long and elaborate paths to physically connect the levels. New Super Luigi U reuses its sister game's overworld, so it shares the same secret exits in its equivalent levels.
At least one secret exit is required to finish the game, as Painted Swampland/Painted Pipeworks and Deepsea Ruins/Deepsea Stone-Eyes' regular exits lead back to themselves, and a secret exit is required to bypass either of them.
New Super Mario Bros. U’s secret exits are:
- Tilted Tunnel to Blooper's Secret Lair
- Spike's Spouting Sands to Piranha Plants on Ice
- Haunted Shipwreck to Skyward Stalk
- Swaying Ghost House to Fliprus Lake
- Bridge over Poisoned Waters to Seesaw Bridge and Wiggler Stampede
- Which-Way Labyrinth to Flight of the Para-Beetles
- Painted Swampland to Seesaw Bridge and Wiggler Stampede
- Deepsea Ruins to Seesaw Bridge and Wiggler Stampede
- Grinding-Stone Tower to Thrilling Spine Coaster
- Walking Piranha Plants! to Screwtop Tower and a red switch
- Spinning Spirit House to Ludwig's Clockwork Castle
- Meteor Moat to Firefall Cliffs
New Super Luigi U’s secret exits are:
- Crooked Cavern to Cheep Chomp Chase
- The Walls Have Eyes to Slippery Rope Ladders
- Haunted Cargo Hold to Beanstalk Jungle
- Peek-a-Boo Ghost House to Fliprus Floes
- Dancing Blocks, Poison Swamp to Sumo Bro Bridge and Wiggler Floodlands
- Boo's Favorite Haunt to Para-Beetle Parade
- Painted Pipeworks to Sumo Bro Bridge and Wiggler Floodlands
- Deepsea Stone-Eyes to Sumo Bro Bridge and Wiggler Floodlands
- Smashing-Stone Tower to Spine Coaster Stowaways
- Rising Piranhas to Sumo Bro's Spinning Tower and a red switch
- Vanishing Ghost House to Ludwig's Block-Press Castle
- Magma Moat to Firefall Rising
Super Mario Bros. Wonder
Secret exits return in Super Mario Bros. Wonder, once again represented by a red Goal Pole and a dark gray fortress. Like regular Goal Poles, reaching one for the first time will award the player with a Wonder Seed from the rescued Poplin, meaning that levels with secret exits have three Wonder Seeds instead of the usual two. Although they are unmarked in the overworld, the player can verify if a level has a secret exit by checking for a checkmark stamp in the Courses screen.
Due to the game's more open structure, secret exits are deemphasized, serving more as bonus objectives within a level to obtain an extra Wonder Seed and/or unlock optional levels. They are still required for 100% completion, as they provide Wonder Seeds and access to new levels.
There are only seven secret exits in the entire game, with the Petal Isles, Shining Falls, Fungi Mines, and Special World lacking any. Although they do not function like secret exits, Royal Seed Mansion and Operation Poplin Rescue unlock an extra path leading to their world's respective Special World level (Shining Falls Special Triple Threat Deluge and Fungi Mines Special Dangerous Donut Ride) when revisited.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder’s secret exits are:
- Piranha Plants on Parade to an encounter with Captain Toad
- Bulrush Coming Through!
- Bulrush Express to Sproings in the Twilight Forest
- Outmaway Valley to Break Time! Kick It, Outmaway
- Secrets of Shova Mansion to Flight of the Bloomps
- Where the Rrrumbas Rule to Badge Challenge Boosting Spin Jump II
- Hot-Hot Hot! to Break Time! Hot-Hot Rocks
Wario Land series
Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3
Secret exits return in Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 from Super Mario Land 2, in the form of an extra goal door within some levels. They are now marked in the overworld by a double-circle dot. Once again, they allow access to optional levels, many of which hold some of the game's Treasures, but they are not required to finish the game.
An entire world, Sherbet Land, is hidden behind a secret exit. It's also the only world to contain more than one secret exit, while every world from SS Tea Cup onwards does not feature any secret exits at all.
Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3’s secret exits are:
- Course No.03 to Course No.06
- Course No.08 to Course No.14
- Course No.15 to Course No.17
- Course No.16 to Course No.18
- Course No.23 to Course No.24
Wario Land II
Secret exits return once again in Wario Land II, adapted to the game's branching storyline structure. By finding a secondary goal door within a story, Wario can proceed to the first story of an alternate chapter. Some of these detours lead back to the main story, while other lead to alternate endings.
Due to their nature as branching story paths, secret exits are not required to finish the game, but they are required to find all 50 treasures and complete the Picture Panel, which unlocks Steal the Syrup's treasure!! and the Flagman D-D minigame.
Wario Land II’s secret exits are:
- Turn off the alarm clock! to To the castle!!
- Defeat the giant snake to Defeat the giant spear man (Go to the cellar!!)
- Drop the anchor!! to Escape from the Tea Cup!
- Escape from the factory! to Defeat the giant spear man (Mysterious Factory!)
- Anyone for B-ball? to Defeat the giant spear man (Uncanny Mansion)
- Escape from the ruins! to Stop that train! (In Town)
Other Wario Land games
- Main articles: Treasure chest, Secret Map
While no other Wario Land game has featured secret exits, two of them have similar concepts. Wario Land 3 features four exits in every level through its four colored treasure chests, and Wario Land: Shake It! features Secret Maps, fulfilling a similar role in unlocking optional levels.
Paper Mario series
Paper Mario: Sticker Star
secret exits? in MY paper mario?
Paper Mario: Color Splash
again???
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
Secret exits make their Donkey Kong Country series debut in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, functioning near-identically to their appearance in the Super Mario series. They are represented by a second Slot Machine Barrel in each stage, reached by finding a hidden portal.
Once again, they are not required to complete the game, exclusively unlocking optional stages. Only Rockin' Relics' secret exit serves as a shortcut, with all other paths either taking up an equal or greater amount of levels to reconnect with the standard path. Additionally, the game features the only instance of two secret exits in the same level, that being Twilight Terror.
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze’s secret exits are:
- Shipwreck Shore to Zip-Line Shrine
- Canopy Chaos to Busted Bayou
- Sawmill Thrill to Crumble Cavern
- Twilight Terror to Rickety Rafters
- Twilight Terror to Bramble Scramble
- Deep Keep to Rockin' Relics
- Rockin' Relics to Shoal Atoll
- Fruity Factory to Beehive Brawl
- Panicky Paddles to Jammin' Jams
- Frozen Frenzy to Dynamite Dash
Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition
Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition features secret exits in the form of branching paths that require Orbs of a color not present in the course itself. These paths can be taken by using teammate skills to change the orbs' color.
See also
References
- ^ "Most stages have only one Goal Pole, but a few feature two Goal Poles—the second one is found at the stage’s secret exit!" – 2012. New Super Mario Bros. U: Prima Official Game Guide. Prima Games. Page 8.
- ^ "Some points on the map are red. These areas have a normal goal and a special goal (or secret keyhole)." – 1991. Super Mario World North American instruction manual. Nintendo. Page 6.
- ^ "Look for secrets! Each course doesn’t necessarily have just one goal, Mario. On some courses, there are hidden goals and secret paths that open up new places on the map! Don’t be afraid to do a bit of exploring." (PAL) / "Don’t be afraid to explore." (NTSC)" – 2009. New Super Mario Bros. Wii instruction booklet. Nintendo. Page 21.
- ^ MGRoadkill (December 11, 2021). [TAS] 3-4 Switch Skip | New Super Mario Bros Wii. YouTube. Retrieved June 21, 2023.