Warp Zone
The Warp Zone is a hidden area that acts as a kind of freeway, connecting many worlds to one place.
In Super Mario Bros., the zone is a sectioned-off area containing pipes to different levels.
In Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, Warp Zones function identically to those in Super Mario Bros. They no longer, however, give the player a choice of destination, as every zone contains only one pipe. Some Warp Zones send the player to an earlier World – for instance, the Warp Zone in World 3-1 leads to World 1. These zones contain pits where the player may suicide in lieu of entering the pipe.
In Super Mario Bros. 3, the zone is an island and that may only be accessed via Warp Whistle. Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 referred to the Warp Zone as World 9 Warp Zone.
In New Super Mario Bros., secret exits in levels 1-Tower, 2-A, 3-GH, 4-GH, and 5-GH lead to cannons which launch Mario or Luigi to a later world (the first two to World 5, then 6, 7, and 8, respectively).
In some cases, a Warp Zone may simply be a connection of some sort between two points, in place of a standard Warp Pipe, like the Vases in Yoshi's Story.
Appearances in Other Media
In The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, King Koopa would sometimes make his getaway at the end of an episode by throwing a Magic Potion and creating a Warp Zone (usually a door or a portal), which he would escape through.
Characters in Captain N: The Game Master frequently used Warp Zones for means of rapid transit, with the Warp Zones of Super Mario Bros. even being referenced to in the show's first episode.
Trivia
- The Warp Zone is mentioned by a defeated Warping Pipe in Super Paper Mario, who believes it to be a fabled place where great warriors (apparently people with incredible skill over Warp Pipes) tread. A model of a Super Mario Bros.-style Warp Zone could also be found in the underground section of Chapter 3-1 (itself a recreation of Super Mario Bros.'s World 1-2) in Super Paper Mario, though this Warp Zone took the player to other parts of the current level rather than different worlds.
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