Key:

• Course = Course name.
• Standard exit leads to = Where you go after completing the course normally.
• Secret exit leads to = Where you go after completing the course through the secret exit.

Donut Ghost House

To get out of this house, you have to hit the Rotating Block in the floor twice. The first time, a P-Switch will come out. Instead of stomping it, go through the door and then hit the block again. A vine will come out the second time. Climb up then go to the left to find another door.

Secret Exit - From where you start off in the house, fly up and to the left. There'll be a gap in the ceiling (all the way to the left) so you can get on top of the ceiling. Proceed to the right for four 1-Up Mushrooms and the secret exit.

Top Secret Area

This bonus course serves as a great pit-stop for Mario. You can come out of this course with exactly what you want if you know how to play it. The two Question Blocks on the left give you, depending on Mario's form, Super Mushrooms or Fire Flowers. The Question Block in the middle holds Yoshi. The two Question Blocks on the right give you, depending on Mario's form, Super Mushrooms or Super Feathers. So, if you're regular Mario, and you want to be Fiery for the next course, get a power-up from each Question Block on the left. If you want to be Caped, get a power-up from each Question Block on the right. Bring Yoshi and hit the Question Block in the middle for an easy 1-Up.

Donut Secret House

When you find the five coins forming an outline of a door, collect at least two of them. When you stomp the P-Switch, you'll be able to reach the door that appears. This door leads to the regular exit.

Secret Exit - Stomp the P-Switch close to the floating door. Three Question Blocks will appear underneath. Hit the block directly above the door. A vine will grow, leading to The Big Boo, who guards the secret exit.

Vanilla Ghost House

Near the end of the Green Bubbles, there will be three yellow blocks in the air. Hit the middle one to get the P-Switch, and carry it all the way to the right. Collect the five coins in the shape of a door, then stomp the P-Switch. The door that appears leads to the exit.

Vanilla Secret 1

Secret Exit - Climb up the first two vines, then take the Jumping Board left and down. Put it down on the blue [!] blocks, and then spring up to the pipe. If you didn't beat the Blue Switch Palace yet, you have to fly over to the pipe with Caped Mario.

Cheese Bridge Area

Secret Exit - To find the secret exit in Cheese Bridge Area, you have to make it behind the goalposts. Going over the top of the Goal won't work, so you'll have to go under it, and then back up to solid ground. There are two ways to do this: Flying behind it as Caped Mario, or jumping off of Yoshi.

The Yoshi method: When you have Yoshi at the goalposts, stay on the platforms to the left. Jump (and float if you're Caped Mario) underneath the platform with the goal, then when you have passed the goal, jump off of Yoshi (with the A button) and onto the space behind the goal. Continue to the right for a 3-Up Moon and the second goal which will take you to Soda Lake.

Of course, the problem with the Yoshi method is that you have to somehow get him to the end of the stage. Here's how it's done: Enter the course with Caped Mario and Yoshi. At the beginning, press and hold Right and Y. At the end of the platform, press and hold B, continuing to hold Y and Right. Yoshi should bounce off of three Chainsaws and land safely on another platform. Keep holding Right and Y, and then take off again at the end of the platform. Repeat until you see the goal.

You can also fly under the goalposts without Yoshi, but it takes some practice, because the platforms nearest the goal don't give Caped Mario enough runway space to start flying...

Butter Bridge 1

This level can be tricky if you're not ready for it. On the "piston platforms," keep jumping so you don't sink too far down. Then on the 14th piston lift, stand on it so that it sinks down to the next lifts.

Forest of Illusion 1

Secret Exit - After the floating logs with all the Wigglers on them, there is a Question Block containing a P-Balloon. Take it and float under the logs to the left. You'll find the key and keyhole on a platform under the longest log.

Forest of Illusion 2

Secret Exit - When you see the yellow [!] block, stay on the bottom and swim to the left. Swim through that wall on your left to a secret chamber.

Forest of Illusion 3

Secret Exit - Go down the last green pipe in the level. There's a key down there, but you have to be Super, Fiery, or Caped Mario to reach it (you have to spin jump). This will take you to #5 Roy's Castle.

Forest Ghost House

Carry the P-Switch all the way to the right. Stomp on it, and go in the door that appears. You'll end up on the ceiling near the beginning. Go to the left, and then go in the door.

Secret Exit - When you're on the ceiling, pass up the first door you see and go in the second.

Forest of Illusion 4

Secret Exit - To find the key, go down the floating blue pipe that has Lakitu in it. It's hard to get on top without flying, but it can be done.

Choco-Ghost House

Go all the way through to the block containing a 1-Up Mushroom. Slowly double back and let the Boo Buddy Blocks follow you to the door on the high platform. Turn and face the Boos so they turn into blocks. Get them in the right place so you can jump off of them onto the high platform. The door up there leads to the exit.

Chocolate Island 2

In this course, the time and coins you collect affect which path you take.

Secret Exit - If you make it through the second area with at least 250 on the timer, you'll come to an area with Chargin' Chucks, Green [!] Blocks, and the Key! Getting 0 - 8 coins in the first area takes you to the easiest second area, which can help if you need to finish it quickly to get the Key.

Chocolate Island 3

Secret Exit - Make sure you are Caped Mario at the end. Go up the vine to the goal, get on the spinning platform and use that to jump over the goal. Run to the right and fly to the other goal.

Valley of Bowser 2

Secret Exit - Pass through the Midway Gate, come out the first pipe, make your way through the rising and falling ceiling maze part, and go through that pipe. Now, you have to be Caped Mario at the part where you see your first Mega Mole. Kill him with your cape, build up enough speed and fly up and to the left onto the top of the ceiling. Continue to the left until you drop down to the Key.

Valley Ghost House

Secret Exit - First, hit the first P-Switch and run to the right as far as you can. Hopefully you'll be able to reach the last door. Go in it. Then, grab the next P-Switch and carry it to the Control Block. When you hit the Control Block, a line of coins comes out. You can control its flow by moving Mario. Press Up and the line goes up, press Right and it goes right, etc. What you want to do here is form a staircase with the coins, leading up and to the right. Keep forming stairs until the block stops making coins (the fast "coin music" will stop). Next, jump on the P-Switch and this will turn the coins into blocks. Go up the "stairs" and hopefully the stairs go all the way to the key. If not, go through that door on the floor and try again.

Front Door

To reach Bowser, you have to go in two of the eight doors. We recommend #2 and #5.

Back Door

Get ready to tangle with the King of the Koopas!

Bowser attacks in three phases. Between each phase, about 10 fireballs rain down, and Princess Toadstool will toss out a Super Mushroom to help you out.

1. Bowser flies around from side to side, throwing out a pair of MechaKoopas. Stomp on them, grab them, throw them up, and hit Bowser on the top of the head twice.
2. This time Bowser will hover above you, following you. He will drop a total of two Big Steelys (metal balls) one at a time, then throw out a pair of MechaKoopas. Bowser will continue this pattern until you hit him on the top of the head two times with MechaKoopas.
3. In the last phase, Bowser will continually bounce his Koopa Car trying to land on Mario. Go all the way to the left and duck -- he will never land on you. As usual, Bowser will stop and throw out a pair of MechaKoopas. Hit him on the head twice with MechaKoopas, and you've won.

Star World 1

Secret Exit - Get the Mushroom at the beginning and spin jump through the first group of blocks. Then go right and stay right as you spin jump through the next group of blocks to find the key.

Star World 2

Secret Exit - When you reach the pipe that leads to the regular goal, swim under the pipe and continue right to find the key.
To get through this course really fast, just swim with the Blue Baby Yoshi and don't let him eat 5 enemies.

Star World 3

Secret Exit - Lure Lakitu near the stairs, then toss a Grab Block up at him to knock him out of his cloud. Hop in and travel upwards just left of the stairs.

Star World 4

Secret Exit - This is easiest with the Green and Red Switch Palaces already completed. When you get to the Koopa that's kicking a shell, grab the shell that's just sitting there and go left and down on the green [!] blocks. Go right and kick the shell at the Question Block on the ground to get the key. If you're Caped Mario, you don't even need the shell. Just press Y or X to hit the block with your cape.

If you haven't completed the Green and Red Switch Palaces, then you'll need to grab a Yoshi (not a red one, however) and eat a blue shell to fly to the platform with the keyhole on it. Then spit out the shell at the Question Block for the Key.

Star World 5

Secret Exit - If you have completed all four Switch Palaces:

If you have not completed all four Switch Palaces:

Tubular

Stomp the P-Switch, then jump down onto the springboard and use it to hit that question block. Spring back up and get the P-Balloon that came out. Float over to the right, and hit the next question block after you pass two Dragon Coins. There will be another P-Balloon in there to keep you floating. After the two Volcano Lotus plants, stay close to the top of that yellow pipe. When the Chargin' Chuck kicks a football, quickly float underneath him and hit the question block for another P-Balloon. This one should give you enough hot air to make it to the end.

Way Cool

To find Yoshi's Wings (and a shortcut), ignore the first two On/Off Block, then hit the next two. Drop into the pipe and get Yoshi if you don't already have him. When you come out of the room where you got Yoshi, get his wings from the very next block you see. Victory!

Awesome

This is my favorite course in SMW, probably because of the high difficulty level, and stuff not found anywhere else in the game: light blue pipes, purple column platforms, and ice blocks.

Carry the P-Switch to the first purple platform and activate it. In the block above you is Starman! Grab it and race through the barrage of Blurps and Banzai Bills. But DON'T take out the red Koopa Paratroopa at the end - wait for your invincibility to fade away, and then jump on the Koopa Paratroopa to give Mario a boost to the lone ice block near the goal.

Mondo

Bring Yoshi so you can quickly get rid of the first two Blurps, and for extra protection during the difficult underwater battle against the Amazing Flying Hammer Brother. Yoshi can also safely walk on the Munchers.

Outrageous

This is a pretty challenging course. If you're low on lives, you might want to bring in Caped Mario and fly as much as possible.

Carry a Springboard over to the tall orange pipe and use it to spring over the pipe. Watch out for Bullet Bills as you make your way towards the goal.

Funky

This is probably the longest course in the game, and you only get 200 seconds to complete it. Bring Yoshi! For every Green Berry he eats, it will add 20 seconds to the timer. There are 9 Green Berries total, so you should gain an extra 180 seconds.
Next stop: Yoshi's House in the Fall...

Frequently asked questions

• Where's the Yellow Switch Palace?
• Where's the Green Switch Palace?
• Where's the Red Switch Palace?
• Where's the Blue Switch Palace?
• How do I get to Soda Lake?
• How do I get out of the Forest of Illusion?
• How do I get past Chocolate Island 3?
• How do I beat the Reznors?
• How many goals are there?
• I've only found 95 goals. What did I miss?
• What's the quickest route to Bowser?
• After beating Funky, can I change the land back to normal?

Where's the Yellow Switch Palace?
Just beat Yoshi's Island 1 and go left. Pretty easy, eh?

Where's the Green Switch Palace?
In Donut Plains 2, go up the second green pipe. In that room, spin jump to get to the blue shell (note: you have to be anything but Small Mario). Grab it and toss it up at the highest block, which sprouts a vine, which leads to the key...

Where's the Red Switch Palace?
In Vanilla Dome 2, about half-way through the level, there is a solitary Question Block above the water. Use that as a step to the ledge on the left. Pick up the P-Switch and carry it to the left until you hit a wall. Step on the P-Switch and go left... jump over the gap, and drop down through the square of nine coins. You should be back in the water. Get on the ledge to the left, grab the key, and swim down to find the keyhole...

Where's the Blue Switch Palace?
In Forest of Illusion 2, below the yellow [!] block, stay on the bottom and swim through the left wall. You'll find the Key. That secret exit leads to the Blue Switch Palace.

How do I get to Soda Lake?
From Cheese Bridge Area's secret exit.

How do I get out of the Forest of Illusion?
Your problem might be Forest of Illusion 3. Go down the last green pipe in the level. There's a key down there, but you have to be Super, Fiery, or Caped Mario to spin jump through the blocks to reach it. You can also have Yoshi grab the key with his tongue as you jump up -- the key will hit one or two blocks on the way up, allowing you to go through a rotating block. If you timed it wrong, stand against the stone block wall, spit the key back to where it was, and try again. This keyhole will take you to #5 Roy's Castle.

How do I get past Chocolate Island 3?
You have to find the secret exit to move on. Just make sure you are Caped Mario at the end. Go up the vine to the goal, get on the spinning platform and use that to jump over the goal. Run to the right and fly over to the other goal.

How do I beat the Reznors?
To beat the group of fire-breathing Reznors, quickly hit two or three of them from below. When the log floor starts burning away, jump on the one of the vacant platforms. Hit the last of the Reznors from below, don't fall into the lava, and you shall emerge victorious.

How many goals are there?
There are 96 goals (74 courses, 12 secret exits). If you find all of them, there will be a star to the left of the "96" on the saved game data screen. If you have the Japanese game, a star won't appear. If you have the PAL version, the "96" turns light blue.

I've only found 95 goals. What did I miss?
Don't forget that the Forest Ghost House has two exits. Another possibility is you forgot about the second exit in Donut Ghost House or Cheese Bridge Area. If not, then make sure you've found both exits for each Star World course. Then make sure you've found both exits for each red dot on the map. Then make sure you've beaten Donut Secret 2 and Chocolate Secret. Then make sure you've found the exits that lead to Star Roads (Soda Lake for example). If you don't have 96 after all that, just narrow it down and beat the ones you're not 100% sure you got.

What's the quickest route to Bowser?
The shortest path to Bowser is 12 courses, and you only fight one Koopa Kid: Iggy.

Legend:

Yoshi's Island 2—> Yoshi's Island 3—> Yoshi's Island 4—> Iggy's Castle—> Donut Plains 1--> Donut Secret 1--> Donut Secret House--> Star World 1--> Star World 2--> Star World 3--> Star World 4--> Front Door

After beating Funky, can I change the game back to normal?
Nope. To see Dinosaur Land in the Summer again, you'll have to start a new game.