Mario, Advanced

Appearance

There were a couple of slight changes to the brothers in SMA4. Mario and Luigi now have their white gloves, and Mario's light tail stripes are thinner.

Power-ups

SMAS kept the original SMB3 power-up order the same: If small Mario grabs a Fire Flower or Super Leaf while in a stage, he only powers-up to Super Mario. However, SMA4 lets small Mario go right to Fiery Mario or Raccoon Mario.

Techniques

Just like in Super Mario World, SMA4 lets you carry shells through pipes to new areas. Using this technique, you can now hit this block in 4-1, since you still can't tail-attack in water. (The giant shell turns regular size when you take it here.)

Another technique he learned in Super Mario World, Mario can now stomp koopas underwater.

Mario can also swim while carrying a shell. Like in Super Mario World, the shell makes you swim faster and float towards the surface.

The Raccoon/Tanooki Suit tail is a bit more useful in SMA4. Mario can now hit giant Question Blocks and break giant brick blocks with it. Borrowing another fun technique from Super Mario World, he can also send mushrooms sliding back in the opposite direction by hitting them with his tail.

While invincible with Starman power, defeated enemies increase in points up to 8000, after which Mario earns a 1-Up for each subsequent enemy.

Colors

Like the other games in the SMA series, the palette selection is a fairly obvious change. In what was most likely an attempt to brighten up the game, the colors sometimes look a little washed out.

Speaking of washed-out, there's something odd about SMA4's invincibility. After his Starman power wears off, Mario has lighter colors. Since these lighter colors are part of the flashing invincibility effect, this palette swap is probably a mistake. You can turn Mario back to his normal colors by powering-up, taking damage, taking a pipe to a new area, or exiting the stage.

Effects

SMA4's water backgrounds have an animated distortion effect.

Enemies

Pile Driver Micro-Goombas are colored differently and don't shine.

All Lakitus in SMA4 slide across the sky one block lower.

In SMA4, you can't tail-attack a Muncher to turn it into a block.

Jelectros move up and down a little in SMA4.

BOOM-BOOM

Fireballs now bounce off of BOOM-BOOM if you shoot him before the battle starts. Originally, fireballs didn't touch him.

Before the fight begins, blocks appear to form a wall behind you.

Because of the new wall, you fight in a slightly smaller room in the SMA4 version. Also, BOOM-BOOM flashes when hit with fireballs during the battle.

Audio

• Mario and Luigi have voices.
• Overworld theme changed slightly.
• The power meter beeps in a different pitch if you don't have Raccoon or Tanooki power.
• New bonus area music.
• Sound effect added for sliding down hills.
• The Frog Suit makes hopping sounds.
• Boos laugh when they start to move. [Sound clip]
• Sound effects when defeated Koopa Kid shells fly off screen.

Extra lives

SMA4 allows for 999 extra lives, a huge upgrade over SMAS's paltry 99.

In SMA4, the "1UP" icon grows bigger before it disappears.

Game over

A new game over message appears before the Continue/Quit menu.

You can't save after a game over in SMA4.

Airship intro

In the cut-scene before each airship stage, the airship flies lower.

The airship's anchor is a bit different in SMA4.

P-Switches

After a P-Switch is activated in SMA4, it disappears in a puff of smoke after one game second.

Brick blocks that contain something don't turn into a "fake" coin.

In SMA4, coins continue rotating while the P-Switch is active.

Coins

Sparkles appear when a coin is collected.

Kicked shells and ice blocks can collect coins for you. As an added bonus, coins earned this way are worth double.