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15 Best Super Mario Power-Ups, Ranked

Nintendo has no official franchise-wide power-up ranking. These 15 picks compare memorable forms by how they change movement or combat and how useful they are in their specific games.
Length5 min Posted Quest giverVGSources Team

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There is no official Nintendo ranking of Mario power-ups, so this list is an editorial selection. The order weighs how much each item changes movement or combat, how useful that change is in its named game, and how memorable the resulting form is. Effects vary by game: a power-up is not guaranteed to appear across the series or work the same way in every appearance.

Nintendo’s Super Mario 3D World manual describes items as granting special abilities, while its official pages document distinct transformations in Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario 3D World, and Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Those games supply the examples below.

15 Best Super Mario Power-Ups

  1. Super Star

    The Super Star earns the top spot for its instantly recognizable invincible form. Nintendo’s official histories show the Star in Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario Bros. Wonder; the Wonder page identifies the resulting form as Invincible Mario. Its appeal is its dramatic, straightforward change to how a character faces danger. The sources establish the form, not a standardized duration or a series-wide rule.

  2. Super Mushroom

    The foundational size upgrade is useful and easy to understand: Nintendo’s Super Mario 3D World manual says it transforms Small Mario into Super Mario. That basic before-and-after makes the Mushroom one of the clearest power-ups in the series, even if its exact role depends on the game.

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  3. Fire Flower

    In Super Mario 3D World, the Fire Flower creates Fire Mario, whose fireballs can attack enemies or light torches, according to Nintendo’s official game page. It gives Mario a useful ranged option as well as a distinct look, making it one of the most versatile familiar forms in that game.

  4. Super Bell

    The Super Bell turns a character into Cat Mario in Super Mario 3D World. Nintendo describes catlike scratching, climbing, and pouncing abilities. That combination is unusually legible in play: the form changes both how Mario moves through a level and how he engages enemies.

  5. Super Leaf

    In Super Mario Bros. 3, the Super Leaf produces Raccoon Mario. Nintendo’s official history confirms the item-form pairing. The Raccoon form stands out for introducing a distinctive animal identity and a different feel from the game’s simpler size and attack upgrades.

  6. Tanooki Suit

    The Tanooki Suit is a separate Super Mario Bros. 3 power-up, not another name for the Super Leaf. Nintendo lists Tanooki Mario and the Tanooki Suit separately, and the game’s manual confirms that the suit changes Mario into its corresponding form regardless of his current power-up. Its memorable costume and its place among the game’s unusual suit transformations give it a strong identity of its own.

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  7. Frog Suit

    Another distinct Super Mario Bros. 3 suit, the Frog Suit turns Mario into Frog Mario. Nintendo’s history and manual establish the item and form. Its specialized movement role makes it a more situational pick than an all-purpose upgrade, but also one of the series’ most distinctive transformations.

  8. Hammer Suit

    The Hammer Suit creates Hammer Mario in Super Mario Bros. 3, according to Nintendo’s official history. The form’s combat identity is the reason it ranks here: it is a clear departure from simply getting bigger or changing appearance. The cited history and manual confirm the suit and form but do not establish the detailed attack mechanics, so this entry stays focused on that documented identity.

  9. Double Cherry

    In Super Mario 3D World, the Double Cherry adds another Mario. Nintendo’s game page says the character can be duplicated up to five times. More copies change the action on screen in a way that is both mechanically unusual and immediately memorable; it is one of the clearest examples of a power-up changing the number of playable characters rather than only their abilities.

  10. Boomerang Flower

    The Boomerang Flower creates Boomerang Mario in Super Mario 3D World. Nintendo describes it as useful for hitting enemies at range or snagging objects. The returning projectile gives the form a practical mix of combat and item collection, setting it apart from a straightforward attack upgrade.

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  11. Mega Mushroom

    The Mega Mushroom transforms Mario into Mega Mario in Super Mario 3D World. Nintendo says the enlarged character can smash enemies and obstacles for a short time. The temporary scale change makes the item’s effect especially vivid, though its brief window puts it below transformations with broader utility.

  12. Elephant Fruit

    Super Mario Bros. Wonder introduces Elephant Mario through the Elephant Fruit. Nintendo’s official Wonder page depicts the transformation. The appeal is the striking change in character form and the way it gives Wonder a new visual and mechanical identity; the fruit’s effect belongs to that game rather than being a series-wide property.

  13. Drill Mushroom

    The Drill Mushroom turns Mario into Drill Mario in Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Nintendo describes the form digging into the ground. A transformation built around entering the terrain offers a clear movement twist and makes this one of Wonder’s most distinctive additions.

  14. Bubble Flower

    In Super Mario Bros. Wonder, the Bubble Flower produces Bubble Mario. Nintendo says the form can use floating bubbles to trap enemies. The ability is unusual and visually memorable, though its documented role is more specialized than the all-purpose appeal of the highest-ranked picks.

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  15. Propeller Box

    The Propeller Box appears in Super Mario 3D World as a wearable item that enables upward flight, as listed in Nintendo’s manual. It earns the final place for adding a movement option rather than simply changing Mario’s size or attack. It is a useful reminder that Mario power-ups include wearable equipment as well as transformations.

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What are the best Super Mario power-ups?

The strongest picks are the ones that most clearly change the way a game is played. The Super Star delivers a dramatic invincible form; the Super Mushroom provides the series’ foundational size upgrade; and the Fire Flower adds ranged offense in Super Mario 3D World. Cat, Raccoon, suit, duplication, and Wonder forms make the list because each offers a different kind of movement, combat, or visual identity in its own game.

Which power-ups first appeared in Super Mario Bros. 3?

Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros. 3 history documents the Super Mushroom, Fire Flower, Super Leaf, Super Star, Tanooki Suit, Frog Suit, and Hammer Suit with their corresponding Mario forms. The game is particularly notable for its range of forms: Raccoon Mario from the Super Leaf, alongside Tanooki, Frog, and Hammer forms from suits.

What does the Super Bell do in Super Mario 3D World?

It transforms a character into Cat Mario. Nintendo describes the form’s catlike scratching, climbing, and pouncing abilities. The Super Bell is specific to the examples discussed here from Super Mario 3D World; its effects should not be assumed to apply to other Mario games.

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