Costume Pingouin : le power-up glace de NSMB Wii

Penguin Suit: NSMB Wii's Ice Power-Up

1403 words | Reading time : 7 minute(s)

ItemPenguin SuitNew Super Mario Bros. Wii

Three powers in a single suit — including the belly slide. Introduced in New Super Mario Bros. Wii in 2009, the Penguin Suit stacks ice balls, precise swimming and a belly slide. This guide compares the outfit with the Ice Flower and the Frog Suit, and explains why it remains one of the most complete transformations in the series.

The Penguin Suit ("Costume Pingouin" in French) is one of those transformations that becomes essential the moment you try it. Introduced in New Super Mario Bros. Wii in 2009, this cartoonish penguin outfit wraps up Mario, Luigi and the Toad from head to toe, with its big hood framing the face. It's not just a fun-looking skin: it's one of the rare power-ups in the series that stacks several abilities at once.

In the same game, the Propeller Mushroom plays the verticality card: a spinning launch upward, then a nosedive that doubles as a weapon.

Three years later on Wii U, the Super Acorn turns Mario into a flying squirrel, able to glide and cling to walls.

Where most Mario items grant a single power, the Penguin Suit brings together the ice balls of the Ice Flower, swimming as precise as the Frog Suit's, and a belly slide all its own. Here's what makes this suit unique, and why it stands clearly apart from its icy neighbours.

Contents

A suit that stacks three abilities

The Penguin Suit's great strength is everything it stacks. Once it's on, it turns Mario into Penguin Mario and grants him, in one go:

  • Ice balls: Mario throws freezing projectiles that lock most enemies in place, exactly like the Ice Flower. Frozen enemies then serve as platforms, or as projectiles to lift and throw.
  • Effective swimming: underwater, you steer with precision using the D-pad, just like Frog Mario, which makes water levels far easier to handle.
  • The belly slide: with a bit of a run-up, Mario throws himself onto his belly and rockets forward.

No other item in New Super Mario Bros. brings together this many powers in a single outfit. That versatility is what makes it so valuable.

Mario in the Penguin Suit, official artwork
Swimming, sliding and walking on ice: three abilities in a single suit.

The belly slide, its signature move

The slide is the suit's most iconic ability, and it behaves differently depending on the surface:

  • On ice and snow: the slide is practically unlimited and very fast. You can charge ahead, take out certain enemies along the way and smash Brick Blocks.
  • On solid ground: the slide only covers a short distance before coming to a stop.
  • On water: Mario skims a fair distance across the surface without sinking, for as long as his momentum lasts.

It's a power as useful as it is fun, and it gives snowy levels a rhythm you won't find with any other transformation.

Penguin Suit or Ice Flower?

The two often get mixed up, since they share the ice balls. The difference is clear-cut, though. The Ice Flower ("Fleur de Glace" in French) turns Mario into Ice Mario and does exactly one thing: throw ice balls to freeze enemies.

The Penguin Suit, on the other hand, gives you every ability of the Ice Flower, plus a full set of penguin powers: precise swimming, the belly slide and excellent grip. In short, the Ice Flower is a focused offensive power, while the suit is a Swiss Army knife. If you run into both in the same level, the penguin wins almost every time.

Penguin Suit or Frog Suit?

When it comes to swimming, the Penguin Suit clearly takes after the Frog Suit ("Costume de grenouille" in French), which goes all the way back to Super Mario Bros. 3 in 1988. Both let you steer through water with real finesse using the D-pad.

But the Frog Suit has one big flaw: on dry land, Mario can no longer run, he hops along slowly. It shines underwater (fast swimming, fighting currents, higher jumps) but turns clumsy in the open air. The Penguin Suit fixes that trade-off: it swims well and stays perfectly comfortable on dry land, where it walks, slides and throws its ice balls with no downside.

No more slipping on the ice

An often underrated detail: the Penguin Suit gives you excellent grip on ice. Regular Mario skids and slips on frozen floors, a classic source of silly deaths in snowy levels. As a penguin, that problem vanishes: Mario stops dead and never slides out of control.

Combined with the deliberate belly slide and the ice balls, that makes the suit the perfect tool for the frozen worlds of the series. It turns a booby-trapped environment into a playground.

Where do you find the Penguin Suit?

The suit isn't handed out everywhere, which feeds its reputation as a "premium" power-up. In New Super Mario Bros. Wii, you'll mostly find it in certain levels (especially around Worlds 3 and 4) and then in the Red Toad Houses.

In New Super Mario Bros. U, it's rarer still: it's reserved for the Toad Houses on Superstar Road , the game's bonus area. The New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe version also makes it available in certain enemy-filled levels. That relative scarcity explains why players hold on to it so carefully once they get one.

The Penguin Suit shown on its own, without a character
The suit is picked up in icy levels, and more rarely anywhere else.

Quick facts

French name Costume pingouin
English name Penguin Suit
First appearance New Super Mario Bros. Wii (2009)
Type Transformation (suit)
Abilities Ice balls, precise swimming, belly slide, grip on ice
Where to find it Levels, Red Toad Houses, Superstar Road (NSMB U)
Not to be confused with Ice Flower, Frog Suit

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FAQ

  • Is the Penguin Suit the same as the Ice Flower?
    No. The Ice Flower does nothing but throw ice balls. The Penguin Suit offers those same ice balls, but adds precise swimming, the belly slide and solid grip on ice. It's far more versatile.
  • Which games does the Penguin Suit appear in?
    It debuts in New Super Mario Bros. Wii (2009), then returns in New Super Mario Bros. U, New Super Luigi U and New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe. It also shows up in the game Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition.
  • Do you swim better with the Penguin Suit?
    Yes. Underwater, you steer with precision using the D-pad, just like the Frog Suit. The big difference is that it stays perfectly manoeuvrable on dry land, unlike the frog, which can only hop along slowly.
  • How does the belly slide work?
    With a bit of a run-up, Mario throws himself onto his belly. On ice and snow the slide is practically unlimited, fast, and smashes Brick Blocks. On solid ground it's short; on water, Mario skims the surface for a while without sinking.
  • Where do you find the Penguin Suit in the games?
    In New Super Mario Bros. Wii, it shows up in certain levels (Worlds 3 and 4) and in the Red Toad Houses. In New Super Mario Bros. U, it's reserved for the Toad Houses on Superstar Road, which makes it rarer.
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