Gold Flower: Golden Mario & the Gold Rush

ItemGold FlowerNew Super Mario Bros. 2

Fireballs that turn enemies and scenery into a shower of coins. Introduced in New Super Mario Bros. 2 on 3DS in 2012, the Gold Flower embodies the gold rush that gives the game its theme. This guide covers the transformation into Gold Mario — and into Silver Luigi in multiplayer — where to track it down, and the mix-ups to avoid with the Gold Ring.

In the world of Mario, few items embody the lure of riches as well as the Gold Flower (Gold Flower in English). This power-up turns the plumber into a glittering Gold Mario, able to change enemies and scenery into a torrent of coins.

Conceived as the engine of a slightly crazy goal — amassing one million coins — the Gold Flower is the very symbol of the “gold rush” running through a flagship Nintendo 3DS entry.

Contents

• A flower at the heart of the gold rush
• Gold Mario and Silver Luigi
• Fireballs that turn everything into coins
• Where to track down the Gold Flower
• Don't mix them up: Gold Ring and statue Mario
• A quiet return in Mario Golf: World Tour
• Quick recap
• FAQ

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A flower at the heart of the gold rush

The Gold Flower makes its debut in New Super Mario Bros. 2, released on Nintendo 3DS on 17 August 2012 in Europe (28 July 2012 in Japan). It shows up very early in the adventure and quickly establishes itself as one of the entry's signature items.

This game stands apart thanks to a goal never seen before in the series: amassing one million coins across every course combined. This “gold rush” idea was driven by producer Takashi Tezuka, and the Gold Flower becomes its most direct tool.

Where earlier Mario games mostly kept coins for earning extra lives, here every coin feeds the global counter. So the Gold Flower turns the simple act of moving forward into a genuine golden harvest.

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Gold Mario and Silver Luigi

Grab a Gold Flower and Mario changes into Gold Mario, a gleaming, glittering version of the plumber. It is a spectacular makeover that above all heralds a brand-new shooting power.

In multiplayer mode, that same flower turns Luigi into Silver Luigi when he is the one who picks it up. This silver-tinged brother has exactly the same abilities as his golden elder.

As with most power-ups, a single hit costs you the transformation: Gold Mario then reverts to the classic Super Mario, without shrinking straight back to his small size.

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Fireballs that turn everything into coins

Gold Mario's weapon is the golden fireballs (gold for Mario, silver for Luigi). On impact they explode and deal area damage to the blocks, walls and enemies nearby.

Their special trait: any enemy defeated by a golden fireball turns into coins. Better still, these projectiles even fell foes immune to ordinary fire, to the point that Bowser goes down in a single shot (the Koopalings, for their part, take three hits).

Above all, the golden fireballs turn bricks into coins: every breakable brick you hit changes to gold, and so do blocks that have already been emptied. That detail is what makes the Gold Flower the backbone of the hunt for a million coins.

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Where to track down the Gold Flower

The Gold Flower is an item that stays relatively rare, one you often have to hunt down so you can set off gilded before a coin-rich level. There are three main ways to find it:

• In the Question Blocks scattered through the levels, sometimes carefully hidden.
• From the Toad of the yellow Toad Houses, who hands it over gladly — except in the Star World, where he offers a Super Star instead.
• As a reward for collecting the eight Red Coins revealed by a Red Ring in certain levels.

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Don't mix them up: Gold Ring and statue Mario

Be careful not to mix up the Gold Flower with the Gold Ring, found in the same game. That ring does not transform the hero: pass through it and every enemy in the level turns to gold for a brief moment and showers the stage with coins.

Nor should you confuse it with the “golden statue” forms from other entries — such as the golden cat statue in Super Mario 3D World or the Tanooki statue — which make Mario invincible or immobile, but produce no coins at all.

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A quiet return in Mario Golf: World Tour

After New Super Mario Bros. 2, the Gold Flower resurfaces in 2014 in Mario Golf: World Tour on 3DS. True to its theme, it is still there to rake in coins.

Used as an item during a shot, it earns you one coin per yard the ball travels — a mischievous nod to the gold rush of the 3DS entry. It has no effect on putts, however.

The Gold Mario character, unlocked through the game's downloadable content, even has a “Gold Flower” signature shot, carrying the power-up's golden legacy well beyond its home platform.

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The Gold Flower at a glance

French name	Gold Flower
English name	Gold Flower
First appearance	New Super Mario Bros. 2 (2012)
Platform	Nintendo 3DS
Transformation	Gold Mario / Silver Luigi (multiplayer)
Main effect	Golden fireballs, enemies and bricks into coins
Reappearance	Mario Golf: World Tour (2014)
Category	Power-up / Flower

🍄 Want to keep the adventure going? Check out our Mario toys in the shop.

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FAQ

• Which game does the Gold Flower appear in?
  The Gold Flower makes its debut in New Super Mario Bros. 2, released on Nintendo 3DS on 17 August 2012 in Europe (28 July 2012 in Japan). It is inseparable from the game's goal: collecting one million coins.
• What does the Gold Flower turn Mario into?
  It changes Mario into Gold Mario, a gilded version that throws golden fireballs. In multiplayer mode, Luigi becomes Silver Luigi, with exactly the same abilities.
• Do golden fireballs really turn the scenery into coins?
  Yes. Golden fireballs turn defeated enemies into coins, along with breakable bricks and blocks that have already been emptied. That is what makes the Gold Flower a key tool for piling up coins.
• What is the difference between the Gold Flower and the Gold Ring?
  The Gold Flower transforms Mario himself into Gold Mario. The Gold Ring, on the other hand, does not change Mario: pass through it and every enemy in the level turns gold and drops coins for a short while.
• Has the Gold Flower reappeared in other games?
  Yes, it returns as a nod in Mario Golf: World Tour in 2014, where it works as an item earning one coin per yard the ball travels, with no effect on putts.

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