Super Mushroom: Mario's Absolute Icon

ItemSuper MushroomSuper Mario Bros.

It wasn't invented to make Mario grow, but to keep the game from killing the player too quickly. Red with white spots, the Super Mushroom has been turning Small Mario into Super Mario since 1985: breakable bricks and one extra hit absorbed. This guide explains the game design constraint that brought it into being, how its look evolved, where the mushroom idea came from and why it is everywhere in the saga.

Red with white spots and perfectly round, one touch is all it takes to double Mario's size: the Super Mushroom (Super Mushroom) is without a doubt the most recognisable item in all of gaming. First appearing in 1985 in Super Mario Bros., it embodies the very idea of the bonus item on its own, and even gives its theme to the kingdom Mario protects, the Mushroom Kingdom.

Its exact opposite exists too: the Poison Mushroom, introduced in The Lost Levels in 1986, mimics the power-up only to hurt you or cost you a life.

The Rock Mushroom from Super Mario Galaxy 2, on the other hand, is activated by shaking the Wii Remote: it lets you crush enemies and shatter purple crystals.

Behind its simplicity lies one of Nintendo's finest ideas in game design: an item that instantly changes the way you play, turns Mario into a bigger, sturdier hero and has served for forty years as the thread running through the whole series, from 2D platformers to Mario Kart races.

Contents

• A birth dictated by game design
• Growing: a simple, iconic mechanic
• A look that has evolved
• Where does the mushroom idea come from?
• Everywhere in the Mario universe
• Quick facts
• FAQ

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A birth dictated by game design

The Super Mushroom first appears in Super Mario Bros., released on NES in 1985. Players discover it as early as level 1-1, hidden inside the second Question Block: once freed, the mushroom slides toward Mario and makes him grow.

Its existence comes down to a technical constraint. During development, Mario's sprite had been designed large, but it took up too much room in the scenery. The solution devised by the team around Shigeru Miyamoto was brilliantly simple: start with a small Mario by default, then create an item that grows him to his "normal" size. The growth power-up was born, and with it one of the founding mechanics of the whole series.

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Growing: a simple, iconic mechanic

The Super Mushroom's role has barely changed since 1985. When a small Mario picks up the mushroom, he becomes Super Mario and gains two major advantages:

• Breaking Brick Blocks with a headbutt, something impossible at small size;
• Taking a hit without losing a life: struck by an enemy or an obstacle, Super Mario simply shrinks back down instead of dying.

This dual use — offensive and defensive — makes it a safety net you instinctively look for at the start of every level. It is also the base the other transformations stack on top of: you grab a Super Mushroom first, then a Fire Flower or another power-up on top.

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A look that has evolved

The Super Mushroom's look has changed over the generations. In Super Mario Bros. (1985) it is yellow-orange, with darker spots and a pale stalk. Its best-known silhouette today — a red cap with big white spots and two round eyes on the stalk — takes hold for good from Super Mario World (1990).

On the Game Boy, the black-and-white graphical limitations sometimes robbed it of its spots. That very pared-back visual identity is precisely what allowed the mushroom to become a logo in its own right, reproduced endlessly on merchandise, on controllers and even on the signage of Super Nintendo World.

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Where does the mushroom idea come from?

A stubborn legend had it that the mushroom was inspired by the cake that makes Alice grow in Alice in Wonderland. Shigeru Miyamoto himself set the anecdote straight: as he tells it, the choice comes more broadly from the association of mushrooms with magical, fairy-tale worlds, the very kind of wondrous imagination to which Lewis Carroll's work belongs.

Another historical curiosity: in the original North American manual for Super Mario Bros., the item was called "Magic Mushroom". The name was later dropped in favour of "Super Mushroom", closer to the Japanese wording, to avoid any ambiguity. And that is the name it has carried ever since: Super Mushroom.

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Everywhere in the Mario universe

The mushroom is not confined to platformers. In Mario Kart, the item that grants a speed boost is the Mushroom, visually identical to the Super Mushroom; it is one of the rare items present since the very first Super Mario Kart (1992) and lets you cut across the grass or stretch out a jump. The mushroom motif also turns up in Mario Party, the Super Smash Bros. games (where a mushroom makes fighters grow) and on countless official products.

The family has grown with variants too: the 1-Up Mushroom (green), which grants an extra life, the Poison Mushroom to avoid, the Mega Mushroom, introduced in Mario Party 4 (2002) then popularised in its destructive giant form in New Super Mario Bros. (2006), or the Mini Mushroom that shrinks him down instead. So many variations on a single item that has become the symbol of the entire series.

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Quick facts

First appearance	Super Mario Bros. (NES, 1985)
Type	Item / growth power-up
English name	Super Mushroom
Effect	Turns Small Mario into Super Mario
Abilities granted	Breaking bricks, taking one hit
Current look	Red cap with white spots, two eyes
Variants	1-Up Mushroom, Mega Mushroom, Poison Mushroom

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FAQ

• When did the Super Mushroom first appear?
  It made its debut in Super Mario Bros. on NES in 1985, right in level 1-1, hidden inside the second Question Block.
• What is the Super Mushroom for?
  It turns small Mario into Super Mario. He can then break Brick Blocks with a headbutt and take one hit: when struck, he shrinks back down instead of dying.
• Why did Nintendo choose a mushroom?
  According to Shigeru Miyamoto, the choice comes from the association of mushrooms with magical, wondrous worlds. He has denied that it was inspired solely by the cake in Alice in Wonderland.
• Why do some manuals talk about a "Magic Mushroom"?
  In the original North American manual for Super Mario Bros., the item was named "Magic Mushroom". That name later gave way to "Super Mushroom", closer to the Japanese name.
• Is the Mario Kart mushroom the same one?
  Mario Kart's Mushroom is visually identical to the Super Mushroom, but its effect differs: it gives a speed boost instead of making you grow. It has been around since Super Mario Kart (1992).

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