Super Bell: Cat Mario, the iconic feline power-up

ItemSuper BellSuper Mario 3D World

One golden bell, and Mario runs straight up the walls. Introduced in Super Mario 3D World on Wii U in 2013, the Super Bell grants claws, wall climbing and a dive attack. This guide breaks down the Cat Mario transformation, its variants — Lucky Bell, Invincibility Bell — and the outsized Giga Bell of Bowser's Fury.

A golden bell chimes, a quick leap… and there's Mario in a full cat suit, ready to claw at Goombas and scramble up walls. Introduced in Super Mario 3D World in 2013, the Super Bell gave birth to one of the most popular transformations in the entire series: Cat Mario. Rarely has a power-up won players over so fast, to the point of becoming a genuine mascot for Nintendo.

From the claws of the original game to the spectacular Giga Bell in Bowser's Fury, and on through amiibo, Mario Kart and even the big screen, here's a fact-checked look back at the story of an item that turned into a cult classic in barely more than a decade.

Contents

• A bell born in Super Mario 3D World
• Cat Mario: claws, climbing and dive attack
• The variants: Lucky Bell and Invincibility Bell
• The Giga Bell of Bowser's Fury: Cat Mario, kaiju style
• A marketing phenomenon: from the Cat Mario Show to the big screen
• Quick facts
• FAQ

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A bell born in Super Mario 3D World

The Super Bell makes its debut in Super Mario 3D World, released on Wii U on November 21, 2013 (Japan) and then on November 29, 2013 in Europe. The game was developed by Nintendo EAD Tokyo with 1-UP Studio, directed by Koichi Hayashida and Kenta Motokura, and produced by Yoshiaki Koizumi. Hailed by critics (93/100 on Metacritic), it went on to sell 5.89 million copies, making it one of the very best sellers on Wii U.

A tasty detail revealed in the official Iwata Asks interview devoted to the game: the cat did not come first. The team was initially looking for brand-new abilities for Mario: running on all fours and climbing walls. Only once those mechanics were locked in did the feline form impose itself, since a cat embodies both skills naturally. The climbing also served an accessibility goal: the cat suit was designed, among other things, to help less skilled players get past obstacles. In the earliest prototypes the characters already ran on all fours… in their normal appearance, before the golden striped suit ever existed.

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Cat Mario: claws, climbing and dive attack

Once he grabs the Super Bell, Mario becomes Cat Mario and gains a set of moves found nowhere else in the series:

• Claw swipe: a direct attack on the ground or during a slide to knock enemies over;
• Wall climbing: Mario climbs walls for a few metres, and can even scale the Goal Pole all the way to the top;
• Dive attack: from mid-air, he pounces on his opponents with claws out;
• Feline dash: on all fours, he breaks into a sprint faster than in any other form.

The transformation isn't reserved for the plumber: Luigi, Peach, Toad and Rosalina each get their own feline version in matching colours. Even Bowser joins in! In the final battle, the king of the Koopas brandishes his own Super Bell and turns into Cat Bowser (Meowser), a tiger-striped boss who multiplies himself with Double Cherries in an all-time showdown at the top of his tower.

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The variants: Lucky Bell and Invincibility Bell

The Super Bell comes in two official spin-offs. The first, the Lucky Bell is a rare variant reserved for the later worlds of Super Mario 3D World. It turns the hero into a lucky cat inspired by the maneki-neko, that Japanese cat figurine waving with a raised paw: during a ground pound, the character turns into a golden statuette that crushes everything in its path and racks up coins as it falls. A note for collectors: it's the only power-up in the game with no stamp attached to it.

The second, the Invincibility Bell, arrived with the Switch version, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury. Scanning the Cat Mario amiibo grants this item, which turns Mario into an invincible white cat, the feline equivalent of Tanooki Mario's Invincibility Leaf. A welcome hand for the trickiest levels, faithful to the accessibility philosophy that shaped the suit in the first place.

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The Giga Bell of Bowser's Fury: Cat Mario, kaiju style

On February 12, 2021, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury landed on Nintendo Switch with a brand-new open-world adventure: Bowser's Fury On Lake Lapcat, an archipelago placed entirely under the sign of the cat, Mario collects Cat Shines to awaken an item like no other: the Giga Bell.

This giant version of the Super Bell, complete with ears, whiskers and green eyes, sits atop stone pedestals across the lake. Something exceedingly rare in the series: it talks to Mario throughout the adventure. When Bowser, driven into a towering rage, rises from the water, Mario activates the Giga Bell and becomes Giga Cat Mario, a lion-maned colossus who takes on the monster in duels worthy of Japanese kaiju films. Gather all 100 Cat Shines and you even get to see Bowser Jr. in feline form. That spectacular finale left its mark: the Switch compilation has sold 13.47 million copies as of March 31, 2024, more than double the original Wii U game.

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A marketing phenomenon: from the Cat Mario Show to the big screen

Cat Mario's irresistible look quickly made him an ambassador for the brand. As early as February 2014, Nintendo launched a video show for children in Japan, which reached Europe on July 17, 2014 on the Wii U and 3DS eShop under the title Cat Mario Show: Cat Mario and Cat Peach serve up tips, quizzes and trivia in the form of a puppet show.

What followed is more of the same:

• Mario Kart 8: Cat Peach became a playable racer through DLC at the end of 2014, while the second pack added a Bell Cup and the Super Bell Subway course, whose station is decorated with a giant golden bell;
• Mario Kart Tour: Mario, Peach, Luigi, Toad and Rosalina all show up in feline versions;
• Super Mario Maker 2 (2019): the Super Bell is built into the Super Mario 3D World style, letting you build your own feline levels;
• amiibo: the Cat Mario and Cat Peach figures launched on February 12, 2021, at the same time as the Switch version;
• Cinema: in The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023), Mario inherits the cat suit for his duel against Donkey Kong, sending the gorilla into fits of laughter in one of the film's most talked-about scenes.

Plushes, outfits and nods everywhere (right down to the skins in the Super Mario pack for Minecraft) round out a track record few power-ups can claim.

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The Super Bell at a glance

English name	Super Bell
First appearance	Super Mario 3D World (Wii U, 2013)
Transformation	Cat Mario: claws, climbing, dive attack
Variants	Lucky Bell, Invincibility Bell, Giga Bell
Associated boss	Cat Bowser (Meowser), final boss of 3D World
Notable comeback	Bowser's Fury (Switch, February 12, 2021)
Switch version sales	13.47 million (as of March 31, 2024)

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FAQ

• Which game does the Super Bell first appear in?
  The Super Bell makes its debut in Super Mario 3D World, released on Wii U on November 21, 2013 (Japan) and then on November 29, 2013 in Europe. It's the game's signature power-up and the source of the Cat Mario transformation.
• What powers does Cat Mario have?
  Cat Mario can claw enemies, climb walls and the Goal Pole, pounce on opponents with a dive attack and run on all fours, sprinting faster than in any other form.
• What is the Giga Bell in Bowser's Fury?
  The Giga Bell is a giant version of the Super Bell introduced in Bowser's Fury (2021). Activated with the Cat Shines of Lake Lapcat, it turns Mario into Giga Cat Mario, a maned colossus able to take on a gigantic, enraged Bowser.
• Can Bowser use the Super Bell?
  Yes. In the final battle of Super Mario 3D World, Bowser grabs a Super Bell and turns into Cat Bowser (Meowser), a tiger-striped boss able to multiply himself thanks to the Double Cherries.
• Can you find Cat Mario outside Super Mario 3D World?
  Yes: in Super Mario Maker 2 (3D World style), Mario Kart Tour (feline versions of several racers), through the Cat Mario and Cat Peach amiibo, and even at the cinema, with Mario slipping into the cat suit against Donkey Kong in the 2023 film.

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