Climb mountains, cross valleys and oceans, and brave the darkness. You're off on a wild and crazy adventure. Some powerful enemies are waiting for you to appear, so watch your every step!

If you're new to the game and just starting out, give each character a try and get to know their movements at the very beginning of the game. Once you pass through the door below, the real fast-action run starts. The first area will be an easy win.

In Super Mario Advance, this map is entirely different. You begin by climbing down cloud stairs. A large blue Shyguy is the first enemy to appear. The grass to the right is a turnip. If you want, you can pull it up and kill the Shyguy with it. The other two patches of grass are hearts. The bottom platform is a springy yellow carrot.

Balanced character selection

If you're trying to complete the game so that every character plays an equal number of times, then the best choice for this level is Toad. No one character stands out in this level, but there are some good coin grabbing opportunities in Sub-space and Toad's grass lifting speed will help you earn a lot of chances for the bonus game at the end of the level. The only problem Toad has is clearing the jump over the waterfall in Map C to reach the shortcut. Make sure he's running super fast.

Part 1

• (1) Enter Sub-space. Climb the ivy to reach the hilltop. Grab the grass closest to you, and you will be rewarded with a potion that sends you into Sub-space. When you get there, look for a power-up Mushroom.
• (2) Jump carefully As you approach this waterfall, you'll see two logs falling at different intervals. You can get to the other side by hitching a ride on them, but watch out. Timing is critical; don't jump until you see the tip of the first log. Watch your footing as you cross over to the other side.

Part 2

• Starman to the rescue: By the time you collect the fifth cherry here, you will summon Starman, who will float up from the bottom of the screen. Catch him to activate a limited period of invincibility. In Super Mario Advance, this can lead to extra lives! Continue running to the right, and you will encounter new squads of enemies that you can plow through. Hit enough of them, and you will start earning extra lives for your trouble.
• (3) Discover another route. Pass through the door labeled B and you will arrive at the bottom of Map C. On the second floor, the door C takes you to the bottom of the vine that leads to Map D, but by blasting the wall to the left, you can take a shortcut to Map E.
• A second mushroom. Once you exit through door C and return to this part of the map, you will find a potion in the first tuft of grass to the right of the door. Deposit it between the patches of grass to the right to find the second Mushroom, as well as a great opportunity to collect coins for the Bonus Game.
• Another short-cut. It's even possible to by pass Map C altogether! You will see a Tweeter bouncing around the outside of door B. Pick him up and drop him on the log bridge to the left. Then jump on top of him and squat down for a Power Jump. When Tweeter makes a really high jump, leap off of him to the ledge above. If you ride him to the left, you will arrive near some grass that contains a 1-up!

• Advanced 1-Up: In the original version, there's nothing perched on the ledge at the bottom of the waterfall. But in Super Mario Advance, you'll find a 1-Up mushroom surrounded by a bubble. Hit the bubble using the two vegetables and the Ninji in order to reduce it and eventually eliminate it, and collect the 1-Up to boost your cache of extra lives.
• More advanced 1-Ups: In Super Mario Advance, after you climb up the vine, you'll see a group of five Ninji hopping up and down before the exit. If you manage to hit all five Ninji with a single vegetable, you'll earn an extra life. And the best part is, whether you succeed or fail, you can climb down the vine and climb back up again and try as many times as you like!
• (4) Dash across the waterfall. Pretty soon you're going to run up against a roaring waterfall. Any one of the characters should be able to cross it, some more easily than others, and find a shortcut to the mini-boss. Just be sure that you are running fast before you jump; miss the other side you'll lose a life, even if your health meter is full.
• (5) Blast the wall away! You can't get to the shortcut until you blast through this wall. Pull out the patch of grass on your right and you'll get a bomb. When it starts to flash, throw it. Be careful though, if you're timing's not right, the wall will still be standing. Once you gain access to door D, pass through it and you will arrive on the right side of Map E. From there, you'll need to leap up to the top of the mountains, and run to the left, even though your character will disappear off the top of the screen.

(6) Beware of Hoopster. You'll start at the bottom of this map, and you'll need to jump your way up to the vines at the top. Power jumps are helpful here. Once you reach the vines, watch out for Hoopster when you leap from one vine to another. If he's above you, he won't let you climb up. But he can help; jump when he's below you and get a free lift.

Super Mario Advance Mushroom

One of the first significant changes to this world that you'll discover in Super Mario Advance is the addition of this jar on the cloud, as well as the cloud directly above it. Inside the jar, you'll find a ferris-wheel object, as well as a tuft of grass that reveals a potion. Grab the potion and bring it outside. Then drop the potion in a place where you can see the upper cloud, pass through the door into sub-space, and you will find the new third mushroom.

Coins in subspace

The grass sprouts in Sub-space will reveal coins you can use after each stage to play the Bonus Game and earn extra lives. You only get to grab coins from Sub-space twice in each world, and there are better Sub-space areas later in this stage to grab more coins. As long as you don't grab a single grass sprout/coin, it won't count against your two chances, even if you grab a Mushroom in Sub-space.

Have a heart: In Advance, you'll find two hearts floating above the clouds that you can collect in order to boost your health before you head into battle with Birdo. You'll also find another heart buried beneath a patch of grass just above the exit gate.

(7) Birdo: the first mini-boss. Birdo sometimes, but not always, spits eggs to attack you. If you want to beat this bothersome bird, hop on top of a flying egg and pick it up by pressing button. Once you've caught the egg, stand a safe distance away and wait for your chance to strike. Hit her three times and she'll release the Crystal Ball that lets you pass through the mouth of the gate and advance to World 1-2.