World 5 is a night world. You can see the clouds and stars, but no moon. In the first half of World 5-2, you'll have to cross the vines with Hoopsters. Good luck, it's not easy. After that, there's a drop to the bottom of a very deep valley.

Balanced character selection

After using the Princess for so many boards in a row, you may have become accustomed to relying on her floating ability to avoid danger. But it's time for a more agile character to take over. The jumps in World 5-2 aren't too dangerous, but you must be able to react quickly to a changing environment. Mario is a good choice for this stage.

Life up in Advance: in Super Mario Advance, the grass sprouts have small vegetables that you can use to knock out the Big Shyguy and earn a Heart, or you can throw him around to rough him up for a Heart. Then climb the ladder to the next area.

Part 1

(1) Sub-space 1. There's no potion hiding in the grass that you can see above ground. Unfortunately, getting Mushrooms is much more tricky in this world. First, get inside the jar. Then blast the floor with a bomb and you'll see a chamber below. There's the Potion! Grab it, and use it outside the jar. When you return to the world, duck back down inside the jar again, and grab another Potion. Take it along with you for a run.

Part 2

(2) Get past the Hoopsters. Those Hoopsters moving up and down between the trees are bad news. They're not climbing for fun, they're in search of prey like you. You're going to have to get across a small valley. When you make your move, however, ride on top of those Hoopsters. You can even use one to take out the Panser in your way if you're not holding onto a Potion. If you're playing Super Mario Advance, remember that you can use the Hoopsters as elevators that can help you collect hard-to-reach A-coins.

Mushroom hunting madness: If you manage to hold on to a Potion, be sure to use it on the hill just beyond the Hoopsters to find the often-missed second Mushroom. In Super Mario Advance, a patch of grass with a potion beneath has been added, but the Panser sits on top of it. You'll have to defeat it with a Hoopster to get rid of it, but it will save you from having to lug a potion with you.

(3) Switch vines. At the end of map B, you have to climb up the vine. But look out! On your way, you'll be attacked from the sides by two Snifits and by bothersome Beezos from below. If you see a Hoopster coming while climbing a vine, quickly jump to the other one. It's unlikely, but if a Hoopster happens to be climbing up, hitch a ride to save time.

Super Mario Advance Mushroom

The addition of a single cloud platform may be very subtle, but there's more. One of the Snifits on the right side of the mountain is guarding a patch of grass that hides a potion below. Grab the potion from under the Snifit and bring it down to the cloud, and drop it off. Step through the door into Sub-space to find a third hidden mushroom.

Timed items

n the course of your wild adventures, you will run across a lot of special items which have the power to help Mario and his friends reach their goal. The trick to using these special helpers is to know how and when to activate them. Many of them only work for a certain amount of time. Once you know how to use them, you can plan your attack better.

• Bomb: You have 4 seconds before it explodes.
• Potion: Sub-space only lasts for 6 seconds.
• Starman: Invincibility lasts for 8 seconds.
• Stopwatch: Time will stand still for 8 seconds.
• Pidget's carpet: You can ride for only 10 seconds.

(4) Go jump off a bridge. You've come to map D, but all you'll find is a POW block in the middle of a dead-end bridge. You might as well take the POW, which will cause you to start falling all the way down. You're really on the right path. Don't relax too much though…

(5) It's dangerous out here! If you drop straight down, you'll land on a thorny spike. You can avoid that by quickly pressing then . You won't run into a lot of enemies on this map, but you can get very hurt if you're not careful.

(6) Goal! So you though you'd finally make it to the ground after that long fall, right? Wrong. You've just come to a river with Trouters jumping around. Quickly move Mario to the left side where you have the best chance of landing safely (and to pick up an A-coin in Super Mario Advance) then hop across the tiny platforms. Be careful—you'll have to repeat the process if you fall into the water.

(7) Battle on the bridge. You can't miss the mini-boss in map E. Birdo, with her eggs and flames, is waiting for you. She plans to knock you off the bridge into the water, so get ready. You can defeat her the same way you have before, but be careful not to get hurt here. You can even grab the Trouter that hops up and down and throw it at Birdo for a surprise attack.

After defeating Birdo, grab the Crystal Ball and head through the hawkmouth gate.