Mario's long quest is almost over. Only one adventure left: you must go through World 7-1 to get to Wart's castle in the sky. Now is the time to use the skills you've been building up all along, like riding Albatosses and climbing ladders.

Balanced character selection

Only two more stages left to go. This stage has some of the most challenging jumps and obstacles yet. The next stage is even more difficult, but we're going to take advantage of the Princess' special floating abilities there, so that leaves only one character left for the task: Mario.

Part 1

(1) Move ahead right away! This is one rocky road you're travelling. Ninji and Bob-omb will come at you, but don't be afraid. Just keep going. Otherwise, Bob-omb will explode and you'll lose all the ground you've gained. Albatoss will carry Bob-ombs from above, so get to the other side as fast as you can.

(4) Get on the Rocket. After first visiting the far right, you've come to the far left on your Albatoss, but there's nothing here. What gives? Even if you climb the ladder, you can't get up. So get on the rocket, just like you've done before, and blast off. The way things have been going, you can be sure there's plenty of action ahead.

Part 2

(2) Sub-space. See the tuft of grass on the top of the pole? That's a Potion. Take it, back up a little, and use it on the small platform to the left. Don't waste any time; if you're too slow, Bob-ombs will destroy the rocks on the bridge and you'll be trapped.

(3) Bonus Room. You'll come to a small house on the right edge of map B. When you enter the room, you'll find it full of Sparks. But climb to the upper level and pull out the fifth hunk of grass from the left. A Potion! Enter Sub-space and you'll find a pile of coins and a Mushroom.

Go back on Albatoss. So how to proceed from here? Stand on top of this house and wait for an Albatoss to fly to the left. Get on it and fly back. Look out for the poles when you cross the starting point. Jump over it. You're headed for the far left part of the map.

(5) A maze of clouds. Go all the way down the stair-like clouds and jump to the cloud on your right. One jump will take you back to the upper level. You can also get there by walking right behind Shyguy. Snifits are always annoying. Pick up the Shyguy and toss hit at Snifit to take care of two enemies with one blow. If you don't, be sure to watch out for Snifit's projectiles. You can actually jump over the maze by power jumping from the top of a Ninji if you are using Peach or Luigi.

(6) Pile up blocks and jump. Pile up Mushroom Blocks and make a Power Jump. This is the only way to reach the cloud above, but the two Sparks are going to give you trouble. Throw blocks and get rid of them before you jump. Don't forget about the A-coin in Super Mario Advance. It's just out of reach without help from the Mushroom Blocks

Super Mario Advance Mushroom

Above these ladders, you'll find some new patches of grass. Grab one of them to find a potion. Then bring the potion back down and drop it on the clouds below. If you step through the door here, you'll find a third hidden mushroom in Sub-space. It should provide that extra bit of defense during your last fight with Birdo.

Say goodbye to Birdo! You've fought Birdo many times. This will be one of your last meetings. Birdo only spits fireballs in this area, and you only have a single Mushroom Block to attack her with. Try not to jump too much unless you're avoiding Birdo's attack. Hit her three times with the Mushroom Block and she'll be sorry.

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