Press & Hold A + Start buttons after getting back to the start screen. If you touch the flagpole of any level with either 1, 3, or 6 seconds left on the ones place of the timer, you will get that amount of fireworks. For example, if you touch the flagpole with 126 seconds left on the time, you will get six fireworks! If you just walk along the sea floor, Bloopers will never be able to kill you because they are forced back up just before they hit the floor(or you). Mario, the Italian stereotype we all know and love today, is the product of the gaming genius of Nintendo pioneers Shigeru Miyamoto and Gunpei Yokoi. In the early days of Nintendo's arcade business, Mr. Yukoi dreamed up a nifty little game where a jump-happy hero could dodge rolling obstacles and save his sweetheart from a big brutish bad guy. Green fireballs and green-striped raccoon tails aside, this lean, mean stringbean has been playing second fiddle to Mario since his introduction in Mario Bros. At least in his first appearance, Luigi shared screen time with Mario. The two battled for coins and high scores in the Brooklyn sewers. In most subsequent games, he'd be relegated to Player Two and playing second fiddle to his brother Mario. Peach is the love-interest and counter-part of Mario (and Luigi, until Daisy came along she was a busy lass). If you were part of a race of mushroom people, would you pledge allegiance to a princess with Barbie doll proportions and a Farrah Fawcett hairdo? And if Peach is the head honcho, shouldn't she be Queen Peach? And could her relationship with Mario go beyond the simple chaste kiss on the nose players see following her countless rescues? While Mushroom Retainers awaited Mario and Luigi at the end of worlds one through seven in the Super Mario Bros. in 1985, the name Toad doesn't pop up quite yet. The Mushroom Retainers are just what their name implies: jolly, mushroom-topped fellows who serve in the court of Princess Peach. One would hope the Mushroom Retainers' royal duties did not include protecting the princess, as the small-statured little guys often need rescuing themselves. The ubiquitous mushroom guy, Little Goomba isn't very dangerous. Jump on him, fireball him, or bowl him over with a Koopa Shell. The familiar turtles of the Mario series walk back and forth along a ledge. If you stomp one, it'll hide in its shell. Kick a shell and follow it if you'd like to squash a whole bevy of enemies! This Paratroopa bounces straight forward and is more dangerous than the Red Paratroopa. It too will become a standard Koopa after a stomp. These hard-shelled little critters appear mostly in underground levels. If you stomp them, you can kick their shells and squash a truckload of baddies. The most dangerous enemies in the game, these Koopas pelt Mario and Luigi with hammers. If you don't have fireball power, you'll have to either jump over them between their hammers or sprint under them when they jump. Lakitu is a bespectacled Koopa that flies in a cloud and throws Spiny Eggs at you. Sometimes you can get up high enough to stomp Lakitu, but usually it's best to keep moving at a high rate of speed to stay ahead of him. Lakitu throws Spiny Eggs unceasingly, and these can hurt you if you touch them! When a Spiny Egg hits the ground, it hatches into a Spiny. Spiny has a very sharp shell, so don't even think about trying to stomp it. Fireballs or a rolling Koopa Shell will work, however. These insatiate plants reside in many of the pipes found throughout the Mushroom Kingdom. When they retreat into their pipes, you can stand next to or on top of the pipes and the Piranha Plants won't emerge. The Mushroom Kingdom's vexing fish use two different strategies as they try to get the bop on Mario. On bridges, you may face hordes of them flying into the air and trying to hit you. These are best dealt with by speed. In underwater areas, Cheep-Cheeps swim fairly slowly and can easily be dodged or fireballed. Blooper, also known as Bloober, appears exclusively underwater. This squid is a little unpredictable, but usually it usually begins with a lunge toward Mario and thereafter travels in the same direction as Mario; it will chase you, or you will chase it. If you walk on the bottom of the sea, you'll be completely safe from Blooper. Most Bullet Bills fire out of the cannons found in many levels, but some appear randomly from the edge of the screen in Pod Worlds. You can stomp them, but it's not always easy to do so. Bullet Bills are dangerous because they're speedy and never stop coming. These sizzling balls of fire fly out of the lava in castle levels. Wait for them to fall back into the lava, and then you can pass by safely. Exclusive to castle levels, Fire-Bars rotate slowly, but they can be prettyangerous. Watch the way they move and run past when they spin away. Like Podoboo, there's no way to defeat them. The King of the Koopas has kidnapped the Princess and is Mario's longtime nemesis. Not all Bowsers are real, though; in fact, most are imposters. To beat Bowser, real or fake, you'll have to run under or jump over him and grab the ax, cutting the bridge and making him fall into the lava. Some Bowsers throw hammers or have Podoboo bodyguards. Jump (or swim, in two levels) Jump (or swim, in two levels) Control Pad Left/Right: Move Control Pad Down: Enter a pipe while standing on it - not all work, thoughd Jump (or swim, in two levels) Choose between one- (Mario) and two-player (Luigi) games on opening screen