Worlds 5–8

Prerequisite

Clear 4-4 or take the final ceiling warp in 4-2.

Objective

Cross a shorter, denser ground course and reach the flag.

1. Move between Turtle Cannons after each Bullet Bill passes; shots do not emerge while you stand beside a cannon.
2. Use blocks as cover while reading Hammer Brother arcs, then run beneath when the lane opens.
3. Keep enough speed for the final gaps, but stop before the staircase if a Bullet Bill is crossing the landing.

Main danger: Bullet Bills can enter from off-screen while ground enemies occupy the landing zone.

Prerequisite

Clear 5-1.

Objective

Pass cannons and Hammer Brothers, then choose the direct, water, or sky sub-route.

1. Clear the opening cannon, springboard, and first Hammer Brother before building speed.
2. A pipe leads to an underwater room with Bloopers, Cheep-cheeps, and sinking lifts; a vine route reaches Coin Heaven.
3. All optional routes rejoin the ground course. Regain a stable pace before the final staircase.

Main danger: Hammer Brothers guard uneven elevations where their arcs are hard to read.

Prerequisite

Clear 5-2.

Objective

Clear a harder remix of 1-3.

1. Land near platform centers; several lifts and gaps are less forgiving than their World 1 counterparts.
2. Treat incoming Bullet Bills as moving platforms hazards—wait when a jump would intersect their height.
3. Use a controlled final leap instead of carrying maximum speed into the narrow staircase.

Main danger: Smaller platforms combine with Bullet Bills over bottomless pits.

Prerequisite

Clear 5-3.

Objective

Clear the harder 2-4 layout and fifth disguised Bowser.

1. Wait for the long Fire-Bar to sweep away, then cross its entire reach without stopping.
2. Take the lift section from the platform edge so the ceiling does not cancel the jump.
3. Watch for extra Podoboos and approach Bowser only after his fire passes.

Main danger: Longer and additional Fire-Bars remove several safe waiting spots from 2-4.

Prerequisite

Clear 5-4 or use the vine Warp Zone in 4-2.

Objective

Maintain forward pressure through a harder Lakitu course.

1. Use the upper blocks for a safe power-up, but avoid waiting beneath falling Spiny eggs.
2. Move past the pipe and reveal the optional hidden 1-Up only if the lane is clear.
3. Take the final gaps one at a time; Spinies can descend the staircase ahead.

Main danger: The night palette and Lakitu pressure make hidden enemies harder to read.

Prerequisite

Clear 6-1.

Objective

Use or ignore multiple bonus pipes and finish the ground route.

1. Test bonus pipes only with ample time; each detour returns farther along but changes your rhythm.
2. Use shells carefully between pipe walls and wait beside Piranha pipes until the plant retracts.
3. At the four falling lifts, keep moving—land, jump, and transfer before each platform drops too far.

Main danger: Optional rooms consume timer and the final dropping lifts punish hesitation.

Prerequisite

Clear 6-2.

Objective

Cross sparse platforms and lifts under Bullet Bill fire.

1. Pause on wide platforms to identify the next lift before committing.
2. Jump after a Bullet Bill crosses your intended arc, then correct gently in the air.
3. Preserve enough momentum for the final long gap and aim for the center of the receiving platform.

Main danger: This is one of the game's most visually sparse athletic stages; missed landings are fatal.

Prerequisite

Clear 6-3.

Objective

Clear a harder 1-4 remix and pass a hammer-throwing disguised Bowser.

1. Take the rotating Fire-Bars one at a time, using the full blocks as deliberate waiting points.
2. In the paired-bar hall, move when the lower bar approaches and the upper bar rotates away.
3. At Bowser, stay outside the hammer landing zone until he jumps; then run beneath or use fireballs.

Main danger: From this castle onward, Bowser throws hammers as well as breathing fire.

Prerequisite

Clear 6-4 or use the vine Warp Zone in 4-2.

Objective

Cross cannon lanes and stacked Hammer Brothers.

1. Use the twin cannons as a timing gate; pass immediately after a shot and avoid landing in the next line of fire.
2. When Hammer Brothers occupy blocks, wait for them to change height and run through the opened lane.
3. At the springboard, clear the high blocks only after the Bullet Bill lane is empty.

Main danger: Hammer Brother and Bullet Bill patterns can overlap at the same elevation.

Prerequisite

Clear 7-1.

Objective

Clear the 2-2 water layout with added enemies.

1. Stay low enough to exploit Blooper movement but above drain pull zones.
2. Use short swim strokes through crowded passages instead of holding a constant climb.
3. Before the exit pipe, let enemies drift past rather than forcing through a narrow opening.

Main danger: The familiar layout has more enemies, so 2-2 timing cannot be copied blindly.

Prerequisite

Clear 7-2.

Objective

Cross the 2-3 bridge layout with Koopas and more Cheep-cheeps.

1. Use a shell to clear fish only when its rebound cannot cross your next landing.
2. Pause between short bridge segments and jump after the nearest fish arc peaks.
3. Collect the power-up above the right bridge if safe, then use a running jump to the next island.

Main danger: Koopas now occupy landing space while fish rise from below.

Prerequisite

Clear 7-3.

Objective

Complete both three-part maze checks and reach the seventh disguised Bowser.

1. First puzzle: take bottom, middle, top. A wrong height returns you to the puzzle start.
2. Second puzzle: take top past the Fire-Bar, remain on the middle path over the gaps, then finish on top.
3. After the low spot confirms success, advance through fire breath and use Bowser's jump to reach the axe.

Main danger: VS. Super Mario Bros. uses different maze solutions; these instructions are for NES/Famicom and direct emulations.

Prerequisite

Clear 7-4 or take the World 8 vine warp in 4-2.

Objective

Finish the longest surface stage under a 300-count timer with no checkpoint.

1. Run through safe open lanes, but release speed before narrow pits and Piranha pipe groups.
2. Use Starman invincibility for enemy lines, not as permission to ignore pits.
3. At the late stair and pit sequences, take clean full jumps; death returns to the stage start.

Main danger: Length, short timer, narrow platforms, and no midpoint checkpoint combine into an endurance test.

Prerequisite

Clear 8-1.

Objective

Cross cannon corridors and use the springboard for the long wall jump.

1. Use cannon-safe zones at their bases, then move after each shot crosses.
2. Build a straight run into the springboard and hold jump as it compresses to clear the tall obstacle.
3. Keep moving under Lakitu and protect any powered form for 8-3; there is still no checkpoint.

Main danger: A failed spring jump or late pit sends you to the beginning.

Prerequisite

Clear 8-2.

Objective

Pass multiple Hammer Brother pairs and enter the final castle powered if possible.

1. Use the first brick rows to control elevation. Wait for a Brother to jump, then pass under or attack with fire.
2. Two late upper bricks contain the final available power-ups before 8-4; collect them whenever the lane permits.
3. Use a kicked Koopa shell to thin later Brothers, then cross the floating staircase carefully.

Main danger: Dense hammer arcs leave almost no safe standing space on flat ground.

Prerequisite

Clear 8-3.

Objective

Choose the correct pipe in each room, survive the underwater hall, and touch the final axe.

1. First room: ignore the early pipes; cross the lava gap on the lift and enter the pipe immediately beyond it.
2. Second room: continue to the floating pipe. Reveal the hidden block just left of it, jump onto the block, and enter from below.
3. Third room: ignore the first available return pipe; cross the next lava gap and enter the pipe immediately after it.
4. Swim through the Fire-Bar and Blooper room, enter its end pipe, pass the Hammer Brother and Podoboo, then defeat or bypass the real Bowser for the axe.

Main danger: Wrong pipes return to the start, rooms loop if no pipe is taken, and the entire stage has no checkpoint or power-up.