Editing Pit

{{about|the obstacle found in many [[Super Mario (franchise)|Super Mario]] games|other uses|[[Pit (disambiguation)]]}}
{{redirect|Abyss|the custom variant for [[Sheik]]'s Vanish special move in [[Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS]] and [[Super Smash Bros. for Wii U]]|[[Sheik#Vanish|Sheik § Vanish]]}}
[[File:Abyss.png|thumb|[[Mario]] falling into a pit in ''[[Super Mario World]]'']]
{{Quote|Remember the sound of the wind. It blows from a bottomless pit.|[[Message Block]] in [[Neuron Jungle]]|[[Yoshi's Story]]}}
A '''pit''', also called an '''abyss''', a '''bottomless pit''', or the '''void''' in 3D [[Genre#Platform games|platformers]], is a common obstacle in platform games where no solid ground is programmed. In 2D platformers, pits appear in almost every [[level]]. If a character falls or [[jump]]s into a pit, they will be affected negatively, usually by immediately losing a life. Aesthetically, pits can take many forms, and many of these pits appear to have no bottom; after falling a varying distance down (usually simply below the camera or screen), the player loses a life, even if an invincibility-granting item is in effect. Various techniques can serve to help a player escape from a pit before they fall far enough to register as having fallen in, such as the [[Wall Jump]] or the [[Double Jump (airborne)|Double Jump]].

In 3D platformers, many levels consist of landmasses or platforms floating in a large void. Examples of this are [[Whomp's Fortress]], [[Pianta Village]], the [[Metro Kingdom]], and many levels of the ''[[Super Mario Galaxy]]'' games and ''[[Super Mario 3D Land]]''. These voids are essentially considered to be massive pits.

While most pits cause instant death, some instead warp the player backward or to a particular location (sometimes in addition to losing a life). The pits in ''[[Wario World]]'' lead to [[Unithorn's Lair]], a subterranean cavern, and because players can resume progress once a specific goal has been reached, these cannot be considered bottomless pits.

==History==
===''Donkey Kong'' series===
In ''[[Donkey Kong (game)|Donkey Kong]]'', there are no bottomless pits. [[Mario]] will lose a life if he falls from a height greater than his own. In [[75m|75 m]], touching the bottom floor subtracts a life as if it were a pit. In the [[Donkey Kong (Game Boy)|Game Boy version]], this floor is covered with [[Spike Trap|spike]]s.

In ''[[Donkey Kong Jr. (game)|Donkey Kong Jr.]]'', falling from a [[vine]] or chain costs a life. The [[Vine Scene]] contains a [[water]]y pit, while the first true bottomless pits are in the [[Jump Board Scene]] and [[Mario's Hideout]].

===''Super Mario'' series===
[[File:AbyssSML.jpg|thumb|150px|Mario running across many narrow pits]]
Pits are a common obstacle in the 2D games of the [[Super Mario (series)|''Super Mario'' series]]. Allowing the player's character to sink through [[quicksand]] is the same as falling into a pit. Certain pits may be only one block wide; in such cases, the player can often [[dash|run]] straight across the pits without falling down as long as they have enough speed. Walking across these narrow pits usually does not work. 

[[Lava]] and [[poison (obstacle)|poison]] in many games serve as enhanced versions of pits, filling the space between platforms and defeating the player instantly. The increased danger is caused by the fact lava and poison are closer to the platforms than the points at which a pit activates, meaning that if the player is falling into any of these three things it is harder to get to safety in the case of lava and poison than for pits. In two-dimensional games, lava and poison generally take up the bottom of the screen, while a pit activates below the screen. In three-dimensional games, lava and poison usually surround the play area, with pits activating farther away from it.

Although Mario can [[swim]] in some levels of ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'' and ''[[Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels]]'', if he falls into [[water]] in a non-swimming level, he loses a life just as if it were a pit. In ''Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels'', some backwards [[Warp Zone]]s have a small pit Mario can fall into to avoid warping backwards.

In ''[[Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins]]'', falling into a pit will play Mario's death animation upon touching the bottom of screen, similar to falling into lava.

In ''[[Super Mario 64]]'', in the mansion of [[Big Boo's Haunt]], if Mario falls into a pit, he ends up in the mansion's basement rather than losing a life. Also, in the [[Super Mario 64 DS|DS remake]], if Mario falls into a pit in [[Big Boo Battle]], he is teleported back to the starting area.

In ''Super Mario Galaxy'' and ''[[Super Mario Galaxy 2]]'', pits often take the form of [[black hole]]s, appearing in island-like [[galaxy|galaxies]] such as [[Beach Bowl Galaxy]] and [[Matter Splatter Galaxy]], although Mario or Luigi can still lose a life by falling into voids otherwise.

In ''[[Super Mario Maker]]'', the game may play an [[Easter egg]] sound effect upon the player falling into a bottomless pit, with a landing noise suggesting that the pit apparently has a bottom. In these sound effects, Mario is heard to be doing something offscreen. On some occasions, the sound effect is accompanied by other objects such as a car and several other Marios.

In ''[[Super Mario Odyssey]]'', If Mario falls into a void and dies, the [[coin]]s he drops when he dies usually fall in the pit too. This means those coins vanish, instead of staying to be recollected later. If the player falls into the void in [[Easy Mode|Assist Mode]], a [[bubble]] brings them back out and they lose one [[Heart Point|Health Point]]. There are situations where the bubble does not appear.

[[File:SMBW Cruising with Linking Lifts third 10-flower coin.jpg|thumb|right|180px|A dangerous pit in ''Super Mario Bros. Wonder'', as indicated by the darkness emanating from the bottom of the screen]]
In ''[[Super Mario Bros. Wonder]]'', for the first time in a sidescrolling ''Super Mario'' game, lethal pits are visually indicated as such, featuring a darkened gradient texture across the bottom. The [[Badge (Super Mario Bros. Wonder)|badge]] "Safety Bounce" mitigates the danger of falling into pits, bouncing the player back up.

===''Mario Kart'' series===
Pits also appear in the [[Mario Kart (series)|''Mario Kart'']] series, appearing in certain courses such as [[Wii Mushroom Gorge|Mushroom Gorge]] from ''[[Mario Kart Wii]]''. When a character drives off the course into a pit, they yell out as the camera pans down into darkness, and a few seconds later, [[Lakitu (Mario Kart referee)|Lakitu]] lifts the character back up and drops them back onto the course, essentially making the pits act as a large time penalty, though they also cost the player a few coins in the games featuring them.

===''Yoshi's Island'' series===
Pits are featured throughout the ''[[Yoshi's Island (series)|Yoshi's Island]]'' series, working similarly to how they do in ''Super Mario'' games. ''[[Yoshi's Woolly World]]'' features the [[Power Badge (Yoshi's Woolly World)|Power Badge]] "Fall into a pit? No problem!" that, when equipped, makes Yoshi safely bounce out of pits.

===''Mario Party'' series===
Pits appear in some of the [[minigame]]s in the ''[[Mario Party (series)|Mario Party]]'' series. Falling into a pit usually causes the player to be eliminated, although in a few minigames, such as [[Tile and Error]], falling into one causes the player to be carried back to the playfield. In a few other minigames, such as [[Skyjinks]], players can fall into a pit a certain number of times before being eliminated. There is also a minigame in ''[[Mario Party 7]]'' titled [[Weight for It]] that ends with the loser falling into a pit.

===''Paper Mario'' series===
====''Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door''====
[[File:PMTTYD Boggly Woods Mario Background.png|thumb|left|180px|Pits in the Boggly Woods]]
Pits are rare obstacles in ''[[Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door]]''. Mario encounters them in only a few 2D background sections, specifically in [[Rogueport Underground]], the [[Boggly Woods]], and the [[X-Naut Fortress]]. Falling into one takes away one [[Heart Point|HP]] before Mario is transported back to solid ground. [[Bowser]]'s intermissions also feature pits; falling into one forces the player to restart the level.

====''Super Paper Mario''====
In ''[[Super Paper Mario]]'', if Mario, [[Princess Peach]], Bowser, or [[Luigi]] falls into a pit, they will flip back onto solid ground and lose one HP. A few pits in ''Super Paper Mario'' (on the outskirts of [[Flipside]] and [[Flopside]]) do not hurt the player, instead sending them to a secret room with a [[Trampoline|spring]] and (a) valuable item(s). Also in ''Super Paper Mario'', some [[Shayde]]s are tasked with cleaning pits as punishment in [[The Underwhere]].

===Unused appearances===
During the development of ''[[Mario Bros. (game)|Mario Bros.]]'', [[Gunpei Yokoi]] suggested removing the threat of falling from great heights that were seen in the first two ''[[Donkey Kong (series)|Donkey Kong]]'' arcade entries.<ref>{{cite|language=en|url=iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/wii/nsmb/0/1|title=Iwata Asks: ''New Super Mario Bros. Wii'' Vol. 1 Ch. 2|publisher=Nintendo of America|accessdate=July 13, 2023}}</ref> This would have a major impact on subsequent games of the [[Super Mario (franchise)|''Super Mario'' franchise]].

==Names in other languages==
{{foreign names
|Spa=Hoyo
|SpaM=Pit
|Fre=Fosse sans fin
|FreC=<ref>{{cite|url=archive.org/details/NM6401/mode/2up?view=theater|title=Nintendo official French magazine N1|page=92}}</ref>
|FreM=Bottomless pit
|Ita=Pozzo/pozza
|ItaC=<ref>{{cite|title=''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'' instruction booklet|page=10|publisher=Nintendo|language=it}}</ref>
|Ita2=Buco senza fondo
|ItaM=Pit/hole
|Ita2M=Bottomless hole
}}

==References==
{{NIWA|WiKirby=Bottomless pit|ZeldaWiki=Hole}}
<references/>

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