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[[Image:1up.png|frame|The first '''extra life'''-granting item in the history of video gaming, the 1-Up Mushroom, was located in [[World 1-1]] of the original ''Super Mario Bros.''.]]
{{about|the number of retries the player is given throughout the game, sometimes referred to as "1-Up"|other uses of the term "1-Up"|[[1-Up]]}}
An '''extra life''' (also known as a '''"1-Up"''', '''"1-UP"''' or '''"1UP"''') is a term used in video games, especially platforming games, such as those associated with [[Mario]]. A 1-UP awards the player with an extra chance to beat the game. If a player dies, they will be able to start unscathed from the beginning of the level (or sometimes, at the level's mid-point, if it has been reached). When a player loses all of their extra lives, the result is a [[Game Over]], and the game must either be played again from the beginning, or be restarted from the last save point. Players typically start with three to five extra lives, and can usually earn more during the course of the game.
[[File:1up.png|frame|[[Mario]] acquiring an extra life by picking up a [[1-Up Mushroom]]]]
[[File:Super Mario Kun 99 lives Mario.jpg|thumb|left|Mario gathering [[coin]]s to eventually have 99 lives to defeat a [[Reznor]] in ''[[Super Mario-kun]]'']]
An '''{{wp|Life (video games)#Extra_lives|extra life}}''', also known as a '''1-up''' (alternatively '''1-Up''', '''1-UP''', '''1UP''', or '''1up''') or '''Life Up''', is a mechanic used in video games, especially platformers, such as those in the [[Super Mario (franchise)|''Super Mario'' franchise]]. A 1-up awards the player an extra chance to beat the game. If a player loses a life, they are able to start from the beginning of the [[level]] (or sometimes at the level's [[checkpoint]], if it has been reached) without losing a significant amount of progress. When a player loses all of their lives, a [[Game Over]] results, and the game must either be played again from the beginning or be restarted from the last save point.


Early arcade games, such as ''[[Donkey Kong (game)|Donkey Kong]]'', typically awarded an extra life after a large number of [[point]]s was acquired by the player. However, the 1-UP independent of score did not emerge until the original ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'' In this game, the [[1-Up Mushroom]] was introduced. This special item merely needed to be collected to reward the player an extra life. However, these items were typically hidden and were very hard to acquire. This trend continued in other platforming and adventure games, and as such, extra lives were often seen as the ultimate bonus of early gaming.  Examples of life-giving items include the [[1-up Mushroom]] and [[3-Up Moon]]
Players can lose lives by being defeated by an [[List of enemies|enemy]]; falling into hazards such as [[pit]]s, [[lava]], and [[Poison (obstacle)|poison]]; getting crushed by an obstacle; or running out of [[Time Limit|time]]. In most games of the ''Super Mario'' franchise, players typically start with three to six lives and can usually earn more during the course of the game. Many of the games play the six-note tone '''e g E C D G''' when a character of the ''Super Mario'' franchise receives an extra life. Some games (such as ''[[Super Mario Land]]'') play a different sound when a 1-up is earned.


''Super Mario Bros.'' also introduced another concept associated with 1-Ups – collection of a hundred objects. In the game, if one hundred [[coin]]s were collected, the player would be rewarded with an extra life. In many platforming and adventure games, collecting a hundred of a specific item would grant a 1-Up (such as in the ''[[Donkey Kong Country]]'' series, where collecting a hundred [[Banana]]s yields an extra life). The game ''[[Super Mario 64]]'' alters this formula - only fifty coins were needed for a 1-Up, but a hundred were required for a much more valuable item, the [[Power Star]], which were needed to complete the game. The extra lives from collecting coins only registered if one of the regular stars in the level were collected. In other games, a low number of items could be collected for an extra life. These include the [[Dragon Coin]]s of ''[[Super Mario World]]'', where five coins would earn an extra life, and the [[KONG Letters]] of ''Donkey Kong Country'', where all four letters would grant a 1-UP. However, these collectibles would only grant a 1-Up if a complete set was acquired in a single level, unlike coins and bananas, which had a running total throughout the game. Some games also feature items that award more than one extra life. These include the [[3-Up Moon]] from ''Super Mario World'', and the various colored [[Extra Life Balloon]]s of ''Donkey Kong Country'', which yield a different amount of extra lives based on color. In some games, 1-Ups award full health, such as in ''[[Super Mario Sunshine]]''.
Some games in multiplayer mode may feature different extra life mechanics. In games such as ''[[Mario Bros. (game)|Mario Bros.]]'' (and all its ports), ''[[New Super Mario Bros. Wii]]'', and ''[[New Super Mario Bros. U]]'', each player has their own life counter, though in ''[[New Super Mario Bros. 2]]'', ''[[Super Mario 3D World]]'', and ''[[Super Mario Bros. Wonder]]'', each player shares the same life counter. However, ''New Super Mario Bros. 2'' does not deduct lives if only one player dies in a level or if both players [[bubble]] themselves. In the case of ''Super Mario 3D World'', the life counter has a combined total depending on the number of players rather than starting at six.


Extra lives can also be obtained by jumping on each enemy consecutively without touching the ground. As the player jumps on each enemy, they earn points. After the player jumps on the eighth enemy, they earn an extra life. This technique can be used in most of the 2D [[Mario (series)|Mario game]]s. It is featured in 3-D Mario games on the [[Space Junk Galaxy#Yoshi Planet|Yoshi Planet]] in [[Space Junk Galaxy]] in ''[[Super Mario Galaxy]]'' and the [[Supermassive Galaxy#Giant Koopas Planet|Giant Koopas Planet]] in the [[Supermassive Galaxy]] in [[Super Mario Galaxy 2]] (Except in these games, the player does not earn points but still earns an extra life after jumping on the eighth enemy).
Extra lives are surpassed only by the "[[Continue]]" option, which grants an entire new set of extra lives instead of just one while allowing the player to continue from where they left off. In earlier games, continues are often limited, and losing all of them also results in a Game Over and causes the player to be sent back to the beginning.


Extra lives are only surpassed by the "[[Continue]]", which grants an entire new set of extra lives, instead of just one.
==Obtaining lives==
Early arcade games, such as ''[[Donkey Kong (game)|Donkey Kong]]'', typically award an extra life after a large number of [[point]]s is acquired by the player. However, the 1-up independent of score did not emerge until the original ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'', which introduced other methods of obtaining them such as collecting 100 of a certain collectible (typically [[coin]]s), obtaining [[1-Up Mushroom]]s, and defeating several enemies in succession. Such trends continued in other platformers and adventure games, even those outside the [[Super Mario (series)|''Super Mario'' series]]. As of ''[[Super Mario Bros. 2]]'', bonus [[minigame]]s are introduced, and they can reward players with extra lives based on how well they did.


In ''[[Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door]]'', when [[Bowser]] is going through the Super Mario Bros. style levels, it is shown that he has infinite lives, and no matter how many times he dies, he will not run out of lives. This may explain why he always survives each battle with Mario, no matter what fate he suffers at the end of each game. This did obviously not apply to the time when he was temporarily destroyed by [[Dimentio]] in ''[[Super Paper Mario]]''. However, this is probably simply so that the player doesn't get a Game Over from what is simply a mini-game.
The most common methods of obtaining extra lives include the following:
 
===1-Up Mushrooms and similar items===
[[File:1-Up_Mushroom_Artwork_-_Super_Mario_3D_World.png|thumb|100px|right|A [[1-Up Mushroom]], an item that usually grants an extra life]]
''Super Mario Bros.'' introduced an item that grants an extra life upon collection, that being the 1-Up Mushroom. 1-Up Mushrooms are often hidden in various [[Hidden Block]]s in levels, in a way that the player must deviate from their usual path to obtain these items at their own risk. Similar items such as [[1 UP Heart]]s would also be introduced in mainline games such as ''Super Mario Land''.
 
1-Up Mushrooms are often the rewards of various bonus minigames, such as the [[Bonus game (Super Mario World)|bonus game]] in ''[[Super Mario World]]'', as well as the green [[Toad House]]s in various entries in the [[New Super Mario Bros. (disambiguation)|''New Super Mario Bros.'' series]]. They also appear in smaller challenges such as [[Red Coin]]s and [[Red Ring]]s in some levels, and may also pop up from certain areas once a player walks over them, such as in ''[[Super Mario 64]]''.
 
Games that do not utilize an extra-life system (such as ''[[Super Mario Odyssey]]'') would typically not feature 1-Up Mushrooms at all, and even if they still do appear, they would likely serve a different purpose, such as in the case of reviving fallen [[party member]]s in the ''[[Mario & Luigi (series)|Mario & Luigi]]'' series.
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===Defeating several enemies in succession===
[[File:SMW_ShellCombo.png|thumb|left|[[Mario]] defeating several enemies in a row with a [[Red Shell]] to earn an extra life in ''[[Super Mario World]]'']]
Another method to earn extra lives is by defeating several enemies in succession, whether by [[stomp]]ing them or using [[Koopa Shell]]s or [[Buzzy Shell]]s to defeat several enemies in a row. Initially, doing such starts with several increments of points (combo text in ''Super Mario Bros. Wonder''), eventually earning the player several extra lives (represented by "1UP"). Starting with ''Super Mario World'', this can also be done by running into enemies while [[Invincible Mario|invincible]], and it can also be done by [[Slide|sliding]], starting with ''[[New Super Mario Bros.]]''
 
As of ''Super Mario World'', the player simply needs to defeat eight enemies in succession to start earning extra lives. This is also applied to other platformers outside the ''Super Mario'' series such as the first ''[[Donkey Kong Country]]'', as well as ''[[Donkey Kong Country Returns]]'' and ''[[Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze]]''. In ''[[Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins]]'' and ''[[Super Mario 3D Land]]'', the fifth enemy defeated onwards earns the player an extra life. In ''Super Mario 3D World'' and ''[[Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury]]'', the combo resets upon every life obtained only when the player performs such while invincible. This trick does not work if the player is in their [[Shell Mario|Shell form]] or uses assist forms (e.g., [[White Tanooki Mario]]).
 
This method of getting extra lives is oftentimes used to set up infinite life tricks, allowing the player to farm as many lives as they can in some main series games. For example, an infinite life trick done in ''Super Mario Bros.'' is done by kicking Koopa Shells (and occasionally Buzzy Shells) repeatedly against staircases, such as at the end of [[World 3-1 (Super Mario Bros.)|World 3-1]]. The trick was removed from ''[[VS. Super Mario Bros.]]'' by having most [[Koopa Troopa|Koopa]]s or [[Buzzy Beetle]]s descending staircases in some levels replaced by [[Goomba]]s.
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===Collecting a certain number of collectibles===
[[File:SMB_NES_World_2-1_Coin_Heaven.png|thumb|right|Mario collecting several coins in a [[Coin Heaven]] in ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'']]
In games with common collectibles such as coins, collecting 100 of such  grants the player an extra life. This mechanic was introduced in ''Super Mario Bros.'' and gives players another incentive to collect coins across several levels. This method varies differently in games such as ''Super Mario 64'' (where a life can be gained for every 50 coins collected upon clearing a mission, up to three lives), as well as in ''[[Super Mario Galaxy]]'' and ''[[Super Mario Galaxy 2]]'', where every 50 or 100 [[Star Bit]]s collected also grants an extra life.
 
Other games may use different objects for the same purpose. The [[Donkey Kong Country (series)|''Donkey Kong Country'' series]] uses [[banana]]s, and the first two [[Wario Land (series)|''Wario Land'' games]] use [[Heart (Wario Land series)|heart]]s.
 
Some games may feature rarer collectibles to obtain such as [[Dragon Coin]]s, [[Ace Coin]]s, and [[Advance Coin]]s. Collecting at least five of them grants the player an extra life. This is not to be confused with obtaining 1-Up Mushrooms as rewards spawned by collecting all Red Coins from Red Rings. Similar items such as [[KONG Letters]] in the ''Donkey Kong Country'' series also grant the player an extra life upon collection.
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===Miscellaneous methods===
Other methods of gaining extra lives in games include the following:
*Some games feature minigames the player can partake in to earn more extra lives, such as the [[Spade Panel]] from ''[[Super Mario Bros. 3]]''. This also encompasses minigames where 1-Up Mushrooms can also be rewarded, such as the Green Toad Houses in ''New Super Mario Bros.'' Depending on how well the player has done in a minigame, the number of extra lives they can earn varies.
*Starting in ''Super Mario Bros. 3'', there are different conditions for the player to earn extra lives when reaching the [[goal (Super Mario Bros. 3)|goal]]. In this game's case, the player can earn [[card]]s from levels' end roulettes and match their symbols to earn many extra lives. Additionally, since this game, if five or more enemies are present on the screen while the player touches a goal, the player can also earn extra lives from them.
**''Super Mario World'' gives three extra lives once the highest number of [[Goal Star|Bonus Star]]s from a [[Giant Gate]] is obtained (50).
**Starting in ''[[Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3]]'' (except ''Super Mario 3D World''), it is possible to earn an extra life upon hitting the top of a [[Goal Pole]].
**''[[Super Mario Maker]]'' and ''[[Super Mario Maker 2]]'' feature slightly altered mechanics for getting extra lives from a goal, with the ''Super Mario Bros. 3'' roulette goal having a 1-Up Mushroom as one of the symbols and the method of hitting the tape at the top of the Giant Gate in the ''Super Mario World'' style giving only one extra life.
*The player may earn extra lives based on how far they have progressed or how many points they have received. For example, in various games in the ''[[WarioWare (series)|WarioWare]]'' series, beating a boss [[microgame]] can grant the player an extra life.
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==Extra-life counter==
Early arcade games such as ''[[Donkey Kong (game)|Donkey Kong]]'' feature an extra-life counter, often represented by the player's head or similar symbols. If no more heads are displayed and the player is defeated on the next life, they get a [[Game Over]]. This method of displaying extra lives would still be used in games such as ''[[WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$!]]'', with four symbols displayed on the screen that gray out if the player fails a microgame (which can eventually be restored if a boss microgame is beaten).
 
Later games such as ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'' introduced a numerical version of the extra-life counter. Initially, earlier games displayed such on the level's starting screen, and it would not be integrated into the heads-up display in gameplay until ''Super Mario Bros. 3''. With this new system, earning multiple lives at once is also gradually introduced in the games through performing stomp combos, collecting 1-Up Mushrooms, and completing bonus minigames such as the [[Bonus Chance]].
 
The maximum number of lives the player can earn is also displayed on the numerical life counter, and it varies between each game:
*The maximum number of lives the player can earn in the NES version of ''Super Mario Bros.'' is 127, but going above that number results in a Game Over on the next death due to a signed integer overflow. The ''[[Super Mario All-Stars]]'' version does not go above 127.
**If the player receives 10 or more lives, a crown and a symbol are displayed instead of the number due to the symbols being pulled from a second CHR table,<ref>Deezer. (n.d.). TMK | Reference | Super Mario Bros. Complete Guide. Retrieved July 10, 2024, from https://themushroomkingdom.net/smb_breakdown.shtml#extra</ref> but the actual numerical value is correctly displayed in the ''All-Stars'' version.
*The NES version of ''Super Mario Bros. 2'' allows players to earn up to 255 lives (though "0" on the life counter is the last life). In ''Super Mario All-Stars'' and ''[[Super Mario Advance]]'', however, the life counter is maxed out at 99 instead (and "1" on the counter is the last life instead).
**Earning more than 100 lives in the NES version causes the tens digit to display letters from ''A'' to ''P'' instead. For example, "P4" means the player has 254 lives remaining.
*The NES version of ''Super Mario Bros. 3'' maxes out lives at 100 (shown as "99" due to "0" being the last life), but the maximum number is slightly reduced to 99 in the ''All-Stars'' version (due to "1" on the counter being the last life).
*Starting with games such as ''[[Super Mario World]]'', the life counter is maxed out at 99.
**If this maximum number is attained in ''[[New Super Mario Bros. Wii]]'', [[Mario]] also appears without [[Mario Cap|his cap]].
*''[[Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island]]'' (and [[Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3|its reissue]]), ''[[Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2]]'', and ''[[Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3]]'' all max out lives at 999.
*In ''[[Super Mario 3D Land]]'', ''[[New Super Mario Bros. 2]]'', and ''[[Super Mario 3D World]]'', players can have up to 1,110 lives, with the hundreds, tens, and ones digits turning into crowns when the player reaches 1,000, 1,100, and 1,110 lives, respectively. In ''Super Mario 3D Land'' and ''Super Mario 3D World'', "0" on the life counter is the last life.
**Maxing out the life counter in ''Super Mario 3D Land'' and ''New Super Mario Bros. 2'' causes Mario and [[Luigi]] to appear without their [[cap]]s when starting a level (they still have their caps in the former game if they are [[Small Mario|small]] or in [[Fire Mario|Fire form]]).
*In ''[[Super Mario Maker]]''{{'}}s 10/100 Mario Challenge, ''[[Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS]]''{{'}}s Super Mario Challenge, and ''[[Super Mario Maker 2]]''{{'}}s Story Mode and Endless Challenge, up to three extra lives can be received per course/job, with a maximum of 100 (in the first two games) or 99 (in ''Super Mario Maker 2''). However, in ''Super Mario Maker 2''{{'}}s Story Mode, the current number of lives always defaults to five when the player enters a different job.
*Some sequences in games such as ''[[Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door]]'' may opt to display a life counter despite having no life system at all, such as in the [[Bowser]] segments. However, in such cases, due to such having infinite lives, an infinity symbol is displayed on the life counter instead.
 
==''Super Smash Bros.'' series==
In the [[Super Smash Bros. (series)|''Super Smash Bros.'' series]], lives, referred to in-game as '''[[smashwiki:Stock|stock]]s''', can be used as an optional additional rule. How many stocks characters have left is represented by small icons under the damage meter, and in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]'', during a 1-on-1 battle, the stock count of both fighters is briefly displayed onscreen whenever a stock is lost (except when it is the final stock). In [[Adventure Mode: The Subspace Emissary|The Subspace Emissary]] from ''[[Super  Smash Bros. Brawl]]'', stocks can also be restored by obtaining [[List of Super Smash Bros. series items#Stock Ball|Stock Ball]]s.
 
==Gallery==
<gallery>
SMB Sprite 1UP.png|''[[Super Mario Bros.]]''{{class|blackbg}}
SMW2 1-up art.png|''[[Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island]]''
SMW2-1UP.png|''Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island''
SMW2 1-Up cloud.png|''Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island''{{class|blackbg}}
SMW2-1UPCard.png|''Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island''
SMW2-2UPCard.png|''Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island''
SMW2-3UPCard.png|''Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island''
SMW2-10UPCard.png|''Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island''
SMA3-1UP.png|''[[Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3]]''
SMA3-1UPCard.png|''Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3''
SMA3-2UPCard.png|''Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3''
SMA3-3UPCard.png|''Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3''
SMA3-10UPCard.png|''Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3''
</gallery>
 
==See also==
*[[1 UP Heart]]
*[[Smiley Flower]]
*[[100-Coin]]
*[[Goal (Super Mario Bros. 3)|Goal (''Super Mario Bros. 3'')]]
*[[Gold Bone]]
 
==Names in other languages==
===Extra Life===
{{foreign names
|Jap=残り人数<br>''Nokori Ninzū''<br>残機<br>''Zanki''
|JapM=Number of players remaining<br><br>Number of planes remaining (derived from a shooting game where the player controls fighter planes and robots)
|Rus=Дополнительная жизнь
|RusR=Dopolnitel'naya zhizn'
|RusM=Extra life
|Chi=命<ref>[https://www.bilibili.com/video/av8876332 iQue's promotional demo play videos of ''Super Mario Advance'' and ''Wario Land 4'']. Retrieved February 9, 2020.</ref>
|ChiR=Mìng
|ChiM=Life
|Ita=Vita extra
|ItaM=Extra life
|Ger=Extra-Leben
|GerM=Extra Life
|Por=Vida extra
|PorM=Extra life
}}
 
===1UP===
{{foreign names
|PorA=1 VIDA
|PorAM=1 LIFE
|PorAC=<ref>Detona (October 22, 2023). [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsisoI1vQWE&t=300 Super Mario Bros. Wonder - Jogo Completo 100% - PT BR] (5:02). ''Youtube''. Retrieved October 21, 2024.</ref>
}}


==Trivia==
==Trivia==
*The term "1UP" originally meant something radically different; it referred to the first player's score in arcade games, while "2UP" referred to the second player's score. Typically, the first player's score would be placed in the upper-left corner of the screen, while the second player's score would be located in the upper-right corner of the screen. The all-time high score was typically located in the middle of these two scores.
*"1UP" can be seen on a license plate of a [[truck|cargo truck]] on the ''[[Mario Kart: Double Dash!!]]'' course [[Mushroom City]].
*"1UP" can be seen in a license plate of a truck in the ''[[Mario Kart: Double Dash!!]]'' course [[Mushroom City]].
*According to ''[[Super Paper Mario]]'', when someone runs out of lives, they get a [[Game Over]] and move on to the afterlife, either to [[The Underwhere]] or to [[The Overthere]].
*A six-note tune (E-G-E-C-D-G) has always been heard when a ''Mario'' game character has received an Extra Life.  
*In ''Super Mario World'', if the player somehow manages to [[jump]] on a [[Wiggler]] during a combo of eight or higher, the game shows "2UP" and "3UP," and then the game [[glitch]]es: It shows a corrupted sign that grants 5UP (first only) and some coins and/or [[point]]s.
*According to ''[[Super Paper Mario]]'', when someone runs out of extra lives in the ''Mario'' universe, he or she will get a [[Game Over]] (i.e. die) and move on to the afterlife, either to [[The Underwhere]] or [[The Overthere]]. However, in the [[Mario & Luigi (series)|''Mario & Luigi'' series]], Mario and Luigi are said to be knocked-out when they don't have any more HP yet the screen shows a Game Over.
*In ''[[Super Mario 3D Land]]'', the extra life sound effect plays when [[Princess Peach]] defeats a [[Goomba Tower]] in the [[letter]] Mario receives before reaching [[World 6 (Super Mario 3D Land)|World 6]].
*Extra Lives, in a way, also appeared in ''[[Super Mario Kart]]'', where they were referred to as [[Kart]]s.  This feature has not been featured in any other spin-off game.


==See also==
==References==
*[[1-Up Mushroom]]
<references/>
*[[1-Up Heart]]
 
*[[3-Up Moon]]
{{Terms}}
*[[Coin]]
*[[Dragon Coin]]
*[[Banana]]
*[[Extra Life Balloon]]
*[[K-O-N-G Letters]]
<br clear=all>
[[Category:Terms]]
[[Category:Terms]]
[[Category:Game Mechanics]]
[[Category:Game mechanics]]
[[de:Extra-Leben]]
[[it:Vita extra]]

Latest revision as of 11:42, December 4, 2024

This article is about the number of retries the player is given throughout the game, sometimes referred to as "1-Up". For other uses of the term "1-Up", see 1-Up.
Mario acquiring an extra life by picking up a 1-Up Mushroom
Mario defeats a Reznor by collecting 99 lives.
Mario gathering coins to eventually have 99 lives to defeat a Reznor in Super Mario-kun

An extra life, also known as a 1-up (alternatively 1-Up, 1-UP, 1UP, or 1up) or Life Up, is a mechanic used in video games, especially platformers, such as those in the Super Mario franchise. A 1-up awards the player an extra chance to beat the game. If a player loses a life, they are able to start from the beginning of the level (or sometimes at the level's checkpoint, if it has been reached) without losing a significant amount of progress. When a player loses all of their lives, a Game Over results, and the game must either be played again from the beginning or be restarted from the last save point.

Players can lose lives by being defeated by an enemy; falling into hazards such as pits, lava, and poison; getting crushed by an obstacle; or running out of time. In most games of the Super Mario franchise, players typically start with three to six lives and can usually earn more during the course of the game. Many of the games play the six-note tone e g E C D G when a character of the Super Mario franchise receives an extra life. Some games (such as Super Mario Land) play a different sound when a 1-up is earned.

Some games in multiplayer mode may feature different extra life mechanics. In games such as Mario Bros. (and all its ports), New Super Mario Bros. Wii, and New Super Mario Bros. U, each player has their own life counter, though in New Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Mario 3D World, and Super Mario Bros. Wonder, each player shares the same life counter. However, New Super Mario Bros. 2 does not deduct lives if only one player dies in a level or if both players bubble themselves. In the case of Super Mario 3D World, the life counter has a combined total depending on the number of players rather than starting at six.

Extra lives are surpassed only by the "Continue" option, which grants an entire new set of extra lives instead of just one while allowing the player to continue from where they left off. In earlier games, continues are often limited, and losing all of them also results in a Game Over and causes the player to be sent back to the beginning.

Obtaining lives[edit]

Early arcade games, such as Donkey Kong, typically award an extra life after a large number of points is acquired by the player. However, the 1-up independent of score did not emerge until the original Super Mario Bros., which introduced other methods of obtaining them such as collecting 100 of a certain collectible (typically coins), obtaining 1-Up Mushrooms, and defeating several enemies in succession. Such trends continued in other platformers and adventure games, even those outside the Super Mario series. As of Super Mario Bros. 2, bonus minigames are introduced, and they can reward players with extra lives based on how well they did.

The most common methods of obtaining extra lives include the following:

1-Up Mushrooms and similar items[edit]

Artwork of a 1-Up Mushroom, from Super Mario 3D World.
A 1-Up Mushroom, an item that usually grants an extra life

Super Mario Bros. introduced an item that grants an extra life upon collection, that being the 1-Up Mushroom. 1-Up Mushrooms are often hidden in various Hidden Blocks in levels, in a way that the player must deviate from their usual path to obtain these items at their own risk. Similar items such as 1 UP Hearts would also be introduced in mainline games such as Super Mario Land.

1-Up Mushrooms are often the rewards of various bonus minigames, such as the bonus game in Super Mario World, as well as the green Toad Houses in various entries in the New Super Mario Bros. series. They also appear in smaller challenges such as Red Coins and Red Rings in some levels, and may also pop up from certain areas once a player walks over them, such as in Super Mario 64.

Games that do not utilize an extra-life system (such as Super Mario Odyssey) would typically not feature 1-Up Mushrooms at all, and even if they still do appear, they would likely serve a different purpose, such as in the case of reviving fallen party members in the Mario & Luigi series.

Defeating several enemies in succession[edit]

Mario gaining an extra life from defeating several enemies in a row in Yoshi's Island 2 of Super Mario World
Mario defeating several enemies in a row with a Red Shell to earn an extra life in Super Mario World

Another method to earn extra lives is by defeating several enemies in succession, whether by stomping them or using Koopa Shells or Buzzy Shells to defeat several enemies in a row. Initially, doing such starts with several increments of points (combo text in Super Mario Bros. Wonder), eventually earning the player several extra lives (represented by "1UP"). Starting with Super Mario World, this can also be done by running into enemies while invincible, and it can also be done by sliding, starting with New Super Mario Bros.

As of Super Mario World, the player simply needs to defeat eight enemies in succession to start earning extra lives. This is also applied to other platformers outside the Super Mario series such as the first Donkey Kong Country, as well as Donkey Kong Country Returns and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. In Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins and Super Mario 3D Land, the fifth enemy defeated onwards earns the player an extra life. In Super Mario 3D World and Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury, the combo resets upon every life obtained only when the player performs such while invincible. This trick does not work if the player is in their Shell form or uses assist forms (e.g., White Tanooki Mario).

This method of getting extra lives is oftentimes used to set up infinite life tricks, allowing the player to farm as many lives as they can in some main series games. For example, an infinite life trick done in Super Mario Bros. is done by kicking Koopa Shells (and occasionally Buzzy Shells) repeatedly against staircases, such as at the end of World 3-1. The trick was removed from VS. Super Mario Bros. by having most Koopas or Buzzy Beetles descending staircases in some levels replaced by Goombas.

Collecting a certain number of collectibles[edit]

Coin Heaven
Mario collecting several coins in a Coin Heaven in Super Mario Bros.

In games with common collectibles such as coins, collecting 100 of such grants the player an extra life. This mechanic was introduced in Super Mario Bros. and gives players another incentive to collect coins across several levels. This method varies differently in games such as Super Mario 64 (where a life can be gained for every 50 coins collected upon clearing a mission, up to three lives), as well as in Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2, where every 50 or 100 Star Bits collected also grants an extra life.

Other games may use different objects for the same purpose. The Donkey Kong Country series uses bananas, and the first two Wario Land games use hearts.

Some games may feature rarer collectibles to obtain such as Dragon Coins, Ace Coins, and Advance Coins. Collecting at least five of them grants the player an extra life. This is not to be confused with obtaining 1-Up Mushrooms as rewards spawned by collecting all Red Coins from Red Rings. Similar items such as KONG Letters in the Donkey Kong Country series also grant the player an extra life upon collection.

Miscellaneous methods[edit]

Other methods of gaining extra lives in games include the following:

  • Some games feature minigames the player can partake in to earn more extra lives, such as the Spade Panel from Super Mario Bros. 3. This also encompasses minigames where 1-Up Mushrooms can also be rewarded, such as the Green Toad Houses in New Super Mario Bros. Depending on how well the player has done in a minigame, the number of extra lives they can earn varies.
  • Starting in Super Mario Bros. 3, there are different conditions for the player to earn extra lives when reaching the goal. In this game's case, the player can earn cards from levels' end roulettes and match their symbols to earn many extra lives. Additionally, since this game, if five or more enemies are present on the screen while the player touches a goal, the player can also earn extra lives from them.
    • Super Mario World gives three extra lives once the highest number of Bonus Stars from a Giant Gate is obtained (50).
    • Starting in Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 (except Super Mario 3D World), it is possible to earn an extra life upon hitting the top of a Goal Pole.
    • Super Mario Maker and Super Mario Maker 2 feature slightly altered mechanics for getting extra lives from a goal, with the Super Mario Bros. 3 roulette goal having a 1-Up Mushroom as one of the symbols and the method of hitting the tape at the top of the Giant Gate in the Super Mario World style giving only one extra life.
  • The player may earn extra lives based on how far they have progressed or how many points they have received. For example, in various games in the WarioWare series, beating a boss microgame can grant the player an extra life.

Extra-life counter[edit]

Early arcade games such as Donkey Kong feature an extra-life counter, often represented by the player's head or similar symbols. If no more heads are displayed and the player is defeated on the next life, they get a Game Over. This method of displaying extra lives would still be used in games such as WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$!, with four symbols displayed on the screen that gray out if the player fails a microgame (which can eventually be restored if a boss microgame is beaten).

Later games such as Super Mario Bros. introduced a numerical version of the extra-life counter. Initially, earlier games displayed such on the level's starting screen, and it would not be integrated into the heads-up display in gameplay until Super Mario Bros. 3. With this new system, earning multiple lives at once is also gradually introduced in the games through performing stomp combos, collecting 1-Up Mushrooms, and completing bonus minigames such as the Bonus Chance.

The maximum number of lives the player can earn is also displayed on the numerical life counter, and it varies between each game:

  • The maximum number of lives the player can earn in the NES version of Super Mario Bros. is 127, but going above that number results in a Game Over on the next death due to a signed integer overflow. The Super Mario All-Stars version does not go above 127.
    • If the player receives 10 or more lives, a crown and a symbol are displayed instead of the number due to the symbols being pulled from a second CHR table,[1] but the actual numerical value is correctly displayed in the All-Stars version.
  • The NES version of Super Mario Bros. 2 allows players to earn up to 255 lives (though "0" on the life counter is the last life). In Super Mario All-Stars and Super Mario Advance, however, the life counter is maxed out at 99 instead (and "1" on the counter is the last life instead).
    • Earning more than 100 lives in the NES version causes the tens digit to display letters from A to P instead. For example, "P4" means the player has 254 lives remaining.
  • The NES version of Super Mario Bros. 3 maxes out lives at 100 (shown as "99" due to "0" being the last life), but the maximum number is slightly reduced to 99 in the All-Stars version (due to "1" on the counter being the last life).
  • Starting with games such as Super Mario World, the life counter is maxed out at 99.
  • Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (and its reissue), Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2, and Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 all max out lives at 999.
  • In Super Mario 3D Land, New Super Mario Bros. 2, and Super Mario 3D World, players can have up to 1,110 lives, with the hundreds, tens, and ones digits turning into crowns when the player reaches 1,000, 1,100, and 1,110 lives, respectively. In Super Mario 3D Land and Super Mario 3D World, "0" on the life counter is the last life.
    • Maxing out the life counter in Super Mario 3D Land and New Super Mario Bros. 2 causes Mario and Luigi to appear without their caps when starting a level (they still have their caps in the former game if they are small or in Fire form).
  • In Super Mario Maker's 10/100 Mario Challenge, Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS's Super Mario Challenge, and Super Mario Maker 2's Story Mode and Endless Challenge, up to three extra lives can be received per course/job, with a maximum of 100 (in the first two games) or 99 (in Super Mario Maker 2). However, in Super Mario Maker 2's Story Mode, the current number of lives always defaults to five when the player enters a different job.
  • Some sequences in games such as Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door may opt to display a life counter despite having no life system at all, such as in the Bowser segments. However, in such cases, due to such having infinite lives, an infinity symbol is displayed on the life counter instead.

Super Smash Bros. series[edit]

In the Super Smash Bros. series, lives, referred to in-game as stocks, can be used as an optional additional rule. How many stocks characters have left is represented by small icons under the damage meter, and in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, during a 1-on-1 battle, the stock count of both fighters is briefly displayed onscreen whenever a stock is lost (except when it is the final stock). In The Subspace Emissary from Super Smash Bros. Brawl, stocks can also be restored by obtaining Stock Balls.

Gallery[edit]

  • Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island

    Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island

  • Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island

    Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island

  • Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island

    Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island

  • Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island

    Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island

  • Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island

    Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island

  • Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island

    Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island

  • Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3

    Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3

  • Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3

    Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3

  • Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3

    Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3

  • Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3

    Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3

See also[edit]

Names in other languages[edit]

Extra Life[edit]

Language Name Meaning Notes
Japanese 残り人数
Nokori Ninzū
残機
Zanki[?] 		Number of players remaining

Number of planes remaining (derived from a shooting game where the player controls fighter planes and robots)
Chinese 命[2]
Mìng 		Life
German Extra-Leben[?] Extra Life
Italian Vita extra[?] Extra life
Portuguese Vida extra[?] Extra life
Russian Дополнительная жизнь[?]
Dopolnitel'naya zhizn' 		Extra life

1UP[edit]

Language Name Meaning Notes
Portuguese (NOA) 1 VIDA[3] 1 LIFE

Trivia[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Deezer. (n.d.). TMK | Reference | Super Mario Bros. Complete Guide. Retrieved July 10, 2024, from https://themushroomkingdom.net/smb_breakdown.shtml#extra
  2. ^ iQue's promotional demo play videos of Super Mario Advance and Wario Land 4. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  3. ^ Detona (October 22, 2023). Super Mario Bros. Wonder - Jogo Completo 100% - PT BR (5:02). Youtube. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
[Edit]
General video game terms
Cheat code • Completion • Continue • Easter egg • Extra life • Fourth wall • Game Over • Glitch • Missable content • Point • Unrevisitable area • Unwinnable state
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