Pit

This article is about the obstacle found in many Super Mario games. For other uses, see Pit (disambiguation).

"Abyss" redirects here. For the custom variant for Sheik's Vanish special move in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, see Sheik § Vanish.

Mario falling into a pit in Super Mario World

“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 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 jumps 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.

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, there are no bottomless pits. Mario will lose a life if he falls from a height greater than his own. In 75 m, touching the bottom floor subtracts a life as if it were a pit. In the Game Boy version, this floor is covered with spikes.

In Donkey Kong Jr., falling from a vine or chain costs a life. The Vine Scene contains a watery pit, while the first true bottomless pits are in the Jump Board Scene and Mario's Hideout.

Super Mario series

Mario running across many narrow pits

Pits are a common obstacle in the 2D games of the 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 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 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 Zones 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 Super Mario 64 DS, 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 holes, appearing in island-like 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 coins 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 Assist Mode, a bubble brings them back out and they lose one Health Point. There are situations where the bubble does not appear.

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 "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, appearing in certain courses such as 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 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, working similarly to how they do in Super Mario games. Yoshi's Woolly World features the 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 minigames in the 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

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 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 spring and (a) valuable item(s). Also in Super Paper Mario, some Shaydes are tasked with cleaning pits as punishment in The Underwhere.

Unused appearances

During the development of Mario Bros., Gunpei Yokoi suggested removing the threat of falling from great heights that were seen in the first two Donkey Kong arcade entries. This would have a major impact on subsequent games of the Super Mario franchise.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
French	Fosse sans fin	Bottomless pit
Italian	Pozzo/pozza	Pit/hole
	Buco senza fondo[?]	Bottomless hole
Spanish	Hoyo[?]	Pit