Key

This article is about a general overview of keys. For the specific keys in Mario's Time Machine, see Key (Mainz) and Key (Philadelphia). For the coins simply known as keys in Super Nintendo World, see Key Coin.

Key
Artwork from Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
First appearance	Donkey Kong Jr. (1982)
Latest appearance	Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition (2024)
Effect	Unlocks a door or sealed barrier

Keys in the Super Mario franchise are items and objects typically used for opening locked doors or unlocking secret paths, and they have taken on a variety of designs throughout their appearances.

History

Donkey Kong series

Donkey Kong Jr.

Keys in Donkey Kong Jr. are used to unlock Donkey Kong's cage in the Chain Scene. In the Game & Watch version, obtaining four keys is a critical component to freeing Donkey Kong.

Donkey Kong (Game Boy)

Artwork of Mario throwing up a key, from the Game Boy version of Donkey Kong

Keys in the Game Boy version of Donkey Kong appear in every stage from Stage 1-1 onward, all in which Mario has to find the key and take it to the correct locked door. Mario can pick up a key by standing on it and lifting it above his head, and Mario often has to throw it upwards since he cannot hold it while climbing a ladder. Keys are useful projectiles to throw at enemies and defeat them.

Super Mario series

Super Mario Bros. 2

A Key, as depicted for Super Mario Advance

Keys in Super Mario Bros. 2 are objects corresponding to locked doors, with both objects first appearing in World 1-2. All keys are guarded by Phantos, one of which will chase the player until the key is either dropped or unlocks a door. Keys are one of the few items like Mushrooms to always be above ground and not having to be uprooted. A Key in World 7-2 is held by a Birdo, whom the player must defeat for the key.

Super Mario World

Keys and keyholes in Super Mario World appear in various levels, where carrying a key to a keyhole opens the current level's secret exit. Keys can be carried around and dropped or kicked upwards. A key can be carried by Yoshi in his mouth, but he will swallow the key if it remains in his mouth for too long. Unlike other items, the location of a key does not reset when it is scrolled off the screen.

Super Mario 64 / Super Mario 64 DS

Mario obtaining the Boss Key of Bowser in the Fire Sea in Super Mario 64

Keys in Super Mario 64 appear only as two Big Keys, located in Bowser in the Dark World and Bowser in the Fire Sea respectively. Each Big Key can be obtained by Mario after defeating Bowser. The first Big Key unlocks the opens the door to the basement of the Mushroom Castle, while the second key opens the door to the upper floors of the Mushroom Castle. If the player tries unlocking the door to the upper floors with the basement key, a message is displayed, notifying the player that the key does not fit the lock.

Keys in the Nintendo DS versions appear in more varieties, other than Big Keys. The most common types of Keys are those stolen by rabbits, and the first key that Yoshi has to obtain unlocks the door into the Mushroom Castle at the beginning. The keys held by the other rabbits are only for unlocking different minigames, but a key to the white-bordered door in the princess's room, which contains a secret Power Star, can be obtained after capturing the eight glowing rabbits. Goomboss, King Boo, and Chief Chilly are the proprietors of Mario's Key, the Luigi Key, and the Wario Key, respectively, and must be defeated for their keys so that the player can unlock the doors in the princess's room where Mario, Luigi, and Wario are imprisoned, respectively.

Mario's Key, Luigi Key, and Wario Key

Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3

A Key in Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 appears only in the World-e level, Doors o' Plenty, retaining its interactive properties from Super Mario World but having to open a Key Door, as in Super Mario Bros. 2.

New Super Mario Bros. subseries

Mario wins a key in World 3.

Mario sees a key after defeating Roy Koopa in New Super Mario Bros. Wii.

Keys in New Super Mario Bros. are rewarded for defeating every boss from World 2 to World 7.

Keys in New Super Mario Bros. Wii and New Super Mario Bros. 2 are items that appear only after defeating one of the Koopalings at their castles, and the player has to grab the key to both complete and exit the level. Keys in the Coin Battle mode of New Super Mario Bros. Wii grant five coins to whichever player had collected it.

Super Mario Galaxy

Keys in Super Mario Galaxy can be collected to automatically open locked doors or cages. A Key in the Gateway Galaxy and the Ghostly Galaxy is held by a Grand Goomba and a Boo, respectively, both releasing the Key after the enemies have been defeated.

Super Mario Galaxy 2

A Key on the Jack O' Goomba Planet in the Battle Belt Galaxy in Super Mario Galaxy 2

Keys in Super Mario Galaxy 2 are functionally identical to their appearance in Super Mario Galaxy, and appear in galaxies such as the Haunty Halls Galaxy, the Battle Belt Galaxy, and also briefly in the Rolling Masterpiece Galaxy.

Super Mario Maker / Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS

Keys in Super Mario Maker can be added to levels ever since the update released on March 9, 2016. Keys can be placed in blocks, or in an enemy, making them obtainable after Mario defeats it. Additionally, another new item included in the update, the Pink Coin, reveals a key once Mario collects every single one in the level. Keys cannot be carried by Mario, since they now follow him automatically, not unlike the keys of the Yoshi's Island series. Up to eight keys can be obtained at one time.

Super Mario Run

Keys in Super Mario Run are used to unlock Key Doors. They take on their design from the New Super Mario Bros. U style in Super Mario Maker. Keys can be found inside of Boos and ? Blocks inside of Ghost Houses, and are a requirement to beating level 5-3: Boohind Lock and Key.

Super Mario Odyssey

Keys in Super Mario Odyssey received a slight redesign, and are used for opening locked panels, which contain Power Moons when collected.

Super Mario Maker 2

Keys in Super Mario Maker 2 retain their function and purpose from Super Mario Maker, and additionally appear in the added fifth game style, Super Mario 3D World, where they resemble the key symbols seen on Key Coins in the original game. In multiplayer, a player can stomp on another player who is holding a Key to grab the Key for themselves. If the player holding the Key is defeated, the Key enters a bubble, allowing other players to grab it.

Keys in the version 3.0.0 update were given a variation exclusively in the Super Mario Bros. game style, Cursed Keys, which spawn a Phanto when picked up, just like keys do in Super Mario Bros. 2.

Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury

Keys with cat ears appear in the Bowser's Fury campaign of Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury, specifically when a Key is needed to open a cage containing a Cat Shine. Unlike in previous games, the key must be carried all the way back to the lock, rather than simply touching it. They also disappear if they are on the ground other than their initial spawn point for too long, or if they get thrown into water, the black goop, or lava. In these cases, the key will respawn back at its original location.

Super Mario World animated series

King Koopa holding a key in the Super Mario World episode "Mama Luigi".

Keys in the Super Mario World cartoon have a purpose in two episodes, "Ghosts 'R' Us" and "Mama Luigi". A Key in "Ghosts 'R' Us" is spawned by Oogtar from a ? Block after Wizenheimer is defeated, and uses it for the door. This key plays the same sound effect as a Cape Feather. A Key in "Mama Luigi" is shown off by King Koopa, who gloats that the Mario Bros. will never be able to find Princess Toadstool without it. However, Yoshi then eats it, and after Koopa retreats, Yoshi spits out the key to open the cell the Princess was being held in.

Wario Land series

Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3

Wario carrying a key to a skull door in Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3.

Keys in Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 are hidden throughout many stages of the game, and are required to open the skull door (also called Skeleton Door or Treasure Room Door) to a Treasure Room. A key can sometimes be found inside of a Face Block. The keyhole in which the key fits is always found in the same stage as the key and the key can not be taken out of the stage, so it has to be recollected after leaving the level. Inside the Treasure Rooms, Wario can find one of the collectible treasures. However, he cannot be Small Wario as he needs to Body Slam the treasure chest to open it (although breathing fire also works).

Virtual Boy Wario Land

Gate Keys in Virtual Boy Wario Land are a requirement for unlocking the elevator at the end of each stage.

Wario Land 3

The keys as they appear in the levels of Wario Land 3

While being absent in Wario Land II, keys reappear in Wario Land 3. Four differently colored keys are hidden throughout the level: a Gray Key (or Silver Key), Red Key, Green Key, and Blue Key. Wario can only clear a level if he finds one of the keys and manages to take them to their respective treasure chest. By doing so, he earns himself a new treasure that helps the player to proceed and find new levels. Usually, not all keys in a level are available from the start. The player has to obtain new abilities and meet certain requirements to find them all. After a key is taken to a treasure chest, the chest gets replaced by a goal door. After acquiring all treasures in every level and beating the final boss, starting the game will result in Time Attack, in which the objective of every level is to instead collect all four colored keys and exit through one of the goal doors. The fastest possible time will be recorded based on how fast this objective is achieved. Every key can be obtained in a level no matter if it's day or night, so the player won't be locked out of completion in any condition.

Wario Land 4

When Wario Land 4 was in development, Wario originally needed a key to unlock the four boxes (much like Wario Land 3) to gain the four Jewel Pieces. In the final game, Wario merely has to touch the box in order to open it. Besides the Keyzer, no other key is seen in the game.

Yoshi franchise

Keys in Yoshi appear after the player clears levels 22 through 24 of the B-Type game, rewarding the player with 1,000 points.

Keys in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (and its reissue), Yoshi's Story, Yoshi's Island DS, Yoshi's New Island, Yoshi's Woolly World, Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World, and Yoshi's Crafted World can be collected and carried like Yoshi Eggs, taking up one space of the player's maximum number of eggs. They can be used to unlock Mini Battle houses, locked doors in castles, and Corks that block pipes. Additionally, during the cutscene following the defeat of a castle boss, a large key appears and unlocks a keyhole.

Keys in Yoshi's Story are required to open locked doors in the Lift Castle, Ghost Castle, and Magma Castle. They are obtained by defeating a certain ComBat in the Lift Castle, popping a certain ? Bubble in the Ghost Castle, and defeating the two slugs in the Magma Castle. One key in the Ghost Castle is out in the open in an underground section.

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  Yoshi (Nintendo Entertainment System)

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  Yoshi (Game Boy)

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  Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island

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  Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island

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  Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island

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  A key in Yoshi's Island DS

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  A key in Yoshi's Story

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  Fort Key Calamity (Yoshi's New Island)

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  Burt the Bashful's Castle (Yoshi's Woolly World)

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  A key in Yoshi's Crafted World

Donkey Kong franchise

Donkey Kong 64

Keys in Donkey Kong 64 appear only in the form of Boss Keys, which are rewarded after each boss battle, and are used to unlock padlocks on K. Lumsy's cage.

Donkey Kong Country Returns

A key in Donkey Kong Country Returns known as a Map Key can be purchased from Cranky Kong's Shop in each world, for a total of eight keys. Each key costs 20 Banana Coins, and when purchased, unlocks an alternate route on the world map that will allow Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong to reach additional levels. This totals up to a price of 160 Banana Coins for buying all 8 keys.

Mario Party series

Main article: Skeleton Key

Keys in the Mario Party series appear in different varieties. Keys owned by Bowser are called Bowser Keys, and appear usually in Bowser Minigames, where using them is a requirement to escape from Bowser. Bowser Keys in earlier games of the Mario Party series are simply keys shaped like Bowser's head, but later installments engrave Bowser Keys with Bowser's likeness. Keys in Mario Party 3 appear in the minigame Locked Out, and have key heads shaped like mushrooms, flowers and stars.

Paper Mario series

Paper Mario

From left to right: Tubba Blubba's, Bowser's, and Hooktail's keys

There are many key designs in Paper Mario and its sequel, but each only opens doors in the area they are found. There are Castle Keys for every castle and fortress, and various others keys in different locations. Keys in Paper Mario are used in Tubba Blubba's Castle, Bowser's Castle, and Peach's Castle. Tubba Blubba's keys look like three-leaf clovers, while Bowser's look like a gold three-leaf clover with a blue ball in the middle. There are about three of Tubba's keys and five of Bowser's keys. Peach's Castle Keys are pink versions of Bowser's Castle Keys. Also, a living key called Yakkey locked the Gusty Gulch Windmill.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

The Grotto Key in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.

Keys in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door appear in two varieties: the four Castle Keys, which are shaped like flowers and open the doors in Hooktail Castle, and a Grotto Key, which opens the door to the south area in the Pirate's Grotto.

Super Paper Mario

Keys in Super Paper Mario appear more prominently than in the previous installments. They are used in many levels to unlock doors.

Luigi's Mansion series

Luigi's Mansion

A key from Luigi's Mansion.

Keys in Luigi's Mansion and its Nintendo 3DS version are used for unlocking the different rooms of the mansion. Keys can usually be obtained from a treasure chest that appears when clearing a room of every ghost. Keys in certain rooms like the Wardrobe Room or Bathroom spawn on a higher shelf once Luigi hes captured all ghosts in the room. In the Fortune-teller's Room, Luigi must utilize a specific method to acquire the Laundry Room key, by lighting all four candelabras using the Fire Element Medal.

Also, there are four special keys, with each one having a different card suit: heart, club, diamond, and spade.

• The key to Area 2, the Main Hall Key (obtained from Chauncey): This heart-shaped key unlocks the door with the heart imprint on the first floor of the Foyer.
• The key to Area 3, the Courtyard Key (obtained from Bogmire): This club-shaped key unlocks the door with the club imprint that is near the Bathroom on the first floor and the Conservatory.
• The key to Area 4, the West Wing Key (obtained from Boolossus): This diamond-shaped key unlocks the door with the diamond imprint on the west side of the Balcony on the third floor.
• The key to the Secret Altar, the Secret Altar Key (obtained from Vincent Van Gore): This spade-shaped key unlocks the door with the spade imprint at the end of the hall in the basement that leads to King Boo's Secret Altar. It's the only special key that's not dropped by a boss Portrait Ghost nor leads to a different area.

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  The Main Hall Key

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  The Courtyard Key

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  The West Wing Key

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  The Secret Altar Key

Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon

Keys in Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon are differently designed, disintegrate upon being used, but retain their usual role of unlocking doors.

Luigi's Mansion 3

Keys in Luigi's Mansion 3 are functionally identical to their appearances in Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, and their design is complementary to that of the architecture of the Last Resort, where they appear throughout.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong series

Mario vs. Donkey Kong

Mario with a Key in Mario vs. Donkey Kong

Keys in Mario vs. Donkey Kong have to be collected to progress through the levels, similarly to the Game Boy version of Donkey Kong. Keys need to be carried to locked doors in order to open them and move on to the next area. A Key can be thrown forwards and upwards, like other objects that Mario can pick up, and will also be knocked out of Mario's hand if he is attacked. A unique characteristic that keys have is when they are dropped or put down by Mario, their twelve-second countdown timer is initiated, and will respawn to their original place when the timer is up.

Keys in the Plus Levels are smaller and attached to Mini Marios, which they trail behind. These keys cannot be picked up by Mario, and a Key has to be brought to the locked door to complete the stage.

Keys in the remake function similarly to their original counterparts, but if a player character runs past a key, it will rotate in place. In the newly-added Casual play style, keys have a fifteen-second timer instead of twelve. Additionally, the remake also features a flying variant of keys, with the gold variant used to unlock a chest with five 1-Up Mushrooms in bonus levels, and a silver variant appearing in multiplayer only, which is mandatory to unchain locked doors and toy boxes before using them.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again!

While regular keys do not appear in Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again!, Key Mini Mario reappears once again in the various "Key" levels in the game, being required to unlock the Goal Doors in them. They also reprise their roles in Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem! and in Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars.

Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move

Keys appear in Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move as occasional level elements in Mario's Main Event and Many Mini Mayhem. In levels with keys, the goal tile is locked off and cannot be accessed unless a Mini collects a key and makes it to the goal. In Many Mini Mayhem, some Minis may spawn with a key already in possession - this Mini must reach the goal first before any of the other Minis do to unlock it.

Super Mario Fushigi no Janjan Land

Keys reappear in Super Mario Fushigi no Janjan Land, where the player needs to collect at least five of them to fight Bowser.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

SmashWiki article: Key

Keys in The Subspace Emissary mode of Super Smash Bros. Brawl are items found near locked gates. A key held by a player as they approach a gate will unlock it, although the key is disposed of in the process. These keys represent the Super Smash Bros. series, and not the Super Mario franchise.

Mario & Luigi series

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story / Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey

Keys in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story and its Nintendo 3DS remake appear in the form of special items, including Blue Keys, Red Keys, and Green Keys. They are found on the second floor of Peach's Castle, the last stage in the game, held by Fawfulcopters which Bowser must chase after. The Blue Key is required to proceed the storyline; the other two are optional.

Earlier in the game, the Stingler and Star Panels behave like keys and open the doors in Pump Works and the Energy Hold, respectively.

Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam

Mario holds a key in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam

A key in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam appears briefly as a teaching tutorial for the Trio Grab, used to unlock a door in Twinsy Tropics Dungeon.

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker

Keys in Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker and its Nintendo Switch and Nintendo 3DS ports are items that always open locked doors, and can be obtained from Pluck Patches. Keys can also be thrown at enemies to defeat them, not unlike Super Mario Bros. 2. Keys are carried by Captain Toad and Toadette atop their head, akin to other items. A key can reward one coin if the player clears the stage while that key is outside of its Pluck Patch.

Dr. Mario World

A key in Dr. Mario World

Keys in Dr. Mario World are stage objects all found inside bubbles, meaning that they will float upwards until they hit an object. The bubbles containing the keys cannot be removed until it comes into contact with a door, after which it will disappear. Like the bubbles in this game, the keys that are currently floating cannot be reacted to, such as when Dr. Petey Piranha's hits the bottom-most objects in each column (therefore the key is not treated as the bottom-most object while floating), except by pushing it upwards with a capsule. Moreover, the Hammer Bro. assistant will affect the floating speed of the key when equipped by slowing down the floating. When a capsule match is made next to the keys, the skill meter will be filled with an extra point for each key that it is made next to, even though the key will not be removed. The keys, as stage objects, appear exclusively in stage mode. Keys first appear in World 8.

Keys in versus mode are items that the player can be rewarded by winning versus matches. They are used to unlock battle boxes, of which the player can obtain three out of the nine possible rewards. The default number of keys required to unlock battle boxes is five since version 2.1.0 and seven prior to that, but only three are required on certain weeks. On certain weeks since season 3, specialists have the benefit of winning two keys instead of one if any of them are used to win the match.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie

In the teaser posterMedia:The Super Mario Bros Movie teaser poster.jpg for The Super Mario Bros. Movie, voxelated keys resembling their sprite in Super Mario World can be seen being sold at the antiques store for two coins each.

Princess Peach: Showtime!

The Spades Key

The Diamonds Key

The stage The Case of the Missing Mural in Princess Peach: Showtime! has two keys, a blue Spades Key and a red Diamonds Key, which are used to open the mummies in the room to the right of the popcorn lobby. The Spades Key is found on the right of the air duct's exit while the Diamonds Key is found to the left of the popcorn kiosk.

If the keys are used on the mummies, the Spades Key opens up to reveal a Sparkle Gem while the Diamonds Key opens up a Theet who was trapped inside.

Profiles

Super Mario Bros. 2

• Wii Virtual Console manual: "This item opens a locked door."

Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3

• Nintendo 3DS Digital Manual description: "Take a key to a door with a keyhole in it to open it."

Luigi's Mansion series

Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon

• Instruction Manual description: "Keys open locked doors."

Luigi's Mansion (Nintendo 3DS)

• Instruction Manual description (page 7): "Sometimes while exploring a lit room, you will find a key. Pick it up and use it to open doors to locked rooms."
• Instruction Manual description (page 14): "Open locked doors."

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Trophy Key
	Appears in: Wii Super Smash Bros. Brawl
	How to unlock: Random drop
	In The Subspace Emissary, there are often locked doors. This key is the item you need to unlock these doors. You can touch a door while holding the key, or you can even throw the key at a door to unlock it. If you lose the key, it will return to the place you originally found it. This item is vital to your progress, so do your best not to lose it.

Gallery

For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Key.

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  Super Mario World

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  Super Mario Galaxy

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  Super Mario World: Mario to Yoshi no Bōken Land

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  Promotional image for 60-Byō Challenge! Luigi o Sukue!! from Nintendo Co., Ltd.'s LINE account

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  Dr. Mario World

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  LEGO Super Mario

See also

• Keyzer
• Skeleton Key
• Yakkey

Additional names

Internal names

Game	File	Name	Meaning
Super Mario Galaxy Super Mario Galaxy 2	ObjectData/KeySwitch.arc	KeySwitch	Key Switch
Super Mario Galaxy Super Mario Galaxy 2	StageData/ObjNameTable.arc/ObjNameTable.tbl SystemData/ObjNameTable.arc/ObjNameTable.tbl	鍵スイッチ (Kagi Suitchi)	Key Switch
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker	content/ObjectData/DoorLock.szs	DoorLock	Door Key (Japanese kagi can mean key or lock)

Names in other languages

Key

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	カギ 鍵 Kagi	Key
Chinese (simplified)	钥匙[?] Yàoshi	Key
Chinese (traditional)	鑰匙[?] Yàoshi	Key
Dutch	Sleutel	Key
French	Clé[?]	Key
German	Schlüssel	Key
Italian	Chiave[?]	Key
Korean	키[?] Ki	Key
Portuguese	Chave[?]	Key
Russian	Ключ[?] Klyuch	Key
Spanish	Llave[?]	Key

Treasure Room

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	宝たからの部屋へや Takara no Heya	Treasure Room

Skull door

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	ドクロの扉とびら Dokuro no Tobira	Skull Door