Mystery Box
- This article is about the box from Super Mario 3D Land. For the item from the Paper Mario series with the same name, see Mystery Box (item). For The Captain Command in Bowser Jr.'s Journey, see Mystery Box (Captain Command).
| Mystery Box | |
|---|---|
 Artwork from Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker | |
| First appearance | Super Mario 3D Land (2011) |
| Latest appearance | Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury (2021) |
Mystery Boxes are objects debuting in Super Mario 3D Land.
History
Super Mario series
Super Mario 3D Land
In Super Mario 3D Land, they are found in most Worlds, with their primary task being to defeat all the enemies in the box within ten seconds. Enemies can range from Goombas to Boom Booms. When Mario completes the task, Coins and a Star Medal appear. Other items, such as 1-Up Mushrooms, Super Leaves and Fire Flowers are also found within Mystery Boxes. However, if Mario loses a life in a Mystery Box, he will be forced to quit the level. Whenever the player first encounters a Mystery Box on the world map, they are required to enter it before moving on. The Mystery Box theme is a remix of the Teleporter theme from Super Mario Galaxy 2.
Mystery Boxes can also be golden on the inside, while still appearing purple on the outside. All of the golden-sided Mystery Boxes contain two Star Medals, and at least three 1-Up Mushrooms, with some containing as many as eight. No golden-sided Mystery Boxes contain enemies, and as such, Star Medals appear immediately upon entering a box. They can contain many different things, such as Poison Mushrooms, Toads, or even P-Wings. These Mystery Boxes have a cover of the main theme from Super Mario Bros. as the background music.
There are a total of 20 unique normal Mystery Box contents and 15 unique golden-sided Mystery Boxes contents. Golden-sided Mystery Boxes more rarely appear than normal ones. Each normal Mystery Box can be found in two different Worlds, while each golden-sided one can only be found in a single World.
After completing a Mystery Box, it turns gray on the overworld map and "falls asleep", rendering it inaccessible. It may be accessed again 20 hours later. The contents of each Mystery Box changes each time it is re-entered.
Mystery Boxes can also be accessed via StreetPass, a wireless feature that automatically exchanges information with nearby Nintendo 3DS systems while the system is in sleep mode). The only difference in a StreetPass Mystery Box is that it is guaranteed to have a Star Medal or two, unless of course all Star Medals have been collected.
Mystery Boxes also can appear in some levels of Super Mario 3D Land, which the goal is to collect as many coins from the blocks within the time limit. In the early versions of the game, these Mystery Boxes used the same design as that of the current Warp Box; similarly, the early Warp Boxes used the current Mystery Box design, albeit with an exclamation point instead of a question mark.[1] The colors were switched in the final version of the game.
Super Mario 3D World / Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury
Mystery Boxes in Super Mario 3D World and its Nintendo Switch port can only be found in levels. Each of them has a Green Star which must be collected within the time limit. If Mario fails, he is sent back to the proper level. The Green Stars must be collected in different ways, like defeating every enemy present, navigating through a small obstacle course, or using given items or forms to reach it. Certain worlds also feature special courses called Mystery Houses, which consist of clearing a number of Mystery Box courses in quick succession. In one area of the Shiftier Boo Mansion level, a fake Mystery Box appears, which summons a Big Boo when interacted with.
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
Mystery Boxes also appear in Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker and its Nintendo Switch and Nintendo 3DS ports, appearing only in Coins Galore bonus levels this time. After entering a Coins Galore level, Captain Toad or Toadette can select two Mystery Boxes: one that accesses a bonus area with Super Pickaxes and other that access a bonus area with Double Cherries. The task is to collect many coins or Gold Mushrooms within 10 seconds. After completing a Coins Galore level, it cannot be entered again. However, if the Toads complete every level of the game, these Coins Galore levels will be permanently open and can be accessed at any time from the Bonus Episode.
Contents
Super Mario 3D Land
| Image | What are inside | Appearance |
|---|---|---|
| File:SM3DL W1-3 MB (inside).jpg |
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File:SM3DL W1-3 MB.jpg |
| File:SM3DL W1-4 MB (inside).jpg |
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 (Note: A yellow Toad will also be found here and will give a 1-Up Mushroom if the player watched his entrance into the hidden Box through a pair of Binoculars.) | |
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World Map Mystery Boxes
Defeating every enemy in a Box will cause ten Coins and a Star Medal to appear.
| Image | What are inside | Appearance(s) |
|---|---|---|
| File:SM3DL W1 MB (inside).jpg | File:SM3DL W1 MB.jpg (Note: This is also the tutorial.) | |
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Golden Mystery Boxes
In addition to the features listed here, each Box contains two Star Medals.
| Image | What are inside | Appearance |
|---|---|---|
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Super Mario 3D World
The player obtains a Green Star by completing the following objectives:
| Level number | Level name | Objective |
|---|---|---|
| World 1-2 | Koopa Troopa Cave | Defeating two Koopa Troopas |
| World 1-5 | Switch Scramble Circus | Destroying the crate in the left-hand corner |
| World 2-3 | Shadow-Play Alley | Pressing the P Switch to open a hidden room underneath the stairs |
| World 3-3 | Shifty Boo Mansion | Dodging the Peepas in the rotating room to reach the Star |
| World 3-6 | Mount Must Dash | Catching the Rabbit |
| World 4-2 | Piranha Creeper Creek | Using four Piranha Creepers as platforms to reach the Star |
| World 4-4 | Big Bounce Byway | Jumping with a disabled Hop-Chop or using the Cat transformation to climb to the Star |
World 4- Castle
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Lava Rock Lair | Pressing the three P Panels |
| World 5-7 | Searchlight Sneak | Climbing the stairs to the Star while dodging Cat Bullet Bills |
| World 6-3 | Hands-On Hall | Defeating the Spike |
| World 6-5 | Ty-Foo Flurries | Skating to the Star while dodging Walleyes and Skating Goombas |
| World 6-6 | Bullet Bill Base | Navigating the circular vertical conveyor belt to reach the Star |
World  Castle-4
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Boiling Blue Bully Belt | Pushing a Bully into the lava |
World  Bowser-1
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Spiky Spike Bridge | Climbing up the wall to the P Switch to reveal the Star and climbing the opposite wall to retrieve it |
| World Bowser-3
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Cookie Cogworks | Navigating the giant cookie rotating counterclockwise to reach the Star |
| World Bowser-4
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Footlight Lane | Navigating the invisible floors and dodging the Thwomp to reach the Star |
| World Bowser-6
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A Beam in the Dark | Defeating six Boos with Light Boxes or the Lucky Bell |
World  Star-3
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Rolling Ride Run | Rotating the room to the right or using the Cat transformation to reach the Star |
| World Star-5
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Super Block Land | Extending the blocks in the room or using the Cat transformation to reach the Star |
| World Star-8
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Peepa's Fog Bog | Throwing a snowball at the Star to collect it; going near it causes it to vanish |
World  Flower-1
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Switch Shock Circus | Turning on all four Switch Panels on the wall to reveal the Star |
Gallery
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ミステリーボックス[2] Misuterī Bokkusu |
Mystery Box | |
| Chinese | 神秘箱[?] Shénmì Xiāng |
Mystery Box | |
| German | Rätselbox[?] | Mystery Box | |
| Italian | Cubo Mistero[?] | Mystery Cube | |
| Portuguese | Caixa Mistério[?] | Mystery Box | |
| Russian | Ящик с секретом[?] Yashchik s sekretom |
Box with secret | |
| Spanish | Caja misteriosa[?] | Mysterious box |
References
- ^ UltimatePisman (May 27, 2015). Super Mario 3D Land: E3 2011 Beta. YouTube (English). Archived August 19, 2015, 03:14:16 UTC from the original via Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
- ^ Sakai, Kazuya (Ambit) et al. (October 19, 2015). Super Mario Bros. Hyakka: Nintendo Kōshiki Guidebook. Shogakukan (Japanese). ISBN 978-4-09-106569-8. Page 186 and 233.
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