Treasure chest

Treasure chest
	; A treasure chest from Wario Land: Shake It!
First appearance	Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988)
Latest appearance	Super Mario RPG (Nintendo Switch) (2023)

Not to be confused with Treasure Block.

Template:Quote2 Treasure chests (sometimes formatted as Treasure Chests), also referred to as treasure boxes, are objects scattered throughout the levels in many different games. Some hold the most mundane of items, while others hold unique items needed to complete a quest.

History

Super Mario series

Super Mario Bros. 3 / Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3

Treasure boxes in the Super Mario All-Stars version of Super Mario Bros. 3

Treasure boxes, referred to simply as "boxes" by a Toad, first appear in Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3. They are usually seen inside Toad Houses, and when opened, the boxes reveal a power-up that can be used later in the game. Small boxes that also hold useful items appear after the player defeats all of the enemies in an Enemy Course or in secluded areas in levels.

Super Mario 64 / Super Mario 64 DS

A Treasure Chest in Super Mario 64

A treasure chest in Super Mario 64 DS

Treasure Chests also appear in Jolly Roger Bay and Dire, Dire Docks in Super Mario 64 and its remake, Super Mario 64 DS. If a character touches one of these Treasure Chests in the wrong order, he is shocked and stunned, but if he touches them in the correct order, he receives either bubbles or a Power Star, or causes water to drain.

Super Mario Galaxy

A treasure chest in the Snow Cap Galaxy

In Super Mario Galaxy, treasure chests contain either optional items or something needed to progress through the level, such as a Launch Star. They can be opened by throwing shells at them. Shiny treasure chests also appear in this game. Some chests contain coins, Star Bits, a Launch Star, a 1-Up Mushroom, or just a bubble. A Gold Treasure Box appears in the Bigmouth Galaxy and can be opened only by a Gold Shell. Many chests can be found underwater.

New Super Mario Bros Wii

A chest in New Super Mario Bros. Wii

In New Super Mario Bros. Wii, chests appear in the Enemy Courses where a Toad is captured. After the player collects all eight Toad balloons, the chest opens and frees the Toad, who gives Mario three Super Mushrooms as a reward. Chests also appear in Yellow Toad Houses, where they contain a Star.

Super Mario Galaxy 2

A treasure chest in the distance in Slimy Spring Galaxy

Treasure chests reappear in Super Mario Galaxy 2. In this game, they serve the same function as in Super Mario Galaxy. They are also opened using the same method, but they can also be opened using rubbery bulbs.

New Super Mario Bros. 2

In New Super Mario Bros. 2, treasure chests appear in Yellow Toad Houses, where they contain a reserve Gold Flower. The only exception is the one in World Star, which gives a reserve Super Star instead.

New Super Mario Bros. U / New Super Luigi U / New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe

Chests return in New Super Mario Bros. U, New Super Luigi U, and New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe, where they can be found in Enemy Courses, like in Super Mario Bros. 3. However, they contain only a Super Star instead of a Toad. If the player takes too long to collect the Super Star, Nabbit appears and steals it (if the player is playing as Nabbit in New Super Luigi U or New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe, the screen simply fades to black). Chests also appear behind the end-of-level fortresses when the player completes the level with the last two digits on the timer being the same. A Toad stands behind it and gives what is inside, which is an item corresponding to the last two digits to add to the inventory.

Super Mario Odyssey

Treasure chests appear in Super Mario Odyssey, where they can contain items such as hearts, Life-Up Hearts, Power Moons, or a large number of coins. They can be opened by throwing Cappy at them or by ground-pounding them. Like in Super Mario 64 and Super Mario 64 DS, some treasure chests must be opened in a certain order. If Mario opens them in the wrong order, instead of him being electrocuted, they disappear and a group of Chinchos appears. Mario must defeat all Chinchos that appear, and the treasure chests reappear for Mario to try again.

Donkey Kong Country series

Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest

Diddy and Dixie find a Treasure Chest at the start of Hot-Head Hop in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest.

In Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, Treasure Chests are brown, appear to be made up of wood, and have a dark-gray outline. Some Treasure Chests are darker, a difference only for aesthetic, and they usually appear in castle levels. Each Treasure Chest contains an item, such as a Banana Bunch, a Red Balloon, a Banana Coin, or even a K-O-N-G Letter. This is the first game where Treasure Chests can be picked up, and Diddy Kong or Dixie Kong can use a Treasure Chest to their advantage by picking it up and throwing it at an enemy to defeat it, except red Zingers, although the chest still breaks open upon hitting them. The only Treasure Chests that the Kongs are required to break are those with a kannonball, which is required to activate its corresponding kannon to a Bonus Level. In some of the Bonus Levels' "Destroy Them All!" challenges, Treasure Chests have to be used to defeat the enemies. In some "Find the Token!" Bonus Levels, such as Gangplank Galley's first one and Kannon's Klaim's first one, the object is to break the Treasure Chest with the Kremkoin. In the first Bonus Level of Hornet Hole, the Kongs have to hit numerous Zingers with the Treasure Chest until it breaks open and reveals the Kremkoin.

Donkey Kong Country Returns / Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D / Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

Cranky Kong, next to a treasure chest in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

Later in the series, treasure chests are given a more minor role. Similarly to the treasure chests in Donkey Kong Country 2, they contain items of all sorts and values, but they are immovable and part of the immediate background, just as with every item container from Donkey Kong Country Returns, Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D, and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. In these games, treasure chests can be opened by having the ground nearby pounded by the Kongs. In the former two games, they are common item containers on the Beach of Donkey Kong Island. However, treasure chests are not as common in Tropical Freeze, as they can be encountered only in special places, such as on a small bluff in Shoal Atoll, in a stage of Sea Breeze Cove, and on the shipwrecks of Seashore War, a level in the world Donkey Kong Island, which takes place in the Beach world of Donkey Kong Country Returns.

Donkey Kong Land 2

Treasure Chests are also in Donkey Kong Land 2, where they have the same role as in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest.

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars

In Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, treasure boxes hover in the air (just like ? Blocks), and they must be hit from below. They can contain coins, items, mushrooms, weapons, or monsters. These monsters are Huhwhat, Whuhoh, Pleaseno, and Comeon. A magic treasure box is found in the last area of Bowser's Castle, created by Magikoopa after the player defeats him. The golden box contains an infinite number of coins. Surprise Boxes, special invisible treasure boxes, also appear in the game.

Mario Party series

Mario Party

A Treasure Chest in Knock Block Tower

Treasure Chests make various appearances throughout the minigames of Mario Party. One minigame, Buried Treasure, involves players searching for a Treasure Chest. In Slot Machine, lining up three Treasure Chest Marks grants the player 10 Coins.

Mario Party 2

Main article: Plunder Chest

In Mario Party 2, a treasure chest known as a Plunder Chest appears as an item, which is used to steal an item from another player.

Mario Party 4

In Mario Party 4, a treasure chest appears in the minigame Team Treasure Trek.

Mario Party 6

In Mario Party 6, on the board Faire Square, there is a giant slot machine that looks like a treasure chest. If a player lines up three treasure chests, they win the jackpot. In the minigame Treasure Trawlers, the players try to grab treasure chests located underwater. Regular treasure chests are worth one point, and golden treasure chests are worth three points.

Mario Party 7

In Mario Party 7, treasure chests come into play on the board Neon Heights. There are initially three of them in play, spaced out at random spots along the board. One chest contains a Star, another holds 20 coins, and the other houses a Bob-omb. Koopa Kid guards the chests, but he can be bribed into awarding the contents of one in exchange for ten coins. If the Bob-omb is found, the player (or team) will be blown back to the start of the board. If the Star is found, a new chest containing a Star will appear elsewhere on the board. The other two chests will then be shuffled around as well, or added to the board if they have already been claimed. There is also a Bowser Time event exclusive to Neon Heights in which Bowser steals either a Star from the lead player or ten coins from each player, then orders Koopa Kid to stash what was stolen in the chest that already contains either the Star or 20 coins, which can then be recollected by whoever opens the respective chest. There is also the Neon Heights-exclusive Lakitu Orb. Using it triggers Lakitu, who selects a chest at random and brings it to the player, who can open it on the spot without having to pay Koopa Kid. Treasure chests also appear in the single-player Bowser minigame Treasure Dome!, where the player must open each chest by using a key.

Mario Party 8

In Mario Party 8, on the board Goomba's Booty Boardwalk, Captain Goomba grants Stars from a giant treasure chest to players who reach him at the end of the board.

Mario Party 9

In Mario Party 9, bronze, silver, and gold treasure chests appear in the minigame Twist Ending.

Wario Land series

Wario Land 3

In Wario Land 3, there are four different-colored treasure chests per standard level, and they can be opened for treasure after Wario finds one of four corresponding keys. These treasure chests are as follows: the Gray Chest^[1] (or Silver Treasure Chest),^[2] Red Chest^[1] (or Red Treasure Chest),^[3] Blue Chest^[1] (or Blue Treasure Chest),^[2] and Green Chest^[1] (or Green Treasure Chest).^[4] After obtaining the appropriate key, Wario can open the chest only if he approaches it from the sides, so he cannot open it if he jumps to the top of it. When Wario approaches a chest to open it, every nearby enemy is eliminated, even bosses and any invincible enemies such as the seeing-eye door.

After the contents of a chest are collected, that chest is replaced with a goal door when the level is revisited.

Wario Land 4

Wario and Kuro Neko collecting the twelve treasure chests after defeating the Golden Diva

In Wario Land 4, three treasure chests^[5] are found in each of the four main boss rooms, embedded into the wall in the background. During boss battles when time starts to run low (under 1:00 for main bosses, 2:00 for the final boss), the treasure chests in the background begin to disappear one by one. Once Wario defeats the boss, the treasure chests that are left over are collected and stored in the Golden Pyramid on the game's overworld screen. When Wario faces the Golden Diva, the last boss, a maximum of twelve chests can be seen on the background wall.

When the Golden Diva is defeated, the total treasure chests Wario has at the end of the game affect Princess Shokora's appearance in the ending cutscene.

Wario Land: Shake It!

Treasure chests also appear in Wario Land: Shake It!, where they hold one of the levels' three treasures. They can be opened with any attack. In the level Boogie Mansion, however, big treasure chests are living creatures called Treasure Chomps, which eat Wario if he gets too close to them. Wario must use an explosive to get the treasure inside those living chests.

Paper Mario series

Paper Mario

Kolorado and the Treasure of Mt. Lavalava

Kolorado finding the treasure chest containing the Volcano Vase in Mt. Lavalava

In Paper Mario, Mario can find many treasure chests on his adventure. They contain either Badges or Keys. In very big treasure chests, there are weapon upgrades such as the Super Boots and Ultra Hammer. In the west room on the first floor of Boo's Mansion, there is a trap treasure chest that, when opened, causes the chandelier in the room to drop down. In Chapter 4, Kammy Koopa uses her magic to summon several enemies to guard the treasure chests at the end of the first three areas. At the end of Chapter 5, when Mario and Kolorado escape from Mt. Lavalava with Misstar's help, the treasure chest containing the treasure Kolorado is longing for is blowing out by the lava and lands on Jade Jungle, and the player has to retrieve it for Kolorado to proceed in the storyline. There is also a Mysterious Treasure Chest that allows Princess Peach to send Badges, a Shooting Star, and a Jammin' Jelly to Mario.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

Peach is given a box that looks like a treasure chest.

Treasure chests in the Creepy Steeple

Treasure chests reappear in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door with almost identical function to the previous game. In addition, there is another type of treasure chest called a black chest, which all contain beings that "curse" Mario with various abilities. Several Boos appear in a treasure chest in the Creepy Steeple.

There is a treasure chest-like box that Peach is given at the very beginning of the game that contains the Magical Map. She is the only one that can open it because it is said that only one that is "pure of heart" can.

Super Paper Mario

A treasure chest that contains the Cooking Disk R

In Super Paper Mario, chests tend to be hidden in places with little accessibility. In order to open a chest, the player needs to move the playable character right beside one and press . Most commonly, Pixls are captured within chests, but players can also find items, cooking ingredients, or Catch Cards in there. In this game, chests adopt a rather abstract design to go along with the game's aesthetics, a design that was also used in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.

Paper Mario: Sticker Star

Treasure chests appear in Paper Mario: Sticker Star. They contain the Tablet Pieces and are paper-thin. Once Mario collects the contents, the chest falls over and cannot be interacted with.

Paper Mario: Color Splash

Treasure chests appear in Paper Mario: Color Splash. One appears in the Violet Passage captain's ship, where it contains a member of the blue Rescue Squad and an entry from the legendary captain's journal. A few appear on Fortune Island, where one contains a letter from Snifit or Whiffit and another leads to a room below. One also appears in the background of Wendy's battle, where she can grab objects from it and throw them at Mario.

Paper Mario: The Origami King

Treasure chests can be commonly found on the overworld in Paper Mario: The Origami King, often containing Collectible Treasures.

Luigi's Mansion series

Luigi's Mansion

In Luigi's Mansion and its remake, treasure chests appear after Luigi beats the ghost(s) in a room. Blue Treasure Chests contain keys. Green ones contain many coins, bills, and possibly Gold Bars. If Luigi defeats an optional portrait ghost, he will also receive a green chest with a Blue Diamond inside, among other treasures. Red Treasure Chests contain Mario's dropped Items that need to be taken to Madame Clairvoya. There are many red Treasure Chests in the Hidden Room and Sealed Room as well, though many in the former contain ghosts. A white chest exists in the Tea Room, containing the Ice Element Medal. There are also gold chests revealed after Luigi defeats bosses, and the chests contain area keys.

Luigi's Mansion 3

Treasure chests appear again in Luigi's Mansion 3, where they are found throughout the rooms in The Last Resort. They often contain treasure such as coins, bills, Gold Bars, and pearls. Some treasure chests are animated by Spirit Balls and turned into hostile Possessed Chests. Luigi must either throw an object into them or have them chew on Gooigi, and then remove the Spirit Balls with the Dark-Light Device, in order to turn them back into regular treasure chests and obtain their contents.

Wario World

The huge treasure chest

In Wario World, each treasure chest contains one of Wario's 64 treasures. Treasure chests come in eight different colors, and each chest is linked to a treasure button of the same color, which must be activated before the treasure can be collected. There are also wooden chests that contain either coins, garlic, or a bomb when opened. The final boss, the Black Jewel, is locked inside the huge treasure chest (also called the huge treasure box^[6] or giant treasure chest^[7]), which requires the four pieces of the Huge Treasure Chest Key from the stage bosses.

Mario Pinball Land

The treasure chest area in Frosty Frontier Stage

Treasure chests in the Frosty Frontier Stage

In Mario Pinball Land, three treasure chests are found in the underwater area of the Frosty Frontier Stage. Hitting one grants 2,000 points. The first one hit releases a coin, the second one hit releases two coins, and the last one hit releases three coins in addition to causing the sunken ship to move, allowing Mario inside.

Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time

The Treasure Chest Block in Baby Bowser's Castle

In the past Bowser's Castle in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, there is a Treasure Chest Block^[8] reminiscent of the treasure boxes from Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars near the time hole, containing one of the six Cobalt Star shards. After the chest is hit, however, it disappears.

Wario: Master of Disguise

In Wario: Master of Disguise, treasure chests are a key element of the game. They come in three colors: red (which hold treasures), green (which hold upgrades such as Guise Gems), and purple (which hold key level items, such as maps and keys). In order to get the treasures in the chest, the player must win a minigame, and the minigames become harder on later levels. Treasure Pests replace one random red chest starting at the third level, requiring the level to be replayed to get that treasure.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U

Treasure chests appear in the Smash Run mode in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, having the same design as the ones that appear in Kid Icarus: Uprising. These chests can contain stat boosts, trophies, gold, powers, and custom parts (either custom special moves or equipment). Mimicuties, fake treasure chest enemies from Kid Icarus: Uprising, also appear as enemies in the Smash Run mode.

In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, treasure chests appear in the Special Orders mode, with an original design. In Master Orders, a treasure chest appears alongside Master Hand, and it opens and gives the player a reward if they clear the ticket, and disappears if they fail. In Crazy Orders, Crazy Hand drops treasure chests containing random rewards as the player damages him during the final battle; these rewards cannot be seen until after the battle.

Super Nintendo World

A treasure chest known as Bowser Jr.'s Toy Chest^[9] appears in the room in the queue of Bowser Jr. Shadow Showdown in the Super Nintendo World theme park areas. Attendees can hold their Power-Up Bands in front of the chest to obtain the "Toy Chest" stamp.^[9]

The Super Mario Bros. Movie

In The Super Mario Bros. Movie, treasure chests can be seen in the antiques shop in Toad Town.