Sub-area
This article is under construction. Therefore, please excuse its informal appearance while it is being worked on. We hope to have it completed as soon as possible.
- For the sub areas in the Donkey Kong Country series, see Bonus room.
- Not to be confused with Sub Areas, Subspace, or Magical Potion.
A sub-area (alternatively subarea or sub area), also known as a bonus area, Coin Room,[1] and bonus room, is a feature in most platformers in the Super Mario franchise and Princess Peach: Showtime! Sub-areas are places that are optional to access and are not required to enter in order to finish the level. They are most commonly, but not exclusively, entered through heading into Warp Pipes or climbing vines and usually contain coins, occasionally power-ups, and, in later games, collectibles such as Star Coins. Some also lead to Warp Zones or Coin Heavens. In the 2D games, the character usually also exits out to a different part of the main level.
History
Super Mario series / Super Princess Peach
Sub-areas were introduced in Super Mario Bros., with the first one being in World 1-1. They are present throughout the game.
The sub-areas return in Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels with the same functionality.
Super Mario Bros. 2 contain many sub-areas which can be accessed by entering vases. However, in this game, entering some of these vases, usually to pick up keys, is mandatory to finish levels.
Sub-areas in Super Mario Bros. 3 function the same as in Super Mario Bros. The ones in Super Mario Land, Super Princess Peach, and the Super Mario Maker series function very similarly but without the possibility of warping directly to later levels.
In Super Mario World, they differ somewhat from earlier games, as the only conventional sub-area in the game is the 1-Up Chamber. However, many pipes do lead to alternate areas of levels that are played similarly to the regular areas. There is also the bonus game for reaching 100 Goal Stars from completing levels.
Sub-areas return in the New Super Mario Bros. series and in Super Mario Bros. Wonder, functioning very similarly to the ones in Super Mario Bros., but now with the possibility of finding Star Coins or 10-flower coins within them.
Wario World
Sub-areas play a key role in Wario World as areas housing red diamonds, objects needed to access the boss of each level. There are two types of sub-areas; sub-areas accessed through wooden trapdoors can be accessed simply by ground-pounding to enter them and are often small, contained puzzles. Sub-areas accessed through steel trapdoors can only be accessed by Wario using the Piledriver move. These sub-areas are considerably larger than the ones accessed through wooden doors and take place in a sky like setting. Should Wario fall off the area, he will be reset at the sub-areas beginning. Sub-areas always contain a red diamond and sometimes contain a Gold Statue piece, a captured Spriteling or both alongside a red diamond. Once the red diamond is collected, it is replaced by a normal Wooden chest.
Princess Peach: Showtime!
Sub-areas show up in most stages in Princess Peach: Showtime!. A vast majority of them offer Sparkle Gems, though some merely offer coins.
They are entered by having Peach (specifically her transformations except Radiant/Super Radiant) pose on certain spotlight spots in the stages. This will lead to a round elevator platform lifting Peach up a bit, the audience clapping, and the elevator heading down into a curtained backroom that Peach drops down to.
The sub-areas usually have small missions inside them for Peach to complete. The challenges can only rarely be failed, and a spotlight spot after the missions will summon an elevator that goes further down and then immediately back up to where Peach originally entered the sub-area from.
Gallery
Super Mario Galaxy
| Super Mario Land | |
|---|---|
| Protagonists | Mario • Princess Daisy |
| Bosses | King Totomesu • Dragonzamasu (Tamao) • Hiyoihoi • Biokinton (Chicken) • Tatanga (Pagosu) |
| Locations | Sarasaland (Birabuto Kingdom • Muda Kingdom • Easton Kingdom • Chai Kingdom) |
| Levels | World 1-1 • World 1-2 • World 1-3 • World 2-1 • World 2-2 • World 2-3 • World 3-1 • World 3-2 • World 3-3 • World 4-1 • World 4-2 • World 4-3 • Expert Level |
| Items & vehicles | Super Mushroom • Superball Flower • Star • 1UP heart • Coin • Marine Pop • Sky Pop • Switch • Lift Block |
| Enemies & obstacles | Batadon • Bombshell Koopa • Bullet Biff • Bunbun • Chikako • Dropping lift • Falling block • Falling spike • Fly • Ganchan • Gao • Gunion • Goombo • Honen • Kumo • Mekabon • Nyololin • Pionpi • Pipe Fist • Piranha Plant • Pompon Flower • Roketon • Roto Disc • Suu • Tokotoko • Torion • Yurarin • Yurarin Boo |
| Other | Brick • Bonus game • Das Super Mario Spiel • Gallery • Glitches • Goal • Media • Mystery Block • Sub-area • Soundtrack |
- ^ Sase, Shinji, Howard Phillips, and Lynn Griffes, editors (1987). How to win at Super Mario Bros. (U.S. Edition). Redmond: Tokuma Shoten, Nintendo of America. ISBN 4-19-720003-XC. Page 7.
