Quicksand

Quicksand in the Slipsand Galaxy in Super Mario Galaxy 2

“Whoa! We're sinking? Jump! Jump!”

Quicksand appears in the Super Mario franchise as a hazard that can pull player characters into a pit or cause drowning or suffocation.

History[edit]

Super Mario series[edit]

Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic / Super Mario Bros. 2[edit]

Quicksand appears in the desert levels of Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic and Super Mario Bros. 2. Some pits can be escaped by jumping repeatedly; others move faster and act more like waterfalls, making escape much harder. The player must use log-like bones to travel across this type. If the player dies in quicksand, the falling death animation, normally unseen, is barely visible from behind the sand tiles for a few frames.

Super Mario Bros. 3[edit]

Quicksand in Super Mario Bros. 3 appears mainly in World 2-Desert. The player can sink into it, making moving and jumping more difficult, though fully sinking usually causes the player to fall into a pit. In World 8-2, quicksand is used to access one of two bonus rooms, skipping half the level. Unlike in the previous game, full submersion does not kill Mario or Luigi instantly; instead, the player dies only upon hitting the death barrier at the bottom of the screen.

Super Mario 64[edit]

Multiple types of quicksand across Shifting Sand Land in Super Mario 64

Quicksand appears in varying types in Shifting Sand Land, a course in Super Mario 64. Most of it will pull Mario down to around the waist (though the sand at the bottom of the pyramid's interior is deep enough that it will kill Mario if he stands in it for too long), and is a somewhat orange color in comparison to the more yellow regular sand; the dark brown quicksand around the Tox Box area and the Pyramid, however, will pull Mario down immediately. Large holes also appear in the sand, the middles of which will likewise pull Mario under immediately. All of these varieties return in the remake, Super Mario 64 DS; however, the mild type is now visually identical to the normal sand. The ivy in Tall, Tall Mountain and the Piranha Flowers' turf in Tiny-Huge Island behave similarly to the mild type; however, they are shallow enough that they only impede Mario's jumping.

New Super Mario Bros.[edit]

Quicksand in New Super Mario Bros. functions identically as in Super Mario Bros. 3, though some quicksand also leads the player to secret areas instead of leading to a pit.

Super Mario Galaxy[edit]

Quicksand appears in Dusty Dune Galaxy, Sand Spiral Galaxy, and Bowser's Galaxy Reactor in Super Mario Galaxy. Mario is unable to escape quicksand when touching it, and he will eventually sink, losing a life, though the player can stall this by repeatedly pressing . Milder versions also form rivers and other types of flows in the Dusty Dune Galaxy, and can push Mario around. The deadly type of quicksand is marked with a skull sign, similarly as to poison.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii[edit]

Quicksand in New Super Mario Bros. Wii

Quicksand in New Super Mario Bros. Wii functions identically as before. The player character is now completely visible in the quicksand, and performing Spin Jumps causes them to ascend higher through the quicksand. Additionally, quicksand is once used to warp to a secret area in World 2-2.

Super Mario Galaxy 2[edit]

Quicksand appears in the Slipsand Galaxy in Super Mario Galaxy 2, where the Sand Bird is used to travel over it. Quicksand functions identically as in Super Mario Galaxy

New Super Mario Bros. 2[edit]

Quicksand appears in New Super Mario Bros. 2 as an obstacle with the same function as before.

New Super Mario Bros. U / New Super Luigi U[edit]

Quicksand in New Super Mario Bros. U and New Super Luigi U functions identically as in previous games, though the player character is now seen as a silhouette when traveling through quicksand and sinks noticeably faster.

Super Mario 3D World / Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury[edit]

Quicksand in Super Mario 3D World and its Nintendo Switch port is an obstacle located in Conkdor Canyon, and functions identically as before.

Super Mario Run[edit]

Quicksand appears in desert levels of Super Mario Run, but it does not slow down the player from falling into the pit.

Super Mario Odyssey[edit]

A single pool of quicksand appears within Tostarena Ruins in Super Mario Odyssey. It functions identically as before, but is much slower than before. The quicksand is dark brown and has a few craters in it. It also can be seen flowing down a river of it into the aforementioned pool.

Donkey Kong 64[edit]

Quicksand in Donkey Kong 64 is a hazardous obstacle in Angry Aztec.

Mario Party series[edit]

Mario Party 2[edit]

Quicksand in Mario Party 2 is the basis for the minigame Quicksand Cache.

Mario Party 3[edit]

The Spiny Desert board in Mario Party 3 has two quicksand pits. If a player lands on one of the Happening Spaces surrounding the pits, that player and anyone else near that pit will be swallowed by the quicksand, which warps them to the other pit.

Mario Party 7[edit]

Pyramid Park in Mario Party 7 has a board event that is nearly identical to the one from Spiny Desert. There is a quicksand pit on both the east and west sides of the board, each of which have three rock platforms standing over them. If a player lands on one of the Green Spaces above one of the quicksand pits, any players standing on the rock platforms above that pit will fall in and be warped near the other pit.

Wario Land series[edit]

Wario Land 3[edit]

Quicksand appears in the Desert Ruins at daytime in Wario Land 3, and can be escaped only by taking a path to the side at the bottom. Sand hands try to reach onto the platforms above to pull Wario in. The quicksand is still at nighttime and is hollow, meaning Wario will fall through when trying to walk on one.

Wario Land: Shake It![edit]

Quicksand pits appear in Disturbing Tomb in Wario Land: Shake It!, two of which lead Wario to treasure chests. Quicksand cannot hurt Wario in any way.

Mario Kart series[edit]

Mario Kart: Super Circuit[edit]

Quicksand in Mario Kart: Super Circuit is an obstacle on the sides of the Yoshi Desert course, and have Piranha Plants in them that will eat any racer that falls in.

Mario Kart: Double Dash!![edit]

A large pool of quicksand appears in the Dry Dry Desert course in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!. Similarly as before, a large Pit Plant eats any racer who falls, meaning that Lakitu will have to rescue them.

Mario Kart Wii[edit]

A large pit of quicksand is the setting for the battle course Thwomp Desert in Mario Kart Wii. It gradually pulls nearby racers to the center, where a giant Thwomp can be found and periodically stomps the sand below, creating shockwaves. Item Boxes only appear close to the center of the pit, though with the risk of players sinking into it.

Mario Kart 8 / Mario Kart 8 Deluxe[edit]

A large pit of quicksand appears in the returning GCN Dry Dry Desert in Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, though without the Pit Plant, since Lakitu instead save whoever drives into the quicksand pit instantly.

Mario Kart Tour[edit]

The Mario Kart Tour rendition of GBA Yoshi Desert is once again dotted with small pits of quicksand, each with a Piranha Plant at the center. Racers slow down if they drive against the quicksand's flow.

Super Princess Peach[edit]

Quicksand appears in Wavy Beach 5-2 in Super Princess Peach. It functions identically as in other games, though some levels require Princess Peach to sink through quicksand to access secret areas.

Paper Mario series[edit]

Super Paper Mario[edit]

Quicksand appears in Yold Desert and Yold Ruins in Super Paper Mario. Sinking into quicksand results in the player losing 1 HP. Unlike other appearances, quicksand operates via a hidden platform that sinks when stood on, similar to platforms found in the waters of Gloam Valley. This can be observed by sinking and placing Boomer down, where leaving the quicksand will show Boomer rising in the sand.

Paper Mario: Sticker Star[edit]

Quicksand in Paper Mario: Sticker Star

Quicksand appears in Drybake Desert in Paper Mario: Sticker Star, and there is one point where Mario has to sink into a small pool of quicksand to find a Tablet Piece. Completely sinking into the quicksand results in a Game Over.

Paper Mario: Color Splash[edit]

Quicksand appears in Mustard Café in Paper Mario: Color Splash, where wading through it causes some Pokeys to chase Mario, and sinking into it results in a Game Over, like before.

Mario Golf: Super Rush[edit]

Quicksand in Mario Golf: Super Rush functions as penalty areas in Balmy Dunes. They are usually surrounded by Waste Areas. In Speed Golf, if someone falls into quicksand, the message "Press to get out of quicksand!" will appear.

Gallery[edit]

Sprite from Super Mario Bros. 2
Quicksand in New Super Mario Bros.
Quicksand in New Super Mario Bros. 2

Names in other languages[edit]

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	流砂^[1] Ryūsa 砂地獄^[2] Suna Jigoku	Quicksand; in Super Mario Galaxy, this only refers to rapidly-moving sand. Sand Hell; refers to the sand in Super Mario Galaxy that traps Mario and makes him lose a life.
Chinese (traditional)	流沙^[3] Liúshā	Quicksand
Italian	Sabbie mobili Inferno di sabbia^[4]	Quicksand; in Super Mario Galaxy, this only refers to rapidly-moving sand. Sand Hell; refers to the sand in Super Mario Galaxy that traps Mario and makes him lose a life.

References[edit]

^ Kazuya Sakai (Ambit), kikai, Akinori Sao, Junko Fukuda, Kunio Takayama, and Ko Nakahara (Shogakukan) (ed.) (October 19, 2015). Encyclopedia Super Mario Bros.. Tokyo: Shogakukan (Japanese). ISBN 978-4-09-106569-8. Page 41, 92, 137, 171.
^ Kazuya Sakai (Ambit), kikai, Akinori Sao, Junko Fukuda, Kunio Takayama, and Ko Nakahara (Shogakukan) (ed.) (October 19, 2015). Encyclopedia Super Mario Bros.. Tokyo: Shogakukan (Japanese). ISBN 978-4-09-106569-8. Page 136.
^ New 超級瑪利歐兄弟 2：關卡介紹. Nintendo of HK (Traditional Chinese). Retrieved February 6, 2021.
^ November 15, 2018. Super Mario Bros. Enciclopedia. Magazzini Salani (Italian). ISBN 889367436X. Page 136.

[1] Kazuya Sakai (Ambit), kikai, Akinori Sao, Junko Fukuda, Kunio Takayama, and Ko Nakahara (Shogakukan) (ed.) (October 19, 2015). Encyclopedia Super Mario Bros.. Tokyo: Shogakukan (Japanese). ISBN 978-4-09-106569-8. Page 41, 92, 137, 171.

[2] Kazuya Sakai (Ambit), kikai, Akinori Sao, Junko Fukuda, Kunio Takayama, and Ko Nakahara (Shogakukan) (ed.) (October 19, 2015). Encyclopedia Super Mario Bros.. Tokyo: Shogakukan (Japanese). ISBN 978-4-09-106569-8. Page 136.

[3] New 超級瑪利歐兄弟 2：關卡介紹. Nintendo of HK (Traditional Chinese). Retrieved February 6, 2021.

[4] November 15, 2018. Super Mario Bros. Enciclopedia. Magazzini Salani (Italian). ISBN 889367436X. Page 136.

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