Easy Mode

Easy Mode in certain Super Mario games is an option that lowers the difficulty level from that of normal gameplay.

History

Super Mario series

Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins

In Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, the player can access Easy Mode by pressing on the File Select screen. Super Mario becomes Small Mario and the words "Easy Mode" appear in the corner. There are fewer enemies in levels, Floating Faces take one hit to be defeated, and certain sections in Mario's castle are less difficult to navigate.

Super Mario Run

Super Mario Run has an Easy Mode in the World Tour mode, which can be accessed before starting a course or after dying in a course before retrying or quitting. In this game, Easy Mode allows the player to have unlimited time and bubbles. These display "infinity" symbols instead of a number. The player can still obtain extra time or bubbles, but that has no meaning when both counters are locked at infinity. A bar is displayed to the left of the player. It fills up as the player taps and hold the screen to jump, and decreases as the player falls down, serving as an indicator to measure their jumps. This is taken from the tutorial How to Play. Any coins collected in courses completed with Easy Mode are not saved, and neither are enemies defeated to level up that enemy. However, rewards for completing courses are still given, such as the coins for most Airship and Castle courses. Easy Mode cannot be used on Bowser's Bob-ombing Run, any of the Special Courses (Chase the Snaking Coins, Piranha Plant Field, Make the Cut!, Red Block Run), and in any World Star course. How To Play also cannot be played in Easy Mode, though it has all of the features of Easy Mode while lacking a time limit.

Super Mario Odyssey

An Easy Mode titled "Assist Mode" appears in Super Mario Odyssey. It can be switched to at most points in the game from the options menu, though doing so resets Mario's position to a prior save point. In Assist Mode, Mario has six health points instead of three. Mario is more likely to grab a ledge he walks or runs off of than he is outside of Assist Mode. It increases the available time to complete scarecrow Timer Challenges, notes, and P Switches by five seconds (though this does not affect the Bound Bowl Grand Prix or Koopa Freerunning). Assist Mode removes the air meter, so no damage is taken if Mario stays underwater for long periods of time.

When Mario falls into a pit, lava, or poison that defeats him instantly, he is instead carried in a bubble to the last portion of solid ground he stood upon while losing one health point. If Mario only has one health point, the bubble does not appear and Mario dies. In extraneous circumstances, it is possible for Mario to never land on anything that is registered as solid ground after loading an area, meaning the bubble will not appear and Mario takes damage or dies. Bubbles may not appear in certain situations where all nearby ground is collapsing, so Mario will also die in those cases.

Assist Mode causes arrows to appear on the ground leading Mario in the direction he needs to go to continue with the story. These arrows can climb up walls or move across the air as needed. Certain situations instead have an arrow above Mario that points directly to where Mario has to go. If Mario needs to collect Power Moons in general, rather than a specific Power Moon, Assist Mode points the player to Hint Toad, then points toward the nearest Power Moon revealed on the map. If Mario returns to a prior kingdom but needs to go to the next kingdom, then Assist Mode does not show any arrows.

Mario & Luigi series

Mario & Luigi: Dream Team

An Easy Mode appears in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team. If the player gets a Game Over, they have a choice of trying that battle again, with the further option of doing so in Easy Mode. Easy Mode has the Bros. start the battle with full HP and BP irrespective of how the battle started beforehand and makes the Bros. stronger, giving the player a better chance at victory. The game doubles the Bros. base POW and DEF stats, though this is not shown to the player. A rainbow star circles Mario and Luigi while the player selects Command Blocks in Easy Mode. The star does not appear if either Bro is KO'd. The effects of Easy Mode end once the battle concludes. Easy Mode is not available during Giant Battles or in the Battle Ring. The player cannot restart battles in Hard Mode, which prevents Easy Mode from being used.

Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam

The Easy Mode function turned on in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam

An Easy Mode is also present in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, but can also be activated at any time outside of battle in the game. The mode will make Paper Toads much easier to catch along with side-quests being much easier. It also lowers all POW and DEF stats for enemies and bosses (but does not affect HP or Speed) and makes Mario, Luigi, and Paper Mario stronger, thereby making battles much easier. Players are not able to fight bosses in the Battle Ring or complete Expert Challenges this way, and Mario, Luigi, and Paper Mario gain fewer Experience Points than they normally would from defeating enemies. However, if Easy Mode is enabled before the mandatory fight that explains how Expert Challenges work in Sunbeam Plains, then it is disabled for the entire battle until it ends. Easy Attack Mode, Assistance, and the Hint Block are also available in this mode.

In-game description

• "Turning Easy Mode on makes your characters stronger and enemies easier to defeat. However, you won't be able to complete Expert Challenges in this mode."

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions

Easy Mode and Assistance reappear in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions, where it can be activated in the Options menu. It makes Mario and Luigi significantly stronger, multiplying their base POW stat by 1.8x, DEF by 3.4x, and SPD by 1.2x. Other base stat increases that give a percentage boost, such as from the Rescue Suit, Power Badge, or Red Peppers will stack additively with each other and then multiplicatively with the bonus from Easy Mode, then flat stat increases are added afterwards. Easy Mode also causes a target to appear under the brother that is about to be attacked, making dodging easier.

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

Similar to in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions, Easy Mode can be found and activated at any time in the Options menu in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey. Assistance can also be found in the menu, which enables targeting reticles underneath each Bro showing who is about to be attacked, and with Bowser showing if he must punch or use shell defense to avoid attacks.

Mario & Luigi: Brothership

The option for Easy Mode or Cakewalk in Mario & Luigi: Brothership

When the player gets a Game Over a few times in Mario & Luigi: Brothership, the player can choose Easy Mode when restarting, but if the player loses even more, the player can go down to Cakewalk, which makes the fight even easier. Both options increase Mario and Luigi's stats.

Mario + Rabbids series

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle

In Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, before a story level battle, the player has the option to turn on "Extra Health" (formerly known as "Easy Mode"), which heals the characters to full HP and increases their maximum HP by 50%. This cannot be done for challenges. This is also available in the Donkey Kong Adventure DLC.

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope

In Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope, Easy Mode, known as "Relaxing", makes several differences to gameplay. It causes the enemies to be weaker, the heroes to restore some HP after every battle, and for Skill Prisms to be spent automatically, rather than by the player's choice.

Super Mario RPG (Nintendo Switch)

“Battles are easier in this mode. Choose this if you want to quickly progress the story.”

—In-game text

In Super Mario RPG, Easy Mode, called "Breezy Mode" appears in the game. The following is a list of differences in this mode from Normal Mode.

• The player can hold 30 of each consumable item, instead of item quantities being capped at certain amounts in Normal Mode. When changing to Normal Mode, any extra items in the player's inventory are automatically transferred to the Storage Box in Mario's Pad.
• Enemies have 10% less HP.
• Enemies yield 20% more experience points.
• Attack Action Commands timing is more lenient.
• The player has a 70% chance of fleeing from battle, compared to a 60% chance in Normal Mode.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong (Nintendo Switch)

“Casual - Recommended for those who want a more relaxed game.”

—In-game text

In the Nintendo Switch remake of Mario vs. Donkey Kong, the Casual Style acts as the Easy Mode for this game, featuring several differences from the Classic Style:

• The time limit has been removed, with an infinity sign used to represent this.
• The player starts with five bubbles per level. Getting hit by anything that would normally defeat the player in Classic (such as enemies, getting crushed or falling into lava) will cause the player to be sent back to the last active Checkpoint Flag in a bubble. Losing all bubbles will result in a life loss.
  • Some levels have Checkpoint Flags scattered around several areas, including inactive ones. Tagging an inactive flag will unfurl it and allow it to be used as a checkpoint.
• Certain levels contain lesser enemies.
• Keys last for 15 seconds instead of 12 when not held by the player.

• 

  Playing a level in Casual Mode

• 

  Mario being transported back to a Checkpoint Flag while in a bubble

See also

• Hard Mode

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	カンタン (Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope)[?] Kantan	Simple
	エンジョイモード (Super Mario RPG (Nintendo Switch))[?] Enjoi Mōdo	Enjoy Mode