Jump
- “As you know, the primary action for mobile creatures is the jump, if you follow.”
- —Stuffwell, Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
Jump is the trademark move of the whole Mario series. This move is easily recognizable to all, even to people who have not played any of the games. It elevates a character temporarily into the air from the ground. In the platformers, the player can break and activate blocks by hitting them from underneath during a Jump. Most characters Jump with their right hand in the air, usually in a fist.
In some sidescrollers, the player couldn't break Brick Blocks if he or she was playing as small Mario or Luigi. By running and then Jumping, the player can Jump higher than usual. There are many variations of this move. The height and width of the Jump varies, depending on the game and character. It is a Special Attack in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars and can be used in accordance with a Timed Hit to do extra damage. It can be powered up by the Jump Shoes. It is a default Special Attack. If used with an Action Command in the Paper Mario series, Mario can Jump twice. This is also Mario's default move. It does 1 base damage per Jump. In Super Mario Bros. 3 and New Super Mario Bros., Mario and Luigi somersault in air when Jumping with a Star. In the Mario Party Series, all of the characters' Jumps are tuned to the same height, so their Jumps don't count as moves. Even Karts can Jump a short distance with the proper speed. (Although the Kart Jumping ability has been removed by Nintendo in games such as Mario Kart: Double Dash!, presumably because of the ridiculous shortcuts found by Jumping in Mario Kart 64.)
Almost anything with legs can Jump. Even characters without legs, like Boo can use the ability. Mario was also the first to use it. Donkey Kong was the first game it has been used in and is also the first game in the Mario series. "Jumpman" was even his original name based on this ability. In the Paper Mario Series, Mario can do up to 6 base damage depending on what boots he has.
A Stomp is the second part of a Jump that occurs while coming down. Anyone who can Jump can Stomp. In the Mario RPG Series, Mario uses it with a Timed Hit for extra damage.
Not only characters can jump, but also Karts. In Super Mario Kart, the Feather allowed drivers to do a high jump. Smaller jumps, which can also be done in some of the more recent Mario Kart games, are called Hops.
