Treasure Ship

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Treasure Ship

A Treasure Ship,[1][2][3][4] also known as the White Ship[2] or Coin Ship,[5] is a wandering Hammer Brother that has been turned into a coin-filled airship that appears in Super Mario Bros. 3. If Mario or Luigi ventures onto a Treasure Ship, there are 177 coins to collect, as well as a Hidden Block with a 1-Up Mushroom (which is blue in the original version) between the first and second portholes. Not including the ones battled at the end, there are no enemies found on the ships. However, the player can still lose a life by either getting crushed by the scrolling screen, falling off the ship, or letting the timer run out. If the player loses a life while on board a Treasure Ship, it reverts to the original enemy. At the end of a Treasure Ship, two Boomerang Brothers are fought. The reward for defeating them is whatever item the Hammer Brother that got replaced by the ship would have normally given (i.e., a Starman for Grass Land, a Hammer/Starman for Water Land, a Magic Wing/Starman/Music Box for Sky Land, and a Hammer/Jugem's Cloud/Starman for Ice Land).

Map of the Treasure Ship from Super Nintendo remake of Super Mario Bros. 3.
The map of the Treasure Ship in the Super Mario All-Stars version of Super Mario Bros. 3

The Athletic Theme, rather than the usual Airship Theme, plays in the background when the player is on a Treasure Ship (except during the fight with the Boomerang Brothers at the end, in which the Hammer Brothers theme plays instead).

Treasure Ships are summoned through a trick that must be performed by following a specific method:

  • The player must be in either World 1: Grass Land, World 3: Water Land, World 5: Sky Land, or World 6: Ice Land.
  • A wandering Hammer Brother must be on the world map.
  • Mario or Luigi must finish a stage with a coin total ending in a multiple of 11 (zero does not count).
  • The tens digit of the player's score must match the multiple of 11 (i.e., if the coin total is 11, the tens digit must be 1; if the coin total is 22, the tens digit must be 2; and so on).
  • As each second left on the timer awards the player 50 points, the timer must be stopped on an even number so that the number of points received is a multiple of 100. Alternatively, an odd number works if the score is 50 points off from the correct multiple.

For instance, if the above criteria are met, and the player ends a stage with 44 coins and a score of 0246240, they successfully trigger a Treasure Ship. This trick works only once in any given world.

If this trick is performed again while a Treasure Ship is on the map, it reverts to a Hammer Brother.

Treasure Ships cannot be found in Pipe Land or Dark Land, due to there not being any Hammer Brothers or related enemies. They also do not feature in World-e, due to the nature of that world.

Names in other languages[edit]

Language Name Meaning Notes
Japanese 宝船[6]
Takarabune
The Takarabune (lit. Treasure Ship) of Japanese folklore; alternatively a reference to the Baochuan (宝船) that were believed to exist in ancient China.
Italian Nave del tesoro[7] Treasure Ship

Trivia[edit]

  • The kanji character on the sail of Treasure Ships is "宝," which means "treasure" in the Chinese and Japanese languages.
  • Barring the prizes upon beating the two Boomerang Brothers, the Treasure Ship always contains the same number of items, which is 168 coins and a hidden 1-Up Mushroom near the final Warp Pipe.
  • The Treasure Ship bears a resemblance to the ship seen in the title screen of the game Shin Onigashima.
  • A golden airship similar to the Treasure Ship makes an appearance in New Super Mario Bros. 2 as part of World 5-A.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "How To Turn A Wandering Hammer Brother Into A Treasure Ship […] Battle the Boomerang Brothers in the cabin of the Treasure Ship." – June 1990. Nintendo Power Volume 13. Nintendo of America (American English). Page 33.
  2. ^ a b Spring 1991. NES Game Atlas. Nintendo of America (American English). Page 37.
  3. ^ "TURN TURTLES INTO TREASURE! In Worlds 1, 3, 5 and 6, you can turn the wandering Hammer Bros. into a Treasure Ship! Collect a number of Coins that is a multiple of 11. Score points so the tens digit in your score (the second number from the right) matches the multiple of 11. Finally, grab the Goal Card when the timer is on an even number. Presto! A Treasure Ship appears like magic on the overworld map. On board, you can collect Coins and Power-Ups." – 1993. Super Mario All-Stars Player's Guide. Nintendo of America (American English). Page 139.
  4. ^ "How to Make Treasure Ships Appear Collect a number of coins in a multiple of 11. Make the tens digit in your score (the second number from the right) match the multiple of 11. Stop the timer at the end of the stage on an even number. One possible combination is: 11 coins, score of 9,310, timer at 104. Doing this turns one of the Hammer Bros. on the map into a Treasure Ship. (This only works on Worlds 1, 3, 5 and 6.)" – Rocha, Garitt, and Nick von Esmarch (November 11, 2016). Playing With Power: Nintendo NES Classics. Prima Games (American English). ISBN 9780744017779. Page 204.
  5. ^ Hodgson, David S J. Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 Prima's Official Strategy Guide back cover.
  6. ^ Sakai, Kazuya (Ambit) et al. (October 19, 2015). Super Mario Bros. Hyakka: Nintendo Kōshiki Guidebook, Super Mario Bros. 3 section. Shogakukan (Japanese). ISBN 978-4-09-106569-8. Page 43.
  7. ^ November 15, 2018. Super Mario Bros. Enciclopedia. Magazzini Salani (Italian). ISBN 889367436X. Page 43.