Once the player learns this, he can use it to his advantage in an area where a vertical stack of coins is positioned next to a wall. This is a pretty intuitive mechanic as it's easy to imagine Mario's weight overpowering the ethereal strings that hold up the platforms. The platforms only move horizontally, and drop as soon as Mario lands on them. In addition to the automatic scrolling that can push Mario to his death, the stage also introduces moving platforms. This is perhaps the reason why it's skipable on the overworld map. It's almost completely devoid of solid ground, and its auto-scrolling nature makes it a much more intense experience. In order to safely traverse the pit, the player is likely to use the Jump Blocks above it (instead of risking bumping into them from below), the last of which drops a Starman.Īlthough level 4 is not incredibly challenging, it's much more difficult than the previous three stages. In case the player misses this point, the next area contains a pit and a stairway of Jump Blocks. The second block also spits out a powerup, and it's possible to initiate this by bumping it from below or landing on top of it. The bouncincess of the blocks is quite intuitive as it's reminiscent of a trampoline - or a really springy bed, which most anyone will immediately understand - encouraging the player to jump off of them as they dip to their lowest point. The first two Jump Blocks are spotted in a valley with a Paragoomba, increasing the chance that the player will bump into them while dodging/attacking the enemy. Much like the other types of blocks, it's uniquely (if a bit abstractly) decorated, naturally drawing the player's attention.

The final new object introduced in level 2 is the Jump Block. The music change is important as there are no other visual cues to indicate if and when the blocks will return to their original form. When the countdown ends, the remaining coins turn back into Brick Blocks, teaching the player that the transformation is only temporary. The P-Switch functionality immediately turns all the remaining bricks into coins and plays a jaunty countdown theme. If Mario hits this block from below (or spin-attacks it from the side), it will reveal a P-Switch. If he does, the shell will break through a bunch of Brick Blocks and leave one of them unobstructed.

Since the player already had a few chances to learn that Koopa Troopa shells can take out other enemies and activate powerups, he might try to do the same here. In addition to this lesson, there's also a solitary red Koopa Troopa pacing atop the second group of blocks. Since the player had two previous chances to pick up a Super Leaf, he's likely to try the spin-attack on these glowing objects as there's no way to hit them from below. Right before the level's end, the player encounters two grounded piles of Brick Blocks.

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