Starman (Nintendo)
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The Starman, also known as Star, Invincibility Star, Shiny Star, Power Star, or the more literal translation of Super Star, is a power-up from the Mario series of video games. It is a flashing star, traditionally about the size of "regular" Mario, that grants the player about 10 seconds of invincibility when touched. (However, if Mario falls down a bottomless pit, he still loses a life.) When touched, the music will change, and in Super Mario Bros. 3 and New Super Mario Bros.," Mario's jumping animation becomes a somersault. The Starman debuted in Super Mario Bros., and is so named because it has a pair of small eyes, as if the topmost point of the star were its head. In New Super Mario Bros. the Starman also gives Mario/Luigi the ability to run much faster. A similar star power-up appeared in the game Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island called the Super Star, which replaced the Super Feather as the power-up for Caped Mario (Superstar Mario). This gave Mario a cape, the ability to float, the ability to run up walls, and invincibility. In the Nintendo DS game Yoshi Touch & Go it gave the ability to throw stars like Mario's fireballs.
Because of the highly valued invincibility it grants, the Starman and stars in general are used by the Mario series to denote special areas, rewards, and secrets. For example, in Super Mario Bros. 3, three consecutive star cards earned from the roulette goal boxes at the end of each level would grant the player five extra lives, whereas three consecutive flower cards would grant only three, and three consecutive mushroom cards granted a mere two. In Super Mario World, secret levels lined Star Road, a location which isn't marked on the main map of the game. Winning the Star Cup in a Mario Kart game will unlock hidden tracks. Super Mario RPG was subtitled "Legend of the Seven Stars." In Super Mario 64 and Super Mario 64 DS, it is necessary to collect all 120/150 stars (30 were added to Super Mario 64 DS) to fully complete the game. In New Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario 64 DS, there are a few casino-like minigames (mainly card games). In the game similar to Poker, the Star is the card of highest value.
The Starman also provides invincibility to players in the Super Smash Bros. series of fighting games, where it played the same role as in a Mario game, with the difference that merely touching your enemies when invincible will not affect them.
In the Mario Kart series, the Star (found in item boxes on the track) increases the speed of the kart and also makes it impervious to opponents’ attacks, while knocking any karts in its path out of the way. It does not render a kart invulnerable to lava, water, pits, or similar pitfalls; instead, it allows the player to run over grass, sand, dirt, or other terrain which would normally slow the player down, with no speed reduction whatsoever.
[edit] Trivia
- The Invinciblity Star also appears in Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic, with the same effect but different music, before it became Super Mario Bros. 2 for the NES in the West.
- In The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, when Link draws the Master Sword from the pedestal, a Starman replaces the golden emblem during the cutscene.
- Ztars, which appear in several Mario Party games, serve the opposite function of a star: instead of giving the player one star, it steals one from him or her.
