This article is about the move in general. For other moves with the same name, seeDash (disambiguation).

Not to be confused withDashell orDash Attack.

Dash
Mario dashing inSuper Mario 3D Land
First appearance	Super Mario Bros. (1985)
Latest appearance	Donkey Kong Country Returns HD (2025)
Effect	Increases movement speed
Input method	/

Dashing in theSuper Mario franchise is a standard move that allows a character to run faster than normal.

History[edit]

Super Mario series[edit]

Mario dashing across many narrow pits

Mario and his friends dashing inSuper Mario Bros. 2

In games of theSuper Mario series, the controls for dashing vary depending on the game. Earlier two-dimensional games require the player to hold the button while moving. Once games were released on systems with more than two face buttons, the input for two-dimensional games,Super Mario 3D Land,Super Mario 3D World, andSuper Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury is changed to holding one of the,, or buttons, depending on the control setup.Super Mario Advance andSuper Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 allow use of to dash as well. In games released for theWii andWii U, holding the button causes the player character to dash when theWii Remote is held sideways. If theNunchuk is attached to a vertical Wii Remote, the button is used instead.

WhenMario,Luigi, and other playable characters dash, they can run over smallpits,jump a bit higher, and jump farther. After running for a while, they sprint and reach their top speed; this move is called aSuper Dash inSuper Mario 3D World,Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury, and the respective style inSuper Mario Maker 2. Most 3DSuper Mario games (excluding the aforementioned 3D games andSuper Mario 64 DS, which hasits own control schemes) traditionally do not have dashing determined by holding a button, instead using the distance that is pushed to determine speed of movement.

InSuper Mario Bros. 2,Super Mario 64 DS,Super Mario Galaxy,Super Mario Galaxy 2,Super Mario 3D Land,Super Mario 3D World, andSuper Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury, each of the playable characters is capable of sprinting at different speeds after running for a while (or grabbing an object inSuper Mario Bros. 2); the sprint quickness also varies inSuper Mario 3D World, being inversely proportional to one's top speed (the faster runners take longer to sprint, and vice-versa). Additionally, theCat form lets one sprint quicker than normal. InSuper Mario 64 DS, the playable characters can also "charge up" a dash (when the player holds the run button while the characters stand still) to take off at top speed.

InSuper Mario Odyssey, the speed of movement is tied to holding a button while in certain nonstandard situations. Mario does not have a dedicated dash button normally, but he does while under the effect of an8-bit pipe. Many of the characters he cancapture and control do dash when the or button is held, and some others have dash-like actions performed by shaking the controller.

Super Mario Run does not allow the player to control their movement speed, as they run forward automatically. However, when movement speed is increased by various means, such as during aCoin Rush, beinginvincible, or while running down aslope, the player's animation switches to the "hands stretched behind them" version.Toad, due to naturally being faster than all other characters, uses this animation most of the time. One-block-wide gaps are instead passed over viavaulting.

Donkey Kong Country series[edit]

Donkey Kong Country Returns /3D /HD[edit]

InDonkey Kong Country Returns (as well asits Nintendo 3DS port andits Nintendo Switch port), the gaits of Walk and Run are still present. The default control scheme is Control Stick/Circle Pad–based, and in this control scheme, light pushes to either device result in Walk and full pushes result in Run. However, the alternate + Control Pad–based control scheme makes Walk the default form of movement and Run tied to holding,, or while moving, just like in prior games of theDonkey Kong Country series.Donkey Kong Country Returns HD removes the + Control Pad–based control scheme.

While the player is using Run and is not the startup period for Run, colliding with a wall while on the ground or past the peak of a jump makes them bounce backward a little. This is the same "recoil" animation that using theBarrel Roll orCartwheel Attack into a wall causes.

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze[edit]

The control scheme ofDonkey Kong Country Returns is retained inDonkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, allowing all characters to run.

Paper Mario series[edit]

Paper Mario[edit]

Main article:Spin Dash

InPaper Mario,Mario is able to dash by using the Spin Dash, performed by pressing. SeveralBadges can be used to grant this move additional effects.

Super Paper Mario[edit]

InSuper Paper Mario,Dashell can let theparty members dash when the player holds, in a similar fashion as the 2D games of theSuper Mario series.

Super Smash Bros. series[edit]

Dashing is a key form of movement in theSuper Smash Bros. series, having more utility than simply walking. Fighters dash by tapping twice to the left or right. Characters can also perform an attack while dashing, specifically called the dash attack. In the first five games, only up smashes, grabs, and special moves can be used out of a dash; inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate, however, all ground attacks can be used out of a dash. All characters have aninitial dash: This form of movement is usually very fast and short-distanced, and continuing to tap the Control Stick results in the initial dash either accelerating or decelerating into the character's consistent running speed.

Mario & Luigi series[edit]

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga[edit]

Main article:Dash (Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga)

InMario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, Mario andLuigi learn aBros. Action named Dash. By igniting Luigi with Mario'sFirebrand, the two can move very quickly in a straight line.

Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam[edit]

Mario, Luigi, and Paper Mario dashing into aPaper Koopa Troopa as a First Strike

InMario & Luigi: Paper Jam, Mario, Luigi, andPaper Mario gain the ability to dash with theDash Socks. The characters can dash when the player holds after aTeam Jump. They can bloomSpinny Flowers forcoins, use catapults, andcatch characters that run from them, such asPaper Toads andNabbit. Dashing into enemies initiates aFirst Strike, in which the trio dashes into the enemy from the field on the battle screen. Unlike with other forms of First Strikes, only that enemy is affected instead of all enemies. If that enemy has spikes, it negates this First Strike.

Mini Mario & Friends: amiibo Challenge[edit]

InMini Mario & Friends: amiibo Challenge, the player can tap theirMini Toy to make it move faster for a short period of time. The section of the help menu explaining this is calledTap to Run, so the action is assumed to beRun. Mini Toys stop running instantly if they do anything except for reversing direction at walls; this includes falling onto lower platforms, jumping up steps, andsliding down slopes. Mini Toys cannot run while wielding aHammer.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie[edit]

InThe Super Mario Bros. Movie, after Mario collects aSuper Mushroom before attackingBowser's minions withDonkey Kong, he dashes with his arms stuck out behind his back like in his dashing animation in several games of theSuper Mario series.^[1]

Mario Strikers: Battle League[edit]

InMario Strikers: Battle League, characters dash when the player presses or. They leave colored trails when dashing. Dashing while dribbling causes the character to kick theball a little ahead of them, meaning the character loses possession of the ball until they catch up, which further allows an opposing player to easily obtain the ball. Dashing costs stamina.^[2]

Profiles[edit]

Super Mario series[edit]

Super Mario 3D Land[edit]

• North American website bio: "In a hurry? This move puts some pep in Mario's step."

New Super Mario Bros. 2[edit]

• European website bio: "Use the Circle Pad or the +Control Pad to make Mario mosey at a leisurely pace. Hold the X or Y Button while moving to speed up and become a truly 'dashing' fellow!"

Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS[edit]

• Digital manual description: "Move while holding"

Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam[edit]

• Instruction manual description (overworld): "Hold to charge the dash. Once it's ready, hold in any direction and release to start dashing in the direction you're holding."
• Instruction manual description (papercraft battle): "Press to dash at enemies and slam into them. You can also use this to break blocks."

Gallery[edit]

For this subject's image gallery, seeGallery:Dash.

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  Super Mario Bros.

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  Super Mario Bros. 3

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  Super Mario 64

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  Super Mario Advance

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  Super Mario 3D World

Names in other languages[edit]

References[edit]