This article is about the obstacle found in manySuper Mario games. For other uses, seePit (disambiguation).

"Abyss" redirects here. For the custom variant forSheik's Vanish special move inSuper Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS andSuper Smash Bros. for Wii U, seeSheik § Vanish.

Mario falling into a pit inSuper Mario World

“Remember the sound of the wind. It blows from a bottomless pit.”

—Message Block inNeuron Jungle,Yoshi's Story

Apit, also called anabyss, abottomless pit, or thevoid in 3Dplatformers, is a common obstacle in platform games where no solid ground is programmed. In 2D platformers, pits appear in almost everylevel. If a character falls orjumps into a pit, they will be affected negatively, usually by immediately losing a life. Aesthetically, pits can take many forms, and many of these pits appear to have no bottom; after falling a varying distance down (usually simply below the camera or screen), the player loses a life, even if an invincibility-granting item is in effect. Various techniques can serve to help a player escape from a pit before they fall far enough to register as having fallen in, such as theWall Jump or theDouble Jump.

In 3D platformers, many levels consist of landmasses or platforms floating in a large void. Examples of this areWhomp's Fortress,Pianta Village, theMetro Kingdom, and many levels of theSuper Mario Galaxy games andSuper Mario 3D Land. These voids are essentially considered to be massive pits.

While most pits cause instant death, some instead warp the player backward or to a particular location (sometimes in addition to losing a life). The pits inWario World lead toUnithorn's Lair, a subterranean cavern, and because players can resume progress once a specific goal has been reached, these cannot be considered bottomless pits.

History[edit]

Donkey Kong series[edit]

InDonkey Kong, there are no bottomless pits.Mario will lose a life if he falls from a height greater than his own. In75 m, touching the bottom floor subtracts a life as if it were a pit. In theGame Boy version, this floor is covered withspikes.

InDonkey Kong Jr., falling from avine or chain costs a life. TheVine Scene contains awatery pit, while the first true bottomless pits are in theJump Board Scene andMario's Hideout.

Super Mario series[edit]

Mario running across many narrow pits

Pits are a common obstacle in the 2D games of theSuper Mario series. Allowing the player's character to sink throughquicksand is the same as falling into a pit. Certain pits may be only one block wide; in such cases, the player can oftenrun straight across the pits without falling down as long as they have enough speed. Walking across these narrow pits usually does not work.

Lava andpoison in many games serve as enhanced versions of pits, filling the space between platforms and defeating the player instantly. The increased danger is caused by the fact lava and poison are closer to the platforms than the points at which a pit activates, meaning that if the player is falling into any of these three things, it is harder to get to safety in the case of lava and poison than for pits. In two-dimensional games, lava and poison generally take up the bottom of the screen, while a pit activates below the screen. In three-dimensional games, lava and poison usually surround the play area, with pits activating farther away from it.

Although Mario canswim in some levels ofSuper Mario Bros. andSuper Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, if he falls intowater in a non-swimming level, he loses a life just as if it were a pit. InSuper Mario Bros: The Lost Levels, some backwardsWarp Zones have a small pit Mario can fall into to avoid warping backwards.

InSuper Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, falling into a pit will play Mario's death animation upon touching the bottom of screen, similar to falling into lava.

InSuper Mario 64, in the mansion ofBig Boo's Haunt, if Mario falls into a pit, he ends up in the mansion's basement rather than losing a life. Also, inSuper Mario 64 DS, if Mario falls into a pit inBig Boo Battle, he is teleported back to the starting area.

InSuper Mario Galaxy andSuper Mario Galaxy 2, pits often take the form ofblack holes, appearing in island-likegalaxies such asBeach Bowl Galaxy andMatter Splatter Galaxy, although Mario or Luigi can still lose a life by falling into voids otherwise.

InSuper Mario Maker, the game may play anEaster egg sound effect upon the player falling into a bottomless pit, with a landing noise suggesting that the pit apparently has a bottom. In these sound effects, Mario is heard to be doing something offscreen. On some occasions, the sound effect is accompanied by other objects such as a car and several other Marios.

InSuper Mario Odyssey, If Mario falls into a void and dies, thecoins he drops when he dies usually fall in the pit too. This means those coins vanish, instead of staying to be recollected later. If the player falls into the void inAssist Mode, abubble brings them back out and they lose oneHealth Point. There are situations where the bubble does not appear.

A dangerous pit inSuper Mario Bros. Wonder, as indicated by the darkness emanating from the bottom of the screen

InSuper Mario Bros. Wonder, for the first time in a sidescrollingSuper Mario game, lethal pits are visually indicated as such, featuring a darkened gradient texture across the bottom. Thebadge "Safety Bounce" mitigates the danger of falling into pits, bouncing the player back up.

Mario Kart series[edit]

Pits also appear in theMario Kart series, appearing in certain courses such asMushroom Gorge fromMario Kart Wii. When a character drives off the course into a pit, they yell out as the camera pans down into darkness, and a few seconds later,Lakitu lifts the character back up and drops them back onto the course, essentially making the pits act as a large time penalty, though they also cost the player a few coins in the games featuring them.

Yoshi's Island series[edit]

Pits are featured throughout theYoshi's Island series, working similarly to how they do inSuper Mario games.Yoshi's Woolly World features thePower Badge "Fall into a pit? No problem!" that, when equipped, makes Yoshi safely bounce out of pits.

Mario Party series[edit]

Pits appear in some of theminigames in theMario Party series. Falling into a pit usually causes the player to be eliminated, although in a few minigames, such asTile and Error, falling into one causes the player to be carried back to the playfield. In a few other minigames, such asSkyjinks, players can fall into a pit a certain number of times before being eliminated. There is also a minigame inMario Party 7 titledWeight for It that ends with the loser falling into a pit.

Paper Mario series[edit]

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door[edit]

Pits in the Boggly Woods

Pits are rare obstacles inPaper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. Mario encounters them in only a few 2D background sections, specifically inRogueport Underground, theBoggly Woods, and theX-Naut Fortress. Falling into one takes away oneHP before Mario is transported back to solid ground.Bowser's intermissions also feature pits; falling into one forces the player to restart the level.

Super Paper Mario[edit]

InSuper Paper Mario, if Mario,Princess Peach, Bowser, orLuigi falls into a pit, they will flip back onto solid ground and lose one HP. A few pits inSuper Paper Mario (on the outskirts ofFlipside andFlopside) do not hurt the player, instead sending them to a secret room with aspring and (a) valuable item(s). Also inSuper Paper Mario, someShaydes are tasked with cleaning pits as punishment inThe Underwhere.

Unused appearances[edit]

During the development ofMario Bros.,Gunpei Yokoi suggested removing the threat of falling from great heights that were seen in the first twoDonkey Kong arcade entries.^[1] This would have a major impact on subsequent games of theSuper Mario franchise.

Names in other languages[edit]

References[edit]

Pit coverage on otherNIWA wikis:

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