History Awesome / SuperMarioBros

* Luigi, the series' EnsembleDarkhorse getting his own game, ''Luigi's Mansion''. ''MarioIsMissing'' was an edutainment game, and therefore doesn't count.

*** This is only to cause more [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome CMOAs]]:[[spoiler:All the Lumas try to stop the end of the universe (and accidentally cause a new big bang), and Rosalina, presumably, reboots the cosmos, dumping everybody back in the Mushroom kingdom. With such a [[BigDamnHeroes moment like that]], it's no wonder the Mushroom Kingdom celebrates every time her comet passes nearby.]]

!! SuperMarioWorld

* For some, ''Super Mario Galaxy'' as a whole was a crowning moment of awesome in finally putting the obstacle course style level designs of the 2D games in 3D, but picking one specific moment, the purple coins mission in Battlerock. Having gotten 105 stars, it seemed the game was now going to make you collect 100 coins in each level, which was one of the least enjoyable parts of [=SM64=] and SMS. The first couple of purple coin challenges are an easy introduction and a hunt similar to the previous 3D Marios. Then you get to the essentially 2D, every single coin in plain sight but requiring precise platforming to reach them all mission in Battlerock and realize the purple coin challenges are really the equivalent of the special world in ''SuperMarioWorld'', and SMG erases any question of whether it recreated the 2D formula.

** Even better, it was a launch game for the {{GameCube}}, going in stores about eight months before [[VideoGame/SuperMarioSunshine Mario's headlining game]] came out. Especially after Luigi hadn't appeared in any games within the Mario canon since SuperMarioWorld, it's refreshing to see a ThrowTheDogABone moment for the second banana.

!! SuperMarioBros3

!! SuperMarioGalaxy

!! SuperMarioGalaxy 2
* When you kill Squizzard in ''SuperMarioGalaxy2'', he explodes, and the Power Star he had flies ''50 feet straight up into the air.''

* Princess Peach gets one in ''Super Mario Bros. 2''. Instead of being kidnapped, she is one of the main playable characters and kicks ass right alongside Mario and Luigi. Her second comes in SuperPrincessPeach, where she switches roles with the Mario Bros. and does the rescuing for once.

** Super Mario Bros 2 took place in Mario's dreams, though, which means Mario's dream is for Princess Peach to finally fight for herself for once. [[SuperPrincessPeach A dream which, thankfully for them both, came true.]]

!! SuperMarioRPG

!! PaperMario

* The scene before the final boss in PaperMario: TTYD is one for Peach. Peach,[[spoiler: who [[DemonicPossession has been possessed by the Shadow Queen]] is commanded by Grodus, who never learned that Evil is Not a Toy, to obey him. She then goes and fires a bolt of lightning at him, which leaves NOTHING BUT HIS HEAD.]] This coming from a Mario game.

!! SuperPaperMario

** Even better, it was a launch game for the {{GameCube}}, going in stores about eight months before [[SuperMarioSunshine Mario's headlining game]] came out. Especially after Luigi hadn't appeared in any games within the Mario canon since SuperMarioWorld, it's refreshing to see a ThrowTheDogABone moment for the second banana.

!! SuperMarioSunshine

!! SuperMario64

** Particularly for Peach, who manages to fight off being possessed by a demon sorceress to heal you. The main games make her overly ditzy, but she's particularly effective in the RPGs.

* In Pianta village, after getting all red coins, and when you're on the gigantic palm tree, you grab a piece of "fluff" (a giant dandelion seed), then it flies all the way to a cloud that has the Shine out in the middle of the sky.

* Peach gets one in Super Paper Mario, where she [[spoiler:kicks Mimi's behind. (Mimi insults her, she gets angry. Including a large-text 'Understood' that scares the crad out of Mario and Luigi.)]]

** Worth noting that the plot of both of those games is that Mario's gone missing and it's up to Luigi to find and save him. Heck, even when he had his solo-moment in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, it was because Mario was sick! The one time I can can recall where he had his own adventure without Mario being sick or kidnapped was in in Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, but that was just pure text and his heroic accounts were contrasted with more embarassing versions of the tale. However, there was a true CMOA in the fluff: Luigi stormed the castle of the Chestnut King to save Princess Eclair in spite of the terrifying description of both the place and the monster [[spoiler:But the epic battle is stopped by the Princess who reveals that the Chestnut King is her bewitched lover. Turns out that the person who sent for help, Crepe, was an evil sorcerer that cursed the King as part of an XanatosGambit to get Luigi to reassemble an ancient powerful artifact from a long-gone evil empire which he used to find the Princess.]] Although he beat the fiend, he didn't get the girl.

* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmXQvMkamhQ This.]] Just... This.(Major Spoilers)
** Particularily to Peach, who manages to fight off being possessed by a demon sorceress to heal you. The main games make her overly ditzy, but she's particularly effective in the RPGs.

* If you think about it, Mario taking on (and defeating) Bowser's entire military, navy, and air force in World 8 single handedly is pretty awesome.

* Upon beating each of the Koopaling's fortresses, a humorous cutscene is shown of Mario destroying the fortress he's just spent hell getting through. Normally he just [[StuffBlowingUp blows it up]] but after beating Larry's fortress (the seventh and final fortress), Mario PICKS THE FORTRESS OUT OF THE GROUND AND DROP-KICKS IT. No wonder [[PutOnABus we didn't hear from the Koopalings for so long]]...

* ''Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island'' has perhaps one of the ultimate [=CMOAs=] in video games, in the form of its final boss. The whole game in general is ''Yoshi's'' CMOA; it shows that Yoshi saved Mario as an infant, and so the main hero of the series actually owes everything to Yoshi; but the final boss is still the best part. When you first enter Bowser's castle, it's scary to go through the level, but when you fight Bowser, you find out that he's just an annoying, bratty little kid, whom you can easily defeat. Things looked so simple compared to other Mario games--and then Kamek comes and supersizes Bowser, the whole castle crumbling as he grows exponentially. The final battle takes place with Yoshi on the pile of rubble, and he is looking out into the background, where the now gigantic Bowser looms. The monstrosity tromps toward you Godzilla style, occasionally breathing fire and throwing boulders that further smash the rubble, with an epic heavy metal song (A rarity in the Mario series) rocking out as the showdown rages. When you finally do beat him, if you're a long-time Mario fan you get an even greater bonus if you sit through the credits. The babies are returned to their parents, and you hear the classic flagpole theme of Mario games, trumpeted up, as you're treated to a picture of the baby Mario Bros. with the caption, "Our heroes are born!"

* It's probably fair to say the final battle of ''NewSuperMarioBrosWii'' is one for several parties involved. At first glance, it appears to be a pretty standard "run under Bowser and hit the switch to drop him into the lava." [[spoiler:Then Kamek reveals himself to have taken Peach's place, and spreads magic around like he usually does. Except this time it has the effect of making Bowser ''so large that he knocks Kamek out of the sky as he grows.'' Indeed, it's possible that this is [[AttackOfThe50FootWhatever the second-largest height to which Bowser has ever grown]] (the first largest being his Giant Bowser battles in ''MarioAndLuigi: Bowser's Inside Story'').]] True, most of the following battle is actually [[spoiler:you running away from Bowser and surviving long enough to hit the switch at the end that defeats him for good -- and it would be entirely unremarkable, if it wasn't one of ''the'' most intense platforming sequences in the game, filled with difficult and time-sensitive jumps and enemies prowling around every corner. [[FinalExamBoss Practically every obstacle is being thrown against you all at once,]] making it that much more satisfying when you finally hit that final switch.]] And if that doesn't sound good enough, imagine doing it alongside three friends. Now ''that's'' NintendoHard.
* Before that, there's the entirety of level 8-7. You ride on an fast-paced undead dragon rollercoaster, dodging geysers of lava while it periodically screeches. It's a favorite level in the series for many.

* The two sports games made by SquareEnix are pretty much the reason the Mario Sports series deserves at least one Tv Tropes article. For the first one, Mario Hoops 3 On 3, pretty much every playable character gets one when doing a special shot, and when you unlock [[spoiler: [[FinalFantasy Ninja, White Mage and Black Mage]]]] [[RuleOfCool their special shots are none other than]] [[spoiler: some ninjutsu, ''Holy and '''Meteor''''']] for crying out loud! As for the game's still-made-by-Square SpiritualSuccessor, Mario Sports Mix [[EmbeddedPrecursor (which includes basketball anyway)]] I just give you [[TwoWords three words: '''[[spoiler: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQmilcaBcT8 BEHEMOTH BOSS BATTLE.]]]]''' [[RuleOfCool Who cares if it has nothing to do with a sports game, it is exactly as awesome as it sounds.]]

** You get to fight the toughest boss in the game, Culex, as a BonusBoss. Fans of FinalFantasy may recognize FF's boss music, as well as the 4 elemental crystals iconic to FinalFantasy. And after you're done beating that long hard battle, you know the standard victory fare isn't enough. BOOM, He turns into colorful sparks and your party does their victory pose, while you get a load of EXP and coins, and the Epic FinalFantasy victory music is blaring out of the speakers.

** You get to fight the toughest boss in the game, Culex, as a BonusBoss. Fans of FinalFantasy may recognize [=FF4=]'s boss music, as well as the 4 elemental crystals iconic to FinalFantasy. And after you're done beating that long hard battle, you know the standard victory fare isn't enough. BOOM, He turns into colorful sparks and your party does their victory pose, while you get a load of EXP and coins, and the Epic FinalFantasy victory music is blaring out of the speakers.

*** That doesn't really detract from how awesome it is, though. ''Luigi's Mansion'' is a great example. Since we see ''just how scared'' Luigi is the entire time he's trying to get through the mansion, it makes it even ''more'' awesome. Yeah, he's trying to save his brother, but that just crosses the CMoA over with a CrowningMomentofHeartwarming. [[spoiler: Particularly the ending, where he finally accomplishes said goal. D'aww.]]

* ''Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island'' has perhaps one of the ultimate CMOAs in video games, in the form of its final boss. The whole game in general is ''Yoshi's'' CMOA; it shows that Yoshi saved Mario as an infant, and so the main hero of the series actually owes everything to Yoshi; but the final boss is still the best part. When you first enter Bowser's castle, it's scary to go through the level, but when you fight Bowser, you find out that he's just an annoying, bratty little kid, whom you can easily defeat. Things looked so simple compared to other Mario games--and then Kamek comes and supersizes Bowser, the whole castle crumbling as he grows exponentially. The final battle takes place with Yoshi on the pile of rubble, and he is looking out into the background, where the now gigantic Bowser looms. The monstrosity tromps toward you Godzilla style, occasionally breathing fire and throwing boulders that further smash the rubble, with an epic heavy metal song (A rarity in the Mario series) rocking out as the showdown rages. When you finally do beat him, if you're a long-time Mario fan you get an even greater bonus if you sit through the credits. The babies are returned to their parents, and you hear the classic flagpole theme of Mario games, trumpeted up, as you're treated to a picture of the baby Mario Bros. with the caption, "Our heroes are born!"

** You get to fight the toughest boss in the game, Culex, as a BonusBoss. Fans of FinalFantasy may recognize FF4's boss music, as well as the 4 elemental crystals iconic to FinalFantasy. And after you're done beating that long hard battle, you know the standard victory fare isn't enough. BOOM, He turns into colorful sparks and your party does their victory pose, while you get a load of EXP and coins, and the Epic FinalFantasy victory music is blaring out of the speakers.
* There's a tiny one which doubles as a subtle [[HeartwarmingMoment.VideoGames Crowning Moment of Heartwarming]]. When you first meet Mallow, his [[spoiler:adoptive]] grandfather's coin's just been stolen, and, though he has been raised as a frog, he cannot jump. 6 stars' (and one recovered coin) worth of adventure later, Mallow's discovered [[spoiler:that he's a prince]], has found [[spoiler:his true mother and father]], and when he needs to jump onto the skybus taking the party to Bowser's Keep.... he does so. With aplomb.

* For some, ''Super Mario Galaxy'' as a whole was a crowning moment of awesome in finally putting the obstacle course style level designs of the 2D games in 3D, but picking one specific moment, the purple coins mission in Battlerock. Having gotten 105 stars, it seemed the game was now going to make you collect 100 coins in each level, which was one of the least enjoyable parts of SM64 and SMS. The first couple of purple coin challenges are an easy introduction and a hunt similar to the previous 3D Marios. Then you get to the essentially 2D, every single coin in plain sight but requiring precise platforming to reach them all mission in Battlerock and realize the purple coin challenges are really the equivalent of the special world in ''SuperMarioWorld'', and SMG erases any question of whether it recreated the 2D formula.

** I just have to point this out: the plot of both of those games is that Mario's gone missing and it's up to Luigi to find and save him. Heck, even when he had his solo-moment in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, it was because Mario was sick! The one time I can can recall where he had his own adventure without Mario being sick or kidnapped was in in Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, but that was just pure text and his heroic accounts were contrasted with more embarassing versions of the tale. However, there was a true CMOA in the fluff: Luigi stormed the castle of the Chestnut King to save Princess Eclair in spite of the terrifying description of both the place and the monster [[spoiler:But the epic battle is stopped by the Princess who reveals that the Chestnut King is her bewitched lover. Turns out that the person who sent for help, Crepe, was an evil sorcerer that cursed the King as part of an XanatosGambit to get Luigi to reassemble an ancient powerful artifact from a long-gone evil empire which he used to find the Princess.]] Although he beat the fiend, he didn't get the girl.
*** That doesn't really detract from how awesome it is, though. Luigi's Mansion is a great example. Since we see ''just how scared'' Luigi is the entire time he's trying to get through the mansion, it makes it even ''more'' awesome. Yeah, he's trying to save his brother, but that just crosses the CMoA over with a CrowningMomentofHeartwarming. [[spoiler: Particularly the ending, where he finally accomplishes said goal. D'aww.]]

** Particularily to Peach, who manages to fight off being possessed by a demon sourcerous to heal you. The main games make her overly ditzy, but I always had a lot of respect for RPG! Peach (All three series, but especially Paper, and especially this game. I really felt like her characterization worked).

* The first time Mario takes flight in ''Super Mario Brothers 3''. He eats a powerup called the Super Leaf, grows raccoon ears and a tail, and gains the power to fly. This troper thinks Miyamoto may have been "powering up" on some super leaves of his own when he came up with this.
** In a few stages in ''Super Mario Bros. 3'', ''the sun itself'' drops out of the sky and tries to kill you! When you first begin the level, the game fools you into thinking that the sun is just part of the background, then BAM!!! it starts trying to dive bomb you throughout the whole rest of the stage! It reappears near the end of the game, in oddly enough, a level that takes place at night. The best part: if you take an invincibility star into the stage you can use it to ''kill the sun''.
*** Or grab a Koopa shell and kick it when the sun flies down.
*** The official strategy guide refers to killing the Angry Sun as "forc[ing] an early sunset". [[SonicLover This Troper]] cracked a smile at that.
** Another stage lets you ride around in giant '''boot''' that prevents you from taking damage from spikes and lets you kill any enemy in the game with a single stomp. Sadly, it only appears in one level, and hasn't appeared in any of the sequels. * sniff*
--->"One night under heavy doses of narcotics, I was playing Super Mario Brothers 3 and one of my friends thought it would be funny to record what I was saying so I could hear myself later when I was coherent. Here is a transcription of the things I said:
---->''Oh shit! I got the shoe! I'm so invincible! Oh! Eat it, you bitch! You don't understand! I got the damn SHOE! It's the shoe! And look at how cute I am with my stupid plumber head poking out of the wind up sock! I am the cutest invincible shoe rider ever! Mario! Mario! He's in the ULTRA green SHOOEEE!''
--->This went on for about 10 more minutes as I kept bouncing back and forth on the level screaming nonsense about the damn shoe until the time ran out. We sent a copy to my mom. I heard she cried."\\

*** There ''is'' a cameo of it in ''MarioAndLuigi: Bowser's Inside Story''.
** As a matter of fact, ''Super Mario Bros. 3'' in general is just one big Crowing [[strike:Moment]] Game of Awesome. There were 8 worlds with a total of 90 levels, 5 special suits (not counting mushrooms and stars), a slew of bonus games, a duel mode (if you're playing with a friend), scores of enemies, and an obscene amount of ridiculously well hidden secrets ''everywhere''. On top of that, this game was on the original, 8-bit NES, before 3-D graphics, memory cards, and FMV cutscenes. It still managed to be amazingly successful, selling over 18 million copies, the most of any non-bundled game ever.
*** And with such a long ass game back in the NES days, you might think that the level design might get repetitive and boring, but no: every single level is masterfully made and especially the Army levels in World 8 were truly NintendoHard without ever being unfair. There's a reason why Super Mario Bros 3 is regarded as pretty much the best platformer of all time.
--> '''[[TheAngryVideoGameNerd James Rolfe]]''': And then there's the final world; this part doesn't fuck around. It's like "You got to the end! You dare to play? ''Welcome to Hell!''"
** If you think about it, Mario taking on (and defeating) Bowser's entire military, navy, and air force in World 8 single handedly is pretty awesome.

** [[SecretLevel Special World.]] It's arguably a NintendoHard ROMHack of itself, and it rewards you for completing ThatOneLevel, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Tubular.]] The final Level introduces a special [[TrademarkFavoriteFood Fruit]] that increases your Time if Yoshi eats it. Then, at the very end, all the {{Mooks}} are gone, and in their place is a giant message that says [[spoiler:YOU ARE A SUPER PLAYER]], written entirely in Coins. Then, the entire Game becomes a HalloweenEpisode.
** Upon beating each of the Koopaling's fortresses, a humorous cutscene is shown of Mario destroying the fortress he's just spent hell getting through. Normally he just [[StuffBlowingUp blows it up]] but after beating Larry's fortress (the seventh and final fortress), Mario PICKS THE FORTRESS OUT OF THE GROUND AND DROP-KICKS IT. No wonder [[PutOnABus we didn't hear from the Koopalings for so long]]...

* [[ShadowQueen This Troper]] Finds the scene before the final boss in PaperMario: TTYD to be one. Peach,[[spoiler: who [[DemonicPossession has been possessed by the Shadow Queen]] is commanded by Grodus, who never learned that Evil is Not a Toy, to obey him. She then goes and fires a bolt of lightning at him, which leaves NOTHING BUT HIS HEAD.]] This coming from a Mario game, I find that awesome.

** Not to mention [[spoiler:the final battle is one for Bowser, who defeats a dark clone of himself by ''punching the everloving shit out of it'']]
*** Not to mention [[spoiler: the whole thing is ''playable.'']]

** [[AMereServantOfGod This troper]] is partial to the moment that happens just before that. Bowser is at a platform on top of Peach's castle, facing [[spoiler:his [[EvilCounterpart Eviler Counterpart]], who's really the Mushroom Kingdom's closest analogy to {{Satan}}, with the souls and/or bodies of everyone in the Mushroom Kingdom besides the Mario Bros., Starlow and Peach swirling around him in a hurricane that threatens to destroy the entire kingdom, if not the entire world. His reaction to being told it is hopeless, and that the kingdom will soon vanish?]] Something very close to, if not exactly what, follows:

* [[KillerClowns This Troper]] reckons the ''entire game'' is basically one long CrowningMomentOfAwesome for Bowser. Even when he ''picks up {{Idiot Ball}}s'', he manages to make it either [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome awesome]] or [[CrowningMomentOfFunny hilarious]].

* For this troper, ''Super Mario 64'' and ''Super Mario Sunshine'' were great, but not quite as magical as the best 2D Marios. ''Super Mario Galaxy'' as a whole was a crowning moment of awesome in finally putting the obstacle course style level designs of the 2D games in 3D, but picking one specific moment, the purple coins mission in Battlerock. Having gotten 105 stars, it seemed the game was now going to make you collect 100 coins in each level, which was one of the least enjoyable parts of SM64 and SMS. The first couple of purple coin challenges are an easy introduction and a hunt similar to the previous 3D Marios. Then you get to the essentially 2D, every single coin in plain sight but requiring precise platforming to reach them all mission in Battlerock and realize the purple coin challenges are really the equivalent of the special world in Super Mario World, and SMG erases any question of whether it recreated the 2D formula.
** The Freezeflame Galaxy's purple coin challenge is the one that does it for this troper. You have to scour the entire area for coins, then make a slow danger-filled climb to the very top of the mountain to end up with... 98 coins. To get the final two coins, you have to ''jump off the top of the mountain'' onto a tiny little platform below. One of the most epic-feeling moments in the game.

*** I found this awesome from start to finish - most epic ending I've ever seen in a Mario game. But the thing that really clinched it for me, oddly enough, was right at the end. After they wake up in [[spoiler:the new galaxy]], Mario raises his hands and joyfully cries out "Welcome! Welcome, new GALAXY!" That part really carried a sense of... I don't even know what, but it was awesome.
* For this Troper, the best gameplay moment of awesome was when Mario first used the Red Star.
* You can laud the final battle of ''Galaxy'' all you want, but this troper got chills from Buoy Base. Having Mario fly into an enemy base and just.. pummel everything with no hesitation really cemented his status as a one man army for this troper.
** Or how about what some of the LAUNCH STARS do? For example:
*** Blasting right through a BATTLESHIP, which then EXPLODES behind Mario
*** Blasting up from the mouth of a volcano, which erupts as you fly away from it
** And probably many more?

* The final fight with Bowser. After you take him down in the first segment, you're about to take the Grand Star, when he comes up out of nowhere and EATS IT. You then fight him in zero gravity in the center of a black hole. And the finishing blow? [[spoiler: A meteorite to the face, which knocks him into the black hole.]] Made even more awesome by the fact that he survives.
** This troper can do you one better with that fight - any meteorite landing on any part of Bowser will cause damage to him in this phase as long as Mario launches it. This troper's final blow? Launching one into his ''fist''. '''While he was punching at Mario'''. While it wasn't a Daredevil run, doing such then would no doubt make the player feel like a ''[[AGodAmI god]]''.
*** And I, good sir, can outdo ''that''. The first time I fought him, the finishing blow was, like yours, mid-punch, but I hit him ''square in the face''!

** Super Mario Bros 2 took place in Mario's dreams, though, which means Mario's dream is for Princess Peach to finally fight for herself for once.