Superball Flower

The Superball Flower is a power-up that was featured in Super Mario Land.

Information

The Superball Flower is a type of flower that was only known to be found within Sarasaland. By obtaining one, Mario would transform into Superball Mario and gain the ability to shoot out superballs.Unlike most other power-ups, Mario' clothes and form do not change when becoming Superball Mario, and so he remains looking the same. The Superball is a black ball that can harm enemies and collects any coins that it hits. It will also bounce off of surfaces at a 90 degree angle. Mario can only use one superball at a time.

This power-up was originally featured only in Super Mario Land. It made a return appearance years later in Super Mario Maker 2. In that game, it had to be unlocked within Story Mode by clearing one of Purple Toad's tasks, Spiny Shell Smashers. The Superball Flower could be used in the Super Mario Bros. style as an alternative to the Fire Flower. In this game, using the Superball Flower would also change the character's sprite to look monochromatic, in an imitation of the original Game Boy graphics. It would also cause music and sound effects from Super Mario Land to come into play. In this game, the superballs could perform a wider amount of functions, such as collecting keys, setting off switches and igniting bob-ombs.

Through the multiplayer mode of Super Mario Maker 2, it became possible for Luigi, Toad and Toadette to also use the Superball Flower.

Trivia

• The Superball Flower's color is unclear within its in-game appearances, as it is represented by a monochromatic sprite. Its official art in the instruction manual shows it has having a pink flower and a gray stem, while the Game Boy Player's Guide depicts it with a blue flower and green stem instead.
• In the original Super Mario Land instruction manual, it was referred to at different points as simply a "flower" and a "super flower".
• In WarioWare Gold, one of 5-Volt's microgames involved the player controlling Superball Mario and shooting superballs at enemies.
• Thirty years passed between the releases of Super Mario Land and Super Mario Maker 2. Discounting the WarioWare Gold appearance, that makes the Superball Flower the power-up for which the longest amount of time passed between its appearances.
• In Super Mario Maker 2, an outfit based on Superball Mario is also unlocked with the Superball Flower.