User blog:DonkeyKongApe/Mario's Top 10 Most Useful Power-Ups

Hello everyone!

I'm going to be making a list of Mario's Top 10 Most Useful Power-Ups. This is somewhat for fun, but also to help show how useful Mario's primary weapons (Though his hammer comes in a close second) can be in a battle.

Rules: Power-Ups will be judged by the amount of powers granted, how much strength is boosted, and the amount of general usefulness it gives. No White Tanooki/Racoon. No Super Mario Maker. And I guess some obvious other rules.

Without further ado, here we go.

Number 10
Starting off with a classic. Mario's trusty Fire Flower.


 * Uses:
 * Lets Mario shoot fireballs that can bounce across the ground (Super Mario Series, M&L, etc.) or soar through the air if Mario throws it similar to a baseball (M&L)
 * Lets Mario take another hit, either life threatening or a simple attack depending on how you view it (Super Mario Series)
 * Boosts fire abilities (Various games)
 * Lets Mario engulf a weapon in flames for one powerful swing, and if they hit a projectile with this swing then the projectiles gets surrounded by fire and can easily burn through things like trees (Mario Golf)
 * Seemingly increases Mario's strength by what is at least a bit (Various games)
 * When Mario performs a spin jump, he can shoot two fireballs in different directions (Super Mario Series)
 * Fireballs can light up dark areas (Super Mario Series)
 * When Mario plants it in the ground, the Fire Flower can shoot a flurry of fireballs in the direction it's facing before drooping (Paper Mario)
 * If Mario wants to, he can spam fireballs and toss them at high speeds (M&L)
 * Can inflict the burn status...aka just lighting people on fire for continuous damage (M&L)
 * Fireballs can be charged up for more damage and to become bigger (M&L)

Yes, overall, the Fire Flower is a very useful Power-Up. However, it's only #10 because Mario can already execute a lot of these moves with out the Fire Flower. In Superstar Saga he can make his own fireballs, In Super Mario RPG he can make bigger fireballs naturally with Ultra Flame, he can surround his weapons in flames naturally in Mario Super Sluggers, etc. But still, it can be argued that the Fire Flower could actually boost these abilities. And Mario doesn't have all of these powers naturally, like the Spin Jump double fireball, and it still allows him another hit and boosts his strength. And this is just number 10.

Number 9
Getting better, it's the Blue Shell.


 * Uses:
 * Lets Mario take another hit, either life threatening or a simple attack depending on how you view it (Super Mario Series)
 * Lets Mario curl up in to his shell when running to attack enemies and to move faster (Super Mario Series)
 * Can protect Mario from enemy attacks by crouching and letting the shell take the hits (Super Mario Series)
 * Improves swimming ability (Super Mario Series)
 * Can freeze opponents for a few seconds (Super Mario Strikers)
 * When hit from behind, it makes Mario go in to his shell, levitate off the ground for a few seconds while being knocked away, and returning like a boomerang to where he was originally. He will collect any items he touched while being knocked away (M&L)

Pretty good. However, it still has some weaknesses. The shell can be somewhat hard for Mario to control while spinning, and it's apparently heavy to carry around on Mario's back. Not bad though.

Number 8
Mario's trusty invincibility item, the Star.


 * Uses:
 * Turns Mario invulnerable for up to 30 seconds (Super Mario Series)
 * Can apparently one-shot many enemies, though this might be game mechanics (Super Mario Series)
 * Can light up dark areas (Super Mario Series)
 * Lets Mario go faster (Super Mario Series)
 * Mario can let others use the power of the Star if he touches them (Super Mario Series)
 * Can attract coins (Super Mario Series)
 * Can give Mario a cape to glide with (Yoshi's Island)

A very good item, but it's restricted by a time limit. Nice theme music though....

Number 1
Work in progress!