? Switch

This article is about the object that appears in various games. For the level with the same name in Super Mario 64 DS, see Tower of the Wing Cap.
? Switch
A ? Switch
A red ? Switch from Yoshi's Story
First appearance Yoshi's Story (1998)
Latest appearance Super Mario Bros. Wonder (2023)
Effect Causes a mysterious event
“If you step on it, something secret will happen. Exactly what, is a secret.”
Yoshi's Story instruction manual[1]

A ? Switch, also known as a Mystery Switch,[2][3] a Question Mark Switch,[4] a ? Switch Block,[5] or erroneously a ? Block,[6] is a Switch Block that has widely varying effects depending on the context.

HistoryEdit

Yoshi's StoryEdit

In Yoshi's Story, when a Yoshi presses a ? Switch by simply jumping on it, the ? Switch disappears and a part of the level is changed briefly. As the effect expires, the switch's music speeds up. There are panels that also act as a ? Switch and extend the switch's time limit.

Super Mario seriesEdit

Super Mario 64 DSEdit

Main article: Cap Switch

In Super Mario 64 DS, the red, green, and blue ! Switches from Super Mario 64 were reduced to a red ? Switch. It appears in a secret course named after it (also titled Tower of the Wing Cap), and it activates corresponding ? Blocks.

New Super Mario Bros.Edit

? Switches later appear in New Super Mario Bros., this time with an orange color. Like the ones in Yoshi's Story, these switches change or add to an area of a level, like adding moving platforms or flipping the entire level upside down. The effects of a ? Switch can be either temporary or permanent, depending on the ? Switch. One appears in the fight against Mega Goomba, being the only time one is used against a boss. Most levels have only one ? Switch, but some have two of them.

? Switches appear in the following levels, with the following functions:

New Super Mario Bros. WiiEdit

In New Super Mario Bros. Wii, ? Switches reappear with their design from New Super Mario Bros., though they are less common than before. World 6-6 notably features multiple with separate functions.

? Switches appear in the following levels, with the following functions:

New Super Mario Bros. 2Edit

In New Super Mario Bros. 2, ? Switches have become more common. Several are used for spawning more coins. They additionally appear in some of the DLC courses.

? Switches appear in the following levels, with the following functions:

New Super Mario Bros. U / New Super Luigi U / New Super Mario Bros. U DeluxeEdit

In New Super Mario Bros. U, ? Switches are again less common. Some act somewhat similar to ! Switches in New Super Mario Bros. and New Super Mario Bros. 2 by causing red blocks to appear. In New Super Luigi U, ? Switches are considerably uncommon, appearing only three levels. In New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe, ? Switches return in both capacities.

? Switches appear in the following New Super Mario Bros. U levels, with the following functions:

? Switches appear in the following New Super Luigi U levels, with the following functions:

Super Mario MakerEdit

In versions of Super Mario Maker before version 1.30, P Switches in the New Super Mario Bros. U game style have the appearance of ? Switches.

Super Mario Bros. WonderEdit

In Super Mario Bros. Wonder, ? Switches are about as uncommon as in New Super Luigi U, as they only appear in two Break Time! levels and one main level.

? Switches and their purpose in the levels are as follows:

Names in other languagesEdit

Language Name Meaning
Japanese ?スイッチ
? Suicchi
ハテナスイッチ[7]
Hatena Suicchi
スイッチブロック[8]
Suicchi Burokku
? Switch (Yoshi's Story)

? Switch

Switch Block (New Super Mario Bros., shared with P Switch and ! Switch)
Chinese ?开关[9]
? Kāiguān
? Switch
French Interrupteur ?[10]
Interrupteur[11]
? Switch
Switch
German ?-Schalter[12] ? Switch
Italian Blocco Interruttore ?[citation needed] (New Super Mario Bros.)
Interruttore ?[citation needed] (Super Mario 64 DS)
? Switch Block
? Switch
Portuguese (NOE) Bloco de Mudança ? (New Super Mario Bros.) ? Change Block

TriviaEdit

  • Although New Super Mario Bros. does have ? Switches in-game, the red ? Switch model from Super Mario 64 DS was left unused in the files of the final version. However, it was used in early prototypes.

ReferencesEdit

  1. ^ Yoshi's Story instruction manual, page 15. Retrieved February 17th, 2023.
  2. ^ Leung, Jason, Terry Munson, and Scott Pelland. Yoshi's Story Player's Guide. Page 16.
  3. ^ Nintendo (December 2, 1998). Yoshi's Story official website (Internet Archive). Retrieved April 14, 2020.
  4. ^ Prima Bath. Nintendo 64 Game Secrets, 1999 Edition Prima's Official Strategy Guide. Pages 104, 111.
  5. ^ New Super Mario Bros. British English instruction booklet, page 18.
  6. ^ Yoshi's Story Australian manual, page 15.
  7. ^ Shogakukan. 2015. Super Mario Bros. Hyakka: Nintendo Kōshiki Guidebook, pages 119, 151, 200, 216.
  8. ^ New Super Mario Bros. Japanese manual, page 17.
  9. ^ Official Chinese website for New Super Mario Bros. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  10. ^ Super Mario 64 DS French instruction booklet, page 68
  11. ^ https://fs-prod-cdn.nintendo-europe.com/media/downloads/games_8/emanuals/nintendo_8/Manual_Nintendo64_YoshisStory_FR.pdf Yoshi Story instruction booklet, French segment.] Page 59
  12. ^ New Super Mario Bros. German instruction booklet, page 20.