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Super Mario Bros. X is a downloadable PC Mario fangame that borrows elements from Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, and New Super Mario Bros. Wii among numerous other games. The game was created by Andrew "Redigit" Spinks of Terraria fame, before he got a cease-and-desist letter from Nintendo and left the engine in the hands of the community. The game is most notable for its huge Level Editor, which allows the player to make their own levels using the numerous blocks, items, and NPCs available from the aforementioned games.

The game was first released in 2009 with the Editor and default episode “The Invasion”, which served as a showcase of the editor’s capabilities and a fully-fleshed out Mario adventure in its own right. It would continue to receive official updates from Redigit up until 1.3.0 towards the very end of 2010. At one point in 2010 The Invasion was replaced with a sequel called “The Invasion 2”, which is an updated version of The Invasion that showcased the vastly ramped up new features of the Editor. Two other episodes, “The Princess Cliche”, and “The Great Empire”, were also made and became as popular as The Invasion 2. Development officially ceased in 2011, though the community around the game remains active.

Due to the legal circumstances explained above, we can't really provide a link to the download, but a quick Google search should do the trick.

Note: please only include tropes related to the engine itself, and the official episodes released from the old SMBX site. Games made in this engine, should they have enough unique tropes of their own, should get their own page.

This game should not be confused with Alvin-Earthworm's web animation series, Super Mario Bros. Z.


Level packs with their own pages:

"Super Mario Bros. X" contains examples of:

    open/close all folders 

    The Game Itself 
  • Action Girl: Princess Peach is playable here, and can use all the same power-ups that Mario can.
  • An Ice Person:
    • The Ice Flower returns from New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Most characters are given the ability to throw bouncing ice balls like before, though Peach and Toad are also able to hold them above their heads, and Link instead shoots straight-moving ice balls from his sword.
    • There's also the Cyan Yoshi, which is able to turn any enemy they eat into ice blocks and spit them back out at other enemies.
  • Ascended Extra: Three rare Power Ups from Super Mario Bros. 3 - Tanooki Suit, Hammer Suit, and Kuribo's Shoe - get a lot more screen time in this fangame.
  • As the Good Book Says...: Surprisingly, the default end credits sequence present in the engine contain a passage from Colossians.
  • Color-Coded for Your Convenience: The Yoshis and shoes have different colors in order to indicate what special abilities they have.
  • The Goomba: From four games!
  • Guest Fighter:
  • Infinity -1 Sword: The Hammer Suit. Unlike in Super Mario Bros. 3, you can now throw hammers in two different arcs - high and low. Throwing them at a low trajectory is the default attack, making it easier to aim it than in its origin game. And like in Super Mario Bros. 3, it retains the same gamebreaking lethality, being able to take out virtually every enemy in the game with relative ease.
  • Infinity +1 Sword: The Lakitu's Shoe, which provides unlimited flight. In The Invasion 2, you need all seven Stars to access it, so that requires completing everything at least up to Dire Dire Rocks, one of the last levels in the game.
  • Invincibility Power-Up: Averted. Redigit was well known for being vehemently against adding this during the game's development, since he thought it would be misused, as in Super Mario Flash's levels. Instead, the Stars act as collectibles, as in Super Mario 64.
    • The aversion is averted with Super Mario Bros X2, which has Super Stars as one of the new NPCs.
  • The Last Of These Is Not Like The Others: Link, from a playable character standpoint. While most of his movement mechanics are the same as the other (pre-X2) characters, he wields a sword, giving him a melee attack at all times, as well as a shield that can protect against projectiles like fireballs. He also can't carry items in the traditional sense, though he can collect keys and bombs by stabbing them. Moreover, he suffers Knockback like in Zelda 2, needs to run continuously for a short time to reach max speed, as opposed to having it from the get-go. He also can't ride Yoshis or Kuribo Shoes, can pogo off of spikes (but not spiky enemies like Spinies) with a downward thrust, and enemies have a chance to drop Rupees upon death when playing as him.
  • No Fair Cheating: Using any of the cheat codes will disable the ability to save. Until you type in "redigitiscool", at which point you can save again.
  • Poison Mushroom: The Trope Namer appears here as an NPC that can be placed in levels, acting like it does in its debut game and taking its appearance from Super Mario All-Stars.
  • Power Up Mount:
    • Yoshis, as per usual. They even comes in eight different colors, each with their own unique abilities. Notably, only Mario and Luigi can ride on them.
    • The Kuribo's Shoe and its derivatives. Like Yoshi, it has two additional variants with unique abilities. Peach and Toad can use them, unlike Yoshis, though Link is still out of luck.
    • The Clown Car, which is used in only one level in The Invasion 2. It's also the only mount type that every playable character can use.
  • Stationary Boss:
    • Somewhat Downplayed with Mother Brain. By default, all she does is stay in one spot and take damage from explosions and thrown objects, not even being affected by gravity. She can, however, be moved around by attaching her to a layer and then moving said layer around using events.
    • NPCs, including bosses, have an checkbox option called "Don't Move", which prevents them from moving horizontally. Downplayed in that bosses that jump vertically upwards can still do so.
  • The Spiny: From two games! Interestingly, only the SMW version comes in an egg form, because SMB3 Lakitu throws green chasing Spiny eggs (the SMW Lakitu can be set to throw anything, including itself, if you look hard enough).
  • Throw Down the Bomblet:
    • Peach's unique Hammer Suit ability - instead of throwing hammers, she throws bombs that hurt enemies, but not tiles or Peach herself.
    • Link can collect bombs (though only those based on SMB2) by stabbing them and toss them out at will.
    The Invasion and The Invasion 2 
  • Art Shift: The stage Retroville has entirely 8-bit styled graphics. This stays true even if you bring in a power-up that isn't otherwise available in the level.
  • Disc-One Final Boss: Bowser is merely the boss of World 4, and is fought as in Super Mario Bros. However, he appears again as the Final Boss, and this time you fight him like you did in Super Mario Bros. 3.
  • Distressed Damsel: Peach is playable, so Daisy takes this role. You rescue her in World 4, about halfway through the game.
  • Excuse Plot: Daisy explains that Bowser is recruiting other villains. Said other villains appear very sporadically, and not always on the main path.
  • Guide Dang It!: Many of the secret exits. A lot of them require you to have a specific powerup and keep it for the whole level so you can reach the exit with it.
  • Kaizo Trap: "A Short Level" lives up to its name, but it's not quite as short as it first appears. If you take the SMB3-style exit like you've been using for the whole game, you merrily walk into a pit and die. You have to continue past the exit sign, leap over said pit, go down a pipe, and continue on to a SMW-style exit (read: goal post) to actually complete the level. By the way, the springboard in front of said goal post is a red herring—the goal post actually is the end, and perfectly safe to go through.
  • Non-Indicative Name:
    • The "Pwnhammer" levels, which are Metroid themed. One Toad even lampshades it.
    • The dungeons, which at first somewhat appropriately evoke Doomy Dooms of Doom (the Dungeon of Pain and the Dungeon of Agony) while later being given increasingly over-the-top and silly names (the Dungeon of Strange Happenings and the Dungeon of Inappropriate Phrases), while simultaneously getting much harder.
  • Nostalgia Level: There are a lot of them. Most of them are part reproduction and part new content. Of note:
    • Super Easy Road and Flying Raccoon Zone both have clear references to the first stage of Super Mario Bros. 3.
    • Subcon Nightmare Land is a lot like the first stage of Super Mario Bros. 2.
    • Go Go Goomba has references to Super Mario Bros. 1-1.
    • The Dungeon of Inappropriate Phrases has a maze-like structure similar to that of some castles in Super Mario Bros.
    • One level seems self-aware of this, called Super Nostalgia World. It contains Super Mario World content.
    • The Retroville level shamelessly dishes out the nostalgia with its 8-bit-styled sprites.
    • A secret level accessible from The Lost Woods consists of a partial remake of Parapa Palace from Zelda II: The Adventure of Link.
  • Optional Boss: Mother Brain exists in one of the Metroid-styled "Pwnhammer" levels.
  • Punny Name: The Water is Not a Lie. A subversion in that in the original invasion, water physics did not yet exist, so the level was called "The Water is a Lie"; the current name is actually based on this.
  • Retraux: You'll see a lot of this. Especially in the Retroville level, mentioned above.
  • Unintentionally Unwinnable: In the level "Switch Action Zone", there is a section where you have to hit a P-switch, and then go in a pipe and hit Question Mark blocks which turn into coins when hit due to said P-switch. If the P-switch expires before you hit enough blocks to get out, you become softlocked.
  • Warp Whistle: The Star Palace acts as this, in addition to providing free power-ups, since through it you can access any world in which you've found the Star Warp.


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