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Cheats and Glitches

Look below for the most in-depth cheats and glitches listing for New Super Mario Bros that ever exists, bringing you exclusive cheats, hints and glitches to beat the game very quickly.

Play as Luigi

To play as Luigi, as you select your game file, hold L and R while pressing A to start. You also get told this after beating the game once, with a screen showing a green shadow and the buttons L, R and A.

Get secret backgrounds

To get secret backgrounds for the touch screen, complete the game once. The full list is:

Those are the default choices.

Super secret Background

Collect all the star coins and spend all of them to be able to buy a secret background for the Toad house where you got the first three. It's a picture of Mario and Luigi in a retro Super Mario Bros level

1 star next to name

Complete the game once

2 stars next to name

Complete all levels in the game

3 stars beside your name

Collect all star coins, beat all levels, beat the game and spend all the star coins. You must also visit every area on the world map, including Toad Houses, pipes, cannons, towers, levels and ghost houses.

Challenge Mode

Pause the game on the main menu (you must beat the main game first) and press L, R, L, R, X, X, Y, Y.

Freeze Time in a mini-boss Battle

Okay, I would like to say I have just bought New Super Mario Bros a few days ago, and apart from already completing the game, found about 7 new glitches in the game, including an awesome time freezing glitch!
The Awesome Time Freezing Glitch

First, pick the level which is the World 2 Tower or the World 3 Tower. Now go up the level to the Bowser Jr boss room, and enter as Fire Mario. Note there is either water or quicksand beneath the platform.

Now jump off the edge. keep jumping, and fire fireballs at Bowser Jr while jumping and do not step on the platform. Now, when he dies, the timer will stop, like normal. But you can keep moving around and throwing fireballs, as you aren't on the platform to trigger his escape sequence! In this mode, the touch screen and pause menu also do not work.

Swim or jump under the arena wall

Do the above, but sink down until you are near the bottom. Swim to the left or right wall, and you can actually swim under it!
Swim under the Fortress

In world 3, go to the Castle. Now in any patch of water, sink down a certain way. When a certain distance down (near the bottom), swim at the platform. you can keep swimming and go right under the platforms, avoiding the Whomps and everything else. You can also go under the floor in certain places, in inacessible pools of water!

Dancing Dry Bones

Go to World 5 Tower (I think). Ride the platform up, and quite near the top, starting attacking the Dry Bones. You want it to be underneath where a block is when the platform reaches the top. If done correctly, the Dry Bones will get stuck and move back and forwards mega quick, like he's dancing!

Get stuck badly

In the second world's castle, there is a star coin in a small alcove. Go up the platform to there, avoiding the spiky ball and keep going to the left while challenge mode is active. You can't back track with this mode, so you get stuck there with no choice but to exit the level, or if it's your first time, wait until the time limit runs out and Mario dies!

Spastic Mario

As a shell, go onto a tight rope in the first Bowser level. Hold the button to dash, and start spinning. Go to the edge of the rope and keep holding it. Mario will act really weird and white smoke will appear!

Go to world 4


To access world 4, beat the world 2 boss as mini-Mario.

Go to World 7


To access world 7, beat the world 5 boss as mini-Mario

Easy way to win first two Bowser battles


Just run into Bowser or skeleton Bowser while powered up, and you can keep running right through him with the invincibility generated after being hit. Then , just hit the switch.

Easy way to put mini mushroom in inventory

To easily put the mini mushroom in your inventory, go into world 1-4 with a mega mushroom. Now make the mini mushroom appear but don't touch it. Use your mega mushroom and touch it to make it go into your item slot rather than immediately active!

Bounce on Bowser Jr in normal type boss battle

Keep a Mega Mushroom in storage, and go to a tower in worlds 1, 2, 3, 5, or 6. Immediately after you enter the door to fight Bowser Jr., keep tapping the Mega Mushroom icon until it falls, so you get the mushroom before Bowser Jr. runs into you. After becoming Mega Mario, just stand where Bowser Jr. is to keep knocking him over, but don't actually jump on him, just let him keep falling over. Do this until you shrink back down. Now jump on Bowser Jr. Instead of hurting him, he will fall on his back like in other fights where you must hit him with a shell, and the sound effect from Mega Mario destroying something will play. Now, you can jump on Bowser Jr. while he is stuck on his back. However, this won't damage him, and you can bounce on him. To damage him, you have to ground pound him.

Found by Devicho at Gamefaqs New Super Mario Bros board