Flying in Super Mario World

Flying in Super Mario World can be confusing to some players, especially staying in the air for an extended period of time. It is something you must master if you want to complete the game with 100% completion. Flying is needed to beat some levels using the secret exits or if you want to bypass parts of a level. The ability to fly was first introduced in Super Mario Bros. 3 but they took the ability further in Super Mario World.

What You Will Need

To fly in Super Mario World, you will first need to get a Cape Feather. The Cape Feather will allow Mario or Luigi to have a cape on their back, giving them the ability to fly.

Cape Feathers can be obtained from either Prize Blocks (blocks with question marks), Green Blocks, or Super Koopas. Super Koopas can be found flying around with capes on their backs and won’t be encountered till the level “Donut Plains 1”.

How to Fly

To fly, you will first need a Cape Feather that is mentioned above and a big enough flat surface to give you enough room to run.

Press and hold the direction on the D-pad that you want to fly and hold Y to run. Once your character gets enough speed, represented by Mario or Luigi holding out their hands, press and hold B to fly. You must do this while still holding a direction and the Y button.

If you want to stay in the air while flying without using Yoshi, hold forward while flying making your character’s cape fill with air, now press the opposite direction and B to make them fly back up (think of how a glider would gain altitude). Keep using forward to fill your cape with air and back + B to fly higher. This can be done repeatedly to fly over large distances.

Flying With Yoshi

To fly while riding Yoshi, you will need either a Caper Feather, blue shell, or a Blue Yoshi and any color shell.

Flying with the cape is similar to how it’s done without riding on Yoshi. You will need to press and hold the direction on the D-pad that you want to fly and hold Y to run, then press and hold B while still holding Y to fly. Being on top of Yoshi will more or less allow you to glide through the air.

If you eat a blue shell with Yoshi, he will grow wings and allow you to fly by holding B. He will keep those wings will you either spit the blue shell out or he ends up swallowing it from keeping it in his mouth for too long. Having a Blue Yoshi will allow you to hold any color shell in Yoshi’s mouth and gain wings to fly from it.