Poison Mushrooms (also called Cursed Mushrooms) are a type of mushroom which first appear in Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels.
Description[]
The Poison Mushroom generally resembles a Super Mushroom or 1-up Mushroom, and sometimes has an identical or near-identical appearance to both. In the Super Mario series, instead of powering up Mario to his Super form, a Poison Mushroom has the opposite effect of damaging Mario, or defeating him if he is in his Small form. In most of its appearances, a Poison Mushroom reduces the size of a character or reverts the effects of any power-ups. In essence, it has the same effect as being hit by any other enemy.
Sometimes a Poison Mushroom has "angry" eyes and a purple cap with a skull symbol instead of spots, such as in the Super Mario All-Stars remake of Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels.
In Super Mario series[]
Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels[]
Originally appearing rather similar to the Super Mushroom, new players would discover to their dismay that these mushrooms were harmful. Later, changes were made which made them easier to tell apart from normal Mushrooms.
Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3[]
Poison Mushrooms only appear in one World-e level, Vegetable Volley, in which they hide within grass.
Super Mario 3D Land[]
Poison Mushrooms only appear in the Special World. They are depicted with a purple cap without a skull, and angry eyes. They emit a trail of purple gas, which is just for show. They steer themselves towards Mario, but if Mario reaches a place where the Poison Mushroom can't get at him, it will disappear.
Super Mario Maker 2[]
Technically, Poison Mushrooms don't make an appearance in the game. However, in the four main settings in night mode, 1-UP Mushrooms turn into Rotten Mushrooms which will chase the character and try to kill them.
In Super Mario Kart[]
They are sometimes dropped by Princess Toadstool or Toad, but only if they are CPUs. If a racer touches a Poison Mushroom, they temporarily shrink, although driving into another Poison Mushroom while in this state somehow returns them to normal size.
In Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars[]
A Poison Mushroom has the same appearance as a regular one. It can be used on an enemy to poison them. A Poison Mushroom costs 30 coins in certain Item Shops. It uses the same sprite as a Super Mushroom, although the artwork for a Super Mushroom depicts its colors from the original Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels.
In Mario Party series[]
The Poison Mushroom is a common item in the series. The Poison Mushroom is usually depicted with a dark blue-purplish color, with a skull cap and an angry face on the mushroom, like in Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels. When a player receives a Poison Mushroom, their numbers on the Dice Block are usually reduced.
Mario Party[]
Here, they are referred to as Poisonous Mushrooms and can only be obtained as one of two Mushrooms of the Mushroom Space (the other being the Super Mushroom). If a player is unfortunate enough to get a Poison Mushroom, they will lose the next turn.
Mario Party 2[]
The Poison Mushroom returns in Mario Party 2. In the board map Mystery Land, a player has a chance to summon a "curse" on another character by a Shy Guy. The character that receives the curse will have a Poison Mushroom placed on their head. When their next turn began, the high number they could get on the dice block is a three.
Mario Party 3[]
This is the first Mario Party game to feature a Poison Mushroom as an item. A player could buy a Poison Mushroom from Baby Bowser's Item Shop for five coins, or win it in an item mini-game. When a player used a Poison Mushroom, their dice block was cut to only the numbers 1-3. The Poison Mushroom was very useful for landing on desired spaces that were only a few spaces away or slowing other players.
Mario Party 4[]
The Poison Mushroom was replaced by the Mini Mushroom, which acted similar to the Poison Mushroom. When capsules were introduced in Mario Party 5, the Poison Mushroom was renamed the Cursed Mushroom, but still retained its original appearance. However, this time, the player would roll a 1-5 instead of a 1-3.
Super Mario Party[]
It returns as an item. Instead of only letting the affected player roll 1-3 or 1-5, a Poison Mushroom instead reduces the rolled number by 2.
Luigi's Mansion[]
Poison Mushrooms can be found in a few different ways, including from being dropped by a Portrait Ghost as Luigi tries to vacuum it, or sometimes from Luigi touching an object in the mansion. A Poison Mushroom bounce around the room for a few seconds before disappearing. If Luigi touches a Poison Mushroom, he shrinks and drops ten coins on the floor. Luigi cannot use his Poltergust 3000 while he is shrunk, his voice clips are high-pitched, and he takes more damage when he gets hit. After several seconds, the Poison Mushroom's effect wears off, and Luigi returns to normal size.
In the Nintendo 3DS remake, Poison Mushrooms can be turned into Super Mushrooms if Mario's amiibo is scanned.
In Mario & Luigi series[]
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga[]
An enemy named Trunkle draws in a series of items that Mario and Luigi must dodge. Poison Mushrooms are among these items, and if it touches Mario or Luigi, they become poisoned.
Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time[]
Various enemies attack by either using or throwing Poison Mushrooms at the Mario Bros. These may alternatively be refered to as Shroob Mushrooms.
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions[]
Only difference between the original and the remake is the physical appearance. It is revealed in this remake that the Invincishroom was actually a Poison Mushroom that Captain Goomba found.
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey[]
Poison Mushrooms replace Cheep Cheeps as one of Junker's attacks.
In Paper Mario series[]
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door[]
When in battle, there is a chance of Poison Mushrooms appearing on the Bingo! wheel. If three Poison Mushrooms are lined up, Mario and his partner loses half of their HP, FP and SP.
Poison Mushrooms have a different color scheme than in previous appearances, which is green with purple spots instead of purple with pink spots.
Super Paper Mario[]
Poison Mushrooms are now featured as items. Poison Mushrooms are useless on their own, as eating one poisons whoever eats it, although Poison Mushrooms can be used in many helpful recipes such as Trial Stew, which gives the user experience depending on their current health.
Paper Mario: Sticker Star[]
Poison Mushrooms return in the form of stickers. The Poison Mushroom poisons both Mario and enemies for two turns. However, they are useless against poison-based enemies such as Poison Bloopers. They are one of the rarest regular stickers in the game. You can purchase one from a Toad behind the houses in Decalburg, purchase one from Whammino Mountain or find them sparsely hidden around in other levels. Mario needs one to access World 2.
In Mario Superstar Baseball[]
Poison Mushrooms appear during the Special difficulty of the Star Dash minigame. If a character touches it, their movements are slowed temporarily. A character under the effects of a Poison Mushroom flashes a purple color.
In Mario Hoops 3-on-3[]
A Poison Mushroom sometimes appears from a ? Panel. Just like in Mario Superstar Baseball, touching a Poison Mushroom slows the character temporarily.
Crossover appearances[]
Super Smash Bros. series[]
Throughout the series, starting with Super Smash Bros. Melee, Poison Mushrooms temporarily reduce the size and weight of whoever touches it. This is detrimental as it means they would be knocked off the stage easier. A Poison Mushroom resembles a regular Mushroom except it is more pale.
Trivia[]
- According to Mario Party 3, the Poison Mushroom is Waluigi's favorite item.
Gallery[]
To view Poison Mushroom's image gallery, click here.
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