Small pipes are a recurring object in the Mario franchise, especially the Super Mario series. They first appear in Super Mario Bros. 3.
Description[]
Small pipes are a variation of Warp Pipe. Like their regular counterpart, small pipes have green as their default color. In Super Mario Bros. 3, some of the small pipes are purple, and in New Super Mario Bros. U, aside from green small pipes, there are also red, blue, and yellow small pipes respectively.
In several of their appearances, small pipes only act as solid objects, and Mario and other characters normally cannot enter a small pipe because they are too large for it. In New Super Mario Bros., with the first appearance of the Mini Mario form in a Super Mario platforming title, Mario or Luigi can enter most small pipes while in their Mini form.
In Super Mario series[]
Super Mario Bros. 3[]
Small pipes first appear in the level World 2-1, where they have a purple coloration and only act as decorative structures. In Pipe Land, there are green small pipes, some of which have Munchers appear from them.
Super Mario World[]
Small pipes act the same as in Super Mario Bros. 3, although Munchers no longer spawn from them. Small pipes are occasionally seen supporting Pipe Cannons.
New Super Mario Bros.[]
This is the first game in which small pipes are functional. Star Coins are often hidden inside rooms that are only accessible from small pipes. Many small pipes contain shortcut rooms with coins that can be used to skip portions of the level.
New Super Mario Bros. Wii[]
Small pipes function identically as in New Super Mario Bros.
New Super Mario Bros. 2[]
Small pipes retain their functionality from New Super Mario Bros. and New Super Mario Bros. Wii.
New Super Mario Bros. U[]
Small pipes retain their usual role from previous New Super Mario Bros. titles. One small pipe in particular is required to reach the secret exit in Grinding-Stone Tower.
Super Mario Maker 2[]
Small pipes only appear in the Super Mario Bros. 3 game style, as ground tiles in the forest and desert themes, in which they are colored green and purple respectively.
In Super Paper Mario[]
Small pipes appear as functional objects, but only if Dottie is used to shrink the character.
In Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story / Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey[]
A single small pipe appears along Bowser Path. It can only be entered by Mario using the Mini-Mario technique, and doing so is necessary to reach the ? Block containing the POW Mush Jam.
Crossover appearances[]
Super Smash Bros. series[]
In the Yoshi's Island stage introduced in Super Smash Bros. Melee and later returning Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, there are small pipes supporting a larger diagonal Warp Pipe, similarly as in Super Mario World.