Die in a level 8 times and the game will give you the option to turn on an "Auto Pilot" mode in which Mario completes the level on his own. This appears as a green Super Guide block (with a ! on it) in the the level. Hit it to activate the mode and you’ll be able to watch Luigi finish the level for you.

Note: There is no Super Guide for World 9.

Performing special actions will award you stars on your save file. Here are the stars you can earn:



    * Star 1 - Beat the game (you can use Warp Cannons)

    * Star 2 - Collect all 24 Star Coins in World 9

    * Star 3 - Beat every "normal" level in the game,i.e., you don’t need to find Secret Goals.

    * Star 4 - Collect all 207 Star Coins in the first 8 Worlds

    * Star 5 - Beat every level, find every secret goal and use all of the Warp Cannons.

    * 5 "Sparkly" Stars - Get all five stars without making a Luigi Block appear (you cannot die 8 times in a row on a single level)



Confirmations by Jenna Westby, Tamar and Judah and William Crank

If you get 99 lives, the maximum number of lives in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Mario will lose his hat! Once you beat a level with a full 99 count, Mario will appear hat-less on the map screen and in subsequent gameplay. You’ll regain your hat once you lose a single life.

Beat the game to unlock World 9. Each level in World 9 is unlocked by gathering all of the coins in each of the Worlds 1-8:



    * 9-1 - Find all the Star Coins in World 1

    * 9-2 - Find all the Star Coins in World 2

    * 9-3 - Find all the Star Coins in World 3

    * 9-4 - Find all the Star Coins in World 4

    * 9-5 - Find all the Star Coins in World 5

    * 9-6 - Find all the Star Coins in World 6

    * 9-7 - Find all the Star Coins in World 7

    * 9-8 - Find all the Star Coins in World 8

Perform the actions below to unlock an alternate ending:



    * Ending 1 (The Princess says, "Did I ever tell you about the Secret World?") - Beat the game once.

    * Ending 2 (The Princess says, "Oh Mario, tell me about your adventure again!") - Beat the game a second time.



Correction by Tamar and Judah

In New SMB Wii, you can make a bonus Mushroom house appear on the map by saving Toad when he appears in a level. To do this, you’ll need to head to a level with the white Toad marker. Release Toad from the ? Block he’s trapped in -- near the beginning of a level, listen for the cries -- and run him all the way to the end of the level to make a Mushroom House spawn. The type of Mushroom house depends on the final digit of the time when you grab the flag at the end of the level.



    * Green (1-Up cannon game) - Get Toad to the end of the level, hit flag when the last digit of the time ends in 0, 1, 2 or 3.

    * Red (Match game) - Get Toad to the end of the level, hit flag when the last digit of the time ends in 4, 5, 6 or 7

    * Gold (Star reward) - Get Toad to the end of the level, hit flag when the last digit of the time ends in 8 or 9



Note: In multiplayer, you can make a Mushroom House appear using the a similar timing method. Hit the flag when the time digits end in 00,11,or 22 for a green house; 33, 44, 55, 66, 77 or 88 for a red house; or 99 for a gold house.

After you beat the game (beat World 8-Bowser’s Castle) you’ll be able to "hard save" anywhere you’d like. The option replaces the Quick Save option.

On the world map you’ll encounter marauding enemies. To avoid these map screen enemies you can activate a star from your item menu.

Beat the game to make all the Mushroom houses in Worlds 1-8 reappear. Collect all the Star Coins and visit every Warp Cannon to make the houses reappear and stay for good.

Shake the Wii Remote to spin-jump on any of the small, dancing flowers in the game to make a coin appear.

With at least two human players you can perform a special double ground pound that has the ability to kill all nearby enemies much like a POW block. You’ll need to time your ground pound (press JUMP then DOWN) so both players hit precisely at the same moment.

When playing multiplayer you can steal your teamates’ turn in the Red Mushroom House match game by performing a ground pound on him (jump and the press DOWN).

If you press 1 and shake the Wii remote to pick up a small object, like a turtle shell (as opposed to just picking it up with 1), you’ll hold it above your head, protecting you from falling Bob-Ombs, etc.

When you’re playing multiplayer and one of the players runs out of lives mid-level, he or she can still contribute to the game from the Great Beyond. Each direction of the D-pad is mapped to a different sound effect. Hold a direction and hit the 1 and 2 buttons to trigger different sounds, including clapping, a horn, kick and snare drums, and of course cowbell. The unfortunate players waiting for the level to end can add a drum line to the music.

You can use the decades old turtle-on-the-stairs trick from Super Mario Bros. to get 99 lives in New SMB Wii. Go to world 2-3 and, at the end, right before the flag, you’ll find a set of steps and a turtle ambling down them. If you time your jump just right you’ll continue bouncing on the shell collecting lives until you max out at 99. For a video of this, check out the World 2-3 section New Super Mario Bros. Wii Guide. (Ed.’s note: we used to call this "Turtle Tipping" and I’m bringin’ it back, baby!