It's hard to feel bad for a band that gains fame for being a one-hit-wonder. While every artist goes into the business thinking all of their music will take the world by storm, sometimes the reality is that they only manage to deliver one memorable song.
The world of Super Mario has seen several one-hit-wonder power-ups. This list identifies those power-ups that saw use in only one game. It is up to the reader to decide if their cancellation is because these boosts were so magnificent that their success could never be replicated, or because they were confused, unmemorable, or trivial.
10 Speed/Slow Flower - Super Paper Mario
At first glance, any traditional Mario gamer is going to see these flowers and get ready to shoot some fireballs. They resemble his old, friendly fiery power-up from in previous installments. But these flowers have a different kind of power.
The speed flower power-up speeds up time and triples the value of coins and points. Now Mario is charging full-speed ahead like he's straight out of Pokémon Go! The slow flower? A bit of common sense allows the player to guess the effects of this one.
9 Gold Block - New Super Mario Bros. 2
It's not irrational to get the notion that somebody must have switched the Mario game out for a Fire Emblem game with all of the unit transformations that occur. Apparently, Mario doesn't think of the term "blockhead" as an insult after getting in touch with this head-supplanting power-up.
With this ability, Mario can get up to one-hundred coins by defeating enemies, running around, and smashing his head into other gold blocks.
8 Mix Flower - Mario & Luigi: Partners In Time
Finally, it's a flower that actually gives the beloved plumbing duo some fire attacks! But like in Ghost Recon: Breakpoint, it's not just about the ability, but the combination. When the mix flower power-up is activated, enemies are going to need more than a thick layer of sunscreen to solve their problems.
Mario and Luigi throws their fireballs into a single location to form what appears to be a miniature sun, and then they bring that crashing down on the heads of their enemies. The Koopa Troopa is probably glad the ability was retired after this game.
7 Red Star - Super Mario Galaxy
As far as the gaming world is concerned, the Red Star gave Mario the chance to dip a toe into the video game world of flight simulators. Unlike the Raccoon or Tanooki suits before, Mario was able to actually fly, not just run fast, jump high, and glide slowly downward.
The Red Star might not have survived more than a single game, but its impact on style will be felt forever. The power-up put Mario in some really snazzy red and black threads that makes any rational person question, "What is keeping him from ditching the jean overalls for this sleeker material permanently?"
6 Pal Pill - Super Paper Mario
In Kingdom Hearts, Sora's has his best friends. But if there was a second Sora, one might imagine that twin deserves a spot on that friend list. In Super Paper Mario, such a thing becomes possible. That's right, Mario and pals discover a cloning power-up!
This duplication is not quite as sci-fi as it sounds and the technology is hardly perfected. 8-bit versions of Mario, Luigi, Peach, or Bowser spawn all around and attack enemies.
5 Super Pickax - Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
Before filing a letter to the editor about typos, this item is actually spelled "pickax" instead of "pickaxe" in all versions of the game except for European versions. Sorry, hopefully the children learn how to spell from school and not from this video game.
While Toad himself is full of surprises, he gets to be on the receiving end of this surprise as he thinks he's pulling a turnip out of the ground and then somehow uproots this heavy-swinging, block-breaking "pickax!"
4 Lucky Bell - Super Mario 3D World
Cat lovers rejoice, the world's most popular Italian plumber is on your side! Sadly, the cute and yellow transformation is only temporary, otherwise gamers would have to revise their list of favorite video game cats.
Do not despair, oh lovers of the mustachioed kitty! This power-up did not die off so much as grow up. The lucky bell altered from a round, copper-and-brass colored circle into a golden chime and the name has changed to the super bell.
3 Spin Drill - Super Mario Galaxy 2
Whereas the Red Star took Mario to new heights in the first Super Mario Galaxy, the spin drill power-up takes Mario to new lows. Don't get too many ideas expert Minecraft builders out there, the goal isn't for Mario to stay down in the dirt, but to burrow all the way to the other side of the planet!
One has to insist that Mario's unheralded superpower of a titanium stomach is vastly underrated. He's always spinning, whether it's a raccoon tail whip, cape twist, or spin drill ability. And he keeps his lunch down the entire time.
2 Hachisuke - Super Mario Brothers Special
Fans frequently beg for Nintendo to do something vastly different than the normal, but this overlooks the history that Nintendo has of going their own way. Super Mario Brothers Special was not developed for the console, but the PC, X1, and Samsung computers in 1986.
The developers over at Hudson Soft put their own logo into the game as a power-up; a black-and-yellow bee called the Hachisuke. Don't feel too bad for missing this power-up, though, all it did was give the player 8,000 points.
1 Master Sword - Super Mario Maker 2
Even looking at it now, the average fan would see the Master Sword popping out of a coin block as some kind of silly cut-and-paste internet prank. But no, the Master Sword power-up is real and it shocked the world when it gave fans of both the Super Mario and Legend of Zelda franchises this incredible crossover.
The natural objection is that only Link, the Hero of Time, can wield the Master Sword. This is true and it remains true. After Mario grabs the blade, he is replaced by none other than Link himself, who gladly helps Mario by giving the Koopa Troopas a taste of a different kind of medicine.