The Minus World or Minus World trick is a well-known glitch found in the popular Nintendo game Super Mario Bros. While difficult to do at first, once mastered, the player is rewarded by a never-ending underwater level. There is no minus world in Super Mario All Stars or Super Mario Bros. DX. This level is so named because a glitch in the game software causes the character representing the world number to appear as a blank space, so that the user sees " -1" in the WORLD field in the status bar.
The Famicom Disk System version of the game has a different Minus World accessed in the same manner. This minus world has three levels, numbered -1 through -3. The first is the same as world 1-3, except it is underwater, uses the underwater palette, and has some bizarre features. Sometimes the game will freeze upon completing level -1, or it might take you to level -2. The second level is the same as 7-3 with no glitches, except it leads to -3 instead of 7-4. The third level is the same as 4-4, except it uses the underground tileset and palette, has many floating Bloobers , and lacks Bowser. Completing this level will take the player to the title screen, and the player may select a world to start from with the "B" button, as though he or she completed the game.
Performing the trick
The trick takes place at the end of world 1-2. Stand on top of the pipe that leads to the flagpole. The secret lies in the correct angle of entry. The aim is not to jump up into the brick, but to almost jump next to it and slide on in. Start from almost as far left as Mario can stand on the pipe, and jump (facing left) to the right. Do not, however, hold right from the second you jump, as then Mario will hit the block diagonally from below and will just bounce back. With a bit of luck and good timing, Mario will slide straight through the brick — and the wall.
When it finally works, Mario will slide by himself all the way through the wall. Do not walk right yourself - it will cause the screen to shift too much to the right, which may trigger the "Welcome to Warp Zone" message. If this occurs, the warp pipes will act as normal. When Mario reaches the other side, take either the leftmost pipe for the -1 world, or the middle for world 5-1. (The rightmost pipe also leads to world -1, but it is difficult to access without triggering the message, and you also risk touching a piranha plant since you have to jump blindly.)
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