The D-pad controls the direction that the character is moving. A is for attacks, or sticking out Yoshi’s tongue. B is to jump. Press B three times in a row to do a triple jump. X zooms the camera in and out. When the camera is zoomed in, you can change the direction you’re looking in by using the D-pad. Y is for dashing. LT (the left tab button on the back of the DS) turns the camera to face the back of the player. RT (the right tab button on the back of the DS) is used for crouching. Holding RT and pressing B results in a backward somersault. Pressing RT in mid-air will result in a ground-pound.
In touch mode, you control your character’s movements by moving one of your fingers or your stylus across the touch screen. The other movements, like jumping, crouching and attacking are still executed the same way as in standard mode. In dual-hand mode, you control your character’s movements again by using the stylus, and movements such as jumping, attacking, and crouching are done by using the buttons if you are right handed, or the control pad if you are left handed. All camera adjustments are done by using the touch screen, and the LT and RT buttons are not used at all. If you don’t like either of the two methods that aren’t standard mode, or are confused by them, then just stick with standard mode. To switch between control modes, press the Select button on your Nintendo DS and pick your desired control mode.
Yoshi is the character that you start off with when you first begin the game. He is the highest jumper of the four and has the ability to swallow enemies, as well as breath fire when he obtains a power flower, which can burn ice blocks and kill enemies. However, he cannot punch nor kick and cannot grab enemies and objects, so keep that in mind. Mario is the first character that you can unlock in the game after Yoshi, and the only character who can use the Wing Cap and wall-jump. His Power Flower ability causes him to blow up like a balloon, which can be helpful if you want to skip a point in a level. Mario is the most balanced of the four. Luigi is the second character that you can unlock in the game. His jumping style is similar to Yoshi’s, and his power flower ability causes him to turn invisible, which can be helpful for certain stars in the game. He is also the fastest character in the game and can run on water for a short period of time. Wario is the third and final character that you can unlock in the game, and is the strongest of the four, being the only one who can break black brick boxes and other heavy objects, but is also the slowest and has the lowest jump. These black bricks will house certain stars, so you will need him. When Wario obtains a power flower, he turns into metal, which means although he cannot swim, he sinks to the bottom of water, which can be helpful when obtaining certain stars.
If you want to start the game quicker when the star is traveling around the screen, touch it with your stylus or finger and you should automatically see the title screen.
If you want to clear an old save file, select “File Options” at the bottom the files screen, and then select “Delete”, and choose which file you would like to delete. If you want to copy a save file to another file, select “File Options” once again at the bottom of the files screen, and select one file. Then select which file you would like to copy the first file to.
Each character has their own unique rabbits to catch. Each catches seven (for a total of 28) and the color variations and locations vary from character to character. Yoshi’s rabbits are yellow, Mario’s rabbits are pink, Luigi’s rabbits are green, and Wario’s rabbits are orange. There are also some white, glowing rabbits that can appear when playing as any character in place of the regular rabbits), and they’re needed to access a secret room in the character selection area (the one with no logo above it), and get a secret star.
All “character unlock” levels - the levels played to unlock Mario, Luigi, and Wario - have Red Coin stars. There is also a switch star in the Mario Level, a star in the Luigi level which needs to be obtained by grabbing a power flower as Luigi, and going into the boo picture in the last room before the boss, and a star in the Wario level that needs to be obtained by punching a black box as Wario. All the Bowser boss battles have red coin stars as well as switch stars to obtain. The are two secret stars in Peach’s Secret Slide, located in the right-hand stained-glass window in the character select room. Jump into the window, and you’ll get one star for simply beating the slide and hitting the yellow box at the end, and one for beating the slide in under 21 seconds. There are two stars in the switch tower, located in the foyer. Playing as Mario, step into the painting of the sun, hit X, and use the D-pad to look up. By activating the switch at the center of the level, you’ll get a star. You can also get another star by gathering the red coins. In the minigame room, jump into the painting on the left-hand wall. Collect all the 5 silver stars in this level to obtain a star of your own. In the courtyard, which can be found by following the Boo that you’ll see when you enter the first door that leads the basement, kill all the Boos and collect their 8 red coins to obtain a star. Also in the courtyard, head off to the side until you see three red brick blocks. Break them, enter the level and collect the five silver stars. However, be aware that these can be quite hard to obtain. There are three stars located throughout the castle being held by the Toads. One is the toad near the pool that leads to Hazy Maze Cave, one is the toad located near the painting for Tall Tall Mountain, and the last one is the toad that is slightly to the right of the clock for Tick Tock Clock. They’ll only give stars when you collect 20, 40, and 60 stars, respectively. Located in the castle’s moat, make sure that you have lowered the water level for this. Play as Wario, find the black brick, and punch it. Then fall into the hole where the brick was. There are two stars here, one of them can be found by going through a series of platforming, and the other is an 8 red coin star. In the room for Jolly Roger bay, look to the side, and there should be an alcove. Jump into this to enter an 8 red coin level. Swim through the level and collect all 8 red coins to achieve a star. However, be aware that you won’t have an opportunity to come up for air, so make sure you constantly collect coins. In the room with the mirrors that you go in to unlock Wario, go in as Luigi, and collect a power flower. Go to the other side of the mirror and enter the door to get a star. In the alcove opposite of the Rainbow Ride level, there are two stars to obtain in this secret level. First off, you can get 8 red coins, by playing as Mario and using the wing cap. You can also play as Wario and get a star by shooting out of a cannon to other various clouds in the level. In Behind the Waterfall, which is a level that can be accessed through Hazy Maze Cave, there is an 8 red coin star, which can be only obtained by becoming Wario and grabbing a power flower, as well as a star which can only be obtained by grabbing a power flower as Mario, and floating directly up from the spot you got the flower.
