1-Up Tricks - Super Mario 3D Land Guide - IGN (2025)

Here are some tricks to get your life count up to the maximum 1,110 VERY quickly. Good luck!

World 1-2

Go to World 1-2, past the checkpoint flag, to the room with the Koopa Troopa. Place yourself in position as shown in the video above, then sit back and enjoy the 1-Up sound effects. Precise timing and positioning is required, or it will not work. This glitch was actually found in the E3 2011 demo of this game, and was not removed for the game's release. Using this strategy, you can't get 1110 lives unless you have at least 300 lives at the start of the level, due to the time running out and Mario dying. But it is possible if you touch the checkpoint, then go and do the technique mentioned above. You will run out of time but will keep all but one of the 1-Ups you've obtained.

This can also be done with the first Koopa Troopa, but can't be done with the third. Stand directly in front of the first Koopa and jump on top of it. The shell will bounce between the wall and the "?" block on the ground. With proper timing, you'll continue to bounce on the Koopa shell, as long as you don't move in any direction. You can get up to three 1-Ups per second this way.

World 1-3

Like in World 1-2, it is possible to perform the Koopa Troopa glitch to obtain a large number of 1-Ups.

A quick way of getting many 1-Ups is to find the Mystery Box in World 1-3. When you first start the stage, you should be able to see it in the top left-hand corner. Follow the path down to this box, and jump into it. As soon as you enter the room, you should see three "?" boxes; stand underneath the one located all the way to the right. Keep jumping and hitting it to receive coins; you can easily gain at least 30 coins this way. When time runs out, quit the stage and then start it again. Do this process repeatedly, and you can quickly gain hundreds of coins and earn 1-Ups. However it wont work nearly as fast as in World 1-2.

World 2-4

Head to the level's first Bowser Box while wearing a Tanooki Suit. There, jump on a Goomba and flutter jump in the air until another Goomba is launched and can be stomped. With proper timing, Mario can stomp on Goombas indefinitely, resulting in infinite 1-Ups.

World 4-1

Near the beginning of the stage, there is a patch of water with a Koopa Troopa in front of it. Stand in front of the water spot, staying in front of the thinnest water part. Once the Koopa comes, jump on it and send the shell flying into the thin water stretch. If done correctly, the shell should be hitting walls back and forth extremely fast. Time your jump carefully and jump on the shell. If you land on the Koopa, you will be awarded an extra life for every jump. No extra moving is needed to keep Mario jumping on the shell. It may take a few tries before this works. This technique is just as fast as in world 1-2 so it can be more convenient depending on what World you are at.

World 5-5

After getting the Propeller Box, go to the platform with the five Biddybuds. Jump on one, but keep A held down. Move in mid-air, without letting go of the A button, and step on the next Biddybuds. Without touching the ground, continue doing this until all five enemies are dead; you'll get a 1-Up for this. Go up to the next platform, jump to the small raised square on the platform and fly up. Holding the A button, fly over the Goomba Tower and Ground Pound them. If done right, you'll get six lives from the tower. That's 7 lives in the first 30 seconds of the level!

Special 1-1

A fast way to get many 1-Ups is to rack up kills with the Star power-ups in this level. Grab the first Star you see, and kill as many Prongos as possible. After you have killed the fourth enemy, you will start getting 1ups for every consecutive kill afterwards. If you are fast enough, you should be able to get the second Star power-up before the first runs out, to extend your streak. Continue along the path killing Prongos to rack up as many 1-Ups as you can. Finally, at the peak of the level, there will be one final Star that will net you another three 1-Ups. If you grab the top of the flagpole, you should get an additional 13 lives in less than two minutes!

Special 1-3

In this level, the Bowser Box technique from World 2-4 can be used again to gain infinite 1-Ups.

Special 4-1

If you hit the two pairs of Goombas stacked up on each other with the boomerang from the Boomerang Suit, and then hit the last one with the Koopa Troopa, you will get a 1-Up. Additionally, every single time the boomerang hits the bombs there and back, you will earn a 1-Up for every single time it hits them.

Special 8-2

One of the platforms has an unoccupied Koopa shell and 6 Rocky Wrenches in a circle. All you have to do is kick the Koopa shell in a straight line from its starting position. Then, move a little bit out of the way, stand there, and let the Koopa shell hit the moles' wrenches, and you'll be making 1-Ups in no time.

Boom Boom/Pom Pom Boss Battles

Anytime you enter a boss battle against Boom Boom or Pom Pom, extra lives await you. Once you jump on their heads, they retreat into their shells and try to spin attack you. While they are attacking, Mario can jump on their shells repeatedly, gaining more 1-Ups for every hit after the fourth one. This is much easier to do with Pom Pom, who will stay in the exact same spot if you start jumping on her shell. Boom Boom moves around the level, making it harder to get 1-Ups this way.