New Super Mario Bros.: 2-Castle

This is one of two special castles. First, we have to deal with spike balls, which can destroy all types of blocks. We can dodge them in alcoves above and below their path. There is a path that goes up to the first Star Coin. Wait until the spike ball passes, then wall jump up, then duck into the alcove to get it. There's a door to the outside at the end, but there's a spike ball before you reach it. Outside, you'll find lots of Bullet Bills. Bounce off of one to reach the second Star Coin past the blocks. We hit a switch to progress and dodge a spike ball. We go over the large spike ball with a rope and land on a ledge with a Mini Shroom which allows us to progress. We need to be Mini Mario to reach the third Star Coin. We can get a Super Shroom or stay small. A switch reveals the boss door. Go through it quickly to avoid the spike ball. We fall into a pit with the mummy Pokey. To defeat it, we can stomp on it as regular Mario or ground pound as Mini Mario. Three hits will kill it. After we get the key, the wall lifts up to reveal Bowser Jr. and Peach, who run off. This is where the path splits. If we're not small, we'll go to World 3. If we're Mini Mario, we'll fall through a tiny gap and the sign will flip and say World 4. We'll go to World 3 first.

New Super Mario Bros.: 2-6

This level starts out with you going over quicksand to a red pipe. This takes you to the sky, where you land on a long platform, which starts moving. This level is an automatic sidescroller. As we move along, Piranha Plants on other moving platforms will appear, and may land on your platform. If you have fireballs, take them out. The first Star Coin is past the green pipe. A new platform appears, moving in parallel with yours. You can switch to it at any time. The second Star Coin appears a while after, before you reach the giant Piranha Plant. After a while, the platforms will go off screen, so you'll have to use the platforms moving up and down. This is where you'll find the third Star Coin. At the end, there will be five Piranha Plants and some land. There's a pipe plugged up with a Piranha Plant. Nearby is a blue and yellow pump that we must jump on a few times to make the cork pop off from the pipe. We go through the pipe and ride one last platform to the flagpole.

New Super Mario Bros.: 2-5

It's back to the desert with this level. In this level, we find new enemies cleverly camouflaged into the surroundings. You'll find brick blocks stacked on item blocks, but if the "?" on the item block does not spin and it jumps with the music, it is an enemy. These block enemies jump around when approached. We can stand on them to reach new heights. When standing on them, they will walk in the direction Mario is facing. To get rid of them, ground pound them. We can use them to reach the first Star Coin, by jumping from them when they jump. We then avoid fire snakes and hit a P-Switch to turn coins into brick blocks. Run to the left on the new blocks to reach the second Star Coin. Towards the end of the level, we can take the yellow pipe to the goal or go under the quicksand and up through the gray block to reach an area under the goal. Use the block enemy when it jumps to reach the third Star Coin, then hop up the gray blocks to reach the goal.

New Super Mario Bros.: 2- Fort

This fortress is somewhat maze-like. There are several ferris wheel-like platforms to navigate in the first area. Towards the right is a Red Coin Ring. Below that, on the floor, is the first Star Coin. To progress, we need to go up and climb hand-over-hand on a tightrope to the left. We go up and wall jump to a door. Through the door is a yellow, striped upside-down U-shaped device. What we need to do is wall jump in it as it moves. It will come back down after a while if you fall. It will take us to another one like it and that will take us to the second Star Coin and another door. This door leads to a room with rotating red shapes. You may spend a lot of time here, so don't be afraid to go to the boss room and come back later. The red blocks make more red shapes appear. You'll need to hit them to make shapes appear so you can reach the red pipe overhead to the boss door. We wall jump up the side of the pipe to reach the red block so we can reach the third Star Coin. It makes a triangle and a rectangle appear. The red pipe will take us to the boss door. We stand on a platform over quicksand. Bowser Jr. is not wearing his mask, so we can stomp him. I decide to use fireballs. After we defeat him, Bowser Jr. carries Peach off to the castle. Let's follow him!

New Super Mario Bros.: 2-4

In this level, there are switches that will raise or lower sections of the ground so you can access new areas. The first switch will raise the ground so you can reach the item blocks. As you head right, you'll find the first Star Coin over a horizontal pipe with a Piranha Plant. Wait for the Piranha Plant to retract, then wall jump up to get it. Further to the right is water. In the water, which runs under the ground, to the left is a mini pipe and to the right are more pipes. Go past the red pipe to find the exit. Nearby, to the left is the second Star Coin. Use the switch to reach the platform to get out. To the right is a switch that raises the ground so you can go over the Piranha Plant. You'll find the third Star Coin guarded by two Hammer Bros. Next is the flagpole.

New Super Mario Bros.: 2-A

This alternate level is a water level. In this level is a Porcu-Puffer that will try to hit you with its spikes. It can be killed with fireballs, but will respawn after a while. All the while, we will be walking on logs. The thin ones will drop away after a short while. To get the first Star Coin, I recommend killing the Porcu-Puffer first, before dropping down to a lower set of logs where it is. After the first Star Coin are some spin springs so you can collect coins and avoid the Porcu-Puffer. We spring to the second Star Coin, under a log, near a pipe. Towards the end of this section, while spinning, bounce from the red Koopa on the grass to the ledge above with the yellow pipe. This leads to the red flag goal, which opens up access to the cannon. If we take the green pipe below near the red Koopa, we reach the goal, which leads to the pipe to the castle.

New Super Mario Bros.: 2-3

Time to underground! We take a pipe underground into a pipe maze. We walk to the right and wall-jump up for the first Star Coin. To progress, we have to ground pound the brown platforms with Star designs on them. There are bats in the area, so be careful. In the next part of the maze are one-way walls that fold down when you approach them, then close behind you. This can make navigating a little tricky, but just check the arrrows to see how they open. We go left, then down to a maze with a Piranha Plant, where the 2nd Star Coin is. To the right is a new area. We go down for an orange switch, which raises the water level then up for some coins. To the right is a new area with a giant Piranha Plant. If you have a Fire Flower, a few fireballs should take it out. We continue through the maze, going up, left, take the right path up, and then run down across the gap to the third Star Coin. There is a Piranha Plant in the lower left corner here. To the upper right is a red switch that makes blocks to go over the Piranha Plant. This path takes us to the main exit to 2-4. If we go back through this level and raise the water level and swim up, we find another orange switch that briefly raises the water level, allowing us to reach a higher part of the maze. This will lead us to teh Red Goal to 2-A.