Super Mario Bros. Wonder has been out for nearly a full week now, which means the most enthusiastic Mario fans have had time to sink their teeth into some Goombas and get a feel for the game. And while for the most part, players are bopping their way through Mario Wonder with relative ease, there's one level in particular that seems to be giving players massive amounts of trouble. Some are even losing hundreds of lives to it.
I'm talking about a little Special stage called "Fluff-Puff Peaks Special: Climb to the Beat."
Climb to the Beat is just one of a number of Special stages in Mario Wonder, accessible as part of a "Special" world hiding in the sky that can be accessed from a number of semi-hidden points on the overworld. The Special world is full of levels marked with high difficulty ratings, but Climb to the Beat is both available to players relatively early on in the game, and especially grueling. The level itself is an advanced version of a standard Fluff-Puff Peaks course called "Jump! Jump! Jump!" where a series of blocks appear and subsequently disappear to a musical beat that gets faster as the stage goes on. Climb to the Beat does the same, but the climb is far more difficult and involves expert execution of wall kicks to survive.
To give you a taste, here's IGN's own community lead Jada Griffin demonstrating her expert gaming skills:
But while Jada makes it look flawless, a quick glance at either Mario communities on Reddit or Twitter tags for #SuperMarioBrosWonder indicates that most players are having a HECK of a time with Climb to the Beat. While some players admit there are harder stages later on in the game, this stage's placement so early on means that tons of people who booted up Mario Wonder over the weekend ran headlong into it and crashed. One player reported taking between 60 and 100 tries to finish it. Another person claims they've used "almost half their lives" and still haven't finished it, boasting a total of 57 lives in a screenshot - meaning they've used roughly 50 already. One player claims they took a whopping 200 lives to get it done.
While others are completing it, with the scars to prove it:
These old creaky thumbs still got it. 👍 #SuperMarioBrosWonder pic.twitter.com/D1MykkiJrO
— Patrick Seitz (@Seitz_Unseen) October 24, 2023
my hands hurt after doing this oh my god #SuperMarioBrosWonder #NintendoSwitch pic.twitter.com/CM3ETpra1F
— 👑Robobones🏳️🌈 (@Roboticbones) October 20, 2023
Some have found clever workarounds. One player finished the level as Nabbit, executing spin jumps to make the climb a bit easier. Another finished thanks to some very fortunate Standee placement:
NO FUCKING WAY LMAO #SuperMarioBrosWonder #NintendoSwitch pic.twitter.com/1h9vsNlw0w
— mel0🏳️🌈🦑 @ comms 3/5 (@MEL0MANIA) October 23, 2023
Myself? I walked into that level, took one look at what I was being asked to do, and noped out...for now. The good thing about the Special Levels is that they aren't required to progress the story, meaning I can come back to this and other challenges like it closer to the end of the game. By then, I'll have both more badges and more experience navigating the specific kinds of platforming challenges Mario Wonder likes to throw at me, and will be better equipped to wall kick my way up to the Wonder Seed, jamming to the beat the whole way.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder is out now, and whether you're stuck on Climb to the Beat or something else, we've got guides to help you bop your way through. We've got guides to all secret exits and hidden wonder seeds, a guide to unlocking the special world entrances so you can play courses like Climb to the Beat and more, and a list of Captain Toad's hidden locations. And if you're still on the fence about getting Mario Wonder at all, our review gave it a 9/10, saying it "looks and plays like the true next step for 2D Mario platformers."
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.