Ah — there’s nothing quite like a water level to send shivers of irritation down your spine. To be honest, though, Super Mario Bros. Wonder doesn’t have particularly painful water levels. But, that’s not to say Leaping Smackerel can’t be challenging.
Leaping Smackerel is a 2-star stage located in the Petal Isles hub world of Super Mario Bros. Wonder. It’s partially a tropical isle stage, though most of it is spent underwater, which can be somewhat annoying. But, as it’s one of the first stages you’ll play outside of the first world, it’s not overbearing. And it has 2 Wonder Seeds (one of which is earned upon completion) and 3 10-Flower Coins to collect!
So, make sure you’ve packed your swimsuit and floaties, because we’re going on an island scavenger hunt. Read on to learn how to acquire all secrets in Leaping Smackerel.
Leaping Smackerel — First 10-Flower Coin
As soon as you’ve entered the level, take the warp-pipe to the underwater section of the stage. There, avoid the smackerel and proceed forward. In no time at all, you should come across a purple enemy sticking out of a vertical warp pipe, followed by a brick bridge preventing access to this 10-Flower Coin.
To add this one to your collection, you need to act as bait for the smackerel. If you can distract the fish, it’ll leap up and break the bridge, allowing you to swim in and grab this coin. But, you need to be able to quickly swim out of the way once the fish leaps up, or you’ll be hit and lose your current power-up.
Leaping Smackerel — Second 10-Flower Coin
To grab the second coin, move forward through the stage from the first 10-Flower Coin until you reach a series of green pipes on the ceiling guarded by some purple enemies. As soon as both enemies have receded into their respective pipes, you’ll need to make a break for the middle pipe and go through it.
In this side area, you’ll be back on dry land — for a spell. Jump on the trees to reach the second 10-Flower Coin, then use the rightmost warp pipe to return to the level proper.
Leaping Smackerel — Third 10-Flower Coin
To acquire the third 10-Flower Coin, proceed a little further through the stage until you reach an area with a “?” block surrounded by two water currents. You’ll notice the second current prevents you from falling into the abyss — this is where you need to go. Swim upwards and hit the invisible block, which is in the rectangular gap in the ceiling. This will cause a pink vine to sprout, allowing you access to the void.
Here, you’ll see the 10-Flower Coin floating above two more water currents, one leading to the right and the other leading to the left. It shouldn’t be very difficult to maneuver to the coin, but if you’d like, you can take part in a blue coin minigame by hitting the “p” block against the rightmost wall.
Leaping Smackerel — Wonder Flower & Wonder Seed
You can reach the Wonder Flower only once you’ve passed the checkpoint flag. In fact, directly above the flag is a “?” block with the Wonder Flower, so hit it and get ready to dodge some smackerel. But, be careful! If you fail to collect the Wonder Flower in a semi-quick amount of time, it’ll get caught on the nearby water current and be lost to you. If this happens, you can let an enemy defeat you and restart.
In the quest for the Wonder Seed, you’ll have to dodge a gigantic smackerel while also collecting a set of five golden flower coins. Thankfully, the coins aren’t hidden, but because they’re obstructed, you need to lure the smackerel to break the level, allowing you access to each. It can be a bit challenging, but as soon as you’ve collected all five golden coins, you’ll be able to nab the Wonder Seed and move on.
