A guide to completing World 3-8 in Super Mario Bros 3 for the Nintendo Entertainment System.

How to Clear World 3-8

If you get 44 coins in this world, a White Mushroom House will appear on the World Map, where you will get a P-Wing.

In this level, the water will go up and down, and some platforms will become completely submerged. There is a Boss Bass in the water that will eat you if you get too close. There are also Cheep-Cheeps that will swim back and forth and will try to jump out of the water to hit you.

First, jump onto the tall blocks, then wait for the water level to go back down.

Go to the right, and stomp on the Green Koopa Troopa, then kick it so it bounces between the bricks. A vine will come out of the left brick. Climb up it and jump onto the Note Block to make a Fire Flower fall down. When the water level goes back down, get it.

Go to the right and stand on top of the brick and ice blocks. When the water level goes down, hold the run button to pick up an ice block. Throw it, then pick up the next block, and throw it. Before you hit the brick, wait for the water level to come up all the way, then hit it as quickly as you can, because coins will only come out for a limited time, so you need to hit the brick as quickly as possible to maximize the number of coins you get. This will act as insurance against missing any coins that could allow you to get the White Mushroom House.

Go to the right and stomp the Koopa and pick up its shell, but take it to the brick on the left that is by itself beneath three coins. Throw the shell at the brick and get the 1UP Mushroom that comes out. If necessary, go to the left to stand on the taller platforms until the water goes back down.

Then go back to the right and stomp the Koopa and use its shell to hit the two bricks. Climb up the vine to get the coins. (Or when the water level goes up, you can jump up from the surface of the water to reach the coins. But this is difficult because of the Boss Bass.)

To the right, there are two bricks on the platform, and each one contains a coin. It is difficult to get these coins unless you're Raccoon Mario. If you got at least 10 coins from the multi-coin block above the ice blocks earlier, you don't need to worry about getting the coins from these two bricks if you want to make the White Mushroom House appear.

Go to the right, jump and hit the brick to make a vine come out, then climb up and get the four coins around the vine.

To the right, there is a wooden platform floating in the water. Wait for the water level to be low, then get on the platform and jump up to the area with coins. Get all the coins without hitting the P Switch (make a running jump over the switch to get the coins on the right), then hit the P Switch and get all the coins on the right, as well as the three above. (The topmost coin is actually a brick with a 1UP Mushroom, so hit it from beneath and get the mushroom.)

Then go to the right and go through the pipe. From there, you can run to the right and hit the Goal Block to complete the level.

You can now go to World 3-9.