A guide to completing the first World 5 Fortress in Super Mario Bros 3 for the Nintendo Entertainment System.

How to Clear World 5's First Fortress

Go to the right to reach a lava pit. There is a Podoboo (fireball) that goes up and down from the lava, and there is also a Roto-Disc spinning around above the lava. Jump carefully to reach the other side without hitting the Podoboo or Roto-Disc.

Make the Thwomp fall, then run past when it's moving back up. Then you'll find some bricks on the right. If you're tall, you can jump and hit one, then jump on top of the brick that you didn't hit, and jump up and left to reach the ledge above. Hit the ? Block to get a Super Mushroom or Super Leaf. You can't go any farther up just yet (unless you have the P Wing), but if you break all the remaining bricks here, there is a way to go farther up, but it's difficult. To try it, start by going down to the bottom and going to the right.

There are a couple of Roto-Discs to the right of where the ceiling bricks were. Go past them, then you can optionally hit the brick just before the Thwomp to get a Super Mushroom or Super Leaf. The other brick contains a coin. Go to the right, and there are two more Roto-Discs. If you DON'T want to try to go to the area that you couldn't reach earlier (as mentioned in the previous paragraph), skip ahead to After the Pipe. If you DO want to try, you can wait for the lower Roto-Disc to start moving upward from the floor, then run left, but crouch just after the Thwomp so the Roto-Disc won't hit you. Keep running, then as soon as you hit the floor beneath the vertical tunnel, start flying. If you time it correctly, you'll keep flying long enough to reach the top of the tunnel, where there is a pipe. Go down.

Run until your P Meter is filled, and fly up to where the arrow is pointing. There are three hidden blocks here, each of which contains a 1UP. One of them is directly above the point of the arrow, one is to the left of the arrow's leftmost coin, and one is to the right of the arrow's rightmost coin. After you get the 1UPs, collect any remaining coins, then go down the pipe.

After the Pipe

Go to the right, but beware of the Boo Ghost and Roto-Disc. There is a Thwomp right after the Roto-Disc.

Next, there is a Roto-Disc beneath a Thwomp.

This is followed by a lava pit that you might have to make a running jump to go over, and then two smaller lava pits with a Thwomp in between. You'll need to quickly jump onto and off of the platform beneath the Thwomp to avoid getting hit.

Go up the stairs on the right and go through the door to reach the room of the fortress boss.

Boom Boom

Boom Boom will move left and right, and sometimes he will crouch and slide. Whenever he crouches, his spiky shell is not safe to stomp on. Try to stomp on him when he is running around. You can also hit him with fireballs. After you stomp him the first time, he will sometimes suddenly stop, then jump high up. It can be difficult to aim your jumps correctly when he stops and jumps, so watch him closely. After you stomp on him a second time, he will very quickly run left and right, so jump carefully to avoid letting him bump into you.

After you stomp him a third time, he is defeated, and drops a Magic Ball. Collect it and you will complete the level.

After the Level

A bridge will appear on the river, giving you a shortcut if you lose all your lives.

If there are any Hammer Bros still on the map, you can fight them to get a Starman and P Wing.

If you haven't done World 5-3 yet, you can do it now.

Or you can go to the World 5 Tower.