A guide to completing World 8-2 in Super Mario Bros 3 for the Nintendo Entertainment System.

How to Clear World 8-2

Go to the right. You can skip a lot of this level if you get in the quicksand and let it take you down to a hidden room. If you do this, you have to choose if you want a Super Mushroom/Super Leaf, or a bunch of coins (but you can only get a few if you can't fly). If you want a Super Mushroom or Super Leaf, go left and go down the pipe there. If you want a bunch of coins instead, go to the right and go down the pipe there. Jump down from the ledge and fall through the coins. If you can fly, you can run left and right to build up momentum to fly back up and get more coins. Whichever secret room you went to, go through the pipe at the end to exit it. Then skip ahead to After the Secret Room.

If you decide not to go to the secret rooms, jump over the quicksand. There will be a Paragoomba that drops Mugger Micro-Goombas. After that, there are three Venus Fire Traps on top of some quicksand.

Next, there is a Venus Fire Trap on quicksand, and a brick. Hit the brick to make a P Switch appear, then as soon as you step on it, try to quickly go to the right, because the coins up ahead have turned into bricks, giving you an easier way to get past the pit, without having to jump on the Note Blocks below. This area has an Angry Sun that swoops down to try to hit you.

After the area with the Note Blocks, there are three Venus Fire Traps in pipes on a slope that goes up. At the top of the hill, there are three coins.

Slide down the right side of the hill, but watch out for the Green Paratroopa at the bottom. You can stomp on it to reach the Note Blocks, or just make a running jump. Bounce from the Note Blocks to the right side, then go right and hit the Goal Block to complete the level.

After the Level

Go to the right, but ignore the pipe. It doesn't lead anywhere new. Instead, go right twice from the pipe, then go up to reach World 8 Fortress.