Switch Card
The title of this article is official, but it comes from a Japanese source.
If an acceptable English name is found, then the article should be moved to the new title.
This article needs Super Mario improvement. Specifically:
- Upload the remaining switch and unused icon sprites
- Verify whether Prima guide's claim of 15 effects existing in the game is true or not; TCRF only list four as unused
Switch Cards (スイッチカード) are a type of e-Reader cards for Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 . Upon scanning, these cards make massive changes to gameplay. Out of the seven released Switch Cards, only two of them were released outside of Japan, the Orange Switch and Blue Green Switch. In total, there are fifteen e-Switch[1] effects, four of which are unused. Said effects also have unused pop-up icons that were supposed to appear on the Game Boy Advance screen when said effect was activated.[2]
Unlike the e-Reader levels, these features were left out of the game's re-releases on the Wii U Virtual Console and Game Boy Advance - Nintendo Classics.
List of switches[edit ]
Unused effects[edit ]
Additional e-Switch effects also existed in the game, but their corresponding cards were never released and thus they can only be activated by using a cheating device:[3]
| ID | Effect icon | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 0020 | N/A | This effect causes point combos from defeating multiple enemies continuously to start at 4000 points, allowing the player to start earning extra lives starting from the third enemy. |
| 0004 | Used in case of images missing from a section gallery, table, bestiary box, or certain infoboxes. | This effect makes any block that contains a 1-Up Mushroom to have three 1-Up Mushrooms instead. |
| 1000 | Used in case of images missing from a section gallery, table, bestiary box, or certain infoboxes. | When activated, this effect will save Mario the first two times he falls into a pit during a level. The first time, a two-block-wide Flying Platform will carry Mario back up, then reduced to just one block on the second time. Afterwards, Mario would lose a life as usual. |
| 0008 | N/A | This effect adds an Item storage that contains a random power-up (either a Super Mushroom, Fire Flower, Super Leaf, Frog Suit, Tanooki Suit, or Hammer Suit), though it always starts with a Super Mushroom. The item only drops down when Mario reverts to Small Mario. |
References[edit ]
- ^ Hodgson, David S J. (October 21, 2003). Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 Prima's Official Strategy Guide. Prima Games (American English). ISBN 0-7615-4425-9. Page 117.
- ^ Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3, Switch Cards section. The Cutting Room Floor. Retrieved March 3, 2026.
- ^ Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3, Unused Switch Content section. The Cutting Room Floor. Retrieved March 3, 2026.