Item of the week #20

[Dark Seraphim]

Vanish Cap



First Appearance: Super Mario 64 (N64, 1996)
Latest Appearance: Super Mario 64 DS (DS, 2004) [Powers only]

Possibly one of the more under appreciated items introduced in Super Mario 64, the Winged Cap got the box shot, the Metal Cap got the longevity as one of Mario's strongest forms, but the Vanish Cap seems to fade into the obscurity of 'that third item from Mario 64.' Even the programmers seemed stumped on how to use it sometimes, in its premier level you only need to use it once at the very end, unlike the Winged and Metal Caps that needed a bit more rigorous use to collect their respective red coins.

The Vanish Cap is quite simple, it allows Mario it become incorporeal and intangible, effectively giving him the ability to pass through enemies without taking damage or even being knocked back, and allowing our mustachioed hero to pass through certain walls freely, such as those made of grates or ice. This also provided the additional danger of being able to walk through walls you hadn't meant to and effectively putting yourself in danger of falling off into the abyss if you weren't too careful! Besides that, the Vanish Cap didn't have that many additional uses, its invulnerability to enemies was situational at best, so most times it was used simply to pass through walls to get to certain hard to reach Stars. In the remake on the DS, the Vanish Cap may be gone, but its power becomes usable by Luigi through use of the Power Flower, although our green capped friend loses the ability to pass through ice with the Vanish power, but does gain a bit more maneuverability in passing through the walls he can still go through.

After its premier (and remake years later) the Vanish Cap never appeared in the Mario franchise again, however the same cannot be said of its abilities. Years later in Super Mario Galaxy we come across the Boo Mushroom (Item of the week #2), which retains the ability to become intangible and pass through walls once more!

Click to view video.

Item of the week #1: Hammer
Item of the week #2: Boo Mushroom
Item of the week #3: Metal Cap
Item of the week #4: Tanooki Suit
Item of the week #5: Ice Flower
Item of the week #6: Thunderbolt
Item of the week #7: Coconut Gun
Item of the week #8: F.L.U.D.D.
Item of the week #9: Bob-omb
Item of the week #10: Kart
Item of the week #11: Mini Mushroom
Item of the week #12: Boo
Item of the week #13: Warp Pipe
Item of the week #14: Pixl
Item of the week #15: Koopa Clown Car
Item of the week #16: Hammer Bros. Suit
Item of the week #17: Vibes
Item of the week #18: Carrot
Item of the week #19: Spring Mushroom