Every Mario game has gold coins scattered around the Mushroom Kingdom for the fireball-throwing plumber to collect, and finding every last one is a big part of getting a perfect run of a level for some players. But in Super Mario Bros. Wonder, they’re not quite as useful as they once were, because a different currency is far more effective at giving you what gold coins do.
On top of being the standard collectible across the Super Mario franchise, gold coins give you a new life every time you pick up 100 of them. Because of this, and because traditionally, Mario games can get pretty damn tough at times, players have often gone out of their way to grab as many of them as possible in order to stock up on lives and never have to worry about a game over. However, in Super Mario Bros. Wonder, there’s a new set of purple Flower Coins that act as a currency for shops you’ll find in the Flower Kingdom. These aren’t quite as abundant as the gold coins Mario’s been collecting for decades, but if you’re looking for lives, these are easily the more sensible option.
If you head to any of the shops you find on the overworld map, you’ll find 20 purple Flower Coins net you five lives, rather than the measly one you’ll get for collecting 100 gold coins. I wish I’d realized this early on, because I wasted some precious time using the new Elephant Mushroom powerup to sprinkle the ground with water and get a few extra gold coins from the flowers on the ground, when I should’ve been looking for Flower Coins, instead.
Where are purple Flower Coins in Super Mario Bros. Wonder?
Purple coins appear in two different forms in Wonder levels. The most prominent are individual ones you’ll often find mixed in with gold coins or hidden in blocks you’ll need to break. But you’ll also find a few larger ones valued at 10 coins scattered throughout most levels, often hidden behind a puzzle, secret area, or a level-shifting Wonder Flower. There are typically three of these bigger coins in a stage, and if you’ve found them before, you can’t go back and get them again. But they are a high-value collectible that make it worth exploring levels to their fullest, both for completionist reasons and because they actually give you something tangible in return.
If I already have plenty of lives, what can purple Flower Coins get me?
Lives aren’t the only things merchants sell in Super Mario Bros. Wonder. You can also buy standees for multiplayer, new badges, and even Wonder Seeds to help you access more levels in each world. So yes, grab the gold coins when you see them, but they aren’t the most valuable resource in pretty much any avenue this time around.
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