New Super Mario Bros./World 7-6

Koopas, especially Paratroopas are easily the most common enemies you've encountered in World 7, and this level is just filled with them. The sheer number of them turns a normally minor nuisance into the main hazards of this athletic course. With haphazardly placed platforms, odd geometry and many, many enemies, this stage will certainly put your agility to the test.

Level walkthrough
Go right and ascend up the series of mushroom platforms. As you go, you'll encounter two Paratroopas, one green and one red, until you reach a wide green platform. On here are two red Koopas, one of which is a Paratroopa. To the right are some more mushroom platforms, each with plenty of Koopas roaming or hovering on them. You can knock the Koopa on the highest green mushroom into its shell, then kick it to the right to have it take out a bunch of enemies as it bounced down, eventually hitting a block up ahead that contains a 1-Up.

From the block with the 1-Up mushroom, jump right to the series of mushroom platforms. There are pipes here where Piranha Plants appear from, so watch out for them. Jump from the mushroom structure to the large moving platform to the right, where three Paratroopas fly next to each other. Jump on to the cliff to pass the checkpoint flag. You can get a power-up from the blocks if you need to, but otherwise just continue to the next valley. You should see a Star Coin in a small alcove. Drop down and jump to the alcove, carefully avoiding the two Paratroopas while you do, then jump out.

Head right and fall to the ground, where there are some pipes that are inhabited by Piranha Plants. Get on the yellow pipe when the its Piranha Plant is hiding inside to enter a secret area below the clouds. Here, you can get some coins and a power-up from the blocks to your left, but your main objective is what's located at the right. There is a wide abyss between where you are and a red platform to the right. You must jump on to the Paratroopas and bounce off of them to gain additional air time and height, letting you reach the platform. Go into the pipe above to return to the main course, snagging the last Star Coin.

Whether you're progressing forward normally or just got the third Star Coin, your next obstacles is a flat bridge with many Paratroopas flying toward you. Run across it, go up the slope and then jump to the ground below. There are several brick block structures with red Koopas on them. You can use their shells to defeat other Koopas, as well as get some of the many coins hidden within these blocks. Finally, go up the slope while avoiding the Paratroopas, then jump to the flagpole. Having cleared the level, you've created a path...back to World 7-4? Indeed, if you haven't found any secret exits from the levels after the tower, you'll be stuck in a dead end. Return to any previous stage, including this one, and find the secret exit to progress.

Star Coins

 * 1) The Star Coin is hovering in midair just before the pipe leading to the red flagpole. Jump up from the moving mushroom platform to get it.
 * 2) Two Paratroopas guard a Star Coin located inside an alcove that can be found soon after the checkpoint flag.
 * 3) After the checkpoint, enter the only yellow pipe up ahead to reach a secret area. You must bounce off the three Paratroopas to your right to get on a mushroom platform below a pipe. Go into the pipe to collect the coin.

Alternate exit
After the checkpoint, there are two brick block platforms arranged parallel to each other, with Paratroopas hopping underneath. First, you must destroy the middle brick block of the top platform. Then, hit the middle block of the bottom platform from below to make a vine grow into the sky. Climb up it to reach a bonus area. Get on the mushroom to make it move. Stay on the mushroom as it goes toward the right. You can make small jumps to get coins, including the first Star Coin of the stage. Eventually, you will reach a thin platform with a pipe above it. Go into the warp pipe to arrive at the red flagpole.

This secret exit creates a path to World 7-7, one of three paths that allow you to continue onward to the castle.