There are many enemies in Super Mario World. Some can be defeated simply by jumping on them. Some require more complicated moves, while some cannot be defeated at all.
The Amazing Flyin' Hammer Brother is a koopa that sits on a pair of flying blocks and throws hammers to both sides every time Mario comes near. The best attack is to time the approach and jump on the blocks from underneath, although you can also jump on his head if you can dodge the hammers.
Ball 'n' Chain is exactly what the name suggests: a spiked ball attached to a block by a chain. The ball rotates around the block slowly. Mario can be damaged by the ball, but the chain has no effect at all. The block that the chain is attached to functions the same as any other solid block in the game.
Locations:
Banzai Bill is a larger version of its smaller shark-faced cousin, Bullet Bill. It appears on a few stages and simply approaches Mario or Luigi at any given time, taking up a large part of the screen. Sometimes, there will be a small space for Mario or Luigi to duck in so it will pass over them.
Resistance to attacks:
Locations:
Blargg is a bizarre dragon-like creature that dwells in lava, sort of resembling a hippo. They usually appear in levels where Mario has to cross large lava expanses on skull rafts. Blargg usually announces his prescence when his large white eyes peek out of the lava (some say the eyes look like a piranha plant). Blargg will make a lunge toward Mario, which can easily be avoided with a jump. If Mario is on Yoshi, Blargg is no threat because Yoshi can step over him, and if timed properly Yoshi can turn backward and swallow Blargg whole before he sinks into the lava again.
Blurp is a fish that can be found in all underwater courses. It will only swim in one direction and is often found to swim in formations. Fireballs and cape spin can defeat it, Yoshi can also eat it but it's harmless to Yoshi stomping into him.
Bob-ombs are tiny wind-up bombs. After a few seconds, they will explode harming Mario if he is on the blasts radius. They can be shot out of cannons. Use the spin jump to kill.
Bony Beetle is an enemy found in castles and fortresses. It walks around and then hides pulling out spikes form it's back. If Mario touches the spikes, he is harmed. If Mario jumps on them, they will crumble, and then reform, like Dry Bones. Invulnerable to fireballs and inedible by Yoshi. Only can be killed by Cape. Best to avoid all together.
The Boo Buddies are small white ghosts found in ghosthouses. If Mario is facing them, they will cover their faces and won't move. Turn away, and they will chase Mario. Boo Buddies sometimes appear in large numbers and can not be destroyed by any means. Some Boo Buddies turn into grey blocks when Mario faces them and he can use them as stepping stones.
Resistance to attacks:
Locations:
The Big Boo is a large white ghost found in ghost houses. Like Boo Buddies, you can stop them from pursuing you by looking at them. Mario cannot jump over it, he needs to lure him out of the way or use a high platform. The Big Boo is also a boss within the Donut Secret House. Hit it with three grab blocks to reach the secret exit.
Resistance to attacks:
Locations:
Bullet Bills are nefarious bullets fired at Mario or Luigi, either from a launcher, or randomly from the sides. They can be defeated by a regular jump or a cape spin.
Buzzy Beetle is a little bug inside a hard shell. It is invulnerable to fireballs. A normal jump will put it to sleep, then Mario can carry it's shell for a few seconds before it wakes up again. A spin jump or Yoshi jump will kill it.
Chargin' Chuck is an exclusive Super Mario World enemy who appears in many levels from Yoshi's Island 2 to Bowser's Castle. Whether it's lost underwater or defending Bowser, these enemies can be located in every corner of this game. Chuck is a Koopa dressed as a football player who can perform multiple attacks in its various incarnations. In standard form a Chargin' Chuck simply runs after Mario to tackle him. Sometimes he tries to sneak up on Mario by quietly jogging towards Mario, the game turns off his trademark charging sound.
All Chargin' Chucks require three hits from Mario or one cape swipe to be defeated. Multiple fireball hits also work at short range. The first hit from any attack but fire usually makes them lose their special ability if they have one, or stuns them. A second hit will do the same before the third hit knocks them off the course. A Chuck can also vault many medium and small sized obstacles in his pursuit of Mario, only being stopped by the highest obstacles. However Chargin' Chucks will run over cliffs in their pursuit. He can also run his way through yellow and purple blocks in his never-ending quest to smash Mario.
Resistance to attacks:
Locations:
These are dinosaurs that resemble rhinoceros. One normal jump turns them into Dino-Torches. A spin jump or Yoshi jump will completely destroy them. The Dino-Rhinos only walk around and jump slightly. They're found all throughout Chocolate Island.
Dino Torch is a monster that occurs after B-Jumping on Dino Rhino. This monster spits fire left, right and up. It is fire-proof, Mario can not touch the flame, and it is edible by Yoshi.
Dry Bones are Koopa skeletons found in castles and fortresses. Some can throw bones at you. If you jump on them, they will only be disabled temporarily. However, cape spins can defeat them permanently. Fireballs have no effect on them.
Eeries are ghosts that dwell the Ghost Houses. They fly in groups or solo, but always in fixed formations, ignoring where Mario is or isn't.
Fishbone are little fish skeletons that swim around in underwater castles like the Vanilla Fortress. Invulnerable to all attacks.
Fishin' Boo hangs out in the Choco-Ghost house, found in Chocolate Island. He dangles a bluish ghostly fire from his fishing rod, but there's no reason for Mario to take it. Steer clear and try to stay low if possible.
Resistance to attacks:
Locations:
Fishin' Lakitu tries to tempt Mario with a 1-up. If Mario takes the bait, Fishin' Lakitu will start throwing spinies. Knock Fishin' Lakitu out and take a ride on his cloud.
Resistance to attacks:
Locations:
Naturally, these mushroom-like creatures are back to once again make trouble for Mario. The Super Mario World variety has gained a backbone since the days of the Mushroom Kingdom. Rather than being merely flattened, jumping on a Goomba will merely turn it upside down, helpless. It can then be picked up and thrown about. A spin jump or collision with another object or being stomped/swallowed by Yoshi will permanently dispose of Goombas.
A weird obstacle, this razor bladed disc is capable of really frustrating you! They are a nightmare to avoid and tend to take the life out of the game. My advice is practice and come prepared. Capes do tend to help but a lot of the time the cause you to fly into other Grinders which are falling from the ceiling. They are also invincible. You can spin jump on top of the Grinders, but no regular jumps.
Hothead is a large ball of fire or electricity that circles blocks of stone in castles and fortresses. Invulnerable to all attacks, it will harm Mario if he touches it.
Jumpin' Piranha Plants hide in pipes and jump up to snap at Mario or Luigi, before retreating back into the pipes. However, they will not jump if Mario or Luigi is right next to the pipe. You cannot defeat them by regular jumps - as a matter of fact, they will hurt you that way. Spin jumps and Yoshi jumps will snap off Jumpin' Piranha Plants. These plants, however, can be defeated easily by fireballs, cape spins, and collisions with Koopa shells and grab blocks. Yoshi can also eat them. These plants can be defeated while inside their pipes.
Beware that in later levels, certain Jumpin' Piranha Plants can also throw fireballs.
This plant is only found in SMW after you beat the special zone. The jumpin' piranha plants turn into jumpin' pumpkin plants. They act exactly the same, though their appearances are different. The piranha plants mouth faces upwards while the pumkin plants mouth faces towards the screen. (This doesn't mean you can jump on top of them now. You will still get hurt.)
Koopas are Bowser's evil minions, located almost everywhere in Dinosaur Land. Their shell colors can be green, red, blue, or yellow. Each color shell has a different effect on Yoshi when he eats one. Koopas can either be ground forces or have wings. Green Koopas move only in a straight line (unless they hit something; in that case, they turn around), while other colored Koopas patrol certain areas.
Resistance to attacks:
Locations:
The father of Fishin' Lakitu, Lakitu, has not the patience of his son. He will begin throwing eggs that turn into spinies as soon as he sees Mario. if Mario gets 'tagged' he can lose his Super Mario suit or lose a life. If you harm Lakitu and not his cloud,you can take a ride.
Resistance to attacks:
Locations:
Lil' Sparky is a little ball of fire or electricity that circles stones inside some castles and fortresses. It is invulnerable to all attacks and will harm Mario if he touches it.
Magikoopa is a koopa that has mastered the art of wizardry. He can cast magic spells that look like multicolored geometrical shapes coming out of it's wand. If the spell touches Mario, it will harm him. If the spell touches a yellow block, it will turn into something else, like a coin or a koopa. Magikoopa can also vanish and appear somewhere else. A jump on top of it will kill it, but it's possible it will appear again.
The same as an ordinary koopa. BUT you MUST go through the special star road in the special zone to get to the Fall, where you will see them instead of koopas. Some of them will have changed color too.
Mega Moles are giant versions of Monty Moles, and they are only found in Valley of Bowser 1 and Chocolate Island 4. You cannot defeat them by jumping on them, but you can use them for a ride.
Cape spins and aerial diving slams will defeat them, though. Yoshi can also eat them.
Monty Moles are small creatures that hide in the ground and in mountains, waiting for Mario or Luigi to approach them. Before they pop up out of the ground, they cause the dirt in the ground and on the mountain walls to crumble, giving away their location. They then pop out of the ground, and follow Mario and Luigi wherever they walk until they are outrun or they fall off the stage. Also, if Mario or Luigi outruns a Monty Mole, but then returns to the area where it popped out of, another Monty Mole will spawn from the same hole the first one jumped out of.
Resistance to attacks:
Locations:
However they do not appear at the credits screen, there are actually Ninjies in this game. Ninjies are star-shaped, creatures that just jump around, trying to bump into Mario or Luigi to hurt them. Ninjies appeared for the first time in Super Mario Bros. 2.
Specifications:'
Resistance to attacks:'
Locations:'
Para-bombs are tiny bombs that fall from the sky with a parachute. Once they land they walk about until their timer is set and they soon explode.
Resistance to attacks:'
Locations:'
They`re koopas...with wings. You can knock off the wings with regular jump, BUT a yoshi jump/spin jump will permanently wipe em out.
Para-Goombas are similar to regular Goombas, except they have wings and fly around to hit you. One stomp will remove the wings.
Pidgit Bill appears only after the Special zone is completed. Once this area is completed, Pidgit Bill replaces Bullet Bill, in the form of a black bird.
Pokeys are evil cacti, and they're one of Bowser's minions. They just wander around, and if they see Mario or Luigi, they'll start to follow them, trying to catch them. But because they're unbelievably slow, you don't have to worry about being caught. But the problem is, since they're quite large, you can hardly jump over them, making them a real pain. And, they have nasty spikes all over their body, so if you touch them, you'll get hurt. Fortunately, if you're riding Yoshi, you can eat them piece by piece (they are built out of five pieces, so you'll have to let Yoshi eat ALL of the pieces, because they can revive themselves).
Specifications:'
Resistance to attacks:'
Locations:'
Porcu-puffers are nasty pufferfish with spines that can sting Mario. Yoshi can bounce on top of them with out getting stung. You can also travel past them on a dolphin.
Rexes are dinosaurs that live all over Dinosaur land.
A normal jump causes a Rex to turn smaller and faster. If you jump on it again, it dies. However, any other attack will instantly dispatch a Rex. Fireballs (either from Mario or those spit out by Yoshi) will turn the Rex into a coin, as with many other enemies.
Locations:'
Rip Van Fish is an enemy found on almost all underwater courses. Like the name implies, it is a fish, normally sleeping on a corner, once Mario comes close, it wakes up and starts chasing him frantically. Once Mario is far away, it falls asleep again. Fireballs are a good defense and Yoshi can eat it.
The spinies are little spiked monsters that crawl on the ground. Spinies are almost equal to ordinary Koopa Troopas, except for that they have a very spiky shield. If you flip them over, you can shoot them just like a normal Koopa shell. Lakitu often throws these from his cloud. Although spinies don't look like delicious treats, Yoshi can swallow them, spikes and all. But Mario will be injured if he tries to stomp them.
Resistance to attacks:'
Yoshi's fireballs: It does the same as a normal fireball, so Spinies will turn into a coin when they're hit with a fireball.
Locations:'
Spike Top is an enemy that appears in subterranean levels. It is pointy/spikey, and invulnerable to jumps and fireballs. Cape spin and Yoshi's tongue will defeat it.
When a sumo brother stomps his foot, flames appear on the ground. It will stomp periodically, moving a little bit between stomps. You can use the feather cape to escape. If you don't have one, the best bet is to jump on a block that's directly below Sumo Brother.
Super koopas are koopas with the feather power, so they have a cape and fly around. Alone, they are easy to kill, but when there are lots of super koopas around, it's chaotic. A Super koopa with a flashing red and yellow cape will drop a feather when killed, but a standard yellow or red caped one doesn't drop anything.
Swooper is a little bird that nests on the ceilings of caves. When Mario comes close, Swooper flies down to a medium height and continues flying on a straight line. Invulnerable to jumps, fireballs kill it and Yoshi can eat it.
Thwimp is a smaller version of Thwomp. It doesn't travel in linear directions, but rather jumps periodically from one place to another. He is also invulnerable to all attacks.
Thwomps are rectangular anthropomophic stones that bounce up and down every once in a while (often every other second). They appear only in castles and fortresses. The best way to get past them is to simply dodge them.
Resistance to attacks:
Locations:'
All castles and fortresses, including Bowser's castle.
A shark-faced torpedo launched towards Mario or Luigi from a torpedo launcher.
Torpedo Ted cannot be defeated by any means. However, note that when torpedo launchers appear on the game screen, they will wait several seconds before launching torpedoes.
Torpedo Ted can only be found in Soda Lake.
Large creatures that are only found in Forest of Illusion 2. They move over fixed patterns. They can only be defeated by throwing grab blocks at them.
Stationary flowers that appear in several different levels. They shoot a flurry of several fireballs that pan out in all directions every 2 seconds or so.
A yellow caterpillar. Jumping on it knocks the flower off its head, changes it red, and makes it angry. To kill the red wiggler you either throw a Koopa shell into it, shoot a fireball or have Yoshi eat it.