Minus World (2006 Series)

This article is from the 2006 series of SMBZ and is no longer canon.

8-bit World 36

The Minus World, also known as World 36 is a realm of space and a prison dimension, saturated with "negative energy", appeared in Episode 7 during the original Super Mario Bros. Z run.

It's a realm in which the heroes were trapped in while being pursued by Mecha Sonic. Only with a stopwatch from Kolorado were they able to escape from the Minus World. The stopwatch's magic had been ruined during the escape, causing anyone else to enter the Minus World to be trapped forever. The dimension has the ability to warp the appearance of its guests into a blocky, "8-bit" state. It was the location of the white Chaos Emerald.

The world can be accessed through a hidden pipe in the depths of the Pipe Maze. Minus World is actually based on a level in the original Super Mario Bros. that could be accessed through a glitch. Whenever someone enters the pipe, they appear in the same underwater area they first entered through. Once on dry land, there are many bottomless pits, a Mario staple. There is also a castle where Mario and Sonic faced off against Mecha Sonic to battle for the Chaos Emerald.

Mario and Sonic meet Kolorado and Goombella here for the first time. While in the Minus World, they discovered that Chaos Control will not work. The group is only able to escape when the Stopwatch that Kolorado had negated the negative energy and access to the real world was granted. The only living characters native to the area are apparently Bloopers, whom apparently have a taste for unwitting visitors to the prison dimension, as evidenced by Luigi's encounter with them. Former residents include a host of Koopas who have since perished, only their skeletal remains are what is left.

History

Background

According to the series timeline prior to Super Mario Bros. Z actually happening, there was an event connected to the Minus World known as the "Third Pescan War". The Mushroom Kingdom at this time was ruled by Queen Pesca VIII. Wanting to expand her empire and gain tactical advantages in future wars, she planned to claim the Pipe Maze. However, the Pipe Maze was already inhabited by another ruler, Bauzire. Knowing Bauzire and the inhabitants of the Pipe Maze wouldn't be willing to hand over control of the Pipe Maze, Pesca declared war on them, setting off the Third Pescan War. Bauzire had a rather inhumane method of executing Pesca's soldiers. Prisoners were thrown into a pipe that was actually a dimensional gate to a place called World 36, which Queen Pesca referred to as the Minus World once its capabilities were made known to her. When the war was over, and Pesca gained control of the Pipe Maze, she executed Bauzire by using the Minus World. Following that event, Pesca began a genocide on Bauzire's people, tossing each and every one of them into the pipe. According to historical records at the University of Goom, the only survivors of this act of mass murder were Bauzire's children (no names given). After the queen's genocide was completed, a wall was built to block off the pipe, perhaps to cover up the whole event and hide the pipe's existence from future historians and mapmakers. This is now known as the Pescan Wall. This wall was shattered when Mecha Sonic shot Sonic into it several times. However, at least three months before the present time, the discovery of a journal revealing the existence of the pipe inspired Professor Kolorado to set out in search of the Minus World, unaware of its curse.

Heroes Inside the Minus World

The World 36

After Mario rescues Sonic from death at Mecha Sonic's hand, he carries Sonic into the pipe in a desperate attempt to escape from Mecha Sonic. However, Mecha Sonic gives chase and jumps into the pipe as well.

When in the Minus World, Mario and Sonic start off underwater. Once on land, Sonic notices that everything looks blocky (he said primitive) and that he and Mario have changed to match the 8-bit look of the Minus World, donning their original looks (Mario's Super Mario Bros. appearance and Sonic's look in the 8-bit version of the original Sonic the Hedgehog Game Gear game). After moving on, the pair meets Goombella and Kolorado, and they discover that the Minus World affects everything from other dimensions, including Kolorado's magic stopwatch, which isn't supposed to stop. They also discover that the Minus World is responsible for causing the Emerald Radar to get a false reading on the 5th Emerald.

Later, Shadow and Yoshi enter the Minus World to assist Mario and Sonic in their struggle with Mecha Sonic, while Luigi, out of fear, stays behind. He eventually comes to his senses and enters the world. Upon entering, he discovers that he is surrounded by Bloopers, and while escaping in shock, he accidentally breaks Kolorado's watch, and the energy that bursts forth from it temporarily alters the world's dark energy long enough for everyone to escape. Shadow manages to use Chaos Control to help everyone escape Mecha Sonic once outside the Minus World. Mecha Sonic presumably destroyed the Minus World's entrance after everyone escaped, as a large section of the Pipe Maze was blown up as a result of his failed attempt at destroying everyone.

Trivia

Sonic nearly drowns in the Minus World

• The Minus World is actually a glitch from Super Mario Bros. It was originally a water stage that kept going on forever until Mario will lose all of his lives and receive a game over. At the supposed end of the stage, there would be a pipe. As the player went through it, he/she would start back at the beginning of the level.
  • The world itself seems to have no escape except the last pipe underwater unless the game is hacked by adding a flag before the pipe, traversing to Worlds -2, -3 and -4, with -4 earning the player with an instant game over/a black screen.
  • The level was accessed by somehow (likely by going through the wall) getting to the hidden Warp Zone in World 1-2 without triggering the text welcoming you to it, and going in the first pipe, which may be referenced in the series as the pipe to the Minus World is found by breaking through a wall in the underground Pipe Maze.
• The Famicom version of the game Super Mario Bros's Minus World is very different than the NES version, it features 4 stages underwater, after beating the 4th stage, it will go back to title screen, thus beating the game.
• Mark Haynes said that the reboot will not contain the Minus World.