A wall slide is a basic part of Mario's movement, and it is most commonly used to initiate a wall jump but can also be canceled with a cap throw. When a wall slide is initiated, Mario will slowly slide down the wall with a very low acceleration and max speed.

Properties

A wall slide can be initiated by pressing against a wall while in midair, as long as Mario is not rolling or diving. It is possible to initiate a wall slide while long jumping if Mario contacts the wall at approximately a 55 degree angle.[1] After a wall slide is initiated, Mario can move slightly left or right if the control stick is held in either direction. Pressing A or B while sliding will begin a wall jump.

A wall slide will be terminated if the player performs a wall jump or cap throw, if Mario lands on the ground or bounces on an object or enemy, or if Mario slides off the wall.

If Mario wall jumps or cap throws away from the wall while wall sliding, he will no longer be able to cap bounce. However, if Mario slides off the wall instead, he will retain his cap bounce.

When Mario wall jumps out of a wall slide, the game keeps track of the location and angle at which the wall jump is performed, and this information is used to determine where Mario can perform subsequent wall slides without touching the ground. Mario will only be able to perform a subsequent wall slide under certain circumstances; while little is known about the exact mechanism, they generally seem to follow a few rules:

  • If the subsequent wall slide is being attempted at roughly the same angle, Mario will not be able to wall slide higher than the previous wall jump. The maximum height at which Mario can wall slide decays the farther away he is from the location of the last wall jump. If the subsequent wall slide is on a surface that is parallel to the original surface, this height seems to decay equivalently to the horizontal distance Mario is from the original wall jump.
  • If the subsequent wall slide is being attempted at a roughly 90° angle, Mario will not be able to wall slide higher than the previous wall jump, but he will generally be able to wall slide only slightly below that height as long as he is not too far from the location of the original wall jump.
  • If the subsequent wall slide is being attempted at an angle noticeably greater than 90°, Mario will always be able to wall slide as long as the two surfaces are facing each other. If the two surfaces are facing away from each other, Mario will always be able to wall slide as long as the distance between them is not too great, but the maximum height at which he can wall slide will begin to decay if the walls are very far apart.

References