Midas River

Screenshot from Super Mario RPG for the Nintendo Switch

The Midas River is a location in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars and its remake. It is a large river, and the "Midas" of its name is derived from the name of a figure in Greek mythology, Midas, a king who turned everything he touched into gold.

History[edit]

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars[edit]

In Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, when Mario and Mallow are flushed out of the Kero Sewers, they end up being flung down the falls, also known as Midas Waterfall.^[1][2]

The Midas River's falls are segmented and have the first nonstandard gameplay section. After Toad appears and the player accepts or rejects his explanation, Mario is carried by the downward current. It is possible to swim slightly upstream for a moment so as to slow down Mario's fall. Mario can try to grab coins and Frog Coins appearing all around the surface of the water. Holes are visible behind the waterfall as Mario descends; entering one results in a brief scene playing that can result in the player recovering FP or gaining or losing coins, among other effects. Up to 36 coins can be collected. At the bottom of the falls, Mario lands on a barrel floating in the river. This begins the second nonstandard gameplay section introduced by Toad, which is the barrel-jumping event. It is a barrel ride to the end, and the player can collect more coins along the way. There are two "lanes," which can be switched between by bumping into barrels. Certain lanes have more coins than others. Bumping into one of the river's irritable jumping fish results in Mario losing coins. In the original version of the game, fish can come only from the front; in the remake, they can also come from behind. Up to 64 coins can be collected. A Mushroom person waits at the course's end, and he holds on to any coins earned on the course. Collecting 50 coins earns the player one Frog Coin. When the player clears the Midas River for the first time, the Mushroom person also gives Mario a Koopa Shell. The exit in this small area leads to Tadpole Pond. The bucket in Moleville serves as a warp to the Midas River. If it is accessed this way, the Mushroom person at the bottom of the river will be absent, leaving a note saying that the course is closed for the day; reading the note will give the player any coins they earned on the course to keep.

The background music uses microtonality; it is written in A flat major internally but pitch-shifted upward by 50 cents, so that the song as heard uses a nonexistent key between A flat major and A major. The updated composition in the remake is played in A flat major throughout, with no microtonality; this can be observed by switching from the music version from Modern to Classic through the System menu.

Mario and the Incredible Rescue[edit]

Midas River is a location in Mario and the Incredible Rescue. Mario, Luigi, and Toad pass through here to reach Tadpole Pond. They get there after falling off the waterfall, an event that later inspires Mario to compose a song on the flute called "Falling Down a Waterfall," which he plays for Toadofski.

Field/Given Items[edit]

Item	Image	Location	Location image
			Original	Remake
Frog Coins		Found in the waterfall portion of the area. Automatically given after the player goes into the second cave after choosing to go left from the top of the waterfall.
Flowers		Automatically given after the player goes into the first cave after choosing to go left from the top of the waterfall. Automatically given after the player goes into the second cave after choosing to go right from the top of the waterfall.
Koopa Shell (NokNok Shell in the original) Frog Coins		Koopa Shell: Automatically given by the Toad at the end of the river after the player completes the waterfall and river events for the first time. Frog Coins: One is given after Mario collects 60 or more coins during the events for the first time. Afterwards, every 70–99 coins award one Frog Coin, and 100 coins award five Frog Coins.
Coins		After the player uses the secret entrance from Moleville, all collected coins during this run are given to Mario after he reads the paper at the end of the river event.
2 Frog Coins		There are two additional Frog Coins to be found on the right side of the waterfall.	N/A

Gallery[edit]

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  Screenshot from Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars

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  Screenshot from Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars

Names in other languages[edit]

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References[edit]