Softlock

Softlocks are dangerous events that can sometimes occur in a video game. When they occur, the player can still technically play the game but a level or game is impossible to complete since a technique or object needed to progress has become inaccessible to the player. Softlocks are not to be confused with "hardlocks," as unlike hardlocks, they do not prohibit the player from playing the game.
== History ==
=== In Super Mario Bros. ===
Softlocks make their debut in the first Super Mario Bros., with the most infamous example being the Minus World. If Mario breaks two blocks on the ceiling, leaving the one on the far right, moves to the far left end of the pipe and jumps to the right and hits the bottom left portion of the block (or moves to the far left of the pipe and ducks while facing left, jumps while ducking, and jumps and moves to the right and lands in a certain spot), he will be sent through the wall and the pipe and enters the Warp Zone. If he goes into the pipes at the far right and far left of the Warp Zone before the right side of the room appears on-screen, Mario will be sent into the Minus World. This is a warped version of the second stage of World 7, in which Mario cannot escape without losing all of his lives due to the corrupted Warp Pipe at the end leading him back to the start of the level.
In some castle levels, Mario can jump over the ceiling and land on top of it. This counts as a softlock since he will be unable to reach the axe that drops the Bowser Impostor into the lava.
=== In Super Mario Bros. 2 ===
In the splitting path in the second stage of World 2, if Mario digs up all of the diggable sand on the left side, they will be unable to escape. This was fixed in the Game Boy remake by adding a vase that Mario can use to reset the area.
=== In Super Mario World ===
Whenever Mario grabs a power-up, time temporarily freezes until the transformation completes. If this happens at the same time that Yoshi eats a berry, the game freezes. The softlock is minor if the player beat the level beforehand, as they can just pause the game to escape, but if the level was not beaten prior, the player must reset the console.
=== In Super Mario 64 ===
To defeat Bowser, Mario has to throw him into the bombs surrounding the arena. If Mario lands on them himself, he is left with no way to defeat Bowser unless he leaves the level. The DS remake fixes this by having one bomb always reappear if Mario detonates the last one.
=== In Super Mario Sunshine ===
If the Sanbo Heads in the Red Coin Field fall of the stage, the Red Coin that appears when they are destroyed will not appear.
=== In Super Mario Galaxy ===
The Gusty Garden Galaxy's third mission, Gusty Garden's Gravity Scramble, has this happen if Mario performs a Long Jump in the right place. However, since the gravity has now changed on the Gravity Scramble Planets, the player will be forced to restart.
The Purple Comet missions of the Battlerock Galaxy and Dreadnought Galaxy have this happen if Mario leaves behind any Purple Coins, as they will be prevented from backtracking. Although he will lose a life for doing so, Mario can end the softlock by talking to the Gearmos at the end.
=== In Super Mario Galaxy 2 ===
If Mario uses the Cloud Suit to get to the Bonus area in the Throwback Galaxy or the Volcano Planet of the Shiverburn Galaxy, he will be stuck there. He can end the softlock by committing suicide. After Mario unlocks the Green Power Stars, he will no longer be softlocked by getting to the Volcano Planet in the Shiverburn Galaxy.
=== In Super Mario 3D Land ===
If Mario drops the bridge when a Tanooki Bowser is off-screen, the game will freeze.
=== In New Super Mario Bros. U ===
Mario can get stuck under the third Bramball in the third stage of Soda Jungle, titled Bramball Woods. Usually, Brick Blocks move into position when Mario is nearby so the Bramballs can move from their spot, but if Mario returns to the Bramball after dying, he can take a hit from the Bramball's legs and get stuck under the block. If Mario has only one hit point remaining, he will be unable to escape without dying.
=== In Super Mario Odyssey ===
If Mario skips the first Power Star, activates a checkpoint past it, comes back, and grabs the Power Moon, he can try to teleport to the checkpoint, but if this happens, he will be shown walking towards the Odyssey before softlocking, preventing further progression. The player can escape by closing the game and reopening it.
=== In Paper Mario: Color Splash ===
Sometimes, Kamek will cause the battle to become impossible for Mario to win; i.e. Mario could be forced to use Hammers against a flying enemy. If this happens, the player has no choice but to exit the game or waste the entire card supply, as Mario cannot Flee until he has no cards left.
=== In Luigi's Mansion ===
There is a chance that the ball that Chauncey summons during his bouncing ball attack that becomes the required ball for Luigi to use as a weapon could get stuck in mid-air.
=== In the WarioWare series===
==== WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgames! ====
The third level of Right in the Eye may cause the eye of the needle to sometimes be positioned outside the playing area, forcing a loss; this was fixed in WarioWare Gold.
==== WarioWare: Touched! ====
In Spario, if the player presses the pause button multiple times before the microgame starts, Wario will lose his arms and moustache, the former forcing the player to fail.
==== WarioWare: Get It Together! ====
In the microgame based on Super Mario World, 18-Volt could get stuck in the second level if he falls in a certain spot, forcing a loss.
In Pop Goes the Party and Balance the Scales, Penny Crygor can accidentally destroy all the pins for the former and cracked rocks for the latter on the third level, forcing a loss; she is consequently considered the worst fit for them.
9-Volt is considered the worst fit for Archer Assist as he can overshoot the target in the first two levels and cannot move the archer himself.
==== WarioWare: Move It! ====
The microgame Poison Apple has this happen if one player's princess is paralysed/killed by the poison apple touching a hazard in her digestive tract, causing the other to automatically pass out/die.
=== In Mario Kart 8 ===
This only occurs in the Nintendo Switch version's Booster Course Pass, but in Ninja Hideaway, if a racer lands on top of the sign after the last moving spike platform, they will automatically forfeit the race due to being trapped on the sign.
Category:Glitches