Super Mario 3D World: how to get the Cat Suit and climb walls on Wii U

This guide uses the original Wii U version of Super Mario 3D World and the Wii U GamePad. The 2021 Switch version has the same basic Cat Suit idea, but different controller labels and some changed movement. If your controller has Joy-Cons or a Switch logo, do not use the Wii U button map below.

The Cat Suit is a power-up, not a character you choose from the menu. Mario, Luigi, Peach and Toad can all become cats after touching a Super Bell. Their suits look different, but the Wii U wall-climb action works the same way. The official Wii U screenshot below shows yellow Cat Mario near a purple wall; notice the cat ears, paws and tail.

On the World 1 map, enter the first course, World 1-1: Super Bell Hill. Its entrance is available from the beginning. Near the start of the grassy course, go up the short white steps and look for a brown Goomba and a floating gold ? Block. A ? Block is a cube with a question mark on its faces. Stand under it and tap A or B to jump into its underside. If the pictured gold Bell appears, walk into it. Another ? Block appears after the early clear pipe if you need to keep looking.

The Bell changes your character as soon as you touch it. Look for cat ears, paws and a tail on your character. If you see a plain cap and overalls instead, you are not in Cat form. Nintendo’s manual says that taking a hit removes a power-up, so collect another Bell before trying the climb if an enemy knocked the suit off.

Hold the Wii U GamePad with its screen in the middle. The left stick is the round control above the cross-shaped directional pad on the left. The four letter buttons sit to the right of the screen: A is the right-hand button and B is the bottom button. On Wii U, either A or B makes your character jump. The original Pixel Twelve diagram below marks these exact controls. It is a diagram, not a screenshot of a real controller.

Do not confuse Y with the climbing control. Y makes the cat claw at nearby enemies. For a wall, your important actions are jump toward it and then push the left stick upward once the cat touches it. Nintendo lists these as separate moves in the Wii U manual.

In a course, stop a short step away from a solid vertical wall with a ledge above it. Check that you are still wearing the Cat Suit. Face the wall, push the left stick toward it, and press A or B once to jump. The cat should make contact with the wall, turn toward it and grip it with its paws. If the character bounces away or drops immediately, try closer to the wall and aim at its flat face rather than at empty space beside the corner.

The dark brick wall in the official screenshot below shows the kind of vertical surface the cat form can scale. The green Cat Luigi gives you another clear example of the ears and tail. The screenshot does not mark an exact collectible route; use the diagram above to understand the jump-to-wall movement.

As soon as the cat grips the wall, tilt the left stick upward. Watch the character climb, paws moving up the surface. Keep pushing upward until its head and hands reach the top edge, then continue in that direction to step onto the ledge. You do not have to mash jump, and holding Y is not the wall-climb command in the Wii U manual.

A cat cannot climb forever: if the character starts sliding before reaching the top, the wall may be too tall from that starting spot. Look for a higher starting platform, a nearby ledge or a clear pipe that reaches the top. Move closer to the wall and jump again rather than repeatedly clawing at it.

No ears or tail? The Cat Suit was lost or you collected a different item. Find another gold Super Bell; the official item picture above shows what it looks like.

The cat jumps but falls? Stand close to a flat wall, move toward it with the left stick and jump once. Pressing jump while too far away will not make contact.

The cat grabs but does not rise? Tilt the left stick up after touching the wall. Pressing Y claws; it is not the climb button.

The top is still out of reach? Try a shorter section or a nearby higher platform. The climb has a limited height, so a very tall wall may require another route.

Your buttons do not match? Check whether you are on Wii U with the GamePad. If you are playing Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury on Switch, use that version’s control guide instead.

In one line: gold Bell → cat ears and tail → jump onto wall with A/B → push left stick up → step onto the ledge.