Character Sheet: Piranha Plant (Original Sidescrollers)

PIRANHA PLANT

Now that we have all of the original sidescrolling Mario titles for the NES and SNES under our belt, I think it's time we go through and evaluate every character we have picked so far as being playable.

Now let's move on to the enemy characters. I have narrowed down the field to all of the enemies that have an immediate yes, even if they might not have a moveset just yet. My final count is twelve:

1. Koopa Troopa
1e. Dry Bones
2. Shy Guy
3. Goomba
4. Piranha Plant
5. Boo
6. Lakitu
7. Hammer Bro.
8. Chargin' Chuck
9. Magikoopa
10. Boom Boom
11. Birdo

Today we'll be covering the Piranha Plant, a common enemy found in most Mario games and is now most notable for its surprise playable appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. So far it has appeared in all of the games we're covering, barring Super Mario Bros. 2, for much of the same reason as most of the other enemies out there. As much as its basic function is to rise up out of a pipe and bite its enemies, it has surprisingly shown many of the abilities that it uses as a moveset in the game.

So, the Piranha Plant will be quick and light, much as it is in Ultimate, running around with a pot or pipe at its base and moving on tiny little feet. The ability to walk around on the ground has already been demonstrated, though technically by its offshoot, the Nipper Plant. Piranha Plant's also have shown the ability to breathe fireballs, blow a spike ball up into the air, and fly into the air using its little leaves as wings. Let's see what we can do with this.

Here is the moveset I came up with:

Standard B: Fireball
Although the Ptooie ability takes this slot in Ultimate right now, at the moment I feel the fireball makes more sense here, considering it is probably the most iconic move of a Piranha Plant outside of its standard up and down in a pipe.

Side B: Ptooie

The Piranha Plant uses its strong breath to make a spike ball float in the air for a second before spitting it to either side for heavy damage. This move will go on to be the character's standard B, but for now, I'm sticking it here.

Up B: Fly

The Piranha Plant will float up into the air using its tiny little leaves, much as it does in Super Mario World. This was likely the inspiration of the Up B used in Smash, so it's only fitting.

Down B: Tuck into Pipe

This move is more like the first half of what is currently the creature's down B move in Ultimate. He will tuck into his pipe or pot, which will protect it from damage. So far, I haven't seen anything like the second half of the move yet, so we're omitting it for now.

Final Smash: Pipe Maze

Now, I know I cheated a little with characters like Dry Bones and Goomba, including characters as their final Smash that have not yet appear in any of the games I have covered, so in theory I could just use Petey Piranha in the same way. However, that was due to a lack of moves that would serve as a meaningful substitute in the meantime, and, well, Piranha Plant doesn't have that problem. Think back to a few stretches of World 7 in Super Mario Bros. 3, where the player was surrounded on all sides by Piranha-infested pipes. Now imagine dozens of pipes emerging all over a Super Smash Bros. stage, each with a Piranha Plant popping out of it, biting at and breathing fire at any surrounding opponents and doing heavy damage. There you go.

Entrance: Pops out of a pipe.

Taunts: Chomping around the way he does now. Doing the iconic up and down movement.

Next up: Let's cover the Piranha Plant's ghostly counterpart, Boo (or Boo Diddly, as I'm apparently told they were originally named).