Spike

Finally, first appearing in World 3, you will encounter yet another new unique enemy. Standing at the top of a slope, a small green frog-looking thing will stand, waiting for you to approach. The second it spots you, it will open its mouth and cough up a large spike ball far too large for its body and throw it down the hill. You will have to climb that hill, timing your jumps carefully to avoid its barrage and get past it.

This is a Spike, one of the more odd recurring enemies in Bowser’s army. They will appear time and time again, sometimes with variants such as the blue Spikes coughing up snowballs and the Clubbas of the RPGs, represented by two major villains Tubba Blubba and Grubba. They will eventually even pop up in sports games like Mario Tennis Aces.

As a fighter, Spike will be middling to light in terms of weight and speed, its most prominent feature being its strong attacks with lots of power behind them. Its moves will draw heavily from the spike balls it produces from its gullet and all of their variants, as well as moves performed by such characters as Tubba and Grubba, who will both be represented here.

Likelihood rating: Piranha Plant clause