Piranha Plant

 

After making it past a first level full of Goombas and Koopa Troopas, players of the original Super Mario Bros. game will come to a set of pipes. Now, they will know from experience that they might be able to descend through these pipes to find some secrets and treasure, so they will likely leap at the chance. That leap might cost them, however, as one of the pipes suddenly spawns a man-eating plant with a mouth full of teeth.

This is a Piranha Plant. Though most will recognize them for hanging out inside of pipes and biting anyone who comes near, a seasoned gamer will know they are more than capable of spitting both fireballs and poison clouds, move around on nubby little feet of their own, use their breath to make spike balls float in mid-air, and spawn baby plants called Nippers, among other things. They would see an extensive career through the Mario series, including of all things a playable appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

As a player, they will be light and quick, moving around on their little feet while still hiding inside a section of pipe. They will also be surprisingly strong, with biting attacks that tend to deal a good bit of damage, with some reasonable defense when tucked inside their pipes. Their moves will pull from all over the Mario games, hearkening back to all the myriad variations seen throughout the series.

Likelihood rating: Already in

Character Sheet: Piranha Plant (Revision)

 PIRANHA PLANT

This will largely be our last run of revisions, for the Mario series at least. Now that the RPGs are over, pretty much every game left is either something we've already covered for the most part (Remakes, etc.), or run on a core game mechanic not unique to any one character (the Sports games). So, once these are done, I will do character sheets for new characters added and just a general sum up for everyone else. With all that said, let's get into it:

1. Mario 
2. Luigi 
3. Professor E. Gadd 
4. Princess Peach 
5. Toad 
6. Toadette 
7. Bowser 
8. Dry Bowser 
9. Bowser Jr. 
10. Koopalings 
11. Koopa Troopa 
12. Dry Bones 
13. Goomba 
14. Piranha Plant 
15. Boo 
16. Cheep Cheep 
17. Blooper 
18. Bob-Omb 
19. Lakitu 
20. Monty Mole 
21. Spike 
22. Hammer Bro 
23. Chargin' Chuck 
24. Wiggler 
25. Chain Chomp 
26. Birdo 
27. Petey Piranha 
28. King Boo 
29. Paper Mario
30. Yoshi 
31. Baby Mario 
32. Baby Bowser 
33. Kamek 
34. Shy Guy

Not much to say for this one. Piranha Plants are Piranha Plants. Everything there is to say, the surprising amount there was, has already been said. That said, I loved the Piranha Planet variants.

Here's his moveset:

Standard B: Fireball

Side B: Ptooie

Up B: Fly

Down B: Poison

Final Smash: Naval Piranha

Entrance: Pops out of a pipe.

Taunts: Chomping around the way he does. Doing the iconic up and down movement. Maybe the sleep animation.

Next up: Let's cover the Boos!

Character Sheet: Piranha Plant (Paper Mario+)

PIRANHA PLANT

Today, let's let the floodgates burst forth. The RPGs, being RPGs, have proved a wellspring of brand-new characters and possible major revisions of pre-existing characters. Since there are so many, I will start by covering all of the revisions first. Here they are:

1. Mario
2. Luigi
3. Princess Peach
4. Toad
4e. Toadette
5. Bowser
6. Bowser Jr.
7. The Koopalings
8. Koopa Troopa
8e. Dry Bones
9. Goomba
10. Piranha Plant
11. Boo
12. Blooper
13. Lakitu and Spinies
14. Monty Mole
15. Hammer Bro
16. Wiggler
17. Chain Chomp
18. Birdo
19. Petey Piranha
20. Yoshi
21. Kamek
22. Shy Guy
23. Bandit

Today, let's cover the Piranha Plant. Not much to say here really. Piranha Plants show up throughout almost all of these games, with such variants as the yellow-colored poisonous Piranha represented by Piranha Plant's side B, an icy blue one, and so on, and they even have a few bosses here and there, like Lava Piranha and Megasmilax, but for the most part, Piranha Plants be Piranha Plants.

Here's his moveset:

Standard B: Fireball

Side B: Ptooie

Up B: Fly

Down B: Poison
This one is more directly based on the poison cloud used in the Paper Mario games and in Smash itself right now.

Final Smash: Naval Piranha
Though it could just as easily be Lava Piranha. They're fairly similar.

Entrance: Pops out of a pipe.

Taunts: Chomping around the way he does. Doing the iconic up and down movement. Maybe the sleep animation.

Next up: Let's cover the Boos, or more specifically this time, your partner Lady Bow!

Character Sheet: Piranha Plant (Side Character Spinoffs)

PIRANHA PLANT

Today, we begin our next round of character sheets, with updates for every major character who appeared in the Luigi's Mansion series, Super Princess Peach, or Captain Toad's Treasure Tracker. Most of these should be fairly simple, with only four newcomers to speak of. They are:

1. Mario
2. Luigi
3. Princess Peach
4. Toad
4e. Toadette
5. Bowser
6. Koopa Troopa
6e. Dry Bones
7. Goomba
8. Piranha Plant
9. Boo
10. Blooper
11. Lakitu
12. Hammer Bro
13. Chargin' Chuck
14. Wiggler
15. Chain Chomp
16. Petey Piranha
17. King Boo
18. Kamek
19. Shy Guy
20. Vacuum Luigi (New)
20e. Professor E. Gadd (New)
21. Perry (New)
22. Ghost (New)

Today, let's cover Piranha Plant once again. Piranha Plant appears in Super Princess Peach and Toad's Treasure Tracker. His Princess Peach version is more akin to the Yoshi series version of the character, being more of a head on a short stem, constantly chomping and following the players every movement. In Treasure Tracker, it's more of the 3D World types, including the large creeper version blocking your path. Not really much to say here.

Here's his moveset:

Standard B: Fireball

Side B: Ptooie

Up B: Fly

Down B: Paint

Final Smash: Naval Piranha

Entrance: Pops out of a pipe.

Taunts: Chomping around the way he does. Doing the iconic up and down movement. Maybe the sleep animation.

Next up: Let's cover Boo!

Character Sheet: Piranha Plant (Yoshi Miscellaneous)

PIRANHA PLANT

Today, let's begin our last round of Yoshi games with the character updates. It will be almost all revisions this time, but it shouldn't be too many. Here we go:

1. Mario (Revision)
2. Princess Peach (Revision)
3. Bowser (Revision)
4. The Koopalings (Revision)
5. Koopa Troopa (Revision)
6. Goomba (Revision)
7. Piranha Plant (Revision)
8. Boo (Revision)
9. Blooper (Revision)
10. Lakitu and Spinies (Revision)
11. Monty Mole (Revision)
12. Chargin' Chuck (Revision)
13. Yoshi (Revision)
14. Baby Mario (Revision)
15. Baby Bowser (Revision)
16. Kamek (Revision)
17. Shy Guy (Revision)
18. Ukiki (Revision)
19. Wiggler

Piranha Plant doesn't really have much to add this time. It's one of the items that falls in Yoshi, and appears here and there in Topsy-Turvy and Touch n' Go. Nothing particularly special.

Here's his moveset:

Standard B: Fireball

Side B: Ptooie

Up B: Fly

Down B: Paint

Final Smash: Naval Piranha

Entrance: Pops out of a pipe.

Taunts: Chomping around the way he does. Doing the iconic up and down movement. Maybe the sleep animation.

Next up: Let's cover Boo!

Character Sheet: Piranha Plant (New Series)

PIRANHA PLANT

Settle in, folks, we've got a lot of revisions to get through for this one. The "New" series featured most of the series favorites, almost all of which have been included here already and most of them brought at least something new to the table. In fact, we only have four new characters to include this time. They are:

1. Mario (Revision 4)
2. Luigi (Revision 3)
3. Koopa Troopa (Revision 3)
3e. Dry Bones (Revision 2)
4. Goomba (Revision 3)
5. Piranha Plant (Revision 3)
6. Boo (Revision 3)
8. Princess Peach (Revision 2)
9. Toad (Revision 2)
10. Yoshi (Revision 2)
11. Bowser (Revision 2)
13. Lakitu & Spinies (Revision 2)
14. Hammer Bro (Revision 2)
15. Chargin' Chuck (Revision 2)
16. Kamek (Name change, Revision 2)
20. The Koopalings (Revision 1)
22. Boom Boom (Revision 1)
25. Rosalina & Luma (Revision 1)
27. Bowser Jr. (Revision 1)
30. Blooper (Revision 1)
31. Monty Mole (Revision 1)
33. Petey Piranha (Revision 1)
11e. Dry Bowser
22e. Pom Pom
39. Fursuit Mario
40. Sprixie Princess

You know what? Piranha Plants actually do a lot. I don't know why any of us were surprised when they got included in Ultimate. There is just so much to work with, of course the game designers looked at them and said "of course." Anyway . . . the Piranha Plants appear in all six of the games covered in this section, doing their standard rise and chomp animation, and have their basic ability to breathe fire. They can also walk around and can definitively extend their necks to the length shown in Ultimate. Their ptooie ability was shown off in these games as well, and they gained four offshoot version: a skeletal plant patterned after the Dry Bones, a black colored plant that spits ink, a red-and-black spiky version best known as Fire Piranha Plant in Mario Tennis Aces, and their long massive Creeper forms from the 3D games. I certainly do have plenty to work with.

Here's what we've got so far:

Standard B: Fireball
A notable "problem," if you will, of the Plant's Ultimate moveset is the lack of a fireball move even though it is the Piranha Plant's most notable attack. Going through all of this though, I can more or less understand it, between the Fireball, Ptooie, and Paint/Ink/Poison moves, there's just a whole lot to do with the Piranha Plant, and something had to give. Since, the fireball is common to a few other characters, I suppose it seemed natural to the designers to simply sacrifice that one. For now, however, I am choosing to leave it where it is, as the Extendo-Neck move that fills the Down B slot hasn't entirely made its mark with me quite yet.

Side B: Ptooie

I'm keeping this here as well.

Up B: Fly

Stays the same.

Down B: Paint

This one is reflecting the Ink/Paint/Poison moves present across various games including Sunshine, Odyssey, and 3D World. It's just too prevalent to leave it out.

Final Smash: Piranha Creepers

Today, we're changing it up and going back (sort of) to the original Final Smash on this series, with a Piranha Plant creeper snaking its way around every facet of the stage, forming a sort of Naval Piranha-esque death trap for players.

Entrance: Pops out of a pipe.

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

Next up: Let's cover Boo!

New Super Mario Bros.

NEW SUPER MARIO BROS.

Today, let's start in on the "New" series of Mario games, specifically covering New Super Mario Bros., New Super Mario Bros. Wii, New Super Mario Bros. 2, New Super Mario Bros. U, Super Mario 3D Land, and Super Mario 3D World, or as I like to call them: "The Developers Messing Around with Super Mario Maker for Six Games before Releasing It to the Public." These games are more or less six games that simply follow the basic Super Mario format while not bringing very much new to the table. They were a bit concerning for many fans when no major mainline 3D games were being released at the same time, but now that Odyssey is out, I think everyone's settled on them being a nice, charming little piece of the Mario series.

The first of these games included the basic story of Princess Peach being grabbed by Bowser Jr., leading to Mario pursuing the pair across eight worlds, ending in a showdown with Bowser himself.
So, obviously, Mario is our main character, with Luigi acting as an alternate or second player, able to do everything Mario can do. Of course, the brothers can do the basic run and jump mechanics standard for Mario games, alongside a number of power-ups including the Fire Flower, Super Mushroom, and Starman, alongside a Mini Mushroom that makes the brothers miniature, a blue Koopa shell that lets them tuck inside, impervious to damage, and the Mega Mushroom that shoots them up to colossal size, able to plow their way through every obstacle in their path. (Methinks I smell potential Final Smash material).

Peach doesn't give much, as is pretty standard, while Toadsworth acts mostly as Toad himself did in Super Mario Bros. 3, living in a Toad House, and giving Mario the chance to win a power-up. He can definitely be a color swap of Toad at any rate. Bowser Jr. and Bowser act as our main villains. Bowser Jr. fighting Mario at the midpoint of every world, with Bowser acting as the final boss of World 1 and the true final boss of World 8. Bowser Jr.'s boss battles have him out on his own two feet rather than in a flying machine, making his boss battles more akin to the Koopaling fights than his own (and cementing that he could be an eighth color swap for their moveset, just as they are for his). Across these fights, he will charge forward, jump, hide beneath his shell, and throw Koopa shells. As for Bowser, his boss battles return to their original model, with him standing on a bridge over lava, charging, jumping, and breathing fire, with his final battle adding a bright blue fireball, and a fan shape of fireballs. Another feature to consider is Dry Bowser, the initial final boss of World 8, Bowser but as a skeleton, whose boss fight plays out in the same way, with the addition of his throwing his own bones. Dry Bowser will likely work well as either a color swap or an echo fighter, but I'm not quite certain yet.

Each world features a boss at the end, most of which work mostly as their own boss fight than as a character. These include: Mummipokey, a mummified Pokey that spits balls of tape and burrows underground; Cheepskipper, a very large Cheep Cheep; Mega Goomba, a really big Goomba; Petey Piranha, returning once again to fly, hop around, and dive bomb the stage; Monty Tank, a Monty Mole in a tank that drives around and fires Bullet Bills, adds a turret with every hit, and one occasion will throw out Bob-Ombs; and Lakithunder, a large Lakitu that can shoot lightning from his cloud. Obviously Petey is already here, and most of the others give some options to the enemies they represent, but aren't much on their own.

For enemies, almost all are returning and act mostly the same as they always have. These include Goombas, Koopas, Piranha Plants, Dry Bones, Cheep Cheeps, Pokeys, Lakitus and Spinies, Swoops, Hammer Bros (with Fire, Boomerang, and Sledge variants), Fire Snakes, Bullet Bills, Bloopers, Boos, Whomps, Scuttlebugs, the Unagi of all things, Wigglers, Bob-Ombs, Thwomps, Spike Tops, Moneybags, Buzzy Beetles, Chain Chomps, Fire Chomps, and Amps, all more or less in tact the way you classically remember them. Those that are already playable obviously still are, and those that aren't, well, don't have anything new.

As for new enemies, we have: Sushi, a shark that darts forward; Spike Bass, Cheep-Chomps, and Deep Cheeps, which might as well be Cheep Cheeps except they like to follow you; Blockhoppers, who pretend to be blocks; Skeeters, who dump mines from their bellies; Splunkins, walking pumpkins; Balloon Boos, who start inflating when looked at (something to consider for Boos); Snow Spikes, wintery variants of Spikes who cough up snowballs; Snailicorns, spiky mollusks that charge at you; Broozers, musclebound ghosts that like breaking things; Squigglers, little baby Wigglers; Crowbers, crows that swoop toward you; and Kab-Ombs, Bob-Ombs but they have some kind of moss on them, I think? Not a whole lot.

As for the eight worlds, each of them follow a basic climate zone common to Mario games. World 1 is a Grassland, World 2 is a Desert, World 3 is a Beach, World 4 is a Jungle, World 5 is a Snowland, World 6 is a Mountain Range, World 7 is in the Sky, and World 8 is a Lava Land. We also have Ghost Houses sprinkled here and there, and a Tower and Castle at the end and midpoint of every level.

Items include our Super Mushroom, Fire Flower, and Starman, alongside the Blue Shell, Mini Mushroom, and Mega Mushroom, and of course the Life Mushroom.

Let's see what we've got!

Characters:
Mario: run, jump, fireballs, invincibility, get mini, grow gigantic, Koopa shell armor
Luigi: run, jump, fireballs, invincibility, get mini, grow gigantic, Koopa shell armor
Princess Peach: not much
Toadsworth: give items, cast spells
Bowser: jump, breathe fire, charge, blue fireball, fan of fire
Dry Bowser: jump, breathe fire, charge, throw bones
Bowser Jr.: grab, charge, tuck in shell, jump, throw Koopa shells
Petey Piranha: fly, hop, divebomb
Goomba: walk forward, fly
Koopa: walk, tuck in shell, fly
Piranha Plant: rise, chomp, breathe fire
Dry Bones: walk, fall apart
Lakitu: float around, throw Spinies, lightning
Hammer Bro: throw hammers, boomerangs, fire, jump around, slam down
Blooper: dart up
Boo: hide face, float around, puff up
Monty Mole: drive tank, fire bullet bills, throw Bob-Ombs

Bosses:
Mummipokey
Cheepskipper
Mega Goomba
Monty Tank
Lakithunder

Stages:
World 1 - Grassland
World 2 - Desert
World 3 - Beach
World 4 - Jungle
World 5 - Snowland
World 6 - Mountains
World 7 - Sky
World 8 - Lava Land
Ghost House
Bowser's Castle

Items:
Fire Flower
Super Mushroom
Starman
Blue Shell
Mini Mushroom
Mega Mushroom
Life Mushroom

Thanks for reading! Next time, we'll be covering New Super Mario Bros. Wii!

Character Sheet: Piranha Plant (Original Handhelds)

PIRANHA PLANT

Now, let's quickly go over the few new characters and those who need revision. It's probably no surprise that there are only a few of both in total:

1. Mario (Revision)
8. Koopa Troopa (Revision)
10. Goomba (Revision)
11. Piranha Plant (Revision)
12. Boo (Revision)
35. Princess Daisy
36. Wario
37. Tatanga
38. Captain Syrup

Today, let's go over Piranha Plant one more time. Today's is pretty simple. Not much happens. The Piranha Plant appears in Super Mario Land, Super Mario Land 2, and technically by name in Wario Land, though the "Piranha Plants" in that game look more like Nippers than anything. I suppose that's close enough for Viridi, so who am I to complain. In those games, they are mostly their biter selves, with some fireball-spitters in Land 2. That's pretty much it.

Did anything change? Let's see:

Standard B: Fireball
Same as before.

Side B: Ptooie

Same as before.

Up B: Fly

Same as before.

Down B: Paint

Same as before.

Final Smash: Paint Piranha

Same as before. Guess not.

Entrance: Pops out of a pipe.

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

Next up: Let's see if we got anything new for Boo.

Character Sheet: Piranha Plant (Main 3D Games)

PIRANHA PLANT

Now that we're done with all of the major 3D Mario titles, I think we need to now go through and update our characters, starting with revisions for any characters included so far that appeared in any of these games. Out of the 24 so far, 17 need revision:

1. Mario
2. Luigi
6. Pauline
7. Princess Toadstool
8. Toad
9. Yoshi
10. Bowser
13. Koopa Troopa
13e. Dry Bones
14. Shy Guy
15. Goomba
16. Piranha Plant
17. Boo
18. Lakitu
19. Hammer Bro
20. Chargin' Chuck
21. Magikoopa

Today, let's cover the Piranha Plant, which appeared in all five games, each one mostly acting as Piranha Plants do, but frequently bringing something new to the table at the same time. In Mario 64, they could be found sleeping in a patch of flowers, an iconic image that is currently used as an idle animation in Smash. In Sunshine, Piranha Plants got a bit of a remix, seeming to be heavily linked to the toxic paint used by Bowser Jr., large paint-covered versions frequently serving as mini-bosses, and getting a massive bipedal member named Petey. Petey is distinct enough from regular Piranhas to warrant being his own character, but the paint connection is still strong. In Galaxy and Galaxy 2, they were pretty basic again, though with some large spiky variants. Finally, in Odyssey, they could spit large circles of toxic sludge and eat Cappy, unless they are forced to swallow a rock first, at which point they can be captured.

Here is the moveset updated for now:

Standard B: Fireball
Same as before.

Side B: Ptooie

Same as before.

Up B: Fly

Same as before.

Down B: Paint

This one combines the Piranha Plant's aspects from Sunshine and Odyssey and starts to come close to the Piranha Plant's current side B, having him spit a large puddle of toxic goop on the floor that will then act in a similar manner to the Inkling's paint, while racking up damage at the same time.

Final Smash: Paint Piranha

Since Petey can function as his own character, I thought we could use Sunshine's miniboss version of the Piranha Plant instead. A massive pile of toxic sludge will cover the stage, with a large Piranha head popping up out of the middle and snapping at people while Swoopin' Stus start to form and attack players.

Entrance: Pops out of a pipe.

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

Next up: Let's check out Boo for what it's worth.

Super Mario Galaxy 2

SUPER MARIO GALAXY 2

Alright, next up, we have Super Mario Galaxy 2, the sequel to the landmark Super Mario Galaxy, and rightfully acclaimed in its own right. I have a feeling that Super Mario Galaxy 2 was created for largely similar reasons to Breath of the Wild's upcoming sequel in that the creators just had too many ideas for additional content that they had to create an entirely new game for it all. And you can see evidence for this throughout much of the game: it runs on the same engine, most of the unique mechanics and enemies work their way back in, much less effort was spent on the opening sequence and other cutscenes, the way different worlds are accessed is heavily simplified and plays out more like one of the 2D Mario games, and so on. But hey, it's a good game, so who's complaining.

Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Rosalina and her Lumas, Bowser, Bowser Jr., and the Toad Brigade all return, serving much the same functions as they did in the previous games. Mario acts as the player character using all the moves from the first game as well as the Bee, Boo, Spring, and Fire powerups from before, on top of new forms such as Rock Mario, that allows him to roll up into a boulder and spin at high speed, Cloud Mario, that allows him to create temporary cloud platforms beneath him when crossing great distances or trying to get up high, and the Spin Drill, a drill that lets him dig through certain areas.

Luigi acts as an alternate character to play as, so can do everything Mario can. Princess Peach is captured once again, so doesn't do much. Rosalina only appears at the end of the game this time, her observatory struggling to escape Bowser's galaxy generator. However, the Lumas all still play an important role and do everything they could before. The Toad Brigade act as your basic NPCs throughout the game, though they are joined by others. Finally, we have Bowser and Bowser Jr. Bowser spends most of the game giant-sized, floating around a small planetoid while breathing fire, tossing giant meteors at it, or punching it and causing shockwaves. Bowser Jr. spends most of his time in a little, really comfortable-looking flying machine that he can then plug into mechs such as the Boomsday Machine and the Megahammer.

Two more major characters appear in this game, the first being Yoshi, returning after not making an appearance in the first game, and the second being Lubba, a heavyweight Luma who bears an odd resemblance to a certain cartoon starfish, and generally takes the place of Rosalina in the first game, being your main exposition hound throughout your journey. Yoshi can do much of what he does in other games, with his flutter jump and his penchant for eating enemies, but he can also spit out certain enemies as projectiles, flip around little flower things with his tongue, and eat three different fruits that give him different abilities, namely: a red pepper that sends him running at top speed, a blue fruit that inflates him like a balloon and carries him up high, and a yellow fruit that lights him up and makes him able to see and stand on invisible platforms. Lubba is really just an NPC.

Speaking of NPCs, we have a few to cover this time around. The Chimp is a shades-wearing monkey who likes to challenge you to complete certain tasks, though he never partakes in them himself. Fluzzard is a giant bird Mario hangs onto and flies great distances with. Piantas, Honeybees, Gearmos, and Penguins all make a return, functioning generally the same as before, alongside the Pink Bob-Ombs of Super Mario 64 fame. Whittles (little figures made of wood) and Jibberjays (talkative little birds) also enter the fray, also mostly just acting as NPCs. And finally, we have Star Bunnies, who do what all bunnies seem to do in Mario games, run around until Mario catches them. Basic stuff.

We have a few new bosses this time around. Peewee Piranha is a baby version of the last game's Dino Piranha. King Lakitu is a giant Lakitu who can blast lightning from his cloud as well as throw spinies. Digga Leg is a smaller version of Megaleg who hops around on a small round planet and fires Diggas through the dirt. Gobblegut, and by extension Fiery Gobblegut, is a large eastern dragon who makes train sounds and eats through dirt, often burrowing all the way through a planet. Rollodillo is a large armadillo creature who can roll up into a ball. Sorbetti is a giant snow version of the Tap-Taps from the Yoshi series (we'll get there). Glamdozer is a giant version of the Pupdozer who can crawl around and spit lava. Squizzard lives in the sand and likes to throw rocks, spiky rocks, and bombs at you. Prince Pikante is a large octopus that drives around in a tank, shooting and spitting melons and meteors at you. The Whomp King returns from Super Mario 64, jumping up and slamming down to crush you. Megahammer and the Boomsday Machine are both mechs piloted by Bowser Jr., the first firing Bullet Bills from its chest and slamming its hammer arms down on you, while the Boomsday machine fires electric balls, swings around massive firebars, drives around on treads, and sometimes sucks things in. Finally, we have Bugaboom, Dino Piranha, King Kaliente, Major Burrows, Bouldergeist, and Fiery Dino Piranha all returning and functioning effectively the same.

Now for our regular enemies! Koopas return, bringing with them Dry Bones, Lakitus, Spinies, Hammer Bros, Boomerang Bros, Magikoopas, and Mechakoopas, each of which function more or less the same as before, although Dry Bones seems to now have a variant that can eat through literal matter. Goombas also return, bringing Paragoombas with them as well as the Octoombas, who are now called Octoombas instead of Electrogoombas. Piranha Plants and their spiky variants (including the black-headed one famously known as Fire Piranha) return, as do Boos and Bomb Boos, alongside what look like Boo versions of the Octoombas. They all act mostly the same. Bloopers and Cheep Cheeps return, acting mostly as basic swimming enemies, though Cheep Cheeps now have a spiky variant. Monty Mole doesn't appear, but the Undergrunts and Undergrunt Gunners do. Bats, Wigglers, Pokeys, Fuzzies, Skeeters, Chain Chomps, Bullet Bills, Bob-Ombs, Whomps, and Thwomps all do exactly as they are famous for. Blaargs don't quite return but they do have a couple variants in the Magmaarghs, who do the same thing.

From the first Galaxy game, we also have the Mandibug, Octopus, Topman, Crabber, Flipbug, Sproing, Sprangler, Cluckboom and Gringill enemies all return, all functioning in the same way, alongside new enemies such as: Choppah, a fat green enemy that flies around like a helicopter; Smeech, who latches onto Yoshi; Twirlip, a flower that spins around; Digga, a living drill; Pupdozer, a slow dinosaur creature that walks back and forth; Swaphopper, a robotic enemy with a spike on one side and a weakpoint on the other; Flaptack, which seems to be a relative of the Cluckboom, but it divebombs its enemies with its headspike instead; Tongari, a hermit crab; Kleptoad, a frog that runs around and steals things; Fizzlit, a purple enemy that melts into a puddle of electricity; Bee Eater, a spiky plant that lunges at you; and Snoodle, a wavy polyp-like enemy that doesn't like light. None of them particularly scream playable.

Next up, let's tackle the stages. This game is centered on the Starship Mario, a hubworld shaped like Mario's head. I'm not going to lie, a stage set here would be awesome. After that, we have an assortment of 49 worlds, none of which are quite as well divided between full-on stages and one-offs like the first game. However, in general, each group of levels is divided into four levels with six possible stars to collect, and two more with only four, plus a final world to fight either Bowser or Bowser Jr. I think my best bet is to pick the six-star worlds and leave it at that, with a Bowser world to represent the whole, like last time. The six-star worlds are:

1. Sky Station Galaxy: a basic starting stage
2. Yoshi Star Galaxy: another basic stage and your introduction to Yoshi
3. Spin-dig Galaxy: a rocky, dirt-based stage and your introduction to the spin drill
4. Fluffy Bluff Galaxy: a cloud-themed world and your introduction to Cloud Mario
5. Puzzle Plank Galaxy: a stage based on different puzzle-themed elements
6. Boulder Bowl Galaxy: a rocky stage and your introduction to Rock Mario
7. Hightail Falls Galaxy: a waterfall stage that makes great use of the Pepper ability for Yoshi
8. Cosmic Cove Galaxy: a water level
9. Cloudy Court Galaxy: another cloud level
10. Tall Trunk Galaxy: a large tree level with a slide
11. Haunty Halls Galaxy: a ghost level
12. Freezy Flake Galaxy: a snow level (with some lava)
13. Supermassive Galaxy: a level where everything is gigantic
14. Flipsville Galaxy: a house-themed level where you're constantly flipping perspective
15. Starshine Beach Galaxy: a beach level
16. Chompworks Galaxy: a factory-themed stage where they apparently produce Chain Chomps
17. Space Storm Galaxy: sorta like Dreadnought Galaxy from the last game
18. Boo Moon Galaxy: another ghost level
19. Slipsand Galaxy: a desert level
20. Shiverburn Galaxy: a fire and ice level just like Freezeflame from the last game
21. Melty Monster Galaxy: a lava level with an awesome theme song
22. Clockwork Ruins Galaxy: a really creative level set in constantly moving ruins
23. Throwback Galaxy: a recreation of Super Mario 64's Whomp's Fortress
24. Battle Belt Galaxy: a gauntlet of various enemies throughout the game

There we go, that cuts it down at least a little.

Next up, we have most of the items of the first game returning, as well as the Spin Drill, the Cloud Flower, and the Rock Mushroom. Seems pretty solid.

Let's see what we've got!

Characters:
Mario: multiple different types of jumps and punches, wing cap, metal cap, pixel cap, ride on shell, fire from cannon, slide on belly, use F.L.U.D.D., spin, shoot starbits, warpstar, pull star, fly as a bee, cling to honey, pass through walls (Boo), skate across ice, throw fireballs, fly, invincibility, spring, rock, cloud, drill
Luigi: clone of Mario
F.L.U.D.D.: spray forward stream, jetpack hover, rocket nozzle, spin and spray, launch missiles, shoot bubbles
Peach: nothing, parasol, jet
Toad: nothing, give star, spaceship, headlamp
Toadsworth: nothing
Yoshi: hop around, flutter jump, egg, tongue, spray fruit juice, spit enemies, flip around flowers, run really fast, inflate, glow
Rosalina: nothing
Luma: spit star bits, eat star bits, transform into warpstars, pull stars, planets, spin, and become bunnies
Bowser: tromp around, breathe fire, charge, tip stage, create shockwaves, hang out in hot tub, breathe meteors, spinning punch, curl into boulder, spin in shell, command airships, fly, be giant, throw meteors, punch with shockwaves
Bowser Jr.: transform, paintbrush, flying machine, shoot bullet bills, mini airship, cannonballs, magikoopas, Megaleg, Megahammer, Boomsday Machine
Shadow Mario: run, jump, paint, paintbrush, tongue, fiery paint trail, command Mechabowser
Lubba: not much
Pianta: nothing, chuck you
Noki: nothing, tuck in shell
Honeybee: fly, climb on honey, spear, butt bash
Goomba: walk around, spin like a top, minis, giants, helmet, pumpkin, Paragoomba
Koopas: run away, pop from shell, race, Snooza Koopa, Electrokoopa, tuck into shell, used as projectile
Dry Bones: fall apart, eat matter
Piranha Plant: sleep, bite, spit paint, bob around, spiky
Petey Piranha: fly with leaves, roar, spit goop, Piranhabons, create tornadoes
Boo: float around, Big Boo, turn into blocks, pass through walls, hide face, explode, swing around by tongue, turn invisible
King Boo: roulette wheel, slot machine, spit bubbles, fruit, enemies, Boos
Blooper: crawl around, surf, spit ink, swim
Gooper Blooper: slap tentacles, spray ink, spin and spray
Lakitu: float, drop Spinies, use camera, blast lightning
Shy Guy: Fly Guy, fire, Snufit float, fire pellets
Hammer Bros: throw hammers, throw boomerangs, hop around
Magikoopa: cast spell, summon shells, throw fireballs, teleport
Monty Mole: jump, throw rocks, drive tank, throw Bob-Ombs, fire Bullet Bills, pop up, throw wrench, dig in ground, fire bubbles
Bob-Omb: explode, fire cannons, pick up and throw (Big Bob-Omb)
Cheep Cheep: swim, spikes
<Tentative> Chain Chomp, Wiggler, Whomp, Strollin' Stu, Il Piantissimo, Gearmo, Penguin, The Chimp

Bosses:
Big Bob-Omb
King Whomp
Big Boo
Big Bully
Eyerok
Chill Bully
Gooper Blooper
Manta Ray
Wiggler
Dino Piranha
King Kaliente
Bugaboom
Megaleg
Tarantox
Topmaniac
Bouldergeist
Major Burrows
Baron Brrr
Bonefin
Peewee Piranha
King Lakitu
Digga Leg
Gobblegut
Rollodillo
Sorbetti
Glamdozer
Squizzard
Prince Pikante

Stages:
Princess Peach's Castle (Melee)
Princess Peach's Castle (Inside)
Bob-Omb Battlefield
Whomp's Fortress
Jolly Roger Bay
Cool Cool Mountain
Big Boo's Haunt
Hazy Maze Cave
Lethal Lava Land
Shifting Sand Land
Dire Dire Docks
Snowman's Land
Wet-Dry World
Tall Tall Mountain
Tiny-Huge Island
Tick Tock Clock
Rainbow Ride
Bowser's World
Delfino Plaza
Bianco Hills
Ricco Harbor
Gelato Beach
Pinna Park
Sirena Beach
Noki Bay
Pianta Village
Corona Mountain
Toad Village
Gateway Galaxy
Comet Observatory
Good Egg Galaxy
Honeyhive Galaxy
Space Junk Galaxy
Battlerock Galaxy
Beach Bowl Galaxy
Ghostly Galaxy
Gusty Garden Galaxy
Freezeflame Galaxy
Gold Leaf Galaxy
Sea Slide Galaxy
Toy Time Galaxy
Deep Dark Galaxy
Dreadnought Galaxy
Melty Molten Galaxy
Bowser's Galaxy Reactor
Starship Mario
Sky Station Galaxy
Yoshi Star Galaxy
Spin-Dig Galaxy
Fluffy Bluff Galaxy
Puzzle Plank Galaxy
Boulder Bowl Galaxy
Hightail Falls Galaxy
Cosmic Cove Galaxy
Cloudy Court Galaxy
Tall Trunk Galaxy
Haunty Halls Galaxy
Freezy Flake Galaxy
Supermassive Galaxy
Flipsville Galaxy
Starshine Beach Galaxy
Chompworks Galaxy
Space Storm Galaxy
Boo Moon Galaxy
Slipsand Galaxy
Shiverburn Galaxy
Melty Monster Galaxy
Clockwork Ruins Galaxy
Throwback Galaxy
Battle Belt Galaxy

Items:
Wing Cap
Metal Cap
Pixel Cap
Green Shell
Bob-Omb
Bullet Bill
Coin
Star
Box
F.L.U.D.D.
Shine Sprite
Fruit
Star Bits
Invincibility Star
Fire Flower
Ice Flower
Red Star
Bee Mushroom
Boo Mushroom
Spring Mushroom
Warp Star
Pull Star
Spin Drill
Cloud Flower
Rock Mushroom

Thanks for reading! Next up, we finish up our mainline 3D games with Super Mario Odyssey!

Super Mario Galaxy

SUPER MARIO GALAXY

Next on our list is Super Mario Galaxy, the major 3D Mario entry for the Nintendo Wii, to be followed not long after by a sequel. Super Mario Galaxy is notable for its incredible level design and its physics engine that pushes the limit of almost anything that had ever been designed before. The game follows Mario as he traverses the cosmos with the help of newcomer Rosalina and her Lumas in order to rescue Peach from Bowser. As such most of the levels are set out in the middle of space, opening the games up for ridiculous levels of creativity in regards to their design.

First up, we have our characters. Mario and Luigi both return, alongside Princess Peach and Princess Rosalina, a space princess who travels the galaxy and rules over a race of star beings called Lumas. A number of Toads also return, the main red-spotted Toad now taking up the mantle as their captain and leader. Finally, Bowser and his son Bowser Jr. return and act as the main villains of the game.

Mario acts as the protagonist of course, being able to do much of what he could do before, with all sorts of jumps and acrobatic moves and the like. However, with the introduction of the Lumas, they add new dimensions and gimmicks to his moveset (most of which will be likely worked into a moveset for Rosalina and the Lumas, much as they are in Smash already, having Rosalina act as the representative of the game's gimmicks much like F.L.U.D.D. from the last game). The abilities they give include the ability to shoot star bits at enemies from above, spin (which comes in really handy in this game), and give him access to warp stars and pull stars which allow him to get from place to place. He also has a number of power-ups in this game, which include:

1. Bee Suit: he can fly around, climb on honey, and stand on things like flowers and clouds that he couldn't stand on before.
2. Boo Mushroom: he becomes a Boo, which allows him to float around, turn intangible and pass through walls.
3. Ice Flower: which allows him to skate across water and lava.
4. Fire Flower: which of course gives him the ability to throw fireballs.
5. Red Star: which allows him to fly.
6. Spring: which allows him to bounce around like a spring and jump really high.

Luigi also acts as an alternate playable character, specifically in the post game. Before that, he tends to visit various worlds and find stars for you. Another notable character is Cosmic Mario, a strange clone of Mario that likes to race you through certain levels.

Princess Peach once again acts as an NPC, held hostage by Bowser for the bulk of the game and not offering us much to work with. Rosalina also mainly acts as an NPC, acting as your guide throughout the game, while offering you the help of the Lumas. The Lumas, as covered before, offer up most of the game's gimmick for Mario's moveset, allowing him to spin while spitting star bits from above and becoming warp stars and pull stars for him to use to get around. They are also shown capable of eating large amounts of star bits, transforming into new planets and all sorts of things, and transforming into bunnies and hopping around for Mario to chase.

There are also a number of NPC races this time around, acting much as the Piantas and Nokis did in Sunshine. The Toads mainly act as NPCs, though they have a spaceship now, and the captain has a headlamp. From there, we also have Honeybees, Gearmos, and Penguins. The Honeybees presumably can do much of what Mario's bee suit can do, which surprisingly gives them a good amount of a headstart for playable. Gearmos are implied to be good at tech, but we never see it much. They do have big wrench things though. Penguins act pretty much the way they did in 64, being good at swimming and sliding around on the ice. The Honeybees have a queen who mostly just floats around and lets you crawl on her, while the penguins are also friends with a Manta Ray you can ride and an orca named Guppy who likes to challenge you to swimming speed tests.

Bowser and Bowser Jr. return with a great deal to add to their movesets. In battle, Bowser is shown capable of breathing both fireballs and meteors, punch in a spinning circular fashion, jump and make shockwaves much like 64, curl up into a boulder and roll around, and spin around inside of his shell. Outside of battle, he is shown to have an armada of airships at his disposal, including a flying saucer or too. Bowser Jr. is shown to have a mini airship of his own from which he can fire bullet bills and cannonballs. He also has a few Magikoopa directly under his command, as well as bosses such as Megaleg.

There are a number of bosses to contend with this time around. Dino Piranha, and Fiery Dino Piranha by extension, is basically Petey Piranha but with a dinosaur's body and a coconut for a tail that Mario can use as a weapon. King Kaliente is a giant octopus that lives in lava who can spit out coconuts and fireballs and make waves with his tentacles. Bugaboom is a giant Mandibug that flies around and slams on the ground. Megaleg is a giant robot that acts more as a stage than an enemy. Kamella is a large Magikoopa who can do mostly everything other Magikoopas do, including casting spells to summon enemies and items and teleporting. Tarantox is a spider-like enemy that crawls around on a web and spits acid. Topmaniac is a large Topman who spins around and juts out spikes. Bouldergeist is awesome, just putting that out there, a ghostly being made of rock who can thrust a large fist forward and slam his hand down, jut up a row of spikes from the ground, and summon up rocks to throw at Mario, sometimes spawning Bomb Boos. Major Burrows seems like a giant Monty Mole who can dig around in the ground before popping out and rampaging around the stage. Baron Brrr is a giant Ice Bubble who can toss out ice, freeze Mario, and slam down to make a shockwave. And finally, Bonefin is a large skeletal shark that mostly swims around and sends smaller drones to attack you.

We have a number of returning enemies, including Koopas, Goombas, Piranha Plants, Boos, Bloopers, Cheep Cheeps, Monty Moles, and many others, including offshoots. Koopas mostly just walk around and tuck into their shells, although their shells are frequently used to help Mario swim better and as projectiles. Their offshoots include Dry Bones, Magikoopas, and Mechakoopas. None are much different than previous incarnations. Dry Bones walk around and fall apart when stepped on. Magikoopas cast spells and teleport. Mechakoopas walk around, breathe fire, and explode on occasion. Goombas are still pretty basic, walking around and spinning like a top if hit. They also come in mini and giant sizes and have taken to headgear such as helmets and pumpkins. They also have a maybe cousin called the Electrogoomba (later called the Octoomba), which seems like an alien variant of them that can shoot projectiles from its mouth.

Piranha Plants chomp as usual, though they now come with a spiky variant. Boos still float around and hide when looked at, however, they now come with an exploding variant, the Bomb Boo, and can be swung around as a blunt weapon when Mario grabs onto their tongue. There is also a large Boo in this game who likes to race you. Bloopers and Cheep Cheeps mostly just float around in this game, while Clams open and close like they did before. Monty Moles are once again out here representing, popping out of holes and throwing wrenches like their cousins, the Rocky Wrenches, while also gaining new cousins in the Undergrunts who can dig around underground and pop up or drive a fixed artillery cannon that launches bubbles at their enemies.

Sadly, Wigglers still just walk around and charge when angry (if you can't tell, I'd really like to make Wiggler playable, but this is literally all it's giving me). Pokeys still mostly just stand around, slamming their head down when you get to close and have small single-head variants. Chain Chomps now roll around as giant balls. Thwomps rise up and slam down as always. Amps float around an electrocute you, Cataquacks throw you into the air, Bullet Bills and Torpedo Teds fire toward you, and Bats just swoop around.

New enemies include Mandibugs, large beetle-like insects with mandibles that like to charge toward you, and their tiny offshoots, the Flipbugs, who can fly. We also have Spoings and Spranglers, spider enemies that either jump high into the air and drop on you from the ceiling. Topmen and Topminis are mostly tops that spin around at you, while Sentry Beams fire lasers at you and Jump Beamers launch a cirle of laser at you. Ice Bubbles and Li'l Cinders are tiny rock things that spout ice and fire respectively. Urchins roll around at you and jut out spikes. Octopuses pop out of barrels and shoot coconuts at you. Crabbers mostly just scuttle around and attack with claws. Cluckbooms are chickens that float around and drop bombs, and Tweesters are literally living tornadoes. Slurples are little blue things that look like Slimes and attach themselves to you. Down underwater, we now have Gringills, the new Eel species to join the Unagi, and Jellyfish and Jammyfish, both basically jellyfish.

Stages are accessed through various points on the game's hubworld, Rosalina's Comet Observatory (which would be an excellent stage itself). On the observatory, you can access different worlds through the terrace, fountain, kitchen, bedroom, engine, and garden domes respectively, each one granting you access to two or three full-sized worlds with multiple stars to collect, one or two smaller worlds with only one star to collect, and a Bowser or Bowser Jr. boss world. For the purposes of keeping things simple, I will limit the stage selection to only the full-sized worlds and only one Bowser world representing the whole of them (most of them aren't all that different).

The main full-sized stages include: Good Egg Galaxy, a basic grassland type stage; Honeyhive Galaxy, our first introduction to the Honeybees; Space Junk Galaxy, a galaxy most made up of, well, junk; Battlerock Galaxy, a fully armed military fortress in space; Beach Bowl Galaxy, a beach level; Ghostly Galaxy, a haunted level; Gusty Garden Galaxy, a level that uses a heavy wind gimmick; Freezeflame Galaxy, a level based on a fire and ice gimmick; Gold Leaf Galaxy, a level that bears an eerie resemblance to Honeyhive Galaxy; Sea Slide Galaxy, another beach level; Toy Time Galaxy, a level made up of giant food and toys; Deep Dark Galaxy, another water level but with more of a creepy vibe this time; Dreadnought Galaxy, a giant battle station; and Melty Molten Galaxy, a lava level. All of these could work, given a focus on their most iconic sections.

Last but not least, we also have Toad Village from the beginning of the game and the Gateway Galaxy, the world you first find yourself on. Both are iconic in their own right, so can also be considered.

As far as items go, we have all of the powerups as listed above, plus the stars, the invincibility star, pull stars, warp stars, star bits, coins, and so much more.

Alright! Now, let's see what we've got!

Characters:
Mario: multiple different types of jumps and punches, wing cap, metal cap, pixel cap, ride on shell, fire from cannon, slide on belly, use F.L.U.D.D., spin, shoot starbits, warpstar, pull star, fly as a bee, cling to honey, pass through walls (Boo), skate across ice, throw fireballs, fly, invincibility, spring
F.L.U.D.D.: spray forward stream, jetpack hover, rocket nozzle, spin and spray, launch missiles, shoot bubbles
Peach: nothing, parasol, jet
Toad: nothing, give star, spaceship, headlamp
Toadsworth: nothing
Yoshi: hop around, flutter jump, egg, tongue, spray fruit juice
Rosalina: nothing
Luma: spit star bits, eat star bits, transform into warpstars, pull stars, planets, spin, and become bunnies
Bowser: tromp around, breathe fire, charge, tip stage, create shockwaves, hang out in hot tub, breathe meteors, spinning punch, curl into boulder, spin in shell, command airships
Bowser Jr.: transform, paintbrush, flying machine, shoot bullet bills, mini airship, cannonballs, magikoopas, Megaleg
Shadow Mario: run, jump, paint, paintbrush, tongue, fiery paint trail, command Mechabowser
Pianta: nothing
Noki: nothing, tuck in shell
Honeybee: fly, climb on honey, spear, butt bash
Goombas: walk around, spin like a top, minis, giants, helmet, pumpkin
Koopas: run away, pop from shell, race, Snooza Koopa, Electrokoopa, tuck into shell, used as projectile
Piranha Plant: sleep, bite, spit paint, bob around, spiky
Petey Piranha: fly with leaves, roar, spit goop, Piranhabons, create tornadoes
Boo: float around, Big Boo, turn into blocks, pass through walls, hide face, explode, swing around by tongue
King Boo: roulette wheel, slot machine, spit bubbles, fruit, enemies, Boos
Blooper: crawl around, surf, spit ink, swim
Gooper Blooper: slap tentacles, spray ink, spin and spray
Lakitu: float, drop Spinies, use camera
Shy Guy: Fly Guy, fire, Snufit float, fire pellets
Magikoopa: cast spell, summon shells, throw fireballs, teleport
Monty Mole: jump, throw rocks, drive tank, throw Bob-Ombs, fire Bullet Bills, pop up, throw wrench, dig in ground, fire bubbles
Bob-Omb: explode, fire cannons, pick up and throw (Big Bob-Omb)
Cheep Cheep: swim
<Tentative> Chain Chomp, Wiggler, Whomp, Strollin' Stu, Il Piantissimo, Gearmo, Penguin

Bosses:
Big Bob-Omb
King Whomp
Big Boo
Big Bully
Eyerok
Chill Bully
Gooper Blooper
Manta Ray
Wiggler
Dino Piranha
King Kaliente
Bugaboom
Megaleg
Tarantox
Topmaniac
Bouldergeist
Major Burrows
Baron Brrr
Bonefin

Stages:
Princess Peach's Castle (Melee)
Princess Peach's Castle (Inside)
Bob-Omb Battlefield
Whomp's Fortress
Jolly Roger Bay
Cool Cool Mountain
Big Boo's Haunt
Hazy Maze Cave
Lethal Lava Land
Shifting Sand Land
Dire Dire Docks
Snowman's Land
Wet-Dry World
Tall Tall Mountain
Tiny-Huge Island
Tick Tock Clock
Rainbow Ride
Bowser's World
Delfino Plaza
Bianco Hills
Ricco Harbor
Gelato Beach
Pinna Park
Sirena Beach
Noki Bay
Pianta Village
Corona Mountain
Toad Village
Gateway Galaxy
Comet Observatory
Good Egg Galaxy
Honeyhive Galaxy
Space Junk Galaxy
Battlerock Galaxy
Beach Bowl Galaxy
Ghostly Galaxy
Gusty Garden Galaxy
Freezeflame Galaxy
Gold Leaf Galaxy
Sea Slide Galaxy
Toy Time Galaxy
Deep Dark Galaxy
Dreadnought Galaxy
Melty Molten Galaxy
Bowser's Galaxy Reactor

Items:
Wing Cap
Metal Cap
Pixel Cap
Green Shell
Bob-Omb
Bullet Bill
Coin
Star
Box
F.L.U.D.D.
Shine Sprite
Fruit
Star Bits
Invincibility Star
Fire Flower
Ice Flower
Red Star
Bee Mushroom
Boo Mushroom
Spring Mushroom
Warp Star
Pull Star

Thanks for reading! Check us out next time for the game's sequel: Super Mario Galaxy 2!

Super Mario 64

SUPER MARIO 64

Super Mario was a launch title for the Nintendo 64 system and the first Mario game to be fully rendered in 3D, ensuring the Mario series' survival during the shift to 3D in the late 1990s. Super Mario 64 is widely acclaimed as being one of the best games of the N64 and generally as one of the best in the Mario franchise. The plot is more or less the same, with Bowser kidnapping Princess Peach (known by that name for the first time here), except that this time he has placed a spell upon her own castle and trapped her inside.

We have five major characters returning, specifically Mario, Princess Peach, Toad, Bowser, and Yoshi. Mario is, of course, the main character, with most of his basic moves returning, except now expanding upon the new third dimension of the game, giving him a wider range of movement and more diverse jumping maneuvers, including backflips, side flips, long jumps, and ground pounds. He is also supplied with three different caps from item boxes that allow him to fly with wings, turn metal and become heavy, and turn pixellated, allowing him to walk through specific walls. A few other moves come from other objects in the game, such as the ability to launch himself from a cannon, ride around on a Koopa shell, and pick up and throw enemies and items.

Luigi, sadly doesn't make a return in this game, despite rumor-mongers' best efforts. Mario's friends Peach, Toad, and Yoshi all return, sadly not doing much in game, more or less simply existing as NPCs in their world. Peach is held hostage by Bowser until the end of the game, Toad appears occasionally throughout the castle, giving you advice and occasionally stars, and Yoshi appears in a surprise guest appearance at the very end of the game.

Bowser once again acts as our main villain. Mario fights him on three different occasions, each time standing on a platform surrounded by bombs. He will stomp around and breathe fire until Mario grabs his tail and swings him around to throw him into a bomb. Occasionally he will charge at Mario if Mario moves too far away, and in later battles, can also jump hard enough to tip the stage and ground pound to make electrocuting shockwaves. He gives us quite a bit.

We have a number of returning enemies, including Goombas, Koopas, Bob-Ombs, Boos, Piranha Plants, Monty Moles, Wigglers, Chain Chomps, Thwomps, Pokeys, Bullet Bills, and Lakitus, and although Shy Guys don't appear, their offshoots Fly Guys and Snufits do. Goombas mostly just hop around and walk toward you, acting like the basic enemy they are. Koopas only appear a couple of times, sometimes running away when you approach and getting knocked from their shells when you jump on them, and sometimes challenging you to a foot race. Boos mostly float around and cackle, their Big Boo form also appearing several times in game. Piranha Plants have apparently gotten lazy recently, napping until you approach them and then biting at you. Lakitus also return, floating around and dropping Spinies as usual. However, this game also features a supporting character in the Lakitu Bros., a Lakitu who follows Mario around with a camera, functioning literally as the game's camera.

Fly Guys are basically Shy Guys with little propellers on their heads that can shoot tiny fireballs at you, while Snufits are basically Snifits that float around in the air. Bob-Ombs are quite frequent in this game, though their main role is basically just to explode. They do have a pink friendly variant though, who seem capable of operating cannons. They also have a giant ruler in the form of Big Bob-Omb, who walks around, grabs you, and throws you. (Okay, a little disappointing, I know.) Monty Moles once again pop out of the ground and throw things at you. Still pretty much it. Thwomps move up and down. Pokeys wiggle around as a stack. Bullet Bills fly at you from a Blaster. And finally we see one Chain Chomp tied to a stake, lunging at you and trying to bite you, and one Wiggler, walking around not doing much but speeding up once angry.

Some new enemies include Bullies, Spindrifts, Scuttle Bugs and Skeeters, Moneybags, Clams, Swoops, Chuckyas, Heave-hos, Bubbas, Whomps, Mr. Blizzards, Mr. I's, Amps, and Kuromames. Bullies are Bob-Omb like enemies who like to ram into you and knock you off the side. Spindrifts are enemies that send you flying when jumped on. Scuttle Bugs and Skeeters are both spider-like enemies that scoot around. Moneybags like to pretend to be coins only to hit you with a surprise attack (basically a Mimic). Clams and Swoops are basically ordinary clams and bats. Chuckyas and Heave-hos are wind-up enemies that like to pick you up and throw you places. Bubbas are just big fish that like to eat you (so maybe something to add to the Cheep Cheeps). Whomps are walking concrete slabs that like to slam down and crush you, sort of offshoots of the Thwomp, with a king of their own. Mr. Blizzards are snowmen that throw snowballs and sometimes hop around. Mr. I's are giant eyeballs that follow you around until dizzy. Amps are circling balls of electricity and Kuromames are little black balls that spit fire. All in all, not much to work with today.

There are also a number of bosses and supporting characters to consider here as well. Our bosses include Big Bob-Omb, who picks you up and throws you as said before; King Whomp, who jumps up and slams down like his people; Big Boo, who floats around like regular Boos; Big Bully, who knocks you off the side like regular Bullies; Eyerok, a pair of giant stone hands with eyes that try to crush you or push you off the side; and Chill Bully, a blue bully that knocks you into ice instead of lava. I would definitely like to see Eyerok as a boss (although we kind of have Master Hand and Crazy Hand for that), and the rest could be fine as bosses.

And finally, we have Penguins, who act mostly as NPC's and once challenge you to a race; Dorrie and the Owl, gentle animals who give you a ride occasionally; Klepto and Ukkiki, an annoying vulture and monkey who like to steal your hat; MIPS, rabbits that like to run around and lead you on a wild goose chase to get a star; and a Manta Ray, Shark, and a giant eel named Unagi who mostly just swim around and mind their own business. Once again, not much to go on.

Now, let's move on to the stages! Super Mario 64, like most of the early 3D games and even a few today, was centered around a hub world from which you could access every other stage in the game. For Mario 64, the hub world was Princess Peach's castle, which had an outside and an inside, the inside being made up of three floors and a basement. The outside is what the Princess Peach's Castle stage from Melee is based on, while the interior would also function well as a stage. Inside the castle, you could access the other worlds via paintings, walls, and a couple of other outliers.

The worlds themselves included: Bob-Omb Battlefield, a basic grassland stage; Whomp's Fortress, another basic stage with more of a building motif; Jolly Roger Bay, a water level; Cool Cool Mountain, a snow level; Big Boo's Haunt, a ghost level; Hazy Maze Cave, an underground level that tends to annoy people; Lethal Lava Land, a lava level; Shifting Sand Land, a sand level; Dire Dire Docks, another water level; Snowman's Land, another snow level; Wet-Dry World, a water level mixed with the building motif of Whomp's Fortress; Tall Tall Mountain, a mountainous level; Tiny-Huge Island, another grassland level with a size-changing gimmick; Tick Tock Clock, a level set inside a literal clock; and Rainbow Ride, a sprawling sky level. I'm just going to say it right now. Every single one could function well as a Super Smash Bros. stage, so I'm sticking them all in.

There are a handful of other stages: a simple slide, a water-filled room, a small sky level, and a level to unlock each special cap. I think it would be fine to leave them out since they all tend to be simplified versions of other stages. There are also three Bowser stages in which you work your way through a platforming level before facing Bowser. At least one, centered on Bowser's arena from each, would probably be fine.

As for items, of course we have our three caps, Bob-Ombs, Bullet Bills, stars (though they don't grant invincibility), coins, and boxes.

Now, let's see what we've got!

Characters:
Mario: multiple different types of jumps and punches, wing cap, metal cap, pixel cap, ride on shell, fire from cannon.
Peach: nothing
Toad: nothing, give star
Yoshi: nothing
Bowser: tromp around, breathe fire, charge, tip stage, create shockwaves
Goombas: walk around
Koopas: run away, pop from shell, race
Piranha Plant: sleep, bite
Boo: float around, Big Boo
Lakitu: float, drop Spinies, use camera
Shy Guy: Fly Guy, fire, Snufit float, fire pellets
Bob-Omb: explode, fire cannons, pick up and throw (Big Bob-Omb)
Monty Mole: jump, throw rocks
<Tentative> Chain Chomp, Wiggler, Whomp

Bosses:
Big Bob-Omb
King Whomp
Big Boo
Big Bully
Eyerok
Chill Bully

Stages:
Princess Peach's Castle (Melee)
Princess Peach's Castle (Inside)
Bob-Omb Battlefield
Whomp's Fortress
Jolly Roger Bay
Cool Cool Mountain
Big Boo's Haunt
Hazy Maze Cave
Lethal Lava Land
Shifting Sand Land
Dire Dire Docks
Snowman's Land
Wet-Dry World
Tall Tall Mountain
Tiny-Huge Island
Tick Tock Clock
Rainbow Ride
Bowser's World

Items:
Wing Cap
Metal Cap
Pixel Cap
Green Shell
Bob-Omb
Bullet Bill
Coin
Star
Box

Thanks for reading! Next up, we'll cover Mario's vacation game on the Game Cube: Super Mario Sunshine!

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).