The Sprixie Kingdom is teeming with enemies, here's the lowdown!
The enemies that appear in a Super Mario game are as iconic to the franchise as the Bros. themselves. They are so unique, recognizable, and fun that we have come to expect at least a few familiar appearances in each new game.
Super Mario 3D World, however, pulls out all the stops and looks to have one of the biggest enemy lineups in a Mario game to date. It looks like almost the entire Super Mario roster of rogues shows up this time around, including Goombas, Koopas, Piranha Plants, Bloopers, Urchins, Thwomps, even the musical Biddybud beetles from 3D Land are here in force. There are also plenty of new enemies and lots of old ones have interesting new twists. Here are some of the more noteworthy additions.
Just like the Tanooki enemies in Super Mario 3D Land, it looks like baddies can make use of the Super Bell in this game. Nintendo has only confirmed Cat Goombas, Cat Bullet Bills, and Cat Banzai Bills so far, but we're bound to see a few surprises.
Returning from their last main appearance all the way back in Super Mario World, these guys were originally mistranslated as regular Goombas despite being an entirely different species in the Japanese version. They now have official English names and take two stomps to kill. The first will flip them upside down for a short time allowing Mario to kick them away with ease.
Another classic Super Mario World enemy making his big comeback is Chargin' Chuck, a burly, sports-crazed Koopa who was known to attack in many different ways. He would charge at Mario, Wario style, perform Jumping Jacks if you tried to stomp on him, throw baseballs, kick footballs, and even whistle to alert nearby enemies of Mario's presence. We don't know how many different attacks he'll try this time around, but stomping on his head will knock his helmet off which looks like it really cheeses him off.
These new baddies don't have an official name yet but can be seen in lots of different levels, endlessly running in place atop rotating platforms. Occasionally they'll leap into the air, providing a scant opportunity to dive beneath them. There are also ones with spikes on their heads making them tricky obstacles to dodge.
These new creatures are seen trundling along in single file lines and have the ability to march up walls and across ceilings. They are seen in a few levels endlessly circling midair platforms. They seem to possess strength and an affinity of hoarding things like real ants and can carry items around on their backs.
Not much is known about these new guys who resemble a cross between Bob-ombs and Snifits, those cannonball-shooting Shy Guys in Super Mario Bros. 2, wearing helmets. They seem to always appear in large groups, often in areas where Double Cherries are found. Whether they can use that protruding mouth to attack in any way has yet to be seen.
These strange new bird enemies have long necks and large pointy beaks, which they will slam down into the ground whenever someone approaches them from the front. It seems that they then get their beaks stuck in the ground leaving them vulnerable to jump on.
Their shells, glasses, cloud-shaped neck plumage. and little tuft of hair make them look like they're related to Lakitu, don't they? We haven't yet seen any appearance of Lakitu himself in any trailers or screenshots, perhaps this is his Sprixie Kingdom counterpart!
This new and large type of Piranha Plant grows on an exceptionally long, thorny vine that snakes its way around the course in unique patterns making for an ever-growing, ever changing obstacle.
We've seen footage of it both above ground and underwater. Hitting it with power-ups like the Fire Flower makes it shrink back towards its root. Sometimes it appears to be asleep, perhaps requiring an unarmed player to sneak by without waking it. I'll bet it's called a Snakeweed Piranha when Nintendo reveals its official name!
Pokey has been in many Mario games since it first appeared in Super Mario Bros. 2, or Doki Doki Panic if you want to get technical. This new variety is made of snowballs and wears a bucket on its head. It also seems to have the ability to slide around in a circular pattern in the snow. During one of the trailers it's seen being demolished by a well-aimed snowball hitting it on the head, and the inside looks suspiciously empty. Are these living baddies who will attack Mario like regular Pokeys, or simply snowmen that Bowser's minions have constructed in decoration? Will we ever find out the truth? Who knows?
Returning from their debut in Super Mario 64, these menacing meanies are here to shove players around all over again. In their original appearance, they'd try to bump Mario over ledges into lava or freezing water and couldn't be defeated unless the player shoved them right back and knocked them off their platforms. They also came in larger versions called Big Bullies, but whether they have multiple sizes in this game has yet to be seen.
Undead, skeletal, Koopa Troopas make for really cool baddies in the castle levels of any Mario game. They'll reassemble themselves after being stomped and come back kicking. They and now even spookier with their newfound ability to fly. If it turns out their official names are Fly Bones, you saw it here first. I'm calling it now.
It hasn't yet been officially confirmed what these bulbous lava monsters are called, nor whether they're returning baddies from previous games or not. But they just look so much like Fry Guy from Super Mario Bros. 2 that I simply can't unsee it. They hop out of the lava and plop themselves menacingly onto the thin platform walkways, leaving scalding puddles where they land. In the footage we've seen, Boomerang Mario can quickly knock them back into the boiling broth where they came from.
Long-time absentee to the Mario series, Boom Boom first appeared as a mini-boss in Super Mario Bros. 3 and wasn't seen again until Super Mario 3D Land where he brought along his female buddy Pom Pom. Since then the pair have become a series mainstay once more and it looks like they even get their own steam engine built from a Banzai Bill.
This thing looks a little like a Whomp, a square-shaped concrete enemy from Super Mario 64 that would topple over, face-first, trying to crush Mario. These new creatures are made of metal and have gaps in their bodies which the player must carefully aim to stand in as it comes crashing down around them. Like Whomps, they have a weak point on their backs shown by a large band-aid cross. It's possible this is one of the game's new bosses given its size and those nasty-looking spikes covering its body, but we'll have to wait for the game's release to be sure.
This guy slightly resembles various dinosaur enemies in previous Mario games, especially Rex and Blargg. With his smaller minions surrounding him he kind of reminds me of Tryclyde from Super Mario Bros. 2. His battle is creatively designed to make use of Cat Mario's climbing abilities.
What looks to be a Bully wearing a Roman galea helmet. Several trailers show this boss being forced back into one of the clear pipes at the sides of the arena where it sucks him through the tube and spits him out with his helmet crushed into a tin can shape. Unlike other Bullies, this guy is able to breathe fireballs through the vent in his mask. It looks like this will be the boss of one of the castle levels.
Wow! Bowser sure knows how to put the "hot" in "hot rod"! In Super Mario World Bowser fought using a vehicle for the first time, his hovering Clown Car. This souped-up car is much cooler, however, and looks much more threatening. It's too bad that Mario trashes it by punting Bowser's many soccer ball bombs back at him, totaling his new ride. I hope that thing is insured.
