Bat (Super Mario Galaxy)
| Bat | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Artwork from Super Mario Galaxy | |||
| First appearance | Super Mario Galaxy (2007) | ||
| Latest appearance | The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) | ||
| Variant of | Swoop | ||
| |||
A bat[1][2][3][4] is a Swoop-like enemy in Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2. Bats have pig-like noses and bulging, glowing eyes with faint rings on them, causing them to resemble Keese from The Legend of Zelda, particularly their incarnation from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. The two games were in development at overlapping times, so this may be intentional.
On The Nintendo Spooky Baddies gallery published on Play Nintendo circa 2014, the bats are referred to as "Swoopers." Because these enemies were erroneously interpreted as Swoops (which were known as "Swoopers" at the time) on the Super Mario Wiki until 2017, this is potentially circular reporting.
History[edit]
Super Mario Galaxy / Super Mario Galaxy 2[edit]
Initially, bats are found either hanging from the ceiling or flying around aimlessly. When Mario or Luigi approaches, they fly in close to him, before attempting to fly straight into him. If they succeed, they will laugh at him. They can be defeated with a spin or stomp, and they release either three Star Bits or one coin, respectively, depending on which way they are defeated. They can be found in many dark places, with the first being the cave in the Beach Bowl Galaxy. They are also found flying around the arm of Heavy Metal Mecha-Bowser. Icy locations such as the cold portion of the Freezeflame Galaxy sometimes contain an icy variant called an ice bat, which will freeze Mario or Luigi if he makes contact with it, and can be defeated only with a Fire Flower.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie[edit]
In The Super Mario Bros. Movie, bats appear as one of the enemies inhabiting the Dark Lands. They also appear during the Koopa Troop's celebration of obtaining the Super Star and in one of the film's posters, which depicts the scene where Luigi is captured by Shy Guys.[5] Unlike in the games, bats have visible mouths with fangs, and their eyes are spinning swirls rather than concentric rings.
Gallery[edit]
Model from Super Mario Galaxy
Screenshot from The Nintendo Spooky Baddies gallery
Poster for The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Additional names[edit]
Internal names[edit]
| Game | File | Name | Meaning
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Super Mario Galaxy Super Mario Galaxy 2 |
ObjectData/BasaBasa.arc | BasaBasa | Transliteration of below |
| Super Mario Galaxy Super Mario Galaxy 2 |
StageData/ObjNameTable.arc/ObjNameTable.tbl SystemData/ObjNameTable.arc/ObjNameTable.tbl |
バサバサ (Basa Basa) | Swoop |
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | バットン[6] Batton |
Derived from "bat" and possibly「豚」(ton, "pig" in the on'yomi reading), most likely because of their pig-like nose; shared with Enigma's Japanese name | |
| French | Chauve-souris[?] | Bat | |
| German | Flappflapp[?] | Same as Swoop | |
| Italian | Pippy[7][8] | Diminutive of pipistrello ("bat") | |
| Spanish | Vampílago[?] | Same as Swoop |
References[edit]
- ^ Black, Fletcher (November 9, 2007). Super Mario Galaxy: PRIMA Official Game Guide (Collector's Edition). Roseville: Prima Games (American English). ISBN 978-0-7615-5713-5. Page 134–135.
- ^ Browne, Catherine (May 23, 2010). Super Mario Galaxy 2: PRIMA Official Game Guide. Roseville: Random House Inc (American English). ISBN 978-0-30746-907-6. Page 237.
- ^ English Super Mario Galaxy entry on the official Mario Portal. nintendo.co.jp (English). Retrieved June 3, 2024. (Archived August 12, 2022, 23:39:09 UTC via archive.today.)
- ^ English Super Mario Galaxy 2 entry on the official Mario Portal. nintendo.co.jp (English). Retrieved June 3, 2024. (Archived August 12, 2022, 23:39:46 UTC via archive.today.)
- ^ Poster for The Super Mario Bros. Movie featuring bats in the background
- ^ Sakai, Kazuya (Ambit), kikai, Akinori Sao, Junko Fukuda, Kunio Takayama, and Ko Nakahara (Shogakukan), editors (2015). 『スーパーマリオブラザーズ百科: 任天堂公式ガイドブック』. Tokyo: Shogakukan (Japanese). Page 128, 160.
- ^ Guida PRIMA ufficiale di Super Mario Galaxy, pagina 134-135.
- ^ Guida PRIMA ufficiale di Super Mario Galaxy 2, pagina 237.
| Swoops | |
|---|---|
| Characters | Count Fang • Sir Swoop • Wings of Night |
| Species | Bat (Super Mario Galaxy) • Fang • Glad Fang • Ice bat • Monty Mole Swooper • Paper Swoop • Slave Basa • Swampire • Swoop • Swoopula |
| Related objects | Gold Swooper • HP Drain (item) • Swooper (glider) • Vampire Candy |
