Block Plaza
| Block Plaza | |||
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| Information | |||
| Appears in | Mario Kart Wii (2008) | ||
| Cup(s) | Battle Mode | ||
| Based on | Block Fort, Block City | ||
| Online play | No longer available (Wii) | ||
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Block Plaza is a battle course in Mario Kart Wii. This course appears to be based on Block Fort from Mario Kart 64 and Block City from Mario Kart: Double Dash!! and an arrangement of the music for Luigi Circuit and Mario Circuit is heard. An arrangement of the title theme from Super Mario Kart is also heard.
Course layout[edit]
Block Plaza is a large, flat square arena filled with block structures of various sizes, which give the ground level of the course a somewhat maze-like layout. The largest blocks are the four square-shaped platforms on each side of the map, which feature ramps connecting them to the ground level and allowing players to drive on their surface. These square platforms also feature a character statue elevated slightly above driving level, with Mario on the red block, Luigi on the green block, Princess Peach on the blue block, and Princess Daisy on the yellow block. In the middle of the course is a smaller, purple dodecagon platform featuring its own cube statue, which connects to the four square platforms via bridges to help drivers get from one block to another. In the four corners of the map on ground level, there are colorful, uniquely shaped block structures - much like the statues, these are elevated above driving level and function mainly as walls in gameplay, but the green and yellow structures are each divided in two by a narrow drivable pathway with an Item Box, much like Block City's yellow structure.
Every 60 seconds (excluding the last minute), some of the elevated structures will sink into the ground, leaving behind bottomless pits, similar to the sinking ground in Grumble Volcano: after one minute has passed, the four block structures in the corners and the purple cube statue on the center platform will sink, and after two minutes, the four character statues will sink as well. Various sprites from Super Mario Bros. can be seen in the sky. When a Mii is participating, the heads of the main characters' statues will be replaced by Miis' heads from the player's system. Peach and Daisy are changed to female Mii heads, while Mario and Luigi are changed to male Mii heads.
Tournaments[edit]
February 2009's first tournament required players to complete a Time Trial on a version of Block Plaza that has been turned into a race track: Players start in the bottom left corner next to the red block structure and must drive counterclockwise around the dodecagon, being directed by barriers which block certain routes.
There are now also Goombas, pipes, and oil slicks which serve as obstacles. Players start the Time Trial with a set of Triple Mushrooms. The tournament was later repeated as the first tournament for February 2011, the second tournament of May 2012, and the first tournament of August 2013. When the tournament was first introduced, the information for the second tournament of February 2009 at GBA Bowser Castle 3 was accidentally given.
Profiles[edit]
- Mario Kart Wii European website: "Don't spend too long looking at the impressive Mario statues or you might just find yourself falling down one of the well concealed drops that lie in wait for careless driver."
Gallery[edit]
The course banner
A preview of the course
Additional names[edit]
Internal names[edit]
| Game | File | Name | Meaning
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Mario Kart Wii | block_battle | Block battle |
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ブロックひろば[?] Burokku Hiroba |
Block Plaza | |
| French | Square Bloc[?] | Block Square | |
| German | Block-Plaza[?] | Block Plaza | |
| Italian | Piazza Blocchi[?] | Blocks Plaza | |
| Korean | 블록 광장[?] Beullok Gwangjang |
Block Plaza | |
| Spanish | Plaza Cúbica[?] | Cubic Plaza |
