Count Down
- "Countdown" redirects here. For the timer in the Yoshi's Island series, see Countdown Timer.
- "Ring-a-Ding" and "Ding-A-Ling" redirects here. For the minigame from Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, see Ding-a-Ring.
| Count Down | |
|---|---|
 Count Down from Super Mario RPG (Nintendo Switch) | |
| First appearance | Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (1996) |
| Latest appearance | Super Mario RPG (Nintendo Switch) (2023) |
- “It's 1:00. Time to play.”
- —Count Down, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Count Down, also referred to as the watch, is a large, watch-like being that resembles an alarm clock fused with an hourglass, and a high-ranking member of the Smithy Gang. Its two bell-like components are the Ring-a-Ding, originally known as Ding-A-Ling.
Mario and his allies Mallow, Geno, Bowser, and Peach first encounter Count Down while navigating their way through an early part of the Weapon World during Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars and its Nintendo Switch remake.
Each bell can attack physically or use special moves, such as Dark Star, which is similar to the special attack used by Mallow, but targets a single character for high damage, Doom Reverb, which casts Mute against a single character and Fear Roulette, which KOs a party member at random. They can also chant "Time is marching on!" which will cause Count Down to skip ahead hours. Immediately before an attack, stars will shine in front of the bell that is initiating the next attack. A line indicates "Time is marching on!", a circle indicates a physical attack, a flashing star indicates Dark Star, a triangle indicates Doom Reverb / Spore Chimes / Scarecrow Bell, and a flashing circle indicates Fear Roulette.
If Count Down is defeated first before the Ring-a-Ding, its hands will spin for the rest of the battle, which results in no coins being awarded after the battle.
Attack pattern[edit]
During battle, Count Down attacks in a continuous cycle, with the attack depending on what numbers the hands on its clock face are on. The order is shown below; however, when a bell chants "Time is marching on!" Count Down skips to the next hour.
Before the actual attack, Count Down will make an announcement:
- Ice Rock, Crystal — It's 1:00. "Time to play." (SNES) / "Time for an ice storm." (NS)
- Recover — It's 3:00. "Time to RECOVER!" (SNES) / "Time to recover!" (NS)
- Aurora Flash — It's 5:00. "Time for a break, huh?" (SNES) "Time to view the aurora." (NS)
- Mega Recover — It's 6:00. "Time to FULLY RECOVER." (SNES) "Time to fully recover." (NS)
- Water Blast — It's 7:00. "DINNER TIME." (SNES) / "Time to draw a bath." (NS)
- Takes a Break — It's 9:00. "Guess I'll break."
- Petal Blast — It's 10:00. "Time to garden."
- Flare — It's 12:00. "It's high noon."
Profiles and statistics[edit]
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars[edit]
| Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars enemy | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count Down | |||||||||
|
HP | 2400 | FP | 100 | Speed | 5 | |||
| Location(s) | The Weapons' World | Attack | 0 | Magic attack | 120 | ||||
| Role | Boss | Defense | 80 | Magic defense | 80 | ||||
| Bonus Flower | None | Yoshi Cookie | None | Morph rate | 0% | ||||
| Evade | 0% | Magic evade | 0% | Spells | Crystal, Ice Rock, Recover, Aurora Flash, Mega Recover, Water Blast, Petal Blast, Corona | ||||
| Weak | Jump, Thunder | Strong | Fear, Poison, Sleep, Mute, Critical | Sp. attacks | None | ||||
| Coins | 100 | Exp. points | 140 | Items | None | ||||
| Psychopath | "We're into overtime!" | ||||||||
| Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars enemy | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ding-A-Ling | |||||||||
|
HP | 1200 | FP | 100 | Speed | 10 | |||
| Location(s) | The Weapons' World | Attack | 180 | Magic attack | 20 | ||||
| Role | Support | Defense | 120 | Magic defense | 50 | ||||
| Bonus Flower | None | Yoshi Cookie | None | Morph rate | 0% | ||||
| Evade | 0% | Magic evade | 0% | Spells | Dark Star | ||||
| Weak | Thunder | Strong | Fear, Poison, Sleep, Mute, Critical | Sp. attacks | S'crow Bell, Doom Reverb, Spore Chimes, Fear Roulette | ||||
| Coins | 0 | Exp. points | 30 | Items | None | ||||
| Psychopath | "Wake up sleepy heads!" | ||||||||
Super Mario RPG (Nintendo Switch)[edit]
| Super Mario RPG enemy | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count Down | |||||||||
|
|
HP | 2400 | Weak Elements |  
|
Drops | N/A | |||
| Exp. | 140 | Weak Statuses | N/A | Rare Drops | N/A | ||||
| Found in | Weapon World | ||||||||
| Monster List profile | If you're reading this at one in the morning, it's time to stop playing this game. | ||||||||
| Thought Peek | "I demand strict punctuality! No excuses!" | ||||||||
| Animations | |||||||||
| Super Mario RPG enemy | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ring-a-Ding | |||||||||
|
HP | 1200 | Weak Elements |
|
Drops | N/A | |||
| Exp. | 30 | Weak Statuses | N/A | Rare Drops | N/A | ||||
| Found in | Weapon World | ||||||||
| Monster List profile | The morning bell (right) and the evening bell (left) come together to form a single Ring-a-Ding. They're watching around the clock to startle oversleepers awake. | ||||||||
| Thought Peek | "Wake up, everyone. It's morning." | ||||||||
| Animations | |||||||||
Gallery[edit]
Artwork from Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Count Down's body in the background of the battle
Names in other languages[edit]
Count Down[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | メビウス[?] Mebiusu |
Moebius | |
| メビウス ( Mebiusu (Tokei no Hari) |
Moebius (Watch's Hand) | ||
| Chinese | 梅比斯[?] Méibǐsī |
Moebius | |
| Dutch | Majestijd[?] | Portmanteau of majesteit ("majesty") and tijd ("time") | |
| French | Chronomaître[?] | Portmanteau of chronomètre ("stopwatch") and maître ("master") | |
| German | Wecklassnach[?] | Portmanteau of wecken ("to wake") and Schreck lass nach (a phrase said after experiencing shock) | |
| Italian | Conte Inverso[?] | Count Inverted; a possible pun on conto alla rovescia (countdown; lit. "counting backwards") | |
| Korean | 뫼비우스[?] Moebiuseu |
Moebius | |
| Spanish | Cuentatrás[?] | From cuenta atrás ("countdown") |
Ring-a-Ding[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | リンリン[?] Rinrin |
Japanese onomatopoeia for a bell's jingling, and a reduplication of「鈴」(rin, "bell" in the on'yomi reading) | |
| リンリン ( Rinrin (Tokei no Beru) |
Ring-Ring (Watch's Bell) | ||
| Chinese (simplified) | 铃铃[?] Líng líng |
Chinese onomatopoeia for a bell's jingling; and a reduplication of「铃」(líng, "bell") | |
| Chinese (traditional) | 鈴鈴[?] Líng líng |
Chinese onomatopoeia for a bell's jingling; and a reduplication of「鈴」(líng, "bell") | |
| Dutch | Klingaling[?] | Corruption for klingeling (Dutch onomotopoeia for a bell ringing), partially based on the English name | |
| French (NOA) | Dingue dong[?] | From dingue ("crazy") and "ding dong" (onomatopoeia for a bell ringing) | |
| French (NOE) | Ding dingue[?] | From "ding dong" (onomatopoeia for a bell ringing) and dingue ("crazy") | |
| German | Klingelinger[?] | From Klingeling (onomatopoeia for a bell ringing) | |
| Italian | Dling Ling[?] | Onomatopoeia for bell's jingling | |
| Korean | 딸랑딸랑[?] Ttallang-ttallang |
Korean onomatopoeia for a bell's jingling | |
| Spanish | Tilintín[?] | Portmanteau of tilín and tin (onomatopoeias for a bell ringing) |
Watch[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | tokei |
watch | |
| Chinese (simplified) | 时钟[?] shízhōng |
clock | |
| Chinese (traditional) | 時鐘[?] shízhōng |
clock | |
| Dutch | wijzerplaat[?] | watchface | |
| French (NOA) | montre[?] | watch | |
| French (NOE) | horloge[?] | clock | |
| German | Ziffernblatt[?] | watchface | |
| Italian | orologio[?] | watch | |
| Korean | 시계[?] sigye |
watch | |
| Spanish | reloj[?] | watch |
References[edit]
- ^ 1996. Super Mario RPG Final Edition. Shogakukan (Japanese). ISBN 4091025382. Page 102.
- ^ Super Mario RPG Final Edition, page 102.
