Dotted-Line Block
It has been requested that more images be uploaded for this article. Remove this notice only after the additional images have been added. Specifics: Needs images of the Blue, Off Red, and Off Blue blocks in the 3D World style for Super Mario Maker 2.
Dotted-Line Block | |
---|---|
![]() ![]() the OFF and ON states of red Dotted-Line Blocks in Super Mario Maker 2 (New Super Mario Bros. U game style) | |
First appearance | Super Mario World (1990) |
Latest appearance | Super Mario Bros. Wonder (2024) |
Dotted-Line Blocks,[1] originally formatted without a hyphen[2] and known as outlined blocks,[3] are transparent objects appearing in a variety of games in the Super Mario series and Yoshi's Island series. They are intangible indicators that show where solid blocks will go, typically as the result of a ! Switch or ON/OFF Switch. They are frequently color-coded to indicate a specific state or corresponding ! Switch, though some appearances are purely black and white and exclusively turn into Red Blocks.
History[edit]
Super Mario series[edit]
Super Mario World / Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2[edit]
Dotted-Line Blocks debut in Super Mario World and reprise their role in Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2 under their current name. They come in four colors throughout its levels, which correspond to the four Switch Palaces. Hitting the respective ! Switch in each palace will cause every Dotted-Line Block of that color to transform into a ! Block.
Super Mario 64 / Super Mario 64 DS[edit]
Similar objects to the Dotted-Line Blocks in Super Mario World called semi-visible blocks[4] appear in Super Mario 64 and its remake, Super Mario 64 DS, where they turn solid and are able to be used after the player hits the ! Switch or ? Switch on the Tower of the Wing Cap (both versions) and Vanish Cap Under the Moat and the Cavern of the Metal Cap (N64 version only).
Super Mario Bros. Deluxe[edit]
In the You VS. Boo mode of Super Mario Bros. Deluxe, many red and white outlined blocks are placed throughout each level which alternate between solid and dotted forms based on the state of Face Blocks in the level.
Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3[edit]
Exclusively in World-e of Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3, Dotted-Line Blocks much like those in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island make an appearance.
New Super Mario Bros.[edit]
New Super Mario Bros. features Dotted-Line Blocks that function like the ones in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island and Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3. Upon hitting a nearby ! Switch, all Dotted-Line Blocks will temporarily become solid platforms, as Red Blocks. The Red Blocks turn back into Dotted-Line Blocks after a short time, and the ! Switch returns to normal, allowing it to be hit again.
New Super Mario Bros. Wii[edit]
Dotted-Line Blocks in New Super Mario Bros. Wii are more similar to those in Super Mario World, as they must be activated by a ! Switch found on the world map. Unlike Super Mario World, The Dotted-Line Blocks in New Super Mario Bros. Wii are only one color, and only transform into Red Blocks.
Super Mario Run[edit]
Super Mario Run Features Dotted-Line Blocks with functionality identical to their New Super Mario Bros. iteration.
Super Mario Maker 2[edit]
In Super Mario Maker 2, Dotted-Line Blocks can be triggered by ON/OFF Switches, with only the red blocks becoming solid when they are on and only the blue blocks becoming solid when they are off. In the Super Mario Bros. 3 style, they are depicted having a smiling face, while every other style depicts them as faceless blocks. As of the version 2.0 update, P Blocks also appear as an outline like Dotted-Line Blocks while inactive. Although previously unavailable in the Super Mario 3D World style, Dotted-Line Blocks were added in the version 3.0.0 update released on April 22, 2020.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder[edit]
Super Mario Bros. Wonder includes Dotted-Line Blocks that behave much like their appearance in Super Mario Maker 2, colored red and blue and changing state based on ON/OFF Switches. The designs of solid Dotted-Line Blocks are more extravagant, with gold embellishments in the center of each block. Some Dotted-Line Blocks are arranged as vertical walls, and they appear as gold-studded pillars when in their solid state, rather than individual blocks. Some levels also feature Dotted-Line Blocks as part of their Wonder Effect, in which platforms with many colors of block will alternate in time to the music, very similarly to Beat Blocks.
Yoshi franchise[edit]
In Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Yoshi's Island DS, Yoshi's New Island, and Yoshi's Woolly World, after Yoshi hits a nearby ! Switch, the Dotted-Line Blocks temporarily become ! Blocks and are able to be used as platforms.
Mario vs. Donkey Kong[edit]
- Main article: Color Block
Though no Dotted-Line Blocks appear in Mario vs. Donkey Kong or the Nintendo Switch remake of the same name, inactive Color Blocks in the remake are redesigned to look similarly to Dotted-Line Blocks.
Gallery[edit]
Super Mario Bros. Deluxe (VS Game)
Super Mario Maker 2 (Super Mario Bros. style)
Super Mario Maker 2 (Super Mario Bros. 3 style)
Names in other languages[edit]
Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Japanese | Tensen Burokku |
Dotted-Line Block | |
Tōmei Burokku |
Transparent Block | Super Mario 64 | |
Chinese (simplified) | 虚线砖块[?] Xūxiàn Zhuānkuài |
Dotted-Line Block | |
Chinese (traditional) | 虛線磚塊[?] Xūxiàn Zhuānkuài |
Dotted-Line Block | |
Dutch | Stippellijnblok[?] | Dotted Line Block | |
French | Bloc en pointillés[7] | Dotted block | Super Mario World, Super Mario Maker 2 |
Bloc réversible[8] | Reversible block | Super Mario Bros. Deluxe | |
German | Umriss-Block[?] | Outline Block | |
Italian | Blocchi di Contorni/Blocco in un contorno[9] | Outline blocks/Block in the outline | Super Mario Bros. Deluxe |
Blocco semivisibile[10] | Semi-visible block | Super Mario 64 | |
Blocco Trasparente[11] | Transparent block | Super Mario Bros. Encyclopedia | |
Blocco tratteggiato[?] | Dotted block | Super Mario Maker 2 | |
Portuguese | Bloco Pontilhado[?] | Dotted Block | |
Russian | Пунктирный блок[?] Punktirnyy blok |
Dotted Block | |
Spanish (NOA) | Bloque de puntos[?] | Dotted block |
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ 2002. Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2 instruction booklet. Nintendo of America (English). Page 49.
- ^ August 23, 1991. Super Mario World instruction booklet. Nintendo of America (English). Page 21.
- ^ "Smiling blocks are helpful, while blocks with their tongues sticking out make the course more difficult. If you hit a Face Block, all reversible blocks in that world are reversed. You can neither stand on, nor hit an outlined block." – Nintendo (May 10, 1999). Super Mario Bros. Deluxe instruction booklet. Nintendo of America (English). Page 18.
- ^ 1996. Super Mario 64 instruction booklet. Redmond: Nintendo of America (English). Page 19.
- ^ スーパーマリオワールド (Sūpā Mario Wārudo instruction booklet, fold-out). Nintendo (Japanese).
- ^ 1996. スーパーマリオ
64 (Sūpā Mario Rokujūyon) instruction booklet. Nintendo. Page 19. - ^ Super Mario World instruction booklet. Nintendo (French) via manuelsjeux.free.fr. Page 21.[dead link]
- ^ Super Mario Bros. Deluxe French Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console digital manual. Page 12.
- ^ 1999. Super Mario Bros. Deluxe European instruction manual. Nintendo of Europe (Italian). Page 112.
- ^ 1997. Super Mario 64 European manual. Nintendo of Europe (Italian). Page 38.
- ^ November 15, 2018. Super Mario Bros. Enciclopedia. Magazzini Salani (Italian). ISBN 978-88-9367-436-2. Page 92.
- Blocks
- New Super Mario Bros. 2 objects
- New Super Mario Bros. Wii objects
- Super Mario 64 objects
- Super Mario 64 DS objects
- Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 objects
- Super Mario Bros. Deluxe
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder objects
- Super Mario Maker 2 objects
- Super Mario Run objects
- Super Mario World objects
- Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island objects
- Yoshi's Island DS objects
- Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3
- Yoshi's New Island objects
- Yoshi's Woolly World objects