Large ! Switch
| Large ! Switch | |
|---|---|
 Screen-cropped image from New Super Mario Bros. Wii | |
| First appearance | New Super Mario Bros. Wii (2009) |
| Latest appearance | Super Mario Bros. Wonder (2023) |
| Variant of | ! Switch |
Large ! Switches[1][2] are buttons that occur in some of the final battles with Bowser in the Super Mario series. Pressing them completes the level and the main campaign of the game. A normal-sized ! Switch is usually encountered earlier in the same levels as their large counterparts, when the player character first encounters Bowser. It causes the bridge he stands on to collapse, like the axes from the first Super Mario Bros. However, this does not defeat him. Bowser remerges after this and pursues the player character through a narrow corridor. The large ! Switch appear as the end of the corridor, and pressing it truly defeats him.
Large ! Switches are typically orange and are on a studded base similar to Bowser's collar. The sole ! Switches in New Super Mario Bros. U and New Super Luigi U look similar, but have a more simplistic design.
History[edit]
New Super Mario Bros. Wii[edit]
A large ! Switch appears in World 8-
Bowser's Castle during the second phase of the battle against Bowser. Magikoopa revises him after his defeat at the end of the first phase, transforming him into Super Bowser. He chases the player character down a narrow corridor filled with lava. The large ! Switch is at the rightmost end of the corridor, where Princess Peach is held. Pressing it causes the lava to drain from the corridor and Super Bowser to disappear with it. This finally defeats him and saves the princess.
New Super Mario Bros. 2[edit]
A large ! Switch appears during the fight against Super Bowser in World 6-
Bowser Castle, where they are the only accessible footing for most of the battle, who pursues Mario (or Luigi) up a vertical shaft with rising lava. Pressing it causes the floor beneath Super Bowser to collapse, defeating the boss and rescuing Princess Peach, as in New Super Mario Bros. Wii. A large ! Switch appear during the battle with Dry Bowser in World 
Star-
Castle in the same capacity, except Peach is not found here. As this is the final course in New Super Mario Bros. 2, pressing the large ! Switch is the last action Mario takes before fully finishing the game.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder[edit]
In Super Mario Bros. Wonder, large ! Switch is a physical part of Bowser's body, who has been fused with Prince Florian's Flower Castle to become Castle Bowser. It is underneath the chin of Wonder Bowser, the form the player character directly fights in The Final Battle! Bowser's Rage Stage. Striking the large ! Switch is the only way to cause damage to Wonder Bowser, whose stone armor gradually falls way with each hit. The armor and the large ! Switch fall away after the fifth hit, exposing a different switch on his head that must be pressed to fully defeat him.
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | 巨大ビックリスイッチ[3] Kyodai Bikkuri Suitchi |
Giant Surprise Switch |
References[edit]
- ^ Bueno, Fernando (2009). New Super Mario Bros. Wii: PRIMA Official Game Guide. Roseville: Prima Games. ISBN 978-0-307-46592-4. Page 171.
- ^ Esmarch, Nick von (2012). New Super Mario Bros. 2: PRIMA Official Game Guide. Roseville: Prima Games. ISBN 978-0-307-89552-3. Page 169, 229.
- ^ 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). ISBN 978-4-09-106569-8. Page 149, 199.
