Side Drill

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Mario and Luigi using the Side Drill.

The Side Drill is a Bros. Move in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team. The move is taught to Mario and Luigi by Big Massif and Lil' Massif while on their first tour up Mount Pajamaja, after they taught Spin Jump on the same trek.

This move is selected by pressing R Button until the action icon cycles to the vertical and horizontal spin icons. Pressing B Button has Luigi leap onto Mario's back. In this state, the two can still walk, albeit slowly. A Button cancels the move. Pressing B Button has Luigi flip over Mario, and both spin so as to drill forward. This goes for a short distance, flying over any gaps. It cannot be used in a diagonal direction. Afterward, Luigi will land then throw Mario back over, so that he lands in front. If Mario and Luigi Side Drill into an enclosed space, Side Drill does not conclude until after they leave. Side Drill continues to spin even into solid walls. If there is not enough space for Luigi to flip over into, the move does not start, and the Bros. return to normal.

Side Drill allows the Bros. to pass through small spaces, like underneath brambles and through rock filled tunnels. The spin enables breaking rocks, some of which jut out of walls over gaps such that the Hammer is unable to break them. Regular rocks can also be broken with this move; while normally optional because of the Hammer, some rocks are placed on edges where Mario cannot stand on before breaking the boulder.

Since Side Drill floats, it can cross small gaps faster than the Spin Jump, though the toss at the end makes the wind-down period of the move take longer. The speed of Side Drill can also make it useful for avoiding obstacles.

While spinning, Side Drill treats scene transitions as walls, and therefore cannot pass through until after the move ends.

Some tubes in the game can be entered with Side Drill. Once inside, the other end starts to glow, and pressing B Button fires Mario and Luigi out. Some of these tubes rotate, allowing the Bros to launch in other directions from the tube. Other tubes are on pedestals, that rise and lower to four different elevations. With these, the Bros. can use Side Drill to reach higher destinations.

Some of the rising and lowering tubes have timers, and for them pressing B Button repeatedly makes the tube rise while releasing the button lets the tube lower. Once the timer is up, Mario and Luigi get launched out at the final height of the tube.

Names in other languages[edit]

Language Name Meaning Notes
Portuguese turbilhão lateral[?] side tourbillon