Snake Block
- Not to be confused with Platform.
Snake Block | |
---|---|
![]() New Super Mario Bros. sprites | |
First appearance | Super Mario World (1990) |
Latest appearance | Super Mario Maker 2 (2019) |
Effect | Moves in straight lines, helping the player traverse otherwise impossible-to-reach areas. |
- “We're working on new and novel ways to use Snake Blocks at our new Snake Block testing facility! Just jump onto a Snake Block and it'll start moving.”
- —Snake Block Enthusiast, Super Mario Maker 2
Snake Blocks, originally named snake platforms[1] and also named Caterpillar Blocks[2] or simply Platforms,[3] are blocks usually found in castle-type levels. They first appear in Super Mario World, and reappear in Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3, New Super Mario Bros. and its sequels, and Super Mario Galaxy 2. They consist of a set of blocks that start out as a normal platform and begin to move like a snake when stepped on by Mario or Luigi. Snake Blocks can turn left, right, up, or down as they follow a predetermined course over obstacles such as a wide pool of lava, a bed of spikes, or a bottomless pit. Mario must continue to move and follow it when on these blocks, otherwise they keep moving under Mario's feet, and he may possibly fall off.
Snake Blocks most likely get their name from the classic arcade game Snake, in which the player controls a sequence of dots that resembles the snake animal.
History[edit]
Super Mario series[edit]
Super Mario World / Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2[edit]
In Super Mario World and Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2, snake platforms consist of normal Empty Blocks. They first appear in #5 Roy's Castle, and reappear in #7 Larry's Castle. Originally, they emitted the same SFX as the Grinders, Chainsaws, and Ropes, but with a faster repeating process; but in the Game Boy Advance remake, they emit their own unique SFX similar to a bubbling sound.
Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3[edit]
Snake platforms return in Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3, where they only appear in the World-e levels A Towering Tour and Vexing Doors, and now consist of Rotating Blocks from Super Mario World rather than Empty Blocks.
New Super Mario Bros.[edit]
In New Super Mario Bros., snake platforms once again resemble Empty Blocks from Super Mario World but are now bright green rather than brown, and only appear in World 7-Castle and World 8-
Tower2.
New Super Mario Bros. Wii[edit]
A similar snake platform called the Ice Snake Block appears in New Super Mario Bros. Wii. It is found in World 3-Castle, but unlike regular snake platforms, its icy surface is slippery, though the Penguin Suit can remedy this fact. Normal snake platforms are unused in New Super Mario Bros. Wii.
Super Mario Galaxy 2[edit]
Snake platforms (localized as pink bricks or pink blocks)[4] appear in Super Mario Galaxy 2 in the Boo Moon Galaxy, Bowser's Lava Lair, and Bowser's Galaxy Generator. In this game, they make their only 3D appearance, though they are used in the same way, and are colored pink. It is first shown here that they can be of varying widths, instead of only one block wide, as in its previous 2D side-scrolling appearances.
New Super Mario Bros. 2[edit]
Under their new name, Snake Blocks reappear in various levels in New Super Mario Bros. 2, where they have the same appearance they have in New Super Mario Bros. This is the first time they are seen moving on their own. Also, this is the first time that they are not only used as platforms to cross gaps, but also as obstacles, especially in World 1-Tower. They are much more common in this game compared to the previous New Super Mario Bros. games.
New Super Mario Bros. U / New Super Luigi U / New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe[edit]
Green-colored Snake Blocks reappear in New Super Mario Bros. U and New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe, but are now less commonly used than in previous games. Giant Snake Blocks also appear, being found only in Snake Block Tower. In New Super Luigi U, they appear in Stone-Snake Tower. In addition to the aforementioned levels, normal-sized Snake Blocks appear in the New Super Mario Bros. U level Snaking above Mist Valley and the New Super Luigi U level Three-Headed Snake Block.
Super Mario Maker / Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS[edit]
In Super Mario Maker and Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS, Snake Blocks can be reproduced by placing a long row of blocks onto a track. They also make an appearance in World 15-4 of the Super Mario Challenge of the latter version.
Super Mario Maker 2[edit]
In Super Mario Maker 2, Snake Blocks make an appearance as a full course element. The path that the Snake Block follows is set by the player. In the Super Mario World style, Snake Blocks are green, rather than made of regular Empty Blocks as they are in the original game. There is also a blue variety known as Fast Snake Block, which as the name suggests, is faster than the green one. In some styles, the Fast Snake Blocks have steeper-angled eyes, somewhat resembling those of the Empty Blocks in Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins. Snake Blocks can travel up to a maximum of 120 blocks before breaking down.
Mario Party 10[edit]
Snake Blocks reappear in Mario Party 10 in the minigame Snake Block Party.
Profiles[edit]
Super Mario Maker 2[edit]
- North American website bio: "Draw a path and the Snake Block will follow!"
Gallery[edit]
Sprites and models[edit]
Super Mario Maker 2 (Super Mario Bros. style)
Super Mario Maker 2 (Super Mario Bros. 3 style)
Super Mario Maker 2 (Super Mario World style)
Super Mario Maker 2 (New Super Mario Bros. U style)
Super Mario Maker 2 (Super Mario 3D World style)
Screenshots[edit]
Recreation of a Snake Block in Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS
Names in other languages[edit]
Snake Block[edit]
Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Japanese | スネークブロック[?] Sunēku Burokku |
Snake Block | |
Chinese (simplified) | 蛇砖块[?] Shé Zhuānkuài |
Snake Block | |
Chinese (traditional) | 蛇磚塊[7] Shé Zhuānkuài |
Snake Block | |
Dutch | Slangenblok[5] | Snake Block | |
French | Bloc Serpent[?] | Snake Block | |
German | Schlangenblock[?] | Snake Block | |
Italian | Blocco serpentino[?] | Serpentine Block | |
Korean | 스네이크블록[?] Seuneikeu Beullok |
Snake Block | |
Portuguese (NOE) | Bloco serpente[6] | Snake block | |
Russian | Блок-змейка[?] Blok-zmeyka |
Block-snake | |
Spanish | Bloque serpiente[?] | Snake block |
Fast Snake Block[edit]
Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Japanese | こうそくスネークブロック[?] Kōsoku Sunēku Burokku |
High-Speed Snake Block | |
Chinese (simplified) | 高速蛇砖块[?] Gāosù Shé Zhuānkuài |
High-Speed Snake Block | |
Chinese (traditional) | 高速蛇磚塊[?] Gāosù Shé Zhuānkuài |
High-Speed Snake Block | |
Dutch | Snel slangenblok[?] | Fast Snake Block | |
French | Bloc serpent rapide[?] | Fast Snake Block | |
Italian | Blocco serpentino veloce[?] | Fast snake block | |
Russian | Быстрый блок-змейка[?] Bystryy blok-zmeyka |
Fast snake block | |
Spanish (NOA) | Bloque serpiente rápido[?] | Fast snake block |
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ "To get the first Dragon Coin of the area, jump onto the “snake platform” to the right of the entrance." – Stratton, Bryan (February 26, 2002). Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2–Prima’s Official Strategy Guide. Prima Games (American English). ISBN 0-7615-3913-1. Page 70.
- ^ von Esmarch, Nick (2012). New Super Mario Bros. 2 PRIMA Official Game Guide. Prima Games (American English). ISBN 978-0-307-89552-3. Page 84, 85, 120, 140, 166, 227.
- ^ September 1991. Nintendo Power Volume 28. Nintendo of America (American English). Page 18 and 20.
- ^ Browne, Catherine (May 23, 2010). Super Mario Galaxy 2: PRIMA Official Game Guide. Roseville: Random House Inc (American English). ISBN 978-0-30746-907-6. Page 194.
- ^ Nintendo Nederland (May 15, 2019). Super Mario Maker 2 Direct - 16 mei 2019. YouTube (Dutch). Retrieved May 16, 2019.
- ^ Nintendo Portugal (May 15, 2019). Super Mario Maker 2 Direct - 15/05/2019. YouTube. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
- ^ Nintendo HK (May 17, 2019). 《Super Mario Maker 2 (超級瑪利歐創作家 2)》Direct 2019.5.16. YouTube (Traditional Chinese). Retrieved May 21, 2019.