Snowball

Snowball
A Snowball in the New Super Mario Bros. U style of Super Mario Maker 2
First appearance	Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (1995)
Latest appearance	The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)
Comparable Spike Ball

Snowballs in the Super Mario franchise typically have the purpose of being snow-covered projectiles thrown by enemies, such as Mr. Blizzards, or opponents.

History

Yoshi franchise

Yoshi's Island series

A small and a large snowball in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island

Snowballs in the Yoshi's Island series are interactive objects in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, its Game Boy Advance version, and Yoshi's New Island that a Yoshi can push down a path as if it were a Chomp Rock, which they are functionally similar to. However, a difference with snowballs is that they gradually increase in size while being rolled on the ground, as more snow is added to them, but only up to a certain point. Aside from this, snowballs are retextured Chomp Rocks, which is the case for Yoshi's New Island, being capable of destroying all items and enemies in its path and allowing Yoshi to hop on as a platform, useful for accessing higher areas.

A snowball in the Yoshi's New Island level, Ski Lift Leap, can be rolled downhill to to defeat enemies and access a higher Warp Pipe.

Yoshi's Woolly World

Snowballs in Yoshi's Woolly World appear to be made of cotton wool, in step with the game's textile aesthetic, but are otherwise identical to their appearances in the Yoshi's Island series. Snowballs appear in the World 5 level, Fluffy Snow, Here We Go!

Donkey Kong franchise

Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!

Snowballs in Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! are shot by Bleak out of his hat cannon, and should be avoided, since they can damage the player.

Diddy Kong Racing / Diddy Kong Racing DS

Snowballs in Diddy Kong Racing and its remake sport a pair of large eyes, and are obstacles that can squish players. Snowballs appear in Snowball Valley and in the challenge race course against Bluey.

Donkey Kong Jungle Beat

Donkey Kong and Hoofer approaching an enormous snowball in Donkey Kong Jungle Beat while being followed by Iguanagon

An enormous snowball in Donkey Kong Jungle Beat appears in the level Silver Snow Peak, where Donkey Kong and Hoofer have to follow it up a hill, which slows down as it goes. Donkey Kong has to clap and create shockwaves to shrink and eventually destroy the large snowball, causing it to release a number of beats and allowing Donkey Kong to pass.

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

Snowballs in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze and its Nintendo Switch port are hazards in the level Blurry Flurry, where they are mostly launched from orange bombards fixed on the walls or on the ground; other times, they are tossed in the air as a result of larger snowballs plummeting on the platforms they lie on. If a snowball hits the Kongs, they lose one heart from their health meter. Shortly before the end of Blurry Flurry, the Kongs are propelled into a giant snowball which then starts rolling through rows of enemies and Snowmad structures, destroying them. The player can make the snowball jump to avoid falling into pits.

Mario Kart series

Snowballs in the Mario Kart series are obstacles in DK Pass, a racetrack in Mario Kart DS, Mario Kart 7 and Mario Kart Tour. They fall and roll on the mountainous road, knocking away any racer standing in their path. They appear in the area around the second set of Item Boxes where they go against the racers, and on the snowy incline afterwards, where they roll in their direction. Snowballs also appeared in a Steer Clear of Obstacles bonus challenge on N64 Frappe Snowland in Mario Kart Tour.

Mario Party series

Snowballs in the Mario Party series appear in some minigames. Snowballs in Snowball Summit of Mario Party 3, Mario Party: The Top 100, and Mario Party Superstars have to be created by the player characters to try and knock their opponents off of a frozen summit. Snowballs in Snow Brawl of Mario Party 6 and Super Mario Party Jamboree again have to be created by players to try and hit all of their opponents on the other side, though this time, the solo player is assisted by four Ukikis or Shy Guys, while the team players work together to each create their own snowballs. Snowballs in Snow Way Out of Mario Party 8 are shot from a snow vehicle by the solo player to try and make their rivals fall off the roof.

Super Mario series

New Super Mario Bros.

Snow Spikes in New Super Mario Bros. throw snowballs to attack

Snowballs in New Super Mario Bros. are regurgitated and thrown by Snow Spikes. Once on the ground, snowballs start rolling in a set direction, growing rapidly larger in the process. Snowballs in the game damage Mario or Luigi on contact.

Super Mario Galaxy 2

Snowballs in Super Mario Galaxy 2 will build in size when rolled along snow, and they can create temporary snow paths over lava before melting. Snowballs usually appear when Fire Mario destroys a snow sculpture. Snowballs can defeat a Li'l Cinder on contact.

New Super Mario Bros. U / New Super Luigi U / New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe

Snowballs in New Super Mario Bros. U, New Super Luigi U, and their Nintendo Switch version are obstacles used as projectiles by Flipruses, but unlike in New Super Mario Bros., they do not increase in size and can be jumped on safely. Snowballs in New Super Mario Bros. U also appear as standalone obstacles in Fliprus Lake.

Super Mario 3D World / Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury

Snowballs in Super Mario 3D World and its Nintendo Switch version are interactive objects that can be grabbed and thrown at enemies to defeat them, and passed from one player to another in multiplayer mode. Snowballs are in the Snowball Park level, where some can appear on the ground, while others are created from the segments of defeated Snow Pokeys.

Super Mario Maker 2

Snowballs in version 2.0 of Super Mario Maker 2 are thrown by Spikes in the snow theme, a behavior taken from Snow Spikes in New Super Mario Bros. Snowballs cannot hurt the player, unlike Spike Balls, instead only knocking them back if hit from the side or below. The player can jump on snowballs after throwing them to stop them, then pick them up and throw them at objects or enemies (except in the Super Mario Bros. style, where they can only be kicked). Large snowballs can only be kicked and rolled along the ground. Additionally, a snowball can be produced after defeating a Snow Pokey. Snowballs can also be placed as a separate object. When used against Bowser (or Meowser), a normal-sized Snowball deals 2 HP damage (with 10 Snowball hits defeating him). The damage dealt gets doubled to 4 HP if the Snowball is giant-sized.

Snowballs in version 3.0 lets players pluck snowballs from ground tiles in snow-themed levels if using the SMB2 form.

A snowball with a sprout coming out of it is a possible ground decoration in the snow level theme of the Super Mario World game style.

Paper Mario: Sticker Star

Snowballs in Paper Mario: Sticker Star are obstacles once again used by Snow Spikes, and are usually rolled on slanted footpaths. If a snowball clashes with Mario, it catches him into a loop, forcing him to go back a distance until the snowball breaks into a ledge. Additionally, a Snow Spike may drop a Snowball sticker upon defeat, which can be used in battles to summon a large snowball that rolls over and damages ground-dwelling enemies.

The Snowball can also be placed into the Sticker Museum as #88, alongside other enemy-based stickers.

Profiles and statistics

Paper Mario: Sticker Star

• Item description: Sometimes dropped by Snow Spikes. Launches a giant snowball that snares all ground-bound foes. Doesn't reach high-flying foes.
• Sticker Museum description: An icy snowball yacked up by a Snow Spike that hits all grounded foes with a cold-blooded attack.

Gallery

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  Diddy Kong Racing

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  Diddy Kong Racing

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  Mario Party 3

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  Mario Kart DS

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  Diddy Kong Racing DS

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  Super Mario Galaxy 2

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  Snowball sticker from Paper Mario: Sticker Star

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  Yoshi's New Island

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  The Kongs are sieged by two snowballs shot from cannons in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

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  The Kongs, weaving between several snowballs tossed in the air in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

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  Yoshi's Woolly World

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  Super Mario Maker 2

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  Mario Kart Tour

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	雪玉 ゆきだま Yukidama	Snowball
Chinese	雪球[?] Xuěqiú	SnowBall
Dutch	Sneeuwbal[?]	Snowball
French	Boule de neige[?]	Snow ball
German	Schneeball[?]	Snowball
Italian	Palla di neve[?]	Snow ball
Korean	눈덩이[?] Nundeong'i	Snowball
Portuguese	Bola de neve[?]	Snowball
Spanish	Bola de nieve[?]	Snowball