Spark pylon
| Spark pylon | |
|---|---|
 Artwork | |
| First appearance | Super Mario Odyssey (2017) |
| Latest appearance | Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2018) |
Spark pylons are capturable objects in Super Mario Odyssey. They represent the terminals of a power line, which Mario can travel rapidly along after turning into a ball of electricity. The base of a spark pylon has a small sphere on the top with a lightning bolt symbol on the sides.
History[edit]
Super Mario Odyssey[edit]
When Mario captures a spark pylon, he turns into a ball of electricity and gains the ability to move across power lines to reach other spark pylons. Variants without power lines appear in the Moon Kingdom, in the Ruined Kingdom, in Bowser's Kingdom, and in a Sand Kingdom bonus challenge, but they handle similarly by having electricity arc across the path. This can help Mario quickly travel to different areas of some kingdoms, much like Launch Stars in Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2 and the Warp Boxes and Clear Pipes in Super Mario 3D Land and Super Mario 3D World (only the former appears in both of these games).
Mario can move across a wire or over a path when the player uses 
. The player can also shake the controller, moving into the default direction. (If there are multiple directions of wires, this is the direction Mario faces when he captured the pylon.) Mario cannot stop or change direction until he reaches a different spark pylon. If the destination spark pylon has options to move in that are not backward, Mario stops and awaits a new input. If there is not, he pops out. A rare few destinations do not have a spark pylon, so Mario pops out there.
The player can shake their Joy-Con controller or press a button to slightly crackle. This has the additional effect of allowing the ball to target and follow trails of coins nearby, then return to the power line. In some cases, this allows Mario to grab out-of-reach Power Moons. The player can de-capture while moving, which can allow them to reach places the wire/path moves past. While a ball of electricity, Mario damages enemies he touches. This does not mean he is invincible: Enemies that do not take damage such as Fuzzies are sometimes seen on these same lines as obstacles.
Spark pylons have a unique property compared to all other objects on the Capture List. If Mario has currently captured a character, then touches a spark pylon, he immediately captures the spark pylon and leaves the other character. If that character was an enemy, the electric ball usually proceeds to defeat them because of their proximity. This property does not apply to Glydon, Moe-Eyes, or T-Rexes. While a spark pylon cannot be destroyed, the Cascade Kingdom has some on top of destroyable poles. Destroying a pole reveals that a wire attached to a spark pylon that moves off becomes longer to keep the connection between spark pylons.
Mario first encounters a spark pylon after defeating Topper on Top-Hat Tower during Cappy of the Cap Kingdom. This spark pylon appeared after the boss was fought, and Mario uses the power line leading from it to travel from the Cap Kingdom to the Cascade Kingdom. It is taller compared to other spark pylons. The wire connecting the kingdoms breaks and falls away as Mario exits in the Cascade Kingdom, and the tall spark pylon never appears again. This may be because the Odyssey is the primary means of moving between kingdoms, and it is found in the Cascade Kingdom. No other power lines lead between kingdoms.
The game's final setpiece is a larger spark pylon deep in the Moon Kingdom, during Bowser's Moon Wedding. Bowser, while being captured by Mario, unearths it so that everyone can escape a collapsing cave. This spark pylon is a special exception to the normal rules, since Mario and Cappy capture the spark pylon while still capturing Bowser. Princess Peach and Tiara also capture this spark pylon at the same time. They all start moving only after a directional input is held or the controller is shaken for a short duration. This specific spark pylon is captured as part of a cutscene and is not programmed as a capture.[1]
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[edit]
Spark pylons can be seen in the New Donk City Hall stage of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as background elements. They appear in the same spots on the building as in Super Mario Odyssey.
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | 電気ボックス[?] Denki bokkusu |
Electric box | |
| Chinese | 电箱 (Simplified) 電箱 (Traditional)[?] Diàn xiāng |
Electric box | |
| Dutch | Generator[?] | Generator | |
| French | Borne gzzzt[2] | Gzzzt terminal | |
| German | Stromgenerator[?] | Electricity generator | |
| Italian | Generatore elettrizap[?] | Electrizap generator | |
| Russian | Трансформатор[?] Transformator |
Transformer | |
| Spanish | Poste de chispazo[?] | Spark post |
Trivia[edit]
- The electricity sound that is produced as Mario travels with a spark pylon adjusts its pitch and tempo according to the background music. This sound is replaced by koto samples in Bowser's Kingdom.
References[edit]
- ^ Lowest Percent (Nov 6, 2020). How Speedrunners beat Mario Odyssey without Cappy (almost) ("2:36"). Youtube. Retrieved Sept 14, 2024.
- ^ Super Mario Odyssey capture list
