Spike

This article is about the enemy. For other uses, see Spike (disambiguation).

"Gabon" redirects here. For the real-world country, see Gabon.

Spike
Artwork of a Spike from Mario Party 10
First appearance	Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988)
Latest appearance	Mario & Luigi: Brothership (2024)
Variant of	Koopa
Variants Clubba Fire Gabon Glohm Spike Mad Spike Mega Spike Paper Spike Snow Spike Stone Spike
Notable members Grubba / Macho Grubba Paper Macho Spike Outlaw Tolstar Tubba Blubba

“Wah ha ha ha! Nice job making it this far! But you won't get past the boss of this fort! Spike 'em...er...Spike!”

—Bowser Jr., Mario Party 9

Spikes are Koopa enemies that throw spiked balls or rollers from within their mouths. They were designed by Hiroyuki Kimura at Nintendo, and they first appeared in Super Mario Bros. 3. Spikes have black Buzzy Beetle-like shells on their backs that are too small for them to enter. Up until New Super Mario Bros. Wii, they also commonly had alternately colored bellies indicated by the Yoshi's Story design to be the front of the shell. While they primarily appear in antagonistic roles, they have also rarely appeared as background or playable characters.

History

Super Mario series

Super Mario Bros. 3

A Spike's design used for their first appearance, Super Mario Bros. 3

Spikes first appeared in Super Mario Bros. 3. They attack by pulling spiked balls out of their stomachs and throwing them at the player while wandering around. They can also fall off the edge like green Koopa Troopas. They can be defeated by any attack (stomps, hits to the ground under them, fireballs, Koopa Shells, invincibility) for 100 points. Despite their appearance, Spikes can be stomped even when they are holding their spiked balls above their heads. The Water Land King also resembles a Spike while transformed in the Family Computer and Nintendo Entertainment System versions, though he is intended to be a kappa. Their sprites have a very small amount of white hair, while their art shows them with a large tuft of white hair, though some alternate materials instead show the later-standard blue. A total of 25 Spikes appear in Super Mario Bros. 3, with 14 in World 3-7, eight in World 6-6, and three in World 6-8. Seven more appear in Ground Work, the 25th level of World-e in Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3.

New Super Mario Bros.

Although no regular Spikes appear in New Super Mario Bros., a type of Spike called Snow Spike appears in World 5-1, which features seven of them. Instead of throwing spiked balls, Snow Spikes throw snowballs that progressively get bigger.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii

New Super Mario Bros. Wii standardized the Spike design introduced in Super Princess Peach

Normal Spikes reappear in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, along with Stone Spikes, a blue variety that uses spiked balls made of stone thrown directly downwards from the ledges on which they stand. This game marks the first appearance of their modern design, which would go on to be re-used in future games. This time, rather than walking around, Spikes stay in one spot while facing in the player's direction. The spiked balls they throw are not as powerful as regular spiked balls since they cannot break blocks and fall off the screen once they roll into a wall. As usual, Spikes can be defeated by any attack, however, they now yield 200 points upon defeat, and, unlike in Super Mario Bros. 3, a Spike holding a spiked ball over its head is no longer safe to jump on. The game features 14 normal Spikes which all appear in World 2-2, as well as 22 Stone Spikes, with 11 in World 6-1 and another 11 in World 8-4.

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

A Spike in New Super Mario Bros. U

Spikes and Stone Spikes appear in New Super Mario Bros. U, New Super Luigi U, and New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe, where they act the same way they did in New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Spikes jump whenever a "bah" is heard in the music. New Super Mario Bros. U features 12 normal Spikes in Spike's Spouting Sands, 23 Stone Spikes in Dry Desert Mushrooms, and another 20 Stone Spikes in the sixth special challenge, Nonstop Flight. New Super Luigi U has 11 normal Spikes in Spike's Tumbling Desert and another 11 in Spike's Seesaws, as well as 13 Stone Spikes in Stone Spike Conveyors.

Super Mario 3D World

Super Mario 3D World artwork of a Spike holding a spiked roller, which Spikes attack with in the game instead of spiked balls

Spikes appears in a few levels of Super Mario 3D World, including Spike's Lost City and Hands-On Hall. Unlike other appearances, Spikes throw spiked rollers instead of balls.

Super Mario Run

Spikes return in Super Mario Run, though they only appear in the level Land of Spikes. They throw spiked balls like in previous games, except at slightly faster intervals and in a short upward arc. If a Spike is stomped, then the spiked ball they threw vanishes.

A Spike Statue can be obtained as a building in Kingdom Builder mode, and placed in the Mushroom Kingdom.

Super Mario Maker 2

Spikes appear as enemies in version 2.0 of Super Mario Maker 2. Since they did not appear in Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario World, they were given new sprites for those styles. In the Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. 3 styles, the Spikes' Spike Balls fly horizontally after being thrown like in Super Mario Bros. 3, though they start being affected by gravity once they touch the ground; while in the Super Mario World, New Super Mario Bros. U and Super Mario 3D World styles, they only roll along the ground. The Spiked Balls can also be Spin Jumped on and, in the latter two styles, act as weight on Seesaws. In snow-themed levels, Spikes throw snowballs instead (similar to Snow Spikes), which can be jumped on, picked up, and thrown. Mega Spikes can also be made by enlarging Spikes with Super Mushrooms.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder

Spikes in Super Mario Bros. Wonder

Spikes return as enemies in Super Mario Bros. Wonder. A new red variant of Spike that spits and throws fireballs instead of Spike Balls is also introduced. In the level Angry Spikes and Sinkin' Pipes, the Wonder Effect has Spikes singing and throwing Spike Balls to the beat.

Amada Anime Series: Super Mario Bros.

A Spike walking alongside Mario, a Boomerang Bro, and a Para-Beetle in Super Mario Momotarō

In Super Mario Momotarō, a Spike is the last creature to join Mario on his mission to rescue Princess Peach. The Spike hopes to get his revenge against Bowser for destroying his home world. During the final battle he helps by knocking Ludwig von Koopa out with an exploding spiked ball. After the final battle, he joins Mario in returning the treasure Bowser had stolen to their rightful owners. He is most likely based off of the monkey from the Momotarō.

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island / Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3

Spikes, known here as Mace Penguins, appear in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. They only appear in BLIZZARD!!!, as well as Endless World of Yoshis in the remake.

Yoshi's Story

A Gabon from Yoshi's Story

Spikes, this time named Gabons, reappear in Yoshi's Story exclusively in the level Jungle Hut on Page 4. They regurgitate bomb-like spiked balls and roll them down hills. The Yoshis may eat them, but the Green Yoshi likes them best. Additionally, the boss Don Bongo bears some resemblance to one. Their name Gabon is a direct translation from their Japanese name, possibly due to the name being taken by another enemy in the same game. Their Yoshi's Story artwork is reused as a stamp in Mario Artist: Paint Studio.

Super Princess Peach

Spikes reappear in Super Princess Peach, which also introduces the orange-haired, enraged Mad Spike.

Mario Party series

Mario Party 9

A giant Spike appears as a boss in Mario Party 9. It is the mid boss of the Magma Mine board, while the stage boss is Chain Chomp. The minigame it is fought in is Spike Strike. During the minigame, the Spike attacks the players by spitting giant Spiked Balls onto the paths leading to them. The players must attack it by quickly choosing a hammer to smack the Spiked Balls back at him.

Mario Party: Island Tour

In Mario Party: Island Tour, a Spike is one of the possible tiles to appear in Match Faker. Stone Spikes appear in Mad Ladders.

Mario Party 10

Spike in Mario Party 10

Spike appears in Mario Party 10 as an unlockable playable character. This is the first appearance of Spike as a playable character in the Super Mario franchise, and also the first game where Spike is not allied with Bowser's Minions. Spike is unlocked by purchasing "Hidden Character 2" in Toad's Room for 600 Mario Party Points, while Toadette is Hidden Character 1. Its voice in this game is the same as in Super Mario 3D World. Spike is also the only playable character in Mario Party 10 to not appear as a playable character in Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash.

Mario Party: Star Rush

Spikes in Roller Revenge from Mario Party: Star Rush

Spikes appear as non-playable characters in Mario Party: Star Rush, and are only encountered in the minigame Roller Revenge. Here, they throw spiked rollers at players, and players who are hit by the rollers lose a life. When the minigame is over, Spike does his second place animation from Mario Party 10.

Super Mario Party

Spikes appear in Super Mario Party as non-playable characters. They can be found in the background of several different minigames.

Super Mario Party Jamboree

Spike returns as a playable character in Super Mario Party Jamboree, making it its first playable appearance since Mario Party 10.

Paper Mario series

Although no regular Spikes appear in Paper Mario or Super Paper Mario, Clubbas, a variation of Spikes that use spiked clubs as weapons and are often seen sleeping, appear instead. Characters known as Tubba Blubba and Grubba appear in Paper Mario and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, respectively.

Paper Mario: Sticker Star

Generic Spikes make their Paper Mario debut in Paper Mario: Sticker Star. They only appear within the levels of World 2. They also have a lot of HP and they have the same HP yellow Pokeys and Snifits have. Spikes also fight in groups of two later and are aided by Paragoombas, Paratroopas, Swoops and Hammer Bros. Spikes will chase Mario and throw their Spike Balls instead of tossing them slightly and letting it roll. In battle, Spikes can hold a Spike Ball over their heads, making jump attacks ineffective until they throw the ball on their next turn. Spikes can also Ground Pound Mario but if the attack misses, it will bounce to the left. When defeated they occasionally drop a Spike Ball sticker. Snow Spikes from New Super Mario Bros. also appear in this game and sometimes drop a Snowball sticker. If a Spike ball is touched outside battle from a Spike, Mario loses 2 Heart Points.

Paper Mario: Color Splash

Spikes return in Paper Mario: Color Splash with the same appearance and behavior from the previous game. However, they do not hold the Spiked Balls during the entire battle this time around, but only when they attack. Also, the design of the Spiked Balls has changed, since the spikes were brown in Paper Mario: Sticker Star and are now white. Spikes appear in Kiwano Temple, The Golden Coliseum, and Sunset Express. Two Spikes assist Ludwig von Koopa in battle, and their Spiked Balls must be hit back at them as Raccoon Mario to defeat them. One appears as a member of the Shady Sledge Bro's gang in Dark Bloo Inn, and one also appears as an NPC on the Sunset Express. A Spike is the first-round opponent in Roshambo Temple #4.

Paper Mario: The Origami King

An Origami Spike

Spikes return in Paper Mario: The Origami King. Regular Spikes appear in the game as supporting characters, while origami Spikes and a Paper Macho Spike Outlaw appear as enemies. One particular Spike who is a part of the Canned-Food Par-tay Trio briefly accompanies Mario on Autumn Mountain to get to a canned food party hosted by a Sombrero Guy. In battle, this Spike attacks enemies with Up-Chuck, where he throws a spiked ball at enemies in a line dealing 25 damage. However, he may drop his spiked ball upon holding it up, resulting in the attack failing.

Mario Golf series

Spikes are non-playable characters in the Mario Golf series. In Mario Golf: World Tour, they appear in the Castle Club game mode, and their name can also appear on the tournament scoreboard; a giant Spike also appears in Wiggler Park. In Mario Golf: Super Rush, Spikes appear in the Golf Adventure mode, and are obstacles in Spiky Palms, where they throw Spike Balls to hurt the player.

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker

A Spike in the Retro Ramp-Up level of Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker

Spikes return in Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, throwing spiked balls like in their usual appearances (although they can throw spiked rollers in one level as well), and defeating them rewards three coins instead of one. They appear in Windup Stairs, Seesaw Sizzle, Retro Ramp-Up, and Trick-Track Hall, as well as the Nintendo Switch-exclusive Special Episode level Flip Panel Panic.

If a Spike is stunned using the pointer/touch screen as it is preparing to throw an obstacle, the object that has yet to leave its hands will be destroyed.

Certain Spikes, such as the ones in Trick Track Hall, cannot be defeated. The red turnips thrown by the 2nd player in the game's Co-op assist mode does not defeat them on the Nintendo Switch version. They can still be defeated using other methods such as spinning or using the Super Pickax.

Mario Tennis series

A Spike from Mario Tennis Aces

In Mario Tennis Aces, while they appear as spectators like in Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash, a Spike also appears as a playable character, classified as a Powerful character. This Spike also appeared in the online tournament demo as an unlockable playable character, unlocked after 600 participation points were accumulated. The Sure Shot Challenge (Beginner) level of the Adventure mode pits Mario against Spike in Piranha Plant Forest. If Mario is successful in the challenge, Spike gives Mario the Wooden Racket. Alternate costumes can be unlocked for Spike by earning participation points in the April 2019 online tournament. A blue headband and blue wristband costume is unlocked at 300 points, a pink headband and pink wristband costume is unlocked at 1000 points, and a yellow headband and yellow wristband costume is unlocked at 2000 points.

Mario & Luigi series

Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam

Spikes appear in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam as enemies during the second visit to Doop Doop Dunes and reside with their paper counterparts, Pokeys and Spinies. One Spike is also fought alongside a Paper Spike, a Hammer Bro and a Paper Hammer Bro as one of the Bowser Duo's last lines of defense in Neo Bowser Castle. In battle, Spikes may throw small spiked balls at all three bros at once which must be jumped over. It can also throw big spiked balls at one bro which must be hammered back, although only the last one will actually damage the Spike since the rest will ricochet off the next one thrown.

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions

Spikes appear in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions, where they are enemies and recruitable allies found in Minion Quest: The Search for Bowser. They are ranged troopers, and attack by throwing Spike Balls at enemies. Their special skill, Throw the Fight, allows them to throw larger Spike Balls at enemies, dealing more damage.

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey

Spikes reappear in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey, as enemies and allies in the Bowser Jr.'s Journey mode. They are ranged troopers, and are strong against both variants of Koopa Troopas and Koopa Paratroopas.

Mario & Luigi: Brothership

Spikes appear in Mario & Luigi: Brothership as enemies on Slippenglide Island alongside Glohm Spikes. In battle, Spikes use a spike ball attack similar to Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam which must be countered with the hammer. Spikes can also stand on one side of a bro. and throw spiked rollers which both bros. must jump over. The roller may land in between one of the bros. and roll in either direction; if it rolls towards the Spike, it will either jump over the roller or take damage.

Four Spikes are captured by Zokket's minions and taken to the Gulchrock Sea Great Lighthouse Island where they are infected with Glohm. After Mario and Luigi defeat these Glohm Spikes, they return to normal.

Mario Sports Superstars

A Spike in the catcher position in the baseball mode of Mario Sports Superstars

Spikes, alongside Stone Spikes, make their playable debut in a Super Mario sports game as selectable teammates in Mario Sports Superstars, in the soccer and baseball modes of the game. They are classified as power type characters. A Mega Spike and Mega Stone Spike also appear as bosses in the Road to Superstar mode.

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle

A spiked roller in Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle. Beep-0 conjectures that whoever had it must have left in a hurry.

Spikes do not appear during the events of Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, but there are recurring background elements in Spooky Trails that allude to them, like Spiked Balls and spiked rollers. In addition, one of Luigi's Precision weapons, the Spike Strike, is based on a Spike.

Dr. Mario World

Spikes appear in Dr. Mario World as assistants. Their stage mode effect increases the player's base score for every green virus that are eliminated, with the base score increase being greater at higher levels, starting from 50 points at the first level to 200 points at the maximum level. In versus mode, they have a chance to increase the speed that the user's attack meter fills, in which the amount of points is effectively reduced by 20%, rounded down to the nearest round number, and the chance of its activation is 10% at the first level and 50% at the maximum level. Spikes also appear in the overworld for World 2 when it is cleared. A Spike was featured as a patient during Season 3 of the Clinic Events.

Profiles and statistics

Main article: List of Spike profiles and statistics

Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam

Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam enemy
Spike
	HP	119	POW	96 (90)	Defense	118 (101)	Speed	70
	Role	Common	Type	Shelled	Weakness	None	Location(s)	Doop Doop Dunes, Neo Bowser Castle
	Level	18	Experience	76 (71)	Coins	42	Item drop	1-Up Mushroom - 4% SPEED Scarf - 2%
Notice: Stats in parentheses are from the game's Easy Mode.

Paper Mario: Color Splash

Paper Mario: Color Splash enemy
Spike
	HP	25	Type	Shelled	Role	Common	Card
	Strong	None	Weak	None	Card drop rate	5
	Moves	Hip Attack (9), Ball Attack (12), Group Attack (9), Blowback Attack (24)
	Location(s)	Kiwano Temple, The Golden Coliseum, Fort Cobalt, Mustard Café, Sunset Express
Quotes	Usual: "My lips are chapped..." ~ "I'm not big—my shell's just small!" ~ "Dodge this!" ~ "SPIKE, SPIKE, SPIKE!" While holding spiked ball: "This is going to hurt!" ~ "Catch!" Ludwig battle: "YESSIR!" ~ "Bomb squad reporting for battle!" ~ "It's my big moment..." ~ "I wasn't ready for this..." ~ "Remember your training..." ~ "The Ludship... It's...glorious!"
Enemy class
ENEMY_RANDAM_1_5
Dropped items
Hammer Scraps 10 Red paint 0 Yellow paint 32 Blue paint 32 Orange paint 0 Green paint 8 Purple paint 0

Paper Mario: The Origami King

Paper Mario: The Origami King enemy
Spike
	HP			32			Moves	Location(s)
	Type			Shelled			Ground Pound (?), Super Ground Pound (?), Up-Chuck (?), Hurly-Burly (?), Foe Throw (?)	The Princess Peach, ? Island, Bowser's Castle
	Role			Common
	Item drops			Mushroom
							They spit up spiked balls on the regular. How unsettling! Those spikes smart, so don't stomp them by mistake!

Gallery

For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Spike.

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  Super Mario Bros. 3

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  New Super Mario Bros. Wii

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  Mario Party 9

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  Dr. Mario World

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  Super Mario Maker 2 (Super Mario World style)

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	ガボン[?] Gabon	Possibly from「がぶがぶ」(gabugabu, onomatopoeia for gobbling) and「坊」(bon, an affectionate term for boys)
	カボン Kabon	-
Chinese	加邦[?] Jiābāng	Transliteration of Japanese name
Dutch	Spike[?]	-
French	Spike[?]	-
	Crampon	Crampon	Super Mario Bros. 3
German	Spike[?]	-
	Gabon		Yoshi's Story
Italian	Spunzo[?]	Cognate with punta ("spike") or pungere ("to sting")
Korean	가봉[?] Gabong	Transliteration of Japanese name
Portuguese	Espigão	Spike
Russian	Спайк[?] Spayk	Transcription of English name
Spanish (NOA)	Escupicos[?]	Pormanteau of escupir ("to spit") and pico ("spike")
Spanish (NOE)	Spike[?]	-