Spike Top

Not to be confused with Spiky Topman.

Spike Top
A Spike Top from Super Mario Party
First appearance	Super Mario World (1990)
Latest appearance	Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Nintendo Switch) (2024)
Variant of	Buzzy Beetle
Variants Dark Spike Top M. M-Spike Top Spiky Parabuzzy
Relatives Spiny
Comparable Horned Ant Trooper Swirlypod Thorny
Notable members Spiky Joe The Tiny Spinies Torque

“See this spike on my back? Without it, I'd just be an ordinary Buzzy Beetle!”

—Spiky Joe, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

Spike Tops are Buzzy Beetles named for the single spike on top of their red shells, making them resemble a Pickelhaube helmet. Due to their immunity to fire and the feature that makes it unsafe to jump on them, Spike Tops are among the more resilient enemies in the Super Mario franchise. Their defining trait is their ability to crawl along vertical and upside-down surfaces. Despite being a shelled enemy, in the platforming games, any effective method of attack will defeat them instantly instead of having them retreat into their shells.

History

Super Mario series

Super Mario World

Spike Tops are introduced in Super Mario World, where they are commonly found in Vanilla Dome and crawl around the walls and ceilings of caves. The player can bounce off of them safely with a Spin Jump or with Yoshi. Defeating them with a cape swing in caped form or by having Yoshi spit any other enemy that is not a Koopa Shell at them (possible in Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2 if Yoshi is ridden by Luigi) yields 100 points, while sand clouds from a Yoshi holding a Yellow Shell (or a Yellow Yoshi with any shell), shells thrown or spat out by Yoshi, and first contact with players rendered invincible by a star rewards 200 points. Spike Tops are distinct from Buzzy Beetles in that their eyes are less obscured and their shells are flatter. Though their artwork depicts them with four legs, their sprite depicts them with six, though this trait would be corrected in their subsequent appearances.

Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3

Spike Tops, depicted with their original six-legged sprites from Super Mario World, appear in Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3. Three appear near the end of the World-e level Ice Dungeon, walking around three floating octagonal platforms. Defeating them via tail whip from Raccoon Mario or Tanooki Mario, a stomp from the Tanooki's statue form, hammers thrown by Hammer Mario, and first contact with players rendered invincible by a Star would give out 100 points.

New Super Mario Bros.

Four Spike Tops in 5-2 in New Super Mario Bros.

Spike Tops return in New Super Mario Bros., with the same behavior from Super Mario World, albeit with their current design, that of a proper four-legged red-shelled Buzzy Beetle with a single spike. A Shell, Starman, or Mega Mushroom can defeat them, as can hitting a block one is on. They only appear in World 5-2, World 6-Tower2, and World 8-Tower.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii

Spike Tops also appear in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, mostly in World 2-3. They can be defeated by a Star, Shell, hitting a block from below with the Spike Top on top of it, or Ground Pounding the block with the Spike Top on the bottom. Additionally, Spike Tops can be frozen by ice balls and used as weapons against other enemies.

Through hacking methods, it is also shown that Yoshi can completely eat Spike Tops, as well as safely bounce off of them, a behavior that was later carried over to Super Mario Maker.

New Super Mario Bros. 2

Spike Tops reappear in New Super Mario Bros. 2, where they act the same as in previous games. They can be defeated with the same methods from the previous games, in addition to swinging Raccoon Mario's tail near them. In the Prima guide, they are referred to as Red Spike Buzzy (similar to the Red Spike Tops in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door). They appear in World 2-3, World 6-1 and World Flower-A.

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

Spike Tops reappear in New Super Mario Bros. U. They behave exactly as in the previous games, and they may be eaten by any Baby Yoshi. However, they are invincible to Bubble Baby Yoshi bubbles. They appear in Stoneslide Tower, Thrilling Spine Coaster, Shifting-Floor Cave, and Rising Tides of Lava.

Super Mario Maker / Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS / Super Mario Maker 2

A blue Spike Top.

Spike Tops reappear in Super Mario Maker, its Nintendo 3DS version and Super Mario Maker 2, using the same behaviors as in previous games. They can be used in the four original styles, but are absent from Super Mario 3D World. They receive new sprites for their Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. 3 appearances. A blue-shelled variant typically with cyan skin additionally appears, and crawls much faster than its red counterpart. Applying wings to one will have it fly in a straight line, similarly to a Para-Beetle, except it will cause damage if stood on without a Goomba's Shoe or Yoshi. If a Spike Top is crawling on a slope or a One-Way Wall, it can be defeated by stomping on its underside.

Nintendo Adventures Books

A swarm of Spike Tops appears to attack Mario and Yoshi in Dinosaur Dilemma of Nintendo Adventure Books, throwing themselves at the plumber and dinosaur as they are traveling through a desert. Depending on how the reader solves the accompanying puzzle, either Yoshi will eat all the Spike Tops, or one will succeed in knocking Mario out for several hours, allowing Bowser to easily conquer Dinosaur Island.

Mario Clash

In Mario Clash, Spike Tops are named Spike. Introduced in the first level, they can be defeated by throwing a Turtle Shell at them.

Paper Mario series

Paper Mario

In Paper Mario, Spike Tops appear as enemies in Mt. Lavalava. They are much more like Buzzy Beetles in that they can be flipped over, are resistant to fire and explosion attacks, and attack by Shell Tossing. Uniquely to this game, Spike Tops sport "angry" eyebrows, as well as having a yellow shell trim and nails. Spike Tops also appear in Toad Town Tunnels, but only in battle with Dark Koopas.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

In Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Spike Tops usually have blue shells, though a red-shelled variant known as a Red Spike Top (also called an R. S. Buzzy, likely standing for "Red Spike Buzzy") also appears in the Glitz Pit as The Tiny Spinies. The blue Spike Tops can be found in Creepy Steeple alongside Buzzy Beetles. Additionally, a winged variant called the Spiky Parabuzzy makes its debut in this game. Stomping it if the Spike Shield badge is equipped causes it to lose its wings and turns it into a Spike Top. All these species also make an appearance in the Pit of 100 Trials.

The American version of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door mistakenly claims that the Defense stat for the red version of Spike Tops as being 5 instead of 4. This mistake was not present in the Japanese version and was corrected in the European version, as well as corrected in the game's remake, though Goombella still mistakenly says that it is the most durable of all Buzzy Beetles, despite having the same defense stat.

Super Paper Mario

Blue-shelled Spike Tops make a reappearance in Super Paper Mario. Due to this game being more of a 2D or 3D side-scrolling adventure and not a turn-based RPG, they have the same attack patterns as in the 2D Super Mario games.

Paper Mario: Sticker Star

Spike Tops reappear in Paper Mario: Sticker Star, this time with their original red coloration and eye color from Super Mario World and the New Super Mario Bros. series. Spike Tops appear in Rustle Burrow, Holey Thicket, Chomp Ruins and Rumble Volcano. Once again, they cannot be stomped on unless using an Iron Jump sticker or if they are crumpled. Using an normal Jump sticker will cost Mario 3 HP even a First Strike as a jump. They can retreat in their shells if Mario uses a Iron Jump sticker. Their only method of attack is going into their shell and ramming into Mario and if Mario does not block this attack, he will not only take full damage but there is also a small chance that he may get dizzy. Also, a sticker based on the Spike Tops' shell called the Spike Helmet can be used. In its artwork it shows that Spike Tops have a nervous face but in the game they have a mad face much like the Spinies do. In this game Spike Tops have much more HP like most enemies do. They are very common in Chomp Ruins since they fight in groups of 4 or 5.

Paper Mario: Color Splash

Spike Top sprite from Paper Mario: Color Splash

Spike Tops return in Paper Mario: Color Splash with the same appearance they had in the previous game. They are found in Redpepper Volcano and Redpepper Crater.

In battle, they can attack Mario by transforming into a shell and flying towards him. They can also retreat into their shell during their turn or if they are stomped on with an Iron Jump, after which they can be sent towards other enemies with another Iron Jump or a KO Hammer. Ally Spike Tops summoned via Enemy Cards use a Shell Shot attack, damaging all grounded enemies for 22 damage and making them dizzy. Both ally and enemy Spike Tops are immune to fire and jump attacks due to their shell.

Paper Mario: The Origami King

An origami Spike Top

Spike Tops return in Paper Mario: The Origami King, sporting the same appearance as in Color Splash. This time, however, they have an origami variant that antagonizes Mario.

This section is a stub. You can help the Super Mario Wiki by expanding it.

Mario Family

A Spike Top in Mario Family

A Spike Top is one of the sewing designs in Mario Family.

WarioWare series

A Spike Top sprite in the Mario Clash microgame in WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$! (left) and WarioWare Gold (right)

Spike Tops only appear in two of 9-Volt's microgames. In WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$! and WarioWare Gold, Spike Tops appear as the enemy in level 1 of the Mario Clash microgame. In WarioWare: Get It Together! Spike Tops appear in level 2 of the Super Mario World microgame.

Super Princess Peach

In Super Princess Peach, Spike Tops return as "Mecha-Spike Tops," though are neither mechanical nor any physically different than in other appearance, despite the name suggesting otherwise. Super Princess Peach also introduces an angry variety, the M. M-Spike Top, which can stretch out its spike to attack foes. They can only be defeated by using Rage or Poundbrella.

Mario Party series

Spike Tops only make a cameo appearance in two minigames within the Mario Party series. In Mario Party: Island Tour, Spike Top is among the constellations that can appear in Starring Artist. In Super Mario Party, it is possible for a Spike Top to be one of the guesses in Absent Minded.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS

SmashWiki article: Spike Top

Spike Tops appear in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS as enemies in Smash Run. They seem to look and behave as they do in the New Super Mario Bros. series. They slowly walk around a platform and each of its edges. They have low health and do not attack, but they deal damage to any player that comes into contact with them.

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

Spike Tops make their debut in the Mario & Luigi series in the Bowser Jr.'s Journey mode of Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey, as allies and enemies.

Profiles and statistics

Mario Clash

• Instruction booklet description:
  • English:
    If you throw a shell at him, you can knock him off. He is the weakest of your enemies.

Paper Mario series

Paper Mario

Paper Mario enemy
Spike Top
		Max HP	4	Attack	3	Defense	4 (standing), 0 (flipped)
		Role	Common	Type	Ground, Top-Spiky (standing), Ground (flipped)	Level	17
		Strong	Fire, Explosion (standing), None (flipped)	Weak	None	Moves	Shell Toss (3), Stand Up
		Sleep?	60%, -1	Dizzy?	75%, 1	Shock?	75%, 0
		Shrink?	75%, 0	Stop?	90%, 0	Fright?	60% (standing); 0% (flipped)
		Air Lift?	70%	Hurricane?	65%	Coins	1 + 2-3
		Items	Super Soda	Run	18	Location(s)	Mt. Lavalava, Toad Town Tunnels
Tattle	This is Spike Top. Spike Tops have spikes on top. Duh! Max HP: 4, Attack Power: 3, Defense Power: 4 They're tough, just like Buzzy Beetles, and fire attacks don't affect 'em at all. But their defense power drops if you can flip 'em over.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

GameCube

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door enemy
Spike Top
	Max HP	5	Attack	3	Defense	4
	Location(s)	Creepy Steeple	Role	Common	Level	17
	Sleep?	75%	Dizzy?	75%	Confuse?	75%
	Tiny?	90%	Stop?	90%	Soft?	95%
	Burn?	0%	Freeze?	75%	Fright?	60%
	Gale Force?	30%	KO?	95%	Moves	Shell Toss (3), Get Up (Stops Being Flipped)
	Exp. points	0	Coins	1 - 3	Items	Slow Shroom
Tattle Log #: 32	Log	This Buzzy has high defense and a pointy spike on its shell. You'll take damage if you stomp on it.
	Tattle	That's a Spike Top. It's a Buzzy Beetle with a spike on its back. Max HP is 5, Attack is 3, and Defense is 4. Like other Buzzies, fire and explosions have absolutely no effect on it. But, you can flip it over to drop its Defense to 0! I'm sure you know this already, but try not to jump on it. That spike hurts.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door enemy
R. S. Buzzy
	Max HP	5	Attack	3	Defense	4
	Location(s)	Glitz Pit	Role	Common	Level	17
	Sleep?	75%	Dizzy?	75%	Confuse?	75%
	Tiny?	90%	Stop?	90%	Soft?	95%
	Burn?	0%	Freeze?	75%	Fright?	60%
	Gale Force?	30%	KO?	95%	Moves	Shell Toss (3)
	Exp. points	0	Coins	1 - 2	Items	None
Tattle Log #: 35	Log	The sturdiest of all the Buzzy Beetles, a Red Spike Top is impervious to fire and explosions. Plus, the spike on its back protects it from being flipped over.
	Tattle	That's a Red Spike Top. It's the most well protected of the Buzzy Beetle species. Max HP is 5, Attack is 3, and Defense is a whopping 5[sic]. Yup... This guy is HARD! It has really high Defense, and fire and explosions don't hurt it at all. If we can just find a way to flip it over, its underside has Defense of 0... And that spike... What a pain! There's gotta be a way to flip it over... That's a Red Spike Top. It's the most well protected of the Buzzy Beetle species. Max HP is 5, Attack is 3, and Defense is a whopping 4. Yup... This guy is HARD! It has really high Defense, and fire and explosions don't hurt it at all. If we can just find a way to flip it over, its underside has Defense of 0... And that spike... What a pain! There's gotta be a way to flip it over...

Nintendo Switch

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door enemy
Spike Top
	Max HP	5	Attack	3	Defense	4
	Location(s)	Creepy Steeple	Role	Common	Level	17
	Sleep?	75%	Dizzy?	75%	Confuse?	75%
	Tiny?	90%	Stop?	90%	Soft?	95%
	Burn?	0%	Freeze?	75%	Fright?	60%
	Gale Force?	30%	KO?	95%	Moves	Shell Toss (3), Get Up (Stops Being Flipped)
	Exp. points	0	Coins	1 - 3	Items	Slow Mushroom
Tattle Log #: 33	Log	This Buzzy has high Defense and a pointy spike on its shell. You'll take damage if you stomp on it.
	Tattle	That's a Spike Top. It's a Buzzy Beetle with a spike on its back. Max HP is 5, Attack is 3, and Defense is 4. Like other Buzzies, fire and explosions have absolutely no effect on it. But you can flip it over to drop its Defense to 0! I'm sure you know this already, but try not to jump on it. That spike hurts.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door enemy
Red Spike Top
	Max HP	5	Attack	3	Defense	4
	Location(s)	Glitz Pit	Role	Common	Level	17
	Sleep?	75%	Dizzy?	75%	Confuse?	75%
	Tiny?	90%	Stop?	90%	Soft?	95%
	Burn?	0%	Freeze?	75%	Fright?	60%
	Gale Force?	30%	KO?	95%	Moves	Shell Toss (3)
	Exp. points	0	Coins	1 - 2	Items	None
Tattle Log #: 36	Log	The sturdiest of all the Buzzy Beetles, a Red Spike Top is impervious to fire and explosions. Plus, the spike on its back protects it from being flipped over.
	Tattle	That's a Red Spike Top. It's the most well protected of the Buzzy Beetle species. Max HP is 5, Attack is 3, and Defense is a whopping 4. Yup... This guy is HARD! It has really high Defense, and fire and explosions don't hurt it at all. If we can just find a way to flip it over, its underside has Defense of 0... And that spike... What a pain! There's gotta be a way to flip it over...

Super Paper Mario

Super Paper Mario enemy
Spike Top
	Max HP	1	Role	Common	Location(s)	Floro Caverns (5-3 and 5-4), Flipside Pit of 100 Trials (Room 37)
	Attack	2	Card type	Common
	Defense	3	Items		Card location(s)	Card Shop; Catch Card/SP
	Score	300
	Card description	A Buzzy Beetle that's spiked out and ready to go. Try to control your urge to stomp on it.
List of Catch Cards     17      18      19	Tattle	This is a Spike Top. It's a Buzzy Beetle with...well, a spike on top of its shell... Max HP is 1, Attack is 2, and Defense is 3. Even flames won't scorch its hard shell... On top of that, it has a spike. What can we do about this prickly foe...? Throw something at it or use an item... That spike can cause a painful poke... I suggest you just leave it be...

Paper Mario: Sticker Star

Paper Mario: Sticker Star enemy
Spike Top
	Max HP	13	Role	Common	Location(s)	Rustle Burrow, Holey Thicket, Chomp Ruins, Rumble Volcano, Bowser's Sky Castle
	Attack	6	Stickers	N/A
	Defense	1	Moves	Shell Toss (6)

Paper Mario: Color Splash

Paper Mario: Color Splash enemy
Spike Top
	HP	22	Type	Spiny, Shelled	Role	Common	Card
	Strong	Jump, Fire	Weak	POW Block	Card drop rate	5
	Moves	Attack (16), Shell Retreat (acts as if stomped on), Stomped-on Attack (32), Line Attack (16), Group Attack (16), Blowback Attack (16)
	Location(s)	Redpepper Volcano, Redpepper Crater
Quotes	Usual: "Look who grew a spike!" ~ "I'm basically invincible!" ~ "Only got one spike. Only need one." ~ "Jumps welcome." Shell: "It's cozy in here..." ~ "I'm a shell of my former self..." Flipped: "Well, this is awkward..." ~ "Don't threaten me!"
Enemy class
ENEMY_RANDAM_1_5
Dropped items
Hammer Scraps 10 Red paint 39 Yellow paint 10 Blue paint 0 Orange paint 0 Green paint 0 Purple paint 0

Paper Mario: The Origami King

Paper Mario: The Origami King enemy
Spike Top
	HP			34			Moves	Location(s)
	Type			Spiked, Shelled			Shell Shot (?), Group Shell Shot (?), Skewer (?)	Ice Vellumental Mountain, Shangri-Spa
	Role			Common
	Item drops			Mushroom
							Notable for their large spike. They're not fun to step on, so do yourself a favor and pull out the ol' hammer.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii

• Trading card description: "These tough-shelled enemies get right to the point. Spike Tops tend to quietly creep around on the walls. They have an indestructible shell with a fierce spike jutting out of the middle. Don't try to jump on Spike Tops, their shell is lethal and un-stompable. However, you can knock them out with star power or a powerful ground-pound."
  

Card Number: 32

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS

Trophy Spike Top

Category: Enemy

How to unlock: Random

These turtles come from the Super Mario series and have one big spike on their backs. Their eyes glow from beneath the edge of their shells, watching you as they approach. In Smash Run, they crawl along walls, floors, and the ceiling. They aren't bothered by projectiles, so you'll have to find other ways to defeat them. (American English)

With a massive spike on its back, glowing little eyes peering out from under its shell, and the way it walks along walls and ceilings, this turtle foe from the Super Mario series is pretty creepy. In Smash Run, just touching it will hurt you, and its shell protects it from projectiles. You'll either have to attack it directly or throw it. (British English)

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

• Bowser Jr.'s Journey profile: Their backs are well protected by sharp spikes and a solid shell. Try to dispel their spike attacks as much as possible.

Gallery

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

• 

  Super Mario World

• 

  New Super Mario Bros.

• 

  Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS

• 

  Super Mario Party

• 

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

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	トゲメット[?] Togemetto	From「棘」(toge, "spike") and「メット」(Metto, "Buzzy Beetle"); officially romanized as "Togemet". May also reference「トゲゾー」(Togezō, "Spiny").
Chinese (simplified)	刺壳甲虫 Cì Ké Jiǎchóng	Spiky-shelled Beetle
	尖刺钢盔龟 (since Super Mario Maker 2)[?] Jiāncì Gāngkuīguī	Sharp Point Buzzy Beetle
Chinese (traditional)	尖刺鋼盔龜[?] Jiāncì Gāngkuīguī	Sharp Point Buzzy Beetle
Dutch	Spike Top[?]	-
French	Picos[?]	From picot ("li'l spike") and slang suffix -os
German	Pickelkäfer Pickel-Käfer[?]	Pointed Buzzy Beetle
Italian	Punginella[?]	Portmanteau of pungi ("sting") and Nella ("Buzzy Beetle")
	Pungimatic(Super Princess Peach)[?]	Spike Top-matic
	Spunzo Top	Spike Top
Korean	가시하잉바[?] Gasi Haingba	Spike Buzzy Beetle
Portuguese (NOE)	Pico[?]	Spike
Russian	Пикожук[?] Pikozhuk	Portmanteau of пика (pika, "sting") and Каскожук (Kaskozhuk, "Buzzy Beetle")
Spanish	Punzón[?]	Meaning "awl"; also likely a pun on Pinchón ("Spiny") and punzante ("stinging") or punzar ("to prick")