Durian
Durians[1] are tan spiky Fruit found in the game Super Mario Sunshine. They are based on an actual fruit of the same name from southeastern Asia.
Because of their thorn-covered exterior, Mario cannot pick up durians. He can, however, kick them like a Soccer Ball, as F.L.U.D.D. explains in the game.
Despite the durian's spikes, Yoshi can still eat them, turning his skin and juice purple.
Durians later got another Mario-related Nintendo GameCube appearance in Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, which featured a whole world (consisting of two levels, specifically Battle for Storm Hill and Aerie Fortress) called the "Durian Kingdom". At the end of levels in the Durian Kingdom, Donkey Kong would eat an oversized durian.
Durians reappear in Mario Party DS, in the minigame Hexoskeleton. After being hit two times, Dry Bones will start ground-pounding the arena, creating a force that may drop a durian. If Dry Bones ground-pounds one, he will be stunned for a while, before he starts to ground-pound the arena again. If the player win the minigame twice, the player will earn the Boss Trophies collectable.
Trivia
- There is a soccer ball object in the test level "test11" which acts similar to the Durian and comes with a cardboard box to serve as a goal.[2][3]
- In Super Mario Sunshine, Mario is able to kick durians around like a soccer ball. In real life, durians are a lot heavier than soccer balls.
- While uncommon in Western countries, durians are a delicacy in Southeast Asia, where they are referred to as the as the "king of fruits". They are known for their strong odor which has been compared to sewage and dirty socks, among others. Because of this, durians are banned in certain hotels and other public places.
