Spike

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

“Spike 'em, er...Spike!”

—Bowser Jr., Mario Party 9

Spikes are Koopa enemies that throw spiked balls. 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.

History

Super Mario series

Super Mario Bros. 3

Spikes first appeared in Super Mario Bros. 3 as enemies. They are found in one Water Land stage and many Ice Land stages, and they attack by pulling spiked balls out of their stomachs and throwing them at Mario or Luigi while wandering around. They can also fall off the edge like green Koopa Troopas. A single stomp defeats them. Despite their appearance, Spikes can be stomped even when they are holding their spiked balls above their heads. Their sprites are shown to not have hair while they are shown with blue hair in their Super Mario Bros. 3 artwork. Spikes can also be defeated by fireballs and hammers. The Water Land King also resembles a Spike while transformed in the NES version.

New Super Mario Bros.

Although no regular Spikes appear in New Super Mario Bros., an icy variety of Spike called Snow Spike appears in World 5-1. Instead of throwing spiked balls, Snow Spikes throw snowballs that progressively get bigger.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii

File:GabonNSMBWii.png

Artwork of a Spike from New Super Mario Bros. Wii

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. Spikes can be defeated by a simple jump to the head, however, unlike in Super Mario Bros. 3, if the Spike is holding a spiked ball it will damage the player. They can also be defeated by fireballs or barrels and can also be frozen via the Ice Flower or the Penguin Suit power-ups. In this game, Spikes stay at one spot instead of walking around, although they can turn directions. The green variation appears only in World 2. Unlike regular spiked balls which destroys blocks, the Spike's spiked balls cannot break blocks.

New Super Mario Bros. U

Spikes and Stone Spikes also appear in New Super Mario Bros. U, where they act in the same way they did in New Super Mario Bros. Wii. The green variation appears at their own level called Spike's Spouting Sands, where they appear mounted on Flying ? Blocks, while Stone Spikes appear in Dry Desert Mushrooms. The green Spikes jump whenever a "bah" is heard in the music.

Super Mario 3D World

Artwork of Spike holding a Spike Bar from Super Mario 3D World

Spikes make their first appearance in a 3D Mario platformer game in Super Mario 3D World. Here, they appear in a few levels, such as Spike's Lost City and Hands-On Hall, and throw Spike Bars instead of spiked 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.

Amada Anime Series: Super Mario Bros.

File:AmadaBoomerangBro..jpg

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 spike 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.

Yoshi's Island series

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

Spikes later reappear in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. They only are in BLIZZARD!!!, but in the remake, they also appear in Endless World of Yoshis. They are erroneously named "Mace Penguins."

Yoshi's Story

A Gabon from Yoshi's Story

Spikes reappear in Yoshi's Story in the level Jungle Hut on Page 4. They regurgitate spiked balls and roll them down hills. The Yoshis may eat them, but the Green Yoshi likes them best. They are mistakenly known as Gabons, probably a translation error as Spikes are called Gabons in Japan.

According to the text seen after beating the level, the Baby Yoshis apparently met one specific Spike named "Gabon" while entering his hut. All that is known about the encounter is that the angered Spike threw various objects at the Baby Yoshis. Additionally, the boss Don Bongo bears some resemblance to a Spike.

Super Princess Peach

Spikes also appear 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 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 appears in Mario Party 10 as a new unlockable playable character. This is the first appearance of Spike as a playable character in the Mario franchise, and also the first game where Spike is not allied with the Koopa Troop. 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 nonplayable characters in Mario Party: Star Rush, appearing as NPCs 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.

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 Spiked 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 don't 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.

Mario Golf: World Tour

Spikes appear in Mario Golf: World Tour as NPC characters in the Castle Club game mode. Their name can also appear on the tournament scoreboard. A giant Spike also appears in Wiggler Park.

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker

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

Spikes return in Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker acting like in Super Mario 3D World, although they can throw Spiked Balls as well. They appear in Windup Stairs, Seesaw Sizzle, Retro Ramp-Up, and Trick-Track Hall.

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

Certain Spikes, such as the one in Retro Ramp-Up, cannot be defeated with the red turnips thrown by the 2nd player in the game's Co-op mode on Nintendo Switch. They can still be defeated in other methods such as spinning or the Super Pickax.

Mario & Luigi series

Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam

Spikes appear in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam as enemies in Doop Doop Dunes and reside with their paper counterparts, Pokeys and Spinies.

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 Spiked Balls at enemies. Their special skill, Throw the Fight, allows them to throw larger Spiked Balls at enemies, dealing more damage.

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 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. They also appear as bosses in the Road to Superstar mode.

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle

A Spike Bar 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 Spike Bars. In addition, one of Luigi's Precision weapons, the Spike Strike, is based on a Spike.

Mario Tennis Aces

A Spike from Mario Tennis Aces

Spikes make their Mario Tennis debut in Mario Tennis Aces, where one appears as a playable character. It is classified as a powerful character. Stone Spikes can also be seen as spectators. Spike also appeared in the online tournament demo as an unlockable playable character, unlocked after 600 points were accumulated.

Profiles and statistics

Paper Mario series

Paper Mario: Sticker Star enemy
Spike
	Max HP	16	Role	Common	Location(s)	Sandshifter Ruins, Drybake Stadium
	Attack	6	Stickers	Spike Ball
	Defense	0	Moves	Spikeball Throw (6), Ground Pound (4)

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

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.

Mario Party: Star Rush

Image	Name	Bio
	Spike A big Koopa with a tiny shell.	"Spikes use their immense strength to hurl spiked rollers that are even bigger than they are!"

Super Mario Run

• Notebook bio: "This hardworking turtle has a very small shell. It spits out metal balls that it'll throw at its enemies."

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	ガボン[?] Gabon	?
Chinese	加邦[?] Jiābāng	Transliteration of Japanese name
Dutch	Spike[?]	-
German	Spike[?]	-
Italian	Spunzo[?]	Cognate with punta (spike) or pungere (to sting)
Korean	가봉[?] Gabong	Transliteration of Japanese name
Portuguese	Espigão[?]	Big Spike
Russian	Спайк[?] Spayk	Transcription of English name
Spanish (NOA)	Escupico Escupicos (Super Mario Run)[?]	Pormanteau of escupir (to spit) and pico (spike)
Spanish (NOE)	Spike[?]	-

Gallery

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

Trivia

• In Japanese, the spiked balls thrown by Spikes and Ptooies are named "shūringan" (シューリンガン). The name shūringan is taken from the Japanese rakugo folktale Jugemu, from which the Japanese names of Lakitu (Jugemu) and Spiny Eggs (Paipo) are also derived.
• In the Super Mario Bros. movie, one of President Koopa's cousins is named Spike. The film character bears no resemblance to the Spike species depicted in the games, however.
• Spike's Super Mario Bros. 3 sprite depicts it as nearly bald, with only 2 pixels allocated for hair, and its Yoshi's Story appearance depicts it completely hairless.