Rocky Wrench
Rocky Wrenches are enemies employed as crewmen on the Koopa Troop's vehicles.[1][2] They pop out of manhole covers and attack by throwing their namesake wrenches. They have been described as mole-like turtles,[1][3] but from New Super Mario Bros. Wii onward they lack shells (with the exception of the "classic" styles of Super Mario Maker), which, along with other changes in design, has resulted in them resembling Monty Moles. Their original description has not been applied to the redesign, and they have since been called moles instead of mole-like on at least one occasion.[4]
History
Super Mario series
Super Mario Bros. 3
Rocky Wrenches first appear in Super Mario Bros. 3 as enemies on Airships, tanks, and ships belonging to the Koopa Troop. Upon sighting either Mario or Luigi, a Rocky Wrench will pop out of its hole on these vehicles and throw wrenches at them before descending back into its hole.
In most cases, a defeated Rocky Wrench will reappear, even when defeated by a stomp. However, some levels in Dark Land have red Rocky Wrenches that will be permanently defeated when attacked. In Super Mario All-Stars and Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3, all Rocky Wrenches are red, though they still act like they do in the NES version between the various levels.
New Super Mario Bros. Wii
Rocky Wrenches reappear in New Super Mario Bros. Wii on the Airship of World 6. Their behavior is largely unchanged from their first appearance, though the potential initial vertical movement of their wrenches is lessened. Aside from being susceptible to stomps, they can also be frozen by Ice Mario and will be defeated permanently when attacked. In this game and most following it, Rocky Wrench shares a nearly identical model to Monty Mole, but with added goggles.
Super Mario 3D Land
Rocky Wrenches reappear in Super Mario 3D Land. Though they are commonly found in Airship stages, they appear in several levels in the game. Their appearance is the same as New Super Mario Bros. Wii and they conduct their usual wrench-throwing tactics, but some now appear in pipes and either throw Bob-ombs or even Coins. Unlike other games, the wrenches they throw can be stomped on harmlessly, destroying them in the process.
New Super Mario Bros. U
Rocky Wrenches reappear in New Super Mario Bros. U, once again retaining their design and attacks as in New Super Mario Bros. Wii. They only appear in Boarding the Airship of Meringue Clouds, and are one of the few enemies that do not appear in New Super Luigi U.
The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3
On the television series The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, Rocky Wrenches appear in several episodes, most commonly as the guards of Bowser and the Koopalings' Doom Ship, although they are also shown to work on tanks and the Doomsub as well. A Rocky Wrench, whose dialogue consists of nothing but menacing growling, has a somewhat prominent role in the episode "Up, Up, and a Koopa", where one is assigned by Bowser and Kooky von Koopa to guard the cage that Emperor Ed, and later Mario and Luigi, are held captive in. He is bribed a Fudjie by Mario to free them, but declines.
Nintendo Adventure Books
A Rocky Wrench competes in the International Mushroom Games as a member of a team called the Sneaks in Leaping Lizards. True to his team's name, he uses underhanded tactics in the events, cutting a hole in Roy Koopa's Magic Carpet during the obstacle course and throwing ink in his face during the Beetlebowl.
Super Mario Bros. & Friends: When I Grow Up
A Rocky Wrench cameos in Super Mario Bros. & Friends: When I Grow Up on the Race Car Driver and Mechanic page. The description reads as follows:
"Race car drivers Mario and Luigi had better make a pit stop right away. Their tires are almost worn out from the first leg of the road rally. Rocky Wrench is ready to change two tires."
Mario Kart series
Mario Kart DS
In Mario Kart DS, Rocky Wrenches appear as obstacles on the Airship portion of the Airship Fortress. Popping out of their holes at random, these Rocky Wrenches can cause a kart to spin out of control if it runs into them. One mission involves Wario using a Star to defeat fifteen Rocky Wrenches. Compared to Super Mario Bros. 3, Rocky Wrenches more closely resemble Monty Moles, having seemingly been edited from their appearance in this game, but are further from Monty Mole than the design used in following games. They have brown upper lips, four pointed fangs, and large goggles in front of glowing pupils that seem to be based off of their Super Mario Bros. 3 sprites. Due to the graphics for Rocky Wrenches being flat textures that always face the camera, it is impossible to tell whether they are intended to have shells in this game.
Mario Kart 7
In Mario Kart 7, Rocky Wrenches appear in the retro course, DS Airship Fortress, as well as Battle Course 1. They retain their tactics from Mario Kart DS, though they appear with their updated design. They can also be jumped on safely, and the player can even perform tricks off them.
Paper Mario series
Paper Mario: Sticker Star
| Sticker Star enemy | |
|---|---|
| Rocky Wrench | |
| |
| Location(s) | Bowser Jr.'s Flotilla |
| Role | Common |
| Max HP | 15 |
| Attack | 5 |
| Defense | 0 |
| Moves | Wrench Throw (5), Big Wrench Throw (10), Hide (makes attacks miss for one turn) |
| Stickers | Shiny Tail, Tail, Wrench |
Rocky Wrenches make their Paper Mario series debut in the Nintendo 3DS game Paper Mario: Sticker Star. They only appear on Bowser Jr.'s Flotilla.
Outside battle, they throw wrenches at Mario. In battle, a Rocky Wrench will either hide inside their manholes or have their heads peeking from the manhole. If they are hiding inside the manhole, they cannot be attacked and Mario's attacks will miss. Rocky Wrenches, just like in previous games, throw their wrenches to attack. They also have bigger wrenches that deal more damage to Mario, and mostly use this attack when they are attacked. A Rocky Wrench may sometimes drop a Wrench sticker after battle.
Paper Mario: Color Splash
| Color Splash enemy | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rocky Wrench | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| Location(s) | Toad Trainworks, Sunset Express | ||||||||||||||||
| Type | Normal | ||||||||||||||||
| Role | Common | ||||||||||||||||
| HP | 32 | ||||||||||||||||
| Strong | None | ||||||||||||||||
| Weak | None | ||||||||||||||||
| Moves | Spanner Attack (10), Wrench Attack (15), Group Attack (15) | ||||||||||||||||
| Enemy class | ENEMY_RANDAM_1_5 | ||||||||||||||||
| Card probability | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
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Rocky Wrenches return in Paper Mario: Color Splash. They can be fought in the levels Toad Trainworks and Sunset Express. Outside battle, they throw wrenches at Mario, like in the previous game. Once more, in battle they attack by throwing at Mario a normal wrench or a bigger one. The manhole cover they wear on their head is yellow in this game.
Mario Golf: World Tour
In Mario Golf: World Tour, Rocky Wrench is one of the names that can appear on the tournament scoreboard.
Super Mario Maker / Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS
Rocky Wrenches reappear in Super Mario Maker and Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS, using new sprites for Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario World-styled courses, the former of which removes their goggles. If they are winged, they hop out of their manhole cover before throwing their wrenches, making their lower bodies more visible. This also occurs if they are enlarged, but they temporarily revert to their original size in order to hide. Rocky Wrenches retain their shells in the Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, and Super Mario World styles, but not in New Super Mario Bros. U style. In addition, their existing appearances have been slightly revised; they have a less plain palette and appear to lack tails in the Super Mario Bros. 3 style, and now have stubbier limbs and a slimmer, shorter body shape compared to a Monty Mole in the New Super Mario Bros. U style. In Course Maker, shaking them will change the slot to a Monty Mole and vice versa.
Super Mario Run
Rocky Wrenches reappear in Super Mario Run, appearing only in Throwing It All Overboard. Some Rocky Wrenches throw Coins instead of wrenches. Rocky Wrenches come back out of the ground much quicker than they do in most games, almost immediately after they go down.
Gallery
Super Mario Bros. 3 (defeated)
Super Mario Bros. 3 (red)
- Rocky Wrench - Super Mario Bros. Print World.png
- RockyWrenchDS.png
Super Mario Maker (Super Mario Bros. style)
Super Mario Maker (Super Mario Bros. 3 style)
Super Mario Maker (Super Mario Bros. 3 style, defeated)
Super Mario Maker (Super Mario World style)
Rocky Wrench sprite from Paper Mario: Color Splash
Throwing a wrench in Paper Mario: Color Splash
Throwing a crescent wrench in Paper Mario: Color Splash
Official profiles and statistics
Super Mario Run
- Notebook bio: "This guy serves as an engineer on an airship. It'll pop up and throw a wrench at you from time to time."
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | プー[1] Pū |
A tooting or honking sound | |
| Dutch | Rocky Wrench[?] | - | |
| German | Rocky Schraubschlüssel[?] | Rocky Wrench | |
| Italian | Tartatalpa Lanciattrezzi (The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 only)[?] |
Pun on tartaruga (turtle) and Tantatalpa (Monty Mole) Tool Thrower |
|
| Korean | 뚜[5] Ttu |
A tooting or honking sound, copying Japanese | |
| Portuguese (NOA) | Rocky Toupeira[?] | Rocky Mole | |
| Portuguese (NOE) | Cachorrinho de Capacete[?] | Helmet Whelp | |
| Romanian | Soldat cheie (The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, episode "The Ugly Mermaid")[?] | Wrench soldier | |
| Russian | Роки-ключ[?] Roki-klyuch |
From English name and ключ klyuch, wrench | |
| Spanish (NOA) | Topo rocky[?] | Rocky Mole | |
| Spanish (NOE) | Tortopo[?] | Portmanteau of tortuga (tortoise) and topo (mole) |
Trivia
- A Sammer Guy by the name of Spanner of Rock appears in Super Paper Mario; his name and speeches including references to Rocky Wrenches.
- In official artwork for an airship in Super Mario Bros. 3, Roy Koopa hides in a trench and throws wrenches in a manner very similar to Rocky Wrenches.
References
- ^ a b c 「モグラようなカメ族。穴からニョキッと出てきてスパナを投げてくる。飛行船の乗組員だ。」 ("Mole-like members of the Turtle Tribe. They will pop out of a hole to throw their spanner. They are the maintenance crew of the airship.") - Super Mario Bros. 3 Japanese instruction booklet, page 38.
- ^ "These turtles often serve as crew of Koopaling Airships and military vehicles." - Nintendo Power Strategy Guide for Super Mario Bros. 3, page 9.
- ^ "Rocky is a turtle who kind of looks like a mole. He will suddenly appear and start to throw wrenches from his fingers at Mario or Luigi." - Super Mario Bros. 3 English instruction booklet, Page 37.
- ^ "These crafty moles show themselves just long enough to throw a wrench at you before dropping back out of sight." von Esmarch, Nick. Super Mario 3D Land PRIMA Official Game Guide, page 15.
- ^ "스타를 이용해서 뚜 15마리를 쓰러뜨려라!" (Defeat 15 Rocky Wrenches by using Stars!) - In-game description about Mission 6-2 of Mario Kart DS.
- Koopas
- Moles
- Leaping Lizards Enemies
- Mario Kart 7 Species
- Mario Kart DS Species
- New Super Mario Bros. U Enemies
- New Super Mario Bros. Wii Enemies
- Paper Mario: Color Splash Enemies
- Paper Mario: Sticker Star Enemies
- Super Mario 3D Land Enemies
- Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 Enemies
- Super Mario Bros. 3 Enemies
- Super Mario Maker Enemies
- Super Mario Run Enemies
- The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 Enemies
