The 'Shroom:Issue 196/Pipe Plaza

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Director's Notes

Written by: Zange (talk)

Shroom2019 Zange.png

Happy July! I don't know about the rest of you, but I am certainly Fed Up with hearing my neighbors setting off fireworks just about every night now. I already don't sleep well, this isn't helping...

In my corner of the world, I'm currently trying to balance work, social life, personal projects, and trying to get crap figured out for a new year of college since I move in about a month from now. It's going about as well as you think. Seriously though, I can't wait for school to start back up so I have slightly less to worry about. In the meantime, send caffeine please I'm begging.

We have some really cool stuff happening again in Pipe Plaza this month! You, too, can be a super cool Pipe Plaza writer by going to the sign up page to find out more!

Have a good rest of the month, and may the heat not be brutal. (also stay hydrated pls)

Section of the Month

PIPE PLAZA SECTION OF THE MONTH
Place Section Votes % Writer
1st Poll Committee Discussion 5 33.33% Cosmic Cowboy (talk)
2nd Community Report 4 26.67% Waluigi Time (talk)
3rd Anniversary Announcements 3 20.00% Lakituthequick (talk)
Mariowiki sections
Community Report
Waluigi Time (talk)
The month gone by in promotions and proposals.
read more
Poll Committee Discussion
Raregold (talk)
The best analysis of the polls around!
read more
Anniversary Announcements
Lakituthequick (talk)
The ongoings of the Mario Awards.
read more
Non-wiki sections
Mario Calendar
GPM1000 (talk)
Find out all about this month's Super Mario releases.
read more
What's in a Campaign?
Shoey (talk)
Atomic is the bomb!
read more

Community Report

Written by: Waluigi Time (talk)

Hello there, 'Shroom readers! It's time for another month of proposals and feature/unfeature nominations on the wiki. I imagine we'll be having our hands full pretty soon with a new mainline Super Mario title just a few months down the road. Also, this is the last Community Report that I'll be writing before the Awards Ceremony happens in August, so get excited for that!

All information is accurate as of July 11, 2023. Proposals and featured articles marked with an asterisk are updates on ones that were ongoing and covered in the previous issue.

RECENT PROPOSALS
PROPOSAL SUMMARY OUTCOME DEADLINE
Prohibit IPs from editing A proposal to require users to create accounts before editing. The proposer cited frequent low-quality edits by IPs and difficulty keeping track of anonymous editors. The proposal was vetoed as it is ultimately Porplemontage's decision whether IPs can edit. CANCELED BY THE ADMINISTRATORS
(read more) 		June 14, 2023
Clarify how to italicize merchandise titles in articles* A proposal to determine when the official titles of merchandise should be italicized, as the Manual of Style previously did not cover it. Several options were provided, and italicizing tabletop game titles, unique brands, and names of Super Mario games received the most support. OPTION 2 0-4-1-1-0-0
(read more) 		June 16, 2023
Make changes to {{Quote}}, {{Distinguish}}, and {{Redirect-distinguish}} templates and delete {{Quote2}} and {{Distinguish2}} A proposal to make changes to certain templates to make them more versatile, and get rid of templates that would be redundant as a result of the change. The proposal failed due to many voters feeling that the proposed changes were too vague. While the proposal did not pass, Porplemontage has since made changes to the functionality of the Distinguish template which rendered Distinguish2 obsolete. FAILED 3-9
(read more) 		June 27, 2023
Add brainwashing to the list of frequently misused terms A proposal to include brainwashing on the wiki's list of frequently misused terms. The proposer argued that equating brainwashing with mind control seen in fictional works is inaccurate. More accurate terms like mind control would be used instead, except for cases where the term brainwashing was used officially (i.e. Super Paper Mario). The proposal passed with no opposition. PASSED 8-0
(read more) 		July 6, 2023
Change remaining instances of "MarioWiki" to "SMWiki" A proposal to replace the MarioWiki shorthand for the wiki with SMWiki, based on the recent change to refer to the franchise as a whole to Super Mario. The change was heavily opposed, with voters feeling that the change would be unnecessary or confusing, and it did not pass. FAILED 2-0-13
(read more) 		July 7, 2023
Make infoboxes and navboxes round A proposal to change the borders of infoboxes and navboxes from square to round. The majority of voters opposed, preferring the current square borders for various reasons. FAILED 2-10
(read more) 		July 8, 2023
RECENT TALK PAGE PROPOSALS
PROPOSAL SUMMARY OUTCOME DEADLINE
Delete Blip and Vic Video* A proposal to delete the Blip and Vic Video articles and move the information to the list of references in publications, due to the lack of any evidence that Nintendo was involved in the magazine's publication. The proposal passed and the information has been moved, however the articles were turned into redirects instead of being deleted entirely. PASSED 6-1
(read more) 		June 10, 2023
Reorganize the tournaments on List of official Mario Kart 8 Deluxe tournaments* A proposal to reorganize the tournament list for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe due to its current length. Following one extension, the majority of voters supported splitting all of the tournaments, with the page itself then being merged to a section on the game's page. The change has not yet been made. SPLIT ALL 1-4-0
(read more) 		June 11, 2023
Merge Strawberry Don-chan and Hero Don-chan to Don-chan* A proposal to merge Don-chan's variants in Mario Kart Arcade GP DX. The proposer argued that the only difference between the alts is which items they can obtain, and they are otherwise the same character. The proposal passed with no opposition and the pages are now merged to Don-chan. PASSED 13-0
(read more) 		June 12, 2023
Merge pre-Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island appearances of singular generic Magikoopa characters to Kamek* A proposal to include early appearances of Magikoopa characters in Super Mario-kun, Yoshi's Safari, and possibly Super Mario Adventures on Kamek's page. The proposer argued that Kamek is merely the concept of a generic Magikoopa character and was not invented by the developers of Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, and that these pre-Kamek appearances of notable Magikoopa characters should be covered on the page. The proposal failed after the majority of voters opposed, disagreeing with these arguments. FAILED 3-1-4
(read more) 		June 12, 2023
Transform mist into a general article about Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door's stage hazards* A proposal to rework the article for mist into one covering all of the battle stage hazards from Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. Mist was the only one of these hazards with an article, while the others are covered on the audience page. The proposal passed and the results so far can be seen at Stage (Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door), though the article remains under construction. PASSED 5-1
(read more) 		June 15, 2023
Change the infobox artwork for Princess Daisy A proposal to update Daisy's infobox to use her artwork from Super Mario Bros. Wonder. The proposal was canceled by the admins because infobox artwork is not updated before the game is released. CANCELED BY THE ADMINISTRATORS
(read more) 		June 22, 2023
Merge Rotten Mushroom into Poison Mushroom A proposal to merge the Rotten Mushroom from Super Mario Maker 2 with the Poison Mushroom article, based on the shared internal name. The majority of voters opposed, pointing out that internal names cannot be used as solid evidence since things can change in development, and noting the differences between the two Mushrooms. FAILED 2-13
(read more) 		June 26, 2023
Re-merge Mushroom Genie and Genie of the Lamp A proposal to merge the original Mushroom Genie with Mario Party 4's Genie of the Lamp, based on the shared gameplay function and similar appearances. The opposition argued that it is speculation that they were meant to be the same character, and gained the majority of votes. FAILED 3-7
(read more) 		June 27, 2023
ONGOING PROPOSALS
PROPOSAL SUMMARY LINK DEADLINE
Preservation of ancient unsourced statements A proposal for dealing with unsourced statements that have been on the wiki for a long time. The proposer argues that these statements are in a difficult spot, since editors may not want to remove them in case they turn out to be true, but also don't want to keep them on the page. Under this proposal, if a source cannot be found or is most likely lost, the statement will be removed and preserved on the talk page so that it can be re-added if new information surfaces. The proposal currently has unanimous support. Read more July 15, 2023
ONGOING TALK PAGE PROPOSALS
PROPOSAL SUMMARY LINK DEADLINE
Split off the Super Smash Bros. CDs and move them to the Smash items article A proposal to split the CDs in the Super Smash Bros. series from the ones in Wario Land 4. The proposer argues that the Smash games don't imply that they're meant to be the same CDs, and points out the different Japanese name of the Wario Land 4 CDs. Several voters have opposed due to the similarities between the two, and noting that they are a generic subject. The proposal is currently tied and will likely be extended. Read more July 11, 2023
Have the Super Mario 3D Land Fire Piranha Plant be a secondary infobox image A proposal to include the alternate design for Fire Piranha Plant introduced in Super Mario 3D Land in its infobox alongside the standard design. This follows a similar proposal which decided on using multiple designs for Thwomps. While the majority of voters currently support the change, there is some skepticism over how prominent the alternate design actually is. Read more July 20, 2023
Merge White Block with Grab Block Another proposal to merge White Block with Grab Block, overturning the decision made a few months ago. Some users are once again arguing that they should be merged due to shared functionality, while the opposition points out that no source has confirmed the two items as being the same. The opposition is currently in the majority. Read more July 22, 2023
RECENT UNFEATURE NOMINATIONS
ARTICLE SUMMARY OUTCOME DATE
WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$!* PnnyCrygr (talk) brought up concerns about the quality of the writing and presentation (or lack thereof). Since being nominated, the problems mentioned were addressed by Camwoodstock (talk), and the nomination failed following votes to maintain its featured status. FAILED 2-2
(read more) 		June 30, 2023
ONGOING FEATURE NOMINATIONS
ARTICLE SUMMARY LINK DEADLINE
Wario ThePowerPlayer (talk) nominated Wario's article to be featured following general improvement over the past few months. Although some concerns were raised over the rationale for the nomination, which included the page's subpages in its arguments, multiple users have supported the nomination for the quality of the article itself. The article currently meets featuring requirements and will be featured on July 16 if no opposition appears. Read more August 22, 2023
The Last Spark Hunter The Last Spark Hunter has been nominated by creator Sparks (talk) after completing work on it. Some issues were brought up during the nomination but since been addressed. It has not yet received any additional support. Read more September 9, 2023
ONGOING UNFEATURE NOMINATIONS
ARTICLE SUMMARY LINK DEADLINE
Mona* PnnyCrygr (talk) cites various problems with the writing and compares it unfavorably to other featured articles for WarioWare characters. The issues brought up have since been addressed or dismissed, and there is currently support to maintain Mona's featured status. Read more July 21, 2023
Diddy Kong Racing TheUndescribableGhost (talk) points out aspects of the game that are covered poorly or completely missing from the article. Some of the issues have been fixed but others remain, and additional issues have been brought up over the course of the nomination. Read more August 16, 2023

It's a quieter month from last month's quieter month as far as proposals go, but it seems we're having an uptick in featuring activity. With all those proposals a couple months back, I guess our users got a lot of their ideas out of their systems. I'll be back next month to cover whatever happens over the next four-to-five-ish weeks. Until then, enjoy the Awards!

Poll Committee Discussion

Written by: Raregold (talk)

13th Poll Committee Banner

(Fun With Despair (talk) here for a quick foreword. Before we start with this week's Poll Committee Discussion, I'd like to take a moment to introduce our latest new (old) member of the Poll Committee: Hooded Pitohui (talk). Pitohui is a great community contributor, and used to be a chairperson himself, so I have the utmost trust in him to continue to provide quality content for the committee.

Now with that out of the way, onwards to Raregold's analysis.)

Hello dear readers, it is Raregold, here once again to analyze this month’s Poll Committee Discussion.

Archives

The LEGO Super Mario line has been running for 3 years. What is your opinion about it? - (Waluigi Time (talk), June 7th, 2023)

Template:Archived Poll

Should modern spinoff-exclusive characters (Waluigi, Daisy, Wario, etc.) have a presence in the mainline series? - (Fun With Despair (talk), June 20th, 2023)

Template:Archived Poll

Analysis

Spinoff-Exclusive Characters in the Super Mario Main Series

Wario and Waluigi artwork for Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash.
Wario and Waluigi, two popular spin-off exclusive characters in Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash

The results of this poll are no surprise to anyone who has inhabited Nintendo-related or Nintendo-adjacent online spaces in recent years. The results favor the presence of spin-off characters in mainline Super Mario games as playable characters or NPCs, taking up nearly 89% (Option 1) of the total vote. Those against the inclusion (Options 4, 6, and 7) collectively take up less than 2.5% of the total vote count, the most significant chunk of which, at 1.47%, sees the spin-off exclusive characters in a favorable light but wishes to see them in games outside main series adventures (Option 4).

A March 2023 poll by Guinness World Records Attractions Magazine covered the Top 20 most popular characters in the Super Mario Franchise. Numerous spinoff-exclusive characters appear in the poll, with Walugi appearing in 9th place, Wario in 12th, and Daisy in 15th. Additionally, less than 100 votes separate Waluigi from iconic characters like Princess Peach, who herself came in 7th place. The Attractions Magazine poll results correlate nicely with our Poll Committee’s results, indicating a demand for the increased presence of spinoff characters in the mainline Super Mario series. These characters are fan favorites and have remained iconic for years, with the demand for Waluigi to be a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate being one recent example of spinoff-exclusive characters’ popularity.

Hopefully, Nintendo takes note of the popularity of the spinoff-exclusive Super Mario characters and gives them an increased presence in the mainline series. Any mainline game featuring them in a semi-prominent role, especially as playable characters, will go over well with fans and prove a profitable venture.

Super Mario LEGO Line

LEGO Super Mario 64 ? Block
The Super Mario 64 Question Mark Block set which contains several locations from Super Mario 64 like Bob-omb Battlefield and Lethal Lava Land

Compared to the previous poll, the results concerning opinions about the LEGO Super Mario line are much more divided, with no single option taking a clear majority. The results are generally favorable, with a cumulative 65.81% expressing an overall positive opinion of the current sets (Options 1, 3, 4, and 6) and 8.75% expressing a negative opinion of the sets (Options 5 and 7).

There is considerable nuance to these answers. The first option attaining only 38.97% of the vote, indicates that while fans are receptive to the Lego Super Mario sets, this likeability is not a carte blanche endorsement of the product line. Overall 25.44% of respondents indicated no strong opinion toward the LEGO Super Mario sets. Given the dozens of sets cataloged on the Super Mario Wiki page, this dissatisfaction is not a marketing failure. Instead, there appears to be a general dissatisfaction with the set options. While receptive to the concept, 26.84% of respondents (Options 3, 4, and 6) indicate their wish to see the line take different directions, with 12.67% wishing to see more traditional sets (Option 3), 9.98% wishing to see more display pieces (Option 4), and 4.19% wishing to see more interactive sets.

As it stands, the current offerings appear diversified with five character pack series, where sealed packs contain random characters, numerous sets like Cat Mario, which display various power-ups, large display pieces like the NES, small interactive sets like “Monty Mole & Super Mushroom, and more traditional sets like Diddy Kong’s Mine Cart Ride. While a plurality of fans are satisfied with these diversified offerings, a significant amount of those who generally enjoy the sets wish to see the LEGO Super Mario line go in a single definitive direction. However, fans remain divided on whether to focus on traditional sets, interactive ones, or display pieces.

Conclusion

Overall, these polls indicate that Super Mario fans are not single-minded in their thoughts about the franchise’s products. In the realm of video game properties, there is a clear wish for the increased presence of spin-off characters, but for the LEGO Super Mario Line, fans are receptive to the products but divided about their future direction with a plurality satisfied, but a significant portion wishing to see it focus on specific products. There is no single marketing strategy that applies evenly to every Super Mario Bros. property. As such, careful engagement with fans and receptivity to their thoughts and criticisms remains the only tried and true method of ensuring consumer satisfaction.

That is all for now, and I will see you all again before the 13th Poll Committee concludes in February 2024.

Anniversary Announcements

Written by: Lakituthequick (talk)

Template:Quote2

Good day everyone! I have another Anniversary Announcements for you right here!

News update

Voting has closed a few weeks ago and the results have been sent out! Despite the shorter voting times, a good amount of votes has still come in, while giving presenters more time to create presentations.

Please join us on 11 August for the ceremony!

Tour de tournaments

In this section of AA, I shall update you on all things tournaments, including new ones and progress in ongoing ones.

It's July, which means that the season is progressing as the ceremony draws closer. It's calm on the tournament scene, but there's still some things to be reported.

Mario Boards Mega Brawl
Voting for support has ended, and the story beats are expected to come out at some point in August.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Casual Tournament
Due to a lack of enough sign-ups, this tournament has unfortunately been cancelled.
Pokémon Crystal Randomizer - Triple Bingo Tournament!!
There are no updates to be reported about this tournament, and the sign-up thread has laid dormant.
Awards Randomizer Killing Game: Wheel of Misfortune
A deduction game in which one person kills someone else each night, and the day is used to find out who did it.
For this sixth edition, nearly every room, role power, and the players are randomised based on submissions, and is a lot lighter weight than previous games have been.
Minecraft
  • GBA (talk · Boards), individual game devs
  • 8-11 September, 15-19 September
A variety of (mini)games that have been build on the MarioWiki community's Minecraft server. Games include classic staples such as Spleef and Capture the Flag, server originals such as Murderer, Porkchop, and Pit Fight, and games familiar from elsewhere such as Shine Runners and Apples to Apples.
This year, the game's hub theming takes after camping.

Thanks again for reading this month, and hopefully you will enjoy the ceremony! Have a good one, and I'll be back here in August. Buh-bye.

Mario Calendar

Written by: GPM1000 (talk)

Hey there, ‘Shroom readers! I hope that you have all had a wonderful start to July, my personal favorite summer month! There’s not really anywhere I can go with this intro besides saying let’s get into some Mario Calendar. So let’s get into some Mario Calendar!

Region Abbreviations

Abb. Region
ALL All Regions (JP/NA/EU/AU)
JP Japan
NA North America
EU Europe
AU Oceania/Australia
SK South Korea
CHN China
UK United Kingdom

Console Abbreviations

Abb. Console
NES Nintendo Entertainment System
Famicom Family Computer Disk System
SNES Super Nintendo Entertainment System
N64 Nintendo 64
GC Nintendo GameCube
GB Game Boy
GBC Game Boy Color
GBA Game Boy Advance
DS Nintendo DS
3DS Nintendo 3DS
Switch Nintendo Switch
Wii VC Nintendo Wii Virtual Console
3DS VC Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console
Wii U VC Nintendo Wii U Virtual Console
VB Virtual Boy
G&W Game and Watch
64DD Nintendo 64 Disk Drive
MS-DOS Microsoft Disk Operating System
CD-i Philips CD-i
IQ iQue Player
NVS Nvidia Shield
ACPC Amstrad CPC
ZX ZX Spectrum
Coleco Colecovision
TI-99 Texas Instruments TI-99/4A
  • July 29

WOW. I am honestly blown away by this month every year, as it is simply overflowing with importance to the progression of the Mario franchise. There are two incredibly important developments that take place this month: firstly, Donkey Kong had its initial release in Japan. This is pretty much inarguably the most important release in Mario history, as it was the launchpad for the entire franchise and its main protagonist (as well as a few incredibly important side characters)! We wouldn’t have The ‘Shroom, the Mario Wiki, or Mario at all if not for this game. Nintendo itself would be in a vastly different place!

Another major development in this month was the release of the original Mario Bros. arcade game in North America. While not being the original release of this game, North America is an extremely important market for Nintendo, and this is what familiarized the American market with many key elements - the pipes, Luigi, the turtles that would go on to become Koopas, and even Mario himself! Apparently Mario was given his actual name in Donkey Kong Jr., but this was the first game that actually had his name in the title. This obviously gave the brand as a whole quite the push.

I hope you all have a fantastic rest of your month, and I’ll see you next time!

What's in a Campaign?

By: Shoey (talk)

Hello and welcome back to What's in a Campaign?, The Shroom's number one Robot Wars retrospective. Last month, we looked at the eternally cursed Spawn Again. This month, we look at the Series 7 run of the fellow flipper and cursed robot, Atomic.

Atom bomb, baby!

First appearing in Series 4 and built by Stephen Bebb, David Bebb, and Paul Francis, compared to the majority of flippers in Robot Wars, Atomic is a totally different breed. Just about every other flipper's panel is built-in on the robot, whereas Atomic uses interchangeable flipping panels that are instead attached on top of the robot. In past wars, Atomic primarily used narrow smaller flipping panels that had a somewhat easier time getting under their opponents. But for Series 7, Atomic would primarily switch to a much bulkier plow blade that would cover the entire front of the flipper. The primary benefit of this blade was the additional defense it would provide, since large blows from spinning discs would be absorbed into this thicker blade, providing extra defense of Atomic's internals. In addition, Atomic switched its armor from aluminum in Series 5 to a steel shell. All in all, Atomic is a complete upgrade over its previous versions.

Up until Series 7, Atomic was a robot that was perpetually cursed by bad luck and bad draws. In Series 4, Atomic was placed into the Heat A against reigning champion Chaos 2, who would go onto defeat Pussycat en route to another UK Championship. In Series 5, Atomic impressed the producers so much in its qualifies that it was given the 22nd seed, which sounds good, right? Well, it was actually the worst thing that could possibly happen to it. You see, by getting seed number 22, Atomic was placed into Heat B, the same heat as fucking Hypno Disc. In addition, for some odd reason, Heat B would be the only time in Robot Wars history that two seeded robots met in the second round instead of the Heat Final. In that fight against Hypno Disc, Atomic was shredded beyond repair, which had an unfortunate knock on effect with the Robot Wars Extreme: Annihilator competition. You see, Robot Wars: Extreme was filmed at the same time as Series 5, and Atomic successfully qualified for the second Annihilator. Not only that. but, to be honest, Atomic would have been a favorite to win the Annihilator. But since Hypno Disc had so thoroughly destroyed Atomic, Atomic was sadly forced to pull out. Their bad luck would even extend to Series 6, where, contrary to popular belief, they did in fact qualify for Series 6. But because of scheduling issues, they were forced to pull out. For Series 7, Atomic went through the qualifiers, facing off in a rumble against Steel Avenger, Killerkat and an unknown robot. Atomic would dominate this fight, tossing the Steel Avenger out of the ring and successfully qualifying for Series 7.

As a reminder, all pictures are sourced from the fantastic Robot Wars Wiki.

Placed in Heat G, Atomic's first fight would see it face off against fellow flipper, Cygnus X-1; yhe spinning blade of Terror Turtle; and, finally, the terrifying jaws of the 13-seeded SMIDSY. Atomic would start the fight (1:27) off by charging at and flipping over Terror Turtle (don't worry, they can run both ways up). Atomic would then briefly target Terror Turtle for another flip before changing its focus to Cygnus X-1. Atomic would easily flip Cygnus X-1 onto the arena wall, where the newcomer would struggle to self-right. After escaping an attack by both SMIDSY and Terror Turtle, Atomic would charge at SMIDSY, who skillfully dodged the attack.

Outta number one!

Fortunately for Atomic, Terror Turtle was right behind SMIDSY, and Atomic would easily get under the poor turtle before throwing them out of the arena even more easily. With Terror Turtle gone, SMIDSY would turn its attention to the still flipped-over Cygnus X-1, pushing it into a different arena wall. This nearly proved disastrous for SMIDSY, as Atomic then took advantage of its change of focus by getting under SMIDSY and flipping them into Cygnus X-1. The force of this attack almost caused SMIDSY to roll over Cygnus X-1 and out of the arena. After this flip, SMIDSY and Cygnus X-1 were both stuck on the arena wall, and Atomic, trying to get the more dangerous robot out, got under SMIDSY but didn't have enough gas to throw them out. SMIDSY managed to escape and Atomic changed its focus to trying to throw Cygnus X-1 out. Sadly, Atomic couldn't manage to do it, but they did get Cygnus X-1 stuck on its back. Refbot came over and counted Cygnus X-1 out, sending Atomic and SMIDSY into the next round with a dominant performance by Atomic.

In the second round, Atomic faced off against lifter/axe bot, Hellbent. Atomic (6:12) attempted to start the fight off hot, getting to the side of Hellbent before just barely missing a flip, but that missed flip allowed Hellbent to get a brief lift on them. The two robots then attempted to size each other up before Atomic charged at Hellbent, getting under them and throwing them high into the air, but, luckily for Hellbent, they landed back on their wheels.

Outta number two!

Keeping up the pressure, Atomic slammed into Hellbent, getting under its side and driving them towards the back wall before easily throwing them out the arena with a mighty heavy. This dominating performance allowed Atomic to move onto the heat final.

With a spot in the Series Semi-Finals on the line, Atomic would face off in a first round rematch against the number 13-seed SMIDSY. The Heat Final began (9:26) with both robots sizing each other up and driving around each other. Atomic would strike first, getting to the side of SMIDSY and throwing it onto its back. This isn't horrible for SMIDSY, because it is invertible, but it's not good for SMIDSY either, because now its front wedge is upside down, making it so Atomic will have a much easier time getting under it. SMIDSY would then attempt a charge on Atomic, but it would only roll over its flipper. SMIDSY would then attempt to run away from Atomic, who gave chase. Atomic managed to get under SMIDSY, again flipping it, but this time SMIDSY would land right-side up. Unfortunately for SMIDSY, they were not able to take advantage of their good fortune, for, after some more sizing up and a failed flip by Atomic, Atomic was able to once again dance to the side of SMIDSY. This time, instead of firing its flipper immediately, Atomic, now fully under SMIDSY, drove them to the arena wall before once again hurling their opponent out of the arena. With another commanding victory under its belt, Atomic, for the first time, would move onto the Series Semi-Finals!

Outta number three!

Atomic was matched up against the winner of Heat A, M2, a more traditional front-hinge flipper who, though only debuting in Series 7, already had a impressive resume. M2 had already defeated former runner-up Pussycat in the Heat Semi-Final and had likewise defeated Robot Wars Extreme 2: University Challenge winner Tiberius 2 in the Heat Final. For this fight, Atomic would switch into the narrower flipper attachment, because this attachment would give their flipper better ground clearance against a more traditional flipper. Once again, Atomic would start the fight (13:45) off strong, getting under M2 and flipping them high into the air and onto their backs. M2 would attempt to self-right, but in the process, Atomic kept up the attack, getting under them and flipping them mid-righting, sending M2 spinning like a barrel. Despite the flashy attack, M2 recovered, landing back on its wheels. M2 would attempt to use its superior speed and maneuverability to get to the side of Atomic, but Atomic would block the attack attempt and would once again flip M2. Once again, M2 landed back on their wheels. Atomic would follow this up with another flip, but again M2 landed on its wheels! While good for aggression points for Atomic, this repetitive flipping is actually kind of bad, because every flip they throw uses up gas, so every flip that doesn't require M2 to self-right puts Atomic in position of running out of C02 before M2 does. The two robots then charge at each other, attacking each other flipper=first. The first attempt sees neither robot gain the advantage, but Atomic wins the second flipper duel, once again flipping M2 over. This time, though, M2 lands on its back and is forced to self-right. Atomic then manages to get under the side of M2 and attempts to drive it into the arena wall, but they're not able to.

Careful, Atomic. Wouldn't want to be outta'd yourself!

Then, to make matters worse, M2 finally gets under Atomic, flipping them into the air, where Atomic lands right on M2's flipper as M2 drives into the arena wall. With a mighty heave, M2 just barely fails to throw Atomic out of the arena.

But Atomic lands sideways against the arena wall. While they attempt to self-right, M2 keeps up the attack. The attack doesn't send Atomic out, but it does send them into a charging SGT. Bash, which honestly might have been good for Atomic, since SGT. Bash's charge prevents them from getting stuck on the wall again and allows Atomic to escape the corner. Atomic then misses a flip but manages to get back to the center of the arena. The two robots again meet flipper-to-flipper and, again, Atomic has the advantage, flipping M2 over and trapping them in their flipper, driving them into the wall for good measure. M2 self-rights and attempts to flee so it can reposition itself. Atomic gives chase and catches them near the angle grinder. M2 attempts to self-right but fails, Atomic gets under them but just can't get the flip off. M2 finally self-rights and again flees, with Atomic in hot pursuit. Atomic flips them again, this time catching them in their activated flipping blade, causing M2 to topple over onto its back. M2 again tries to self-right, but this time Atomic catches them and gets them caught on the angle grinder.

Outta number four!

This time, Atomic refuses to back off and, finally, after getting them off the angle grinder, throws yet another opponent out of the arena, sending Atomic into the second round, into the top eight, and just one fight away from the Grand Final.

In the Semi-Final second round, Atomic would face off against the terrifying Typhoon 2, an extremely powerful full-body spinner whose blades had made short work of everything in the competition. This includes destroying fellow flippers Iron Awe 2.1 and Thermidor 2 (the latter in just one hit!). But despite Typhoon 2's destructive power, Atomic is honestly at the advantage here. Typhoon 2 can't self-right a single flip would defeat them. Now, yes, that was true when both Iron Awe 2.1 and Thermidor 2 faced Typhoon 2, but there's one key difference. Remember, unlike the latter two, Atomic's flipper isn't built into the robot like a traditional flipper is. So, unlike, Iron Awe 2.1's flipper, Atomic's large blow-like flipper won't buckle beyond repair from a single hit. Unlike Thermidor 2, a single blow won't destroy them, because, again, the flipper will absorb the blow. Typhoon 2 is a destructive robot, yes, and a single mistake may mean defeat, but of all the robots it has faced, Atomic probably has the best shot of beating it!

The fight begins with Typhoon 2 attempting to avoid Atomic so they can get their blades up to speed, but Atomic foils that plan, getting them near the corner and getting under them. They immediately start flipping them. The match is almost over in an instant. For just a brief moment, it looks like Typhoon 2 is going to topple over, but it just manages to land on its feet.

So close...

Atomic keeps up the attack. Looking to end this fight, they charge in with Typhoon 2 on the angle grinder, and they miss. Not only do they miss, but, in the process, they activate the flipper while it's under the angle grinder. The force of this action causes Atomic to flip itself over. To make matters worse, in the process, Atomic's flipper jams, which means they cannot self-right. What just a second ago looked to be a tremendous triumph instead ends in a horrible defeat. With their opponent stuck on its back, Typhoon 2 spins up to full speed and destroys Atomic. Atomic is counted out, ending with a top eight finish, but I can't help but think how much more it could have been.

Atomic, next to X-Terminator, was the robot that most benefited by the changing of the guard that was Series 7. Atomic dominated its competition, throwing at least one robot out in four straight fights (five if you count the qualifier), a record for Robot Wars;. Atomic was easily one of the best robots in Series 7, and the sad part is that it should have gone so much farther. If it doesn't flip itself over or even if its flipper doesn't jam, it probably beats Typhoon 2, then, in the Grand Final, it would have faced X-Terminator, a robot that already almost got beat by a different flipper, so I think Atomic would have easily beaten them. That probably would be as far as it got, because I just don't see it beating Storm 2 in the finals. Sadly, Atomic never got a chance to ride its momentum, since Robot Wars ended after Series 7. So Atomic, a robot that should have become a member of that top echelon of robots, only got the one chance to do so. It's unfortunate, because Atomic should have ended up as one of Robot Wars' majors stars, but the end of the show meant it could never achieve that result and that it would never get the chance to ride the momentum of this series.

Still, Atomic whose only three losses were to Chaos 2, Hypno Disc, and Typhoon 2, had, after years of bad luck, finally, if only briefly, broke through into the top of the competition. That's a story worth telling. That's all for this month, though, so join us next month when we look at another robot!

The 'Shroom: Issue 196
Staff sections Staff Notes • The 'Shroom Spotlight
Features Fake News • Fun Stuff • Palette Swap • Pipe Plaza • Critic Corner • Strategy Wing
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