Headless Snowman
| Headless Snowman | |
|---|---|
 The Headless Snowman with a complete body in Super Mario 64 DS | |
| Species | Snowman |
| First appearance | Super Mario 64 (1996) |
| Latest appearance | Super Mario 3D All-Stars (2020) |
- “I need a good head on my shoulders. Do you know of anybody in need of a good body? Please! I'll follow you if you do!”
- —Headless Snowman, Super Mario 64
The Headless Snowman, or simply Snowman,[1] is a character in Super Mario 64 and Super Mario 64 DS. He is a snowman who lives on Cool, Cool Mountain, and he is the focus of the mission Snowman's Lost His Head. The Headless Snowman's head is located on a pedestal around the halfway mark of the mountain, while his body (a snowball with a mind of its own) is on a pedestal near the start of the level during that mission. The player character can assist the snowman head (who is looking for nearby headhunters) by rolling down the snowball fit to be the Headless Snowman's new body. The snowball takes away two health points if it rolls into the character. If the player is not by the head while the body starts rolling towards it, it misses its target and falls off the stage, leaving no choice but for the player to restart the mission. If the player character is by the snowman's head, the body runs into the head and completes the snowman itself, who then rewards the mission's Power Star. Afterwards, the snowman remains with a full body in one spot during every mission, unless Snowman's Lost His Head is restarted. If the game is finished without completing said mission, the Headless Snowman's body does not appear in the ending.
Exclusively in Super Mario 64 DS, the Headless Snowman has facial expressions. Without the rest of his body, the Headless Snowman has a sad face, but when he gets his body back, the Headless Snowman gets a smile. He also appears in the minigame Snowball Slalom (and Giant Snowball Slalom) in that same game and in the New Super Mario Bros. version of that minigame.
Quotes
- “Oooooh nooooo! Talk about out-of-body experiences--my body has melted away! Have you run in to[sic] any headhunters lately?? I could sure use a new body! Brrr! My face might freeze like this!”
- —Headless Snowman (without body), Super Mario 64
- “Perfect! What a great new body! Here--this is a present for you. It's sure to warm you up.”
- —Headless Snowman (whole body), Super Mario 64
Gallery
Model from Super Mario 64
Texture on the pedestal from Super Mario 64
Screenshot from Super Mario 64
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | 雪ダルマ[?] Yukidaruma |
Snowman | |
| French | Bonhomme de neige sans tête[?] | Snowman without head | |
| Italian | Pupazzo senza testa[?] | Snowman without head | |
| Pupazzo di neve[2] | Snowman |
Trivia
- Although the Headless Snowman is a minor character in his few appearances, he received some publicity in the form of a Nintendo Power joke published around the time of the main circulation of the "L is Real 2401" Super Mario 64 rumors. In Volume 107 of Nintendo Power, a "Luigi 64" article is present, where Nintendo states that Luigi fans had been campaigning to have the character in his very own game, and the company's response was to create a hoax upcoming game known as Headless Snowman 64. This game was apparently to be made to satisfy fans of the "second bananas" by featuring a cast of both well-known and obscure characters (that were not Luigi), from Samus to "random audience members from Super Punch-Out!!" to the Headless Snowman himself. Additionally, the game would supposedly contain some non-Nintendo characters such as "one of the civilian women in GoldenEye 007" (in the mistaken belief that her name is Luigi), "that bald guy from Blast Corps," and "the bikini woman in Cruis'n USA." Yet, this never-made game was not going to feature Luigi.
References
- ^ January 1997. Nintendo Power volume 92. Nintendo of America (American English). Page 64.
- ^ November 15, 2018. Super Mario Bros. Enciclopedia. Magazzini Salani (Italian). ISBN 889367436X. Page 85.
