Shark
- This article is about the enemies from Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins. For other uses, see Shark (disambiguation).
| Shark | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Artwork from Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins | |||
| First appearance | Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (1992) | ||
| Latest appearance | Super Mario Story Quiz Picture Book 1: Chase Wario (1997) | ||
| |||
Sharks[1][2] are underwater enemies in Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins that wear boxing gloves. They are large-bodied sharks with toothy maws and narrowed eyes. Additional details are present in artwork and paratextual material that are absent in the game itself, specifically lavender dorsa, white underbellies, and a white star-shaped pattern on the tips of their snouts. A shark is one of the two enemies on the box art for Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, with the other being a Noko Bombette. Though sharks have not appeared outside of Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins and related media, they are the first shark enemies in the Super Mario series, predating Sushi's debut in Super Mario 64 by four years.
Though a unique enemy, there is no known discrete English name for it, similar to most enemies that debuted in Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins. This enemy has only been passively referred to as a "shark" in an issue of Nintendo Power[1] and this has been the name of its article on Super Mario Wiki since 2015. "Shark" was subsequently adopted as the enemy's discrete name in the Super Mario Bros. Encyclopedia[3]—text that controversially relied on the Super Mario Wiki for the names of many subjects for its 2017 localization[4]—and Mario Portal circa 2022.[2] In Japanese, the enemy is referred to as 「ジョー」(Jō),[5][6][7] a potential allusion to the boxing manga Ashita no Joe and the film Jaws.
History
Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins
Sharks are uncommon enemies found only in the Turtle Zone, occurring in the Cheep Cheep Course and the submarine level of the same name. The sharks are the largest fish enemies in the game and swim in straight lines. When they reach an opposing wall, they turn around. Sharks swim slowly, but quicken when Mario is in their line of sight. Direct contact damages him. Despite wearing gloves, the sharks do not attack by punching.
Sharks are impervious to fireballs tossed by Fire Mario. They are only defeated if he makes contact with them in his Invincible form or by striking them with a Koopa Shell. There are only seven sharks in the entire game: five in the Cheep Cheep Course and two in the Turtle Zone level.
Super Mario-kun
In volume 9 of Super Mario-kun, Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi encounter a shark during their boat trip. The shark attacks them, but Mario throws Yoshi to the shark to defeat it, although Yoshi gets injured.
Profiles and statistics
Perfect Ban Mario Character Daijiten
| ジョー (JP) / Shark (EN) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Original text (Japanese) | Translation | ||
| アクア族 | Tribe | Aqua clan | |
| まっすぐ | Disposition | Direct | |
| ランド2 | Game appearances | Land 2 | |
| ファイアも効かないスゴイヤツ ボクシンググローブをはめたサメのモンスター。突然ダッシュしておそってくるぞ。ファイアが効かないので、水中では苦戦する。水平にしか動かないので、高さを変えるんだ。[6] |
Fire doesn't work on these awesome guys. A shark monster wearing boxing gloves. It will suddenly dash out and attack you. Fire is ineffective, so you will have a hard time in the water. It moves only horizontally, so you will have to change your position. | ||
Gallery
Sprite from Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins
Artwork from Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins
Kellogg's trading card
Super Mario Story Quiz Picture Book 1: Chase Wario
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ジョー[5][6][7] Jō |
Joe; a potential allusion to 「矢吹丈」(Jō Yabuki), the boxer protagonist of the manga「あしたのジョー 」(Ashita no Jō, Ashita no Joe), and「ジョーズ」(Jōzu, Jaws) | |
| German | Joe[?] | - | |
| Italian | Joe[8] | - |
References
- ^ a b "Sharks cannot be stopped. Swim around them . . . carefully." – Dec. 1992. Nintendo Power (Volume 43). Nintendo of America. Page 49.
- ^ a b Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins entry on the official Mario Portal. nintendo.co.jp (English). Retrieved August 13, 2022. (Archived August 13, 2022, 13:51:45 UTC via archive.today.)
- ^ Roberts, Rachel, Cardner Clark, editors (2018). "Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins" in Super Mario Bros. Encyclopedia: The Official Guide to the First 30 Years (First English Edition). Milwaukie: Dark Horse Books. ISBN 978-1-50670-897-3. Page 76.
- ^ McFerran, Damien (24 Oct. 2018). It Looks Like The Official Super Mario Encyclopedia Plagiarised A Fan-Made Wiki. Nintendo Life. Retrieved 27 Jun. 2024.
- ^ a b スーパーマリオランド２ ６つの金貨／敵キャラクター. Nintendo Co., Ltd. (Japanese). Retrieved 8 Jul. 2024.
- ^ a b c 1994. 「パーフェクト版 マリオキャラクター大事典」 (Perfect Ban Mario Character Daijiten). Shogakukan (Japanese). Page 91.
- ^ a b Sakai, Kazuya (Ambit), kikai, Akinori Sao, Junko Fukuda, Kunio Takayama, and Ko Nakahara (Shogakukan), editors (2015). "Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins" in『スーパーマリオブラザーズ百科: 任天堂公式ガイドブック』. Tokyo: Shogakukan (Japanese). ISBN 978-4-09-106569-8. Page 75.
- ^ November 15, 2018. Super Mario Bros. Enciclopedia. Magazzini Salani (Italian). ISBN 889367436X. Page 75.
