Fireball (obstacle)

This article is about the Mario Bros. enemy. For other uses, see Fireball (disambiguation).

Fireball
Fireballs, as they appear in Super Mario Bros. Wonder
First appearance	Mario Bros. (1983)
Latest appearance	WarioWare: Move It! (2023)

Fireballs (alternatively fire balls or Fire Balls), also called Discs, Fires, or swirls, in the Super Mario franchise sometimes appear in the context of being obstacles, but are most commonly used by Mario, Bowser, and other characters as means of attack.

History

Mario Bros. series

Mario Bros.

Mario dodging fireballs in Mario Bros.

Fireballs in Mario Bros. make their first appearance in a Super Mario game. They appear in red and green varieties, and are unique enemies in that they cannot cross the left or right edge of the screen and come out on the other side. There can be a maximum of four fireballs, two of each color, on screen at any given time. Fireballs and Icicles are the only enemies that can harm players hiding behind the bottom pipes. A fireball will appear to impede the player if they take too long to complete a phase. Red fireballs are slower and bounce diagonally all around the stage, and if they hit one side of the screen, they ricochet off the side and keep going until making a full circuit of the screen after which they will disappear and respawn as a faster opponent. The quicker green fireballs move horizontally from one side of the screen to the other where it will disappear until respawning elsewhere. It has a pattern of two small wavy bounces and one long bounce. Typically, the green fireballs spawn on a row where a player is located. To destroy fireballs, the player has to bump them from below while they are touching the floor, or use a POW Block. Fireballs respawn as faster enemies a few moments after being destroyed.

Fireball bonus stage in Super Mario Bros. 3

In the Atari 2600 port, fireballs are orange but behave like the green types from the original. It flies straight forward very quickly. In the Atari 5200 port, the orange fireball takes the place of the red one while the green one is replaced by the gold fireball. In the PC-8001 port, there is only one red fireball and it can travel through the wraparound screen. In the Commodore 64 port, there is a single red fireball but it behaves like the green fireball from the arcade version. In the Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum ports, the single fireball will float to the bottom floor as if it was affected by gravity and just roll around continuously. In the Atari 7800 port, the red type is called the orange fireball but it looks purplish. In the Atari 8-bit port, the red and green types are replaced by orange and blue respectively.

In the 1983 Family Computer port, fireballs are significantly smaller, making them easier to avoid. They were restored to their correct size by the 1988 FDS port and 1993 NES port.

Fireballs in the Mario Bros. game of Super Mario Bros. 3 are all depicted red, but some behave like green fireballs. In addition, there is a bonus stage in which fireballs are shot out of a pipe. The in-game battle mode in its Super Mario All-Stars version also has both fireballs using the red sprite, while the Battle Game in the main menu replaces the sprites with Boos, which can go through the wraparound screen.

Fireballs in Luigi Bros. of Super Mario 3D World function identically to their appearance in the Family Computer port of Mario Bros.

Mario Bros. Special

Fireballs in Mario Bros. Special appear in red and green varieties, both of which are invincible. Green fireballs in the game appear only in trampoline stages and have a sharper angle to their turn with a pattern of alternating broad and narrow waves. Red fireballs in the game appear only in conveyor belt stages and patrol a narrow range.

Punch Ball Mario Bros.

Fireballs in Punch Ball Mario Bros. are invincible and look red. They act like green fireballs, but with a simpler wave pattern.

Mario Clash

Fire in Mario Clash, as they are called, function like the green fireballs from Mario Bros. but with a simpler wave pattern. They can be destroyed with a Turtle Shell.

VS. Wrecking Crew / Wrecking Crew

Fireballs in VS. Wrecking Crew and Wrecking Crew

Fireballs in VS. Wrecking Crew and Wrecking Crew behave like the green fireballs of Mario Bros. but with a simpler wavy pattern. A fireball will appear if too much time is spent in one place. Careful positioning can allow the fireball to fly harmlessly over Mario or Luigi's head. The in-game manual of the Arcade Archives release of VS. Wrecking Crew classifies fireballs as characters.

Hotel Mario

Balls of fire in Hotel Mario are obstacles in Bowser's Seizures Palace Hotel. They are preceded by a match-striking sound, and then dart from one end of a floor to another horizontally. In certain stages, more than one ball can appear at once. If they appear on the same floor as the player, the player can duck underneath them or hide into a door to avoid them. Alternatively, if the player is Fire Mario, they can shoot a fireball at one of them, which will make them stop spawning for the remainder of the hotel.

Super Mario series

Super Mario 64 / Super Mario 64 DS

Fireball model in Super Mario 64

Fireballs in Super Mario 64 and its Nintendo DS version are very common obstacles featured as both standalone objects and enemy projectiles. Stationary ones light torches in the Mushroom Castle and Hazy Maze Cave, and they are shot out in large groups by the volcano in Lethal Lava Land. They can also be shot by flame throwers, Fly Guys, Small Piranhas, Piranha Flowers, and Bowser, with some staying still and others chasing Mario. In the remake, stationary fireballs also light small bonfires at Cool, Cool Mountain and Snowman's Land, and they can be eaten by Yoshi for fire breath.

Super Mario Galaxy / Super Mario Galaxy 2

Fireballs in Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2 move in circular patterns, either through the air or coming out of lava, appearing as an arc. They appear in places like the Freezeflame Galaxy, the Melty Molten Galaxy, the lava pool in the Freezy Flake Galaxy, and the Melty Monster Galaxy. Unlike most depictions, these fireballs have long, burning tails. A small, rolling variety can be spawned by Magikoopas, and in the former game, is in fact the only object generic Magikoopas can spawn in gameplay with their main attack. Kamella also uses this and Koopa Shells during her fights, and becomes more likely to summon fireballs as she takes damage.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder

Fireballs in Super Mario Bros. Wonder are obstacles spawned from hazardous ooze. They are first encountered during the level Fluff-Puff Peaks Palace. The direction in which a fireball moves depends, but if a character touches one, they take damage.

Mario Power Tennis

A green fireball in Mario Power Tennis

Green fireballs from Mario Bros. in Mario Power Tennis are obstacles bouncing around the court in the minigame Coin Collectors. These fireballs can stun a player for three seconds on contact as the defeated sound effect from Mario Bros. is heard playing.

Donkey Kong franchise

Donkey Kong Jungle Beat

Fireballs in Donkey Kong Jungle Beat are recurring lava obstacles that may travel straight or in arcs, and usually leap from magma. Fireballs in the game first appear in the level Grim Volcano.

Donkey Kong Country series

Several fireballs soar past Donkey Kong on his Rocket Barrel in Donkey Kong Country Returns

Fireballs in the Donkey Kong Country series first appear in Donkey Kong Country Returns and return in the Nintendo 3DS version, then in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze shortly afterward. In all games, they appear as a type of hazard capable of damaging the Kongs.

Fireballs in Donkey Kong Country Returns appear as hazards during a short section of Hot Rocket. They come out from behind and fly across the screen, destroying the Kongs' Rocket Barrel and causing them to lose a life if they come into contact. However, if avoided, fireballs simply fly past them. Fireballs cannot be stopped or destroyed. At one point, a fireball crashes into a chunk of rock falling from the ceiling, destroying it and revealing a Puzzle Piece.

Fireballs in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze appear in Scorch 'n' Torch, where they drop from baobab canopies at regular intervals and fall into pits below. Fireballs can only be destroyed with a Water Sack.

WarioWare: D.I.Y. Showcase

A green fire in WarioWare: D.I.Y. Showcase appears in 18-Volt's boss microgame Dustpan as roaming obstacle. It appears to have been recolored from the fireball sprites in Super Mario Bros.

Gallery

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  Mario Bros. arcade sprite (red)

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  Mario Bros. arcade sprite (green)

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  A fireball produced by Roger the Potted Ghost in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island

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  Mario Clash

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  A green fire in WarioWare: D.I.Y. Showcase, as an obstacle in 18-Volt's Dustpan microgame

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  Two fireballs raining down in front of Donkey Kong in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	ファイアボール Faiabōru	Fireball
	ファイア Faia	Fire
	炎ほのお Honō	Flame
French (NOE)	Boule de Feu	Fire Ball
German	Feuerball	Fireball
Italian	Fiamma	Flame
	Sfera di fuoco	Fire sphere
	Palla di fuoco (NES Remix)[?]	Fire ball
Spanish (NOE)	Bola de fuego	Fire Ball