Ice (element)
Ice is an element given to various attacks, items, and enemies in RPGs. It usually is strong against enemies associated with the Fire element and can inflict the Frozen status effect in some games.
History
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
In Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars and its remake, ice is one of the four elements assigned to Special attacks, alongside Jump, Fire, and Lightning. Ice Bomb and Mallow's Snowy are designated with the ice element. Attacking enemies or bosses weak to ice will deal twice the damage; conversely, attacking enemies and bosses who are resistant to it will have no effect and inflict 0 damage instead.
Some enemy attacks are also affiliated with the ice element (Blizzard, Crystal, Ice Rock, and Solidify), and can be negated with the Lazy Shell or Super Suit. In the remake, using Mallow's Thought Peek will reveal the targeted enemy's weaknesses, including ice.
Enemies who are only affected by ice in the remake are indicated in bold.
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Paper Mario series
Paper Mario
In Paper Mario, ice is an element given to the Snowman Doll item. Some enemies are weak to ice, meaning that they will receive flat additional damage on top of the attack, or immune, which will negate the attack entirely and inflict 0 damage instead. Lava Buds and Petit Piranhas will be instantaneously defeated if attacked with the ice element.
Any enemy attack with the ice element can inflict the frozen status to Mario, which makes him unable to perform any action for a set number of turns. Enemies cannot become frozen in this game.
The Ice Power badge, which increases Mario's damage output by 2 against fire enemies, is effectively the same as giving ice properties to Mario's attacks, but is not actually the case despite the ice visual effects that accompany it. It has no effect on ice-themed enemies and they do not become immune to Mario's attacks because of it.
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Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
The way ice is handled is changed in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door and its remake in several ways. The Ice Power badge has been reduced to only 1 bonus damage against fire-based enemies, namely Embers, Lava Bubbles, and Phantom Embers, but also gained 1 bonus defence against all fire attacks. Ice-themed enemies are now healed by the amount of damage they were supposed to receive from an ice attack instead of being immune to them.
Attacks with the ice element in this game include the Ice Storm item and Mario's Ice Smash if the associated badge is equipped. Any character, partners and enemies included, can now be inflicted with the frozen status after receiving an ice attack, at the end of which they receive 1 piercing ice damage; if the target is burning, the two statuses will immediately cancel each other and return the target to its normal state. The Icicle Pop, Zess Frappe, and Snow Bunny recipes are imbued with the ice element and can inflict the frozen status on their user. The stage nozzle hazard can inflict the frozen status to one side of the stage as one of its random effect if they are knocked down.
Bulky Bob-ombs and Bob-ulks hit with any ice attack or frozen status effect will be extinguished, and will restart their detonating sequence from where they were interrupted. Ice Puffs' charged state is a unique ice equivalent to the electrified status that cannot be bypassed by characters who are electrified themselves; confused ice enemies will bypass it. Frost Piranha's bite attack is not of the ice element, but a normal move that can inflict the frozen status in the original game, but not in the remake.
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Paper Mario: Sticker Star
In Paper Mario: Sticker Star, ice is an element given to several Stickers (Ice Flower and its Shiny and Flashy variants, Chillhammer and its Big Shiny and Megaflash variants, and Snowball) and Things (Shaved Ice, Air Conditioner, and Refrigerator). In this game, using an ice-based attack against an enemy weak to this element will deal double damage, while an enemy resistant to ice will negate it entirely. Mizzter Blizzard and his Bowser Snow Statues will be healed by ice attacks instead.
Any of the ice Things can be used to freeze up Rugged Road, which will turn all the Fire Bros. in the area into Ice Bros., as well as all the Fire Flower and Burnhammer stickers on the walls into their ice equivalents. Ice Things can also be used during the third phase of the fight against Bowser to freeze the Lava Bubbles and prevent him from using them to attack Mario.
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Paper Mario: Color Splash
Ice comes back in Paper Mario: Color Splash, and the same rules as the previous game regarding elemental effectiveness apply. Battle Cards with the ice element include the Ice Flower, the Big Ice Flower, and the Ice Bro Enemy Card. There is no Thing Card with the ice element in this game, nor are there enemies who are immune to this element. When used against Bob-ombs, who always start battles already lit in this game, it will extinguish them, allowing Mario to perform other attacks without them exploding; they will relit their fuse during their following attack phase.
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Paper Mario: The Origami King
In Paper Mario: The Origami King, attacks with the ice element will deal 50% bonus damage against fire-themed Folded Soldiers. Conversely, attacking an ice-themed enemy with an ice attack will only deal them half of the normal damage to them.
Ice attacks include the Ice Hammer and the Ice Flower and its Shiny variant, which target a nearby 2x2 zone and a straight line respectively. The Ice Vellumental does not deal ice damage and is not weak against fire attacks.
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Mario & Luigi series
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
While the ice element does not yet appear in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, early signs of it are present in the Ice Snifit, Jojora, and her friend, who are ice-themed enemies that are weak to Firebrand. In Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions, their ice attacks often inflict the Heavy G status.
Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time formally introduces the ice element to the series thanks to the Ice Flower Bros. Item, of which it is the first appearance in any game. Much like the Hand Powers in the previous game, using it against enemies who are weak to the ice element will deal additional damage to them, indicated by the word "Critical" that appears after the attack. Others can be resistant to it, turning any Ice Flower attack against them into a flat 1 damage, no matter how many Ice Balls hit them. Most Shroobs are weak to the ice element. Bullies, on top of being weak to ice, can also be cooled down from their empowered "enraged" state to their normal state with it. It is also thematically used in the Mix Flower attack, each Ice Ball representing a misinput that weakens the attacks' fire power.
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Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
Ice as an element does not return in neither Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story nor any of the following Mario & Luigi games, but remnants of it appear during the fight against Blizzard Midbus, who summons ice-made Snawfuls that are weak to the fire element.
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | こおり[?] kōri |
ice | |
| Chinese | 冰[?] bīng |
ice | |
| Dutch | ijs[?] | ice | |
| French | glace[?] | ice | |
| German | Eis[?] | ice | |
| Italian | ghiaccio[?] | ice | |
| Korean | 얼음[?] eol-eum |
ice | |
| Spanish | hielo[?] | ice |
