Ice (element)
- “Ice attacks won't work--they love ice! Fire attacks, though...”
- —Goombario, Paper Mario
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. The Clown Car Barrage Triple Move deals additional damage to enemies that are weak to either ice, fire, or lightning, ignoring any resistance that they could also possess to these elements.
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. In the remake, attacking enemies that are immune to ice with this element displays a special icon denoting their immunity. Invincible enemies, such as The Iron Adonis Twins, Sir Grodus with a shield, or the Shadow Queen at the start of her second phase, are also redundantly immune to ice.
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. Non-ice enemies with ice attacks include Beldam, Grodus, and Bonetail; for the former, it only applies to her second fight, as her ice-themed attacks can't inflict the frozen status during the first battle against the Three Shadows.
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Super Paper Mario
While the ice element isn't used in Super Paper Mario, the frozen status effect is still present in the game, and can be inflicted to enemies with several items (Ice Storm, Snow Cone, Snow Bunny, Berry Snow Bunny, and Fruit Parfait) and to the player by several ice-themed enemies (Ice Cherbil, Frost Piranha, and Bonechill).
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: 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. It effectively replaces thunder from the previous game, this time available to all party members rather than being restricted to Luigi like Thunderhand. Much like the Hand Powers, 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; they still receive debuffs from the Ice Flower as all other enemies. Unlike the previous game, no enemies are healed from receiving a specific elemental attack.
Most Shroobs are weak to the ice element, including the regular Shroob troopers that can only be fought in Hollijolli Village before the player can acquire any Ice Flower; notable exceptions include the Shrooboid Brat, Shroobsworth/Intern Shroob duos, and Princess Shroob. Bullies, on top of being weak to ice, can also be cooled down from their empowered "enraged" state to their normal state with it.
Shroob-ombs and Elder Princess Shroob's head with an activated crown are resistant to all attack types, including ice, fire, jumps, and hammer/contondant. Pokeys' and Skellokeys' heads cannot be reached with Ice Flowers, even with the babies' aerial throws, as long as they have at least one body segment.
Ice 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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Other Mario & Luigi games
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. The Minion Quest: The Search for Bowser campaign doesn't have a universal ice element attached to all its ice attacks and characters. However, Ice Bros. are strong against Fire Bros. specifically.
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. In the Bowser Jr.'s Journey campaign, Ice Bros. are the only ice-related allies, and are specifically suited against the returning Fire Bros. and new enemy Broque Madame, with her description mentioning that "Only some cold ice can soothe the aches that bother her". In Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, Magmads and Iceads are respectively fire and ice-themed enemies that can be tricked into hitting each others, either dealing damage to their opposites or healing their own kind. Iceads also receive Critical damage from the fire-coated Luiginary Flame .
Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition
In Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition, ice characters such as Ice Mario, Penguin Mario, their Luigi equivalents, and Ice Bro, are grouped with the Water attribute. They are strong against the Fire attribute and weak against the Wood attribute. The Water attribute itself is even represented by the Penguin Suit, despite most of its associated characters being aquatic creatures that are not related to ice.
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope
While Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle only featured the Freeze Super Effect, which acted similarly as a Prohibited Command status effect, its sequel Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope switches it with the Frostbite Super Effect, which works likes a more conventional frozen status, and adds ice elemental property to it. In this game, some enemies are weak to Frostbite-inflicting attacks and will receive additional damage from them, while others are resistant and will receive less damage instead, on top of being immune to the status effect.
Several Sparks can be assigned to playable characters to give them Frostbite related Powers. Cryobolide's Frostbite Attack and Cryodash's Frostbite Dash can give the Frostbite Super Effect to their ally's weapon and dash respectively for a single turn, and Cryogeddon's Skyrain Frostbite and Cryoquake's Shockwave Frostbite both attack all enemies within a 9 meters radius with Frostbite damage. All four Sparks also give the Frostbite Protector Bonus ability to their ally, granting them immunity to the Frostbite status effect.
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Super Smash Bros. series
Freezing is an effect given to several attacks, items, and hazards in the Super Smash Bros. series, such as Giga Bowser's down smash, Freezies, and Luigi's Ice Ball, a variation of Green Fireball in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U / 3DS. Characters hit with the freezing effects briefly become frozen, which lasts longer the more damage they have received.
In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, freezing attacks can be altered in The Subspace Emissary with stickers. Some can enhance their associated character's freezing attacks (such as Item Box, Jimmy T., and Orbulon). Members of the Subspace Army can have a weakness or resistance to the freezing effect, which is cumulated with their resistance to direct and indirect attacks. Rayquaza is strong against everything but the freezing effect, effectively making it its weakness by default.
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In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, spirits serve a similar role to stickers, altering their associated character's attributes. In that game, ice and water attacks are affected by the same spirits. The Huey and Ellie spirits enhance the character's ice attacks, while Paper Mario and Mr. L increase the damage received from ice attacks. Some spirits also have the Ice-Floor Immunity ability, which prevents the frozen status entirely.
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 |
See also
- Elements
- Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
- Paper Mario
- Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
- Paper Mario: Sticker Star
- Paper Mario: Color Splash
- Paper Mario: The Origami King
- Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
- Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope
- Super Smash Bros. Melee
- Super Smash Bros. Brawl
- Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
