Talk:Hard Block

Where did you get the sprites for the hard blocks??? I've been looking forever but couldn't find any, so I cut it out from a picture. Luigi86101 I think he copied the sprite from the game's files, like I did with NSMBWII (no image from it uploaded tho). -- HUMPNUT!!! 16:19, October 18, 2020 (EDT)

Merge Candy Block with Hard Block

This talk page section contains an unresolved talk page proposal. Please try to help and resolve the issue by voting or leaving a comment.

Current time: Wednesday, January 1, 2025, 07:44 GMT

Like Super Mario Odyssey, Super Mario Bros. Wonder has a number of blocks that take on unique appearances in certain levels, presumably to match the design of the local environment. A good example of this are the Hard Blocks. In previous games, there would be a different Hard Block design per game. In Super Mario Bros., it was the stairblock; in Super Mario Bros. 3 it was the Wood Block; and in Super Mario World, it was the stone Gray Block. In the New Super Mario Bros. series, both wooden and stone Hard Blocks are incorporated, as well as a few new ones unique to certain levels. In Super Mario Maker games and the Super Mario Bros. Encyclopedia, these are presented as "flavors" of the same type of object rather than discretely unique blocks, and we follow suite on the wiki. That is all fine and dandy.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder follows the tradition of supporting a wide diversity of different Hard Blocks: the returning stairblock, the Wood Block, the Stone Block, a wholly new golden block, one with a diamond pattern, and underwater coral-like blocks. Which brings us to these conjecturally-titled "Candy Blocks." They are a type of Hard Block, just like the other ones mentioned.

We know this from this blog post published by Nintendo Co., Ltd., which introduces some flavor text about Gnawsher biology:

歯は特殊な合金で、硬いブロックもガシガシ壊す。

Which translates to:

The teeth are made of a special alloy and can easily break through hard blocks.

This text is employing the official name for Hard Blocks (硬いブロック), rather than an informal moniker used to describe the type of block. What "hard block" could this text possibly be referring to other than the candy-colored blocks in Gnawsher Lair, some of which are laid out exactly like stairblocks? These are the only blocks Gnawshers are shown to bite through, and the only other enemy that interacts with them candy-colored blocks are red Pokipedes, which simply punch through them like they do with the other Hard Blocks in the game. While understandable to see these blocks as something unique in isolation, that is a misread: as stated by Nintendo themselves, they are a Hard Block, just like stairblocks, Wood Blocks, Stone Blocks, and Coral. I would like us to follow suite by merging this article with the main Hard Block article.

I offer three options:

1. Support: Lump Candy Block with Hard Block.
2. Support: Keep the Candy Block article and split all of the other Hard Blocks into their own separate articles: Stairblock, Wood Block, Gray Block, etc. would receive their own articles, and Hard Block would be more like a broad category for several different blocks. I am not personally invested in doing this, and it seems a bit counter to how the mainline games recognize these blocks in text and guides since Super Mario Maker, but I'm including it as an option for those who may want it.
3. Opppose: Keep Candy Block split from Hard Block: preferably with some sort of explanation!

Proposer: Nintendo101 (talk)
Deadline: Jan. 7th, 2025, 23:59 GMT

Support: Lump Candy Block with Hard Block

1. Nintendo101 (talk) Candily.
2. PopitTart (talk) Per proposal. The Candy Block page is painfully stubby and its behavior is entirely in line with Hard Blocks.
3. Camwoodstock (talk) If we merge Hard Blocks regardless of aesthetics and material, from wood to concrete to whatever material the SMB1 ones are made out of (We always imagined they were kinda plastic-y!), the ones made of candy shouldn't be an exception!
4. Hewer (talk) Sweet proposal.
5. Arend (talk) ...This was split in the first place?
6. Rykitu (talk) Per all.
7. EvieMaybe (talk) per proposal!

Oppose: Keep Candy Blocks separate from Hard Blocks

1. PrincessPeachFan (talk) If they've been around since 3...

Comments on this candy-dandy proposal

Letting you know, SMB3 also has the X-centered stone Hard Blocks in a few stage types (though always using palette 4 rather than 2). So multiple designs goes back to the near-beginning. Doc von Schmeltwick (talk) 18:05, December 24, 2024 (EST)

Well that's neat to know, though I don't think it really changes anything specific to this proposal. Can you pinpoint where exactly the stairblocks are in the spritesheet you put together? It's very good and thorough, but my eyes sometimes struggle fixating on a subject. - Nintendo101 (talk) 11:24, December 25, 2024 (EST)

Without the flat front, you can see them in the plains sections, the fort sections, and the hill sections, desert, and giant/Hand Trap. The original flat-fronted design is also in an unused setup of Battle Mode (while a similar design to the in-game Hard Blocks is used for the Mario Bros. floor). A few bonus areas using the cave tileset also take an appearance resembling Empty Blocks, but still functioning as Hard Blocks. Doc von Schmeltwick (talk) 14:06, December 25, 2024 (EST)

@PrincessPeachFan: What do you mean with "if they have been around since 3"? The Candy Block article states they appeared so far in Super Mario Bros. Wonder ONLY, and thus hav NOT been around since Super Mario Bros. 3. Where's your evidence that specifically Candy Blocks have been around since SMB3, and how does that justify it being split from Hard Block, which Candy Blocks have been nearly identical to? rend (talk) (edits) 12:25, December 26, 2024 (EST)