Electric rail

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Electric rail
SMG2 Electric Fence Close Up.png
A close-up of an electric rail in the Flip-Swap Galaxy in Super Mario Galaxy 2
First appearance Super Mario Strikers (2005)
Latest appearance Mario Strikers: Battle League (2022)

Electric rails[1] or power lines[2] are barriers of electrical energy in the Super Mario franchise.

History[edit]

Mario Strikers series[edit]

Donkey Kong on an electric rail in Super Mario Strikers.
An electric rail in Super Mario Strikers

In Super Mario Strikers, Mario Strikers Charged, and Mario Strikers: Battle League, electric rails appear around all of the soccer fields except for Thunder Island, in which they only appear at the corners. If players get tackled into the fence, they will be shocked temporarily. The fence cannot be seen; it is transparent until players run into it. Some options allow for either electric rails to be disabled or it to shock the player if they even go near the fence.

Mario Party series[edit]

Mario Party 8[edit]

Power Trip from Mario Party 8
An electric rail grid in Power Trip

An electric rail grid is seen underneath the main platform in Power Trip, a minigame in Mario Party 8.

Mario Party 9[edit]

An electric rail surrounds the ring in Bumper Sparks, a minigame in Mario Party 9.

Super Mario series[edit]

Super Mario Galaxy[edit]

Mario in the Flipswitch Galaxy
Screenshot from Super Mario Galaxy of electric rails in Flipswitch Galaxy

Electric rails with small yellow spheres on either end appear in Super Mario Galaxy in several galaxies, where they occasionally move horizontally throughout the galaxy and shock Mario and Luigi if contact is made. They appear in green and red. They are used to defeat Spiky Topmen and Spring Topmen. If Mario or Luigi lose a life from an electric rail, they will turn into a skeleton, but there is a small chance of staying as normal. This effect is also seen briefly, if the player looks closely, when Mario and Luigi take damage after hitting one. In some galaxies, they can be deactivated by stepping on Flipswitch Panels, hitting a Spiky Topman with a spin attack into them, defeating it as well, or defeating an Undergrunt Gunner. No matter which way the camera faces, the reflection on the spheres that make them up shown is always exactly the same. A different type appears in the very first mission, Grand Star Rescue, at each end of slow-moving platforms that circle round areas, with the electricity flowing between two prongs resembling the tip of an electric cattle prod; green platforms appear outside the planet, while orange ones appear inside, though the electricity itself is green in both cases.

Appearances[edit]
  • Baseline sprite of the Star Pointer in Super Mario Galaxy. marks missions where they are completely absent.
  • Galaxy StarP.png marks missions where they are loaded and may be visible, but cannot be encountered directly.
Green, platform
Domes Galaxies Missions
Gate Gateway Galaxy Grand Star Rescue Gateway's Purple Coins
Green, immobile
Domes Galaxies Missions
Terrace Good Egg Galaxy Dino Piranha (mission) A Snack of Cosmic Proportions King Kaliente's Battle Fleet Dino Piranha Speed Run Purple Coin Omelet Luigi on the Roof
Fountain Battlerock Galaxy Battlerock Barrage Breaking into the Battlerock Topmaniac and the Topman Tribe Topmaniac's Daredevil Run Purple Coins on the Battlerock Battlerock's Garbage Dump Luigi under the Saucer
Kitchen Ghostly Galaxy Luigi and the Haunted Mansion A Very Spooky Sprint Beware of Bouldergeist Bouldergeist's Daredevil Run Purple Coins in the Bone Pen Matter Splatter Mansion
Bowser Jr.'s Airship Armada Sinking the Airships
Engine Room Toy Time Galaxy Heavy Metal Mecha-Bowser Mario Meets Mario Bouncing Down Cake Lane Fast Foes of Toy Time Luigi's Purple Coins The Flipswitch Chain
Sand Spiral Galaxy Choosing a Favorite Snack
Garden Dreadnought Galaxy Infiltrating the Dreadnought Dreadnought's Colossal Cannons Revenge of the Topman Tribe Topman Tribe Speed Run Battlestation's Purple Coins Dreadnought's Garbage Dump
Comet Observatory Bubble Blast Galaxy The Electric Labyrinth
Green, mobile
Domes Galaxies Missions
Fountain Battlerock Galaxy Battlerock Barrage Breaking into the Battlerock Topmaniac and the Topman Tribe Topmaniac's Daredevil Run Purple Coins on the Battlerock Battlerock's Garbage Dump Luigi under the Saucer
Engine Room Toy Time Galaxy Heavy Metal Mecha-Bowser Mario Meets Mario Bouncing Down Cake Lane Fast Foes of Toy Time Luigi's Purple Coins The Flipswitch Chain
Comet Observatory Bubble Blast Galaxy The Electric Labyrinth
Red, immobile
Domes Galaxies Missions
Terrace Sweet Sweet Galaxy Rocky Road (mission)
Fountain Battlerock Galaxy Battlerock Barrage Breaking into the Battlerock Topmaniac and the Topman Tribe Topmaniac's Daredevil Run Purple Coins on the Battlerock Battlerock's Garbage Dump Luigi under the Saucer
Garden Deep Dark Galaxy The Underground Ghost Ship Bubble Blastoff Guppy and the Underground Lake Ghost Ship Daredevil Run Plunder the Purple Coins Boo in a Box
Dreadnought Galaxy Infiltrating the Dreadnought Dreadnought's Colossal Cannons Revenge of the Topman Tribe Topman Tribe Speed Run Battlestation's Purple Coins Dreadnought's Garbage Dump
Red, mobile
Domes Galaxies Missions
Terrace Flipswitch Galaxy Painting the Planet Yellow
Garden Dreadnought Galaxy Infiltrating the Dreadnought Dreadnought's Colossal Cannons Revenge of the Topman Tribe Topman Tribe Speed Run Battlestation's Purple Coins Dreadnought's Garbage Dump

New Super Mario Bros. Wii[edit]

Screenshot from New Super Mario Bros. Wii

Electric rails are found in World 6-Airship in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, where they are used in the second airship battle against Bowser Jr. The player must knock Bowser Jr. into the fence three times in order to win. However, if Mario and his friends are pushed into the rail, they will take damage.

Super Mario Galaxy 2[edit]

In Super Mario Galaxy 2, electric rails return with the same function and effect from the predecessor, but Mario will no longer turn into a skeleton if he loses a life from an electric rail.

Appearances[edit]
  • Baseline sprite of the Star Pointer in Super Mario Galaxy. marks missions where they are completely absent.
  • Galaxy StarP.png marks missions where they are loaded and may be visible, but cannot be encountered directly.
Green, immobile
Worlds Galaxies Missions
World 2 Bowser's Lava Lair Bowser's Big Lava Power Party Lava Lair Speed Run
World 5 Space Storm Galaxy Follow Me, Bob-omb To the Top of Topman's Tower C'mere, Topman
Upside Dizzy Galaxy A Walk on the Weird Side Burning Upside Dizzy
Bowser Jr.'s Boom Bunker Bowser Jr.'s Boomsday Machine Boomsday Machine Daredevil Run
World 6 Clockwork Ruins Galaxy Time for Adventure The Adventure of the Purple Coins The Ledge Hammer Trap
Bowser's Galaxy Generator Bowser's Fortified Fortress Bowser's Big Bad Speed Run
World S Grandmaster Galaxy The Ultimate Test The Perfect Run
Green, mobile
Worlds Galaxies Missions
World 1 Flip-Swap Galaxy Think Before You Shake Purple Coin Flip 'n' Sprint
World 5 Space Storm Galaxy Follow Me, Bob-omb To the Top of Topman's Tower C'mere, Topman
World S Grandmaster Galaxy The Ultimate Test The Perfect Run
Red, immobile
Worlds Galaxies Missions
World 3 Bowser Jr.'s Fearsome Fleet Bowser Jr.'s Mighty Megahammer Megahammer's Daredevil Bash

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze[edit]

In Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, a single electric rail can be found among some pendulums in Precarious Pendulums.

Gallery[edit]

Names in other languages[edit]

Language Name Meaning Notes
Japanese ビリビリレール[?]
Biribiri rēru
Shocking rail
電線でんせん[?]
Densen
Electric line
French Barrière électrique[3] Electric barrier
Italian Filo elettrico[4] Electric wire
Elettrorotaia[5] Electric-rail
Spanish Raíl eléctrico[?] Electric rail

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "So try and remember how to control a bubble! Just watch out for those electric rails." – Phil Board (2007). Super Mario Galaxy. "The Electric Labyrinth": Nintendo (English).
  2. ^ "The power lines are keeping me from helping my friend!" – Luma (2007). Super Mario Galaxy. "Revenge of the Topman Tribe": Nintendo (English).
  3. ^ Super Mario Galaxy, Le Guide Officiel. Prima Games, page 105
  4. ^ "I fili elettrici sono d'ostacolo e non riesco a salvare il mio amico!" – Luma (2007). Super Mario Galaxy. "Revenge of the Topman Tribe": Nintendo (English).
  5. ^ November 15, 2018. Super Mario Bros. Enciclopedia. Magazzini Salani (Italian). ISBN 889367436X. Page 137.