Fire Bar
| Fire Bar | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Artwork from Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS | |||
| First appearance | Super Mario Bros. (1985) | ||
| Latest appearance | Super Mario Party Jamboree (2024) | ||
| Variant of | Fireball | ||
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Fire Bars (also formatted as Fire-Bars,[1][2][3] fire bars,[4] or firebars[5]) are rotating bars made of fireballs first appearing in Super Mario Bros. They generally take on the role of being obstacles in castle levels and fortress levels.
Fire Bars were originally created as obstacles for The Legend of Zelda, but when developers felt they looked better in the Super Mario franchise, Fire Bars appeared in a Super Mario game first. Following this, Fire Bars were passed between both Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda games.[6][7][5][8]
Fire Bars were also given notable appearances in certain castles of Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, which depicted them as swinging in a three-dimensional manner. A three-dimensional Fire Bar depicted with eyes also appeared in the courses Waluigi Stadium and Bowser's Castle in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
History[edit]
Super Mario series[edit]
Super Mario Bros. / Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels[edit]
Fire-Bars are obstacles debuting in Super Mario Bros., where they rotate either clockwise or counterclockwise around a block or platform, even on floors and the ceiling. If Mario or Luigi touches their fire, he takes damage. Fire Bars are only in castle stages and first appear in World 1-4. In World 8-4, Fire-Bars appear only during an underwater section, whereas none appear in the main castle section. The first Fire-Bar in World 5-4 is composed of 12 fireballs, which are more common in Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, whereas standard Fire-Bars have a six fireball length.
In later games, they are replaced with similar-acting obstacles, such as Roto-Discs and Spinners. If the player beats the game and restarts on Hard Mode, Fire-Bars will appear in all possible locations in castles.
Super Mario 64 / Super Mario 64 DS[edit]
Fire bars are short, spinning flamethrowers found in Lethal Lava Land in Super Mario 64 and Super Mario 64 DS. They spin horizontally, unlike the previous entries.
Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3[edit]
Fire-Bars do appear in the World-e levels Swinging Bars of Doom, An Aqueous Adventure (where most appear underwater),[9] and Classic World 1-4 in Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3. Fire-Bars come in varying lengths, with either one or two rotating around a point.
New Super Mario Bros.[edit]
The Fire Bars of New Super Mario Bros. have much of the same role as in Super Mario Bros. They are first seen in World 6-4 and return in World 8-
Tower2 as well as one in World 8-
Bowser's Castle.
Super Mario Galaxy[edit]
They appear as obstacles in several different galaxies in Super Mario Galaxy, including the Sling Pod Galaxy, the Toy Time Galaxy, Bowser's Star Reactor, and Bowser's Galaxy Reactor. They function the same as in Super Mario 64, but some are found moving vertically.
Appearances[edit]
marks missions where they are completely absent.
marks missions where they are loaded and may be visible, but cannot be encountered directly.
| Single-bar | ||||||||
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| Domes | Galaxies | Missions | ||||||
| Fountain | Battlerock Galaxy | |
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| Bowser's Star Reactor | 
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| Sling Pod Galaxy |
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| Garden | Deep Dark Galaxy | |
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| Comet Observatory | Bowser's Galaxy Reactor |
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| Double-bar | ||||||||
| Domes | Galaxies | Missions | ||||||
| Fountain | Bowser's Star Reactor |
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| Sling Pod Galaxy |
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| Garden | Melty Molten Galaxy | |
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| Comet Observatory | Bowser's Galaxy Reactor |
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| Triple-bar | ||||||||
| Domes | Galaxies | Missions | ||||||
| Fountain | Bowser's Star Reactor |
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| Engine Room | Toy Time Galaxy | |
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| Comet Observatory | Bowser's Galaxy Reactor |
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| Quadruple-bar | ||||||||
| Domes | Galaxies | Missions | ||||||
| Fountain | Bowser's Star Reactor |
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| Comet Observatory | Bowser's Galaxy Reactor |
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New Super Mario Bros. Wii[edit]
Fire Bar appear only in World 8-
Tower (including a double bar), World 8-
Bowser's Castle (mainly in the first room and two in the second room), and World 
Coin-1. Many of the Fire Bars guard Star Coins.
Super Mario Galaxy 2[edit]
Fire Bars are ported over from Super Mario Galaxy, working the same as before. They mainly appear in Bowser Jr.'s Fiery Flotilla, Bowser's Gravity Gauntlet, the Slipsand Galaxy, and Bowser's Galaxy Generator. Long Fire Bars are also integrated into Bowser Jr.'s Boom Bunker during his boss fight in Bowser Jr.'s Boomsday Machine.
Appearances[edit]
- marks missions where they are completely absent.
- marks missions where they are loaded and may be visible, but cannot be encountered directly.
| Single-bar | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Worlds | Galaxies | Missions | ||
| World 1 | Bowser Jr.'s Fiery Flotilla |  |
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| World 4 | Bowser's Gravity Gauntlet | |
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| World 5 | Slipsand Galaxy | |
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| Double-bar | ||||
| Worlds | Galaxies | Missions | ||
| World 1 | Bowser Jr.'s Fiery Flotilla | |
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| World 4 | Bowser's Gravity Gauntlet | |
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| Triple-bar | ||||
| Worlds | Galaxies | Missions | ||
| World 1 | Bowser Jr.'s Fiery Flotilla | |
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| World 2 | Bowser's Lava Lair | |
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| World 4 | Bowser's Gravity Gauntlet | |
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| World 5 | Bowser Jr.'s Boom Bunker | |
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| World 6 | Bowser's Galaxy Generator | |
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| Quadruple-bar | ||||
| Worlds | Galaxies | Missions | ||
| World 4 | Bowser's Gravity Gauntlet | |
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Super Mario 3D Land[edit]
Fire Bars appear in most castles and World 8-6 in Super Mario 3D Land. They are just like the Fire Bars in Super Mario Galaxy and other 3D entries. The game also introduces a spiked ball variety, Spike Bars.
New Super Mario Bros. 2[edit]
Fire Bars appear mostly in castle levels as well as a few in World 6 in New Super Mario Bros. 2. They work the same as in the predecessors and appear to be longer by only one fireball segment.
New Super Mario Bros. U[edit]
Fire Bars are found in Screwtop Tower and Slide Lift Tower in New Super Mario Bros. U. The game also introduces the larger Huge Fire Bar variety, which are the main feature of Fire Bar Cliffs.
Super Mario 3D World / Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury[edit]
Fire Bars appear in Super Mario 3D World and its port, where they sometimes move around a Brick Block or a ? Block. Spike Bars do not return, but some levels include the similar spiked rollers. Fire Bars also appear on Mount Magmeow.
Super Mario Maker / Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS / Super Mario Maker 2[edit]
Fire Bars are course elements in Super Mario Maker, its port, and Super Mario Maker 2. They have an adjustable length and direction. The center block has a different sprite design for the Super Mario Bros. theme, and entirely different sprites were made for Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World styles. Fire Bars do not appear in the Super Mario 3D World style of Super Mario Maker 2, even though they appear in the source game.
Super Mario Run[edit]
Fire Bars are obstacles in the levels Fire Bar Castle! Youch!, including one while battling the fake Bowser, and Bowser's Bob-ombing Run of Super Mario Run.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder[edit]
Fire Bars are first found in Shining Falls Special Triple Threat Deluge of Super Mario Bros. Wonder and return in various levels afterwards. They function the same as before.
Super Mario Bros.: Peach-hime Kyūshutsu Dai Sakusen![edit]
In Super Mario Bros.: Peach-hime Kyūshutsu Dai Sakusen!, a single Fire-Bar briefly appears when Mario and Kibidango chase Bowser through the catacombs of his castle. Unlike earlier and later depictions in the franchise, the Fire-Bar does not materialize until the pair get close to it, and it dissipates after they leave the area.
Yoshi's Island series[edit]
In the Yoshi's Island series, Fire-Bars appear in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, its Game Boy Advance version, and in Yoshi's Island DS. In Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Fire-Bars appear in certain forts and castles, and they are depicted as swinging three-dimensionally. The traditional type reappears in Yoshi's Island DS.
Paper Mario series[edit]
Paper Mario[edit]
Fire Bars appear in Koopa Bros. Fortress and Mt. Lavalava of Paper Mario, swinging either sideways, clockwise, or counter-clockwise. They can damage Mario but not his partner. Jumping over a Fire Bar causes it to swing faster, eventually disappearing and dropping coins if dodged ten times.
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door[edit]
Fire-Bars are encountered by Bowser in World 3 of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, where he can destroy them with his fire breath. As usual, Fire-Bars decrease Bowser's size and defeat him if he is small enough. Fire-Bars also appear in Palace of Shadow and work like they do in Paper Mario.
Super Paper Mario[edit]
Fire Bars are found in Chapters 1-4 and 8-2 of Super Paper Mario, working like they do in Super Mario Bros. Fire Bars can be dodged by entering 3-D mode.
Mario Kart series[edit]
Fire Bars make several appearances in the Mario Kart series, burning racers that drive through it. They make their first appearance in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, where they appear on the Waluigi Stadium and Bowser's Castle courses. The former has a Podoboo-like pair of eyes on it and can be crashed into with a Star until it slows down back to its normal speed. One is unimplemented in the Daisy Cruiser smokestack cannon.[10]
Fire Bars later return in Mario Kart DS, in the Wario Stadium course, although it lacks a Podoboo face and only has two fireballs on each three sides with the one in the center.
Fire Bars reappear once again in Mario Kart Wii, in the Waluigi Stadium retro course and the game's Bowser's Castle, although in this instance, the former retains the Podoboo face at the center while having the number of fireballs increased to four on each side while the latter lacks the Podoboo face and only has three fireballs on each side. They are also called Podoboo Cogs,[11] keeping consistency with their appearance.
Fire Bars make reappearances in Mario Kart 8's Bowser's Castle course and in DS Wario Stadium. Here the Fire Bars have the same forms as in Mario Kart DS. Similar obstacles, rings of fireballs called Fire Chains, appear in a few of these titles as well.
In Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit, they appear in Bowser's Castle as gate obstacles with their appearance from the Super Mario Maker games.
Fire Bars are also objects in two K'NEX building sets based on Mario Kart Wii, where they are referred to as Fire Cogs.
Mario Party series[edit]
In the Mario Party series, Fire Bars appear in a few minigames. They appear in The Final Battle! of Mario Party 4 and Mario Party: The Top 100, where they take away a heart from whoever touches them. In Mario Party: Island Tour, Fire Bars appear in Great Bars of Fire, where the players need to jump over or duck under them, and if a character hits a Fire Bar three times, they are out, and the last player standing wins. In Mario Party 10, Fire Bars appear in the Bowser Minigame Bowser's Fire Bar Fury. Fire Bar appears in Super Mario Party Jamboree in the Free-For-All minigame Hot-Hot Hop alongside Magmaarghs.
Super Princess Peach[edit]
Fire Bars are obstacles first found in the Subrella sections of Bowser's Villa in Super Princess Peach. When Peach approaches a Fire Bar, it gives off a swinging sound effect, and a Fire Bar can damage her if touched. A Fire Bar is also in the Subrella section of the unlockable Ladida Plains 1-9 as well as ten in the unlockable Hoo's Wood 2-9.
Horizontally-spinning Fire Bars with a different appearance appear in the minigame Toad Tote.
Wario: Master of Disguise[edit]
Fire Bars are obstacles inside Sweatmore Peak in Wario: Master of Disguise. They are shown as small fireballs that rotate around a larger fireball.
Mario & Sonic series[edit]
Fire Bars make a few appearances in the Mario & Sonic series. In the Wii version of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, a pair of Fire Bars appear during the second segment of the Mario World routine in Dream Figure Skating, where the characters jump over them. In Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games, Fire Bars appear during the Bowser's Castle portion of Mario's Figure Skating Spectacular, where the characters jump over them at various stages during the routine.
Super Smash Bros. series[edit]
- SmashWiki article: Fire Bar
A Fire Bar is one of the items in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. A fighter can pick up a Fire Bar and swing it to attackm like the Beam Sword. For every two hits, including blocked hits, the Fire Bar loses two fireballs, and those closer to the base inflict more damage.
Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam[edit]
Fire Bars made up of two to seven segments are obstacles in the the Trio Whirligig minigame at the Arcade in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam. If a Fire Bar is touched, the minigame ends. There are also purple Fire Bars in the mission "Bye-Bye, Boo."
Mario Golf: Super Rush[edit]
Fire Bars are found in the Bowser Highlands course in Mario Golf: Super Rush, and are are not connected to a block.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie[edit]
In The Super Mario Bros. Movie, mechanical representations of Fire Bars appear in Princess Peach's training course.
Other appearances[edit]
Fire bars[12], or Guruguru bars,[8] appear in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures, The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, and The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes. As in the Super Mario franchise, they rotate continuously and are indestructible. However, some games play with this concept, such as with switches that change the direction of the bar's rotation. While 2D titles depict the center as a block, 3D titles redesign the center.
The Fire Bar appears in the Animal Crossing games as a furniture item.
In the Super Mario Mash-up in Minecraft, Blaze Rods are replaced by Fire Bars, though the Fire Bar is not connected to a block.
Profiles[edit]
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U[edit]
| Trophy Fire Bar | ||
3DS: Wii U: 
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| Category: Item | ||
( ) Appears in:NES Super Mario Bros. (10/1985) Wii U New Super Mario Bros. U (11/2012) | ||
| () Trophy Box: 2: Swordfighter
| ||
| How to unlock: Random | ||
| A rotating row of fireballs found in the Mario series, most often as a fiery obstacle in Bowser's Castle. In this game, you can swing the fire bar at your enemies! It's a powerful weapon, but for every two times you swing and hit someone with it, one of the fireballs will burn out. And no fire means no fun. (American English) | ||
| A rotating row of fireballs found in the Mario series, most often as a fiery obstacle in Bowser's Castle. In this game, you can swing the fire bar at your enemies! It's a powerful weapon, but for every two times you connect when attacking with it, one of the fireballs will go out. And no fire means no fun. (British English) | ||
Gallery[edit]
- For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Fire Bar.
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ファイアバー[?] Faia Bā |
Fire Bar | |
| ぐるぐるバー[13] Guru Guru Bā |
Spinning Bar; alternate spelling shared with Yoshi's Island Spinners | The Legend of Zelda series | |
| Chinese | 火焰棒[?] Huǒyàn bàng |
Flame Club | |
| Dutch | Vuurbalk[?] | Fire beam | |
| French | Barre de feu[?] | Fire bar | |
| German | Feuerstab[?] | Firestaff | |
| Italian | Barra di fuoco[?] | Bar of fire | |
| Barra infuocata[?] | Fire bar | ||
| Korean | 파이어바[?] Faieoba |
Firebar | |
| Portuguese | Barreira de fogo[14] | Fire barrier | |
| Russian | Огненное препятствие[?] Ognennoye prepyatstviye |
Fire obstacle | |
| Spanish | Cadena de fuego[?] | Fire chain | |
| Barrera de fuego[?] | Fire barrier |
References[edit]
- ^ Tochikubo, Hiroo (1987). How to win at Super Mario Bros.. Tokuma Shoten. ISBN 4-19-720003-XC. Page 15.
- ^ Yamashita, Tatsumi (1987). The Official Nintendo Player's Guide. Tokuma Shoten. ISBN 999832369X. Page 30.
- ^ Tiden, Gail, et al. (1993). Super Mario All-Stars Player's Guide. Nintendo of America (English). Page 9 and 31.
- ^ "Time your jump from the pole so you don’t get hit by the spinning fire bar." – Pelland, Scott, and Dan Owsen (1996). Super Mario 64 Player's Guide. Nintendo of America (English). Page 67.
- ^ a b Iwata Asks - Volume 2 : The History of Handheld The Legend of Zelda Games. Nintendo.
- ^ GlitterBerri (May 28, 2011). The Men Who Made Zelda – Staff Interview. GlitterBerri's Game Translations (English). Retrieved May 9, 2024.
- ^ Iwata Asks - New Super Mario Bros: Volume 2
- ^ a b "The rotating Guruguru bars that appear in A Link to the Past originated in Super Mario Bros., where they’re called Fire Bars. However, they were originally intended for The Legend of Zelda; the developers felt they looked better in a Super Mario game and passed them between titles." – Playing With Super Power: Nintendo Super NES Classics eGuide, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past 16 Bits Tab.
- ^ VideoGamePhenom (October 28, 2019). Super Mario Advance 4 - World-e - An Aqueous Adventure (0:20). YouTube.
- ^ noclip.website
- ^ Hodgson, David S. J. (April 27, 2008). Mario Kart Wii Premiere Edition. Prima Games. ISBN 0-7615-5970-1. Page 92 and 128.
- ^ "The Moon Pearl is in the big chest on the fourth floor of the tower. To reach it, you need to jump into a hole on the fifth floor. The hole you need will appear when you step on the star tile near the fifth floor fire bar. Use the map to find the correct hole." – The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past TOP SECRETS - Messages from Sahasrahla. Page 2.
- ^ 「任天堂公式ガイドブック ゼルダの伝説 神々のトライフォース 上」 (Nintendo Kōshiki Guidebook – Zelda no Densetsu: Kamigami no Triforce – Jō). Shogakukan (Japanese). Page 134.
- ^ Nintendo Portugal (December 2, 2019). Super Mario Maker 2 - A Master Sword, novas peças para níveis e muito mais! (Nintendo Switch). YouTube. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
External links[edit]
- Hazardous objects
- Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam objects
- Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games
- Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games
- Mario Kart 8 objects
- Mario Kart: Double Dash!! objects
- Mario Kart DS objects
- Mario Kart Wii objects
- Mario Party 4
- Mario Party 10
- Mario Party: Island Tour
- Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis
- Mini Mario & Friends: amiibo Challenge objects
- New Super Mario Bros. objects
- New Super Mario Bros. 2 objects
- New Super Mario Bros. U objects
- New Super Mario Bros. Wii objects
- Paper Mario objects
- Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door objects
- Super Mario 3D Land objects
- Super Mario 3D World objects
- Super Mario 64 objects
- Super Mario 64 DS objects
- Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 objects
- Super Mario Bros. objects
- Super Mario Bros. Deluxe
- Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels objects
- Super Mario Bros.: Peach-hime Kyūshutsu Dai Sakusen!
- Super Mario Bros. Special
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder objects
- Super Mario Galaxy objects
- Super Mario Galaxy 2 objects
- Super Mario Maker objects
- Super Mario Maker 2 objects
- Super Mario Run objects
- Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island objects
- Super Paper Mario objects
- Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U items
- Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS trophies
- Super Smash Bros. for Wii U trophies
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate items
- Wario: Master of Disguise objects
- Yoshi's Island DS objects
- Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3
