Cog (obstacle)
- This article is about the gear-like obstacle. For other uses of the term "cog", see Cog.
| Cog | |
|---|---|
 Model from New Super Mario Bros. Wii | |
| First appearance | Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (1992) |
| Latest appearance | Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury (2021) |
Cogs, also known as gears, are large, perpetually rotating platforms and obstacles in the Super Mario franchise. In many appearances, they crush the player character if they are between its teeth.
History[edit]
Super Mario series[edit]
Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins[edit]
Gears[1] in Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins are Semisolid Platforms in the first stage of the Mario Zone, appearing in both horizontal and vertical types. There are large horizontal gears that are motionless and have no platform gimmick, and small revolving ones that move Mario from left to right. The vertical gears also come in a slightly bigger motionless variety and one that moves Mario downward until he reaches a midway point that makes him fall off.
New Super Mario Bros. Wii[edit]
Cogs in New Super Mario Bros. Wii are interactive platforms in World 1-
Castle, where they appear in two different sizes. If the player remains under one, they are squished and lose a life. Cogs in the level are required to go up to where the boss door is. Additionally, cog-like wheels can be found in World 6-
Airship.
New Super Mario Bros. U / New Super Luigi U / New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe[edit]
Cogs in New Super Mario Bros. U appear in Crushing-Cogs Tower, functioning as platforms that can be used to reach the top of the tower and fight Boom Boom. Cogs in New Super Luigi U appear in the game's equivalent, Flame-Gear Tower, as well as in Hot Cogs. Cogs in the Nintendo Switch enhanced port return in all of the aforementioned levels.
Super Mario 3D World / Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury[edit]
In Super Mario 3D World and its Nintendo Switch reissue, cogs made out of cookies appear prominently in Cookie Cogworks, where they serve as platforms. These cogs must be traversed horizontally and vertically in order to reach the end of the course. Some cookie cogs in the vertical sections have Piranha Plants nested inbetween the cogs' teeth, which have to be avoided while climbing the cogs. A cookie cog is also located at the end of the course that allow Mario and friends to reach the top of the Goal Pole. Another rotating cookie cog, laid on its side, appears in a hidden area found in the distance beyond the Goal Pole's area.
Yoshi franchise[edit]
Yoshi's Story[edit]
Sprockets[2] in Yoshi's Story appear in the Mecha Castle. They are wooden and can make a Yoshi lose a life only if the Yoshi is trapped between two of them. Most of them are singular and only move in response to the Yoshi's movements.
Yoshi's Crafted World[edit]
Cogs in Yoshi's Crafted World are objects in Mr. Geary's Factory, functioning identically as in the Super Mario Bros. side-scrolling series. Additionally, an animate cog known as Mr. Geary is fought at the end of said level.
Wario World[edit]
Cogs in Wario World are platforms located in the basement of Horror Manor, against the back wall of the room they appear in. Wario must jump between them using climbable chains hanging from the ceiling. Cogs have Glue Globes attached to them, allowing Wario to ride them as they turn without standing on top. Two types of cogs appear: smooth, rounded ones and a more jagged variety with rectangular teeth.
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door[edit]
Gears[3] appear as platforms in the X-Naut Fortress in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. They exist in the background of the final room before the room containing Magnus von Grapple 2.0, a room identified as the X-Naut factory by Goombella, and Mario must traverse them in order to reach Magnus 2.0.
Donkey Kong franchise[edit]
Donkey Kong Jungle Beat[edit]
Cogs in Donkey Kong Jungle Beat are obstacles in the Clock Tower that Donkey Kong must maneuver a Helibird around.
Donkey Kong Country Returns[edit]
Gears in Donkey Kong Country Returns appear primarily in Gear Getaway as obstacles to the Rocket Barrel.
Mario Kart series[edit]
Giant gray gears with small teeth appear as rotating platforms in the Mario Kart DS course Tick-Tock Clock. Four of these gears appear in the lower portion of the track, each rotating in alternating directions, and have to be driven over to progress through the course. Drivers have to swivel around in this section in order to drive in the same direction the gears are turning towards, in order to avoid being slowed down. The rotation of these gears change direction per lap. Two more gears, protruding through the road like wheels, appear near the end of the course, also rotating in different directions and alternating per lap. Drivers can drive up the gear turning forwards for a speed boost, but will slow down on a gear turning backwards, much like a Conveyor Belt in later titles.
Tick-Tock Clock returns as a classic course in Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, where the gears behave the same, but look drastically different. The gears in the lower portion of the course now have larger teeth and wider gaps, and are colored blue and red. The teeth are large enough to be tricked on, and feature chevrons accordingly, as if they're ramps. The lower portion is now also preceded by two Glide Ramps which alternate between active and inactive. An active Glide Ramp can be used to glide over the gears, avoiding the necessity to swivel through most of them altogether. The gears protruding through the end of the course are still gray, but feature wider teeth. Several gears are also featured prominently in the background throughout the revamped course.
Gallery[edit]
Yoshi's Story
Mecha Castle icon from Yoshi's Story
Wario near a cog in Wario World
New Super Mario Bros. Wii (small cog)
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | 歯車[4] Haguruma 歯車Ａ[5] Haguruma A 歯車Ｂ[5] Haguruma B |
Gear Gear A (Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, horizontal) Gear B (Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, vertical) |
| Dutch | Tandwiel |
Gear / Cog |
| Italian | Ingranaggio |
Cog |
References[edit]
- ^ "Leap from one gear to the next and watch for sharp objects." – (December 1992). Nintendo Power Volume 43. Nintendo of America (American English). Page 48.
- ^ Leung, Jason; Munson, Terry; Pelland, Scott (1998). Yoshi's Story Player's Guide. Nintendo of America (American English). Page 112 and 113.
- ^ "This is the X-Naut factory. I think they make all kinds of stuff here. It's pretty complicated, what with the crane and the pipe, and all those gears... Maybe we should just take this room one bit at a time, don'tcha think?" – Goombella (October 11, 2004). Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door.
- ^ Sakai, Kazuya (Ambit), kikai, Akinori Sao, Junko Fukuda, Kunio Takayama, and Ko Nakahara (Shogakukan), editors (2015). 『スーパーマリオブラザーズ百科: 任天堂公式ガイドブック』. Tokyo: Shogakukan (Japanese). Page 151, 216.
- ^ a b ---- (2015). "Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins."『スーパーマリオブラザーズ百科: 任天堂公式ガイドブック』. Tokyo: Shogakukan (Japanese). Page 78.
- Platforms
- Hazardous objects
- Donkey Kong Country Returns objects
- Donkey Kong Jungle Beat objects
- New Super Luigi U objects
- New Super Mario Bros. Wii objects
- New Super Mario Bros. U objects
- Super Mario 3D Land objects
- Super Mario 3D World objects
- Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins objects
- Yoshi's Crafted World objects
- Yoshi's Story objects
