Prongo
- Not to be confused with Pronto.
| Prongo | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Artwork from Super Mario 3D Land | |||
| First appearance | Super Mario 3D Land (2011) | ||
| |||
Prongos[1] are Goombeetle-like enemies in Super Mario 3D Land. Prongos each have a large blue box object with golden spikes surrounded by orange markings sticking out along the sides and the top. The blue box covers most of a Prongo's body, except its green feet and yellow underside and a hole at the front showing a pair of small red eyes.
Prongos appear in later levels of normal worlds, but they become common enemies in the Special Worlds. When a Prongo spots Mario or Luigi, it runs after him, similarly to a Goomba. If the Prongo gets close enough, it dives and tries to headbump the player character, similarly to Spiked Goombas from the Paper Mario series. If the Prongo misses, it becomes stuck in the ground due to its spikes, leaving it open for attack. This is the only opportunity when a Prongo can be defeated from one of Fire Mario's fireballs or one of Boomerang Mario's boomerangs. After a few seconds, the Prongo frees itself from the ground and continues its pursuit of the player character. Prongos cannot be defeated when they are upright, except with the use of a Super Star. Tail whips flip a Prongo over, making it vulnerable to any attack.
Profiles
- European website bio: "Prongos have a spike growing out of their head, so don't jump on them whatever you do! You'll just have to find other ways of dealing with them..."
Naming
Prongos are named after the word "prong," meaning each pointed part of a fork. Their internal name implies they might have been initially designed as a spiky variant of Goombeetles.
Internal names
| Game | File | Name | Meaning
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Super Mario 3D Land | romfs/ObjectData/TogeMetbo.szs | TogeMetbo | Spiked Goombeetle |
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ツノへい[2] Tsuno Hei |
Horned Trooper | |
| Chinese | 刺角兵[3][4] Cì Jiǎo Bīng |
Spike Horn Soldier | |
| Dutch | Prongo[?] | - | |
| French | Soldapointe[?] | Pun on soldat ("soldier") and "pointe" | |
| German | Stachelrekrut[?] | Spike Recruit | |
| Italian | Soldaspino[?] | Portmanteau of soldato ("soldier") and spino ("spine") | |
| Korean | 뿔뿔병[?] Ppulppul-Byeong |
Horned Soldier | |
| Portuguese | Soldado Espinho[?] | Spike Soldier | |
| Russian | Шипоносец[?] Shiponosets |
From шип (ship, "spike") and -носец (-nosets, a suffix for carrying) | |
| Spanish | Guardaespín[5] | Pun on guardia ("guard") and espín ("spike") |
Gallery
Artwork from Super Mario 3D Land
Model from Super Mario 3D Land
Screenshot from Super Mario 3D Land
Super Mario 3D Land Japanese trading card
A keychain of Prongo
References
- ^ von Esmarch, Nick (November 13, 2011). Super Mario 3D Land PRIMA Official Game Guide. Prima Games (American English). ISBN 978-0-307-89386-4. Page 16.
- ^ October 19, 2015. Super Mario Bros. Hyakka: Nintendo Kōshiki Guidebook, Super Mario 3D Land section. Shogakukan (Japanese). ISBN 978-4-09-106569-8. Page 180.
- ^ 超级马力欧 3D乐园:冒险的舞台. iQue (Simplified Chinese). Retrieved December 20, 2019.
- ^ 超級瑪利歐 3D樂園 繁體中文版 - 香港任天堂網站. Nintendo.com.hk (Traditional Chinese). Retrieved December 20, 2019.
- ^ 2017. "Super Mario 3D Land" in Enciclopedia Super Mario Bros 30ª Aniversario. Madrid: Planeta Cómic (Spanish). ISBN 978-84-9146-223-1. Page 180.
