Red-Blue Panel
| Red-Blue Panel | |
|---|---|
 Artwork of a Red-Blue Panel from Super Mario 3D World | |
| First appearance | Super Mario Galaxy 2 (2010) |
| Latest appearance | Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2 (2025) |
| Effect | Flips to one side each time the player performs a specific action, usually jumping |
Red-Blue Panels,[1] or flipping panels,[2] are objects in Super Mario Galaxy 2, Super Mario 3D Land, Super Mario 3D World, and Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury. These platforms are flat metallic tiles suspended in midair, colored red on one side and blue on the other side, that flip over if a certain command is performed.
History[edit]
Super Mario Galaxy 2[edit]
In Super Mario Galaxy 2, when Mario (or Luigi) performs a spin, flipping panels flip over, causing the red platforms to show while the blue ones are hidden, or vice versa. Flipping panels appear as the primary stage element of the Flip-Swap Galaxy, though minor sections of the same platforms also make an appearance in various parts of the Chompworks Galaxy and the Grandmaster Galaxy as well. In order to successfully make his way through the areas in which these platforms are present, Mario must skillfully spin to make them flip at exactly the right moment. Otherwise, he will fall into open space and lose a life.
Super Mario 3D Land[edit]
Red-Blue Panels return in Super Mario 3D Land, where they function similarly but not identically to how they did in the previous game. The spin is not in Super Mario 3D Land; Red-Blue Panels instead switch states whenever the player jumps. This can make them difficult to manage given that the player can rarely fully abstain from jumping while still progressing through a course, so the player may have to plan ahead regarding the use of Red-Blue Panels in order to avoid falling down a bottomless pit.
Super Mario 3D World / Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury[edit]
This section is a stub. Please consider expanding it to include any missing information. Specifics: Locations and uses in Super Mario 3D World.
Red-Blue Panels also appear in Super Mario 3D World and its Nintendo Switch port, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury. They retain their mechanics from Super Mario 3D Land, but the panels are noticeably larger than in that game. While Rosalina can spin, the move does not affect Red-Blue Panels.
In Bowser's Fury, Red-Blue Panels are the unique feature of Fort Flaptrap. The fort can be scaled by jumping between four of them on the west wall, while nine more are part of the top of the fort. The interior of Fort Flaptrap is a pit of lava, with falling past the one of the nine Red-Blue Panels being the only way inside. The mission "Bully the Cat Bullies" is based around pushing Cat Bullies into the gaps created by the nine Red-Blue Panels so that they land in the lava and are defeated. The mission "Blue Coin Bustle" is based around manipulating all thirteen of the Red-Blue Panels on the fort in order to collect Blue Coins before a P Switch's timer expires. Each platform of a Red-Blue Panels that has Blue Coins on it always has two Blue Coins on it. The first set of these coins are not just over the Red-Blue Panels of the west wall; rather, they are attached to the Red-Blue Panels, so whenever the Red-Blue Panels flip the coins are moved alongside them. It is harder to collect the Blue Coins when they are on upside down platforms, so the player conventionally has to get the platforms right side up to collect the coins. The remaining sets of Blue Coins are over but not attached to the nine Red-Blue Panels over the lava pit, requiring the player to make sure the platform of a Red-Blue Panel is beneath the coins they are trying to walk into to avoid falling through a panel and into the lava.
Names in other languages[edit]
This section is a stub. Please consider expanding it to include any missing information. Specifics: More languages
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | レッドブルーパネル[3] Reddo-Burū Paneru |
Red-Blue Panel | |
| German | Schüttelklapp-Scharnier (Super Mario Galaxy 2) Springklapp-Scharnier[?] |
Shake Folding Hinge (Super Mario Galaxy 2) Spring Folding Hinge |
|
| Italian | Pannello Saltescambia[?] | Jump-n-Switch Panel | |
| Pannello Piroetta[4] | Spin Jump Panel | ||
| Pannello girevole[5] | Turning Panel | ||
| Pannello mobile[6] | Moving Panel |
Notes[edit]
- A glitch utilizing these platforms can be performed in the Flip-Swap Galaxy, allowing Mario to "jump" much higher than he would normally be able to jump.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Musa, Alexander, and Geson Hatchett (November 22, 2013). Super Mario 3D World PRIMA Official Game Guide. Prima Games (American English). ISBN 978-0-804-16249-4. Page 20.
- ^ Browne, Catherine (May 23, 2010). Super Mario Galaxy 2: PRIMA Official Game Guide. Roseville: Random House Inc. ISBN 978-0-30746-907-6. Page 92, 180, 221, 257.
- ^ Sakai, Kazuya (Ambit) et al. (October 19, 2015). Super Mario Bros. Hyakka: Nintendo Kōshiki Guidebook. Shogakukan (Japanese). ISBN 978-4-09-106569-8. Page 171, 186 and 234.
- ^ November 15, 2018. Super Mario Bros. Enciclopedia. Magazzini Salani (Italian). ISBN 889367436X. Page 171.
- ^ November 15, 2018. Super Mario Bros. Enciclopedia. Magazzini Salani (Italian). ISBN 889367436X. Page 162 and 186.
- ^ November 15, 2018. Super Mario Bros. Enciclopedia. Magazzini Salani (Italian). ISBN 889367436X. Page 234.
