Bomb

This article is about the generic explosive item. For other uses of "Bomb", see Bomb (disambiguation). For the bomb-like enemy, see Bob-omb.

Bomb
Artwork from Super Mario 3D World
First appearance	Mario's Bombs Away (1983)
Latest appearance	Princess Peach: Showtime! (Nintendo Switch) (2024)
Effect	Provides an explosive method of attack or damages them

“Here, have some bombs!”

—Mouser, Super Mario Advance

A bomb is an object used in the Super Mario franchise. Generally speaking, bombs as depicted in the Super Mario franchise are not entirely unique, as they are based on a widely used cartoon gag that stylizes bombs as merely causing a small flare, unlike real-world bombs, and are most often depicted simply as stereotypical cherry bombs. Bob-ombs are living enemies based on this stylization as well. Mines can be considered their naval counterparts, although they do not always explode.

History

Mario's Bombs Away

Mario holding a bomb

In Mario's Bombs Away, Mario has to deliver bombs from one buddy to another at a military outpost. On his way, Mario has to be careful not to ignite the bomb by having it touch the torches carried by enemies in the trees or the flames running along the spilled oil on the ground caused by the Heavy Smoker. Otherwise, the bomb will detonate in Mario's face and cause the player to lose a try. Successfully delivered bombs will be passed to each of the five enemies in the trees; once five bombs have been placed, they will simultaneously explode and defeat the enemy troops.

VS. Wrecking Crew / Wrecking Crew

Artwork from VS. Wrecking Crew

Beginning with phase 3, bombs appear in VS. Wrecking Crew. Hitting a bomb with a hammer can cause a chain reaction, damaging or destroying nearby walls, opening doors, and knocking enemies and rival players to the bottom of the stage. Although bombs act as inanimate objects in-game, the game's supplementary materials have repeatedly suggested them to be sentient beings: they are portrayed with legs and a facial expression on the game's instruction card, and are classified as characters in the manual of the game's Arcade Archives release. In the game's Nintendo Entertainment System version, Wrecking Crew, bombs (referred to as dynamite) instead first appear in Phase 1, and hitting dynamite in a specific order reveals the Golden Hammer.

Super Mario series

Super Mario Bros. 2 / Super Mario Advance

Artwork from Super Mario All-Stars

In Super Mario Bros. 2, bombs (also referred to as timebombs) can be plucked from grass patches in the ground and thrown. They start flashing a while after being pulled out of the ground and detonate shortly after. The bomb creates a small explosion (containing the word "BOMB") which makes the screen flash white and destroys any enemies or brick walls immediately around it. However, the explosion can also harm the playable characters.

Bombs are used by Mouser to attack Mario and his friends during his battles. The only way to defeat Mouser is by throwing his bombs back at him and having them explode on him several times.

In the NES version, in-game bombs are colored red, but the Super Mario All-Stars and Super Mario Advance versions change their color to purple. In Super Mario Advance, bombs are also bouncier when thrown.

Notably, Super Mario Bros. 2 (and Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic before it) marked the debut of Bob-ombs, bomb-like enemies which would become a recurring species in future Super Mario games. Bob-ombs can be found in later levels of the game and have the same effect as regular bombs, though they start flashing immediately after being pulled out of the ground.

Super Mario Sunshine

In Super Mario Sunshine, the Monty Mole boss tosses Bob-ombs to damage Mario. Spraying one with water disengages it and allows Mario to pick it up. Tossing the bomb back at the Monty Mole is the only way to damage it.

New Super Mario Bros.

The projectiles dropped by Skeeters consist of blue bombs with a skull icon, which drill through destructible blocks beneath them.

Super Mario Galaxy

Bob-omb dispensers release Bob-ombs in Super Mario Galaxy. Spinning one turns it into a usable bomb that Mario can pick up. During Bob-omb Blasting, the dispenser only releases useable bombs.

Super Mario Galaxy 2

Squizzard throwing two bombs.

In Super Mario Galaxy 2, Squizzard wields giant bombs in the third phase of his boss fight.

New Super Mario Bros. U / New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe

Artwork of Lemmy Koopa holding a bomb

In New Super Mario Bros. U and New Super Luigi U, Lemmy uses rubber ball-based bombs as his main weapon instead of his usual magic wand. Lemmy throws the bombs in an arch-like pattern, and like rubber balls, they bounce along ground, but flash red and explode soon after the player character comes into contact with them. The force of throwing them incapacitates Lemmy for a short time, making him more vulnerable to a stomp. During the third phase of the battle, Lemmy throws a much larger bomb at the player character.

Super Mario 3D World / Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury

A bomb in Super Mario 3D World

In Super Mario 3D World and Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury, Bob-ombs turn into generic bombs when attacked, losing their feet, face, and wind-up key. However, some bombs are not Bob-ombs from the start, and can be found lying on the ground. They can be carried and thrown by Mario, and explode as they touch something after being chucked. There is also a bomb variant reminiscent of soccer balls called a Kick Bomb. Rather than picking these up, Mario kicks them on contact, deflecting them. These soccer balls play an integral role in defeating Bowser in his Muscle Car in World 1 and World Castle of the game.

Super Mario Odyssey

In Super Mario Odyssey, large bombs similar to Kick Bombs appear. They appear in Bowser's Kingdom, a secret area in the Seaside Kingdom, and the Dark Side (during the battle with RoboBrood), where they are fired out of turrets and have a Bowser emblem imprinted on them. They can be knocked away using a Pokio's beak.

Super Mario Maker 2

Since the version 2.0 update for Super Mario Maker 2, bombs have appeared as a projectile for Link to throw when the player collects the Master Sword. They can be used to hit switches, damage enemies, blow up blocks, and they can be dropped from riding a Koopa Clown Car (which has a sinister expression while doing so). In the Night version of the Ground theme, bombs spawn limbs and walk for a few seconds before exploding; they can be stopped by hitting them with arrows. Bob-ombs also turn into bombs when they are stomped on in the Super Mario 3D World style like the original game.

Wario's Woods

A few multicolored bombs from the SNES version of Wario's Woods.

In Wario's Woods, the use of bombs is Toad's main form of attack when fighting the various monsters that were sent by Wario. Toad receives these multicolored bombs from his sprite helper. In order to defeat Wario's minions (as well as the bosses in the game), Toad has to stack the bombs according to their colors; if the color matches a monster's color, it gets destroyed. In the SNES version of the game, Toad can be seen throwing a bomb at Wario's castle in the ending of the game, causing his castle to get destroyed and allowing peace to return to Wario's Woods, as well as the entire Mushroom Kingdom.

Club Nintendo series

In the Club Nintendo comic "Sag niemals Holerö!", Bomberman uses bombs to defeat some evil aliens.

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars / Super Mario RPG

In Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars and its Nintendo Switch remake, Croco uses bombs during his fights. The enemy special move Spritz Bomb and Princess Peach's special move Psych Bomb also utilize bombs. Fire Bombs, Fright Bombs, Ice Bombs, and Sleepy Bomb are available as consumable items.

Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! / Donkey Kong Land III

In Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, Kuchukas throw sets of small bombs at predetermined places, which explode upon landing on the ground. In the Game Boy Advance version, during the boss fight with Kroctopus, purple bombs regularly drop from the sky, which the Kongs must lure Kroctopus' claws to. They explode upon contact with Kroctopus' claws and damage the Kongs if they are too close to the explosion radius.

In Donkey Kong Land III, Kuchukas throw sets of small bombs, just as they do in Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!

Super Smash Bros. series

Certain characters that appear in the Super Smash Bros. series, including Link, Young Link, and Toon Link, can throw bombs to attack. Bombs are also referenced in Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. When Peach tries to pull a vegetable from the ground, she may occasionally grab a Bob-omb. The way she plucks a Bob-omb makes reference to the way that she and the other heroes pulled bombs from the ground in Super Mario Bros. 2.

Mario Party series

Mario Party 2

In Mario Party 2, Bowser's Big Blast features a mechanical bomb in the shape of Bowser's head in a blue room. The characters take turns to press down each of the five plungers that are connected to the bomb and survive until the end. If a character chooses the wrong one, the bomb will count down from 3 in its eyes, explode, and blast the character out of the game.

Mario Party 10

In Mario Party 10, bombs appear in the minigame Petey's Bomb Battle, where they are used to attack Petey Piranha. They are colored depending on the player that uses them. When a bomb is successfully tossed at Petey Piranha, the tosser is awarded one point. However, bombs can also be absorbed by Petey Piranha and spat back at the characters that threw them, damaging them and deducting one point.

Paper Mario series

Paper Mario

Although bombs do not make an appearance in Paper Mario, the Egg Missile is an item that acts similarly to a bomb. Upon giving Tayce T. an Egg and Fire Flower after giving her the Cookbook, she makes an Egg Missile. Using the Egg Missile results in tossing it at an enemy, exploding and damaging it.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

Bombs do not directly appear in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. However, three bomb-like items appear: the returning Egg Bomb, now created by giving Zess T. a Mystic Egg and a Fire Flower; the Coconut Bomb, created by giving her a Coconut and a Fire Flower; and the Zess Dynamite, created by giving Zess T. an Egg Bomb and a Coconut Bomb. Like before, the Egg Bomb is thrown at an enemy and exploding to deal damage. The Coconut Bomb is the same as an Egg Bomb, but deals one more point of damage. The Zess Dynamite deals the same damage as the Coconut Bomb, but hits all enemies.

Super Paper Mario

Boomer, a Pixl from Super Paper Mario, with properties similar to that of a bomb

In Super Paper Mario, there is a bomb-shaped Pixl named Boomer that Mario can use to blow up switches, blow up cracks in walls, and defeat enemies. Bombs also appear occasionally when a player stomps on a Ninjoe, a Ninjohn, or a Ninjerry. These bombs look exactly like Boomer, though unlike Boomer, they can hurt the player. A bomb later appears in Chapter 6-2, when Mimi disguises herself as King Sammer and tells the player to open a chest in front of them. There is a bomb inside the chest, but it turns out to be a dud. Additionally, the Egg Bomb item reappears, doing 1 HP of damage to all on-screen enemies.

Paper Mario: Sticker Star

In Paper Mario: Sticker Star, bombs appear as stickers that are sometimes dropped by Bob-ombs. They can be used to attack enemies, however, the attack animation shows that Mario calls forth a Bob-omb to throw at them even though the stickers themselves are called bomb stickers.

The Bomb can also be placed into the Sticker Museum as #94, alongside other enemy-based stickers.

Luigi's Mansion series

Luigi's Mansion

It has been requested that this article be rewritten and expanded to include more information. Reason: which size appears where?

In Luigi's Mansion, bombs appear as Small Bombs which do 5 damage and Large Bombs which do 10 damage, and have a skull emblem on them. Purple Bombers will drop a bomb once they are discovered, and bombs are also one of the things Boos will place in rooms (the other being a Boo Ball), which the Boo Radar will pick up as a Boo reading. Luigi can easily get rid of bombs by spraying the water element at them, or he can simply avoid them.

Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon

In Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, bombs first appear in the Old Clockworks. Ghosts will try to throw them towards Luigi, and in some rooms, if Luigi checks furniture, a bomb will pop out. In the ScareScraper, Bomb Brothers shield themselves with large bombs that must be removed so that they can be flashed with the Strobulb. Bomb Brothers also repeatedly drop smaller bombs while being vacuumed with the Poltergust 5000.

Luigi's Mansion 3

In Luigi's Mansion 3, bombs make a return. They are an important part of the final boss fight with King Boo, as King Boo will make several Spiked Balls fall onto the stage that break once they land. Each Spiked Ball contains bombs that the player must pick up with the Poltergust G-00 and shoot into King Boo's mouth. Additionally, there is a phase in his boss fight that includes him and his clones carpet bomb much of the stage.

In ScareScraper mode, Bomb Goobs, Bomb Hammers, and Bomb Oozers are all rare ghosts that lob bombs around.

WarioWare series

A bomb timing the Splatoon 2 microgame in WarioWare: Get It Together!

Bombs appear in all of the WarioWare games. They have a long burning fuse that represents the time remaining in the current microgame. In WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$! and WarioWare: Twisted!, it is a generic black bomb. From WarioWare: Touched! onwards, the bomb is blue and sports Wario's mustache as well as a grin. In WarioWare: Get It Together!, the countdown timer is replaced by the bomb changing colors from yellow to orange to red. In addition, the bomb is animated and its explosion can be heard. The back of Wario's biker outfit depicts the bomb with "Hurry Up!" under it, which is also visible in the Super Smash Bros. series. Red also uses generic bombs to interact with microgames.

Wario World

A bomb from Wario World

A "smiley" bomb from Wario World

Several types of bombs later appear in Wario World. The purple-colored bomb has a smiley face painted on it and will explode after a while, even if Wario does not touch it. It is found in Unithorn's Lair commonly, as it is used as a dud when opening crates. They can also be found randomly in some wooden chests.

"Regular" bombs also appear as projectiles used by certain enemies. They are purple and have semi-realistic faces painted on them. They are mainly seen being shot out by Ankirons. Starting in Greenhorn Ruins, Cractyls also drop bombs to attack Wario. In the boss battle against Captain Skull, the boss can shoot out flaming bombs that damage Wario until they cool off, similarly to some of the later variations of Ankirons. As a whole, bombs can be picked up and used as projectiles by Wario himself, although they will explode and damage him after a short time.

Mario Hoops 3-on-3

Bombs also make an appearance in Mario Hoops 3-on-3. The defending team can sometimes receive one out of the ? Panels on the court. When thrown, they explode, knocking everyone within the blast radius down and spilling some of their collected Coins.

Wario: Master of Disguise

In Wario: Master of Disguise, purple bombs with faces appear as booby prizes upon failing a treasure chest minigame. Three are released from a chest at once and explode after a few moments, damaging Wario if he is caught in their blast radius. Their overall appearance and function make them similar to smiley-faced bombs from Wario World.

DK: Jungle Climber

Bombs also appear in DK: Jungle Climber, where they can be used and thrown in order to destroy obstacles such as Steel Kegs. In later levels, bombs serve as a semi-common weapon used by Kritters to attack.

Mario & Sonic series

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games

The bombs seen in the Sonic series appear in both versions of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games as items in Dream Events that are obtained randomly after picking up an Item Box. In the Wii version of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, they are referred to as an Explosion. In Dream Race, the player can place them on the ground behind them. They explode when run into and cause the character that does so to lose speed, but can be jumped over. The bombs remain on the course for the duration of the event, and their effect can be blocked if the player is using a Starman or invincibility from a Chaos Emerald. Bombs also appear as an item in Dream Platform, and can be used to destroy several blocks on the layer directly underneath the player. In the Nintendo DS version, they perform a similar function in Dream Race, but cause a larger explosion that can affect multiple players and explode automatically after some time, though their effect can be blocked by using a Shield. They also appear in sets of three in Dream Canoe, which will cause a character to lose three coins if caught in an explosion, though their effect an be avoided by using a Starman item. They also appear in Dream Shooting, where they are obtained by shooting an Item Box and are used automatically, causing an explosion which damages all of the targets in the area. In Dream Fencing, Dr. Eggman uses a bomb as part of his Special Attack.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games

In the Nintendo DS version of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, Bombs appear in Ski Cross Racing, Rocket Ski Jumping and Extreme Snowboarding, which can be used both forwards and backwards and place several Bombs onto the course that explode when hit or after a short amount of time. Any characters caught in the explosion will lose speed, as well as height in Rocket Ski Jumping. Bombs also appear as one of the objects that can be randomly obtained after hitting the puck into the bonus gate in Fever Hockey, where several will appear on the rink and slowly slide around. They will blow up after a short amount of time or when hit, and will cause any characters caught in the explosion to fall over and lose possession of the puck. They also appear in Ski Shooting as an item, where they will blow up all of the targets currently onscreen and earn the player the total points for shooting each individually, not including any penalties.

They also appear as items in various Dream Events in the Wii version, including Dream Alpine, Dream Ski Cross, Dream Snowboard Cross, Dream Short Track and Dream Ice Hockey, where a bomb appears in front of all of the opponents when used, and will knock them down and cause them to lose speed if they are caught in the explosion. Additionally, the Kikis that appear on the course in Dream Alpine will occasionally throw bombs at the characters that serve the same purpose as the items. In the Individual version of Dream Ski Jumping, Bombs appear as an item that when used will cause one to appear in front of an opponent, and will cause them to lose height, speed, 10 points and a Bonus panel if they are caught in the explosion. In Dream Curling, when a Bomb item is used the curling stone will turn into a bomb and explode when it hits something, allowing it to knock over more pins.

Wario Land: Shake It!

Bombs appear in Wario Land: Shake It! and are thrown by Peek-a-booms. In Glittertown and Neon City, bombs can also be dropped from the slot machine. The bombs will explode in nine seconds, but the countdown can be stopped if the bomb is shaken. An Earthshake Punch starts the countdown again. There is also a platform called a Bomb Block that can be used as a platform before it explodes. It can be triggered when touched by Wario or a thrown object, or when Wario performs an Earthshake Punch.

Mario & Luigi series

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story / Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey

A huge bomb created by Fawful appears in Peach's Castle in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story and its remake. Also, in the Tower of Yikk battle with Super Bowser, the tower launches a bomb that must be knocked back and forth until it explodes.

Mario & Luigi: Dream Team / Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam

Mario and Luigi perform the move in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team

The bombs return in the tandem attack Bomb Derby in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team. Using the , Luigi passes several bombs to Mario who must hit them towards the enemy before the bombs explode; the last bomb is bigger. These bombs are similar to Lemmy's from New Super Mario Bros. U. Both the bombs and the Bomb Derby attack return in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, with the last bomb now dealing more damage than before while all the bombs deal fire-type damage.

Yoshi's Woolly World / Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World

In Yoshi's Woolly World and Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World, Bomb Guys utilize bombs to attack Yoshi. They are thrown on an arc and remain in place after they land on the ground, exploding a while afterwards. They can also explode prematurely if Yoshi touches them directly, damaging him. However, Yoshi can grab the bombs with his tongue and hold them into his mouth for an unlimited time. He can then spit them at Shy Guy towers or wooden log structures to collapse them.

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope

Bombs appear in Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope, exclusively in the The Last Spark Hunter DLC. They are thrown as attacks from Proto Mecha King Bob-omb and Mecha King Bob-omb, causing explosions that deal area damage.

Princess Peach: Showtime!

A single bomb appears in Princess Peach: Showtime! It is found in the stage The Case of the Rainy-Day Plot, where three Criminals plan to use it to blow up the clock tower. After finding the bomb, Detective Peach and the Junior Detective throw it out the window of the clock tower, where it explodes, causing no harm.

Profiles

Super Mario Bros. 2

• Wii Virtual Console manual: These will explode a few seconds after you pick them up.

• Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console manual description:
  • English (British):
    These will begin to flash a short time after being picked up and will eventually explode. Throw them at enemies, or at certain types of wall to clear a way through.
  • French (Europe):
    Une fois ramassées, elles clignotent un instant et finissent par exploser. Lancez-les sur vos ennemis ou sur certains murs pour les détruire.
  • German:
    Bomben fangen an zu blinken, kurz nachdem du sie aufgehoben hast, und explodieren wenige Sekunden später. Wirf sie auf Gegner oder bestimmte Wände, um dir einen Weg zu bahnen.
  • Italian:
    Dopo averla raccolta, lampeggerà per qualche istante per poi esplodere. Lanciala contro un nemico o usala per distruggere alcuni tipi di pareti e farti strada nel gioco.
  • Spanish (Europe):
    Empiezan a parpadear al poco tiempo de ser recogidas y explotan tras unos segundos. Úsalas para eliminar enemigos y para abrirte paso derribando ciertos tipos de muros.

Paper Mario: Sticker Star

• Item description: Sometimes dropped by Bob-ombs. Calls forth a tossable bomb that can explode and hit multiple grounded foes.
• Sticker Museum description: An unused bomb dropped by a Bob-omb. This explosive has a dramatic effect if tossed properly.

Gallery

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  Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island

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  Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island

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  Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars

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  Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars

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  Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!

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  Yoshi's Story

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  Yoshi's Story

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  Super Mario Sunshine

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  Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3

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  New Super Mario Bros.

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  Super Mario Galaxy

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  Super Mario Galaxy

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  Super Mario 3D World

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  Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope (The Last Spark Hunter)

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  Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope (The Last Spark Hunter)

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  LEGO Super Mario

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	バクダン / 爆弾ばくだん Bakudan	Bomb
	ダイナマイト (Wrecking Crew) Dainamaito	Dynamite
	ジバクン (Wario World face variety) Jibakun	Contraction of「自爆」(jibaku, self-destruct) and the honorific「~くん」(-kun)
Dutch	Bom	Bomb
French	Bombe[?]	Bomb
German	Bombe[?]	Bomb
Italian	Bomba[?]	Bomb
Spanish	Bomba[?]	Bomb