User:LinkTheLefty/Projects

Welcome to LinkTheLefty's Projects page of wiki-related matters.

Size Experiments: Plan

Currently, the wiki generally groups basic enemy resizes together. One of these, Giant/Big Shy Guy, is even enforced via proposal, having been merged back with Mega Guy in 2020. This is in part due to different creative translations over the years leading to some misconceptions, such as Piranhacus Giganticus being a pipe-dwelling Big Piranha Plant. Not counting the Yoshi's Island series (in which big stage bosses tend to gain unique features from the base enemy), however, it seems that two sets of names are still in semiregular use. Bigger enemies are usually referred to as "Big" (でか, Deka, Big) in platformers and "Mega" (巨大, Kyodai, Giant) in others, and while smaller enemies are rarer, the little Goombas in particular have gone by "Mini" (マメ, Mame, Bean) and "Small" (ちび, Chibi, Small). There is very little to distinguish them, but in several of these appearances, the latter set of enemies are resized due to magic spells. Additionally, Mario Portal, which has garnered a reputation of using what is perceived to be the "current" official names as of 2022, lists "Mega" enemies in the Super Mario Bros. 3 page and has "Small Goomba" in the Super Mario 64 page, suggesting that they are separate. Big/Mega and Mini/Small of the same base enemy have never appeared together after all this time. There was a perfect opportunity to do that with Mega Goomba (NSMB, ボス, Boss) and Hefty Goomba (こでか, Kodeka, Mini-Big), but those are said to be their own things larger and smaller than a Big Goomba, respectively. In short, there's no consistent explanation on how Big differs from Mega, and the same goes for Mini Goomba and Small Goomba, but the continued use of both names casts doubt.

Pros of the status quo:

• Arguably better-organized, as many pages have grown to depend on it.
• Since size is such a self-explanatory attribute, covering unnamed appearances on one article is a no-brainer.
• This is inconsistent with itself; see internal names in Super Mario Galaxy 2.

Cons of the status quo:

• The names are still seemingly used concurrently, which means re-piping to the recent name may continue indefinitely, causing needless busywork.
• There is still some speculation involved even if the names are self-explanatory, such as Super Mario Maker.
• There is minor consistency in that one set of names is preferred within separate series of games.

It may be high time for re-evaluation.

What's in a Name?

The names for resizes have evolved over time in multiple languages. We'll stick to Japanese and English, though other languages have had similar changes. Due to their relative rarity, few small enemies are mentioned except for the Goombas.

Platformers

• Super Mario Bros. 3 - Big enemies are introduced, mostly for use in World 4's theme. In English, they go by unique names such as "Grand Goomba" or "Boss Bass", but in Japanese, they're all Kyodai (巨大). This got retranslated to "Mega" later on ever since Mega Mario was properly introduced. These all act identically to their regular-sized counterparts. Mini Goombas are also introduced here, then known as Micro or Mame (マメ), depicted as pest-like. The Sledge Bros. also appear, which would go on to be the occasional stand-in for big Hammer Bros, but they do not follow the "big" naming convention and are sometimes about the same size.
• Super Mario World - Big Boos are introduced. In Japanese, they are known as "Atomic Telesa" here, but the previous Kyodai term is alluded to in the manual. Banzai Bills also appear, but have a transformative enough design that they are not always simply seen as Big Bullet Bills. Mega Moles as well. All of these names are fairly unique in Japanese and English.
• Super Mario 64 - Large and small-sized creatures appear. They originally had no English name, but Japanese sources introduce the でか (Big) and ちび (Small) name. Mario Portal, as mentioned, would ultimately reinforce that notion, though they were presumably supposed to be named after Tiny-Huge Island.
• Super Mario Advance - Giant/Big Shy Guy and Giant/Big Ninji are introduced. In Japanese, these are the ones that go by "Big" (ビッグ) like the Yoshi's Island bosses, but again, we'll leave Yoshi's Island off the table since this is mostly about basic rescaling.
• New Super Mario Bros. - The names are all over the place, in both Japanese and English. In Japanese, the terms are Kyodai (巨大) and Dai (大), which in English became "Mega" and "Super" inconsistently. Mini Goombas return with new behavior but the SMB3 Japanese name, which would be the basis for almost every subsequent appearance. There's also a giant Wiggler, which is also kyodai ("Dai" Wigglers were planned but unimplemented). Sledge Bro gets a name change in Japanese, now being Mega (メガ). Lastly, there's the boss Mega Goomba character that grows into giant size. A Super Smash Bros. Brawl trophy identifies this as a Goomba larger than the Deka guys, so while "Mega" would be repurposed, it's a different thing here.
• Super Mario Galaxy - The big and small Goombas return, being unnamed in English sources at the time but being Deka and Mame in Japanese, though the internal Japanese names of the big Goomba and Boo indicate that they were meant to be different.
• New Super Mario Bros. Wii - Possibly due to the bigger screen size, the sizes have been altered from the handheld game, but in Japanese, they go by SM64's Deka, even Big Boo from then on. This would be the standard going forward in platformers. In English, however, "Super" and "Big" would be used. Heavy Para-Beetles also appear, under the Japanese Mega name. Hefty Goombas are their own category, explicitly being a size between regular and Deka, but use their own name. Deka Goombas now split into two Hefty Goombas when stomped, and those in turn become two regular Goombas.
• Super Mario Galaxy 2 - More big enemies appear under the Japanese Deka name for what's seemingly a tribute to SMB3's world theme, but they still didn't get an English name yet. Japanese internal name indicates these were Kyodai, referring to SMB3. Big Boo appears under the name Mega Boo, being the outlier to retain Kyodai in the final name. As these act as a swarm/wall, they are one of the few to have a separate article as of a 2024 proposal.
• Super Mario 3D Land - Big Tail Goombas and Morty Moles appear, based on Deka Goombas and Mega Moles, respectively.
• New Super Mario Bros. 2/U - Deka has become finalized as "Big" in English, which is the standard going forward.
• Super Mario Maker series - The enemies here can be enlarged with a Super Mushroom, and with the exception of Sledge Bro (and Banzai Bill being wholly separate) and Rocky Wrench gaining a minor hopping mechanic, all the enemies just scale up normally. In side material, certain ones are identified as "Big" / Deka, including the Goombas despite inheriting Hefty characteristics.
• Super Mario 3D World/Super Mario Odyssey - Mini Goombas appear. In the latter, SMB3-style ones were planned according to the art book, where they appear to be children. This might have something to do with their redesign. In the former, regular Deka Piranha Plants appear under the name "Mega" here.
• Super Mario Bros. Wonder - The big version of Goombrat and Swirlypod are based on Hefty Goomba's Japanese name for some reason, possibly indicating they were meant to have three sizes like Goombas and Smogrins. Otherwise, the now-usual Deka is used for big enemies.

Misc.

• Super Mario RPG - Mini Goombas, originally Goombettes, appear as stronger Goombas. A trio is depicted as children. There's also an actual "Big" (ビッグ) Boo in Bowser's Terrorize move, and a giant Mechakoopa in his Bowser Crush / Mechakoopa Stomp move.
• Super Smash Bros. series - These are Deka Goombas, translated as "Giant" in Brawl (デカ).
• Paper Mario series
  • Super Paper Mario - Mega Koopa reuses an idea intended for NSMB Mega Goomba in which it uses a power-up against the player.
  • Sticker Star - Big / Deka enemies appear as mini-bosses, in line with the tend of the platformers.
  • Color Splash - This breaks the trend and basically pulls a NSMB DS. The "Big" / Deka Spiny and Lava Bubble appear as mini-bosses, but now Mega / Kyodai Goomba reappears as a SMB3-esque regular enemy in Mondo Woods. Small enemies are encountered in the neighboring Sacred Forest, including "Small" / Chibi Goombas for the first time since SM64. The resized enemies of these areas are suggested to be under a spell by Kamek, though there's also the Buzzy Beetle Tower later on featuring all three sizes of Buzzy Beetle, including Sacred Forest's Small Buzzy Beetle.
• Mario Party series - The bane of my existence. The real reason for this. Giant / Kyodai Bloopers appear in 6 and 7, but that's not too important since they predate NSMB DS, and Big Dry Bones appear in Island Tour. The problem starts with boss minigames.
  • 10 - Five (six counting Sledge Bro) Kyodai enemies appear as bosses, now using "Mega" as the translation: Goomba, Mechakoopa, Blooper, Cheep Chomp (a "Big Cheep Chomp" appeared in Sticker Star), and Monty Mole (which already had Mega Mole). At this point, Big / Deka had become the standard in the platformers.
  • Star Rush - Mega / Kyodai Goomba, Monty Mole, Mega Blooper, and Dry Bones appear. Here, they're said to be mega-sized due to Kamek's magic.
  • Super - Many of the Cheep Cheep in River Survival are shown being magically-enlarged by Kamek before they leap if he's encountered. Mega Bloopers also appear, and seem to be a naturally-occurring element this time.
  • Superstars - The giant Cheep Cheep (seemingly an oversight, should've been Mega) reappears from 3.
• unnamed: Partners in Time (Mrs. Thwomp's minis), Mario Golf: World Tour (giant Goombas and Monty Moles), Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games DS (Giant Goomba, though "Big Bullet Bill" seems to be used as a translation of Kyodai instead of Deka)...

In conclusion, the platformers are easier to follow as we see first-hand the older names getting phased out over time, whereas spinoffs, especially recent Mario Party entries, are keeping them alive.

Simpler, please?

Oh fine, here's a basic table of the big three: Kyodai, Dai, and Deka (usually, but not always, translated as Mega, Super, and Big).
insert table here

Example articles

The examples used here will be the Goombas due to their long history. I'll include two scenarios: one where a split is based on Japanese names, and one where the split is based on boss status.

to be finished