Bubble

This article is about actual bubbles. For other uses of the term "bubble", see Bubble (disambiguation).

Bubble
The Bubble special skill from Mario Kart Tour
First appearance	Super Mario World (1990)
Latest appearance	Super Mario 3D All-Stars (2020)

“If you're out of breath, grab a bubble for some air!”

—Penguin, Super Mario Galaxy

Bubbles are floating objects that appear throughout the Mario franchise of games. Bubbles sometimes have contents within them, and bubbles can be ridden inside in some games. Some bubbles also replenish the air meter if Mario or Luigi is underwater.

History

Super Mario series

Super Mario World

Artwork of a Galoomba in a bubble from Super Mario World.

Enemies and items encased in bubbles in Super Mario World

Bubbles first appear in Super Mario World, where they can be found floating around in a few levels. Bubbles contain either power-ups, Bob-ombs, Goombas, or Cheep Cheeps. Simply touching one causes it to burst, with whatever in it falling down. In Japanese releases, the enemies appear upside-down while in the bubbles, but in international versions, they are rightside-up like the Mushrooms. Large green bubbles also appear as obstacles in Vanilla Ghost House and Valley Ghost House.

Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins

Artwork of Mario in a bubble from Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins

In the Hippo level, the titular Hippo blows bubbles that allow Mario to "swim" in air, allowing him to reach the entrance to the Space Zone. They pop when they touch water or an enemy - in the latter case, a powered-up Mario briefly flashes between his large and small Mario sprites as if he has taken damage, but will not lose his current power-up (e.g., Fire Mario does not become Super Mario).

Super Mario 64 / Super Mario 64 DS

A bubble found in a treasure chest in Super Mario 64

Bubbles can be found in the underwater levels of Super Mario 64 and Super Mario 64 DS. They usually appear when Mario opens a treasure chest underwater, and contain oxygen that refills his Health Meter.

Super Mario Sunshine

Breathable bubbles forming after Mario squirts Eely-Mouth's toxic bubbles

In Super Mario Sunshine, Mario can use bubbles in Noki Bay when he dives to see Eely-Mouth. There Eely-Mouth spews forth toxic bubbles. If Mario were to squirt the toxic bubbles long enough, they turn into breathable air, filling up Mario's air life meter.

During the fight with King Boo, if the slots end with any incorrect combination, King Boo will spew out bubbles that drop water bottles when sprayed, but will also home in on Mario and hurt him if he touches them.

Super Mario Advance

New to the Game Boy Advance remake of Super Mario Bros. 2 are big solid bubbles which hold 1-Up Mushrooms that can only be popped by throwing three Vegetables or enemies at them.

Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3

Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 has two bubbles that can be found in the World-e levels Vegetable Volley and A Sky-High Adventure. The first one houses a Super Mushroom, and the second holds an Advance Coin; they work just as they do in Super Mario Advance.

New Super Mario Bros.

Bubbles also appear in New Super Mario Bros. They are found in water levels and they carry Coins.

Super Mario Galaxy

Mario in a Bubble in Super Mario Galaxy

The underwater variant of the bubble

In Super Mario Galaxy, Bubbles have two roles. They can be found throughout underwater areas, and refill Mario or Luigi's oxygen meter if he touches one, much like in Super Mario 64. There are also Bubbles that can be found on land, which Mario or Luigi can enter and ride around in. The player must use the Wii Remote to aim the Bubble in the desired direction, blow it around by pressing , and leave the bubble by pressing . Originally, bubbles were going to be shaped like cubes.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii

Mario in a Water Ball in World 7-2

Luigi in a bubble in World 1-1

In New Super Mario Bros. Wii, if a player loses a life in Multiplayer Mode, they reappear in a bubble. The player can also enter a bubble by pressing or , giving themselves immunity. The player can shake the Wii Remote to move closer to the other players; each character will make pleas for help that can be heard from the Wii Remote's speakers. However, if all players end up in a bubble, they get sent back to the map screen and lose their power-ups, but they don't lose any lives. Players can not bubble in Coin Battle mode.

Coins and items can be found in bubbles floating around some levels, particularly in Free Mode; bubbles with coins appear in the underwater levels, just as in the game's DS predecessor.

Also, in World 7-2, there are water bubbles, called Water Balls. Players can swim in them, and they also slow down Bullet Bills. They move in mid-air that the player can jump in. Once in one, the player can swim through it to continue onward.

Super Mario Galaxy 2

A bubble in Cosmic Cove Galaxy

Bubbles reappear in Super Mario Galaxy 2, and serve the same function as they did previously, though in this game, Mario and Luigi can no longer ride around in bubbles at all, so they are used only for replenishing Mario or Luigi's air gauge when it gets too low. One minor difference in this game involves the Co-Star Luma being able to physically fetch air bubbles that are far away from the player, and then bring them to the player. Peach is also shown to be trapped inside a Bubble before the final boss.

New Super Mario Bros. 2

In New Super Mario Bros. 2, bubbles have the same function they did in New Super Mario Bros. Wii. They are entered by pressing a special button on the Nintendo 3DS' touch screen. A player in a bubble can approach the other by pressing . If the lead player goes too far off the other player's screen, the other automatically enters a bubble, as opposed to dying, which would have been the case in New Super Mario Bros. Wii.

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

Artwork of Luigi in a Bubble in New Super Mario Bros. U

In New Super Mario Bros. U and its Nintendo Switch port, bubbles reappear, functioning the same as in New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Bubble Baby Yoshis are also capable of shooting bubbles from their mouths, which can turn most enemies into Coins, power-ups or 1-Up Mushrooms. When the player gets a power-up from a Bubble Baby Yoshi's bubble, the order in which they appear is as follows: Super Mushroom, Fire Flower, Ice Flower, and Super Acorn. Water Balls from New Super Mario Bros. Wii also reappear. In the game's credits sequence, there is a minigame that revolves around collecting coins in bubbles blown by Bubble Baby Yoshis.

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

In Super Mario 3D World, players are able to put themselves inside bubbles just like in the New Super Mario Bros. series, but unlike in those games, if only one player is active, they cannot put themselves into a bubble. This marks the first time it can be done in a 3D Mario game. In addition, some Super Mushrooms can be found encased in bubbles, while bubbles containing Super Bells can be found above water in Bowser's Fury.

Super Mario Run

Mario inside a bubble in Super Mario Run

Small Mario inside a bubble

In Super Mario Run, bubbles serve as extra lives for the player, essentially replacing 1-Up Mushrooms. Unlike in previous games, they are not carried over between levels, as each level starts the player off with two bubbles. If the player is hit by an enemy in small form or falls into a pit, they reappear in a bubble and float to the left, allowing them to backtrack to a previous part of the level and retry once they pop the bubble by tapping the screen. If the player loses all of their bubbles and dies, they fail the level and have to restart from the beginning. The player can also manually activate a bubble by tapping the bubble icon at the top left corner of the screen. Extra bubbles can be found in ? Blocks.

Super Mario Odyssey

In Super Mario Odyssey, when Mario falls into a pit while in Assist Mode, instead of resuming from the last checkpoint, he is carried back inside a bubble to the last stationary platform he was on, although he loses one hit point in the process. When falling off certain areas of the game, such as the concert stage during the New Donk City Festival and the Floating Island in the Luncheon Kingdom, he is placed in a bubble without losing any coins, similar to the transparent sphere from the Comet Observatory in Super Mario Galaxy and the credits in Super Mario Galaxy 2. Large bubbles appear in some underwater parts of the game and replenish Mario's air meter like in the Super Mario Galaxy games. They appear from Bubblers. When a Checkpoint Flag is touched underwater, it creates a bubble.

Super Mario Maker 2

In Super Mario Maker 2, if a player is defeated in Multiplayer Co-op mode, they return inside a bubble, similar to the New Super Mario Bros. games. Additionally, when a player carrying a Key or a completed Clear Condition is defeated in multiplayer, the Key or Clear condition enter a bubble, allowing other players to grab them.

Yoshi franchise

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island

In Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island and Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3, Bubbles have a number of roles. They sometimes house 1UPs, but usually appear in the form of morph bubbles. If the player is hit by an enemy, Baby Mario floats away in a Bubble. Bubble Dayzees and Barney Bubbles also spit out Bubbles as their attack method. These Bubbles cannot hurt a Yoshi directly, but are capable of knocking him back. Yoshis can also bounce up high after jumping onto these Bubbles. The Yoshis can also spit these Bubbles themselves upon licking them up, though theirs' defeat enemies instead, and must be restocked by licking up another bubble.

Yoshi's Story

In Yoshi's Story, bubbles appear in every level in the game. They commonly contain fruits such as apples, bananas, grapes, watermelons, and melons. A Yoshi can pop a bubble by simply throwing an egg at it or by touching it about 15 to 30 times. When the Yoshi bumps into it once, it simply gets knocked around, without popping. Bubbles occasionally just float or move around the area of the level above the ground. In some levels in the game, a bubble contains a Heart Fruit that can actually help the Yoshi. Occasionally, bubbles marked with question marks, known as ? Bubbles, contain surprises.

Yoshi's Island DS

Bubbles appear throughout Yoshi's Island DS, and serve the same purpose as they do in the original Yoshi's Island.

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

Bubbles appear in Yoshi's Woolly World and Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World, in the levels Big Montgomery's Bubble Fort, Woollet Bill's Last Ride, and Wonderful World of Wool. Yoshi can bounce on top of them. Hook Guys can pop them with their sticks. Enemies can also sometimes be found in bubbles. In Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World, they also appear in the Poochy Dash level Zippy Lagoon, where they pop upon contact with Poochy.

Wario Land series

Bubbles debut in the series in Wario Land II, then reappear in Wario Land 3 and Wario Land 4. In each game, bubbles are found in the underwater segments of various levels. If Wario makes contact with one, he becomes Bubble Wario, being trapped inside and forced to float to the water's surface or until he hits a ceiling. In some areas, they are a helpful tool, allowing Wario to bypass water currents, but when Wario needs to swim down a channel, the bubbles become a nuisance, as they push him back to the surface. In Wario Land II, the boss Awabō is made from a bubble.

Paper Mario series

Paper Mario

In Paper Mario, the Bubble Plant in Flower Fields blows a Bubble if given a Bubble Berry. Mario and his partner can hop into the Bubble and travel past a sea of thorns.

Paper Mario: Color Splash

In Paper Mario: Color Splash, Mario and Huey are in a Bubble while playing Snifit or Whiffit. When Mario answers a question incorrectly, a Big Urchin will appear. If Mario gets four questions wrong (one in the bonus rounds), a Big Urchin pops the Bubble, giving him an instant Game Over.

Donkey Kong franchise

Donkey Kong Jungle Beat

In Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, bubbles are spawned by Bubble Shrubs. They can be climbed into, causing them to rise with him inside. In the original release, controlling the bubble is the same as controlling Donkey Kong's walk, but in New Play Control! Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, it is instead controlled by tilting the Wii Remote. Additionally, small bubbles hold Banana Bunches in many levels, and can be popped with a clap. Winged versions of these move around. In the reissue, bubbles in the Opening Ceremony and Banana Banquet also contain trapped Helper Monkeys.

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

Air Bubbles are used in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze to recover air while underwater. Generally, air bubbles sprout discretely from sunken diving helmets, and the Kongs can run into them to restore air. In some levels, such as Deep Keep, they also encounter clusters of tiny bubbles gushing out of sea sponge. These rising columns of bubbles have the same effect on the characters.

Mario Sports Superstars

Baby Luigi in a bubble during his Eagle animation, alongside various items in bubbles as well

Bubbles make an appearance in Baby Luigi's Eagle animation in the golf portion of the game, where, alongside Baby Luigi being in a bubble, various items, such as coins, Super Mushrooms, and Fire Flowers can be found in them, possibly referencing their appearances in bubbles in New Super Mario Bros. U.

Mario Party series

Mario Party: Island Tour

Main article: Bubble clone

In Mario Party: Island Tour, Bowser uses a bubble machine to lock the fun of the Mario Party Islands away and construct Bowser's Tower. He creates bubble clones to attack the player in mini-games. At the end of the mode, it is revealed the Bowser they fight is also a bubble clone, with the real Bowser ambushing the player and knocking them off the tower.

Super Mario Party

In Super Mario Party, when the player uses a Buddy Phone or lands on an Ally Space, an ally comes in a bubble which pops upon touching the ground.

Dr. Mario World

An image demonstrating the bubble feature in Dr. Mario World.

Bubbles appear as stage features in Dr. Mario World, first appearing in World 2. A bubble will float to the top of the screen until it is obstructed by an object, and it may contain viruses or other objects. An object that can be matched with capsules such as viruses or exploders will require matching with the capsules to pop the bubble, while in other instances including empty bubbles, just making a capsule match near the bubble will pop the bubble. A bubble can also be popped through use of a skill or item. A bubble that is currently floating will not react to anything else in the stage until it lands, except for when pushing the bubble upwards or blocking the bubble from floating upwards with a capsule. Normally, popping a bubble would fill the skill meter by one point, but popping an empty bubble fills the skill meter by two points. The Hammer Bro. assistant will affect the floating speed of the bubble when equipped by slowing down the floating.

Dr. Bowser Jr.'s and Dr. Dolphin's skills involves bubbles. For Dr. Bowser Jr., his stage mode skill pops up to 10 bubbles while his versus mode skill covers up to 10 viruses in the opponent's field in bubbles. For Dr. Dolphin, its stage mode skill pops up to 4 bubbles (3 prior to version 2.2.0), while its versus mode skill covers up to 6 viruses inside bubbles. Although Dr. Dolphin skill involves less bubbles than Dr. Bowser Jr., it is compensated by a lower skill meter to allow for potentially more uses of the skill. Dr. Morton's skill in versus mode also involves bubbles (in addition to ice), in which he will cover some of the viruses inside bubbles. Bubbles may appear in some of the starting layouts in versus mode.

Mario Kart Tour

Bubbles reappear in Mario Kart Tour as Baby Peach, Baby Daisy, Baby Rosalina, Lemmy, and the Cheep Cheep Mii Racing Suit's special skill. They are used to sustain one hit from almost any obstacle without the driver crashing, but will pop upon collision. However, colliding with a Clampy as it closes its valves will still cause the driver to spin out while the Bubble remains intact. The Bubble functions similarly to the Bullet Bill in that it pulls the player forwards automatically when activated, though it is slower and does not harm other drivers, and the player can steer a little while using a Bubble. Bubbles automatically pop after being used for a certain period of time. When Bubble+ is active, the Bubble has a faster movement speed than normal. Drivers cannot perform any actions while in a Bubble, but they constantly receive points from it to compensate.

Profiles

Mario Kart Tour

• Tips & Tricks: Briefly envelops your kart and protects you from damage for a set time. While in the bubble, you will get a speed boost and float in the air. Watch out, because it will vanish upon taking damage!
• Driver info: Kick back and relax as this bubble floats you around. But beware the sudden pop!
• Driver info (Bubble+): Increases the Bubble's movement speed.

Gallery

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  Super Mario Maker 2 (Super Mario Bros. 3 style)

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  Super Mario Maker 2 (Super Mario World style)

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  Super Mario Maker 2 (New Super Mario Bros. U style)

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	シャボン玉 Shabondama アイテムシャボン Aitemu Shabon シャボン Shabon バブル Baburu	Soap Bubble (Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins) Item Bubble (Yoshi Touch & Go item) Bubble Bubble
Chinese	泡泡 (New Super Mario Bros. Wii) Pào pào 肥皂泡 (Mario Kart Tour) Féizào pào	Bubble Soap Bubble
Dutch	Luchtbel[?]	Air Bubble
German	Luftblase[?]	Bubble
Italian	Bolla Bolla di sapone	Bubble Soap bubble
Korean	비눗방울[?] Binut Bangul	Soap Bubble
Portuguese	Bolha[?]	Bubble
Russian	Пузырь[?] Puzyr'	Bubble
Spanish	Burbuja[?]	Bubble