Snowball

Snowballs are commonplace objects used in various ways throughout the Mario games, first appearing as items in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. They are prevalent in snowy settings and, at the player's expense or gain, can be rolled along snow-covered ground and increase in size as they gain more snow.

History

Yoshi series

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island

Snowballs can be found for the first time as items in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island as well as its remake, Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3. They can only be found in two levels. Yoshi can push a snowball down a path in the same manner as pushing a Chomp Rock; as it is rolled on the snow, it grows larger and larger in size until it eventually stops growing. The snowball destroys all items and enemies in its path. Yoshi is able to hop and sit on a snowball as on a platform, an action which is advantageous for reaching high grounds.

Yoshi's Woolly World

In Yoshi's Woolly World, snowballs are present within the World 5 level, Fluffy Snow, Here We Go!. In order to preserve the textile aesthetic of the game, snowballs take the appearance of cotton wool. They can be used and exploited as in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, meaning they are able to crush enemies and solid blocks and increase in size as they roll.

Donkey Kong series

Donkey Kong Country 3 / Donkey Kong Land III

Bleak, a boss in both Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! and Donkey Kong Land III, can shoot snowballs out of his hat cannon. The Kongs can only avoid them.

Donkey Kong Jungle Beat

During Silver Snow Peak, a level in Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, Donkey Kong and Hoofer follow an enormous decelerating snowball while heading up a hill. Before the snowball stops and starts rolling towards the characters, Donkey Kong has to clap and create shockwaves to shrink and eventually completely destory the large snowball. Upon getting destroyed, the snowball gives out numerous beats.

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

The Kongs, weaving between several snowballs tossed in the air

The Kongs are sieged by two snowballs shot from cannons.

Snowballs appear as dangerous hazards in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. Blurry Flurry, a stage on Donkey Kong Island, is the only one to feature them. Most of the time, they are fired by small bombards, which are set on the walls or on the ground; other times, they are hurled in the air as a result of larger snowballs dropping on the platforms they lie on. They potentially derail the Kongs' flight on the Rocket Barrel. The primates would have to fly in between the snowballs in order to escape them safely; otherwise, if they get hit by such obstacles, they lose one heart from their health meter.

Before the end of the stage, the Kongs are propelled into a giant snowball, which starts rolling on a steep hill immediately after. The player can take control of the snowball by making it skip abysses, as it automatically rolls through Snowmad fortresses and rows of enemies.

Mario Kart series

Snowballs act as obstacles in DK Pass, a racetrack in Mario Kart DS, Mario Kart 7 and Mario Kart Tour. They fall and roll on the mountainous road, knocking away any racer standing in their path. They appear in the area around the second set of Item Boxes where they go against the racers, as well as on the snowy incline afterwards, where they roll in their direction.

Super Mario series

New Super Mario Bros.

A Snow Spike prepares to toss a snowball.

In New Super Mario Bros., snowballs are regurgitated and thrown by Snow Spikes. Once on the ground, snowballs start rolling in a set direction, growing rapidly larger in the process. They damage Mario or Luigi if they catch up with them.

Super Mario Galaxy 2

Snowballs appear in Super Mario Galaxy 2. They usually appear when Fire Mario destroys a snow sculpture. They will build in size when rolled along snow, and they can create temporary snow paths over lava before melting. If a Li'l Cinder touches a snowball, it gets defeated.

Super Mario 3D World

Snowball Park, a level from World 3 of Super Mario 3D World, is dedicated to the use of snowballs. Some of these can be found on the ground naturally, while others are created from the segments of defeated Snow Pokeys. Snowballs can be thrown at enemies to defeat them, and can also be passed from one player to another when playing in multiplayer.

Super Mario Maker 2

In version 2.0 of Super Mario Maker 2, snowballs are thrown by Spikes in the snow theme in a similar manner to Snow Spikes. Unlike Spike Balls, snowballs cannot hurt the player, instead only knocking them back if hit from the side or below. After being thrown, the player can jump on them to stop them, then pick them up and throw them at objects or enemies (except in the Super Mario Bros. style, where they can only be kicked). Large snowballs can only be kicked and rolled along the ground. Additionally, a snowball can be produced after defeating a Snow Pokey. Snowballs can also be placed as a separate object.

When used against Bowser (or Meowser), a normal-sized Snowball deals 2 HP damage (with 10 Snowball hits defeating him). The damage dealt gets doubled to 4 HP if the Snowball is giant-sized.

In version 3.0, the Super Mario Bros. style-exclusive SMB2 form lets players pluck snowballs from ground tiles in snow-themed levels.

Paper Mario: Sticker Star

Snowball Sticker

With Snow Spikes returning in Paper Mario: Sticker Star and retaining their previous behavior, snowballs can also be encountered in the game. They are usually rolled on slanted footpaths. If a snowball clashes with Mario, it catches him into a loop, forcing him to go back a few spaces until it breaks into a ledge. Additionally, any Snow Spike may drop a Snowball Sticker after getting defeated. When used during battle, the sticker summons a large snowball that rolls over and damages ground-dwelling enemies.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Chinese	雪球 Xuěqiú	SnowBall
Dutch	Sneeuwbal[?]	Snowball
German	Schneeball[?]	Snowball