| Bramball | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Artwork from New Super Luigi U
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| First appearance | New Super Mario Bros. Wii (2009) | ||
| Latest appearance | The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) | ||
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Bramballs are orange Pokey-esque enemies with a permanent frown, brambles for legs, and yellow suction cup-like feet. They appear in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, New Super Mario Bros. U, New Super Luigi U and New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe. Their name is a play on "bramble" and "ball". They walk around by moving one of their legs to either the left or right as an attempt to hit Mario.
History
Super Mario series
New Super Mario Bros. Wii
Bramballs only appear in World 5-3. Their sole attack is moving around a set path by flipping themselves around in a Slinky-style motion and planting their feet on flat surfaces. When they reach the end of a small piece of land or wall, they will flip the other way and continue moving. Touching the feet or arms of a Bramball will hurt the player.
Bramballs can be defeated by jumping on the ball in the center, freezing them as Ice Mario or Penguin Mario and Ground Pounding on them while frozen, hitting them with Fire Mario's fireballs, or a Star. Hitting them from underneath will release Coins and cause them to temporarily stop flipping over. Hitting them while launching out of a Pipe Cannon instantly defeats one and causes them to release twenty Coins. There are two types of Bramballs: ones that do not move their mouths and ones that do move their mouths. The ones that move their mouths are faster.
Bramballs in pre-release builds were shown to have brown feet, instead of yellow.
New Super Mario Bros. U / New Super Luigi U / New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe
Bramballs are enemies in New Super Mario Bros. U and New Super Luigi U, being encountered in Bramball Woods and Heart of Bramball Woods respectively. In this appearance, their heads turn out completely orange and a leaf sprouts from it at every vocal "Paah" in the music, similar to regular Pokeys in newer appearances. If Mario hits the underside of a Bramball in this state, it will drop a large number of coins instead of just one. Tapping on one using Boost Mode would cause one to smile and turn the other way.
Mario Golf: Super Rush
Bramballs are course elements in Mario Golf: Super Rush. They appear in Shelltop Sanctuary and the Forest course of Target Golf. In Shelltop Sanctuary, four of them stand in a row on a waste area, while one stands on two elevated slabs of stone. If hit by a golf ball, the Bramballs will rotate their head all the way around.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Three Bramballs are seen in Illumination's The Super Mario Bros. Movie when Mario meets Toad in the Mushroom Forest, with one standing over Mario, who nervously greets it. They are portrayed as part of the Mushroom Kingdom's wildlife. Compared to their game counterparts, they have more realistic stems, and their feet have been redesigned to resemble flower buds. A Bramball can also be seen on Mario's poster for the film.
Profiles
New Super Mario Bros. Wii
- Trading card description: "Bramballs are spiny-legged villains that move one giant step at a time. Their long legs and large size can make them a tricky baddie to bypass. If you sneak beneath them and jump, you may get some coins. The real point of vulnerability on a Bramball is its head section. Bopping them on the head can knock them right out of the competition."
Card Number: 37
LEGO Super Mario
- Website description: Bramballs are curious-looking characters with ball-shaped heads and 2 long, thorny brambles for legs (or are they arms?). If LEGO® Mario™ sees a Bramball flipping around in the Soda Jungle, he has to leap on its head to defeat it. Just make sure LEGO Mario doesn’t fall in the poison swamp!
List of appearances
| # | Title | Role | Release date | Format
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Super Mario Bros. Wii | Enemy | 2009 | Wii |
| 2 | New Super Mario Bros. U | Enemy | 2012 | Wii U |
| 3 | New Super Luigi U | Enemy | 2013 | Wii U |
| 4 | New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe | Enemy | 2019 | Nintendo Switch |
| 5 | LEGO Super Mario (Chain Chomp Jungle Encounter) | Enemy | 2021 | Interactive toy figure |
| 6 | Mario Golf: Super Rush | Enemy | 2021 | Nintendo Switch |
| 7 | The Super Mario Bros. Movie | Passive Creature | 2023 | Animated film |
Gallery
New Super Mario Bros. Wii concept art
LEGO Super Mario
A Bramball in Mario's poster for The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | イバラムシ[1] Ibara Mushi |
Bramble Bug | |
| Chinese (simplified) | 荆棘虫[?] Jīngjí Chóng |
Bramble Bug | |
| Chinese (traditional) | 荊棘蟲[?] Jīngjí Chóng |
Bramble Bug | |
| French (NOA) | Brimboule[?] | - | |
| French (NOE) | Alfronce[?] | Play on "Alphonse" (male given name) and ronce ("bramble") | |
| German | Häcki[?] | Clipped/diminutive of häck ("hedge" in Swedish) | |
| Italian | Bramball[2] | - | |
| Pungipalla[?] | Portmanteau of pungi ("sting") and palla ("ball") | ||
| Korean | 덩굴벌레[?] Deonggul Beolle |
Vine Bug | |
| Portuguese (NOA) | Barambola[3] | ? | |
| Portuguese (NOE) | Carambola[?] | Meaning "starfruit"; likely a portmanteau of bola ("ball") and the interjection caramba (equivalent to "geez") | |
| Pernibola[4] | Portmanteau of perna ("leg") and bola ("ball") | ||
| Russian | Колючконога[?] Kolyuchkonoga |
Portmanteau of колючий (kolyuchiy, "barbed") and нога (noga, "leg") | |
| Spanish (NOA) | Zarzabola[?] | From zarza ("bramble") and bola ("ball") | |
| Spanish (NOE) | Espinarco[?] | Portmanteau of espina ("spine") and arco ("arc") |
References
- ^ Sakai, Kazuya (Ambit), kikai, Akinori Sao, Junko Fukuda, Kunio Takayama, and Ko Nakahara (Shogakukan), editors. (October 19, 2015). 『スーパーマリオブラザーズ百科: 任天堂公式ガイドブック』. Tokyo: Shogakukan (Japanese). ISBN 978-4-09-106569-8. Page 144 and 209.
- ^ New Super Mario Bros. Wii - Album ufficiale. Page 13.
- ^ Pacote de personagens – Série 6. LEGO.com (Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved March 26, 2024.
- ^ Packs de Personagens – Série 6. LEGO.com (European Portuguese). Retrieved March 26, 2024.