UFO
- This article is about UFOs in general. For the treasure in Wario Land 3, see The Frigid Sea § Blue Chest: UFO. For Shroobs' spaceships, see Shroob saucer. For the UFO-like enemy from Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, see No. 48.
UFOs (Unidentified Flying Objects) or Flying Saucers[citation needed] are the basic means of transportation for aliens. UFOs are high-tech vehicles that can travel large distances in space. There are also many different kinds and shapes. Some look like saucers (hence the name), and others look like squares. A frequently occurring design is the Adamski-type commonly found in Japanese pop-culture.[1]
History
Donkey Kong 3: Dai Gyakushū
In Donkey Kong 3: Dai Gyakushū, a U.F.O. appears in several early backgrounds and is the setting of the fifth stage, seeming to fit within a general extraterrestrial theme.
A U.F.O. in On the Strange Bridge's background (top-right)
A U.F.O. in On the Country Road's background (top)
Stage 5: In the U.F.O.
Super Mario series
Super Mario Land
In Super Mario Land, UFOs appear in Muda Kingdom, where they are seen above Mario in the start of each land level, making it appear that he was beamed down from them. Sunken UFOs are common in the underwater level from this world.
Super Mario Galaxy
Super Mario Galaxy contains many flying saucers that appear mainly in Battlerock Galaxy and Dreadnought Galaxy. These UFOs have their own gravity, and Mario and Luigi can walk on the top and the bottom. Two crashed UFOs float on the Lava Planet in the Melty Molten Galaxy; one of these can be walked upon. These UFOs seem to be in the possession of the Topman Tribe, due to them commonly being found on or around them. The boss Topmaniac is also fought on a UFO. Additionally, in the intro cutscene, Bowser calls a single gigantic UFO to dig the Peach's Castle surroundings before lifting it. The same UFO appears flying around the Peach's Castle in the cutscene traveling to Bowser's Galaxy Reactor. It is not seen being sucked into the black hole at the end of the game, however. The Starshrooms act much like UFOs, floating while slowly spinning, but are shaped like mushrooms. The Starting Planet of the Dreadnought Galaxy also gets a redesign in Revenge of the Topman Tribe, going from a cone-shaped planet firing lasers at a duplicate of itself in Infiltrating the Dreadnought to resembling a UFO, with a more squashed frustum.
Super Mario 3D Land
In certain levels of Super Mario 3D Land (such as World 1-3) where a pair of Binoculars are found, the player may be able to use them to spot a white flying saucer flying through the sky, although it eventually flies away.[2]
Super Mario Odyssey
- "Small UFO" redirects here. For the UFOs that abduct Theets in Princess Peach: Showtime!, see UFO (Princess Peach: Showtime!) § Small UFO.
Within most kingdoms in Super Mario Odyssey, there is a regional bird that compliments the local topography. In lieu of birds, a small UFO[3] appears in the Moon Kingdom after the kingdom's Moon Rock has been struck. Striking it with Cappy makes it release a collectible Power Moon and hover off into the sky. The UFO is tiny, vaguely floral, has one eyed stalk, and contains a single Soirée Bouquet within its body. It closely resembles the giant boss Torkdrift, itself similar to a flying saucer, but it was created by Bowser and consequently does not come from the moon. A relationship between this small UFO and Torkdrift is alluded to in The Art of Super Mario Odyssey but kept deliberately vague.[3] It also occurs alongside other regional birds in the Mushroom Kingdom once Princess Peach and Tiara permanently return.
UFO-like enemies called Yoofoes also appears in the game.
Dr. Mario
In Dr. Mario, the ending shows a UFO appearing and beaming the viruses up if the player completes level 20 on high-speed.
Mario Party series
In Mystery Land in Mario Party 2, the player can spend 10 coins to summon an unseen Bob-omb UFO to transport them to another area.
In Mario Party 5, ID UFO presents various different shaped saucers, as the players must identify them.
A UFO appears in Mario Party 6 in the Castaway Bay board at night near the star space. They also appear in the nighttime version of the minigame Freeze Frame. In this minigame, players can take pictures of UFOs, which are worth three points.
In Mario Party Advance, Mr. E helps Fly Guy to call a UFO to the rooftop of Mushroom Condo. Another UFO is buried in the earth in the Gaddget, Soil Sonar.
In the Neon Heights board in Mario Party 7, if a character lands on certain ? spaces, then a UFO will appear and relocate the treasure chests.
In the minigame Saucer Swarm from Mario Party 8, a UFO can be seen at the beginning (releasing a lot of smaller flying UFO-like creatures from underneath it) and at the ending (abducting the characters that lost).
A UFO may also appear on the top screen in the minigame Rotisserie Rampage in Mario Party DS.
In the minigame Launch Break from Mario Party 9, a UFO can be briefly seen flying in the outer space. It has a cylindrical shape, and a yellow star placed on the top.
In the minigame Sphere Mongers from Super Mario Party, each player rides a UFO that has a magnet underneath it.
WarioWare series
UFOs make a few appearances in microgames in the WarioWare games. Some examples include: Repellion and UFO Assist (WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$!); Alien Abduction (WarioWare: Twisted!); Wario PI and Unintelligent Life (WarioWare: Smooth Moves); and Nasalblaster (WarioWare: D.I.Y.). In Game & Wario, UFOs must be shot down in Dribble & Spitz's minigame, Taxi. Additionally, Orbulon has his own personal UFO called the Oinker, designed after a pig.
Super Smash Bros. series
The stage Fourside that appears in Super Smash Bros. Melee features a giant UFO that occasionally shows up on screen. Players can jump on top of it, although it is very slippery, and will disappear over a period of time. The UFO then reappears after some time, and players can yet again fight on top of it. On the Smashville stage that appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Gulliver's UFO appears at random times in the background of the stage, having no effect on the match.
Yoshi's Crafted World
Various kinds of UFOs appear in Yoshi's Crafted World. In the level Go-Go Yoshi, UFOs made from plastic cups and hanging from wires are worth the highest score of points when punched away. UFOs made of cardboard and piloted by Shy Guys appear throughout the flip side of Altitude Adjustment. Most of them are red, three are golden and required for a request from the Blockafeller in Sky-High Heights, and one is blue and larger than the others with colored stars and an antenna on it and ridden by the Poochy Pups. The golden and blue UFOs appear as costumes in Sky-High Heights. Plastic UFOs of a different design appear in the level Ride the Stars, where the pink one (referred to as a "stylish UFO") is wearing a red bow.
Princess Peach: Showtime!
- Main article: UFO (Princess Peach: Showtime!)
Two types of UFOs appear in Princess Peach: Showtime! The largest UFO serves as the boss of Mighty Mission: Alien Invasion and Mighty Mission: The Rescue while smaller UFOs appear in those levels as well as in Mighty Rehearsal to attempt to kidnap nearby Theets.
Gallery
Small UFO from Super Mario Odyssey
A smaller UFO from Princess Peach: Showtime!
References
- ^ Robinson, Nick. Why do Japanese UFOs look so different?. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
- ^ The UFO as seen in World 1-3
- ^ a b Sakai, Kazuya, kikai, Rachel Roberts, and Jenny Blenk, editors (2019). "Wooded Kingdom" in The Art of Super Mario Odyssey (First English Edition). Milwaukie: Dark Horse. Page 149.
