Super Mario Bros. Wonder introduced the Elephant Fruit, a strong power-up capable of turning Mario and his friends into elephants. As the portly pachyderm, Mario and co. can spray water from their trunks and dash across two-block-wide gaps.
Animal-related power-ups are nothing new to the Mario franchise, for example, Super Mario 3D World had the Super Bell. This equipped Mario with a cat costume and the ability to climb walls, scratch enemies, and run faster. Inspired by both Super Mario Bros. Wonder’s elephant Mario, and the franchise’s more traditional animal costumes, here are 6 more animal transformations Mario should have and what their abilities could be.
Kangaroo
Kangaroos can leap as far as 30 feet in a single jump thanks to their strong hind legs and big feet, and if Kao the Kangaroo has taught us anything it’s that these towering marsupials should be a good fit for the platforming genre. Mario’s kangaroo ability would primarily be used to spring up to high platforms, providing the plumber with a boost to his verticality.
This transformation would give Mario a long tail and big feet which, using his new appendage for balance, he can use to kick enemies. Attacking forward, Mario would send Goombas flying and Koopas spinning. Finally, Mario’s kangaroo power-up would give his overalls a pouch-like front pocket, however instead of a baby joey inside, the player can store an extra power-up.
Mole
Monty Mole has been a recurring enemy in the series since Super Mario World on the SNES back in 1990. He has made appearances in everything from Super Mario Sunshine to Super Mario Party, the latter of which even features him as a playable character.
Taking inspiration from this long-running foe, Mario’s mole transformation would turn the defender of the Mushroom Kingdom’s nose pink, his hands more shovel-like, and his overalls a light brown color. This new form would allow Mario to sniff out and dig up hidden collectibles and power-ups including Super Stars and 1-ups. This transformation could even be used to reveal a secret area or two.
Porcupine Fish
Mario has come across porcupine fish-inspired enemies before. Porcupuffers are a species of Cheep Cheep with exceedingly large lips. Often confused with puffer fish, porcupine fish are covered in bony spines, whereas the former’s spines only appear when they inflate. Mario’s porcupine fish power-up would, unsurprisingly, only be available during water levels and primarily used for rising and sinking quickly.
Players would be able to grow and shrink their character’s head in a cartoonish manner as they inflate and deflate to avoid obstacles. Furthermore, the power-up would let the player throw small spear-like projectiles at some of Mario’s most annoying foes.
Mantis Shrimp
Sticking with the underwater theme and the mantis shrimp power-up would transform Mario’s fists into boxing glove-shaped claws and his overalls into a fluorescent set or armor made from red and blue shells. To get the mantis shrimp transformation, players would have to find three related collectibles. This added challenge is due to how powerful this power-up is as it can clear a screen of enemies with a single punch.
The mantis shrimp, otherwise known as the boxing shrimp or the thumb splitter, is a fearsome underwater warrior capable of punching at over 50mph! Suffice it to say, I’d hate to be a Cheep Cheep or Blooper when mantis shrimp Mario comes swimming around.
Armadillo
Koopa shells come in a variety of colors and have been a staple of the Mario franchise — and its numerous sub-series — since its inception. Often used as a projectile by Mario or as a torture device in Mario Kart, Luigi’s brother has occasionally donned a blue variation to protect himself against enemies and assist while swimming.
Mario’s hypothetical armadillo transformation would work much differently from the shells seen previously in the series. It takes inspiration from Nintendo’s popular sci-fi series Metroid and sees Mario, much like Samus Aran (and dare I say Sonic the Hedgehog?) curl up into a ball and roll through enemies as if they were bowling pins. It would rely on momentum to keep going so could get stuck on hills, and while in ball form Mario can not jump. An armadillo-like creature called a Gōrumondo appeared in Donkey Kong Jungle Beat for the Nintendo GameCube, so perhaps Mario’s transformation could take some design inspiration from this obscure enemy.
Bull
Mario has faced his fair share of charging enemies during his many adventures so how about we turn the tables with this final entry? This animal transformation would turn Mario and friends into Minotaur-like beasts that charge forward breaking any blocks and obstacles in their path and sending enemies flying.
Perhaps a mini-game could also see Mario chase Shy Guys around The Golden Coliseum. There have been a couple of Bull-like enemies in the Mario series before including the Bulrushes in Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Even Mario’s copycat Wario has a Bull form; equipping the garlic-loving brute with a horned helmet, the ability to break blocks in one hit, and a ground pound.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder has opened up a whole new avenue of power-ups for Mario to get his hands on, taking him one step further than the Tanooki suit by fully transforming the plumber into another animal. With such a vast array of beings in the animal kingdom, and original creations in Mario’s world, Nintendo will no doubt be looking to add more animal transformations and new abilities in future Mario Bros. games.