Blue shell | |
---|---|
Mario Kart element | |
Publisher | Nintendo |
First appearance | Mario Kart 64 (1996) |
Genre | Kart racing game |
The Spiny Shell, [1] [2] [3] colloquially known as the blue shell, [4] [5] is a power-up item in the Mario Kart video game series. Originating in Mario Kart 64 (1996) and featured in every main entry of the series since then, the Spiny Shell, when used, aims directly at the racer in first place, stopping them on impact. The Spiny Shell acts as a "catch-up" mechanic, with racers ranked towards the bottom having a better chance of it spawning when driving into item boxes, giving them a better chance at diminishing the lead of the racer in top position. [6] [7] [8] In addition to the Mario Kart series, the blue shell appeared in the Super Smash Bros. series from 2001's Melee onwards (it has been directly featured as a power-up item from Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U onwards), and in Mario Hoops 3-on-3 . [9] [10] A character based on the item appears in the 2023 film The Super Mario Bros. Movie , voiced by Scott Menville. [11]
Initially, the blue shell was impossible to stop or dodge once fired, until Mario Kart: Super Circuit (2001) and subsequent games allowed ways for the targeted racer to do so, albeit only with combinations of precise timing and specific items. As it is likely to spawn at least once during a race, the power-up item has earned a reputation of frequently destroying a player's lead, or suddenly ruining their chances of winning. [12] Because of this, the blue shell has largely come to be seen as one of the best and most famous, yet also one of the most frustrating items in video game history.
The Mario series features some visually similar figures which predate the blue shell, such as the red Spinies from the original Super Mario Bros. (1985) and blue Koopa Troopas from Super Mario World (1990). [4]
In Mario Kart 64 , racers in 4th-8th place can obtain the blue shell. Since the release of Mario Kart: Double Dash!! , the series sees the blue shell being more common to characters closer to the lead (if the leader pulls away from the rest of the pack), and in all releases prior to Mario Kart 7 , it is unable to hit characters on its way to the lead, as it flies above the track using wings rather than gliding upon its surface. [4] [13]
There are few techniques possible in some Mario Kart games to evade a blue shell, such as using a timed boost from a Mushroom item in Mario Kart DS onwards. In Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, it is possible to use the new Super Horn item to destroy blue shells. [8] [14] [15] A toy model of the blue shell is included in the limited edition package of Mario Kart 8. [16] [17] A blue-shelled Koopa General (voiced by Scott Menville) [18] appears in the 2023 film The Super Mario Bros. Movie , obliterating much of the film's depiction of Rainbow Road after shouting "Blue shell!" as a battlecry. [19]
In a 2011 interview with Kotaku, Hideki Konno, who directed Super Mario Kart and Mario Kart 64, was asked about the blue shell's inclusion in the series. He stated that it was introduced in Mario Kart 64 to keep players together due to the limited processing power of the Nintendo 64 and that "we wanted to create a race where everyone was in it until the end". [7] In a 2017 interview with Eurogamer , Kosuke Yabuki, the director of Mario Kart 7 and Mario Kart 8, said that Nintendo has experimented with removing the blue shell from the games, but "it feels like something's missing. Like there's something not quite enough in the game. So for now we've kept it in." [20]
Alex Langley's The Geek Handbook names as one of Mario Kart 8's greatest frustrations, to be hit by a blue shell shortly before reaching the finish line. [8] [21] David Murphy from PCMag and Jamie Andrew from Den of Geek both called the Blue Shell the “Blue Shell of Death”. [22] [23] In 2017, Keith Stuart of The Guardian included the blue shell as one of the "11 greatest video game objects" in history, calling it "the most controversial item in the Mario universe." [24]
Calling it "The Great Equalizer" for its enhancement of the elements of struggle and luck, Kotaku 's Nathan Grayson considered the blue shell to be the most despised, and best, item of the Mario Kart series. [25] Kotaku's Yannick Le Jacq considered the blue shell to be the most notable and game-changing among Mario Kart's "most notorious" items, adding that this made it "a lot more fun" to use in Super Smash Bros. for 3DS and Wii U too. [9]
Nintendo Power called the use of a Mushroom to dodge a blue shell a "defining moment" of gameplay in Mario Kart Wii . [26] Maxwell McGee of GameSpot considered the ability to destroy the "dreaded" blue shells with a new item, the Super Horn, to be a particularly exciting feature of Mario Kart 8. [14] Steve Watts of GameSpot said in 2022 that "the Blue Shell has become synonymous with Mario Kart" and is now an icon within video game history. [27]
Mario Kart is a series of kart racing games based on the Mario franchise developed and published by Nintendo. Players compete in go-kart races while using various power-up items. It features characters and courses mostly from the Mario series as well as other gaming franchises such as The Legend of Zelda, Animal Crossing, F-Zero, Excitebike, and Splatoon.
Super Mario Kart is a kart racing game developed and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). The first game in the Mario Kart series, it was released in Japan and North America in 1992, and in Europe the following year in 1993. Selling 8.76 million copies worldwide, the game went on to become the fourth best-selling SNES game of all time. Super Mario Kart was re-released on the Wii's Virtual Console in 2009, on the Wii U's Virtual Console in 2013, and on the New Nintendo 3DS's Virtual Console in 2016. Nintendo re-released Super Mario Kart in 2017 as part of the company's Super NES Classic Edition.
Mario Kart: Super Circuit is a 2001 kart racing game for the Game Boy Advance (GBA). It is the third Mario Kart game and retains its predecessors' gameplay: as a Mario franchise character, the player races opponents around tracks based on locales from the Super Mario platform games. Tracks contain obstacles and power-ups that respectively hamper and aid the player's progress. Super Circuit includes various single-player and multiplayer game modes, including a Grand Prix racing mode and a last man standing battle mode.
Koopa Troopas are a fictional turtle-like race of characters from the Mario media franchise. They are commonly referred to as Koopas, a more broad classification of creatures that includes Bowser, his Koopalings, and Lakitu. Predecessors to Koopa Troopas, Shellcreepers, first appeared in the 1983 game Mario Bros., while Koopa Troopas themselves debuted two years later in Super Mario Bros. (1985). Koopa Troopas are a common staple in most Super Mario and spin-off games. When defeated, they may flee from or retreat inside their shells, which can usually be used as weapons. Koopa shells are a recurring weapon in the franchise, particularly popularized in the Mario Kart series, in which they can be fired as projectiles against other racers. Despite making up the bulk of Bowser's army, Koopa Troopas are often shown to be peaceful, sometimes even teaming up with protagonist Mario.
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Yoshi is a fictional dinosaur who appears in video games published by Nintendo. Yoshi debuted in Super Mario World (1990) on the SNES as Mario and Luigi's sidekick. Throughout the mainline Super Mario series, Yoshi typically serves as Mario's trusted steed. With a gluttonous appetite, Yoshi can gobble enemies with his long tongue, and lay eggs that doubly function as projectiles. Yoshi is the title character of the Yoshi series and a supporting character in the Mario franchise. He has appeared in Mario Party and Mario Kart, as well as many Mario sports games. He also appears as a playable character in the crossover fighting game series Super Smash Bros. Yoshi is a member of the same-named species, which is distinguished for its wide range of colors.
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Spiny shells will chase the Kart in the lead. Along the way, if there are other Karts in its path, they will suffer the consequences.
There are countless of examples of deliberately added catch-up features in games. The shells in Mario Kart fire forward, so the person in the lead can't make use of them, but people who are behind can fire on those ahead of them. And the Spiny Shell specifically homes in on the person in first place.
In Mario Kart, the blue shell targets only the leader of the race. Being in first means that player is likely to be hit with the shell, which may cause them to fall out first.
What excites me the most is the Super Horn, a new item that can destroy incoming items--including the dreaded blue shells ...
Because there are few things more frustrating than being in first place for an entire race, only to fall to eighth at the last moment because of a well-timed blue shell smacking you right in the noggin.
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: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)Defining moment: When you've used a mushroom to dodge an incoming spiny shell.