Ball Hop
The Ball Hop is a Bros. Move in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team. The move is taught to Mario and Luigi by Big Massif and Lil' Massif on their second visit to Mount Pajamaja. Big Massif and Lil' Massif also call it the "Super-beef-muscle-flex-ultra-special-double-ab-crunch-jump". It took 25 years for them to create it. Ball Hop can be seen as the spiritual successor to the moves High Jump and Tickle from Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (and its 3DS remake) while visually referring back to Bros. Ball from Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time.
This move used by first pressing until the action icon cycles to two curved arrows. Either or starts the move, with Luigi jumping onto Mario and having both of them curl into a single ball. If there is not enough space above the Bros. for this jump, Ball Hop is unable to start.
While in a ball, the Bros. bounce continuously. However, Ball Hop can only bounce in place or move a fixed distance in a cardinal direction. The trajectory is determined with the while the ball is grounded. (As in, pressing a direction while airborne has no effect on the arc.) By pressing or again, the Bros. split up and stand again. However, the move cannot be cancelled during the initial bounce of Ball Hop.
The jumps that the ball make are higher than normal, enabling the Bros. to reach higher places or get over certain obstacles. The fixed jump arcs make it useful for moving across small platforms that are difficult to land on with the Bros.'s default movement. It is also used for Ring Puzzles, where Mario and Luigi must jump through rings in ball form without touching the same space again. When starting Ball Hop close to a Ring Puzzle, Mario will slide into a set position so as to align Ball Hop's jumps. Ball Hop is featured in Ding-a-Ring, a minigame based on going through rings while avoiding landing in any space more than once.
Ball Hop cannot pass through scene transitions. When the Bros. enter one, the move will end, then they walk through. If Ball Hop lands on an enemy, Mario performs the First Strike.
Names in other languages[edit]
Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
French (NOE) | Saut ballon[?] | Ball jump | |
German | Prall-Ball[?] | Plump Ball | |
Portuguese | Saltimbola[?] | Ball Jump, may be a pun on the Italian dish saltimbocca |