Bat (animal)
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| Bat | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Sprite from Mario Kart 64 | |||
| First appearance | Virtual Boy Wario Land (1995) | ||
| Latest appearance | Donkey Kong Bananza (2025) | ||
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Bats are flying mammals that commonly appear as ambient creatures in dark or haunted-themed areas, though sometimes they can be directly interacted with. They sometimes appear in the same game as more stylized bats, such as Swoops, Fangs, and Flipflaps. Several variants of bats take on specific designs contained in various game series such as those found in Luigi's Mansion, Mario vs. Donkey Kong, and Super Mario Galaxy games; these would have their own variants such as gold bats and ice bats. Others have alternate names as simply "bats" such as ComBats and the aforementioned Flipflaps and Fangs.
History[edit]
Virtual Boy Wario Land[edit]
Interactive bats make their first appearance in the extended Super Mario franchise in Virtual Boy Wario Land, where they appear in the two between-stage minigames and very closely resemble Demon Bats from the game's predecessor, Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3. In the Heart Game, they fly across the screen and must be dodged while collecting Hearts, while in the Coin Game, they carry Party Balls. The doors to the minigames each have a bat over them which wakes and starts flapping when approached; the one over the coin game has a unique happy expression. Additionally, if Wario gets a Game Over, a bat steals all the treasures Wario has collected so far.
Mario Kart series[edit]
Mario Kart 64[edit]
Bats,[1] also referred to as Mad Bats,[2] appear in Mario Kart 64 as obstacles on Banshee Boardwalk. They are encountered in the abandoned house area in particular, where clouds of them fly out from a coffin and a fireplace. Unlike with other obstacles in the game, hitting bats simply causes the racer to slow down rather than spin out, while the bats disappear in a star-like effect. They are not present in time trials of the course, likely due to the fact that time trials in the game are invalidated by hitting walls or obstacles, with the bat cloud being so thick as to be fairly difficult to avoid the bats.
In the Mario Kart DS iteration of the course, the bats are replaced by Swoops. Unlike the generic bats, the Swoops are present in the Time Trial mode, likely due to this game not having the issue of hitting obstacles negating record-keeping.
Mario Kart World[edit]
Bats appear as ambient creatures in the background of Boo Cinema in Mario Kart World.
Donkey Kong franchise[edit]
Donkey Kong Country (board book)[edit]
Looking for ten bats in the Lost Mines is an activity for the sixth puzzle in the board book for Donkey Kong Country.
Donkey Kong 64[edit]
Ambient bats, alongside the enemy Flipflaps, which are formerly referred to as "bats" until their name change in DK: King of Swing, are ambient creatures found in the various caves of Donkey Kong 64. They come in four colors: purple, brown, and blue. They fly away when approached. They can be found in DK Isles, Jungle Japes, and Crystal Caves.
Donkey Kong Bananza[edit]
In Donkey Kong Bananza, a few bats fly out of the tunnel at the beginning of Ingot Isle Cave-In. Some dark-blue bats with gemstones hang on terrain in the Lava Lake Walkway area of the Tempest Layer. They fly away when Donkey Kong approaches.
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga[edit]
Bats are hazards in the Mysterious Mine Carts minigame from Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga and its remake. They appear in level 2 at certain points, initially found hanging on stalactites, and give chase to Mario. If they touch Mario, they deduct three diamonds. They can be scared off with Mario's flashlight, and they turn red while scared off.
Mario Party 6[edit]
Bats can be seen screaming and flying away from the giant boulder in the minigame Granite Getaway from Mario Party 6. Three flocks of them appear as players progress through the stone temple. They are replaced by Swoops in the Super Mario Party Jamboree version of the minigame.
WarioWare series[edit]
WarioWare: D.I.Y.[edit]
Purple bats appear when the player loses a microgame during Mona's excursion in a temple in WarioWare: D.I.Y.. They also appear in the microgame Idol Hands, where players have to avoid touching them while trying to touch the golden idol.
WarioWare: Gold[edit]
A minigame in WarioWare Gold hosted by Ashley and Red, Copycat Mirror, has bats holding parchment showing the Form. Ashley fights off several bats with magic in the demon realms.
Super Mario Odyssey[edit]
Flocks of bats can be seen flying in the sky of the Ruined Kingdom in Super Mario Odyssey.
Princess Peach: Showtime![edit]
Yami no Yūrei Kenshi can summon phantom Sour Bunch bats from the wall in a straight trajectory in the boss battle for Princess Peach: Showtime!. Swordfighter Peach can either damage the bats or avoid them.
Gallery[edit]
Donkey Kong 64 (purple)
Donkey Kong 64 (brown)
Donkey Kong 64 (purple)
Donkey Kong 64 (blue)
A black bat in Donkey Kong Bananza
A dark-blue bat in Donkey Kong Bananza
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Note(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | コウモリ Kōmori | Bat | [3] | |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 蝙蝠 Biānfú (Mandarin) Pīnfūk (Cantonese) | Bat | [4] |
References[edit]
- ^ 1997. Mario Kart 64 instruction booklet (PDF). Nintendo of America (American English). Page 33.
- ^ July 1997. Nintendo Magazine System (AU) Issue #52. Page 41.
- ^ 1996. マリオカート
64 (Mario Kāto Rokujūyon) instruction booklet (PDF). Nintendo (Japanese). Page 33. - ^ 2003. 《马力欧卡丁车 使用手册》. Suzhou: iQue (Simplified Chinese). ISBN 7-900381-05-8. Page 33.
