Blow Hard
- This article is about the enemy from the Yoshi series. For the similarly named Duel Board from Mario Party 3, see Blowhard.
| Blow Hard | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Artwork from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island | |||
| First appearance | Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (1995) | ||
| Latest appearance | Yoshi's New Island (2014) | ||
| Variant of | Pokey (projectile) | ||
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Blow Hards[1] are static Pokey relatives in the Yoshi series that fire smaller yellow Pokeys. They always face Yoshis and have a blinking crosshair to tell where they are firing. Any solid objects and platforms can stop their projectiles. Blow Hards are nearly invincible, but a Yoshi can pound the ground nearby or throw an egg at them to temporarily knock them out; however, they wake up a few seconds later.
History[edit]
Yoshi series[edit]
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island / Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3[edit]
Blow Hards make their first appearance in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island as semi-common enemies. They appear on floors and ceilings, and upon alerting a Yoshi, they will begin to shoot projectile Pokeys at him. They can be defeated entirely with a blue watermelon or red watermelon. They first appear in the level The Baseball Boys and reappear in Marching Milde's Fort, Raphael The Raven's Castle, Scary Skeleton Goonies!, The Cave Of The Bandits, and KEEP MOVING!!!!. In the remake Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3, Blow Hards also appear in "Exercise in the Skies". Although Blow Hards spit yellow Pokeys, their artwork depicts them spitting green ones instead. In the Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3 Player's Guide's Enemy Encyclopedia section, Blow Hards are listed under the "Projectilia Ritebakatchia" subheader.[2]
Yoshi's Island DS[edit]
Blow Hards reappear in Yoshi's Island DS, maintaining their appearance and behavior from the previous game, although they are now more common. They first appear in the level Return of the Moving Chomp Rock! and reappear in Yikes! Boiling Hot!, Moving Statues, Standing Statues, In the Clouds, The Fort of Moltz the Very Goonie, The Cave That Never Ends, Find the Number Ball!, Superhard Acrobatics!, At Last, Bowser's Castle!, and Yoshi's Island Easter Eggs. Two variants known as Drool Hard and Hanging Blow Hard also appear. In the Island Museum, a Blow Hard, along with its variants, appears in the botanical-enemy exhibit.
Yoshi's New Island[edit]
Blow Hards reappear in Yoshi's New Island, maintaining their behavior but with a slight difference, as their projectiles now travel more slowly. Their appearance also presents differences; they now gain a white protrusion on their lower right side, which is consistent with their original artwork. Blow Hards now appear as uncommon enemies, appearing in only two levels of the entire game: Diagonal Valley Rally and Underground Pokey Patrol. In Diagonal Valley Rally, only two Blow Hards appear near the end of the level, where they hinder the player from getting two Red Coins and a Smiley Flower. In Underground Pokey Patrol, Blow Hards, alongside Pokeys and heading Pokeys, are the main enemies in the level, appearing throughout the entire course.
Super Mario (Kodansha manga)[edit]
Blow Hards appear in chapter two of the Kodansha's Super Mario manga, Super Mario: Yoshi Island 2. After Baby Mario is told to return to Yoshi's Island by Grunt at the gates of hell, he proceeds to go back when suddenly a group of Blow Hards appears and shoots Needlenoses at him. Baby Mario calls for Yoshi's help before remembering he is on his own. The Grunt explains that he cannot always rely on others to progress, but that he can always find an ally. Baby Mario then spots an Egg Plant and uses the eggs it spawns to defeat the Blow Hards, leaving them stunned.
Super Mario-kun[edit]
In stage 6 of the volume 14 of Super Mario-kun, a group of Blow Hards along with a group of Fooly Flowers is seen attacking the heroes following Kamek's orders, with the objective of stealing a money bag and Baby Mario. After Mario accidentally angers a Flutter by ripping a flower that belonged to it, the Flutter, in its rage, attacks both the heroes and Bowser's Minions present, including the group of Blow Hards. Additionally, a Blow Hard makes a cameo appearance in stage 6 of volume 15. It appears alongside two Piranha Plants, a Propeller Piranha, and a Needlenose in the tunnel that Yoshi had made while transformed into the Mole Tank.
Profiles[edit]
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island / Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3[edit]
- Shogakukan guide: サボテンを吐き出すが、命中率はいまひとつ。タマゴをぶつけたり、近くでヒップドロップをすれば気絶する。[3] (It spits out cacti, but the hit rate is poor. If you hit it with an egg or Pound The Ground near it, it will faint.)
- Player's Guide: They spit prickly seeds with painful accuracy. Stun them with an egg, then dash before they can revive.[1]
- Shogakukan guide (Game Boy Advance version):
近 づくと×印 の照準 が現 れ、サンボをはき出 して攻撃 してくる。倒 すことはできないが、タマゴを当 てたり、近 くでヒップドロップすれば気絶 する。[4] (When you approach it, an X-shaped target appears, and it attacks by spewing out Needlenoses. It cannot be defeated, but if you hit it with an egg or pound the ground nearby, it will be stunned.)
Yoshi's New Island[edit]
- Shogakukan guide:
水玉模様 のサンボ。こちらにカーソルを合 わせてから、爆弾 を飛 ばしてくる。ヒップドロップの衝擊 やタマゴを当 てることで、数秒間気絶 させることができる。[5] (A Pokey with polka dots. After placing its cursor on you, it will send bombs at you. You can stun it for a few seconds by striking it with a Ground Pound shock or an egg.)
Gallery[edit]
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
Yoshi's New Island
Super Mario-kun
Naming[edit]
Blow Hards are named after the slang term "blowhard," meaning "someone who exaggerates about themselves," and referencing their method of attack of spitting Pokeys.
Names in other languages[edit]
The contemporaneous name for each language is listed first. Subsequent names are listed in chronological order for each language, from oldest to newest, and have the media they are associated with in the "notes" column.
| Language | Name | Meaning | Note(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ほうだいサンボ Hōdai Sanbo | Cannon Pokey | [5] | |
| 砲台サンボ Hōdai Sanbo | Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island | [3] | ||
Hōdai Sanbo | [6][4] | |||
| German | Spuck-Piranha | Ptooie Piranha | [7] |
References[edit]
- ^ a b Miller, Kent, and Terry Munson. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island Player's Guide. Page 126.
- ^ Williams, Drew (2002). Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3 Player's Guide. American English. ISBN 1-930206-25-9. Page 17.
- ^ a b Okeya, Noriko, Mitsuharu Orihara, and Yuji Kigen, editors (1995). 『スーパーマリオヨッシーアイランド任天堂公式ガイドブック』. Tokyo: Shogakukan (Japanese). ISBN 4-09-1025-234. Page 5.
- ^ a b Watanabe, Takashi, Noriko Oketani, Mitsuharu Orihara, Tatsuhiko Mizutani, and Yasushi Nakahara, editors (2002). 『スーパーマリオアドバンス3任天堂公式ガイドブック』. Tokyo: Shogakukan (Japanese). ISBN 4-09-106071-4. Page 22.
- ^ a b Iwaya, Kiyotaka, Tatsuhiko Mizutani, Yasuyuki Kato, Junko Fukuda, Kunio Takayama, and Yasushi Nakahara (Shogakukan), editors (2014). 『ヨッシー New アイランド 任天堂公式ガイドブック』. Tokyo: Shogakukan (Japanese). ISBN 978-4-09-106542-1. Page 25.
- ^ Takahashi, Kotaro, editor (1995). 『スーパーマリオヨッシーアイランド全百科 オールカラー版』. Tokyo: Shogakukan (Japanese). ISBN 4-09-281140-3. Page 59. Retrieved from Internet Archive. (Archived via Ragey0.)
- ^ Menold, Marcus, John D. Kraft, and Thomas Görg, editors (1995). Der offizielle Nintendo Spieleberater "Super Mario World 2 – Yoshi's Island". Großostheim: Nintendo of Europe GmbH (German). Page 17.
| Pokeys | |
|---|---|
| Characters | Mega Paper Macho Pokey • Mummipokey • Punkey the Pokey Prince • The Pokey Triplets • Tower Power Pokey |
| Variants | Big Pokey • Blow Hard • Cactus Jack • Dark Pokey • Drool Hard • Green Pokey • Hanging Blow Hard • Mad Pokey • Poison Pokey • Pokey • Pokey (heading) • Pokey (projectile) • Pokey Head • Pokey Mummy • Pokey Pom • Pokeynut • Pokeyplant • Seedy Pod • Skellokey • Snow Pokey • Spiked Fun Guy (Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island) • Spiky Snifit • Toothy |
