Bumper
- This article is about the rebounding object in the Super Mario franchise. For other uses of the term "Bumper", see Bumper (disambiguation).
| Bumper | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 A Bumper in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe | |||
| First appearance | Pinball (1984) | ||
| Latest appearance | Super Mario Party Jamboree (2024) | ||
| |||
Bumpers[1][2] are semi-recurring objects within the Super Mario franchise, based directly on the objects of the same name in pinball machines. Usually round or cylindrical, they bounce away characters and other objects upon contact, and therefor may often appear as obstacles to avoid. They are typically stationary, although some may move around.
History[edit]
Pinball / VS. Pinball[edit]
In Pinball and VS. Pinball, Bumpers are objects that bounce the ball back upon contact with them. They appear in every scene of the game. When the ball touches a bumper, it gets knocked back, and the player earns 100 points. In VS. Pinball, touching bumpers in scene B earns 300 points. Bumpers appear in three different colors: pink, yellow, and blue. Additional dark blue and green types of bumpers appear only in VS. Pinball after activating a bonus, replacing the pink and yellow bumpers respectively. In total, there are six bumpers:
- In scene A, a single pink bumper appears at the upper part of the screen above the slot targets.
- In scene B, there are three bumpers: two pink bumpers and one yellow bumper. They appear below the lanes next to cards.
- The final two blue bumpers appear in scene C, the Bonus Stage. They are found to the left and right from bingo lamps.
Super Smash Bros. series[edit]
- SmashWiki article: Bumper
Bumpers appear as items in Super Smash Bros., Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate; in Super Smash Bros. Melee, the Bumper is replaced by the Flipper. In the original Super Smash Bros., it falls to the ground when thrown, causing only one percent of damage to players who bump into it and causing weak knockback. As of Brawl, Bumpers can also float in midair when thrown (making it possible to use them as deterrents for opponents trying to recover) and only damage players hit by the initial throwing. They no longer move if bumped into, although the knockback is far greater, and it increases as the target's damage increases.
In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U, Bumpers have a new design: the outer part is silver instead of blue, and the central part is red with a yellow Super Smash Bros. symbol. This design is also used in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
In the original Super Smash Bros., there is also a Bumper floating above the Peach's Castle stage; this Bumper retains its original appearance and damage properties in the stage's return in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U (DLC) and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Yoshi Touch & Go[edit]
In Yoshi Touch & Go, bumpers are round, orange obstacles that appear in the Sky Area, where they bounce Baby Mario away on contact. Bumpers only appear during Time Attack mode, in which many of them appear as the primary obstacle to impede Baby Mario's progress to the Ground Area and waste time.
Mario Kart series[edit]
Bumpers appear in the Mario Kart series as obstacles in the final stretch of Waluigi Pinball, a course in Mario Kart DS, Mario Kart 7, Mario Kart Tour, and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Like the bumpers on real-world pinball machines, they bounce away players and metal balls opposite the direction they were approached by. Some bumpers are stationary, while others move around in a circle. In Mario Kart DS and Mario Kart 7, the stationary bumpers are blue and cyan, while the moving ones are magenta. However, in Mario Kart Tour and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, they all light up in multiple colors. If a player lands on top of a bumper, they will perform a Jump Boost.
In Mario Kart DS, there are creme mounds in Tart Top that function like the bumpers but with the added property of applying a pink icing to the player's screen, similar to a Blooper's ink.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder[edit]
Small, blue-and-gold octagonal objects that act like bumpers appear sporadically throughout one course of Super Mario Bros. Wonder. In Shining Falls Special Triple Threat Deluge, these bumper-like objects are shown after the player is affected by the course's Wonder Effect of walking on walls, and bounce away any character or object that comes into contact with them, including the large Spike Balls thrown into the course by the Lakitu trio in the background. Much like the Shikaku Trampolines that also appear in this course, players can jump on top of these bumpers for extra height after the Wonder Effect is subsided.
Super Mario Party Jamboree[edit]
In Super Mario Party Jamboree, three bumpers are interactive parts in the Showdown minigame Waluigi's Pinball Arcade, placed in the upper half of the pinball board. When a pinball bounces into one of these, the player is awarded three points, which is doubled to six points if the disco ball is active.
Profiles and statistics[edit]
Super Smash Bros. Brawl[edit]
| Trophy Bumper | ||
| ||
| Appears in: N64 Super Smash Bros. Wii Super Smash Bros. Brawl | ||
| How to unlock: Hit a total of 15,000 ft. / 5,000 m in Home-Run Contest | ||
| An item that originally appeared in Super Smash Bros. on the Nintendo 64. After many years, it now makes its triumphant return. Bumpers are used in pinball to send balls flying, and they perform the same role in Smash Bros. They react to anything that touches them, including the people who set them. As they can also be set in midair, using them requires good tactics. | ||
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U[edit]
| Trophy Bumper | ||
3DS: Wii U: 
| ||
| Category: Item | ||
( ) Appears in:N64 Super Smash Bros. (04/1999) Wii U Super Smash Bros. for Wii U | ||
| How to unlock: Random | ||
| Ah, pinball... What a fun game. And with this item, you can add a bit of pinball wham to the battlefield. Once thrown, this item will bounce anything that comes near it violently away. Just don't get careless and walk into a deployed one yourself, or you'll get bounced too! (American English) | ||
| You might recognise this from a pinball machine. Just like the metal balls do, touch one of these and you'll go flying! You can throw them, but we'd suggest affixing them strategically so that they hit just the right people and send them soaring into the distance. Job done. (British English) | ||
Gallery[edit]
Pinball (pink)
Pinball (yellow)
Pinball (blue)
Super Smash Bros.
Super Smash Bros.
Super Smash Bros.
Mario Kart DS (blue)
Mario Kart DS (pink)
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
Mario Kart Tour
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | バンパー[3] Banpā |
Bumper | Pinball / Super Smash Bros. series |
| Chinese (simplified) | 反弹器[?] Fǎntán qì |
Bumper | |
| Chinese (traditional) | 反彈器[?] Fǎntán qì |
Bumper | |
| German | Bumper[?] | Bumper | |
| Italian | Respingente[?] | Bumper | |
| Russian | Бампер[?] Bamper |
Bumper | |
| Spanish | Bumper[?] | - |
References[edit]
- ^ 1985. Pinball instruction booklet. Nintendo of America (American English). Page 5.
- ^ "ROAD HAZARDS section. BUMPERS: When you touch a bumper, it knocks you away. Some bumpers are mobile, so keep your eyes open." – von Esmarch, Nick (December 4, 2011). Mario Kart 7 PRIMA Official Game Guide. Prima Games (American English). ISBN 978-0-307-89384-0. Page 130.
- ^ 1984. ピンボール (Pinbōru) instruction booklet. Nintendo (Japanese). Page 5.
- Hazardous objects
- Mario Kart 7 objects
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe objects
- Mario Kart DS objects
- Mario Kart Tour objects
- Pinball
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder objects
- Super Smash Bros. items
- Super Smash Bros. Brawl items
- Super Smash Bros. Brawl trophies
- Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U items
- Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS trophies
- Super Smash Bros. for Wii U trophies
- Super Smash Bros. series objects
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate items
- Yoshi Touch & Go
