Electric rail

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Electric rail
SMG2 Electric Fence Close Up.png
A close-up of an electric rail in the Flip-Swap Galaxy in Super Mario Galaxy 2
First appearance Super Mario Strikers (2005)
Latest appearance Mario Strikers: Battle League (2022)

Electric rails[1] or power lines[2] are barriers of electrical energy that appear in the Super Mario franchise.

History[edit]

Mario Strikers series[edit]

Donkey Kong on an electric rail in Super Mario Strikers.
An electric rail in Super Mario Strikers

In Super Mario Strikers, Mario Strikers Charged, and Mario Strikers: Battle League, electric rails appear around all of the soccer fields except for Thunder Island, in which they only appear at the corners. If players get tackled into the fence, they will be shocked temporarily. The fence cannot be seen; it is transparent until players run into it. Some options allow for either electric rails to be disabled or it to shock the player if they even go near the fence.

Mario Party series[edit]

Mario Party 8[edit]

Power Trip from Mario Party 8
An electric rail grid in Power Trip

In the Mario Party 8 minigame Power Trip, an electric rail grid is seen underneath the main platform.

Mario Party 9[edit]

In Mario Party 9, an electric rail surrounds the ring in the minigame Bumper Sparks.

Super Mario series[edit]

Super Mario Galaxy[edit]

Mario in the Flipswitch Galaxy
Electric rails in Flipswitch Galaxy

Electric rails appear in Super Mario Galaxy in Good Egg Galaxy, Flipswitch Galaxy, Sweet Sweet Galaxy, Battlerock Galaxy, Ghostly Galaxy, Bowser Jr.'s Airship Armada, Toy Time Galaxy, Sand Spiral Galaxy, Deep Dark Galaxy, Dreadnought Galaxy and Bubble Blast Galaxy, where they occasionally move horizontally throughout the galaxy and shock Mario and Luigi if contact is made. They appear in green and red. There are also beams of electricity in Dreadnought Galaxy that act similarly to electric rails. They are used to defeat Spiky Topmen and Spring Topmen. If Mario or Luigi lose a life from an electric rail, they will turn into a skeleton, but there is a small chance of staying as normal. This effect is also seen briefly, if the player looks closely, when Mario and Luigi take damage after hitting one. In some galaxies, they can be deactivated by stepping on Flipswitch Panels, hitting a Spiky Topman with a spin attack into them, defeating it as well, or defeating an Undergrunt Gunner. No matter which way the camera faces, the reflection on the spheres that make them up shown is always exactly the same.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii[edit]

An electric rail in New Super Mario Bros. Wii

Electric rails are found in World 6-Airship in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, where they are used in the second airship battle against Bowser Jr. The player must knock Bowser Jr. into the fence three times in order to win. However, if Mario and his friends are pushed into the rail, they will take damage.

Super Mario Galaxy 2[edit]

Electric rails in Super Mario Galaxy 2

In Super Mario Galaxy 2, green electric rails appear in Flip-Swap Galaxy, Bowser's Lava Lair, Space Storm Galaxy, Upside Dizzy Galaxy, Bowser Jr.'s Boom Bunker, Clockwork Ruins Galaxy, Bowser's Galaxy Generator and Grandmaster Galaxy, while red ones only appear in Bowser Jr.'s Fearsome Fleet. They retain their function and effect from the previous game, but Mario will no longer turn into a skeleton if he loses a life from an electric rail.

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze[edit]

In Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, a single electric rail can be found among some pendulums in Precarious Pendulums.

Gallery[edit]

Names in other languages[edit]

Language Name Meaning
Japanese ビリビリレール
Biribiri rēru
電線でんせん
Densen
Shocking rail

Electric line

Italian Elettrorotaia[3]
Electric-rail
Spanish Raíl eléctrico
Electric rail

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "So try and remember how to control a bubble! Just watch out for those electric rails." — Phil Board in "The Electric Labyrinth", Super Mario Galaxy
  2. ^ "The power lines are keeping me from helping my friend!" — Luma in "Revenge of the Topman Tribe", Super Mario Galaxy
  3. ^ Super Mario Bros. Enciclopedia; pag. 137