Electric rail
| Electric rail | |
|---|---|
 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 | Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2 (2025) |
Electric rails[1] or power lines[2] are barriers of electrical energy in the Super Mario franchise.
History[edit]
Mario Strikers series[edit]
In Super Mario Strikers and Mario Strikers Charged, 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 Strikers: Battle League added variety of designs of electric rails and fence posts as a part of Strikers Club customization options, although it only affects the appearance in online plays. Each stadium has eight fence designs, with one being unlocked by default and the remaining seven can be purchased using tokens earned from season matches. The electric rails are now also clearly visible, having unique patterns lit upwards.
Mario Party series[edit]
Mario Party 8[edit]
An electric rail grid is seen underneath the main platform in Power Trip, a minigame in Mario Party 8.
Mario Party 9[edit]
An electric rail surrounds the ring in Bumper Sparks, a minigame in Mario Party 9.
Super Mario series[edit]
Super Mario Galaxy[edit]
A distinct type of electric rail appears in Super Mario Galaxy and its Nintendo Switch port as a common hazard. They appear as lines of electricity that can be either red or green, with a small yellow sphere on each end. No matter which way the camera faces, the reflection on the spheres is always exactly the same.
Electric rails can appear individually or in groups, connected in series, in parallel, or in mixed configurations. Some rails remain stationary, while others move along a fixed path. Among the moving rails, all red ones and some green ones continuously travel along a closed route, whereas other green rails are cyclically generated from a fixed point within an area. In the latter case, the two yellow spheres at the ends initially appear close together before separating to form an electric rail between them. Once they reach their maximum length, the spheres move in a specific direction; upon reaching the end of their path, the rail gradually contracts as the two ends move back together and eventually disappear.
As can be expected, electric rails shock Mario (or Luigi) on contact, dealing one unit of damage. If Mario or Luigi loses a life from an electric rail, he will turn into a skeleton, but there is a small chance of staying as normal.[citation needed] This effect is also seen briefly when Mario or Luigi receive damage from an electric rail. Besides Mario and Luigi, electric rails can also damage and defeat Spiky Topmen, Spring Topmen and Topmaniac, provided the player knocks them into the rail. In some galaxies, the electric rails can be deactivated by stepping on Flipswitch Panels, hitting a Spiky Topman into them, or defeating an Undergrunt Gunner.
A different type of electric rail appears in the very first mission, "Grand Star Rescue", at each end of slow-moving platforms that circle round areas, with the electricity flowing between two prongs resembling the tip of an electric cattle prod; green platforms appear outside the planet, while orange ones appear inside, though the electricity itself is green in both cases.
Besides the above mentioned "cattle prod" type, electric rails appear in the following list of galaxies and missions. If no mission is stated, electric rails appear during all missions:
- Good Egg Galaxy ("King Kaliente's Battle Fleet";immobile)
- Flipswitch Galaxy (mobile)
- Sweet Sweet Galaxy (immobile)
- Battlerock Galaxy (immobile ones appear in all missions but "Battlerock's Garbage Dump"; mobile ones appear in "Breaking into the Battlerock" only)
- Ghostly Galaxy ("Beware of Bouldergeist"; immobile)
- Bowser Jr.'s Airship Armada (immobile)
- Toy Time Galaxy ("Mario Meets Mario", "The Flipswitch Chain"; both)
- Sand Spiral Galaxy (immobile)
- Deep Dark Galaxy ("Bubble Blastoff"; immobile)
- Dreadnought Galaxy: (immobile ones appear in all missions; mobile ones appear in "Revenge of the Topman Tribe" and "Topman Tribe Speed Run")
- Bubble Blast Galaxy (both)
New Super Mario Bros. Wii[edit]
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]
In Super Mario Galaxy 2, electric rails return with the same function and effect from the predecessor. Unlike in the first game, there are no platforms equipped with electric rails. Most electric rails are green, with the only red ones appearing as part of Bowser Jr.'s Fearsome Fleet's glass sphere frames.
As in the first game, they may appear in limited numbers and move along a closed path, or be generated infinitely from one point before disappearing at another. In Bowser's Lava Lair, stationary green electric rails appear, generated by three pairs of Bowser Statues located near the end of the area. Initially, the statues in each pair face the screen, but when Mario or Luigi approach close enough, their eyes glow red and the statues turn toward each other, generating an electric rail that connects their mouths.
Mario will no longer turn into a skeleton if he loses a life from an electric rail unless the player's shock animation is interrupted by a Spiky Topman on the frames in which the skeleton is visible.
Electric rails appear in the following list of galaxies and missions. If no mission is stated, electric rails appear during all missions:
- Flip-Swap Galaxy (mobile)
- Bowser's Lava Lair (immobile, generated by Bowser Statue)
- Bowser Jr.'s Fearsome Fleet ("Bowser Jr.'s Mighty Megahammer"; immobile)
- Space Storm Galaxy (immobile ones appear in all missions, mobile ones appear in "Follow Me, Bob-omb" and "C'mere, Topman")
- Upside Dizzy Galaxy (immobile)
- Bowser Jr.'s Boom Bunker (immobile)
- Clockwork Ruins Galaxy ("The Ledge Hammer Trap"; immobile)
- Bowser's Galaxy Generator (immobile)
- Grandmaster Galaxy (both immobile and mobile)
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze[edit]
In Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze and its Nintendo Switch port, a single electric rail can be found among some pendulums in Precarious Pendulums.
Gallery[edit]
Screenshot from Super Mario Galaxy
The platform type surrounding a room in Super Mario Galaxy
Electric rails in Super Mario Galaxy 2
Bowser Statues creating electris rails in Super Mario Galaxy 2
Electric rails in Bumper Sparks in Mario Party 9
Luigi being electrocuted in Mario Strikers: Battle League's opening cutscene
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Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ビリビリレール[?] Biribiri rēru |
Shocking rail | |
Densen |
Electric line | ||
| French | Barrière électrique[3] | Electric barrier | |
| Italian | Filo elettrico[4] | Electric wire | |
| Elettrorotaia[5] | Electric-rail | ||
| Spanish | Raíl eléctrico[?] | Electric rail |
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ "So try and remember how to control a bubble! Just watch out for those electric rails." – Phil Board (2007). Super Mario Galaxy. "The Electric Labyrinth": Nintendo (English).
- ^ "The power lines are keeping me from helping my friend!" – Luma (2007). Super Mario Galaxy. "Revenge of the Topman Tribe": Nintendo (English).
- ^ Super Mario Galaxy, Le Guide Officiel. Prima Games, page 105
- ^ «I fili elettrici sono d'ostacolo e non riesco a salvare il mio amico!» – Luma (2007). Super Mario Galaxy. "Revenge of the Topman Tribe": Nintendo of Europe GmbH (Italian).
- ^ November 15, 2018. Super Mario Bros. Enciclopedia. Magazzini Salani (Italian). ISBN 889367436X. Page 137.
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