Fire Snake

(Redirected from Fire Snakes)
Fire Snake
Model of a Fire Snake from New Super Mario Bros. U.
Model from New Super Mario Bros. U
First appearance Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988)
Latest appearance Mario Kart World (2025)
Relatives
Comparable

Fire Snakes[1][2] (earlier formatted as Firesnakes,[3] though "Fire Snake" was in use initially[4]) are long snake-like creatures with bodies made up of flames following heads resembling the sentient Fireballs from Donkey Kong. They have appeared as uncommon enemies in several games of the Super Mario franchise, mostly in desert-themed levels.

HistoryEdit

Super Mario seriesEdit

Super Mario Bros. 3Edit

Firesnakes first appear in Super Mario Bros. 3 in Desert Land. If a Firesnake sees Mario, it begins to chase him by bouncing and trying to collide with him. A Firesnake can only be defeated by either being hit by a Shell or Hammer, by having Mario touch it while he is invincible, by being hit by Mario's tail as either Raccoon Mario or Tanooki Mario, or a stomp from Statue Mario. He can also lead them into a pit. They flash when being defeated, and like other enemies that flash on defeat (Bloobers with kids, Scattering Bloobers, and Fire Chomps), they respawn if their spawn point is brought off-screen and then back on-screen.

In the original NES version, Firesnakes do not have eyes, whereas they have them in Super Mario All-Stars and Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3.

Super Mario WorldEdit

In Super Mario World, an obstacle of the same name appears in the Special Zone course Outrageous. As it hops along, it leaves behind small, indestructible fires that fade away after a few seconds.

New Super Mario Bros.Edit

Fire Snakes also appear as uncommon enemies in New Super Mario Bros. in World 2-5. These Fire Snakes try to attack Mario by chasing him while bouncing, like in Super Mario Bros. 3. The Fire Snakes of New Super Mario Bros. can be defeated by a Shell or by being touched by Invincible Mario or Mega Mario. Like in Super Mario Bros. 3, they can fall into an abyss and reappear up to two times after a few seconds. They are depicted with eyes similar to re-releases of Super Mario Bros. 3.

New Super Mario Bros. WiiEdit

 
Two Fire Snakes enlarging their heads in New Super Mario Bros. Wii

Fire Snakes reappear in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, acting like they did in New Super Mario Bros., but with a new ability. After several hops, their heads enlarge, then go back to normal size. They only appear in World 2-3 and can be defeated with a Star or ice balls.

New Super Mario Bros. 2Edit

Fire Snakes reappear in New Super Mario Bros. 2. This time, they also appear in lava-themed levels, and behave the same as they do in New Super Mario Bros. They appear in World 2-4 and World  Star-7.

New Super Mario Bros. U / New Super Luigi U / New Super Mario Bros. U DeluxeEdit

Fire Snakes reappear in New Super Mario Bros. U, acting exactly as in New Super Mario Bros. Wii. They have their own level called Fire Snake Cavern located in Layer-Cake Desert in which they are very common alongside the Fire Bros, and can now be eaten by any Baby Yoshi. Fire Snakes are also pushed back if Mario uses a Glowing Baby Yoshi. Fire Snakes also appear in New Super Luigi U, where they appear infrequently in Light-Up-Lift Tower. Both roles are reprised in New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe.

The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3Edit

 
A Firesnake in the episode "Princess Toadstool for President" from The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3

Firesnakes make a few minor appearances in The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3. In "Princess Toadstool for President", Mario and Luigi end up in Dark Land and while there, they get ambushed by many enemies, including a Firesnake. In "Crimes R Us", the Koopalings break in to the Mushroom Kingdom Treasury, using a Chain Chomp to open the barred window, a Ptooie to blast a hole in the wall, and a Firesnake to bust a hole in the roof. In "Recycled Koopa", a Koopa Zombie attacks Luigi with three Firesnakes which get out of his case.

Nintendo Adventure BooksEdit

In Double Trouble, a swarm of Firesnakes can be encountered in the Koopahari Desert if Mario decides to take a shortcut to Fort Koopa. Depending on how an accompanying puzzle is solved, Mario either dodges and escapes them, or is sent running after being singed twice, losing his Super Mushroom in the process. Far fewer Firesnakes can be encountered on the main road to Fort Koopa, and Mario can easily avoid them.

Two Firesnakes appear as competitors in the International Mushroom Games in Leaping Lizards, being members of a team called the Sneaks. During the Beetlebowl, an all-team game, they may (depending on whom the reader chooses as their offensive line) leap into the middle of the ring when the event begins and flare up, blinding everyone nearby besides Roy Koopa and their Rocky Wrench teammate, due to their sunglasses. When one of the Firesnakes grabs a Hoopster and tries to dunk it into the Mushroom Kingdom Royals's bucket, Mario unintentionally stops it when the Mushroom King (who had been turned into a rabbit) hops by, causing him to sneeze and blow the Firesnake out. What other events the Firesnakes compete in besides the Beetlebowl are unspecified.

In Koopa Capers, Wendy O. Koopa, needing some Firesnake scales for a potion she is brewing, captures several and locks them in a freezing cave in the Magma Pits, causing them to enter a catatonic state and begin shedding.

Yoshi's SafariEdit

 
Firesnakes in Yoshi's Safari sport a unique light-blue design

Two Firesnakes appear as mini-bosses in Yoshi's Safari. They are defeated by blasting them with the Super Scope repeatedly. These Firesnakes are uniquely composed of a string of blue Podoboos, and they wind around rapidly like an actual snake, albeit through the air, rather than jump. The Firesnakes are destroyed one segment at a time, with each becoming a normal orange Podoboo and leaping at Yoshi upon taking enough damage.

Mario Kart seriesEdit

Mario Kart DSEdit

In Mario Kart DS, Fire Snakes appear on Desert Hills, where they are fired from the Angry Sun in the sky and hop along the track for a short time. The Fire Snakes in this game do not have eyes. If a racer comes into contact with one, they spin out.

Mario Kart WiiEdit

Fire Snakes appear on two courses: Desert Hills from Mario Kart DS and Grumble Volcano. In Grumble Volcano, they are found near the end hopping out of pipes on the side of the course.

Mario Kart 8 / Mario Kart 8 DeluxeEdit

Fire Snakes reappear in Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as obstacles for the racers on Wii Grumble Volcano, which returns from Mario Kart Wii.

Mario Kart WorldEdit

 
A Fire Snake in Mario Kart World

Fire Snakes appear in Mario Kart World in DK Spaceport where they jump out of oil drums in place of Fireballs from the original Donkey Kong. While no actual Fire Snakes appear directly on Desert Hills, murals of them can be found on the course. Actual Fire Snakes appear in a cave on the path between Desert Hills and Shy Guy Bazaar, as well as some of the volcanic areas near Bowser's Castle and Dry Bones Burnout.

Other appearancesEdit

In the premade world for the Super Mario Mash-Up Pack in Minecraft, 3D pixel art of a Fire Snake appears in the desert.

GalleryEdit

ArtworkEdit

Sprites and modelsEdit

ScreenshotsEdit

MiscellaneousEdit

Names in other languagesEdit

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 Notes
Japanese ファイアスネーク[5][6][7]
Faia Sunēku
Fire Snake
Chinese (simplified) 火焰蛇[8]
Huǒyàn Shé
Flame Snake
Chinese (traditional) 火焰蛇[9]
Huǒyàn Shé
Flame Snake
Dutch Vuurslang[10] Firesnake
French Serpent de feu[10][11] Fire Snake
German Loderschlange[12][13] Blazesnake
Feuerschlange[14][15] Firesnake Super Mario Bros. 3
Italian Vampaserpe[16][13] Fom vampa ("flame") and serpe ("snake")
Serpente di fuoco[17] Fire snake Super Mario Bros. 3
Korean 파이어스네이크[18][8]
Paieo Seuneikeu
Fire Snake
불 뱀[19]
Bul Baem
Super Mario Bros. 3
Portuguese (NOA) Serpente-de-fogo[20] Fire Serpent
Cobra de Fogo[21] Fire Cobra Super Mario Bros. 3
Portuguese (NOE) Serpente de Fogo[13] Fire Serpent
Russian Огненный змей[13]
Ognennyy zmey
Fiery Snake
Spanish (NOA) Brincaliente[22] Portmanteau between brincar ("to bounce") and caliente ("hot")
Spanish (NOE) Fogolina[23] Portmanteau between fogoso ("fiery") and potentially gasolina ("gasoline"), in reference to the oil drums they leap from
Serpiente de Fuego[24] Snake of Fire Super Mario Bros. 3

NotesEdit

  • Fire Snakes were written into the desert sequence of the Super Mario Bros. film, but were cut for unknown reasons. Scripts state that they "[...]resemble moray eels, their mouths filled with pointed piranha-like teeth," and that "They gnaw through the skin, burrow into the body cavities, and lay their larvae. It can take weeks for the host to die." Earlier scripts had given this description to "Sand Eels" which similarly did not appear in the final product. In the final cut, a neon sign labeled "Fire Snake" can be seen during the establishing shot of Dinohattan.

ReferencesEdit

  1. ^ June 1990. Nintendo Power Volume 13. Nintendo of America (American English). Page 9.
  2. ^ von Esmarch, Nick (2012). New Super Mario Bros. 2 PRIMA Official Game Guide. Prima Games (American English). ISBN 978-0-307-89552-3. Page 30.
  3. ^ 1990. Super Mario Bros. 3 instruction booklet. Nintendo of America (American English). Page 35.
  4. ^ March/April 1990. Nintendo Power Volume 11. Nintendo of America (American English). Page 13.
  5. ^ 1988. 『Super Mario Bros. 3 取扱説明書』 (PDF). Kyoto: Nintendo Co., Ltd. (Japanese). Page 36.
  6. ^ Itoi, Shigesato, Ryo Kagawa (APE), Hideaki Nishitani, Masatoshi Watanabe, Koichi Sugiyama (Supersonic), Junichiro Okubo, and Shigeo Tanabe (Shogakukan), editors (1993). 『任天堂公式ガイドブック スーパーマリオコレクション』. Tokyo: Shogakukan (Japanese). ISBN 4-09-102444-0. Page 186.
  7. ^ Sakai, Kazuya (ambit), kikai, Akinori Sao, Junko Fukuda, Kunio Takayama, and Ko Nakahara (Shogakukan), editors (2015). 『スーパーマリオブラザーズ百科: 任天堂公式ガイドブック』. Tokyo: Shogakukan (Japanese). ISBN 978-4-09-106569-8. Page 37, 115, 146, 196, 211.
  8. ^ a b In-game name for Fire Snake Cavern in New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe.
  9. ^ 硝煙瀰漫!火焰蛇跳跳隧道」– Mission description (2025). Mario Kart World by Nintendo EPD. Nintendo (Traditional Chinese).
  10. ^ a b 1991. Super Mario Bros. 3 Handleiding / mode d'emploi. Großostheim: Nintendo of Europe GmbH (Dutch, French). Page 41.
  11. ^ Loe, Casey (2006). New Super Mario Bros., le guide de stratégie officiel. Hamburg: Future Press (French). ISBN 3-937336-61-3. Page 11.
  12. ^ 2010. Super Mario All-Stars Bedienungsanleitung. Großostheim: Nintendo of Europe GmbH (German). Page 28.
  13. ^ a b c d In-game name for Fire Snake Cavern in New Super Mario Bros. U.
  14. ^ 1991. Super Mario Bros. 3 Spielanleitung. Großostheim: Nintendo of Europe GmbH (German). Page 35.
  15. ^ Matsumoto, Atsuko, Rie Ishii, and Claude Moyse, editors (1992). Der Spieleberater Super Mario Power. Großostheim: Nintendo of Europe GmbH (German). ISBN 3-929034-02-6. Page 15.
  16. ^ 2010. Super Mario All-Stars – Edizione per il 25° Anniversario Manuale di Istruzioni. Großostheim: Nintendo of Europe GmbH (Italian). Page 28.
  17. ^ 1991. Super Mario Bros. 3 Libretto d'Istruzioni. Großostheim: Nintendo of Europe GmbH (Italian). Page 35.
  18. ^ 2010. "슈퍼 마리오 컬렉션". Seoul: Nintendo of Korea Co., Ltd. (Korean). Page 30. Retrieved from Naver.
  19. ^ 1990. "슈퍼 마리오 브라더즈 3 사용 설명서". Icheon: Nintendo Co., Ltd. (Korean). Page 25. (Archived 29 Mar. 2007 via Naver by togepi1125.)
  20. ^ "Evite as Serpentes-de-fogo no túnel!" – Mission description (2025). Mario Kart World by Nintendo EPD. Nintendo (Brazilian Portuguese).
  21. ^ 1993. Super Mario Bros. 3 Manual de Instruções. Nintendo (Brazilian Portuguese). Page 35.
  22. ^ "¡Evade a los Brincalientes del túnel!" – Mission description (2025). Mario Kart World by Nintendo EPD. Nintendo (Latin American Spanish).
  23. ^ "¡Sortea las Fogolinas en el túnel!" – Mission description (2025). Mario Kart World by Nintendo EPD. Nintendo (European Spanish).
  24. ^ 1991. Super Mario Bros. 3 Manual de Instrucciones. Großostheim: Nintendo (European Spanish). Page 35.