Ground-Pound Switch
| Ground-Pound Switch | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Artwork from Super Mario Galaxy | |||
| First appearance | Super Mario Galaxy (2007) | ||
| Latest appearance | Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2 (2025) | ||
| |||
A Ground-Pound Switch[1] (also spelled Ground Pound Switch[2] and ground-pound switch[3][4]) is a recurring object within 3D installments of the Super Mario series. As the name implies, player characters can use Ground-Pound Switches by ground-pounding them, affecting something within the environment.
History[edit]
Super Mario Galaxy[edit]
Ground Pound Switches are first seen in Super Mario Galaxy and its Nintendo Switch port. Upon Mario or Luigi pressing one of these switches, a variety of things can happen, mainly making Star Bits or coins appear. There are also timed Ground Pound Switches, tree stumps that have similar effects, and gray Ground Pound Switches that make walls fall down, making other areas accessible.
Super Mario Galaxy 2[edit]
Ground-Pound Switches are also shown in Super Mario Galaxy 2, having the same functions like in the first game. Ground-Pound Switches appear in Rightside Down Galaxy, the Puzzle Plank Galaxy, the Cosmic Cove Galaxy, Bowser's Lava Lair, Cloudy Court Galaxy, Starshine Beach Galaxy, the Chompworks Galaxy, Shiverburn Galaxy, and Boo Moon Galaxy. There is also a new function for Ground-Pound Switches in this game. If Mario or Luigi ground-pounds one of the switches, the screen turns grayscale, and the environment and enemies on the respective planet slow down greatly. This new function appears in the Space Storm Galaxy, Clockwork Ruins Galaxy, and Stone Cyclone Galaxy, and it is useful in avoiding stage hazards that would be impossible to dodge otherwise.
Super Mario Odyssey[edit]
Ground-Pound Switches reappear in Super Mario Odyssey. One Ground-Pound Switch can be found in the Lost Kingdom, and it creates some walls for Mario to wall-jump to the Rocky Mountain Summit when ground-pounded. Another one can be found on top of a skyscraper in the Metro Kingdom. Ground-pounding the switch causes a platform to temporarily appear, allowing access to another building. Four Ground-Pound Switches are also found around the Seaside Kingdom, each one guarded by a cage that can be opened only by collecting the Power Moon next to it. Ground-pounding these switches uncorks the Sparkle Water fountains to allow Mario to fight Mollusque-Lanceur. These switches also appear in a sub-area in the aforementioned kingdom and the Ruined Kingdom. Several Ground-Pound Switches also appear in the Underground Moon Caverns in the Moon Kingdom, where they are used to activate moving platforms. According to the brochure for the Lost Kingdom, the symbol on Ground-Pound Switches originated there in ancient times.[5] This symbol also appears on some enemies, such as Stairface Ogres and Astro-Lanceurs.
Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury[edit]
In the Bowser's Fury campaign of Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury, Ground-Pound Switches reappear and are colored purple. Activating them either causes a Cat Shine and platforms leading to it to appear for 20 seconds or causes a battle arena to form around the switch that can only be disabled by defeating every enemy within the arena. Completing such a battle also spawns a Cat Shine. These Cat Shines are telegraphed by corresponding Cat Shine pedestals. In the case of an arena, the barrier fully blocks Fury Bowser's fury blasts. When a Ground-Pound Switch is pressed, Plessie despawns immediately, preventing him from being utilized in a challenge started with a Ground-Pound Switch because Plessie's respawn points are outside of arenas, are in areas where getting on Plessie would not be helpful, or are too far away from timed challenges to reach without forcing the challenge to end early due to Mario moving away. When the Cat Shine created by a Ground-Pound Switch is collected, the terrain that the Ground-Pound Switch creates vanishes. The same occurs if a timed challenge is failed or the player leaves the area where a timed challenge occurs. After Mario has collected the Cat Shine, the Ground-Pound Switch turns gray. It can still be pressed in order to repeat the challenge. However, the Cat Shine tied to the Ground-Pound Switch is transparent when these challenges are repeated. Unlike a normal Cat Shine, the transparent Cat Shine does not have a cutscene, does not repel Fury Bowser, does not add to the total collected Cat Shines, and grants coins, but it does restore Small Mario to Super Mario.
Ground-Pound Switches stay depressed while a timed challenge or arena is present, and reset to normal once the timed challenge or arena disappears without an animation.
The following missions require Mario to hit a Ground-Pound Switch:
- "Hurry! Jump High, Jump Fast!" (switch located near the entrance to Pounce Bounce Isle)
- "Hurry! Watch Your Step!" (switch located on a bridge near the entrance to Trickity Tower)
- "Hurry! Fly through the Frost!" (switch located at the base of Crisp Climb Castle)
- "Hurry! Hop behind the Wall!" (switch located in the middle of some Donut Blocks in Risky Whisker Island)
- "Hurry! Hot Cross Run!" (switch located near the entrance of Roiling Roller Isle)
- "Hurry! Steer the Switchboards!" (switch located near the entrance of Mount Magmeow)
The following Cat Shines that are not part of a mission are collected after Mario hits Ground-Pound Switches:
- "Cold Cove Combat" (switch located on the small area of land below the entrance to Slipskate Slope)
- "Footprint Free-for-All" (switch located to the southwest of the Wasteland Giga Bell)
- "Surprise Prizefight" (switch located on an island directly north of Mount Magmeow)
- "Hurry! Climb the Falls!" (switch located on a tiny island located far west of the Lakeside Giga Bell).
Unlike other mission specific objects, Ground-Pound Switches never vanish if the island they are on is reloaded after their corresponding mission is cleared.
Gallery[edit]
Model from Super Mario Galaxy
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ヒップドロップスイッチ[6] Hippu Doroppu Suitchi |
Hip Drop Switch | |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 臀部撞地開關[7] Túnbù Zhuàng Dì Kāiguān |
Ground Pound Switch | |
| French | interrupteur à charge au sol[9] | Ground Pound Switch | |
| German | Stampfattacken-Schalter[10] | Ground Pound Switch | |
| Italian | Interruttore Schianto a Terra[?] | Ground Slam Switch | |
| Spanish | Interruptor de Salto Bomba[8] | Ground Pound Switch |
References[edit]
- ^ 2010. Super Mario Galaxy 2 instruction booklet. Nintendo of America (English). Page 20.
- ^ 2007. Super Mario Galaxy instruction booklet. Nintendo of America (English). Page 18.
- ^ 2007. Super Mario Galaxy instruction booklet. Nintendo of America (English). Page 12.
- ^ 2010. Super Mario Galaxy 2 instruction booklet. Nintendo of America (English). Page 12.
- ^ Kingdom Brochures. The text reads "A Symbol from Ancient Times: Now seen all over the world, this starburst symbol is thought to have originated on these islands. But what does it communicate? The mystery may never be solved."
- ^ 2007. スーパーマリオギャラクシー (Sūpā Mario Gyarakushī) instruction booklet. Nintendo (Japanese). Page 21.
- ^ 2010. 超級瑪利歐銀河２ (Chāojí Mǎlì'ōu Yínhé Èr) instruction booklet. Nintendo (Traditional Chinese). Page 26.
- ^ 2010. Super Mario Galaxy 2 instruction booklet. Nintendo of America (Latin American Spanish). Page 64.
- ^ 2010. Super Mario Galaxy 2 instruction booklet. Nintendo of America (Canadian French). Page 34.
- ^ Nintendo of Europe GmbH (2007). Super Mario Galaxy Spielanleitung. Frankfurt: Nintendo of Europe GmbH (German). Page 21.
