Grrrol

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Grrrol
Grrrol Artwork
Artwork from New Super Mario Bros. U
First appearance New Super Mario Bros. U (2012)
Latest appearance Mario Kart World (cameo) (2025)
Variants
Relatives
Comparable

Grrrols are spiked stone enemies debuting in New Super Mario Bros. U. Grrrols resemble circular Thwomps with rolling red eyes and a big grin with one tooth missing; the spikes they are surrounded by subtly alternate between lighter and darker shades of gray. They roll around trying to hit the playable characters, and bounce off the walls, themselves, and other solid objects, similar to spiked balls and Spiky Tromps.

History

New Super Mario Bros. U / New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe

Grrrols first appear in New Super Mario Bros. U. Similar to Thwomps, Grrrols are nearly invincible enemies, and only the Super Star has an effect on them, as does hitting the Item or Brick Block they are on from below; this makes them slightly weaker than spiked balls. Grrrols are spawned by specific pipe-like walls, which can make infinite units. They can also defeat any enemy they roll into.

Grrrols first appear in a secret room in the Stoneslide Tower of Layer-Cake Desert. They are found again in the Rock-Candy Mines tower, Grinding-Stone Tower, where they are the main obstacles. This level also introduces Mega Grrrols. In the New Super Luigi U variant, Grrrols appear in the Layer-Cake Desert stage Underground Grrrols as the main obstacles. They also appear in Stone-Snake Tower of Soda Jungle and Smashing-Stone Tower of Rock-Candy Mines.

Mario Party series

Mario Party 10

Hop, Drop, and Roll, from Mario Party 10.
A Grrrol in Mario Party 10

Grrrols reappear in Mario Party 10 as obstacles in the minigame Hop, Drop, and Roll. They are periodically produced by a device on the ceiling, which moves across the screen. After falling on the ground, Grrrols move in a direction until they fall off the ledge. The characters are required to jump over the Grrrols and not get hit, otherwise they lose the minigame.

Super Mario Party

Get Over It minigame from Super Mario Party.
Grrrols in Super Mario Party

Grrrols reappear in Super Mario Party, where they appear as obstacles in the minigames Get Over It and Follow the Money, wherein the former they must be dodged by jumping over them, and in the latter they must be dodged by moving around them (this also has their larger variants). A Grrrol, along with a Wiggler and a group of Chargin' Chucks, appears in Rattle and Hmmm, where it and the other two cause the player's Joy-Cons to rumble. Later, the player must match the subsequent rumbling to the Grrrol or the other two. They may appear as one of the images in Absent Minded.

Super Mario Party Jamboree

Grrrols reappear in Super Mario Party Jamboree in the 1 vs. 3 minigame On-Again, Off-Again where the solo player attempts to use them to eliminate the team players using ON/OFF Switches. Grrrols also appear in the Showdown minigame Jr.'s Jauntlet as one of the possible events where players have to avoid getting hit by them to earn a point.

Mario Kart World

Treaded Grrrols
Treaded Grrrols in Mario Kart World

Tire-like variants of Grrrols called Treaded Grrrols appear in Mario Kart World.

Gallery

Naming

"Grrrol" is a pun on "grrr", a growling or grinding sound, and "roll". Their onomatopeia-based name matches other Thwomp-derived enemies in the Super Mario franchise.

Names in other languages

Language Name Meaning Notes
Japanese ゴロー[1][2]
Gorō
Pun on「ごろごろ」(goro-goro, onomatopoeia for rolling) and possibly "roll", or the given name「五郎」(Gorō); same as the Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 Spike Balls
Chinese (simplified) 刺滚轮[?]
Cì Gǔnlún
Spiky Roller
Chinese (traditional) 刺滾輪[?]
Cì Gǔnlún
Spiky Roller
Dutch Grrrol[?] -
French (NOA) Grrroul[?] Grrrol
French (NOE) Mabroule[3] Pun on maboul ("crazy") and rouler ("to roll")
German Grrroll[4] -
Italian Grollo[5] Portmanteau of grullo ("fool", possibly in reference to their expression) or "growl" and rullo ("roll") or "troll"
Korean 데구르[?]
Degureu
Pun on "데굴데굴" (degul-degul, onomatopoeia for rolling) and "구르다" (gureuda, to roll)
Portuguese Grrroda[6][7] Pun on grrr and roda ("wheel")
Russian Шипокат[?]
Shipokat
Portmanteau of "шип" (ship, thorn) and "покатить" (pokatit, to roll)
Spanish (NOA) Don Machucón[?] From Don Pisotón ("Thwomp") and machucar ("to squash/bruise")
Spanish (NOE) Cróncher[8] Phonetic Spanish spelling of "cruncher"

References

  1. ^ Sakai, Kazuya (Ambit), kikai, Akinori Sao, Junko Fukuda, Kunio Takayama, and Ko Nakahara (Shogakukan), editors (2015). "New Super Mario Bros. U" in『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 4-091065-69-4. Page 209.
  2. ^ New Super Mario Bros. U Channel (December 28, 2012). マリオU 「デザートさばく-砦」 スターコイン3枚目. YouTube (Japanese). Retrieved May 20, 2025.
  3. ^ Chaîne New Super Mario Bros. U (December 28, 2012). New Super Mario Bros. U - Dunes de miel-TOUR - Troisième pièce étoile (Wii U). YouTube (French). Retrieved May 20, 2025.
  4. ^ Kanal New Super Mario Bros. U (December 28, 2012). New Super Mario Bros. U - Sandkuchenwüste-TURM - Dritte Sternenmünze (Wii U). YouTube (German). Retrieved May 20, 2025.
  5. ^ Canale New Super Mario Bros. U (December 28, 2012). New Super Mario Bros. U - Deserto delle torte TORRE - Terza Moneta Stella (Wii U). YouTube (Italian). Retrieved May 20, 2025.
  6. ^ alanzoka (October 18, 2024). MARIO PARTY VOLTOU! - MARIO PARTY: JAMBOREE COM OS INIMIGOS. Youtube. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
  7. ^ Canal New Super Mario Bros. U (December 28, 2012). New Super Mario Bros. U - Deserto Caramelo-TORRE - Terceira Moeda-Estrela (Wii U). YouTube (Portuguese). Retrieved May 20, 2025.
  8. ^ Canal New Super Mario Bros. U (December 28, 2012). New Super Mario Bros. U - Dunas Pasteleras-TORRE - Tercera moneda estrella (Wii U). YouTube (European Spanish). Retrieved May 20, 2025.