Hippo
- Not to be confused with Hoppo.
- This article is about the hippo statue from Super Mario Land 2 - 6 Golden Coins. For the stage also called "Hippo", see Bubble Course.
| Hippo | |
|---|---|
 Artwork | |
| First appearance | Super Mario Land 2 - 6 Golden Coins (1992) |
| Latest appearance | Super Mario-kun ("Final battle!! Complete victory with the power of the partners!") (1994) |
The Hippo[1] is a big hippopotamus statue which acts as an ally in Super Mario Land 2 - 6 Golden Coins. While a statue in the game, in the game guide and manga adaptations, Hippo is stated to be a commemorative statue dedicated to a brave hero of the past who knew how to travel to space.[2] Also, in the manga adaptation, Hippo is entrusted with the Mario Land at the end of the story.
History[edit]
Super Mario Land 2 - 6 Golden Coins[edit]
In Super Mario Land 2 - 6 Golden Coins, Hippo statues can be found in the Bubble Course. The Hippo releases soap bubbles from one of its nostrils when approached by Mario, who can enter the Bubble and "swim" in the air to reach Space Zone.
Super Mario Kodansha manga[edit]
In the third chapter of the Super Mario Land 2 - 6-tsu no Kinka 2 volume of the Super Mario Kodansha manga, a shooting stare lands on the Hippo's statue. Mario and Luigi explain to their friends that Hippo is a famous space hero of their childhood and erected the statue for him, after he retired and moved to the area. While Princess Peach imagines the classic space hero from old sci-fi TV shows, Hippo emerges from the water, and her hopes vanishes. He helps them reach land and also offers them the Poro spaceship he left inside the statue to reach Space Zone, but Warudeijī steals it. Using a magic lens, Hippo also figures out what happened to Daisy by noticing her shoulder devil. Without the spaceship, Hippo gives Mario, Luigi, and Peach some spacesuits and uses his bubbles to send them to the Moon Course.
In the following chapter, during Tatanga's fight, he deprives the area of oxygen out of anger of having lost the chance to marry Warudeijī. While Mario, Luigi, and Peach save themselves with their spacesuits, Daisy and the Tatanga-seijin are left to die, but Hippo arrives with the Mushroom King and Toad, after making a new spaceship and spacesuits, and puts everyone inside a bubble to save them. With his help, Mario defeats Tatanga, and Hippo brings everyone back to Earth.
During the final act of Super Mario Land 2 - 6-tsu no Kinka 3, only Mario and Luigi venture inside Wario's Castle, while the rest of the crew remains outside, until they spot Mario and Wario battling on the rooftop. Bear asks for the allies' help to get rid of Wario's resurrected minions (which would sadly include herself), but even then she suggests them to use the Golden Coins to help Mario. With the reflected light of the coins, the allies give Mario some hopes up for the final showdown and he manages to defeat Wario.
In the after-story, Hippo became King Mario and Luigi's secretary. During the crisis of the Bowser Missile, he monitors the position of the missile. At the end of the chapter, having come to terms they are not fit to be kings, Mario and Luigi give up the shared crown to Hippo, and return to the Mushroom Kingdom, promising to return and rule with wisdom and seriousness once they are ready.
Super Mario-kun[edit]
In Super Mario-kun, Hippo is the last main ally of the arc. Instead of being a separate character from the statue like in the other manga, this time around Hippo has the ability to turn into the statue, but unlike the other inanimate objects that come to life, he still requires oxygen to breathe.
He first appears in chapter 12 of volume 9. After being robbed of the Golden Coins by Tatanga, Mario suggests using the bubbles of the Hippo's statue to reach him to Space Zone. By reciting a magic formula, Mario summons a soap bubble from the statue, but some Unibo pop it up while they are above the sea. Mario and his friends then discover that the Hippo's statue came to life and helps them by creating a fart bubble, and its smell keeps the Unibo away (while also suffucating Mario, Carrot, and Yokkī). They reach Space Zone, where Mario requires a spacesuit to breathe. While battling a No.48, intended on breaking the spacesuit helmet, Hippo arrives and helps Mario deal with the enemy, before also requiring a spacesuit to breathe.
In the next chapter, Hippo uses his mucus as a method of attack, as the space temperature immediately freezes it, allowing Hippo to trap a Tosenbo and interrogate it to know the whereabouts of Tatanga. He then tries to use the same technique on Tatanga, but he skillfully avoids it and he even bests the whole group, sending them back to Earth, but Bowser comes to their rescue by taking back the Golden Coins from him and giving them to Mario as a Christmas present.
In the next volume, Hippo only explains how to use the Golden Coins to enter Wario's Castle. Once Mario, Carrot, and Yokkī enter, Hippo considers his job done and turns back into a statue. In the end, while Mario wins against Wario, Mario's castle gets destroyed, but Mario builds a new one out, using Hippo as the base. While he pretends to be bothered by the unpermitted modification to his body, Hippo appears to be happy being close to his friends.
Gallery[edit]
Sprite
Screenshot
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Note(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | カバ Kaba |
Hippo | [3] | |
| ヒポポンの像 Hipopon no Zō |
A derivation between "hippo" and「~ぽん」(-pon, a cutesy suffix applied to names as a form of endearment) +「像」(zō, statue) | [2] | ||
| ヒポポン Hipopon |
Hipopon[4]:171 |
[4]:153 | ||
| French (Europe) | Hippo | - | [5] | |
| German | Nilpferd | Hippo | [6] | |
| Italian | Ippopotamo | Hippopotamus | [7][8] | |
| Statua di Hippo | Hippo's Statue | Super Mario Bros. Encyclopedia (first edition) | [9] | |
| Statua di Ippopotamo | Hippopotamus statue | Super Mario Bros. Encyclopedia (second edition) | [10] | |
| Swedish | Flodhäststaty | Hippopotamus statue | [11] |
References[edit]
- ^ 1992. Super Mario Land 2 - 6 Golden Coins instruction booklet. Nintendo of America (English). Page 16.
- ^ a b 「勇者ヒポポンの像が、マリオの勇気をたたえてくれる。」("The statue of the hero Hippo recognizes Mario's courage.") – December 20, 1992. 「任天堂公式ガイドブック スーパーマリオランド２ ６つの金貨」 (Nintendo Kōshiki Guidebook – Super Mario Land 2 - 6 Golden Coins). Shogakukan (Japanese). ISBN 4-09-102413-0. Page 42.
- ^ 1992. Super Mario Land 2 - 6-tsu no Kinka instruction booklet. Nintendo (Japanese). Page 11.
- ^ a b Yukio Sawada (25 Jan. 1994). Super Mario-kun Volume 9. CoroCoro Comic (Japanese). ISBN 4-09-141769-8.
- ^ 1992. Super Mario Land 2 - 6 Golden Coins Instruction Booklet / mode d'emploi. Großostheim: Nintendo of Europe GmbH (French, Dutch). Page 57. (Archived via Notipix.)
- ^ Super Mario Land 2 - 6 Golden Coins Spieleanelitung. Nintendo of Europe (German). Page 17.
- ^ 1992. Super Mario Land 2 - 6 Golden Coins Manuale di istruzioni. Großostheim: Nintendo of Europe GmbH (Italian). Page 15-16.
- ^ 2011. Super Mario Land 2 - 6 Golden Coins (Electronic Manual). Nintendo of Europe GmbH (Italian). Tab 12.
- ^ Sakai, Kazuya (ambit), kikai, Akinori Sao, Junko Fukuda, Kunio Takayama, Ko Nakahara (Shogakukan), and Marco Figini, editors (2018). "Super Mario Land 2 - 6 Golden Coins" in Super Mario Bros. Enciclopedia. Translated by Marco Amerighi. Milan: Magazzini Salani (Italian). ISBN 889367436X. Page 78.
- ^ Sakai, Kazuya (ambit), kikai, Akinori Sao, Junko Fukuda, Kunio Takayama, Ko Nakahara (Shogakukan), and Marco Figini, editors (2025). "Super Mario Land 2 - 6 Golden Coins" in Super Mario Bros. Enciclopedia (2nd ed.). Translated by Alessandro Apreda. Milan: Magazzini Salani (Italian). ISBN 979-1259575760. Page 78.
- ^ Lindberg, Gunnar, Tobias Bjarneby, and Nokolaj Lindberg, editors (1993). Nintendo-Magasinet Is. 4 (Vol. 25). Borås: Yapon Videospel (Swedish). Page 4.
