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 (volume 10) (1994) |
The Hippo[1] is an ally in Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins. It is a big, statue-like animal encountered in 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.
The Hippo appears in Super Mario-kun volumes 9 and 10. It helps Mario, Carrot and Yokkī reach the Space Zone, but the Unibo pop their bubbles. The Hippo comes to life and arrives to help them by defeating the Unibo and creating one last bubble that takes them to space. The Hippo reaches them with a rocket (much to the three heroes' frustration) and guides them through the Space Zone. Later, it accompanies them to Wario's Castle, explains the function of the Golden Coins and turns back into a statue. After defeating Wario with an electric bomb, the castle is destroyed, so Mario builds a new one out of the Hippo itself, much to his and the freed Mario Land inhabitants' joy.
In the Kodansha manga series, Hippo is a fabled space hero, summoned when a star-missile falls on its statue in Super Mario Land 2 - 6-tsu no Kinka 2. It helps Mario and friends catch up to Warudeijī, reveals what had happened to her moral compass, and sends Mario, Luigi, and Peach to space with its bubbles. It later reaches them, alongside the King and Toad on a newly made space ship, using its bubbles to save Daisy and the Tatanga-seijin from suffocating in an oxygen-deprived area created by Tatanga. In the next volume, Hippo and the other allies aid Mario during the final battle by shining the Golden Coins together to cast "hope light" on Mario. In the after-story, Hippo has become King Mario's assistant, helping him trace the Bowser Missile Wario is using to threaten Mario Land. By the end of the story, Mario and Luigi realize they are not fit to rule Mario Land, and pass the crown to Hippo, promising to return once they are ready to rule a kingdom.
Gallery[edit]
Sprite
Screenshot
Hippo as the new Mario's castle in Super Mario-kun volume 10
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | カバ[2] Kaba |
Hippo | |
| ヒポポンの像[3] 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) | ||
| ヒポポン[4]:153 Hipopon |
Hipopon[4]:171 | ||
| German | Nilpferd[5] | Hippo | |
| Italian | Ippopotamo[6][7] | Hippopotamus | |
| Statua di Hippo[8] | Hippo's Statue | Super Mario Bros. Encyclopedia | |
| Swedish | Flodhäststaty[9] | Hippopotamus statue |
References[edit]
- ^ 1992. Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins instruction booklet. Nintendo of America (English). Page 16.
- ^ 1992. Super Mario Land 2: 6-tsu no Kinka instruction booklet. Nintendo (Japanese). Page 11.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b Sawada, Yukio (December 16, 1993). Super Mario-kun Volume 9. Shogakukan (Japanese). ISBN 4-09-141769-5.
- ^ Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins Spieleanelitung. Nintendo of Europe (German). Page 17.
- ^ 1993. Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins manual. Italian. Page 15-16.
- ^ Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (Virtual Console) e-manual. Nintendo (Italian). Page 12.
- ^ November 15, 2018. Super Mario Bros. Enciclopedia. Magazzini Salani (Italian). ISBN 889367436X. Page 78.
- ^ Lindberg, Gunnar, Tobias Bjarneby, and Nokolaj Lindberg, editors (1993). Nintendo-Magasinet Is. 4 (Vol. 25). Borås: Yapon Videospel (Swedish). Page 4.
