Mario Clash

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This article is about the Virtual Boy game Mario Clash. For the microgame of the same name, see Mario Clash (microgame).
Mario Clash
Mario Clash
American box art.
For alternate box art, see the game's gallery.
Developer Nintendo R&D1
Publisher Nintendo
Platform(s) Virtual Boy
Release date Japan September 28, 1995
USA October 1, 1995
Genre Platformer
Rating(s)
ESRB:K-A - Kids to Adults
Mode(s) Single-player
Media
Virtual Boy:
Game Pak
Input
Virtual Boy:

Mario Clash is a game released for the Virtual Boy in 1995. It is also the first 3D stereoscopic Super Mario game. The game is a return to the style of the original Mario Bros., but is single-player only.

Story[edit]

Story from the instruction booklet

The Clash House Tower has been invaded by bad guys! It's up to Mario to clear them out, throwing Koopa shells to knock them away. Take care as you battle in dangerous rooms of narrow ledges connected by pipes.

The game's introduction shows a skull-marked blimp depositing several passengers to an enormously tall tower, followed by a similarly skull-marked flag being raised atop the tower. The scene then pans down to the ground, where Mario enters the door, labeled "Clash Tower" above its entrance.

Gameplay[edit]

Mario battles Thornies by throwing Turtle Shells from the foreground to the background.

Each level consists of two layers, a foreground and a background, that are connected by Warp Pipes. When Mario enters the stage through the rope, he can decide which layer to start in. Each layer may have two floors or floating platforms between the two floors. Later levels will have slippery frozen platforms.

To beat each level, Mario must knock targeted enemies off the stage before the Time Limit. Stomping on Koopas will provide Mario with his only weapon, their Turtle Shells. There are always two Koopas; if one gets knocked off, another one takes its place. Enemies and thrown shells can travel through the pipes. Many enemies need to be hit from the side to stun them, thus Mario must throw shells from the background to the foreground and vice-versa in order to hit them but the shell will be lost if he misses. It is also possible to ricochet off of multiple enemies this way. Stunned targets can be dispatched by kicking them or throwing a shell at them again. However, all stunned enemies can recover, including the Koopa he is holding. Also, the last target of each level will move faster. Stunning a target is worth 100 points while dispatching one is worth 500. Defeating multiple enemies with a single throw will give bonus points.

The game allows the player to select any of the first 40 levels to start. After clearing all 99 levels, the game loops back to Level 1 but all the enemies move faster. There is no true ending but reaching the maximum number of points (999,999) will award the player with a cutscene. Between some levels is the Bonus Chance where Mario can collect coins for extra points or get an extra life. The other method of getting extra lives is to accrue enough points. When this is achieved, a 1UP sign will fly across the screen. If Mario hits it with a shell, he will get a second extra life. This sign won't show up if the threshold is crossed during Bonus Chance. It is also impossible to hit if it appears after Mario defeats the last target. There is no save function and high scores are not recorded.

Enemies[edit]

Target
Enemy Name Debut Information
Sprite of a Spike from Mario Clash Spike Level 1 Single-spiked turtles that can be defeated with a single shell collision from any angle.
Sprite of a Thorny from Mario Clash Thorny Level 3 Triple-spiked turtles that can only be stunned by hitting their sides.
Sprite of a Para-Goomba from Mario Clash Para-Goomba Level 6 Slow hopping enemies that can only be stunned by hitting their sides.
Sprite of a Lobb from Mario Clash Lobb Level 9 Wheeled tank-like contraptions that throw iron balls at Mario strong enough to stop a shell, and can only be stunned by hitting their sides.
Sprite of a Sidestepper from Mario Clash Sprite of a Sidestepper from Mario Clash Sidestepper Level 11 Irritable crabs that must be hit in the front or back to damage them, with them first facing the side, then facing the screen.
Sprite of a Snake from Mario Clash Snake Level 13 Reptiles that slowly bloat up before spitting a single egg, which hatches into another snake; the snakes can only be stunned by hitting their sides, and the eggs are destroyed by any sort of contact from Mario or a shell.
Sprite of a Big Boo from Mario Clash Big Boo Level 15 Ghosts that fly in a wavy pattern, occasionally becoming transparent, and can only be stunned by hitting their sides when not transparent.
Sprite of a Pokey from Mario Clash Pokey Level 17 Three-segmented cacti that can regenerate their lower segments; if just a head, they can only be stunned by hitting their sides, but when one is the final enemy, it moves extremely quick.
Miscellaneous
Enemy Name Debut Information
Sprite of a Koopa from Mario Clash Sprite of a Koopa after coming out of a stun from Mario Clash Koopa Troopa Level 1 Infinitely spawning paired enemies that can be jumped on unlike other enemies, allowing Mario to use their shells as projectiles.
Sprite of a Fire from Mario Clash Fire Level 1 Spinning fireballs that spawn if Mario stays on the same level too long, moving with a simple wavy pattern, but can be destroyed with a shell.
Sprite of an Ice from Mario Clash Ice Level 12 Icicles that spawn from ceilings in icy levels and can be destroyed with a shell, though they shatter upon hitting the ground anyway.

Items[edit]

  • Mushroom - after defeating 30 target enemies, a mushroom will exit from a pipe. Collecting this will initiate Fever Time, which makes Mario's throw strong enough to defeat all enemies on contact and points are doubled. Losing a shell or losing a life will end Fever Time.
  • Coin - in Bonus Chance, collecting them is worth 300 points each and there's an extra life awarded for collecting all of them.

Cameos[edit]

Cameos from other Super Mario series characters appear in a Nintendo border after every 100,000 points scored. In the Bonus Chance, Luigi, Princess Toadstool, Yoshi, and Toads appear in the bleachers.

Score Cameo Screenshot
100,000 points Mario saying "Good!" MarioClashCameo1.png
200,000 points Toad saying "Great!" MarioClashCameo2.png
300,000 points Yoshi saying "Wonderful!" MarioClashCameo3.png
400,000 points Luigi saying "Marvelous!" MarioClashCameo4.png
500,000 points Wario saying "Superb!" MarioClashCameo5.png
600,000 points Princess Toadstool saying "Fantastic!" MarioClashCameo6.png
700,000 points Bowser saying "Astonishing!" MarioClashCameo7.png
800,000 points Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr. saying "Amazing!" MarioClashCameo8.png
900,000 points A group photo of Mario, Luigi, and Toadstool saying "Incredible!!" MarioClashCameo9.png
999,999 points An enemy cast roll holding white flags under the text "All right, that's it- you win!" MarioClashCameo10.png

Staff[edit]

Main article: List of Mario Clash staff

Pre-release and unused content[edit]

The original title screen of Mario Bros. VB, with a screenshot of the 2D gameplay below
The original title screen of Mario Bros. VB, with a screenshot of the 2D gameplay below
The original title screen of Mario Bros. VB, with a screenshot of the 2D gameplay below

Mario Clash was originally a mini-game[1] which was seen in VB Mario Land, an unreleased Virtual Boy game which was shown at the Winter Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, 1995.[2] The game Mario Bros. VB itself was a earlier version of Mario Clash. It was shown as a demo game at the Shoshinkai expo in Japan, which took place on November 15th and 16th, 1994.[3][4]

The Electronic Entertainment Expo in May 1995 revealed that the Mario Bros. minigame (which was previously known to be included in the VB Mario Land demo), was now being developed as a stand-alone game titled Mario Clash, which was planned to be released as a launch title for the Virtual Boy.[5] For unknown reasons, there were no further reports of VB Mario Land being developed.

Reception[edit]

The game received mixed reviews. ScrewAttack named this video game "The second worst Super Mario video game of all time", while other reviews were more positive. The Video Game Critic gave it an A and called it a "must have for Virtual Boy owners".

References in later games[edit]

Gallery[edit]

For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Mario Clash.

Media[edit]

Video.svg Mario Clash - Mario Bros. VB was first revealed at Shoshinkai 1994, where it was shown to be based on the classic Mario Bros..
File infoMedia:Mario Bros VB-E3 1994.ogv
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Names in other languages[edit]

Language Name Meaning
Japanese マリオクラッシュ
Mario Kurasshu
Mario Clash

References[edit]