Melon Bug
A Melon Bug
Artwork from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
First appearance Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (1995)
Latest appearance Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3 (2002)
Variants

Melon Bugs[1] are allies in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island and its remake. These harmless, pill bug-like creatures bounce up and down, but when Yoshi gets too close, they roll up into balls, which resemble melons, hence their name. If Yoshi gets close enough, he can eat them and then spit them out, causing them to roll across the ground, destroying any enemies in their path. Alternatively, they can be swallowed to create an egg.

Profiles and statisticsEdit

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's IslandEdit

  • Player's Guide: These feisty hoppers transform from bug to melon and back again. Eat them anytime to make an egg.[1]
  • Shogakukan guide: 近づくと、身を守ろうとして玉になる。転がして敵をやつつけたりできるので便利。[2](When you get close to it, it turns into a ball to protect itself. It is useful because you can roll it around and kill enemies with it.)

Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3Edit

  • Shogakukan guide: 近づくと玉になって転がってくるが、ふれても痛くないし、タマゴで倒すこともできる。食べてはき出せば、敵を倒しながら転がって行くぞ。[3](When you get close to it, it turns into a ball and rolls around, but it doesn't hurt when you touch it, and you can knock it down with an egg. If you eat it and then expel it, it will roll away while defeating your enemies.)

GalleryEdit

Names in other languagesEdit

Language Name Meaning Notes
Japanese ころがりくん[2][3]
Korogari-kun
「転がり」(korogari, "roll") with the honorific「くん」(-kun)
German Lotter Lisa[4] Potentially from lottern ("to wobble")

NotesEdit

  • Melon Bugs were originally designed for Super Donkey, a prototype game connected to Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. Their sprites in this prototype depict them with bright green skin, antennae, and shoes, as well as large eyes with visible sclerae.[5] Sprites later in development, found in a leaked build of Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island from December 6, 1994, retain the large eyes but feature the mint green skin and red antennae & shoes seen in the final game.[6] Official artwork for the Melon Bugs amalgamates elements of these two designs, being mostly similar to the December 6, 1994 prototype's sprites but retaining the more saturated skin color from the Super Donkey sprites.

ReferencesEdit

  1. ^ a b Miller, Kent, and Terry Munson (1995). Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island Player's Guide. Nintendo of America (American English). Page 128.
  2. ^ a b Okeya, Noriko, Mitsuharu Orihara, and Yuji Kigen, editors (1995). 『スーパーマリオヨッシーアイランド任天堂公式ガイドブック』. Tokyo: Shogakukan (Japanese). ISBN 4-09-1025-234. Page 6.
  3. ^ a b Watanabe, Takashi, Noriko Oketani, Mitsuharu Orihara, Tatsuhiko Mizutani, and Yasushi Nakahara, editors (2002). 『スーパーマリオアドバンス3任天堂公式ガイドブック』. Tokyo: Shogakukan (Japanese). ISBN 4-09-106071-4. Page 16.
  4. ^ Menold, Marcus, John D. Kraft, and Thomas Görg, editors (1995). Der offizielle Nintendo Spieleberater "Super Mario World 2 – Yoshi's Island". Großostheim: Nintendo of Europe GmbH (German). Page 17.
  5. ^ Salad Plain Zone (July 24, 2020). the d'onkey. YouTube. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  6. ^ TCRF. Development:Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island/Sprites#Melon Bug. The Cutting Room Floor (English). Retrieved November 12, 2021.