Mighty Meteor
| Mighty Meteor | |
|---|---|
 
| |
| BP/SP/CP needed | 8 |
| BP/SP/CP needed (remake) | 20/22 (Normal/Easy) |
| Location | Toadley Clinic |
| First appearance | Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story (2009) |
| Latest appearance | Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey (2018) |
| Bowser's Inside Story description | Dash with   ! Press and hold  or  to build up power, and release to swing!Target: All (random) Bonus effect: POW down |
| Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey description | Dash by pressing left or right on  ! Press and hold  or  to build up power, and release to swing!Target: Random. Effect: POW down. |
Mighty Meteor is a Bros. Attack that appears in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story and its remake, Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey. This attack costs 8 SP to use in the original, and 20 BP (22 BP on Easy) in the remake. It can be obtained at the Toadley Clinic after Dr. Toadley combines the three Star Cures to create the Miracle Cure. Once the Miracle Cure is used to cure all infected Toads from the blorbs, Dr. Toadley tells Mario and Luigi that he has something else to give that his intern at the front desk has. If Mario and Luigi talk to the intern, she gives all 10 clinic Attack Pieces at once, which instantly unlocks Mighty Meteor. Despite it appearing that Mighty Meteor is required to advance the story to leave the clinic, nothing is stopping the player from choosing not to collect it, making Mighty Meteor optional.
Mighty Meteor is very similar to the Smash Egg Bros. Item from Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time. Both attacks involve striking an object into an enemy, causing it to fly back into the air and fall before it is struck again. Both attacks also reward an item when completed, though a reward from Smash Egg is not guaranteed, while a reward from Mighty Meteor is guaranteed.
Attack[edit]
The attack starts with Mario or Luigi pulling out a small meteor before it flies directly upward and off the screens. Mario then positions himself on the right-hand side of the arena, while Luigi positions himself on the left-hand side, leaving the enemies in the middle of the arena between the brothers. Both brothers pull out their hammers, then the meteor, now much bigger, begins falling at an angle toward Mario or Luigi. The brother the meteor is falling toward can be moved with 
/ to line up with the meteor's trajectory, then for Mario or for Luigi is held to begin charging up a hammer swing. Once the hammer is charged, the button is released to swing the hammer and hit the meteor, where it then targets and hits a random enemy, knocking the meteor back upward, continuing and repeating the attack. Once the attack finishes after hitting the meteor enough times, the meteor bursts open and rewards Mario and Luigi with a consumable item. If Mario or Luigi fails to hit the meteor with the hammer, then it will hit the ground, shatter, and the attack will end early while not rewarding an item.
There are many details to this attack, as well as details that were changed from the Nintendo DS original to the Nintendo 3DS remake:
- When charging a hammer swing, there are different charge levels if the button is held down for longer. Damage dealt is dependent on the charge level of the hammer swing used to hit the meteor. The number of charge levels of version-dependent.
- In the Nintendo DS original, the hammer has three charge levels: the initial swing, after the hammer flashes for the first time, and after the hammer flashes a second time.
- In the Nintendo 3DS remake, the hammer only has two charge levels. The initial swing charge level was removed, causing a hammer charge to directly go to the first flash, then the second flash.
- The maximum number of times the meteor can be hit is version-dependent.
- In the Nintendo DS original, the meteor hits up to five times. If all enemies are defeated before all five hits happen, then the attack ends early and the item reward is given.
- The first meteor hit gives an OK rating, the second hit gives an OK rating, the third hit gives a Good rating, the fourth hit gives a Great rating, and the fifth hit gives an Excellent rating.
- In the Nintendo 3DS remake, the meteor hits up to four times. It is not possible for the last enemy left in the battlefield to be defeated until the attack hits the maximum number of times, allowing an Excellent rating to always be obtained.
- The first meteor hit gives an OK rating, the second hit gives a Good rating, the third hit gives a Great rating, and the fourth hit gives an Excellent rating.
- In the Nintendo DS original, the meteor hits up to five times. If all enemies are defeated before all five hits happen, then the attack ends early and the item reward is given.
- Rules regarding the angle the meteor falls at is version-dependent.
- In the Nintendo DS original, the meteor falls at a random angle to a position behind the brother who needs to hit it. While the meteor is unable to fall directly down, it is at most able to fall at a roughly 45 degree angle toward the ground. The angle range the meteor is able to fall at effectively requires movement to be able to hit it back.
- In the Nintendo 3DS remake, randomness for the angle the meteor falls at was completely removed and replaced with the meteor always falling the same way each time the attack is done. The first two meteor hits can always be done with no movement, while the last two meteor hits can always be done with roughly one second of backwards movement.
- Rules regarding the speed the meteor falls at is version-dependent.
- In the Nintendo DS original, each time the meteor is hit into the enemy and falls again, it falls faster. This causes the attack to become more difficult as it progresses.
- In the Nintendo 3DS remake, the meteor's falling speed does not appear to change as the attack progresses.
- Rules regarding which brother is picked to hit the meteor is version-dependent. This matters because the attack power of the brother who hits the meteor is used to calculate the damage.
- In the Nintendo DS original, every time the meteor needs to be hit, Mario or Luigi is randomly picked. This can cause the attack to have high damage variance if it picks the weaker brother more than the stronger brother.
- In the Nintendo 3DS remake, Mighty Meteor picks Mario or Luigi to hit the meteor first, then every successive meteor hit alternates between them. This means that in an Excellent attack, each brother will hit the meteor twice. This causes the damage of the attack as a whole to be more consistent.
- The meteor can inflict POW down to struck enemies. The strength of the effect is version-dependent.
- In the Nintendo DS original, Mighty Meteor can inflict a 0.75× POW Down effect. This causes afflicted enemies to deal 25% less damage.
- In the Nintendo 3DS remake, Mighty Meteor can inflict a 0.5× POW Down effect. This causes afflicted enemies to deal 50% less damage.
- Compared to the Nintendo DS original, Mario and Luigi move slower with when positioning themselves before a hammer swing in the Nintendo 3DS remake. While this change makes it easier to do smaller, more precise adjustments, the usefulness of this change is questionable due to the meteor now falling at the same non-random angles each time the attack is done.
- In the Nintendo 3DS remake, Mighty Meteor inflicts hammer-type damage. This causes Mighty Meteor to deal critical hits to enemies weak to the hammer; the only enemies this applies to are Mawful Moles and Metal Mawful Moles.
- In the Easy Mode exclusive to the Nintendo 3DS remake, the meteor falls slightly slower, giving more time to line up the hammer swing.
There are some cosmetic details of the attack that were changed from the Nintendo DS original to the Nintendo 3DS remake:
- In the Nintendo DS original, failing the attack by letting the meteor hit the ground will show the item reward in the debris of the meteor. In the Nintendo 3DS remake, the item reward is not shown if the attack is failed.
- In the Nintendo 3DS remake, the falling meteor uses a 3D model, and the "?" icon on the meteor was completely removed.
- In the Nintendo 3DS remake, getting an item reward causes the meteor to burst into confetti while playing an arrangement of the last few notes of the "Course Clear" fanfare from Super Mario Bros..
Item rewards[edit]
At the end of a successful Mighty Meteor, an item is awarded. The Nintendo DS original and Nintendo 3DS remake use completely different systems and tables of items to determine what the item reward will be.[1] In both versions of the game, Mighty Meteor's item rewards still happen during boss fights at the Gauntlet, which can be exploited to effectively get more items than intended for those fights.
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story item rewards[edit]
In Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, Mighty Meteor's item reward system involves Mario and Luigi's average level. Both Mario and Luigi's levels are added together, divided by two, then rounded down to the nearest whole number. The average level obtained is then used to determine what table of item rewards and chances to use, listed below.[1] These tables of item rewards were likely intended to upgrade at the same time as the rank ups to Shell Rank (level 6), Shine Rank (level 18), and Star Rank (level 25), but due to an off-by-one error, the item reward tables upgrade only after Mario and Luigi's average level is one level higher than the corresponding rank up.[1]
Notably, there is a table of items and chances for an average level of 1 through 6. This table of item rewards is impossible to see in normal gameplay because of a combination of EXP gained from required fights and Mighty Meteor being obtained near the end of the game.[1]
| Image | Name | Chance |
|---|---|---|
|
Mushroom | 41% |
|
Super Nut | 9% |
|
Supersyrup Jar | 20% |
|
1-Up Mushroom | 30% |
| Image | Name | Chance |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Super Mushroom | 41% |
|
|
Ultra Nut | 9% |
|
|
Ultrasyrup Jar | 20% |
|
|
1-Up Mushroom | 30% |
| Image | Name | Chance |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Ultra Mushroom | 41% |
|
|
Max Nut | 20% |
|
Star Candy | 9% |
|
|
1-Up Deluxe | 30% |
| Image | Name | Chance |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Ultra Mushroom | 31% |
|
|
Max Nut | 30% |
|
|
Star Candy | 19% |
|
|
1-Up Deluxe | 20% |
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey item rewards[edit]
In Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey, Mighty Meteor's item rewards are determined by how well the attack was executed. The game keeps track of the number of times the meteor was hit with a fully charged hammer strike, which are hammer strikes done after the hammer flashes for a second time. The number of these "good meteor hits" done is used to determine what table of item rewards and chances to use, listed below.[1] The Easy Mode of the attack has no effect on the item rewards.
| Image | Name | Chance |
|---|---|---|
|
Mushroom | 30% |
|
|
Super Mushroom | 15% |
|
Nut | 10% |
|
Syrup Jar | 20% |
|
1-Up Mushroom | 10% |
|
Refreshing Herb | 15% |
| Image | Name | Chance |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Mushroom | 20% |
|
|
Super Mushroom | 15% |
|
|
Ultra Mushroom | 5% |
|
|
Nut | 10% |
|
|
Super Nut | 5% |
|
|
Syrup Jar | 15% |
|
|
Supersyrup Jar | 10% |
|
|
1-Up Mushroom | 10% |
|
|
Refreshing Herb | 10% |
| Image | Name | Chance |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Mushroom | 15% |
|
|
Super Mushroom | 15% |
|
|
Ultra Mushroom | 5% |
|
|
Nut | 10% |
|
|
Super Nut | 5% |
|
|
Syrup Jar | 15% |
|
|
Supersyrup Jar | 10% |
|
|
Ultrasyrup Jar | 5% |
|
|
1-Up Mushroom | 10% |
|
|
1-Up Deluxe | 5% |
|
|
Refreshing Herb | 5% |
| Image | Name | Chance |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Super Mushroom | 15% |
|
|
Ultra Mushroom | 10% |
|
|
Max Mushroom | 10% |
|
|
Super Nut | 15% |
|
|
Ultra Nut | 5% |
|
|
Supersyrup Jar | 15% |
|
|
Ultrasyrup Jar | 10% |
|
|
Max Syrup Jar | 10% |
|
|
1-Up Mushroom | 10% |
| Image | Name | Chance |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Ultra Mushroom | 14% |
|
|
Max Mushroom | 12% |
|
|
Ultra Nut | 10% |
|
|
Max Nut | 9% |
|
|
Ultrasyrup Jar | 14% |
|
|
Max Syrup Jar | 12% |
|
Star Candy | 5% |
|
|
1-Up Deluxe | 12% |
|
|
Refreshing Herb | 12% |
Profiles[edit]
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey[edit]
- Battle Actions entry for Mighty Meteor: "Slide left and right to position Mario and Luigi at the falling meteor's point of impact. To swing their hammer and knock the meteor into enemies, press for Mario and for Luigi. If you keep succeeding until the very end and get an Excellent rating, the meteor will crack and an item will appear! It's exciting to see what it will be."
Gallery[edit]
Icon of Mighty Meteor in the menus of Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
Mighty Meteor's sprite after being thrown in the air by Mario or Luigi in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
Icon of Mighty Meteor in the menus of Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey
Mario and Luigi using Mighty Meteor in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
Mario and Luigi using Mighty Meteor in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ワンダーメテオ[?] Wandā Meteo |
Wonder Meteor | |
| French (NOA) | Météore maboul[?] | Crazy Meteor | |
| French (NOE) | Météore Mystère[?] | Mystery Meteor | |
| German | Pardauz-Meteor[?] | Upsy-Daisy Meteor | |
| Italian | Ultrameteora[?] | "Ultra", "Meteora" (Meteor) meaning an Asteroid | |
| Korean | 원더메테오[?] Wondeo Mete'o |
Wonder Meteor | |
| Spanish (NOA) | Meteoro Poderoso[?] | Powerful Meteor | |
| Spanish (NOE) | Meteoro Salvaje[?] | Wild Meteor |
