Turning Floor
- "Rolling hill" redirects here. For the Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars world, see Rolling Hills.
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Turning Floor | |||
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![]() Model from New Super Mario Bros. Wii | |||
First appearance | Mario Kart DS (2005) | ||
Latest appearance | Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury (2021) | ||
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Turning Floors[1] are continually moving objects that appear in Super Mario platformers. They are large, circular or semicircular platforms that turn clockwise or counterclockwise, moving anything on them as they do so.
History[edit]
Mario Kart series[edit]
Mario Kart DS[edit]
In Mario Kart DS, the end of Tick-Tock Clock features two narrow gears that act much like Turning Floors, which a driver can pass over to either gain speed or move slower. They periodically change direction. About halfway through this game's iteration of Bowser Castle drivers will encounter a long, cylindrical path known as a spinning bridge,[2] which they will have to cross, lest they fall down due to the path being narrow and spinning horizontally; this bridge also changes its spinning direction periodically.
An unused, pre-release version of Waluigi Pinball also features a turning slot machine reel in the floor at the end of the course, behaving much like a Turning Floor.
Mario Kart 7[edit]
Mario Kart 7 features a few cylindrical tunnels not too much unlike the spinning bridge from Mario Kart DS, except they have to be passed right through, and so don't necessarily instill the risk of falling off unless an alternate path is taken that lets them drive on top.
This game's iteration of Bowser's Castle features such a tunnel right before the underwater section, known as a paddle wheel;[3]:94 it is a wooden tube with metal paddles at the end. Racers can pass through it, or use an alternate path to drive on top.
Another tunnel is found at the start of the third section of Rainbow Road, referred to as a spinning tube,[3]:98 with Dash Panels inside, as well as Dash Panel ramps and Glide Ramps at the end.
Mario Kart 8 / Mario Kart 8 Deluxe[edit]
DS Tick-Tock Clock returns in Mario Kart 8 and its Nintendo Switch reissue, once again featuring the turning gears at the end of the course. This time, they can be tricked on as well.
3DS Rainbow Road also returns in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as part of the Booster Course Pass, and its spinning tube also reappears as well.
Mario Kart Tour[edit]
In Mario Kart Tour, spinning tubes reappear on 3DS Rainbow Road as well as its R variant, and one or more paddle wheels reappear on 3DS Bowser's Castle and all its variants, as well as Yoshi's Island T.
Super Mario series[edit]
This section is a stub. Please consider expanding it to include any missing information. Specifics: include all level appearances in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, New Super Mario Bros. U, and New Super Luigi U
New Super Mario Bros. Wii[edit]
New Super Mario Bros. Wii features Turning Floors of various sizes in World 1-1, World 1-6, World 6-2, World 6-Airship, and World 8-2. They are partly embedded in the ground or overlapped with other Turning Floors. Often, there are rows of coins or Dash Coins that move along with them, and in common instances they also carry enemies such as Goombas, Paragoombas, Hefty Goombas, and Spike Balls. Some Turning Floors also contain indentations with Pipes embedded in them. Their function is a pun referencing rolling hills.
Through hacking methods, it is shown that Turning Floors lack collision from the bottom, and that jumping to the center of one of them will warp the player atop it. This feat can be performed in-game in World 1-6.[4]
The game features several similar obstacles such as cogs and fence wheels.
New Super Mario Bros. U / New Super Luigi U / New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe[edit]
Turning Floors reappear in New Super Mario Bros. U, New Super Luigi U, and New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe, acting in much the same way as previously. They are encountered in the levels Yoshi Hill and Blooming Lakitus in the former, and in Rolling Yoshi Hills and Spinning Sandstones in the latter.
Icy Turning Floors also appear in the New Super Mario Bros. U level Prickly Goombas! and its New Super Luigi U counterpart, Fire and Ice.
Super Mario 3D World / Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury[edit]
In Super Mario 3D World, Turning Floors are most notably seen in Really Rolling Hills and its World Mushroom counterpart, where Skipsqueaks and Spiny Skipsqueaks will run opposite to the direction the Turning Floor is moving, keeping themselves centered on the platform. Other entities, such as Galoombas and items summoned from the item storage, will also move in the direction of the Turning Floor if they remain stationary.
Mario and other characters can progress by walking or running in the opposite direction, jumping forwards, or many times simply avoiding the platform altogether. However, fully circular, mandatory Turning Floors appear in Rainbow Run, along with Skipsqueaks. The direction and speed of Turning Floors varies greatly. Skipsqueaks do not appear to change their running speed to account for this, yet still appear on the center of the platform.
A very large, circular Turning Floor appears in the twenty-sixth room of Mystery House Marathon, where the character must stay on top of it as it moves to reach the Green Star at the end. Its design appears to be styled after Cookie Cogworks.
In the Bowser's Fury campaign of Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury, hollow Turning Floors appear in Slipskate Slope, in segmented sections that move left and right. While Skipsqueaks are found on top of these platforms, inside are spikes that Mario must carefully avoid being pushed into while in an Ice Skate.
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker[edit]
Turning Floors appear in all versions of Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, appearing only in the level Rolling Inferno. They may be colored blue or green, but this is merely an aesthetic change, as their direction of rotation is indicated by chevron arrows imprinted on them. In part due to Captain Toad's inability to jump, once the player crosses a Turning Floor, they cannot move against it.
Names in other languages[edit]
Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Japanese | まるたばし[5] Maruta Bashi |
Log Bridge | Mario Kart DS |
回転足場[6] Kaiten Ashiba |
Rotating Footing | New Super Mario Bros. Wii | |
Kaiten Paipu |
Rotating Pipe | Mario Kart 7 | |
回転床[8] Kaiten Yuka |
Rotating Floor | New Super Mario Bros. U |
References[edit]
- ^ "When you come across Turning Floors with coins and Goombas, plan your timing carefully and you'll do fine." – TheMarioBros.net (November 17, 2013). New Super Mario Bros U - Coin Collection Challenges w/ Gold Medals Complete [HD] (7:10).
- ^ "Drive backward across the spinning bridge! If you fall, you're out!" – Mario Kart DS mission 6-1.
- ^ a b von Esmarch, Nick (2011). Mario Kart 7 Official Game Guide. Prima Games (English). ISBN 978-0-307-89384-0.
- ^ A+Start (June 30, 2017). New Super Mario Bros. Wii Glitches - Son of a Glitch - Episode 74. YouTube. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
- ^ 「バックで まるたばしをわたれ!おちたらアウト!」 ("Backwards across the log bridge! If you fall, you're out!") – マリオカートDS ミツシヨン6-1 (Mario Kart DS Mission 6-1). POE DIA / ポエディア ゲームズ (January 24, 2021). 【マリオカートDS】全ミッションランまとめ(ランク★★★クリア)MARIO KART DS (32:31). YouTube. Retrieved August 6, 2025.
- ^ Sakai, Kazuya (Ambit), kikai, Akinori Sao, Junko Fukuda, Kunio Takayama, and Ko Nakahara (Shogakukan), editors (2015). "New Super Mario Bros. Wii."『スーパーマリオブラザーズ百科: 任天堂公式ガイドブック』. Tokyo: Shogakukan (Japanese). Page 149.
- ^ Takashi Watanabe (Camel Clutch), Kiyotaka Iwaya, Gaecen Ueno, Tatsuhiko Mizutani (Camel Clutch), Junko Fukuda, Kunio Takayama (Shogakukan), editors (January 24, 2012). Mario Kart 7 - Nintendo Kōshiki Guidebook. Shogakukan (Japanese). ISBN 978-4-09-227160-9. Page 103, 106, 109.
- ^ ---- (2015). "New Super Mario Bros. U."『スーパーマリオブラザーズ百科: 任天堂公式ガイドブック』. Tokyo: Shogakukan (Japanese). Page 215.