Talk:Bat (Super Mario Galaxy)

"Erroneously?"

I think the "Erroneously" should be removed as at the time the Play Nintendo article was published, it was believed these brown, pig-nosed fliers were Swoops. PrincessPeachFan (talk) 17:24, January 4, 2025 (EST)

Considering their different appearances and, more importantly, different Japanese names, that belief would indeed be in error, i.e. erroneous. It was also erroneously thought and listed on this wiki that Scaredy Rats were Little Mousers, until Mario Party 9 released. rend (talk) (edits) 17:35, January 4, 2025 (EST)

Still, though. It doesn't need to link to the proposal, does it? Super Mario Bros. Encyclopedia was a very, very special case. Also I don't want to see my old oppose vote. LinkTheLefty (talk) 18:58, January 4, 2025 (EST)

Remove identifier

This talk page proposal has already been settled. Please do not edit this section or its subsections. If you wish to discuss the article, please do so in a new section below the proposal.

Do not remove identifier 1-5-6
6 out of 10 voters (60%) approve the first place option.

I think this one is pretty straightforward. We are talking about an enemy who appeared in two of the best and most recognized Mario games: Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2. Not only that, but these guys also appeared in the two modern Mario movies, The Super Mario Bros. Movie and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. None of the subjects on the disambiguation page (except Swooper) have anywhere near as prominent or recognizable an appearance as this bat. I mean, this is THE bat, not just any bat, if you get what I mean.

I think moving this to just "Bat" and giving the identifier to the disambiguation page is the correct thing to do.

Also, the current identifier doesn't hold up today. Like, this guy has appeared in more things than just Super Mario Galaxy.

Proposer: Mr. Sorbetti (talk)
Deadline: September 15, 2026, 23:59 (UTC)

Remove identifier

1. Mr. Sorbetti (talk) Per proposal.

Move to Bat (Super Mario series)

1. Mr. Sorbetti (talk) I support this option as well. This enemy has appeared in more things than just the first Super Mario Galaxy.
2. The Dab Master (talk) Per Mr. Sorbetti.
3. Iand255 (Super Mario series) (talk) Per Mr. Sorbetti, and my comments, plus my previous opposition vote.
4. Camwoodstock (talk) Secondary option. Admittedly, the fact that the only non-Galaxy appearances are just, both of the movies, does give us a little bit of pause, especially since the suggested name, to us, anyways, brings to mind either the aforementioned Luigi's Mansion bats, or the ones from Virtual Boy Wario Land that tend to appear in the game's UI, but it certainly beats having no identifier at all.
5. Hewer (talk) Yeah this makes sense

#Wilben (talk) This I can get behind.

Do nothing (Oppose)

1. Camwoodstock (talk) Per Iand. We know the point about the "if one subject is clearly more likely to be searched for or linked to than the other(s)" clause was mentioned as a counter-argument to it... But, frankly, we feel like the Super Mario Galaxy enemy isn't more likely to be searched for, and it's only most likely to be linked to insofar as Super Mario Galaxy has some of the most in-depth documentation on the entire wiki. Our mind went to the Luigi's Mansion enemy, and after learning of the generic Bat (animal) page, while it wouldn't be our personal choice for "most likely to be searched", we imagine it absolutely would be useful for linking, even if primarily for species parameters in infoboxes. Not to downplay the significance of Super Mario Galaxy, but this proposal feels like it assumes "being from Super Mario Galaxy" is far more valuable than it really is.
2. Jdtendo (talk) Per all, I don't think that the Super Mario Galaxy Bat is more prominent than the Luigi's Mansion Bat or the generic Bat.
3. Illuminoid (talk) Per all. A proposal determined that an article's identifier could be the subject's first appearance regardless of the subject's later appearances. Additionally, the generic mammal bat also appears in the Super Mario series in Super Mario Odyssey.
4. Mariuigi Khed (talk) Per all. Beside the movies, it is just part of the Super Mario Galaxy games, not of the whole series.
5. Arend (talk) This bat is nearly not as prominent as other things named "bat" in the franchise, and besides cameos in the Illumination films, its ONLY appearance is in the Super Mario Galaxy duology; and last time I checked, the current "Super Mario Galaxy" identifier is a perfectly fine identifier for it, especially compared to "Super Mario series", given the existence of a much more prominent bat enemy that happens to appear in many more Super Mario mainline titles (and this SMG bat is often confused for, to boot). (...actually, continued in comments)
6. Wilben (talk) Per all. The Super Mario Galaxy bat is an enemy in two games and briefly appears in the films with little to no significance to the plot. Not at all noteworthy enough to be considered "more significant" than the other subjects in the disambiguation page if you ask me.

#Iand255 (talk) I would support this if it weren't for the fact there are so many subjects that fall under the name "Bat". There's 5 entire pages about things just called "Bat". There's Swoop which I find it likely many people would be searching for under the name "Bat", because that's what it is. There's the Fang and Flipflap which, while not as popular, were once also just called "Bat" at some point. There's 2 other bat enemies with "Bat" in their name, and there's the Home-Run Bat, which is a baseball bat, much like the aforementioned bat from Paper Mario: Sticker Star. There's just too many things named "Bat" for a move like this to make much sense from a logical stand point.

Comments

@Iand255 I don't think you're getting the point here. Per MarioWiki:Article naming: "If there is one subject that is clearly more likely to be searched for or linked to than the other(s), then the prominent subject will keep the original title while the rest use identifiers." The difference between this case and cases like this one is that in the former, there was no clear indicator of what was more likely to be searched. Here, there is. This enemy called "Bat" has probably the most important appearances outside of Super Mario Galaxy compared to all other enemies from the same game. Not only that, but its origin game is a very well known game. If you ask me, out of all four subjects that currently bear the name "Bat", this one is the most likely to be searched by a huge margin. More even than the disambiguation page itself if you ask me. Mr. Sorbetti (talk) 03:17, September 1, 2026 (UTC)

@Mr. Sorbetti Per Camwoodstock. I, much like them, also think of the Luigi's Mansion enemy, after the Swoop of course, because, in my mind, that has always been, and always will be, the Super Mario bat. This entire proposal relies on the idea that Super Mario Galaxy, it's sequel, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and it's sequel are more important and well known than every other bat and the games they appear in, which really just isn't an objective fact. The other subjects known just as "Bat" appeared across Virtual Boy Wario Land, Mario Kart 64, Donkey Kong 64, Super Mario Odyssey, Mario Kart World, Donkey Kong Bananza, every last entry in the Luigi's Mansion series including the arcade game, Mario vs. Donkey Kong and it's remake, and Paper Mario: Sticker Star, most of which are major parts of the franchise and incredibly well known. I don't think that this specific bat's appearances in those 4 specific pieces of media are any more likely to be searched for than the other bats' appearances in all of those other games. And that's not even mentioning the other bats that aren't named "Bat", such as the Swoop. IanD255, but older (talk) 05:14, September 1, 2026 (UTC)

@Iand255 I think I still hold my opinion that a subject who has appeared in both movies and both Super Mario Galaxy games is more likely to be searched, but fair. My problem with this page is its identifier, as I mentioned in the proposal. So, what about changing it instead of removing it? Bat (Super Mario series) could work?. Mr. Sorbetti (talk) 14:02, September 1, 2026 (UTC)

@Mr. Sorbetti I would be fine with that, since it mitigates the issues I have with flat out removing it. IanD255, but older (talk) 00:00, September 2, 2026 (UTC)

Alright. Mr. Sorbetti (talk) 01:14, September 2, 2026 (UTC)

@Iand255 @Camwoodstock @Jdtendo @Wilben @Illuminoid New option added. It might interest yall. Mr. Sorbetti (talk) 01:14, September 2, 2026 (UTC)

@Illuminoid The bat that you mentioned from Super Mario Odyssey is not even an interactable object; it is just background ambiance in the Ruined Kingdom. Considering how this bat has been treated outside of both Super Mario Galaxy games as the Mario series' equivalent of normal bats (similar to how Cheep Cheeps are treated as standard fish in the movies), I think the identifier works fine. After all, if you ask anyone what the Super Mario series bat is, I don't think they would point to the generic ambient decoration particles from Odyssey over the enemies that have actually appeared in two games and two movies. The proposal you linked is mostly useful for avoiding confusion. I don't think anyone searching for the Super Mario series bat will be confused by landing on this page instead of the Oddysey particle. Mr. Sorbetti (talk) 13:57, September 2, 2026 (UTC)

Yes, more people would search for the enemy over the generic mammal. My issue is that the identifier works for both subjects. I would accept "Super Mario series enemy" as the indentifier, though, as there are no other enemies in the Super Mario series known as just "Bat". --Illuminoid (talk) 14:57, September 2, 2026 (UTC)

Has the thing in Odyssey ever been called a bat? As far as I know, it might just be called something like the Mad Bats from Mario Kart 64, or even just not have a name. Also, the 'enemy' identifier doesn't really work with the movie adaptations. Mr. Sorbetti (talk) 15:42, September 2, 2026 (UTC)

@Mariuigi Khed Neither Alien (Mario Party series), Heart (Mario Kart series), Heart (Wario Land series), Bucket (Yoshi series), Joe (Mario Golf series), nor Spider (Luigi's Mansion series) appear in every game of their respective series. Having appeared in two main games as enemies, as well as in (The Super Mario Bros. Movie) and (The Super Mario Galaxy Movie), seems sufficient to justify the move. Mr. Sorbetti (talk) 23:49, September 2, 2026 (UTC)

(...continued from oppose vote) Hell, I'd also argue that "Super Mario series" is actually a terrible identifier for this creature. The identifier is suggested purely to include the Illumination Super Mario movies, but including those in the Super Mario series at all is a whole other can of worm in and of itself, considering that:

A). These are movies, whereas the Super Mario series is the mainline series of games; and

B). These movies follow a different continuity than the games with a variety of contradictions with the current canon as well as introducing ideas that never appeared in the games (e.g. Mario and Luigi coming from New York, Cranky being DK's father and no evidence of DK Jr. ever existing, Peach and Rosalina being sisters and made from stardust far from the Mushroom Kingdom, etc); Heck, I wouldn't even be surprised if these bats were included over Swoop simply because they were being conflated into the same Swooper creature, something Nintendo themselves had done once.

Anyway, it would have to mean that, if we were to entertain the idea that "Super Mario Galaxy" is an insufficient identifier, we'd have to use the identifier of "Super Mario franchise" instead, which is a bad idea all-round considering the other bats in the franchise; otherwise, "Super Mario series" would suggest that these bats appeared in other games in the series. But no, besides the mere cameos and minor appearances in the Illumination movies (one of which is a Galaxy movie, I might add), these bats only appeared in Mario Galaxy 1 and 2.
As I said in my oppose vote, the current "Super Mario Galaxy" identifier is perfectly fine. The poll proposal I previously linked to, determined that both the name of a subject's debut, as well as the name of an "unrecognized series" are both valid identifiers. This means that not only is "Super Mario Galaxy" perfectly acceptable, but so is "Super Mario Galaxy series", especially since these are much more prominent appearances of the bat, than their cameos in the movies; and therefor more recognizable from the Galaxy games, and more acceptable for an identifier, I feel. rend (talk) (edits) 20:46, September 7, 2026 (UTC)

(Forgot to add this, but) On top of that, I also feel like as a video game franchise, the games probably should take priority as an identifier over other media in cases like these. So even if the bats made a more prominent appearance in the films, I would still prefer the current identifier over "Super Mario series", and I'd only not mind the latter identifier if we were indeed were to count the films as part of the core mainline Super Mario series of games... of if the bat simply appeared in other games as well such as 3D World or Odyssey. rend (talk) (edits) 21:14, September 7, 2026 (UTC)

I'm confused, what exactly is your issue with "Super Mario series"? This bat has appeared in multiple games that are in the Super Mario series, and it hasn't appeared in any games outside of that series. Is the problem that two games is not enough appearances in the series to count? Memory Match (Super Mario series) has also made two appearances. Hewer (talk · contributions · edit count) 22:52, September 7, 2026 (UTC)

Again, the only two games the bat appeared in are specifically Mario Galaxy 1 and 2, so I honestly don't see the issue with the current identifier of "Super Mario Galaxy", and I feel like using the "Super Mario series" instead would be unnecessary (not to mention somewhat needlessly confusing considering the more prominent Super Mario series bat in Swoop, which this bat was often confused for). Memory Match is different in the case that the two appearances it makes in the Super Mario series are two entirely different entries that aren't part of the same "sub-series", so the "Super Mario series" identifier makes more sense there in that case. rend (talk) (edits) 00:54, September 8, 2026 (UTC)

So shouldn't it be "Super Mario Galaxy series" in that case, rather than "Super Mario Galaxy"? Hewer (talk · contributions · edit count) 09:37, September 8, 2026 (UTC)

I have already stated earlier that either of those would be acceptable, according to the outcomes of this poll proposal (which I've linked to three times now at this point). rend (talk) (edits) 10:09, September 8, 2026 (UTC)

I don't really see the argument for keeping it at "Super Mario Galaxy" rather than moving to some kind of series identifier, but maybe I'm splitting hairs. (I know that proposal allows for a subject's first appearance to be its identifier, but that's ideally just for things where there isn't an easy way for the identifier to include all of its appearances, unlike in this case.) Hewer (talk · contributions · edit count) 12:06, September 8, 2026 (UTC)