The 'Shroom:Issue 233/Pipe Plaza

Director's Notes

Written by: Zange (talk)

Hello hello and happy August everyone!! I hope everyone had a spectacular time at this year's Mario Awards, and if you missed the live ceremony, you can still go back and view all the presentations on the forums!

I'm keeping these notes short and sweet this time around because a. it's very late at night and I have an early morning tomorrow, and b. I still haven't mentally recovered from working on my presentation for M20 rip. But even though Awards just happened we still have a very nice selection of super awesome Pipe Plaza articles this month for your reading pleasure! In fact, YOU can sign up to write a super cool Pipe Plaza section of your very own just by going to the sign up page to learn more!

That's all from me this month, and I hope the rest of your month is lovely and wonderful in all the ways you want it to be <3

Section of the Month

Congratulations to this month's winners! In first place, we have Sparks (talk) with Poll Committee Discussion! Taking silver, we have Shoey (talk) with What's in a Campaign?! Rounding out the podium at third, we have Camwoodstock (talk) with To-Do Tracker! Thank you to everyone who votes for their favorite sections as well.

PIPE PLAZA SECTION OF THE MONTH
Place	Section	Votes	%	Writer
1st	Poll Committee Discussion	7	53.85%	Sparks (talk)
2nd	What's in a Campaign?	4	30.77%	Shoey (talk)
3rd	To-Do Tracker	2	15.38%	Camwoodstock (talk)

News and information

To-Do Tracker

Camwoodstock (talk)

No clue what to do? Join the fun and see what's been done!

Poll Committee Discussion

Sparks (talk)

The best analysis of the polls around!

The 'Shroom Report

Hooded Pitohui (talk)

All the latest writers and all the milestones of the current ones.

What's in a Campaign?

Shoey (talk)

Under the seaaaaa (...can robots go underwater, actually?)

To-Do Tracker

Written by: Camwoodstock, of the Seven Stars (talk)

Howdy! Awards season is coming to a close. Did you catch the ceremonies this year? If not, you absolutely need to change that, this year's presentations were all really fun in our opinion. And, shameless plug, a close friend of ours, MagicalMikuri, collaborated with our presentation for the new "Biggest Guilty Pleasure" award. Go check it out, and then go check their stuff out! It's gotta be like, the single coolest thing related to us in the awards.

...Oh, and we suppose taking the silver medal for the Wiki Contributor Award for the year was pretty cool. We're still not really sure it's sunken in, because. Goodness, we're really bad at accepting flattery! But even still, thank you all so, so very much for voting for little ol' us.

With that all said, though, for this column's purposes, that's neither here nor there. The To-Do bar remains a thing, and we're here to track it!

Note: All dates here were taken fairly late at night in EST; around 1-3 AM EST. An exception was made for August 19, 2026, which had one value taken at 1:50 PM EST. Additionally, values for July 29th, 2026 were obtained with the help of Sparks (talk). Thank you very much!

July & August To-Do Items
To-Do Item	Jul 15, 2026	Jul 22, 2026	Jul 29, 2026	Aug 5, 2026	Aug 12, 2026	Aug 19, 2026
Spotlight Focuses	1	4	2	1	0	0
Active PipeProjects	2	2	2	2	2	2
Ongoing Proposals	0*	1*	2	1	3	1
Ongoing TPPs	1	3	5	3	6	10
Unimplemented Proposals	50+	50+	50+	50+	50+	50+
Unresolved Discussions	254	255	257	260	260	257
Note Trims	N/A	N/A	N/A	1	N/A	N/A
Missing Romanizations	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	37	N/A
Unknown Meanings	70	20	N/A	N/A	37	N/A
To-do Lists	1,281	1,286	1,277	1,254	1,251	1,258
Sourcing Issues	78,740	78,562	78,480	78,364	77,978	77,947
Wanted Articles	1000+	1000+	1000+	1000+	1000+	1000+
Requested Deletions	3	4	7	9	7	5
Suggested Moves	49	50	50	49	49	48
Suggested Merges	86	86	88	88	92	90
Suggested Splits	78	78	79	79	80	79
Reference Errors	N/A	N/A	1	N/A	N/A	N/A
Image Quality	3,856	3,860	3,857	3,868	3,858	3,852
Images Needed	890	894	886	877	877	882
Media Needed	695	693	689	660	644	642
Media Quality	24	22	21	21	21	22
Unused Files	450+	300+	250+	300+	300+	300+
Files To Be Used	24	24	24	25	25	25

For some observations for how the numbers have progressed, and some potential targets:

A new category has appeared! Ongoing Proposals is self-explanatory, it's like ongoing TPPs... but for normal proposals. This category is one that's manually-specified, so while it was only added on July 29th, we went ahead and grabbed the values for the first two weeks. That's why they have a little asterisk; technically speaking, those values weren't ever on the to-do bar.
Sourcing issues is, indeed, going down about as fast as it grew, shaving off a thousand in this month alone. That's good to see!
Moves, merges, and splits remain in their period of stillness. Both moves and splits have a net change of one, merges grows a tiny bit.
Image Quality was weird. We'd like to let the record show that it was 3,370 when we went to get the numbers, suddenly losing roughly 400 entries, but later that afternoon, it went back to 3,852, which is the value we've listed here. The working hypothesis among staff is that it inexplicably stopped counting the artwork sub-category during this period? This is kind of an anomaly...
We never thought we'd see the day... Media Needed is noticeably lowering for once! It's shaved off about 50 pages in the last month, no doubt in part due to the Music PipeProject. Whether you are formally a part of their team, or were just passing through, if you helped bring these numbers down, we thank you!

Poll Committee Discussion

Written by: Sparks (talk)

こんにちは！今日は元気ですか? (Kon'nichiwa! Kyō wa genkidesuka?)

OK now for English - Hello there! It's me, your friendly Ralsei/pony fan Sparks here to talk once more about polls in this month's Poll Committee Discussion. Everyone worked super duper hard to bring an amazing Awards ceremony and BY GOLLY do they deserve some R&R! That's why I decided to cover this section for the second month in a row.

Usually we have two polls here, but there's been a longer wait time than usual, so now there are 3 for me to ramble about! So, are you ready? Buckle up, 'cause these three polls are all focused on completely different subjects!

Analysis

What is your opinion on The Super Mario Galaxy Movie? (The Shadow Prince (talk), July 5, 2026)

A movie of many - and I mean many - different opinions!

Our first poll is one by The Shadow Prince (talk)! The Super Mario Galaxy Movie released more than 4 months ago (it's been that long already?) so naturally, there'd be a poll asking the viewers on how they felt about the film! Fair warning, but I won't discuss much about the results here. They're all straightforward and I don't really have any additional commentary to provide. This poll earned a total of 2,764 votes, the most of the three here.

Kicking things off with eighth place is the option that's on pretty much every single poll - I have no opinion on this subject. That's... all. These 29 voters simply don't have an opinion on the film. Yeah. Moving on!

Earning 79 votes is the seventh place option, I thought that this movie was awful, and almost completely lacking in positive elements. The film has received some pretty negative reviews, and some of the viewers agree that it is terrible!

Alrighty sixth place! With 139 votes, it's I thought that this movie was poor, and not worth watching. These people think that the film isn't the worst thing in the world, but still very bad. Everyone has opinions after all!

Up next is fifth place, I thought that this movie was so-so, but had some flaws. 277 participants thought it was mediocre. That's pretty much double that of the previous option!

Halfway there through this poll! In fourth place, AKA the runner-up is I thought that this movie was decent, but was only just enough to be positive. With 315 votes, this option managed to get this position, but still falls behind the top three by a fair number of votes. Anyway, those who chose this option thought the movie was OK overall.

Taking the bronze medal with 567 votes is I have not seen The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. Self-explanatory.

Nabbing that silver medal is I thought that this movie was great, and handled exactly the right way. 659 viewers of the film thought it was absolutely spectacular! I'm one of those people... wait, did I vote this option? I can't remember. Probably.

Now what got first place, you ask? I thought that this movie was pretty good, and felt somewhat satisfied watching it. 699 voters had a good time watching The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, but it wasn't the best film ever. Just one more vote and this would've reached 700...

Overall, reception was mostly positive! I thought the movie was great and I couldn't help but point out themes and characters I recognized. I could barely contain myself in the movie theater!

Would it be better for the Mario series be treated as a consistent universe or a set of ideas to play with? (CaptainOdyssey (talk), July 19, 2026)

CaptainOdyssey (talk) provides another thought-provoking poll about the Super Mario franchise in general! Everything about said franchise is - for the most part - totally unique, but there have been cases of consistency in the games and media, whether it be big or small. Let's see what our voters chose! This poll ended up with 1,756 votes.

Beginning with ninth place! With 40 votes it's The Mario franchise should keep a consistent art direction and character designs, but story details can be contradicted. This option is pretty relevant if you think about it! The mainline games and spin-offs have that consistent, 3D artstyle, but the events that occur in the games are always different.

Taking eighth place is I have a specific opinion on this subject not covered by the other options. 72 voters have different visions on what they want in the Mario franchise, but first we must look at the remaining seven options!

This is usually what happens in the games.

In seventh place with 98 votes is Mario platformers should be consistent with one another, but spinoff series should be more free to make changes. The platformers do have the "save the captive(s) in distress" storyline in most cases, but the spinoffs tend to do their own thing, especially the RPGs and sports games. Who knew that there could be so much lore in these games?

We're a third of the way there! Snagging sixth place with 152 votes is Mario games should be consistent with one another, but adaptations like movies and TV series should be more free to make changes. I'm not too familiar with the cartoons, but the movies have definitely made big changes that the games have not (yet) done SPOILER~~Rosalina being Peach's sister~~END OF SPOILER. Yeah... guess that's one way to differentiate the media, eh?

It's the halfway mark, and 167 voters selected I am neutral or have no opinion on the topic of consistency in the Mario series. The classic "no opinion" choice! It's best to not mind the always-changing details.

Fourth place time! That option that earned this spot is The Mario franchise should keep established story details consistent, but character designs and art direction can differ from game to game. It's all thanks to the 182 votes that helped it get here! Perhaps the biggest example of this is the newly introduced Super Mario Bros. Wonder artstyle. Is it the new norm for the franchise, due to it being in Mario Kart World? Maybe, but Donkey Kong also received a new appearance that received polarizing responses from the fans, myself included. We'll have to see if anyone else received this treatment!

The first of the top three options is It's important for the Mario franchise to maintain a high level of consistency, and discrepancies between entries should be avoided. Getting exactly 200 votes, it's the first option to reach this milestone. Those who voted for this don't want ANY story changes, none! Don't want anything to be different.

The Mushroom Kingdom's artwork from New Super Mario Bros. U.

The Mushroom Kingdom is always changing...

Second place got 402 votes, more than double the previous option! If you're wondering what it is, it's Major details should remain consistent between entries in the Mario franchise, but minor details can be changed. Now what minor details are there? How about the Mushroom Kingdom always changing its layout? Dry Bowser being a form of Bowser or an entirely new character? Things like that. Now, what is the first place choice?

And now, with the good medal and 443 votes it's... Forcing the Mario series to be consistent is too limiting on the potential to add creative ideas to the franchise. Aha! Maybe change is a good thing after all! It's always nice to see brand new characters and worlds that become mainstays, like the Sprixie Kingdom and Prince Florian, as well as many new enemies never seen before. Those Talking Flowers? They would've never existed if the franchise didn't expand. With the amount of creativity, who knows what we'll see next?!

Those were some interesting results! The fans have different ideas on how the Super Mario franchise should be consistent, and yet we still have many who want more new stuff! Pretty cool, but we've still got one final poll to look at!

Several power-ups in the Mario franchise grant Mario and his allies the ability to fly and glide in unique ways. Which one is your favorite? (Sparks (talk), August 2, 2026)

The last poll to go over is one made by me - it's about airborne power-ups! Not too long ago we had Lakituthequick (talk)'s special 'Shroom issue, and I may have been inspired by its sky aesthetics when I came up with this poll's idea. It has the most options of the three, so get ready for many, many paragraphs! This poll earned a total of 2,222 votes. All four digits are the same number!

We start with number fourteen, the Propeller Box! Although it only has 47 votes, the Propeller Box serves as a great Propeller Mushroom Substitute in the 3D games. To make things even better, you can have any power-up and still be able to use it! Getting hit only means you lose the box, but fret not, 'cause you keep everything else! You also don't have to worry about keeping track of yourself in multiplayer, as every character has their own unique colored Propeller Box. Color coded stuff is always a treat!

Super Mario Land 2 - 6 Golden Coins Mario

Bunnies can fly too!

OK, taking thirteenth place with 52 votes is the Carrot, a power-up I'm very unfamiliar with! Apparently it turns Mario into Bunny Mario, which existed before Rabbid Mario was a thing. Supposedly Bunny Mario has the power to glide and hover in the air, allowing him to avoid pits and other obstacles much more easily. Cool! It'd be cool to see this power-up in a new game - imagine a new generation of children seeing it for the first time!

Have you ever found envy in those pesky Lakitus, always flying above the action thanks to their clouds? You're not the only one! 62 people voted for the Lakitu Cloud too! While some clouds are already available, it's even more satisfying to steal one from a Lakitu yourself! Collect all the coins in the air with ease as you laugh at all the enemies beneath you... for about fifteen seconds. Nevertheless, the power of freely controlled flight is always wonderful!

Know what else allows you to fly freely for a short time? The Bee Mushroom! This marvelous mushroom gets eleventh place with 65 votes. Unlike Lakitu's Cloud, you don't need to steal one from an enemy to use it, and you can replenish your flight meter by landing on the ground. However, water is your enemy, as touching it will immediately remove your newfound bee powers! Honey is climbable as well, and thankfully you don't need to sue anyone for missing honey - it's all over the place!

Artwork of a Boo Mushroom, from Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2

Don't be shy, have a bite!

We've reached the top ten! Up next with 66 votes is the Boo Mushroom, just one more than Bee Mushroom! How would you like it if you could fly forever? No limited time or flight meter? Awesome! Be wary of light though, as getting caught in it will revert you back to normal! Being able to pass through specific walls is also a nice bonus, but make sure you don't scare poor Luigi, even if you play as him!

Next we have an unorthodox power-up, the P Balloon! It managed to get ninth place by having one less vote than 68. NO I'm not saying that cursed number! Anyways... the P Balloon allows Mario to be able to float in the air like a, well, balloon! It only lasts for a short time, but being introduced in Super Mario World definitely helped it reach this spot. It's another power-up that needs to return.

Oh lookee what we have here - the classic I have no opinion. option! 102 voters simply had no opinion on this poll. Yep. Furthermore, 112 people said I like a power-up not listed above. I wonder what they had in mind?

Back to the power-ups themselves! In sixth place with 116 votes is the Wing Cap! A classic from Super Mario 64, the Wing Cap is the first instance of flight from a 3D title. I never experienced it myself, but it must be so nice to just be able to fly wherever you want whenever you acquire it! A shame they didn't bring it back for the DS remake, although it's likely because Yoshi doesn't wear a hat... usually.

Now for the top five! Taking fifth place is the Super Acorn (or any of its variants)! It's one of the newer power-ups to be introduced, but it made a splash with 136 votes! Enjoy the powers of a Waddlewing as you glide from atop high hedges and stick to walls for a moment before leaping off. Don't forget about that pseudo double jump you can perform while gliding! We also have the P-Acorn, which allows you to "double jump" as many times as you want! Just what you need if you're struggling.

Flying in outer space is a thing!

Almost reaching the top three with 233 votes is the Red Star! It's time in the spotlight in Super Mario Galaxy may be brief, but that sense of flying while triumphant music plays is a hard experience to recreate. Exploring the Comet Observatory with this power is also a nice bonus. At least it had a moment in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie!

The bronze medal goes to the Propeller Mushroom! 259 voters agree that this mushroom is one of the best power-ups to be added in the franchise. Reach high places very easily and quickly descend to crush foes below! Just make sure you get the mushroom before it flies away! It's a fun, classic power-up that players have lots of nostalgia for.

In second place with 417 votes is a power-up everyone's familiar with - the Super Leaf (or any of its variants)! Become a Raccoon or Tanooki and enjoy the powers of gliding to safety. Sometimes you'll have the power to fly high if you get a running start before leaping! Fans of this should play Super Mario 3D Land, where the Super Leaf is the main focus of the game. Like the Super Acorn, it has an improved variant called the Statue Leaf that allows you to turn into stone! There's also the Invincibility Leaf that'll make everything easy as pie for ya. Now we only have one more to go over!

Yeah, this was what I had in mind.

And now, the most voted option of the poll, with 488 votes is... the Super Cape! OK, I think I actually made an error in this poll... I'm pretty sure those who voted for this thought of the Cape Feather when voting. I thought it was called the Super Cape, so oops! Interestingly, this option didn't win the "Favorite Power-up" Award - the Super Leaf did! I don't know how that happened, but it is interesting. When Mario has a cape, he is able to fly and glide, like he would if he was Raccoon Mario. Perhaps it being in Super Mario World helped it win? Probably. Mario even looks like a superhero with that cape!

And that's the end of August's Poll Committee Discussion! Three very unique polls make for a fun section to write. Look forward to September's edition, where The Shadow Prince (talk) will be discussing the results of the upcoming polls! Goodbye!

The 'Shroom Report

Written by: Hooded Pitohui (talk)

Hello, all you readers of The 'Shroom! August is nearly over, which means that our Awards Ceremonies have wrapped up! I can't put into words how wonderful it was to spend the day celebrating with so many members of this community. My congratulations go out to all of the 'Shroom writers who were nominated. Your jokes, your comics, your reviews, your walkthroughs, and more sustain this paper, so do bask in all of your accomplishments and the votes you received!

In the meanwhile, I'll go over the stats from issue 232! As always, my thanks go to MightyMario for updating the sheets.

For new readers or anyone needing a refresher, please open the box below.

First-Time Writers lists everyone who wrote their first section for The 'Shroom in the previous issue.
New Sections lists recurring sections that started their run in the previous issue. This includes returning sections that previously went inactive.
Guest Sections lists one-off submissions from the previous issue.
Milestones covers certain section numbers reached in the previous issue. Writers are mentioned for every 10 sections written in a team and every 50 sections written overall, teams are mentioned for every 100 sections, and The 'Shroom itself is mentioned for every 500 sections. Additionally, established writers are mentioned the first time they contribute to a particular team.
Most Sections Written lists the current all-time record holders.

First-Time Writers
Section	Writer
Primative (talk)	Completion Centre

New Sections
Section	Writer
A Shell in the Spotlight	Koopa (talk)
Diddy Kong Country 2: A Fistful of Peanuts	ClawgripFan9001
Triple A Trouble	Sparks (talk)

Guest Sections
Section	Writer
Here Comes the Sun!	Sparks (talk)
Poképark 2: Wonders Beyond Review	Sparks (talk)
Police Blotter	ClawgripFan9001
The Emperor's New (Rhythm Heaven) Groove	Zange (talk)

Milestones
Writer	Milestone
ClawgripFan9001	70 Fake News sections
FunkyK38 (talk)	110 Fun Stuff sections
FunkyK38 (talk)	70 Critic Corner sections
MightyMario (talk)	10 Palette Swap sections
Sparks (talk)	20 Palette Swap sections
Strategy Wing	800 sections
Waluigi Time (talk)	190 Fake News sections

Most Sections Written
Team	Writer	Number of Sections
Main/Staff	Henry Tucayo Clay (talk)	142
Fake News	Waluigi Time (talk)	191
Fun Stuff	Shoey (talk)	173
Palette Swap	FunkyK38 (talk)	222
Pipe Plaza	Yoshi876 (talk)	128
Critic Corner	Hypnotoad (talk)	234
Strategy Wing	Hooded Pitohui (talk)	204
Overall	Yoshi876 (talk)	747

'Shroom Trivia
You may be aware that May's issue 230 won the C6. Favorite 'Shroom Special Issue category at this year's Community Awards. This year marked the first time in the category's existence that we had a special issue running in May. Special issue L also released in May back in 2011, but that was long before a category for special issues existed! Thanks to Waluigi Time (talk) for pointing this one out!

What's in a Campaign?

Written by: Shoey (talk)

Hello and welcome back to What's in a Campaign?, a section where I look at various competitors from the hit series Robot Wars. Last month, we looked at the debut of my favorite robots, Behemoth, and their wildly successful first series. This month, we look at another robot that I love, one which had considerably less success - the military themed Sub-Version.

This robot's so cool!

Sub-Version was built by the crew of Royal Navy Submarine Corps stationed on the HMS Neptune, or specifically Navy Engineers Gordon Walker and John Watson alongside team captain Chief Petty Officer Russell Scott. Sub-Version was built for the Extreme 1 armed Forces Special, where robots represented the various branches of the UK military as well as the UK police force and fire service (who, fun fact, were originally supposed to be represented by Mousetrap before being forced to switch robots after Mousetrap was destroyed by S3). This was one of the coolest ideas for a Robot Wars special, and I'm sure was an easy advertisement win for the United Kingdom's armed forces. Sub-Version is easily my favorite of all the armed forces competitors because it's literally a submarine; that's so cool!

LOOK AT IT! IT'S FLOATING!

The team even created a special mockup of Sub-Version that could travel in water for their Extreme 1 intro! That's amazing! Easily one of the best themed robots, it even sported a periscope (that would eventually be turned into a self-righter) manned by a loyal sailor. For weapons, Sub-Version has static spikes that fire out. Now, you might be thinking "Shoey, don't you think static spikes are stupid and ineffective, especially for this late of a Series?". Yes, yes, and normally I would be against them, but in this case the spikes are decked like they're torpedoes being fired out by the torpedo launcher! It works so well with the submarine theme! At the backside there's a spinning disc which is very small and doesn't really go with the Submarine theme, but, regardless, this is one of the best-looking robots out there. The crew of the HMS Neptune really captured the spirit of advertising your branch of the armed forces!

As a reminder, all pictures are sourced from the fantastic Robot Wars Wiki. There is not a video of all of Sub-Version's fights, because that'd be silly. Instead, you can follow along with these videos.

Built for the armed Forces Special of Extreme 1, Sub-Version's first fight (5:51) is against Shockwave, a bot which represents the police force, and Anvil, representing the Royal Air Force. I gotta say, the presentation of this special is just so good. All the robot intros are super fun. For instance, Shockwave's, which is the police, show them letting it out of a cell as if it were a dangerous criminal. Or there's the Anvil team, deploying their robot from an attack helicopter. While the robots themselves aren't exactly great, all the teams really knocked the presentation out of the park! Anyway, the fight starts with Sub-Version ramming into both Shockwave and Anvil before launching its torpedo spikes at Shockwave. This does about as much damage as the average pneumatic spike - so zero. Sub-Version then spins around and lands a glancing blow on Shockwave with its spinning disc while Anvil rams Shockwave with its static spikes. Sub-Version then attempts hit Anvil with its spikes, but Anvil is so low to the ground that the spikes can't even touch them. So Sub-Version switches tactics and charges at Shockwave before turning its attention to the Refbot, launching their spikes at the ref and allowing Shockwave to come in with a ram! Sub-Version and Shockwave briefly team up against Anvil, but neither robot can hit the low-to-the-ground machine with their weapons (Shockwave sports two spinning bars) and Anvil gets away. The three machines end up in the corner where Sub-Version is attacked by SGT. Bash (representing the Royal Robotic Corps). The sergeant attempts to set fire to Sub-Version, but everybody knows submarines are water Pokémon, so fire is weak against them!

Sub-Version sinking Shockwave!

As this happens, Shockwave takes advantage of the distracted Sub-Version and hits them with their blades before darting away as Anvil and Sub-Version give chase. Sub-Version spins around Shockwave, trying to get a hit that doesn't involve taking another blow from the blades of Shockwave. Meanwhile, Anvil again rams Shockwave. As Anvil and Shockwave battle each other, Sub-Version goes and hits the pit release button. As the pit is descending, Shockwave accidentally drives over it, wedging themselves over the pit. After a couple of nudges from Anvil and Sub-Version, Shockwave is sent into the pit, fully sending Sub-Version and Anvil on to the next round!

In the second round (27:47), Sub-Version faced off against fellow Navy machine (although this one represented the boat side of the Navy) Mega-Hurts (not to be confused with the computer themed Mega Hurts that has competed in various wars – note the lack of hyphen). Sub-Version starts the fight slamming right into Mega-Hurts, who doesn't have an active weapon and instead relies on speed and static spikes. But then both machines just kind of drive around wildly for a little bit. Sub-Version ends up on the CO₂ sprayer, which I think allegedly is supposed to be able to freeze your electronics, but I don't know if I've ever seen it do anything! Sub-Version then slams itself into one of the angle grinders, but simply bounces off of it.

Just about the only excitement in this fight

Finally Sub-Version manages to do some fighting against Mega-Hurts, slamming into it again and pushing both it and itself into an angle grinder, which again does nothing! Going into reverse for some reason, Sub-Version passes up a chance to hit Mega-Hurts with its blade and instead the two robots just sort of drive into themselves! Sub-Version manages to hit the side of Mega-Hurts with its blade, which just stops when coming into contact with Mega-Hurts, as is the style of ineffective spinning blades! This fight is a lot of just driving around, with the bots occasionally making contact with each other. Sub-Version briefly ends up in a CPZ after just slamming itself into a wall, but it manages to escape before Shunt can attack it.

Then Sub-Version just kind of breaks down while dancing with Mega-Hurts. There's not, like, a massive attack from Mega-Hurts. Instead, the two are just spinning around with each other and Sub-Version stops moving. It's a shame because I think Sub-Version was winning this fight. Bu, but unfortunately Mega-Hurts proves Battleships > Submarines moves onto the finals, where Anvil proves what WWII had already proved – Planes > Battleships – by winning the armed Forces special! The Anvil team was also given a fairly nice-looking trophy (especially when compared to the trophies given out in Extreme 2 and Series 7, which are just flat slabs) and I really wanna know where that trophy is! Do you think it's just sitting in some base somewhere? Or do you think it was given to the team captain when he retired from that Air Force? These are the questions people should be asking!

Despite being built for the armed Forces Special, the Sub-Version team tried to enter it into multiple Series of Robot Wars, probably figuring it was good advertising for the Navy – which, to be fair, it is! Sub-Version failed to qualify for Series 5 (which ran alongside Extreme 1) after losing to Corkscrew, whose full body spinner wasn't even working! They also failed to qualify for Series 6 under unknown circumstances before finally qualifying for Series 7 under equally unknown circumstances!

New and improved?

Now called Sub-Version 1.1, a few upgrades have been made. First, the disc is now larger and spins faster. It also only fires one torpedo (although it still has both tubes for some reason) and the self-righter periscope has been improved. In addition, Chief Petty Officer Russell Scott is no longer with the team, probably because he's out protecting his country. He has been replaced by Gordon Walker's young son Jamie Walker, who according to his pre-match interview wishes to see the robot destroyed! He expresses hope that the armor is burnt down and the action man sailor figure is destroyed by an axe! Maybe he's tired of his dad spending all his time with the robot…

Anyway, placed in Heat I, Sub-Version 1.1's first round matchup (14:17) sees them face off against newcomer Trax, a strange flipper that's trying the old "my tracks are so powerful that robots will ride up them" technique, which, oh yeah, I'm sure that'll work! They also face off against fellow veterans Shredder Evolution (using a unique two spinning blade weapon system) and The Steel Avenger, whose team was originally supposed to enter with The Steel Avenger 2 but didn't finish in time and whose Series 7 run we've already covered!

Sub-Version 1.1 starts the fight by driving up the wedge of Trax! Oh god, maybe Trax's strategy will work! Am I fool??? Sub-Version 1.1 ramps off of them before the flipper can be fired. It soon takes a broadside attack from the spinners of Shredder Evolution, putting a pretty nasty gash in its armor. The Steel Avenger comes in and starts pushing Shredder Evolution. For a brief moment, Sub-Version 1.1 helps push Shredder Evolution, with The Steel Avenger finishing the job by pushing Shredder Evolution into the wall! Sub-Version 1.1 then misses a torpedo attack on Trax as it drives around looking for someone to fight. The Steel Avenger then charges at Trax, riding up its wedge and getting thrown over! Stop working, Trax! You're making me look like an idiot! As that happens, Sub-Version 1.1 manages to get a ram on Trax which does little. The Steel Avenger manages to self-right as Shredder Evolution again goes after Sub-Version 1.1, cutting into its thin armor as sparks fly.

Shredder shreds Sub-Version 1.1.

Sub-Version 1.1 technically gets an attack off on Shredder Evolution by launching its torpedo spike at the disc of Shredder Evolution, which I guess I'll count as an attack because of my love for Sub-Version 1.1. More importantly, Shredder Evolution is so busy focusing on kicking Sub-Version 1.1's ass that they don't even notice The Steel Avenger coming at them. With a mighty ram, The Steel Avenger gets to the back of Shredder Evolution and begins pushing them around the arena before hitting them with an axe blow that bounces off their armor and lands between the wheel of Shredder Evolution, giving The Steel Avenger full control of Shredder Evolution!

As this happens, Trax and Sub-Version 1.1 begin to fight, with Trax quite easily winning that encounter. Trax presses the advantage by pushing them around for a bit before getting fully under Sub-Version 1.1's side. While they aren't able to flip them thanks to the way their flipper works, they do manage to push them into the wall near the pit release button. Realizing they're, how you say, taking an ass kicking, Sub-Version 1.1 hits the pit release button as The Steel Avenger drives Shredder Evolution over the flame pit. This actually almost ends up costing Sub-Version 1.1, as they drive over the pit just as it begins to drop, only narrowly avoiding getting eliminated by escaping the pit! The Steel Avenger has just parked Shredder Evolution over the flame pit; they just can't escape as long as the axe is lodged between their wheels, and their electronics are getting cooked! Taking advantage of the weakened Shredder Evolution and looking for revenge for the gash (and, not to mention, desperately needing points) Sub-Version 1.1 rams the prone machine before turning its own blade to the wheels of Shredder Evolution. The attack does very little but still counts for aggression points. Trax comes to join the fray and Sub-Version 1.1 lands a small ram on Trax as both robots are near Shredder Evolution. Suddenly, something goes flying off of somebody. I don't know if it came from Trax, Sub-Version 1.1, or even Shredder Evolution, but something came off of someone! Finally, The Steel Avenger lets go of Shredder Evolution, who is having difficulty getting off the flame pit as Trax and Sub-Version 1.1 begin fighting each other again. Shredder Evolution manages to escape the flame pit and Sub-Version 1.1 stupidly goes after them again, taking another blow from the discs and sending part of its front flying off. Despite this, Sub-Version 1.1 will not stop trying to attack the front of Shredder Evolution… which… What are you doing?! That's where the blades are!

Sub-Version 1.1 cast down to Davy Jones' Locker!

Finally Sub-Version 1.1 wises up and runs away as The Steel Avenger hits another axe blow on Shredder Evolution. The fight nears its end and the ten second timer comes on, but then what's in all honesty one of the most impressive pushes I've ever seen occurs. Trax manages to again get under the side of Sub-Version 1.1 and drives it the entire length of the arena, pushing it into the pit with only two seconds to spare and sending Sub-Version 1.1 out of the competition just before cease was called! It's not too great an upset, though. Sub-Version 1.1 was going to move on to the next round in the judges' decision anyways after spending the entire fight getting destroyed by Shredder Evolution and bullied by Trax!

It's like one of those decommissioned Liberty Ships you can visit!

With Robot Wars itself ending as a TV show, this would be the end of Sub-Version. Its last appearance sunk down into the depths of the pit, it's poetic really! I like Sub-Version. I remember seeing it as a kid while watching Robot Wars on TechTV and/or G4techTV and thinking it was cool and wanting it to win the armed Forces Special along with its fellow Navy machine Mega-Hurts. I didn't actually see it in Series 7 until years later because of the timeslot Series 7 aired on G4techTV. I mean, come on! 8AM? Your primary audience has school! What are you doing, schedule makers?!

Sub-Version has a cool design. I mean, it's a robot submarine; what's not to like? But it was never going to be competitive in the main wars. It was a competitive design for the armed Forces Special, sure, but, like, those were basically Series 3 and maybe Series 4-quality robots. After all, the winner was Anvil, who was just a flat robot with spikes! Sub-Version was never going to compete in the main wars effectively, because it's using pneumatic spikes in Series 5. Are you crazy? Those barely worked even in Series 2 and Series 3, let alone now when robots have actual armor. I'm not surprised it struggled to qualify for the main wars; I mean, it lost to Corkscrew, the full body spinner whose spinner wasn't even working! And my guess it either got a weak qualifier in Series 7 or was given a discretionary placement because it looked good and was good PR for Robot Wars, which was on a brand-new channel at the time. Cool as it was, there was no way it was making it out of the second round, and even getting out of the opening melee was gonna be super hard without luck!

Surprisingly, Sub-Version still exists mostly intact. At least, it does design-wise. It's not operational and it's missing both its torpedo spikes and the Action Man figure, having been discovered by Grant Rennie in a storage unit near where it was built in 2025. That's pretty cool. But yeah, Sub-Version and Sub-Version 1.1 were cool robots that really committed to their theme, but they were never gonna light the world on fire competitively. Still, I like them, and for this section that's all that matters!

That's it for this month's What's in a Campaign?. Join me next month as I look at another robot!

The 'Shroom: Issue 233
Staff sections	Staff Notes • The 'Shroom Spotlight • Poochy's Picks • Credits
Features	Fake News • Fun Stuff • Palette Swap • Pipe Plaza • Critic Corner • Strategy Wing

The 'Shroom:Issue 233/Pipe Plaza

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What is your opinion on The Super Mario Galaxy Movie? (The Shadow Prince (talk), July 5, 2026)

Would it be better for the Mario series be treated as a consistent universe or a set of ideas to play with? (CaptainOdyssey (talk), July 19, 2026)

Several power-ups in the Mario franchise grant Mario and his allies the ability to fly and glide in unique ways. Which one is your favorite? (Sparks (talk), August 2, 2026)

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What is your opinion on The Super Mario Galaxy Movie? (The Shadow Prince (talk), July 5, 2026)

Would it be better for the Mario series be treated as a consistent universe or a set of ideas to play with? (CaptainOdyssey (talk), July 19, 2026)

Several power-ups in the Mario franchise grant Mario and his allies the ability to fly and glide in unique ways. Which one is your favorite? (Sparks (talk), August 2, 2026)

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Several power-ups in the Mario franchise grant Mario and his allies the ability to fly and glide in unique ways. Which one is your favorite?
Super Cape 21.96% (488 votes)

Super Leaf (or any if its variants) 18.77% (417 votes)

Propeller Mushroom 11.66% (259 votes)

Red Star 10.49% (233 votes)

Super Acorn (or any of its variants) 6.12% (136 votes)

Wing Cap 5.22% (116 votes)

I like a power-up not listed above. 5.04% (112 votes)

I have no opinion. 4.59% (102 votes)

P Balloon 3.02% (67 votes)

Boo Mushroom 2.97% (66 votes)

Bee Mushroom 2.93% (65 votes)

Lakitu Cloud 2.79% (62 votes)

Carrot 2.34% (52 votes)

Propeller Box 2.12% (47 votes)

Total votes: 2,222