Zap Ball
- Not to be confused with Zap Orb.
| Zap Ball | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Screenshot from Super Mario Galaxy | |||
| First appearance | Super Mario Galaxy (2007) | ||
| Latest appearance | Super Mario 3D All-Stars (2020) | ||
| Variant of | Amp | ||
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Zap Balls[1][2] are large faceless Amps in Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2. They behave similarly to their smaller counterparts, functioning as electrical hazards that either remain stationary or move along a set path.
History[edit]
Super Mario Galaxy[edit]
Zap Balls make their first appearance as enemies in Super Mario Galaxy, where they move either back and forth or around the boundary of a planet. In the Bubble Blast Galaxy, small Zap Balls appear, behaving in the same manner. A similar obstacle called an Electric Ball also appears.
Appearances[edit]
marks missions where Zap Balls are completely absent.
marks missions where Zap Balls are loaded and may be visible but cannot be encountered directly.
| Normal | ||||||||
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| Domes | Galaxies | Missions | ||||||
| Fountain | Space Junk Galaxy |  |
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| Battlerock Galaxy | |
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| Kitchen | Buoy Base Galaxy | |
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| Bedroom | Gusty Garden Galaxy | |
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| Engine Room | Toy Time Galaxy | |
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| Smaller | ||||||||
| Domes | Galaxies | Missions | ||||||
| Comet Observatory | Bubble Blast Galaxy |
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Super Mario Galaxy 2[edit]
Zap Balls return in Super Mario Galaxy 2. They are encountered in the Space Storm Galaxy, where some travel in circles like in the previous game, while others float in place in space segments, similar to Space Mines.
Appearances[edit]
- marks missions where Zap Balls are completely absent.
- marks missions where Zap Balls are loaded and may be visible but cannot be encountered directly.
| Worlds | Galaxies | Missions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| World 5 | Space Storm Galaxy |  |
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Gallery[edit]
Model from Super Mario Galaxy
Screenshot from Super Mario Galaxy 2
The small Zap Balls in the Bubble Blast Galaxy
Naming[edit]
Etymology[edit]
The English name "Zap Ball" was first published on the English version of Mario Portal in 2022. Japanese paratext for the first Super Mario Galaxy regarded it as a type of faceless Amp and this was reflected in its published nomenclature. Its current name,「ビリビリボール」(Biribiri Bōru), is also applied to the Amp-like Electric Ball in the first title and may have been inherited from it. The Zap Ball is referred to as a "Big Amp" in the English edition of the Super Mario Bros. Encyclopedia.[3] Because this enemy was lumped into the Big Amp article on Super Mario Wiki prior to 2025, the application of this name in the encyclopedia is potentially a consequence of circular reporting.
Internal names[edit]
| Game | File | Name | Meaning
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Super Mario Galaxy Super Mario Galaxy 2 |
ObjectData/BigBirikyu.arc | BigBirikyu | Big Amp |
| StageData/ObjNameTable.arc/ObjNameTable.tbl SystemData/ObjNameTable.arc/ObjNameTable.tbl |
巨大顔なしビリキュー (Kyodaigaonashi Birikyū) | Giant Faceless Amp; compare Electric Ball |
Names in other languages[edit]
The contemporaneous name for each language is listed first. Subsequent names are listed in chronological order for each language, from oldest to newest, and have the media with which they are associated in the "notes" column. Names exclusive to localizations of the Super Mario Bros. Encyclopedia are not prioritized due to concerns about circular reporting, and are only listed first for their respective languages if they are the only ones available.
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ビリビリボール[4][5][6] Biribiri Bōru |
From「ビリビリ」(biribiri) an onomatopoeia for an electric shock, and「ボール」(bōru, "ball"); shared with Electric Ball | |
| ビッグビリキュー[7][8] Biggu Birikyū |
Big Amp | Super Mario Galaxy | |
| 巨大顔なしビリキュー[9] Kyodai Gaonashi Birikyū |
Giant Faceless Amp | ||
| French | Sphère électrique[10] | Electric sphere | |
| Boule électrifiée[11] | Electric ball | Super Mario Galaxy | |
| Boule électrique[12] | Super Mario Bros. Encyclopedia | ||
| German | Schock-Ball[13] | Shock Ball | |
| Italian | Sfera elettrica[14] | Electric sphere | |
| Sfera elettrificata[15] | Electrified sphere | Nintendo La Rivista Ufficiale | |
| Amperino Gigante[16]:128 | Giant Amp | Super Mario Bros. Encyclopedia | |
| Elettrosfera[16]:161 | Electrosphere; shared with Lightning Orb | ||
| Spanish | Electrobola[17] | Electroball |
References[edit]
- ^ English Super Mario Galaxy entry on the official Mario Portal. nintendo.co.jp (English). Retrieved August 13, 2022. (Archived August 12, 2022, 23:39:09 UTC via archive.today.)
- ^ English Super Mario Galaxy 2 entry on the official Mario Portal. nintendo.co.jp (English). Retrieved August 13, 2022. (Archived August 12, 2022, 23:39:46 UTC via archive.today.)
- ^ Roberts, Rachel, and Cardner Clark, editors (2018). Super Mario Bros. Encyclopedia: The Official Guide to the First 30 Years (First English Edition). Milwaukie: Dark Horse Books. ISBN 978-1-50670-897-3. Page 126, 159.
- ^ Kanno, Rei, Yamato Sekiguchi, Takuya Katayama, Nobuhito Teshiromori, Takuya Inokuma, and Daiki Kimura (2008). 『スーパーマリオギャラクシー ザ・コンプリートガイド』(Super Mario Galaxy The Complete Guide). Tokyo: MediaWorks (Japanese). ISBN 978-4-8402-4157-1. Page 107.
- ^ 2010. Nintendo Kōshiki Guidebook - Super Mario Galaxy 2. Tokyo: Shogakukan (Japanese). ISBN 978-4-09-227145-6. Page 461.
- ^ Sakai, Kazuya (ambit), kikai, Akinori Sao, Junko Fukuda, Kunio Takayama, and Ko Nakahara (Shogakukan), editors (2015). 『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). ISBN 978-4-09-106569-8. Page 128, 161.
- ^ Watanabe, Takashi, Noriko Oketani, Geasen Ueno, Kiyotaka Iwaya, Tatsuhiko Mizutani, Kensaku Tanaka, Mizuho Nitta, Junko Fukuda, and Kunio Takayama, editors (2007). 『スーパーマリオギャラクシー: 任天堂公式ガイドブック』. Tokyo: Shogakukan (Japanese). ISBN 978-4-09-227115-9. Page 403.
- ^ Aoyagi, Masayuki, editor (2007). 『スーパーマリオギャラクシーコンプリートガイド』(Super Mario Galaxy Complete Guide). Tokyo: Enterbrain (Japanese). ISBN 978-4-7577-3943-7. Page 365.
- ^ Kashima, Aya, Mitsuhiro Kitamura, Shinji Kutsuzawa, Kushima No, Itaru Nakatani, Hiroshi Hirata, Kimiyasu Hongo, Yoji Watanabe, Ayoka Kojima, and Daisaku Sato (2007). 『スーパーマリオギャラクシー 任天堂ゲーム攻略本』(Super Mario Galaxy Nintendo Game Strategy Guide). Tokyo: ambit (Japanese). ISBN 978-4-8399-2700-4. Page 14.
- ^ Browne, Catherine (2010). Super Mario Galaxy 2 Prima le Guide Officiel. Translated by Yellow Media. Ligugé: Prima Games (French). ISBN 978-2-952-67394-5. Page 179.
- ^ Black, Fletcher (2007). Super Mario Galaxy Le Guide Officiel (French Edition). Translated by Mathieu Daujam and Calude-Olivier Eliçabe. Roseville: Prima Games (French). ISBN 978-1-906064-02-0. Page 108.
- ^ Ardaillon, Joanna, and Victoria Juillard-Huberty, editors (2018). Super Mario Encyclopedia. Translated by Fabien Nabhan. Toulon: Soleil Productions (French). ISBN 978-2-3020-7004-2. Page 128, 161.
- ^ Scholz, Sabine, and Benjamin Spinrath, editors (2017). "Super Mario Galaxy" in Super Mario Encyclopedia - Die ersten 30 Jahre : 1985-2015. Translated by Yamada Hirofumi. Hamburg: Tokyopop (German). ISBN 978-3-8420-3653-6. Page 128.
- ^ Browne, Catherine (2010). Super Mario Galaxy 2 Guida Strategica Ufficiale (Multiplayer.it Edizioni). Translated by Christian La Via Colli, Francesca Noto, and Virgina Petrarca. Terni: Multiplayer Edizioni, Prima Games (Italian). ISBN 9788863551198. Page 177-178.
- ^ Andrea Minini Saldini (February 2008). Nintendo La Rivista Ufficiale Numero 75. Milan: Future Media Italy SpA (Italian). Page 79.
- ^ a b Sakai, Kazuya (ambit), kikai, Akinori Sao, Junko Fukuda, Kunio Takayama, Ko Nakahara (Shogakukan), and Marco Figini, editors (2018). Super Mario Bros. Enciclopedia. Translated by Marco Amerighi. Milan: Magazzini Salani (Italian). ISBN 889367436X.
- ^ Sakai, Kazuya (ambit), kikai, Akinori Sao, Junko Fukuda, Kunio Takayama, and Ko Nakahara (Shogakukan), editors (2017). "Super Mario Galaxy" in Enciclopedia Super Mario Bros. 30ª Aniversario. Translated by Gemma Tarrés. Barcelona: Editorial Planeta, S.A. (European Spanish). ISBN 978-84-9146-223-1. Page 128.
