Fighter Fly

A Fighter Fly (originally spelled Fighterfly), also referred to as a firefly or bee, is a hopping insect that first appeared in the sewers of the original Mario Bros. arcade game.

Mario Bros.
In Mario Bros., Fighter Flies are one of the myriad of pests that emerge from pipes to attack Mario and Luigi. They first appear in Phase 6 (Phase 7 in Japan). After a Fighter Fly emerges, it hops across the stage's platforms. As such, Mario has to precisely time his Jump when the Fighter Fly is on the ground to flip the creature over. If airborne, a Fighter Fly cannot be flipped over - not even if Mario uses the POW Block. Once flipped over, Mario has to run into the insect to clear it off the stage.

In early iterations of the game, their design features large toothy scowls and shiny eyes, but their design was redone for the multiplayer mode of the Super Mario All-Stars version of Super Mario Bros. 3. Their design in this title has large white eyes with black pupils, while their scowls are replaced with small closed mouths, their heads are a light orange color, and they have noses. This design is further developed in the iteration of the game included on many Game Boy Advance games, which also gives them three colors and speeds depending on how many times they have been flipped over, like the other target enemies have.

In other iterations of Mario Bros.
Fighter Flies appear in Luigi Bros., an additional game featured in Super Mario 3D World. Like the other enemies in Luigi Bros., Fighter Flies behave in the same way as in Mario Bros., which this game is based on.

Fighter Flies are present in NES Remix as enemies and level objectives in some of the challenges and remixes based on Mario Bros..

Mario Bros. Special
In Mario Bros. Special, 1984 semi-sequel by Hudson Soft, Fighterflies can only be stunned if it is only a trampoline or conveyor belt that is being bounced on by Mario or Luigi. They first appear in Phase 9.

Punch Ball Mario Bros.
In Punch Ball Mario Bros., the other sequel by Hudson Soft, Fighterflies can be flipped over by hitting the POW Block while it is on the ground or having a Punch Ball thrown at them. If they recover or become the last target enemy on stage, they will turn green and move faster. They first appear in Phase 6.

Playbox BASIC / Family BASIC
Fighterflies are programmable sprites in the Playbox BASIC and Family BASIC accessories for the Family Computer. They make a cameo in the Playbox BASIC's Biorhythm Board. They appear as enemies in shooter mini-games in the Data Recorder's cassette and Family BASIC V3.

Super Mario Bros. Special
In Super Mario Bros. Special, Fighterflies, named Nakaji, appear in five levels. They are presumably named after Tomohiko Nakajima, one of the three staff members responsible for naming new enemies. He also made the end credits, which is the only place where the name appears. While it is not possible to stomp them, they can be defeated by any other method, including with a hammer.

Super Mario Land
In Super Mario Land, Fighterflies are simply named Flies and are seen in the Birabuto Kingdom of Sarasaland. In this game, they hop towards Mario, just like in Mario Bros. Some of them spawn in midair and hop downward when scrolled on-screen instead of appearing simply on the ground. Kumos from the Easton Kingdom attack in the same manner as Flies. They can simply be jumped on or be shot with a Superball to be defeated. Flies award Mario with 400 points when he defeats them. They are only found in World 1-1 and World 1-3 where, in the latter, one poses as Princess Daisy.

Super Mario Maker
A Mystery Mushroom costume, designed after Fighter Fly, can be unlocked in Super Mario Maker (after the version 1.20 update) by completing the hard version of Gnat Attack. When performing a jump as Fighter Fly, the player can hear the high-pitched noise this enemy made in the original Mario Bros.. If the player presses while playing as Fighter Fly, it will turn into a Freezie, which is a foe that also debuted in Mario Bros.

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga / Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions
In Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, they make a reappearance in Stardust Fields, the border between the Mushroom Kingdom and the Beanbean Kingdom. To attack, a Fighter Fly hops towards Mario or Luigi and tries to bump into the plumber. The heroes can jump to avoid the attack.

The Fighter Flies are orange with blue hands and feet, pink antennae, small wings, and have large green squinting eyelids. In Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions, their feet are pink instead of light blue.

Mario and Luigi also encounter a stronger version of the Fighter Fly, the Super Fly, in the basement of Beanbean Castle.

In the remake's Minion Quest mode, a Fighter Fly makes a cameo as the first audition for Popple's new "Rookie," a position which Birdo ends up receiving.

Mario Power Tennis
Fighter Flies appear as obstacles on the Mario Classic Court in Mario Power Tennis, in a flat 8-bit model form. Like other enemies, they will walk around on the court, obstructing a player's movements. An unused 3D model for a Fighter Fly can be found in the game's files, heavily based off their design from the Mario Bros. remake in Super Mario All-Stars.

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
Fighter Flies make a cameo appearance as a trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. Unlike the other Mario Bros. trophies, this trophy uses sprites from the NES version instead of the arcade version.

Super Mario Land

 * 3DS Virtual Console manual: "This creature is always buzzing around. Defeat it by stomping on it from above."

Perfect Ban Mario Character Daijiten
 ファイアフライ  種族 クリープ族 性格 陽気 登場ゲーム ブラザー  跳ねるから倒しにくいぞ  元祖マリオブラザーズの敵キャラ. 羽が大きく、いつも歯をみせて笑っている. カメさんたちと違い、跳ねながら降りてくるので床に降りているときしか倒せないのだ.

 Fighter Fly  Tribe: Creep clan Disposition: Cheerful Game appearances: Bros. ' They're bouncy and hard to knock down. ' ''An enemy character from the original Mario Bros. It has large wings and always has a toothy grin. Unlike Shellcreepers, he can only be defeated when he is on the floor, because he comes down while bouncing.''

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga

 * Official Nintendo Player's Guide: When a Fighter Fly attacks you, it hops once, pauses, then hops again. Jump at the end of the pause.

Names in other languages
Super Mario Land

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga

Trivia

 * In  development assets, Fighter Fly sprites, along with either a rough sketch or a planned variant, can be found among the game's cameos.

Interwiki links

 * Fighter Fly (Mario Bros.) — de:Fieser Flieger
 * Fighter Fly (Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga) — de:Fliegmut — it:Calabrotto

Fly Calabrotto