Spring

Springs are items that appear in the Donkey Kong series. In their initial appearance, springs are harmful to Mario, but they can later also be helpful.

In the Donkey Kong arcade game, Donkey Kong would throw springs at Mario in the level 75m. If Mario gets hit by a spring, he loses a life. In Donkey Kong for the Game Boy, the original harmful springs return, but several others also make an appearance. Stationary Springs are found throughout levels. If Mario jumps on one, he can jump higher than usual.

Springs can also be placed in the Game Boy game. When Mario jumps at a Spring block, the game freezes and the player has to place the Spring to any free point in the level. The Spring is timed, and disappears after the time has passed. This timer indicated with a music that starts playing as soon as the road is placed and gets faster gradually. The timer can be reset to 0 if Mario places another Spring within the first Spring's time limit, or any other placeable objects such as Roads, Ladders, and blocks. After disappearing, the Spring can then be placed with the Spring block again.

In the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series, springs are common obstacles. In Mario vs. Donkey Kong, they appear in many levels, including some boss battles, where they are often needed to clear levels. They are placed on the ground or sometimes in mid-air. Springs also make an appearance in Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis, Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again!, and Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem, where they are needed to guide the Mini-Marios throughout many stages. In these games, the springs can either bounce the minis straight into the air, or bounce them to the left or right. In Mini-Land Mayhem!, these springs are named Vertical Springs and Horizontal Springs.



In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, like a few other items (Peanut, Peach, etc.), the Spring does not appear regularly like a typical item, but appears after a certain attack - in this case, Sonic the Hedgehog's Spring Jump. If Sonic does this in mid-air, the spring simply falls to the stage, damaging anyone unlucky enough to have it dropped on them. However, if he performs it on the ground, the spring temporarily sticks where it is, allowing other players to use it. It will disappear after approximately six seconds.

There is also another Spring in the game, which is modeled after the Mario series. Unlike Sonic's Spring, this Spring is a normal item that appears in the game regularly. If jumped on, a player will be launched in the air extra high than with a normal jump. If the Spring is knocked on its side, however, the player will be launched sideways.

Trivia

 * In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, if a player bounces on a Spring, the sound effect from Donkey Kong when a Spring bounces in 75m can be heard.