Barrel

Barrels are one of the two weapons that Donkey Kong used against Mario in Donkey Kong arcade game. Since then, barrels have appeared in many other Donkey Kong and Mario games, but they are more common to appear in Donkey Kong games. Barrels can be picked up and used to attack Kremlings, Koopas, and other enemies.

Appearance
In the Mario universe, barrels do not differentiate at all from those in the Real World. A barrel is made of several vertical convex staves (fourteen in the latest appearances) bound to form a pseudo-cylindrical vase, which is the barrel itself. However, in order to be sustained, four (only three in the New Super Mario Bros. games) gray metal hoops, possibly made of iron, surround the staves: two of them are each placed at one of the barrel's base, while the other are donned on the barrel's bigger circumferences. Usually, barrels do not contain anything, as they do not leave anything when broken.

Donkey Kong series
In Donkey Kong, the first threat Mario ever faces is from a blue barrel that Donkey Kong throws in level 25m. When this blue barrel rolls into the Oil Drum at the start, it will spawn a Fireball. Donkey Kong mostly throws brown barrels at Mario which the hero could jump over - once successfully passed over, a barrel will roll further and it won't represent a peril for Mario anymore (also, with every dodge, the player is granted 100 points). With the aid of a hammer, the chubby carpenter can smash the barrels, and this is going to award him 500 points.

In Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, small barrels are used to transport Donkey Kong to different kingdoms. Every barrel has a letter in front of them, with each letter spelling out the initials of Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. The D Barrel links to the Banana Kingdom, Orange Kingdom, Watermelon Kingdom, and Apple Kingdom. The K Barrel warps the player to the Strawberry Kingdom, Pineapple Kingdom, Lemon Kingdom, and Grape Kingdom. The J Barrel goes to the Cherry Kingdom, Peach Kingdom, Melon Kingdom, and Durian Kingdom. The B Barrel introduces the player into the Pear Kingdom, Lychee Kingdom, Chili Pepper Kingdom, and Star Fruit Kingdom. Completing all the kingdoms in each barrel allows Donkey Kong access to the next barrel.

Donkey Kong Country and Donkey Kong Land series
The game Donkey Kong Country introduces the generic barrels - and also some other types - as weapons used by Donkey Kong in combat with enemies. They appear frequently in many levels throughout the game. When Donkey Kong picks up a barrel, he lifts it above his head by using his powerful arms. This can be done if the player presses on the SNES controller when the ape hero is next to the barrel. However, Diddy Kong, the second hero, is not as strong to lift the barrel up, and only carries it in front of his body; nevertheless, this is a good technique used to protect himself from hazards. The barrel can then be hurled by releasing the button. Barrels are necessary to destroy tough or well protected enemies, including Zingers and Krushas. The mechanic of a barrel is simple: after it gets picked up and thrown, it will start to roll on the ground until it hits a wall (after this, the barrel will break); every enemy who dares to withstand this mighty weapon will be overthrown and grounded by it. Later in the game, Donkey and Diddy Kong encounter abominable orangutan-looking foes called Manky Kongs, which, much like Donkey Kong in the original Donkey Kong, tosses dangerous barrels at the heroes. These barrels only break when they hit a wall, and oddly enough, when Rambi bumps into a barrel thrown by a Manky Kong, the wooden weapon will not shatter its staves, but instead will simply fall off-screen.

After Donkey Kong Country, throughout the other many adventures of the Kongs, barrels still have the same function as they had in the aforementioned game. Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest's barrels do not sport any apparent change, and so they remained in Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, Donkey Kong Country Returns and its remake, and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. Apart from the Donkey Kong Country series, barrels also make appearances in the Donkey Kong Land games, and retain the exact same function. While Donkey Kong Land 2 and Donkey Kong Land 3 are full of barrels, the first Donkey Kong Land features a very small amount of normal barrels, three to be more precise. In this game, barrels are smaller and take the form of wooden kegs.

In Donkey Kong Country 2 and Donkey Kong Country 3, Dixie Kong can lift barrels over her head with her ponytail. Also, exclusively in Donkey Kong Country 3, Kiddy Kong's method of holding barrels is the same as Diddy Kong's.

There are some barrels in the first Donkey Kong Country which do not display gray hoops, but instead greenish ones. When these are thrown, they will roll on the ground just like common barrels, yet they are so fragile they will break when hitting an enemy. Barrels in Donkey Kong Country 3 function the same, although these do not sport any change in appearance from generic barrels.

Super Mario Bros. Special
In Super Mario Bros. Special, Barrels are new enemies and credited "Tarusar". Also, they can be defeated with a bump or a hammer.

Super Mario Sunshine
Super Mario Sunshine included items known as Water Barrels, which can be broken open and used to refresh F.L.U.D.D.'s water supply, clear large patches of Graffiti, or to instantly cool things down. Also, it is an item.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii
Barrels also appear in New Super Mario Bros. Wii. They can be carried and thrown by the player in order to defeat certain enemies. However, they can also harm other players if they get hit by one. Broozers sometimes use Barrels as hazards.

If a Spiked Ball touched a Barrel, it would be destroyed.

Super Mario 3D Land
Barrels appear once in Super Mario 3D Land, where at the final boss battle with Bowser, there is a point in the battle where Bowser throws barrels at the hero, a reference to the original Donkey Kong arcade game.

New Super Mario Bros. U
Barrels reappear in New Super Mario Bros. U act as in New Super Mario Bros. Wii. In this game they are less common, only appearing in some Ghost Houses with Broozers.

New Super Luigi U
Barrels appear in New Super Luigi U as a rare item in world 4-1 Broozers and Barrels usually to be used by Broozers, but sometimes for players to use.

Super Smash Bros. series
Barrels also appear as items in Super Smash Bros. and Super Smash Bros. Melee, where they contain one to four items and can roll along inclines. They also sometimes explode when broken. They return in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, alongside the Crate. This time around, they change appearance depending on the stage in which they appear. For example, it turns into a Present Barrel on the Yoshi's Island stage; though the effect of the Barrel remains unchanged.

Paper Mario: Sticker Star
Barrels reappear in Paper Mario: Sticker Star as a rare sticker. Two of them may appear if the player defeats the Broozers in Bowser Jr.'s Airship.

Types of barrels

 * Animal Barrel
 * Ellie Barrel
 * Enguarde Barrel
 * Rambi Barrel
 * Rattly Barrel
 * Squawks Barrel
 * Squitter Barrel
 * Auto-Fire Barrel
 * Barrel Cannon
 * Bonus Barrel
 * Booster Barrel
 * DK Barrel
 * Funky Barrel
 * Invincibility Barrel
 * Jumbo Barrel
 * On and Off Barrels
 * Plus and Minus Barrels
 * Rotatable Barrel
 * Star Barrel
 * Steel Barrel
 * Steerable Barrel
 * Stop and Go Barrel
 * Tag Barrel
 * TNT Barrel
 * Tracker Barrel
 * Warp Barrel
 * Water Barrel
 * Trigger Barrel