Talk:Wire Trap

Merge Wire Trap to Spark or Move Wire Spark to Wire Trap
The Spark article currently describes two very different versions of the enemy: the standard one appearing in various titles that orbits around objects, and the faceless one from the Game Boy Donkey Kong and the Game Boy Advance Mario vs. Donkey Kong that exist solely as a periodical hazard on horizontal wires. Meanwhile, the Wire Trap enemy from Super Mario Sunshine travels along similar horizontal wires just like the latter, and shares the name "Spark" in Japanese. Wire Sparks and Wire Traps can safely be grouped in the same article, and we can do this by either completely merging Wire Trap to Spark or by simply moving Spark's Game Boy Donkey Kong and Mario vs. Donkey Kong information over to Wire Trap. If we do the latter, this would fully split the Spark enemy between its platform-based and wire-based types, although the Wire Trap article should probably be renamed to "Sparky (Wire Trap)" or "Sparky (wire)" afterwards since Sparky is the most recent name.

Proposer: Deadline: November 20, 2017, 23:59 (GMT)

Merge Wire Trap to Spark

 * 1) Per proposal. This option is a total merge of Spark's Super Mario Sunshine appearance, taking into account that the English name is a localization alteration; the behavioral and physical differences between platform-based and wire-based Sparks themselves are deemed inconsequential as they are now.
 * 2) One one hand, the wire behavior is quite similar in that that they travel along a surface...
 * 3) Per all.

Move Wire Spark to Wire Trap

 * 1) An alternative to the above. This option acknowledges that while Wire Trap is indeed a Spark, the differences between platform-based and wire-based Sparks in general are too great to share the same article; as a result, the Game Boy Donkey Kong and Mario vs. Donkey Kong appearances will be here.
 * 2) ...but on the other hand, they are fairly different as well, and given the sheer amount of Japanese names (which are all admittedly transliterations of the same word) we have on Spark......
 * 3) Per all.
 * 4) Per all.
 * 5) Per all.

DKJr
According to the Perfect Daijiten, the ones in DKJr are the same enemy as the ones in DK94, but not the same as the SMUSA ones.... Doc von Schmeltwick (talk) 20:53, 20 December 2017 (EST)
 * This was already touched on here. The "Sparkies" in Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis and Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem! are designed after the Doki Doki Panic / Super Mario Bros. 2 ones, which would seem to make the intent obvious in a series that makes semi-frequent callbacks to Snapjaw and Nitpicker. The description in Perfect Daijiten even mentions that it's an "American Spark" and also has a separate page containing all the enemies whose names changed between Japan (Doki Doki Panic) and USA (Super Mario Bros. 2), except the latter claim can't be verified right now since Spark (along with Tweeter and Flurry) aren't listed in the Doki Doki Panic manual. Coupled with the Super Mario Collection guide using the usual spelling, and it is splitting hairs again. At any rate, the result of the above proposal means Spark's change is currently recognized based on platform and wire versions, not the name it happens to have (which there are many). LinkTheLefty (talk) 08:58, 21 December 2017 (EST)
 * Huh, I had thought that the DKjr ones went on those climbable poles, must have been misremembering Snapjaw instead. Doc von Schmeltwick (talk) 19:31, 21 December 2017 (EST)
 * Checked, and yes they do travel along wires. The orange ones on those zigzagged wires, and the blue ones on the disconnected ones. Not exclusively, but it seems that there was an intended connection between them and the DK94 ones. Doc von Schmeltwick (talk) 01:55, 17 February 2018 (EST)
 * Wires are thin, horizontal ropes that first appeared in the Game Boy game, and the player is only be able to hang from them. There are none on Stage 3. Daijiten specifies this difference in its description. LinkTheLefty (talk) 07:47, 16 March 2018 (EDT)

Split Sparky (Donkey Kong) from Wire Trap
The above proposal went with the decision to merge the (Mario vs.) Donkey Kong Sparky with the Super Mario Sunshine Wire Trap, but looking back, I believe there is ample reason to split further. While the name "Wire Trap" implies that they are objects that travel on wires, they are actually on ropes, which are thicker. Sparks are sparks of electricity that generate from one side of the wire, move to the next, and disappear. Wire Traps, on the other hand, have a physical form and don't disappear. Sparkies are still fairly different from Sparks, which mostly circle around platforms, but they are also different enough from Wire Traps that sharing the same article still seems a bit forced in retrospect. Splitting will also affect the wire and rope articles.

Proposer: Deadline: December 21, 2018, 23:59 (GMT)

Support

 * 1) Pro perposal.
 * 2) Per proposal.
 * 3) Per all.

Comments
What about the ones from DK Jr, which PEotGMCE groups with the DK94 ones? Some of those travel on those static particles in a similar manner.... Doc von Schmeltwick (talk) 20:08, 7 December 2018 (EST)
 * I think that can remain in the Spark article, at least for the time being. The name Sparky is most likely meant as a way to break off from the original Spark, similar to when Missile Bill or Bouncing Bullet Bill were originally grouped together with Bullet Bill in Japanese material until they eventually came into their own. LinkTheLefty (talk) 20:15, 7 December 2018 (EST)
 * You set the deadline to December of 2017, not 2018. You might want to fix that. GrainedCargo192 (talk)

Um, Sparks in DK94 have a physical form, they're a 4-pronged ball with a circle of electricity glowing in-and-out on them. Additionally, most Wire Traps do disappear when they reach the other end of the rope. Only a few in a single mission of Noki Bay make an exception to that. Doc von Schmeltwick (talk) 17:57, 8 December 2018 (EST)