Banzai Bill

Banzai Bills (also known as Magnum Bills in the Super Mario World television series) are a larger variety of Bullet Bills that first appear in Super Mario World. Their attack patterns consist of shooting off-screen though occasionally, players can see them being fired from Banzai Bill Cannons, where a firing sound is played to alert players that they incoming, and they travel into players at a straight line. To avoid it players can either jump on higher platorms or duck in lower areas of the stage provided. As with all Bullet Bill varieties, jumping on them or using a star on them are the only ways to defeat them, as they are immune to fireballs and break out very quickly if they are frozen with ice balls. While Banzai Bills share the same black coloration and physical characteristics as Bullet Bills, Banzai Bills lack arms and have a mouth in the form of a shark smile. They are the second largest sub-species of Bullet Bills, after the King Bill. The word Banzai is a Japanese interjection mainly used for jubilation or celebration, frequently translated as "Hooray!"

Super Mario World / Super Mario Advance
In Super Mario World and its remake, Super Mario Advance, Banzai Bills are fired from somewhere off-screen and travel towards Mario in a straight line. They can be defeated by jumping on top of them or by running into them with the use of a Star. Banzai Bills appear in three levels, with the levels being Yoshi's Island 1, Valley of Bowser 3, and Awesome. In Super Mario World, Banzai Bills appear before even the regular variety of Bullet Bills. As SNES sprites were limited to 64×64 pixels, the in-game Banzai Bills appear to be flatter horizontally than depicted in artwork. When players complete the Special World in Super Mario World or by getting 96 exits in its remake, unlike the Bullet Bills, which change into Pidgit Bills, Banzai Bills do not change at all.

New Super Mario Bros.
Banzai Bills reappear in New Super Mario Bros.. They retain most of their design from their Super Mario World counterparts, except that their coloring has a slight purple hue, and they have red shadows under their eyes to make them look more intimidating; their animation has been changed as well, where they now spin instead of staying in one position. In this game Banzai Bills are fired from huge Banzai Bill Cannons (unlike Super Mario World, where they are fired from an unknown source), and they appear only at the end of World 7-5 and 8-1. As with Super Mario World, they are defeated with a jump or through the use of a Star.

Super Mario Galaxy
In Super Mario Galaxy, Banzai Bills make their 3D debut in the game's last level, Bowser's Galaxy Reactor, and they retain their appearance from Super Mario World, where they lack the red highlights on their eyes. They do not home in on Mario's or Luigi's position as how Bullet Bills behave in Super Mario Galaxy, though their size makes them difficult to avoid. To avoid them, Mario or Luigi have to wait until it passes by, or attempt to backflip over it. If a Banzai Bill touches Mario or Luigi, he is knocked away from the Banzai Bill. They are indestructible in this game, as jumping on them does not defeat them, unlike in the 2D games.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii
Banzai Bills appear again in New Super Mario Bros. Wii. They are mostly seen in World 7, the cloud-themed level of the game. In, they are used as obstacles, where Mario and co. must move up on a platform and avoid the Banzai Bills, alongside Bullet Bills that are shot at them. They can be jumped on to either defeat them or to reach higher areas. As most enlarged versions of enemies, an Ice Flower freezes them only very briefly. This game introduces homing varieties of the Banzai Bill, as well as the even larger and indestructible King Bills.

Super Mario Galaxy 2
Banzai Bills appear in Super Mario Galaxy 2, reprising their attack patterns and durability from Super Mario Galaxy, where they appear more frequently. Banzai Bills are first encountered in Sky Station Galaxy, and they later appear in Bowser Jr.'s Fearsome Fleet (during the fight with Megahammer), Fleet Glide Galaxy, and Bowser's Galaxy Generator. They can be defeated using a Rainbow Star or the Spin Drill, and award a large number of Star Bits.

Super Mario 3D Land
In Super Mario 3D Land, Banzai Bills start appearing in World 8-5 and are more common in the special worlds. These Banzai Bill appear to be more similar to their Super Mario World counterparts than that of their appearances later games, as they lack the red highlights on their eyes and do not spin around when fired. Unlike their other 3D iterations, they can be defeated by jumping on them, and other methods of defeating them include touching them while in statue form or using a Boomerang thrown by Boomerang Mario.

New Super Mario Bros. 2
Banzai Bills appear in New Super Mario Bros. 2, retaining their attack patterns from previous titles. Whenever Mario touches a Gold Ring, Banzai Bills turn gold. In this state, they leave a trail of two rows of coins behind them. They appear in World 5-5 and World 6-B. They also appear in the Coin Challenge Pack B and Platform Panic Pack DLC packs.

New Super Mario Bros. U
Banzai Bills also appear in New Super Mario Bros. U, where they make their only appearance in the level, Scaling the Mountainside. They operate in the same manner as in New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Banzai Bills also appear in the expansion pack game New Super Luigi U, this time in the Weighty Waddlewings level, where they are very common along the Banzai Bill Cannon. A few Banzai Bills are also seen in Larry's Trigger-Happy Castle and Para-Beetle Parade, but these ones are not fired from Banzai Bill Cannons, being fired from offscreen areas.

Super Mario 3D World
Banzai Bills return in Super Mario 3D World, with the same attack pattern as in previous games. The game also introduces the Cat Banzai Bill, a new variety of Banzai Bill. Unlike in previous games, Banzai Bills in Super Mario 3D World have blue fire thrusting them through the air, while they used red fire in preceding games.

Super Mario World television series
A Banzai Bill makes a minor appearance in the Super Mario World cartoon episode "Mama Luigi". In the cartoon, they are known as Magnum Bills, which is a possible combination of the name Bullet Bill and their Japanese name, Magnum Killer. In the episode, Mario, after narrowly dodging an attack by a Koopa Wizard, accidentally leaps into the path of a Magnum Bill.

Hotel Mario
Banzai Bills appear in the game Hotel Mario, albeit closer in size to Bullet Bills and with their characteristic limbs. They appear in Lemmy's High-ate Regency Hotel, moving diagonally across the screen. More appear at once on higher stages, but they can be defeated with a jump. They sometimes trigger when a Flying Goomba is defeated.

Super Smash Bros. Melee
Banzai Bills are stage hazards in Super Smash Bros. Melee, where they randomly appear in the Princess Peach's Castle stage in set angles, from either the top, side, or diagonally; a firing sound and their traveling sound is an indicator that they are coming. Once burrowed into a castle wall, it digs into the wall and eventually explodes, causing massive damage and knockback to anyone caught in its explosion. The explosion will also press any buttons in range, activating platforms and ! Blocks. It also destroys or activates destructible items. The Banzai Bill also causes small damage and knockback to any players who touch it. In earlier copies of the game, Banzai Bill's collectible trophy is instead called "Bullet Bill" when set to English, but it is identified as Banzai Bill in Japanese, PAL, and later versions of the game. Another error is that the origin game is incorrectly marked as Super Mario Bros. when Super Mario World is the first appearance of them. A Banzai Bill as it appears in Super Mario World also appears in the background of the Yoshi's Island stage (which applies to the returning stage in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U).

Mario Kart series
Banzai Bills make rare appearances in the Mario Kart series, physically appearing in one game while having a kart design based after it in two other games. They make their only physical appearance in Mario Kart 7, where they appear in DS Airship Fortress as obstacles, replacing the Bullet Bills fired out of the cannons. They travel in a straight line and any player who touches the Banzai Bill gets flipped over.

Two vehicles in the Mario Kart series are designed after the Banzai Bill. Bowser Jr.'s unlockable kart, the Bullet Blaster, in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! has its design based after the Banzai Bill. In Mario Kart Arcade GP DX, the Road Jetter is an airplane-based vehicle that has the design of a Banzai Bill on the front of the vehicle.

Super Princess Peach
Banzai Bills reappear in the game Super Princess Peach, where they act the same way they did in Super Mario World, having a similar appearance as well. Despite their size, players can still pick them up if they press on them. They first appear in the world, Hoo's Wood with their first level appearance being in Hoo's Wood 2-4. They are later seen in Gleam Glacier 6-3, Giddy Sky 7-2, and Giddy Sky 7-5. This game also introduces a red, more dangerous variant of Banzai Bills known as Mad Banzai Bills, which fly faster than normal Banzai Bills.

Mario Strikers Charged
Banzai Bills make a cameo in Mario Strikers Charged, in the Sand Tomb field. In this game, they are painted, with their Super Mario World appearance, in one of the pillars in the background.

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story


A Banzai Bill appears in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story as a key item. In Dimble Wood, Bowser sees Private Goomp, Corporal Paraplonk and Sergeant Guy carrying a Banzai Bill Cannon. They explain to Bowser that they are going to fire a Banzai Bill to Bowser's Castle, which is taken over by Fawful, as payback. The three, however, do not have any Banzai Bills; Bowser has to search one on his own. It seems that a Wiggler on a farm has a Banzai Bill after Bowser pulled out his Giga-Carrot, which Bowser has to eat. He was originally going to use the carrot as a substitute for the Banzai Bill, though the Wiggler tells him to eat it as a responsibility. After the carrot is eaten up, Bowser could choose to save or to get the Banzai Bill right now. Once he asks for the Banzai Bill, the Wiggler gets mad because Bowser pulled out the carrot and ate it, even though he told Bowser to do so. After battle, Bowser finally gets the Banzai Bill and gives it to Private Goomp, Corporal Paraplonk and Sergeant Guy, which is then launched at Bowser's former castle. However, Midbus and two other Goombas see the Banzai Bill and dodge it by making the castle fly into the air. The castle then heads for Bowser, lands on him, and initiates the first Giant Bowser battle. The Banzai Bill is not seen again for the rest of the game.

Mario & Luigi: Dream Team
A single Banzai Bill appears in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, in the battle with the Elite Trio. When attacking, Sergeant Guy Ground Pounds the cannon, causing the Banzai Bill to come out. The Banzai Bill then chases after Mario, where he then needs to outrun it.

Paper Mario: Sticker Star
Banzai Bills appear in Paper Mario: Sticker Star, in which Bowser Jr. fires one from his airship of Bowser Jr.'s Flotilla to prevent Mario and Kersti from reaching Bowser's Castle. Later in the level, Mario paperizes the Banzai Bill Cannon to shoot a Banzai Bill, making a huge hole in the flotilla. If Mario is hit by these Banzai Bills, they take away 30 HP.

Paper Mario: Color Splash
Banzai Bills appear in this game and are used as missile bombs. They are filled up with black paint in Black Bowser's Castle. When they crash, a dark skull cloud is created as a result of the impact, and they scatter black paint over a large area. These Banzai Bills can take away 30 HP from Mario if their hit is successful.

Mario Party: Island Tour
A Banzai Bill appears in Mario Party: Island Tour as the main gimmick of the Banzai Bill's Mad Mountain board. If a player rolls the die and rolls the Banzai Bill icon, the Banzai Bill will shoot out of its cannon and knock the players to the last checkpoint. However, the Banzai Bill can only travel along the lower path or the upper path at any given time.

Mario Party 10
Banzai Bills appear in a Mario Party 10 minigame, where they are summoned by Kamek in the second half of the in Kamek's Rocket Rampage when Kamek gets half of his health depleted. These are larger and therefore more difficult to dodge than the normal Bullet Bills he spawns. Banzai Bills take three points away if players get hit by them, which is the most damaging enemy in this minigame.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U
Banzai Bills appear as Smash Run enemies in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS. Like normal Bullet Bills, they attack by homing in on the player and flying toward them. If players touch Banzai Bills, they take fire damage and get knocked back. Banzai Bills have above-average health, although if they take a strong enough hit, they can get stunned and fall to the ground, open to attack, momentarily. Finally, if a Banzai Bill embeds itself into a wall, it explodes after a while, although it releases no power-ups. In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Banzai Bills appear only as a collectible trophy. The trophy is unlocked when players clear a Solo 3-Minute Smash after getting 110 or more KOs while playing as Bowser.

Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition
Banzai Bills appear as enemies in Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition. Their main attribute is Dark, while their sub-attribute is Light.

As enemies, the player does not fight Banzai Bills directly, fighting their Banzai Bill Cannons instead. Banzai Bills always begin the battle with first strike blows and attacks the player's team every single turn. However, they may also use a turn to use their Skill Armor Break, which increases their ATK while also lowering their defense. Because Banzai Bill Cannons are larger than the Bill Blasters, Banzai Bills are never allied with any other enemies. Interestingly, the Banzai Bill Cannons in this game are shaped like larger Bill Blasters.

As allies, Banzai Bills can use Armor Break to greatly reduce the defense of all the enemies on the field for two turns. The player can acquire a Banzai Bill by using four Fire Flowers on a Bullet Bill. The Banzai Bill will transform into a King Bill when given six Fire Flowers. The Banzai Bills' strongest stat is their ATK with a rating of 6/6, while their HP is rather low with a rating of 2/6. Lastly, their RCV rating is 0/6. Banzai Bills use Green Star Coins and Grand Green Star Coins to increase their Skill levels.

Characteristics and traits
Banzai Bills, being a derivative species from the Bullet Bills, are large, anthropomorphized bullet enemies that can either be fired from a Banzai Bill Cannon or from a cannon off-screen, where the only cues the players receive that they are coming are the firing sounds heard. Due to their large size and immunity to most attacks, they often are required to be dodged either by maneuvering around them, jumping on higher ground, or by ducking if lower ground is available. In some games, Banzai Bills are weak to jumps on top of them like normal Bullet Bills while other games, the only way to defeat them is if players run into them while they are invincible. The Banzai Bill retains most physical characteristics from Bullet Bills, which includes the bullet-like shape, the jet-black, shiny coloration, and angry eyes. However, key differences from Bullet Bills include the lack of arms on the Banzai Bill and that all Banzai Bills have mouths, which is constantly open and filled with sharp teeth, giving them a shark-like appearance. In most games after New Super Mario Bros., their design has been updated to add red highlights to their eyes, as well as their animation has been tweaked so they twirl around when fired rather than their original static pose. In some games, notably the Super Smash Bros. and Paper Mario series, they have the ability to dig into walls and release a huge explosion.

Their English namesake, "Banzai" comes from the Japanese interjection, which is usually translated to "Hurray!" Their Japanese name, "Magnum", refers to its very large size in comparison to most enemies in the Mario series. Most languages have adopted either the English or Japanese versions of the name, with a few exceptions, one example being the German name, "Riesen-Kugelwilli", meaning "Giant Bullet Willi" where "Willi" is the German equivalent of "Bill".

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U
Red indicates exclusive to the Nintendo 3DS version. Blue indicates exclusive to the Wii U version.

Trivia

 * In the Prima Player's Guide for New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Banzai Bills are mistakenly called King Bills, despite being different enemies.