Thorn-Ball

A Thorn-Ball is an enemy found in the game Virtual Boy Wario Land, released for the Virtual Boy in 1995. They are only encountered during the thirteenth level of the game, within enclosed rooms in groups of two or three. Thorn-Balls are very similar in appearance to the generic Bumble Bee, possessing a golden body with dark, orange stripes, a stinger and a pair of wings which allows the creature to hover on regular intervals. Their artwork depicts that they have purple legs that wear blue shoes. The most notable characteristic of the Thorn-Ball is their tendency to eject an inexhaustible supply of spiked balls from the opening on the top of their head. The ball will fly up into the air and quickly come falling back down, harming Wario if he is to come into contact with one. The creatures tend to reside in the foreground and background of the level. In result, the ones in the background appear further away and less detailed in terms of appearance. Neither can be touched (and likewise defeated) by Wario. However, Wario is able to prevent harm from a single spiked ball by holding another enemy, such as a Mask-Guy, in between himself and the falling ball. This will cause both the picked-up enemy and the ball to disappear, but the Thorn-Ball will release another ball after a few seconds.