Chain Chomp

A Chomp (or Chain Chomp) is a black, spherical creature, dog-like in personality, often tethered to a block or post by a chain. It has sharp teeth and is constantly gnawing at the air and straining against its chain, as if eager to "chomp" on any passers-by. Under unusual circumstances, Chain Chomps can come loose â€” for example, in Super Mario Bros. 3, when the in-game timer for the level hits 160 seconds. Normally they are invincible. In some games, Chomps can be beneficial.

Appearances
Chomps made their first appearance in level 2-5 of Super Mario Bros. 3 for the NES/Famicom as Chain Chomps, along with their cousins, the flying, fire-spitting, self-destructing Fire Chomps. They have since appeared in many Mario games. In Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars for the SNES, Bowser uses a Chain Chomp for a weapon, and Chain Chomps also appear as enemies. Additionally, a much more powerful form, known as a Gold Chomp (Called Chomp Chomps) appears. These creatures are about as powerful as the game's first true boss, the Mack. They also appear in Yoshi's Island for the SNES, devoid of their chains and having increased to the massive size they retained in many future games (save one specimen, which remained chained and small, like in previous games). In Super Mario 64, they acquired their distinctive bark, which was used in all subsequent games, save Paper Mario, where Chain Chomps (as well as the Stone Chomp variant) were unleashed by Tutankoopa and, like most of the other characters in the game, made no distinctive sound. In Mario Kart 64, Chomps appear on the Rainbow Road track where they travel at road level in the opposite direction of the racers in a regular zig-zag pattern. If racers run into a Chomp, it causes them to explode and fly up into the air. In Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, a Chain Chomp is a useable item for Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, Petey Piranha, and King Boo that pulls the racers forward for a few seconds and bowls over other racers in its path. After a certain amount of time, it abandons the vehicle and goes of on its own in a straight line until it runs into a vehicle or off the course. Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour features a hole where a Chain Chomp devours any ball that enters. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door features two types of Chain Chomps: Red Chomps, which appear in Glitzville and the Pit of 100 Trials, and traditional Chain Chomps, appearing in the Palace of Shadow. In Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, two Chain Chomp enemies appear. In one battle at Woohoo Hooniversity, Mecha-Chomps, dog-like mechanical Chomps, appear. Chomp Bros., a variation of the Hammer Bros. that swings a Chomp, appear in Bowser's Castle. Chain Chomps have also made appearances in the Mario Party series. Most recently, Super Mario Strikers featured a Chain Chomp as an item with which the player could attack. If used, the Chomp attacked all opposing players on the field, leaving them on the ground for a few seconds. Small red Chain Chomps called Chain Chomplets as well as a large one appear in Pianta Village in Super Mario Sunshine. You have to cool them down.

The Chomps make many cameo appearances in The Legend of Zelda games. Link's Awakening featured a domesticated chomp while Four Swords Adventures and A Link to the Past had Chomps in the form of enemies to be avoided by Link.

The Chomp was inspired by a childhood experience of Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto, where a dog tried to attack him. The dog lunged at him, but was jerked back by its leash just as the canine snapped at Miyamoto inches in front of his face.

In the Japanese version of Mario's games, the Chomp is named Wanwan, the rough equivalent of "Woof Woof." This explains its dog-like personality, and also why it was called Bow Wow in the North American version of Link's Awakening.

Trivia

 * In Japan, Chomp are called 'Wanwan'.