Flame Chomp

Flame Chomps (also named Fire Chomps) are enemies that first appear in Super Mario Bros. 3. They resemble Chain Chomps, but differ in several ways. First, they are not restricted by chains, and instead float along with a trail of four fireballs. At any time, they may shoot fireballs from their "tail" at Mario or Luigi. When it runs out of fireballs, the Flame Chomp will explode, damaging the Mario brother if they are within the blast radius. Also, unlike Chain Chomps, they are vulnerable to stomps and Fire Mario/Luigi's fireballs. They live mainly in the skies.

Super Mario Bros. 3
In Super Mario Bros. 3, Flame Chomps (under the name Fire Chomp) only appear in Sky Land and Ice Land. They float along as Mario and Luigi navigate the stage, harrying Mario's progress on the small platform with their fireballs. They are especially troublesome in World 5-9, where the player has a limited amount of platforms they can jump onto, in addition to an automatically scrolling screen. After using up their fireballs, Fire Chomps will continue to follow Mario or Luigi shortly before exploding like Bob-ombs. They can be defeated with stomps, fireballs, hammers, Starmen, and tail whacks. In this game, their faces only appear when they shoot their fireballs.

Super Mario 64 DS
In Super Mario 64 DS, Flame Chomps replace the Kuromames in Super Mario 64. They remain motionless and have the same effect as them, shooting a flame at the player when they approach; they can be eaten by Yoshi, allowing him to breathe fire. Due to the nature of their roles, it is their first, and so far only, appearance where they don't self-destruct or run out of fire.

New Super Mario Bros.
Flame Chomps return in New Super Mario Bros. as very rare enemies, since they only appeared in World 7-1. They retain their previous characteristics and weaknesses.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii
In New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Flame Chomps are a bit more common, appearing in World 2-6, World 8-3, and World 9-6. Flame Chomps have a minor addition to their attack pattern; once out of fireballs, it begins chasing Mario much faster before exploding. They can be defeated with a stomp or fireballs, and can also be frozen with Ice Balls.

New Super Mario Bros. 2
In New Super Mario Bros. 2, Flame Chomps exclusively appear in World 6-B, with the same characteristics and weaknesses as in New Super Mario Bros. Wii.

New Super Mario Bros. U
In New Super Mario Bros. U, there is only one Flame Chomp in the entire game, located in a hidden room in Peach's Castle-3: Rising Tides of Lava. It must be bounced off of to obtain the stage's third Star Coin, and acts the same as its previous appearances.

New Super Luigi U
Flame Chomps also appear in New Super Luigi U, the first game where they are referred to by their current name. They also have a new attack, which involves shooting all the fireballs in their "tail" at once, creating a larger fireball. Many of them appear in Flame Chomp Ferris Wheel.

The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3
Fire Chomps make several appearances in The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, such as in the episode "The Beauty of Kootie", where several Fire Chomps act as crew members on Bowser's Doomship.

In the show, Fire Chomps don't have a fireball tail, and have flexible borders around their eyes (which this time are red) and mouth. Flame Chomps also appeared during the Never Koop a Koopa episode. They tried to attack Mario inside the Bowser's Castle but Toad and Peach opened the window and let them fall into the water.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS
Flame Chomps appear in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS as enemies in the 3DS-exclusive mode, Smash Run. Like in previous games, they breathe fireballs at the player and explode shortly after losing all of their fireballs. The fire trail can also damage the player if they run into it.

Nintendo Adventure Books
A Fire Chomp appears in Koopa Capers, prowling a cave in the Magma Pits. While Luigi is fleeing from the Hot Feet that also live in the cave, he can choose to either rush blindly ahead, or take his time; if he chooses the latter, he will just narrowly avoid the Fire Chomp, but if he picks the former, he will run into and be scorched by the fireballs of the Fire Chomp, causing a Game Over.