Fire Flower

"Screaming pulsars! What in the universe is that thing?! It looks like a flower with a face! Wow... It's a Fire Flower? Hrm... Well, I gotta say there, you collect some of the most interesting stuff I've ever seen!"

- Lubba

Fire Flowers are one of the many kinds of power-up items in the Mario series. They first appear in the Nintendo Entertainment System game Super Mario Bros. This object can be found in a ? Block if Mario or Luigi is in his Super Mario or Super Luigi form. When obtained, the plumber can hurl out fireballs from their hands that can defeat many enemies during gameplay. This power-up later appeared in Super Mario Bros. 3, and Super Mario World among other appearances in other series, having the same function. The Ice Flower is the polar opposite of the Fire Flower.

Super Mario Bros.
In Super Mario Bros., if Mario collects a Fire Flower, he will get the ability to shoot fireballs by pressing. The fireballs may be a strong and handy projectile to use because it defeats most enemies and even Bowser from a range. Only two fire balls may be thrown at once. If Mario gets hit while he is in this form, he will revert back to Small Mario. If Small Mario gets a Fire Flower, he'll only transform into Super Mario.

Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels
Fire Flowers return along with every thing else in Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels. They still grant Mario the same ability and even look exactly the same as its precedence. As the result, nothing much has changed at all.

Super Mario Bros. 3
In Super Mario Bros. 3, they are the third most common power-up, the first being a Mushroom and the second being a Super Leaf. They, like before, grant Mario the ability to shoot fireballs. Not much has changed since Super Mario Bros. regarding the function of it.

The American version of this game introduced the idea that Fire Mario reverted back to Super Mario upon being hit, rather than Small Mario, as in other games. This was retained in all subsequent releases of this game.

Super Mario World
In Super Mario World, Fire Flowers receive a change in appearance. They appear as happy red tulip-like plants instead of a circular appearance like in the other games. Other than this change, nothing has been changed in function.

This game introduces the idea of storing powerups, having the previous one released when Mario is hit by an enemy when in a super powered form. Because of this, Fire Mario reverts back to Small Mario in the SNES version, as he can get the Super Mushroom (or better) that he had before. Additionally, because of the added feature of spin-jumping when Mario does so by pressing, he shoots out fireballs left and right while in the air.

In the Game Boy Advance version, Mario retains the new setup added on by Super Mario Bros. 3. Fire Mario immediately becomes Super Mario upon being hit.

Mario Is Missing!
The Fire Flower is absent from the NES and SNES versions of Mario Is Missing!. However, it does appear in the PC version. They will appear after Luigi has returned all artifacts in each city. He can then use Fire Flower to burn the Koopaling and make it to the next floor of Bowser's Castle.

New Super Mario Bros.
In New Super Mario Bros., Fire Flowers can be considered stronger, or weaker. A large amount of enemies are immune to fire, but all bosses aside from Dry Bowser can be defeated using fire. Otherwise, they act as they do in previous games. Blocks containing Super Mushrooms or Fire Flowers are much more common than in previous games. Mario can still only shoot two fireballs at once.

Super Mario Galaxy
In the Wii game Super Mario Galaxy, when Mario or Luigi obtains this item, he will go into his fire form allowing him to throw fireballs, defeat enemies and light torches. Unlike other games where the powerup lasts until the player takes damage, the powerup only lasts 20 seconds, although Mario can still take damage with this form, but the Fire Flower will not wear off. (The time isn't discovered until the second game, in the box burning missions.) Also unlike the other games, the way Mario or Luigi uses it is by simply shaking the Wii Remote. These flowers first appeared in Freezeflame Galaxy along with its counterpart, the Ice Flower. They also appear in the Dusty Dune Galaxy, Deep Dark Galaxy and Snow Cap Galaxy. Like the Super Smash Bros. Brawl figure, it takes the appearance of the New Super Mario Bros. version.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii
They also appear in New Super Mario Bros. Wii having the same effect as its predecessor. If a fireball is thrown at a character in a bubble, the character will get free from the bubble. Fireballs thrown can also get eaten by Yoshi and spit out as projectiles.

A similar item called the Ice Flower appears. They have nearly the same effect, except the ice balls thrown are slower, break when coming in contact with the floor, and freezes enemies, rather than defeating them.

Super Mario Galaxy 2
The Fire Flower reappears in Super Mario Galaxy 2. Nothing at all has changed about the Fire Flower from the previous game, and it therefore has the exact same function as it did in Super Mario Galaxy. Making its debut appearance is a new minigame called Crate Burning, which appears in only two missions in the entire game: "The Great Crate Incinerator" in the Rightside Down Galaxy and "Burning Upside Dizzy" in the Upside Dizzy Galaxy. In this minigame, the player is presented with numerous breakable crates, all of which need to be burned within a short time limit via the use of a Fire Flower in order to earn the Power Star for the missions. Also, they appear while fighting Squizzard in the Slipsand Galaxy's first and third mission.

Super Mario 3D Land
The Fire Flower reappers once more in Super Mario 3D Land, where it has the same functionality as the 2D Mario games. Unlike in the Super Mario Galaxy games, there is no time limit on Fire Mario.

New Super Mario Bros. 2
The Fire Flower reappears in New Super Mario Bros. 2. It has the same behavior as in the previous 2D Mario games. They are also used to shoot fireballs in pipes that release coins and items such as a Mega Mushroom, three 1-Up Mushrooms, or a Star.

New Super Mario Bros. U
The Fire Flower reappears in New Super Mario Bros. U and behaves like in the previous 2D Mario games.

Super Mario 3D World
The Fire Flower reappears in Super Mario 3D World', and behaves like it did in Super Mario 3D Land''.

Cartoon series
Also, Fire Flowers appeared in the cartoon television series The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, and Super Mario World. When Mario or Luigi touches one, they gain their fire powers, although most episodes had their Fire Mario costume either be not changed at all, an orange hat and shirt with red overalls, or the normal red overall/white hat. In "Super Mario World", fire flowers look like orange roses that are always connected to a ? block and sometimes spit out fireballs themselves. In The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 episode "Reign Storm", the Robot Princess orders all Fire Flowers to be extinguished, as if they were actual fires.

Club Nintendo
The Club Nintendo comic "Super Mario: Verloren in der Zeit" reveals that Fire Flowers have existed since the Stone Age. In this story, Mario uses a Fire Flower to throw Fireballs at a Tyrannosaurus Rex.

Super Smash Bros. series
The Super Smash Bros. series has Fire Flowers as well. Once picked up, the player can use it to expel fire, hurting anyone who came too close. It does have a limit to how much fire it can use, and will lose its abilities after constant use. However, this doesn't mean it is worthless. The player can throw the Fire Flower at someone to burn them. In Super Smash Bros., the Fire Flowers are alike to their debut appearance. In Super Smash Bros. Melee, they look like actual flowers with eyes and white petals. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the flower has its appearance from New Super Mario Bros. Also, Mario and Luigi have a similar move where it is their standard special move. Mario shoots red fireballs, and Luigi shoots green. Luigi's fireballs are different from Mario's because Luigi's aren't affected by gravity.

Mario Kart series
The Fire Flower makes a rather uncommon appearance in all of the installments in the Mario Kart series unlike other items such as the Mushroom. Within the series, it is known for being the emblem of the Flower Cup. A poster with a Fire Flower appears in Moonview Highway in Mario Kart Wii. Plus, a store in Coconut Mall sells Mario items. One of these items is a Fire Flower.

In Mario Kart 7, the Fire Flower makes its first appearance as a usable item that can be obtained from an Item Box. Using it, a racer can throw several Fireballs forward or backward to make racers spin out and drop a Coin when hit. The Fire Flower will last for ten seconds after it's used or when the player uses ten fireballs. Fireballs can be thrown with this item by pressing the L button.

Paper Mario
During the Paper Mario series, the player can use these items towards the enemies Mario and his partners encountered during their travels. If used against ice-type enemies, it will deal extra 2 damage points. These items can be purchased in many shops, such as in the Shroom Grocery from Toad Town, Koopa's Shop from Koopa Village, and Yoshi's Cabana from Lavalava Island from the Nintendo 64 game Paper Mario.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
Also in the Nintendo GameCube game Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, they can be purchased in Toad Bros. Bazaar from Rogueport, Niff T.'s Shop from Petalburg, and Keelhaul Key Galleria from Keelhaul Key. They are (sort of) replaced by Fire Bursts in the sequel. If used against ice-type enemies, it will deal an extra damage point. Fire Flowers can be also used as ingredients to be made into new items with a help of Tayce T. or Zess T. Recipes can be found below.

Super Paper Mario
In Super Paper Mario, Fire Flowers appear in the skies of Lineland and at Fort Francis, in the room on the left, thus giving them cameos as non-collectible items. Fire Bursts apparently replaced the Fire Flowers from the previous Paper Mario games. The Fire Flower uses the Super Mario World appearance for these games.

Paper Mario: Sticker Star
The Fire Flower returns as a sticker in Paper Mario: Sticker Star, having its appearance from New Super Mario Bros. and onward. Using it in battle turns Mario into Fire Mario, allowing him to throw fireballs at any ground and low-altitude enemies, causing them to disintegrate into ash if their HP is fully depleted. There also exist two other variants of this sticker: the Shiny Fire Flower and the Flashy Fire Flower, which inflict more damage. Fire Flowers also appear on the Battle Spinner; lining up three has the same effect as a Fire Flower sticker.

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
Though no Fire Flowers appear in this game, there is a Mario attack known as Fire Bros. that has the same functions as the Fire Flower.

Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
In the Nintendo DS game Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, Fire Flowers are referred to as Bros. Flowers. If used, the player would attack all the enemies with a certain amount of fireballs by constantly pressing the button if it is passed on to Mario or the  button if it is passed on to Luigi. The player can also attack flying enemies by pressing the button (if passed to Mario) or the  button (if passed to Luigi), making their baby counterparts shoot fireballs. In addition, the damage may burn their foes. There are three related items in the game: the Mix Flower, Ice Flower, and Copy Flower.

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
Fire Flowers again appear in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story as a Special attack obtained by collecting all ten Pump Works Attack Pieces. They're used almost exactly the same as Bros. Flowers in Partners in Time, but after certain number of hits, player can hit both and  buttons to attack simultaneously. Using this item will also change Mario's and Luigi's outfits to Fire Mario and Fire Luigi's outfits. The move costs 4 SP (2 if the clothing is worn). Rapid button mashing is required to get an Excellent rating on this attack.

Mario & Luigi: Dream Team
The Fire Flower returns as one of Luigi's Bros. Attacks in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team that's found in Dozing Sands and that costs 5 BP. Used as in the previous installments. However, the player can not rapidly throw fireballs at the enemy. Instead, they must wait until the fireball charges to throw the fireball. If done correctly, without throwing a fireball prematurely or overcharging one, the player can then throw fireballs rapidly, earning an Excellent! rating.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis
In the Nintendo DS game Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis, when a Mini Mario touches a Fire Flower, he becomes a Fire Mini Mario and begins throwing fireballs within a limited time to knock out enemies or defeat them. These items can be obtained from a ? Block during those levels.

Trivia

 * In a similar manner to how Mario and Luigi have both eaten and "absorbed" Mushrooms throughout their games, there is much controversy over whether Mario must eat a Fire Flower or simply touch it to become Fire Mario. Although most games make Fire Flowers simply disappear upon contact with Mario, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door seemingly confirms that Mario does indeed eat Fire Flowers. This is also indicated by a certain optional scene where Mario informs a Lakitu cameraman that he "shoots fire when he eats a flower". In the Club Nintendo comic "Super Mario: Verloren in der Zeit" Mario even reveals something about their taste, claiming that Fire Flowers "taste disgusting, but if I eat them, I can shoot Fireballs".
 * Super Smash Bros. Brawl is the only Super Smash Bros. game where this item appears as it does in recent artwork.
 * In all four Animal Crossing games, a Fire Flower is available as a furniture item.
 * Originally, if Small Mario grabbed a Fire Flower, he would become only Super Mario, while in later games, he would become Fire Mario. However, a glitch exists in NES and SNES versions of Super Mario Bros. 3 where Small Mario actually becomes Fire Mario, like in later games.