Spiny

Spinies (Japanese トゲゾー Togezō) are quadruped Koopas, first appearing in Super Mario Bros. They are often thrown by Lakitus in unlimited supplies, but can also be naturally occuring. In Super Mario Bros., the only way the player can defeat them is to shoot a Fireball at them, or run into them while being invincible from a Starman.

''Mario Bros.
Although they never actually appear in the original Mario Bros. arcade game, they replace the Shellcreepers in all of the remakes, excluding direct ports. The reason for this is so that new players wouldn't try jumping on Shellcreepers, mistaking them for Koopa Troopas.

Spinies infest the pipes in the game, and the player has to hit the ground underneath them, flipping them over onto their shell; they can then be touched by the player and sent careening into the water. If they aren't defeated in time, Spinies will flip themselves over and their shell will turn from red to green (and from green to blue if it happens a second time), making it faster. Blue Spinies will also appear when a normal Spiny is the last enemy left on a level.

''Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros. is Spiny's true first appearance when Bowser kidnaps Princess Toadstool; they are always thrown by the Koopa King's Lakitus. These Spinies are only beatable by a Fire Flower or a Star. If they are hit from below, they will be bumped to the side like a Mushroom, instead of being flipped over, like a Koopa. Most levels that have a Lakitu-and-Spiny combination have many long staightaways with very few places to hide. These levels also usually have one or more very high blocks to jump on the Lakitu, thus stopping the Spinies for a time; though eventually, a new Lakitu will appear.

Spinies also appears in Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, playing the same role as in Super Mario Bros.

''Super Mario Bros. 3
While they are never seen in Subcon in Super Mario Bros. 2, they do appear under Bowser's rule in Super Mario Bros. 3. Spinies are once again thrown by Lakitus, just like in Super Mario Bros. and can be defeated by Fire Mario, Hammer Mario, and a Starman. Using Racoon Mario's or Tanooki Mario's tail, they can be flipped onto their back and picked up and thrown like a regular Koopa Shell.

A new subspecies of Spiny is introduced in this game, called the Spiny Egg. It is a Spiny in an egg that never hatched. It can move around and chase the player until it falls off a cliff or is hit by a Shell, Fireball, Hammer, or Starman. This is the only game that this kind of Spiny Eggs appears in.

In the Japanese Version of the remake when the Red Switch E-Reader Card is scanned, all normal-sized Goombas were replaced with Spinies.

''Super Mario World
When Bowser kidnaps Peach on her vacation to Dinosaur Land, Spinies reappear in Super Mario World. As usual, they are thrown by Lakitus; some of which, called Fishin' Lakitus, hold a 1-Up Mushroom on a fishing pole for the player. Only when Mario or Luigi collects this Mushroom would the Lakitu begin to hurl Spinies at them. The enemies can be defeated by a Fire Flower, Cape, Yoshi, or Starman. Unlike the Koopas in Super Mario World, which hide in their shells after being hit by a Cape, Spinies are instantly defeated, leaving no Shell.

A special P-Switch in this game, which had a silver color, would turn all Spinies in the level into Coins for a set amount of time.

In Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World a Spiny is one of the eleven characters that appeared on the title screen of the game along with Bowser, Bob-omb, Goomba, Princess Peach, Mario, Luigi, Toad, Yoshi and Birdo.

''Super Mario 64
When Bowser took over Princess Peach's Castle in Super Mario 64 (and in the remake, Super Mario 64 DS), Spinies made another appearance, albeit a rather rare one: they could only be found thrown by a Lakitu in Tiny-Huge Island and Rainbow Ride. When these Spinies were released by Lakitu, they would bounce twice and then start walking around slowly.

This was the only game in which Spinies were nearly impossible to defeat, even with a Shiny Shell or by being lured into the water. In Rainbow Ride, Mario could punch them repeatedly until they fall off the side. However, doing so will not produce any reward, as they will simply fall into a bottomless area. In the remake, Super Mario 64 DS, Spinies could also be defeated by Yoshi, who would eat them and turn them into Eggs. The remake also gave Spinies additional appearances in Goomboss Battle, where they could also be defeated by luring them into the poison gas, and Sunshine Isles.

''New Super Mario Bros.
Spinies made an appearance in New Super Mario Bros., in which they are treated the same way as in their older side-scrolling games such as Super Mario Bros. or Super Mario Bros. 3. They also have a new ability, however, which is to float in the water by transforming into a Spiny Egg. This ability has yet to appear in another game. Spinies can be defeated by a Fire Flower, a Starman, a Mega Mushroom, or a Blue Koopa Shell. Spinies can also hang from the ceiling, dropping down when Mario is close enough and sliding on their shells, similar to Buzzy Beetles as they did in Super Mario Bros. 3. While sliding on their shells, they can be safely stomped on, since they're upside down, picked up and thrown.

The boss of World 7, Lakithunder throws Spinies after he is jumped on for the first time, making the battle a little more difficult.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii
Spinys, along with Lakitu, reappear in New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Spinys can also be frozen via the Penguin Suit and Ice Mario, and unlike other spiked enemies they will stay frozen until they break free. Spinys behave in a very similar way to their New Super Mario Bros. appearance. Ceiling Spinys serve as the enemies in the Enemy Course of World 2, and also appeared in World 6-2. They also appear in World 4, along with a Lakitu as the Enemy Course of World 7.

While a Spiny normally can't be jumped on, in this game, they can be jumped on when their bellies are face-up. They can even be used like normal Koopa Troopa shells while upside-down.

Super Mario Galaxy 2
Spinies appear in Super Mario Galaxy 2. They are seen walking around, trying to ram into Mario. If Yoshi uses his tongue to hit them, they'll turn into a spiny egg so he can eat them. However, unlike most enemies, Yoshi can use them as weapons by spitting them out at enemies. Like most enemies in the Galaxy series, they are bigger than they usually appear in other games.

''Super Mario Bros.: Peach-hime Kyushutsu Dai Sakusen!
Spinies appear in the Mario Japan-only anime movie Super Mario Bros.: Peach-hime Kyushutsu Dai Sakusen!. A Lakitu appears right after Mario, Luigi, and the mysterious dog Kibidango escape from a field of Piranha Plants. This Lakitu starts throwing Spiny Eggs at the trio; the cloud monster misses. The three travelers laugh at the Lakitu for it's poor aim. However, the creature presses a button in its cloud that emits rain and turns the eggs into fully-fledged Spinies. They close in on the group. However, this surrounding does not last long; Mario finds a Magic Vine, which grows and allows Mario and his companions to escape. Before the Lakitu can escape, Mario grabs a piece of its cloud and makes it snow on the Spinies, freezing them. When Mario returns to the earth, the group of Spinies cannot be found.

''The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!
Spinies made a very brief appearance on the The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, in the episode "Mario and the Red Baron Koopa". King Koopa had ordered Lakitu to throw several Spiny Eggs down to the people of Pasta Land, which hatched into Spinies, and terrorized the people for a short time. The Spinies seen in this episode were fairly similar to their game appearance.

A single Spiny later appeared in the continuation of the show. In The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 episode "Life's Ruff", a Lakitu tossed a Spiny Egg next to a dog-turned Luigi, which hatched into a Spiny and bit Luigi. This Spiny looked much like the ones seen on The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!.

The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3
A single spiny appears make a appearance in this show, as well Lakitu, in the episode "Life's Ruff". During a scene, a Lakitu throw a Spiny Egg at Luigi, making it chew Luigi's pooch tail.

Mario Party series
Spinies have also made some appearances in the Mario Party series. The first time they are seen is in Mario Party 3. They appear in Ice Rink Risk, which is a game where players must run around on a very slippery ice rink and avoid Spinie shells, which would disqualify the player by hitting them out of the rink. They later appear in the Mario Party Advance mini-game Dreadmill. Here, only Spiny Eggs appear, and the player must jump over them so that they don't fall off the treadmill. The goal of the game is to get to the goal in time. The treadmills will speed up, slow down, and even change direction to throw off the player. They don't appear again until Mario Party 8, where they appear prominently in the game Grabbin' Gold. The goal of this game is to collect as many coins as possible in a basket. Spiny Eggs appear as an obstacle that will temporarily stun a player if they catch it in their basket. They are also in Winner or Dinner.

Super Smash Bros. series
Spinies appear in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, where Lakitu, as an Assist Trophy, throws them to the ground in their 8-bit form. They walk around and launch players straight into the air. If a character is hit in midair, however, he or she will be thrust directly downward. When the Spinies reach an edge, they fall off.

''Paper Mario
When Huff N. Puff, one of Bowser's henchmen, took over Flower Fields, Spinies made another appearance, this time in the game Paper Mario. They appear only in Flower Fields and Toad Town Tunnels. The best method to defeat them was to use a POW Block, because that would flip them over and reduce their Defense to 0. A Hammer could also defeat them. One of Mario's partners in Paper Mario, Lakilester, was a Lakitu and could use Spiny Eggs to attack with Spiny Flip and Spiny Surge. These Eggs would not hatch, however.

To attack, Paper Mario Spinies would roll into a ball and charge Mario, causing 4 damage.

''Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
Spinies reappeared in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. Just like in Paper Mario, an effective way of defeating them was to use a Hammer or an item. However, in this game, Spinies were able to curl themselves into a ball and stay there, making them impervious to all attacks. Spinies and a Lakitu were a fighting team in the Glitz Pit, known as Spike Storm. Also, the Dark Lakitus found in the Pit of 100 Trials threw Sky-Blue Spinies; which are merely more powerful Spinies.

''Super Paper Mario
Spinies once again reappear in Super Paper Mario under the control of Count Bleck. They act much like the ones in Super Mario Bros., and are, as usual, thrown by Lakitus. These Spinies may or may not be under Nastasia's Mind Control, like most of Bowser's minions in the game. They appear mostly in the Flipside Pit of 100 Trials; and a new subspecies, the Dark Spiny, appears in the Flopside Pit of 100 Trials. These are more powerful than their relatives, and appear simply as a silhouette; though are not thrown by Lakitus, which is odd for a species of Spiny.

Mario & Luigi series
In Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, Spinies and a version from another classic enemy, the Super Fly, infested the sewers of Beanbean Castle. However, instead of their traditional appearance, they had green shells, yellow spikes, and rather high defense (at that point in the game). Its main weakness was Luigi's Thunderhand, which was unavailable when the Mario Bros. had to fight them.

A subspecies of Spiny, the Sharpea, also appeared in this game. They were considered a "Beanified" Spiny, with a yellow shell that was molded to their body and green spikes. They were thrown by Lakipeas, which were the "Beanified" versions of Lakitus.

Even though true Spinies never appear in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, a subspecies of Spinies appears. This species, the Spiny Shroopa, is the Shroobified version of a Spiny. Lakitufos, which are the Shroobified version of a Lakitu, throws these spinies.

Spinies also appear in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story during the fight with Bowser's Castle.

Dance Dance Revolution series
Spinies appeared in Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix, but the dance game also introduced Ice Spinies. Both the regular Spinies and the Ice version would make the Dance Meter go down when stepped upon. The Ice Spinies, however, were not Spinies at all and were simply a frozen piece of ice with sharp spikes on them. It is unknown why this enemy was named "Spiny."

Mario Strikers series
Spinies are represented in the Mario Strikers series as an item: a huge, spinning, spiked shell. This shell will bounce off walls until it eventually hits a player. When it impacts with a character, it will explode, and possibly hit other players as well. If any players are hit, they will be stunned for a few seconds.

Super Paper Mario Stats and Tattle Information
Tattle Information: That's a Spiny... As its name suggests, it is covered with unpleasant, pointy ends... Max HP is 4, Attack is 2, and Defense is 3. Don't bother trying to stomp it... Whatever you do, don't get surrounded by these beasts... Before they hit the ground, they roll into balls. They must train for midair deployment...

Trivia

 * Although Super Paper Mario has most recently pluralized the word "Spiny" as "Spinys" (a pluralization also used in the Super Mario Adventures comic), most games (such as Super Smash Bros. Melee) tend to use "Spinies".
 * Togezo (Spiny's Japanese name) is also the name of a very similar enemy to Spiny in the Kirby series.
 * In some ways, Spiny is Buzzy Beetle's counterpart; Spiny counters Buzzy Beetle's jump weakness, while Buzzy Beetle counters Spiny's fireball weakness. They even look alike in pose (Ex.: On four legs with its head peeping out of its shell).

Names in Other Languages
🇵🇲