Metal Mario

Metal Mario (called Metal Power in Super Mario 64 DS ) is a recurring power-up of Mario as well as a playable variant of Mario that first appears in Super Mario 64. Metal Mario is tougher, stronger, and virtually invincible except for long falls. This form is acquired through various means such as by picking up the Metal Cap from green ! Blocks, using Metal Boxes, or using Metal Mushroom Orbs. Later games also feature other characters receiving the metal power-up, particularly in Mario Party 6 and the Super Smash Bros. series, though the form itself acts the same.

The form has also appeared as a separate character from Mario, such as being a late-game boss in Super Smash Bros. games, and the Metal Mario character has been playable in several kart racing and sports games. A few bios refer to this Metal Mario as Mario's rival. His voice varies in some games, sharing Mario's voice, sharing Mario's voice but with a filter, or having independent lines and with a filter. Some of his lines are altered versions of Mario's lines, such as "Mia mama" as opposed to Mario's "Mama mia" and "Papa" instead of "Mama".

Super Mario 64
When Mario first encounters the Metal Cap in the Cavern of the Metal Cap in Super Mario 64, he becomes Metal Mario. In this form, Mario is invincible (although he can still take falling damage) and can destroy enemies just by running into them. Metal Mario is also very heavy, and as such, he can withstand strong winds and underwater currents and can walk on the bottom of bodies of water. In addition, he does not need to breathe, meaning he can stay underwater without worrying about air until the metal power runs out. Despite being heavy, Metal Mario still retains all his physical speed as well as his athletic jumping abilities, but he sinks in quicksand faster.

Metal Mario can combine his Metal Cap with the Vanish Cap to become, which will enable him to go through certain walls while maintaining his metal form's strengths and weaknesses.

The music that plays when the player is Metal Mario is an arrangement of the Starman's theme from Super Mario Bros. Metal Mario's reflection texture is actually a fisheye photo of a garden.

Super Mario 64 DS
In the remake of Super Mario 64 for the Nintendo DS, Super Mario 64 DS, only Wario can turn metallic and become Metal Wario by using a Power Flower. He is able to walk on lava and freezing water, though after a while, he begins to sink, and if he goes below the surface, he will lose a life, similar to with the slower quicksand. Metal Wario's other abilities and vulnerabilities are the same as Metal Mario's.

The Mega Mario and Fire Power themes from Super Mario 64 DS are arrangements of Metal Mario's theme music.

Super Mario Odyssey
In Super Mario Odyssey, a cap and outfit based on the Metal form's Super Mario 64 appearance (named the Metal Mario Cap and the Metal Mario Suit respectively) can be purchased from Crazy Cap stores. The outfit costs 2000 coins and is available after 540 Power Moons have been collected, and the cap costs 1000 coins and is available after 560 Power Moons have been collected. Aside from allowing Mario to enter a specific area in the Mushroom Kingdom, this outfit is aesthetic and serves no other gameplay advantage. Clanking can be heard as Mario walks in the outfit, and Cappy makes an audible clink if he hits a wall when thrown. The description for the Metal Mario Suit implies that Metal Mario is specifically made out of.

Dr. Mario 64
At the end of Wario's story in Dr. Mario 64 (after winning every match without losing once), Dr. Mario accidentally eats some Megavitamins and takes on a Metal form. This metallic Dr. Mario faces off against Wario in a final battle. Once he is beaten, he can be used in multiplayer as a separate playable character.

Super Smash Bros. series


In Super Smash Bros., Metal Mario makes his debut as a mid-boss encountered in Stage 9 out of 10 stages. He has his own stage, which is playable only in the one player mode of the game. Unlike the power-up he is based on from Super Mario 64, other characters can attack and rack up damage on him. To mirror his role in Super Mario 64, he is a far more durable character than the regular Mario; in fact he is the heaviest and most resistant character in the game. When his damage percent is low, weaker attacks cannot flinch him, and attacks start flinching him only at far higher percentages. Due to his high weight, however, he has trouble recovering when he is knocked off the stage. Additionally, Metal Mario does not dash; he mostly walks around, patrolling the stage.

On a side note, Kirby is unable to copy Metal Mario's powers, which is later possible to do in Super Smash Bros. Melee.

A Metal Mario character appears in the original Super Smash Bros. as a boss. The sequel, Super Smash Bros. Melee, also featured this permanently metal alter-ego of Mario as well as a separate Luigi character as bosses in Adventure Mode. The trophy of Metal Mario in Super Smash Bros. Melee uses the Yoshi's Island stage as its reflection.

Super Smash Bros. Melee
Starting in Super Smash Bros. Melee and continuing in later games, players can pick up the Metal Box as an item and gain metal forms for a limited time. While metal, they are heavier (i.e. their jumping height is lower and falling speed is faster) and silent, except for clanging metal noises made when they move. The metal duration can last shorter if players take enough damage.

In level 10 of Classic Mode of Super Smash Bros. Melee, a random character in a permanent metal form will always be one of the selected challengers.

In Adventure Mode, the Metal Mario character returns as a mid-boss in Adventure Mode, being fought on Battlefield. Metal Mario fights alone by default, but if the player unlocks Luigi, Metal Luigi joins the fray as well. They both retain their strengths from Super Smash Bros.; Metal Mario and Metal Luigi are very heavy opponents who are tough to knock down the stage, but cannot recover once they are knocked down. Additionally, players can pick up the Metal Box item, turning into metal forms, boasting the same attributes as Metal Mario and Metal Luigi, though the power-up is not permanent, unlike Metal Mario and Metal Luigi. KOing Metal Mario and Metal Luigi in Adventure Mode awards the player the "Metal Bros. KO" bonus, worth 8000 points.

Metal Mario also appears as one of the many collectible trophies in the game. Yoshi's Island, a stage in the game, is reflected on the texture of Metal Mario's model.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the metal form can be enabled as a setting in Special Brawl of Super Smash Bros. Brawl as well as corresponding Special modes of the subsequent games, where it is permanent. In Classic Mode, a character in metal form can appear at random from Levels 6 to 10.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U
Opponents in metal form, marked as intruders, can be encountered in the single player Classic Mode of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. When the player chooses a battle in the first five rounds, one or more opponents might suddenly be replaced by an intruder, marked by a glowing yellow trophy base, even in a team battle. Intruders are always in a permanent Giant or Metal state, but are guaranteed to be carrying a prize of some kind for victory.

Additionally, the Metal Box is also available as a red item in Smash Tour, giving players the ability to start a battle in metal form. Crazy Orders may also feature a Metal Battle as a potential order option.

In Smash Run of Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, alongside the Fighting Mii Team, normal-sized and giant Metal versions of the player's character may appear in the game's Multi-Man Smash Final Battle as opponents.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Metal Mario appears as the final boss in Bowser's classic mode route, appearing after Mario is defeated in a similar manner to Giga Bowser in Mario's route and in Super Smash Bros. Melee. He also appears as an Ace-class Shield-type primary spirit with one support slot, using his Mario Kart 7 artwork. The spirit increases a fighter's weight during battle. In the spirit's battle, the player faces a metallic Mario on the Battlefield form of The Great Cave Offensive as a reference to his battle in the original Super Smash Bros.

Metal Mario's core can be combined with the cores of a Super Mushroom and a Fire Flower to summon the Gold Mario spirit.

Mario Party series
Metal Bowser appears in Mario Party 2 after playing a game on Bowser Land, where the winner heads to fight Bowser but when the character grabs his tail, he transforms into Metal Bowser, making him impossible to lift. To deal with this, Toad offers a Power Star to give more power to the winner and thus, Metal Bowser is swung and thrown around the world. Crash-landing, Bowser's metal form is shattered to pieces, reverting him to his normal form.

The metal form also appears in Mario Party 6 and Mario Party 7 when one of the playable characters uses a Metal Mushroom Orb on themselves to avoid traps. Also, when a player gets a Cursed Mushroom Panel, Bowser makes a brief reference to Metal Mario, by saying, "Answer quickly or your bonus points will fall like a Metal Mario off an airship!"

Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition
Metal Mario appears in Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition as a Leader, available with the game's digital update to version 2.0, unlocked after earning an S rank or higher in Course 3 of the Fixed Challenges in Score Attack. Metal Mario is a Dark/Dark attribute teammate with an HP rating of 4/6, an ATK rating of 5/6 and RCV rating of 2/6. Metal Mario's Skill, Metal Walk, changes Water Orbs on the Orb field to Dark Orbs, while his Leader Skill, Metal Shine, raises the ATK of the entire team by 3x if the player clears two Dark combos, or by 4x for three Dark combos or more. Metal Mario uses Fruit and Rare Fruit to raise his Skill Levels.

Metal Luigi also appears as a Leader, unlocked after earning an S rank or higher in Course 3 of the Free Challenges in Score Attack. Metal Luigi is also a Dark/Dark attribute teammate, having an HP rating of 3/6, an ATK rating of 5/6 and RCV rating of 3/6. Metal Luigi's Skill, Metal Dash, changes Light Orbs on the Orb field to Dark Orbs. Metal Luigi shares the same Leader Skill and Skill Up requirements as Metal Mario.

Trivia

 * In an interview with Shigeru Miyamoto in Nintendo Power's Mario Mania Player's Guide published in 1991, Miyamoto reportedly said: "Who knows what Mario will look like in the future? Maybe he'll wear metallic clothes!" Coincidentally, the Metal Mario form's first appearance was in 1996, five years later.
 * Three years after Shigeru Miyamoto's interview, the earliest visual depiction of a metallic Mario occurred through a Super Game Boy commercial, which also predates Metal Mario's appearance two years later.
 * The Silver Mario and Gold Mario costumes from Super Mario Maker play the Metallic Mario music when a Super Star is collected.