Talk:Boss Bass

From the article: "Boss Bass' are possibly related to the identical-looking Big Bertha." Identical-looking and possibly related? Is there any reason why we have two articles for two(?) things that look identical? 15:25, 27 May 2008 (EDT)


 * They're kinda differnt. Boss Basses are found above water and leap whereas Big Berthas swim underwater. I think they do kind of attack in the same ways (eating Mario), though, so maybe you could say terrain is the only thing that differs them.

When comparing: "A Boss Bass is a huge fish found in Super Mario Bros. 3. They swim on the surface of the water trying" to "The Big Berthas are a sub-species of Cheep-Cheep that live deep in the sea." That is an obvious difference. Big Berthas also spit out Baby Cheeps, notably, which Boss Basses don't. I think their differences should be stated in the article somewhere. - 16:04, 27 May 2008 (EDT)
 * Okay. I basically know nothing about these enemies, I just became skeptical when reading that they look identical and yet are different species. 16:09, 27 May 2008 (EDT)
 * They technically are the same (full-grown Cheep-Cheep), but with different roles - Big Bertha nest in safe quarters under the sea to mother their young, and Boss Bass are their male counterparts that are active hunters. This is confirmed with their Japanese names - Kyodai Pukupuku ♀ and Kyodai Pukupuku ♂. LinkTheLefty 15:44, 27 August 2009 (EDT)

The illustration of Mario getting attacked by a Boss Bass...
... Is that a Boss Bass? Since there is a Baby Cheep in that picture also, which are only found near their mothers. LinkTheLefty 15:46, 27 August 2009 (EDT)
 * The image is probably a Big Bertha.


 * It's all right, since the Big Bertha is a female Boss Bass.

Japanese Name
I noticed that Big Bertha and Boss Bass's Japanese names are listed as Kyodai Pukupuku ♀ and Kyodai Pukupuku ♂. However, the only name I can find on Japanese websites is 巨大プクプク (kyodai pukupuku); no gender icon after it. Wikipedia apparently refers to the underwater version as "子連れ巨大プクプク", but no other sites use that name. Does anyone know where their nameｓ are listed with any such icon?--vellidragon 18:54, 15 February 2010 (EST)


 * Maybe the icon was just added so people wouldn't get confused, I mean, you can't quite READ that icon.
 * Well, the question I'm asking is where the name is officially listed with that icon though, because if there are no official sources that put a gender icon after the name, we can't do that on the Wiki either, no matter whether or not it can be read.--vellidragon 11:32, 23 March 2010 (EDT)
 * This brings up a question: are Big Bertha and Boss Bass the same enemy?
 * Well, that was the question I was also trying to find the answer to by asking this. If no official source uses a gender icon or any other name difference, they're probably meant to be the same enemy in a slightly different environment. If they do officially have that gender icon as part of their name though, they probably shouldn't be viewed as the same.--vellidragon 09:10, 28 April 2010 (EDT)
 * I know this is old, but looking back, I think the source was this. It's not necessarily reliable, though. LinkTheLefty (talk) 11:30, 25 January 2015 (EST)

Merge Boss Bass with Big Bertha
What actual differences do these have? They have the same Japanese name, look exactly the same with literally no differences whatsoever (even having the same sprite in their original appearance), their only major differences are behavior and gender, and that's not even consistent anymore. At this point it's basically "Big Berthas always spit Baby Cheeps, except when they don't, and Boss Bass are always male, except when they aren't", and it's a confusing, jumbled mess, just look at how many examples aren't even sure which is which. Different colored Koopa Troopas have more differences than them, as do Super Mario Bros. 2 Pokeys compared to modern ones, but those aren't considered seperate species by most people.

Proposer: Deadline: April 6, 2015, 23:59 GMT.

Support

 * 1) Per my reasons stated above.
 * 2) In Super Mario Sunshine, there are two (well, three) kinds of Cheep Cheeps that have different behaviors; the orange ones and the fiery ones jump and swim, while the pink ones try to drag Mario further to the depths. They are all known as Cheep Cheeps without any unique words or alternative letters to make them different species. In Japan, this is the same with Boss Bass and Big Bertha, but the English SMB3 guide gave them unique names, and that's very likely unreliable localization. So really, how would merging these two be any different from having two enemies with different behavior (and appearance) on the same article when they are universally considered the same enemies?
 * 3) As seen in the comments, it can be concluded with current knowledge that they are intended to be the same enemy species. We definitely know (not just from hearsay, but some physical scans to back this up) that the original Japanese guides do not distinguish between the two, and there are multiple licensed Japanese guidebook publications versus one single Nintendo Power player's guide. The mouth-brooding variant of the enemy has only directly appeared in Super Mario Bros. 3, and their last mention so far (and it seems only in-game reference) was in Super Paper Mario; therefore, it makes sense to place them in the same article and consider it Boss Bass unless specifically named otherwise. As for the Nintendo Comics System appearance of "Big Bertha" - it can be observed that she is an individual character named Bertha, so it makes the most sense to give her a separate "Bertha (Nintendo Comics System)" page to compensate.
 * 4) Per all.

Oppose

 * 1) They have maybe different gender, but their attack are different, so I oppose to this.
 * 2) The fact that both Boss Bass and Big Bertha appear in the SAME GAME to me is a good enough reason to keep them split.
 * 3) While this proposal makes more sense than the other merge proposals, SuperYoshiBros makes a good point- they would obviously be different characters if they both appear in the same game. And yes, their attack pattern is different.
 * 4) Per all
 * 5) Different Attack Pattern warrents a seperate page. Stated to be different warrants a seperate page. Appeared seperately in same game with different official name warrants seperate page. Done, I'm out.
 * 6) - Like I said in the comments, the SMB3 and comic appearances of Big Bertha should be kept separate, but all the ambiguous stuff about big, non-mouth-brooding fish should go to Boss Bass (including the SM64DS appearance unless we can verify the "Big Bertha" name, but I doubt we will), and the "or possibly Big Bertha" stuff should be scrubbed from the wiki.
 * 7) Per Walkazo.
 * 8) That is a per all!
 * 9) Per all.

Comments
We've tried this before with Cheep Chomp and Bubba (give it a read if you'd like), and I agree that they're basically the same thing. The difference between Boss Bass and Big Bertha is extremely similar in concept to meek underwater Cheep Cheep and aggressive leaping Cheep Cheep, and the exact appearances of the two aren't even that certain anyway (just look in the Talk Pages and general history). However, there are difficulties reaching a consensus on a topic such as this; for example, if we were to limit a merge to just Boss Bass and Big Bertha, then which name would be used for the resulting article (which is why I proposed it all under the modern, gender-inclusive "Cheep Chomp" banner)? You've got to keep in mind how this affects the surrounding articles, wiki readership, etc. LinkTheLefty (talk) 02:15, 23 March 2015 (EDT)
 * I'd say to go with the most recent name, which appears to be Boss Bass. Binarystep (talk) 02:31, 23 March 2015 (EDT)

LudwigVon, Cheep Cheeps attack differently depending on whether you're underwater (in which case they swim back and forth) or near the water (in which case they jump out). Should those be split too? And another thing, the differences that DID exist don't anymore, as shown by how almost every post-SMB3 example has no idea which is which. Binarystep (talk) 14:42, 23 March 2015 (EDT)
 * The attack is important as two kind of enemies who look identical appear in the same games.-- 18:53, 23 March 2015 (EDT)

SuperYoshiBros, the translators aren't perfect, they can make mistakes or inconsistencies, that's happened before. The thing is, there's no benefit to keeping them seperate, considering that pretty much every post-SMB3 example starts with "A Boss Bass (or maybe a Big Bertha)...", proving there aren't any real differences at this point. Binarystep (talk) 14:42, 23 March 2015 (EDT)
 * But why would two enemies with very different behaviors both appearing in the same game having different names be a translation mistake? The point is they were different at one point and should be treated as such. -- 18:21, 23 March 2015 (EDT)
 * And Galoombas were originally the same as Goombas, does that mean they are? Super Mario Bros. 3 is an old game, we should use current knowledge instead of a 25 year old manual. Binarystep (talk) 18:59, 23 March 2015 (EDT)
 * The fact that they only have obviously different behavior -once- is an indication that it's an outdated benchmark. Even with the help of an accompanying guide to deem which one it is for a particular appearance, their identities are blatantly all over the place. We know this is at the mere whim of the localizers at the time, which is probably part of the reason they were "replaced" by Bubba and Cheep Chomp. Also, the widespread idea that Big Bertha are all female and Boss Bass are exclusively male isn't clearly evident in the Nintendo Power guide they were originally named, and most certainly doesn't apply in other appearances (that being the presence of Baby Cheep - which would be like, say, separating the SMRPG Lakitu due to it throwing Spikeys rather than Spinys). If the translators had the thought to do the same thing to Cheep Cheep (or were around) in the first game and treated them as "different at one point", we might've had a similar disagreement on whether Cheep-Cheeps and "Leap-Leaps" are the same thing. LinkTheLefty (talk) 19:12, 23 March 2015 (EDT)
 * "Current knowledge"? Boss Bass and Big Bertha being one and the same was, as far as I know, never confirmed by Nintendo. Official game manual > speculation. -- 17:37, 25 March 2015 (EDT)
 * They were officially confirmed as the same enemy if the Japanese guides are any indication. Binarystep (talk) 16:07, 30 March 2015 (EDT)

I'd like it if the opposers would answer some questions for me, namely:


 * How are these seperate enemies despite only being different species in ONE game, and only according to the English localization, which has been incorrect several times in the past?
 * How is a translation from 25 years ago still relevant even though it was inconsistent with several names already (see: Kuribo's/Goomba's Shoe)?
 * How are these seperate enemies despite not having ANY differences in their recent appearances (like in Super Mario 64 DS where Big Berthas are actively aggressive and don't spit out Baby Cheeps, or in Yoshi's Island DS where a female Boss Bass appears)?
 * How are these seperate enemies when every post-SMB3 example doesn't even know which is which, and starts with phrases like "A Big Bertha (or maybe a Boss Bass) appears in [game]"?
 * How does a different attack pattern mean anything considering that REGULAR Cheep Cheeps have differing attack patterns depending on whether you're near or in the water (being more aggressive and jumping out and being more passive and swimming around, respectively (which is almost exactly like Big Berthas/Boss Bass))?

Binarystep (talk) 03:54, 24 March 2015 (EDT)
 * About the translation 25 years old, Do Nintendo had recently confirmed that Bass Boss and Big Bertha are the same enemy? I don't think. So about this, only an official translation about 25 years old has importance. If we merge this, it will go about speculations and it 's against the policy of the wiki.-- 15:33, 24 March 2015 (EDT)
 * The way I see it, if we already know for a fact that this is an invention of the guide, and the articles are somewhat geared towards the "if in doubt, it's Boss Bass" format in the first place, then there's no reason to pretend otherwise. LinkTheLefty (talk) 15:40, 24 March 2015 (EDT)


 * In a way, Nintendo kind of has confirmed them to be the same enemy, considering they now have no differences at all in pretty much every post-SMB3 game. Binarystep (talk) 16:21, 24 March 2015 (EDT)


 * What post-SMB3 appearances? In all honesty, I'm pretty skeptical that the SM64DS fish was actually named "Big Bertha" at all. If you look through our page's history, it looks more like broken telephone and speculation: originally, SM64DS wasn't mentioned on the page, then some random guy added it (and that was copypasta'd to the Bubba page a few days later), then later a devil's advocate flipped it around for some reason - without updating the game to the original SM64, making it backwards, so someone changed it back and expanded it at the same time. Like, for that name, srsly (some other places call them Boss Bass instead, fyi, and on the talk page, someone says the original N64 appearance's "official guide" calls it "Big Bertha", not Bubba, and other random internet sources call the DS one Bubba too, and our other call for the DS name verification was never answered at all, and it's all. so. mixed. up). Anyway, as LTL said, usually the stance is a reasonable "if in doubt, it's Boss Bass", and cleaning up the pages to reflect that thoroughly would be for the best answer, I feel - including moving over the SMBSS appearance (and the SM64DS appearance if we can't verify the name), leaving only the specifically "Bertha" appearances here. And yes, that is plural, even without SM64DS, since the Nintendo Comics System published by Valiant also used the Big Bertha name for its "Love Flounders" and "Fins and Roses" comics - for a female fish depicted with a little fish in her mouth, same as SMB3. Adhering to the "if in doubt, it's [the more recently used name]" stance would mean that most of the info's centralized, but without compromising the original SMB3 separation. Then we just have to worry about the potential name changes for the non-mouth-brooding recurring enemy fish(es)... -  16:53, 24 March 2015 (EDT)
 * Nice on tracing Big Bertha/Bubba, even though it's a bit headache-inducing... With the Nintendo Comics System, though, I think that goes back to the basic "character/species" segregation, since she's treated as a recurring character there, and is just called Bertha (not Big Bertha, although there's a small "Little Bertha" reference). From a glance, the Comics System brand seems to have been unaffiliated with Nintendo Power, so they probably resorted to official character or strategy guides as reference, which is why there's also a giant mouth-brooding fish called Bertha to tie-in to SMB3. I don't think it's necessarily strong material in favor of Big Bertha as a whole - if anything, there should be a separate "Bertha (Nintendo Comics System)" page. LinkTheLefty (talk) 20:10, 24 March 2015 (EDT)

@Binarystep - Sorry, but I'm redacting my vote for now because it occurred to me there's something important the support side is forgetting - that we're relying on unofficial online sources to be 100% accurate. As one of the main platformers, SMB3 doesn't have enemy names in-game (so foreign playthrough videos certainly wouldn't be of help), and while at least the Japanese manual should be easy to come across (hah), it's a lot like ours and doesn't have an entry for Boss Bass/Big Bertha. We unfortunately have to work on blind assumption that the Daijiten is infallible, but it was brought to my attention not too long ago that it's been known to be wrong in the past. Without an official Japanese strategy guide in our hands, we don't know without a final doubt that they weren't given separate entries, and it seems "they have the same Japanese names" is the biggest argument you use. That's a lot easier for RPG/spinoff titles to reference, but a definitive source on this one is much more obscure. In fact, for a while we've had Big Bertha as Kyodai Pukupuku ♀ and Boss Bass as Kyodai Pukupuku ♂ because that's just how another source allegedly reported the names. There's enough uncertainty with (Big) Bertha/Boss Bass/Bubba/(Mega) Cheep Chomp/etc. as it is - I'm starting to think that the only way to properly counter a localized player's guide is with an unlocalized player's guide. LinkTheLefty (talk) 16:42, 25 March 2015 (EDT)
 * Here, I found one on Ebay. With a picture of Boss Bass and its Japanese name. This will surely help us to figure out if Big Bertha has the same Japanese name as well. SmokedChili (Talk) (Thoughts) 17:36, 25 March 2015 (EDT)
 * And here's another, different guide. Featuring Big Bertha as 巨大プクプク. So its Japanese name is indeed the same as Boss Bass'.
 * Really, these Japanese guides seem to be all over for sale on Ebay. SmokedChili (Talk) (Thoughts) 17:49, 25 March 2015 (EDT)
 * Well, that was quick. Good job... Now, there's at least two original guides against one (give or take the Nintendo Comics System, maybe). I believe that's sufficient proof to show they're intended to be the same enemy, so putting back my support. LinkTheLefty (talk) 19:40, 25 March 2015 (EDT)

So, a few questions for the opposers: Why are we using the English guide as proof they're two seperate species, despite old English guides containing information that isn't true anymore. For instance, if we went with what the original SMB manual said, the Brick Block page wouldn't start with this:
 * A Brick Block, sometimes simply known as a Brick, is a block that has made an appearance in nearly every Mario platformer to date. As its name implies, Brick Blocks are blocks made of bricks.

It'd start with this:
 * A Brick Block, sometimes simply known as a Brick, is an object that has made an appearance in nearly every Mario platformer to date. Contrary to their name, Brick Blocks are not actually bricks, being Toads Bowser cast a spell on.

And while someone may say "They haven't been confirmed to be the same", that brings me to my next point, so far, two Japanese guides have been found saying they're the same, as opposed to one English localization, and a comic likely based on said localization. Next question, why are we considering them different species when their only differences (Boss Bass always being male, Big Berthas spitting out Baby Cheeps) haven't appeared in more recent games according to the article? Final question, how do their behavioral differences (Boss Bass being more aggressive and jumping out of the water, Big Berthas swimming around aimlessly) mean anything considering regular Cheep Cheeps do the same thing? Binarystep (talk) 06:27, 3 April 2015 (EDT)
 * "information that isn't true anymore" Oh really? Has Nintendo said ANYTHING on Boss Bass/Big Bertha at all since the SMB3 guide? No, they haven't. The information in the SMB3 guide being false is nothing but speculation since Nintendo hasn't said anything on the matter since then. -- 11:01, 3 April 2015 (EDT)
 * This wiki operates on the logic that "everything is canon", so on that level, the information in two licensed guides over one does not technically make it more "true" than the other. On the other hand, if there are contradictory differences between the original language and official translation, the former is given deference in usual cases. The Brick Block example isn't the best one since it's also in the Japanese version, but saying that some Toads turned into horsetail plants rather than "horse-hair" plants or that Cheep Cheep don't in fact grow wings would be seen as basic corrections since they can be explained as mistranslations. Another thing is that the Japanese SMB3 has existed nearly two years before the English one, so not only is the intent clear here, but their separation almost goes beyond localization and into revisionist territory. In the end, nostalgia is a tough opponent. LinkTheLefty (talk) 11:45, 3 April 2015 (EDT)
 * Don't forget that translators sometimes just flat-out make things up. Just look at the SMB manual's "Mushroom King". Binarystep (talk) 15:47, 4 April 2015 (EDT)