Sidestepper

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This article is about Sidesteppers, a type of crab. For other crabs, see Crab (disambiguation).

Template:Species-infobox Sidesteppers, also known as Crabs,[1][2][3] are irritable crabs that scuttle about. First appearing in Mario Bros., they typically appear in roles that call back to that game, and otherwise typically make simple cameos. They also occasionally appear in the Mario Kart series, taking the role that generic crabs have in Mario Kart 64.

History

Mario Bros.

Sprite of a crab from the NES port of Mario Bros.
Sprite of a Sidestepper from the Atari 2600 port of Mario Bros.
Sprite of a Sidestepper from the Atari 5200 port of Mario Bros.
Sidesteppers as they appear in various different versions of Mario Bros.

The Sidestepper is the second enemy that the Mario Bros. encounter in the game Mario Bros.. Sidesteppers emerge from the pipes and walk towards the bottom of the screen. When hit from below, the Sidestepper becomes angry and speeds up. Mario or Luigi must hit the Sidestepper from below a second time to flip it over, then run into it to defeat it. If left alone, the Sidestepper will change its color to blue and flip over, making it move faster. If left alone a second time, the Sidestepper will be pink. If the last target in a phase is a Sidestepper, it will automatically turn pink. Sidesteppers also appear in all reissues of Mario Bros., where their colors vary from the original version.

Super Mario Bros. Special

Sidesteppers also appear in Super Mario Bros. Special. Here they are credited as Chokichoki, which translates to "Snip-Snip", referencing the sounds they make when they open and close their claws. They first appear in World 4-2 and function like a Spiny.

Super Mario Bros. 3

Sidesteppers, referred to as Crabs, appear in the multiplayer Battle Mode of Super Mario Bros. 3, as well as the remake of the game in Super Mario All-Stars. Unlike other enemies, they have the same graphics as the NES release of Mario Bros. in the former version, due to already resembling their arcade sprites.

Mario Clash

Artwork of a Sidestepper from Mario Clash
Artwork of a Sidestepper from Mario Clash.

In Mario Clash, Sidesteppers come out of pipes and scuttle sideways. To defeat them, the player should hit them in the front or back with a Turtle Shell to turn it sideways, then hit them on the side with another shell.

Super Mario Advance

In Super Mario Advance, when approaching Clawgrip, a short cutscene shows he is a Crab, transformed into Clawgrip by some of Wart's magic bubbles.

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga

SidestepperSS.png

In Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, Crabs make a cameo appearance running in the background and foreground during the battle with Hermie III. In Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions, they are replaced by Huckit Crabs. They also appear in the Mario Bros. game included in the original game. This time, if they are flipped while red and are left alone, they become green. Doing it again makes them blue. If one is the last enemy of a phase, it will turn blue.

Mario Kart series

A Sidestepper in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
A Sidestepper in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

In the Mario Kart series, Sidesteppers can be found on beach stages where they walk left and right, replacing the generic crabs from Mario Kart 64. They sometimes appear with yellow highlights on their claws. Driving into Sidestepper makes the player's kart spin around. If a Sidestepper is hit with a Bullet Bill, shell, star, or Bob-omb, it flips over and disappears.

In Mario Kart: Super Circuit, Sidesteppers appear in Shy Guy Beach and Cheep-Cheep Island.

In Mario Kart DS, they appear in Cheep Cheep Beach and Palm Shore. There are missions where they are referred to simply as Crabs.

In Mario Kart Wii, they appear in GBA Shy Guy Beach. During August 2009's first Competition, the player actually had to take out a certain number of Sidesteppers with items.

In Mario Kart 7, Sidesteppers appear in Cheep Cheep Lagoon, Wario Shipyard, N64 Koopa Beach, and DS Palm Shore.

Sidesteppers return in Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on the DS Cheep Cheep Beach course.

They return in Mario Kart Tour, on the 3DS Cheep Cheep Lagoon and N64 Koopa Troopa Beach. In certain bonus challenges, there are bigger versions.

Mario Power Tennis / New Play Control! Mario Power Tennis

The Mario Classic Court in Mario Power Tennis is based on Mario Bros., and the original game's sprites are used, including Sidestepper. During a Gimmick game, Sidestepper might walk across the court and trip a character. Three of them are also line umpires.

Super Smash Bros. series

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Sidesteppers as they appear in Super Smash Bros. Brawl A Sidestepper, as it appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
Sidesteppers in Super Smash Bros. Brawl (left) and a closer view of red one (right).

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Sidesteppers appear on the Mario Bros. stage. Sidesteppers walk out of the pipes at the top of the screen. Players can hit them from below to flip them over, and pick them up to throw at opponents. If a player is hit by a thrown Sidestepper, they fly sideways off the screen.

All three Sidestepper variations also appear as a trophy. There is also a Sidestepper sticker that, when used on a fighter in The Subspace Emissary, boosts the strength of leg-based attacks by eight points. Both the trophy and the sticker can be obtained when they show up at random in Vs. matches, Adventure Mode, or other modes of the game.

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

A formation of differently-colored Sidesteppers appears as a trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. It can be obtained when it appears at random in various modes of the game.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

With the inclusion of the Mario Bros. stage in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Sidesteppers return as hazards, acting the same way as in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. A Sidestepper also appears as a Novice-class support spirit, which grants the user more speed in battle at the expense of initial 30% damage. In World of Light, the spirit is located in the retro maze on the east side of the Light Realm map. To obtain it, the player has to win a fight against a team of twelve Mr. Game & Watch on the Mario Bros. stage.

Super Mario 3D World

Sidesteppers appear in Luigi Bros.; an additional game featured in Super Mario 3D World. Like the other enemies in Luigi Bros., Sidesteppers behave in the same way as Mario Bros., which this game is based on.

Smaller crabs that behave the same way also appear in some levels, releasing a coin if tapped on the GamePad.

NES Remix

Sidesteppers, along with other enemies from Mario Bros., appear in some of the challenges and remixes based on Mario Bros. as enemies and stage objectives.

Super Mario Maker

A Sidestepper appears as a costume in Super Mario Maker. It can be unlocked by clearing 100 Mario Challenge on Expert setting or harder. It changes color from red to purple while dashing, and holding +Control Pad up will give it an angry expression.

Profiles

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Trophy

Name Image Game Description
Sidesteppers BrawlTrophy539.png NES Mario Bros. Crabby enemies taken on by Mario and Luigi. One bump from below wouldn't flip them over, but rather anger them so they moved faster. These pests had to be bumped twice before they could be upended and kicked off the stage. If left alone after being turned upside down, or if there was one left, their speed would increase. They went by the basic name of "crabs" in Japan.
GBA Super Mario Advance

Sticker

Image Game Effect
Sidestepper in the game Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Mario Bros. [Leg] - Attack +8

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U trophy

Name Image Appearance(s) American English Description British English Description
Sidesteppers Sidesteppers trophy from Super Smash Bros. for Wii U ARCADE Mario Bros.
GBA Super Mario Advance
Can you guess how this crab-like enemy moves? The name might give you a clue. But Mario could be in for a surprise when he punches one from below–instead of flipping over, it starts sidestepping even faster! Oh, Mario, did you make it angry? Don't worry–a second punch should calm it down...or at least knock it on its head. Any guesses for how this crab-like enemy moves? The name might give you a clue. Mario could be in for a surprise when he punches one from below - instead of flipping over, it starts sidestepping even faster! Oh, Mario, did you make it angry? Don't worry - a second punch should calm it down...or at least knock it on its head.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate spirit

Name Image Series / game Type Class Strength / effects How to obtain Spirit battle
Opponent(s) Battle conditions Stage Song
Sidestepper Sidestepper spirit from Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Mario Bros. Series Support (1) Novice Trade-Off Speed ↑ World of Light (Light Realm) Mr. Game & Watch ×12 Rule: Move Speed ↑
  • The enemy has increased move speed after a little while
  • The enemy can deal damage by dashing into you
  • Reinforcements will appear after an enemy is KO'd
Mario Bros. Mario Bros.

Game appearances

Title Description Original release date System / format
Mario Bros. Enemy 1983 Arcade, etc.
Mario Bros. Special Enemy 1984 NEC PC-8801
Punch Ball Mario Bros. Enemy 1984 NEC PC-8801
Super Mario Bros. Special Enemy 1986 NEC PC-8801
Mario Clash Enemy 1995 Virtual Boy
Super Mario Advance Cameo in cutscene 2001 Game Boy Advance
Mario Kart: Super Circuit Stage hazard 2001 Game Boy Advance
Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga Cameo during boss battle 2003 Game Boy Advance
Mario Power Tennis Cameo in the background 2004 Nintendo GameCube
Mario Kart DS Stage hazard 2005 Nintendo DS
Super Smash Bros. Brawl Stage hazard, trophy, sticker 2008 Wii
Mario Kart Wii Stage hazard 2008 Wii
Mario Kart 7 Stage hazard 2011 Nintendo 3DS
Super Mario 3D World Enemy 2013 Wii U
Mario Kart 8 Stage hazard 2014 Wii U
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U Trophy 2014 Wii U
Super Mario Maker Mystery Mushroom costume 2015 Wii U
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Stage hazard 2017 Nintendo Switch
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Stage hazard, spirit 2018 Nintendo Switch
Mario Kart Tour Stage hazard 2019 iOS, Android

Gallery

Artwork

Sprites

Screenshots

Names in other languages

Mario Bros.

Language Name Meaning
Japanese カニさん
Kani-san
サイドステッパー
Saidosuteppā

Crab-san

Sidestepper


German Krabbe
Crab
Italian Granchio (Super Smash Bros. Brawl trophy)
Granchietto (Mario Bros. GBA)
Crab
Small crab
Korean 게님
Ge-Nim
Translation of Japanese name

Portuguese Caranguejo
Crab
Russian Бокоход
Bokokhod
Sidewalker

Spanish Cangrejo
Crab

Super Mario All-Stars

Language Name Meaning
Japanese カニキチ
カニ吉
Kanikichi
From kani (カニ), meaning "crab", and -kichi (吉), a common suffix for mens' names

Mario Clash

Language Name Meaning
Japanese クワトロ[4]
Kuwatoro
Quattro

References

  1. ^ Super Mario Bros. 3 English instruction booklet, page 24.
  2. ^ Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga instruction booklet, page 39.
  3. ^ Mario Kart DS Mission Mode: 4-2
  4. ^ Mario Clash Japanese instruction booklet, page 19.