Ganchan
Artwork fromSuper Mario Land
First appearance	Super Mario Land (1989)
Latest appearance	Super Mario-kun Special Selection (2023)
Relatives Tokotoko

Ganchans^[1][2] are rock-like enemies fromSuper Mario Land that are found in the mountainous areas of theEaston Kingdom ofSarasaland. They are large, indestructible boulders that bound around unceasingly, bouncing in the other direction when hitting a wall. They can be used as platforms to get across floors withpoison needles orpits, or to reach high areas out of reach. InWorld 3-1 andWorld 3-2, Ganchans periodically fall from behind certain clouds andwaterfalls, respectively, ensuring thatMario can use one to cross the terrain even if he misses jumping on one; inWorld 3-3, Ganchans are scrolled onscreen and do not continuously spawn except in the boss room, whereHiyoihoi is shown using them as projectile weapons.

Ganchans are depicted as both sentient and non-sentient rocks in theSuper Mario Land manga: the sentient Ganchans let Mario cross the spikes, afterMecha Kuribō stretches his face to resemble one of a moai, tricking them into helping them cross; and the non-senient ones are the boulders tossed by Hiyoihoi.

InSuper Mario-kun, faceless Ganchans appear involume 3 being tossed by Hiyoihoi. Mario usesYoshi as a shield, making him eat the boulders, then tosses him like a bowling ball at the moai, striking them down.

Profiles[edit]

Super Mario Land[edit]

• Instruction booklet description:
  • English:
    Rocks that fall suddenly from the sky. They are terrible if they hit and squash you, but useful because you can jump on one and let it take you for a ride. Ganchans can't be beaten.
  • Other languages:
    • Italian:
      Queste sono rocce che cadono improvvisamente dal cielo. Se riescono a colpirvi e schiacciarvi sono terribili, se invece riuscirete a salirci sopra potrete farvi trasportare in giro. Non possono essere sconfitte.^[3]

• Game Boy Player's Guide:
  • English:
    You can ride these boulders over spike pits.

• Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console manual:
  • English:
    These rocks fall from the sky. They can squash Mario, but he could also jump on one and take it for a ride. They can't be destroyed.
  • Other languages:
    • Italian:
      Queste rocce cadono all'improvviso dall'alto. Se ti colpiscono e ti schiacciano, perderai una vita. Puoi saltarci sopra e cavalcarle, ma non puoi sconfiggerle.^[4]

Perfect Ban Mario Character Daijiten[edit]

ガンチャン (JP) / Ganchan (EN)
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	Original text (Japanese)		Translation
	種族しゅぞく	岩石族がんせきぞく	Tribe	Rock clan
	性格せいかく	お人好ひとよし	Disposition	Good-natured
	登場とうじょうゲーム	ランド１	Game appearances	Land 1
	利用りょうできるなら大歓迎だいかんげい どこからともなく、急きゅうに落ちてくる大おきな岩いわ。やっつけることはできないし、下敷したじきになるとワンミスに。上うえに乗のることができるので、下したが危あぶないところで移動いどうに使つかうと便利べんりだ。[5]		You're welcome to use it if you can A large rock suddenly falls out of nowhere. You can't defeat it, and if you get trapped under it, you lose a life. You can ride on top of it, so it is useful to use it to move around in places where the ground below is hazardous.

Gallery[edit]

• 

  Artwork of a red colored Ganchan fromSuper Mario Land

• 

  Sprite fromSuper Mario Land

• 

  Screenshot fromSuper Mario Land

• 

  Hiyoihoi throwing a Ganchan

• 

  Super Mario Land Kessen Meiro

Names in other languages[edit]

References[edit]

• Animate objects
• Platforms
• Game Boy (comic)
• Super Mario Land enemies