Gravity
Gravity in theSuper Mario franchise is often a way to manipulate controls, either through how fast the player falls or to disorient the player in other directions such as upside-down. Shadows are usually cast along the direction of gravity, such as inpits, to help show how objects are aligned in space.
TheMoon's gravitational pull being weaker thanEarth's own is often referenced in theSuper Mario franchise, by having locations on the Moon use lighter gravity or otherwise using gravity-altering mechanics. It is also linked to cosmic-ness in general.
History[edit]
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island[edit]
Altered gravity inSuper Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island is featured only in the boss fight ofRaphael The Raven's Castle, whereYoshi must run around themoon andGround Pound theStumps to attackRaphael the Raven on the other side. Yoshi is always shown upright; the arena rotates under him.
Yoshi Topsy-Turvy[edit]
Gravity inYoshi Topsy-Turvy is a key gameplay mechanic. The player can manipulate gravity and tilt the world accordingly by tiltingGame Boy Advance left or right, resulting in items, enemies tilting in the same direction, or sometimes even obstacles such asboulders.
Super Mario series[edit]
Super Mario Galaxy /Super Mario Galaxy 2[edit]
Gravity inSuper Mario Galaxy andSuper Mario Galaxy 2 can have its direction expressed by the shape and appearance of a planetoid, but is actually controlled by invisible game objects that direct gravity toward the surface of basic shapes:[1][2]
GlobalPlaneGravity: Gravity vectors point in a consistent parallel direction, toward a plane. This can work like gravity in other games, or point in other directions like upside down or sideways. There is a variant with a finite hitbox,GlobalPlaneGravityInBox. In 2D sections, areas with different planar gravities may be indicated withgravity fields.- Sphere: Gravity vectors point toward a sphere, as is typical of a planet. TheGateway Galaxy's planets all exhibit this gravity field, and another example is the small asteroid visited in theGood Egg Galaxy's third mission,King Kaliente's Battle Fleet, as well as the Question Mark Planet's moon in theGusty Garden Galaxy.
GlobalCubeGravity: Gravity vectors point parallel to the faces of a cube, with abrupt transitions along the diagonals from the edges. An example is theGusty Garden Galaxy's Puzzle Cube.GlobalWireGravity: Gravity vectors point toward a line-based path. The line can be straight (as with the Pill Planet in theGood Egg Galaxy) or curved (as with the Question Mark planet in theGusty Garden Galaxy).GlobalConeGravity: Gravity vectors point toward the curved surface of a conical frustum. Examples include theOcean Pudding Planet inSea Slide Galaxy, thegiant ice cream cone planet inToy Time Galaxy, and the Starting Planet of theDreadnought Galaxy (only inInfiltrating the Dreadnought; inRevenge of the Topman Tribe, it has Global Disk Gravity, and its top part is squashed to accommodate.)GlobalDiskTorusGravity: Gravity vectors point toward the edge of an open disk, creating a torus (doughnut)-shaped field. The Hedge Ring Planet in theGusty Garden Galaxy and the Starting Planet of theFreezeflame Galaxy exemplify this.GlobalDiskGravity: Gravity vectors point toward the surface of a closed disk, rounded between faces in the space around the edge. TheBattlerock Galaxy's Starting Planet (and, by extension, that planet's copies) and the main part of the Starting Planet of theGood Egg Galaxy have this gravity field, and in theDreadnought Galaxy, the Starting Planet gets this gravity field inRevenge of the Topman Tribe.- Wedge: Gravity vectors point toward a concave shape, that of the curved ramps in theGood Egg Galaxystarting planet's secret room. Another example on the same planet is the curved part of the walkway up the tower.
GlobalBarrelGravity: Only found inSuper Mario Galaxy 2. The gravity vector field curves around the center axis of a cylinder. Two examples are theWood Drum Planet andWood Circle Cut Planet inTall Trunk Galaxy, each with relatively perpendicular 2D sections to each other; the former snaps Mario to a cylindrical shell, and the latter to a circular cross-section.
In practice, this leads to four main conceptual models of gravity:
- Planetary gravity, which draws Mario in on all sides of the planet. This allows Mario to traverse the underside of a planet. An example of this is the mini-planets in theGusty Garden Galaxy.
- Absolute gravity, which pulls Mario down, regardless of the planet's center. Mario is expected to slide down slopes, rather than rotating to stand on them. Falling off of the planet acts as abottomless pit, causing Mario to lose a life even if he is not pulled into ablack hole. An example isHoneyhive Galaxy'sstarting planet.
- Outward gravity, which pulls Mario to the sides of a planet when he is inside one. Examples include the Tower Planet inBowser's Galaxy Reactor, and theWarp Pipe area on the inside of the Asteroid Planet inGood Egg Galaxy.
- Toroidal gravity, also referred to as[citation needed] "orbital" or "fall forever" gravity, which pulls Mario around the curved surface of a cylindrical planetoid. Another example is theAbandoned Rocketship Planet inSpace Storm Galaxy. The first cylindrical planet visited in theSky Station Galaxy's second mission,Storming the Sky Fleet, has this type of gravity field inside.
Gravity is also manipulated in several levels, usinggravity switches, which change the direction of gravity of the surrounding area;gravity spotlights, which push Mario toward a surface or another place like a tractor beam; and thegrates and dirt patches inFlipsville Galaxy, which flip Mario's gravity when crossed.Pull Stars,Sling Stars, andLaunch Stars allow Mario to ignore gravity while they are used.
Black holes use gravity to drawMario orLuigi into them if they get too close, causing them to lose a life.
While shadows are still usually cast along the direction of gravity, there are exceptions when other spatial information is more important. For example,coins cast their shadows towardhoney walls to show their position in space, even though it is not because of gravity thatBee Mario sticks to these walls. These exceptions are handled with invisible game objects similar to the ones that control gravity.
Super Mario Odyssey[edit]
Gravity inSuper Mario Odyssey can be altered in certain 2D sections accessed by8-bit pipes. Mario can walk across any curved surface, with gravity changing to match. Some areas have gravity fields that determine gravity. Others, such as ones seen in theMoon Kingdom, have Mario hopping to circular 2D planets with different gravity.
Locations on the Moon, those being the Moon Kingdom,Dark Side, andDarker Side, have lighter gravity. While there, Mario jumps higher and falls slower. This does not apply to the rebounding off walls following aroll,long jump,dive, orquick swim, all of which result in fairly constant rate rises and falls. This effect extends to 2D sections, but does not affect underground areas such as theUnderground Moon Caverns. It also does not affect underground 2D sections. The interiors of theWedding Hall and theOdyssey are excluded, but this does not indicate buildings are exempt because the interior ofRabbit Ridge Tower is included.
Super Paper Mario[edit]
Gravity in Chapter 4 ofSuper Paper Mario is different than in other appearances, due to taking place inOuter Space. In Chapters 4-1 and 4-3, there is no gravity, allowing the player to navigate freely. Pressing any direction on theWii Remote's D-Pad
will automatically propel them in the given direction. Whenflipped into 3D, the player can only move laterally due to the lack of other controls for vertical movement. They cannotstomp enemies in zero gravity and must instead useSquirps' Squirt Beam.
Chapter 4-2 takes place onPlanet Blobule, which has low gravity, allowing the characters to jump much higher than normal and to fall much slower.
Chapter 4-4 takes place in theWhoa Zone, which has normal gravity. However, entering certain doors and pipes may place the characters on the walls or ceiling of a room. Later in the level,gravity switches are found, which change the direction of the player's personal gravity.
Mario & Luigi: Dream Team[edit]
- Main article:Luiginary Gravity
- Main article:Luiginary Antigravity
InMario & Luigi: Dream Team, gravity in theDream World can be affected by twoLuiginary Works:Luiginary Gravity andLuiginary Antigravity. Luiginary Gravity changes gravity to point in any one of the four cardinal directions, and Luiginary Antigravity removes gravity so that Mario can swim through the air.
Mario Kart series[edit]
Mario Kart 7[edit]
InMario Kart 7, one portion ofRainbow Road takes place on the Moon. This segment has lighter gravity, enabling higher jumps and slower falling. It is very similar to the effect ofunderwater driving in the game, except without water or the propellers thatkarts use.
Mario Kart 8 /Mario Kart 8 Deluxe[edit]
- Main article:Anti-gravity
Gravity inMario Kart 8 andits Nintendo Switch version appears in the form ofanti-gravity, which allows vehicles to drive on upside-down and vertical sections of courses, and to performSpin Boosts. According toMario Kart 8 producerHideki Konno, this mechanic was inspired by the aforementioned portion of 3DS Rainbow Road inMario Kart 7.[3]
Gallery[edit]
TheSpirit Who Loves Surprises teachingYoshi how to use Gravity inYoshi Topsy-Turvy
Mario in the Whoa Zone near a gravity switch inSuper Paper Mario
References[edit]
 | Wikipedia has an article onGravity. |
