This article is about Mario's forward somersault fromSuper Mario 3D Land. For Mario's backflip used by crouch jumping and his side somersault in this and other 3D games, seeBackward Somersault andSide Somersault. For the move referred to as a "Roll" inDonkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, seeRoll Attack.

Mario rolling inSuper Mario 3D Land

Rolling appears in theSuper Mario franchise as amove that involves the player character curling into a ball-like shape and moving. It is used in different ways depending on the series and game with the ability.

History[edit]

Donkey Kong (Game Boy)[edit]

Rolling as an action in theSuper Mario franchise first appears in theGame Boy version ofDonkey Kong. WhenMario lands from a great height, he briefly rolls as he lands on the ground. Longer falls can stun Mario or make him lose a life.

Wario Land series[edit]

Wario rolling inWario Land 4

In theWario Land series, rolling appears starting inWario Land II. To perform it, Wario mustslide down aslope, and he begins rolling shortly afterward. While rolling, Wario moves forward rapidly and is only stopped when he hits a solid wall. He can barrel through enemies, including spiked ones, as well as blocks. As he is a single block tall in this state, he can roll through low passages. Wario can also jump while continuing to roll, which is sometimes used to give him multiple paths he can take.

Super Smash Bros. series[edit]

SmashWiki article:Roll

Rolling appears in theSuper Smash Bros. series as an evasive maneuver. It is performed by moving thefighter left or right whileshielding. The user becomes temporarily invincible while moving a short distance in the chosen direction. Rolling in theSuper Smash Bros. series does not necessarily involve the character curling into a ball; many characters have different animations for rolling. The exact length of a roll and the duration of its invincibility depend on the character rolling. These variables inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate are also affected by how many rolls are used during a short period of time.

Super Mario series[edit]

Super Mario 3D Land[edit]

Rolling inSuper Mario 3D Land is a move used by Mario andLuigi, causing either brother to burst forward from acrouch. After a short period of time, the character stops rolling and resumes crouching. To perform it, the player has to press or while crouching; thus, it replaces theSweep Kick andSlide Kick fromSuper Mario 64 andSuper Mario 64 DS. When rolling, Mario and Luigi move faster than walking and can break opencrates; however, the roll cannot defeatenemies, as opposed to theRoll Attack from theDonkey Kong Country series. Since the roll is performed while crouching, rolling can be used while in spaces too small to stand in.Jumping during the move makes the roll become aRolling Leap, a longer and faster version of theLong Jump.

If Mario is in hisTanooki form or Luigi is in his Kitsune form, this move becomes theTail Spin.^[1] When this move is used, the character crouches and continuously spins his tail until or is not pressed anymore. By combining this move with the Rolling Leap, the character can move while spinning his tail, defeating every enemy in his way.

In thepre-release version ofSuper Mario 3D Land, the roll was performed by pressing the or button while moving. If the player attempts to do this in the final version, Mario slides while crouching instead, as in the 2D games of theSuper Mario series.

Super Mario 3D World /Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury[edit]

Rolling inSuper Mario 3D World andSuper Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury works in the same way as it does inSuper Mario 3D Land, but the additional player characters—Peach,Toad, andRosalina—can roll as well. While a character is inCat form, the roll becomes a sliding tackle called apounce. The pounce can be combined with the long jump just like the Tail Spin, which causes a similar move where the player continuously claws at enemies during a long jump.

InSuper Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury, players can also roll in midair by pressing or during aGround Pound, similarly to theSuper Mario Odyssey version of thedive. As with the dive, the roll can be performed during the front flip for a Ground Pound or while falling during a Ground Pound, and it resets the user's falling speed. This gives it most of the same purposes of the dive, namely extending the distance a single jump can cover, reaching destinations at a higher altitude than the player could reach without a aerial roll, and allowing burst aerial movement into the direction the player is facing regardless of the player's momentum. Unlike the dive, since rolls end on their own after a short time, the player can perform as many rolls as they desire in a single jump where they could only perform one dive per jump. Also, like inSuper Mario Odyssey, players can use a roll directly after landing from aGround Pound. These all apply to the Tail Spin and the pounce.

InSuper Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury, if the player uses aLucky Bell to become their Cat form, they will be unable to pounce in midair. This is because transforming into theLucky Cat form replaces the Ground Pound. This similarly stops them from pouncing out of landing from a Ground Pound, since they are not using a Ground Pound. However, the player cannot transform into Lucky Cat Mario while wearing any kind of Box (Propeller Box,Cannon Box,Coin Box,Light Box), meaning while wearing those boxes the player regains the ability to Ground Pound and therefore the ability to pounce in the air and pounce when landing from a Ground Pound.

Super Mario Run[edit]

It has been suggested that this section be split intoRoll,Landing Roll,Rolling Jump.Reason: There might be cause to considerSuper Mario Run as having a roll move distinct from the Landing Roll, namely that Mario can roll through the mechanics of thePause Block andEdge Climbing and then Rolling Jump from any of the three rolling methods. (discuss)

Mario performing a Landing Roll and a Rolling Jump inSuper Mario Run

Rolling inSuper Mario Run appears as an action called theLanding Roll. A Landing Roll is performed when characters land from a drop with a minimum height of two blocks. The height gained from jumping is excluded from the fall detection, and beginning toslide down a wall resets all height dropped. Landing Rolls always occur when a character lands from any Long Jump. Landing onLifts is excluded because Lifts override standard movement. Taking damage temporarily prevents the player from doing a Landing Roll. This is based on "mercy invincibility," and it therefore extends to leaving abubble after being defeated. When the player taps the screen while a character is on aPause Block that points to the right, the character leaves the block by rolling. Unlike the similar action inDonkey Kong, either kind of roll defeats enemies with which it comes into contact.

The roll performed whenedge-climbing is used is mostly identical to the Landing Roll.

Tapping the screen while rolling performs aRolling Jump, a variation of the jump where the character front-flips while rising. It can defeat enemies from below. Enemies with spikes are immune to both Landing Rolls and Rolling Jumps. The Rolling Jump is astylish move, so it creates blue stars that contribute to starting aCoin Rush.Toads like this move, so in the Toad Rally mode, it gets a Toad to cheer for the player.

Super Mario Odyssey[edit]

Mario rolling inSuper Mario Odyssey

Rolling inSuper Mario Odyssey is very different from its appearances inSuper Mario 3D Land andSuper Mario 3D World, but at first glance, they seem similar. Again, rolling is forward burst movement done from a crouch. However, rolling reacts to slopes such thatMario can roll faster while going down inclines but can struggle to roll up slopes without gathering speed beforehand. Slopes can even influence how Mario moves left and right while rolling. In this game, if the,,, or button is held, Mario can continue to roll past the "burst" portion. This allows slopes to affect the roll further, as upward slopes can bring a roll to a stop, then reverse the roll's direction. On flat surfaces, Mario naturally slows down. Once he moves slowly enough and a slope is not present to send him the other way, he stops rolling and returns to crouching. The player can slowly turn while rolling, instead of the strafing motion done in prior games. If the player presses or, Mario does a short hop while boosting forward. If either button is pressed with the correct rhythm, he gets bigger boosts, which is indicated by a yellow visual effect. If the player shakes while rolling, they still boost forward but always get the more powerful boost. Mario stops rolling fairly quickly after the relevant button is released. If is in neutral, Mario stops in place. If is held in a direction, Mario instead retains the speed he has from rolling, though it returns to his normal running speed in short order if he keeps contact with the ground.

Rolling has been given more interactions with Mario's other moves. When Mario lands from a Long Jump or dive while moving forward at a minimum speed, if the player is currently holding any of the shoulder or trigger buttons, Mario begins rolling. When Mario lands from a Ground Pound, if the player keeps holding a shoulder or trigger button and then either presses, presses, or shakes, Mario starts rolling with an initial use of the strong boost. Lastly, if the player presses one button from both pairs of face buttons at the same time, Mario can interrupt any ongoing roll with aCap Throw.

In a bonus area in theCap Kingdom, Mario automatically rolls upon touching the first slope. After this, he cannot stop rolling until he reaches the end of the area. This behavior is reminiscent of theslides fromSuper Mario 64.

Super Mario Maker 2[edit]

Rolling inSuper Mario Maker 2 can be used in theSuper Mario 3D World style only. It can be performed by pressing any of the shoulder buttons (,,, or) while crouching. AsToadette is a playable character inSuper Mario Maker 2, she can also roll.

Profiles[edit]

Super Mario 3D Land[edit]

• Website description:
  • English (United States):
    This explosive move propels Mario forward with a quick roll.
  • English (United Kingdom):
    Press the Y Button (or the X Button) while crouching to roll. A powered-up Mario can smash blocks and other objects by rolling.

Super Mario Run[edit]

• Tips and Tricks: Landing Roll: You'll break a long fall by rolling without even having to touch the screen. You can even defeat some enemies!
• Tips and Tricks: Rolling Jump: Tap the screen while rolling to do a rolling leap. Toads really dig the energy!

Names in other languages[edit]

Roll[edit]

Landing Roll[edit]

Rolling Jump[edit]

References[edit]

Roll coverage on otherNIWA wikis:

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SmashWiki

• Special moves
• Super Mario 3D Land moves
• Super Mario 3D World moves
• Super Mario Odyssey moves
• Super Mario Run moves
• Super Mario Maker 2 moves

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• Articles with unsourced foreign names