Spark pylon
| Spark pylon | |
|---|---|
 Artwork | |
| First appearance | Super Mario Odyssey (2017) |
| Latest appearance | Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2018) |
Spark pylons arecapturable objects inSuper Mario Odyssey. They represent the terminals of a power line, whichMario can travel rapidly along after turning into a ball of electricity. The base of a spark pylon has a small sphere on the top with a lightning bolt symbol on the sides.
History[edit]
Super Mario Odyssey[edit]
When Mario captures a spark pylon, he turns into a ball of electricity and gains the ability to move across power lines to reach other spark pylons. This can help Mario quickly travel to different areas of some kingdoms, much likeLaunch Stars inSuper Mario Galaxy andSuper Mario Galaxy 2 and theWarp Boxes andClear Pipes inSuper Mario 3D Land andSuper Mario 3D World (only the former appears in both of these games). Power lines tend to be straight lines with nodes where they change direction, though there is the occasional curve for the bend of wires between poles and some others that bend because they happen to bend.
Mario can move across a wire when the player uses
. The player can also shake the controller, moving into the default direction. (If there are multiple directions of wires, this is the direction Mario faces when he captured the pylon.) Mario cannot stop or change direction until he reaches a different spark pylon. If the destination spark pylon has options to move in that are not backward, Mario stops and awaits a new input. If there is not, he pops out. A rare few destinations do not have a spark pylon, meaning that Mario pops out there and that he cannot return to the starting point with a spark pylon.
The player can shake their Joy-Con controller or press a button to slightly crackle. This has the additional effect of allowing the ball to target and follow trails ofcoins nearby, then return to the power line. In some cases, this allows Mario to grab out-of-reachPower Moons. The player can de-capture while moving, which can allow them to reach places the wire/path moves past. Certain power lines, especially ones that move across wide hazards likepits andpoison, cannot be exited from early in this way. While a ball of electricity, Mario damages enemies he touches. This does not mean he is invincible: Enemies that do not take damage such asFuzzies are sometimes seen on these same lines as obstacles.
Spark pylons have a unique property compared to all other objects on the Capture List. If Mario has currently captured a character, then touches a spark pylon, he immediately captures the spark pylon and leaves the other character. If that character was an enemy, the electric ball usually proceeds to defeat them because of their proximity. This property does not apply toGlydon,Moe-Eyes, orT-Rexes. While a spark pylon cannot be destroyed, the Cascade Kingdom has some on top of destroyable poles. Destroying a pole reveals that a wire attached to a spark pylon that moves off becomes longer to keep the connection between spark pylons.
Spark pylons without power lines appear in theMoon Kingdom, in theRuined Kingdom, inBowser's Kingdom, and in aSand Kingdom bonus challenge. Electricity arcs across most of the path these spark pylons will take, and there are no branches in that path. The paths are almost always curved, and they always cross longer distances than normal spark pylons. There may or may not be a spark pylon on the other end, as before.
Mario first encounters a spark pylon after defeatingTopper onTop-Hat Tower during "Cappy of the Cap Kingdom." This spark pylon appeared after the boss was fought, and Mario uses the power line leading from it to travel from theCap Kingdom to theCascade Kingdom. It is taller compared to other spark pylons. The wire connecting the kingdoms breaks and falls away as Mario exits in the Cascade Kingdom, and the tall spark pylon never appears again. This may be because theOdyssey is the primary means of moving between kingdoms, and it is found in the Cascade Kingdom. No other power lines lead between kingdoms.
The game's final setpiece is a larger spark pylon deep in the Moon Kingdom, during "Bowser's Moon Wedding."Bowser, while being captured by Mario, unearths it so that everyone can escape a collapsing cave. This spark pylon is a special exception to the normal rules, since Mario andCappy capture the spark pylon while still capturing Bowser.Princess Peach andTiara also capture this spark pylon at the same time. They all start moving only after a directional input is held or the controller is shaken for a short duration. This specific spark pylon is captured as part of a cutscene and is not programmed as a capture.[1]
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[edit]
Spark pylons can be seen in theNew Donk City Hall stage ofSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate as background elements. They appear in the same spots on the building as inSuper Mario Odyssey.
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | 電気ボックス[?] Denki bokkusu | Electric box | |
| Chinese | 电箱 (Simplified) 電箱 (Traditional)[?] Diàn xiāng | Electric box | |
| Dutch | Generator[?] | Generator | |
| French | Borne gzzzt[2] | Gzzzt terminal | |
| German | Stromgenerator[?] | Electricity generator | |
| Italian | Generatore elettrizap[?] | Electrizap generator | |
| Russian | Трансформатор[?] Transformator | Transformer | |
| Spanish | Poste de chispazo[3] | Spark post |
Notes[edit]
- The electricity sound that is produced as Mario travels with a spark pylon adjusts its pitch and tempo according to the background music. This sound is replaced bykoto samples in Bowser's Kingdom.
References[edit]
- ^Lowest Percent (Nov 6, 2020).How Speedrunners beat Mario Odyssey without Cappy (almost) ("2:36").Youtube. Retrieved Sept 14, 2024.
- ^Super Mario Odyssey capture list
- ^Super Mario Odyssey Spanish guide.www.guiasnintendo.com (Spanish).
