Mario swimming underwater as illustrated in aSuper Mario Sunshine manual

Swimming appears as anaction that can be used by severalcharacters. Swimming is typically done inwater, sometimes with an associated air meter, with other substances able to be swum through infrequently.

History[edit]

Super Mario series[edit]

Swimming is a staple mechanic of theSuper Mario series, first being possible inSuper Mario Bros. and going on to be in every mainline title exceptSuper Mario Bros. 2,Super Mario Land, andSuper Mario Run. In the 2D games, swimming mechanics have remained largely unchanged;Mario naturally sinks in water and swims upwards when the player presses thejump button, preserving his forward momentum. There is no air meter, allowing Mario to stay underwater indefinitely.

Mario swimming in theBeach Bowl Galaxy inSuper Mario Galaxy

In the 3D games fromSuper Mario 64 throughSuper Mario Galaxy 2, the swimming mechanics are different. Mario is aimed in any direction by using the Control Stick, with the jump button propelling Mario forward in that direction. He does not naturally sink in the water when not actively swimming. Additionally, an air meter is added, which causes Mario to take damage and eventually drown if he is underwater for too long without collectingcoins or anair bubble. InSuper Mario Galaxy,Super Mario Galaxy 2, andSuper Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2, Mario can use theStar Spin to propel through the water faster than normal swimming. When the player plays asLuigi, he loses air with every Star Spin. Both brothers can also quickly dive directly downwards while underwater when the player uses.Yoshi can also swim on the water's surface inSuper Mario Galaxy 2, but he cannot dive.

Starting inSuper Mario 3D Land, the swimming mechanics are changed to imitate the mechanics of the 2D games. Mario gains the ability toground-pound underwater, replacing theSuper Mario Galaxy games' diving move.Super Mario Odyssey maintains the rising-and-sinking swimming, but it includes the air meter. Mario can also use the newQuick Swim move with and, which propels him forward similarly to the Star Spin inSuper Mario Galaxy.

Several items and power-ups allow Mario to swim faster or with more control. TheFrog Suit inSuper Mario Bros. 3 andSuper Mario Maker 2 and thePenguin Suit inNew Super Mario Bros. Wii,New Super Mario Bros. U, andNew Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe both allow Mario to stay in place underwater and automatically swim much faster when the player holds down a direction and/or the jump button, akin to the early 3D games.Nabbit andToadette can also swim in a similar manner inNew Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe without the need for a Penguin Suit. TheBlue Shell inNew Super Mario Bros. increases Mario's swimming speed and precision. In the 2D games fromSuper Mario World onwards,Super Mario 64,Super Mario Galaxy, andSuper Mario Galaxy 2, grabbing aKoopa Shell allows Mario to automatically swim forward in the water very quickly. InSuper Mario Sunshine, using theHover Nozzle underwater propels Mario forward. InSuper Mario Odyssey,capturing aCheep Cheep allows Mario to swim through the water quicker and without regard for the air meter.Super Mario Bros. Wonder features the Dolphin Kickbadge, which gives Mario better swimming speed and control with.

InSuper Mario Maker 2, in the nighttime version of thecastle theme, Mario and the other playable characters are able to swim in midair with the same mechanics as water.

Wario franchise[edit]

Wario swimming inMystic Lake inWario Land 4

Wario can swim underwater inWario Land: Super Mario Land 3,Wario Land II, andWario Land 4. However, inWario Land 3, he can swim only on the water's surface until he receives a pair ofSwimming Flippers from the Gray Chest inTower of Revival. In addition,Prince Frog's Glove, received from the Green Chest inOut of the Woods, allows him to swim faster, enabling him to traverse currents. Likewise, Wario can swim only on the water's surface inWario Land: Shake It! However, one of the missions each inFoulwater Falls,Soggybog River, andRiverbloat Rapids tasks him to clear the respective levels without swimming. Although Wario cannot swim on the water's surface or underwater inWario: Master of Disguise at all,Dragon Wario can safely swim inlava.

Donkey Kong Country series[edit]

Diddy Kong riding Enguarde, with Donkey Kong swimming behind, inDonkey Kong Country

Swimming has been a part of theDonkey Kong Country series since thefirst game. In theSNES games, theKongs can swim through the water just as Mario does in the 2DSuper Mario games. They are helpless underwater without the help ofEnguarde, who can move only with, as well as dash forward and stab enemies with his sharp bill.

Donkey Kong andDiddy Kong cannot swim inDonkey Kong Country Returns; the Kongs drown and simply lose a life when they fall into water. Swimming is brought back inDonkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, where the Kongs can swim in 360°, as well as use a newspinning attack when the player presses theroll button, though they now have an air meter, which is refilled with bubbles.Dixie Kong can propel faster underwater with her hair. If two Kongs are paired up, they can perform an infinite Kong Corkscrew; in theNintendo Switch port,Funky Kong can also do so on his own. Funky also has no air meter, as he wears swimming goggles.

Yoshi franchise[edit]

Blue Yoshi swimming, withBaby Peach on his back, inYoshi's Island DS

In the platform games of theYoshi franchise,Yoshis are usually able to swim. However, they can swim only on the surface of water, with areas that lie beneath the waves inaccessible to them.Poochy, a companion character available in certain levels, can also swim in this way, though he has the additional ability to swim acrosslava. A Yoshi can jump on Poochy's back to ride him across water or lava. ThePoochy Pups can also swim. Various forms and items are available to help a Yoshi access areas below the surface in various games. In any case, the Yoshi does not have an air meter to restrict his ability to swim.

InYoshi's Woolly World andPoochy & Yoshi's Woolly World, a Yoshi's feet turn into a propeller while he is swimming. He moves much slower compared to walking. InMellow Mode,Winged Yoshi's wings flap as they swim. A Yoshi cannot createyarn balls or throw yarn balls and Poochy Pups while swimming. A Yoshi cannot jump as high when leaving water. These mechanics can be counteracted by standing on Poochy while he swims across the water. If a Yoshi lands in water from a height, or uses aGround Pound to enter water, he ends up below the surface before floating back up. This can allow the Yoshi to cross some barriers that are at the surface or slightly dip into the water.Mermaid Yoshi has the ability to freely swim underwater, and he can jump quite high out of it. InPoochy & Yoshi's Woolly World'sPoochy Dash mode, onlyZippy Lagoon has water. Poochy can swim under the same rules, though he cannot ground-pound. If Poochy bumps into a wall while swimming or jumping out of the water, he does not bounce off and dropbeads as he does on land. Poochy can enter awhirlpool in this course to stay under the surface in a certain section. WhileHotheaded Lava Fields has lava, Poochy runs through it rather than swimming.

InYoshi's Crafted World, Yoshis cannot swim, instead drowning if they jump in water. Poochy and the Poochy Pups can still swim.

Mario Party series[edit]

Gameplay ofTreasure Divers fromMario Party

Severalminigames throughout theMario Party series feature swimming as the alternate means of controlling a character. Oftentimes, instead of simply tilting the control stick to move, players need to rapidly tap the button to push their characters forward. How the control stick's Y-axis works can vary, with some minigames having inverted Y-axis controls (meaning pressing up on the control stick causes the character to move down, and vice versa). While in most minigames, players can freely swim indefinitely,Sink or Swim inMario Party 6 has an air meter that forces players to surface.Mario Party 6 also features swimming in outer space, where the medium is altered, but the controls and animations are identical to those of swimming.

Deep Bloober Sea fromMario Party 3 includes a giantBlowfish that, when a particular event is triggered, attempts to suck in the player. The player can escape suction by repeatedly pressing; otherwise, the Blowfish inhales them and spits them in a direction indicated by the arrow on its head.

Pyramid Park fromMario Party 7 has a board event where players swim to avoidKlaptraps.

A list of all minigames with swimming is below; minigames where players are on transportation devices or have non-swimming peripherals such as waterskis are excluded:

Mario Tennis series[edit]

Mario Power Tennis[edit]

Waluigi'sDefensive Power Shot, theSwimming Return, involves Waluigi's spawning a pool and swimming on it to return shots that are otherwise out of reach.

Mario Tennis: Power Tour[edit]

Waluigi's Swimming Return is inMario Tennis: Power Tour.

Mario Hoops 3-on-3[edit]

Similar to his Swimming Return fromMario Power Tennis, Waluigi swims midair to the hoop while performing hisTwist Dunk.

Super Smash Bros. series[edit]

InSuper Smash Bros. Brawl,Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, andSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate, fighters are able to swim across water. However, they will drown if they remain in the water for too long and lose a stock, the time required based on the character's percentage. InSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate,Charizard,Sonic,Inkling, andIncineroar take a small amount of damage while swimming, referencing their weakness to water in their home series. There are stages inSuper Smash Bros. Melee andSuper Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS that include water; however, fighters simply fall through it. These stages' water is made swimmable in theirSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate incarnations.

Profiles[edit]

Yoshi's Story[edit]

• Instruction booklet description:
  • English:
    When in the water, tilt the Control Stick in the direction you want to go. Yoshi doesn’t need air while swimming.^[1]
  • Other languages:
    • French:
      Une fois dans l’eau, incliner le stick dans la direction où vous voulez aller. Yoshi n’a pas besoin d’air pendant qu’il nage.^[2]
      (Translation:When in the water, tilt the Control Stick in the direction you want to go. Yoshi doesn’t need air while swimming.)

• Message Block:
  • English:
    Use the Control Stick to steer Yoshi while swimming.^[3]
  • Other languages:
    • French:
      Utilisez le Stick pour vous déplacer sous l’eau . Simple, non?^[4]
      (Translation:Use the Stick to move underwater. Simple, isn't it?)

Gallery[edit]

For this subject's image gallery, seeGallery:Swim.

• 

  Super Mario Bros.

• 

  Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins

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  Super Mario All-Stars (Super Mario Bros. 3)

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  Super Mario 64

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  Mario Party 4

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  Mario Party 6

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  New Super Mario Bros.

• 

  Mario Party Superstars

Names in other languages[edit]

See also[edit]

• Underwater driving

Swim coverage on otherNIWA wikis:

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SmashWiki

Starfy Wiki

WiKirby

Zelda Wiki

References[edit]