Pumpkin
| Pumpkin | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Rendered model of a jack-o'-lantern with Bowser's face from Mario Kart Tour. Model from Mario Kart Tour | |||
| First appearance | Super Mario World (1990, as part of Fall) Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon (2013, independently) | ||
| Latest appearance | Luigi's Mansion 2 HD (2024) | ||
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Pumpkins occasionally have functional roles in Super Mario games. Within the games, they commonly take on the appearance of jack-o'-lanterns , a type of Halloween decoration, and are consequently encountered in autumnal or spooky environments. The role pumpkins typically fulfill in the franchise is to release collectibles or grant points when destroyed.
Pumpkins and jack-o'-lanterns are also employed stylistically within the franchise, such as with Jumping Pumpkin Plants replacing Jumping Piranha Plants in the Fall mode of Super Mario World ; being the dominant motif of the Pumpkin Zone in Super Mario Land 2 - 6 Golden Coins ; and serving as the basis of the Prancer and Pumpkin Kart in the Mario Kart series. Walking jack-o'-lantern enemies called Splunkins appear in New Super Mario Bros.
History[edit ]
This section needs Luigi's Mansion improvement. Specifically:
- Include information related to Luigi's Mansion 3 and Luigi's Mansion 2 HD
Super Mario series[edit ]
Super Mario Galaxy / Super Mario Galaxy 2[edit ]
Jack O'Goomba, an enemy type appearing in Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2 , is a Goomba with a jack-o'-lantern mounted on its head. The pumpkin fully protects the Goomba from stomp attacks and allows the enemy to easily bounce back from one spin attack, though it shatters in the process. Regardless, the enemy can instantly be defeated with a Ground Pound or by touching it while in Rainbow form.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder[edit ]
Super Mario Bros. Wonder features pumpkin boxes [derived] in the course Upshroom Downshroom. They appear in various sizes, and typically release items when destroyed. During the course's Wonder Effect, the pumpkin boxes become jack-o'-lanterns and are bounced into the air by Mushroom Platforms.
Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon[edit ]
In Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon , jack-o'-lanterns are among the many interactive objects in ScareScraper mode. Luigi can grab one using the Poltergust 5000's vacuuming function, then blow it away into a hard surface to destroy it, potentially releasing a heart. Greenies may pick up a pumpkin and use it as a shield against Luigi's Strobulb, though Luigi can wrest the pumpkin away from a Greenie by vacuuming it.[1]
WarioWare Gold[edit ]
In WarioWare Gold , the Pumpkin Panic minigame has Ashley protecting a pumpkin patch from mandrakes. She can shoot magic at the mandrakes to turn them into pumpkins, then walk into the pumpkins to knock away and destroy them. Kicked pumpkins can also defeat mandrakes. Given time, a pumpkin eventually flickers and vanishes. If there are multiple pumpkins in a line, Ashley can kick one pumpkin into another to cause a chain reaction; the first pumpkin in a row grants 100 points when destroyed, with the number of points earned per pumpkin increasing as more of them are destroyed in the chain. Pumpkins other than the first in a chain grant make mandrakes defeated by them worth more points. Pumpkins produce purple orbs when destroyed, which charge up Ashley's special ability—a torrent of magic that turns all normal mandrakes currently spawned on the play field into pumpkins. After each night phase, pumpkins fall from the sky to fill the area, allowing the player to earn lots of points. Every other night phase, a large mandrake immune to Ashley's normal attack appears. Therefore, the primary way to damage it is to kick pumpkins into it.
Mario Kart Tour[edit ]
Jack-o'-lanterns (written with a capital "J" in-game) appear as course elements in Mario Kart Tour , exclusively during tours that occur around Halloween. They have the face of Bowser, Boo, or Shy Guy carved on them.
Jack-o'-lanterns appear in several sizes. Smaller ones typically lie on the track and can be knocked away by driving into them or hitting them with an item, growing back in the same spot after a while. Larger Jack-o'-lanterns are found on the sides of tracks or in the background, and, when hit, they make a bobbing movement while remaining in place. Like with festive trees and kadomatsu, interacting with a Jack-o'-lantern of any size awards the player bonus points, with the action being displayed as "Trick or treat!" Additionally, when hit, Jack-o'-lanterns emit a brief Boo-like chortle, with larger ones emitting said sound at a lower pitch than the small ones. Starting October 25, 2020, 06:00 UTC, interacting with a Jack-o'-lantern also gives drivers an event token.
The only tours to have featured Jack-o'-lanterns thus far were all the Halloween Tours as of 2020, the 2021 Autumn Tour, and the Battle Tour.
The following are courses that have featured Jack-o'-lanterns:
- London Loop 3, R, T, R/T
- RMX Mario Circuit 1, R, T
- RMX Choco Island 1, R, T, R/T
- RMX Ghost Valley 1, R, T, R/T
- RMX Donut Plains 1, R, T, R/T
- SNES Donut Plains 1, R, T, R/T
- SNES Ghost Valley 1, R, T, R/T
- SNES Choco Island 1, R, T, R/T
- SNES Donut Plains 2, R, T, R/T
- SNES Choco Island 2, R, T, R/T
- SNES Donut Plains 3, R, T, R/T
- N64 Kalimari Desert, R, T
- N64 Kalimari Desert 2, R, T
- N64 Frappe Snowland, R, T
- N64 Choco Mountain, R, T, R/T
- GBA Boo Lake, R, T, R/T
- GCN Dino Dino Jungle, R, T
- DS Luigi's Mansion, R, T, R/T
- DS Waluigi Pinball, R, T
- DS Airship Fortress, R, T, R/T
- Wii Maple Treeway, R, T, R/T
- 3DS Shy Guy Bazaar, R, T
Jack-o'-lanterns do not appear in most bonus challenges. When they do, they are all off the main track.
A MKT Report reveals that a total of 403,223,289 Jack-o'-lanterns were "blown away" by the game's playerbase during the 2024 Battle Tour and Halloween Tour.[2]
Gallery[edit ]
Model of a Jack-o'-lantern with a Boo's face from Mario Kart Tour
Model of a Jack-o'-lantern with a Shy Guy's face from Mario Kart Tour
A common badge from Mario Kart Tour depicting Jack-o'-lanterns
The Today's Challenge badge from Mario Kart Tour depicting Jack-o'-lanterns
Some Jack-o'-lanterns in Mario Kart Tour
Bowser Jack-o'-lantern in Wii Maple Treeway (Mario Kart Tour)
Bowser Jack-o'-lantern in DS Airship Fortress (Mario Kart Tour)
Boo Jack-o'-lantern in DS Luigi's Mansion R (Mario Kart Tour)
Boo Jack-o'-lantern in N64 Frappe Snowland (Mario Kart Tour)
Shy Guy Jack-o'-lantern in Wii Maple Treeway (Mario Kart Tour)
Knocking away a Jack-o'-lantern in Wii Maple Treeway (Mario Kart Tour). Note the "Trick or treat!" message displayed on the right.
Big Jack-o'-lanterns in the background of N64 Frappe Snowland (Mario Kart Tour)
Artwork of jack-o'-lanterns from the Autumn Celebration 2024 MKT Report
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Names in other languages[edit ]
- Jack-o'-lantern
| Language | Name | Meaning | Note(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese (Simplified) | 杰克南瓜灯 Jiékè Nánguā Dēng |
Jack-o'-lantern | Mario Kart Tour | [?] |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 傑克南瓜燈 Jiékè Nánguā Dēng |
Jack-o'-lantern | Mario Kart Tour | [?] |
| German | Halloweenkürbis | Halloween Pumpkin | Mario Kart Tour | [?] |
| Italian | Zucca di Halloween | Halloween pumpkin | Mario Kart Tour | [?] |
See also[edit ]
References[edit ]
- ^ RetroArchive (November 24, 2022). Luigi's Mansion 2: Dark Moon - ScareScraper All 25 Floors (No Damage - Surprise Expert Mode) (19:51). YouTube. Retrieved October 8, 2024. (Archived April 21, 2025, 01:15:23 UTC via Wayback Machine.) This gameplay footage of the ScareScraper mode in Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon shows a Greenie and Luigi using a jack-o'-lantern.
- ^ "While we're here, this is how many jack-o'-lanterns were blown away during the Battle Tour and Halloween Tour:
"403,223,289
"We hope you continue to enjoy #MarioKartTour!" – mariokarttourEN (November 5, 2024). Post. X. Retrieved November 12, 2024. (Archived February 19, 2026, 22:45:46 UTC via Megalodon.)