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It has been suggested that this article be split into Kick, Kick (Nearby item). Reason: The act of kicking to launch a kickable item is distinct from kicking to hurt a target. It would make this article less of a generic wastebasket, and the latter article to regain the"user" parameter for its infobox. While the Mario Strikers series section would be lost, it is a worthwhile exchange to have fewer generic articles. (discuss)
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Kicking appears in the Super Mario franchise as a move closely related to punching, either as part of an attack combo or a midair attack. Almost every playable character with legs can kick, though Boo uses its tail instead. In some games, kicking is done by pressing the attack button while in midair.
History
Mario Bros.
In Mario Bros., Mario or Luigi must kick enemies after flipping them over in order to defeat them. Shellcreepers also kick their shells upright before getting back into them after being bumped.
Super Mario series
Super Mario Bros.
Kicking in the Super Mario series was first seen in Super Mario Bros., where either Mario or Luigi was capable of kicking Koopa Shells at his opponents or obstacles. The kicking of Koopa Shells later returns in most future Super Mario games. The later games, such as Super Mario Bros. 3, also introduced the concept of kicking other objects aside from Koopa Shells in order to gain other effects.
Super Mario World
Super Mario World serves as the first game in which enemies can use kicking as an attack: blue unshelled Koopa Troopas will kick shells at the player instead of hopping back into them like the other colors of unshelled Koopa Troopa. When touching a Cheep Cheep out of water or a stunned unshelled Koopa Troopa to defeat it in Super Mario World, Mario and Luigi will kick it to defeat it, resembling Mario Bros. In another resemblance to Mario Bros., green, red, and yellow Unshelled Koopas will kick a shell to right it back up if it has been flipped upside-down before they reenter the shell. The player will also pick up and kick #3 Lemmy's Castle in the end-of-level cutscene.
Super Mario 64 / Super Mario 64 DS
Mario kicks to end an attack combo in Super Mario 64 and Super Mario 64 DS; he can also perform a kick in midair (called a Jump Kick),[1][2] to attack enemies and stall his fall (both Luigi and Wario are also capable of performing kicks in the latter game).
Super Mario Galaxy
In Super Mario Galaxy and its Nintendo Switch port, Mario can kick enemies away after stunning them, like in Mario Bros. A move called the double kick also appears, and it gets its name because of how Mario does a kick with both legs while doing the move.
Super Mario Galaxy 2
Mario performing a double kick to defeat a
Hammer BroMario can kick in Super Mario Galaxy 2 and its Nintendo Switch port, with the move having the same purpose as in its predecessor.
Wario's Woods
In Wario's Woods, kicking is one of Toad's signature abilities in the game. He can kick aside the monsters to line them up with each other. With bombs, Toad can kick them if they are set on the ground.
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars / Super Mario RPG
In Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, Mario's attack if he has the NokNok Shell, Troopa Shell, or Lazy Shell is to kick the shell up in the air, then kick it at the targeted enemy as it lands. The Timed Hit for these attacks is on the second kick. The Troopa Shell is stronger than the NokNok Shell, and the Lazy Shell is stronger than the Troopa Shell.
In the game's Nintendo Switch remake, Super Mario RPG, the shell weapons work the same way, but the first two are renamed Koopa Shell and Paratroopa Shell, respectively. Additionally, the Triple Move Mario performs with Bowser and Peach is Starry Shell Spike. It has Mario bicycle kick a jumping, shell spinning Bowser at enemies. Bowser's attack is enhanced by a star from Peach, and it damages all enemies.
Yoshi series
In the Yoshi series, Koopa Troopas are enemies in the same way they are in the Super Mario series, and thus once they are hiding in their shells Yoshi can kick them forward in the same way characters can in the Super Mario series. Yoshi's ability to gobble up shells and spit them out is easier to start shells with than kicking them, and can stop a moving shell where kicking cannot.
Mario Party series
In Destruction Duet, kicking may be used to damage the statues.
Players can kick in various minigames in the Mario Party series. Doing so to other players usually stuns them temporarily, but kicking is sometimes used to destroy objects faster than punching. For example, in Destruction Duet in Mario Party 2, players can have their characters kick the Bowser Statues by pressing 
while in midair, damaging and eventually destroying the statues. In Rocky Road in Mario Party 6, Mario Party: The Top 100, and Mario Party Superstars, players can kick the boulders blocking their way to destroy them, but they must be careful not to kick and temporarily stun their teammates.
Super Smash Bros. series
This section needs Super Smash Bros. improvement. Specifically:
- Add a sticker paragraph that mirrors the spirit paragraph.
Requested improvements must be clear, pertinent, and well-formed. Please refrain from adding bullet points such as "Add more information" or "Write the rest of the article".
Diddy Kong using Monkey Flip's kick in
Super Smash Bros. UltimateIn the Super Smash Bros. series, almost every playable character can kick as a form of attack. Roundhouse, front, side, axe, drop and flying kicks are among the types of kicks that have appeared. Kicks can be any kind of attack, though there is a strong tendency for them to be air attacks and an even stronger tendency for them to be back air attacks. Some kicks are special moves, such as Diddy Kong's Monkey Flip and Rosalina & Luma's Launch Star Attack.
The Slide Kick and Sweep Kick from Super Mario 64 are adapted into Mario's and Dr. Mario's dash attacks and down smash attacks, respectively. Luigi's down smash is still the Sweep Kick, but he has a different dash attack. The grounded kick from Super Mario 64 is adapted into the third portion of Mario's and Dr. Mario's neutral attack. Luigi has the same move in the first Super Smash Bros. game, but all later games replace it with a different attack. Yoshi's down air attack is a rapid series of kicks below him based on the Flutter Jump, and it is one of the strongest attacks in any game if all of its hits connect.
Bowser Jr. does not have any kicking attacks, owing to him primarily using the Junior Clown Car to attack and that not having any kicking tools. Since the Koopalings are costumes of Bowser Jr., they do not have kicking attacks either.
In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, most but not all kicking attacks can have their power increased by equipping a spirit with the Physical Attack ↑ trait or skill, the Foot Attack ↑ trait or skill, or the Fist & Foot Attack ↑ trait. Rock Mario is an example of a spirit with Physical Attack ↑ as a skill, Goomba and Waluigi (both as his normal spirit and his Super Mario Strikers spirit) are examples of spirits with Foot Attack ↑ as traits, and Winky is an example of a spirit with Foot Attack ↑ as a skill. Heihachi Mishima is the only spirit with Fist & Foot Attack ↑, which is his trait.
Mario Strikers series
The Mario Strikers games relies on this move as a main gameplay mechanic, being based on soccer, a kick-centric real world sport. Super Mario Strikers, Mario Strikers Charged, and Mario Strikers: Battle League each feature different powerful kicks that let the player score multiple goals in a single shot: Super Strike, Mega Strike, and Hyper Strike respectively. Some of these powerful kicks are not actually kicks, as certain characters throw, slap, punch, blow, or ground pound the ball to propel it toward the goal. Diddy Kong's and Peach's Mega Strikes in Mario Strikers Charged are notable for them launching the ball with energy pulses, rather than any other clearer propulsion method.
Mario & Luigi series
In the Mario & Luigi series, the Mario Bros. usually gain special moves that allow them to kick Koopa Shells into their enemies. After one brother launches the shell at a given enemy, it bounces to the other brother. If the player provides the Action Command corresponding to that brother as the Koopa Shell returns to them, they kick the shell at a given enemy again. This process loops several times, with the shell moving faster each time it rebounds from an enemy. These attacks ends when reaching the maximum number of hits or the player misses the Action Command and lets the Koopa Shell crash through the brother who was supposed to kick it. If the enemy the attack is aimed at is defeated by it, and the attack still has hits left, then the attack continues against another enemy. If there is no other enemies, then when the shell is kicked again, it will not bounce off any enemies and careen off screen, ending the attack early. Many games have endless special attack modes, letting the player test their reaction time by keeping a Koopa Shell attack going for as long as possible.
Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
Koopa Shell special attacks were introduced in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, with the Green Shell and Red Shell Bros. Items. Staying at the left side of the screen, either the Mario Bros. or the baby versions of them kick the Koopa Shell at the enemies on the right side of the screen. Green Shell can hit a maximum of sixteen times. Unlike later games, it also ends if the target is defeated. Red Shell keeps continuing no matter how many times it hits and the game picks a new target if the current one is defeated. Red Shell, therefore, proceeds until an Action Command is missed or there are no enemies left to hit. If the Mario Bros. are fighting with their Baby counterparts on their backs, then the baby counterpart of the initiator of the attack sits on the shell. This adds an optional Action Command: pressing the baby's button will make them temporarily spin to make the shell spin faster, and the attack deals increased damage when it hits enemies during this spin.
There is also the Bros. Item Smash Egg, which is broadly similar to Red Shell. The initiator tosses the Smash Egg up into the air, then bicycle kicks it into a random enemy. This makes it bounce into the air in an high arc to one of either brother, chosen at random, letting them again bicycle kick it into a random enemy. Each kick is performed by holding the user's corresponding button to stand backward, and releasing to perform the bicycle kick. The cycle repeats, with the Smash Egg getting faster with each kick just like a Koopa Shell, until the Smash Egg bounces straight up and breaks open. It may provide an item to the playable characters. Not performing the kick makes Smash Egg bounce off the brother and leave the screen, ending the attack. Missing the kick makes the kicker land on their back, unable to kick again, which means the Smash Egg will again bounce off the brother and leave the screen. If the Mario Bros. are fighting with their Baby counterparts on their backs, then the baby counterpart of the brother who the egg is falling to can jump to pop the Smash Egg to the other adult brother. This increases the damage that the kick inflicts because the Smash Egg is falling from a higher point, but the Smash Egg will go to the kicking brother with a higher arc and a faster drop, making it harder to aim the kick.
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
In Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, the Mario Bros. obtain the Bros. Attack Green Shell, which works like the Bros. item without the option of having Baby Mario or Baby Luigi sit on the shell, that the maximum number of hits is ten. and that it has the automatic target changing that Red Shell has in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time that becomes standard for the rest of the series. The Cholesteroad's Endless Mode allows the attack to be performed against an infinite number of Cholesterons, with the maximum number of hits being ignored.
Mighty Meteor has similar mechanics to Smash Egg, but the attack uses Hammer swings instead of kicking.
Mario & Luigi: Dream Team
In Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, Mario gains the Bros. Attack 3D Red Shell and Luigi gains the Bros. Attack 3D Green Shell. Both of these attacks are similar, the Mario Bros. run toward the screen then attack the enemies who are now closer to the background due to how the Mario Bros. moved by kicking the shell. Unlike in prior games, the brother who kicks the shell advances toward the enemies after each kick, shortening the time it takes for the Koopa Shell to return to them after bouncing off an enemy. Both attacks can only hit a maximum of ten times, but there is a new gameplay change regarding the tenth hit. When the brother who did not initiate the attack receives the Koopa Shell after it hits for the ninth time, instead of kicking it into the enemies they kick it on a curved to the brother who initiated the attack. This allows that brother to kick the Koopa Shell extra hard, dealing more damage and sending the shell through the target and off the screen. The damage Koopa Shell attacks inflict is influenced by the equipped boots of the Mario Bros., and they can also activate the special effects of those boots. They are the only Bros. Attacks that use boots to affect their damage that are not jumps.
3D Red Shell has the player select a target before attacking, and it will always hit that target until it is defeated or the attack ends, and in the former case the game automatically picks another target. 3D Green Shell does not have the player select a target before attacking; instead the game randomizes the target with every kick. In any case, the Koopa Shell attack cannot hit enemies that are behind other enemies because it will hit the enemy closer to the screen instead. The Mad Skillathon has an event where the player can perform 3D Green Shell endlessly against dummy enemies. However, unlike the Cholesteroad, the event is divided into several uses of 3D Green Shell, as the finishing attack is retained and prompts the brother who does not perform the final kick to start the attack again. This allows Mario to start 3D Green Shell and perform its tenth kick at times.
The damage dealing portion of the Luiginary Attack Luiginary Ball has Mario kick the collected ball of Luiginoids at the enemies. The player has to press 
as the Action Command to perform the kick, otherwise the ball is left to roll over the enemies without the speed and damage increase of the kick. Similarly to 3D Green Shell and 3D Red Shell, the damage Luiginary Ball inflicts if the kick is performed is influenced by Mario's equipped boots, and it can also activate the special effects of those boots. Unlike 3D Green Shell and 3D Red Shell, Luiginary Ball is a jump attack, though it can still be used against enemies with spikes. In Battle Broque Madame Luiginary Ball can be performed endlessly against Broque Madame to entertain her. Like the Mad Skillaton's 3D Green Shell event, this is done by across several uses of Luiginary Ball, with each use ending by using the kick portion of the attack on Broque Madame. The player only earns points for the kick portion of the attack if it hits Broque Madame, and they earn more points if the kick is performed rather than letting the ball of Luiginoids roll into her without the extra force.
Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam
In Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, Mario gains the Bros. Attack 3D Red Shell. It is similar to the attack in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, but the attack is performed more quickly, which makes the duration shorter but harder to correctly input the Action Commands, and the maximum number of hits is six instead of ten. In exchange, the attack deals more damage than it did in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team. The attack continues to use the Mario Bros. equipped boots.
Trio Racquet follows similar gameplay to a Koopa Shell kicking attack but does not involve kicking.
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey
In Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey, the Mario Bros. obtain the Bros. Attack Green Shell, which operates mostly like how it does in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, but its maximum number of hits is six, matching 3D Red Shell in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam. The sixth hit of Green Shell in this game is a version of the sixth hit of 3D Red Shell in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, but while the shell takes on an orange glow, the kicker of the shell does not. The final hit of Super Bouncer in this game is Luigi kicking the ball from the air into the target. The player has to press 
when Luigi lands on the ball to perform this kick.
Mighty Meteor still resembles Smash Egg, but the attack did not receive any mechanical changes add kicks to it.
In Bowser Jr.'s Journey, Lemmy's first officer command Rolling Riot and Larry's first officer command both involve Bowser Jr. kicking the initiator at enemies. Rolling Riot has Lemmy balance on a rubber ball with Bowser Jr. positioned behind him. They move up and down, and pressing makes Bowser Jr. kick Lemmy's ball to launch him straight across the battlefield to inflict damage to all enemies Lemmy hits. Larry Rally has Larry tuck into his shell so Bowser Jr. can kick him into an enemy. Larry then bounces off the enemy and returns to Bowser Jr., which allows Bowser Jr. to kick him again. This works almost exactly like a Koopa Shell kicking Bros. Attack, but Bowser Jr. is the only receiver and Larry can hit opponents up to five times before getting dizzy and stopping. The player presses to make Bowser Jr. kick, and can press when Larry collides with enemies to inflict more damage.
Profiles
Super Mario Bros. 3
- Wii Virtual Console manual description: "After jumping on a Koopa, you can pick up the shell by running into it from the side while pressing
. To kick the shell, let go of ."
Gallery
Artwork
Mario kicking a ball in Super Mario Strikers
Mario kicking a ball in Mario Strikers Charged
Mario kicking a ball in Mario Strikers: Battle League
Sprites
Super Mario Bros. 3 (Small Luigi)
Super Mario Bros. 3 (Super Luigi)
Super Mario Bros. 3 (Raccoon Luigi)
Super Mario Bros. 3 (Battle Mode Luigi)
Super Mario World (red Unshelled Koopa)
Super Mario World (blue Unshelled Koopa)
Super Mario World (yellow Unshelled Koopa)
Screenshots
Mario performing a Super Strike in Super Mario Strikers
Mario performing a Mega Strike in Mario Strikers Charged
Mario performing a Hyper Strike in Mario Strikers: Battle League
Names in other languages
Kick
| Language | Name | Meaning | Note(s) | Ref. |
|---|
| Japanese | キック
Kikku | Kick | | [3][4] |
| Dutch | Schoppen | To kick | | [5] |
| Finnish | Potkia | To kick | | [6] |
| French | Coup de pied | Kick | | [7] |
| German | Kicken | To kick | | [8] |
| Treten | Super Mario Bros. instruction booklet | [9] |
| Italian | Calciare | To kick | | [10] |
| Calcio | Kick | | [11] |
| Norwegian | Sparke | To kick | | [12] |
| Spanish | Patear | To kick | | [13] |
| Swedish | Sparka | To kick | | [14] |
Jump Kick
| Language | Name | Meaning | Note(s) | Ref. |
|---|
| Japanese | ジャンプキック
Janpu Kikku | Jump Kick | | [4] |
References
| Links to related articles
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