Artwork of a
Pidgit riding atop a magic carpet for
Super Mario Advance- “Ahhhhhh, how romantic! Who would guess that my raunchy little game had such a mood-inspiring vehicle? Change your flight direction with right or left on the Control Pad and jump to fly higher! Be careful not to fall off! P.S. I’d like to ride that carpet with little miss you-know-who!”
- —Wario, Wario Land 4 instruction booklet
Magic carpets[1] (also spelled Magic Carpets),[2] generally also known as flying carpets[3][4] or just carpets,[4] appear in the Super Mario franchise as interactive flying platforms that can be used by player characters.
History
Super Mario series
Super Mario Bros. 2
In Super Mario Bros. 2, Pidgit’s carpets[5] are used by Pidgits to fly around. If the playable character grabs and throws or defeats the Pidgit, they are able to briefly ride it before it vanishes (Lakitu's Cloud would later act the same way, as of Super Mario World). Pidgit's carpets are colored black and red in the NES version, yellow and white in Super Mario All-Stars, and red and white in Super Mario Advance; they are also stretched in the latter version, and thus appear larger than they were in prior versions. In the game's data, however, they are still the same size.
Super Mario 64 / Super Mario 64 DS
Rainbow Ride carpets in
Super Mario 64Magic carpets in Super Mario 64 and its Nintendo DS remake do not have anything riding them at first and remain in place until the player character steps on them. Magic carpets appear only in Rainbow Ride. When stepped on, the carpet will follow a set rail, which is styled like a rainbow. If the player remains off the carpet for too long, it will disappear and respawn back in its original position. Once it gets to the end of the line, it will fall into the abyss and then respawn back at where it started.
The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!
Magic carpets in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! are a recurring mode of transportation. Mario, Luigi, Princess Toadstool, Toad and other characters use these carpets sometimes.
Magic carpets are first seen during the intro of the show, where Mario and his friends ride one during the Plumber's Rap. Magic carpets later appear in the episode "Mario's Magic Carpet", where it is established that they are the favorite food of Pidgits. In this episode, they appear to have a car-like protrusion on them.
Later, in the episode "Mario and the Red Baron Koopa", different carpets are seen. King Koopa is seen flying a magic carpet that has a warplane protrusion, while Mario and Luigi fly around on normal-looking carpets that have steering wheels. Later on in the episode, Mario, Luigi and Toad use two ordinary magic carpets together to construct the wings of the flying carpet biplane. In this episode, Sam Shalam of Cloud Land appears, who is a used magic carpet dealer.
The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3
A magic carpet was planned to appeared in the unaired episode "Frog Feats," where it is owned by the Sultan of Desert Land. It is stolen by King Koopa and Koopalings during the episode, but the Mario Bros., who are wearing Frog Suits, manage to create a flood in Desert Land by connecting an oasis's plumbing with an aquifer and fight back against Koopa and his Koopalings, ultimately managing to defeat them and reclaim the magic carpet.[6]
Nintendo Adventure Books
A flying carpet is used by Princess Toadstool, Mario, Toad, and (depending on which route the reader takes) possibly Luigi to enter Iggy Koopa's secret laboratory in Water Land in the Nintendo Adventure Book Leaping Lizards. Three weeks later, some flying carpets are used in the first event in the International Mushroom Games, the obstacle course.
In Koopa Capers, Bowser sends a magic carpet to Mario Brothers Plumbing to kidnap the Mario Bros., whom he is desperate enough to ask to help in the search for his missing daughter. The carpet captures only Luigi (who had at first assumed the carpet was a gift and "a Goomba pattern rug") and proceeds to bring him to Bowser's Castle through the Mario Bros.' personal Warp Pipe.
In Brain Drain, if Luigi punches the correct code into the KoopaFone in the Koopa Command Center's cafeteria, he will order a pizza from Magic Carpet Pizzas, a business run by Pidgits who deliver pizzas with their magic carpets.
Wario Land 4
In Wario Land 4, flying carpets[7] are found in the level Arabian Night. Wario can step on a carpet and fly by repeatedly jumping from it. Flying carpets can be maneuvered in a certain direction by walking on their edge. They disappear when they touch water but will respawn if Wario exits and re-enters the area. They are necessary to use throughout the level.
Super Smash Bros. series
Magic carpets in the Super Smash Bros. series were introduced in two different Super Mario-themed stages in Super Smash Bros. Melee, Mushroom Kingdom II and Rainbow Cruise, both in which they are usable platforms. In Mushroom Kingdom II, Pidgits sometimes briefly fly across the stage, but unlike them, their red carpets are 3D. Since they come and leave from the left and right sides of the stage, players are at risk of being KO'd while using one. In Rainbow Cruise, there is a magic carpet from Super Mario 64, functioning identically as before, but without the rainbow trails. However, more than one player can stay on a carpet, and as long as one player is on one, it does not vanish prematurely. As both stages return in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (with the latter also returning in Super Smash Bros. Brawl), their respective magic carpets also come back, though the ones in Mushroom Kingdom II are now yellow (due to the stage's more Super Mario All-Stars-themed graphics).
Mario Party series
Magic carpets in the Mario Party series have appeared a few times. In the minigame Random Ride from Mario Party 5, players can choose to ride a magic carpet from a list of machines. In Mario Party 9, a magic carpet simply titled the Flying Carpet is the starter vehicle of the Boo's Horror Castle board. In Mario Party: Island Tour, players use magic carpets to move through the Kamek's Carpet Ride board.
Mario Kart series
Some magic carpets in
Mario Kart TourIn Mario Kart 7 and Mario Kart Tour, Flying Shy Guys use magic carpets to move around the Shy Guy Bazaar course. In the latter game, magic carpets appear on their own in the Do Jump Boosts bonus challenge set in the same course, where the player can jump off of one for a Jump Boost.
Yoshi's Woolly World / Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World
In Yoshi's Woolly World and Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World, magic carpets only appear in Flying-Carpet Cruise where there are a variety of carpets that differ color and length. All kinds have two arrows on them printed on and pointing to the left and right, respectively. If Yoshi lands on a magic carpet, the ends will curl up to prevent Yoshi from accidentally walking off it. If Yoshi stands on one side, the carpet moves in the direction of the arrow, similarly to Switchboards. If Yoshi jumps off of a carpet, it rises, and if he crouches while on it, it drops. If Yoshi stays off a magic carpet for long enough, the edges will roll back out and the carpet will descend.
One carpet initially consists of just a wireframe. A yarn ball can be thrown at the frame to create the carpet, which will match the color of the yarn ball.
Gallery
Cadillac-style magic carpet
Jalopy-style magic carpet
Warplane-style magic carpet
Magic carpet with steering wheel
Biplane with magic carpet wings
Texture from Super Mario 64
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning | Note(s) | Ref. |
|---|
| Japanese | 空飛ぶじゅうたん
Soratobu jūtan | Flying carpet | | [8][9] |
| Bulgarian | Вълшебен кнлим
Valsheben kilim | Magic carpet | | [10] |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 升起飞毯
Shēngqǐ fēitǎn (Mandarin) | Flying carpet | | [11] |
| Danish | Flyvende tæppe | Flying carpet | | [12] |
| Dutch | Vliegende tapijt | Flying carpet | | [13] |
| Finnish | Taikamatto | Magic carpet | | [14] |
| French | Tapis volant | Flying carpet | | [15] |
| Tapis magique | Magic carpet | The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! | [16] |
| German | Fliegender Teppich | Flying carpet | | [17] |
| Teppich | Carpet | | [17] |
| Hebrew | מרבד הקסמים
Marvad hakesemim | Magic carpet | | [18] |
| Icelandic | Töfrateppi | Magic carpet | | [19] |
| Italian | Tappeto volante | Flying carpet | | [20][21][22][23] |
| Tappeto magico | Magic carpet | | [24][25] |
| Tappeto | Carpet | | [22][26] |
| Norwegian | Magitappe | Magic carpet | | [27] |
| Portuguese | Tapete mágico | Magic carpet | | [28] |
| Russian | Ковёр-самолёт
Kovyor-samolyot | Magic carpet | | [29] |
Волшебный kовёр
Volshebnyy kovyor | The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, voiceover | [30] |
| Spanish | Alfombra mágica | Magic carpet | | [31] |
| Alfombra | Carpet | | [31] |
| Swedish | Flygande matt | Flying carpet | | [32] |
Notes
Gliding over
Dinohattan on a mattress in the
Super Mario Bros. film
References
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