Item of the Week #13

[Dark Seraphim]

Warp Pipe



First Appearance: Mario Bros. (Arcade, 1983)
Latest Appearance: Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii, 2010)

Mario has used a lot of tools over the years, Mushrooms, Fire Flowers, Starmen, but as a plumber I suppose the most obvious of of these would be the humble pipe, although in the Mushroom Kingdom, pipes seem anything but humble.

Warp Pipes have come in many shapes and sizes, some so large that Bowser can pilot his Doomship through them, and some so small and narrow Mario needs to become Mini Mario just to slip into them, but their effect remains constant, they get you from Point A to Point B with a surprising disregard for travel time and sometimes even physics! At first, in Mario Bros. the pipes were little more than a transport for enemies, emptying out Koopas and Spinies onto the playing field, and even in the present many Warp Pipes are still the normal homes for a multitude of enemies, including multiple varieties of Piranha Plants. Its little surprise with how useful this transport system was, Mario would find a way to utilize it himself, finding secret rooms and shortcuts throughout their appearance in the the Mario franchise.

The actual physics of Warp Pipes are shady at best, in some games and appearances the pipes appear to be directly connected to their exit, this was most notable in Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World. However this does not appear to be verbatim to the function of the Warp Pipes, as some will lead directly into a dead-end, and still manage to transport Mario to new secret locations. In fact, in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, Bowser inhales a number of Warp Pipes that get deposited into his 'Pipe Yard', however, broken and swallowed the pipes could still be used to warp the Mario Bros. all throughout the Mushroom Kingdom with no error or delay!


FUN FACT: In the U.S. release of Super Mario Bros. 2 Vases replaced the Warp Pipes from the previous games, however worked the same way as their predecessors.

Warp Pipes have been scattered about in many of the Mario franchise spin-offs as well, sometimes appearing just for detail, such as in the Mario Kart series, but occassionally take a more useful role. In the Mario Party spin-off the Warp Pipe was a useful item for moving about the gameboard, and a Star Pipe could even be used to transport the player right to the Star location itself!

ONE MORE FUN FACT: The Nintendo Comics System comic, "A Mouser in the Houser" implies that the Mousers, mouse-like enemies from Super Mario Bros. 2, constructed the Warp Pipe system.

Showing up in nearly every mainstream Mario game ever made (with a few exceptions) the Warp Pipe is now an extension of the Mario franchise itself. They're appearance, use, and that iconic warp sound are as synonymous with Mario as Super Mushrooms and saving Princess Peach, and whether their true power is magical or mundane, they are an important part of Nintendo history. Just imagine what would have happened if Mario and Luigi hadn't of stumbled onto that Warp Pipe in Brooklyn all those years ago . . . (depending on the continuity you trust!)



Item of the week #1: Hammer
Item of the week #2: Boo Mushroom
Item of the week #3: Metal Cap
Item of the week #4: Tanooki Suit
Item of the week #5: Ice Flower
Item of the week #6: Thunderbolt
Item of the week #7: Coconut Gun
Item of the week #8: F.L.U.D.D.
Item of the week #9: Bob-omb
Item of the week #10: Kart
Item of the week #11: Mini Mushroom
Item of the week #12: Boo

[Luigiman7]

Yeah, what's with the Pipe Yard in Bowser? His body is seriously screwed up.

[Metal Mario]

Originally Posted by Dark Seraphim

First Appearance: Mario Bros. (Atari 2600, Atari 5200, NES, 1983)

Actually, Mario Bros. was released to arcades in '83 before seeing release on the Atari systems. And the NES version didn't come out until '86.

[Dark Seraphim]

Originally Posted by Metal Mario

Actually, Mario Bros. was released to arcades in '83 before seeing release on the Atari systems. And the NES version didn't come out until '86.

Thanks for the heads-up MM! I updated the entry accordingly, I'll admit it was hard for me to find the exact release date for the original Mario Bros. game.