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Piranha Plants (also known as Piranhas, sometimes spelt as Pirana Plants) are large, carnivorous plants encountered throughout the Mario series. They are seemingly based on Venus flytraps and eat anything that approaches them.

The head of a Piranha Plant is most commonly either red or green with multiple other colors. Originally, Piranha Plants were found exclusively in pipes, darting out and biting anything near. Currently, Piranha Plants can be found both in and out of pipes, and may constantly bite or wait for Mario to approach to do so.

Despite being plants, Piranha Plants have been depicted as being sentient and capable of speech in a few appearances, though unlike several other enemies in the Mario series, they have never been shown forming societies. Piranha Plant characters such as Petey Piranha, Piranha Bean and Dino Piranha, among others, reveal that some Piranha Plants can have animal-like bodies, making them capable of walking. Mom Piranha, Dino Piranha, and Peewee Piranha are all depicted hatching from eggs, suggesting that Piranha Plants may be oviparious. However, relatives of Piranha Plants, Nipper Plants, are implied to have a different reproduction method as they are shown to evolve from spores in the Yoshi's Island games.

The Piranha Plant also appears in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a fighter.

History[]

Super Mario series[]

Super Mario Bros.[]

The first appearance of Piranha Plants was in World 1-2 of Super Mario Bros., where they were semi-common enemies. They have been strategically placed by Bowser to impede Mario's progress on his quest to save Princess Toadstool. The Piranha Plants inhabit pipes and attack by biting Mario or Luigi if they come into contact with these carnivorous plants. Piranha Plants won't emerge from their pipe if Mario or Luigi are adjacent to or standing directly on top of it, similar to a Bill Blaster.

Piranha Plants can be defeated by shooting them with a fireball, by kicking a Koopa or Buzzy Beetle shell at them, or by touching them while empowered by a Super Star.

Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels[]

The Piranha Plants returned in Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, which was the sequel to Super Mario Bros. in Japan, during the second conquest of the Mushroom Kingdom. The game introduced red-colored variants, which were much quicker than the green variety, and can emerge from their pipe even if the player is next to it; they are first seen in the World 4. However, both varieties will not appear if the player is standing directly on top of the pipe. They appear more frequently than in the previous game, and the red variant have been the most common Piranha Plants seen throughout the Mario series since. Additionally, they will pop up in upside-down pipes as well, making Mario or Luigi's way a bit more difficult. Piranha Plants are also found underwater in this game.

Super Mario Bros. 3/Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3[]

In Super Mario Bros. 3, Piranha Plants are found throughout the game, retaining their biting attack. Here, along with being defeated with fireballs, Koopa shells and Starman powers, Piranha Plants could also be beaten with the tail of Raccoon Mario, Tanooki Suit and Hammer Mario's hammers. Several variants of Piranha Plants are also introduced in Super Mario Bros. 3, including Venus Fire Trap, Piranhacus Giganticus, and Ptooie. Most of these enemies appear in both green and red varieties. While the Red Piranha Plants act identically to the green ones unlike in Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, they have an additional layer of leaves which makes them taller than green ones.[1] There are also horizontal Piranha Plants; despite being red, these ones only have one layer of leaves. The remakes of the game gave Piranha Plants in horizontal pipes red leaves. There are also Nipper Plants, juvenile versions of Piranha Plants; and invincible Munchers which resemble Nipper Plants more than Piranha Plants. Additionally, the king of Pipe Land is transformed into a Piranha Plant by Ludwig von Koopa; in later ports of Super Mario Bros. 3, the king is changed into a Yoshi instead of a Piranha Plant.

This is the last main series Mario game where Piranha Plants have green heads; while this aspect was used on Beanstalks in Super Mario World and later games in the series, red has since then been the standard color for these enemies.

Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 has an upside-down variant of the Piranha Plant with a red head and one layer of green leaves. They are seen in the World-e levels Piped Full of Plants and Treacherous Halls.

Super Mario Land[]

Piranha Plants are also featured in Super Mario Land, which takes place in Sarasaland. They are referred to as Pakkun Flower[2][3] or Pakkun[4] originally. In addition, it names the variant hanging from above pipes Upside Down (Headstand) Pakkun or Reverse Pakkun, and they are worth 400PTS rather than 100PTS. Since most of the names of the enemies were left unlocalized in the Super Mario Land instruction, the same goes for the Pakkun Flower. However, the English digital manual for the 3DS Virtual Console release translates the enemies as Piranha Plants. This is the only enemy in this game that originates from the previous Mario games that is not a sub-species or otherwise changed.

Super Mario World[]

Piranha Plants reappear in Super Mario World as enemies once again, attacking Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi by trying to bite them. From this game forward, the red Piranha Plants become the primary in-game color, with the green ones now simply being used to top beanstalks. There is a variant of Piranha Plants that makes its debut here. This variant, the Jumping Piranha Plant, lives in pipes and leaps through the air, attacking anything nearby. Munchers also reappear in this game.

The regular Piranha Plant, also known as Piranha in a Pipe[5], appears as a rare enemy. In fact, eight of them only appear in one level, Vanilla Dome 3. These only hang upside down due to their pipes' position. These can be beaten using fireballs, Starman powers, a Koopa shell, a cape attack or by simply eating them with Yoshi's tongue.

Jumping Piranha Plants are much more common than their brethren, effectively replacing them. An upward-facing Piranha Plant was originally going to appear, but did not appear in the final game. In fact, the right-side-up stem's graphics are overwritten by that of an upside-down Cheep Cheep, using the game's red palette instead of the yellow palette they normally use.

Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins[]

In Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, the Piranha Plants are more or less identical to previous games. In addition, Venus Fire Traps reappear with a spiky-headed redesign and, in Mario's castle, statues of them appear and attack by periodically charging and shooting balls of fire.

Super Mario 64/Super Mario 64 DS[]

In Super Mario 64 and its remake, Super Mario 64 DS, Piranha Plants appear as semi-common enemies once again; this is the first game to depict them outside of pipes. Normally, these plants are peacefully sleeping, however, if Mario wakes them up, they will try to bite Mario. Also in the remake, in the new area at Whomp's Fortress, three Piranha Plants will suddenly appear out of the grass as soon as anyone approaches them for the first time. After that, they will then act like regular sleeping Piranha Plants. All Piranha Plants in this game can be defeated with most attack methods, most easily by walking towards them slowly without waking them up and then punching or ground-pounding them. In the remake, Yoshi can also defeat them with an egg projectile. The lips of these Piranha Plants are also green; this was changed in the remake, where they have white lips. Also, when defeated, pink bubbles (the same ones that Mr. I shoots) fly out of its body, though this is purely aesthetic.

Two size variations of Venus Fire Traps make their first appearance. In the tiny portion of Tiny-Huge Island as well as in Bowser in the Sky, small versions can be found. They grow once Mario approaches, spit a fireball, and then retreat by shrinking back to an invisible size. Additionally, in the huge part of the island, large versions are the subject of one of the Power Star missions.

In Whomp's Fortress, a sign in front of one reads: "I'm sleeping because... I'm sleepy. I don't like being disturbed. Please walk quietly. And please don't throw eggs at me." Indeed, walking slowly near the Piranha Plants will not wake them up. When they are asleep, a lullaby plays.

Super Mario Sunshine[]

Piranha Plants, also called Pakkun Flowers, appear in Super Mario Sunshine. These Piranha Plants only appear in Bianco Hills and will attack Mario by popping-out of the ground and spitting black, white-spotted projectiles. They are defeated by spraying water with F.L.U.D.D. inside their bodies until they blow up. In this game, their appearance is based off their appearance in Super Mario 64, as they have green lips (though oddly enough, most of them lack any form of teeth in their mouths). They also gain a new notable member, Petey Piranha, a goop-spitting, giant, anthropomorphic Piranha Plant who appears twice as a boss in the game, and would go on to become a recurring character.

Gatekeepers, Piranha Plant enemies created from the goop of the Magic Paintbrush wielded by Bowser Jr., are also fought as mini-bosses in Super Mario Sunshine. After Mario sprays water on the generator, they come out and have to be defeated by shooting water at their mouths. Piranhabons, giant-sized goop-covered Piranha Plant heads, also appear as obstacles in Bianco Hills coming out of the goop. If Mario sprays water on them, they are revealed to look like Petey Piranha's head.

New Super Mario Bros.[]

In New Super Mario Bros., Piranha Plants return to their original attack pattern of popping-out of pipes and biting anything nearby. They are also found in the ground now, and if found on conveyor belts, they will move along with it. In New Super Mario Bros., Piranha Plants make chomping sounds.

Venus Fire Traps make their return in New Super Mario Bros., while Super Piranha Plants also make their debut in this game, like certain normal Piranha Plants, the latter is exclusively seen outside pipes, as huge pipes do not make an appearance. They now require three fireballs instead of one to die, and release eight coins when they do.

Super Mario Galaxy[]

Piranha Plants make their appearance in Super Mario Galaxy, trying to bite the player much like they did in New Super Mario Bros., but can be stunned if Mario fires Star Bits at them. They can be defeated by jumping on them, with a spin, or when run into as Rainbow Mario. They must sometimes be defeated to advance further, signaled by a Sproutle Vine growing where they once were. It is also notably the second game that Piranha Plants can be defeated in a single jump, after Super Mario 64 DS.

There is also a new, purple variation called Prickly Piranha Plant that is bigger and it attempts to slam its head into Mario. It can be defeated by hitting round bushes at it or by stomping it after it has slammed its head in the ground.

A Piranha Plant-like dinosaur alien called Dino Piranha serves as a boss. It will chase Mario around its planetoid once woken from its egg. It can be defeated by spinning to hit its tail, causing the tail to fly out, then get pulled back in and hit Dino Piranha. There was a separate, much more difficult version called the Fiery Dino Piranha. Fiery Dino Piranha's tail will often be on fire, so Mario can only attack it while its tail had gone out. It also runs faster and left a temporary trail of fire behind it. They both give the player a Power Star if defeated.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii[]

In New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Piranha Plants also appear as enemies along with Venus Fire Traps and Super Piranha Plants, and Munchers and Super Venus Fire Traps make their return. Stalking Piranha Plants and Water Lily Piranhas also make their debut in this game. However, the pipe-planted Piranha Plants have lost their chomping sound effects from New Super Mario Bros. Piranha Plants can now be defeated with ice balls though their ice blocks cannot be picked up. Additionally, Yoshi can jump on a Piranha Plant without getting hurt.

Super Mario Galaxy 2[]

Piranha Plants appear in Super Mario Galaxy 2, and they behave just as they did in the predecessor. In Supermassive Galaxy, pipe-dwelling Piranhacus Giganticus appear, and are invincible. There is now a new species of the Pirckly Piranha Plant from the original, known as the Spiky Piranha Plant. To defeat it, Mario or Luigi must hit it with a plant when it slams its head onto the ground, as they cannot be stomped due to its red spikes on its head.

The boss of the first galaxy, Sky Station Galaxy, is a baby, giant Piranha Plant named Peewee Piranha, whom is similar to Dino Piranha from the original. He is beaten by first spinning into the eggshell on his backside, then into his exposed rear once the eggshell is broken. After being hit a few times, the shell regenerates, and the player then attack it in this method again, but the boss is faster than before. Also, if the player confronts Peewee Piranha from the front, Peewee Piranha turns around. After hitting Peewee Piranha twice and defeating it, Mario is awarded with the first Power Star in the game. Also, in the Boss Blitz Galaxy, the player has to fight Dino Piranha and Fiery Dino Piranha, two bosses from the game's predecessor.

Super Mario 3D Land[]

Piranha Plants appear in Super Mario 3D Land for the Nintendo 3DS. They act like they do in the Super Mario Galaxy series. There is also two new sub-types, a black variety called Inky Piranha Plants, which spit ink that covers the top screen, like a Blooper in the Mario Kart series, a Fire Piranha Plants which spit fireballs similar to a Venus Fire Trap. These Piranha Plants can also be jumped to be defeated. Fire Piranha Plants appear more often, however, and their fireballs can hit Goombas, Koopa Troopas, and other Piranha Plants.

New Super Mario Bros. 2[]

Piranha Plants appear in New Super Mario Bros. 2. Whenever Mario touches a Gold Ring, the Piranha Plants turn golden. Whenever the player defeats them when they are golden, the location they inhabited shoots out coins. A new species of Piranha Plant are also introduced, which are Bone Piranha Plants.

New Super Mario Bros. U[]

Piranha Plants appear in New Super Mario Bros. U. Super Piranha Plants reappear in both their modern and classic forms, and a new ice spitting variety makes their debut. In the level Blooming Lakitus, Lakitus throw spiked eggs called Piranha Plant Eggs that hatch into Piranha Plants instead of Spinies.

Super Mario 3D World[]

Piranha Plants re-appear in Super Mario 3D World, where they act similarly to their appearance in Super Mario Galaxy and in later 3D Mario games. Potted Piranha Plants are also introduced, which can be picked up and used as items. This Piranha Plant can be used to eat enemies and obstacles, including other Piranha Plants. Another type of Piranha Plant, called the Piranha Creeper, is introduced, which has a long stem and can be defeated by knocking it back into its hole with attacks. Mega Piranha Plants also reappear in this game.

Super Mario Maker/Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS/Super Mario Maker 2[]

Piranha Plants reappear in Super Mario Maker and Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS as enemies that the player can put into the course. If wings are attached to them, they become Para Piranha Plants. Piranha Plants that are not found in pipes are stationary similar to Munchers. Piranhacus Giganticus, Venus Fire Traps, Fire Piranha Plants, Jumping Piranha Plants, Big Venus Fire Traps, Super Piranha Plants, and Munchers also appear in the game.

Piranha Plants and their variants re-appear in Super Mario Maker 2, where they are able to be placed upside-down on ceilings. In the Super Mario 3D World style, they attack by lunging at the player, and can be defeated by being jumped on. Piranha Creepers reappear in the Super Mario 3D World style.

Super Mario Run[]

In Super Mario Run, Piranha Plants appear inside pipes, where they will periodically emerge to bite at the player. Like in most Super Mario titles, Piranha Plants will not emerge if the player is standing immediately nearby.

Super Mario Odyssey[]

In Super Mario Odyssey, regular Piranha Plants do not appear as enemies, and instead are used as flowers in Bowser and Princess Peach's marriage. However, Venus Fire Traps do appear as enemies, mostly in the Metro Kingdom. The game introduces a new subspecies, the Poison Piranha Plant, which is found in the Wooded Kingdom. They can be captured, but only if they are already stuck chewing on a rock (or possibly on another object), as they eat Cappy if their mouths are vacant. When captured, Mario gains control over them and can spit out poison/fire at will.

DIC cartoons[]

The Super Mario Bros. Super Show![]

Piranha Plants made several appearances in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!. Here, they possessed the ability to spit fire, possibly assuming this ability from the Pansers of Super Mario Bros. 2, who never made an appearance.

The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3[]

One Piranha Plant made an appearance in Sneaky Lying Cheating Giant Ninja Koopas. It bit Raccoon Mario while he was knocked unconscious by Big Mouth's reptile breath tornado move. It attempted to bite Mario again, but it missed, as Mario moved out of the way in time. Their subspecies Ptooies and Venus Fire Traps appear more often.

Super Mario World[]

A non-antagonistic Piranha Plant named Mama Fireplant appeared in the episode Fire Sale, which Toadstool, Yoshi, Mario, and Luigi had to rescue from Kootie Pie Koopa's clutches in a frozen cavern, although ultimately only Yoshi was successful in doing so due to the Porcupinefish in the lair flash-freezing anyone who stepped on them, with Mario, Luigi, and Toadstool needing to be rescued themselves as well.

In Gopher Bash, Cheatsy has his gopher minions replace the crops they had stolen with Piranha Plants, which Yoshi and the brothers end up defeating. Unusually, one is depicted with hair or spike-like protrusions on its head.

In A Little Learning, Hip and Hop put a Piranha Plant in Oogtarr's "eggabegga" project only to have the sabotage turn on them and King Koopa when Oogtar inadvertently feeds it fertilizer.

Nintendo Comics System[]

In Nintendo Comics System, Piranha Plants make occasional appearances, and are depicted with primarily dark green heads atop light green stems. Some Piranha Plants have a pair of eyes, while female Piranha Plants have faces the same color as their stems and dark green lips, while the dark green and spotted portion is made from leaves and acts as "hair." In Piranha-Round Sue, several Piranha Plants, led by Piranha Sue, attempt to steal the Green Gecko Gem and a magic wand in order to depose Bowser, due to several tight restrictions he had placed upon them. In The Revenge of Pipe Ooze!, a Piranha Plant gets strangled by Bowser after he calls Lemmy an idiot, while two female Piranha Plants appear as fans of Dirk Drain-Head, of whom Mario was cosplaying as.

Nintendo Adventure Books[]

After being led astray by a disguised Koopa on his way back to the Mushroom Palace in Double Trouble, Toad becomes stuck in a patch of Piranha Plants. After hearing Toad's yells for help, Mario rushes into the patch to rescue him, and tries to fight off a particularly large Piranha Plant by throwing a rock, which the plant bats aside with a stick, giving its brethren the idea of grabbing some clubs to use as weapons as well. Depending on how the accompanying puzzle is solved, the plants either fight each other after Mario tricks one into bludgeoning another, or they succeed in knocking Mario out with a blow to the head.

In Leaping Lizards, a patch of Piranha Plants, which Morton, Luigi and Toad navigate their way through on the way to Water Land, is growing near the Mushroom Palace. In Koopa Capers, Luigi spots some Piranha Plants among the army of monsters in Wendy O. Koopa's secret camp in the Magma Pits.

In Pipe Down!, Mario and Luigi run through a patch of Piranha Plants if they decide to give chase to Princess Toadstool, who is being forced to venture through the Koopahari Desert by a pair of enchanted basketball sneakers. Later, it is revealed that Ludwig von Koopa has coerced four Piranha Plants (named Ashby, Justin, Scott, and Todd) to act as the string quartet in his basketball-based ballet "starring" the princess. If the Piranha Plants attack the Mario Bros. and the princess, Luigi easily defeats them by knocking their pots over. In one the book's bad endings, a pair of Piranha Plants will eat Mario and Luigi if they decide to rush into the leftmost pipe in a chamber.

In Flown the Koopa, while avoiding some Dino Rhinos in a forest, Mario pulls the Mushroom King away from a young and hungry Piranha Plant the bumbling monarch stumbles near.

In the final book, Brain Drain, Iggy Koopa's Synapse Switcher swaps the minds of some traffic officers and Piranha Plants, resulting in widespread havoc on the Fungus Freeway.

Mario Kart series[]

In the Mario Kart series, Piranha Plants often appear as road obstacles.

Super Mario Kart[]

Piranha Plants appear in both of the Choco Islands in Super Mario Kart where they sit there, acting as an obstacle. If the player hits the Piranha Plants, they will spin out.

Mario Kart 64[]

In Mario Kart 64, Piranha Plants return with a different appearance. They do not come out of pipes, but they are sitting on the ground. They appear to be moving their lips up and down, similar to a sucking motion. The lips are also a yellowish tan color. They appear on Mario Raceway and Royal Raceway.

Mario Kart: Super Circuit[]

In Mario Kart: Super Circuit, Piranha Plants appear from within the quicksand pits of Yoshi Desert. If a racer falls into one of these pits, they will get pulled under, followed by the Piranha Plant chewing them repeatedly before spitting them out.

Mario Kart: Double Dash!![]

In Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, Piranha Plants appear in Mario Circuit and in Yoshi Circuit. Here, they will stay in their pipe. When any driver gets close to them, they will try to bite the driver. Anyone who gets bitten by a Piranha Plant will flip over and the thrower will end up getting dragged behind the kart. Piranha Plants can be stunned by using a projectile such as a Green Shell or a Bowser Shell and they will also get stunned by anyone who used a Star.

Mario Kart Arcade GP subseries[]

In both Mario Kart Arcade GP and Mario Kart Arcade GP 2, the Piranha Plant is one of Princess Peach's special character items. The Piranha Plant's function in both games is that of eating the items of Peach's opponents once it is summoned by her. This Piranha Plant is differentiated by its bright pink coloration (possibly in reference to Peach herself).

Mario Kart DS[]

Piranha Plants reappear as obstacles in Mario Kart DS. Instead of their biting habits in Mario Kart Double Dash!!, they will sit and breathe fireballs at any driver in Mario Circuit. SNES Choco Island 2 and GCN Yoshi Circuit return and also brought back the Piranha Plants, although in Yoshi Circuit, they do not come out of pipes unlike their original counterpart.

Mario Kart Wii[]

In Mario Kart Wii, N64 Mario Raceway and GCN Mario Circuit return along with their respective Piranha Plants. Additionally, there is a vehicle called Piranha Prowler. However, this kart is based more on Petey Piranha than an actual Piranha Plant, due to its petals and non-lips on the kart.

Mario Kart 7[]

In Mario Kart 7, huge versions appear in a course named after the species, Piranha Plant Slide. Ironically, only two appear on this track, one in the underground segment and the other in the underwater segment. and if the player comes near them, they attempt to bite them. Getting hit by a Piranha Plant causes the player flip out. Two more Piranha Plants also appear on the track Music Park. They do the same things, and switch to the opposite side of the track each lap. These plants also bop their heads to the track's music.

Mario Kart 8/Mario Kart 8 Deluxe[]

In Mario Kart 8, the Piranha Plant from Super Mario 3D World appears as an item. The Piranha Plant will attack nearby racers and any items on the ground, like Banana Peels, while giving the user a speed boost every time it lunges forward, which will happen either after a few seconds or when the player commands. This is similar to the Chain Chomp item that appeared in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! The item is time-based, which is indicated by the gauge in the item box, and a small portion is cut off whenever the plant lunges forward. The Piranha Plant's pot features tiny wheels for it to move. When the player does a trick, the Piranha Plant will spin, doing a trick of its own. If it or the player gets hit with an item or hazard, it will be stunned for a bit.

Piranha Plants are also used in Renegade Roundup, an exclusive battle mode found in the game's Nintendo Switch port, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. In that mode, the Piranha Plants have a strobe light on top of their head, and are used by the 'police' players to capture the 'criminal' players on the other team. As either team can be Red or Blue, blue Piranha Plants appear in this mode to match.

Pink Piranha Plants appear in Sweet Sweet Canyon, while normal ones appear in Mario Circuit. The Bone Piranha Plant makes a return from New Super Mario Bros 2 in the track Bone-Dry Dunes and smaller Piranha Plants appear in the returning N64 Royal Raceway. The returning 3DS Music Park and 3DS Piranha Plant Slide retain their respective Piranha Plants and in the case of the latter course, small Piranha Plants have been added in the background. A new sub-species of Piranha Plant known as Raving Piranha Plants appear in the Electrodrome. In Hyrule Circuit, Piranha Plants are replaced with Deku Babas to fit with the theme of the course. A Piranha Plant also appears on the logo of the sponsor Fun Flower.

Mario Kart Tour[]

The Piranha Plants return yet again in Mario Kart Tour as obstacles. Typically found in Yoshi Circuit, Piranha Plants try to bite at the player as they glide down to the road from a Jump Boost. Hitting a Piranha Plant results in the player getting slowed down and losing Coins.

Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3[]

Piranha Plants are found again in Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3, where they behave differently than in past games. They inhabit various locations of Parsley Woods and act just like Munchers, in that they crowd pits and craters and are completely stationary. They are also indestructible and capable of defeating Wario instantly upon contact.

Although never referred to with their English names in Wario Land-related material, these enemies are labeled as "Pakkun Flower" (パックンフラワー) on page 6 of the KC Deluxe manga, volume 24, which is the Japanese name for Piranha Plants.

Yoshi series[]

Yoshi[]

Piranha Plants make an appearance as one of the six falling objects in Yoshi. Piranha Plant's sprite in this game is similar to Jumping Piranha Plant from Super Mario World.

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island/Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3[]

In Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Piranha Plants are known as variously as Wild Piranhas[6], Wild Piranha Plants[7] or simply Piranha Plants[7], and are drastically changed; instead of being rooted in pipes, Piranha Plants are found planted in the ground. Instead of attacking at intervals, Piranha Plants simply wait in a miniaturized form, growing larger and lunging at a Yoshi if approached. Also, instead of simply trying to bite Yoshi, they will eat him and then spit him out, causing him to lose Baby Mario and his Yoshi Eggs. They cannot be jumped on or swallowed, so they must be defeated with eggs or by spitting an enemy at them. Defeating them causes their heads to flip backwards, followed by them withering.

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island also has a Piranha Plant boss named Naval Piranha, who is grown gigantic in size by Kamek's magic. Hootie the Blue Fish, an indigo, water-based variant that can swim with its propeller-like leaves and has serrated lips instead of teeth, makes its debut in this game, alongside the Wild Ptooie Piranha, a powerful, green Needlenose-spitting variant. The Blow Hard enemy resembles a Piranha Plant, but itself is actually a type of Pokey. Nipper Plants also appear as enemies in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island; here, Nipper Plants are usually spawned from Nipper Spores, which Naval Piranha is capable of spitting.

Yoshi's Story[]

In Yoshi's Story, Piranha Plants have spike-covered stalks and are shown to be capable of growing to huge proportions. Their teeth also appear to be on their lips. The game has also introduces several other variations of Piranha Plants, such as the flying Piranha Pest and the grounded Piranha Sprouts. Piranha Plants commonly appear in Piranha Grove.

Yoshi's Island DS[]

In Yoshi's Island DS, Piranha Plants once again appear as common enemies, along with Wild Ptooie Piranhas, Nipper Plants and Nipper Spores, and act just as in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. Several new Piranha Plants also appear, such as Polterpiranhas, Bungee Piranhas and Nipper Dandelions, along with a Piranha Plant boss named Big Bungee Piranha.

It is possible to kill the Piranha Plants that are displayed in the Island Museum.

Yoshi's New Island[]

Piranha Plants return in Yoshi's New Island, where they act similarly to how they did in the predecessors, one difference being that they are never found in a miniature state. Most of the Piranha Plants in the game are rooted in the ground, but several ones in the level Spin-Lift Drift come in and out of pipes like in the 2D Mario games.

Yoshi's Woolly World/Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World[]

Piranha Plants reappear in Yoshi's Woolly World and Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World. They lunge in the direction of Yoshi and munch air continuously, much like the Piranha Plants that do not dwell Warp Pipes from the New Super Mario Bros. games. When they are hit by a yarn ball, it ties them up, allowing a Yoshi to jump onto and defeat them. Like the other Yoshi games, making contact with a Piranha Plant will swallow a Yoshi and spit him out, taking some hearts from his health meter.

Yoshi's Crafted World[]

In Yoshi's Crafted World, Piranha Plants are found on both Yoshi's path and in the backdrop. They can be defeated by smacking them with an egg. Background Piranha Plants are unable to hurt Yoshi.

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars[]

In Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, Piranha Plants appear as enemies in the Pipe Vault, where they try to ambush Mario by leaping from a pipe. They have root-like legs, allowing them to walk; despite this, they are found exclusively in pipes outside of battle. Perhaps in reference to their immunity to being jumped on in earlier Mario games, the Piranha Plants in this game are completely immune to Mario's jump attacks.

Later on in Bean Valley, green and purple-colored Piranha Plants named Chewies appear. Additionally, Megasmilax, a giant Piranha Plant, is Bean Vally's boss.

Nipper Plants, renamed Chompweeds, also appear as Coin-stealing obstacles in the Pipe Vault and were set to appear as fightable enemies, but were removed from the final game.

There is a Piranha Plant living at Monstro Town in the game.

Tetris Attack[]

In Tetris Attack, only Naval Piranha appears as a boss and minion of Kamek and Bowser, aiding them in their plot of brainwashing the inhabitants of Yoshi's Island.

Super Smash Bros. series[]

Piranha Plants appear in all entries of the Super Smash Bros. series, except for Super Smash Bros. Melee. The Mushroom Kingdom stage that appears in Super Smash Bros. and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate features Piranha Plants as obstacles that occasionally come out of the two pipes present there (with said Piranha Plants' appearances being based on that of the red Piranha Plants in Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels), dealing damage to any fighter that touches them; however, they can be attacked and knocked out easily. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, a Piranha Plant is featured as a sticker and a trophy, and in the PictoChat stage, one of the drawings that appears in the background is a Piranha Plant. A Piranha Plant is also featured as a trophy in both the 3DS and Wii U versions of Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[]

A Piranha Plant also appears as a playable DLC character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, released on January 29, 2019. This makes Piranha Plant the first playable character to be a generic enemy and the first time overall a generic Piranha Plant is playable in any game. It was available for free post-launch for anyone who registered the game through My Nintendo by January 31, 2019, and it can be purchased separately as of February 1, 2019.

In the reveal trailer, various Yoshis are left dazed alongside Luigi and a Green Shell, while Mario approaches the Piranha Plant confidently, only for it to knock him back and then repeatedly bite into the air before showing its splash artwork with the tagline "Piranha Plant Pipes Up!" ("Piranha Plant Joins the Battle!" in the British English version).

Its attacks are based around several forms of the enemy, such as: transforming into a Prickly Piranha Plant to perform a headbutt for its forward smash; shooting spiked balls akin to a Ptooie; stretching like a Stalking Piranha Plant; being able to spew a cloud of poison that constantly damages other fighters, in a similar vein to a Putrid Piranha; spitting an explosive fireball like a Fire Piranha Plant as an aerial attack; and using its leaves as propellers to fly around like Jumping Piranha Plants. Additionally, its Final Smash involves summoning Petey Piranha, who traps opponents in the cages from The Subspace Emissary, then breathes fire at the cages and slams them down. Piranha Plant's other attacks are comprised of bites, headbutts, leaf swipes, and pot strikes.

Piranha Plant is one of the heavier fighters in the game, being heavier than Samus, Dark Samus, and Bowser Jr. (and the Koopalings), but lighter than Incineroar and the Pokémon Trainer's Charizard. Its mobility is also below-average in many areas, apart from its dashing speed. Piranha Plant was originally intended to have three jumps, but the third jump was removed prior to the fighter's release.[8]

Some of Piranha Plant's attacks have names: its forward tilt is Push and Pull, its forward smash is Prickly Swing, its back aerial is Fire Breath, and its down aerial is Flowerpot Meteor.

Its various alternate colors reference the various Piranha Plant types throughout the franchise, and to a lesser extent certain warp pipe types:

  • Its green costume is derived from how it appeared in the original Super Mario Bros. and The Lost Levels, with a green warp pipe.
  • Its yellow costume is derived from various Piranha Plants that had a yellow color, including the Pipe Land king's transfigured form, the Wild Ptooie Piranha from Yoshi's Island upon the first strike, and the Glad Piranha Plant from Super Princess Peach, with a magenta pot.
  • The magenta costume resembles an active Piranha Creeper from Super Mario 3D World (but may also resemble Dino Piranha or Peewee Piranha, or even Nipper Plants as they appear in Super Mario All-Stars), with a dark navy pipe.
  • The black costume resembles the Inky Piranha Plant from Super Mario 3D Land (but may also refer to the Pale Piranha from Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door), with a red pot.
  • The white costume resembles the Bone Piranha Plants as they appear in New Super Mario Bros. 2, but with a pale green stem instead of a black one and white lips instead of the pale blue color they usually have, alongside a large yellow pipe, which resembles the yellow pipes from the New Super Mario Bros. games. Its all-white appearance with a green stem may also be a reference to Nipper Plants.
  • The indigo costume with pink lips resembles the Bungee Piranhas from Yoshi's Island DS, Spiny Piranha Plants from Super Mario Galaxy, and to a lesser extent, Mom Piranha when colored blue, as well as her blue-colored Piranha Plants prior to and during her boss fight in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga and its remake. It is in a goldenrod, metallic pot.
  • Its blue costume is derived from how its sprite appeared in underworld levels in Super Mario Bros. and The Lost Levels, as well as the Frost Piranha from Super Paper Mario, and has a brown pipe.

Piranha Plant shares its victory theme with Bowser and Bowser Jr. In Piranha Plant's second victory pose, Mario is featured running towards it, before jumping and preparing to land an attack, only for Piranha Plant to bite Mario, and then smile. Piranha Plant is more expressive than in most of its appearances, smiling or scowling for certain actions. Also, Piranha Plant shares the trait of lacking any voice clips with Olimar (and Alph), Villager, Isabelle, Mega Man, and Pac-Man, and is the only Mario character with this trait.

Shortly after the release of the version 2.0.0 update, it has been reported that playing as Piranha Plant in All-Star Smash can corrupt save data.[9] If the player uses Palutena's Guidance on Piranha Plant, it is revealed that Viridi is a huge fan of the Piranha Plant species, having written a thesis on it and being able to list off the many different derived species, irritating both Pit and Palutena.

Due to its status as a DLC fighter, Piranha Plant is not fought at any point in the World of Light Adventure mode, and it is not used as an opponent fighter in any spirit battles. Rather, Piranha Plant can be made available to play as in World of Light (if the player has downloaded the fighter) by freeing 10 fighters in the mode. If Piranha Plant is downloaded with this criteria having been met beforehand, then Piranha Plant is immediately unlocked in World of Light the next time the player enters the mode.

On a side note, "Piranha Plant" is incorrectly uncapitalized in the tip describing its appearance in the Mushroom Kingdom stage.

Classic Mode Route[]

Piranha Plant's Classic Mode has it fight against all of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's base newcomers.

New Blooms
Rounds Opponent(s) Rules Stages Songs
1 Inkling ×8 Horde Battle Moray Towers (Battlefield) Splattack! (original)
2 Ridley, Dark Samus Norfair VS. Ridley
3 Simon, Richter Dracula's Castle Vampire Killer
4 King K. Rool, Chrom Free-for-All Pirate Ship Gang-Plank Galleon
5 Isabelle, Daisy Smashville Tour - Animal Crossing: New Leaf
6 Incineroar, Ken Free-for-All Boxing Ring The Battle at the Summit!
Final Rathalos Roar/Rathalos

Mario Party series[]

Piranha Plants are featured quite prominently in the Mario Party series, often as obstacles in minigames. In Mario Party, Piranha Plants could be planted by players in the Peach's Birthday Cake board; players that stop on the plant's spot lose a Star. In Mario Party 3, Piranha Plants appear in Waluigi's Island and are Waluigi's partner in Duel Mode. In Mario Party Advance, a Piranha Plant is featured in a quest where the player must bring one to a Bob-omb named Bob-omba, and several Piranha Plants appear as enemies in the minigame Go-go Pogo. Until Mario Party 7, the Mario Party Piranha Plants were based on the species' appearance in Super Mario 64, as evidenced by their green lips, which were switched to white in Mario Party 7. In the first three games, most Piranha Plants seen were tripedal; they walked on three leg-like roots.

Mario Party[]

In Mario Party, a legged Piranha Plant chases the solo player in the 1-vs-3 minigame Piranha's Pursuit, and a giant one is found in Tug o' War. Additionally, the minigame Whack-a-Plant involves stomping Piranha Plants which pop out of Warp Pipes. Piranha Plants are also part of the audience in Mario Bandstand.

Mario Party 2[]

A Piranha Plant that appears in Mario Party 2, appears in Mini-Game Park and is constantly chasing a butterfly without stopping. After the player buys a certain number of minigames from Woody, the Piranha Plant congratulates the player for their hard work and gives the player the minigames Dungeon Dash and Rainbow Run; after the latter, it leaves the Mini-Game Park, never to be seen again. A Piranha Plant can also be seen in the background in Bowser Land next to three red Warp Pipes. Two Piranha Plants can be seen inside glass domes in Space Land. In the minigame Toad in the Box, a Piranha Plant is one of four possible results when hitting the rotating block. If it is gotten, the player will be stunned temporarily.

Mario Party 3[]

In Mario Party 3, a spiked Piranha Plant appears in the background of the minigame Vine with Me, possibly Naval Piranha. Piranha Plants also appear in the minigame Storm Chasers, where players must water their Piranha Plants by chasing a moving cloud.

A Piranha Plant is also one of the partners in the game's Duel Mode, and is Waluigi's default partner. It has an attack power of 3, one health point, and a salary of five coins. Its ability allows it to occasionally give the player an extra die with a 1-3 on it to roll after rolling. Two Piranha Plants appear in the item minigame Winner's Wheel, watching the player. If the player wins, the Piranha Plants will dance.

Mario Party 4[]

Although Piranha Plants do not appear in any boards or minigames, or as an item in Mario Party 4, they make a brief cameo in the background of the Option Room, acting as the speakers for the sound test.

Mario Party 5[]

In Mario Party 5, the minigame Pop-Star Piranhas presents five dancing Piranha Plants. The players must find out the one that is dancing differently from the others. The Piranha Plant Capsule makes its first appearance in this game. Any player who lands on a space containing the capsule loses half of their Coins. Two Piranha Plant statues also appear in Bowser Nightmare. In Super Duel Mode, the Piranha Plant is a weapon the player can use. In triple-jump, a Piranha Plant is located at the 150 foot/50m sign.

Mario Party 6[]

The minigame Odd Card Out from Mario Party 6 contains cards with Piranha Plants printed on them. Three Piranha Plants appear in the Solo Mode board Thirsty Gulch, dancing similarly to the Piranha Plants in Pop-Star Piranhas from Mario Party 5. The Piranha Plant Orb reappears as an orb that can only be placed on a space. Any player who lands on it will lose half of their coins and give them to the owner of the space. Piranha Plants also appear as obstacles in Mole-it!, where they try to hinder the players' progress by chomping on them. Two Piranha Plant-shaped lamps appear next to Bowser's table in Seer Terror.

Mario Party 7[]

The Piranha Plant Orb returns unchanged from Mario Party 6 in Mario Party 7. In Herbicidal Maniac, the goal is to shoot down all Piranha Plants before the opponents does. Hitting a mine will result in more Piranha Plants appearing. Three Piranha Plant-shaped fountains appear in the background in the Waterfall Battle game mode. Four Piranha Plant statues appear in the background in Pyramid Scheme. If one team in Wingin' It get's 19m or higher, a Piranha Plant will appear out of the house's chimney.

Mario Party 8[]

Piranha Plants also appear in Mario Party 8. In DK's Treetop Temple and King Boo's Haunted Hideaway, they act as hazards and take 10 coins from the player, when they land on a particular ? Space. In the minigame Winner or Dinner, they appear as enemies along with Spiny Eggs, biting the players And tossing them out of the oasis. A Piranha Plant is one of the hidden enemies in Specter Inspector.

Mario Party DS[]

A Piranha Plant acted as the only non-Koopa boss in Mario Party DS. In the first stage of Story Mode, the plant terrorized Wiggler's Garden. After the tiny heroes battled it out, the superstar got to play the minigame Feed and Seed in order to defeat the Piranha Plant. In the minigame, they had to throw Bomb Seeds in its mouth three times. After defeating the Piranha Plant, a Wiggler thanked the tiny heroes and gives them the first Sky Crystal, and the heroes continued their quest for Bowser's Castle.

Mario Party 9[]

Piranha Plants appear in minigames featured in Mario Party 9. In Speeding Bullets, they get out of Warp Pipes and can slow down the Bullet Bills when both collide. In Piranha Patch, Piranha Plants grow from normal flower buds and take one point from the players they attack. They also appear as hazards in Wiggler Bounce. Piranha Plants are also found in red Warp Pipes next to Unlucky Spaces where they take the captain down in a cavern with six Mini Ztar Spaces.

The Piranha Plant is also given a constellation, named "Gluttonous Gobbler."

Mario Party: Island Tour[]

Piranha Plants appear in Mario Party: Island Tour as obstacles that the player must avoid in the minigame Quickest Cricket. Two also appear in one of the scenes depicted in Get Reel.

Mario Party 10[]

Piranha Plants reappear in Mario Party 10 in the Mushroom Park board, as well as in minigames such as Pipe Sniper. Additionally, Golden Piranha Plants also appear, and Petey Piranha appears as the boss of Mushroom Park; who is fought in the Boss Minigame, Petey's Bomb Battle.

Mario Party: Star Rush[]

Piranha Plants reappear alongside their gold counterparts in Mario Party: Star Rush as targets in the minigame Piranha Plantemonium.

Super Mario Party[]

Piranha Plants appear in Super Mario Party in the minigame Miner Setbacks as obstacles. They also appear in the Party Plaza initially, where they block Warp Pipes leading to locked game modes. Kamek removes the Piranha Plants with magic as the player completes requirements, making the pipes and by extention the minigames accessible.

Paper Mario series[]

Paper Mario[]

In Paper Mario, Piranha Plants are found in Forever Forest. Unlike in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, where Piranha Plants are firmly rooted in place and unable to move, the Piranha Plants are shown to be able to move around freely; if a Piranha Plant is alerted to Mario's presence, it will burrow underground and suddenly "burst" to the surface near Mario and try to bite him as the First Strike. The Piranha Plants in this game have yellow teeth.

Two variations of Piranha Plants, the tropical Putrid Piranha and frigid Frost Piranha, are introduced in Paper Mario. The boss of Mt. Lavalava, Lava Piranha is also a gigantic, talking and flaming Piranha Plant.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door[]

Piranha Plants also appear in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. They form part of the audience and also appear as enemies, where four types are found. The first ones to be encountered are known as Pale Piranhas, which are first found in Boggly Woods. Additionally, Putrid Piranhas and Frost Piranhas return from Paper Mario, along with a new, powerful variety, simply called Piranha Plant. These Piranha Plants are colored the same as regular Piranha Plants, besides being the most powerful Piranha Plants in the game, having extremely high HP and attack power, and are not even found in the main story, only appearing in the optional Pit of 100 Trials.

Super Paper Mario[]

Piranha Plants appear again in the third Paper Mario game, Super Paper Mario. In this game, regular Piranhas appear in Lineland, Gloam Valley, and The Bitlands, but not the Pit of 100 Trials. In this game Piranha Plants have yellow teeth just like they do in Paper Mario as well as the similar variety in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. Tippi calls them notorious. The Putrid Piranha and Frost Piranha return as well. The only way to defeat them is by using items. However, as new characters and Pixls are gained, it becomes much easier to defeat them. They are much weaker in comparison to its previous appearances in the series.

Paper Mario: Sticker Star[]

Piranha Plants reappear in Paper Mario: Sticker Star, having more HP than their previous iterations. They first appear in World 3 as semi-common enemies, but later appear in World 5 as common enemies. Their appearance hasn't changed too much from the previous Paper Mario games, though they have white teeth rather than yellow and their leaves look like those from the mainstream games. Piranha Plants are very resilient in this game, due to having a lot of HP, are able to home in on Mario's direction outside battle, and guard ? Blocks to prevent Mario from getting the stickers. Piranha Plants can attack by biting Mario, as like in the other Paper Mario games. Piranha Plants also have a new attack to spit gas at Mario. The spit attack has low attack power but it can make Mario dizzy. They can also dig underground to dodge attacks for one turn so that way Mario's attacks would miss. Not even a POW Block will damage it in this state. Like the other Paper Mario games, Piranha Plants cannot be stomped on unless an Iron Jump sticker is used; this does not apply, however, if they are soggy, asleep or Crumpled. Fire Piranhas are also seen in this game. They are aided by enemies that have more than 10 HP which are Shy Guys, Snifits, Hammer Bros, Poison Bloopers, Spike Tops and Spear Guys. Two Piranha Plants also aid the third Wiggler Segment.

Paper Mario: Color Splash[]

Piranha Plants reappear in Paper Mario: Color Splash. They appear in Redpepper Crater and Mossrock Theater.

Mario Golf series[]

Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour[]

A few Piranha Plants appear in Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour on the Bowser Badlands course. They dwell in pipes, and if the ball rolls into their pipe they take it and spit it out, likely causing it to fall into lava.

Mario Golf: World Tour[]

A Piranha Plant appears in Mario Golf: World Tour in Nabbit's Double Bogey animation. Here, it is hiding in his pouch, so that when he jumps in, he gets bitten by the Piranha Plant.

Mario & Luigi series[]

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga[]

Piranha Plants appear as enemies in the Beanbean International Airport in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga and its remake, where they interrupt the landing process of the Toad Express. Defeating them in battle will only cause them to respawn if Mario and Luigi leave the area and re-enter. To get rid of them for good, these Piranha Plants must be doused with water, and then Luigi must use Thunderhand to defeat them without battling them.

A giant Piranha Plant, which oddly hatches from an egg after all the Piranha Plants are defeated, appears as a boss in the Beanbean International Airport. This Piranha Plant, named Mom Piranha, had the ability to shoot energy beams and change colors (and weaknesses), and could summon Piranha Plants of the same color. Later on in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, a Piranha Plant named Piranha Bean appears as a mini-boss. Oddly, Piranha Bean had the ability to shrink anything it eats.

Minion Quest: The Search for Bowser includes lots of Piranha Beans as enemies, while Fire Stalking Piranha Plants appear as recruitable allies.

Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time[]

Though regular Piranha Plants do not appear in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, two new sub-species of them, called Elasto-Piranhas and Piranha Planets appear. Additionally, Petey Piranha also appears.

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story/Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey[]

A cell-based variation of the Piranha Plant, the Piranha Plorp, appear in the Energy Hold in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story and its remake. Two giant Piranha Plants are also located in Peach's Castle, and have to be defeated by Bowser by leaping up to their buds and bashing into them.

Mario & Luigi: Dream Team[]

Piranha Plants reappear as enemies in the Mario & Luigi series in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, where they are located in the biggest Dreampoint of Dreamy Driftwood Shore. In the field when Mario and Dreamy Luigi are in the vicinity, Piranha Plants spit fire in the direction it faces upon coming out several times before retreating back into the ground to hide for a moment, repeating this process indefinitely on the same spot. If Luiginary Gravity is used, the Piranha Plants all retreat underground briefly as the gravity changes.

In battle, a Piranha Plant may spit a large fireball or a Fly Guy at Mario, who must jump over or idle under these respective objects to avoid taking damage. Piranha Plants may spit out Nipper Spores that become fiery Nipper Plants who assist them in battle from the background. While the Nipper Plants are still alive, a Piranha Plant can spit a fireball towards them, which will bounce the fireball about until each Nipper Plant has touched the fireball, and the last one to touch it sends the fireball towards Mario, who must hammer it at the Piranha Plant to avoid taking damage.

Piranha Plants are weak to Fire attacks, and thus take critical damage from the Luiginary Flame.

Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam[]

In Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, Piranha Plants do not appear themselves, but Fire Piranha Plants and their paper variant do.

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions[]

Minion Quest: The Search for Bowser includes lots of Piranha Beans as enemies, while Fire Stalking Piranha Plants appear as recruitable allies.

Super Princess Peach[]

Piranha Plants appear as rare enemies in Super Princess Peach. They act like how they did in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. They could be defeated with Perry or by using Rage, but could not be jumped on or picked up. Getting too close or attempting to jump on it results in Peach being swallowed and chewed on temporarily before being spit back out. There is also a new variety of them called Glad Piranha Plants, normal, and Glad Ptooies, and normal and Sad Nipper Plants also appear in Super Princess Peach. There was also a reappearance of Petey Piranha, although he was called "Boss P. Plant" (short for "Boss Piranha Plant") in the game's glossary.

Mario Baseball series[]

Mario Superstar Baseball[]

In Mario Superstar Baseball, Piranha Plants appear as obstacles in the Yoshi Park, where they will eat any nearby balls and spit them out in a random direction. Piranha Plants also appear in the Piranha Panic minigame, where players must hit colored Piranha Plants with eggs of matching colors. Purple Piranha Plants can be hit with any egg.

Mario Super Sluggers[]

Piranha Plants reappear in the next installment, Mario Super Sluggers. Here, they reside in Yoshi Park again. This time however, they can take a ball, go in the pipe, and transport it to another part of the field. They can also stun any fielders who make contact with the Piranha Plants. Piranha Panic returns, except that the player must pitch the right balls into the Piranha Plants in order to score points and avoid getting stunned by it.

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker[]

Piranha Plants reappear in Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker. They can be defeated by having turnips thrown at them, landing on their heads, or spinning into them.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong series[]

Piranha Plants, along with Venus Fire Traps, appear in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series, debuting in Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again!. They also appear in Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem! in Area 4-5, Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars in Level 5-6, and Mini Mario & Friends: amiibo Challenge in Level 4. They do not generate fireballs, but if they receive a fireball from a Fire Piranha Plant, they spit it back shortly after, behaving just like their fire-shooting counterparts in this case. They are fixed to a surface and can destroy the Minis at a single touch, but can otherwise be defeated with Hammers, a Slope Slide or if hit by shooting a Mini from a cannon.

Captain Rainbow[]

A single Piranha Plant also appears in the game Captain Rainbow in the garden of Lip's house. After Birdo, it is the second Mario series character appearing in the game, but it only has a minor role. The fairy Lip takes care of the Piranha Plant.

Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition[]

Piranha Plants appear as common enemies in Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition that can also serve as an ally for the player. Its main attribute is Wood, with no sub-attributes. Its skill Piranha Drain turns all Water Orbs into Heart Orbs. Its awoken skill Wood Boost raises the ATK of all Wood attribute team members whenever a horizontal line of Wood Orbs is cleared.

Its HP and RCV are low and its ATK is below average. The player can transform a Piranha Plant into a Fire Piranha Plant by using four Fire Flowers on it. If the player instead uses four Poison Mushrooms, it will transform into a Bone Piranha Plant instead. Because the Piranha Plant is treated as a generic enemy, it can still be battled, even if the player has one in their party.

Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games[]

Piranha Plants appear as obstacles in BMX Plus in the Nintendo 3DS version of Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. They appear in Warp Pipes and will occasionally bite at the characters, which if hit causes them to lose speed and Rings.

Dr. Mario World[]

Piranha Plants appear in Dr. Mario World as assistants. Their Stage Mode skill grants a 5% chance that two viruses will be eliminated at the start of the stage. Their Versus Mode skill grants a 20% chance that all capsules will be eliminated if an object has reached the third row from the bottom line (this only happens once per match).

Play Nintendo[]

A Piranha Plant named Izzy is a co-host of The Play Nintendo Show, along with Andrew Trego. Izzy is a voiced puppet who remains within a Warp Pipe during the duration of the show, whose two leaves serve as arms. He has a role in providing comic relief and hosting supporting segments for the show, such as "Izzy News". Andrew says that Izzy gets a bit snappy before lunch.

Cameos[]

Nintendo Monopoly[]

A Piranha Plant appears as a utility in Nintendo Monopoly. It costs $150, and takes the place of the Electric Company.

Big Brain Academy[]

In Big Brain Academy for the Nintendo DS, the silhouette of a Piranha Plant appears under the 3-Star difficulty of the "Get in Shape" minigame.

The Legend of Zelda series[]

Piranha Plants also appear as semi-regular enemies in the Legend of Zelda series. Manhandla, which debuted in the first game, are boss monsters which were said to be four-limbed, jumbo-sized variants of Piranha Plant. More conventional Piranha Plants also appear in The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening and its Nintendo Switch remake, which also contain a few other Nintendo cameos. In the remake, a figure of one can be won in the Trendy Game after clearing the Eagle's Tower and placed in Marin and Tarin's house. The text that appears upon acquiring the figure reads, "You got a Piranha Plant figure! You know, the flower that pops out from the pipes." Piranha Plants are also very similar to Deku Babas, which first appeared in Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

Sonic Lost World[]

Piranha Plants appear as enemies in the Yoshi's Island Zone DLC for Sonic Lost World. They more resemble how they appear in Yoshi's Island, with extremely large heads compared to their stems. The only way to defeat them is to kick a Shy Guy into them.

Animal Crossing series[]

Piranha Plants appear in the Warp Pipe furniture item in the Animal Crossing series.

Minecraft[]

In the Super Mario Mash-Up Pack in Minecraft, Piranha Plants appear on Rose Bushes. Piranha Creepers and Nipper Plants also appear.

Lego City Undercover[]

The player can grow a Piranha Plant in Lego City Undercover. The Piranha Plant will shoot fireballs at the player.

Profiles and statistics[]

Super Mario series[]

Super Mario Land[]

  • Virtual Console Manual: "This dangerous plant grows out of pipes. It emerges quickly, so watch out! It can't be stepped on from above."
  • Virtual Console Manual (Upside-Down Piranha Plant): "This plant attacks from above."

Super Mario Galaxy trading card description[]

An old enemy of Mario, these large carnivorous plants live in pipes, just waiting to munch on anyone who might try to jump into their territory. These hungry plants can be either red, green, or a larger purple. Mario can stun them by throwing Star Bits at them or kill them by jumping on their heads.

Super Mario 3D Land[]

  • North American Website Bio: "These fierce flora can be found planted on grass and in warp pipes. Some varieties just snap their jaws, while others spit fireballs, or black ink to block your vision. A well-placed stomp on their heads will take care of them."
  • European Website Bio: "Vicious vegetation that grows throughout the Mushroom Kingdom. Mind you don't get bitten!"

Super Mario Run[]

  • Notebook bio: "This dangerous plant hides in pipes. It's kind of shy, so it won't come out if you're nearby."
Palutena's Guidance[]
  • Pit: "Is that a...Piranha Plant?!"
  • Palutena: "Not so loud. She'll hear you!"
  • Viridi: "Did someone say Piranha Plant?"
  • Pit: "Oh no."
  • Viridi: I just wrote my thesis on Piranha Plants! There are just so many species! You've got your basic Piranha Plants, your Fire Piranha Plants, [speech speeds up as she speaks] Ptooies, Nipper Plants, Nipper Spores, Munchers, Jumping Piranhas, Wild Ptooie Piranhas, Propeller Piranhas, Naval Piranhas, Chewies, Megasmilax, Piranha Pests, Piranha Sprouts, Frost Piranhas, Putrid Piranhas, Proto Piranhas, Piranhabons, Piranha Beans, Mom Piranhas, Small Piranhas Elasto-Piranhas, Piranha Planets Bungee Piranhas, Big Bungee Piranhas, Ghost Piranha Plants, Nipper Dandelions, Spiny Piranhas, Dino Piranhas, Fire Stalking Piranhas, Piranha Plorps, River Piranhas, Stalking Piranhas, Big Fire Piranhas, Prickly Piranhas, Peewee Piranhas, Inky Piranhas, Gold Piranhas, Bone Piranhas, Big Bone Piranhas, Piranha Pods, Piranha Creepers, Nipper Spore Patches, Paper Fire Piranhas, Poison Piranhas, Big Poison Piranhas, Upside-Down Piranhas, Petey Piranha, Paper Petey Piranha, Petea Piranha–
  • Pit: "Whoa!"
  • Viridi: "I haven't even started on all the minor variations!"
  • Palutena: "Enough, Viridi! I never want to hear the word "piranha" ever again."
  • Pit: "I guess that means I'm not getting any fighting tips. Thanks, Viridi."

amiibo[]

  • These vicious, plantlike baddies are from the Super Mario™ series and typically hide in pipes. They emerge with mouths open, awaiting victims. A poorly timed jump means a chomping—hence the "piranha" name. While there have been exceptions, they generally don't appear if Mario waits on top of or just next to a pipe. They hate fireballs.

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (Nintendo Switch)[]

  • Figure Bio: "It's a Piranha Plant figure. What do they water these things with?"

Piranha Plant Variants[]

  • Wild Piranha Plant - These overgrown Piranha Plants will grow anywhere to snap at nearby plumbers and Yoshis.
  • Venus Fire Trap - These are fire spewing Piranha Plants.
  • Piranha Giganticus - Just a bigger version of the Piranha Plant.
  • Ptooie - These run along the ground throwing spiked balls in the air.
  • Jumping Piranha Plant - These Piranha Plants jump out of their pipe.
  • Wild Ptooie Piranha - These spew out balls and take three hits to kill.
  • Blow Hard - This cactus-like plant spews balls like the Ptooie Piranha, but is only paralyzed when hit.
  • Hootie the Blue Fish - These fish-like Piranha Plants reside in sewers and travel forward like spike tops.
  • Bungee Piranha Plant - This purple Piranha Plant will drag down and eat Yoshi when he passes below it.
  • Putrid Piranha - Found in the Paper Mario series, this Piranha Plant will poison Mario.
  • Prickly Piranha Plant - Found in the Super Mario Galaxy games, it is a larger purple variety with a spiked stem.
  • Spiky Piranha Plant - Similar to a Prickly Piranha Plant except black with a spiky head. Only defeated through the Stretch Plants.
  • Inky Piranha Plant - A black variety that spits ink at the screen, introduced in Super Mario 3D Land.
  • Bone Piranha Plant - An undead variant of the species introduced in New Super Mario Bros. 2.

Notable Piranha Plants[]

Gallery[]

  Main article: Piranha Plant/gallery

Trivia[]

  • In Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, the chomping noises the Piranha Plants make is Petey Piranha's voice sped up. They also make the same sound as Petey Piranha gets hit by an item or falls down the kart when they get hit by an item.

References[]

  1. Screenshot containing both red and green Piranha Plants
  2. Super Mario Land English instruction booklet, page 13.
  3. The Nintendo Game Boy Player's Guide, page 5.
  4. The Super Game Boy Player's Guide, page 19.
  5. Nintendo Mario Mania Player's Guide. Page 51.
  6. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island Nintendo Player's Guide. Page 67.
  7. 7.0 7.1 Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island Nintendo Player's Guide. Page 80.
  8. https://nintendosoup.com/piranha-plant-was-nerfed-before-it-was-added-into-super-smash-bros-ultimate/
  9. GameXplain. (January 30, 2019). CAUTION: Avoid Piranha Plant in All Star Mode! Smash Bros. Ultimate Glitch Could Corrupt Save File. YouTube. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
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