Rocky Wrench
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| Rocky Wrench | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 New Super Mario Bros. Wii artwork | |||
| First appearance | Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988) | ||
| Latest appearance | Mario Golf: Super Rush (mentioned) (2021) | ||
| Species origin | Mole Turtle | ||
| |||
- “Gut wrencher!”
- —Rocky Wrench, Paper Mario: Color Splash
Rocky Wrenches are enemies employed as crewmen on the Koopa Troop's vehicles. They pop out of manhole covers and attack by throwing their namesake wrenches. They have originally appeared in Super Mario Bros. 3, in which they been described as mole-like turtles,[1] but since New Super Mario Bros. Wii they lack shells in most of their appearances (with the exception of the "classic" styles of Super Mario Maker and other games using older sprites), which, along with other changes in design, has resulted in them resembling Monty Moles. Their original description has not been applied to the redesign, and they have since been called moles instead of mole-like on at least one occasion.[2]
Rocky Wrenches do not appear in any Yoshi titles, but they do appear in several Mario titles with Yoshis in them, the first being Mario Kart DS. However, unused materials for Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island suggest that it would have been their first appearance alongside Yoshi.
Whenever Mario or Yoshi are storming the Airships, they periodically pop their heads out of the holes and toss one of their working tools (the wrenches) at them. They can be unpredictable at times but defeating them is generally easy as any attack can beat them. They can also be stomped on as long as they're sticking their head out of their hole. In their debut Super Mario Bros. 3, Rocky Wrenches originally had shells and were described as a turtle-mole hybrid however later games have dropped this feature making them merely moles.
History[edit]
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island[edit]
Sprites found in development materials of Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island include sprites and animations for Rocky Wrench as well as potential log vehicles, but they were removed. Their head shape and sunglasses is reminiscent of Monty Moles' designs for Super Mario World, though they are still taller and lack some of the white patches. Uniquely, Rocky Wrenches also seem to have originally been planned to walk inside logs, as well as riding log cars similar to the Flintmobile from The Flintstones (though they were still going to keep their wrench throwing tactics as well). Only their wrench and possible lower body exist within unused graphics in the final release. Snifits were also alternately considered to utilize the vehicles designed for Rocky Wrenches, though this was later scrapped.
New Super Mario Bros. series[edit]
Rocky Wrenches are seen in New Super Mario Bros. Wii. They are found on most Airship levels where they toss wrenches at Mario and his friends. Their aiming is usually precise, so be careful, any attack can defeat a Rocky Wrench as long as they're above the ground. They can also be frozen with the Ice Flower but they cannot be picked up, they can still be ground pounded however.
Rocky Wrenches also appear in New Super Mario Bros. U once again on the Airships. Their behavior is identical to how it was previously, once again any attack can beat them. Rocky Wrenches are among the few enemies from New Super Mario Bros. U to not reappear in New Super Luigi U.
Super Mario Maker / Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS[edit]
Rocky Wrenches reappear in Super Mario Maker and Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS, using new sprites for all four styles. If they are winged, they hop out of their manhole cover before throwing their wrenches, making their lower bodies more visible. This also occurs if they are enlarged, but they temporarily revert to their original size in order to hide. On certain platforms such as Semisolid Platforms, Donut Blocks, and Cloud Blocks, Rocky Wrenches fall through them when they attempt to hide in them. Rocky Wrenches retain their shells in the Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, and Super Mario World styles, but not in New Super Mario Bros. U style. In the Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario World styles, they heavily resemble Monty Mole's design in those styles. In addition, their existing appearances have been slightly revised; they have a less plain palette and appear to lack tails in the Super Mario Bros. 3 style, and now have stubbier limbs and a slimmer, shorter body shape compared to a Monty Mole in the New Super Mario Bros. U style. In Course Maker, shaking them changes the slot to a Monty Mole and vice versa.
In the Super Mario World and New Super Mario Bros. U-style levels, Yoshi can use his tongue to eat a wrench thrown by a Rocky Wrench and spit it back out. If the Rocky Wrench or any other enemies get hit by the wrench, they will get defeated.
References[edit]
- ^ "Rocky is a turtle who kind of looks like a mole. He will suddenly appear and start to throw wrenches from his fingers at Mario or Luigi." - Super Mario Bros. 3 English instruction booklet, Page 37.
- ^ "These crafty moles show themselves just long enough to throw a wrench at you before dropping back out of sight." von Esmarch, Nick. Super Mario 3D Land PRIMA Official Game Guide, page 15.
