Roll
- This article is about Mario's forward somersault from Super Mario 3D Land. For Mario's backflip used by crouch jumping and his side somersault in this and other 3D games, see Backward Somersault and Side Somersault. For the move referred to as a "Roll" in Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, see Roll Attack.
Rolling appears in the Super Mario franchise as a move that involves the player character curling into a ball-like shape and moving. It is used in different ways depending on the series and game with the ability.
History[edit]
Donkey Kong (Game Boy)[edit]
Rolling as an action in the Super Mario franchise first appears in the Game Boy version of Donkey Kong. When Mario lands from a great height, he briefly rolls as he lands on the ground. Longer falls can stun Mario or make him lose a life.
Super Smash Bros. series[edit]
- SmashWiki article: Roll
Rolling appears in the Super Smash Bros. series as an evasive maneuver. It is performed by moving the fighter left or right while shielding. The user becomes temporarily invincible while moving a short distance in the chosen direction. Rolling in the Super Smash Bros. series does not necessarily involve the character curling into a ball; many characters have different animations for rolling. The exact length of a roll and the duration of its invincibility depend on the character rolling. These variables in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate are also affected by how many rolls are used during a short period of time.
Super Mario series[edit]
Super Mario 3D Land[edit]
Rolling in Super Mario 3D Land is a move used by Mario and Luigi, causing either brother to burst forward from a crouch. After a short period of time, the character stops rolling and resumes crouching. To perform it, the player has to press 
or 
while crouching; thus, it replaces the Sweep Kick and Slide Kick from Super Mario 64 and Super Mario 64 DS. When rolling, Mario and Luigi move faster than walking and can break open crates; however, the roll cannot defeat enemies, as opposed to the Roll Attack from the Donkey Kong Country series. Since the roll is performed while crouching, rolling can be used while in spaces too small to stand in. Jumping during the move makes the roll become a Rolling Leap, a longer and faster version of the Long Jump.
If Mario is in his Tanooki form or Luigi is in his Kitsune form, this move becomes the Tail Spin.[1] When this move is used, the character crouches and continuously spins his tail until or is not pressed anymore. By combining this move with the Rolling Leap, the character can move while spinning his tail, defeating every enemy in his way.
In the pre-release version of Super Mario 3D Land, the roll was performed by pressing the 
or 
button while moving. If the player attempts to do this in the final version, Mario slides while crouching instead, as in the 2D games of the Super Mario series.
Super Mario 3D World / Super Mario 3D World Bowser's Fury[edit]
Rolling in Super Mario 3D World and Super Mario 3D World Bowser's Fury works in the same way as it does in Super Mario 3D Land, but the additional player characters—Peach, Toad, and Rosalina—can roll as well. While a character is in Cat form, the roll becomes a sliding tackle. In the remake, players can also roll in midair, similarly to the Super Mario Odyssey version of the dive, as well as roll right upon landing from a Ground Pound.
Super Mario Run[edit]
Rolling in Super Mario Run appears as an action called the Landing Roll. A Landing Roll is performed when characters land from a drop with a minimum height of two blocks. The height gained from jumping is excluded from the fall detection, and beginning to slide down a wall resets all height dropped. Landing Rolls always occur when a character lands from any Long Jump. Landing on Lifts is excluded because Lifts override standard movement. Taking damage temporarily prevents the player from doing a Landing Roll. This is based on "mercy invincibility," and it therefore extends to leaving a bubble after being defeated. When the player taps the screen while a character is on a Pause Block that points to the right, the character leaves the block by rolling. Unlike the similar action in Donkey Kong, either kind of roll defeats enemies with which it comes into contact.
The roll performed when Edge Climbing is used is mostly identical to the Landing Roll.
Tapping the screen while rolling performs a Rolling Jump, a variation of the jump where the character front-flips while rising. It can defeat enemies from below. Enemies with spikes are immune to both Landing Rolls and Rolling Jumps. The Rolling Jump is a stylish move, so it creates blue stars that contribute to starting a Coin Rush. Toads like this move, so in the Toad Rally mode, it gets a Toad to cheer for the player.
Super Mario Odyssey[edit]
Rolling in Super Mario Odyssey is very different from its appearances in Super Mario 3D Land and Super Mario 3D World, but at first glance, they seem similar. Again, rolling is forward burst movement done from a crouch. However, rolling reacts to slopes such that Mario can roll faster while going down inclines but can struggle to roll up slopes without gathering speed beforehand. Slopes can even influence how Mario moves left and right while rolling. In this game, if the 
, 
, 
, or 
button is held, Mario can continue to roll past the "burst" portion. This allows slopes to affect the roll further, as upward slopes can bring a roll to a stop, then reverse the roll's direction. On flat surfaces, Mario naturally slows down. Once he moves slowly enough and a slope is not present to send him the other way, he stops rolling and returns to crouching. The player can slowly turn while rolling, instead of the strafing motion done in prior games. If the player presses 
or 
, Mario does a short hop while boosting forward. If the button is pressed with the correct rhythm, he gets bigger boosts, which is indicated by a yellow visual effect. If the player shakes 
while rolling, they still boost forward but always get the more powerful boost.
Rolling has been given more interactions with Mario's other moves. When Mario lands from a Long Jump or dive, if the player is currently holding any of the shoulder or trigger buttons, Mario begins rolling. When Mario lands from a Ground Pound, if the player keeps holding a shoulder or trigger button and then either presses , presses , or shakes , Mario starts rolling with an initial use of the strong boost. Lastly, if the player presses one button from both pairs of face buttons at the same time, Mario can interrupt any ongoing roll with a Cap Throw.
In a bonus area in the Cap Kingdom, Mario automatically rolls upon touching the first slope. After this, he cannot stop rolling until he reaches the end of the area. This behavior is reminiscent of the slides from Super Mario 64.
Super Mario Maker 2[edit]
Rolling in Super Mario Maker 2 can be used in the Super Mario 3D World style only. It can be performed by pressing any of the shoulder buttons (, , 
, or 
) while crouching. As Toadette is a playable character in Super Mario Maker 2, she can also roll.
Profiles[edit]
Super Mario 3D Land[edit]
- Website description:
- English (American):
This explosive move propels Mario forward with a quick roll. - English (British):
Press the Y Button (or the X Button) while crouching to roll. A powered-up Mario can smash blocks and other objects by rolling.
- English (American):
Super Mario Run[edit]
- Tips and Tricks: Landing Roll: You'll break a long fall by rolling without even having to touch the screen. You can even defeat some enemies!
- Tips and Tricks: Rolling Jump: Tap the screen while rolling to do a rolling leap. Toads really dig the energy!
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | 転がる[?] Korogaru |
Roll | |
| Dutch | Rollen[?] | To roll | |
| French | Rouler[?] | To roll | |
| German | Rolle vorwärts[?] | Roll forward | |
| Italian | Capriola[2][3] | Somersault | |
| Rotolamento[4] | Rolling | ||
| Korean | 구르기[?] Gureugi |
Roll | |
| Portuguese | Cambalhota[?] | Somersault | |
| Cambalhota para a Frente[?] | Forward Somersault | ||
| Derrapada[?] | Skid | ||
| Russian | Катиться[?] Katit'sya |
To roll | |
| Кувырок[?] Kuvyrok |
Roll | ||
| Spanish | Rodar[?] | To roll |
References[edit]
- ^ 2013. Super Mario 3D World manual (PDF). Nintendo (English). Page 20.
- ^ Super Mario 3D Land Italian smart guide and Italian e-manual. Page 8.
- ^ Super Mario 3D World Italian e-manual. Page 17.
- ^ Super Mario Odyssey Italian in-game guide, basic moves
