Cannon: Difference between revisions

|image=[[File:Cannonball SMR.png]]<br>Artwork of a cannon from ''Super Mario Run''.

|first_appearance=''[[Super Mario Bros. 3]]'' ([[List of games by date#1988|1988]])

|latest_appearance=''[[Super Mario Bros. Wonder]]'' ([[List of games by date#2023|2023]])

|comparable=[[Bill Blaster]]<br>[[Kaboomba]]

'''Cannons''' are used to fire all kinds of projectiles in the [[Super Mario (franchise)|''Super Mario'' franchise]], including other characters. They have a more generic appearance and use than [[Bill Blaster]]s, which specifically shoot out [[Bullet Bill]]s. Cannons are usually part of the environment and cannot be destroyed.

Cannons make their first appearance in ''[[Super Mario Bros. 3]]'', where they show up in the [[airship]], [[tank]], and [[battleship|boat]] levels. They are found on floors and ceilings and continue firing when touched, and come in several configurations. While some are turrets that fire straight ahead like [[Bill Blaster|Turtle Cannon]]s, common fixed cannons shoot their [[cannonball]]s diagonally. Some of these grounded cannons are mortars that eject [[Bob-omb]]s at short distances. There are four-barreled '''quartet-cannons'''<ref>Hodgson, David S J. ''Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3'' Prima's Official Strategy Guide. Page 32. "'''''FIRE FLOWER FLOUNDER''' Carefully leap over the Bullet Bill mounting, then quickly hit the "?" block for the Fire Flower (jump for it, even though a quartet-cannon hangs above and right of you). Remember that you can land on any cannon balls and knock them away.''"</ref> (or '''cannon quartets'''),<ref>Hodgson, David S J. ''Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3'' Prima's Official Strategy Guide. Page 73. "'''''CANNON AND BALL''' Run between the cannon shots, and when you reach the rotating cannon quartet, wait for it to fire, drop into the square hole below, and run before it fires again, leaping on top of a cannon to the right, and up and over the wooden pole.''"</ref> which fire in two directions at a time, then rotate at a 45° angle. There are also double-barreled '''diagonal cannons'''<ref>Hodgson, David S J. ''Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3'' Prima's Official Strategy Guide. Page 53. "'''''BULLET BILL OF RIGHTS''' The next section is simply a matter of zigzagging to the bottom and running right, avoiding the cannon balls and a Bullet Bill. Note the diagonal cannon placements that fire out of either end. Don't get caught by a Bullet Bill on the right as you attempt to nab that Super Leaf!''"</ref> that are mounted on background elements such as [[Semisolid Platform|semisolid]] metal bays, and can fire out of either end. Lastly, there are horizontal '''giant cannons''',<ref>''Nintendo Power'' Volume 13, page 75. "'''''Bring Out The Big Guns!''' This giant cannon shoots two huge bullets in rapid succession. Either jump on its barrel or duck quickly!''"</ref> which fire [[giant cannonball]]s.

In ''[[Super Mario Sunshine]]'', there are very few Cannons,<ref>Hodgson, David S J, Bryan Stratton, and Stephen Stratton. ''Super Mario Sunshine'' Prima's Official Strategy Guide. Page 13.</ref> most of which are operated by [[Monty Mole]]s. These cannons are completely red in color, have a large dome shape, and have three openings from which multiple [[Bullet Bill]]s, Purple Bullet Bills, and [[Gold Bullet Bill|Golden Bullet Bill]]s can be shot. They effectively take the place of [[Bill Blaster]]s in this regard. When Mario approaches the cannons, the Monty Moles cease firing Bullet Bills at him, and instead begin pelting Mario with multiple [[Bob-omb]]s, which Mario must diffuse (by spraying them) and then throw back at the mole to defeat it.  

[[File:NSMBWarp Cannon.PNG|thumb|left|A Warp Cannon from ''New Super Mario Bros.''.]]

Cannons reappear in ''[[Super Mario Galaxy]]''. These cannons appear to be more advanced than the cannons from ''Super Mario 64'' and they largely fulfill the same role as in that game. They also have much more precise aiming, since the player uses the {{button|wii|Wiimote}} to aim. The {{button|wii|A}} button fires the cannon and Mario or Luigi can get to high places and Power Stars. He is not shot in an arc, however. He keeps going in a straight line and can lose a life if shot out of the gameplay area, as he does not fall down unless he hits a surface.

In the ''[[Super Mario 3D All-Stars]]'' version of ''Super Mario Galaxy'', the player can no longer pan the camera while in cannons by holding down {{button|wii|Z}} and moving the controller away from the screen, due to the lack of a Sensor Bar.

In ''[[New Super Mario Bros. Wii]]'', upward and downward-pointed cannons and mortars from ''Super Mario Bros. 3'' that fire [[cannonball]]s and [[Bob-omb]]s reappear, in addition to the rotating quartet-cannons and horizontal giant cannons. The normal cannons in {{world-link|8|airship|World 8-Airship (New Super Mario Bros. Wii)}} also routinely rotate their barrel to the other direction before firing again. One quartet-cannon is a large '''rotating cannon pipe'''<ref>Dark Horse Books. ''Super Mario Bros. Encyclopedia: The Official Guide to the First 30 Years''. Page 151.{{better source}}</ref> that fires [[giant cannonball]]s out of three cannons, with one cannon actually being a [[Warp Pipe|pipe]] that does not fire and which characters must enter. [[Warp Cannon]]s and [[Pipe Cannon]]s from ''New Super Mario Bros.'' also appear.

Cannons once again appear in ''[[Super Mario Galaxy 2]]''. However, they only appear in [[Bowser Jr.'s Boom Bunker]], where they are mostly used in place of [[Launch Star]]s. In the [[Throwback Galaxy]], the cannon from [[Whomp's Fortress]] is replaced by a [[Sling Star]]. Cannons in these games are mostly the same as the original, but there is a target to land on. If the hero manages to hit the center, he gets an [[extra life]].

Cannons appear in ''[[Super Mario 3D Land]]'' in several levels, with a similar function to ''Super Mario 64'' and ''Super Mario Galaxy''. However, it can now controlled by moving the [[Nintendo 3DS]] around, just like the [[binoculars]]. Cannons are also provided by [[Toad]] for either Mario or Luigi, and are often found in the level after his Toad House stage. These cannons are used by the heroes to gain access to the [[airship]] levels where either [[Boom Boom]] or [[Pom Pom]] appear to challenge them.  

[[Pipe Cannon]]s also return from the previous games, acting much in the same way. These pipes first appear in World 1-A. Mortars that fire Bob-ombs also reappear, though they launch them as [[Parabomb]]s in this game.

In ''[[New Super Mario Bros. U]]'', '''boss cannons'''<ref>Stratton, Steve. ''New Super Mario Bros. U'' PRIMA Official Game Guide. Page 52. "''Enter the ominous boss cannon you discover at the top of these lengthy stairs, and you’ll be shot over to Lemmy’s airship. It’s time for a boss battle!''"</ref> take an important role in [[castle]]s. After [[Mario]], [[Luigi]], [[Yellow Toad (New Super Mario Bros. series)|Yellow Toad]], and [[Blue Toad (character)|Blue Toad]] finish the castle, they run up a flight of stairs and jump inside the cannon and blast into one of the [[Koopalings]]' [[airship]]s and start the Koopaling battle. [[Pipe Cannon]]s also appear in levels and in the world map, the latter of which is used to travel to other worlds. The normal cannons and giant cannons from ''Super Mario Bros. 3'' also appear and act in the same way; they appear in [[The Mighty Cannonship]] from [[Soda Jungle]] as well as in some challenges of [[Challenge Mode (New Super Mario Bros. U)|Challenge Mode]].

Cannons reappear in ''[[Super Mario Maker]]'' and ''[[Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS]]'' in all styles. They fire [[cannonball]]s once more, and can be set in one of eight directions. The game introduces a red variation that fires red cannonballs which travel faster. Adding a [[Super Mushroom]] makes it larger in size and shoot [[giant cannonball]]s. Unlike [[Bill Blaster]]s, items and enemies cannot be placed inside a cannon; therefore, it can only shoot cannonballs. They can be defeated by big [[Goomba's Shoe|Stiletto]]s.

In ''[[Super Mario Run]]'', cannons are timed to fire [[cannonball]]s at specific moments during their on-screen duration. This careful timing can be used to gain height from the air when playing [[Airship]] levels (2-4, 4-4, 6-3). They spawn in single sets, but also double and triples, giving players more space to bounce off of when facing a barrage of cannonballs.

Cannons reappear in ''[[Super Mario Bros. Wonder]]'', first appearing in [[Fluff-Puff Peaks Flying Battleship]], firing Bob-ombs for the first time since ''New Super Mario Bros. Wii'', but can also fire [[Bullet Bill]]s as well. They are colored black similar to the ''Super Mario Maker'' games.

In ''[[Donkey Kong (Game Boy)|Donkey Kong]]'' for the [[Game Boy]], cannons appear in a variety of forms. In the [[Desert]], the cannons have a dated look taken from the Middle Ages (the image on the left); on the [[Airplane]], cannons are made out of steel and look more contemporary (middle image). Both types of cannons retain the same basic function and fire out bullets that look like [[Bullet Biff]]s, acting similar to the seed-spitting [[Dōryī]] except they sometimes fire two shots at a time. In later Airplane levels, different cannons charge up energy balls and routinely change their angle of fire, shooting diagonally and upwards as well (the image on the right). If Mario gets hit by any of their projectiles, he loses a life.

===''Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest'' / ''Donkey Kong Land 2''===

In ''[[Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest]]'' and ''[[Donkey Kong Land 2]]'', cannons,<ref>''Donkey Kong Land 2'' [[Nintendo 3DS]] [[Virtual Console]] electronic manual, tab 9: "Progressing Through Stages"</ref> primarily spelled as '''kannons'''<ref>''Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest'' instruction booklet, [[Media:DKC2 Manual 16-17.jpg|page 17]].</ref> To activate a kannon, [[Diddy Kong|Diddy]] and [[Dixie Kong]] must throw a [[cannonball|kannonball]] into it, and then enter it; it launches the Kongs to a [[Bonus Area]]. They first appear in [[Mainbrace Mayhem (Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest)|Mainbrace Mayhem]], and only appear in levels with kannonballs (not being shot). There is also a [[Kremling]] enemy named [[Kannon]], whose name is based on the kannon it carries around.

===''Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!''===

A cannon makes a brief appearance in the [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System]] version of ''[[Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!]]''. After the Kongs defeat [[Belcha]], a cannon pops up on top of [[Belcha's Barn]] and blasts the Kongs back to the start of [[Lake Orangatanga]]. It does not appear in the [[Game Boy Advance]] [[Donkey Kong Country 3 (Game Boy Advance)|version]] as that version immediately returns the player back to the main overworld after defeating a boss.

A single cannon appears in ''[[Donkey Kong 64]]'' in the [[Gloomy Galleon]] stage. To use it, [[Chunky Kong]] must put a cannonball into it. He must use the cannon to fire cannonballs at moving targets on the wall. By firing at enough of them, Chunky is awarded with a [[Golden Banana]].

===''Donkey Kong Country'' (Game Boy Color)===

In ''[[Donkey Kong Country (Game Boy Color)|Donkey Kong Country]]'' for the [[Game Boy Color]], the cannons of the [[Gangplank Galleon|Gang-Plank Galleon]] appear as targets in the final stage of [[Crosshair Cranky]], where they must be destroyed before they fire on the player.

Cannons later appear in boss fights against [[Donkey Kong]] in ''[[Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis]]'' and its sequel ''[[Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again!]]''. To use them, the player must use the stylus to move the handle to aim. To fire, the player must tap the "Shoot" button.

Although no regular, harmful cannons appear in the game, [[pot cannon]]s make an appearance as the first helpful cannons of the ''Super Mario'' franchise in ''[[Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars]]''. They appear in [[Land's End]] and help Mario to reach higher places.

Cannon items appear in ''[[Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time]]''. They are named [[Cannonballer]]s, and are one of the many [[Bros. Item]]s in the game.

Cannons appear in ''[[Paper Mario: Color Splash]]'' on the [[Violet Passage captain]]'s ship. Mario must use the cannons to fire Cannonballs in order to get through the [[Violet Passage]].

Cannons appear in ''[[Yoshi Topsy-Turvy]]''. [[Yoshi]] can go inside one by [[jump]]ing at its top, and by tilting the [[Game Boy Advance]] to the left or the right, the cannon tilts to the respective direction.

Smaller cannons that shot exploding cannonballs appeared in ''[[Mario Hoops 3-on-3]]''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s [[Pirate Ship]] court.

In ''[[Wario: Master of Disguise]]'' a golden cannon known as [[Blamses]] was a popular attraction. Another cannon in Master of Disguise is the [[Sphinx Jr.]], and another cannon known by [[K9 Cannon]].

During the Adventure Tour of the DS version in ''[[Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games]]'', cannons are used to launch Mario or [[Sonic]] to a different island after they saved a [[snow spirits|snow spirit]].

[[File:MSM Mini-3.png|thumb|left|Cannons as seen in the ''Mario Sports Mix'' party game Bob-omb Dodge.]]

Cannons make an appearance in the ''[[Mario Sports Mix]]'' party game [[Bob-omb Dodge]] where players get to dodge the [[Bob-omb]]s that are shot out for two minutes. Also in the game, players can use Warp Cannons in the [[Flower Cup]] Tournament to unlock alternate routes.

Cannons appear in ''[[Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker]]'' and its Nintendo Switch and Nintendo 3DS [[Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker (Nintendo Switch / Nintendo 3DS)|ports]], uses for [[Captain Toad]] and [[Toadette]] to reach areas in various levels. A new type of cannon called [[Turnip Cannon]], is introduced in the game.

Cannons make their return in ''[[Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle]]'', albeit redesigned to resemble [[Rabbid]]s. They launch Mario and company to another part of the map, where they may find a path forward or a secret. Blue cannons launch Mario and company to a bonus area where all [[Blue Coin]]s must be collected to gain a new weapon. Large cannons send Mario and company to their respective worlds.

In the {{media link|The Super Mario Bros Movie teaser poster.jpg|teaser poster}} for ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Movie]]'', a cannon resembling the ones from ''Super Mario 64'' can be seen on the highest floating island. It can also be seen in the film itself when [[Mario]], [[Princess Peach|Peach]], and [[Toad]] visit Bob-omb Battlefield.<ref>LuccaDoesStuff (February 19, 2023). [https://youtu.be/gHR-C_WIPXU The Super Mario Bros. Movie - All NBA Adverts (High Quality)]. ''YouTube''. Retrieved February 19, 2023.</ref>

An idea for a cannon is seen in a piece of concept art for the original ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'' It would have been manned by a turtle resembling a [[Hammer Bro]]ther.<ref>Nintendo (September 13, 2015). [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLoRd6_a1CI&t=84s Super Mario Bros. 30th Anniversary Special Interview ft. Shigeru Miyamoto & Takashi Tezuka]. ''YouTube''. Retrieved October 18, 2021.</ref>

==Profiles==

|Jap={{ruby|大砲|たいほう}}<ref>''Super Donkey Kong 2: Dixie & Diddy'' instruction booklet, page 20.</ref><ref>''Super Mario 64'' Japanese instruction booklet, page 18.</ref><br>''Taihō''<br>砲台<br>''Hōdai''<br>斜め砲台<ref name=SMB3>Shogakukan. 2015. ''Super Mario Bros. Hyakka: Nintendo Kōshiki Guidebook'', ''Super Mario Bros. 3'' section, page 41.</ref> <small>(''Super Mario Bros. 3'', diagonal type)</small><br>''Naname hōdai''<br>ボムへい{{ruby|砲台|ほうだい}} <small>(''Super Mario 64 DS'')</small><br>''Bomuhei Hōdai''

|JapM=Cannon<br><br>Artillery<br><br>Diagonal artillery<br><br>Bob-omb Artillery

|ChiS=大炮<br>''Dàpào''<br>炮台 <small>(''Super Mario Maker 2'')</small><br>''Pàotái''

|ChiT=大砲<br>''Dàpào''<br>炮台 <small>(''Super Mario Maker 2'')</small><br>''Pàotái''

|Fra=Canon<ref>https://supermario3dallstars.nintendo.com/fr/super-mario-64/</ref>

|FraM=Cannon

|Ita=Cannone<br>Kannone <small>(''DKC2'' and ''DKL2'')</small>

|ItaM=Cannon<br>Kannon