First game Super Mario Bros. (1985) Voiced by (English) Motoki Takagi (2005–present) Voiced by (Japanese) Keaton Yamada (Super Mario Bros.: Peach-Hime Kyushutsu Dai Sakusen!) | ||
Hammer Bro., also known as Hammer Brothers or Hammer Bros. (Japanese: ハンマーブロス, Hepburn: Hanmā Burosu) is a recurring enemy in the Mario series of video games. Created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, it is a subspecies of Koopa Troopa that walks upright and attacks by throwing hammer projectiles at the player character. Different variations of the Hammer Bro., named after the type of projectile they throw, include Boomerang Bro., Fire Bro., Sledge Bro., Sumo Bro, and Ice Bro. The Hammer Bro. has appeared in nearly every Super Mario game since its first appearance in Super Mario Bros., also appearing in various animated and printed adaptations of the franchise.
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Super Mario series
Hammer Bro. first appeared in Super Mario Bros., where they would jump from platforms and throw hammers at Mario. In the game, they were usually found in pairs. They later appeared in its sequel, Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, where they were found more commonly. Although they were absent in Super Mario Bros. 2, they did appear in Super Mario Bros. 3, in which they behaved in the same way as they did in the original game. Also, more varieties of Hammer Bro. were added, including the Boomerang Bro., whose boomerangs returned to them, the Fire Bro., who spat fireballs, and the Sledge Bro., who was considerably larger and could cause an earthquake when he landed from a jump. Super Mario Bros. 3 also featured the Hammer Bros. Suit, which granted Mario and Luigi the ability to throw hammers of their own and also conferred immunity against fire attacks while ducking.
Although the basic Hammer Bro. was again absent from Super Mario World, the two new subspecies were added, the "Amazing Flyin' Hammer Bro.", and the "Sumo Bro.". They would later appear in New Super Mario Bros. and New Super Mario Bros. Wii (which introduced the Ice Bro., a cold-weather counterpart to the Fire Bro.), Super Mario Galaxy 2 (the first time that Hammer Bro. would appear in a three-dimensional Mario game), Super Mario 3D Land, New Super Mario Bros. 2 and New Super Mario Bros. U.
Other appearances
Hammer Bros. appeared in most of the Mario spin off games, such as Super Mario RPG, the Paper Mario series, the Mario & Luigi series, the Mario Party series, Dance Dance Revolution Mario Mix, the Mario sports games and Super Princess Peach. They also appear in Super Smash Bros. Brawl as an Assist Trophy and an Adventure Mode enemy.
In media, Hammer Bros. have appeared in the The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! and The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 television series, as well as in printed media such as Nintendo Comics System and Nintendo Adventure Books.
Reception
The Hammer Bros. were named as one of the eight most underrated video game characters by CNET editor Nate Lanxon, who contrasted the duo in the first Super Mario Bros. from other enemies in the series who would merely wander aimlessly in the level. Game Daily listed Hammer Bros. as the fifth best Mario enemy, citing the difficulty involved in defeating them. Nintendo Power listed the Hammer Bros. as one of the things that they love to hate, citing the difficulty involved in defeating or avoiding them. IGN listed Hammer Bro. as one of the characters they wanted for the then-unreleased Mario Kart 7, saying that the "terrifying twin turtles were the most devious and dangerous foes in the original Super Mario Bros. besides Bowser himself." The Hammer Bros. were listed as second in Nintendo 3DS Daily's list of the top ten enemies more common in recent games, claiming "Super Mario World already kind of screwed them over by sticking them on winged blocks and having them appear only ever so often, but they've technically been absent from the platformers for two whole console generations!"