Spiny

Spinies are enemies that have a spiked shell and are thrown by Lakitus. They look much like Buzzy Beetles, and have changed over the years. They appear in many games.

Super Mario Bros.
Spinies first appeared in the game Super Mario Bros. Here, they were thrown by Lakitus and appear only in levels where Lakitus do. They are much like Green Koopas, as they will walk around a level until they fall off a cliff. They can be defeated by a fireball from Fire Mario, a Koopa Shell, or a Starman. Unlike Koopas, they cannot be defeated by a hit from below.

Super Mario Bros. 3
Spinies were absent from Super Mario Bros. 2, but did later appear in Super Mario Bros. 3. This time, they are both thrown by Lakitus and can be found on levels without Lakitus. In the game, they act exactly the same as their Super Mario Bros. counterparts: they will walk around until they fall off a cliff or are defeated. This variety can be defeated by a fireball, a shell, a Hammer, a hit from a tail from a Raccoon Suit or Tanooki Suit, and a Starman.

Super Mario World
They appear in Super Mario World as enemy thrown by Lakitus. Jumping on them will hurt mario but spin jumping on them will not damage mario or the spiny.

Mario Kart series
Many believe the Blue Shell to be a Spiny Shell, which it is referred to as most of the time.

Mario Party series
Spiny has played a minor role in the Mario Party series. They are usually found as obstacles in the mini-games. In Mario Party 5, Spiny appears as a capsule the characters will be able to collect. Spiny also appears as an orb in Mario Party 6 and Mario Party 7.

Item appearances

 * Spiny Capsule - Spiny will force the character to spin a roulette wheel to determine the opposing character it will attack. Spiny will then attack the opponent chosen by the roulette wheel, stealing ten coins in the process and giving it to the character that summoned it.
 * Spiny Orb - The Spiny Orb is similar to the capsule that appears in the previous installment. In Mario Party 6, the Spiny Orb took ten coins from any opponents that landed on its space, and gave the ten coins to the owner of the space. In Mario Party 7, Spiny was a roadblock orb, and took ten coins from an opposing character that passed the roadblock space.

Mini-game appearances

 * Ice Rink Risk - In this mini-game, the characters are in an enclosed ice rink and must avoid the Spiny shells that appear in the rink for sixty seconds. As the mini-game progresses, more Spiny shells will be added to the rink until there are three shells all together. The shells are able to bounce off the walls and other shells, which increases their velocity.
 * Dreadmill - A single character will work there way up a conveyor belt full of Spiny shells. If they touch the Spiny shells, they will be stunned for a brief moment.
 * Daft Rafts - During the daytime portion of this mini-game, Spiny shells will appear on the rafts that are falling off the waterfall. If a character touches one of the Spiny shells, they will be eliminated from the mini-game.
 * Fun Run - As the characters are making their way up the tower, there will be various Spiny shells on the way. If a character touches one of the shells, they will be stunned for a brief moment.
 * Grabbin' Gold - The characters work together as a team to collect as many coins as they can in a basket. However, Spiny shells will be falling down at the same time. If they manage to capture a Spiny shell in their basket, they will not be able to catch coins for a brief moment.
 * Winner or Dinner - As the characters are collecting coins in this mini-game, Spinies will pop out of the vases. If a character touches one of the Spinies, they will not be able to collect coins for a brief moment.

Paper Mario: Sticker Star
Spinys are uncommon enemies that appear in Paper Mario: Sticker Star''. ''They are first found on Whammino Mountain roaming around on the level. There is even a Lakitu that throws Spinys at Mario. Spinys act pretty much the same since Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door being enemies that can be easily flipped over with POW Blocks. Spinys sometimes appear in the first phase of the final fight with Bowser.

Mario Bros.
Spinys are the first enemies to be encoutered in this game. They can be easily flipped over by hitting the ground under them or using the POW block. After they have been flipped over, just touch them to defeat them. If Mario touches them when they are upright, he will lose a life.