Munchers are a small black-headed variant of Piranha Plants. Unlike the closely related Nipper Plant, Munchers can only move their mouths and they cannot be destroyed or even touched without receiving damage. However, Yoshis and Goomba's Shoes can be used to safely walk over them, they are also harmless when the plumbers are under the effects of a Starman. In Super Mario Bros. 3, some are encased in ice blocks. The ice block must be melted with a fireball thrown by Fire Mario before the Muncher can harm Mario.
History[]
Super Mario Bros. 3[]
Two Munchers
Munchers first appear in Super Mario Bros. 3. In this game, they can be found in various levels of Sky Land and Ice Land. Unlike the Nipper Plants, Munchers are immune to all attacks and can damage Mario/Luigi if he is to land on one. Munchers are commonly found in groups along the ground forcing the plumbers to utilize platforms above to avoid the Munchers. Not even the effects of a Starman can destroy a Muncher however Mario/Luigi can safely walk along them while under the effects of one, they can also be safely traversed if the plumbers are wearing a Kuribo's Shoe.
Ice Land also has Munchers that are frozen in ice cubes. While frozen, Munchers are perfectly harmless but if the plumbers are to hit the frozen Muncher with a Fireball while under the effects of a Fire Flower, the Muncher will be thawed out and become a harmful enemy. If a P-Switch is hit, all Munchers will briefly turn into Coins and if collected, the Munchers disappear, if Mario/Luigi tail-whips one while under the effects of a Super Leaf or Tanooki Suit, the Muncher will become an Empty Block (however this only applies to the original as they are immune to this in Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3).
Munchers that pop out of tiny pipes (similar to the Jumping Piranha Plants) can also be found in several levels of Pipe Land.
Super Mario World[]
Several Munchers along the flooring.
Munchers return in Super Mario World, in this game, they retain their core behavior from the previous game and are commonly found in caverns such as those in Vanilla Dome. Munchers once again cannot be beaten however, Mario/Luigi can run across them safely while under the effects of a Starman, additionally, Yoshi can also safely walk across Munchers but the Munchers are still able to hurt the plumbers even if they are riding Yoshi.
Stepping on a P-Switch can turn Munchers into Coins however this can only be seen through hacks as no levels in the main game have both.
Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3[]
Wario above some Munchers.
Munchers also appear in Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3. In this game, they retain their usual behavior from previous games and are found more commonly in early levels of the game. They once again linger on the flooring and can damage Wario. as they are in other games, they are invincible and cannot be destroyed in any way.
New Super Mario Bros. Wii[]
The Mario Crew escapes the thawing Munchers.
Munchers appear again in New Super Mario Bros. Wii. In this game, they can be found in World 9-7 as a common hazard throughout the level. They start out frozen in ice cubes but as soon as they are hit by the Fireballs of either Mario/Luigi/Yellow Toad/Blue Toad under the effects of the Fire Flower or a Venus Fire Trap, they will be thawed out and become hazards that must be avoided. If a Muncher is hit anywhere, the heroes will take damage, just as before, Munchers are completely invincible and cannot be destroyed however they can be ran over harmlessly while under the effects of a Starman. Due to their invincibility, they obviously cannot be frozen again with the effects of an Ice Flower or Penguin Suit.
Hacking the game reveals that Yoshi is no longer immune to walking along a Muncher and will still take damage upon landing on one. This is unused as no levels in the game have both Yoshis and Munchers.
New Super Mario Bros. U / New Super Luigi U / New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe[]
The Mario Crew thinking of a strategy to bypass the Munchers and get the Star Coin.
Munchers are seen again in New Super Mario Bros. U as well as New Super Luigi U and New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe. In these games, they retain their behavior from previous games being found in levels such as Spinning Star Sky, Thrilling Spine Coaster, and Lemmy's Lights-Out Castle. They are once again seen along the ground as a hazard to avoid and touching a Muncher will cause damage so avoid them at all costs, Munchers are immune to all attacks however using a Starman makes the heroes impervious to the Munchers, this is often necessary for reaching collectibles which are on paths obstructed by Munchers. Munchers are no longer found frozen in ice cubes in this game.
Just as before, Yoshi is no longer immune to walking along a Muncher and will still take damage upon landing on one however once again, this can only be seen through hacks.
Super Mario Maker / Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS / Super Mario Maker 2[]
Mario near several Munchers.
Munchers appear in Super Mario Maker as well as it's two sequels as placeable enemies. In these games, they retain their same behavior as in previous games (as immobile, invincible obstacles that damage Mario upon contact). In addition to being able to place them on ground, they can also be spawned from Question Blocks or Brick Blocks and launched by Lakitus and Bill Blasters.
In this game, Munchers are hazardous on each side, unless Mario is wearing a Goomba's Shoe, during which only hitting a Muncher from below will damage Mario. Mario can also use Buzzy Shells to bounce them up from below without suffering any damage. Munchers can be defeated by a POW Block, a fast fly down with the effects of a Cape Feather, a ground pound with a Giant Goomba's Shoe, and the Spiny Shell from below. Yoshi can once again walk safely across Munchers, even in the New Super Mario Bros. U style making him very useful for crossing those Muncher seas.
Super Mario Run[]
Yoshi walks along the Munchers.
Munchers are back in Super Mario Run. In this game, they can be seen in levels such as Danger High and Low and they retain their hazardous and invincible traits from previous games. They're hazardous to touch unless the heroes are under the effects of a Starman. Only Yoshi, Yellow Yoshi, Purple Yoshi, Red Yoshi, and Blue Yoshi can safely walk along Munchers without getting hurt, this makes traversing Muncher-filled areas easier as you normally have to remain on the upper platforms.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder[]
Munchers are found only in their own level Muncher Fields, not only on the ground but also the walls and ceiling. The player's character can now defeat Munchers using a Red POW Block. The playable Yoshis can walk across Munchers safely.
Mario Tennis Aces[]
A Muncher
Munchers appear in Mario Tennis Aces. In this game, they can be seen around the court of Ancient Altar during the battle with Petey Piranha. They don't do much apart from endlessly snapping upward and merely act as audience members.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Although Munchers themselves don't appear in Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, they do appear along the bottom adverts for Green Service in some courses such as Royal Raceway.
- In Super Mario Bros. 3, as Mario/Luigi are entering the Ice Land, Princess Toadstool letter warns to Mario in her letter leading into the world, they are harmless when frozen and act like platforms, but if the player uses a fireball, the Muncher will become active again.
- Due to being animated tiles that cause damage, Jelectros (which also debuted in Super Mario Bros. 3) are comparable on a technical level.
- In any version of Super Mario Bros. 3, Munchers will continue to chomp even when the game is paused, due to being on the foreground layer.
- Also in Super Mario Bros 3, the Munchers that come out of the small pipes (e.g. World 7) will also continue to do so when the game is paused. The player can take advantage of this by pausing the game around timing their jumping and landing, to assure that the Munchers will always be descended in to the pipes when they land on them.
