The World's Greatest Plumber may just turn out to be the world's best golfer in Mario Golf: Super Rush. In this Mario party game, players duke it out in the golf course as Mario and his friends - all using their golfing prowess (and a few abilities here and there) to prove domination in the sport!
However, as with other Mario games, each Mario character in Super Rush has unique abilities that can turn the tide of battle. In fact, these abilities can manipulate the battlefield in ridiculous ways - often resulting in a chaotic mess unique to the Mario experience. However, just how do each Mario Golf: Super Rush ability fare against each other?
Smokeball (Bowser Jr.)
Unlike the more straightforward Bowser, Bowser Jr. has a more tactical approach in combat. When activated, Junior spawns a Clown Car, which he rides and uses to punch the ball to its destination. Upon landing, the impact will create smoke around the immediate vicinity.
In theory, Smokeball should hide the flag, the hole, and balls located in the area it lands on. However, there's not a lot of tactical opportunities to use the Smokeball's smokescreen. Unless, of course, the other characters cause too much of a commotion that Junior's Smokeball can also hide the integral elements alongside the traps of other enemies.
The Bounce Effect (Boo, Yoshi, Rosalina)
While these abilities have different names, they do have the same effect. Once activated, the golf ball transforms into a particular object. When the player makes their next shot, that ball will end up bouncing around with unpredictable movement. Despite its appeal, the lack of overall control makes this move extremely risky and impractical. Here's a rundown of its users:
- Mischief Twister:Â Boo haunts his ball before launching it into the air. This shot will curve the trajectory of the impact.
- Eggschanger:Â Yoshi eats his ball and releases an egg in its stead. Once it lands, the egg transforms back into a golf ball and has an impact to its trajectory post-landing.
- Shooting Star:Â Rosalina imbues her ball with cosmic power. Three stars accompany the ball as it makes its way to its destination. And upon landing, the ball will become a star bit. This will make the ball almost impossible to hit straight.
The Charge Effect (Peach, Waluigi, Pauline, Chargin' Chuck)
Despite their different titles, the special shots of these characters generally have the same effect. When activated, their attacks "sting" instead of arc upward. This "charging" effect will knock all enemy balls that block the trajectory of their own ball towards their destination. Thing is, as with any "directed" shots, this charging effect will only work if there are actually balls in the path of the character. In turn, they're not as useful when not positioned properly. Here are its users:
- Spiral Stinger:Â Princess Peach imbues her ball with the power of grace and electrifying energy. It zooms forward in a blast so fast that it creates ripples of energy on the ground it's traveling on.
- Slim Stinger:Â Waluigi bedazzles the audience before hitting his ball forward.
- Songbird Stinger:Â Pauline sings a bit with her club - that transforms into a mic - before hitting the ball. Her musical prowess imbues the ball with the energy to zoom forward.
- Scrimmage Stinger:Â Chargin' Chuck uses a energy projection of a football to propel his ball forward.
The Quake Effect (Mario, Daisy, Bowser, Toad, Donkey Kong)
Albeit possessing different names, these five characters share the same effect for their special shot. In essence, their special shots always have the special effect of releasing a shockwave that pushes other balls away from the vicinity. Granted, this quaking effect isn't as powerful as Bob-omb's away. However, its repositioning impact can still ruin an opponent's day. Here's a quick rundown of those special shots:
- Super Star Strike:Â Mario unleashes a rainbow-colored aura that propels the ball into an arc before crashing down with powerful impact.
- Blossom Strike:Â Daisy charges herself with yellow aura as she twirls her club for a strike. Her ball shimmers in mid-air before landing with powerful impact.
- Meteor Strike:Â Bowser uses brute force as he uses a fiery club to send his ball high in the sky. It descends from the skies like a meteor looking for impact.
- Super Toad Strike:Â Toad releases a giant mushroom that he manages to hit, creating a huge impact in the region.
- Bully Strike:Â Donkey Kong uses brute force as he uses his flexed muscles to propel the ball to the destination of his choice.
Ice Flower Freeze (Luigi)
Contrary to the more combative Mario, Luigi is more of a tactician. Thanks to Ice Flower Freeze, Luigi will use the enemy's own power as their disadvantage. When activated, Luigi will imbue his ball with the power of ice before shooting it. Once it lands, the ball will freeze its immediate golfing area.
This transforms the environment into difficult terrain, making it harder for other balls to approach the area. In turn, Luigi may give himself a few turns of leeway to plan his next move.
Bob-ombs Away (King Bob-omb)
Talk about a literal minesweeper! With Bob-ombs Away, King Bob-omb blasts himself along with the ball to his destination. As the ball lands, a couple of bombs also drop in the landing zone. This transforms the nearby area into difficult terrain.
Essentially, any enemy ball that hits a bomb in the vicinity will trigger it. Sadly, the resulting impact will propel enemy balls further from their target. This makes Bob-ombs Away quite the gamechanger in late-game disadvantages.
Lightning Blast (Wario)
Wario easily tops the most powerful (and useful!) special shot in the game. Courtesy of a fresh electrocution, Wario imbues his golf ball with the power of lightning - activating Lightning Blast. This charged ball soars high in the air before crashing down like a lightning bolt.
Aside from that, the area around the ball will affect everyone's power meter. Anyone who tries to swing too strongly will open themselves for a nice lightning strike. This forces everyone to "tone down" their swinging - quite disadvantageous for Speed Golf.