Cage
| Cage | |
|---|---|
 Screenshot from Super Mario Galaxy | |
| First appearance | Super Mario Galaxy (2007) |
| Latest appearance | Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury (2021) |
Cages[1][2][3][4] are containers in the 3D Super Mario games. They usually resemble cloche domes. Though superficially similar to breakable glass objects, cages cannot be physically broken with any attack from the player character. In most appearances, they only open when a nearby task is completed, most often the acquisition of a key. Though their contents vary within the games they appear in, they chiefly contain the tokens of their respective titles (i.e. Power Stars, Power Moons, and Cat Shines), similar to the Star Spheres in Super Mario 64 DS.
History
Super Mario Galaxy / Super Mario Galaxy 2
Cages (also called force fields[5] or cases)[1] first appear in Super Mario Galaxy. In many galaxies, they function as barrier between areas by trapping pipes or Lumas that transform into Launch Stars after being freed. Opening a cage varies. In many galaxies, Mario (or Luigi) must find a key on the same planet as the cage. Collecting one automatically causes the cage to dissolve. In some contexts, cages are encircled by electric rails and Mario must disengage the rails to make the cage disappear. This often requires knocking a Spiky Topman into it, or striking a nearby switch. In some instances, cages guard Power Stars and Grand Stars.
In Super Mario Galaxy 2, cages more consistently hold Power Stars and Grand Stars, though one obstructs a diggable water spout from Mario in Cosmic Cove Galaxy. A similar object called the glass case appears in both games, but these can be directly broken and usually only hold collectible items.
Super Mario Odyssey
Within Super Mario Odyssey, four Moon Cages[4] prominently appear in the Seaside Kingdom during "The Glass Is Half Empty!", during which collecting a nearby Power Moon causes a cage to fall away and grant Mario access to the ground-pound switch it covered. In the Luncheon Kingdom, a Moon Cage hold a Power Moon directly and covers a Moon Pedestal,[6] a plate that Power Moons often appear above.
Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury
Cages guard Cat Shines in the Bowser's Fury campaign of Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury. They are impervious to all attacks, including those from Fury Bowser, and can only be destroyed by opening with a collected key. If Mario or Bowser Jr. attacks a cage, it will only shake slightly. In this game, they resemble birdcage-like cat baskets made of iron.
Cages appear near the entrances of Scamper Shores, Pounce Bounce Isle, Slipskate Slope, Pipe Path Tower, and Roiling Roller Isle, when the "Key to the Cat Shine" mission is available on each island. To obtain the Cat Shine inside, Mario must find the key in the surrounding area and bring it in front of the cage, either by walking into it or throwing the key at it. When the key makes contact with the keyhole, a short cutscene plays where the key opens the cage. Mario can then obtain the Cat Shine and complete the mission. After the "Key to the Cat Shine" mission has been completed on an island, if Mario leaves and returns, the cage will no longer be present.
If hacks are used to place a Cat Shine outside its closed cage, it still cannot be collected until after the cage has been properly opened. Additionally, if hacks are used to place Mario inside a cage, which is normally impossible, he is able to walk out of it. This is due to collision properties being applied only to the outside of the object and not the inside.[7]
Gallery
Artwork from Super Mario Galaxy
Artwork from Super Mario Galaxy 2
Artwork from Super Mario Galaxy 2
Screenshot from Super Mario Galaxy 2
Artwork of a Moon Pedestal from Super Mario Odyssey
Model from Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury
Screenshot from Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury
See also
Names in other languages
It has been requested that this article be rewritten and expanded to include more information. Reason: Name from the Japanese release of The Art of Super Mario Odyssey ("Seaside Kingdom" section, p. ~224). Names from Japanese material associated with Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2 would be ideal - the Shogakukan encyclopedia only informally describes this object as a 「仕掛け」(gadget, mechanism) under the description for keys (pp. 136, 169.).
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ネコカゴ[8] Neko Kago |
Cat Cage (Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury) |
| Italian | Gabbia gatto |
Cat cage (Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury) |
References
- ^ a b Black, Fletcher. Super Mario Galaxy: PRIMA Official Game Guide. Collector's Edition, Roseville, Prima Games, 2007, p. 110.
- ^ Browne, Catherine. Super Mario Galaxy 2: PRIMA Official Game Guide. Roseville, Prima Games, 2010, pp. 36, 42, 96.
- ^ Walsh, Doug and Joe Epstein. Super Mario Odyssey: Prima Collector's Edition Guide. Roseville, Prima Games, 2017, p. 200.
- ^ a b Kanmuri, Yukari Tasai, Rachel Roberts, and Jenny Blenk, editors. "Seaside Kingdom." The Art of Super Mario Odyssey [digital]. Translated by TransPerfect, First English Edition, Milwaukie, Dark Horse Books, 2019, p. 224.
- ^ Fletcher, pp. 268, 274.
- ^ Kanmuri, Tasai, Roberts, and Blenk, pp. 82, 86.
- ^ ZXMany. "I put Mario in jail in Bowser's Fury! [Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury modding]." YouTube, 9 Mar. 2021. Accessed 15 May, 2021.
- ^ Famitsu Book Editorial Department. Super Mario 3D World + Fury World Perfect Guide [Japanese source]. Tokyo, Kadokawa, 2021, p. 438.
