Nintendo
Register
Advertisement

A Venus Fire Trap is an enemy in the Mario series. It first appeared in Super Mario Bros. 3 on the NES. It is a sub-species of Piranha Plant that lives in pipes and will spew out fire balls from its mouth. It later appeared in New Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo DS and later New Super Mario Bros. Wii for the Wii.

Appearances[]

Super Mario Bros. 3/Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3[]

In their first appearance in Super Mario Bros. 3, Venus Fire Traps appear as common enemies in most worlds. Their attack pattern basically consists of hiding in Warp Pipes, much like regular Piranha Plants, and, when Mario approaches, rising from the pipe and spitting an unstoppable fireball in his direction. Like regular Piranha Plants, they can only be defeated with power-ups, and depending on how tall they are, appear in red or green. In some levels, Venus Fire Traps can spit two times in a row, and some inhabit pits of quicksand instead of pipes. Aside from the enemies, the king of Pipe Land was also transformed into an orange-headed Venus Fire Trap with a small pipe by Ludwig von Koopa in the original NES version of the game.

Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 has a sideways variant of the Venus Fire Trap with a red head and one layer of red leaves. They are seen in the World-e level Piped Full of Plants.

Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins[]

In Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, Venus Fire Traps once again appear as common enemies and have the same attack pattern as in Super Mario Bros. 3. Unique to this game, they appear to have spikes on their heads, but only in the in-game sprites; this may be to justify Mario's inability to jump on them despite them not biting upwards. Venus Fire Trap statues appear in Mario's Castle; like their living counterparts, they spit fireballs, although they also come in comparatively big and small sizes, and are limited to shooting their much larger fireballs straight forwards.

Super Mario 64/Super Mario 64 DS[]

Venus Fire Traps appear in Super Mario 64 and its remake, in these games, they are commonly found in Tiny-Huge Island and attack by spitting fireballs at you. A large version called the Super Venus Fire Trap also makes it's debut in this game.

New Super Mario Bros.[]

In New Super Mario Bros., Venus Fire Traps appear as uncommon enemies, and the only grounded Venus Fire Trap appears at World 2-6 blocking a Star Coin and on a conveyor belt in World 5-Castle, but they reappear in pipes at World 3-B, World 5-Castle, and World 6-3. They attack and behave in the same way as in Super Mario Bros. 3. They can be defeated with a Fire Flower, Starman, shell dash, or by Mega Mario or Luigi. Files for an unused Super Venus Fire Trap also exist in the game's files but were never used in any levels of the game's final build.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii[]

In New Super Mario Bros. Wii, they behave the same as in New Super Mario Bros. and can be defeated in the same way as last time; however, they can now be frozen via Penguin Suit or Ice Flower. They first appear in World 1-3. Venus Fire Traps can also be helpful to the player because they can be found in dark caves where there are no Light Blocks. The fire these enemies spit can light up a small amount of the room, often revealing secret pipes and pits. Yoshi can swallow the fireball or the Venus Fire Trap itself to be able to spit a larger fireball out, which can be used to defeat enemies, although this fireball can still hurt other players. Larger versions also reappear in this game; they are the same size as Super Piranha Plants and take three fireballs to destroy. The fireballs they spit are also larger. Just as before, if a Venus Fire Trap is in a pipe, it spits a fireball and briefly retreats into the pipe; if it has no pipe, it spits a fireball then chomps in the air for a few seconds before doing it again. In World 9-7, one Venus Fire Trap will spit three fireballs in a row (instead of one) before retreating into its pipe. The same attacks as before can be used to defeat a Venus Fire Trap.

New Super Mario Bros. 2[]

Venus Fire Traps also appear in New Super Mario Bros. 2. Super Venus Fire Traps also appear in the game. In World 6-2, using a Gold Ring inside a bonus room turns the Venus Fire Trap into a golden Venus Fire Trap; it acts the same as a normal one, but when it is defeated Coins emerge from the Warp Pipe it was once in, like a normal Piranha Plant.

New Super Mario Bros. U[]

Venus Fire Traps also reappear in New Super Mario Bros. U along with a new icy counterpart, the Venus Ice Trap. They mostly retain their behavior and appearance from their previous New Super Mario Bros. series appearances, except that they always face up while not spitting fireballs. They can be defeated in the same ways as before.

Their fireballs can also melt Ice Blocks just as before.


Super Mario Maker/Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS/Super Mario Maker 2[]

Venus Fire Traps reappear in Super Mario Maker and Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS, appearing when the player shakes a Piranha Plant or a Jumping Piranha Plant, depending on which style. Despite never appearing in Super Mario Bros., they are given a new sprite based on the standard Piranha Plant's sprite in that style.

Venus Fire Traps reappear in Super Mario Maker 2 behaving the same as before. In the Super Mario 3D World style, they are replaced with Fire Piranha Plants, which are able to be defeated by being jumped on.

Super Mario Odyssey[]

Venus Fire Traps appear in Super Mario Odyssey, where they can be found in the Lost Kingdom, the Luncheon Kingdom, and the Metro Kingdom. This is the first game, they appear without any standard Piranha Plants, and when they are about to spit a fireball, their heads glow orange. Cappy will become trapped in a Venus Fire Trap's mouth if Mario throws him at one, stopping it from spitting fireballs. If a rock is thrown at a Venus Fire Trap, it will similarly hold it in its mouth, allowing Mario to capture the enemy and use it to shoot fireballs. Throwing Cappy at a fireball that a Venus Fire Trap spits causes it to be knocked in a different direction.


DiC Cartoons[]

Venus Fire Traps make several appearances in The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3. Piranha Plants with fireball exhaling abilities predating Venus Fire Traps also appear in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, though though they are referred to as a Magic Piranha Plant. In the Super Mario World television series episode Fire Sale, Kootie Pie kidnaps Mama Fireplant, a Venus Fire Trap from Dome City, and takes her to her ice castle to warm it up.

Nintendo Comics System[]

In the Nintendo Comics System story The Fish That Should've Gotten Away, a giant green Venus Fire Trap appears among the large group of monsters attacking and chasing Mario.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong series[]

Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis[]

Venus Fire Traps, are common enemies in Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis. They are introduced in Mushroom Mayhem and continue to show up frequently throughout the game, most notably in the boss level of Pipe Works. They only have one fireball to shoot, which bounces off an opposing surface and returns into their mouth. Often, two Piranha Plants face each other, passing the ball from one to another. Piranha Plants keep their mouths open until they get their fireball back. In the Pipe Works boss fight, they come out of the pipes on the ceiling and shoot fireballs at the player without waiting for them to come back, retreating in their pipe immediately after launching a fireball. Piranha Plants are completely invincible in this game.

Piranha Plants appear to have stout heads comprising most of their body, with leaves on their bottom. Their heads are entirely red, without white spots.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again![]

Venus Fire Traps, reappear in Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again!. They first appear on the second floor, Sandstone Stroll, and are specific to this floor's construction kit in the Construction Zone. Generally, they have a slimmer appearance than in the previous installment of the series. However, the Venus Fire Traps that appear in Floor 3 Donkey Kong, the boss level of Magnet Mania (which is almost identical to the boss level of Pipe Works from the predecessor) retain their stout appearance.

Venus Fire Traps behave completely the same as in Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis. They are also invulnerable to any attacks.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem![]

Venus Fire Traps, appear again alongside normal Piranha Plants in Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem! They are first encountered in Warped Mansion. They retain their slim appearance from the previous game, but display white spots on their heads like in their classic appearance. Starting with this game, it is now possible to defeat a Venus Fire Trap by attacking it with Hammers, a slope slide or by shooting from a cannon.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars[]

Venus Fire Traps appear in Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars, behaving as in previous titles. They are first found in Crumbling Cavern and do not display any significant difference from their appearance in Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem!

WarioWare series[]

In WarioWare: Twisted!, Venus Fire Traps with their Super Mario Bros. 3 sprites appear in the microgame Super Mario Bros. 3-Lift, as one of the enemies who try to attack the player. They reprise this role in WarioWare Gold. They also may appear in 9-Volt's Super Mario Maker microgame if the player is instructed to shake a Piranha Plant.

Mario Kart series[]

Mario Kart DS[]

In the track Mario Circuit there are two Venus Fire Traps in Warp Pipes that spit fireballs at the racers. The fireballs scorch any racers that make contact with them so avoid these fireballs at all costs. Due to the Venus Fire Traps sitting atop the pipes, they cannot be defeated or stunned.

Mario Kart Arcade GP DX/Mario Kart Arcade GP VR[]

A few Venus Fire Traps appear at the starting line on one of the courses, spitting fireballs into the air. However, they do not affect gameplay.

Paper Mario series[]

Paper Mario[]

While Venus Fire Traps do not appear as normal enemies in the original Paper Mario, a big unique one called Lava Piranha appears as the boss of Mt. Lavalava. It shares the same name as a regular Venus Fire Trap in the Japanese version, with the English version also implying its connection with them with Goombario and Koopa Koot referring to Lava Piranha in a context that indicated there was more than one.

Paper Mario: Sticker Star[]

Venus Fire Traps as a species make their Paper Mario series debut in Paper Mario: Sticker Star (under the name Fire Piranha in the North American version). They appear in Rugged Road and Rumble Volcano. They look like regular Piranha Plants, but will eventually start spitting fireballs at Mario as he gets near them. If any of these fireballs touch Mario, he loses 5 HP. In battle, Venus Fire Traps can either spew a fiery gas towards Mario or spit out a fireball at him.

Paper Mario: Color Splash[]

Venus Fire Traps return in Paper Mario: Color Splash. They can be found in Redpepper Crater and shoot fireballs at Mario even outside battle, which deals 8 HP of damage.

Another one is found in Plum Park inside a bucket, and has to be First Strike-attacked with a hammer in order to not get damaged. The Venus Fire Traps in Plum Park does not shoot fireballs outside of battle.

Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam[]

Venus Fire Traps (under the name Fire Piranha Plant in this game) also appear in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, where they are found in the lighter side of Gloomy Woods. Their paper variants later appear during the second visit to Twinsy Tropics. Venus Fire Traps can attack by spitting fireballs at the bros. They can either spit two small fireballs, which target Mario and Luigi, or a large fireball, which targets Paper Mario. The fireballs occasionally cause the burn status ailment. Fire Piranha Plants can also attack by stretching their head backwards, causing it to be pulled forwards quickly into one of the bros., which can be countered with a hammer.

Trivia[]

See also[]

Advertisement