Over the course of three decades, gamers have fallen in love with the mustachioed plumber, Mario, and his exploits throughout the Mushroom Kingdom. Since his inception, Mario has been seen on almost every form of merchandise known to man, and will even be getting a brand new theme park sometime this year. That being said, as he continues to grow in fame, it's hard not to look back at the things that made Mario so great in the first place.
From basic platforming to participating in the Olympics, there is nothing Mario hasn't done. For every random game appearance, he has grown as a character -- both literally and figuratively. The most prevalent way that the character has changed has been through the inclusion of power-ups. These give Mario either a temporary boost or a whole new ability, like flight or walking on walls. While each offers a competitive edge, nothing has ever truly topped the original power-up: the fire flower.
With Bowser's Fury on its way to Super Mario 3D World and even more new and exciting power-ups joining the fun, it's important to take a look at the one that started it all. It makes sense to take it back to the beginning and note that the first thing ever to defeat Bowser was fire. The fire flower doesn't have the same stopping power as lava. However, it can help to command a battle's pace and deliver the final blow to the enemy.
In a pinch, the fire flower also offers the chance to deliver some crowd control. Throwing the flame in whatever direction will defeat enemies or at least stagger them long enough to make a move. As the franchise has continued, the fire flower continued to grow. In later games, Yoshi even had the ability to swallow and shoot a fireball thrown at him. The versatility of the fire flower is about as vast as its in-game lore.
Should a player find that there is no other choice than to take a hit, so long as the fire flower is equipped, it will also act as a one-up. Effectively, the fire flower lets Mario have double the power-up, but only takes half of the punishment. Acting as an offensive health boost, the fire flower can teach players how to be strategic with the power-ups provided to get the most out of them.
Mario and Bowser are no strangers to revolutionizing a medium. With Bowser's Fury on the way, there is no reason to believe that couldn't happen again. That is why now is as good a time as ever to take a look back at best power-up in the Mario series. After all these years and so many games, it's hard to picture Mario without the iconic fire flower -- and it's exciting to contemplate how it may continue to evolve in the future.
Developed and published by Nintendo, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury will be released on Feb. 12 for the Nintendo Switch.