The Metal Box is an item from the Mario series that appears in Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. The Metal Box encases the character's bodies with metal for a short period of time.
Item description
The Metal Box made its debut in Super Mario 64 for the Nintendo 64. The Metal Box is a cubed shaped green-colored box that has an exclamation point in the center of the box. Mario could unlock the Metal Box by activating the secret switch that was located in the Hazy Maze Cave course. When the box was broken, a metal Mario-styled hat dropped out of the box. When Mario put the hat on, his whole body is encased in metal for a short period of time. Mario is be able to walk under water and he is impervious to enemies' attacks while encased in the metal. His movement, however, is slowed.
In the Super Smash Bros. series
The Metal Box encases the character's body in metal. It has the following effects:
- It lasts about 12 seconds, however the time limit decreases as the user takes damage, especially from fire attacks like Bowser's flame breath.
- User becomes heavier (about 3 times more), thus received knockback will be reduced.
- Slightly decreases jumping height.
- Increases falling speed, making recoveries harder (in Melee it's much harder to recover than in Brawl).
- Reduces speed.
- Attacks performed by a metal character deal slightly more knockback, although the damage dealt remains unchanged.
- Removes any character's voices (although, as sound effects are still retained, Mr. Game & Watch is unaffected by this).
The effect of the Metal Box is not quite as drastic as the various Metal fights in Classic Mode, which last the whole battle and does not wear off.
Super Smash Bros.
While the Metal Box does not appear in SSB, Metal Mario appears as a foe the player must battle in the 1-Player Game. Metal Mario here can take far over 300% damage before being sent flying.
Super Smash Bros. Melee
The Metal Box in Melee.
The Metal Box makes its debut in Melee. In this game, when a character breaks the Metal Box with a physical attack (or a direct attack such as a sword), their whole body will be encased with metal. The metal condition will last around twelve seconds and will then fade away. During this period they will be approximately 3 times heavier than normal. If a projectile destroys the Metal Box, then no one will receive the metal condition. Interestingly, Ness' dash attack destroys the box, but does not give him the metal status. His yo-yos do, however. The character can fight Metal Mario and/or Metal Luigi in Adventure Mode. In addition, they also fight a random metal character in Classic Mode. The Metal Box also appears as a collectible trophy.
Depending on the weight of a character, when one walks, they will make a distinctive sound.
Sounds:
- Heavy: "CLUTCH!"
- Medium: "CHANK!"
- Light: "TING!"
Heavy characters like Ganondorf, Samus, and Link and light characters like the Ice Climbers and Zelda all make middleweight stepping sounds, despite being nowhere near medium weight.
The Metal Box Trophy
Trophy Description (Melee)
First spotted in Super Mario 64, the Metal Box holds the power to turn your character briefly into heavy metal. Your Mass is exponentially greater while metallic, making it difficult for others to throw you. Be careful, though: not only will you move a bit slower, but you'll fall much more quickly than you ordinarily would.
Super Mario 64
9/96
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
The Metal Box appears again in Brawl with its effect unaltered, although it will not react to projectiles. In addition, a "Metal" option exists in Special Brawl, which gives every player a permanent Metal Box. It also has an effect on the new ability to swim; while characters will not sink as Metal Mario did in Super Mario 64, they will submerge deeper when falling into the water, which is used to reach a secret area in the Glacial Peak level of the Subspace Emissary mode (3 metal boxes are provided nearby}. In Classic mode the player must also fight a random metal character. Additionally, the Metal Box also appears as a collectible trophy. The walking sound effect in brawl is not the same as in Melee, everyone has the same sound when walking.
Trophy description (Brawl)
A green box that transforms whoever attacks it into metal. In metal form, you're a lot heavier than normal, so middling and even strong attacks don't move you too much, and standard attacks won't even make you flinch. The time you spend in metal form decreases with the damage you take. In Super Mario 64, the weight of the metal form allowed you to walk underwater.
- Super Mario 64 (1996)
Trivia
- When characters with multiple double jumps (Kirby, Jigglypuff, Meta Knight, Pit, Dedede, Charizard) use a Metal Box, their midair jumps become utterly useless, and do little more than slow their descents. The AI often seems to be unaware of this, though, and computer-controlled Pits in particular are very vulnerable to self-destructing.
- Interestingly, being Metal does not affect gliding whatsoever.
- Though the box itself turns a fighter into metal in the Smash universe, the Metal Box was not what turned Mario into metal in its debut; it was actually the metal cap it housed.
- Characters with fur or hair like Ike and DK will take on strange appearances once turned metal; their hair/fur will look like grated sheets of metal.
- When Zero Suit Samus grabs a Metal Box, some players notice that she looks "naked" because her Zero suit is so skin-tight it would look as if she was "naked" in her metal form. Also, if you look under Peach's dress she will look 'naked' because you cannot see the underwear.
- Mr. Game & Watch is the only character that makes sounds in metal form (perhaps because he actually has no voice like Olimar, and the beeps he makes are from his attacks, which aren't silenced in metal form). He also becomes 3D.
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