Name: Splounder
Debut: Super Mario 3D World
This is Splounder! Splounder is splendid! You know that we here at “Silly Jumpman Baddies” always love a funny fish, and what a funny fish Splounder is! Splounders only appear on Plessie levels, half-above the water, and they either just sit in place or move from side to side, but they never do much more than that!
Splounders are frankly far from the meanest enemies on the block, since they can’t even hurt you, but they can bounce you off of track! In fact, Splounder is just one very bouncy fish! Hop on their heads, and they’ll bark like a seal as you get thrown into the air! That being said, like most enemies, this will also kill them.
Or will it? You see, they get stunned, and you get 200 points, but I don’t know if it’s possible for Splounders to stay on-screen long enough for any “death” to be confirmed! Maybe they just submerge back underwater out of fear. And they give you the points because they are nice! Did we just accidentally stumble upon a new Weird Mario Ally? Or are we just using the imagination a little too much again? I’ll let you decide! Either way, their bounciness often helps you explore new paths, so they are helpful no matter what!
As a final note, the name “Splounder” is kind of unfitting because actual flounders are pretty much flat and have asymmetrical faces, but I am fine with it because “Splounder” is really, really fun to say and a completely fitting name for the enemy. Maybe when you squash them flat they look like flounders?
