PixlBit

With Super Mario Bros. Wonder being recently released, everyone is talking about the new power-up that turns Mario into an elephant!  I didn’t realize Mario was such a University of Alabama fan!  He DOES wear red all the time, though!  Roll Tide, Mario, Roll Tide!  Anyway, Elephant Mario isn’t the ONLY elephant in video games, so I thought I’d talk about my other top video game elephants.  So let’s stomp our feet and trumpet our nose! These aren’t in any particular order or anything, though. 

But first I would like to talk a little bit about Super Mario Bros. Wonder, because I want to!  Everyone has been raving about it, and I have to say that after playing it myself, it’s probably the best 2D Mario game since Super Mario World and Yoshi’s Island.  I don’t think it’s BETTER than those games, but it’s sure good.  The New Super Mario Bros series was good, too, but they lacked imagination.  When I played New Super Mario Bros. on the DS, I thought to myself, “This is neat that they are returning to 2D, but it’s not doing anything better than Super Mario World did.”  And I don’t want to discredit the Mario Maker games either, those are just their own thing, I think. 

I think what helps Wonder out is how much new stuff there is.  There are tons of new enemies, probably the most new ones I’ve seen since Super Mario World.  And the new elements like badges that give you special skills when you wear them, and the Wonder Flower mechanic really makes this one feel “new.”  A lot of people have been raving about all the new animations, and they really are something.  Just as an example, before you stomp a Goomba, now they look up at you when you jump above them, and right before you land on them, their eyes widen and their mouth opens in terror as they face imminent death from you stomping them!  And that’s just one example.  Anyway, if I had to describe Super Mario Bros. Wonder in just two words, it would be “lively,” and “imaginative.”  Only main problem is it doesn’t last long enough.  I beat it in less than a week!  OK enough of that, now let’s talk about some other video game elephants.

Ellie from Donkey Kong Country 3

The DKC games had animal friends you could ride on, and most were just a one trick pony with one purpose.  Don’t get me wrong, they were still cool.  But for example, the rhino could just ram things in front, the ostrich could go fast, the swordfish could swim well, etc.  But Ellie the elephant from the third game was more versatile and could suck in barrels from a long distance and hold them with her trunk, and suck in water from lakes, rivers, and even waterfalls, and then spray it out, just like Elephant Mario does.  There’s even one level where you play as her in a dark abandoned mill, and there’s mice everywhere.  If she sees them in the light, she runs away.  So you have to figure out how to make her not see the mice.  It’s a bit jarring when you lose control of her, but it’s still a clever level.  DKC3 is a special game to me because it’s the first ‘big’ game I reviewed at The Dallas Morning News back in the day.

Phan Phan from Kirby

This is a midboss that’s an elephant with just two legs that’ll throw you around with its trunk.  When you inhale it, you’ll get the “Throw” ability.  

Phanpy from Pokémon

Phanpy is a cute little elephant Pokémon from Gold and Silver I believe.  Phanphy’s evolved form looks like a cross between an elephant and a tire!  There may be other elephant Pokémon by now, but since there’s so many of them now I can’t keep up!

Shantae’s Elephant form

Half-Genie Shantae can dance to turn into different animals in her games that give her special abilities.  Turning into an elephant does what you think it would do.  Makes her heavy and can dash through certain walls.  It’s a good thing she doesn’t do lap dances (sorry that was bad).

Flame Mammoth from Mega Man X

This robot boss hurls oil from his trunk and then shoots fire.  If the fire hits the oil, it’ll flare up.  And if you use Boomer Kuwanger’s blade boomerang weapon on him, it’ll cut off his trunk!  Does anyone else think Flame Mammoth looks like that robot elephant from The Great Space Coaster?  Anyone remember that show?  No?

Taj from Diddy Kong Racing

A magical genie elephant that can change your kart into a raft or plane when you talk to him.  Diddy Kong Racing was a pretty neat game and rivaled Mario Kart in some areas.

Yono and the Celestial Elephants

This is an indie game on the Switch.  You play as a cute little elephant as you travel through 2D isometric worlds doing elephant stuff and solving Zelda style puzzles.  It looks adorable and I really wanted to review it, but I wasn’t able to.  But as I was writing this, I checked on the Nintendo eShop and the game was on sale for 80 percent off at only 4 bucks so I picked it up.  I hope I get to play it soon!

Tembo the Badass Elephant

I heard about this game a while back from a YouTube channel I watch.  You play as a tough but cartoony elephant in military garb and bash through stuff in this 2D platformer.  It’s also made by GameFreak, who are known for other titles like Drill Dozer and a little game series you might’ve heard of called Pokémon!  It’s not available on Switch, though.  I checked the PS Store and it’s 15 bucks, so I may wait a bit to download that one.

Tia from Animal Crossing

There are lots of elephant neighbors you can have in Animal Crossing.  Some are gray, some are pink, but some are bit more imaginative.  Like one that looks like a circus elephant and one that looks like a woolly mammoth.  But my favorite is one whose head is shaped like a teapot, and her name is Tia.  Get it? 

Vah Ruto Elephant Guardian from Breath of the Wild

In lieu of dungeons in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, they have these giant animal robots that you climb inside.  One of them is an elephant and can spray gallons of water from its trunk.  In the Hyrule Warriors game you can even control it!  I wonder where all those giant animal robots went off to in Tears of the Kingdom?  Maybe the Power Rangers borrowed them?  Oh wouldn’t it have been cool if you could’ve combined all the animal robots for one final battle with Ganon?

Killer Elephant Gang from Steambot Chronicles

This last one really isn’t an elephant, but a cool elephant related instance.  Steambot Chronicles was a PS2 underrated gem.  It was like a Grand Theft Auto styled game, except it was set in an industrial revolution style setting.  And instead of driving around Model T cars, everyone used steam powered bipedal mechs!  There was so much you could do in that game.  You could battle mechs or use them as delivery vehicles.  You could furnish your own apartment and even play a musical instrument on a street corner for quick cash.  In Japan the game was called Bumpy Trot, which I think is hilarious.  There was going to be a PS3 sequel, but unfortunately the company who made that game, Irem, went out of business.

Anyway, in the game there is an evil gang called the Killer Elephants, and they have a giant mech that looks like a robot elephant.  When you walk around their hideout, you can view a bookshelf and read a children’s book in it about an elephant.  The elephant in the book is named Raroo.  Longtime 1up.com veterans may remember a blogger named Mister Raroo.  Well it turns out that the English translator for Steambot Chronicles also blogged on 1up.com, so I don’t think that was a coincidence.  Definitely an obscure “Did You Know Gaming” kind of thing.

Anyway, those are all the cool video game elephants I can think of.  Let me know if you can think of more in the comments section, and tell me your favorite elephants, too!  Later!  --Cary