Chain Chomps, known in Japan as (Japanese

onomatopoeia Onomatopoeia is the process of creating a word that phonetically imitates, resembles, or suggests the sound that it describes. Such a word itself is also called an onomatopoeia. Common onomatopoeias include animal noises such as ''oink'', '' ...

for a barking sound), are metal, barking

ball-and-chain A ball and chain is a physical restraint device historically applied to prisoners, primarily in the British Empire and its former colonies, from the 17th century until as late as the mid-20th century. A type of shackle A shackle (or shac ...

-like video-game creatures that are restrained by chains. When not held back by chains, they are sometimes referred to as just Chomps. In their game appearances, Chain Chomps constantly strain against the chain holding them, attempting to break free and bite anything that passes close by.

Development

Chain Chomps were inspired by a childhood experience of ''Super Mario'' creator

Shigeru Miyamoto is a Japanese video game designer, producer and game director at Nintendo, where he serves as one of its representative directors. Widely regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential designers in the history of video games, he i ...

, where a dog tried to attack him. The dog lunged at him, but was jerked back by its leash just as the dog snapped at Miyamoto inches in front of his face. In a 2017 interview, it was revealed that Chain Chomps were originally going to be in ''

Super Mario World ''Super Mario World,'' known in Japan as is a platform game, platform video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). It was released in Japan in 1990, North America in 1991 and Europe and A ...

'', as evidenced by a pre-release

sprite sheet In computer graphics, a texture atlas (also called a spritesheet or an image sprite in 2d game development) is an image containing multiple smaller images, usually packed together to reduce overall dimensions. An atlas can consist of uniformly-siz ...

Appearances

''Super Mario'' series

Chain Chomps made their debut in ''

Super Mario Bros. 3 ''Super Mario Bros. 3'' is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). It was released for home consoles in Japan on October 23, 1988, in North America on February 12, 1990 and in Europe on ...

''. Chain Chomps and its different variations appear in all of the ''Mario RPG'' games. In games such as ''

Super Mario 64 is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. It was released in Japan and North America in 1996 and PAL regions in 1997. It is the first ''Super Mario'' game to feature 3D gameplay, combining traditional ''S ...

'', '' Super Mario Sunshine'', ''

New Super Mario Bros. is a platform video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. It was first released in May 2006 in North America and Japan, and in PAL regions on June 2006. It is the first installment in the ''New Super Mario Bros.'' su ...

'', ''

Super Paper Mario is a 2007 action role-playing game (RPG) developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Wii. It is the third installment in the ''Paper Mario'' series and the first Mario (franchise), Mario game to be released on the Wii. T ...

'', and ''

New Super Mario Bros. Wii is a platform game, platform video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii. A follow-up to ''New Super Mario Bros.'', it was first released in Australia, North America, and Europe in November 2009, followed by Japan a month later. ...

'', Chain Chomps can be set free from their chains by ground pounding on their post. Otherwise, they are often indestructible. Chain Chomps also appeared in '' Mario Kart: Double Dash'' as a special item for

Baby Mario is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creat ...

and Baby Luigi and an obstacle on circuit courses, and reappeared as an obstacle in ''

Mario Kart DS ''Mario Kart DS'' is a 2005 kart racing video game developed by Nintendo EAD Group No. 1 and published by Nintendo. It was released for the Nintendo DS handheld game console in November 2005 in North America, Europe, and Australia, and on Dec ...

'' and ''

Mario Kart Wii is a kart racing game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii. It is the sixth installment in the ''Mario Kart'' series, and was released in April 2008. Like its previous installments, ''Mario Kart Wii'' incorporates playable characters ...

''. Also in ''Mario Kart Wii'', a Chain Chomp has its own battle arena known as Chain Chomp Wheel. Chain Chomps are also seen on Rainbow Road in '' Mario Kart 64'', repeatedly biting their way over the course trying to hit the player. Chain Chomps also appear without chains, such as in '' Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island'', where they are seen at first from afar, then lunge high into the air and drop down suddenly, creating a huge crater in the ground. There are also gigantic species called in which the Chomps chase the player, by "eating" the platform

Yoshi Yoshi is a fictional dinosaur who appears in video games published by Nintendo. Yoshi debuted in ''Super Mario World'' (1990) on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System as Mario and Luigi's sidekick. Yoshi is the title character of the List of Y ...

is running on until it hits a solid surface. Beginning in ''Super Mario Bros. 3'', some games feature a version of the Chain Chomp appears that has fireballs for a chain and can fly known as Fire Chomps or In ''

Super Mario Galaxy is a 2007 platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii. It is the third 3D game in the ''Super Mario'' series. As Mario, the player embarks on a quest to rescue Princess Peach, save the universe from Bowser, and collect ...

'', Chomps are nearly invincible monsters that roll along a predetermined path. In ''

Super Mario Galaxy 2 is a 2010 platform video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii. It was first announced at E3 2009 and is the sequel to 2007's ''Super Mario Galaxy''. It was released worldwide in 2010. Much like the first game, the story fol ...

'', pursue Mario. Chain Chomps appeared again in ''

Super Mario Odyssey is a 2017 platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. An entry in the ''Super Mario'' series, it follows Mario and his new ally Cappy—a sentient hat that allows Mario to control other characters and objects— ...

'' as characters that could be "captured" and manipulated, ''

Mario Tennis Aces ''Mario Tennis Aces'' is a 2018 tennis game developed by Camelot Software Planning and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. The game is part of the ''Mario Tennis'' series and sold over four million copies by the end of 2021, making i ...

'', where Chain Chomp is one of the playable characters and their special shot has them spin rapidly and fire a powerful shot. and ''

Super Mario Party is a party video game developed by NDcube and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. The eleventh main entry in the ''Mario Party'' series, the game was described as a "complete refresh" of the franchise, bringing back and revitalizing ...

'' on the minigames. Chain Chomps also appeared in '' Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle'' DLC. Chain Chomps also appeared in '' New Super Mario Bros. U'' crossover '' Puzzle & Dragons Z''.

Other

Outside the ''Mario'' games, Chain Chomps appear in ''

The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 ''The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3'' is an animated television series. It premiered on September 8, 1990, on NBC. It is the second animated series to be based on Nintendo's ''Mario'' video game series and is loosely based on the video game ' ...

'' animated series. They also appear in various installments of ''

The Legend of Zelda ''The Legend of Zelda'' is an action-adventure game franchise created by the Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is primarily developed and published by Nintendo, although some portable installments and re-releas ...

'' series of games (the first of these being in '' The Legend of Zelda: A link to the past''), as well as ''

Yoshi's Woolly World ''Yoshi's Woolly World'' is a side-scrolling platform game developed by Good-Feel and published by Nintendo for the Wii U. The game is the seventh main entry in the ''Yoshi'' series of games, the first home console title in the series since 1997' ...

'', and in ''

Super Smash Bros. for 3DS and Wii U and (colloquially and collectively referred to as ''Super Smash Bros. 4'' or ''Smash 4'') is a group of two 2014 List of crossovers in video games, crossover fighting game, fighting video games developed by Bandai Namco Studios and Sora Ltd. ...

'' and '' Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'' as an assist trophy.

Reception

According to ''Polygon'', Chain Chomp was ranked as one of the best characters to be played in ''

''. GameDaily listed Chain Chomp as number 14 on their top 25 most ferocious enemies, stating that "While most Chain Chomps are leashed, some do manage to break their bonds and wreck havoc". It was also described by IGN's Audrey Drake as one of the best Mario enemies, stating that "where you had to figure out how to dodge them in a 3D space fast before all of your health went bye-bye". A variety of Mario-related merchandise depicting Chain Chomps have been produced over the years by Nintendo; this merchandise includes lamps, plush toys, T-shirt, Beanies and cat beds. A parody sculpture of the music video of "

Wrecking Ball A wrecking ball is a heavy steel ball, usually hung from a crane, that is used for demolishing large buildings. It was most commonly in use during the 1950s and 1960s. Several wrecking companies claim to have invented the wrecking ball. An e ...

" by

Miley Cyrus Miley Ray Cyrus ( ; born Destiny Hope Cyrus on November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her distinctive raspy voice, her music spans across varied styles and genres, including pop, country, rock, hip hop ...

including Chain Chomp and

Princess Peach is a fictional character in Nintendo's Mario (franchise), ''Mario'' franchise, created by Shigeru Miyamoto and introduced in the 1985 original ''Super Mario Bros.'' installment. She is the Queen regnant, princess regnant and ruler of the Mushro ...

has been made by custom

figurine A figurine (a diminutive form of the word ''figure'') or statuette is a small, three-dimensional sculpture that represents a human, deity or animal, or, in practice, a pair or small group of them. Figurines have been made in many media, with cla ...

artist Kodykoala.

Notes

References

{{Portal bar, Video games Mario (franchise) enemies Fictional monsters Video game bosses Video game characters introduced in 1988 Video game species and races Anthropomorphic video game characters Fictional dogs