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8 Bits
Wart Artwork - Super Mario Bros 2
Wart, the leader of the 8 Bits.
Leader(s) Wart
Alignment Evil
Kind of Group Army
Wart, Birdo (formerly), Mouser, Fryguy, Clawgrip, Tryclyde, Robirdo (formerly), Bowser (currently replacing Birdo)
First Appearance Super Mario Bros. 2 (1988)
Settled Area(s) Subcon
Conquering Subcon, seizing control of the Dream Machine
Koopa Troop (possibly?)
Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Toad

The 8 Bits, known in Japan as Mamu Family (Japanese: 魔夢族 Mamū-zoku), is the name of the army of monsters that Wart commanded during his attempt to conquest the dream land of Subcon in Super Mario Bros. 2. The 8 Bits disperse around the entirety of Subcon, and can be encountered in every part of the land of dreams, from the grasslands to the part of the kingdom that floats high above the rest of the land. The 8 Bits aim to seize control of the Dream Machine, and seem to only wish to cause chaos with no ulterior motives.

Members[]

The members of the 8 Bits consist of the monsters that Wart creates using the power of the Dream Machine. Super Mario Bros. 2 and its rereleases include 29 enemies, all of which are members of the 8 Bits. Despite Subcon being a realm of dreams, several members of the 8 Bits would later appear under Bowser's command as part of the Koopa Troop.

Minor Members[]

A variety of different creatures make up the 8 Bits, the most prominent of which being Shy Guys, Pokeys, and Bob-ombs, which have made numerous appearances since their debut in Doki Doki Panic. For a full list of members of the 8 Bits, it is suggested that Mario Wiki's article on the subject be viewed instead.

Main Members[]

There are seven major members of the 8 Bits, including the army's leader, Wart. These characters serve as the bosses that Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, and Toad must face as they seek to save the Subcons from the frog-like tyrant. In the Game Boy Advance remake of Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Mario Advance, all of these characters are given voiced lines with all but Birdo being voiced by Charles Martinet; Birdo (and Robirdo) is instead voiced by Princess Peach's then-voice actress, Jen Taylor.

  • Wart - The group's leader. He created the 8 Bits using the monsters that make up his army using the Dream Machine, and continues to lord over them from the castle in the clouds above Subcon. Wart fights by spewing bubbles out at foes, and the player must throw the vegetables spawned by the Dream Machine into his mouth to defeat him. His voice in Super Mario Advance is incredibly similar to that of Wario, another character who is voiced by Charles Martinet.
  • Birdo (now replaced by Bowser) - Three different types of Birdos appear to oppose Mario and co. during Wart's conquest of Subcon. The pink Birdos shoot eggs from their snout, the red Birdos shoot eggs and fireballs, and the green Birdos shoot fireballs. In the NES version of Super Mario Bros. 2 the green Birdo fought in World 7-1 is grey-coloured. Barring two of the Birdos that appear in the game, all drop a crystal ball upon defeat that will open up the Mask Gate behind her; one of the two other Birdos instead carries a key that does the same thing, while the other acts as a standard enemy and does not drop anything upon defeat.
    • Robirdo - A robotic Birdo that appears exclusively in Super Mario Advance. Robirdo is fought in World 3-3, and performs the same attack as the pink Birdos do in addition to two unique ones: Robirdo will charge towards the player at a high speed, forcing them to climb onto the chains hanging from the ceiling, and jump into the air before slamming quickly down into the ground that immobilizes the player if they are too close.
  • Mouser - A humanoid, mouse-like creature who uses bombs to destroy good dreams. There are three types of Mousers that appear in the series: a Mouser with pink ears, gloves, and feet appears in World 1-3, a Mouser with green ears, gloves, and feet appears in World 3-3, and, in Doki Doki Panic, a white Mouser with red ears, gloves, and feet appears in World 5-3; the latter fight was deemed too difficult and thus was replaced when the game was converted into Super Mario Bros. 2 for the west.
  • Fryguy - A living ball of fire created by Wart using the Dream Machine. Fryguy is encountered at the end of World 4, being an intentionally out-of-place fire-based creature fought after a series of icy levels. Fryguy fights the player by breathing fireballs, but him being made of fire makes it so that Mario and co. are unable to make direct contact with him or else they will take damage, and instead must throw a variety of blocks at him from a distance. Upon taking enough damage he will split into smaller enemies known simply as Small Fry Guys, who must be defeated in the same way.
  • Clawgrip - A Sidestepper who was powered-up by the Dream Machine. Clawgrip debuted in Super Mario Bros. 2 to replace the fight against the white Mouser that appeared in its place in Doki Doki Panic. Clawgrip simply throws boulders at the player, which must then be thrown back at the crab to defeat him. In Super Mario Advance he speaks with a stereotypical pirate-like accent. Due to the fact that the Japanese language does not distinguish the sounds made by the letters "L" and "R", his name is often misspelled as "Clawglip".
  • Tryclyde - A three-headed snake that is described as an outcast that was recruited by Wart in his quest for power; in the original NES version of Doki Doki Panic and Super Mario Bros. 2, Tryclyde bears a heavy resemblance to Cobrat, a snake-like enemy that often appears out of the jars scattered around Subcon. In his NES and SNES appearances Tryclyde is fought as the boss of World 2 and World 6, where he attacks by shooting fireballs at the player from two of his three heads; in Super Mario Advance he fights in the same way but is replaced with Mouser for his World 6 appearance. In Doki Doki Panic and Super Mario Bros. 2 Tryclyde appears to be red with black stripes on the backs of his necks, but this colour scheme is changed to turquoise and orange for his later appearances. His name is sometimes misspelled as Triclyde, such as in the credits of Super Mario Bros. 2 and its Super Mario All-Stars incarnation.

Appearances[]

Super Mario Bros. 2[]

During the events of Super Mario Bros. 2, Wart's minions spread out around Subcon in order to cause mayhem and slow the progress of Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Toad. Many of the enemies found in the world of dreams would later go on to become frequent goons of Bowser's in his attempts to kidnap Princess Peach and take over the Mushroom Kingdom. Outside of minor changes detailed above, the 8 Bits appear in the same capacity in the game's remake Super Mario Advance for the Game Boy Advance, as well as a remake included in the Super Mario All-Stars collection for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Coincidentally, Super Mario All-Stars also features Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, which was originally deemed as "too challenging" for western audiences and thus spurred the reinventing of Doki Doki Panic into Super Mario Bros. 2; The Lost Levels is known in Japan as "Super Mario Bros. 2" while the western game with that name is instead called "Super Mario USA".

In BS Super Mario USA, the sequel to Super Mario Bros. 2 broadcast via the Satellaview peripheral in Japan, the 8 Bits return to Subcon after taking refuge in another dream following their defeat at the hands of Mario and his friends. Their return causes Subcon's ruler to go into hiding and call upon Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Toad for help in defeating Wart and his army once more.

The Super Mario Bros. Super Show![]

Many members of the 8 Bits make a number of appearances in the animated segments of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! As Wart is absent from the series, the characters are instead members of the Koopa Pack and are led by King Koopa.

Mouser and Tryclyde are the members of the series that make the most prominent appearances, with the former acting as the second-in-command of the Koopa Pack. Like King Koopa and the Koopa Troopas, Mouser and Tryclyde often take on various different identities to match the world that they inhabit during each episode. While Birdos, Fryguy, and Clawgrip also make appearances in the series, the episodes in which they are featured are few and far between. A friendly Birdo, not affiliated with King Koopa, also notably appears in the series premiere "The Bird! The Bird!"

In addition to the five major bosses from the original Super Mario Bros. 2, all of the normal enemies affiliated with the 8 Bits also make recurring appearances as King Koopa's minions with the sole exception being Panser. Barring the giant versions of Ninjis and Shy Guys, Panser and Wart are the only characters present in Super Mario Bros. 2 to not make a single appearance in the series.

The voices of Mouser, Tryclyde, and Birdo are credited to John Stocker, Harvey Atkin, and Jeannie Elias, respectively. In addition to providing these roles, each also voice one of the main characters of the series: Stocker also voices Toad, Atkin also voices King Koopa, and Elias also voices Princess Toadstool. As many of the actors who portrayed the minor enemies are credited under "Additional Voices", it is unknown who voiced much of the roster of the 8 Bits; it is known that the aforementioned John Stocker, Harvey Atkin, and Jeannie Elias also provided the voices of Beezo, Snifit, and Shy Guy, respectively; while Lou Albano, who also portrayed Mario in both the animated and live-action segments, provided the voice of one of the Pidgits in the episode "Mario's Magic Carpet".

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Trivia[]

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