Mario franchise strategy guide/Enemies/Buzzy Beetle

A Buzzy Beetle (メット, Metto, Met)　is a common enemy character in several of Nintendo's Mario games. Despite their names, buzzy beetles are not actually beetles but rather Koopa Troopas with smooth black shells that cover their heads and bodies. If Mario jumps on a Buzzy Beetle, it will hide in its shell, which Mario can then kick aside to defeat other enemies or break through brick walls. Unlike Koopa Troopas, Buzzy Beetles are resistant to fireballs due to their hard shells. The only way to permanently dispose of Buzzy Beetles are to hit them with other shells, run them down while invincible, or kick them into pits. They were the precursor to the concept of nearly invulnerable enemies with certain weaknesses, popular in strafe and shoot games.

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Appearances

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The first appearance of a Buzzy Beetle in Super Mario Bros.

Buzzy Beetle appears first in the underground level of World 4-2 of Super Mario Bros., and appears in several levels afterwards. After completing the game, Buzzy Beetles appear in place of Goombas when a new game is started.

The Buzzy Beetle also appears in Super Mario Bros. 3, usually in underground levels. In this game, they not only hinder Mario from ground level, but can also walk along ceilings and drop, spinning quickly forward when they land. Although resistant to fire, Buzzy Beetles can be killed by a hammer thrown from Mario's Hammer Brother suit, similar to the Koopa Troopas. Buzzy Beetles have also appeared as enemies in the Paper Mario games. The most prominent in the first Paper Mario is Chan, a student at the local dojo. In Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Spike Tops and Buzzy Beetles are shown to be kin. Spike Tops (whose Japanese name is Togemet, suggesting a cross between Buzzy Beetles and Spinys) have red shells, can crawl on any surface, and have a single spike sticking out of it. They first appeared in Super Mario World.

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Buzzy Beetle in Super Mario World.

Relatives include Buster Beetle and Boney Beetle. Buster Beetles walk upright, moving faster than most Buzzy Beetles. In Super Mario Bros. 3 (their sole appearance), they grab and toss the blue blocks that Mario and Luigi are able to toss. This added speed and strength are compromised by their lack of protection. Any attack can defeat them (including fire), and they cannot be kicked around in their shells.

Parabeetles first appeared in Super Mario Bros. 3. Their shells were red (there are green-shelled ones in the Super Mario Bros. 3 "lost" levels) and they flew in flocks. They were content to fly in their own path and made no effort to harm Mario. Parabeetles could be destroyed via tailspin or perhaps invincibility, but it was inadvisable to do so since they could prove helpful as "stepping stones" on Mario's aerial journeys.

Bony Beetles (Hone Met in Japan) are the animated skeletons of Buzzy Beetles; being akin to what Dry Bones is to Koopa Troopas. They appear in Super Mario World and Paper Mario. Bony Beetles pace back and forth, occasionally ducking into their shells and exposing sharp spines. When jumped on (with spikes retracted), they would shatter, but quickly reform. A cape spin would defeat them outright.

They also appear in Paper Mario, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, and Super Paper Mario.