Piranha Plants are common enemies that appear in the Mario series. However, in Mario-based Wii games, these enemies appear in Super Mario Galaxy, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Super Paper Mario, Mario Kart Wii, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Mario Super Sluggers, Mario Party 8 and the new 2012 videogame, Mario Party 9. These enemies are red carnivorous plants based on Venus Flytraps, however they have white spots all over their faces. These enemies usually can be found among grassy patches or in Warp Pipes. Piranha Plants are stationary enemies, however some of their sub-species are mobile. These enemies still can move their necks a certain distance. In Super Mario Galaxy, Piranha Plants are common enemies. They attack by trying to stretch their necks and bite Mario or Luigi. If the heroes get hit by this attack, they will lose one wedge of health from their Health Meter. However, Piranha Plants could be stunned by shooting a Star
Bit via the Star Cursor at them. In this game, Piranha Plants are very weak and are much Goombas since they can be defeated with a single jump. Piranha Plants can also be defeated with the heroes' Spin move, as well as spinning other objects to hit them, such as Stretch Plants. Sometimes it is required for a Piranha Plant to be defeated to proceed further on. When this happens, things such as Sproutle Vines appear to take Mario/Luigi further on. A new sub-species of the Piranha Plant, known as the Prickly Piranha Plant, also appears in this game. Even though the enemy must have its own page, here's what it does and what it looks like. Prickly Piranha Plants are giant Piranha Plants with a purple head and a stem covered in spikes. This enemy attacks by trying to slam its head down on Mario/Luigi, however, one jump on its head will defeat it for good. A Stretch Plant can also be used to defeat a Prickly Piranha Plant. Also, a boss known as Dino Piranha appears who served as a boss of the Good Egg Galaxy. It would chase Mario/Luigi around its planet once woken from its slumber in its egg that was cracked by the heroes. It could be damaged then defeated if Mario/Luigi spun the ball on its tail, causing it to fly up and hit their head (Ouch!). A separate, more difficult version of Dino Piranha, known as Fiery Dino Piranha appeared in the Melty Molten Galaxy. It attacked just like Dino Piranha and took the same tactics used to defeat Dino Piranha to defeat him, however the bulb on his tail would be on fire so Mario/Luigi could only attack when the flames are off. Fiery Dino Piranha also ran faster and left a trail of fire behind when moving. Much like Dino Piranha, if he is defeated, Mario/Luigi will be rewarded with a Power Star. In New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Piranha Plants make their most common appearance in World 1, however, they have appeared in other locations such as World 2, World 4, World 6, World 9, etc. In this game, they attacked by either popping out of Warp Pipes and chomping for a few seconds before going back in constantly, or can be found on the ground just chomping. Many sub-species of Piranha Plants also appear in New Super Mario Bros. Wii. This includes Venus Fire Traps and their larger sub-species, Super Piranha Plants, Stalking Piranha Plants, and River Piranha Plants. The Stalking Piranha Plant and River Piranha Plant are also sub-species of the sub-species of Piranha Plant known as a Ptooie. In New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Piranha Plants could not be jumped on, however, they could easily be defeated if Fire Mario, Luigi, Blue Toad or Yellow Toad fired a Fireball using the Fire Flower's power up outfit. They could also be defeated if the heroes are under the effects of the Starman, being frozen from an iceball using the Ice Flower/Penguin Suit and then Ground Pounding them in their Ice Block, or by the effects of a POW Block. Sometimes it is required for a Piranha Plant to be removed out of the way (defeated) in order to proceed further. The gallery picture of World 1-2 shows this. Also, in NSMB Wii, these enemies make chomping sounds or do not make chomping sounds depending on their environment. If they are on the ground, they are likely to have soft chomping sounds, however, if they appear from Warp Pipes they do not have a chomping sound. It is to note that a Piranha Plant will not appear if Mario stands on its pipe or right next to its pipe. In NSMB Wii, Piranha Plants can appear in any type of Warp Pipe no matter how it is facing. So, they can pop out of a Warp Pipe facing normal, upside down, or even sideways. In Super Mario Galaxy 2, Piranha Plants reappear. They behave the same way as in Super Mario Galaxy. In the Supermassive Galaxy, a larger sub-species of Piranha Plants that are even larger than Super Piranha Plants (who do not appear in the game), known as Piranhacus Giganticus appears. A total of three of these enemies appear in the galaxy. They attack by just popping in and out of large dirt spots in giant Warp Pipes. Prickly Piranha Plants also reappear in the game, however, they are much rarer. A new sub-species of the Prickly Piranha Plant (and Piranha Plant), known as the Spiky Piranha Plant appears. It is a huge, black Piranha Plant with orange spikes on its head along with spikes on its stem. It cannot be jumped on period, so Mario/Luigi had to spin a Stretch Plant into the enemy when it slammed its head down to get rid of it. The boss of the first galaxy, the Sky Station Galaxy, is a baby giant Piranha Plant known as Peewee Piranha, who is similar to Dino Piranha. The boss just runs around his planet. To damage him, Mario/Luigi must Spin into his cracked eggshell to deal damage, then onto his glowing, red butt once the egg is broken. After a while, the shell reappears and the cycle starts over, however Peewee Piranha runs faster and performs a jumping attack, hoping to slam down on Mario/Luigi. Mario is rewarded with a Power Star when Peewee Piranha is defeated. Dino Piranha and Fiery Dino Piranha appear in SMG 2's Boss Blitz Galaxy, along with three other bosses from the prequel: King Kaliente, Major Burrows, and Bouldergeist. In Super Paper Mario, they appear in Lineland, Gloam Valley and The Bitlands, but not in the Flipside Pit of 100 Trials. Their sub-species also appeared in the game. They are Putrid Piranhas and Frost Piranhas. The only way to defeat Piranha Plants (and probably their sub-species) is by using certain items. However, as new characters and Pixls are gained, they are much easier to defeat. Also, Piranha Plants have less HP since the last game they were in. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, their is a drawing of a Piranha Plant in the PictoChat stage, which can deal heavy damage and knockback to players who touch the plant's mouth. Piranha Plants, surprisingly, do not appear in The Subspace Emissary, however, they do have their own Trophy. The trophy of the Piranha Plant is based from their appearance in Super Mario Bros. to the DS game, New Super Mario Bros. The description states this...
Super Smash Bros. Brawl: Piranha Plant Trophy Description[]
A vicious, plantlike monster that typically hides in pipes. Piranha Plants emerge with their mouths open, awaiting victims. A poorly timed jump means a chomping--hence the "piranha" name. While their have been exceptions--there are many Piranha Plants with unique traits--they generally don't appear if Mario waits on top of or just next to a pipe. They hate Fireballs.
Piranha Plants later appear in Mario Kart Wii. They make appearances in Mario Raceway and Mario Circuit (GCN), which are both retro courses that appear in different cups. However, in the two courses, their appearance is different. In Mario Raceway, Piranha Plants have only a head placed on grassy patches, and cause players to spin out (most likely) if they come in contact with them. In Mario Circuit (GCN) they are one of the many obstacles that appear in the course (along with Goombas and a Chain Chomp). These enemies are found in Warp Pipe-like pots. When players pass by they try to stretch out and bite them, much like they do in Super Mario Galaxy, however with a faster pace than in SMG. Much like getting hit by the Chain Chomp, if the players are hit by the plants' mouth, their Bike/Kart will flip over. Also, if the player was holding a Bob-omb and they got hit by a Piranha Plant's mouth as it attacks, their Bob-omb will explode, sending them flipping into the air. If one has the effects of the Star on them, they can hit the Piranha Plant's Warp Pipe-like pot or let them attack them. If the enemies get hit by this, they will wiggle around as if in pain. They also do this when someone (or you) uses Lightning. Piranha Plants also appear in Mario Super Sluggers. Here, they can be found residing in Yoshi Park. They can take a ball, go into a pipe, and transport the ball to another part of the field. They can also stun any fielders who come in contact with them. The minigame Piranha Panic can be found in this game. Players must pitch the right balls into the correct-colored Piranha Plants to earn points. Players must also avoid getting stunned by the Piranha Plants. In Mario Party 8, Piranha Plants can be found in King Boo's Haunted Hideaway, where they act as hazards and take Coins from the player when they land on a ? Space. In the minigame, Winner or Dinner, Piranha Plants appear along with Spiny Eggs. They eat any players that they bite. A Piranha Plant is also one of the many hidden characters to be found in the minigame, Spector Inspector. In Mario Party 9, Piranha Plants can be found on the map of Toad Road. They probably do nothing or try to attack the players as they proceed. They also appear in minigames. In Speeding Bullets, they appear out of Warp Pipes and slow down the player's Bullet Bill if they come in contact with them. In Piranha Patch, Piranha Plants grow from buds and take one point from players that they attack. Piranha Plants also appear during the Wiggler's boss battle in Wiggler Bounce as hazards. They take away a point from players that come in contact with them while they fight the Wiggler. Piranha Plants also have their own constellation, which is named "Gluttonous Gobbler".