Name: Faiachū
Debut: Donkey Kong (Game Boy)
And now, to round out our trilogy of Donkey Kong fireball posts, we have–what's that? Fireball and Fire's posts weren't meant to be part of a trilogy? Faiachū is technically from a different game anyway? Also Fire and Fireball's posts were years ago, well before I ever became a mod, so you don't know how I could make that mistake? Well! You know what they say!
They say that Faiachū's a very funny enemy! And by "they," in this instance I mean "me." Donkey Kong for the Game Boy, for those who didn't know, acts as an expansion of the original game, which already had two separate fireball enemies as its only bestiary! "But what's one more?," they decided to ask ("they" in this instance being "the game developers"), and so, Faiachū was born!
So, what's the big deal? How does Faiachū innovate over the previous pyroclast cast, to the point it appeared in more levels than even Fire itself? (Which means it appears in two or more levels). A question that no doubt plagued the minds of every child that anxiously waited in anticipation after the game was announced! And playing the game finally answered that burning question: it walks on walls and ceilings .
You might not think that sounds like much, but its pyrotechnic precursors can only walk on floors and climb up ladders! Being able to walk the entire screen, including on floors the player makes themselves, gives Faiachū the potential to be a much bigger threat than either of its counterparts, which is probably why it appears more than either of them, honestly...
So why does Faiachū walk around so much, and so quickly? According to the Perfect Ban Mario Encyclopedia, which is basically the Weird Mario Enemies bible at this point, it's because it's a hard worker, toiling away at its job! "It's hard work, but somebody has to do it," our local Faiachū says, who then walked away when asked what is the hard work and why does it have to be done. A true working-class hero...
That makes me wonder, actually. Where ARE all these enemies coming from? Are they Donkey Kong's...minions? His friends? Was his kidnapping of Pauline more strategically premeditated than previously assumed? Are they allowed on Kongo Bongo? Or are they guys Donkey Kong happened to find and paid on the spot? Or are they just...there, and are only in Mario's way by coincidence? When you hit Bowbow with a hammer, is that Mario just killing a random stray dog. Hm. Much to consider.