Ice Flower

Ice Flower
Type	Power-Up
Debut	Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time

The Ice Flower is a power-up that began appearing late into the Mario series and was introduced as a foil for the iconic Fire Flower item.

Information

The Ice Flower is similar to the Fire Flower, in that it powers up the user and changes the color of their clothing. while granting them the ability to fire projectiles at will. Ice Flowers give clothes a blueish color scheme, and the projectiles are small balls of ice, which can freeze anything that they touch. The Ice Flowers have also had special properties depending on the game, as in Super Mario Galaxy, Mario would skate around when in Ice form and would automatically form ice platforms which made traveling over lava possible.

Appearances

Ice Flowers initially appeared in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, where they were a type of Bros. item that could be used to fire various ice balls at enemies. Instead of being frozen, enemies' stats could be lowered as a side effect.

Ice Flowers then appeared as a regular power-up in Super Mario Galaxy followed by New Super Mario Bros. Wii and New Super Mario Bros. U. In Galaxy, the Ice Flower power-up was subject to the same restrictions as other power-ups within the game, as grabbing an Ice Flower would only activate the power-up for a limited amount of time, although the user would not lose the power-up if damaged. In this appearance, the Ice Flower also altered Mario's form so that he appeared to be made entirely of ice, while other games would only change the color of his clothes. The New Super Mario Bros. games featured an Ice Flower that was closer to a normal power-up, without the time limit and extra powers so that it was closer to just being an ice version of the Fire Flower. Both games also had the Penguin Suit, which provided similar powers to the wearer. Within the New Super Mario Bros. games, the Ice Flower power-up was also used by Luigi, two Toads and Toadette.

The power-up also appeared as a sticker in Paper Mario: Sticker Star and a card in Paper Mario: Color Splash. In both games, the item would transform Mario into Ice Mario and allow him to attack by firing ice balls, which could freeze enemies and potentially shatter them by depleting their HP. In Sticker Star, there were two stronger variations, known as the Shiny Ice Flower and Flashy Ice Flower. In Color Splash, there was also a large variation of the Ice Flower.

The Ice Flower did not appear as an actual power-up in Super Mario Maker and Super Mario Maker 2, but it was possible for Weird Mario to answer a Warp Door while in Ice Mario form.

Sports Appearances

Within the Mario Kart games, the Ice Flower's only appearance as an item has been in Mario Kart Tour. It surrounded the player's kart with three ice balls that could be thrown at other races and could temporarily freeze them. The Galaxy version of Ice Mario also appeared as a playable character who could be unlocked at random through the game's gacha mechanic, starting in January 2020. Ice Luigi (using the color scheme from the New Super Mario Bros. games) also appeared in Mario Kart Arcade GP DX as a downloadable alternate color scheme for Luigi and also came with the Ice Ball as his signature item, similar to the effects of the Ice Flower.

It also appeared as an item in Mario Golf: World Tour, where it could freeze terrain wherever the ball bounces and was a potential way of getting through water hazards. In Mario Tennis Ace, it could appear as a power-up for the Shy Guy Train Tussle minigame. Equipment sporting the image of the Ice Flower was also available in Mario Golf: Would Tour, Mario Tennis Open and Mario Sports Superstars. Mario Tennis Open also featured an Ice Flower Cup as one of its divisions.

Other Appearances

Video Games

• In Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition, Ice Flowers appeared as Transformation items that could be used to transform some enemies and teammates into stronger forms.
• Through the Super Mario Mash-Up Pack in Nintendo releases of Minecraft, Ice Flowers would appear replacing Blue Orchids.

Other Media

• In the Super Mario-Kun manga, the Ice Flower appeared during an arc based on Partners in Time. It became known as Baby Luigi's signature weapon, and he gained it from the remains of his snowman that was destroyed by Commander Shroob.

Canceled Appearances

• Ice Flowers have been found in the data for both Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, but were absent from the actual games.

Trivia

• The Ice Flower is notable as a power-up that was introduced in an RPG game, rather than one of the main platforming titles.
• Prior to the official introduction of the Ice Flower, blue-colored Fire Flowers have appeared as images on slot machines in minigames for Super Mario Bros. 3, Mario Party 5 and Mario Party 6.
• An image of an Ice Flower also made a cameo appearance during a minigame in Mario Party 9.
• An image of Ice Flower (lacking the stem) has also been seen in posters advertising a company called 100% Organic Antifreeze, seen in Mario Kart 8, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Mario Kart Tour.