History Main / TheSpiny

* Pluro, the '''first''' enemies encountered in ''VideoGame/{{Iconoclasts}}'', are this. Luckily, [[PlayerCharacter Robin]] is no Mario, and relies on her [[WrenchWench wrench]] and stun gun instead, which both work on them just fine.
** Then, there are the Squints, which are much stronger enemies of this nature encountered in the Isilugar Depths. They are heavily armored, and positioned in such a way that simply stunning them with a bomb shot still leaves their spiny backs blocking the path. Instead, you must curve the bomb projectile in such a way that it detonates the explosive tip of their tail.

* From ''VideoGame/KirbysAdventure'' onwards, Kirby could inhale and swallow thorny enemies to gain the Needle power and turn ''himself'' into a Spiny. However, Kirby can't move while the spikes are out.
** Gordos are the more traditional spiky CollisionDamage variant, but they're [[InvincibleMinorMinion completely invincible]].

* Porcupines in ''VideoGame/TheLionKing''. However, if Simba roars at them first, they roll over.
** Level 5 includes one in a narrow path where you're [[IndyEscape pursued by a boulder]]. You're going to lose a lot of lives if you don't notice you can also ''{{roll|ingAttack}}'' into them, FridgeLogic be damned.

* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros'' has the TropeNamer, a red and yellow animal covered in spikes that you couldn't stomp, but could kill with fireballs or a koopa shell, as well as its counterpart, the Buzzy Beetle (an enemy that cannot be killed with fireballs, but can be non-fatally stomped on or taken out with a koopa shell).
** Similarly, ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2'' has the Porcupo to thwart the game's CraniumRide feature. Mercifully, they move slowly. There are also Sparks and Pansers who are not so merciful. Sparks are covered in electricity and constantly race around platforms, while Pansers sit in locations and shoot fireballs. Also, while jumping on Birdo's head is okay, trying to jump on the other bosses is a bad idea.
** Boss Bass in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3'' will swallow Mario whole if he attempts to jump on him - or if Mario just happens to be in its way.
** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'' also introduced Spike Tops and Bony Beetles, which were immune not only to jumps (temporarily, in the case of Bony Beetles), but Mario's fireballs as well. They could be taken out with a cape swing.

** The ''Paper Mario'' games also feature the actual Spiny, which serves its usual purpose in the first game, but also gains a new move in the second game where it rolls up into a completely impervious ball, and can't be damaged until it unrolls in the next turn.
*** But the worst are the Bristles from ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor''. Spikes on top AND on the sides, and with a defense of 4, even with the Spike Shield badge, a normal jump attack won't be able to damage them unless you can increase your attack power by at least 2. The normal ones have only 2 HP and can easily be defeated by a POW Block, but the Dark Bristles in the Pit of 100 Trials are far more durable. Fortunately, the Spike Shield badge ''does'' prevent them from poking Mario when he uses a hammer attack.

** In ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG'', you can damage Spinies in battle with punches and fireballs, but Jump attacks do 0 damage. Equipping the Jump Shoes remedies this.

** Many plants have large spikes they use to discourage browsers- roses, blackberries, cactus, and acacia trees are all well known for their spiky exteriors which render many plant eating animals unable to consume them.

* Sea urchins are a sessile animal that look like a ball of spikes. The spikes are poisonous to boot. However, once the spiked armor is stripped off, they're tasty.

* Anguirus of ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'' is a kaiju with spines covering his back. He's known for his ability to curl up into a ball and hurl himself at enemies, basically a [[FastballSpecial Kaiju Special]] that doesn't require a partner. In many video game appearances, melee attacks to his back cause damage to the attacker instead of him.

%% ** The series has several such enemies and a semi-spiny, where only parts of them are covered with spikes. Most can be dealt with by rolling into them or by waiting until a specific moment to jump on them. ''[[VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles Sonic the Hedgehog 3]]'''s Marble Garden Zone features a subversion in Spiker, an enemy that closely resembles the ubiquitous SpikesOfDoom but whose spikes you harmlessly bounce off.

* ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' has several such enemies and a semi-spiny, where only parts of them are covered with spikes. Most can be dealt with by rolling into them or by waiting until a specific moment to jump on them. ''[[VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles Sonic the Hedgehog 3]]'''s Marble Garden Zone features a subversion in Spiker, an enemy that closely resembles the ubiquitous SpikesOfDoom but whose spikes you harmlessly bounce off.

*** Kind of like Yadrin from Spring Yard Zone, a pink robot with spikes on it's back.
** Some Spinies, such as Orbinauts (the ones that don't shoot their spikes), are {{Invincible Minor Minion}}s unless Sonic has invincibility equipped.
*** At least until the third game, where a well timed doublejump (which activates the split second shield) will kill them.

* ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'' has several such enemies and a semi-spiny, where only parts of them are covered with spikes. Most can be dealt with by rolling into them or by waiting until a specific moment to jump on them. ''Sonic the Hedgehog 3'''s Marble Garden Zone features a subversion in Spiker, an enemy that closely resembles the ubiquitous SpikesOfDoom but whose spikes you harmlessly bounce off.

** Some Spinies, such as Orbinauts(the ones that don't shoot their spikes), are {{Invincible Minor Minion}}s unless Sonic has invincibility equipped.

* ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' has several such enemies and a semi-spiny, where only parts of them are covered with spikes. Most can be dealt with by rolling into them or by waiting until a specific moment to jump on them. ''Sonic the Hedgehog 3'''s Marble Garden Zone features a subversion in Spiker, an enemy that closely resembles the ubiquitous SpikesOfDoom but whose spikes you harmlessly bounce off.

The Spiny is a stock enemy type common in those [[{{Platformer}} platform games]] where enemies can be dispatched with the GoombaStomp or sometimes some other form of close-range attack. Put simply, The Spiny, rather than taking damage from being stomped, [[AttackBackfire damages you]] [[InertialImpalement instead]]. After you've been trained to squish your foes, The Spiny forces you to rethink things. A true Spiny will still be vulnerable to some alternate form of attack; otherwise, you've got an InvincibleMinorMinion on your hands. The Spiny is usually covered in spikes, flame, [[TechnicolorScience arcing electricity]], or something else obviously harmful to visually justify its ability to hurt you from below.

A variety includes semi-spinies which are vulnerable to only some parts of the body or who periodically retract their spines (or other that kind of stuff).

* Pluro, the '''first''' enemies encountered in ''VideoGame/{{Iconoclasts}}'' are this. Luckily, [[PlayerCharacter Robin]] is no Mario, and relies on her [[WrenchWench wrench]] and stun gun instead, which both work on them just fine.

* The Porcupine from Creator/MarvelComics combined this schtick with being able to shoot off his spines, fire sleep gas from some of them (hollow tubes, likely), and otherwise be augmented by his spiky powered armor. That is, until [[spoiler: after he had a HeelFaceTurn followed by [[RedemptionEqualsDeath dying]] after [[HoistByTheirOwnPetard falling on one of his own]] broken-off spikes.]]

* ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry''
** The bee-like Zingers, and their robotic {{exp|y}}ies from ''[[VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry3DixieKongsDoubleTrouble DKC3]]'', Buzzes. The red ones are [[InvincibleMinorMinion Invincible Minor Minions]], but the rest can be killed with invincibility or by throwing something at them.
** Other enemies like the porcupines have to be rolled into head-on. And the Klaptrap must be jumped on (rolling is a basic attack in ''[=DKC=]'' games.) One memorably designed level in the [[VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry2DiddysKongQuest second game]] features a series of small platforms, each of which has a Porcupine and a Klaptrap on it, forcing the player to use two different attacks to defeat the two enemies in a very small space.
*** ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountryReturns'' has a spinning tiki enemy that serves the same purpose as the original Zinger, even named "Tiki Zing" in tribute.

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%%This page's examples section is sorted alphabetically. It would be lovely if you'd maintain this, thanks.

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[[caption-width-right:300:Where's a [[VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3 Goomba's Shoe]] when you need one?]]

* Spiked snails in ''VideoGame/AnUntitledStory'' can only be defeated with fire (or ice, if underwater).

** One Concern also has small electrified mechs that fulfil the same function.

* In ''STUN Runner'', armored drones are impervious to your vehicle's laser cannon. Befitting the trope name, they have more spikes mounted on their frames than ordinary drone cars. They're not quite as "indestructible" as the onscreen hint suggests: they can still be cleared off the track immediately ahead of you by a [[SmartBomb Shockwave]].

* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros'' has the TropeNamer, a red and yellow animal covered in spikes that you couldn't stomp, but could kill with fireballs or a koopa shell, as well as its counterpart, the Buzzy Beetle (an enemy that cannot be killed with fireballs, but can be non-fatally stomped on or taken out with a koopa shell).
** Similarly, ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2'' has the Porcupo to thwart the game's CraniumRide feature. Mercifully, they move slowly. There are also Sparks and Pansers who are not so merciful. Sparks are covered in electricity and constantly race around platforms, while Pansers sit in locations and shoot fireballs. Also, while jumping on Birdo's head is okay, trying to jump on the other bosses is a bad idea.
** Boss Bass in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3'' will swallow Mario whole if he attempts to jump on him - or if Mario just happens to be in its way.
** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'' also introduced Spike Tops and Bony Beetles, which were immune not only to jumps (temporarily, in the case of Bony Beetles), but Mario's fireballs as well. They could be taken out with a cape swing.
** Both ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'' games have helmeted Goombas. They don't hurt you if you bounce on them, but it can throw you off balance and possibly make you fall from the platform you're standing on. To defeat them, you have to spin-attack them to flip them over, then jump on their undersides.
** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2'' has the Pupdozers, which can only be killed by Ground Pounding them from underneath via flippable gravity-reversing platforms. Thankfully, these enemies only appear in the one area where these platforms are found.
** In ''VideoGame/PaperMario'', Mario's two standard attacks are jump and hammer, and many enemies are immune to one or the other. The ones immune to jump attacks are almost always things covered with spikes, such as Spiky Goombas and Spike Tops, while the ones immune to hammering are usually flying.
*** The Spear Guy is an enemy that can alternate its immunity based on whether its spear is pointing up (no jumping) or forward (no hammering). It often changes in response to Mario hitting it with whatever attack it wasn't guarded against.
*** Spiked Parabuzzies have both spikes and wings. However, they only appear in levels after you've acquired the Spike Shield badge, which allows you to jump on The Spiny without taking damage (unless it's a Fire Bubble; you need the Ice Power badge for that.)
*** Who can forget Jr. Troopa, who willed himself to grow wings AND spikes just to beat you! (Mercifully, he's at half-health the first time...)
*** The Hammer Throw badge thankfully allows you to hit any enemy in the entire game, provided your attack is high enough to pierce the enemy's defense.
** The ''Paper Mario'' games also feature the actual Spiny, which serves its usual purpose in the first game, but also gains a new move in the second game where it rolls up into a completely impervious ball, and can't be damaged until it unrolls in the next turn.
*** But the worst are the Bristles from ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor''. Spikes on top AND on the sides, and with a defense of 4, even with the Spike Shield badge, a normal jump attack won't be able to damage them unless you can increase your attack power by at least 2. The normal ones have only 2 HP and can easily be defeated by a POW Block, but the Dark Bristles in the Pit of 100 Trials are far more durable. Fortunately, the Spike Shield badge ''does'' prevent them from poking Mario when he uses a hammer attack.
** You get the chance to invert this in ''VideoGame/PaperMarioStickerStar'' with the Spike Helmet sticker, which harms enemies who try to jump on Mario (Assuming they're not made of metal or stone). Notably, it's a OneHitKill against the giant Cheep-Cheep boss if jumps on Mario after it inflates itself (Though the resulting explosion hurts a lot).
** In ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG'', you can damage Spinies in battle with punches and fireballs, but Jump attacks do 0 damage. Equipping the Jump Shoes remedies this.
** All of the ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigi'' games in the series has this sort of enemy, usually introduced early after TheGoomba (except ''Partners In Time'', where the Spiny Shroopa appears a little later after the babies get their hammers).
* ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' has several such enemies and a semi-spiny, where only parts of them are covered with spikes. Most can be dealt with by rolling into them or by waiting until a specific moment to jump on them. ''Sonic the Hedgehog 3'''s Marble Garden Zone features a subversion in Spiker, an enemy that closely resembles the ubiquitous SpikesOfDoom but whose spikes you harmlessly bounce off.
** Those [[GoddamnedBats goddamned Caterkillers]]. If you hit them in the wrong place, you not only lose your rings, but they also split into deadly pieces.
*** Kind of like Yadrin from Spring Yard Zone, a pink robot with spikes on it's back.
** Some Spinies, such as Orbinauts(the ones that don't shoot their spikes), are {{Invincible Minor Minion}}s unless Sonic has invincibility equipped.
*** At least until the third game, where a well timed doublejump (which activates the split second shield) will kill them.
** In some later games, some Badniks and other robots have ways of defending themselves against Homing Attacks. One example is Anton, an enemy from ''VideoGame/SonicCD'' whose reinterpretation in ''VideoGame/SonicLostWorld'' has the saddle on its back as Sonic's Homing Attack target, causing Sonic to get trapped on it if he tries to use the Homing Attack.

* There are enemies of this kind in both ''VideoGame/WarioLand 4'' and ''Shake It''. The ones in ''Wario Land 4'' are actually called Spinies.
* ''Videogame/CrashBandicoot2CortexStrikesBack'' offered several varieties of The Spiny, to accommodate the fact that the player could perform several types of attacks. For example, a basic turtle could either have the sides of his shell laced with deadly spikes (making the full-frontal spin attack impossible), and another could have a spinning sawblade on its back instead (which prevents players from defeating the enemy by jumping). Some enemies even switch back and forth between these two modes, especially in later levels of the game. There's even a third mode, tall enemies with spikes on their head and neck, forcing you to slide into them.

* ''VideoGame/{{Spelunky}}'' features carnivorous plants, which are invulnerable to the GoombaStomp and will ''instantly kill you if you try it'' unless you have the Spike Shoes[[note]]but only in the original; trying this trick in the remake will just get you eaten[[/note]]. The HD remake also includes devils, which hurt you even if you're wearing Spike Shoes.
* Some Franchise/{{Pokemon}} like Drifblim have the Aftermath ability, which hurts your Pokémon after you've knocked it out.
** Others, including the [[GoddamnedBats incredibly common]] Tentacool, have the Liquid Ooze ability. If you use a draining move like Leech Seed or Giga Drain, instead of healing your own Pokémon like the move usually does, it damages your Pokémon instead.
** And then there's Carvanha, Sharpedo, Druddigon, and the Gible family's (hidden) Rough Skin ability, and also Ferroseed and Ferrothorn's Iron Barbs abiity, which deals damage whenever a "direct attack" is used. Other Pokémon have abilities that occasionally deal status effects to the opponent when hit with a direct attack, such as Pikachu's Static (paralysis) and Nidoran's Poison Point.
* [[InvincibleMinorMinion Gabyoalls]] in the ''VideoGame/MegaManClassic'' series - small robots patrolling a floor that are immune to the default Mega Buster and try to crash into Mega Man. They're usually destroyable with Robot Master weapons, but that uses up limited [[{{Mana}} weapon energy]].

* Creator/{{Nitrome}}'s ''Frost Bite'' only features [[GoombaStomp two]] [[GrapplingHookPistol attacks]], and certain enemies are immune to each (though never both.) Fitting the trope, those that are immune to the GoombaStomp have spines and deal CollisionDamage when jumped on.
* Spiked snails in ''VideoGame/AnUntitledStory'' can only be defeated with fire (or ice, if underwater).

* ''VideoGame/{{Battletoads}}'' has the Spikeback, an InvincibleMinorMinion which looks and moves very much like the ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' Spinies (though, being yellow, it looked more like fries to [[Series/RetroGameMaster Arino]]).
* Inverted in ''VideoGame/IWannaBeTheGuy'', where there is only one type of enemy in the game you can GoombaStomp: the Bullets Bill that the Snifit fires at you (and only so you can GoombaSpringboard them).
* Certain helmeted spiders in ''[[VideoGame/FancyPantsAdventures The Fancy Pants Adventure: World 3]]'' cannot be damaged by a simple GoombaStomp like most other Mooks. Instead, you have to run and slide toward them, whack them with your [[ImprobableWeaponUser pencil]], or just jump higher. Additionally, pirates can deflect stomps from above or slashes from the front with their swords; damaging them requires taking the right action to hit their exposed spot.

* The ''VideoGame/DisneysMagicalQuest'' game series has its share of enemies that couldn't be harmed by jumping on them. One example would be the walking flames from the third game.

* Polyles in ''VideoGame/{{Germination}}'' become this when they fly through the air.
* ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' has Guardians, aquatic mobs that resemble one-eyed fish that can extend and retract their spines. Hitting them with melee attacks while their spines are extended will damage the player, although the attack still damages the Guardian. Players can also invoke this by enchanting their armor with Thorns, though this will increase the rate at which armor degrades from attacks.

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[[caption-width-right:300:Where's [[VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3 Kuribo's Shoe]] when you need it?]]

* ''VideoGame/Minecraft'' has Guardians, aquatic mobs that resemble one-eyed fish that can extend and retract their spines. Hitting them with melee attacks while their spines are extended will damage the player, although the attack still damages the Guardian. Players can also invoke this by enchanting their armor with Thorns, though this will increase the rate at which armor degrades from attacks.

* According to the Roman writer [[http://www.digitalattic.org/home/war/vegetius/index.php#b321 Vegetius]] soldiers with spikes on their shoulders and helmets were used against WarElephants.

* RealLife animal (and plant) Spinies are too numerous to list. Being covered with something nasty is a very popular survival strategy.

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