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Fire bar
| Fire bar | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 A fire bar in The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap | |||
| First appearance | Super Mario Bros. (1985, overall) The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (1991, Zelda franchise) | ||
| Latest appearance | Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury (2021, overall) The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes (2015, Zelda franchise) | ||
| |||
Fire bars[1], also known as Guruguru bars[2], are an obstacle made of a large chain of fire rotating around a base. They were originally intended as an obstacle for The Legend of Zelda before it was decided that they would debut in Super Mario Bros.[2] Nevertheless, fire bars have since become common obstacles throughout both the Mario and The Legend of Zelda franchises.
History[edit]
The Legend of Zelda series[edit]
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past[edit]
Fire bars make their The Legend of Zelda series debut in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, where they appear in numerous dungeons starting with the Mountain Tower. They are quite large and often appear in rooms with narrow walkways over pits. They always have four fire balls for every chain, which look identical to the fire balls that make up Sparks and Fire Snakes. Link can harmlessly go through their flames with the Hookshot, though opportunities to do so are uncommon. The Magic Cape and Cane of Byrna can also be used, at the cost of magic.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time[edit]
In The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, fire bars appear in the Fire Temple and inside Ganon's Castle. Instead of large fire balls, they are made of a continuous stream of fire from a rotating relief, which is similar to how they are depicted in Super Mario 64. Both franchises would return to the typical design in later games. Fire bars are absent in Master Quest.
The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures[edit]
In The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures, fire bars debut in the Tower of Flames. They appear in varying lengths, and sometimes can be reversed by pressing a switch. They can be jumped over with Roc's Feather.
The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap[edit]
In The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, fire bars appear in caves as well as Dark Hyrule Castle, where they often have a bar on either side of the base. Roc's Cape can be used to go over them.
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass[edit]
In The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, fire bars appear in the Temple of Fire, where they are red, and the Ghost Ship, where they are blue. They no longer have a solid center, simply spinning around a fire ball. The fire balls themselves are smaller than previously, though to compensate, the bars have more units of fire in general. The exact length varies, and up to three bars can rotate around the same fire ball.
The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks[edit]
In The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, fire bars are again Fire Temple obstacles. They are red and resemble their appearance in Phantom Hourglass, though a peg has been placed over the middle flame to look as though they are circling it.
The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds[edit]
In The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, fire bars are less common than in A Link to the Past, appearing only in Skull Woods, Turtle Rock, and Lorule Castle. They now have a rotating fire cannon as a base, but still simply rotate around as individual fire balls. They can be temporarily frozen with the Ice Rod.
The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes[edit]
In The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes, fire bars look like they do in A Link Between Worlds and first appear in the Den of Flames. They can be doused with the Water Rod, which is necessary in some cases due to some not moving.
BS Zelda no Densetsu: Inishie no Sekiban[edit]
In BS Zelda no Densetsu: Inishie no Sekiban, fire bars first appear in the fourth dungeon, in the Lost Woods. They look and act the same as they do in A Link to the Past.
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ぐるぐるバー[3] Guru Guru Bā ファイアバー Faia Bā |
Spinning Bar (Zelda games) Fire Bar (Mario games) |
References[edit]
- ^ The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past TOP SECRETS - Messages from Sahasrahla, page 2. "The Moon Pearl is in the big chest on the fourth floor of the tower. To reach it, you need to jump into a hole on the fifth floor. The hole you need will appear when you step on the star tile near the fifth floor fire bar. Use the map to find the correct hole."
- ^ a b Playing With Super Power: Nintendo Super NES Classics eGuide, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past 16 Bits Tab. "The rotating Guruguru bars that appear in A Link to the Past originated in Super Mario Bros., where they’re called Fire Bars. However, they were originally intended for The Legend of Zelda; the developers felt they looked better in a Mario game and passed them between titles."
- ^ Zelda no Densetsu: Kamigami no Triforce Shogakukan guide, Jou volume, page 134.
- Hazardous objects
- Enemies from the Mario franchise
- The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past enemies
- BS Zelda no Densetsu: Inishie no Sekiban enemies
- The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time enemies
- The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures enemies
- The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap enemies
- The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass enemies
- The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks enemies
- The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds enemies
- The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes enemies
