Chain Chomp

Chain Chomp
Debut	Super Mario Bros. 3

The Chain Chomp is a recurring enemy and occasional item that has appeared throughout the Super Mario series.

Information

A Chomp takes on the appearance of a large spherical head with a vicious-looking maw attached to a long chain. It can move around without any limits if it is not attached to a stake, and sometimes they can even move off the ground by its sheer ferocity, but because of the likely danger a Chomp poses to almost everyone around it, they are usually tied down to guard a location. They are usually portrayed as dog-like and communicate with canine barks. Chomps appear in many Mario games, and sometimes have variations on the original form.

Appearances

Chain Chomps appeared in their normal form in Super Mario Bros. 3, the World 5 fortress of Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Super Princess Peach, New Super Mario Bros., New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Super Mario 3D Land, New Super Mario Bros. 2, New Super Mario Bros. U and in a singular area of Yoshi's New Island . Yoshi's Island also contains several types of larger, free-roaming Chomps. In some levels, these Chomps fell down from the sky in an attempt to devour Yoshi and tore holes in the ground at the same time. In other stages, Chomps chased Yoshi while snapping their jaws wildly until their teeth were broken on some sort of obstacle. Chomps similar to this also appeared in Yoshi's Story, Super Princess Peach, Yoshi's Island DS and Yoshi's New Island.

Within Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, Chain Chomps appeared as enemies in Booster's Tower and Bean Valley. They could be defeated normally in this RPG, and Chomps were also used as weapons by Bowser in the game. The original Chomp item was found within a hidden room in Booster's Tower and was described as a Chomp that was locked away for not being loyal to Booster. An improved item called the Chomp Shell could also be found. In Super Mario 64, Chain Chomps were larger and indestructible, although they could be stunned by Bob-Omb explosions. There was only one Chain Chomp found in the game, within Bob-Omb Battlefield. This Chain Chomp had to be freed in order to get one of the Power Stars, and Mario could only do this by pounding the peg that the Chain Chomp was chained to into the ground. After being freed the Chomp would slam into the cage that was holding the Power Star and accidentally break it, then begin roaming free. Within Super Mario 64 DS, the freed Chain Chomp was later seen wandering through the Rainbow Isles area.

Chomps were summoned by Tutankoopa as his minions during the boss battle with him in Paper Mario. They were quite resilient and can only be harmed by the Super Hammer. After Tutankoopa was defeated, the Chain Chomps turn on Tutankoopa and chased him away. Chain Chomps also appear in the Palace of Shadows and Pit of 100 Trials in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. In Super Mario Sunshine, several Chain Chomplets and later a giant Chain Chomp appeared in the Pianta Village level, where they are red and angry due to suffering some sort of fever. They were cured after being hosed off and dropped into the lake. In Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, Chain Chomps were wielded as weapons by the Chomp Bros.. A Chain Chomp also appeared in one area of Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix, where it tried to chase Mario down, and completing that part unlocked a minigame version called Chain-Chomp Chase.

Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time also featured a Pocket Chomp item. This released a Chomp that Baby Mario and Luigi would ride chasing the adult Mario and Luigi, who could hop on enemies various times as they run from the Chomps. Addtionally, the characters were menaced by a Chomp at the Shroob Castle and had to be defeated with the usage of special Star blocks. Within Super Paper Mario, Chain Chomps were found in Chapter 3. Additionally, a collection of three multicolored Chomps called the Underchomp appear as a boss, being a guardian of the Underwhere. Chomps also appeared unchained in Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2, where they roamed freely on some planetoids and could only be defeated with the invincibility effect of Starmen. The latter game also featured a location called the Chompworks Galaxy. In Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, some Chain Chomps were corrupted by Fawful's Sworms to become Chain Chawfuls. Bowser could restore them to normal by swallowing the infecting Sworm, at which point the Chomps would run away. Chain Chomps could also appear during a boss fight with Junker if its Junker Can was destroyed.

Chain Chomps also appeared in Paper Mario: Sticker Star, where they could only be defeated by putting them to sleep and then hammering their chain's peg down, which would lead them to run away after waking up. Bowser also used a Chain Chomp during his final battle with Mario. In Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, they appeared as enemies in Neo Bowser Castle, where they were walked by Walker Guys. These Chomps were known for their unpredictable movements, as they had a chance of attacking other Chomps or Walker Guys as well as trying to attack the brothers. They similarly appeared paired with Shy Guys in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam. In Paper Mario: Color Splash, a giant Chomp named Princess appeared. This Chomp had been the Toad Professor's pet until Kamek used his magic to make her gigantic. A Chain Chomp could also be faced as the second-round opponent in the fifth Roshambo Temple, and during one battle, Iggy Koopa and his minions rode on chariots that were pulled by Chain Chomps.

They were also among the enemies that could be used in Paper Mario: Color Splash. In Super Mario Odyssey, they appeared at the Cascade Kingdom in two different sizes, and a giant golden Chain Chomp was kept by Madam Broode as her pet that she used in boss fights. In this game, Mario could use Cappy's 'capture' ability to temporarily possess Chain Chomps. When controlling a Chain Chomp, Mario could have the chomp pull itself and then launch itself forward to destroy some surfaces and damage enemies, including Broode.

Sports Appearances

Chain Chomps appear often in sports games as obstacles or items. Their first and only playable appearance so far has been in Mario Tennis Aces.

• Golf: The Chain Chomps appear as a hazard in the Peach's Garden stage of Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour.
• Kart Racing: Chain Chomps appear as a rare item in the Battle Mode of Super Mario Kart. In Mario Kart 64, rainbow-colored Chain Chomps are found running along the Rainbow Road level, forming the level's primary obstacle in that game. The Chain Chomp appears both as an obstacle in the Mario Circuit and Luigi Circuit stages and a special item for Baby Mario and Baby Luigi in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!. This Chain Chomp item caused a Chomp to appear and tow the player's kart temporarily, but eventually abandon the kart and continue moving freely along, bowling over any racer in its way. Within Mario Kart DS, various free-roaming Chain Chomps are found as obstacles in the Peach Gardens level. In Mario Kart Arcade GP], the Chain Chomp appears as an item that only Mario or Luigi could use.
• Tennis: In Mario Power Tennis, the Chain Chomps are featured in the Chain Chomp Challenge, where players must feed Chain Chomps the right food. Hitting him with Bob-Ombs will enrage him into attacking, at which point he can only be calmed with a FLUDD. A Chain Chomp is later featured in Mario Tennis Aces as a playable character, marking the first playable appearance of a Chain Chomp in any of the sports or racing games.
• Baseball: Chain Chomps appear as obstacles in the Wario Palace level, where it will lunge at anything that nears the foul line. It is also featured in the Chain Chomp sprint minigame, where the player must collect gems while running between the bases without waking the sleeping Chain Chomp.
• Soccer: The Chain Chomp is a rare item in Super Mario Strikers and Mario Strikers Charged that will drop down from the sky, crushing one player and then chasing other players down.

Chain Chomps also appear in all of the Mario Party games, primarily as obstacles or enemies to be avoided in various minigames. They also appear as partners in the Duel Mode of Mario Party 3. In Mario Party 4, Chomps could be summoned by Chomp Calls and would move the location of the star. In Mario Party 5 through Mario Party 7, when the Boo was playable, the Chain Chomp took the place of the Boo in the previous games when it could be paid to steal coins or stars from other players. The latter game also had a Red Chain Chomp which could steal multiple stars. Chain Chomps were also featured as bosses in Mario Party 9 (of the Magma Mine) and Mario Party: Island Tour (as the second boss of Bowser's Tower).

Variations

• Calm Chain Chomp - An emotional variation of the Chain Chomp found in Super Princess Peach. These Chain Chomps will nap until Princess Peach attacks it, at which point they wake up and behave like normal Chain Chomps.
• Chain Chawful - In Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, they are Chain Chomps acting loyal to Fawful due to Fawful-like Sworms, although their attack patterns are like normal Chain Chomps. After the Sworm is destroyed, the Chain Chomp will retreat.
• Chomp Chomp - A name given to the stronger, golden version of the Chain Chomp appearing in Super Mario RPG. Chomp Chomps appear in the Bean Valley area.
• Dark Chomp - A much stronger version of the Chain Chomp found in the Flopside Pit of 100 Trials in Super Paper Mario. They are completely black, obscuring their features.
• Fire Chomp - This Chomp roams freely followed by a trail of fireballs. They can shoot their fireballs at Mario or Luigi and self-destruct after running out of fireballs. This variation appears in both Super Mario Bros. 3, where they are only found in The Sky, and New Super Mario Bros..
• Kinklink - The Kinklinks are miniature Chain Chomps that are used to hold up the chandeliers of Bowser's Keep in Super Mario RPG. In the first battle with Bowser, Bowser can only be defeated by attacking the Kinklink of his chandelier until the Kinklink releases it. Later on, the Kinklinks are replaced by the Shy Guy Chandel-hos by the Smithy Gang.
• Mecha-Chomp - Robotic versions of the Chomps found in the Woohooniversity area of Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga.
• Red Chomp - The Red Chomps are weaker versions of Chain Chomps that Goombella theorizes were only painted red in their sleep. They appear in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door as opponents in Glitzville (as the team Chomp Country), and they are also found in the Pit of 100 Trials. In Super Paper Mario, they are instead stronger than normal Chain Chomps and found in the Flipside Pit of 100 Trials.
• Stone Chomp - These are stone versions of the Chomp enemies that appear only in the Dry Dry Ruins of Paper Mario. The Stone Chomps are found within the treasure rooms and come to life after Mario finds treasures. They are weaker than normal Chomps.

Other Appearances

Video Games

• Starting in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U, the Chain Chomp has appeared as an Assist Trophy. When summoned it, it would lunge at opponents and attempt to hit them. They also appeared as an enemy in Smash Run in the 3DS version. A Chomp Hat was also available as headgear for Mii Fighters. Throughout the Super Smash Bros. series, the Chain Chomp has also been represented through a trophy and sticker (from Mario Party 8) in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, a trophy in the 3DS/Wii U installment and an Advanced-rank Primary Spirit in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Its Spirit had the extra effect of increasing a player fighter's weight. When fought in a Spirit battle, the Chain Chomp's Spirit would possess a metallic Pac-Man and be aided in battle by the Chain Chomp Assist Trophy.
• The Chain Chomp could be unlocked as a weapon in Bayonetta 2 by scanning an amiibo related to Bowser and his minions.
• In Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, they appeared as obstacles in some areas.

The Legend of Zelda

Chain Chomps appear in several The Legend of Zelda games, where have sometimes been referred by the name of "BowWow". The Chain Chomp was originally created as an enemy for the original The Legend of Zelda, but the idea was ultimately discarded and repurposed as a Mario enemy. The appearances of Chain Chomps in Zelda games seems to be a nod to those origins.

Enemies that strongly resemble Chain Chomps (named Kerubin in the Japanese version) appeared in the Turtle Rock dungeon in A Link to the Past and the Palace of the Four Sword in the Game Boy Advance remake. They were kept chained to posts and could not be defeated, freed or destroyed.

In Four Swords, the Chain Chomp appeared as an item that could be unleashed to attack enemies, but it would also attack other Links. This item was referred to as "BowWow" in the original release of the game, but it was changed to "Chain Chomp" for the Anniversary Edition, which marked the first time that they were explicitly called Chain Chomps within the games. A lone Chain Chomp could also be found at Kakariko Village in Four Swords Adventures.

In Hyrule Warriors, the Chain Chomp appeared as part of several tiers of Link's Gauntlet weapon, where it replaced a ball and chain. Specifically, it was part of the Power Gloves, Power Gloves + and Burning Gloves.

Link's Awakening

In Link's Awakening, the name of "BowWow" is first used. Madam Meowmeow has several of them that she keeps as pets. The large one is named BowWow and is kept outside. Her other two are smaller ones, named ChowChow and CiaoCiao. CiaoCiao is actually capable of speech and is part of the trading sidequest, giving Link her dog food in exchange for a Ribbon. As for BowWow, he is captured by Moblins after Link completes the first dungeon. Link must save him from the Moblins' hideout and is asked to take him for a walk afterwards. While walking BowWow, he will consume nearly any enemy in his way and is also the only way to destroy some of the obstacles blocking off the second dungeon, the Bottle Grotto.

There is a photo opportunity with BowWow in the Game Boy Color remake, while in the Switch remake, figurines of both CiaoCiao and BowWow could be won through the Trendy Game and put on display in Madam Meowmeow's home. BowWow's figurine is the last of the figures that can be won in the game and only appears after completing the game.

Cancelled Appearances

• Chain Chomps were planned to appear in Super Mario World at some point in its development, but they were ultimately cut.
• A screenshot for an earlier version of Paper Mario: Sticker Star shows that a Chomp was intended to act as one of Mario's partners at one point. However, it was ultimately decided not to include partner characters in the final game.

Trivia

• Chain Chomp is inspired by Shigeru Miyamoto's memories of being chased by his neighbor's dog as a child.
• The Chain Chomp was apparently originally created for inclusion in The Legend of Zelda, only to ultimately wind up being set aside and then utilized by the Mario team.
• In Yoshi's Island, various rocks with Chomp faces on them called Chomp Rocks are found.