Phantamanta
- Not to be confused with Manta.
| Phantamanta | |
|---|---|
 Screenshot from Super Mario Sunshine | |
| Species | Manta |
| First appearance | Super Mario Sunshine (2002) |
| Latest appearance | Super Mario 3D All-Stars (2020) |
- “This giant manta-shaped thing showed up. It was this paper-thin...floating silhouette. It came and covered the hotel grounds in this electric goop.”
- —Hotel manager, Super Mario Sunshine
Phantamanta, originally known as the Manta,[1][2][3] is a boss who appears in the first episode of Sirena Beach in Super Mario Sunshine. It is the cause of Hotel Delfino's disappearance. It is a pale salmon-colored silhouette of a manta ray. When Mario sprays it with water from FLUDD or attacks it with Water Barrels, it splits into smaller versions of itself, also referred to as Manta rays.[4] It possesses the uncanny ability to project itself over any surface of varying elevations instantaneously, much like a shadow. Its name is a pun on "phantom" and "manta."
In its episode, The Manta Storm, before Phantamanta arrives, the electric goop that it leaves behind before Mario arrives is in the shape of Phantamanta itself. When battled, as Phantamanta moves, it leaves a trail of electric goop. Phantamanta cannot reach Mario if he is under one of the two huts or under a coconut tree, which is foreshadowed by a Pianta in one of the huts if Mario speaks to her before the battle. If Phantamanta is still in its largest form, it can still hurt Mario under the huts or trees. In addition, if Mario stands in the water, Phantamanta can still reach him, but it cannot produce goop with a shock. Upon contact with FLUDD's water, Phantamanta first divides into two. Each of those Phantamantas can divide into three more. Each of those can divide into four more Phantamantas. Lastly, each of those can further divide into four more Phantamantas, making a total of 96 Phantamantas to defeat. When all of the Phantamantas have fully divided, they turn pink, become irate, and start swarming towards Mario; until this point, the smallest Phantamantas do not pursue him, but all the larger ones do. Once the last one is vanquished, Hotel Delfino is restored, revealing a Shine Sprite for Mario to collect.
In Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour and Mario Golf: Advance Tour, one of the default names on the scoreboards is Phantamanta.
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | マンタ[5] Manta |
Manta | |
| French | Méga Manta[?] | Mega Manta | |
| German | Magischer Manta[?] | Magic Manta | |
| Italian | Fantamanta[?] | Phantamanta | |
| Spanish | Mega Raya[?] | Mega Ray |
Trivia[edit]
- Phantamanta's music is a slightly eerie variation of the miniboss music that plays when the player fights the Plungelos, the Proto Piranhas, and Gooper Blooper (in Noki Bay's second episode).
- Phantamanta may have been inspired by the ending of the horror novel The Shining, after the Overlook Hotel is destroyed: "For a moment it assumed the shape of a huge, obscene manta, and then the wind seemed to catch it, to tear it and shred it like old dark paper. It fragmented, was caught in a whirling eddy of smoke, and a moment later it was gone as if it had never been."
- In Splatoon 3, Big Man's boss fight pays homage to Phantamanta, with the ink color even being similar to the goop Phantamanta uses. His boss title, "The Hype Manta Storm," also references The Manta Storm, the name of the episode in which Phantamanta is fought.
References[edit]
- ^ Loe, Casey (August 12, 2002). Super Mario Sunshine Perfect Guide. Versus Books (American English). ISBN 1-931886-09-1. Page 78.
- ^ Bogenn, Tim, and Doug Walsh (2002). Super Mario Sunshine Official Strategy Guide. BradyGAMES (American English). ISBN 0-7440-0180-3. Page 92.
- ^ Hodgson, David S J, Bryan Stratton, and Stephen Stratton (September 3, 2002). Super Mario Sunshine Prima's Official Strategy Guide. Prima Games (American English). ISBN 0-7615-3961-1. Page 21.
- ^ Hodgson, David S J, Bryan Stratton, and Stephen Stratton (September 3, 2002). Super Mario Sunshine Prima's Official Strategy Guide. Prima Games (American English). ISBN 0-7615-3961-1. Page 116.
- ^ 2015. Super Mario Bros. Hyakka: Nintendo Kōshiki Guidebook, Super Mario Sunshine section. Shogakukan (Japanese). Page 100.
