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Sidestepper

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Sidestepper
Sidestepper MB.png
MarioSymbol.svg

Official artwork of a Sidestepper from Mario Bros.

Universe Mario
Debut Mario Bros. (1983)
Smash Bros. appearances Brawl
SSB4
Ultimate
Most recent non-Smash appearance WarioWare: Move It! (2023, cameo)
Console/platform of origin Arcade
Article on Super Mario Wiki Sidestepper

Sidesteppers (サイドステッパー, Sidestepper) are enemies from the original Mario Bros. game.

Origin[edit]

Red and Blue Sidesteppers.

Sidesteppers, along with Shellcreepers and Freezies, made their debut in Mario Bros.. They are crab-like creatures that are known for their speed and appearing in numbers.

Sidesteppers emerge from the pipes on the upper portion of the stages and move from one side to the other. They can be defeated either by being hit from below or being turned upside-down by the POW Block, after which they can be kicked off-screen. Sidesteppers, however, are resilient, as the player would need to hit them from below twice; however, they become faster if they are hit only once.

If the Sidesteppers are not defeated while flipped upside down, they flip upright and become irritable, after which they change color and move faster.

Sidesteppers also appear in the Mario Kart series as obstacles in certain courses.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl[edit]

As a stage hazard[edit]

A Sidestepper (right) and a Shellcreeper.

Sidesteppers appear as a stage element in the Mario Bros. stage. They are stage hazards, but they can be attacked or hit by the stage's POW Block, at which point they flip upside down and become throwable items. As items they can also be hit to send them flying: weak attacks like jabs or Fox's Blaster launching them a short distance and strong attacks will launch them very far.

Sidesteppers like the other enemies in the stage, cause very large horizontal knockback, whether or not they are thrown. Due to the odd shape and low ceilings of the stage, throwing these enemies is the easiest way of defeating opponents, as there is not enough vertical knockback for them to tech on the ceilings. A flipped-over Sidestepper can be eaten by Munchlax.

Similar to their behavior in the original game, each time a Sidestepper is left on its back for long enough, it will get up again, will change color (from red to blue to purple), and move faster. Different colored Sidesteppers don't have any differences when hit or when used as an item.

Trophy[edit]

Sidesteppers trophy from Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
Sidesteppers's trophy in Brawl
Sidesteppers
Crabby enemies taken on by Mario and Luigi. One bump from below wouldn't flip them over, but rather anger them so they moved faster. These pests had to be bumped twice before they could be upended and kicked off the stage. If left alone after being turned upside down, or if there was one left, their speed would increase. They went by the basic name of "crabs" in Japan.
NES: Mario Bros.
GB Advance: Super Mario Advance

Sticker[edit]

Name Game Effect Characters
Sidestepper Mario Bros AttackLeg+008TypeIcon(Foot).png Attack +8 All charactersRandomHeadSSBB.png
Brawl Sticker Sidestepper (Mario Bros.).png
Sidestepper
(Mario Bros.)

In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U[edit]

In Smash Tour[edit]

Item in Smash Tour

Sidesteppers appear as a red trophy item. When used, the player's fighter will have the speed of their sideways dodges increased for the duration of that battle.

Trophy[edit]

The Sidesteppers trophy appears as part of the Mario Bros. Trophy Box.

Sidesteppers's trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
Sidesteppers
NTSC Can you guess how this crab-like enemy moves? The name might give you a clue. But Mario could be in for a surprise when he punches one from below—instead of flipping over, it starts sidestepping even faster! Oh, Mario, did you make it angry? Don't worry—a second punch should calm it down...or at least knock it on its head.
Arcade: Mario Bros. (1983)
GB Advance: Super Mario Advance (06/2001)
PAL Any guesses for how this crab-like enemy moves? The name might give you a clue. Mario could be in for a surprise when he punches one from below – instead of flipping over, it starts sidestepping even faster! Oh, Mario, did you make it angry? Don't worry – a second punch should calm it down...or at least knock it on its head.
Arcade: Mario Bros. (09/1986)
GB Advance: Super Mario Advance (06/2001)

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[edit]

As a stage hazard[edit]

Sidesteppers return as a stage hazard in the returning Mario Bros. stage. Their behavior when walking around is unchanged, however how knockback affects them has been changed. In Brawl any attack was able to flip a Sidestepper and launch them, now they receive knockback similar to characters and need some amount of knockback to flip. This prevents things like Fox's Blaster or Bayonetta's Bullet Arts from protecting themselves from Sidesteppers or having a low-commitment method of launching them at opponents. Low knockback attacks like Falco's Blaster can still flip them, but they will need to be picked up and thrown or hit with a stronger attack to be of any offensive use.

Spirit[edit]

The Sidestepper also appears as a Novice-class support spirit.

In Adventure Mode: World of Light, the Sidestepper is presumably one of the countless spirits captured by Galeem during his takeover of the universe. The Sidestepper's spirit is located in the 8-bit maze section of The Light Realm.

The Sidestepper's Spirit Battle uses an army of Mr. Game & Watch puppet fighters and is fought on he Mario Bros. stage. During the battle, after defeating the first three red Mr. Game & Watch puppet fighters, four blue Mr. Game & Watch puppet fighters appear with increased move speed, referencing how the Sidesteppers can turn blue and increase their speed when damaged. The last four red Mr. Game & Watch puppet fighters also appear and deals damage by dashing into the player's fighter, referencing the angered Sidesteppers attack by dashing into the player.

No. Image Name Type Class Cost Ability Series
113
SSBU spirit Sidestepper.png
Sidestepper
Support
1 Trade-Off Speed ↑ Mario Bros. Series

Names in other languages[edit]

Language Name
Japan Japanese サイドステッパー, Sidestepper
UK English Sidestepper
France French Zarbipas
Germany German Krabbe
Spain Spanish (PAL) Cangrejo
Mexico Spanish (NTSC) Flancogrejo
Italy Italian Granchio
China Chinese Sidestepper
South Korea Korean 게님
Netherlands Dutch Sidestepper
Russia Russian Бокоход