Dorrie

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Dorothy, also known as the Swimming Beast^[1], is a large, friendly plesiosaur-like character who debuted in Super Mario 64. He helps the player ride across water or reach higher areas. Super Mario Odyssey explicitly refers to Dorothys as a species^[2] and it features purple and yellow Dorothys in addition to blue. In terms of design, Dorothy has a few elements in common with Yoshis, such as the white area of soft tissue spanning the whole lower part of the body and a similar round face that, since Super Mario 64 DS, even features a placement of the eyes and nostrils akin to that seen in Yoshis. Furthermore, the two species share the suffix, -sshi (「ッシー」), in their Japanese names.

History[]

Super Mario series[]

Super Mario 64/Super Mario 64 DS[]

Dorothy makes his debut in Super Mario 64, where he lives in an underground lake in the Hazy Maze Cave. He is the focus of the first mission of the course, Swimming Beast In The Cavern. He constantly swims in circles, but gladly gives Mario a ride if he gets on his back. It is also possible to steer Dorothy from there; Mario loses control of movement for a moment, then the player can control Dorothy by facing the direction they want to go in. ground-pounding on his back causes him to lower his neck, allowing Mario to climb onto his head to reach higher areas, like the entrance to the Cavern of the Metal Cap. A sign near the lake in which he takes residence states that he might eat visitors if they get too close, although he is actually harmless.

Dorothy reappears in Super Mario 64 DS with an updated design, with the most noticeable change being a pair of goggles that are highly similar to the ones worn by the Dolphins in Super Mario World. He reprises his role as in Super Mario 64 by giving the player a ride wherever they want to go, although technically he is no longer needed for the first mission because the island in the middle is now much lower and therefore easily accessible. Dorothy wears Wario's Cap only during the first mission of Hazy Maze Cave, unless the player is playing as Wario himself. Also, while the player can still ground-pound on his back, it is no longer required, as he now lowers his head if the player approaches the base of his neck.

New Super Mario Bros.[]

Dorothy returns in New Super Mario Bros. and appears in two sizes. Mario can ride on his back to cross large bodies of poison in World 4-1 and World 4-6. If Mario does a ground-pound on Dorothy, he moves faster through the water.

Super Mario Odyssey[]

Dorothy appears in Super Mario Odyssey, where it can be seen wearing a top hat and swimming in the Lake Kingdom, Mushroom Kingdom, and Darker Side. Purple and yellow-colored Dorothys also appear in the Seaside Kingdom, where they wear hats and are associated with the Crazy Cap shop. Additionally, a Rubber Dorothy can be purchased from the Lake Kingdom's Crazy Cap shop as a souvenir for the Odyssey.

In this game, genderless pronouns are used to refer to Dorothy.^[3] This game depicts Dorothys as speaking in long-held moaning noises, such as "AoouuuooOOooOooOoo," which are subtitled in parentheses. Power Moons are sometimes found attached to Dorothy's back or belly, or flying above their heads.

Attacking a Dorothy with a ground-pound or a Cap Throw makes it startle. One Coin is produced when Dorothy's head is hit, which is possible five times in a row.

Mario Party series[]

Dorothy is a recurring minor character in the Mario Party series. Although only directly appearing in a few games, such as Mario Party 3 and Mario Party Advance, a lot of aquatic equipment in the Mario Party series, such as boats, are based on Dorothy.

In Mario Party 2, Dorothy makes a small cameo in Mystery Land in the background lake, with his appearance resembling the photograph of the Loch Ness Monster.

In Mario Party 3, Dorothy, referred to by the in-game text as a female, is seen in an Item Minigame called Dorothy Dip. She also makes a cameo in the background of the board Creepy Cavern.

In Mario Party 4, Dorothy is seen as a paddle boat in the minigame Right Oar Left?

In Mario Party 5, red, blue, green, and yellow plastic Dorothys appear in the minigame Tug-o-Dorothy.

In Mario Party Advance, Dorothy resides at Loch Dorothy, and reveals that he is lonely after scaring away Mr. E. If Yoshi visits him, they become friends and Dorothy gives him a Gaddget, the Soil Sonar. However, the credits state that Yoshi has not seen him in ages. Despite Mario Party Advance having been released after Super Mario 64 DS, Dorothy uses his original design instead of his updated design.

Dr. Mario World[]

In Dr. Mario World, Dorothy appears in the background of World 1 after it is cleared.^[4]

Trivia[]

• In Japan, plesiosaurs are known as long necked dragons (「首長竜」), this being possibly the reason why Dorothy was originally referred to as a sea dragon (「海竜」, written in hiragana as 「かいりゅう」 in the original game^[5]).
• Dorothy shares his Japanese name with Bahamutt.

References[]