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Batadon
Winged, stone statues. They inhabit the Kingdom of Easton in the Game Boy video game Super Mario Land.
Trivia
1. Each defeated Batadon is worth 800 points. If you jump on multiple enemies in succession, bouncing from one to the next, the points awarded will double with each kill in the chain (i.e., the first Batadon would be worth 800 points, the second 1,600 points, the third 3,200 points, and so forth).
2. Batadon, its' sprinting comrade Tokotoko, their rock-tossing leader Hiyoihoi, and the Easton Kingdom itself, are all homages to the monoliths found on Easter Island. Perhaps Nintendo, seeing a good thing, decided to copy Konami's Gradius series of games, which are well known for their use of the mysterious stone heads.
3. It takes three successful superball hits to kill a Batadon, but only one jumping stomp. Obviously, the jumping technique is faster and more efficient.
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BACKGROUND:
The Easton Kingdom of Sarasaland is populated by a variety of creatures, but the dominant life forms are a race of sentient stone monoliths. These 'Eastons' are ruled by the mighty Hiyoihoi. While all Eastons have a similar body, shaped like an elongated human head, the number and kinds of appendages an individual has varies. Some have both legs and arms (Hiyoihoi), some have only arms (Tokotoko), and still others have neither but sport wings (Batadon). For unknown reasons, the Batadon form appears to be particularly important in their culture, as one sees many icons of them erected atop tall columns in the area surrounding Hiyoihoi's lair. These stony characters are magical in nature--they do not need to eat, drink, or breathe. It is thought that the land of Easton itself somehow sustains them.
One fateful day, the alien monster Tatanga set his sights on conquering Sarasaland, and to that end, he hypnotized all of the inhabits of Easton, and the other three kingdoms of Birabuto, Muda, and Chai, to do his bidding. To further cement and legitimize his reign, Tatanga also abducted Princess Daisy, whom he plans to wed against her will. The hero, Mario, heard of these events and journeyed to Sarasaland to oppose Tatanga . . .
ABILITIES:
Due to its considerable weight, a Batadon cannot attain true flight; instead, its wings assist it to make tremendous jumps and slow its descent. They can travel 30 feet in a single leap. Batadons attack by landing on, and crushing, their enemies.
WEAKNESSES:
Batadons sometimes misjudge their 'flying' leaps and plummet to their doom in one of the many nearly-bottomless pits found in Easton Kingdom. These flapping rocks can be slain by any of Mario's attacks (stomping, superballs, and invincibility star).
Materials:
(Batadon) Cardboard from a cereal box, newsprint, tissue paper, sand, a wire twist tie, white glue, hot glue, and acrylic paint.
('The Dangers of Easton' Book) White drawing paper, colored pencil, graphite pencil, ink, white glue, and hot glue.
Dimensions*:
(*The numbers given are for the figure posed with its wings sticking straight out from its' sides--the maximum wingspan.)
6.0 cm/2.4 in. x 10.8 cm/4.3 in. (highest point x widest point)
Articulation:
Two points. Both wings move in any direction at their bases where they attach to the back of the figure's head.
Time:
Approximately 4-5 hours (each) for the figure and book. I began, and finished, the figure the evening of 5/30/07 and I made the book the morning of 5/31/07.
For comparison purposes, below are two images of Batadon. The first is an enlarged game sprite from the Super Mario Land Game Boy video game (for those of you who don't know, or are too young to remember, the original Game Boy did not have a color screen, the graphics were expressed in four shades of gray). The second photo is a scan of Batadon's entry in the Super Mario Land instruction manual.
REFERENCES:
1. Nintendo Game Boy Super Mario Land game and instruction manual.
2. Google Super Mario Land image search.
3. Gallery magazine September 1995 (Volume 23, Number 9).
4. Nintendo Super Game Boy Player's Guide.
5. Nintendo Game Boy Nemesis instruction manual.
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