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Fire Bars (or fire bars) are recurring Dungeon traps in The Legend of Zelda series, which typically names them Guruguru Bars.[name reference needed] Prior to appearing in The Legend of Zelda games, Fire Bars were introduced in the Mario franchise. Fire Bars go unnamed in The Minish Cap.

Fire Bars were originally intended to appear in The Legend of Zelda, which would have been their first appearance, but were transferred to Super Mario Bros., making their first appearance there instead.[1] In The Legend of Zelda games, Fire Bars first appear in A Link to the Past.

Characteristics[]

Fire Bars are bars of endlessly spinning flames attached to a base, usually a block or a statue. A few later games in the The Legend of Zelda series attach a Fire Bar to a unique base, including a fireball in Phantom Hourglass, a peg in its center flame in Spirit Tracks, and a rotating fire cannon in A Link Between Worlds.

If they touch Link, Fire Bars will damage him and set him on fire temporarily. This can be especially hazardous in narrow spaces or in areas with nearby pits, where the flames can be difficult to avoid and may knock Link down a hole. Fire Bars in A Link to the Past have a consistent length of having four fireballs attached to them, though subsequent games have much longer Fire Bars, with some having multiple spokes spinning around a single block.

As traps, Fire Bars cannot be destroyed, though they can often be avoided through using the Roc's Feather or Roc's Cape.

Mainline appearances[]

A Link to the Past[]

In A Link to the Past, Fire Bars appear in five Dungeons: the Tower of Hera, Swamp Palace, Skull Woods, Turtle Rock, and lastly Ganon's Tower. Link can pass through a Fire Bar's flames harmlessly by using the Magic Cape or the Cane of Byrna. While this is also possible to do using the Hookshot, the option is not always available, as the Hookshot has to grapple on to something. An instance of this is in Turtle Rock, in an area where Fire Bars spin from the Medusa statues.

Four Swords Adventures[]

Fire Bars appear in certain Dungeons in Four Swords Adventures, such as in the Tower of Flames. In some Dungeons, the Links can change the direction of a Fire Bar's spinning bars of flame by using certain Switches.

The Minish Cap[]

In The Minish Cap, Fire Bars appear in caves and dungeons, such as Dark Hyrule Castle, both while Link is regular-sized and while he is Minish-sized. They can be leapt over using Roc's Cape. If Link uses the reforged Picori Blade to split himself into copies, a copy touching the flames of a Fire Bar will have the same damaging effect as if Link himself came into contact with it, dispelling the copies and setting Link on fire for a time.

Phantom Hourglass[]

Fire Bars appear in two color varieties in Phantom Hourglass: red and blue, encountered in the Temple of Fire and the Ghost Ship respectively. Fire Bars have smaller fire segments than before, although this is compensated for having longer segments, varying in length, and up to three Fire Bars can rotate around the same fire ball.

Spirit Tracks[]

Only red Fire Bars return in Spirit Tracks. They are based on their appearance in Phantom Hourglass and even appear only the Fire Temple, like in the previous game.

A Link Between Worlds[]

Fire Bars in A Link Between Worlds appear in a few dungeons, including Skull Woods, Turtle Rock, and Lorule Castle. Link now has the ability to temporarily freeze a Fire Bar using the Ice Rod.

Tri Force Heroes[]

Fire Bars appear in Dungeons in Tri Force Heroes. Similarly to A Link Between Worlds, the effects of a Fire Bar can be stopped temporarily using a rod, this time the Water Rod, which douses a Guruguru Bar's flames temporarily. Fire Bars have stationary variations in Secret Fortress, where dousing them with the Water Rod is required to press down Switches for the Links to advance.

Spinoff appearances[]

Ancient Stone Tablets[]



In Ancient Stone Tablets, Fire Bars are obstacles, functioning and appearing identically as in A Link to the Past.

Crossover appearances[]

Super Smash Bros. series[]

The Super Smash Bros. series is the most notable instance of Fire Bars appearing in games with both The Legend of Zelda and Mario representation. In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, the Fire Bar is an item, consisting of a column of five fireballs attached to a pommel, making it appear as a sword. A fighter can swing a Fire Bar at their opponent to inflict flame damage on them.

Nomenclature[]

TMC Forest Minish Artwork Names in other regions TMC Jabber Nut Sprite
LanguageName
This table was generated using translation pages.
To request an addition, please contact a staff member with a reference.

Further reading[]

References

  1. "Iwata: You mean the spinning bars of fire attached to the castle walls that you encounter as you make your way along the corridor to fight Bowser.
    Nakago: Right. Those first appeared right in the centre of the screen in Zelda.
    Iwata: ...Really!?
    Nakago: Yes, that idea originally comes from Zelda. We thought it would work better in Mario, so we transferred it across. I think it was Miyamoto-san who suggested it. Or perhaps it was Tezuka-san..."Iwata Asks: New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Nintendo Official Website.
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