The Chomp is a video game character from Nintendo's Mario series of games.

It is a black, spherical creature, dog-like in personality, often tethered to a block or post by a chain. It has sharp teeth and is constantly gnawing at the air and straining against its chain, as if eager to "chomp" on any passers-by. Under unusual circumstances, Chain Chomps can come loose — for example, in Super Mario Bros. 3, when the in-game timer for the level hits 160 seconds. Normally they are invincible. In some games, Chomps can be beneficial.

Appearances

Chomps made their first appearance in level 2-5 of Super Mario Bros. 3 for the NES/Famicom as Chain Chomps, along with their cousins, the flying, fire-spitting, self-destructing Fire Chomps. They have since appeared in many Mario games. In Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars for the SNES, Bowser uses a Chain Chomp for a weapon, and Chain Chomps also appear as enemies. They also appear in Yoshi's Island for the SNES, devoid of their chains and having increased to the massive size they retained in many future games (save one specimen, which remained chained and small, like in previous games). In Super Mario 64, they acquired their distinctive bark, which was used in all subsequent games, save Paper Mario, where Chain Chomps (as well as the Stone Chomp variant) were unleashed by Tutankoopa and, like most of the other characters in the game, made no distinctive sound. In Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, a Chain Chomp is a useable item for Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, Petey Piranha, and King Boo that pulls the racers forward for a few seconds and bowls over other racers in its path. Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour features a hole where if you hit the ball into a circular area, a Chain Chomp devours your ball. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door features two types of Chain Chomps: Red Chomps, which appear in Glitzville and the Pit of 100 Trials, and traditional Chain Chomps, appearing in the Palace of Shadow. In Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, two Chain Chomp enemies appear. In one battle at Woohoo Hooniversity, Mecha-Chomps, dog-like mechanical Chomps, appear. Chomp Bros., a variation of the Hammer Bros. that swings a Chomp, appear in Bowser's Castle. Chain Chomps have also made appearances in the Mario Party series. Most recently, Super Mario Strikers featured a Chain Chomp as an item you could attack with. If used, the Chomp attacked all opposing players on the field, leaving them on the ground for a few seconds.

Two Chomps made a cameo in The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening as pets in Mabe Village, and in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past as monsters that the player had to avoid.

The Chomp was inspired by a childhood experience of Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto, where a dog tried to attack him. The dog lunged at him, but was jerked back by its leash just as the canine snapped at Miyamoto inches in front of his face.

In the Japanese version of Mario's games, the Chomp is named Wanwan, the rough equivalent of "Woof Woof." This explains it's dog-like personality, and also why it was called Bow Wow in the North American version of The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening.