Rolling Attack

It's not just for hedgehogs.

Basically a three ton pill-bug with a bad stomach acid problem. Folds itself into a wheel shape and is able to propel themselves with great speed, using their enormous weight and sturdy armor to crush anything unlucky enough to be in their path to paste.

— DRG Miner's Manual on the Q'ronar Shellback, Deep Rock Galactic

The weaponized use of Be the Ball, this is when a character curls up into a ball and careens forward, destroying everything in their path. Woe especially to those who are on a downwards-sloping hill, in which the attack gets additional gravity power. A lot of the time, characters who use this type of attack have parts on the back that enhance this attack, such as rock-hard armor, blades, or spikes. See also Spin Attack, Sphere Factor, Dash Attack, and Slide Attack. Compare Monowheel Mayhem, which describes a type of vehicle that may be able to execute this sort of attack.

Not related to Roll-and-Move or Unnecessary Combat Roll. Also see Bouncing Battler.

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Examples:

Anime & Manga

• Dragon Ball: Mister Satan has a move called "Rolling Attack", which is nothing more than a fancy-looking mobility technique.
• Sonic the Hedgehog Story Comic: The manga and its follow-ups had a trend of giving Sonic several variations for his spin moves which he called out anytime he used them.

Asian Animation

• In Season 3 episode 4 of Happy Heroes, the stone monster curls up and rolls at the Supermen a few times as they're fighting each other.
• In the Motu Patlu episode "Super Murgiyan", the super-powered chickens morph into the shapes of bowling balls and roll themselves at Motu and Patlu's gang to attack them.
• Simple Samosa: In "Khelo Samosa", the giant coins in the game's final boss fight roll towards Samosa's gang in an attempt to hurt them.

Films — Animated

• In Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf - Moon Castle: The Space Adventure, Weslie is chased by a melon trooper, who rolls around in an attempt to attack him. Weslie manages to dodge the attack when the melon rolls onto the edge of a cliff which crumbles and falls.
• Tuk-Tuk the giant armadillo/pillbug from Raya and the Last Dragon rolls as his primary mode of transportation, usually with Raya riding him. There are a few examples in the film of him ramming into enemies.
• During the attack on the karate school in Scooby-Doo! and the Samurai Sword, Scooby and Shaggy temporarily become sumo wrestlers and roll over the top of the robot ninjas.
• The Super Mario Bros. Movie has Donkey Kong use his rolling attack from the Donkey Kong Country games at one point to attack Mario.

Films — Live-Action

• In the film Battleship, the aliens use ~7-foot-tall wheel-shaped combat drones that attack by grinding/shredding into and through targets. A single one is capable of sinking a US Missile Destroyer (though it takes a little while), and another decimates a US Marine Corps base including one helicopter that takes off in time to barely avoid bisection, only for a spiked tentacle to lash out backward from the droid and rip the coptor's tail off.
• Anguirus in Godzilla: Final Wars attacked by curling into a ball and rolling at his enemies. He also attacks this way in the video games Godzilla Save The Earth and Godzilla Unleashed.

Literature

• Mattimeo had a pair of hedgehogs locking together into a single spiked ball, then rolling around to attack enemies. Incidentally, the book was released two years before the first Sonic the Hedgehog game came out.
• Reign of the Seven Spellblades: Twice in volume 5, Enrico Forghieri wields a "ball golem", literally a self-propelled ball of stone, as a test for his students: the first time requiring the second-year students to defeat it as a class assignment, the second time as an obstacle for Oliver and Nanao after he kidnaps their friend Pete and leads them on a merry chase through the labyrinth. The class immobilizes it by liquefying the floor, while Nanao simply slides under and flings it backwards over her and Oliver's heads.

Professional Wrestling

• Depending on how high and far the opponent jumps or doesn't, a rolling senton into the corner turnbuckle, especially if the opponent down against the rear buckle pad, can be a literal rolling attack. Especially when done by larger wrestlers like Kongo Kong, Kevin Steen and Queen's Quest Viper.
• Ultimate Warrior had a much less impressive version of this in an infamous WCW match that was only eclipsed by a botched fireball. Rather than curling up and rolling or grabbing an opponent and forcing them to roll with him, like the previous examples, he just lied on the mat and tried to trip opponents by rolling around. Jay Bradley later used it under the jobber name "Ryan Braddock" against Festus in a slightly more plausible manner.
• Angela Fong's version of the whirly birds starts with her rolling at the opponent...backwards.
• Harlow O'Hara's harlock typically starts with her knocking the opponent down by rolling into their legs before uncurling on their back.

Video Games

• Alma from Adventures of Lolo will roll towards you if you're in its axis in order to ruin your day.
• ANNO: Mutationem: In the boss fight against the Mother Grub, it uses its own body to spin at high speed to roll around the area and attack from above when it launches itself into the air.
• ARK: Survival Evolved 's Roll Rats and Doedicuruses have attacks where they roll into enemies. The Roll Rat gains speed the longer it rolls and can hold up to 6 passengers while doing so, while the Doedicurus has a simple roll attack with no added benefits.
• In Armadillo, you have an attack which allows you to turn into a ball.
• In Armillo, the titular armadillo's primary method of breaking obstacles is rolling into them.
• The eponymous duo of the Banjo-Kazooie games can do a roll while they're running.
• Body Blows: Inferno, a flame elemental being introduced in Body Blows Galactic, can roll himself into a flaming Catherine wheel and launch himself at the opponent a la Kano.
• Dark Souls's Thorn armor allows you to damage foes with your dodge roll.
• Darkstalkers: Felicia's Shoryuken incorporates rolling. Her Captain Ersatz from Galaxy Fight, Roomi, does the same.
• Deep Rock Galactic: Q'ronar Shellbacks move by rolling around on the ground and walls, and attack by rolling into dwarves and launching them into the air.
• Dillon from the Dillon's Rolling Western games rolls himself up into a ball as an attack and as his main method of travel.
• Donkey Kong Country: Donkey and Kiddy Kong have a rolling attack, while Diddy Kong has a cartwheel attack. Armies and Bristles also do this. This holds true in Donkey Kong Country Returns.
• Dragon's Crown
  • The Ground Pound attack of the Dwarf has him curling up into a ball before dropping down while spinning, grinding his poor target into the floor.
  • The Amazon's armed mid-air attack has her performing a rolling attack with her spear extended, becoming something akin to a buzzsaw. Adding the Deadly Revolution skill lets her do this multiple times before landing.
• Dual Blades/Slashers: The Power Battle: Jaman, despite being a Mighty Glacier, is capable of rolling and throwing himself at opponents in a manner similar to Blanka, of whom Jaman has a few similarities to.
• DuckTales: The King Terra-firmian boss fight involves him rolling around to attack.
• Dyna Gear have a Talarurus boss who can curl itself into a spiked ball to tackle you.
• Elden Ring: The Lightning Ram skill makes the user curl up and roll forward while imbued with lightning, dealing damage on contact. It's surprisingly effective in PvP thanks of its tracking.
• Eternity: The Last Unicorn have an early enemy, tortoise-like creatures with spiked shells, who can curl into a ball and pull a rolling tackle on you if left idle. However they're quite slow and their rolling attempt can be interrupted by quick slashing attacks.
• The Hide of Morihaus Set Bonus in The Elder Scrolls Online makes your Unnecessary Combat Roll deal damage if you roll through an enemy.
• The fourth Endless Nightmare have a Body of Bodies monster made of various human parts fused into a ball, and it will roll all over the place trying to flatten you with it's fleshy hide.
• Evolve: The Behemoth can use its roll ability to run over wildlife and enemies. Given that it weighs over a hundred tons, it's surprising this doesn't do more damage.
• Exorcist Fairy have one of its bosses being a giant stone lion head, whose sole attack is to roll around left and right trying to crush you. Although if you inflict enough damage, it shifts forms and starts jumping around instead.
• Freedom Planet: Sash Lilac's Dragon Boost turns her into a spinning ball, a state in which she can also propel herself upwards, in the air, and downwards from the air. Carol Tea has a subdued version of Sonic's in that it doesn't accelerate her unless done on a downward slope. It helps that the game was originally planned as a Sonic fan game.
• Fishgun: You face gigantic, sentient peaches who repeatedly attempts squashing you to a pulp by rolling at your direction.
• Gizmo: The Player Character can compress his body into a cylindrical shape and roll into enemies, destroying them.
• Goof Troop: The green pirates have a rolling charge.
• GunFu Fighter: The first boss, a Transforming Mecha who alternates between firing turrets and morphing into a round metal sphere and rolling at you. It's invincible while rolling as well.
• Hollow Knight:
  • The Watcher Knights use an attack where they curl up on themselves, swords pointing out, and either roll directly along the ground or start bouncing forwards up and down. They're also fought two at a time, and have a marked tendency for one to use one variant and the other the second for a combo that can be very difficult to dodge.
  • In one of Dung Defender's attacks, he curls up on himself and starts bouncing around the room alonside his dung balls.
• Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy: Jak can roll on the ground and then perform a rolling leap that can hit enemies (also making for a handy Long Jump). Averted with the sequels, as the damage ability of this move was removed in them, so that you don't accidentally hit a cop and get chased across half the city.
• Kingdom Hearts:
  • Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep: Ventus's Dodge Roll, and Aqua's Cartwheel have variants that can attack enemies: the Thunder Roll and Firewheel, respectively,
  • Kingdom Hearts 3D [Dream Drop Distance]: The Hebby Repp and Sudo Neku Dream Eaters can attack by curling their bodies into a circle and rolling about like a wheel. The Drill Sye and Cera Terror use the more standard "turn into a ball" variant. They also use said attacks when performing Link Attacks with Sora, the former catching on fire thanks to the extra momentum from being thrown, the latter involving Sphere Factor.
• Klonoa Heroes: Densetsu no Star Medal: Pango's Rolling Blaster has him rolling at high speeds, but it's the explosions he produces and not the rolling that deal damage.
• La-Mulana has blue hedgehog-like creatures which curl up and then speed through scenery.
• The Last Story: Muruk (as well as Superboss Gigamuruk) rotates its encased body while standing in one spot to paralyze its opponents with electricity.
• League of Legends: Rammus has a skill called Powerball that allows him to roll like a ball with stable acceleration for some time or until he collides with an enemy. Collision will cause nearby enemies to be knocked up and take some damage.
• The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon: During the battle against the golem, Terrador attacks it by covering himself in earth and rolling at high speed through its body like a living cannonball.
• The Legend of Zelda:
  • All the 3D Zelda games give Link the ability to roll forward.
    • The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask: The action is actually called "Attack," even though the most you can attack with it is some crates.^note Majora's Mask 3D fixed this issue.
    • The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask: Link can do a rolling attack (complete with spikes) when he transforms into a Goron.
    • The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess: Link deals damage to enemies if the Iron Boots are equipped while rolling. Repeatedly rolling into a Cuccoo briefly lets you control the Cuccoo (unlike other games where attacking them brings down the fury of the birds' friends).
  • The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time: King Dodongo will, if Link fails to kill him while he's stunned, rear up, curl into a ball, and roll around the arena in an attempt to crush him. Link must ride out the attack by either hugging the walls or hiding under his shield.
  • The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons: The miniboss Syger attacks by curling into a spiked ball and rolling across the room in an attempt to run Link over.
  • The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess: When Link is first trying to climb Death Mountain, the Gorons try to keep him away by curling into rocky balls and rolling into him at high speeds.
  • The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword: Ampilus, crustaceans that live in ammonite-like shells, withdraw into their shells when they spot Link and roll at him. They can electrocute Link if they hit him, but will become dizzy if they run into a rock or wall instead.
  • The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom: Yunobo's Sage power consists of him rolling up into a ball and rolling forward at high speeds, traveling up curbed surfaces and producing an explosion when colliding with other solid objects. It can be used to blow up rocky obstructions and roll over enemies.
• Lost Home: The armadillo in solo mode can defeat some enemies and smash boulders while rolled up.
• Mazin Saga: Mutant Fighter have humanoid-pillbug hybrid monsters, who curls themselves into balls and attack by ramming at you.
• Minecraft Legends: The Pigmadillos are enemies that have a special armor that can allow them to roll for either transportation or offensive purposes.
• Monster Hunter:
  • Monster Hunter 2 (dos): Rajang can use an aimed rolling dive bomb after jumping into the air.
  • Monster Hunter 3 (Tri):
    • The Uragaan curls its body into a wheel shape and rolls around rapidly, both to travel and to squish pesky hunters. The subspecies (Steel Uragaan) does the same.
    • The Royal Ludroth simply rolls its body sideways like a dog to squish anyone attacking it from that angle.
  • Monster Hunter Portable 3rd: The Volvidon rolls around, both as an attack and as locomotion. As it's based on an armadillo, this is justified.
  • Monster Hunter 4:
    • When Zamtrios absorbs air and inflates its whole body, it can roll onto the hunter to harm them. In High Rank, it jumps backward before rolling forward for a better aim.
    • From this game onward, Furious Rajang can perform its rolling dive bomb three times in a row, adjusting its aim with each rebound, with the third roll a guaranteed hit unless the victim rolls out of the way quickly. Or you can just move towards the Rajang's shadow as soon as it finishes the second roll.
  • Monster Hunter: World:
    • The Great Jagras does a sideways rolling to attempt to crush the hunter during battle, but only after it eats another monster to bulk itself up. The damage input and range of the roll are greater than many of its other attacks.
    • Radobaan is related to the Uragaan but coats itself in bones rather than rock. It also does the trademark rolling attack and is more agile than its sturdier cousin, even able to do a sideways spin when enraged.
• Nibblers:
  • Armadillo Lizards use this as their means of attack.
  • As for Boss Lizards, Rumbledillo and Bigtooth have this as a means of attack, with Bigtooth also throwing snowballs.
• Pikmin:
  • Pikmin 2: The Segmented Crawbster attacks by curling up into a ball and rolling after your active captain in an attempt to crush him and any Pikmin in his squad under its hard shell.
  • Hey! Pikmin: Shearblugs attack by curling into spiky balls and rolling towards your Pikmin.
• Pokémon has a few moves that could be considered this, but chief among them is the move Rollout, a Rock-type move that locks the user into using it for five turns, which each successive hit being stronger than the last. The move's description states that the user rolls into the opponent, with the animation even having the user curl up into a ball and charge into the opponent. As a unique interaction (shared only with its Ice-type clone, Ice Ball), its power is doubled if the user has used Defense Curl the turn prior. Curiously, the Pokémon most associated with the move, Donphan (and by proxy, its Paradox relatives, Great Tusk and Iron Treads) don't curl up into a ball, but rather a wheel, as shown in the trope image (which comes from the Pokémon anime).
• Polyroll: Polyroll can roll himself into a ball to attack enemies, bounce off walls, and break through some kinds of obstacles.
• In Potion Permit, Pangols roll themselves up into indestructible balls when they chase you.
• [PROTOTYPE]: Alex can perform an airborne Rolling Attack to hit anything within city block range. It has homing capability as well.
• Psychonauts: Raz can roll around on his Levitation ball. With the Rolling Havoc upgrade it can damage enemies as soon as he starts rolling.
• In Quik The Thunder Rabbit, Quik's only way of attacking enemies is to spin into them.
• Shantae (2002): The boss of the Cackle Mound is a partly-armored Horned Humanoid beast that attacks by becoming a spiked wheel that rolls around the room.
• In the Genesis fighting game Slaughter Sport, final boss Mondu has a roll done by simply holding Down+Forward.
• Sonic the Hedgehog: Sonic can perform a Spin Attack to curl forward and travel faster, while the Spin Dash is used as a rolling boost to attack enemies and remove obstacles. The Homing Attack is a variant of the latter used for rolling downhill at high speeds to even just jumping. Most Sonic characters can use some variation of these moves.
• Splatoon: The third boss of the first game, the Octowhirl, is a large, round, clam-like monster that curls around the battlefield to attack Agent 3, and can also spin horizontally to spread its ink. If it tries to roll through a giant puddle of Agent 3's ink, it will get stuck in it, exposing its weak point.
• Skully has the eponymous character, an anthropomorphic skull, who moves by rolling. When accelerated Skully can knock over objects and pummel enemies, as demonstrated when he rolls and knocks over the last boss defeating him.
• Steven Universe:
  • In Attack the Light, Amethyst can roll into a ball and slam into an enemy, with a later upgrade giving it a chance to be a One-Hit Kill.
  • Save the Light:
    • Amethyst's Spin Dash returns from the first game, this time letting her roll into up to three enemies and also reduce their attack stat if you get a star in the minigame. It can be upgraded so that it can also stun them.
    • In the overworld, Steven can roll into enemies to preemptively strike them. He can also squeeze into tight spaces, unearth items buried in mounds, and break open small pots this way.
• The fat-man enemies learn a roll-attack upon Streets of Rage 3.
• Super Mario Bros.:
  • Super Mario Galaxy: During the final boss battle from the first game, one of Bowser's attacks involve him first turning into a rock (which inspired the rock mushroom powerup from the sequel) to crush Mario/Luigi, and later on, using his shell.
  • Super Mario Galaxy 2: Rock Mario attacks by turning into a large rolling boulder when the Wiimote is shaken. There are even enemies shaped like bowling pins. One of the bosses, Rollodillo, attacks this way as well.
  • Super Mario 3D Land: The Mario Bros. can perform a forward curl by ducking and then pressing the B button; while it only does damage in Tanooki Mario/Kitsune Luigi form, it is still very useful for smashing bricks without being under them. This also applies to Super Mario 3D World.
  • Super Mario Odyssey: Unlike in previous games, where only a short roll was possible, Mario can curl continuously to travel faster, especially when rolling downhill, similar to Sonic in his Genesis games.
• Tamarin: The Tamarin can defeat some enemies by rolling into them.
• In the Turrican series, Turrican's signature ability is his ability to transform into a spiky energy wheel that can destroy many things in its rolling path. This ability was also featured in the Universal Soldier video game, which was a dolled-up Turrican II.
• The Votroche, one of the Mooks in Vampire Night, rolls itself into a ball to attack the Vampire Hunters with help of its armor.
• Grendel from Warframe has an ability "Pulverize", which lets him turn into a large ball that can roll around knocking enemies away and even perform ground slams, all the while healing himself by digesting his consumed enemies. With no enemies in stomach, Grendel drains his energy reserves to uphold his ball form.
• In the Xenophobe arcade game, the 3rd stage Xenophobes known as "Rollers" can roll themselves up into a ball (which is immune to the players' weapons) and roll into the players, knocking them down and damaging them.

Western Animation

• Ben 10: Cannonbolt is basically a free-rolling, high-speed wrecking ball. Unfortunately, he has a lot of power but not much control.
• Extreme Dinosaurs: Stegz can curl his body into a destructive saw blade, using the plates on his back as its cutting edge.
• In the OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes crossover episode featuring Sonic and Tails, they teach KO how to do their signature Spin Dash in order for him to get over a loop. KO's first attempt results in him exploding. After Tails tells him how he learned to perfom the ball-curling technique, KO figures out how to perform the Spin Dash himself.
• One of Amethyst's signature moves in Steven Universe, doing so by curling herself up into a ball and ramming into her enemies like a wheel. Also used by Jasper to attack both Garnet and Amethyst, suggesting that it's a move common to quartz-type Gems.

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