Jalapeno (pronounced as "Halapenio") is an instant-killplant available in Plants vs. Zombies. When planted, he will explode and cover the lane he is placed on in fire, dealing 1800 damage per shot to and removing all ice-based effect from every enemy in the lane.
For more information about this character, see Jalapeno.
Jalapeno is obtained after beating Level 3-5. Aside from the primary effect, Jalapeno can also melt the Zomboni's ice trail and Dr. Zomboss' iceballs, and remove ice-based effect from zombies (such as the chill effect on a gargantuar).
Almanac entry
Jalapeno
Jalapenos destroy an entire lane of zombies.
Damage: massive
Range: all zombies in lane Usage: single use, instant
"NNNNNGGGGG!!!!!!!!" Jalapeno says. He's not going to explode, not this time. But soon. Oh, so soon. It's close. He knows it, he can feel it, his whole life's been leading up to this moment.
Cost: 125
Recharge: very slow
Strategies
Jalapeno focuses on dealing heavy damage to all enemies on a specific lane, as opposed to a limited area over multiple lanes like Cherry Bomb. Because of this, Jalapeno will be more suited for quickly neutralizing threats that have come far into the player's defense such as Imps being thrown by Gargantuars, rather than general crowd control. The fire-based nature of Jalapeno can be considered to be both a blessing and a curse: While this means Jalapeno is highly useful against several ice-based threats, this also means any surviving enemies, predominantly Gargantuars, will have their freezing effect removed if previously frozen, rendering Ice-shroom useless. However, there are very few enemies capable of surviving a direct hit from it.
Jalapeno can benefit from use of Imitater, as it will effectively halve the recharge time and allow more liberal use of the plant. Creating choke points via the use of Garlic.
Jalapeno is a useful plant against Zomboni as he is capable of melting the ice trail, freeing space for planting and preventing Zombie Bobsled Teams from entering. He is also a useful tool for destroying ladders placed by Ladder Zombies; certain strategies in Survival: Endless utilize ladders against thrown Imps however, and Jalapeno should never used in these cases, as the Doom-shroom and Coffee Bean combo may be better, though leaving a crater.
Jalapenos is provided in this level as the only means of neutralizing Dr. Zomboss' iceball attack. Unlike Ice-shroom which can be placed anywhere on the lawn to negate fireball, Jalapeno must be planted on the lane where the iceball is spawned. The player should exercise moderation when using Jalapeno, and always keep a stock in case more dangerous enemies arrive, or an iceball is spawned. Using Jalapeno while the Zombot's head is down can also deal heavy damage and greatly speed up the fight. However, it's not recommended to use him while it is frozen or else the Zombot will be defrosted.
Jalapenos can be planted in a column of pots to effectively wipe the entire screen of enemies, and heavily damage any surviving Gargantuars. These are usually obtained once or twice, so they should be saved for either when huge waves two and three when Gargantuars appear or when Ladder Zombies have placed ladders on your defensive plants. Jalapenos will also destroy the ladders placed on the defensive plants, if any. Not using the Jalapeno nets the player the Chilli Freeachievement.
There are two achievements that involve him, Chill Out and Chili Free. One involves the player using him and the other involves the player not using him, respectively.
If the players unlocked the daisies code from the Tree of Wisedom, Jalapeno can generate a swarm of them when he explodes on a lane full of zombies.
In the Suburban Almanac, he appears to be shaking fast while in the Zen Garden he shakes slowly. However, on the iOS and Android versions, he will always rapidly vibrate. He will also shake fast if the player gives him chocolate (only when he is happy).
He will slightly accelerate a zombie's animation, provided if they can survive his attack.
If he or any other explosive plant (with the exception of Potato Mine) is used to destroy a zombie in ZomBotany, the zombie will be burnt, but not play a burnt animation, as they have none.
A Chili Pepper T-shirt is available in the Xbox Live Marketplace. It costs 80 Microsoft Points, and is a white T-shirt with a Jalapeno on it.
Like most instant kills that are triggered upon planting, if a Gargantuar squashes him, he will just explode and function normally.
