Punchinello
| Punchinello | |
|---|---|
 Artwork fromSuper Mario RPG (Nintendo Switch) | |
| First appearance | Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (1996) |
| Latest appearance | Super Mario RPG (Nintendo Switch) (2023) |
- “You... YOU will make me famous!”
- —Punchinello,Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Punchinello is one of the major bosses encountered inSuper Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. He is named afterPulcinella, a classical character in Italian theater and puppetry. His name may have also been taken from Pulcinella's English variant,Mr. Punch. He mainly uses variations ofBob-ombs while fighting. When one of the sevenStar Pieces crashed into theMole Mines atMoleville, he took it for himself. Punchinello also wants to be famous, according to his wish onStar Hill and histhought. WhenMario and his allies arrive in Punchinello's area looking for the Star Piece, he thinks that he can become famous if he can defeat them and engages them in battle.
Despite him guarding a Star Piece and having a weapon motif, Punchinello does not appear to have any affiliation with theSmithy Gang. Regular boss music plays when fighting Punchinello instead of the music played during fights with Smithy Gang bosses, there are noMachine Made replicas of Punchinello in theFactory, and Punchinello is not mentioned among the fallen Smithy Gang members by theClerk. Additionally, one of the wishes inStar Hill appears to be his.
In the remake's post-game, a stronger version of Punchinello titledLeveled-Up Punchinello can be fought. He is the second boss to be encountered, afterScratchy-Throat Belome. Before battle, he expresses his desire to defeatBowser in order to become famous. After the fight, he upgrades Bowser'sChain Chomp into aWonder Chomp, and is offered a chance to rebuildBowser's Keep, to which he obliges in order to gain a little fame. In the ending cutscene if the player defeatsSmithy after defeatingCulex 3D, Punchinello helps with the repairs in Bowser's Keep.
Battle[edit]
Regular[edit]
If Mario walks up in front of him, he shoves Mario away with his arms, sending Mario back into the other room. Thus Mario must be behind or near the side of Punchinello to start battling.
When battle starts, Punchinello throwsMicrobombs at Mario, which can explode after a set amount of turns. In battle, Punchinello attacks with his fist, punching one of Mario's party members. Punchinello also uses the attackSand Storm.
Punchinello uses four varieties ofBob-omb to aid him in battle. Each variety appears after the boss takes enough damage. He first releases four Microbombs, then fourBob-ombs, and then threeMezzo Bombs.
After Punchinello is defeated, he summons aKing Bomb which lands on him and eventually explodes, covering Mario and co. in soot. After cleaning themselves off, the heroes take the third Star Piece and venture deeper into the mines.
Leveled-Up Punchinello[edit]
Punchinello normally only takes 1 or 2 damage from all attacks, and while he retains the use of Sand Storm, he can also useFlame Wall,Flame Stone andGrinder.
Like before, Punchinello summons Bob-ombs to aid him, with this variety being named "Strong Bob-ombs". Unique to these enemies is that, if they are hit with a perfectly timed Action Command, they turn around to face Punchinello; at least one of them may also enter the battle in this turned-around state. When these Bob-ombs are facing Punchinello, they will explode on him instead of Mario and his party, dealing 80 damage. This means that Punchinello will be defeated after 15 (or fewer) successful explosions.
Once defeated, Punchinello summons another King Bomb, however this one walks towards him after being lit and explodes on him. However, he, as well as Mario and company, come out of the explosion unharmed.
Profiles and statistics[edit]
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars[edit]
| Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars enemy | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Punchinello | |||||||||
 | HP | 1200 | FP | 10 | Speed | 15 | |||
| Location(s) | Coal Mines | Attack | 60 | Magic attack | 22 | ||||
| Role | Boss | Defense | 42 | Magic defense | 40 | ||||
| Bonus Flower | None | Yoshi Cookie | None | Morph rate | 0% | ||||
| Evade | 0% | Magic evade | 0% | Spells | Sand Storm | ||||
| Weak | None | Strong | Jump, Fear, Poison, Sleep, Mute, Critical | Sp. attacks | None | ||||
| Coins | 0 | Exp. points | 0 | Items | None | ||||
| Psychopath | "Yeeha! I see we're already famous!" | ||||||||
Super Mario RPG (Nintendo Switch)[edit]
| Super Mario RPG enemy | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Punchinello | |||||||||
 | HP | 1200 | Weak Elements | N/A | Drops | N/A | |||
| Exp. | 0 | Weak Statuses | N/A | Rare Drops | N/A | ||||
| Found in | Mole Mines | ||||||||
| Monster List profile | As a result of throwing bombs willy-nilly to become a famous bomb-maker, he faced exploder's remorse and flamed out early. | ||||||||
| Thought Peek | "So chic! Everyone is so chic!" | ||||||||
| Animations | |||||||||
Leveled-Up Punchinello[edit]
| Super Mario RPG enemy | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leveled-Up Punchinello | |||||||||
| HP | 1200 | Weak Elements | N/A | Drops | N/A | |||
| Exp. | 0 | Weak Statuses | N/A | Rare Drops | N/A | ||||
| Found in | Mole Mines | ||||||||
| Monster List profile | He says he wants to go home famous. Little does he know that he's already well-known in his hometown as a goofball who Mario beat twice. | ||||||||
| Thought Peek | "Everyone is even more chic now! You've really leveled up your game!" | ||||||||
| Animations | |||||||||
| Other stats for Leveled-Up Punchinello[1] | |
|---|---|
| FP | 800 |
| Attack | 335 |
| Defense | 355 |
| Magic Attack | 235 |
| Magic Defense | 255 |
| Speed | 15 |
| Evade | 0%? |
| Spells | Sand Storm, Flame Wall, Flame Stone |
| Special Moves | Grinder |
| Element Resistances | Jump |
| Status Resistances | Fear, Poison, Sleep, Mute |
| Other Resistances | Lamb's Lure/Sheep Attack, Geno Whirl, Pure Water, Yoshi Cookie |
| Coins | 0 |
Quotes[edit]
- "Good day. The name's Nello...PUNCHINELLO!"
- "They say I'm a hothead, but I'll show them! You... YOU will make me famous! So long!"
- "It's CLOBBERING TIME!"
- "Simmer down,fluffy! I'm not going to wastethis on YOU! Who knows what might happen!"
Gallery[edit]
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Super Mario RPG (Nintendo Switch)
Super Mario RPG (Nintendo Switch)
Post-game epilogue scene
Names in other languages[edit]
Punchinello[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ペパット[2][3] Pepatto | Anagram of「パペット」(papetto, "puppet") | |
| Chinese | 偶偶[?] Ǒu'ǒu | Partial repetition of「木偶」(mù'ǒu, "wooden puppet") | |
| Dutch | Punchinello[?] | - | |
| French | Punchinello[?] | - | |
| German | Pupponetto[?] | Comes fromPuppe ("doll") with Italian diminutive suffix-etto | |
| Italian | Punchinello[?] | - | |
| Korean | 페펏[?] Pepeot | Anagram of "퍼펫" (peopet, "puppet"); From the Japanese name | |
| Spanish | Punchinello[?] | - |
Leveled-Up Punchinello[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ペパット（レベルアップ）[?] Pepatto (Reberu Appu) | Punchinello (Level Up) | |
| Chinese(Simplified) | 偶偶（等级提升）[?] Ǒu'ǒu (Děngjí Tíshēng) | Punchinello (Level Up) | |
| Chinese(Traditional) | 偶偶（等級提升）[?] Ǒu'ǒu (Děngjí Tíshēng) | Punchinello (Level Up) | |
| Dutch | Punchinello (sterker)[?] | Punchinello (stronger) | |
| French | Punchinello (niveau supérieur)[?] | Punchinello (level up) | |
| German | Pupponetto (extra Ehrgeiz)[?] | Punchinello (extra ambition) | |
| Italian | Punchinello (potenziato)[?] | Punchinello (powered-up) | |
| Korean | 페펏(레벨 업)[?] Pepeot (Rebel Eop) | Punchinello (Level Up) | |
| Spanish | Punchinello nivel +[?] | Punchinello level + |
Notes[edit]
- Punchinello's introduction in the original SNES localization, "Nello...PUNCHINELLO!", is a reference toJames Bond's catchphrase of being "Bond, James Bond". TranslatorTed Woolsey originally wanted to name him "James Bomb", which explains why Punchinello introduces himself this way, but management refused to allow it.[4]
- Before releasing his Mezzo Bombs in the original, Punchinello shouts "It's CLOBBERING TIME!". This is likely a reference toThe Thing's catchphrase.Domino also says the same phrase.
- Punchinello is the only boss other thanBowser andSmithy to not yield anyEXP or even show a results screen. As a consequence, it is the only battle in the game where theSuper Jumps do not count towards theAttack Scarf orSuper Suit.[5]
- Punchinello’s original Psychopath quote claims that he is "already famous!" This is possibly intended to be breaking thefourth wall, referring to him being a character in afamous franchise. This was changed in the remake.
- Although Leveled-Up Punchinello has a high amount of defense (355) and magic defense (255), it is possible to deal more than 1 or 2 damage with a large amount of attack or magic attack along with an attack boost.[6][7]
References[edit]
- ^Super Mario RPG Speedruns - Misc. stats and data
- ^Super Mario RPG 1995 Top Sun trading card
- ^Super Mario RPG 1996 Bandai Namco trading card
- ^Bob Rork Woolsey Interview
- ^RPG Limit Break (July 21, 2023).Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars by Millnium - RPG Limit Break 2023.YouTube. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
- ^Nintendo Switch Super Mario RPG Remake Walkthrough 39 - Leveled Up Punchinello (Post-Game Boss).YouTube. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
- ^Super Mario RPG, Part 42 - Leveled-Up Punchinello.YouTube. Retrieved December 1, 2024
