Editing First Strike

 

'''First Strike''', also known as a '''pre-emptive attack''', is a technique that appears in the ''[[Paper Mario (series)|Paper Mario]]'' and the ''[[Mario & Luigi (series)|Mario & Luigi]]'' titles of [[Genre#Role-playing|role-playing]] ''[[Super Mario (franchise)|Super Mario]]'' games.

To perform a First Strike, [[Mario]] can simply [[Jump]] on the enemy, hit them with his [[Hammer]], or hit them with an attack from a [[partner]]. If Mario's First Strike is a Jump, it will fail against Spiny or Fire enemies and result in recoil damage on Mario, just as though he had used a Jump attack during the battle. Conversely, Hammers can make a First Strike against airborne enemies, as long as Mario was able to land the First Strike in the overworld - usually, a Hammer attack will miss against flying foes. Hammer First Strikes will fail just like jumps when used against enemies that are spiny from the front, such as a [[Bristle]].

In ''[[Paper Mario]]'', [[Goompa]] first mentions this to Mario as they walk through [[Goomba Village (location)|Goomba Village]]. First Strikes in this game can be performed by Mario, or by his partners [[Kooper]] and [[Bombette]]. The text that displays when Mario makes the First Strike is "You made the First Strike!", and the text that displays when Mario is hit by a First Strike says "You're hit by the First Strike!". First Strikes from enemies can be avoided by dodging the attack or by equipping the [[Chill Out (badge)|Chill Out]] [[Badge]]. While the [[Dizzy Attack]] Badge is equipped, Mario can inflict [[Dizzy]] on the first enemy in a formation (but does not deal damage) by using his [[Spin Dash]] move to run into an enemy before a battle, though this is not considered a "proper" First Strike, as it does not cause the First Strike message to display or trigger the [[First Attack]] Badge. Mario can instantly defeat any enemy that would not reward one or more [[Star Points]] (which is considered to be "weak"), entirely skipping the battle without rewarding Star Points, with a First Strike by equipping the First Attack Badge. This property can be extended to Mario's spin dash by equipping the [[Spin Attack (Badge)|Spin Attack]] Badge, and even further extended to walking by equipping the [[Bump Attack]] Badge (which overwrites both First Attack and Spin Attack due to just requiring contact with the enemy in question). Mario can equip the [[Spike Shield]] Badge to be able to jump on spiky enemies such as [[Cleft]]s, or can equip either the [[Fire Shield]] or [[Ice Power]] Badges to jump on fire enemies like [[Lava Bubble]]s.

In ''Paper Mario'', the [[Action Command]] cannot be performed when Mario or his partner makes the First Strike, although it can be performed to [[Guard]] against an enemy’s First Strike. However, Kooper's [[Shell Toss]] First Strike and Bombette's [[Bomb (Paper Mario series)|Bomb]] First Strike each deal damage as though the Action Command was performed, and if Mario makes the First Strike with his [[Ground Pound|Spin Jump]] or [[Tornado Jump (move)|Tornado Jump]], the base damage of his Jump is doubled. Bombette’s Bomb First Strike does not consume any [[Flower Point]]s, unlike selecting the move in battle.

In ''[[Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door]]'', [[Professor Frankly]] first mentions First Strikes to Mario after he and [[Goombella]] defeat the three [[Goomba]]s in [[Rogueport Underground]]. Mario can now perform Action Commands when he makes the First Strike, potentially dealing additional damage. He can also use the Spin Jump, [[Super Hammer (move)|Super Hammer]], or [[Ultra Hammer (move)|Ultra Hammer]] to make the First Strike using the respective move without consuming any FP. First Strikes can also be made using [[Koops]]' Shell Toss or [[Bobbery]]'s Bomb, in which case the Action Command is automatically performed, but Stylish Moves cannot be performed. [[Flurrie]] can be used to stun enemies before a battle, freezing them in place making them easier First Strike targets for a few moments, however she herself cannot give enemies a First Strike. The Chill Out, First Attack, and Bump Attack Badges are still available and function the same as in ''Paper Mario'', however First Attack and Bump Attack do not work inside of the [[Pit of 100 Trials (Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door)|Pit of 100 Trials]]. With the removal of the Spin Dash, the Dizzy Attack and Spin Attack Badges were removed. The Fire Shield Badge was also removed, being merged fully into Ice Power. During the first fight in the [[Glitz Pit]], a scripted, unavoidable enemy First Strike occurs when a member of [[The Goomba Bros.]] [[headbonk]]s Mario before [[Grubba]] has the chance to officially start the fight.