Editing Ninji

|image=[[File:Ninji artwork Play Nintendo 2024.png|250px]]<br>Artwork of a Ninji from [[Play Nintendo]] and ''[[Super Mario Party Jamboree]]''

|latest_appearance=''[[Super Mario Party Jamboree]]'' ([[List of games by date#2024|2024]])

|variants=[[Big Ninji]]<br>[[Paper Ninji]]

|notable=[[Hakkunsai]]<br>[[Right&Wrong Brothers]]

'''Ninjis''' (alternatively '''Ninjies''')<ref>{{cite|title=''[[Super Mario Run]]''|author=Paper Mario Missions|quote=Defeat 9 or more '''Ninjies'''.}}</ref><ref>{{cite|title=[https://play.nintendo.com/themes/friends/ninji/ Ninji's bio] on [[Play Nintendo]]|quote='''Ninjies''' are also kind of small. But what they lack in size, they make up for in enthusiasm!}}</ref> are black and star-shaped devil-like ninja creatures and enemies first appearing in ''[[Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic]]'' and ''[[Super Mario Bros. 2]]'', with the game manuals stating that they haunt the dreams of [[Family Computer]] and [[Nintendo Entertainment System]] players, respectively.<ref name=yume>{{cite|quote=「ファミコン{{ruby|少年|しょうねん}}の{{ruby|夢|ゆめ}}に{{ruby|現|あらわ}}れ{{ruby|悪夢|あくむ}}を{{ruby|見|み}}せる{{ruby|小悪魔|こあくま}}。{{ruby|動|うご}}きが{{ruby|速|はや}}く、しつこく{{ruby|追|お}}いかけてくる。」 ("''They are lesser demons who manifest as nightmares in the dreams of [[Family Computer|Famicom]] boys. They move fast and will persistently chase you.''")|title=''Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic'' instruction booklet (ハックン{{ruby|A|エー}})|page=31|language=ja|publisher=Nintendo|date=1987}}</ref><ref name=dream>{{cite|quote=He is a little devil who appears in the dreams of NES players. He moves fast and will persistently chase you.|title=''Super Mario Bros. 2'' instruction booklet (Ninji - 1 description)|page=24|language=en-us|date=1988|publisher=Nintendo of America}}</ref> Ninjis were originally portrayed with a fang and clawed feet in artwork, but later appearances remove their claws and replace their teeth with round buttons. Their large eyes are also made rectangular, closer resembling eyeholes in a stereotypical ninja costume.

[[File:SMB2 art Ninji 1.png|thumb|left|x200px|A Ninji's original design for ''Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic'' and the Western ''Super Mario Bros. 2'']]

{{multiple image|align=right|image1=Ninji SMB2 Sprite.png|width1=50|caption1=''[[Super Mario Bros. 2]]''|image2=Ninji SMB2 All-Stars.png|width2=50|caption2=''[[Super Mario All-Stars]]''}}

Ninjis first appear in ''[[Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic]]'' and ''[[Super Mario Bros. 2]]''. In this game, Ninjis serve [[Wart]], a mischievous frog-like monster who had seized control of the dream world known as [[Subcon]]. There are two types of Ninji: the first type, called '''Ninji - 1''', charges at the player, suddenly jumping as it approaches;<ref name=yume/><ref name=dream/> the second type, called '''Ninji - 2''', remains in one place and jumps up and down.<ref name=kojo>{{cite|quote=「{{ruby|場所|ばしょ}}を{{ruby|移動|いどう}}しないで、その{{ruby|場|ば}}でジャンプを{{ruby|繰|く}}り{{ruby|返|かえ}}すだけのヘンなヤツ。」 ("''They do not stray from their spot and jump repeatedly like strange guys.''")|title=''Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic'' instruction booklet (ハックン{{ruby|B|ビー}})|page=31|language=ja|date=1987|publisher=Nintendo}}</ref><ref>{{cite|quote=He stays in one spot and jumps repeatedly. A strange guy.|title=''Super Mario Bros. 2'' instruction booklet (Ninji - 2 description)|page=24|language=en-us|date=1988|publisher=Nintendo of America}}</ref> In ''Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic'', this Ninji type has three jump heights, but the middle jump height was not retained in ''Super Mario Bros. 2''. The ''[[Super Mario Bros. Encyclopedia|Encyclopedia Super Mario Bros.]]'' swaps the names for Ninji A and Ninji B, though not its anglophone localizations.

Ninjis are depicted as purple instead of black in ''[[Super Mario All-Stars]]'', ''[[BS Super Mario USA]]'' and ''[[Super Mario Advance]]'', with additional pink inside their ears, as well as buckteeth/fangs. [[Big Ninji]]s also appear as somewhat rare [[Enemy|enemies]] in ''Super Mario Advance''. Big Ninjis only jump in place. Like most enemies in ''Super Mario Bros. 2'' and its remakes, all variations of Ninjis can be picked up and thrown at other enemies to defeat them. Big Ninjis yield a [[Heart (item)|Heart]] if they are thrown to the ground or defeated.

[[File:SMW Ninji sprite.png|frame|right]]

Ninjis, also named '''Mini-Ninjas''',<ref name="mariomania">{{cite|quote=Being cooped up in Bowser's Castle has driven the Mini-Ninja batty. He bounces up and down, waiting for a hapless hero to use for a punching bag.|title=Nintendo ''[[Mario Mania]]'' Player's Guide|page=52|date=August 1991|publisher=Nintendo of America|language=en-us}}</ref> are enemies in ''[[Super Mario World]]'' and [[Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2|its remake]]. They are encountered in the [[Front Door]] and [[Back Door]] levels only, where they have been driven crazy from their isolation there.<ref name="mariomania"/> Ninjis blend in the darkness and are difficult to see unless the searchlight is activated; to accomplish this effect, they reuse their tri-color ''Super Mario Bros. 2'' sprites rather than receiving new sprites. They jump in place and can be defeated with stomps, fireballs, or a cape attack. Like in ''Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic'', they have three jump heights, though the difference is more pronounced. Despite using their previous 8-bit sprites, the artwork for this game reinterprets their red spots as buttons, while previously they had been depicted as parts of the creature's mouth. This interpretation is used for all further depictions, including [[reissue]]s of ''Super Mario Bros. 2'', despite not looking like the sprites in that game. Ninjis are one of the few enemies absent from the ending credits.

Ninjis are enemies in ''[[Super Mario Run]]''. They behave similarly to how they did in ''Super Mario Bros. 2''; jumping periodically in one place. Their running variants do not appear. They appear in the levels [[Airship Cannons...Fire!]], [[Firing the Airship's Burners]], [[Throwing It All Overboard]], and [[Airship Armada]]. Their design in this game is similar to their ''Super Mario Bros. 2'' or ''Super Mario World'' sprites, but with a chubbier body similar to their ''Super Mario Advance'' artwork. These enemies drop an additional three [[coin]]s onto the course when stomped or when a [[block]] they are standing on is hit, on top of the usual coins granted directly to the player. This does not happen if they are defeated by other means, like with a [[roll]].

Ninjis return in ''[[Super Mario Bros. Wonder]]''. They serve as both enemies and background elements that appear prominently in [[Ninji Jump Party]] as well as in [[Break Time! Raise the Stage]], tapping their feet and jumping to the beat of the music.<ref>{{cite|author=Nintendo 公式チャンネル|date=October 6, 2023|url=youtu.be/N6nmtVJLKDI|language=ja|title=スーパーマリオブラザーズ ワンダー CM みんなでプレイ篇|publisher=YouTube|accessdate=October 6, 2023}}</ref>

Despite appearing prominently in its opening sequence, Ninjis only appear once in ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!]]'', in the episode "[[Karate Koopa]]", where they are simply referred to once as '''blackbelt ninjas''' by [[Toad]]<ref>{{cite|quote=Blackbelt ninjas! Run for it!|author=[[Toad]]|title=''[[Karate Koopa]]''}}</ref> and aid [[Bowser|Karate Koopa]] in his plan to capture [[Princess Peach|Princess Toadstool]] and sell her into slavery for a fortune. Somewhat parodying their namesake, they are skilled in hand-to-hand combat and speak in thick Japanese accents.

[[File:Galoombas, Boo Buddies and Ninjis.jpg|thumb|Ninjis in the ''Super Mario World'' television series episode "[[The Yoshi Shuffle]]".]]

In ''[[Doors to Doom]]'', a couple of Ninjis, calling themselves the [[Right&Wrong Brothers]], can be found serving as the guardians to the first gates to [[Wart]]'s lair, where one of them always tells the truth and one always lies. They are guarding two doors; Mario and Luigi must figure out the right question to ask them in order to find out which of the two doors is the correct one that leads to Wart. Also, there are other Ninjis mentioned when the brothers are journeying through Subcon.

In ''[[Brain Drain]]'', if Luigi (who has had his mind switched with a [[Koopa Troopa]]'s due to the [[Synapse Switcher]]) gets a serving of gooey rations in the cafeteria of [[Iggy|Iggy Koopa]]'s base, a Ninji he sits beside tells him that the gray gunk is better than the blue. Some Ninjis are also spotted loitering around the WMUSH radio station when Iggy takes it over.

In ''[[Super Mario Adventures]]'', Ninjis make several appearances, first appearing in the siege of [[Peach's Castle|Princess Toadstool's castle]]. Ninjis also appear when Princess Toadstool attempts to escape her confinement in the [[Koopalings]]' tower, aiding [[Wendy|Wendy O. Koopa]] and a brigade of spear-wielding [[Koopa Troopa]]s in stopping her escape. Later, several Ninjis appear at Bowser's wedding to Princess Toadstool, with one apparently buying a camera from [[Friendly Floyd]].

The Ninjis in ''[[Hotel Mario]]'' are called '''Mini Ninjas'''.<ref>{{cite|title=''Hotel Mario'' instruction booklet|page=15}}</ref> They appear as enemies in Stages [[Stage 3 (Roy's HardBrick Hotel)|3]], [[Stage 4 (Roy's HardBrick Hotel)|4]], [[Stage 5 (Roy's HardBrick Hotel)|5]], and [[Stage 8 (Roy's HardBrick Hotel)|8]] of [[Roy's HardBrick Hotel]]. They routinely look left and right before hopping in one direction. Their jump is slow and aimless and they can be defeated by jumping on them.

Ninji are primarily found in [[Fort Cobalt]], where they are found in a corridor filled with crates that is entered if Mario fails the last fence puzzle. One Ninji can be found sleeping, and wakes up if Mario hits his hammer nearby. Ninjis make a brief appearance among the minions causing havoc at the [[Toad Trainworks]] when the [[Sunset Express]] needs repairs. The Ninjis fought in Toad Trainworks are unavoidable. A Ninji is the third-round opponent in [[Roshambo Temple#Roshambo Temple #5|Roshambo Temple #5]], although after [[Larry|Larry Koopa]] is defeated, it will be replaced by the [[Rock Paper Wizard]] until beaten.

[[File:MvsDK MiniNinji.png|frame|left]]

[[File:NinjiMVDK.png|thumb|170px|Ninji in the [[Nintendo Switch]] [[Mario vs. Donkey Kong (Nintendo Switch)|remake]]]]

In ''[[Mario vs. Donkey Kong]]'', Ninjis<ref>''Mario vs. Donkey Kong'', Game Boy Advance ROM string (<tt>NINJI</tt>) and Nintendo Switch internal filename (<tt>Model/Ninji.bfres.zs</tt>)</ref> appear with a toy-based design. They are first seen in [[Fire Mountain (world)|Fire Mountain]], the third world in the game. They jump up and down in one spot, acting much like the second type of Ninjis in ''[[Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic]]'' and ''[[Super Mario Bros. 2]]'', and can give Mario a boost to higher places if he [[jump]]s on their heads. They cannot be destroyed, and touching one results in Mario losing a life.

 

In the original [[Game Boy Advance]] version, these Ninjis have a purple coloration like the version of the Ninjis seen in the reissues of ''Super Mario Bros. 2''. In the [[Nintendo Switch]] [[Mario vs. Donkey Kong (Nintendo Switch)|remake]], Ninjis were redesigned to more closely resemble the current design of Ninjis, now being black with red buttons.

====''Mario Party Advance''====

A Ninji appears as an NPC in ''[[Mario Party Advance]]''. He resides on the first floor of the [[Horror Condo]]. When his room is entered, he asks for a favor on his behalf. If his request is accepted, he explains that he wants a DVD of [[List of implied entertainment#Toad Force V|Toad Force V]]. He rambles about the show, saying that it is a lifestyle and constantly praising it, until he realizes that he got carried away. After his monologue, he further explains that the DVD is limited-edition, and that someone in [[Mushroom Condo]] might have a copy of it. After the player gets the DVD from [[Mushbert]] and gives it to Ninji, he is ecstatic about having a copy of the DVD, and gives the [[Tile Trial]] [[Gaddget]] in gratitude. He then begins to happily watch the DVD.

 

Ninji makes his playable ''Mario Party'' debut in ''[[Super Mario Party Jamboree]]'', where he is an unlockable character. Like the other unlockable character, [[Pauline]], he is unlocked by viewing him while in the Hot-Air Balloon.

A Ninji sometimes appears as an enemy in the [[Mario Adv.]] [[microgame]] in ''[[WarioWare: D.I.Y. Showcase]]''.

Ninjis appear in ''[[Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam]]'' as enemies in [[Gloomy Woods]]. One is fought in [[Neo Bowser Castle]] alongside a [[Paper Ninji]], a [[Spiny]] and a [[Paper Spiny]] as one of Bowser's last lines of defense. They now act more like how actual ninjas would, even using camouflage sheets to hide themselves in the overworld. In battle, regular Ninjis use ninjitsu-styled attacks, such as creating shadow clones of themselves to attack the trio. The fake Ninjis can be told apart from the real one by their blue-colored buttons, as opposed to the genuine one's red buttons. [[Jump]] or [[Hammer]] attacks also cannot be used consecutively against them, as they avoid taking damage via substitution with a log. If there is a Paper Ninji present, a regular Ninji can fold it into a shuriken and throw it at a bro, who must hammer it back.

A Ninji, referred to as '''Nimble Ninji''' on a [[Play Nintendo]] article,<ref name="Play Nintendo">{{cite|url=play.nintendo.com/news-tips/news/september-update-dlc-mario-golf|title=Another round of free DLC for Mario Golf: Super Rush!''|publisher=[[Play Nintendo]] website|accessdate=September 26, 2021|archive=web.archive.org/web/20210926142912/https://play.nintendo.com/news-tips/news/september-update-dlc-mario-golf}}</ref> makes his playable debut in the franchise in ''[[Mario Golf: Super Rush]]'' as of version 3.0.0. He has the highest speed which is tied with [[Yoshi]] and average stamina. His [[Special Shot (Mario Golf: Super Rush)|Special Shot]] is the Hop Skipper, which bounces multiple times on the ground depending on the distance traveled, while his [[Special Dash]] is the Glide Dash, which allows Ninji to glide with his cloak.

{{PBMCD profile

|name=ハックン (JP) / Ninji (EN)

|artwork=[[File:Ninji Perfect.png|200px]]

|tojo_gemu=ワールド、{{ruby|ＵＳＡ|ユーエスエー}}

{{ruby|黒装束|くろしょうぞく}}に{{ruby|身|み}}をつつみ、アメリカ{{ruby|名|めい}}をニンジというところからみて、{{ruby|忍者|にんじゃ}}の{{ruby|一種|いっしゅ}}のようだ。{{ruby|上下佐右|じょうげさゆう}}に{{ruby|素早|すばや}}く{{ruby|動|うご}}くものと、１カ{{ruby|所|しょ}}で{{ruby|飛|と}}び{{ruby|跳|は}}ねているものの２{{ruby|種類|しゅるい}}がいる。<ref>{{cite|date=1994|language=ja|publisher=[[Shogakukan]]|title=''Perfect Ban Mario Character Daijiten''|page=[https://imgur.com/FZL4q70 157]}}</ref>

|tribe=Beast clan

|Jap2=ハックンＡ<ref name=yume/><ref name=Portal>{{cite|url=www.nintendo.co.jp/character/mario/archives/usa|title=Japanese ''Super Mario USA'' entry on the official Mario Portal|publisher=nintendo.co.jp|language=ja|archive=archive.today/2022.01.25-065234/https://www.nintendo.co.jp/character/mario/archives/usa/|accessdate=May 23, 2024}}</ref>

|Jap4=ニンジ<ref>{{cite|title=''Perfect Ban Mario Character Daijiten''|page=[https://i.imgur.com/lVHkZlH.jpg 225]|publisher=Shogakukan|language=ja|date=1994}}</ref>

|ChiS=哈库<ref>From the ending scenes of ''[[Super Mario Advance]]'' as localized by [[iQue]]. Reference: {{cite|无敌阿尔宙斯|language=zh-hans|date=August 28, 2013|deadlink=y|archive=web.archive.org/web/20170226161109/https://tieba.baidu.com/p/2559790043?red_tag=f0666802113|title=神游 超级马力欧2敌人官译 (Official names for iQue Super Mario 2 enemies)|publisher=Baidu Tieba|accessdate=February 2, 2017}}</ref>

|Fre=Ninji

|Fre2=Mini Ninja<ref>{{cite|title=French ''Hotel Mario'' instruction booklet|url=www.oldiesrising.com/noticespdfV2/Philips%20CDi/Hotel%20Mario.pdf|page=8}}</ref>

|Fre2N=''Hotel Mario''

|Ita2=Ninji 1; Ninji 2<ref>{{cite|title=''[[Super Mario Bros. 2]]'' Italian manual|page=24}}</ref>/Ninji A; Ninji B<ref>{{cite|date=November 15, 2018|title=''[[Super Mario Bros. Encyclopedia|Super Mario Bros. Enciclopedia]]''|publisher=Magazzini Salani|language=it|isbn=889367436X|page=68}}</ref>

|Ita3=Tappetto ninja

|Ita3N=''[[The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!]]''

|KorM=Portmanteau of "ninja" and ~군 (''-gun''), the Korean translation of the honorific suffix「~くん」(''-kun'')

|RusM=Diminutive of ''ниндзя'' (''nindzya'', "ninja")

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