Editing Ninji

{{species-infobox

|image=[[File:Ninji SMR.png]]<br>A Ninji, as seen in ''[[Super Mario Run]]''

|derived_species=[[Big Ninji]]<br>[[Ninji (toy)]]<br>[[Paper Ninji]]

|first_appearance=''[[Super Mario Bros. 2]]'' ([[List of games by date#1988|1988]])<br>(''[[Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic]]'')

|notable=[[Ninji (character)|Ninji]]<br>[[Starborn Valley|The caretakers of Starborn Valley]]

|latest_appearance=''[[Paper Mario: The Origami King]]'' ([[List of games by date#2020|2020]])

'''Ninjis''' are black and star-shaped devil-like creatures that first appeared as enemies in ''[[Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic]]'', whose manual states they are said to haunt the dreams of [[Nintendo Entertainment System|NES]] players.<ref name=yume>「ファミコン<span class="explain" title="しょうねん">少年</span>の<span class="explain" title="ゆめ">夢</span>に<span class="explain" title="あらわ">現</span>れ<span class="explain" title="あくむ">悪夢</span>を<span class="explain" title="み">見</span>せる<span class="explain" title="こあくま">小悪魔</span>。<span class="explain" title="うご">動</span>きが<span class="explain" title="はや">速</span>く、しつこく<span class="explain" title="お">追</span>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.''") - ''Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic'' instruction booklet, page 31 (ハックン<span class="explain" title="エー">A</span>).</ref><ref name=dream>"''He is a little devil who appears in the dreams of NES players. He moves fast and will persistently chase you.''" - ''Super Mario Bros. 2'' instruction booklet, page 24 (Ninji - 1 description).</ref> Their appearance in the international release, ''[[Super Mario Bros. 2]]'', marked their main series debut.

 

Ninjis were originally portrayed with red teeth 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. Current depictions, such as their ''[[Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam]]'' appearance, [[:File:NinjiPaperJam.gif|show their "pupils" blinking]], implying they are now the true eyes, and the sclerae are white skin under a black costume, though this may also be a cartoon effect.

[[File:GiantNinji.png|thumb|left|A [[Big Ninji]] from ''Super Mario Advance''.]]

[[File:SMB2Ninji.png|130px|thumb|[[Nintendo Power]] artwork of a Ninji for ''Super Mario Bros. 2''.]]

[[File:Ninji Sprite.png|thumb|Ninjis from left to right : [[Super Mario All Stars#Changes to Super Mario Bros. 2|''Super Mario All-Stars'' (''Super Mario Bros. 2'' remake)]], ''[[Super Mario Bros. 2]]'' / ''[[Super Mario World]]'', and ''[[Paper Mario]]''.]]

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 charges at the player, suddenly jumping as it approaches;<ref name=yume/><ref name=dream/> the second type remains in one place and jumps up and down.<ref>「<span class="explain" title="ばしょ">場所</span>を<span class="explain" title="いどう">移動</span>しないで、その<span class="explain" title="ば">場</span>でジャンプを<span class="explain" title="く">繰</span>り<span class="explain" title="かえ">返</span>すだけのヘンなヤツ。」 ("''They do not stray from their spot and jump repeatedly like strange guys.''") - ''Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic'' instruction booklet, page 31 (ハックン<span class="explain" title="ビー">B</span>).</ref><ref>"''He stays in one spot and jumps repeatedly. A strange guy.''" - ''Super Mario Bros. 2'' instruction booklet, page 24 (Ninji - 2 description).</ref> Ninjis are depicted as purple instead of black in ''[[Super Mario All-Stars]]'', ''[[BS Super Mario USA]]'' and ''[[Super Mario Advance]]''. [[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.

Ninjis also appear in ''[[Super Mario World]]'', where they are known as '''Mini-Ninjas''' and are said to have been driven mad by their isolation in [[Bowser's Castle]].<ref>"''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.''" - Nintendo ''Mario Mania'' Player's Guide. Page 52.</ref> They only appear in the [[Front Door]] and [[Back Door]] courses, where they blend in the darkness and are difficult to see unless the searchlight is activated, which may be why they used said tricolor sprites. They jump in place and can be defeated with stomps, fireballs, or a cape attack. They are one of the few enemies not seen in the credits.

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 appear as an enemy in ''[[Super Mario Run]]'' for mobile devices, acting 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.

[[File: CartoonNinji.jpg|thumb|left|A Ninji from ''The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!''.]]

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 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.

In the ''[[Super Mario World (television series)|Super Mario World]]'' animated series, Ninjis (here referred to as "Mini-Ninjas") appear only in the episode "[[The Yoshi Shuffle]]" as spectators to [[Yoshi]] and Mario's football game against [[Roy Koopa|Bully]], [[Morton Koopa Jr.|Big Mouth]] and [[Larry Koopa|Cheatsy]] and several [[Chargin' Chuck|Koopa Football Player]]s in the Neon Castle. Here, they are brown in color, have red teeth, distinct fingered hands, and stubby feet without claws.

===''Super Mario-Kun''===

[[File:Ninji SuperMarioKun 4.jpg|thumb]]

Ninjis make a few appearances throughout ''Super Mario-Kun''. Not only are they in arcs dealing with ''Super Mario Bros. 2'', they have appeared in the first few volumes, which deal mostly with ''Super Mario World''. Their depiction in this appearance is used in some later artwork.

In [[Nintendo Comics System]], Ninjis only make minor appearances, with one appearing in the background of the story ''[[The Legend]]'', while several, having been beaten senseless by a sleepwalking Mario who believes himself to be [[Dirk Drain-Head]], appear in ''[[Bedtime for Drain-Head]]''.

===Nintendo Adventure Books===

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 ''[[Unjust Desserts]]'', some Ninji are shrunk by [[Magikoopa]] and eaten by [[Yoshi]], though Mario never encounters any in the dinosaur's body, only in the palace garden.  

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 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.

[[File:Veterinarian.png|thumb|right|''Super Mario Bros. & Friends: When I Grow Up'']]

A Ninji makes a small cameo in the coloring book game ''[[Super Mario Bros. & Friends: When I Grow Up]]'', on the Veterinarian page.

In ''[[Super Mario Adventures]]'', spear-wielding 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 O. Koopa]] and a brigade of [[Koopa Troopa]]s in stopping her escape. Later, a Ninji, apparently buying a camera from [[Friendly Floyd]], appears at Bowser's wedding to Princess Toadstool.

The Ninjis in ''[[Hotel Mario]]'' are called '''Mini Ninjas'''<ref>''Hotel Mario'' instruction book, page 15.</ref>. They routinely look left and right before hopping in one direction.

[[File:NinjiPM.png|thumb|left|A Ninji, as it appears in ''[[Paper Mario]]'']]

In ''Paper Mario'', several Ninjis live in [[Starborn Valley]] and act as the caretakers of the [[Star (species)|Star Kids]]. After Chapter 6, [[Mario]] meets a Ninji at [[Merlon]]'s house who tells him to go to Starborn Valley.

After a long absence, Ninjis appear again in ''[[Paper Mario: Sticker Star]]''. They only appear in [[World 3 (Paper Mario: Sticker Star)|World 3]], and are the weakest enemy that can be encountered in the forest, being only slightly stronger than [[Goombas]]. Despite this, Ninjis are still aggressive and chase Mario if they should see him. In the overworld, Ninjis tend to hide in the poisoned waters or trees of the forest levels, much like the [[Bzzap!|Bzzaps!]] in ''Paper Mario''.

In battle, a Ninji can either turn itself into a throwing star and hurl itself at Mario, or it can just run up to Mario and slam him. Mario must watch the positions of Ninjis, as they are one of the few enemies that can dodge Mario's attacks (the others being [[Paragoomba]]s, [[Shiny Paragoomba]]s and the [[Wiggler Segment]]s). If they are jumping, they cannot be hammered, and if they are standing still, they cannot be jumped on. If Ninjis are hit with the 'wrong' attacks, they disappear in a cloud of smoke and leave a log (also known as a decoy) behind, causing the attack to miss; they then run back into battle while falling from the top screen. This may cause Mario to fall on his face. Ninjis can be hit with the Hurlhammer sticker even when they're jumping, but this means that the player has to have good timing for the hit to land. They can also dodge [[Sticker (Paper Mario: Sticker Star)|Shell sticker]] attacks if they are jumping. If Ninjis are [[sleep]]ing, [[crumpled]], [[stopped]] or [[dizzy]], they are not able to dodge Mario's jump attacks. Sometimes after battle, a Ninji may occasionally drop a [[Sticker (Paper Mario: Sticker Star)|Throwing Star sticker]] when defeated.

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 Koopa]] is defeated, it will be replaced by the [[Rock Paper Wizard]] until beaten.

{{new subject|section=y}}

[[File: Ninji Festival.jpg|150px|thumb|Paper Ninjis]]

Both normal paper and origami [[Folded Soldiers|Folded Soldier]] versions of Ninjis appear in ''[[Paper Mario: The Origami King]]'', predominantly in [[Shogun Studios]]. As shown in the game's announcement trailer, a group of origami Ninjis is seen holding onto the ceiling of a room above Mario.<ref>Nintendo (May 14, 2020). [https://youtu.be/FX6DTLcWUdY Paper Mario: The Origami King - Announcement Trailer - Nintendo Switch]. ''YouTube''. Retrieved May 15, 2020.</ref>

Ninjis make their first ''[[Mario & Luigi (series)|Mario & Luigi]]'' appearance in ''[[Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam]]'' as enemies in [[Gloomy Woods]], and one is fought in [[Neo Bowser Castle (Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam)|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.

Ninjis reappear in ''[[Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey]]'', as allies and enemies in the ''Bowser Jr.'s Journey'' mode. They are ranged troopers, their Special Skill is Hurt or Heal, and they are strong against [[Tail Boo]]s and [[Big Tail Goomba]]s.

{{br}}

===''Super Mario Bros. 2''===

:*'''Instruction booklet bio:''' "''He is a little devil who appears in the dreams of NES players. He moves fast and will persistently chase you.''"

:*'''Instruction booklet bio:''' "''He stays in one spot and jumps repeatedly. A strange guy.''"

===''Super Mario Run''===

*'''Notebook bio:''' "''This enemy leaps and jumps like a ninja. Oddly, these guys are also pretty good at operating [[airship]]s...''"

*'''Gallery description:''' ''If they spot a hammer coming, they'll use their Ninji Vanish ability to turn things around. Stomp 'em instead!''

{{:Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam bestiary|transcludesection=Ninji|align=horizontal}}

SMB2 art Ninji 1.png|''[[Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic]]'' / ''[[Super Mario Bros. 2]]'' (running variety)

SMB2 art Ninji 2.png|''Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic'' / ''Super Mario Bros. 2'' (jumping variety)

DokiNinji.png|''Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic Hisshō Kōryakuhō''

Ninji SMB2 All-Stars.png|''[[Super Mario All-Stars]]''

PMTOK Origami Ninjis.png|''[[Paper Mario: The Origami King]]''

Nintendo TOKYO PMTOK Merchandise Promotional Artwork.png|Promotional artwork for merchandise featuring ''Paper Mario: The Origami King'' from Nintendo TOKYO

PMTOK Ninji Craft.jpg|Photo of two origami Ninji crafts promoting ''Paper Mario: The Origami King'' from Nintendo Co., Ltd.'s Instagram account

|Jap=ハックン

|JapR=Hakkun

|JapM=Possibly based on ''hattori'', after the real-life ninja {{wp|Hattori Hanzō}}, with the ''-kun'' suffix appended.

|Spa=Ninji

|SpaM=-

|Fra=Ninji

|FraM=-

|DutM=-

|GerM=-

|ItaM=-

|RusM=From "ниндзя" (ninja) in the diminutive form.

|ChiS=哈库<ref>From the ending scenes of ''[[Super Mario Advance]]'' as localized by [[iQue]]. Reference: 无敌阿尔宙斯 (August 28, 2013). [http://tieba.baidu.com/p/2559790043 神游 超级马力欧2敌人官译] (Official names for iQue Super Mario 2 enemies). ''Baidu Tieba''. Retrieved February 2, 2017.</ref>

|KorM=Nin-kun; The portmanteau of "Ninja" and ''-gun'', the Korean translation of the ''-kun'' suffix.

{{nav templates|

{{TSMBSS (animation)}}

{{Super Mario World TV}}

{{PMTOK}}}}

[[Category:Bowser Jr.'s Journey Allies]]

[[Category:Brain Drain Enemies]]

[[Category:Dinosaur Dilemma Enemies]]

[[Category:Hotel Mario Enemies]]

[[Category:Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Enemies]]

[[Category:Paper Mario Species]]

[[Category:Paper Mario: Color Splash Enemies]]

[[Category:Paper Mario: Sticker Star Enemies]]

[[Category:Paper Mario: The Origami King Enemies]]

[[Category:Super Mario Advance Enemies]]

[[Category:Super Mario Bros. 2 Enemies]]

[[Category:Super Mario Run Enemies]]

[[Category:Super Mario World Enemies]]

[[Category:The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! Enemies]]