Shaman
| Shaman | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| First appearance | Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (1996) | ||
| Latest appearance | Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Nintendo Switch) (2024) | ||
| |||
- “Yahoo! Good luck to ya!”
- —Shaman, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Shamans are characters first appearing in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, where they act as both NPC shopkeepers and enemies. They later made a reappearance as non-enemy NPCs vital to the plot of the first three games of the Paper Mario series.
The Shamans in Super Mario RPG are all identical, while those later introduced in the Paper Mario series have individual characteristics—as well as hair—which the Shamans did not seem to have before.
History[edit]
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars[edit]
In Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars and its remake, Shamans are first encountered near the sea area and the Sunken Ship as shopkeepers, selling Mario and his party items and weapons. After Mario buys items from the latter, the Shaman verifies whether Mario's password to access the ship's treasure room is correct or not, stating how many letters (if any at all) are correct and giving a hint on that the password relates to the sea.
Shamans later appear in the Belome Temple, again, as merchants. One allows Mario access to a warp trampoline for 100 coins, and another allows Mario to receive his fortune, as well as access to the rest of the temple, for 50 coins. There is another Shaman later on, who tells Mario that the fortune he receives from a Belome statue determines the destination of the next room. In the caverns of Land's End outside the temple, there is another Shaman, who sells Mario a star for 400 coins.
Mario later battles Shamans as enemies in both Nimbus Land and Bowser's Keep. These magical beings are very weak to physical attacks, while having a strong magical defense. If a Shaman is struck with a Special Attack, there is a one-in-three chance it will flee the battle.
Paper Mario series[edit]
Merlon, Merlee, Merluvlee, Merlow, Merle, and Madam Merlar appearing in the Paper Mario series greatly resemble Shamans, though in Super Paper Mario, Merlee, Merluvlee, and Madam Merlar, the latter now known as Merlumina, have significantly altered designs incorporating few elements of Shamans. Wonky in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door claims that they may be a part of a sort of clan that names their members after their purposes. Additionally in this game, the character Chet Rippo is redesigned to resemble a very tattered version. In Super Paper Mario, Nolrem, Merlight, Merloo, and Merlimbis are also Shamans.
Profiles and statistics[edit]
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars[edit]
| Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars enemy | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shaman | |||||||||
|
HP | 150 | FP | 100 | Speed | 9 | |||
| Location(s) | Nimbus Castle, The Trial Course | Attack | 92 | Magic attack | 80 | ||||
| Role | Common | Defense | 50 | Magic defense | 90 | ||||
| Bonus Flower | Lucky! (30%) | Yoshi Cookie | Royal Syrup | Morph rate | 100% | ||||
| Evade | 0% | Magic evade | 0% | Spells | Escape (CS), Diamond Saw, Lightning Orb, Crystal, Blizzard, Flame Stone | ||||
| Weak | None | Strong | None | Sp. attacks | None | ||||
| Coins | 4 | Exp. points | 17 | Items | Maple Syrup (25%), Royal Syrup (5%) | ||||
| Psychopath | "I'm losing this fight!" | ||||||||
Super Mario RPG (Nintendo Switch)[edit]
| Super Mario RPG enemy | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shaman | |||||||||
|
|
HP | 150 | Weak Elements | N/A | Drops | Maple Syrup | |||
| Exp. | 17 | Weak Statuses |    
|
Rare Drops | Royal Syrup | ||||
| Found in | Nimbus Castle | ||||||||
| Monster List profile | Strong enemies who employ powerful magic. Some of them retire and enjoy a second career as shopkeepers. | ||||||||
| Thought Peek | "I might lose this fight." | ||||||||
| Animations | |||||||||
Gallery[edit]
Artwork, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Idle sprite, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | スペール[1] Supēru |
Comes from "spell" | |
| Chinese (simplified) | 咏唱师[?] Yǒngchàng Shī |
Chanter | |
| Chinese (traditional) | 詠唱師[?] Yǒngchàng Shī |
Chanter | |
| Dutch | Sjamaan[?] | Shaman | |
| French | Chamage[?] | Portmanteau of chaman ("shaman") and "mage" | |
| German | Schamänchen[?] | Diminutive form of Schamane ("shaman") | |
| Italian | Sciamago[?] | Portmanteau of sciamano ("shaman") and mago ("mage") | |
| Korean | 스펠[?] Seupel |
Spell; from the Japanese name | |
| Spanish | Chamán[?] | Shaman |
Trivia[edit]
- According to concept art, a prototypical form of this enemy appears to have been known as「まじあん」(Majian, Magian) and wielded a cane. It would have been one of the three types of minions brainwashed by a cut cane weapon beast, together with Magikoopa and Shy Guy.[2]
- Shaman's Monster List profile in the remake seems to refer to the Shaman NPCs seen throughout the game, though it also may be a reference to the various shops run by Shaman characters in the Paper Mario series.
References[edit]
- ^ マサむね (November 22, 2015). スーパーマリオRPG プレイ動画 part16. YouTube. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
- ^ kurashimakaz (March 10, 2021). Twitter post by Kazuyuki Kurashima with an early relationship chart. Twitter. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
| Shamans | |
|---|---|
| Bestovius • Chet Rippo • Merle • Merlee • Merlight • Merlimbis • Merloo • Merlon • Merlow • Merlumina • Merlumina's sister • Merluvlee • Nolrem • Old Man Watchitt | |
