Ninji

“I am the darkness!”

—Ninji, Paper Mario: Color Splash

Template:Species-infobox Ninjis are black star-shaped devils appearing in a number of Mario games that are said to haunt the dreams of NES players.

Ninjis were originally portrayed with red teeth and clawed feet in artwork, but later appearances remove their claws and replace their teeth with either cheek-blushes or round buttons. Their large eyes are also made rectangular, closer resembling eyeholes in a stereotypical ninja costume.

History

Super Mario series

Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic / Super Mario Bros. 2

A Giant Ninji from Super Mario Advance.

Artwork of a Ninji in Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic.

File:Ninjii sprite.PNG

Ninjis from left to right : 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 monster who had siezed control of the dream world known as Subcon. There are two types of Ninji: the first type charges at Mario, suddenly jumping as it approaches; the second type remains in one place and jumps up and down. Ninjis are depicted as purple instead of black in Super Mario All-Stars, BS Super Mario USA and Super Mario Advance. Giant Ninjis also appear as somewhat rare enemies in Super Mario Advance. These giant 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. Giant Ninjis yield a Heart if they are thrown to the ground or defeated.

Super Mario World

Ninjis also appear in Super Mario World, using their previous 8-bit sprites. In this game, they serve Bowser during his rule of Dinosaur Land. 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. The 1991 Mario Mania Nintendo Player's Guide describes Ninjis as Mini-Ninjas, stating that they have been driven mad by their isolation in Bowser's Castle. 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.

Super Mario Run

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.

DIC cartoons

The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!

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 Karate Koopa in his plan to capture 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.

Super Mario World television series

In the Super Mario World animated series, Ninjis appear only in the episode "The Yoshi Shuffle" as spectators to Yoshi and Mario's football game against Bully, Big Mouth and Cheatsy and several Koopa Football Players in the Neon Castle. Here, they are brown in color, have red teeth, distinct fingered hands, and stubby feet without claws.

Super Mario-Kun

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.

Nintendo Comics System

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 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.

Super Mario Bros. & Friends: When I Grow Up

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.

Super Mario Adventures

In Super Mario Adventures, spear-wielding Ninjis make several appearances, first appearing in the siege of 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 Troopas in stopping her escape. Later, a Ninji, apparently buying a camera from Friendly Floyd, appears at Bowser's wedding to Princess Toadstool.

Hotel Mario

The Ninjis in Hotel Mario are called Mini Ninjas but otherwise are no different from any other variety.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong

In Mario vs. Donkey Kong, a toy version of the Ninji appears, based on the second type in its debut appearance.

Mario Party Advance

In Mario Party Advance, an individual Ninji lives on the first floor of Horror Condo.

Paper Mario series

Paper Mario

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 Kids. After Chapter 6, Mario meets a Ninji at Merlon's house who tells him to go to Starborn Valley.

Paper Mario: Sticker Star

After a long absence, Ninjis appear again in Paper Mario: Sticker Star. They only appear in the forest world as enemies—however, they are not very powerful, making them the weakest enemy in World 3, but a little stonger than Goombas, and don't patrol like most enemies do, but they are 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 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; if they are jumping, they cannot be hammered, and if they are standing still, they cannot be jumped on. If they are jumped on/hammered at the wrong time, they disappear in a cloud of smoke and leave a log (also known as a decoy) behind, meaning the attack misses, 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 or else it does not count. They can also dodge Shell sticker attacks if they are jumping. If Ninjis are sleeping, crumpled, stopped or dizzy, they are not able to dodge Mario's jump attacks. Sometimes after battle, a Ninji may occasionally drop a Throwing Star sticker when defeated. They are quite sneaky, and dodge commonly when attacked with Mario's combat moves.

These are one of the enemies that can dodge Mario's attacks; the others are Shiny Paragoombas, Paragoombas and the Wiggler Segments.

Paper Mario: Color Splash

Ninjis return in Paper Mario: Color Splash keeping their appearance from the previous game. Unlike in Paper Mario: Sticker Star, Ninjis cannot dodge jump attacks, though they still dodge hammer attacks. When approached by Mario outside of battle, they disappear briefly, and then reappear in front of him.

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.

Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam

Ninji make their first Mario & Luigi appearance in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam. The game features both normal and paper variants of the Ninji enemy. 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.

Gallery

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  Super Mario Bros. 2

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  Super Mario World television series

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  Super Mario Advance

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  Super Mario Run

Official profiles and statistics

Super Mario Bros. 2

• Ninji - 1

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

• Ninji - 2

• 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 airships..."

Paper Mario series

Paper Mario: Sticker Star enemy
Ninji
	Max HP	9	Role	Common	Location(s)	Leaflitter Path, Strike Lake, Loop Loop River, Tree Branch Trail, Gauntlet Pond
	Attack	5	Stickers	Ice Flower, Shiny Jump, Throwing Star
	Defense	0	Moves	Throwing Star Transformation (5), Slam (3)

Paper Mario: Color Splash enemy
Ninji
	HP	23	Type	Normal	Role	Common	Card
	Strong	None	Weak	None	Card drop rate	3
	Moves	Jump Attack (5), Knife Attack (15), Group Attack (15), Blowback Attack (12)
	Location(s)	Fort Cobalt, Toad Trainworks
Quotes	Usual: "Ninji shield!" ~ "See ya!" ~ "I am the darkness!" ~ "Ninja double!"
Enemy class
ENEMY_JUMP
Dropped items
Hammer Scraps 10 Red paint 16 Yellow paint 16 Blue paint 16 Orange paint 8 Green paint 8 Purple paint 8

Mario & Luigi series

Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam enemy
Ninji
	HP	70	POW	60 (55)	Defense	79 (71)	Speed	92
	Role	Common	Type	Normal	Weakness	None	Location(s)	Gloomy Woods, Neo Bowser Castle
	Level	13	Experience	44 (39)	Coins	30	Item drop	Refreshing Herb - 8% 1-Up Mushroom - 4%
Notice: Stats in parentheses are from the game's Easy Mode.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	ハックン[?] Hakkun	Possibly based on hattori, after the real-life ninja Hattori Hanzō, with the -kun suffix appended.
Chinese	哈庫/哈库 Haku	From the Japanese name ハックン Hakkun
Dutch	Ninji[?]	-
German	Ninji[?]	-
Italian	Ninji[?]	-
Korean	닌군[?] Ningun	Nin-kun; The portmanteau of "Ninja" and -gun, the Korean translation of the -kun suffix.
Portuguese	Ninji[?]	-
Russian	Ниндзик[?] Nindzik	From "ниндзя" (ninja) in the diminutive form.
Spanish	Ninji[?]	-