The Shy Bandit

The Shy Bandit is a mini-boss that appears in Paper Mario: Color Splash. He is a Black Shy Guy who was banished from his homeland, according to rumor. He wears a red, masquerade-like mask over the usual Shy Guy mask.

When he appears, he will throw a marker on the level he intends to suck all the color from, and begin running toward that spot. Usually, he is a sizable distance from that area. Mario must then race him to the marker. If Mario picks up the marker before the Shy Bandit gets there, he disappears, and Mario gets 300 coins. If the Shy Bandit reaches his destination first, he will begin sucking the color from the level, his progress shown by a tiered splotch that empties as he drains. If Mario fails to reach the Shy Bandit before he has sucked all the paint from a level, the "colorless spots cleared" marker on the level will revert to the default 0% (with a few exceptions). The Shy Bandit can attack even areas colored back to 100%.

If Mario manages to reach the Shy Bandit before he finishes draining the level's color, or intercepts him before he reaches the marker, he will initiate a battle; at this point, the Shy Bandit will attack first by blinding Mario with paint, or summon three random enemies to attack. The Shy Bandit can summon the following enemies:

• Red Spike Guys
• Red Shield Guys
• Goombas
• Bone Goombas (available after the player has visited their respective areas)
• Koopa Troopas
• Koopa Paratroopas
• Cheep Cheeps
• Bloopers (available after the player has visited their respective areas)
• Spikes (available after the player has visited their respective areas)
• Dry Bones (available after the player has visited their respective areas)
• Boos (available after the player has visited their respective areas)
• Scaredy Rats (available after the player has visited their respective areas)
• Ninjis (available after the player has visited their respective areas)
• Red Snifits
• Spinies
• Buzzy Beetles
• Spike Tops (available after the player has visited their respective areas)
• Pokeys (available after the player has visited their respective areas)
• Piranha Plants (available after the player has visited their respective areas)
• Ptooies (available after the player has visited their respective areas)
• Hammer Bros
• Fire Bros (available after the player has visited their respective areas)
• Ice Bros (available after the player has visited their respective areas)
• Sledge Bros

He has his own theme that plays during battle, which is a jazz-styled piece and an homage to spy and criminal themes in old movies, and contains Shy Guy "vocals". If Mario defeats the Shy Bandit, he receives 300 coins and has a chance to get his card, and all the color he had drained from the level (if Mario wasn't able to get to him before he reached the marker) will be returned, meaning that the previous colorization progress of that level will remain intact.

When summoned in battle, The Shy Bandit attacks by draining an enemy's color. This is similar to Slurp Guys, the big difference being that an enemy defeated by this attack has a chance of becoming a card. The Shy Bandit is ineffective against mini-bosses, bosses, and certain enemies such as Lava Bubbles, which the Shy Bandit will only burn himself attempting to drain.

Profiles and statistics

Paper Mario: Color Splash

Paper Mario: Color Splash enemy
The Shy Bandit
	HP	26	Type	Normal	Role	Boss	Card
	Strong	None	Weak	None	Card drop rate	33
	Moves	Attack (5), Straw Attack (heals itself while reducing the paint of Mario), Last Straw Attack (heals itself while reducing the paint of Mario), Blind Attack (causes Blind status), Blowback Attack (12)
	Location(s)	Prism Island Map
Quotes	Usual: "It's the cops!" ~ "The Shy Bandit strikes again!" ~ "I thought I took care of you..." ~ "You'll never take me alive!"
Enemy class
ENEMY_ZAKO_LV1
Dropped items
Hammer Scraps 0 Red paint 0 Yellow paint 0 Blue paint 0 Orange paint 0 Green paint 0 Purple paint 0

• Gallery description: Slurps up paint from a single enemy. Defeating an enemy with this attack may turn the enemy into a card.

Gallery

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  Artwork of the Shy Bandit.

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  A sprite of the Shy Bandit.

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  The Shy Bandit card.

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  Concept art showing various early designs.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	ドロボーヘイホー[?] Dorobō Heihō	Thief Shy Guy
French (NOA)	Maskache masqué[?]	Maskache, Shy Guy's French NOA name, and Masked
German	Ganoven Guy[?]	Crook Guy
Italian	Tipo Timido Mascherato[?]	Masked Shy Guy
Russian	Скромный бандит[?] Skromnyy bandit	Modest bandit
Spanish (NOA)	Guy Enmascarado[?]	Masked Guy
Spanish (NOE)	Bandidoguy[?]	Bandit Guy

Trivia

• Despite being a mini-boss, enemies summoned with enemy cards do not run away in front of the Shy Bandit. They attack him as normal instead.
• The player can use a previously obtained Shy Bandit card while fighting the Shy Bandit.
• The marker the Shy Bandit uses to indicate his target is a type of calling card, a token left behind by particularly devious (and self-absorbed) criminals at the scene of their crimes.