Bombette
- Not to be confused with Noko Bombette.
| Bombette | |
|---|---|
| |
| Species | Bob-omb |
| First appearance | Paper Mario (2000) |
| Latest appearance | Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Nintendo Switch) (photograph cameo) (2024) |
- “I have a little score to settle with those Koopa Bros.!”
- —Bombette, Paper Mario
Bombette is one of Mario's partners who appears in Paper Mario, and the third party member encountered in the game. She is a pink Bob-omb (most likely a Bob-omb Buddy) with a ponytail-shaped fuse and a white heart-shaped turn knob with no holes. Her name is a simple combination of "bomb" and "-ette," a suffix used to denote a female subject.
Bombette first appears amongst the other friendly Bob-ombs imprisoned in a room within the Koopa Bros. Fortress; upon meeting her, she demonstrates an eagerness to get back at the Koopa Bros. for capturing her. She can be used to destroy cracked walls and other similar obstacles in the overworld, a role that would be carried over in the next two games of the Paper Mario series; the role is taken by Admiral Bobbery in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door and the Pixl Boomer in Super Paper Mario.
Bombette and all of the other partners from Paper Mario were meant to make an appearance in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, but she and all the others (except for Lady Bow and Parakarry) were removed for unknown reasons. A sprite for Bombette, as well as the other helper characters from the first Paper Mario, has been found in the game's files. Bombette and the partners from both Paper Mario and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door also have unused data in Super Paper Mario.
History
Paper Mario series
Paper Mario
- “Mario rescued me. So I figured the least I could do was help him even the score with Bowser, King of the Koopas!”
- —Bombette, Paper Mario
When Mario goes to the Koopa Bros. Fortress, Yellow Ninjakoopa traps Mario in a cell. Here, Mario meets Bombette, who was imprisoned in the fortress for exploding next to the Koopa Bros.; she helps Mario by demonstrating her field ability, walking over next to a crack in the wall and exploding to make an escape route out of the cell, and then joins Mario's party. After she helps Mario defeat the Koopa Bros., she decides to join Mario's party permanently and aid him on the quest to find the Star Spirits. Prior to these events, Bombette had broken up with another Bob-omb named Bruce; he constantly looks for a chance to get back together with her, only to be met with constant and comical refusal each time.
Her field ability, in addition to destroying walls, can also be used to flip switches and attack enemies; both this and Kooper's field move are the only ways that Mario's partners can score a First Strike. In battle, Bombette can Body Slam foes or explode on them by using her Bomb attack. After upgrading, she can learn more powerful moves like Power Bomb, which hits all enemies on the ground, or Mega Bomb, which hits every enemy in battle.
When Bombette blows up a particular cracked wall in Crystal Palace, four Bombette imposters show up, whose quotes always end with stars, hearts, extra exclamation points or question marks, and extra periods. These are tells that the Bombettes are fake; the real Bombette quickly loses patience with the charade and begs Mario to hit the imposters with his hammer. After Mario exposes the fakes, the real Bombette tells him that if he'd hit her, she was going to bomb him the next time he napped. If Mario hits the real Bombette, however, she calls him terrible, and they must fight the Duplighosts.
Bombette receives three letters at the Toad Town Post Office throughout the game: one invitation letter from the Dry Dry Railroad Transportation Department, and two love letters from Bruce.
Duplighosts and Lee can transform into Bombette along with Mario's other partners, in which case her name appears as "Bombette???"
Super Paper Mario
In Super Paper Mario, Bombette appears as a Catch Card found on the 40th floor of the Flopside Pit of 100 Trials. She and all the other partners from the Paper Mario series could also be seen very briefly at the beginning of the game, in a photograph at the Mario Bros.' House.
Super Mario-kun
Bombette is the only party member from Paper Mario to not appear in the game arc present in Super Mario-kun. However, in the last three chapters of volume 26, a special and shorter version of the events of Paper Mario are told. At the end of the second chapter, Mario, Goombario and Kooper are captured by the Koopa Bros. and they meet Bombette in the cell. In the third chapter, Bombette presents herself to them. After she explains she is a friendly Bob-omb, Mario kicks her against a cracked wall, freeing them. Bombette then accompanies them, not having a relevant role for the rest of the chapter. Like many other Bob-ombs in the manga, she has a mouth and more expressive eyes, but she is lacking her ponytail-fuse.
Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour
In Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, the name "Bombette" can appear on the leaderboard.
Unused appearances
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
Although she does not appear in the game, there are unused sprites of Bombette in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.
Profiles and statistics
Paper Mario
- Tattle: She's named Bombette. That pink is adorable! She does seem to be pretty strong willed. Her future boyfriend might be in for some trouble!
- In-game bio: Hot-headed Bombette was once jailed in Koopa Bros. Fortress. Her specialty is blasting open cracked walls and rocks. Press
. She'll walk off and explode, creating openings. Press while she's walking to make her blow up on the spot. - Instruction booklet: Her special ability is exploding, but don't worry—she'll return to normal right away.[1]
- Player's Guide: If you're facing a wall with nowhere to go, Bombette may be able to help you find your path. The helpful Bob-omb can blow open walls and rocks that already show some signs of stress or fracture. She has an explosive fighting style and can damage any enemy on the ground.[2]
The following is Bombette's attacks and stats:
| Attack | Flower Points Needed | Effect | Action Command | Attack Power | Move Ranks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Body Slam | None | Charges at the frontmost grounded enemy. | Hold down  to fill the gauge
|
Base Rank: 1/2 Super Rank: 2/3 Ultra Rank: 3/5 |
Base Rank |
| Bomb | 3 | Explodes at the frontmost grounded enemy. | Press repeatedly to fill the gauge
|
Base Rank: 1-5 Super Rank: 1-6 Ultra Rank: 1-7 |
Base Rank |
| Power Bomb | 6 | Explodes over all grounded enemies | Press repeatedly to fill the gauge
|
Super Rank: 1-6 Ultra Rank: 1-7 |
Super Rank |
| Mega Bomb | 8 | Explodes over all enemies | Press repeatedly to fill the gauge
|
Ultra Rank: 1-7 | Ultra Rank |
Values in bold are for perfectly executed action commands.
Super Paper Mario
| Catch Card | |
|---|---|
 |
|
Gallery
Bombette being attacked by a Goomba
Bombette imprisoned
Bombette prepares to explode the prison wall
Bombette ready to blow up a wall
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (unused)
Nintendo Switch Online
Bombette's portrait from the Nintendo Switch version of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
Trivia
- Bombette was featured in a 2015 press release made by Nintendo for Women's History Month, which highlighted some of the company's female characters.[3]
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ピンキー[?] Pinkī |
Pinky; shared with Spoiled Rotten | |
| Chinese | 炸弹妞[?] Zhàdàn Niū |
Bomb Girl | |
| French | Bombinette[?] | Portmanteau of bombe ("bomb") and the common female name "Ninette" | |
| German | Bombette[?] | - | |
| Italian | Bombette[?] | - | |
| Korean | 핑키[?] Pingki |
Transliteration of the Japanese name | |
| Spanish | Bombette[?] | - |
References
- ^ Paper Mario Instruction Booklet, pg. 15
- ^ Paper Mario Official Nintendo Player's Guide, pg. 13
- ^ Gulik, Marcin (March 18, 2015). Nintendo Celebrates Women’s History Month With a Look Back at its Female Characters. Gamnesia. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
| Bob-ombs | |
|---|---|
| Characters | Bobbery • Bobolink • Bob-omb (Paper Mario: The Origami King) • Bob-omb gang • Bob-omba • Bomberto • Bombette • Bruce • Bub • Fahr Outpost mayor • Fred • Gattai monster • General White • Gob • Goldbob • Jerry • King Bob-omb • Lucky • Master Crash • Mecha King Bob-omb • Nob • Pa-Patch • Proto Mecha King Bob-omb • Rob • Scarlette • Swob • Sylvia • The Bob-omb Squad |
| Species and variants | Alarm Bob-omb • Baboom • Black Pit Bob-Omb • Bob-omb • Bob-omb Buddy • Bob-omb Car • Bob-omb Fish • Bob-ulk • Bomb Bud • Bomb Net • Bomb Plant • Bombite • Bulky Bob-omb • Buzz-Bomb • Chuckya • Dark Fawful Bomb • Designbomb • Dreamy Bob-omb • Fly Bomb • Giga Bob-omb • Glad Bob-omb • Glad Parabomb • Goombomb • Kab-omb • King Bomb • Lethal Bob-omb • Lob-omb • Lob-omb R • Mega Bob-omb • Mezzo Bomb • Microbomb • Onpu Bomu • Paper Bob-omb • Paper Macho Bob-omb • Parabomb • Rob-omb • Shiny Bob-omb • Shroob-omb • Smell Bob-omb • Tail Bob-omb • Time Bob-omb |
