Punchinello

“Good day. The name's Nello...PUNCHINELLO!”

—Punchinello, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars

Punchinello is a boss encountered in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. He mainly uses variations of Bob-ombs in his battle. Personality-wise, Punchinello is absolutely insane and throws temper tantrums very often. Punchinello lives in the Moleville Mines. When one of the seven Star Piece crashed into the mine, he made it a possession for himself. Punchinello also wants to be famous, according to his wish on Star Hill and his Psychopath thought. When Mario and his allies arrive in Punchinello's area looking for the Star Piece, he thinks he will become famous if he can defeat them and engages them in battle.

Battle

If Mario walks up in front of him, he will shove Mario with his arms, sending Mario back into the other room. Thus Mario must be behind or near the side of Punchinello to start battling.

When battle starts, Punchinello throws Micro Bombs at Mario, which can explode after a set amount of turns. In battle, Punchinello attacks with his fist, punching one of Mario's party members. Punchinello also uses the attack Sand Storm.

Punchinello uses four varieties of Bob-omb to aid him in battle. Each variety will appear after the boss takes enough damage. He first releases four Micro Bombs, then four Bob-ombs, and then three Mezzo Bombs.

File:Punchinello!!.png

After Punchinello is defeated, he summons a King Bomb which explodes and squishes him while covering Mario and co. in dust. After cleaning themselves off, the heroes take the third Star Piece and venture deeper into the mines.

Strategy

As he only has one attack, Sand Storm, the fight is considerably easy for experienced players. a good way to start the fight is to use supportive drinks such as Crystalline,or such abilities can be utilized by Geno. When he starts creating bob-ombs, it as advised to stick to attacks affecting large groups of enemies such as Thunderbolt.

Quotes

Main article: List of quotes in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars#Punchinello

• "They say I'm a hothead, but I'll show them! You... YOU will make me famous! So long!"
• "It's CLOBBERING TIME!"
• Simmer down, fluffy! I'm not going to waste this on YOU! Who knows what'll happen!"

Trivia

• "Punchinello" is the name of the short, fat buffoon in several Italian puppet shows.
• Punchinello's introduction "Nello... PUNCHINELLO!" is likely a reference to James Bond's catchphrase of being "Bond, James Bond". Translator Ted Woolsey originally wanted to name him "James Bomb", which explains why Punchinello introduces himself this way, but management refused to allow it.
• Before releasing his Mezzo Bombs, Punchinello shouts "It's CLOBBERING TIME!". This is likely a reference to The Thing's catchphrase. Domino also says the same thing.
• Punchinello is the only boss in possession of a Star Piece that has the "normal" boss music playing, instead of the theme music for a star-specific boss battles (this, of course, does not include boss fights where the player gets a star and subsequently has it taken away.)