Macho Grubba
- “MAAAACHO! I'm a powerhouse now, you pesterin', li'l pieces of prairie piffle! So long's I have this here machine, my bod'll be rough, tough, an' ultrabuff!”
- —Macho Grubba, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
Macho Grubba is the powered-up form of Grubba, also the true final boss of the Glitz Pit in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, and keeper of the real Gold Star (though it is never revealed exactly how he got it). He bears a slight resemblance to Tubba Blubba in the manner of an abnormally large, monstrous Clubba. In this state, he has sixty HP (which is shared by Dark Clubbas in Super Paper Mario), and also has a very wide variety of attacks, including buffing himself, allowing himself to attack twice, boosting his Attack Points, and increasing his defense drastically. After being defeated, Grubba's power-sucking machine goes off, returning energy to Bandy Andy and KP Pete, freeing Prince Mush, and reverting Grubba back to his normal form. He is also one of two chapter bosses not affiliated with either Sir Grodus or the Shadow Queen throughout the entire game (the other being Cortez).
Biography
Macho Grubba is the powered-up form of Grubba. Sometime after Grubba acquired the Gold Star, he created a power draining machine and the machine powered him up into Macho Grubba, changing his appearance in the process. Because of this, Grubba keeps the machine and his powered up form a secret. While is isn't known if Prince Mush saw Macho Grubba (as he only saw Grubba's machine), Jolene did and it was soon after that Mario entered the Glitz Pit and she guided him to find out Grubba's secret. After following a series of instructions,Mario finds Grubba at the ring when there are no matches going on and Grubba uses the power-draining machine to power himself up. Once Macho Grubba has been defeated, he will lose his power, and Mario will get the Gold Star.
Physical description
Macho Grubba's appearance is slightly altered to that of his normal self. His hair is blonde and spiked up in a wild Mohawk-like style (he no longer sports a hat in this form). His skin color is orange instead of blue. His lips appear to be a yellow-orangish color and his hands are much larger (in the form of a fist). He is about twice the size he was before transforming, but can grow during the battle against him, making him 4x larger than his normal form. His shell now possess spikes on it and he has sharp, yellow toenails. Despite these changes, he still maintains his same glasses, vest, and bow tie, but lacks the green, buttoned shirt he wore under his vest.
Powers and abilities
After being powered up by the Gold Star, Macho Grubba has the ability to tilt the scales in battle to his favor. At the beginning of the fight, Macho Grubba gains the ability to attack twice per turn. By doing this, he can inflict more damage on Mario and his partner in one turn, or even upgrade his status to a more powerful state during this time. Another ability Macho Grubba has is to increase his attack power as well as his defense. With an increased attack power, Macho Grubba's attack power will go up by three, bringing his overall attack to seven. Should he increase his attack power more than once, he can bring his attack up to ten, and even thirteen.
Depending on which attack Macho Grubba uses at the time, he can inflict damage on both Mario and his partner, doubling the effects of his upgrade. By increasing his defense, his defense will go up by two. This makes it more difficult for Mario and his partner to damage Macho Grubba. Macho Grubba can also increase his defense multiple times, bringing his defense up to four, and even five — which is the highest numerical defense in the game. In addition to being able to increase his attack, he can also charge up his attack by four. Should his attack be at thirteen, and then be increased by four, his attack will be brought to a devastating seventeen, the highest possible attack Macho Grubba can have and one of the highest attack power in the game. When low on health, Macho Grubba will also make himself dodgy, making it much more difficult for Mario and his partner to inflict damage on Macho Grubba, if at all.
In addition to his ability to upgrade his status effects, Macho Grubba also can perform many different styles of wrestling moves. Here is the list of his attacks from most common to least common.
He is also one of four chapter bosses the Yoshi Kid can swallow. The others being Doopliss, Grodus and the Shadow Queen (first phase, before and after transformation).
Attacks
| Attack Name | Attack Description | Attack Power | Double Attack?* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Punch | Macho Grubba attacks with a massive punch. | 4 | No |
| Backflip | Macho Grubba turns around and does a shaky backflip. | 4 | Yes |
| Ground Pound | Macho Grubba jumps in the air and lands solidly on his opponent. | 4 | No |
| Super Punch | Macho Grubba will walk off-stage, then quickly charge towards his opponents and smack them with a powerful punch. | 6 | Yes |
| Super Pound | Macho Grubba will walk off-stage, then quickly charge towards his opponents, jumping in the air, and then land on them. | 6 | Yes |
| Quake | Macho Grubba will jump in the air and land harshly where he stands three times, shaking the entire stage. | 4 | Yes |
Quotes
- “MAAAAAAAAAACHO GRUBBA!”
- “Not too shabby, Gonzales! You got showmanship, an' that's GOLD in this biz! But this here battle's just gettin' started! It's time I showed you some real moves! Back in the day, I had so many rump–kickin' moves, they had to make some illegal!”
- "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH! It ain't finished yet, Gonzales!!! Ain't over 'til it's over! That's way it is in combat sports, son! But lemme just tell YOU somethin'… Fortune's gonna smile on ME in the end, punk!”
Names in other languages
Trivia
- Macho Grubba is the only boss in the game, along with Sir Grodus, to show signs of being worn out when he has low health.
- Like Rawk Hawk, Macho Grubba also fights in the manner of a heel character, which is a villainous wrestler who uses dirty, underhanded tactics to win. As stated by Macho Grubba, himself, he "had so many rump-kickin' moves they had to make some illegal."; indicating he was, indeed, a heel.
- Macho Grubba's name could be a possible play-off of "Macho Man" Randy Savage's name. (a famous, legendary wrestler from the late 1980s.)
