Punchinello
| Punchinello | |
|---|---|
| |
| First appearance | Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (1996) |
| Latest appearance | Super Mario RPG (Nintendo Switch) (2023) |
- “Good day. The name's Nello...PUNCHINELLO!”
- —Punchinello, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Punchinello is one of the major bosses encountered in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. He is named after Pulcinella, a classical character in Italian theater and puppetry. His name may have also been taken from Pulcinella's English variant, Mr. Punch. He mainly uses variations of Bob-ombs while fighting. When one of the seven Star Pieces crashed into the Mole Mines at Moleville, he took it for himself. Punchinello also wants to be famous, according to his wish on Star Hill and his Thought Peek thought. When Mario and his allies arrive in Punchinello's area looking for the Star Piece, he thinks that he can become famous if he can defeat them and engages them in battle.
Despite him guarding a Star Piece and having a weapon motif, Punchinello does not appear to have any affiliation with the Smithy Gang. Regular boss music plays when fighting Punchinello instead of the music played during fights with Smithy Gang bosses, there are no Machine Made replicas of Punchinello in the Factory, and Punchinello is not mentioned among the fallen Smithy Gang members by the Clerk. Additionally, one of the wishes in Star Hill appears to be his.
Battle
If Mario walks up in front of him, he shoves Mario away 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 Microbombs 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 appears after the boss takes enough damage. He first releases four Microbombs, then four Bob-ombs, and then three Mezzo Bombs.
After Punchinello is defeated, he summons a King Bomb which lands on him and eventually explodes, covering Mario and co. in soot. After cleaning themselves off, the heroes take the third Star Piece and venture deeper into the mines.
Profiles and statistics
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
| Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars enemy | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Punchinello | |||||||||
|
HP | 1200 | FP | 10 | Speed | 15 | |||
| Location(s) | Coal Mines | Attack | 60 | Magic attack | 22 | ||||
| Role | Boss | Defense | 42 | Magic defense | 40 | ||||
| Bonus Flower | None | Yoshi Cookie | None | Morph rate | 0% | ||||
| Evade | 0% | Magic evade | 0% | Spells | Sand Storm | ||||
| Weak | None | Strong | Jump, Fear, Poison, Sleep, Mute, Critical | Sp. attacks | None | ||||
| Coins | 0 | Exp. points | 0 | Items | None | ||||
| Psychopath | "Yeeha! I see we're already famous!" | ||||||||
Super Mario RPG (Nintendo Switch)
| Super Mario RPG enemy | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Punchinello | |||||||||
|
HP | 1200 | Weak Elements | N/A | Drops | N/A | |||
| Exp. | 0 | Weak Statuses | N/A | Rare Drops | N/A | ||||
| Found in | Mole Mines | ||||||||
| Monster List profile | As a result of throwing bombs willy-nilly to become a famous bomb-maker, he faced exploder's remorse and flamed out early. | ||||||||
| Thought Peek | "So chic! Everyone is so chic!" | ||||||||
| Animations | |||||||||
| Super Mario RPG enemy | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leveled-Up Punchinello | |||||||||
|
|
HP | 1200 | Weak Elements | N/A | Drops | N/A | |||
| Exp. | 0 | Weak Statuses | N/A | Rare Drops | N/A | ||||
| Found in | Mole Mines | ||||||||
| Monster List profile | He says he wants to go home famous. Little does he know that he's already well-known in his hometown as a goofball who Mario beat twice. | ||||||||
| Thought Peek | "Everyone is even more chic now! You've really leveled up your game!" | ||||||||
| Animations | |||||||||
| Super Mario RPG enemy | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strong Bob-omb | |||||||||
|
HP | 999 | Weak Elements |  
|
Drops | N/A | |||
| Exp. | 0 | Weak Statuses |    
|
Rare Drops | N/A | ||||
| Found in | Mole Mines | ||||||||
| Monster List profile | Punchinello's most powerful bomb, created after honing his bomb-making skills. Looks like this time, he wasn't bluffing about his last resort. | ||||||||
| Thought Peek | "How many times do I need to say, "Watch out I'm gonna explode. It'll hurt", before you get it?" | ||||||||
| Animations | |||||||||
Quotes
- "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 might happen!"
Gallery
- Punchinello.gif
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Super Mario RPG (Nintendo Switch)
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ペパット[?] Pepatto |
Anagram of「パペット」(papetto, puppet) | |
| Chinese | 偶偶[?] Ǒuǒu |
Partial repetition of「木偶」(mùǒu, wooden puppet) | |
| Dutch | Punchinello[?] | - | |
| French | Punchinello[?] | - | |
| German | Pupponetto[?] | ? | |
| Italian | Punchinello[1] | - | |
| Korean | 페펏[?] Pepeot |
Anagram of "퍼펫" (peopet, puppet); From the Japanese name | |
| Spanish | Punchinello[?] | - |
Trivia
- Punchinello's introduction in the original SNES localization "Nello... PUNCHINELLO!" is 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.[2]
- Before releasing his Mezzo Bombs in the original, Punchinello shouts "It's CLOBBERING TIME!". This is likely a reference to The Thing's catchphrase. Domino also says the same phrase.
- Punchinello is the only boss other than Bowser and Smithy to not yield any EXP or even show a results screen. As a consequence, it is the only battle in the game where the Super Jumps towards the Attack Scarf or Super Suit do not count.[3]
- After defeating Culex 3D then defeating Smithy in the remake, Punchinello appears in the credits scene, assisting in the repair of Bowser's Keep.
References
- ^ Super Mario RPG – Nuove meccaniche di combattimento (Nintendo Switch); NintendoItalia on YouTube.com. Retrieved on September 14, 2023]
- ^ Bob Rork Woolsey Interview
- ^ RPG Limit Break (July 21, 2023). Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars by Millnium - RPG Limit Break 2023. YouTube. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
