| “ | The rumor is that he's a Black Shy Guy who was banished from his homeland. He uses the red mask to hide his identity. I'm not sure it's working... | „ |
| ~ Huey in the game's electronic manuel. |
| “ | The Shy Bandit strikes again! | „ |
| ~ The Shy Bandit |
The Shy Bandit is a supporting antagonist in Paper Mario: Color Splash. A mysterious Shy Guy who roams the lands of Prism Island, he works as an elite member of the Koopa Troop, sucking up the color of the island to impede Mario's progress.
Appearance[]
The Shy Bandit is a Shy Guy, small figures wearing robes and white masks with a poker face design in order to conceal their identity. The Shy Bandit wears a black robe, and wears an additional pointed red mask on top of his white mask. The Shy Bandit has white shoes, and wields a straw in his right hand.
Personality[]
From what can be presumed, the Shy Bandit seems to be arrogant to some degree, leaving behind calling cards to mark the scenes of his crimes. He's also portrayed as a stereotypical thief, with a few of his idle quotes being stock phrases associated with crooks of his type.
Notably, he will not suck up color on Toads, implying that he either has standards or does not want to risk being near anyone.
Biography[]
According to rumors, the Shy Bandit was originally just a regular Black Shy Guy, but was exiled far from his home for unknown reasons.
Somehow, the Shy Bandit has managed to work his way up in Bowser's ranks, seemingly becoming known enough to have started to leave behind calling cards for his crimes. By the time the Black Paint had possessed Bowser, and compelled the Koopa King to order his forces to drain the color from Prism Island, the Shy Bandit was ready to strike alongside the rest of the troops.
After leaving a level, the Shy Bandit has a random chance of appearing on the world map. Should he appear, he will fling a card that marks his destination on the world map, and begin rushing to the level to suck up the paint from the area.
Should Mario come into contact with the Shy Bandit during this time, either by bumping into each other on the world map or by confronting him while he's sucking up paint, the two will fight, with the Shy Bandit always having the first turn. During battle, the Shy Bandit is able to suck up paint from Mario in order to heal himself, blind Mario by using his straw as a blowgun, and can even start battles by summoning enemies.
If Mario is victorious in the fight, the Shy Bandit is defeated, returning the color to the level. If Mario takes too long to defeat him, the Shy Bandit escapes, and any paint that he may have stolen in the level remains missing until Mario fills it back up again.[1] If the Shy Bandit is not stopped, most of, if not all of the painted spots in the level will be drained, forcing Mario to refill the majority of the level once again.
The Shy Bandit stops appearing after beating the game, allowing Mario to fill up the rest of the spots in peace. It's possible that he's still active, due to him being able to come back after multiple battles, but it's unlikely that he is still around on Prism Island, thanks to both Mario's constant victories and Bowser no longer attacking the place.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Due to the way the game map works, it's entirely possible for the Shy Bandit to end up in a location that cannot be accessed before the Shy Bandit sucks out the color.
- It's possible to use the Shy Bandit card against the Shy Bandit himself.
- Due to the Shy Bandit being a limited encounter, as well as no longer spawning after defeating Bowser, his card is also able to be gained by defeating Black Shy Guys.
- He has his own battle theme, which is accompanied by vocals of Shy Guys. According to Prisma Museum, it's simply named "Shy Bandit's Theme".
- The Shy Bandit is incapable of stealing the color from spots filled in by the Big Paint Stars.
