Cleft

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Cleft
Sprite of a Moon Cleft from Super Paper Mario.
A Cleft from Super Paper Mario
First appearance Paper Mario (2000)
Latest appearance Super Paper Mario (2007)
Variants

Clefts are animate rock enemies resembling spiked skulls that appear in the Paper Mario series. Their name comes from the word "cleft", which can alternately refer to a crack in a rock or an indentation of the chin, both of which are characteristics of the Clefts. Clefts have a large amount of variant types, all of which are very strong and sturdy and are capable of disguising themselves as ordinary rocks, though they are also easily flipped over with an explosion or the Quake Hammer, rendering them helpless. They pursue and attack Mario by charging into him, are immune to fire, and, aside from a few variants, have spiked heads preventing him from jumping on them.

History[edit]

Paper Mario[edit]

In Paper Mario, Clefts inhabit Mt. Rugged. They are initially disguised as white rocks on the overworld, but when they detect Mario, they change into a dull brown and gain their features. When encountering one, Goombario's tattle suggests running away if the player finds them too difficult to defeat. Green Hyper Clefts inhabit Gusty Gulch and are additionally capable of charging their attacks to boost their power.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door[edit]

In Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Clefts inhabit Boggly Woods, and in fitting with its aesthetic, are monochrome. Earth Tremor does not flip them, but if executed well enough, it can defeat them automatically. Additionally, if three questions of the 65th Super Fun Quirk Quiz are answered incorrectly, the player will have to face four Clefts. The original active coloration of Cleft makes a cameo on a poster in Glitzville, though due to the placement of buildings it is very difficult to see in-game.

Hyper Clefts also return, and several new variants of Clefts are introduced. These are the spikeless Bald Cleft and Hyper Bald Cleft, which are safe to jump on but still have high defense; the large and nigh-invulnerable Iron Cleft, which can only be defeated with Yoshi's Gulp; and the moon-dwelling Moon Cleft, which uses a brighter version of the original coloration for Cleft in Paper Mario and is said to simply be an ordinary Cleft on the moon, despite also being stronger.

Super Paper Mario[edit]

Clefts appear in Super Paper Mario in Chapter 5-1, near Downtown of Crag, and in room 71 of the Flipside Pit of 100 Trials. However, the Western localizations mistakenly refer to them as Moon Clefts, despite them not being found on the moon or in any cosmic locations. Their attack pattern remains the same: they charge at Mario and his allies as soon as they get close enough. They still have the same weakness, as Boomer can flip them over. They will occasionally drop a Cake Mix when they are defeated. A shadowy version, called Dark Cleft, appears in the Flopside Pit of 100 Trials.

Statistics[edit]

Paper Mario[edit]

Paper Mario enemy
Cleft
Battle idle animation of a Cleft from Paper Mario Max HP 2 Attack 2 Defense 2 (standing), 0 (flipped)
Role Common Type Ground, Top Spiky (standing), Ground (flipped) Level 10
Strong Fire Weak None Moves Spike Charge (2), Struggle, Stand Up
Sleep? 40%, -1 Dizzy? 50%, -1 Shock? 50%, 0
Shrink? 75%, 0 Stop? 90%, 0 Fright? 40%
Air Lift? 40% Hurricane? 40% Coins 2 + 1-3
Items None Run 12 Location(s) Mt. Rugged
Tattle This is a Cleft. Clefts are pretty strong, so you'd better be careful. Max HP: 2, Attack Power: 2, Defense Power: 2 Their specialty is pretending to be rocks, so watch your step on the mountain. You'll get hurt if you jump on the spikes on their heads. You know, there's courage in running away sometimes...

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door[edit]

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door enemy
Cleft
A normal Cleft from Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. Max HP 2 Attack 2 Defense 2
Location(s) Petal Meadows, Boggly Woods, Pit of 100 Trials (Levels 12, 17) Role Boss, common Level 12
Sleep? 50% Dizzy? 50% Confuse? 50%
Tiny? 70% Stop? 100% Soft? 100%
Burn? 0% Freeze? 70% Fright? 50%
Gale Force? 70% KO? 95% Moves Cleft Charge (2)
Exp. points 0 Coins 1 - 3 Items Mushroom, Thunder Bolt, Earth Quake, Mini Mr. Mini, Dizzy Dial
Tattle Log #:
79
Log A spiky, rock-headed jerk that's impervious to fire attacks and has a solid body.
Tattle That's a Cleft. A rock-head jerk with spikes on his noggin. What a rocker! Max HP is 2, Attack is 2, and Defense is 2. That hard head is a major pain. Fire doesn't hurt it, but other types of items are pretty effective, usually. If nothing seems to work on it, you can always just run.

Super Paper Mario[edit]

Super Paper Mario enemy
Moon Cleft
Sprite of a Moon Cleft from Super Paper Mario. Max HP 5 Role Common Location(s) Downtown of Crag (5-1), Flipside Pit of 100 Trials (Room 71)
Attack 2 Card type Common
Defense 4 Items Cake Mix Card location(s) Card Shop; Catch Card/SP; Chapter 5-1: Found in a small 3D-accessible alcove below the canyon to the right of the first block puzzle.
Score 500
Card description It's an evil mineral that looks just like a rock. That is, until it's too late!
  List of Catch Cards  
  106      107      108  
Tattle That's a Moon Cleft, a rock-hard monster that's covered in spikes... Max HP is 5, Attack is 2, Defense is 2[sic]. Flames won't scorch this foe... It might look like a stone at first, but it will move when you get up close... Set off an explosion near it to flip it over. Then it'll be vulnerable to attack...

Names in other languages[edit]

Language Name Meaning
Japanese シンエモン
Shin'emon
Male name in Japan

Chinese 岩石怪
Yánshí Guài
Rock Monster

French Cleft
Cleftlunair
Cleft
Lunar Cleft (Super Paper Mario)
German Kirk
Mond-Kirk
Male name
Moon Cleft (Super Paper Mario)
Italian Teschiolito
Teschiolito lunare
From "teschio" (skull) and the Ancient Greek word "lithos" (stone)
Lunar Cleft (Super Paper Mario)
Korean 가시돌턱
Gasi Dolteok
Spike Stone Jaw

Spanish Cleft
Cleft Lunar
Cleft
Lunar Cleft (Super Paper Mario)