Shy Guy

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"Red Shy Guy" redirects here. For information about the character on the Sunset Express in Paper Mario: Color Splash, see Red Shy Guy (character).
Shy Guy
Artwork of a Shy Guy from Mario Party Superstars
Artwork of a Shy Guy from Mario Party Superstars
First appearance Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic (1987, overall)
Super Mario Bros. 2 (1988, Super Mario franchise)
Latest appearance Super Mario RPG (Nintendo Switch) (2023)
Latest portrayal Nate Bihldorff (2004-present)
Variants
Animal Trainer Shy Guy
Anti Guy
Attack Ghost
Bandit
Bazooka Heyho
Beezo
Black Shy Guy
Bomb Guy
Boo Guy
Boom Guy
Burner Heihō
Chandeli-ho
Chuck Guy
Clip Guy
Coal Guy
Door Heihō
Donguri Heyho
Dreamy Shy Guy
Exploring Shy Guy
Fake Yoshi
Fat Guy
Fawful Guy
Fly Guy
Fly Heyho
Flying Shy Guy
Ghost Guy
Glide Guy
Gold Shy Guy
Groove Guy
Hook Guy
Itsunomanika Heihō
Juggling Heyho
Lantern Ghost
Mace Guy
Medi Guy
Mega Guy
Ninja Guy
Paint Guy
Paper Macho Shy Guy
Paper Shy Guy
Petal Guy
Pharaoh Guy
Pirate Guy
Pyro Guy
Robo Shyguy
Rocket Guy
Roller Guy
Rush Heyho
Sensuikan Heihō
Shield Guy
Shy Guy (toy)
Shy Guy Airtub
Shy Guy R
Shy Guy 4-Stack
Shy Guy 5-Stack
Shy Guy Tent
Shy Guy Tower
Shy Guys on Pogo Sticks
Shy Ranger
Shyguy Lion
Shyster
Silver Shy Guy
Skall Heyho
Skating Shy Guy
Sky Guy
Sling Shy
Slurp Guy
Snifit
Snow Guy
Snowboarding Shy Guy
Soggy Guy
Sombrero Guy
Spear Guy
Spike Guy
Spooky
Spy Guy
Stilt Guy
Stretch
Toober Guy
Train Bandit
Trampoline Shy Guy
Tree Heihō
Unicycle Shy Guy
Vampire Heyho
Walker Guy
White Shy Guy
Woozy Guy
Zombie Guy
Comparable
Notable members
“I ain't scared... I'm terrified!”
Shy Guy, Paper Mario: Color Splash

Shy Guys, alternatively formatted as Shyguys,[1] Shy-Guys,[2] or ShyGuys,[3] are a recurring enemies in the Super Mario franchise. They are recognizable by their masks, which they wear due to their shyness.[4][1] Shy Guys made their first appearance in Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic, later released in the Western world as Super Mario Bros. 2.

History

Main article: History of Shy Guy

Shy Guys debuted in Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic, and they would only become a part of the Super Mario franchise when the game was localized in the Western world as Super Mario Bros. 2. Shy Guys are very common in spinoff series of the Super Mario franchise, such as the Mario Party series and Paper Mario series. Despite debuting in a game of the Super Mario series, Shy Guys rarely appear in it, and even appear more commonly in platforming games starring Yoshi as a protagonist, such as Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. Shy Guy is a playable character in some spinoff series, such as the Mario Tennis series and the Mario Baseball series.

General information

Allegiance

In Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic and Super Mario Bros. 2, Shy Guys are minions of the mischievous Wart, but they would subsequently become a part of the Koopa Troop. Shy Guys have also been seen working for other villains, such as Smithy.

Contrarily, some Shy Guys act as allies, such as the White Shy Guys in Yoshi's Story. Also, friendly Shy Guys appear in various spin-offs without any interest of taking over the Mushroom Kingdom.

Physical appearance

Shyguy from Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic Hisshō KōryakuhōShy Guy
Shy Guy's appearance in 1987 (left, from Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic), his modern design in 2019 (right, from Play Nintendo)

All Shy Guys (with the minor exception of some Shy Guys from Mario Strikers Charged) wear robes that can be red, pink, blue, light blue, yellow, orange, green, purple, black, gray, or white. However, in some games such as the Mario Party series, red Shy Guys are the only color variety seen. They are all fairly short and wear masks with holes on them that represent eyes and a mouth. It is unknown what is behind these masks. However, in Shy Guy's trophy celebration movie in Mario Power Tennis, after Shy Guy trips on one of the steps, his mask falls off, and Luigi sees his face without his mask on and is shocked at the sight. The Shy Guy then quickly puts the mask back on and picks the trophy up, showing it to the audience. Sometimes, when Shy Guy's mask falls off, what appears to be a mask strap tends to stay on its head. Also, in Luigi's Mansion, Luigi can use the Poltergust 3000 to pull a mask off a Ghost Guy. Ghost Guys do not have eyes on their masks, but their faces are completely black with two glowing yellow eyes where the mask's eyes would be. It is unknown whether this is what a Shy Guy's face looks like when it is alive, as they, like the game's other generic ghosts, were imitations created by Vincent Van Gore. Additionally, in Paper Mario: Color Splash, a Shy Guy in the Golden Coliseum says that Mario would make a terrible Shy Guy because he has a face, suggesting that Shy Guys do not have a face.

It is also possible that the Shy Guys' so-called "masks" are not masks at all, but rather faces. In Yoshi's Island DS, the sleeping Shy Guy's mask eye holes are closed, supporting this. Also, the Bandit variant of Shy Guy have been shown to have the ability to change the expressions on their masks as if they were their actual faces. The picture that is shown when Bandit wins in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island Mini-Battles even suggests that he is able to stick out his tongue. Also, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars's Shy Guys' eye holes comically spin when the Shy Guy is confused, much like people's eyes do in cartoon gags; the Shy Guys of Super Mario RPG are also able to blush on their masks. Spear Guys and Dancing Spear Guys are perfectly capable of moving their mouth holes when chanting and singing, as Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island shows, while Boo Guys are shown regularly changing their expressions and blinking. Most recently, in Mario Strikers Charged, Shy Guys have been shown to yet again be perfectly able to change the expressions on their masks.

An unmasked Ghost Guy
An unmasked Ghost Guy in Luigi's Mansion

Some early Super Mario Bros. 2 artwork of Shy Guys, as well as The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, depicted Shy Guys as wearing mask-like badges depicting an angry face, similar to that of Phanto. Another Shy Guy-related element seen only in Super Mario Bros. 2 and The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! are also notable for using game artwork of the earliest forms of Shy Guys, making them tall, stout, and human-like; however, the appearance of Shy Guys was later redesigned to their in-game sprite appearance in Super Mario Bros. 2.

In the first few episodes of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, Shy Guys were depicted as being similar in appearance to their game counterparts, though with one large exception - their masks possessed only two holes. They only had eye holes perpetually in a scowling position. Later episodes of the show have Shy Guys resembling their game versions more with three holes in their mask, all of which were perfectly circular.

Even though Shy Guys appear to be short, squat humanoids, they are shown to have stick-like legs under their robes in the game Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker.[5] Their legs can also be seen in Mario Kart 8 when winning first place in a race or while performing certain tricks.

In Paper Mario: The Origami King, a Shy Guy in Spring of Jungle Mist implies that Shy Guys have very short necks that make it difficult to look up.

Although Shy Guys generally do not wear much else besides their masks and robes, there are a few instances where they wore additional items. An example of this is in Mario Kart Tour, where a Shy Guy wears a pastry chef hat and a red neckerchief, carrying a whisk.

Color variations

Much like Yoshis and Birdos, Shy Guys come in many different colors. The following is a list of all known Shy Guys and the first appearance of said Shy Guy.

Image Color Shoe color First appearance
Shy Guy Red Blue Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic
Blue Shy Guy from Mario Kart Tour Blue Magenta Super Mario All-Stars
Yellow Shy Guy from Mario Kart Tour Yellow Green Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
Green Shy Guy from Mario Kart Tour Green Brown Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
Pink Shy Guy from Mario Kart Tour Pink Purple Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic
Light-blue Shy Guy from Mario Kart Tour Light-blue Red-brown Mario Kart DS
Black Shy Guy from Mario Kart Tour Black White Yoshi's Story (as black Flying Shy Guys)
Mario Superstar Baseball (as normal Shy Guys)
White Shy Guy from Mario Kart Tour White Black Yoshi's Story (as White Shy Guys)
Orange Shy Guy from Mario Kart Tour Orange Blue Mario Strikers Charged
The Woozy Guy in the Scrapbook Theater Purple Orange Yoshi's Woolly World (as Woozy Guys)
Yoshi's Crafted World (as normal Shy Guys)
A brown Shy Guy Brown Dark-green Yoshi's Woolly World
A dark-green Shy Guy Dark-green Brown Yoshi's Woolly World

Quotes

Profiles and statistics

Main article: List of Shy Guy profiles and statistics

Mario Power Tennis

Bio: Shy Guy's proud of his finely-honed style and loves to surprise people who underestimate him because of his height.

Mario Kart 7

  • Class: Feather
  • Stat Boosts
    • Speed: 3
    • Acceleration: 4
    • Weight: 2.25
    • Handling: 3
    • Off-Road: 4
  • Website bios:
    • Flag of USA.png He may be hiding behind a red robe and mask, but Shy Guy really loves to show off his love of racing.
    • Flag of Europe.png The diminutive Shy Guy won’t be bullying the big boys, but his light frame does make for superb handling.

Gallery

For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Shy Guy.

Names in other languages

Main article: List of Shy Guy names in other languages
Language Name Meaning
Japanese ヘイホー[6]
Heihō
ヘイホーあか[11] (Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic, red type)
Heihō Aka
ヘイホーレッド[12] (Super Mario USA, red type)
Heihō Reddo
ヘイホーピンク[11][12] (Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic / Super Mario USA, pink type)
Heihō Pinku
シャイガイ[13]
Shaigai
カタカタヘイホー[14][15] (Mario vs. Donkey Kong)
Katakata Heihō
Anagram of「歩兵」(hohei, "foot soldier"), with「ホ」elongated; officially romanized as "Hey-Ho",[7][8][9] "Heyho",[10] and "Heiho".

Shyguy-Red

Shyguyシャイガイ-Redレッド[12]

Shyguyシャイガイ-Pinkピンク[12]

Transliteration of the Super Mario Bros. 2 name

From「カタカタ」(katakata, Japanese onomatopoeia for mechanisms rattling) and「ヘイホー」(Heihō, Shy Guy)

Chinese (simplified) 嘿呵
Hēihe
嘿虎[16] (prior to Mario Kart Tour)
Hēihǔ

Transliteration of the Japanese name

Chinese (traditional) 嘿呵
Hēihe
Transliteration of the Japanese name

Dutch Shy Guy
Shyguy[17] (Super Mario Bros. 2)
-
French (NOA) Maskache
Shy Guy (early translations)
Mec Masqué (My Very First Nintendo Game Boy: Super Mario's Adventures)
Pun on masque ("mask") and cache ("hide")
-
Masked Dude
French (NOE) Maskass
Shyguy (Super Mario Bros. 2 instruction booklet)
Pun on masque ("mask") and possibly casse (French colloquialism meaning "row")
-
German Shy Guy
-
Italian Shyguy[18]
Tipo Timido
Tipo timido[19]
-
Shy Guy
Shy guy
Korean 헤이호
Heiho
Derived from the Japanese name

Portuguese (NOA) Shy Guy
-
Portuguese (NOE) Masquito
Pun on máscara ("mask") and possibly mosquito
Russian Скромняга
Skromnyaga
From скромный (skromnyy, "shy") and «-яга» (-yaga, Russian suffix used for creating nouns denoting a possessor of a certain quality)

Spanish (NOA) Shy Guy
Shy guy
-
Spanish (NOE) Shy Guy
-

References

  1. ^ a b "A member of the “8 bits” ( a club from evil dreams ). He wears a mask because he's shy." - Super Mario Bros. 2 instruction booklet, page 23 (Shyguy - Red description).
  2. ^ M. Arakwa. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island Player's Guide. Page 128.
  3. ^ Wessel, Craig. Super Mario Advance. Page 93.
  4. ^ 魔夢族一員ずかしがりやなのでおをかくしている。」 ("A member of the Mamu Family. They wear a mask on their face because they're shy.") - Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic instruction booklet, page 30 (ヘイホー).
  5. ^ Screenshot
  6. ^ https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ds/amqj/porin/index.html
  7. ^ マリオテニスGC キャラクター紹介. Nintendo of Japan. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  8. ^ マリオパーティ9:マリオと仲間たち. Nintendo of Japan. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  9. ^ Mario Trump NAP-05 5 of DiamondsMedia:NAP-05 Diamonds 5.png, though the picture actually depicts a Fly Guy.
  10. ^ マリオカートDS キャラクター&カート. Nintendo of Japan. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  11. ^ a b Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic instruction booklet. Page 30.
  12. ^ a b c d Super Mario USA instruction booklet. Page 26. nintendo.co.jp. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  13. ^ Perfect Ban Mario Character Daijiten. Page 225.
  14. ^ Mario vs. Donkey Kong Japanese instruction booklet, page 15.
  15. ^ https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ds/amqj/toys/index.html
  16. ^ From the ending scenes of Super Mario Advance as localized by iQue. Reference: 无敌阿尔宙斯 (August 28, 2013). 神游 超级马力欧2敌人官译 (Official names for iQue Super Mario 2 enemies). Baidu Tieba. Archived February 26, 2017, 16:11:09 UTC from the original via Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
  17. ^ Club Nintendo (Netherlands) Classic. Page 34.
  18. ^ Super Mario Bros. 2 Italian manual, pag. 23
  19. ^ Super Mario Advance European manual, pag. 111

External links