Punchinello

"Good day. The name's Nello...PUNCHINELLO!"

- Punchinello

Punchinello is a minor boss encountered in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. He mainly uses variations of Bob-ombs in his battle. Personality -wise, Punchinello is absolutely insane and throws temper tantrums very often. Punchinello lives in the Moleville Mines. When one of the seven Star Piece crashed into the mine, he made it a possession for himself. Punchinello also wants to be famous, according to his wish on Star Hill and his Psychopath thought. Mario and his allies arrive in Punchinello's area looking for the Star Piece, he thinks he will become famous if he can defeat Mario and his allies, he then engages into battle.

Battling Punchinello
Before the battle, Punchinello throws Micro Bombs at Mario, hoping to defeat Mario. If Mario walks up in front of him, he will shove Mario with his arms, sending Mario back into the other room. Thus Mario must be behind or near the side of Punchinello to start battling.

In battle, Punchinello attacks with his fist, punching one of Mario's party members. Punchinello uses strong magic such as Sand Storm, which summons a sandstorm that gives all party members Fear. However, his main attack is summoning Bob-ombs.

Punchinello only uses four varieties of Bob-omb to aid him in battle. first, Punchinello releases four Micro Bombs, Mallow's Thunderbolt attack can remove them easily, Aater Punchinello receives more damage, he realizes Mario is tougher than he originally thought, he then summons regular-sized Bob-ombs to attack the heroes. Mallow can still use Thunderbolt to defeat them, after more damage, Punchinello summons Mezzo Bomb, Mallow should now use regular attacks, hitting Punchinello with his Cymbals.

After Punchinello is defeated, he attempts to laugh, causing Punchinello to go really mad. Punchinello attempts to summon a King Bomb. Mallow thinks he is bluffing, but Punchinello gets into a rage and ignores the party. He slams the ground for the bomb, but it didn't fall, even more enraged, Punchinello pounds the ground more, attempting to summon the bomb. The King Bomb then falls from the ceiling, squashing him.

Ultimately, the King Bomb explodes before Mario and his allies can defeat it. The King Bomb explodes, covering Mario and his allies in dust, after cleaning themselves off, the heroes take the third Star Piece and venture deeper into the mines.

Punchinello and the Smithy Gang
Although Punchinello is a guardian of a Star Piece and has a slight resemblance to a bomb himself, he is not a member of the Smithy Gang. In fact, Punchinello's only allegiance is to himself. The Factory Clerk made no mention of Punchinello while listing all of Smithy's lieutenants that were defeated by Mario and there was not even a Machine Made copy of him. Also, a certain theme song usually plays whenever a Smithy Gang member is present; Punchinello uses a different theme. He is, in fact, one of only three major bosses in the game (the other being the Czar Dragon and Jonathan Jones) who was in possession of a Star Piece and with no affiliation with the Smithy Gang whatsoever.

Quotes

 * For a full list of Punchinello's quotes, see here.

Trivia

 * "Punchinello" is the name of the short, fan buffoon in several Italian puppet shows.
 * Punchinello's introduction "Nello... PUNCHINELLO!" is likely 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.
 * Before releasing his Mezzo Bombs, Punchinello shouts "It's CLOBBERING TIME!". This is likely a reference to The Thing's catchphrase, Domino also says the same thing.