Tutankoopa

"You!! You ignored all those very scary warnings... Don't you have the common sense to get scared and run away?! What's wrong with you?!?!"

- Tutankoopa

Tutankoopa is a boss from Paper Mario. He is notable for his pharaoh complex, his magic abilities (such as shattering into fragments at will, leaving only his eyes and crown visible), and his heavy association with Chomps. His name is based on the ancient Egyptian pharaoh.

Tutankoopa is the boss of the Dry Dry Ruins and the guardian of Mamar the Star Spirit. When Mario and his partners enter the Dry Dry Ruins, Tutankoopa's voice can be heard warning them to run away. He continues to deliver such warnings as the heroes progress through the ruins, losing his cool and starting to shout frantically when they approach the Super Hammer. Cortez uses similar warnings in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, later revealing he prefers not to do so.

Mario and co. finally reach the Koopa's room, where he summons and endless amount of pet Chomps. He then continues to attack the heroes by throwing shells at them and summoning an outline of a Chomp to fall to the ground, causing rocks from the ceiling to fall on Mario and his partner. At first he stands on a high ledge, so that he may only be hit by aerial attacks. However, after enough damage has been dealt, he messes up his Chomp spell and damages himself, causing him to fall to the ground and making him vulnerable to ground attacks for one turn.

Tutankoopa's attack pattern entails summoning a Chomp, throwing a Buzzy Beetle shell, magic (which has a chance of backfiring), then the sequence repeats. After all three shells are exhausted, Tutankoopa will go straight to using magic after summoning a Chomp. His magic attack stops backfiring when his HP reaches less than 3. His boss fight is one of the few where Mario can farm 100 Star Points in a single battle by repeatedly defeating his Chomp.

When Tutankoopa is defeated, he falls off his platform and then and chased out of the ruins by one of his Chomps.

In the ending parade of Paper Mario Tutankoopa can be seen, still being chased by the Chomp until he sidestepped at the last moment. Afterwards, he briefly attends the parade, only to end up chased by three Chomps. The method in which he evades his Chomp resembles the Paper Mode ability in later Paper Mario games.

Tutankoopa is referenced in Mario Party 7; a Bowser sphinx appears on the Pyramid Park map, wearing a pharaoh crown and nemes with the same colors as Tutankoopa's. The crown also has a Chain Chomp ornament. The map itself is also heavily associated with Chain Chomps, as is Tutankoopa.

Trivia

 * The miniature Chomp head on Tutankoopa's hat seems to be alive, since it moves its mouth at times.
 * When Mario first enters Dry Dry Ruins, Tutankoopa refers to himself as the "remorseless king of the desert." Bowser can call himself "Remorseless King" in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door in response to a question asked by another character.

Tutankoopa Tutankoopa