Instant Camera

"The legendary prize is all yours! Congratulations!"

- Snifit

The Instant Camera is a Thing in Paper Mario: Color Splash. Previously concealed in a chest on Fortune Island, it was taken by the Snifits running Snifit or Whiffit as a legendary prize for clearing the bonus round of their show. When Mario participates in the show, he must complete a perfect game and advance to the bonus round, which he must also complete flawlessly. Doing so rewards him with the grand prize, revealed as the Instant Camera. Mario is allowed to collect it, refill his paint, and turn it into a card before exiting.

Later on in the game, during exploration of Fortune Island, Mario finds a letter placed in one of the chests, referred to as the Letter from Chest. The letter, written by the staff of Snifit or Whiffit, reveals the contents previously held in the chest had been taken to use as the grand prize for their bonus round, referring to the Instant Camera. Huey becomes disappointed at the loss of a treasure and recommends that Mario obtains it by clearing the bonus round of said game show, if it has not already been obtained.

During the climax of the battle with Wendy, she switches tactics, rendering her mostly invulnerable to Mario's attacks while providing him one chance to prevent his defeat. At this moment, Mario must use the Instant Camera to snap a photo of himself, which is then placed directly in front of him. Wendy places her ring onto the decoy rather than Mario, mistaking it for him. Upon unleashing her bombardment of coins, destroying the decoy, Wendy becomes more upset and proceeds to battle the real Mario, albeit much weaker, allowing for her defeat.

When the Instant Camera is used in any battle, the aforementioned event occurs, with a photo of Mario striking a pose being taken and placed in front of him as a shield. If the player presses as the Instant Camera takes a photo, the resulting photo will be stronger. Whenever the enemies attack Mario, they instead attack the decoy, protecting Mario from the damage he would usually receive from their attacks. The pose Mario strikes may be a fashionable one, a fierce one, or simply an off-guard one.

A replica of the Instant Camera also exists, obtained from the Battle Spin, and acts the same. However, much like the other required Things in their respective Koopaling battles, it is rendered ineffective against Wendy's battle. If the replica is used in this scenario, Wendy obscures Mario in the photo just as it is taken, preventing it from being used.

Once it has been used, the Instant Camera returns to its original position, though it may also be purchased from the Wringer for 150 coins as well as sold as an unpainted card for one coin.

The Instant Camera can also be placed into the Prisma Museum alongside the other Thing cards, where it may also be tested. After it has been used, three Goombas attack the photograph while the last Goomba attacks Mario. Due to this, Mario can get a Game Over if his HP is low enough.