Punch

Punch is an attack that most characters can do in the Mario series.

The punch move first appeared in Super Mario 64, where Mario used it to start an attack combo; Luigi and Wario also used punches to start combos in the remake, Super Mario 64 DS. In Super Mario Galaxy 2, Bowser uses punches to attempt to attack Mario in battles. Most characters have punch moves in the Super Smash Bros. series, and various Mario Party minigames also involve fisticuffs. In Wario World, Wario uses various punching moves to beat all his enemies. Finally, in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, Bowser uses punches as an attack in battle, as well as on the field to destroy objects such as boulders that block his path. Bowser retains the attack in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team.

Some characters have alternate animations for their punch, most noticeably Peach and Daisy, who have an open-hand slap instead. Yoshi had a headbutt in the Nintendo 64 Mario Party games, but it was changed to a punch for the GameCube and Wii installments. Birdo had a slapping animation similar to Peach and Daisy in Mario Party 7, but it was changed to the same punch animation as Yoshi's in Mario Party 8.

Trivia

 * In pre-release builds of New Super Mario Bros., Mario was shown to have this ability by pressing the R button, along with other moves generally based off of Super Mario 64. It was completely removed from the final game.