Yaridovich

"I'm such a genius, it scares me sometimes. No wonder I'm so important!"

- Yaridovich

Yaridovich is one of Smithy's lieutenants in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, and a master of disguise. He is a shape-shifter and can assume many sizes and shapes. Yaridovich can even impersonate whole populations by splitting himself into multiple bodies. However, Yaridovich cannot change his color, and as such, any form he takes exists in shades of gray and red. In his true form, Yaridovich resembles a spear.

Yaridovich was charged with acquiring the fifth Star Piece on Smithy's behalf. However, the Star Piece was in the hands of Jonathan Jones, the deadly pirate. Yaridovich did not feel like retrieving the artifact himself, so he decided to have Mario do it for him. To trick Mario, Yaridovich kidnapped the population of Seaside Town and imprisoned them in a large building. Then, Yaridovich split his essence into a multitude of Toad-shaped bodies, including a Toad elder. When Mario arrived in town, Yaridovich, in his disguise as the town elder, asks the hero to retrieve the Star Piece for him. Mario agrees and heads towards the sea.

When Mario returns with the Star Piece, Yaridovich reveals that he is a member of the Smithy Gang and would torture the real town elder with a tickling feather until Mario surrenders the Star Piece. Mario reluctantly agrees, and Yaridovich runs to the coast. Mario follows behind.

Yaridovich was to be picked up by the Axem Rangers and their battleship Blade. However, the Axem Rangers were running a bit late, so Yaridovich decides to swim away (even though he realizes he will rust in water). Before he can reach the water, Jonathan Jones appears and blocks the path of the false Toads. With no where to run, Yaridovich assumes his true form and battles Mario and his allies. After a long battle, in which Yaridovich unleashed massive energy attacks and created additional copies of himself, Mario and company defeat the mechanical monstrosity and recover the Star Piece. Additionally, Mario recovers a key which he uses to free the real residents of Seaside Town.

Yaridovich would return as a Machine Made, a gray massed produced copy of the original. As it turns out, the first Yaridovich was simply a prototype to be tested before an army of Yaridoviches could be assembled.

Trivia

 * Yaridovich's name comes from the Japanese word "yari", meaning a certain type of spear.
 * Yaridovich has a slight resemblance to General Grievous, a character from the movie, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. This may be a coincidence, however, seeing as Super Mario RPG came out many years before it.