Bandit

"See ya 'round the block, buddy!"

- Bandit

Bandits are a tall, larcenist-like sub-species of Shy Guy. Bandits originated from the Yoshi series, although they have gone on to appear in the Paper Mario, Mario & Luigi and Mario Party series as well. As their name implies, their common trait throughout the games is to steal from the player, whether its coins or Baby Mario.

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island / Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3
Bandits, along with Shy Guys, are some of the most common enemies in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. They wander around, until spotting Yoshi and Baby Mario. The Bandit then gives chase. If successful, the Bandit takes Baby Mario and runs away. They can run very fast, and jump on top of small ledges, making them a versatile foe. It takes six eggs (or watermelon seeds), three jumps, or a Ground Pound to dispatch them. For the first three times that the player can hit a Bandit with an egg, it drops a coin, and the subsequent three give 1-Ups. Yoshi can also use his tongue to push them back, but he can't eat them. Sometimes they hide behind rocks, mushrooms, or cave walls, only coming out to steal Baby Mario if Yoshi gets damaged nearby. Additionally, there are Winged Clouds that uncommonly contain a Bandit. In two levels, they summon Shy Guys to replace Baby Mario while the Bandit take off. However, that can be foiled if the Shy Guy is eaten or egged first. In one instance, they even parachute from balloons.

While most Bandits are colored blue, a pink variant, called Coin Bandit, also appears, where they'll always carry Red Coins. The Coin Bandit usually flees from the Yoshis, but if the Yoshis manage to snatch its item, it'll start to chase the Yoshis in an attempt to steal Baby Mario. Other sub-species of Bandits originate from this game including Green Glove, Grunts, Sluggers and Zeus Guys.

In Mini Battles, such as Gather Coins and Watermelon Seed Spitting Contest, Yoshi has to face off against a Bandit to win items. If the player uses a secret minigame code, the second player can use the second controller to play as the Bandit.

Yoshi's Island DS
In Yoshi's Island DS, Bandits only appear on land, and are the only enemies to take off with the babies. Bandits will jump very high when they notice a Yoshi, but they will not jump when they reach a ledge. Bandits can be viewed in the Land Enemies exhibit in the Island Museum.

Yoshi's New Island
Bandits reappear in Yoshi's New Island.

Paper Mario
Bandits are common enemies found in Dry Dry Desert in Paper Mario. They sometimes fight alongside Pokeys or others of their kind. They can dash very quickly toward Mario, trying to steal his coins and hurt him in the process. If Mario fails to do the defensive Action Command, the Bandit steals a certain amount of coins from Mario and runs away from the battle as soon as possible. Mario is able to recollect his coins if he defeats them quickly.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
Bandits commonly appear in Rogueport in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. In Mario's first walk in the town, in search for Professor Frankly, a Bandit zooms near Mario, stealing half of his coins, and making him dizzy. Mario is able to track the Bandit down in a house near the market and retrieve his coins. Several other Bandits live in Rogueport, namely Larson, Swindell and Eddy the Mask.

A team of Bandits known as the Hand-It-Overs, consisting of two Bandits and two Big Bandits, are fighters in the Glitz Pit. One of the Big Bandits, Bandy Andy, is very interested in rumors about the Glitz Pit, for which he is eventually caught by Grubba, leading to the Hand-It-Overs team disappearing from the roster along with the KP Koopas. They are replaced by the Wings of Night and the Destructors for the rest of Chapter 3.

Bandits also appear in the Pit of 100 Trials in the Rogueport Sewers, along with Badge Bandits. They do not move as quickly as those in the previous game.

Mario Party 7
A Bandit appears in Pyramid Park of Mario Party 7, but only in Solo Mode. It stole a Star from the Bowser Sphinx and the player's goal is to get the Star back from the Bandit with a Chain Chomp and return it to the Bowser Sphinx. There is also a Bandit Orb that is exclusive to the board Windmillville of which is thrown and whoever lands on it will have their money taken out of their windmill and given to the character who owns the space.

Mario Party 8
In Shy Guy's Perplex Express of Mario Party 8, a Bandit is seen in one of the train wagons walking around. When a character lands on a Green Space above the train a Shy Guy will appear, revealing that a Bandit (or Mowz) has robbed Holly Koopa's Candy.

The character must now remember which wagon the Bandit/Mowz was in. If the character remembers correctly, the Bandit/Mowz will return the candy and the character will receive 20 coins (10 in Duel Mode).

A Bandit also appears in Koopa's Tycoon Town. If a certain ? Space is landed on, a Bandit will appear in an alley and steal coins from an opponent's investment in the nearest hotel.

Bandit is also one of the competitors in Moped Mayhem.

Mario & Luigi: Dream Team
Bandits reappear in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team as enemies. In the field, Bandits throw bandaged smoke bombs at Mario and Luigi upon spotting them, and then chases them briefly. In battle, a Bandit may throw two smoke bombs, one that's closer to the enemy side of the battlefield, and one that's closer to Mario and Luigi. The Bandit and all other ones (if any) will then one by one sneak through the smoke and come out the second smoke cloud to charge at a Bro.

If the Bandit was looking at the background when it was momentarily visible while leaving the first smoke cloud and entering the second, it will attack Mario. If it was looking at the foreground, it will attack Luigi. If a Bandit hits either Mario or Luigi, they will steal a maximum of 100 coins. At the end of the attack, the Bandits will line up in the middle of the screen and show whether they got any coins or not. They will then all jump high into the air (in order to shuffle themselves amongst each other to confuse the Bros. and prevent them from knowing which Bandit to target to get their coins back), and back into their positions on the battlefield.

Bandits may also attack individually by approaching a Bro., pulling out a smoke bomb and throwing it where they stand. It will then either run out of the smoke in order to tackle the targeted Bro., or will send out a cardboard Bandit on a string with a bomb tied behind it. Mario or Luigi must smack the real Bandit when it comes out, and not hit the cardboard copy as that will result in the bomb exploding and them taking damage and possibly becoming dizzy. If the Bandit manages to tackle the targeted Bro., he will not have 100 coins taken from him.

Bandits also appear as a background enemy in Somnom Woods, however in this appearance they carry a Golden Egg. Due to running away when hit with a Taunt Ball, they cannot be defeated, but they do drop the Golden Egg they're carrying, which can be brought into the battlefield if Mario or Luigi hits it with their hammers as it bounces by.

Super Mario: Yoshi's Island
Bandits appear in the manga based on Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island.

Super Mario-Kun
A Bandit appears in the Japanese manga series Super Mario-Kun. So far, his first appearance is in volume 14, which is based on Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island.