Raphael the Raven



Raphael the Raven (also known by the shorter name, Raphael Raven) is the leader of the Ravens and first appeared as the boss of the fifth world in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. When Blue Yoshi first meets Raphael, he is but an ordinary Raven. However, Kamek appears and magically enhances the bird, greatly increasing his size and strength. Then, the large Raphael slams into Blue Yoshi, sending him and Baby Mario flying to a small moon. Additionally, the force of the attack makes the Yoshi lose all of his eggs. Raphael then launches himself to the moon and prepares for battle.

Raphael fights by chasing Blue Yoshi around the moon, hoping to run into him and send Baby Mario flying. He also attacks by jumping into the air and slamming the ground, creating balls of electricity that circle the satellite. Without his eggs, Blue Yoshi invents a clever way to defeat Raphael. The Yoshi notices that two stakes stick out of the ground on the small moon. Thus, to hurt Raphael, Blue Yoshi had to Ground Pound a stake while the massive Raven was on the other side of the small moon. The stake would pop out on the other side, jabbing into the large bird. After three successful hits, Blue Yoshi defeats Raphael, and (for some reason) the bird becomes a constellation in the sky. Raphael the Raven returns in the game Tetris Attack. In this game, Raphael reforms his evil ways and makes peace with Yoshi. Additionally, he is a playable character, replacing the moon fairy Seren from the original Japanese version. He is in the eight level and is the last character to be saved from the evil King Bowser.

Raphael the Raven reappears in Paper Mario. In this game, Raphael is the leader of a tribe of reformed Ravens that live in peace with the Yoshis of Lavalava Island. He lives in a tree high above the island and has become a legend to the Yoshis (as no one can remember actually seeing the massive black bird). He has the ability to communicate with both Mario and his Ravens (Normal Ravens can only say "caw caw"). Raphael helps Mario by ordering his Ravens to build a device to take the plumber and his allies to Mount Lavalava, site of the fifth Star Spirit and the massive Lava Piranha. He also gives Mario the Ultra Stone, an important artifact that allows Mario's party members to become even more powerful.

Additionally, Raphael the Raven makes a cameo appearance in Super Smash Bros. Melee as a collectible trophy.

It is interesting to note that Raphael's appearance in Paper Mario is a large reference to Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island and other Yoshi games. Among him are many other "characters" from the games, including the Lava Piranha (which resembles the Naval Piranha), Jungle Guy (which resembles Spear Guy), Jungle Fuzzy (which resembles Fuzzy from Super Mario World), Putrid Piranha (which resembles the Piranha Plant depiction from Yoshi's Island), Yoshis, Ravens, and "Flopsy Fish" (a.k.a. Cheep-Cheep).