Bandit

"See ya 'round the block, buddy!"

- Bandit

Bandits are a tall, larceny-loving sub-species of Shy Guy. Bandits originated from the Yoshi series, although they have gone on to appear in the Paper Mario and Mario Party series as well. They also appeared in the Mario & Luigi series.

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.

They also hide behind rocks, mushrooms, or cave walls, only coming out to steal Baby Mario if Yoshi gets damaged nearby. 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.

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 (thus making Bandit, in an obscure way, a playable character).

There are also hoodless red versions of Bandits called Grunts that wear spike helmets. Their faces appear to be yellow head with two eyes, this implies that Grunt is only one of few (other being Shy Guy Ghosts) Shy Guy species who show their faces.

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 enemy gallery.

Paper Mario
Bandits are common enemies in the 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 by defeating 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 series
Blue Bandits are minor characters in the Mario Party series. However, they are only seen in Mario Party 7 and Mario Party 8.

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 appear in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team. They are found in the later parts of Dozing Sands. In battle, they hurl bandaged smoke bombs during their attacks. They can attack as a group with one Bandit throwing two smoke bombs in an attempt to hide which Mario Bro they are aiming for. Bandits can also throw a smoke bomb close to Mario or Luigi where he'll place a fake explosive cardboard clone in front of the Bros. in an attempt to fake them out, before coming in for real to attack. Bandits steal coins whenever they hit Mario or Luigi and any Bandit that stole coins previously flees the battle on their next turn.

Bandits can rarely reappear in Somnom Woods in the background of battles holding a Golden Egg. Getting hit by a Taunt Ball will cause the Bandit to run and drop the Egg. If Mario or Luigi can Hammer the Egg as it rolls away, it will stay in the battle where they can defeat it for extra coins.