Valentina: Difference between revisions

|image=[[File:SMRPG Valentina Artwork.png|Artwork|200px]]<br>Artwork of Valentina

'''Valentina''', transliterated as '''Margarita''' on one occasion,<ref>''Nintendo Magazine System'' (UK) issue 38, page 70.</ref> is a major boss who appears in ''[[Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars]]'' and [[Super Mario RPG (Nintendo Switch)|the 2023 remake]]. Valentina was an aide to the royal court in [[Nimbus Land]] prior to the game's beginning. After Prince [[Mallow]] disappeared, Valentina locked [[King Nimbus]] and [[Queen Nimbus]] in a room in the palace. Valentina then lied to the townsfolk, saying that the king is sick and may die soon. She also sent her minions to guard the palace as well as the beanstalks leading up to the clouds where Nimbus Land lies, and fired much of the royal staff. As a final precaution, Valentina instructed [[Beezo]] to block the [[Warp Pipe|pipe]] leading to Nimbus Land by causing [[Smilax]] to grow in it.

Valentina's next plan is in motion as [[Mario]], Mallow and their friends arrive in Nimbus Land, having overwhelmed [[Smilax]] as well as the enemies guarding the beanstalks. Valentina passes her assistant [[Dodo]] as the lost Prince Mallow. Dodo then "proposes" to Valentina, which would legally make her queen. The two then return to the palace. Having learned the truth about Mallow's heritage from [[Garro]], Garro disguises Mario as a [[In Search of Lost Brother|statue]] to sneak him into the palace. Valentina then enters the room they are in to praise the golden statues made in her likeness, only to notice Mario and question Garro about it. He describes Mario as his latest masterpiece, making her display Mario within the palace. As Mario is about to explore the rest of Nimbus Castle, Valentina commands Dodo to polish her statues. Beezo eventually informs Valentina that Mario is within the palace. After being told what Mario looks like, Valentina realizes the statue Garro brought shares the same description. Once she realizes Mario is in the room with her, she escapes the castle. She circles around back to Nimbus Land's plaza, but she gets surrounded by [[Nimbus]] who all ask her questions. She voices her frustrations as Mario arrives to battle her.

Valentina is shown to be an extremely bossy and domineering person who seems to treat her henchmen and just about everyone else around her with as little respect as possible. Despite the blatant disrespect she shows toward her underlings (especially towards Dodo), as well as the apparent hatred they have toward her (as shown in [[Birdy]]'s [[Thought Peek|thought]]), they still remain loyal to her regardless. Valentina is also vain and cruel. The former is shown when she thinks highly of herself, believing herself to be beautiful beyond compare, as well as a refined "art buff", while the latter is illustrated by her harsh treatment of her subordinates, who consequently regard her with contempt. In the Nintendo Switch remake, Valentina's abusiveness is most prominently illustrated in Dodo's [[Monster List]] entries, which indicate that she took advantage of him imprinting on her and uses the fact that she raised him to keep him servile.

*Valentina's Japanese thought, "He's just a show-off. He's a small man," quotes a line from Ritsuko Akagi in ''{{wp|Neon Genesis Evangelion}}''.<ref>Clyde Mandelin (June 29, 2020). [https://legendsoflocalization.com/the-pop-culture-obsessed-monsters-in-japanese-super-mario-rpg/ The Pop Culture-Obsessed Monsters in Japanese Super Mario RPG]. ''Legends of Localization''. Retrieved July 31, 2021.</ref> This reference is retained in the Switch remake.