First Strike

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Not to be confused with First Attack.

Mario hammering a Goomba for a First Strike in Paper Mario

“You struck first!”

—Battle text, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

A First Strike (or first strike), also known as a pre-emptive attack, is a technique that appears in the Paper Mario and the Mario & Luigi titles of role-playing Super Mario games.

History

Paper Mario series

Mario jumping on a Goomba for a First Strike in Paper Mario: Sticker Star

“...Huh? He hasn't noticed us yet. This is our chance to get the jump on him. If you jump on an enemy or whack it with your hammer before battle starts, you'll do some early damage!”

—Huey, Paper Mario: Color Splash

In the Paper Mario series, First Strikes can be used by Mario to damage or possibly defeat enemies before he takes his first turn in battle. Bosses and mid-bosses (with a few exceptions), and some enemies like M. Bushes and Hurt Plants cannot be harmed by usage of a First Strike. First Strikes can also be used against Mario; for example, if a Koopa Troopa successfully attacks Mario with its shell, Mario will get hit by the First Strike.

To perform a First Strike, Mario can simply Jump on the enemy, hit them with his Hammer, or hit them with an attack from a partner. If Mario's First Strike is a Jump, it will fail against Spiny or Fire enemies and result in recoil damage on Mario, just as though he had used a Jump attack during the battle. Conversely, Hammers can make a First Strike against airborne enemies, as long as Mario was able to land the First Strike in the overworld - usually, a Hammer attack cannot be made against flying foes. Hammer First Strikes will fail just like jumps when used against enemies that are spiny from the front, such as a Bristle.

In Paper Mario, Goompa first mentions this to Mario as they walk through Goomba Village. First Strikes in this game can be performed by Mario, or by his partners Kooper, using his Shell Toss, and Bombette, using her Bomb. The text that displays when Mario makes the First Strike is "You made the First Strike!", and the text that displays when Mario is hit by a First Strike says "You're hit by the First Strike!". First Strikes from enemies can be avoided by dodging the attack or by equipping the Chill Out Badge. While the Dizzy Attack Badge is equipped, Mario can inflict Dizzy on the first enemy in a formation (without dealing damage) by using his Spin Dash move to run into an enemy before a battle, though this is not considered a "proper" First Strike, as it does not cause the First Strike message to display or trigger the First Attack Badge. Mario can instantly defeat any enemy that would not reward one or more Star Points (which is considered to be "weak"), entirely skipping the battle without rewarding Star Points, with a First Strike by equipping the First Attack Badge. This property can be extended to Mario's spin dash by equipping the Spin Attack Badge, and even further extended to walking by equipping the Bump Attack Badge (which overwrites both First Attack and Spin Attack due to just requiring contact with the enemy in question). Mario can equip the Spike Shield Badge to be able to jump on spiky enemies such as Clefts, or can equip either the Fire Shield or Ice Power Badges to jump on fire enemies like Lava Bubbles.

In Paper Mario, the Action Command cannot be performed when Mario or his partner makes the First Strike, although it can be performed to Guard against an enemy’s First Strike. However, Bombette's Bomb First Strike deals damage as though the Action Command was performed, and if Mario makes the First Strike with his Spin Jump or Tornado Jump, the base damage of his Jump is doubled. Bombette’s Bomb First Strike does not consume any Flower Points, unlike selecting the move in battle.

The First Strike screen in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

In Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Professor Frankly first mentions First Strikes to Mario after he and Goombella defeat the three Goombas in Rogueport Underground. Mario can now perform Action Commands when he makes the First Strike, potentially dealing additional damage. He can also use his Spin Jump, Super Hammer, or Ultra Hammer moves to make the First Strike using the respective move without consuming any FP. First Strikes can also be made using Koops' Shell Toss or Bobbery's Bomb, in which case the Action Command is automatically performed, but Stylish Moves cannot be performed. Flurrie can be used to stun enemies before a battle, freezing them in place making them easier First Strike targets for a few moments, however she herself cannot give enemies a First Strike. The Chill Out, First Attack, and Bump Attack Badges are still available and function the same as in Paper Mario, however First Attack and Bump Attack do not work inside of the Pit of 100 Trials. With the removal of the Spin Dash, the Dizzy Attack and Spin Attack Badges were removed. The Fire Shield Badge was also removed, being merged fully into Ice Power. During the first fight in the Glitz Pit, a scripted, unavoidable enemy First Strike occurs when a member of The Goomba Bros. headbonks Mario before Grubba has the chance to officially start the fight.

Due to the absence of the RPG-styled battling system throughout the majority of the game, First Strikes are absent from Super Paper Mario.

Mario performing a First Strike in Paper Mario: The Origami King

In Paper Mario: Sticker Star, a First Strike has an added mechanic. By collecting HP-Up Hearts, the Hammer and jump power will increase every time when the one's digit is at a zero from five. If the power is enough to directly defeat the enemy on the course, the enemy will be defeated and will drop a coin without starting the battle. Additionally, certain enemies' field attacks directly hurt Mario, rather than triggering a battle. Similar mechanics return in Paper Mario: Color Splash, with attack power increasing with every Big Paint Star collected and enemies dropping more than one coin when defeated directly on a course with a First Strike. In Paper Mario: The Origami King, First Strikes retain their Sticker Star properties, though enemies' First Strikes are now unblockable.

Mario & Luigi series

Mario performing a First Strike with his hammer in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team

First Strikes appear in the Mario & Luigi series, and they are broadly similar to Paper Mario's First Strikes. Hitting enemies in the overworld with a jump or hammer attack transitions into battle with the character getting to attack the enemies with the the respective move before anyone takes a turn.

One key difference is that a First Strike on one enemy in the field will damage all enemies in the battle. This hit ignores the spikes of the other enemies. For example, jumping on a Lakitu for a First Strike in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team inflicts damage on the Lakitu and all the Spinies in the battle, even though those enemies have spikes.

As in the Paper Mario series, enemies can also perform First Strikes against one of the characters. Their attacks do not inflict damage, and are not reflected in the battle that initiates when they connect. However, if the enemy or one of its projectiles hits a character in the back, they will trip at the start of the battle.

In Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga and Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, a First Strike with a hammer works differently: when Mario or Luigi in Superstar Saga, or Baby Mario or Baby Luigi in Partners in Time, hammer an enemy on the overworld, all enemies in the battle become dizzy. In later Mario & Luigi games, a First Strike with a hammer instead damages all enemies.

Bowser can also use First Strikes by punching or breathing fire (the latter of which can burn foes) on the enemy in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story and Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey.

In Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, dashing into an enemy will also trigger a First Strike, although this only damages one enemy in the battle with all three characters, instead of all enemies once. A Trio Hammer will stun grounded enemies for a moment, but does not activate a battle or pass status ailments into battle, instead only allowing enough time to use a First Strike on them.

In Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions, a First Strike with a hammer can also cause enemies to begin the battle with the SPD-Down status ailment, and Hand Powers can now be used to perform First Strikes; aside from damaging enemies, Firebrand can also burn enemies and Thunderhand can also make enemies dizzy. These effects, bar the Hand Powers', return in Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey.

Enemies in Mario & Luigi: Brothership can land a first strike on the Bros., with this first strike coming in the form of automatically going first, even if their Speed is lower.

Profiles

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story

• Instruction manual description: "If you touch an enemy in the field, battle begins. At that time, if you stomp or punch an enemy, you inflict damage in a preemptive attack."

Mario & Luigi: Dream Team

• Instruction manual description: "Use preemptive attacks to gain an advantage."

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	せんせいこうげき[?] Sensei Kōgeki	Attack first
Chinese (simplified)	抢攻 Qiǎnggōng	Rush Attack	Paper Mario
Chinese (traditional)	先攻[?] Xiāngōng	First Strike	Paper Mario
French	Initiative[?]	Initiative
German	Erstangriff erfolgreich![?]	First Strike succeed!	Paper Mario
	Erstangriff[?]	First Strike	Mario & Luigi series
Italian	Iniziativa[?]	Initiative	Paper Mario series
	Attacco prioritario[?]	Priority attack	Mario & Luigi series
Korean	선제공격[?] Seonje Gonggyeok	Preemptive Attack
Spanish	Primer Golpe[?]	First Strike	Paper Mario series
	Primer golpe[?]	First strike	The Thousand-Year Door