Punchinello

Punchinello
First appearance	Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (1996)
Latest appearance	Super Mario RPG (Nintendo Switch) (2023)

“Good day. The name's Nello...PUNCHINELLO!”

—Punchinello, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars

Punchinello is one of the major bosses encountered in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. He is named after Pulcinella, a classical character in Italian theater and puppetry. His name may have also been taken from Pulcinella's English variant, Mr. Punch. He mainly uses variations of Bob-ombs while fighting. When one of the seven Star Pieces crashed into the Mole Mines at Moleville, he took it for himself. Punchinello also wants to be famous, according to his wish on Star Hill and his Thought Peek thought. When Mario and his allies arrive in Punchinello's area looking for the Star Piece, he thinks that he can become famous if he can defeat them and engages them in battle.

Despite him guarding a Star Piece and having a weapon motif, Punchinello does not appear to have any affiliation with the Smithy Gang. Regular boss music plays when fighting Punchinello instead of the music played during fights with Smithy Gang bosses, there are no Machine Made replicas of Punchinello in the Factory, and Punchinello is not mentioned among the fallen Smithy Gang members by the Clerk. Additionally, one of the wishes in Star Hill appears to be his.

In the remake's post-game, a stronger version of Punchinello titled Leveled-Up Punchinello can be fought. He is the second boss to be encountered, after Scratchy-Throat Belome. Before battle, he expresses his desire to defeat Bowser in order to become famous. After the fight, he upgrades Bowser's Chain Chomp into a Wonder Chomp, and is offered a chance to rebuild Bowser's Keep, to which he obliges in order to gain a little fame.

Battle

Regular

If Mario walks up in front of him, he shoves Mario away with his arms, sending Mario back into the other room. Thus Mario must be behind or near the side of Punchinello to start battling.

When battle starts, Punchinello throws Microbombs at Mario, which can explode after a set amount of turns. In battle, Punchinello attacks with his fist, punching one of Mario's party members. Punchinello also uses the attack Sand Storm.

Punchinello uses four varieties of Bob-omb to aid him in battle. Each variety appears after the boss takes enough damage. He first releases four Microbombs, then four Bob-ombs, and then three Mezzo Bombs.

After Punchinello is defeated, he summons a King Bomb which lands on him and eventually explodes, covering Mario and co. in soot. After cleaning themselves off, the heroes take the third Star Piece and venture deeper into the mines.

Leveled-Up Punchinello

Punchinello only takes 1 or 2 damage from all attacks, and while he retains the use of Sand Storm, he can also use Flame Wall, Flame Stone and Grinder.

Like before, Punchinello summons Bob-ombs to aid him, with this variety being named "Strong Bob-ombs". Unique to these enemies is that, upon taking enough damage, they turn around to face Punchinello; at least one of them may also enter the battle in this turned-around state. When these Bob-ombs are facing Punchinello, they will explode on him instead of Mario and his party, dealing 80 damage.

Once defeated, Punchinello summons another King Bomb, however this one walks towards him after being lit and explodes on him. However, he, as well as Mario and company, come out of the explosion unharmed.

Profiles and statistics

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars enemy
Punchinello
	HP	1200	FP	10	Speed	15
	Location(s)	Coal Mines	Attack	60	Magic attack	22
	Role	Boss	Defense	42	Magic defense	40
	Bonus Flower	None	Yoshi Cookie	None	Morph rate	0%
	Evade	0%	Magic evade	0%	Spells	Sand Storm
	Weak	None	Strong	Jump, Fear, Poison, Sleep, Mute, Critical	Sp. attacks	None
	Coins	0	Exp. points	0	Items	None
Psychopath	"Yeeha! I see we're already famous!"

Super Mario RPG (Nintendo Switch)

Super Mario RPG enemy
Punchinello
	HP	1200	Weak Elements	N/A	Drops	N/A
	Exp.	0	Weak Statuses	N/A	Rare Drops	N/A
	Found in	Mole Mines
	Monster List profile	As a result of throwing bombs willy-nilly to become a famous bomb-maker, he faced exploder's remorse and flamed out early.
	Thought Peek	"So chic! Everyone is so chic!"
	Animations

Super Mario RPG enemy
Leveled-Up Punchinello
	HP	1200	Weak Elements	N/A	Drops	N/A
	Exp.	0	Weak Statuses	N/A	Rare Drops	N/A
	Found in	Mole Mines
	Monster List profile	He says he wants to go home famous. Little does he know that he's already well-known in his hometown as a goofball who Mario beat twice.
	Thought Peek	"Everyone is even more chic now! You've really leveled up your game!"
	Animations

Super Mario RPG enemy
Strong Bob-omb
	HP	999	Weak Elements		Drops	N/A
	Exp.	0	Weak Statuses		Rare Drops	N/A
	Found in	Mole Mines
	Monster List profile	Punchinello's most powerful bomb, created after honing his bomb-making skills. Looks like this time, he wasn't bluffing about his last resort.
	Thought Peek	"How many times do I need to say, "Watch out I'm gonna explode. It'll hurt", before you get it?"
	Animations

Quotes

Main article: List of Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars quotes § Punchinello

• "They say I'm a hothead, but I'll show them! You... YOU will make me famous! So long!"
• "It's CLOBBERING TIME!"
• "Simmer down, fluffy! I'm not going to waste this on YOU! Who knows what might happen!"

Gallery

• Punchinello.gif

  Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars

• 

  Super Mario RPG (Nintendo Switch)

Names in other languages

Punchinello

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	ペパット[?] Pepatto	Anagram of「パペット」(papetto, puppet)
Chinese	偶偶[?] Ǒuǒu	Partial repetition of「木偶」(mùǒu, wooden puppet)
Dutch	Punchinello[?]	-
French	Punchinello[?]	-
German	Pupponetto[?]	?
Italian	Punchinello	-
Korean	페펏[?] Pepeot	Anagram of "퍼펫" (peopet, puppet); From the Japanese name
Spanish	Punchinello[?]	-

Leveled-Up Punchinello

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	ペパット (レベルアップ)[?] Pepatto (Reberu Appu)	Punchinello (Level Up)
Italian	Punchinello (potenziato)[?]	Punchinello (powered-up)

Trivia

• Punchinello's introduction in the original SNES localization "Nello... PUNCHINELLO!" is a reference to James Bond's catchphrase of being "Bond, James Bond". Translator Ted Woolsey originally wanted to name him "James Bomb", which explains why Punchinello introduces himself this way, but management refused to allow it.
• Before releasing his Mezzo Bombs in the original, Punchinello shouts "It's CLOBBERING TIME!". This is likely a reference to The Thing's catchphrase. Domino also says the same phrase.
• Punchinello is the only boss other than Bowser and Smithy to not yield any EXP or even show a results screen. As a consequence, it is the only battle in the game where the Super Jumps towards the Attack Scarf or Super Suit do not count.
• After defeating Culex 3D then defeating Smithy in the remake, Punchinello appears in the credits scene, assisting in the repair of Bowser's Keep.