- “Nerrrrr herrr herrrr herrrrrr! This is so hi-technicaaaaaal!”
- —Francis, Super Paper Mario
Francis is an antagonist in the Wii video game Super Paper Mario, who serves as the main boss of Chapter 3, The Bitlands. Francis is a chameleon, strongly personified as a highly stereotypical nerd, who kidnaps Tippi after declaring her a rare collectible. He then vows to take pictures of her and place them on the website, Digibutter.nerr, a forum filled with geeks and nerds of all sorts. He names Tippi 'Francine' and calls her that throughout the game. However, by the time Tippi and Count Bleck left, Francis is calling her by her real name. Amongst his many obsessions, Francis enjoys watching Anime, collecting and/or playing video games, cats, and "hot babes". He lives in his own domicile, Fort Francis, where he has a large number of MeowMaids that are responsible for guarding the fortress as well as tidying his Anime collections or recording his favorite television shows. Francis also has the habit of saying "hi-technicaaaaal!" if he believes something is cool, awesome, or "schweet."
Francis's lack of social skills disables him from being able to communicate with others face-to-face, and as a result has no offline friends. When he is confronted by Princess Peach he is unable to talk directly to her, and instead plants the two into a dating sim entitled Swoon.exe, where they pass a short discussion.
Francis has an array of attacks against the player: his ability to blend in with his surroundings allows him to become invisible and avoid attacks. This ability leaves the player with little time to attack him. His most devastating weapon is his tongue. Francis can swallow Mario and his friends whole and slowly damage them while inside him, or can use his laptop to call upon an army of Meowbombs. He also has a camera, which he uses to temporarily blind Mario and his friends. Upon defeat he runs away, and yelling Mercy!, he leaves the room. After this, Tippi is released.
After Francis' first defeat, Francis can not be found in Fort Francis. One of the MeowMaids says it is because Francis is in the hospital after he hurt himself playing one of his video games. The injury must have been serious as Francis does not return to Fort Francis until the end of the game.
Francis can optionally be fought once more later on in Castle Bleck, after Mimi transports him to the castle to finish off the player. More specifically, the three remaining heroes (as Bowser was lost arguing with O'Chunks) could choose to fight him again after Mimi, disguised as the friendly Merlee, asked Mario which things he found most challenging, which always included an easy enemy, a hard enemy, or a helpful item. The hard enemy for Mimi's third and last question was Francis, and, if Francis was chosen for that question, Mimi (having Mario's input on what obstacles challenged him most) managed to place him in a room in Castle Bleck. Francis had apparently been watching one of his favorite television programs before being warped into the castle, and, despite his confusion, he yearned to have Tippi back so much that he talked himself into thinking that his Reclinatron 4500 chair had, manipulating his very dreams, warped him to Tippi. He then engaged battle once more with Mario and party, and, despite how later he was fought in the game, he had no different statistics or attacking methods, and therefore even the same amount of HP. He was, of course, defeated, and after his defeat he ultimately warped away, stating that he was going to simulate the battle on his computer to see what had kept him from winning.
If the player returns to Fort Francis after beating the game, he can purchase Tiptron from Francis for 999 coins. After the player buys Tiptron, he reveals plans to build Tiptron Mk. II, an improved version of Tiptron. Francis then orders a MeowMaid to get him some Nibble-Ums to fulfill his hunger before he begins his work. Francis is never shown to have finished Tiptron Mk. II, but it is implied that he did eventually. It is notable that Francis calls Tippi by her real name instead of Francine as the player is given the offer of buying Tiptron.
Family
Francis is known to have a mother, who is unseen and unnamed. Francis will mention his mom in an optional event found towards the end of Fort Francis. After starting up his Swoon.exe program, the first question Francis asks to its subject of Princess Peach (after he explains the dating simulator) is "What is your name?". Peach can then choose from three answers, the second (and most passive) of which is "Tell me your name first!". Francis will then obey her order, noting to himself that Peach is "a stickler for etiquette" and recalling his similar mother. Remembering his mom also makes Francis level up in passion for unknown reasons.
As this optional happening is very short, almost nothing is known about Francis' mother. Because she is never seen and Francis seems to live in complete isolation in Fort Francis, it would appear that Francis had previously left his parents at an unknown time. It is also possible that Francis' mother is deceased.
Trivia
- The 'Digibutter.nerr forums' that Francis mentions has become a real web address, with many discussion topics on Super Paper Mario.
- One of Francis' animes features Tubba Blubba; additionally, some of Francis' posters have images of Bow, Bootler, and Petuni on them. There's also several X-Naut related television shows and games (such as Starship X-Naut and The Grodus Chronicles, and the videogame Starship X-Naut: Space Bloops), as well as a videogame featuring Larry Koopa. He owns several dolls of Princess Peach, Whacka, Petuni, Punio, Vivian, the Yoshi Kid in all colors, a Bub-ulber and Pennington from Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. On his shelf, players will also find multi-colored Yoshi Eggs next to the aforementioned dolls. He also wants an Excess Express train set, a Ms. Mowz doll with "real smooching action", a product called Cyborg Wart, a Magnus Von Grapple action figure, and a Tanooki Suit made with real Tanooki fur. Francis also has an NES, indigo GameCube, a SNES, and a Virtual Boy on his shelf. When the player flips Mario into 3D, they will find a large television screen with a Wii and a Wii Remote.
- His first love was apparently an anime character.
- Francis claims that Tippi is his "only offline friend"; he also seems to have no family other than his unseen mother.
- Francis owns a "Frannypack" which he gets his laptop from. However, in the UK and Australian version of the game, it is called a Bumbag instead.
- Francis's appearance, like that of the Bitlands as a whole, is similar to the 8-bit graphical style seen in older video games.
Foreign Names
Tattles and Stats
- HP: 40
- Attack: 1
- Tattle: That geeky chameleon is Francis. He's a little obsessive about his hobbies... Max HP is 40. Attack is 1. He can also make himself invisible... You can't hit what you can't see, so wait for him to reappear... But he is still there. Look at the floor and find his shadow... Yech... Just looking at him brings back bad memories.
- NOTE: Since Tippi is imprisoned during the first battle with Francis, he can only be battled and tattled if the player chooses to fight him again in Castle Bleck.
