Watt
| Watt | |
|---|---|
| |
| Species | Li'l Sparky |
| First appearance | Paper Mario (2000) |
| Latest appearance | Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Nintendo Switch) (photograph cameo) (2024) |
- “You just saved me like a hero! You're a hero, aren't ya? You're the coolest!!!”
- —Watt, Paper Mario
Watt is a female baby Li'l Sparky and Mario's sixth party member in Paper Mario. Although Watt's age is unconfirmed, it would appear that she is a young child because of her pacifier. Her Super Paper Mario Catch Card description also implies that she is young.
History
Paper Mario series
Paper Mario
Mario finds Watt while traveling through Shy Guy's Toy Box. He eventually comes to a dark room inhabited by the Big Lantern Ghost. The battle against the ghost involves attacking the lantern he carries to make the room brighter, and after his defeat Mario can break open the lantern and find Watt inside.
Watt explains to Mario that the Big Lantern Ghost had kidnapped her and trapped her in his lantern. She tells Mario that she heard some of the Shy Guys talking about him, and she volunteers to join him and his party on his quest. Watt's field ability allows Mario to hold her like a lantern, illuminating dark places and allowing him to find invisible boxes and items. Watt's main attack overrides an enemy's defenses, making her a valuable partner in many battles.
Later in the game, the player can find two letters to Watt in the Toad Town Post Office, one from her mother and another from Fuzzipede. At the end of the game, she is conversing with a group of Shy Guys, and she appears to have befriended them.
In the Japanese version of Paper Mario, Watt speaks in a baby-like way that turns "sh" sounds into "ch" sounds. For example, ureshii desu (Happy) becomes urechii dechu.[1]
Duplighosts and Lee can transform into Watt, along with Mario's other partners, during which her name appears as "Watt???"
Super Paper Mario
In Super Paper Mario, Watt appears as a Catch Card that could be found in the Flopside Pit of 100 Trials. She could also be seen very briefly at the beginning of the game, where she, along with all the other partners in the Paper Mario series could be seen in a photograph at the Mario Bros.' House.
Super Mario-kun
Watt appears also as one of Mario's various partners in the Paper Mario arcs of Super Mario-kun. Unlike in the games, Mario and his partners scare away the Big Lantern Ghost by removing its robe. Mario then breaks the lantern with a hammer to reveal Watt inside.
Unused appearances
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
Like the rest of Mario's partners from the first Paper Mario, there is unused sprite data of Watt in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.
General information
Family
Watt is known to have a mother, who is unseen and unnamed. Watt speaks of her occasionally, and even receives a letter from her in the Toad Town Post Office. Though her mother is mentioned several times, no mention of Watt having a father is ever made.
Profiles and statistics
Paper Mario
- Tattle: Say... This is the lantern that belongs to the Big Lantern Ghost. There's something inside. Do you think it'd come out if we broke it?
- In-game bio: The child of Li'l Sparky, she can produce ample electricity. Press
to illuminate areas and see invisible blocks. She's great at penetrating defenses and paralyzing enemies. - Player's Guide: After you save Watt, the captive of Big Lantern Ghost in Shy Guy's Toy Box, she can shed light on your adventure. By holding her, you can have her light up a dark room or reveal hidden blocks. She attacks enemies with minimal physical contact, making her useful against some spiked and electric enemies.[2]
The following is Watt's attacks and stats:
| Attack | Flower Points Needed | Effect | Action Command | Attack Power | Move Ranks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electro Dash | None | Attacks one enemy with an electric shock, ignoring enemy's defense. |  should be held to fill the gauge.
|
Base Rank: 1/3 Super Rank: 1/4 Ultra Rank: 1/5 |
Base Rank |
| Power Shock | 2 | Paralyzes single enemy. | should be pressed repeatedly
|
N/A | Base Rank |
| Turbo Charge | 3 | Temporarily boosts Mario's attack power. | should be pressed as the red stars light up.
|
N/A | Super Rank |
| Mega Shock | 5 | Paralyzes all enemies. | and  should be pressed repeatedly at the same time.
|
N/A | Ultra Rank |
Values in bold are for perfectly executed action commands.
Super Paper Mario
| Catch Card | |
|---|---|
 |
|
Gallery
Nintendo Switch Online artwork
Watt's portrait from the Nintendo Switch version of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | アカリン[?] Akarin |
Portmanteau of「明かり」(akari, light) and Japanese feminine name ending「~リン」(-rin) | |
| Chinese | 霹雳小妞[?] Pīlì Xiǎoniū |
Thunderbolt girl (iQue) | |
| French | Watt[?] | - | |
| German | Watt[?] | - | |
| Italian | Watt[?] | - | |
| Korean | 빛쭈쭈[?] Bitjjujju |
Portmanteau of "빛" (bit, light) and "쭈쭈" (jju-jju, onomatopoeia for sucking), likely relating to her pacifier | |
| Spanish | Watt[?] | - |
Trivia
- Watt is one of the only characters in Paper Mario that is capable of dealing damage to Bowser after he powers himself up with the Star Rod (during the first round of the final battle). However, she is only able to do one HP worth of damage to him. The same thing applies to Lakilester.
- Watt is mistakenly referred to as male on her Super Paper Mario Catch Card, and during her Super Block upgrades.
- Watt has different responses depending on how the lantern is broken.
- "Hm hm hee hee...Yay! I got out! Yay for me! Thanks, mister!" if smashed.
- "Cough cough... You're crazy, mister! Did ya have to, um, blow it up to get me out? Jeepers!" if detonated.
- In the Japanese version of Paper Mario, if Mario uses Watt's ability and touches an overworked hazard, Mario will lose 2 HP instead of losing 1 HP like normal. This does not happen in the international versions.
- There was a major glitch in the US version of the Nintendo Switch Online version of Paper Mario that caused the NSO game to crash if the player received a Game Over with Watt as Mario's partner. In other versions of the game, the screen flickered briefly.[3] This glitch has since been fixed.
References
- ^ Clyde Mandelin (December 5, 2013). Is Watt from Paper Mario a boy or girl? Legends of Localization. Retrieved January 11, 2017.
- ^ Paper Mario Official Nintendo Player's Guide, pg. 14
- ^ JCog (December 29, 2021). Paper Mario on Switch is deleting saves (and I know why). YouTube. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
