Little Mouser

Little Mouser
	; Artwork of a Little Mouser from Yoshi's Crafted World
First appearance	Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (1995)
Latest appearance	Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Nintendo Switch) (2024)
Variants
	Little Skull Mouser
Notable members
	Ian Foomus; Little Mouser; Mousimilian; Moustafa; Ms. Mowz; Nomadimouse; Pierre

This article is about the mouse enemies. For the Little Mouser character from Paper Mario, see Little Mouser (character). For the boss from Super Mario Bros. 2, see Mouser.

"Squeek" redirects here. It is not to be confused with Squeak, Squeaks, or Squeekly.

"Mowz" redirects here. For the Little Mouser character from Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, see Ms. Mowz.

“There's been an incident. Holly Koopa's Candy was stolen. ...Our only suspect is...Mowz!”

—Shy Guy, Mario Party 8

Little Mousers^[1]^[2] are a species of small, blue, black or purple mice-like creatures who wear bandanas that obscure their faces. Their primary English name refers to another mouse-like foe, Mouser, who was introduced in Super Mario Bros. 2.

History[edit]

Yoshi's Island series[edit]

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island / Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3[edit]

Official art of a Little Mouser for Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island

Little Mouser artwork from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, depicting its original design

Little Mousers first appear in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, where they attempt to steal Yoshi's eggs and scurry away with them into their burrows. Ordinarily, they appear blue with yellow ears and red-orange feet. However, in a secret area of KEEP MOVING!!!! they appear black with teal ears and dark teal feet. Like many blue enemies in the game, their artwork instead depicts them as purple with red feet. Little Skull Mousers also appear, and are just like normal Little Mousers, except they wear skulls on their heads, move solely by jumping, and will not steal eggs until the skull is removed from the Little Mouser.

Yoshi's New Island[edit]

Little Mousers, along with Little Skull Mousers, both under their original name, also appear in Yoshi's New Island. They act the same as in their first appearance. They appear in Inside the Outside and Harry Hedgehog's Labyrinth.

Mario Kart: Super Circuit[edit]

Little Mousers later appear under the name of Mouser^[3] or Mice^[4] in Mario Kart: Super Circuit as obstacles in the Cheese Land course. However, they are replaced by two Chain Chomps in the course's reappearance in the Animal Crossing × Mario Kart 8 DLC pack and the base game of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

Paper Mario series[edit]

Paper Mario[edit]

Little Mousers appear in Paper Mario as friendly NPCs localized as Nomadimice; they are found in Dry Dry Outpost, which they have inhabited since ancient times. One of them named Moustafa gives Mario the Pulse Stone, which is necessary to open the secret path to Dry Dry Ruins. A purple one called Little Mouser runs Little Mouser's Shop and is one of Moustafa's close confidants. A wandering Nomadimouse is found along the path in Dry Dry Desert and is part of the game's letter sidequest.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door[edit]

A Squeek from Rogueport

In Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Little Mousers were relocalized as Squeeks in the original version and were shown to be one of the primary inhabitants of Rogueport and Rogueport Underground; a white Squeek, known as Ms. Mowz also appears in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door as an optional partner of Mario. Lumpy's diary also references the Squeeks found in Dry Dry Outpost, particularly Moustafa.

Mario Party series[edit]

Mario Party Advance[edit]

“We shall meet again.”

—Mouser, Mario Party Advance

In Mario Party Advance, Little Mouser, localized simply as Mouser appears as the boss and owner of the Duel Tower. Mouser is a skilled duelist himself, as he "even battled it out with Bowser!" according to his in-game description. When the player first enters the tower, they are greeted by Mouser, who then asks if they know about the "duelist greeting" or not. If the correct answer is given ("Chaaaaarge!"), then the Duel Tower quest starts.

As the player duels with both Whomp and Salvo, Mouser appears between stages to cheer the player on. On the third, Mouser himself is fought at the game Chicken! Once he is beaten, he says that only the player can stop Bowser from conquering the world and lets the player keep the tower minigames. The ending said that he was bummed that Whomp left the Duel Tower.

Mario Party 8[edit]

In Mario Party 8, Little Mouser, localized as Mowz (or Mouser),^[5] is a recurring character. It first appears in King Boo's Haunted Hideaway. If a ? Space is landed on inside the mansion, Mowz will let the player spin a wheel with a pinball inside. Depending on which one of three holes on the wheel the ball lands in (Coins, Star, or Candy), it will steal an item from a random opponent for the player.

Another appearance of Mowz is in Shy Guy's Perplex Express. If a player lands on one of the ? Spaces above the train, a Shy Guy comes and tells the character that Holly Koopa's candy was stolen. A suspect during the event can be either Mowz or Bandit. If the player correctly remembers which car Mowz was on, they are rewarded with 20 coins if played in a 4-player Party Tent or 10 coins in Duel Mode and Star Battle Arena.

It can also be seen in the Star Carnival in the menu screen. Other characters walking in the Star Carnival are Koopas, Shy Guys, and Chain Chomps.

Yoshi's Woolly World / Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World[edit]

A Little Mouser in the Scrapbook Theater

A Little Mouser from Yoshi's Woolly World

Little Mousers reappear in Yoshi's Woolly World and Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World. These games have a hand-crafted aesthetic, so Liltte Mousers are made from yarn. They are indigo, but have orange feet. Their ears are buttons. They only appear in Duplicitous Delve. If there are no yarn balls or Poochy Pups on the platform that a Little Mouser is on,then Little Mousers are disinterested and only walk back and forth while frequently stopping in place. If they bump into each other, they stop to investigate the area, then turn around. If there yarn balls or Poochy Pups, Little Mousers move faster, and now move the yarn balls or Poochy Pups. If a Little Mouser looking for these items is close enough to Yoshi, it will only come closer when Yoshi's back is turned. If Yoshi faces them, they retreat to the edge of this boundary, then turn to face Yoshi while hopping impatiently. Little Mousers aim to reach yarn balls or Poochy Pups, and if they are huddled behind Yoshi through his looking up and crouching actions, Little Mousers walk right up to Yoshi's back without touching him. If a Little Mouser succeeds in reaching a yarn ball they grab the ball and run away from Yoshi. While they act to steal Poochy Pups, they are unable to actually pick them up. Little Mousers with yarn balls can jump over Little Mousers without yarn balls. If a Little Mouser with a yarn ball reaches a wall, it will jump into the foreground and leave the course. Eaten Little Mousers turn into blue yarn balls, which is a different shade from the enemy. Duplicitous Delve has red Warp Pipes that continuously spawn Little Mousers, making yarn ball robbery a persistent threat in many parts of the course.

In Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World, Little Mouser's AI breaks if it is frozen using a ice watermelon after stealing a yarn ball. Frozen Little Mousers drop their yarn ball, if any. After the Little Mouser thaws, it acts as though it is still holding a yarn ball.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[edit]

A Little Mouser appears in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a spirit. It gives the fighter increased jump and movement speed.

Yoshi's Crafted World[edit]

Little Mousers reappear in Yoshi's Crafted World. Here, they hold onto magnets, and throw Coins to each other. One also steals the Blue Dream Gem, before the Tin-Can Condor boss fight. A Little Mouser also appears as a cut cardboard craft hanging on a hook in Mr. Geary's Factory.