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Wikipedia article!
The Shy Guy was created as an enemy for the Japanese game Yume
Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic, which was transformed into
Super Mario Bros. 2 for an American release. Most enemies, including
Bob-ombs, Snifits, and Shy Guys, were unchanged from the original
Japanese version, and are now instantly recognizable as
Mario's enemies, despite having been created for a game completely unrelated to Mario.
Super Mario Bros. 2 is revealed to have taken place entirely in the dreamworld, Subcon, but Shy Guys are later revealed to have existed on
Yoshi's Island since Mario was a baby, long before
Super Mario Bros. 2 takes place. Since appearing in Yoshi's Island, they have become even more part of the Yoshi series than with the Mario series.
Characteristics
Shy Guys, as the name suggests, are very shy. They always have masks covering their faces; the only parts not covered are the eyes and mouth, which simply appear as black holes. Shy Guys can wear different colours, such as red, blue, green, yellow, black, white, pink, and purple. They seem to be an organization of mercenaries. Though they are
bipedal, the earlier graphics of their first appearances made Shy Guys appear to be on all fours and oddly enough, look like steam train engines.
In
Luigi's Mansion,
Luigi could suck the mask off the Shy Guy ghost, revealing no face, just a shadow with two glowing, yellow eyes. (Note, however, that these things are not officially stated to be Shy Guys; in official material, they are called "masked ghosts".)
If the player wins any of the three cups in
Mario Power Tennis with the Shy Guy character its mask will fall off, although it can't be seen by players, Luigi appears to be scared by its appearance.
Their attacks usually consist of simply running into the player, although some use slingshots or spears. Some varieties, like Snifits and Snufits spit projectiles similarly to the
Octorok, while others may catch fire, such as Pyro Guy. They have also come up with some very peculiar inventions over the years, such as walking on
stilts, attacking with toy
tanks, bouncing on
pogo-sticks, and piloting
submarines. In
Yoshi's Island, Shy Guys (among other enemies) could be eaten and turned into eggs by
Yoshi, and it was common for Shy Guys to pop out of pipes until Yoshi couldn't make any more eggs.
Although Shy Guys almost never speak, they occasionally make a meowing sound in some of the recent games. Furthermore, in
Yoshi's Story and the
Game Boy Advance conversion of
Super Mario World 2, they can be heard saying their Japanese name (Hei! Ho!) as they jump out of pipes.
Other Shy Guys
These are other kinds of Shy Guys that appear in the Mario games.
Anti Guy
A black (or very dark grey) Shy Guy, first appeared in
Yoshi's Story where he would cause damage to Yoshi if eaten (hence the name; Black Yoshi and White Yoshi were not affected). He also appeared in
Paper Mario, as an extremely powerful optional enemy which guarded a rare badge. but if given lemon candy, (a food made by Tace. T, the cook in Toad Town) he will leave and the player would not have to fight him to get the badge. Later, in Bowser's castle, if a player were to lose at the quiz, they would be forced to fight three of them together.
he's weird too
Bandit
A bandit is not really a shy guy. Bandits are enemies that first appeared in Yoshi's Island as tricky pests that tried to steal Baby Mario. They also appeared in Paper Mario as they would steal up to two coins on the first turn and then flee the next. More types of bandits appeared in the sequel The Thousand Year Door. Blue bandits were allies but they still had a bad reputation. Green ones stole items as well as coins and had slightly higher HP than regular bandits. Purple ones stole only badges, and unless they were caught after stealing the player's badge, the player would no longer have that badge anymore. In Yoshi's Island, red bandits were much rarer and carried red coins. Bandits also appeared in Mario Party 5. A bandit appears again in Mario Party 7, where the player has to take the star he stole from the
Sphinx.
Baseball Guys 
Only seen in
Yoshi's Island, baseball guys were relatively harmless unless touched. However, if Yoshi were to throw an egg at one, they would either hit it with a bat or catch the egg and throw it back at
Yoshi.
BeezoBeezos
Shy Guys with insect-like wings that first appeared in Super Mario Bros. 2, where his attacking actions depend on what color of garbs he is wearing. Beezo later appeared in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars as enemies in Bean Valley named Shy Away. A Shy Away (who had no more proper name than "Shy Away") also appeared as a major character in Super Mario RPG; this Shy Away worked for Valentina and attempted to keep Mario away from Nimbus Land by continually powering up the Piranha Plant boss Mega Smilax. The individual Shy Away was obsessed with his hobby of gardening.
Boo Guy
A ghost version of a Shy Guy. Appears in
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island and later in
Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time there was also a stronger version called a Ghoul Guy.
Boom Guy

A red Shy Guy with a cannon on its head. Appears in Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time. There are also Elite Boom Guys, a more powerful version of the Boom Guy. Elite Boom Guys wear blue.
Mace Guy
Chain guys originally appeared in
Yoshi's Island. They usually appeared in forts and castles, and served to guard key areas such as areas where the door to the boss was, where flowers were, or a large number of stars.
Chuck GuyMaking their first and only appearance in
Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga, chuck guys bear a striking resemblance to spear guys. The only exceptions were that chuck guys wore purple shirt like things, they did not dance, nor did they have the indian markings on their masks.
Fat Guy

Found only in
Yoshi's Island, Yoshi Topsy Turvy, and
Yoshi's Island DS, in level 2-7. This gargantuan Shy Guy is, surprisingly, edible, and gives Yoshi eggs about five times bigger than normal eggs and cause earthquakes, which turn all on-screen enemies into Stars. Once the player gets three fat eggs, however, the Fat Guys disappear; however, there are strategies to getting a higher number of them (up to six). It is not possible to carry these eggs into other levels, but the player does get rewarded with coins for each egg at the goal (4 coins per egg). Because they are fat and wears red cloth and a black belt the Fat Guy resembles
Santa Claus.
Fly Guy

Along with Shy Guys, Fly Guys are also common enemies in the Yoshi series of games. They appear as Shy Guys with propellers on their head. Special ones called "Mecha Fly Guys" also have wind-up gears on their backs which allow them to fly. They also appear in many
Mario spin-offs, and are even playable characters in
Mario Power Tennis and
Mario Hoops 3-on-3. In
Yoshi's Island DS, certain Fly Guys hover in the sky carrying coins or 1-ups at their feet. Hitting them with an egg collects the item, but if the player waits too long the Fly Guy may fly off-screen.
Game Guy
A Shy Guy specifically from
Mario Party 3, he runs a gambling booth with various games to bet coins on when the player lands on his space. When the player lands on his space he will take all of that player's coins and a Game Guy mini game will be played. If the player wins, he will double that player's coins. A few mini games allow the opportunity to increase coins taken by 32, and one even offers a jackpot of 1000 coins.
General Guy

The fourth boss of Paper Mario, and leader of the Shy Guys. He attacks Mario with his army in this order: Shy Squad, Stilt Guys, Shy Stacks, and finally, himself. He doesn't attack physically, but instead uses the light bulb's electric shocks, and throws bombs. After he is defeated, he flees with the other Shy Guys.
Ghost Guy
A ghost of a Shy Guy found in Luigi's Mansion. Like living Shy Guys, they come in a variety of colors. To be able to vacuum them, the player must first vacuum their mask, and then stun them. They wield spears. Unlike normal shy guys, their masks are normally half white, half red. When the player firsts enter the Ball Room (Area 2), if left to themselves, they will dance to the music by pretending to slice each other's heads off with their spears. If you attack one and successfully suck it in, the other one will become "angry" and attack. When their masks are removed, only a pair of glowing yellow eyes are visible in place of a face.
Glide Guy
A Shy Guy with an umbrella protruding out of its head in
Yoshi's Island DS. Using the umbrella, they have the ability to float on air currents, similar to Baby Peach's ability. They come in the same 4 colours of ordinary Shy Guys in the game.
Good Guy

A white Shy Guy that can be found in
Yoshi's Story if the player has one or more missing Yoshi's. If he is in the player's possession when a level is
complete, he will appear on the character select menu, then he can be selected to go to Baby Bowser's castle and rescue one missing Yoshi at random. While a white Shy Guy is following Yoshi, the number of eggs he can bring with him is reduced by one.
Gourmet Guy
In Shy Guy's Toy Box, an extremely obese Shy Guy blocks the path to the lever that fixes the train tracks. He is named for his extreme love of food, but he doesn't know this. When given cake, he spazzes out in happiness flying all over the place. He is willing to help anyone if they give him cake, even though he works for Bowser.
Greaper

Appeared in Super Mario RPG. A Shy Guy equivalent of the Grim Reaper. They reside at Jonathan Jones' Ship. One is a member of the Three Musty Fears. The other two are Dry Bones and Big Boo. They want to play find the flag. Greaper's is behind the welcome sign in Rose Town. There is also a more powerful version of Greaper called Glum Reaper, it is located in Smithy's Factory. what kind of name is that?
Groove Guy

A Shy Guy that is only found in
Paper Mario. They wear red and purple outfits with wingtip shoes, a big blue and yellow collar and a pompom on the end of their hood. They can make Mario dizzy with their dance moves. He's like a hippie. Yo man!
Limbo Guy
A type of shy guy that only appears in Yoshi's Story. Unlike other enemies it is off of the path way and can not be attacked (though they can still be forced to change color). They are also incapable of attacking the Yoshi's directly. They always work in pairs and hold a Limbo stick across the path way, forcing the Yoshi's to jump over it, else if the Yoshi hits the Limbo Stick, it will take damage. They also wear grass skirts.
Medi Guy

A Shy Guy riding in a floating device similar to the Koopa Clown Car, with a heart on it. Their only appearance was in
Paper Mario. They don't usually attack but instead heal other enemies.
Mufti Guy
Shy Guys wearing flower pedals on their heads, Mufti Guys appear in
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island and
Yoshi's Island DS. A love-struck Mufti Guy named Petal Guy appears in
Mario Party Advance as a character the player can aid in exchange for a Gadget.
Phantom Guy
A Shy Guy that looks similar to Boo Guys that appear in
Mario vs. Donkey Kong and
Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis. Like Shy Guys, they can wear many different color robes. If the player hits a colored switch that matches the color of a Phantom Guy in the level, it will turn into a block. The ones used by
Donkey Kong in
Mario vs. Donkey Kong are more powerful versions that are on fire, and that chase Mario. The ones in
Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis are mechanical.
Pyro Guy

A Shy Guy that's on fire. They appeared in
Super Mario World 2 and
Paper Mario. In both games they cannot be jumped on so Yoshi must eat them or Mario must hammer them to defeat them. Mario could also get the ice stomp badge which will increase the damage Mario can do to fire enemies like Pyro Guy while allowing him to jump on Pyro Guy.
Rocket Guy
A Shy Guy riding a rocket ship in
Yoshi's Island DS. Unlike other enemies in the game, these Shy Guys only appear in the 2 rocket ship segments (in World 5-4 and World 5-8), and also appear during the boss fight against Moltz the Very Goonie at the end of World 5-4.
Shyster

These are Shy Guys on pogo sticks. They first appeared in
Super Mario RPG, where they have sword-tipped pogo sticks and additionally they have the Drain attack. In the first battle with Simthy, he can make gray versions of Shyster. Instead of Drain they use the more powerful Sword Rain. The Shysters returned in Yoshi's Story, but used regular pogo sticks.
Sky Guy

A Shy Guy held up by 3 balloons wielding a slingshot. Their only appearance was in
Paper Mario. A player can target the balloons to pop them this will do no damage to the skyguy but will change it to a normal shy guy instead.
Snifit 
Snifits made their fist appearance in
Yoshi's Island. They simply walk around until they see you and then spit bullets from their mouth. There are also
Snifaros, which only appear in
Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time. There are also Spiny and Ice Snifits found in
Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga. Spear Guy
Shy Guys with spears. Their first appearance was in Super Mario World 2. They reappeared in Paper Mario on Lava-lava Island. One attacks Kolarado. They make an appearance in Mario Party 1, attacking the players' river raft during a mini-game. They also appear in
Mario Party 7 as an orb that is thrown. If a player lands on this space, the player must roll the die to see how many coins will be taken from them and given to the orb thrower, similar to the Goomba orb in
Mario Party 6.Spear Guys also appear on world 5 in Yoshi's Island DS and the 'King of River' game-play mode in Mario Party 7.
Spy Guy
A Shy Guy dressed in camouflage, with plants on its head. Its only appearance was in
Paper Mario. They have multiple weapons that include slingshot and hammer. They will switch items when hit, the sling shot has no added effects other than different timings to the hammer which can remove one of Mario's abilities such as hammer, jump or items.
Stilt Guy
These are Shy Guys on stilts. They first appeared in Yoshi's Island. Yoshi could not eat them or damage them with eggs, but could still hit them. By hitting them once from above, they would become normal Shy Guys that could be eaten or attacked with eggs. They returned in Yoshi's Story. They reappeared again in Paper Mario as General Guy's second wave. This is the only time they are actually referred to as Stilt Guys.
Tall Guy
Tall Guys, as their name implies, are very tall shy guys. Originally seen in
Yoshi's Island, when Yoshi would jump on them, they would flatten out, and spit out seeds.
War Guy
These Shy Guy variants resemble spear guys. Seen only in
Yoshi's Island, they march in one direction, until they hit a wall or the edge of a cliff, which at that point they would turn around. Yoshi cannot eat them from in front, because of the shield, and cannot ground pound them because of the spear. In another twist, Yoshi must attack from behind or use a melon in order to do any damage at all.
Zeus Guy
This Shy Guy is dressed up as a karate fighter and is seen firing out energy balls along with kicking and punching. Seen only in
Yoshi's Island, these guys can't be destroyed by eating, jumping, egging, or ground pounding. They are almost invincible, hence the name Zeus. They are known to be weak against Melons.
Appearances
[edit] As enemies
- Super Mario Bros. 2/Doki Doki Panic: Common enemies (Snifits also appear).
- Super Mario 64: Only Fly Guys (flying Shy Guys) appear and their primary attack is diving towards Mario, though they can also spit fire. If Mario jumps on them, he can hover by spinning his arms like a helicopter. In Super Mario 64 DS they reprise this role.
- Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island: They are common enemies, and come in many different varieties throughout the game. The Bandits also appear, and in the secret vs. mode, the second player assumes the role of a Bandit.
- Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3: Same as Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
- Yoshi's Story: They are very common enemies and come in an array of colors, but few variations. There was also a white Shy Guy who, if present at the end of a level, essentially gives the player a 1-up.
- Yoshi Touch & Go: Appear as Shy Guys and Fly Guys frequently throughout the game.
- Yoshi Topsy-Turvy: Appear as red, yellow and green. Some variant forms are also present here, including Fly Guys, Shy Guys swinging medieval flails, and Fly Guys carrying coins.
- Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars: Several varieties, attacks with a slingshot. There was also a flying Shy Guy named "Shy Away" who, instead of fighting, watered Piranha Plants to do battle for him. Later Shy Away is the key to getting Mario's best possible weapon in the game.
- Paper Mario: Many variations can be seen throughout the game, especially in Chapter 4, "Shy Guy's Toy Box", where they are led by 'General Guy'.
- Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door: Bandits appear in various areas to steal coins or items (including Badges) from Mario. Normal Shy Guys also appear in the audience during battles, but serve no real purpose except for occasionally running on stage to cause minor trouble to either Mario or his enemies.
- Luigi's Mansion: Some of the ghosts resemble Shy Guys, and cannot be captured until Luigi removes their mask first.
- Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga: Though there are no basic Shy Guys, several variant forms (like the Spear Guys) appeared.
- Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time: Again features no basic Shy Guys, but does include a variation called a "Boom Guy" (and the more advanced "Elite Boom Guy"). Its weapon of choice is a cannon.
- Mario Kart: Double Dash!!: Appear as skating obstructions (therefore earning them the nickname Skate Guys) in Sherbet Land Grand Prix level. They are mobile obstacles to the karts, sometimes pushing them into the lake.
[edit] As playable characters
[edit] As a mascot
Shy Guy is currently the mascot and inspiration for the Phi Shy Guy fraternity, whose founding chapter is located at
Washington University in St. Louis.
- Mario Party 3: Appears as a character called Game Guy, complete with bow tie. He would host all-or-nothing chance games that the player would partake in.
- Mario Party 4: Also appears as a host for one of the game boards. Here he wears a hat and a jacket like Indiana Jones because of the jungle theme of his board.
- Mario Party 7: Appears as shopkeeper at some Orb Stores. Also appears as Spear Guy for certain Orb events and the Minigame Cruise "King of the River".
- While not referred to by name, the Super Mario Bros. Movie featured Shyguys, after a fashion. As with much of the characters in the movie (such as goombas being portrayed as large, reptilian creatures), the shyguys became larger, darker versions of themselves. When the Mario Bros. are originally captured, they are put through a sterilization process largely performed by men in full-body jumpsuits with masks reminiscent of shyguys. Later in the movie, Snifits appear (and are referred to by name) as garbage men; their bullet shooting mask protrusions being replaced with simple air filters. Unlike the Shyguys from earlier in the movie, they exclusively wear black, tighter-fitting clothing.
- In a trailer for Super Smash Bros. Brawl, a stage based off of Mario Kart was shown which featured Shy Guys driving by as an obstacle.
- The Japanese name for Bob-omb, Bomhei, implies a direct connection to Shy Guys.
[edit] External links