Bobby (Paper Mario)
Bobby | |
---|---|
Paper Mario character | |
First appearance | Paper Mario: The Origami King |
Bob-omb, commonly referred to as Bobby, is a character in the 2020
After recovering his memory and the fuse of his dead Bob-omb friend, he ends up sacrificing his life to allow Mario and Olivia to continue their journey. His arc, particularly his sacrifice, received positive reception.
Concept and creation
Bobby was designed for
Appearances
Bobby appears in Paper Mario: The Origami King, first meeting the protagonists Mario and Olivia on a rail car. He introduces himself as Bob-omb, stating that he has amnesia, and he aims to recover his memories. He eventually joins them on Olivia's prompting, Olivia goes through multiple nicknames for him, before settling on Bobby as a nickname. He journeys with them until they defeat one of the main antagonists, at which point fireworks are set off in celebration, awakening his memories. He eventually decides to go on his way, though remains on Olivia's insistence.
At some point Olivia is crushed by a boulder, forcing Mario and Bobby to go to Toad Town to retrieve an object, which turns out to be the fuse of another Bob-omb, a friend of his, who died. He also revealed his backstory, namely that he and his Bob-omb friends were attacked while on a cruise, leading him to lose his memories. He also talks about how Bob-ombs yearn for the opportunity to make an impact on the world. Bobby attached his friend's fuse to himself, thanks Mario and Olivia for everything, and explodes, destroying the boulder to free Olivia. This leaves Olivia grief stricken, though Mario helps impress that Bobby wouldn't want her to be sad, aided by the advice of Bobby's ghost before it passes on.
Bobby also appears in the manga,
Reception
Bobby has been received generally positive reception, considered one of the best
Gizmodo writer Beth Elderkin praised Bobby's character as "funny, charming, and adorable," calling him a "beloved member of the team." She discussed how his backstory caused her to break out into tears, only growing more upset when Bobby recovered his dead friend's fuse and sacrifices himself. She noted how it still stuck with her, and how impressive it was that a game with such simple concepts and can make such an effective character as Bobby.[7] Edge staff considered his story a tearjerker, expressing surprise to get "a dose of existential angst" from Bobby's story arc.[8] Kotaku writers Ari Notis and Ash Parrish discussed how the Paper Mario series makes players care about typically unimportant Mario enemies, giving particular praise and discussion to Bobby. Parrish noted that, while they rarely cried at video games, they shed a tear when Bobby talked about the desire of Bob-ombs to "make an impact" on the world. Despite Parrish noting that their design was generic, they also felt that it enhanced him as a character, arguing that making him look the same as all other Bob-ombs lent credence to the idea that every Bob-omb has their own life and experiences. However, they felt that the way they handled Olivia's grief was lacking due to how quickly she got over his death, with Notis feeling that it cheapens Bobby's death somewhat.[9]
References
- ^ Cork, Jeff (June 30, 2020). "Paper Mario: The Origami King". Game Informer. Archived from the original on June 30, 2020. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
- ^ Gina (January 5, 2022). "Paper Mario: The Origami King Changes Everything You Know About Bob-Ombs". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on January 22, 2022. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
- ^ a b Herd, James (November 28, 2023). "Top 10 Best Nintendo Characters of All Time". Destructoid. Archived from the original on December 2, 2023. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
- ^ Watts, Steve; Gurwin, Gabe (September 26, 2023). "The Best Nintendo Characters Of All Time". GameSpot. Archived from the original on November 30, 2023. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
- ^ Duckworth, Joshua (December 24, 2020). "The 15 Best Video Game Characters of 2020". Game Rant. Archived from the original on December 29, 2020. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
- Nintendo Life. Archivedfrom the original on June 28, 2022. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
- ^ Elderkin, Beth (August 11, 2020). "I'm Still Not Over the Bob-omb Thing". Gizmodo. Archived from the original on December 5, 2021. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
- ^ "Unlikeliest Tearjerker". Edge. Vol. 354. February 2021. p. 82.
- ^ Notis, Ari; Parrish, Ash (July 24, 2020). "Let's Talk About The Paper Mario: The Origami King Scene That Blew Us Away". Kotaku. Archived from the original on November 25, 2020. Retrieved February 12, 2024.