What's that knight in Syrup Castle?

[CM30]

You know the one. The mini boss from the first game, as shown here at about 3 minutes and 30 seconds:



Because the Mario Wiki seems to think he's a robot for some reason:

http://www.mariowiki.com/Yaburiki

It is a robotic sentry that guards a room in the fortieth and last course of the game.

But what do you think?

 

[Gizmo]

I always got the idea that Yaburiki was actually two Gooms standing on top of one another in a knight-like costume, thinking that they could scare off Wario.

They had thought wrong.

 

[Glowsquid]

Aren't demon-possesed animated armors a common trope in Japanese media? Or did I get the wrong impression lol

 

[CM30]

That's an interesting idea, although I'm not sure the face it makes when defeated looks like a Goom:

 

[CM30]

Aren't demonically-possesed animaed suits of armor a common trope in Japanese media? Or did I get the wrong impression lol

They're common in a lot of media:

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AnimatedArmor

See also any Zelda game in the last few years; the Phantoms and Guardians are obvious examples of animated suits of armour.

The Dullahan from Irish legend might be the ur example, appearing as a headless rider or knight in various drawings:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dullahan

Also of note, the 'animate armour' concept was actually an early way to depict a ghost in stage plays:

https://gamingreinvented.com/ninten...-7-things-you-dont-know-about-nintendo-games/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghosts_in_English-speaking_cultures#Tudor_period

But the sheeted ghost began to gain ground on stage in the 19th century because an armored ghost could not satisfactorily convey the requisite spookiness: it clanked and creaked, and had to be moved about by complicated pulley systems or elevators. These clanking ghosts being hoisted about the stage became objects of ridicule as they became clichéd stage elements

I think this song from Dark Moon (complete with the respective boss' movements explains why that was kind of silly):

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/67216205/Knightmare1.mp3

But yeah, it's got a long history. It probably comes from either early legends/mythology or Tudor era 'special effects'.

Not relevant here though, since the knight isn't animated armour, it has a duck like face that appears when it's defeated (see above).

 

[Gizmo]

Or maybe one/two D.D. (Dangerous Duck) ?

 

[CM30]

That seems a bit more plausible. Didn't Wario Land 2 have special mini boss versions of them? Perhaps the knight guy is an early one of those...

 

[Vampfox]

I was that he had been in the second Wario Land game. He would have been a better mini-boss then the Giant Spear Man.

 

[Bubba]

It also looks like Prince Froggy from Yoshi's Island when the suit of armor is defeated but if this were to follow the cast of Wario Land it may be a duck.

 

[OriginalName244]

I always got the idea that Yaburiki was actually two Gooms standing on top of one another in a knight-like costume, thinking that they could scare off Wario.

They had thought wrong.

So, it's like a Wizard in WL2?

It even has the ability to turn Wario small!