Snifit: the masked Shy Guy that spits projectiles

EnemySnifitShy Guy

A Shy Guy who traded the headlong charge for a gas mask. Mūcho in Japan, Maskrache in Quebec, the Snifit is a Shy Guy subspecies that first appeared in Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic in 1987. This profile explains how to tell it apart from its cousin, its role as the officer who commands the Shy Guys and its journey from Super Mario Bros. 2 to Paper Mario.

A hooded silhouette topped with a gas mask, the Snifit — whose name stays the same in English — often passes for an ordinary Shy Guy (Shy Guy). It is, however, a far craftier cousin: where the Shy Guy charges straight ahead, the Snifit keeps its distance and spits projectiles from the barrel grafted onto its mask.

Introduced in the late 1980s, this little masked soldier has made a name for itself as the officer of the rank and file, able to command entire squads of Shy Guys and whip them into line. Here is everything that sets it apart from its lookalike, and why it has been crossing the Mario saga for more than thirty years without ever laying down its weapon.

Contents

• Snifit: a Shy Guy that took up arms
• From Subcon's bad dreams to the “8 bits”
• Snifit vs Shy Guy: how to tell them apart
• The officer who commands the Shy Guys
• From Super Mario Bros. 2 to Paper Mario: rare longevity
• Quick facts
• FAQ

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Snifit: a Shy Guy that took up arms

The Snifit is a subspecies of Shy Guy, that hooded creature known as the Shy Guy in English. Its whole peculiarity lies in its mask: where the classic Shy Guy shows only two round eyes on a dark background, the Snifit wears a mask extended by a nozzle, a sort of barrel, which serves as its mouth.

That metal snout is anything but decorative. The Snifit uses it to spit small bullets, most often metal projectiles, which makes it one of the rare basic enemies able to attack from a distance. This gunner's kit contrasts sharply with the melee brute that the Shy Guy is, and justifies treating it as a threat in its own right rather than as one more extra.

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From Subcon's bad dreams to the “8 bits”

The Snifit was born in Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic, released in 1987 in Japan on Famicom Disk System. Since that title served as the basis for the Western release, the creature officially joined the Mario universe through Super Mario Bros. 2, released in 1988 in North America.

The manual of Super Mario Bros. 2 places it among the “8 bits”, the band of minions serving Wart, and gives it a description that has stayed famous: it “spits the bullets of bad dreams out of its mouth”. A detail that fits the dreamlike mood of the kingdom of Subcon, where the whole game unfolds inside a dream.

From that game on, the Snifit comes in several colours, each one imposing its own pattern: the red one drops off the edge of a platform before firing, the pink one paces the scenery, stopping to spit, and the grey one jumps without ever ceasing fire. Learning the timing of their bullets quickly becomes essential if you want to progress.

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Snifit vs Shy Guy: how to tell them apart

Mixing up the two masks is easy, but a few clues never lie:

• The mask: the Shy Guy sports a plain two-eyed mask, while the Snifit shows off a dark gas mask ending in a barrel.
• The attack: the Shy Guy has no weapon other than its stubborn walk and its charges, whereas the Snifit bombards from afar with its projectiles.
• The temperament: the Shy Guy remains an anonymous grunt; the Snifit is seen as smarter and better organised, and is regularly placed above its fellows.
• The colour: both come in varied shades, but with the Snifit the colour dictates the firing pattern rather than just the look.

In short, if the masked creature shoots something, it's a Snifit; if it just rams into you, it's a Shy Guy.

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The officer who commands the Shy Guys

The Snifit does not just shoot: it also leads the troops. On several occasions, the saga shows it in the position of commanding officer over the Shy Guys, tasked with leading and training them like a real drill instructor.

In Paper Mario: Color Splash, a pink Snifit leads a band of Shy Guys at the Golden Coliseum, while a red Snifit commands stacks of Shy Guys at Fort Cobalt and others play the coaches in the training room. The official Nintendo Comics System comic goes even further and turns them into high-ranking officers in Bowser's army.

One issue of that comic, “Duh Stoopid Bomb!”, pushes the idea even further: a Snifit turned into a genius by a bomb blast ends up dethroning Bowser and taking command of his armies. A caricature, of course, but one that sums up the quick-witted reputation attached to the species. It all fits its Japanese name, Mūcho, which rings like a military commander's: the Snifit really is the non-commissioned officer of a rank and file that, without it, would have neither discipline nor reach.

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From Super Mario Bros. 2 to Paper Mario: rare longevity

Few minor enemies can boast such a career. Since 1988, the Snifit has resurfaced regularly in the Yoshi's Island series, where it patrols in a salmon-pink robe and lets fly oval projectiles while sometimes switching direction, as well as in the Mario Party series, turning up on boards and in minigames.

It is, however, in the Paper Mario series that it shines the most, as a recurring enemy with many variants. The Mario & Luigi series also gives it spin-offs, such as the Snifaro, a Snifit-pharaoh standing on one of its own kind in the Gritzy Caves of Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time.

Over the games, its palette has grown richer: red, blue, green, pink, grey, yellow, orange, black and purple cross paths depending on the game. Finally, take care not to confuse it with the Snufit, that variant floating and legless born in Super Mario 64: a cousin of the Snifit, but a genuinely separate creature.

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ID card: Snifit

French name (Europe)	Snifit
English name	Snifit
Quebec French name	Maskrache
Japanese name	ムーチョ (Mūcho)
Category	Minor enemy, Shy Guy subspecies
First appearance	Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic (1987, Japan)
Mario series debut	Super Mario Bros. 2 (1988)
Distinctive feature	Barrel-tipped mask that spits projectiles

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FAQ

• What is the difference between a Snifit and a Shy Guy?
  The Shy Guy wears only a two-eyed mask and attacks on contact, while the Snifit sports a gas mask ending in a barrel from which it spits projectiles at range. The Snifit is also often presented as its superior.
• In which game does the Snifit first appear?
  It debuts in Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic, released in 1987 in Japan, then joins the Mario franchise with Super Mario Bros. 2 in 1988.
• Why is the Snifit said to command the Shy Guys?
  Several games, including Paper Mario: Color Splash, show it leading and training groups of Shy Guys. Its Japanese name also evokes a military commander.
• What colours do Snifits come in?
  You will meet them in red, blue, green, pink, grey, yellow, orange, black and purple. In Super Mario Bros. 2, the colour determines how they move and how they shoot.
• Are the Snifit and the Snufit the same creature?
  No. The Snufit is a floating, legless variant that appeared in Super Mario 64. The Snifit, for its part, moves along the ground on its legs.

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