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Species name: Shy Guy (ヘイホー, Heihō in Japanese) First Appearance: Yume Kojo: Doki Doki Panic (FDS, 1987) / Super Mario Bros. 2 (NES, 1988) Home: Subcon dream world (originally) / various Mario series locations (modern) Voiced by: Nate Bihldorff (2004–present) Notable individual Shy Guys: Captain Shy Guy (M&L: Superstar Saga + Bowser’s Minions), General Guy (leader of Shy Guy’s Toy Box in Paper Mario), the explorer host of Shy Guy’s Jungle Jam (Mario Party 4) |
General profile
The Shy Guy is one of the most recognizable and best-loved Mario series enemy species, distinguished by the masks they wear because of their shyness. Introduced in 1987 in Yume Kojo: Doki Doki Panic for the Famicom Disk System (and retained for the 1988 Western Super Mario Bros. 2 release), Shy Guys are short creatures in robes and white circular masks with three holes for the eyes and mouth. They are normally red, but they come in many other colours. What lies behind the mask is a long-running mystery that characters such as Luigi in Mario Power Tennis have tried to solve.
Shy Guys’ broader Mario series role has expanded substantially since their debut. Originally members of Wart‘s army, the 8 bits, they have been associated with Bowser since Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island, appearing among Bowser’s minions in the Yoshi, Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi series. They turn up across nearly every Mario sub-genre: platformers, Mario Kart (on the full roster since Mario Kart 7), Mario Party, Mario Tennis, Mario Strikers, Mario Sports Mix and the RPGs.
Shy Guys come in many colours: red is the default, and blue, green, yellow, pink, black, white, light-blue and orange Shy Guys have all appeared. The species has also spawned a huge family of variants, including Fly Guys, Spy Guys, Pyro Guys, Snifits, Spear Guys and Stilt Guys.
Quotes
Enemies
The Shy Guy species’ primary enemies are Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, and the wider Mushroom Kingdom heroic cast. Originally serving Wart in Subcon, the species transitioned to Bowser’s Koopa Troop after Super Mario Bros. 2, making them opposed by default to essentially every protagonist faction in subsequent Mario series entries. They are especially common enemies in the Yoshi series, and they appear alongside Goombas as enemies in the Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi RPGs.
Friends
Shy Guys’ loyalties are split between Bowser’s Koopa Troop service and occasional good-aligned individual exceptions. The mainstream Shy Guy species serves Bowser as rank-and-file foot soldiers, but several notable individual Shy Guys have aligned with Mario or with neutral parties. Captain Shy Guy is an unlockable captain in the Minion Quest: The Search for Bowser mode of Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser’s Minions (2017), helping Bowser’s troops rescue their king. In Mario and Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story (2009), a Shy Guy corps serves Bowser and the notable Sergeant Guy makes his debut, while a friendly Shy Guy explorer hosts Shy Guy’s Jungle Jam in Mario Party 4.
Appearances
Yume Kojo: Doki Doki Panic (FDS, 1987) and Super Mario Bros. 2 (NES, 1988)
Shy Guys debuted in Yume Kojo: Doki Doki Panic for the Famicom Disk System (July 1987) as part of Wart’s villain hierarchy in the Subcon dream world. When Nintendo of America re-skinned the game as Super Mario Bros. 2 for the NES (October 1988), Shy Guys were retained essentially unchanged from their Doki Doki Panic role.
Yoshi’s Island series (1995-present)
Shy Guys have been a staple enemy of the Yoshi series since Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island (SNES, 1995), appearing in many colours and variants such as Fly Guys, Stilt Guys, Snifits and Spear Guys. In earlier Yoshi games their voices were provided by Kazumi Totaka, who also voices Yoshi; a later Yoshi game gave them Nate Bihldorff’s voice instead.
Mario Kart series (2001-present)
Shy Guys first appeared in Mario Kart as course features — firing cannonballs from a pirate ship at Shy Guy Beach in Mario Kart: Super Circuit, and as statues and spectators in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! In Mario Kart DS they were playable only through DS Download Play. Shy Guy joined the full roster in Mario Kart 7 (3DS, 2011) as a Feather-class racer, was a starting racer in Mario Kart 8, and returns in Mario Kart Tour and Mario Kart World, where he is again part of the starting roster.
Mario Party series (2002-present)
Shy Guys have long been part of Mario Party. A Shy Guy dressed as an explorer hosts Shy Guy’s Jungle Jam in Mario Party 4 (GameCube, 2002), and Mario Party 8 (Wii, 2007) features the Shy Guy’s Perplex Express board. Shy Guy is an unlockable playable character in Mario Party 9 (Wii, 2012) and playable in Super Mario Party (Switch, 2018) and Super Mario Party Jamboree (Switch, 2024), while in Mario Party 10 and Mario Party Superstars Shy Guys only appear in the background and minigames.
Mario Strikers / Mario Sports series
In Mario Strikers Charged (Wii, 2007), Shy Guys are balanced sidekicks with the Bullet Bill Blast skillshot. They are only audience members in Mario Strikers: Battle League (Switch, 2022) until the version 1.1.0 update adds Shy Guy as a playable All-Rounder. In Mario Sports Mix, Shy Guys serve as hockey goalkeepers.
Paper Mario series (2000-present)
Shy Guys feature prominently in the Paper Mario series. In the original Paper Mario (Nintendo 64, 2000), they steal items from the Toads and hide out in Shy Guy’s Toy Box, whose leader, General Guy, battles Mario in a tank. The species has appeared in every subsequent Paper Mario entry through The Origami King (Switch, 2020) and the 2024 TTYD Switch remake.
Mario Kart Tour Colour Variants (2019-2025)
In Mario Kart Tour (mobile, 2019), Shy Guy is a Normal driver whose special skill is the Double Bob-ombs. His alternate colours from Mario Kart 8 return as separate Super drivers, alongside High-End variants such as Pastry Chef, Gold, Ninja and Explorer Shy Guys.
Trivia & Official Sources
- Shy Guys’ Japanese name is Heihō (ヘイホー). In Yoshi and the Mysterious Book, Mr. E suggests their English name: "They hide behind masks…so how about Shy Guy?"
- What is behind a Shy Guy’s mask is a running mystery: Luigi tries to find out in Mario Power Tennis, and so do a Goomba and a Koopa Troopa in The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
- Red is the default Shy Guy colour, but blue, green, yellow, pink, black, white, light-blue and orange Shy Guys have all appeared.
- Shy Guy variants include Fly Guys, Spy Guys, Pyro Guys, Snifits, Spear Guys, Stilt Guys and many more.
- Captain Shy Guy is an unlockable captain in the Minion Quest mode of Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser’s Minions (2017), where Shy Guys are Ranged troopers who throw turnips.
- In Paper Mario (2000), Shy Guys steal items from the Toads and hide in Shy Guy’s Toy Box, led by General Guy, who fights Mario in a tank.
- Shy Guys began as members of Wart’s army, the 8 bits, and have been associated with Bowser since Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island.
- In Mario Strikers Charged, a Shy Guy’s mask sometimes falls off when he trips after scoring.
- Shy Guys are part of Bowser’s army in The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023), where two Shy Guys and a Snifit take Luigi to Bowser.
Sources
- Super Mario Wiki: Shy Guy