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"Some 'thing' that is used to represent some 'one' that, for reasons unknown, cannot be shown in its current 'form.'"

Today I wanted to talk about Avatars, images or characters that we undertake to portray ourselves as, when we post in the online 'world.' I have been thinking a lot about what my first avatar was, and why. Today I'd like to share where those thoughts have led me, in the hopes of encouraging you to do the same.




When I was a child growing up, one of my favorite video games was Paper Mario on the Nintendo 64. I remember Paper Mario was one of the first video games that I became quite immersed in, and it was a game that really influenced me for how large and great a game could be, and was part of what made me a big Nintendo gamer.

When I first began posting online, I often used the Shy Guy characters from the Mario universe as avatars, as I was shy in real life, and I also liked the characters a lot. When I think of why I liked these characters so much, I can only remember that there was one game that had me fall for them; Paper Mario.

So, when I replayed Paper Mario on the Nintendo 64 recently, I was curious to see the Shy Guys in this game, what drew me to them, and why they struck a chord with me. So below, find my analysis of the Shy Guys in Paper Mario, and their star chapter in the game, titled, Trials in the Toy Box.

In video games, common enemies are well, common. There are often characters which stand to solely be in the way and offer us a challenge, and to give us experience. Characters that are not up to boss level, but are still a little difficult, the normal regular enemies. And these are a common thing in the Paper Mario series too, with many different enemies everywhere, in each chapter. And as a result of how common they are, they generally aren’t given much character, or personality. They are, as I said, challenges for the player, and nothing more. But with Shy Guys, a rare thing happened, and I mean so rare, that I don’t think it’s in any other Paper Mario. The Shy Guys, a common enemy, were actually given a personality other than the 'bad guy that works for someone and wants to stop you' trope.

But the question then comes, how do you give a common enemy a personality? Someone who doesn’t talk and merely attacks you and is a simple roadblock for your progress, how would one go about giving them a personality? Indeed, the personality of the Shy Guys is a subtle one, and not one that anyone can easily catch, however, it was done well enough, so that even the child version of me could notice and love it.

What personality were they given then? Well, it’s time to search. Let’s go over the subtle characteristics of Shy Guys that gave them life:

At the very start of Shy Guy’s Toy Box, the location for which they live and inhabit, there is a room in which there are various Shy Guys holding items. The only way to get the items is to battle and defeat them, but if you walk towards them to battle them, they will run away. It’s the common enemy thing to run from you when they have an item you need, but there’s a kicker you can see above. If you chase a Shy Guy to a wall or area in which they cannot run anymore, they don’t just run into the wall, they just…..sit there, with their head down crouched on the floor, it looks like they’re crying, it’s almost sad to see….

I remember when I was a kid and got to this part, I felt sad for the Shy Guys, because they looked so sad and lonely, just wanting their one item, and I remember feeling a little bad when I attacked them, they just looked so sad, alone, and innocent, all conveyed from that one animation.

Shy Guys have an attack in which they point to the sky as seen above and a star sort of sound is made as they do. They then run to Mario and jump to land on top of him.

If the Shy Guy successfully hits Mario, then he does a bow to the screen and you can hear a cheering sounds from an audience.

If the Shy Guy is blocked by Mario and doesn’t do full damage, then he will whine about the missed chance.

This attack gives off the impression that Shy Guys are people who love performing and succeeding, and perhaps are full of energy, and love to just do all sorts of silly techniques. 

There are 2 times in Chapter 4, and one time during the credits at the end of the game, in which we see a bunch of Shy Guys running, seeming quite scared, and then the last one to run away trips and falls, lays there a bit, then gets back up and runs. The trip shows that Shy Guys are perhaps clumsy on top of everything else, and don’t get everything completely right. This is also seen when you battle the leader of the Shy Guys, General Guy, and when he calls his Shy Guys to assemble, one of them jumps out of his very own tank, and General Guy jumps, being shocked at this. It shows that the Shy Guys aren’t perfect and mess up on occasion.

While on the subject above of Shy Guys being scared too, I will touch on the final subject of Shy Guys, they are weak and nonviolent.

When you first return to Toad Town after Chapter 3, you find Shy Guys terrorizing the town. The Shy Guys steal precious items from tons of the townsfolk, and leave many sad and wanting their things back. But there’s an interesting thing to note about the Shy Guys’ deeds; they never hurt anyone physically. While they prevent you from shopping or taking a rest, they never actually hurt Mario. In fact, you are the first to hurt them when you attack Shy Guys in the shops and inn. And when you do, do they fight back? No, they run away, they are scared of you.

This also connects to what the Shy Guys do in that first room I talked about above, when they just wallow at a dead end and cry. Shy Guys are not actually attacking Mario head first all the time, unlike other enemies, they’re scared of you sometimes, they’re….shy…

This is seen again in the final room in the Toy Box, in which a group of Shy Guys run from you, and they even start screaming for help and saying how they have to get out of here, they’re very scared of you. 

However, they don’t always run from you. When you’re chasing this group of Shy Guys, if you charge into them without lighting up the area, they will attack you, knowing you can’t see or hit them back. They also end up eventually battling you when they flee to their leader, and then feel that they can win, they only fight when they believe they have a clear advantage, and other than that, flee.

So, have you guessed what the Shy Guys represent? What personality they are, and what they are like? Who is weak and only fights when they think they’ll win, innocent, energetic and performers who dislike failure, mischievous, and scared of those bigger then it? If you haven’t figured it out by now, let me give it away, who would create and live in a Toy Box?

Shy Guys are children

One thing that I never noticed when I first played Paper Mario, but did on my recent replay, was how well done the atmosphere of Shy Guy’s Toy Box was. Everything you use to move around in the Box is childlike. You ride a toy train to get around, you go up by going on jacks in a box, there are blocks of different shapes and colors everywhere, it really is the kind if place you would expect a kid to live in, and it’s beautiful.

Your first partner, Goombario, even remarks at how he would like to take his sister here and play sometime. Take a look at one of the pictures above too, paying attention to the background:

There are drawings on the walls, simple drawings of things and happy smiling faces. Of all the dungeons in the game, Shy Guy’s Toy Box is by far the least menacing, in fact, it actually looks kind of….fun.

I noticed something interesting at the end of Paper Mario too on this replay. At the end, you see all your partners and where their lives have gone after the adventure. Interestingly, you don’t see any of Bowser’s minions or enemies when you see your partners, perhaps saying they’ve disappeared, but as one exception, you see one of your partners talking with Shy Guys in Shy Guy’s Toy Box, as if they know each other and are friends.

All of these little details point to the fact that, Shy Guys are actually the least evil of all of Bowser’s followers, and are just innocent weak mischievous children deep down, who are just following the orders of their parent; Bowser. After seeing all this, seeing how childish and innocent and fun they are, and how shy and weak they can be at times, how could I not fall in love with them as a kid, as they didn’t just have a lovable personality, they were a lot like me.

As a child, I was also shy and meek, and quite clumsy too, and was often seen as innocent and childlike as well, and of course, was quite weak, and still am. It makes perfect sense then, now that I’ve played and seen this chapter again, why I felt such an attachment to the Shy Guys character, and why I ended up dawning their name and image as my own when I first began posting online.

Discovering this not only taught me about Shy Guys, but also taught me about myself and how I was as a child. Are there things that you loved and felt attached to as a child, that you sometimes wonder why you were so drawn to them? Have you thought at all about why you liked what you did as a child? Or where the avatars you've used over the years came from, and why?

Regardless, I hope you enjoyed this reading, and thank you for your time.