Bandits appear as common enemies. Some of them start off hiding behind the environment, such as rocks. If a Bandit touches Yoshi (unless they were stunned or being jumped on) they snatch Baby Mario, starting the Countdown Timer, and begin to run away with him. Bandits have the ability to jump up small ledges. Yoshi can get Baby Mario by merely touching him.
A Bandit can be defeated by either throwing six eggs at it, jumping on it three times, or by performing a Ground Pound. If a Bandit is defeated from being repeatedly jumped on, it releases several coins, and if an egg is thrown at a Bandit, it just releases a coin—in both cases, this likely owes to their act of thievery.
Then there are the Mini Battles, where Yoshi competes with a Bandit to win coins and 1-ups. If the player uses a secret code, then a second player can control the Bandit, making this the only instance so far where Bandit was a playable character.
Bandits are dark blue, although they have a pink variation named Coin Bandit, which runs while carrying a Red Coin, trying to prevent Yoshi from getting it. Once Yoshi acquires the Red Coin, the Coin Bandits begin to act like regular Bandits.
Bandits only appear at Dry Dry Desert, and are featured in either blue or red. They run around extremely fast attempting to battle with Mario. In battle, their HP is 5 and their attack is 2. They have an attack called Mug, and if Mario doesn't block it, the Bandits steal coins from him. Mario can attack them using his Hammer or Jump attacks. If Mario doesn't attack any of the Bandits that have his coins, they will run off leaving the plumber hero out of coins and out of experience. Kooper's (if upgraded) Dizzy Shell is very effective on them.
There are three types of Bandits in Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door: the regular Bandits, Big Bandits, and much more dangerous Badge Bandits. The regular Bandits act very similar as in Paper Mario, and even retain their HP at 5, Attack at 2, and Defense at 0. They also continue to steal Mario's coins if he doesn't block and defeat them. Big Bandits act much the same than the weaker Bandits, however, this time, they steal Items. They also have an HP of 8, an attack of 3, and an defense of 0. Both the Bandits and Big Bandits are only found in Glitzville and the Pit of 100 Trials. The Hand-It-Overs, a team consisting of two Bandits and two Big Bandits, are fighters in the Glitz Pit. Lastly, the vicious Badge Bandits are the strongest of all. They have an HP of 12, an attack of 5, but a defense of 0. Like their name suggests, these criminals can steal Mario's badges.
Bandits also live "peacefully" in Rogueport stealing from any newcomers. As Mario first makes is way to Professor Frankly's house, a Bandit runs by Mario and steals half the coins Mario was currently holding. The Bandit can be found at the backside of the Inn hiding in a very dirty room. In Glitzville, a nicer Bandit named Bandy Andy hangs around the locker room with King K and often leaves the room no matter how many times Jolene tells him not to. He also tells Mario (who goes by the "Great Gonzales" around the time) about the secrets/myths of the Glitz Pit. Bandy Andy soon becomes another one of Grubba's victims warning Mario not to go onto the stage when none is around.
At Shy Guy's Perplex Express, a Bandit is seen wandering around one of the trains. If a character lands on a ? space on top of the train, the Shy Guy conducting the train appears, revealing that the Bandit (or Mowz) stole Holly Koopa's Candy. The player must then remember which wagon the Bandit was in. If they guess correctly, the Bandit returns the candy, and the player's character is awarded 20 coins (or 10 in Duel Mode).
At Koopa's Tycoon Town, there is a Bandit hiding in a dark alley. If a certain ? Space is landed on, the Bandit comes out, robs coins from another player's investment in a nearby hotel, and gives them to the character who landed on the ? Space.
Bandits appear in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team where they are fought mainly in the Dozing Sands. Bandits are much trickier as they use smoke bombs in their attacks. Bandits also usually fight in grounds and in battle, they either attack by dashing at Mario and Luigi or by attempting to trick them with a fake, cardboard cutting of themselves that have bombs on them. The former can be countered by jumping (The Bandit looks at the bro. who will be attacked and steals coins if it hits.), while the latter can be blocked with the hammer.
"This is a Bandit. Bandits bump into you hard and shake up your pockets. They can steal up to 10 coins. Max HP: 5, Attack Power: 2, Defense Power: 0 They'll slyly approach and then slam into you all of a sudden. If you can damage them in an attack, you can get your stolen coins back. Let's beat 'em before they can make off with our loot!"
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