Bobby (Paper Mario)

Bob-omb, commonly referred to as Bobby, is a character in the 2020 video game Paper Mario: The Origami King. He is a partner of the protagonist, Mario, who also accompanies an origami girl named Olivia. He was the first character decided by Nintendo to be included in the game. He is a member of the Bob-omb species, an explosive enemy in the Mario series. He has amnesia, and is missing his fuse, trying to figure out who he is.

After recovering his memory and the fuse of his dead Bob-omb friend, he ends up sacrificing his life to allow Mario and Olivia to continue their journey. His arc, particularly his sacrifice, received positive reception.

Concept and creation
Bobby was designed for Paper Mario: The Origami King, being the first partner character included in Mario's story. He is a Bob-omb, an explosive species in the Mario series that is typically an opponent to Mario, though Bobby is an ally to him. In The Origami King, Bob-ombs are able to blow up once before dying, a contrast to Paper Mario on Nintendo 64 and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, where that was not the case.

Appearances
Bobby appears in Paper Mario: The Origami King, first meeting the protagonists Mario and Olivia on a tram car. He introduces himself as Bob-omb, stating that he has amnesia, and he aims to recover his memories. He eventually joins them on Olivia's prompting, Olivia goes through multiple nicknames for him, before settling on Bobby as a nickname. He journeys with them until they defeat one of the main antagonists, at which point fireworks are set off in celebration, awakening his memories. He eventually decides to go on his way, though remains on Olivia's insistence.

At some point Olivia is crushed by a boulder, forcing Mario and Bobby to go to Toad Town to retrieve an object, which turns out to be the fuse of another Bob-omb, a friend of his, who died. He also revealed his backstory, namely that he and his Bob-omb friends were attacked while on a cruise, leading him to lose his memories. He also talks about how Bob-ombs yearn for the opportunity to make an impact on the world. Bobby attached his friend's fuse to himself, thanks Mario and Olivia for everything, and explodes, destroying the boulder to free Olivia. This leaves Olivia grief stricken, though Mario helps impress that Bobby wouldn't want her to be sad, aided by the advice of Bobby's ghost before it passes on.

Bobby also appears in the manga, Super Mario-kun; the story recaps the events of The Origami King, though in this version, Bobby survives.

Reception
Bobby has been received generally positive reception, considered one of the best Nintendo characters of all time by Destructoid writer James Herd. Herd noted that another staff member "feverishly" advocated for Bobby, though Herd expressed skepticism, having not played Origami King. However, he came to consider it one of the best Nintendo characters, bemoaning that he has not gotten more attention from Nintendo fans. GameSpot writers Steve Watts and Gabe Gurwin felt similarly, expressing surprise that a Bob-omb would be the best character in the Paper Mario series. They felt that his loyalty and sacrifice made him stand out. He has also been regarded as one of the best characters of 2020 by Game Rant writer Joshua Duckworth, who felt that he was a more complex character than on the surface. He felt that he made a "major impact" on the story and that his character was well rounded. Nintendo Life writer Gavin Lane considered his arc and ultimate sacrifice one of the best moments of 2020, praising the writers and localization team for the work they put into him.

Gizmodo writer Beth Elderkin praised Bobby's character as "funny, charming, and adorable," calling him a "beloved member of the team." She discussed how his backstory caused her to break out into tears, only growing more upset when Bobby recovered his dead friend's fuse and sacrifices himself. She noted how it still stuck with her, and how impressive it was that a game with such simple concepts and can make such an effective character as Bobby. Edge staff considered his story a tearjerker, expressing surprise to get "a dose of existential angst" from Bobby's story arc. Kotaku writers Ari Notis and Ash Parrish discussed how the Paper Mario series makes players care about typically unimportant Mario enemies, giving particular praise and discussion to Bobby. Parrish noted that, while they rarely cried at video games, they shed a tear when Bobby talked about the desire of Bob-ombs to "make an impact" on the world. Despite Parrish noting that their design was generic, they also felt that it enhanced him as a character, arguing that making him look the same as all other Bob-ombs lent credence to the idea that every Bob-omb has their own life and experiences. However, they felt that the way they handled Olivia's grief was lacking due to how quickly she got over his death, with Notis feeling that it cheapens Bobby's death somewhat.