Nabbit

Nabbit
Species	Rabbit
Eye color	Black
Voiced by	Natsuko Yokoyama (2012-2020) Dawn M. Bennett (2023-Present)
Debut	New Super Mario Bros. U

Nabbit is a recurring character from the Super Mario series who has acted as both an enemy and a playable character. He is a purple rabbit-like being who acts as a thief, and he wears a handkerchief with a mouth drawn on it (similar to the one worn by Bowser Jr.). He carries around a sack that is used to store stolen items. According to a blurb in Super Mario Bros. Wonder, he is neither an enemy or an ally, but he appears to be monitoring Mario and his friends for some unknown purpose.

Background

New Super Mario Bros. U

The Nabbit's primary initial appearance was in New Super Mario Bros. U. In the original version of the game, he was shown to be stealing items from Toad Houses. A special event would appear in which the player(s) must chase Nabbit across a course that has already been completed and catch him within 100 seconds in order to earn a reward. Nabbit chases would occur in seven levels, each in a different world, with Peach's Castle and Superstar Road being the only worlds without a Nabbit chase. He could also potentially appear to loot treasure chests at enemy courses if the player waited too long to open the chests.

In the other versions of the game (New Super Luigi U and New Super Mario Bros. U Delxue), Nabbit was made into a playable character. As a playable character, the Nabbit was invincible against enemy attacks and only received knockback from stronger enemies. He could only lose a life through hazards such as falling down pits or running out of time. He could not use any items or power-ups, including being unable to ride a Yoshi, but he could collect items in his sack. At the end of a stage, a Nabbit would earn a 1-Up for every item in his sack. In Deluxe, Nabbit was labeled as Easiest and also added 100 extra seconds to the timer. In those versions, the Nabbit only made its appearance as an enemy if Nabbit was not being played by one of the current players at the time. All versions of the game also contained an area called the Secret Island, that contained only a purple Toad House which contained the game's records. The decor implied that Nabbit owned the house, and this was confirmed in Mario & Sonic a the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. In that game, it was referred to as both his base and home, and it was said that he liked to research Mario for unknown reasons.

If Nabbit was part of the playable group that saved Peach, then he would be seen hiding in the background during Peach's rescue rather then meeting with her directly. Even if Bowser was defeated with Nabbit as the only character being played, Mario would be shown meeting with Peach instead, while Nabbit continued to appear only in the background.

Later Appearances

Nabbit later made a recurring appearance within Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, in which Nabbit had stolen most of the items utilized for the characters' Bros. Attacks. Throughout the game, Mario's group had to chase Nabbit down and fight him in order to unlock more Bros. Attacks. This ended with a mission at Bowser's Castle known as Bad Nabbit, in which Mario's group had to chase Nabbit down and engage in six battles. Three of them were battles against Nabbit, and three were battles where Nabbit acted as an ally fighting against some of Bowser's minions. This would result in earning Luigi's final Bros. Attack, the Mega Thwonk. Nabbit also appeared during the game's credits, where he ended up being chased by several Yoshis after taking a melon. Nabbit also appeared in the Bowser Jr.'s Journey mode of Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.s Journey as a recruitable ally after the main story was completed. He could only be recruited with Ludwig's Negotiate Captain Command. In Dr. Mario World, a doctor version of Nabbit was made available as a playable character through the game's Staffing feature starting in April 2020.

In Super Mario Bros. Wonder, Nabbit was part of the group of the playable protagonists who fought to save the Flower Kingdom from Bowser. As as a playable character, he retained most of his unique attributes from New Super Luigi U, but now he turned his stolen items into Flower Coins, and it was possible for Nabbit to take damage and shrink during certain Wonder Seed transformations.

In Other Mario-Related Games

Sports, Racing and Party Spin-Offs

Nabbit made his sports debut in Mario Golf: World Tour as a DLC character who was made available through the Flower Pack or Season Pass. He also appeared in Mario & Luigi at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, where he was playable in the 100m Dash event. Within the Mario Party games, Nabbit initially appeared in Mario Party 10. In it, Nabbit would appear whenever Team Mario landed on a Bowser Dick Block -1 Space to steal a Dice Block from Bowser. He could also possibly be unlocked as a playable racer in Mario Kart Tour through the game's gacha system or in-game shop. He was initially only available during certain tours, starting with the Wild West Tour in July 2020, before he became regularly available starting during the Bowser vs. DK Tour in May 2021.

Cameos and Non-Storyline Appearances

• In Super Mario Maker, Nabbit was also added through an update in March 2016 as one of the Mystery Mushroom costumes available for Mario to transform into. After being added to the game, his costume could be unlocked as a random prize for completing a 100 Mario Challenge on Normal or harder.
• In Super Mario Party, Nabbit's image could appear as one of the options in the Absent Minded minigame.
• Nabbit's name could be seen on a leaderboard in Mario Golf: Super Rush.

Other Appearances

Video Games

• In the Super Smash Bros. series, Nabbit appeared in the Mushroom Kingdom U stage that was seen in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Nabbit will attempt to catch fighters in his sack and jump off of the stage, which could result in the fighters being KOed. It is possible to escape from Nabbit's sack through button-mashing, and Nabbit can also be attacked like an ordinary fighter. In the Wii U game, Nabbit could also appear in Smash Tour mode, where he would move along the board and grab all items in his path. Players could attempt to catch the Nabbit in order to claim all of the items he stole. Nabbit has also been represented by a trophy in the Wii U game and an Advance-rank Support Spirit (with the item gravitation effect) in Ultimate.
• In Star Fox Guard, a robotic enemy based on the Nabbit appears. Known as the Nabbot, it would attempt to steal precious metals left behind by destroyed enemies. A stronger version known as the Golden Nabbot also appeared.

Trivia

• The name "Nabbit" is a simple combination of "nab" and "rabbit" and may also be referencing the exclamation "dagnabbit". His Japanese name is "Totten", based on the Japanese word meaning "to steal".
• Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games was Nabbit's first appearance with spoken dialogue.
• Similarities have been noted with Ravio from The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, whose costume resembles Nabbit (down to having a similar color and being rabbit-themed) and who also keeps items in a sack, though he is a merchant rather than a thief. Their first appearances were only a year apart, but Satoru Iwata has dismissed the similarity as an unintentional coincidence.