Dry Bones

A Dry Bones as depicted in Mario Party 7.
Dry Bones
Type	Undead
Debut	Super Mario Bros. 3

Dry Bones is the skeletal form of the Koopa that appears as an enemy in various Mario games, commonly found in dungeon levels.

Information

Dry Bones are the living skeletons of Koopas and seemingly what a Koopa becomes in its afterlife. They seem to be mindless and are known for being nearly invincible. They primarily attack by tossing bones at their enemies. Many attacks will cause them to crumble, but they will often reform themselves shortly afterwards. They can only be permanently destroyed through certain methods, which vary from game to game, although invincibility Starmen are always effective.

The Dry Bones' weakness has included the Hammer Suit in Super Mario Bros. 3, the cape in Super Mario World (as well as Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3, a Mega Mushroom as well as the Koopa Shell in New Super Mario Bros. and a Bullet Bill in Super Mario Galaxy. In Galaxy, they appeared in the Dune Desert Galaxy and could also be destroyed by being lured into quicksand. They also appear in the Shriek Mansion area of Super Princess Peach, where they are destroyed only through use of the Rage Vibe.

Even though they are immune to fire in most of the mainstream games, the Dry Bones's primary weakness is fire in most of the RPG games. In Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, they appear in the Sunken Ship and can only be permanently defeated in battle with special attacks (which include Mario's fire attacks) or usage of pure water. Even after the battle has ended, the Dry Bones will only temporarily crumble on the map. In the Paper Mario games, there were several different versions of the enemy, with Dry Bones being the third strongest. They are also capable of "building" additional Dry Bones during a battle. They are found in Bowser's Castle in Paper Mario, the Palace of Shadows in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door and the Underwhere as well as the Flipside Pit of 100 Trials in Super Paper Mario.

In Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, a version of Dry Bones that walks on all fours appears. They attack by tossing their spinning heads at Mario and Luigi. They are found in the Hoohoo Mountain area, and a version that is stronger as well as poisonous appears in the Teehee Valley. A more traditional version of the Dry Bones appeared in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, where they were found within the Yoob's Belly (seemingly implying that they are the remains of Koopas ingested by the Yoob).

Dry Bones sometimes show signs of intelligence and speech capabilities. Notably, a Dry Bones appears as one of the Three Musty Fears in Super Mario RPG. Bowser has also been shown to have become a skeletal version of himself, known as "Dry Bowser", in New Super Mario Bros. before being revived.

Sports Appearances

Dry Bones has made increasing appearances in sports games in recent years.

• Kart Racing: Dry Bones appears as an unlockable character in Mario Kart DS (unlocked by winning the 50cc Nitro Grand Prix) and Mario Kart Wii (unlocked by winning the 100cc Leaf Cup).
• Baseball: Dry Bones appear as sidekick characters in Mario Superstar Baseball and Super Mario Sluggers.
• Soccer: Dry Bones appears as a sidekick character in Mario Strikers Charged.

Dry Bones also can be unlocked as a playable character in Mario Party 7 and returns as a playable character in Mario Party 8. In Mario Party DS, Dry Bones is unplayable but serves as the boss of DK's Stone Statue.

Variations

• Dark Bones - The strongest version of the Dry Bones appearing in Thousand-Year Door. It can build other Dry Bones in battle. They appear only twice in the Palace of Shadow as well as being an alternate color for the Dry Bones in Mario Superstar Baseball.
• Dark Dull Bones - In Super Paper Mario, this is the strongest form of the Dry Bones found only in the Flopside Pit of 100 Trials. Like the other enemies found in the pit, they appear as a featureless black shadow. They are weak against Bowser's flame breath.
• Dull Bones - The weakest form of the Dry Bones appearing in the Paper Mario games (although they are actually stronger than Dry Bones in Super Paper Mario). They lack the ability to rebuild themselves, but still can assemble additional Dry Bones for battle. They appear at Hooktail Castle, the Glitz Pit and a room of the Palace of Shadow in Thousand-Year Door, and in the Underwhere in Super Paper Mario.
• Red Bones - A version of the Dry Bones in Thousand-Year Door that is stronger than Dull Bones but weaker than the Dry Bones and has a reddish color. They will often create Dull Bones in battle. They appear in Hooktail Castle and a room of the Palace of Shadow. A color variation in Mario Superstar Baseball also resembles a cross between the Red and Dark Bones.
• Sad Dry Bones - An emotional variant appearing in Super Princess Peach. They are always weeper and attack at a faster rater than the normal Dry Bones, but otherwise retain the same weaknesses.
• Super Dry Bones - A giant version of Dry Bones appearing in New Super Mario Bros.. They sometimes push giant blocks and can only fall apart from a ground pound when Mario is above miniature size.
• Vomer - The stronger version of the Dry Bones appearing in the Barrel Volcano area of Super Mario RPG. They are indestructible save for special attacks and pure water.

Trivia

• A trophy and sticker (using artwork from Mario Party 7) of Dry Bones appear in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.