Burt the Bashful

Burt the Bashful is a recurring boss character from the Yoshi games. He is notable as being the first boss faced in the original Yoshi's Island.

Background

Burt the Bashful was a Burt that was turned gigantic by Kamek's magic. He acted like a normal Burt, but as his title indicated, he was known for being embarrassed. The embarrassment was particularly linked to his pants falling down, which was the key to defeating him in his appearances.

In Yoshi's Island. Burt was the boss of World 1's fortress (Burt the Bashful's Fort), making him the first of the world's two bosses. The Burt was transformed by Kamek when Yoshi arrived, and he had to be defeated by being hit six times with eggs. Each time Burt was hit, his pants would sink down more. After they went down completely, Burt would turn red and deflate, which would send him flying away.

Burt reappeared in Yoshi's Woolly World as the boss of the first world. Once again, he started off as a normal-sized Burt and was transformed by Kamek's magic. This time, Yoshi had to hit him with an egg and then pull on the string of his pants to gradually unravel Burt's pants. After each unraveling, Burt would summon large balls that were identical to him and tried balancing on them, but he could still be hit by Yoshi's eggs. After the string was pulled three times, the pants would unravel completely. Once again, Burt would turn red and bounce away into the background before exploding.

Other Burts

There have been other Burt bosses that are inspired by Burt the Bashful, but are not the exact same character.

In Yoshi's Island DS, the Big Burt Bros. fulfilled a similar role as Burt the Bashful, as they were the boss of the first of the first world's two castles. They were a pair of Burt Brothers that were made giant by Kamek. Like Burt the Bashful, they had to be hit by eggs until their pants came off completely and reacted in the same way.

In Yoshi's Crafted World, rubber balls based on Burt appeared. One of them was transformed by Kamek into a giant boss named Burt the Ball. During the battle, Burt deployed a number of attacks, including summoning Bumpties and smaller versions of himself known as Beach Burts, and he also tried attacking with pound attacks. Yoshi had to knock Burt over into the water and then ground pound him. This would eventually cause his pants to fall off and for Burt to deflate. The yellow Dream Gem was found in his pants afterwards.

Other Appearances

Video Games

• In the Super Smash Bros. series, Burt the Bashful has been represented as a sticker in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and a Novice-rank Primary Spirit in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. When fought against in a Spirit battle, his Spirit would possess a giant version of Pac-Man, which had increased defense and could deal damage while falling.

Trivia

• In the opening of Yoshi's Island DS, Burt the Bashful is seen in an image of the bosses from the original Yoshi's Island when recalling the events of the game.