History WhatAnIdiot / SuperMarioBros

'''You'd expect:''' For Luigi to remember that the last time he got a letter from something he wasn't even aware of, it lead to Mario almost being stuck in a painting forever and Luigi himself almost killed. Therefore, he should know that it's a trap.\\

Given how at least some of the ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' games are stated to be stage plays by Creator/ShigeruMiyamoto himself, one has to wonder if regular lack of intellect is part of the script. And then there are times where the characters just don't have an excuse.
%% By that logic, consider this fair notice once ''Princess Peach Showtime'' comes out: any moments added to this page from that game must NOT be part of the plays that Peach is partaking. Those events could be in-universe scripted. Anything that happens off the stage, however, is fair game.

'''What Makes It Worse:''' Mimi sometimes takes on the appearance of a character that has absolutely no reason to be there (such as Merlon, the Sage of the HubLevel, who never leaves it, in Castle Bleck).

You'd Expect: That the wedding guests, those being Bowser's underlings, would jump into action and assist their king during this.\\
Instead: They simply sit where they are and watch as Peach freezes Bowser up, and it's only after that where they finally rises up and rush at her.\\
Results: Peach is able to defeat all of them since they don't have their king to do a bulk of the fighting for them. Bonus points for one of these underlings being King Boo, who is commonly portrayed as a powerful boss in the games, yet seemingly doing nothing when the fight happens.

'''Instead:''' He [[JustForPun axes the axe]]...and nothing else. Not only can he still fall to his defeat if he ground pounds the bricks enough, but he also nixes his hammer throw attack, probably his most potent move from the first game, in favor of it.\\

'''You'd THEN Expect:''' Undodog to be kept away from the construction site at all costs, as he clearly can't restrain himself.\\

'''Even Worse:''' Where is the machine? ''Right in front of him''.

[[/folder]]

* In ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheOrigamiKing'', after King Olly makes Mario and friends fight Stapler, he retreats to his throne room, where he plans to fold 1000 Paper Cranes in order to make a wish and [[FinalSolution wipe out]] [[FantasticRacism the entire [Toad population]]. He has completed 999 of the cranes and only needs to fold one more. In addition, he [[BrainwashedAndCrazy brainwashed Princess Peach to be his servant]], and it doesn't look like she's much useful anymore...\\

Given how at least some of the Mario games are stated to be stage plays by Creator/ShigeruMiyamoto himself, one has to wonder if regular lack of intellect is part of the script. And then there are times where the characters just don't have an excuse.

'''Instead''': He [[NiceJobBreakingItHero gives the Crystal Coconut to King K. Rool]], thinking he'll know everything about the Crystal Coconut once he gives it away (when it's not even his to begin with).

* In ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheOrigamiKing'', after King Olly makes Mario and friends fight Stapler, he retreats to his throne room, where he plans to fold 1000 Paper Cranes in order to make a wish and wipe out the entire Toad population. He has completed 999 of the cranes and only needs to fold one more. In addition, he brainwashed Princess Peach to be his servant, and it doesn't look like she's much useful anymore...\\
'''You'd expect:''' Olly to just use Peach to complete the Paper Cranes. That way, he can finally wish both the Toads and all his enemies (Mario included) dead a whole LOT faster.\\

'''You'd Expect:''' For Mario to realize that the fight's lost, run away from the castle (which is dangling in the air) alongside Peach and live to fight another day.\\
'''Instead''': He keeps fighting, despite literally being told that his attacks won't do anything to Bowser.\\

'''Instead:''' He lightning bolts Mario out of the castle. Thus when Mario predictably survives (otherwise the game wouldn't be called ''Paper Mario''), he immediately sets out to free the Star Spirits. Bowser's plans quickly go to hell soon after.
** Bowser has acquired the Star Rod, [[StoryBreakerPower which can grant any wish, even selfish ones]]. He uses it to power himself up and give Mario a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown at the start of the game, before ejecting him from Peach's Castle. Need we remind you that Bowser can grant anything he wants?\\
'''You'd Think:''' Bowser would try to use the Star Rod to end Mario's quest to stop prematurely. He could do this by making his minions stronger, create some unpassable obstacle, or even try to ''wish Mario out of existence''.\\

'''You'd Expect''': The characters to see through the illusion (most of the time, Mimi uses this technique to lure the heroes into a trap) and guess correctly that the character in front of them is Mimi in disguise.\\

!!''Mario & Luigi''

!!Other games in the series
* In ''VideoGame/YoshisNewIsland'', it turns out the stork actually [[HappyEndingOverride brought Baby Mario and Baby Luigi to the wrong house.]]\\
'''You'd Expect''': For the stork to remember that Kamek is after the babies and to keep a close eye on them while carefully finding the right parents. This after [[VideoGame/YoshisIsland having been attacked before]].\\
'''Instead''': He takes flight up in the sky where he can easily be spotted. Sure enough, the stork [[DeerInTheHeadlights freezes when Kamek finds him]], [[DistressedDude Luigi is kidnapped]] [[HereWeGoAgain and Mario falls on Egg Island.]]
* In ''VideoGame/WarioLand3'', Wario has found all 5 music boxes and has [[NiceJobBreakingItHero inadvertently freed]] [[BigBad Rudy]] [[MonsterClown the Clown]], who had promised him treasure at the beginning of the game.\\
'''You'd Expect:''' Rudy to honor his deal and give Wario the treasure he promised, as Wario had done what he asked and had no reason to stick around further.\\
'''Instead:''' Rudy firmly grabs the VillainBall with both hands by declaring his plan to conquer the music box world and Wario's World and attempts to pull a YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness on Wario.\\
'''Result:''' Wario soundly beats him and ends up with the treasure anyway, and Rudy's plan of conquest is foiled before it could even begin.
* ''[[VideoGame/CaptainToadTreasureTracker Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker]]'' begins with Captain Toad and Toadette finding a star, but then the game's BigBad, Wingo, steals it from them. When Toadette tries to get it back, he starts to take off, with Toadette still hanging on.\\
'''You'd Expect:''' Toadette to let go. Not only are Wingo's talons much too big for her, but he could have easily taken Toadette too.\\
'''Instead:''' That's exactly what happens. Wingo flies off with both the star and Toadette in his possession, kicking off the plot of the game.\\
'''Worse''': This happens again at the beginning of Episode 2, but replace Toadette with Captain Toad himself. After seeing Toadette try and fail to get the star back from Wingo, you'd think he'd know better.

'''You'd Expect:''' That Bowser just flip or kick the lever ''[[StatingTheSimpleSolution Right Behind Him]]'' in order to guarantee a quick and easy death the moment [[TheHero Mario]] shows up.\\

* ''VideoGame/PaperMario'':
** At the beginning of ''Paper Mario'', Mario finds out the hard way that Bowser has used the Star Rod to increase his strength and literally become invincible, turning the tutorial battle into a HopelessBossFight.\\
'''You'd Expect:''' For Mario to realize that the fight's lost, run away from the castle (which is dangling in the air) alongside Peach and live to fight another day.\\
'''Instead''': He keeps fighting, despite literally being told that his attacks won't do anything to Bowser.\\
'''The Result:''' Bowser [[CurbStompBattle kicks Mario's ass]] and lightning bolts him out of the castle. Mario only survives through sheer dumb luck.
** Speaking of Bowser beating up Mario...\\
'''You'd Expect:''' For Bowser to keep Mario prisoner, either in a cell in Bowser's Castle or with Peach in her room. Thus, the only person who has even the slightest chance of stopping Bowser from conquering the Mushroom Kingdom is [[ButtMonkey Luigi]], whom Bowser doesn't even see as that big of a threat.\\
'''Instead:''' He lightning bolts Mario out of the castle. Thus when Mario predictably survives (otherwise the game wouldn't be called ''Paper Mario''), he immediately sets out to free the Star Spirits. Bowser's plans quickly go to hell soon after.
** Bowser has acquired the Star Rod, [[StoryBreakerPower which can grant any wish, even selfish ones]]. He uses it to power himself up and give Mario a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown at the start of the game, before ejecting him from Peach's Castle. Need we remind you that Bowser can grant anything he wants?\\
'''You'd Think:''' Bowser would try to use the Star Rod to end Mario's quest to stop prematurely. He could do this by making his minions stronger, create some unpassable obstacle, or even try to ''wish Mario out of existence''.\\
'''Instead:''' Nope, he keeps playing OrcusOnHisThrone.
** Speaking of Bowser, the whole reason he started the plot was to make Peach "like" him, rather than just take over the Mushroom Kingdom. However, his way of doing it is by endangering the kingdom, imprisoning all of the party guests in his dungeons, and trying to kill Mario, who's the closest Peach has to an actual lover. Understandably, Peach doesn't reciprocate ''at all''\\
'''You'd Expect:''' That since Peach just made it clear she sees him as a terrible person that won't win her over no matter what he does, for Bowser to try using the Star Rod to brainwash Peach into loving him. Problem solved.\\
'''Instead:''' Bowser never thinks to do that.
** On one of the occasions that the princess escapes from being kidnapped, Bowser spots her while he is talking with Kammy Koopa about what Mario may be afraid of.\\
'''You'd Expect:''' Bowser to escort the princess back to her cell, or have one of his guards do so.\\
'''Instead:''' He doesn't and asks Peach herself on what Mario is afraid of, not thinking that the princess can just lie.\\
'''However:''' The player can give whatever answer they wish, so they can lie (pretend Mario is afraid of helpful items) or be honest (say Mario is afraid of an EliteMook which incidentally drops a lot of Star Points when defeated).
** If the player chooses healing items as Mario's greatest fear...\\
'''You'd Expect''': Bowser or at least Kammy to realize that these things would help Mario if anything, and refuse to listen to the princess.\\
'''Instead''': Both Bowser and Kammy are fooled and actually put healing items along Mario's path. At least Kammy is suspicious of the whole thing, but Bowser has no idea what he just did.
** Bowser has managed to kidnap the Star Spirits, who refused to grant him his wishes, and steal the Star Rod to become invulnerable. And with his flying fortress, kidnapped Peach and finally defeated Mario.\\
'''You'd Expect''': Bowser will send the now comatose Star Spirits to safekeeping somewhere on his flying fortress that only he or a few of his trusted generals can have access to (like his private quarters, for example). Especially since Mario has no way of ever reaching his floating castle. And if by the off chance Mario does reach Bowser, he has no way of ever defeating Bowser due to him being invincible and Mario has no way to disable it. \\
'''Instead''': He makes his ground troops and their commanders [[note]] Composed of the Koopa Bros., Tutankoopa, Tubba Blubba, General Guy, Lava Piranha, Huff N. Puff, and Crystal King [[/note]] guard the Star Spirits. Who Mario can defeat. And then the freed Star Spirits eventually give Mario more power, which eventually leads to Bowser's defeat.
** Princess Peach repeatedly escapes from her apparently secure prison with the help of a secret passage. She is always caught by Bowser or Kammy.\\
'''You'd Expect:''' They would start to suspect that the princess' repeated escapes may be due to something other than the guards' incompetence, and investigate.\\
'''Instead:''' They don't think of this and continue to blame the guards.\\
'''To Wit:''' Not only has Peach's continued sneaking around the castle allowed her to support Mario's efforts on the ground, it even gave her the opportunity to play everyone for a fool. Bowser literally only has the princess ensnared and hauled off to somewhere more secure when Mario's only remaining objective is to take him out.

* ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'':
** A [[StupidityIsTheOnlyOption railroaded example]] with Mimi, one of the villains who is a shapeshifter. Each time she is met, she uses a different form and asks the heroes to do something. Since she uses this technique after we've seen her transform, it's pretty easy for the player to guess that it's her.\\
'''You'd Expect''': The characters to see through the illusion (most of the time, Mimi uses this technique to lure the heroes into a trap) and guess correctly that the character in front of them is Mimi in disguise.\\
'''Instead''': [[TrapIsTheOnlyOption You're forced to do what Mimi asks you to and the gang falls into Mimi's trap.]]\\
'''What Makes It Worse:''' Mimi sometimes takes on the appearance of a character that has absolutely no reason to be there (such as Merlon, the Sage of the HubLevel, who never leaves it, in Castle Bleck).
** Mimi also does the same thing Kammy did before her final battle and asks you what you are afraid of.\\
'''You'd Expect''': That Mimi would know something was up.\\
'''Instead''': She gives you the items you've asked for, which can range from cute to creepy (even providing an optional rematch with Francis from chapter 3). At least she wises up before she challenges Peach to battle.

* In ''VideoGame/YoshisNewIsland'', it turns out the stork actually [[HappyEndingOverride brought Baby Mario and Baby Luigi to the wrong house.]]\\
'''You'd Expect''': For the stork to remember that Kamek is after the babies and to keep a close eye on them while carefully finding the right parents. This after [[VideoGame/YoshisIsland having been attacked before]].\\
'''Instead''': He takes flight up in the sky where he can easily be spotted. Sure enough, the stork [[DeerInTheHeadlights freezes when Kamek finds him]], [[DistressedDude Luigi is kidnapped]] [[HereWeGoAgain and Mario falls on Egg Island.]]
* In ''VideoGame/WarioLand3'', Wario has found all 5 music boxes and has [[NiceJobBreakingItHero inadvertently freed]] [[BigBad Rudy]] [[MonsterClown the Clown]], who had promised him treasure at the beginning of the game.\\
'''You'd Expect:''' Rudy to honor his deal and give Wario the treasure he promised, as Wario had done what he asked and had no reason to stick around further.\\
'''Instead:''' Rudy firmly grabs the VillainBall with both hands by declaring his plan to conquer the music box world and Wario's World and attempts to pull a YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness on Wario.\\
'''Result:''' Wario soundly beats him and ends up with the treasure anyway, and Rudy's plan of conquest is foiled before it could even begin.
* ''[[VideoGame/CaptainToadTreasureTracker Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker]]'' begins with Captain Toad and Toadette finding a star, but then the game's BigBad, Wingo, steals it from them. When Toadette tries to get it back, he starts to take off, with Toadette still hanging on.\\
'''You'd Expect:''' Toadette to let go. Not only are Wingo's talons much too big for her, but he could have easily taken Toadette too.\\
'''Instead:''' That's exactly what happens. Wingo flies off with both the star and Toadette in his possession, kicking off the plot of the game.\\
'''Worse''': This happens again at the beginning of Episode 2, but replace Toadette with Captain Toad himself. After seeing Toadette try and fail to get the star back from Wingo, you'd think he'd know better.
* In ''VideoGame/LuigisMansion'', Luigi supposedly wins a huge mansion in a contest he did not enter.\\
'''You'd Expect:''' Luigi would be suspicious that he, out of nowhere, won a mansion in a contest he doesn't remember entering, and suspects that it's a trap or at the very least a scam.\\
'''Instead:''' Not only does he fall for it, but he invites Mario to check out the mansion with him. Of course, [[HauntedHouse the mansion turns out to be haunted]], [[BadassInDistress and now Mario is trapped inside]], leaving it up to Luigi to save him. Even if Luigi ''did'' recognize it as suspicious, [[AllThereInTheManual which was the entire reason Mario was sent first to check it out]], he only belatedly discovers how bad the situation is after Mario fails to return.
** About a quarter-way through the game, Luigi accidentally frees all of the Boos from an in-ground cage where they were waiting for him so they could [[spoiler:turn him into a painting]].\\
'''You'd Expect:''' Luigi would quickly suck up as many Boos as he can before they notice the Poltergust on his back and flee.\\
'''Instead:''' He cowers in fear the entire time and lets every single one of them get away. Professor E. Gadd even [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] this.
* According to E. Gadd in ''VideoGame/LuigisMansionDarkMoon'', he held a garage sale where he sold most of the ghost paintings from the first game.\\
'''You'd Expect:''' For him to NOT sell the painting containing King Boo, just in case the ghoul escapes.\\
'''Instead:''' That's exactly what happens, and King Boo somehow escapes the painting, makes another plan to destroy Luigi, and shatters the Dark Moon, which causes the ghosts of Evershade Valley to turn hostile, thus kicking off the events of the game. This your fault, E. Gadd!
* In ''VideoGame/LuigisMansion3'', while Hellen Gravely's plan to abduct the good guys was effective, [[NiceJobFixingItVillain there are a few mistakes that ruined the entire plan.]]
** In the attempt of capturing Luigi, neither King Boo nor Gravely expect Luigi to run away and escape down the laundry chute.\\
'''You'd expect:''' Hellen to send the ghost staff down the chute ASAP, just in case.\\
'''Instead:''' She does nothing of the sort.\\
'''The Result:''' Luigi arrives at the parking lot nearby and finds the Poltergust G-00, allowing him to fight back.
** Even with the Poltergust G-00, there is another obstacle in Luigi's way: the elevator's the only way to access any other floors besides B1, 1, and 2. Gravely knew this fact and ordered her staff to get rid of the elevator buttons.\\
'''You'd expect:''' Hellen to keep all the buttons to herself to prevent Luigi from making any progress.\\
'''Instead:''' She distributes the buttons to the staff.\\
'''As a Result:''' Luigi can defeat each staff member, free his friends, and beat both her and King Boo.
** Luigi isn't safe from this either. Before the game even starts, he receives a letter from "Hellen Gravely" inviting him to a hotel known as The Last Resort.\\
'''You'd expect:''' For Luigi to remember that the last time he got a letter from something he wasn't even aware of, it lead to Mario almost being stuck in a painting forever and Luigi himself almost killed. Therefore, he should know that it's a trap.\\
'''Instead:''' Having learned ABSOLUTELY NOTHING from the events of the first game, he not only invites Mario but also the Toads and Princess Peach to come along with him and his Polterpup to The Last Resort.\\
'''The result is the events of the game, which include:''' The place unsurprisingly turning out to be [[EldritchLocation haunted]], Mario and the other predictably being trapped in frames for the umpteenth time by King Boo, and Luigi having to risk his life AGAIN in order to save them.
* In ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheOrigamiKing'', after King Olly makes Mario and friends fight Stapler, he retreats to his throne room, where he plans to fold 1000 Paper Cranes in order to make a wish and wipe out the entire Toad population. He has completed 999 of the cranes and only needs to fold one more. In addition, he brainwashed Princess Peach to be his servant, and it doesn't look like she's much useful anymore...\\
'''You'd expect:''' Olly to just use Peach to complete the Paper Cranes. That way, he can finally wish both the Toads and all his enemies (Mario included) dead a whole LOT faster.\\
'''Instead:''' He folds Peach into wallpaper for his throne room and thinks he can just casually kill Mario (who, reminder, has already beaten all of his minions) and use his body for the last crane.\\
'''The Result:''' Mario, Bowser, and Olivia team up to kick Olly's tail, and his genocidal plans never come to fruition. At least in the end, he [[HeelRealization sees the error of his ways]].
* In ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiSuperstarSaga'', after Mario and Luigi put the Beanstar back together, they get a message from Bowletta (Bowser possessed by Cackletta), where they want Mario and Luigi to hand the Beanstar over to them at Joke's End in exchange for Princess Peach's freedom. After the message is done, Prince Peasly proposes to use a fake replica of the Beanstar to give to the baddies to trick them without giving up the real deal.\\
'''You'd Expect:''' Mario and Luigi to leave the real Beanstar at Beanbean Castle, where it belongs, and take only the fake one. After all, what if the villains see through the trick? If they leave the real one behind, then the bad guys get nothing, and at least Mario and Luigi would have to at least save Peach the hard way, without the risk of the real Beanstar getting stolen again.\\
'''Instead:''' They bring ''both'' the fake Beanstar ''and'' the real Beanstar to Joke's End. Unfortunately, Fawful sees through the trick and knocks out Luigi when he shows the fake Beanstar, and steals the real one from him. Worse, since the Bros. tried to back out of their end of the deal, Fawful and Bowletta now decide to back out of their end too, which means they'll take Peach away forever. Mario then ends up having to resort to dressing Luigi in drag as Peach to trick Bowletta into believing Princess Peach herself was an impostor while Luigi himself is kidnapped in her place.
* ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiPartnersInTime'':
** Upon visiting Yoshi's island, both sets of Mario Brothers finds the place deserted with most of the houses closed off. In one of the two houses that aren't closed off, there is a bounce pad that only the babies can use. Upon using it and bouncing up into the attic of the house, the babies find four Yoshis in hiding, who tell the babies to be quiet. Suddenly, the area starts rumbling with loud stomps outside that are coming from a creature called the Yoob.\\
'''You'd Expect:''' The Yoshis would stay calm and remain in their hiding spot.\\
'''Instead:''' The green one screams that they have to flee, and all four of them run out the house and into the open where the Yoob can see them.\\
'''To Make It Worse:''' Three of the four Yoshis don't even try to find a new hiding spot. They just cower in various spots that the Yoob can easily see them. The Green one was the only one who wasn't seen simply cowering anywhere.\\
'''What Follows:''' The Yoob proceeds to eat the three Yoshis that were out in the open.\\
'''You'd expect:''' The green Yoshi would stay hidden so that he wouldn't be eaten by the Yoob as well.\\
'''Instead:''' He [[TooDumbToLive runs toward the Yoob]] and demands it to release his friends. It's only after the Yoob turns toward him that [[OhCrap he realizes his mistake]] and gets eaten by the Yoob as well.\\
'''Even Worse:''' The Yoob attempts to get the bros from outside the house but gives up and leaves. This means that the Yoshis would have likely been safe if they had stayed in the house.//
** Most of the dumb decisions done in this game is traced back to Baby Mario and the way he uses his hammer. In the Vim Factory, the Marios discover the Squiggler, a Wiggler-like being who gives Shroobs fuel for their UFO's. Future Mario and Future Luigi inspect, leaving the babies alone in front of Squiggler (who due to transferring his vim to the UFO's doesn't bother attacking them.\\
'''You'd Expect:''' For the babies to just stay put and wait for the adults to come back to their spot.\\
'''Instead:''' Baby Mario has the HORRIBLE idea of smacking the Squiggler's cup with his hammer, pissing it off and forcing the brothers to fight it.\\
'''However:''' They do get a [[MacGuffin Cobalt Star shard]] and cripple the Shroobs' UFO refueling station, so it wasn't all bad.
* ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiPaperJam'':
** Luigi accidentally releases the Paper Mushroom Kingdom into the Mushroom Kingdom after causing the shelf holding the book containing the ''VideoGame/PaperMario'' universe in it to shake.\\
'''You'd Expect:''' Luigi to hand the book over to Princess Peach so she can keep it somewhere safe and secure, ready for when they rescue all the Paper Toads.\\
'''Instead:''' Luigi keeps the book in his pocket, and it ends up flying out of it after Luigi, along with Mario and Paper Mario, gets knocked out by a stampede of Chargin' Chucks, causing the book to fall into the hands of Bowser Jr. and Paper Bowser Jr.
** [[spoiler:Later on, after Mario, Luigi, and Paper Mario defeat the two Bowser Jrs., causing them to drop the book, and save the two princesses.]]\\
'''You'd Expect:''' [[spoiler:The two Marios and Luigi to immediately pick up the book so that they can take it back to Peach's Castle without hassle.]]\\
'''Instead:''' [[spoiler:The Bros. just stand around so they can get their kiss by their respective Princess Peach, which ends up giving Bowser and Paper Bowser time to show up and find their defeated sons next to the book, allowing them to steal the book back and plot to destroy it and the world contained within.]]
* In ''VideoGame/PaperMarioColorSplash'', [[spoiler:Bowser arrives at Port Prisma and gets an eyeful of the rainbow-hued Prisma Fountain, filled to the brim with life-giving paint provided by the Big Paint Stars, and gets the idea in his head to have a rainbow-colored shell]].\\
'''You'd Expect''' [[spoiler:Bowser to descend to the fountain calmly, call in a ''few'' of his minions, and ask them to paint his shell as he wants it.]]\\
'''Instead''' [[spoiler:Bowser dives on in and spins around in the paint, mixing it wildly and uncontrollably. As even a kindergartener can tell you, mixing colored paints together makes it a darker mix of colors, and since Bowser ''mixed all the colors'', he is left with black paint all over himself. Since the individual colors are magical in nature, the mixture becomes chaotic, effectively corrupting Bowser. What follows are the events of the game. This is even mentioned by Huey, who breaks the fourth wall, saying that they could have avoided this entire game if they just had a "Don't mix the paint" sign.]]

'''You'd Expect:''' They would start to suspect that the princess' repeated escapes may be due to something other than the guards' incompetence and investigate.\\

'''Instead''': They bring it right to Peach, and sure enough, Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings were hiding in it and pull off the most laughably effortless onscreen kidnapping yet.

'''You'd Expect:''' for him to NOT sell the painting containing King Boo, just in case the ghoul escapes.\\

'''Even Worse:''' The Yoob attempts to get the bros from outside the house but gives up and leaves. This means that the Yoshis would have likely been safe if they had stayed in the house.\\
** Most of the dumb decisions done in this game is traced back to Baby Mario and the way he uses his hammer. In the Vim Factory, the Marios discover the Squiggler, a Wiggler-like being who gives Shroobs fuel for their UFO's. Future Mario and Future Luigi inspect, leaving the babies alone in front of Squiggler (who due to transferring his vim to the UFO's doesn't bother attacking them.\\

'''However:''' They do get a [[MacGuffin Cobalt Star shard]] and cripple the Shroobs' UFO refueling station, so it wasn't all bad.\\
* ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiPaperJam'':

** Bowser has acquired the Star Rod, [[Story-BreakerPower which can grant any wish, even selfish ones]]. He uses it to power himself up and give Mario a No-Holds-BarredBeatdown at the start of the game, before ejecting him from Peach's Castle. Need we remind you that Bowser can grant anything he wants?\\

'''Compounding It Even Further:''' Bowser hardly ever learns from his BossArenaIdiocy and constantly puts [[VideoGame/SuperMario64 bombs]], [[VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy glass panels, Stretch Plants]], [[VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2 comets]], and [[VideoGame/SuperMario3DWorld POW Blocks]] in his battles, not to mention the various switches that serve as substitutes for axes in the ''[[VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBros New]] [[VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBrosWii Super]] [[VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBros2 Mario]] [[VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBrosU Bros.]]'' [[VideoGame/NewSuperLuigiU series]] and ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DLand''.

'''Instead''': He makes his ground troops guard the Star Spirits. Who Mario can easily defeat. And then the freed Star Spirits eventually give Mario more power, which eventually leads to Bowser's defeat.

* ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiPartnersInTime'',

'''Even Worse:''' The Yoob attempts to get the bros from outside the house but gives up and leaves. This means that the Yoshis would have likely been safe if they had stayed in the house.
** Most of the dumb decisions done in this game is traced back to Baby Mario and the way he uses his hammer. In the Vim Factory, the Marios discover the Squiggler, a Wiggler-like being who gives Shroobs fuel for their UFOs. Future Mario and Future Luigi inspect, leaving the babies alone in front of Squiggler (who due to transferring his vim to the UFO's doesn't bother attacking them.\\

'''Instead:''' Baby Mario has the HORRIBLE idea of smacking the Squiggler's cup with his hammer, pissing it off and forcing the brothers to fight it.
* In ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiPaperJam''. Luigi accidentally releases the Paper Mushroom Kingdom into the Mushroom Kingdom after causing the shelf holding the book containing the ''VideoGame/PaperMario'' universe in it to shake.\\

** At the beginning of ''Paper Mario'', Mario finds out the hard way that Bowser has used the Star Rod to increase his strength and literally become invincible, turning the tutorial battle into a [[HopelessBossFight]].\\

* In ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheOrigamiKing'', after King Olly makes Mario and friends fight Stapler, he retreats to his throne room, where he plans to fold 1000 Paper Cranes in order to make a wish and wipe out the entire Toad population. He has completed about 999 of the cranes and only needs to fold one more. In addition, he brainwashed Princess Peach to be his servant, and it doesn't look like she's much useful anymore...\\

* In ''VideoGame/LuigisMansion3'', While Hellen Gravely's plan to abduct the good guys was effective, [[NiceJobFixingItVillain there are a few mistakes that ruined the entire plan.]]
** In the attempt of capturing Luigi, neither King Boo nor Gravely expects Luigi to run away and escape down the laundry chute.\\
'''You'd expect:''' That Hellen to send the ghost staff down the chute ASAP, just in case.\\

** Even with the Poltergust G-00, there is another obstacle in Luigi's way: the elevator's the only way to access any other floors besides B1,1, and 2. Gravely knew this fact and ordered her staff to get rid of the elevator buttons.\\
'''You'd expect:''' That Hellen to keep all the buttons to herself to prevent Luigi from making any progress.\\

* Luigi isn't safe from this either. Before the game even starts, he receives a letter from "Hellen Gravely" inviting him to a hotel known as The Last Resort.\\

'''The result is the events of the game, which include:''' The place unsurprisingly turning out to be [[EldritchLocation haunted]], Mario and the other predictably being trapped in frames for the umpteenth time by King Boo, and Luigi having to risk his life AGAIN in order to save them.\\

'''The Result:''' Mario, Bowser, and Olivia team up to kick Olly's tail, and his genocidal plans never come to fruition. At least now, he sees the error of his ways.

'''As a Result''': The Mushroom Kingdom is saved at the absolute last second by someone who hadn't even been around, whereas the two supposed protectors had twiddled their thumbs and failed to notice obvious clues, almost allowing Koopa to take over the kingdom without actually fighting him. Nice going, Super ''Moron'' Brothers!\\

** In the attempt of capturing Luigi, neither King Boo nor Gravely expect Luigi to run away and escape down the laundry chute.\\

** Even with the Poltergust G-00, there is another obstacle in Luigi's way: the elevator's the only way to access any other floors beside B1,1, and 2. Gravely knew this fact and ordered her staff to get rid of the elevator buttons.\\

'''The Result:''' Mario, Bowser, and Olivia team up to kick Olly's tail, and his genocidal plans never come to fruition. At least now, he sees the erro of his ways.

'''The Result:''' Bowser [[CurbStompBattle kicks Mario's ass]] and lightning bolts him out of the castle. Mario only survives through sheer dumb luck.\\

'''You'd Expect:''' They would start to suspect that the princess's repeated escapes may be due to something other than the guards' incompetence and investigate.\\

* ''VideoGame/PaperMario''

'''You'd Expect:''' Bowser to escort the princess back to her cell or have one of his guards do so.\\

'''You'd Expect''': Bowser or at least Kammy to realize that these things would help Mario if anything and refuse to listen to the princess.\\

* Throughout the series, Princess Peach is kidnapped and the Mushroom Kingdom attacked and [[EasilyConqueredWorld effortlessly conquered]] [[HereWeGoAgain over and over again]].\\
'''You'd Expect''': Peach and the Mushroom Kingdom ruling class to come up with measures to enforce their army and hire elite guards to at least try to [[WeAreNotGoingThroughThatAgain stop this from happening, even if it ultimately proves ineffective]].\\
'''Instead''': They don't do ''anything'' whatsoever to prevent future kidnappings and conquering and rely solely on one plumber and maybe his brother to save them after the fact.\\
'''Additionally''': The few guards the Mushroom Kingdom do have just [[CowerPower cower in fear whenever they're required to actually do their jobs]], even when their own lives are on the line and [[DeerInTheHeadlights just stand around waiting for Mario to save them]].

* At the beginning of ''VideoGame/PaperMario'', Mario finds out the hard way that Bowser has used the Star Rod to increase his strength and literally become invincible, turning the tutorial battle into a [[HopelessBossFight]].\\
'''You'd Expect:''' For Mario to realize that the fight's lost, run away from the castle (which is dangling in the air) alongside Peach and live to fight another day.\\
'''Instead''': He keeps fighting, despite literally being told that his attacks won't do anything to Bowser.\\
'''The Result:''' Bowser [[CurbStompBattle kicks Mario's ass]] and lightning bolts him out of the castle. Mario only survives through sheer dumb luck.\\

* Speaking of Bowser beating up Mario...\\
'''You'd Expect:''' For Bowser to keep Mario prisoner, either in a cell in Bowser's Castle or with Peach in her room. Thus, the only person who has even the slightest chance of stopping Bowser from conquering the Mushroom Kingdom is [[ButtMonkey Luigi]], whom Bowser doesn't even see as that big of a threat.\\
'''Instead:''' He lightning bolts Mario out of the castle. Thus when Mario predictably survives (otherwise the game wouldn't be called ''Paper Mario''), he immediately sets out to free the Star Spirits. Bowser's plans quickly go to hell soon after.\\