Francis (Super Paper Mario)

'NOTE: Not to be confused with Francis from The Super Mario Bros. Movie'', whom of which share the same name.

Francis is a minor antagonist and boss from the 2007 game Super Paper Mario. He is a nerdy chameleon who kidnaps Tippi during Chapter 3 and serves as the boss of that chapter.

Stereotypical Bad Chameleon Nerd Qualities

 * 1) For starters, he captures Tippi and runs off in the first part of the chapter, thinking she's a rare butterfly. Basically, it's just a lame plot excuse for the heroes to go on their journey in Chapter 3.
 * 2) * Gameplay-wise, you can't use Tippi's tattle ability for this reason.
 * 3) Francis' personality is very stereotypical on people who are nerds.
 * 4) His design is unappealing, especially for a Mario game. Like his personality, it is also very stereotypical.
 * 5) * Francis makes a terrible pun about his fanny-pack, calling it his "Frannypack".
 * 6) His obsession on video games, anime, and other nerdy things get annoying quickly. Especially since it seems like those are the only things (aside from wanting "hot babes") that he talks about.
 * 7) His catchphrases "hi-technicaaaaal!" and "schweet" get old quickly.
 * 8) He also shown to be incredibly perverted, which is incredibly awkward and cringe-inducing to watch. Especially in a Mario game.
 * 9) * He hits on Princess Peach with his Swoon.exe dating simulator program, even though she is clearly annoyed at Francis making a move on her.
 * 10) * He also takes pictures of Tippi in a cage (whom he calls "Francine", much to Tippi's displeasure) and posts them on the internet.
 * 11) In turns out, Tippi is not the only living thing Francis kidnapped. He also kidnapped Carrie (another Pixl and one of the game's allies).
 * 12) In the post-game, Francis created Tiptron (who a robotic version of Tippi). However, in order to acquire Tiptron, Francis charges you 999 coins (the maximum amount possible in the game) in order to buy him. It also doesn't help that Tiptron is pretty much just a carbon copy of Tippi, with almost no differences whatsoever.
 * 13) He really doesn't belong as a boss battle and antagonist in the Mario series, with a few exceptions. Especially Super Paper Mario, which has some of the most complex and darkest villains (Dimentio, Count Bleck, etc.) in the entire series.
 * 14) * You can argue he's more put in as a comedic boss, but as stated before, his one-liners and actions aren't very humorous.
 * 15) The build-up of him being the main antagonist of Chapter 3 feels rather awkward. Francis is set up to be the "bad guy behind a fortress", but in reality he's just an wealthy and nerdy individual who is obsessed and has a lack of social life.
 * 16) * Once again, this is very out-of-place for a Mario antagonist. Francis in the end isn't that threatening as the supposed bad guy of Chapter 3.

Sweet Qualities

 * 1) You can argue that Francis didn't really mean any harm, as he's simply someone that has no real friends, which also means we can sympathize with him.
 * 2) His battle isn't too bad, save for maybe being a bit easy (although the difficulty is rather par for the game he is in).
 * 3) * During the last chapter of Super Paper Mario, particularly in Chapter 8-2, it is also possible to re-fight Francis.
 * 4) Save for an optional boss, Francis isn't seen again for the remainder of the main journey, so you don't have to put up with him after Chapter 3.
 * 5) His level and battle themes are neat.
 * 6) Although at an insanely high price, since Tippi is no longer available after the main story, it is possible to purchase Tiptron from Francis in order to use the same abilities Tippi would've otherwise given.
 * 7) His nerdy collection is responsible for many clever allusions and cameos to previous Mario games.

Trivia

 * Luke and Kevin Lerdwichagul (the guys behind SMG4) disliked Francis as a Mario character, as they described his face to be "very punchable". That became the reason they made Francis as the main antagonist of the infamous SMG4 Anime Arc.
 * In the Super Mario-Kun manga, Francis kidnaps Mario, not Tippi.