After climbing to the top of Booster Tower and reaching Princess Peach you’ll have to hide from Booster and his Snifster underlings. Succeed or fail you’ll end up chasing Booster, only to end up facing off against the deadly duo of Knife Guy and Grate Guy! This page will provide tips and strategies for defeating Knife Guy and Grate Guy atop Booster Tower in Super Mario RPG.
(1 of 2) Individually, Grate Guy is the more dangerous of the two, as he can inflict Mute with his Echofinder attack,
Individually, Grate Guy is the more dangerous of the two, as he can inflict Mute with his Echofinder attack, (left), and Sleep with his Sleep Bubble attack. (right)
How to Defeat Knife Guy and Grate Guy in Bandit’s Way¶
Knife Guy and Grate Guy might not be as individually dangerous as, say, Bowyer was - especially when you take into account Bowyer’s annoying button locking ability - they’re the first tandem boss you’ve faced in a while. Their damage output is moderate at best, but one can debuff you with Sleep and Mute, and with two enemies attacking, things can turn sour if you’re not careful. Fortunately, both these enemies have an elemental weakness you can exploit, and if you bring Mario and Mallow along, you should have a good shot at winning! They can be found lurking atop Booster Tower, on the balcony where Princess Peach is being “entertained”.
(1 of 3) Periodically the two will combine,
Knife Guy and Grate Guy - Attacks and Special Abilities¶
You’ll be facing two foes this time, meaning there are more different attacks that can be thrown at you than usual! That said, on their own Knife Guy is relatively harmless, generally sticking to low melee damage, and single-target attacks, while Grate Guy prefers inflicting debuffs. This clearly makes Grate Guy the more dangerous of the two, as Mario or Mallow getting muted can really derail your offense and force you to use items for healing. Grate Guy can put your characters to sleep with his Sleep Bubble ability and he can Mute them with Echofinder.
| Enemy | Attacks and Abilities | Attack Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knife Guy | Knife Juggle | Physical | Knife guy juggles his knives before stabbing for light damage. |
| Knife Guy | Knife Throw | Physical | Throws a knife at a target, dealing light damage. |
| Knife Guy (Combo) | Crystal | Special | Only when combined with Grate Guy. Drops a barrage of crystals on a target, dealing moderate damage. |
| Knife Guy (Combo) | Blizzard | Special | Only when combined with Grate Guy. Hits the whole party with wintery weather, dealing light damage. |
| Grate Guy | Spring Attack | Physical | Rolls up on a target and springs forward for light damage. |
| Grate Guy | Echofinder | Special | Rolls up to an enemy and emits a blast of noise from his horn. Deals light damage and can inflict Mute. |
| Grate Guy | Sleep Bubble | Special | Shoots a bubble from his horn that deals no damage, but can inflict Sleep. |
| Grate Guy (Combo) | Meteor Blast | Special | Only when combined with Knife Guy. Summons meteors (stars?) with his horn, dealing moderate damage to the entire party. |
Where the duo really gets dangerous is when they join forces, with Knife Guy getting on the shoulders of Grate Guy, at which point they’ll start unleashing magical attacks. Knife Guy will typically cast Crystal (single target, moderate damage) and Blizzard (hits the entire party, light damage) and Grate Guy will default to unleashing Meteor Blast (hits the entire party for moderate damage), and they’ll keep this up until you force them to stop by dealing enough damage. They deal much, much more damage combined, but they won’t inflict debuffs.
(1 of 2) While Grate Guy is more dangerous, this is mostly due to the damage they can inflict combined, and two Super Fireballs can defeat Knife Guy, preventing combined attacks.
While Grate Guy is more dangerous, this is mostly due to the damage they can inflict combined, and two Super Fireballs can defeat Knife Guy, preventing combined attacks. (left), Once isolated, punish Grate Guy with Shocker, courtesy of Gallow, and melee attacks. (right)
Knife Guy and Grate Guy - Stats and Weaknesses¶
By now the two might be seeming pretty dangerous, and they can be. If two characters end up inflicted by Sleep or Mute before the duo start unleashing combined attacks, you could be in trouble. Fortunately, they both have weaknesses that can allow you to take control of this fight and prevent them from putting you in serious danger.
| Enemy | HP | Weaknesses | Resistances |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knife Guy | 700 | Fire, Fear, Poison, Mute | Lightning, Sleep |
| Grate Guy | 900 | Lightning, Fear, Poison, Mute | Fire, Sleep |
Knife Guy is weak to fire, and Grate Guy is weak to lightning. The latter is the less dangerous foe, but also the one with the weakness that’s easiest to exploit, as Mario’s Super Fireball special can deal massive damage if you get a perfect - we’re talking 300-400 damage in a single attack! It costs a whopping 9 TP, but you can all but finish off Knife Guy with two of these, and once Knife Guy is gone, you don’t have to worry about combined attacks.
Grate Guy, on the other hand, is weak to lightning, and while using Mallow’s Thunderbolt attack might seem like a good idea since Knife Guy is resistant to it, it’s not terribly worthwhile. Shocker, on the other hand, absolutely is worth casting - it can’t quite compare to Super Fireball, but a perfect Shocker should deal over 200 damage to Grate Guy, and with Mario and a third character also landing melee attacks, Grate Guy won’t be able to resist for long.
Target Knife Guy with Mario’s Super Fireball first and eliminate him, then switch your focus to Grate Guy, using Shocker to deal big damage along with physical attacks. As long as you go all-in on offense, this fight shouldn’t be too hard.
Knife Guy and Grate Guy - Rewards¶
Defeat this pair of carnies and your party will jump off the balcony in pursuit of Booster and the captive Peach. You’ll earn 90 XP (split three ways), 25 Coins, and a Flower Jar, for emerging victorious, and you’ll regain control on Booster Hill, the site of the aptly named [Booster Hill Minigame], after which you’ll find yourself in Marrymore.
Sign up
No Comments