After traversing the !Sunken Ship you’ll finally meet the fabled Captain Johnathan “Johnny” Jones, the leader of a pack of shark pirates who happens to be in possession of the fifth Star after it crashed into the sea. Unfortunately, Johnny’s spoiling for a fight, and isn’t keen on giving up his Star in any case, so we’ll just have to knock some sense into him! This page will provide hints and tips for defeating Johnny and his pirate crew in Super Mario RPG.
(1 of 2) The Bandana Blue enemies are pretty hopeless in combat, aspiring to, at worst, tickle you with their spears.
The Bandana Blue enemies are pretty hopeless in combat, aspiring to, at worst, tickle you with their spears. (left), That said, Johnny isn’t much better, at least, not at the start of the fight… (right)
How to Defeat Johnny in the Sunken Ship¶
The battle starts out with 
Johnny accompanied by four of his henchmen, 
Bandana Blues, which are presumably higher in the food chain than 
Bandana Reds. They might just seem like fodder at best, and distractions at worst, but they actually play an important part in this fight’s script. When Johnny is reduced to around half his HP he’ll use his “Get Tough” ability to boost his defense and attack, turning him red in the process. While he’s in this state, if all the Bandana Blue enemies are defeated, he’ll challenge Mario to a one-on-one duel, which Mario foolishly accepts. If you’re properly leveled (Lv12+) this shouldn’t be that much of an issue, but Mario can only heal via items, and it should go without saying that this arrangement drastically reduces your offensive potential.
If you’re strong enough, this shouldn’t worry you at all, but if you have any doubts and you want to shift the odds in your favor as much as possible, ignore the Bandana Blue enemies and focus on Johnny as much as possible. It’s almost inevitable that the Bandana Blues will all be defeated before Johnny, unless you just can’t pull off a perfectly timed attack and refrain from any other forms of AoE, but the longer you delay the duel, the better Mario’s odds will be.
(1 of 2) After losing half his HP, Johnny will buff himself with “Get Tough”.
After losing half his HP, Johnny will buff himself with “Get Tough”. (left), After buffing himself, if a turn ends without any Bandana Blue enemies present, Johnny will challenge Mario to a one-on-one duel. (right)
Johnny - Attacks and Special Abilities¶
Despite their bluster, Johnny and his fellow fish aren’t very dangerous in melee combat. In the first phase of the fight (when Bandana Blues are still around and Johnny hasn’t used “Get Tough”), they’ll just perform stabs with their spears/trident for low damage. Only when the Bandana Blues are gone and the now-red Johnny challenges Mario to a duel does the shark captain start using his best abilities.
| Enemy | Attacks and Abilities | Attack Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bandana Blue |
Jab | Physical | Jabs one opponent with their spear, dealing trivial damage. |
| Bandana Blue |
Pierce | Physical | Gives the spear a twirl before stabbing one target with it, making it harder to time your defense. Deals light damage. |
| Johnny |
Trident Jab | Physical | Johnny jabs a single target with his trident, dealing light damage. He’ll almost exclusively use this while his HP is above 50% and there are Bandana Blues left. |
| Johnny |
Get Tough | Special | Buffs Johnny, turning him red. He’ll use this when he’s below 50% of his max HP. |
| Johnny |
Skewer | Physical | Johnny spins his trident before stabbing with it, dealing moderate damage. He’ll use this frequently during the second phase of the fight. |
| Johnny |
Diamond Saw | Special | Used during the second phase of the fight. Shoots two snowflake-shaped blades that strike a target for heavy damage. |
| Johnny |
Fire Saber | Special | Used during the second phase of the fight. Swings a blade of fire at a target, dealing moderate damage. |
(1 of 3) During this duel, Johnny will use his more powerful attacks, including Skewer,
Johnny’s favorite attack to use in his duel with Mario is Skewer, which is a superior version of his Trident Jab, further bolstered by the buffs derived from “Get Tough”. It can hit surprisingly hard, and Johnny will use it in preference to his Trident Jab going forward. He can also use the painful Diamond Saw attack you saw back when you were fighting Bundt as well as a Flame Saber attack. The dodge timing on these can be harsh, they can deal a lot of damage, and Mario can’t heal. On the plus side, sometimes Johnny just skips turns, which gives you a little breathing room.
While Johnny isn’t weak to any elements or debuffs Mario natively has access to, he’s bound to be hurting by the time the duel starts. A few well-executed Super Jumps should put him away.
Johnny - Stats and Weaknesses¶
The Bandana Blues are all weak to fire and lightning, like the Bandana Reds, and they’ll succumb to a single Thunderbolt from Mallow… which is probably why you want to avoid using it. Johnny is made of sterner stuff, however, and he’s not immune to any elements, being vulnerable only to the Fear, Mute and Poison debuffs, none of which are likely to help much in the long run. It also doesn’t help that Mario can’t inflict any of these, by himself.
| Enemy | HP | Weaknesses | Resistances |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bandana Blue |
150 | Fire, Lightning, Fear, Poison, Sleep, Mute | None |
| Johnny |
820 | Fear, Mute, Poison | Sleep |
During the duel with Mario, you’re best just throwing the kitchen sink at Johnny - a perfect Super Jump can still deal tremendous damage (well over 100+), which should be enough to defeat a half-strength Johnny in three turns.
Johnny Rewards¶
For defeating Johnny you’ll earn 90 Exp, plus 80 Exp for the four Bandana Blues (divided by three, of course). You’ll also score 50 Coins. Most importantly, Johnny will forfeit the fifth Star, after which you can just stroll into a back room and use a spring to return to the world map. Time to return to Seaside Town and see what the elder wanted with this Star…
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