If you were to conduct a survey that asks players to pick the best enemies from the extended Mario universe, I reckon you wouldn\u2019t find many surprises there. Goombas and Koopas are too iconic to ignore. Shy Guys are so lovable that it feels wrong to defeat them. Even baddies like Dry Bones have stood the test of time long enough to appear on the silver screen. Each of those classic monsters deserves their spot on any list.<\/p>\n
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Yoshi and the Mysterious Book<\/em>, however, reminds us that there are so many Nintendo critters beyond the household names, and many of them are overdue for their flowers. Just look at one of gaming\u2019s great weirdos: Raphael the Raven.<\/p>\n First introduced in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi\u2019s Island<\/em>, Raphael the Raven is a black bird with big feet and a thousand-yard stare that can burn a hole through your chest. He, or at least a Raven like him, gets a moment to shine in Yoshi\u2019s latest adventure, appearing in the game\u2019s outer space biome. (Big year for moon.) In his habitat, Yoshi can use Raphael to hop between small moons, Super Mario Galaxy<\/em>-style. He\u2019s a sort of cosmic entity who has mastered the dark art of gravity, which begs a very important question: What heck is Raphael\u2019s whole deal, anyway?<\/p>\n That\u2019s one of the Mario universe\u2019s strangest mysteries, because there\u2019s not much information about Raphael and the bird species he\u2019s part of. We know so little about them that there\u2019s even debate around whether they are ravens at all. (Mario fan wikis note that they\u2019re actually hill mynas, citing a line from a Japanese Yoshi\u2019s Island strategy guide.) All we really know is that they are flightless birds and Yoshi really hates them. And honestly? The fact that we don\u2019t have much more to go on is what makes me love them.<\/p>\n Look back to Raphael\u2019s introduction in Yoshi\u2019s Island, and<\/em> you\u2019ll find it comically bare. At the end of World 5, Yoshi must venture into \u201cRaphael the Raven\u2019s Castle.\u201d The implication is that he\u2019s some kind of evil king like Bowser. In reality, he\u2019s just a bird. When you reach the top of the castle, the guy is just kind of puttering around minding his own business. He doesn\u2019t seem all that evil until Kamek flies in and sprinkles magic dust around that turns him into an angry giant. He charges Yoshi, bashing him so hard that Yoshi and Baby Mario are sent into the stratosphere. Raphael doesn\u2019t give chase so much as he just kind of gets sucked into another planet\u2019s gravitational field and goes with it. After a battle with Yoshi, Raphael is launched into the cold depths of space where he seemingly becomes a star. Bad luck, dude.<\/p>\n There\u2019s no real indication that the Ravens are inherently evil or willing soldiers for Bowser\u2019s army. (Raphael is often depicted as having been brainwashed by Bowser in games like Tetris Attack<\/em>.) In fact, a trophy of Raphael in Super Smash Bros. Melee<\/em> calls the Ravens \u201cbasically laid-back.\u201d In Paper Mario<\/em>, Raphael is even portrayed as the benevolent leader of an island who is immediately willing to help Mario out. If you use tattle on him, you actually get a pretty loving description of the guy: \u201cI bet there’s nothing he can’t do. Doesn’t he seem trustworthy?” It really makes Yoshi seem like a jerk for ejecting him into space, doesn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n Yoshi and the Mysterious Book<\/em> reinforces the very little Raphael lore we do <\/em>have \u2014 which is to say, it continues to imply that Ravens are cosmic entities with some higher power. Yes, really. When Mario seeks Raphael for advice in Paper Mario<\/em>, the bird implies that he has a mystical connection to the stars: \u201cTo be honest with you, I knew you\u2019d ask something like that. I got a message from the Stars so I knew you were coming.\u201d The guy is seriously <\/em>tuned into the universe, which makes it all the more insulting that he didn\u2019t get so much as a cameo in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie<\/em>. For shame!<\/p>\n As someone who enjoys thinking about Nintendo\u2019s lesser-known side-characters, I love that Yoshi and the Mysterious Book<\/em> indulges my curiosity. It gives me a bevy of weird critters to poke at and invites me to discover all their eccentric behaviors. I\u2019ve always liked Raphael the Raven, but I didn\u2019t think to do a deep dive into him until playing around with him in Yoshi\u2019s adventure. Hopefully, kids have the same reaction, so that we can see The Raphael the Raven Movie<\/em> on the big screen in a few years. It\u2019s time for this bird to go Hollywood, baby.<\/p>\n ![\"A](\"https:\/\/static0.polygonimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/yoshi-and-the-mysterious-book-raphael-the-raven.jpg?q=49&fit=crop&w=825&dpr=2\")
\n <\/picture>Image: Nintendo via Polygon<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/static0.polygonimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/yoshi-and-the-mysterious-book-raven-on-planet-1.jpg?q=49&fit=crop&w=825&dpr=2\")
\n <\/picture>Image: Nintendo via Polygon<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n![\"Yoshis](\"https:\/\/static0.polygonimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/yoshi-and-themysterious-book-mr-e-and-yoshis.jpg?q=49&fit=crop&w=220&h=124&dpr=2\"\/)
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