One of my favorite National Football League teams is playing another one of my favorite teams. The Ravens are playing the Chiefs. I decided why not do a biography of one of the well known Ravens in the Mario Franchise. We are going to quote the Raven Nevermore, Okay bad joke especially since I'm a scientists, but I'm going to do a biography on Raphael the Raven.


Raphael Raven is a larger than average Raven that first appeared in Yoshi's Island for the SNES At that time he was working for Kamek, who was raising baby Bowser. He is first encountered at the end of World 5. Kamek casts a spell on him enlarging him. Unlike Kamek's other spells this one became permanent and made Raphael a gigantic figure.

He is fought as a world boss in Yoshi's Island. After getting defeated he is supposedly killed as he appears in a constellation in the stars. However, it is shown he was not dead and appeared in future games implying he survived and the constellation could have just been an illusion. He appeared in puzzle games as a neutral character.

Sometime he made peace with the Yoshi's and leaves near their island but he remains a legend. In fact only the Yoshi chief can speak to him or call on him. He lives way back in the Island. The Yoshi Chief states him and Raphael go way back. Rafael is now a good guy instead of an enemy. He is chief over his ravens.

In Paper Mario the Yoshi Chief tells Mario to get to the lava ruins he will need Rafael's help. He tells Mario that Raphael leaves way back and only the Chief has seen him and spoken to him. Mario makes his way to Raphael's hideout. Raphael tests Mario to see if he is worthy, which Mario passes. He helps Mario get to the Lava Ruins and even has his ravens build Mario a pulley so he can enter.

He is shown to give helpful advice in Paper Mario. In fact, he even states he needs to interact with the villagers more. He also states how he knows first hand how evil Bowser is. This could be a reference to when he served the Koopas. Therefore, according to Nintendo he is considered a reformed good guy.

Appearance- Before Kamek permanently enlarged him was a bigger than average raven. He is very tall and big. He has black feathers, yellow/orange feet and a beak. He also talks with a crow accent ending sentences with caw.

Personality- His personality has changed over the years. When he was working for the koopa's. He had an arrogant very aggressive personality. In other games he was not an enemy but still very arrogant as he would do what it takes to win. His current personality is he can be aggressive when he has too. But he is seen as a wise figure with honor. He can sense good and evil in characters. He cares for his ravens and is looking out for their well being. It is also shown how he believes in helping people out that are worthy. On the other hand, he is kind of an isolated figure as only the Yoshi Chief has seen and interacted with him. A theory is maybe he is reclusive because he is ashamed of his past actions. Another theory is he was never social to begin with. Regardless, he does reveal he wants to interact with the other yoshi's more.

Abilities- Raphael can use his size to his advantage. He can give advice to those he deems worthy. He has the ability to test people to see if they are good and bad. Due to being evil at first he can sense if a person or character is good or bad. He can also make things appear when he stomps. When he is enraged he can turn red and create fire by stomping.

Attacks- Even though he is a good guy now he still has powerful moves. He can use his massive size to his advantage. If he is attacked or if somebody angers him. He can turn red and create fire by stomping.

Relationships

Yoshi or Yoshis in general- Despite being an enemy at first he has made peace with the Yoshi and lives on their island. He has a good relationship with the Yoshi Chief.

Yoshi Chief- The Chief states only he has seen Raphael and spoken with him. The two are respective chiefs over their population. They respect each other and try to help each other out.

Mario- He knows Mario has good intentions and he proves himself worthy. He helps Mario out by building a route to the Lava Ruins so Mario can rescue the star spirit.

Kolorado- He states Kolorado has good intentions but his eagerness gets on his nerves.

Neutral

Warior- In puzzle games and in other games he does not really have an opinion on Wario other than he can tell he is greedy. Their relationship seems to be neutral not really friends but not enemies either.

Enemies-

Bowser- Despite working for the Koopas when he was younger. He states he now knows how evil Bowser is. Especially after Boswer stole the star rod.

Kamek- They were allies at first and Kamek did make Raphael huge. However, Kamek also works for Bowser.


Overall, Raphael the Raven is an interesting character. The main reason he is interesting is because originally he was a bad guy. In his first game he was a world boss and the player needed to defeat him to get to the Koopa Kingdom. In future games he was more of a neutral character not really an enemy but not a friendly character yet either. In current games he is seen as a good guy. You can see the process on how his character evolved bad, then neutral, and now good. As I stated we see this in his personality. He was an aggressive character in his first appearance. Now he offers advice, and helps worthy people out. Anyway this concludes the Raven biography.