Okay you look-a right here! I baked that into a pizza ONCE and nobody can ever know. Not even the health inspector. Capeesh?" — Peppino (via Toppinbot)
Peppino Spaghetti (simply referred to as Peppino) is the main protagonist and the first playable character of Pizza Tower.
Peppino is a portly, middle-aged Italian chef who wears a white toque, a white tank top over a black t-shirt, black pants and boots. He has black short, messy hair and a small mustache under his long nose. His main emotions are anger and fear, with him often switching between the two in the Pizza Tower.
He owns and works at a restaurant named after himself, titled Peppino's Pizza (occasionally written as Peppino Pizza). The business is in debt and is in a rough state, as shown by the game's introduction sequence before the file select screen and promotional art. The source of the debt is unknown, though it is implied Mr. Stick may be involved, as one the game's end cards depicts him making off with a sack of money while Peppino angrily looks at him in a doorway. The location seems to be behind the restaurant.
Abilities and Skills
One of Peppino's main abilities is his super speed, which acts as one of the core mechanics of Pizza Tower. He utilizes it through his Mach Run, which has four states. At Mach 1, he can destroy Breakable Blocks and bump into enemies to stun them as long as they do not hold a weapon. Mach 2 causes Peppino to drift when turning, preserving his speed. If he jumps at this stage, he will perform a Long Jump and keep his speed. At Mach 3, he now can destroy Metal Blocks and defeat enemies upon contact. Most enemies panic upon seeing him approach. Mach 4 is functionally identical to 3, except with a greater speed and different animation. While in a Mach Run, if Peppino crouches, he will roll and preserve his speed until he gets back up. He can also keep his speed when diving off of ledges.
Through a Mach Run, Peppino can enter a Super Jump. This propels him up through the air until colliding with a ceiling or cancelling it. When cancelling, he preforms a Shoulder Bash, and upon landing on the ground and dashing, he keeps that momentum back into Mach 3.
Peppino also exhibits superhuman strength, being able to grab and lift any enemy without much struggle and defeat them with one finishing blow. Upon launching an enemy in a direction, they will continue and defeat other enemies in their path until they hit a wall or a Metal Block. He may also defeat a held enemy by Piledriving them. In the final boss fight, through his rage he is able to put a crack on the top floor of the tower through an intense Piledrive. On top of being able to bust through Breakable Blocks and even Metal Blocks, he can chisel statues out of stone by hitting it as seen in the fight with Pepperman.
Peppino is unable to die in the Pizza Tower, but can take damage. While in regular levels he can take an infinite amount of damage, in boss fights he can only take six hits before being defeated.
He can parry by taunting just before he is hurt. If he parries a projectile, this causes the projectile to go in the opposite direction instead. If he parries an enemy, he will instantly defeat them. If Peppino has a combo of ten or more, he can also preform a Super Taunt that defeats all enemies on screen.
Peppino is able to wield firearms, using both shotgun and pistol with ease when the opportunity arises.
Along with his basic move set, Peppino has the ability to transform in a variety of ways for different purposes, mostly to get rid of Stupid Rats that block progression. Peppino cannot enter doors while transformed unless it is removed by a Priest. The only exceptions are the Pepper Pizza and Shotgun transformations, which still allow him to enter doors. If the player builds up enough speed when touching a Priest, they will retain the speed into Mach 3.
Peppino inflates instantly and proceeds to roll in the direction he was thrown or kicked into until he hits a wall or is damaged. Any enemy or small destructible blocks run into will be defeated or destroyed respectively.
Pressing in the corresponding direction the player is rolling in will increase their speed. The player can still jump.
Any enemy will be defeated upon contact, rendering the player invincible. In a Charging state, Stupid Rats and Metal Blocks can be defeated and destroyed respectively.
Moving becomes much heavier and slower, and the player loses the ability to grab in exchange for a double jump. Body Slam is replaced with a Downward Thrust. Touching any slope sends the player down the slope into a Charging state until they hit a wall.
The player is immediately launched upward, and slides on the ground for a brief moment upon landing. Touching any enemy or Stupid Rat in this state defeats them.
Running into any TNT Blocks will destroy them. Touching into an enemy or a Stupid Rat will defeat them. If the player is damaged, the transformation will end.
Grab is replaced with an Air Dash. Body Slam is replaced with descending faster.
The player becomes incorporeal and may pass through Cheese Graters. The player is invincible. Collecting a Ghost Pepper will increase the player's base speed.
The player may float and fly around the air freely in any direction, however they lose the ability to Mach Run and grab.
The player may interact with Mort Hooks to cross large gaps. Getting damaged ends the transformation.
The player may double jump and their grab is replaced with an attack where Mort swats in front of him. The player can attack in three directions: left, right or upward. Standing still and attacking will push the player forward. Attacking a Mort Hook will launch the player up and forward.
The player can build up speed quickly and move much faster. Any enemy approached will react as if being approached at Mach 3. Jumping exits the transformation.
The player may move left or right, but cannot grab. If they jump, the transformation ends.
Rolling allows the player to pass through small spaces and defeat Stupid Rats and any enemy. Rolling upward onto a slope will cause the player to change directions. Getting damaged will end the transformation.
Grabbing is disabled. Jumping produces a shorter height and the Mach Run is replaced with rolling.
The player is immediately launched upward. Touching any enemy or Stupid Rat in this state defeats them.
The player can only move left or right.
Rocket
Grabbing a Rocket
The player becomes invincible and automatically moves forward. Colliding with enemies and Stupid Rats will defeat them, and Metal Blocks can be destroyed. The transformation ends upon colliding with a wall or jumping.
Grabbing is disabled. They may move up or down to adjust their position, and pressing in the corresponding direction will increase their speed. The player may change their direction by getting on the ground and pressing the opposite direction.
The player gets stuck inside a cheeseball and moves forward until hitting a wall, ending the transformation. Colliding with a Super Side Spring will change the player's direction. Any enemy and Stupid Rat will be defeated upon collision.
The player is invincible and their movement becomes slow and heavy. Enemies and Stupid Rats will be defeated upon jumping into them. The player will stick to walls upon jumping into them.
Grabbing is exchanged for sticking onto walls. They can move left or right and jump.
The player is squished into a pizza box, allowing them to go through small gaps at a faster speed. Spinning into Stupid Rats and enemies will defeat them and launch the player up into the air slightly. Being damaged will end the transformation.
Grabbing is replaced with spinning, which launches the player forward. The player also has access to 10 jumps, each decreasing in height with each jump.
The player's skin becomes red and they become invincible, destroying any enemy upon contact. Spinning/flying into a Stupid Rat will defeat them as well. The transformation only ends upon exiting the level or interacting with a Free Milk Stand. Other transformations can stack and will not end this transformation.
The player retains their normal controls, plus a double jump that allows the player to fly upon holding jump.
The player gains a shotgun. Shooting it will stop all momentum unless shooting in midair, to which it will only decrease it drastically. Stupid Rats cannot be defeated, but other enemies can. Shooting at Target Blocks will destroy them as well. The transformation ends upon passing a Metal Detector. Other transformations can stack and will not end this transformation.
Grabbing is replaced with shooting the shotgun. Body Slamming will shoot below the player instead before rapidly descending, defeating any enemy below upon contact.
The player is put into an Animatronic as they lose 50 Pizza Points in increments of 10. If the player had a combo, it is instantly lost. Afterward, they lose the transformation.
The player may jump and move left or right, but the jump height is shorter and they move slowly. They also cannot grab.
Comics
Peppino appears in the Peppino and Noise Comics, starring as one of the titular characters of the comics and is often seen being annoyed and/or tortured by The Noise, to his dismay.
He was also planned to appear in an unfinished comic featuring him and Gustavo in the desert, where the two would be antagonized by Mr. Incognito.
Pre-release
For early move sets and scrapped ideas, see the pre-release page here: Peppino/Pre-release
Trivia
This section is dedicated to trivia and miscellaneous information about Peppino. Remember to read the wiki's trivia guidelines before adding trivia or making changes.
One of McPig's Twitter posts jokingly described the background of Peppino as the main antagonist of a fictional 1996 video game called Pizza Boy Tower. There he would be known as "Chef Raider" as an antagonist and would be the nemesis of a character known as Totino the Pizzaboy, the protagonist of the game.[1]
This is a reference to the predecessor of the Wario Land series, Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins. As this game marked the first appearance of Peppino's main inspiration as a character, Wario, also acting as the villain, this is fitting.
When first conceptualized as a character, Peppino originally had no ties or inspiration from the Wario Land series, and instead was going to be a comic about him facing various pizza-themed demons.[2]
Early scrapped games featuring Peppino include Pizza Massacre, a side-scrolling survival horror game, and Pizza Horror, an RPG maker title.
Peppino's finishing blows on enemies were inspired by a similar mechanic from Battletoads.[4]
Peppino's Super Jump may have been inspired by the Shinespark from the Metroid series. With the Speed Booster obtained, Samus can use any long stretch of land to build up to max speed, crouch to store a charge, and release the charge to launch herself in a direction until hitting a wall or ceiling.
It also seems to share a similar animation to Super Mario Bros 2's Charge Jump.
If the player waits around 40 seconds on the menu screen without pressing anything, Peppino will jumpscare the player, closing the game afterwards.
Coincidentally, Peppino shares his name with Peppino Turco, the lyricist of Funiculi Funicula. This song is used as a leitmotif in the music of the game's tutorial level (funiculi holiday), being royalty free.
During one of McPig's live streams, it was revealed that Peppino was initially planned to share the name of his creator at the time, Pizza Tower Guy (akin to Doomguy from the Doom series). However, this didn't stick for very long.
As the name suggests, this idea didn't come to light until the start of Pizza Tower's development, his final name sticking around before then.
McPig has stated that Peppino isn't actually wearing an apron, but rather a white tank top over a black t-shirt. This is because Peppino cannot afford an actual apron.
Peppino was originally envisioned as a war veteran. This was mentioned in his original design document, in various Discord posts by McPig[5] and in Twitter sketches.[6] This was also potentially the inspiration for WAR. Peppino's status as a veteran was later made ambiguous, retconned as "probably imagined."[7]
For some reason, the name of Peppino's Pizza is different depending on the setting; on the outside it's spelled "Peppino Pizza" (Seen in the opening and Pizzahead fight) and on the inside it's spelled "Peppino's Pizza" (seen at the end of the game)
On a stream before The Noise Update released, it was stated that Peppino's brother was Maurice. It is unclear if this is canon.
Cameos in other games
Although Peppino's main appearance is in Pizza Tower, there have been many official mods made by McPig for various games that add him as a playable character, as well as officially approved cameos.
Sonic Robo Blast 2 Kart
Peppino appears in the fanmade Sonic The Hedgehog racing game Sonic Robo Blast 2 kart as a modded character made by McPig that released in 2019. He has default stats, and a lot of his voice lines come from the Early Test Build. Peppino rides his scooter instead of a kart. The official Pizza Tower Twitter account and Twitch account has also teased a character pack of Pizza Tower characters for Dr Robotnik's Ring Racers, the sequel to Sonic Robo Blast 2 Kart as well as doing a 9 hour live stream to show the character pack.
Rivals of Aether
Peppino is available as a custom playable character in this platform fighting game through the game's Workshop function. The sprites were previously made by McPig, later being resized to fit with other characters, and programming done by Mr Nart. His moves include throwing a Cheeseslime, slamming into the ground, superjumping, etc.
DOOM 2
Peppino appears inside of a custom class mod for the Zandronum DOOM source port named "Bring Your Own Class" along with a few other characters from Pizza Tower, available on itch.io. Many of his attacks and weapons reference Pizza Tower objects and moves, like where Peppino uses outlets, junk from Dragon's Lair, and other items/attacks as melee weaponry, or using a Revolver/Shotgun. Other Pizza Tower characters also cameo in certain attacks, like The Noise being in a melee attack, The Vigilante throwing dynamite, a Pizzard using its magic, and Pizzaface acting as one of the most powerful weapons. The player sprites for Peppino and his weapons were done by McPig with programming by revenatn, HUD sprites by Lother and edits by Basinga.
Treasure Tech
Peppino appears in one of the pages of the manual as an advert for Pizza Tower, and a short comic with Treasure Tech's protagonist: Armin Chesterfield. A second in-gameplay cameo is in one of the treasures (That being an action-figure) that can randomly pop-out in the Pizza Tower themed Treasure Chest. Drawings from McPig also appear as intermission screens in Treasure Tech 1.2.
Fraymakers
Peppino appears as an assist character. In game, he will run up to the opponent for a lunging grab, and follow with a giant punch if successful.
Antonball Deluxe
Peppino appears as an unlockable guest character. He has a chance to be unlocked by spending points (50,000 to be exact) in a Lottery Machine.
Indie Rumble
Peppino was planned to appear as a playable character prior to the game's cancellation. All that is known about his appearance in the game is the Kickstarter promotional art, the Rhythm Knight and Yolk reveal trailer, the idle as seen in the April Fools update post on the Steam page that no longer exists, and planned move set.
Alien Xenoblaster
Peppino appears as an unlockable character. The player can unlock him by completing a challenge level from world 3. His move set is the same as everyone else's, being an attack with limited uses, recharging after collecting a topping, which is in place of a weed leaf.
Cross Impact
Peppino appears as a cameo in the Pizzascape stage, where he appears at the door doing one of five different poses when a character is taunting.
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