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A is the most common type of Koopa, a fictional species of turtle in the Mario video game series. Many work for the king of Koopas, Bowser. Alongside Goombas, Shy Guys, and Piranha Plants, they are the most common enemies featured in the series. They are often referred to as simply "Koopas", or sometimes "Troopas". It takes a fireball to defeat a Koopa Troopa in all of the side-scrolling Mario games. In Super Mario World, a spin jump will also completely eradicate a koopa troopa. Jumping on a Koopa makes it hide in its shell (from which it will re-emerge if left alone), and a second touch kicks the shell away, battering anything it touches (including Mario if it bounces back towards him due to an obstruction) out of the way. In Super Mario World, an underwear-clad Koopa will be bounced out of its shell by the force of Mario's stomp. The Troopa's shell will disappear if it slides off a cliff or slides too far off the screen. In Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, and New Super Mario Brothers, it is possible to pick up the shells and carry them for a while before kicking them at enemies and blocks. In these games, player can drop them against a block or a pipe to defeat them.
History of the Koopa Troopa
Koopa Troopas first appeared as Shell Creepers in the arcade game Mario Bros.. In Super Mario Bros., they were renamed "Koopa Troopa", and Paratroopas made their debut. The game's villain was known as King Koopa of the Turtle Empire, and was later to be named Bowser. The Koopa Troopas' shells came in shades of green and red. Green Koopa Troopas would always march in a straight line (even if this means falling into a pit), while Red Koopa Troopas marched back and forth in a fixed area. In addition to the Koopas, Red Paratroopas will fly up and down, while the Green Paratroopas will fly or jump.
Super Mario Bros. 3 introduced Giant Koopa Troopas and Paratroopas in World 4 and allowed the player to actually carry their shells around.
In Super Mario World, yellow, and blue Troopas were intoduced. In that game, if Yoshi ate certain colored Koopa shells, he would acquire unique powers. Yoshi would merely spit out green shells, but red shells allowed him to spit fire, yellow shells caused him to create an earthquake when he jumped onto the ground (while held in his mouth), and blue shells gave him wings and allowed him to fly (while held in his mouth).
In Super Mario World, stomping on Troopas ejects them from their shells, rather than causing them to hide. An ejected Troopa will slide out of its shell, wearing only a t-shirt, and will crawl back to its shell after being temporarily stunned. It can be stomped on while outside its shell, for extra points. Unlike troopas in earlier games, Super Mario World's troopas are bipedal (they walk on two feet instead of on four). Troopas have been bipedal in every game since Super Mario World.
There is another subtle difference between green, red, blue, and yellow Troopas in Super Mario World. When Mario jumps on a Troopa, the Troopa will come out of its shell. Red Troopas will climb back into their shells, but green ones will not. If a blue troopa is knocked out of its shell and finds it again, it will attempt to kick it at Mario. If a Troopa climbs into a yellow shell, it will flash, become invincible to most attacks, and roll on the ground toward Mario. If Yoshi then eats one of these extremely rare flashing shells, he will be granted the ability to fly, spit fire, and cause earthquakes when he hits the ground. Mask Koopas replaced the original Koopa Troopas once the Special World is completed.
Koopa Troopas were the most regularly-seen minions of Bowser in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show. Each of their voices were done by John Stocker. However, on the show they were drawn incorrectly, and often wound up wearing themed costumes to go with whatever alter-ego Bowser had taken on in the episode. Occasionally, a single Koopa Troopa would be shown working with Mouser and Tryclyde from Super Mario Bros. 2. When the show spun off into The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 the next year, the Koopa Troopas weren't seen as frequently, but were drawn to better resemble their video game counterparts. However, they managed to remain regular minions in the Super Mario comic book stories in the Nintendo Comics System.
Green and Red Koopa Troopas appeared in Super Mario RPG as Terrapin and Terra Cotta, respectively. Jagger, a martial arts student with whom players can battle in that game's Monstro Town, is one such Koopa.
Koopas appeared as both enemies and characters in Super Mario 64 and Super Mario 64 DS. As an enemy, players could jump on a Koopa once and then ride on its shell, allowing them to plow over enemies and glide around easily unless they hit a solid object. Hitting the Koopa again after removing it from its shell destroys it, which yielded a blue coin. The Koopa Troopa enemies were relatively rare compared to how common they were in past games; they only appear in a couple of areas, and there are few of them in those two areas. Furthermore, they are also extremely milquetoast creatures that actually run from Mario, rather than attacking him.
There is a character called Koopa the Quick, who holds two stars, and will only give each of them to players if they beat him in two races, one in Bob-omb Battlefield and the other in Tiny Huge Island. In Super Mario 64 DS, players must play as Mario when racing Koopa the Quick, although there are three other playable characters.
In Paper Mario, some of the Koopa Troopas are friends, not enemies. The friendly Koopas residing in Koopa Village have green shells. However, a blue-shelled adventure-loving Koopa Troopa named Kooper resides in Koopa Village, and joins Mario to help defeat Bowser. There is also a recurrent Koopa Troopa admired by Kooper called Kolorado who is inspired by Indiana Jones (his name is a pun on Colorado) and is an absent-minded archeologist looking for treasures, often assisted by Mario and company. Enemy Koopa Troopas wear sunglasses, and most often wear red shells. Troopas found in Toad Town Sewers are called Dark Koopas-- they still have shades, but they have purple shells instead of red shells. When Dark Koopas are seen smiling, that means they are getting ready for their spin attack, which will make Mario dizzy and immobilize him for a few turns. Troopas' defenses are lowered and they are immobilized for a turn or two if players use attacks that flip them over. In The Thousand-Year Door, a young, unconfident Koopa Troopa named Koops assists Mario in an effort to take down the mighty dragon, Hooktail. His girlfriend is named Koopie Koo, who is often overprotective of Koops. The game, which has Koopa Troopas similar to those in Paper Mario, also had a type of Koopa known as Shady Koopas, who actually gain more attack power if Mario flips them over. Troopea and Paratroopea, relatives of Troopas that are part plant and part turtle appear in Superstar Saga, and an electrifying species of Koopa appears in Super Mario Sunshine. Additionally, the boss character of Rice Beach in Super Mario Land 3 is said to be a type of Koopa Troopa.
A generic Koopa Troopa is a playable character in Super Mario Kart, a racing game. It has excellent traction, average acceleration, but a low top speed. As a computer opponent, it has the ability to throw unlimited turtle shells at other players' karts. It is not featured in Mario Kart 64, Mario Kart Super Circuit or Mario Kart DS. In Double Dash!!, a green-shelled Koopa Troopa and its partner, a red-shelled Paratroopa are both light racers, and the only characters able to regularly get sets of triple green or red shells. The green Koopa Troopa has also been a playable character in Toadstool Tour, Mario Power Tennis, Mario Superstar Baseball, Super Mario Strikers, and Mario's Tennis for Virtual Boy. Koopas were originally quadrupeds, but later became bipedal creatures.
Word origins
Koopa comes from Kuppa (クッパ), Bowser's Japanese name, which comes from a Korean food. They are Bowser's army, or Koopa Troopers.
See also
"Koopa Troopa"