Mario franchise strategy guide/Enemies/Koopa Troopa

The Koopa Troopa (ノコノコ, Nokonoko) is a member of the fictional turtle species in the Mario franchise, and the most common classification of Koopa. Koopa Troopas are the standard troopers of the Koopa Army who work for Bowser, King of the Koopas. Alongside Goombas, Bullet Bills, and Piranha Plants, they are the most common enemies featured in the series.

Koopa Troopas are all common Koopas, meaning they have no special abilities or characteristics. As the lowest ranking members of the Koopa Army, they just patrol their assigned areas on foot. Koopa Troopas are also sometimes just called "Troopas".

Appearances in the Mario games

Mario Bros.

Koopa Troopas first appeared in the arcade game Mario Bros. under the name "Shellcreepers". To defeat the Shellcreeper, Mario had to jump and hit the platform which the Shellcreeper was walking on to flip it over. After it was flipped over, he had to quickly go over to it and kick it to eliminate it from the screen. Unlike Koopa Troopas from other games, the Shellcreeper couldn't be jumped on before it has been flipped over. In later versions of the game, the Shellcreepers were replaced with Spinys to discourage players from jumping on them.

Super Mario Bros.

In Super Mario Bros., they were renamed "Koopa Troopa", and Paratroopas made their debut. The Koopa Troopas' shells came in shades of green and red, and they are the second enemy to be encountered. 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. Jumping on a Koopa Troopa 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. Koopa Troopas can also be defeated instantly by a Mario's Fireballs, or by Mario having a Starman power-up.

Koopa Paratroopas are basically just Koopa Troopas with wings. Red Paratroopas will fly up and down, while the Green Paratroopas will fly or jump. Jumping on a Paratroopa will cause it to lose its wings and revert it back into a Troopa.

Super Mario Bros. 3

Not much changed for the Koopa Troopa in Super Mario Bros. 3. However, in this game, Mario started to carry their shells around after he hit them and throw them to different areas. It also introduced Giant Koopa Troopas and Colossal Koopa Paratroopas in Giant Land (World 4).

Super Mario World

Super Mario World brought drastic changes to the Koopa Troopa. In this game, Koopa Troopas finally started walking on two legs and wearing shoes. Also, 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. A spin jump will also completely eradicate a Koopa Troopa.

In Super Mario World, yellow, and blue Troopas were introduced, like the red and green one but they march a little faster. 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). Eating a flashing shell was like a "wild card" shell, allowing Yoshi to fly and create earthquakes while holding the shell, and then spit fire with it.

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 & green Troopas will climb back into their shells. If a blue Troopa is knocked out of its shell and finds it again, it will attempt to kick it at Mario. Blue Koopas are also known to kick or block almost anything that s thrown at them. If a yellow Troopa climbs into a 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 game is completed and some shell colors are changed to make rare Koopas much more common.

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island

Koopa Troopas in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island are not much different than their counterparts in the first Super Mario World. One difference between the two is that in Yoshi's Island, when kicked out of their shell, the Koopa walks upright on two legs, wearing only boxer shorts.

Super Mario 64

Koopa Troopas appeared infrequently in Super Mario 64 and Super Mario 64 DS. A Koopa clad in only a tank top and shoes will be bounced out of its shell by the force of Mario's stomp. Then Mario can ride on its shell, allowing them to plow over enemies and glide around easily unless they hit a solid object. Hitting the Koopa Troopa 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 timid creatures that actually run from Mario, rather than attacking him.

Super Mario RPG

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.

New Super Mario Bros.

In New Super Mario Bros., Koopa Troopas behaved much like they did in Super Mario Bros. 3, as they will hide in their shells if jumped on, even though they are bipedal. Although the main colors were red and green, empty blue shells could be found periodically, and served as a powerup for the player to use. Even though they are absent throughout the main game, actual blue Koopa Troopas appear in the multiplayer mode.

Paper Mario series

In the Paper Mario Series, many Koopas are generic, and are not enemies. Koopa Troopas and Koopa Paratroopas get a new tougher look. They wear sunglasses and spiked collars to distinguish themselves from friendly common Koopas. Also they get a new color shell that gives them a tougher look.

In Super Paper Mario, Koopa Troopas immediately gain these new features once Nastasia hyptnotizes them, which puts them under Count Bleck's control.

Mario Party series

Generic Koopa Troopas have also appeared throughout the Mario Party series as NPCs. Like Toad, they are generally helpful towards the players, usually providing them with rewards or running mini-games. As such, they work independently from Bowser and the Koopa Kids, and tend to be fearful of them. In Mario Party 2, 3, and 5, they run the Koopa Bank. In Mario Party 4, a green Koopa Troopa hosted the Koopa's Seaside Soiree board. Though typically unplayable in the series, a mini-game in Mario Party 4, Beach Volley Folly, featured a playable green Koopa Troopa.

Super Smash Bros. Series

The shell of the Koopa Troopa (both red and green) are found in the Super Smash Bros. series. The red shell stays on a single flat plain and acts as a homing device to hit the closest player. The green shell can be thrown directly at a player, and continues on a straight path. In Super Smash Bros. Melee, the Koopa Troopa and Paratroopa can be found as NPC enemies in the Mushroom Kingdom stage.

Other games

Troopeas and Paratroopeas, and their stronger versions, Elite Troopeas and Scaratroopeas, respectively, relatives of Troopas that are part plant and part turtle appear in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, and an electrifying species of Koopa appears in Super Mario Sunshine. Additionally, the boss character of Rice Beach in Wario Land: 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 (However, in Mario Kart DS, Dry Bones is a playable character). In Mario Kart: 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 Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, Mario Power Tennis, Mario Superstar Baseball, Super Mario Strikers, and Mario's Tennis for Virtual Boy. The red Koopa Troopa makes a cameo apparence in Zoda's Revenge: StarTropics II.

Koopa Troopas in other media

Koopa Troopas were the most regularly-seen minions of Bowser in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!. They were voiced by John Stocker. However, on the show they were given a different design, which depicted them as bipedal characters (ironic, since bipedal Troopas didn't appear in a game until Super Mario World). They also had green skin, most likely to match the skin color of Bowser's King Koopa design. Additionally, as a joke, Koopa Troopas sported turtlenecks. They often wound up wearing themed costumes to go with whatever alter-ego Bowser had taken on in the episode. Occasionally, a single, unnamed Koopa Troopa would be shown working with Mouser and Tryclyde from Super Mario Bros. 2 as a member of the Koopa Pack. 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; in Super Mario World, a Koopa Troopa only made one appearance, in the show's series premier. However, they managed to remain regular minions in the Super Mario comic book stories in the Nintendo Comics System.

Word origin

Koopa is derived from Kappa, a devious creature in Japanese folklore. They are Bowser's army, or Koopa Troopers.