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"Oh... Mario!? I have to fight you Mario!? By myself? Why me? I'm toasted... but I have to try! Feel my, uh... wrath, I guess!"
— A lone Goomba in Shy Guy's Toy Box.

Goombas were, and still are, a staple of Bowser's army during his attempt to take the Mushroom Kingdom with the power of the Star Rod in Paper Mario. Many varieties of Goombas aided King Bowser. Although Bowser remains the leader of the Goombas, he used his newly-possessed Star Rod to create the Goomba King, as a commander of sorts to the Goombas. Goomba King commanded a large group of Goombas that resided on Goomba Road, the pathway between Goomba Village and Toad Town. Besides regular Goombas, the Goomba King controlled a large number of Paragoombas and Spiky Goombas. The Goomba King's two loyal henchmen, Red Goomba and Blue Goomba, appeared in the game as well, along with a new sub-species of Goomba, known as the Gloomba. These dark Goombas lived underground, and also had Paragloomba and Spiky Gloomba relatives. Hyper Goombas, (green-colored Goombas) were first seen in this game. These powerful Goombas could charge their attack power and were a major threat to Mario. Again, Hyper Goombas had a Hyper Paragoomba and a Hyper Spiky Goomba variant. The Goombas appear in Sticker Star and Color Splash as well. Goombas are generally easy to defeat in Paper Mario games.

History[]

Paper Mario[]

Goombas

Three Types of Goomba

The regular brown Goombas of Paper Mario are similar to their counterparts in Super Mario 64. Sometimes Goombas are called the smallest fries also. These bad mushrooms would patrol a small area, and upon seeing Mario would charge at the plumber. In battle, Goombas attacked by using the "Head Bonk" technique. The Goomba would jump in the air, then dive into Mario, bonking its head against the heroes. This attack could be blocked by defending just as the Goomba's head touched Mario. If struck by the attack, Mario would take one HP of damage. At the beginning of the game, it requires two stomps or two Hammer strikes to defeat a Goomba (as Goombas only have two HP). However, after Mario learns how to use Action Commands, the plumber only needed one timed attack to defeat one of these wimpy enemies. In Paper Mario 64, level number 3, the green appears and you can use a very similar attack to the load (used by Mario, Goombario) is stronger than regular Goomba.

Although Goombas were normally fought at the beginning of the game, one Goomba could be fought much later than expected. At one point, Bowser asked Princess Peach what Mario fears most. One of Peach's choices was "A Goomba", and if she picked this, Kammy Koopa would warp a Goomba to Shy Guy's Toy Box. Although Kammy expressed doubt that the Goomba would scare Mario away, she left the fungus in charge of defending a vital Treasure Box, regardless. When Mario eventually arrived, the Goomba became very scared and was quickly defeated by the powerful plumber.

Despite a large number of Goombas betraying their homeland to side with Bowser, Paper Mario notably features the first community of peaceful Goombas. These Goombas do not wage war against the Mushroom Kingdom, instead, live peacefully within its region. This community of Goombas is absolute in defeating Bowser and wishes to liberate their homeland. The Family of Goombas is composed of Goompa, Gooma, Goompapa, Goomama, Goombaria, and Goombario living peacefully in Goomba Village. On some notes mentioned in Goombario's tattle, the friendly Goombas are not on good terms with the bad ones. As soon as they are spotted, the bad Goombas will try to pick fights with them, showing their hatred towards those that chose to remain allied to the Mushroom Kingdom. The friendly Goombas nurse Mario back to full strength, and provided the plumber with a Hammer to fight the Koopa Troop. The family also allowed Mario to take Goomnuts from their village; these nuts could be used by Mario to recover his FP. Goombario, a young Goomba who admires Mario, even joins him on his adventure. The young Goomba's Tattle ability was extremely valuable, as he provided hints on how to defeat certain enemies. With Goombario's among others' help, Mario was able to defeat Bowser and save the Mushroom Kingdom

Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door[]

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The two Goomba partners, Goombario and Goombella.

he two Goomba partners, Goombario and Goombella.

Inspired by the Goomba Family in Paper Mario, there now are a large number of Goombas that play a role as friendly NPCs found in a town called Rogueport. They, also show no loyalty to Bowser. After the player completes Chapter 6, Bowser can be seen marching into Rogueport's main square, where a terrified Goomba runs away from him. Their appearance is similar to theirs, based on enemy Goombas and wearing a piece of clothing to distinguish the difference from them. They appear wearing green hats that look similar to Link's from The Legend of Zelda series.

Mario receives a new partner who plays a similar role to Goombario, named Goombella (the only female Goomba found in the game).

However, this does not mean that all Goombas in this game are friendly, as the enemy Goombas can be found in Rogueport Sewers (the first three types of Goombas that try to flirt with Goombella respectively in the prologue) or areas on the outskirts of Petalburg, and are the first battle in the Glitz Pit. Their roles are similar to the previous title where they are fought as weak enemies only around the beginning chapters or so until later, where they won't be much of a threat to the player and can easily be bested by them.

It is unknown if these Goombas show loyalty to Bowser or are just another Goomba Community that only are loyal to themselves. It is unlikely that any of these Goombas show loyalty to Bowser, as he was not the main antagonist of this game.

Super Paper Mario[]

Goombas once again appear in the next sequel, showing loyalty to Bowser like in the first title. They are first seen in the prologue (not counting the game's intro), praising Bowser along with the rest of the Koopa Troop, about to launch an attack on the Mushroom Kingdom and steal Princess Peach. Later, two Goombas appear (with one being named Gary) alongside Luigi, tricking him into helping them escape Count Bleck's Castle. The two of them eventually betray Luigi with one getting brainwashed and the other one switching sides by will.

Goomba's role in this game is similar to the previous Super Mario games. They lose their ability to Headbonk their opponents, where they are lowly foot soldiers encountered, charging toward the player. Early in the game, most of them are brainwashed by Count Bleck's assistant, in which now, serving under their new leader.

A Goomba Catch Card.

The game also introduces a new type of Goomba known as the Headbonk Goomba that takes the place of normal Goombas from past titles. These species are the only ones in this game that charge at the player by headbonking. Headbonk Goombas are only found in the Flipside Pit of 100 Trials. Their dark counterpart is found in the Flopside Pit of 100 Trials.

The regular Goomba (along with the Paragoomba) are one of the weaker enemies (if not the weakest) as they only deal with one hit point like the other two Paper Mario games. The Spiky Goombas still deal two hit points, like the other two Paper Mario games. Also, the Goomba has one hit point less than in the past two Paper Mario games. The Gloomba also has one HP but it attacks with two hit points.

Paper Mario: Sticker Star[]

Goombas once again reappear for the fourth time in Sticker Star. Their design now looks similar to the core Mario series like most of the other enemies in the game. Goombas are fought in almost every world, with the exception of Worlds 4 and 5. While Goombas have a slight stat buff in this game, they still will only attack by headbonking Mario. They play a key part in World 1, as the final level is a Goomba hideout called the Goomba Fortress. The boss of the area is a crazed Goomba called the Megasparkle Goomba. Several new types of Goombas are introduced, such as the Paper-Cone Goomba, 2-Fold Goomba, Mural Goomba, Shiny Goomba, and Goomba Wheel.

Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam[]

Paper Mario: Color Splash[]

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A Goomba from Paper Mario: Color Splash.

Goombas return for the fifth time in Color Splash, albeit the less than they usually do, as they are mostly replaced with Shy Guys. Goombas are fought in Port Prisma, the Red Region, Yellow Region, Orange Region, and in a smaller and larger form in the Green Region.

Paper Mario: The Origami King[]

Tattles[]

Paper Mario: This is a Goomba. Goombas are what you'd call "small fries." Actually, they're pretty much the smallest fries. ...Hey, wait! I'm one of 'em! Max HP: 2, Attack Power: 1 Defense Power: 0 You can jump on them or whack 'em with the Hammer. These guys are old school. They've been around since you were in Super Mario Bros.!

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door: That's a Goomba. Umm... Yeah, I'm one of those, in case you hadn't noticed. Ahem... It says here: "Goombas are underlings of underlings." That is totally rude! Their maximum HP is 2. They have an Attack power of 1 and a Defense of 0.

Super Paper Mario: It's a Goomba, one of Bowser's minions... Max HP is 1 and Attack is 1. It really puts the "under" back in "underlings"... It has no remarkable traits... They are pretty much the lowest of the low... But I hear Goombas do have their fans, so what can you do...

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • Interestingly, if the player chooses the decision to fight a Goomba guarding the treasure chest in Shy Guy's Toy Box, the mini-boss theme will play instead of a generic battle theme.
  • Goombas are often regarded as the weakest enemies of the Paper Mario series.


Goombas
Characters: Blue Goomba | Gary | Goomba King | Goombaria | Goombario | Goombella | Goomez | Goomfrey | Goompa | Goompapa | Goomther | McGoomba | Professor Frankly | Red Goomba

Species: 2-Fold Goomba | 5-Fold Paragoomba | Accordion Goomba | Bone Goomba | Dark Goomba | Gloomba | Goomba Wheel | Goomba | Headbonk Goomba | Hyper Goomba | Hyper Paragoomba | Hyper Spiky Goomba | Mural Goomba | Paper-Cone Goomba | Paragloomba | Paragoomba | Shiny Goomba | Spiky Gloomba | Spiky Goomba

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