“This shell was made to order. That's why it fits me so well. I mean, how cool do I look?”
Koopa Troopas are a common species in Paper Mario games. They have a hookbill and have all sorts of different color shells, commonly red and green. In Paper Mario, they had a village called Koopa Village, where most Koopas lived, and in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, most Koopas resided in Petalburg. In Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Koops the Koopa joins your party to avenge his father, who is believed dead after going off to fight Hooktail. Koops then helps you throughout the game, coming home a stronger Koopa.
There are also Green Koopas that are docile, such as the ones in Koopa Village that had their shells stolen by Fuzzies, Koopa Village is where you meet Kooper.
Appearance[]
They also appear as enemies, albeit wearing a spiked ring around their neck and shades. While battling, a Koopa Troopa will use its Shell Toss attack to slam into Mario or his partner. If a jump attack is used against these foes, they are flipped onto their back for two turns, during which they cannot attack. This also drops their defense value to 0. These enemies are also in Paper Mario Sticker Star but these Koopas appear green and without sunglasses. This could also be quite confusing because in Paper Mario: Sticker Star, and Color Splash there are no friendly koopas.
History[]
Paper Mario[]
Several Koopa Troopas appear in Paper Mario, both as enemies and allies. All of the enemy Koopa Troopas in this game have red shells, a pair of sunglasses, and spiked, black arm bands and collars, like Bowser. These Koopa Troopas aid Bowser in his plot to kidnap Princess Peach. In this game, Koopa Troopas are shown to be quite resilient, as they have a fair defense (full damage can only be dealt once they are flipped onto their backs) and have the ability to withdraw into their shells and shoot themselves at their opponents. It is also the first enemy to make the First Strike and if Mario gets hits outside battle with this enemy, the player cannot use the action command meaning Mario will have to take damage.
The "good" Koopa Troopas all live in Koopa Village, a place which is overrun by Fuzzies at one point in the game. After Mario and Goombario get rid of all the Fuzzies they become quite popular in the village (the Koopa Troopas even sends a letter to Mario later in the game, thanking him and apologizing for not rewarding him). One Koopa Troopa, Kooper, joins Mario's party to aid him in his fight against Bowser after Mario gets his shell back from the Fuzzies. There is also a baby Koopa Troopa by the name of Jr. Troopa, who constantly stalks Mario and his allies to pick fights with them for intruding on his playground early in the game. He also makes a very small cameo in the sequel Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door[]
The red-shelled sunglasses-wearing gangster style of Koopa Troopa was carried over to Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door as common enemies, despite Bowser not being the main antagonist of that game. In fact Bowser himself may encounter some Koopa Troopas during the parts of the game where he can be played as, though they all run away from Bowser when he approaches them. The "good" Koopa Troopas of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door live in Petalburg. These "good" Koopa Troopas in this game are more true to the original Koopa Troopa appearance, with green shells and no shades or collars. Mario once again receives a Koopa Troopa partner, Koops. It is also mentioned that a heroic Koopa, presumably a Koopa Troopa, was one of the original four heroes who defeated the Shadow Queen; this Koopa's spirit is encountered at Keelhaul Key, as one of the four Black Chest Demons.
In this game, the evil Koopa Troopas are first seen in the path to Shhwonk Fortress in Petal Meadows. This variation is slightly stronger than the Paper Mario variety, since this one has more attack power. The Koopa Troopa is also the first enemy with defense to appear in the game. Koopa Troopas also appear in Hooktail Castle alongside Paratroopas, and rarely in Rogueport Sewers after completing Chapter 5, though here they are only seen inside a battle when confronting a Hammer Bro, Koopatrol, or Magikoopa, again along Paratroopas.
Super Paper Mario[]
Red and Green Koopa Troopas reappear in Super Paper Mario. In this game, they don't have as much HP or Defense as in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. This time, defeating Koopa Troopas is harder, although one can do it with Boomer, Cudge or certain items. Even though they only have 1 HP, they duck inside their shells. One an easily be defeated by another's shell.
A glitch is found in Lineland Road. It appears when Princess Peach keeps jumping on the Koopa Troopas while using her float ability; The player will lose points.
This game uses the Good/Bad Koopa Troopas system that was introduced in the earlier Paper Mario titles, but with a twist: in this game Koopa Troopas under Bowser's control aren't the "Bad" Koopa Troopas, and some even tried to save Princess Peach from Count Bleck. However, these "Good" Koopa Troopas still attack Mario and his party (in fact, if the player revisits the earlier levels as Bowser, Koopa Troopas without glasses still attack him), as do the Koopa Troopas wearing sunglasses under Nastasia's spell. Their apparent neutrality coincides with the presence of Koopa Troopas wearing red shells and green shells; "Bad" Koopa Troopas no longer exclusively have red shells, as green-shelled Koopa Troopas appear as foes wearing sunglasses and spiked collars. They appear in Flipside Pit of 100 Trials in room 11, 14, 16, and 19.
Paper Mario: Sticker Star[]
Koopa Troopas reappear in the Nintendo 3DS game Paper Mario: Sticker Star. Since the only friendly Koopa Troopas appear when using Shell or Shiny Shell stickers, enemy Koopas no longer wear sunglasses. Similar to previous appearances, Koopa Troopas attack by folding into shells and ramming Mario, but with more attack power and a chance of causing the dizzy status. Jumping on Koopa Troopas now knocks them into their shell, which can then be stomped on again to attack enemies behind it. They can still be flipped over with a POW Block - doing so causes them to take double damage. Koopa Troopas can be beaten in the first strike without engaging in combat with them once the player has obtained six HP-Up Hearts.
Mario encounters some new sub-species of Koopa Troopas, such as Mural and Shiny Koopas.
Paper Mario: Color Splash[]
Green Koopa Troopas reappear in Paper Mario: Color Splash as enemies in Ruddy Road, Cherry Lake, Bloo Bay Beach, The Golden Coliseum, Vortex Island, Lighthouse Island, Fortune Island, and Green Energy Plant. In Dark Bloo Inn, a Koopa Troopa is part of a Shady Sledge Bro's gang, and some Koopa Troopas appear as NPCs in levels such as The Golden Coliseum and the Sunset Express. Additionally, three green and three red Koopa Troopas act as dancers in Birdo's concert at Plum Park.
Enemy Koopa Troopas act and attack almost exactly like in Sticker Star, but rather than folding into origami shells, they simply retreat into their normal ones. POW Blocks will still flip them over, but they'll no longer take double damage, and a KO Hammer can be used instead of a Jump to send a Koopa shell flying at other enemies.
Koopa Troopa 6-Stacks also appear in Lighthouse Island and Green Energy Plant. They attack as a group, their attack power being based on how many Koopas are still in the stack. POW Blocks simply crumple them, and rather than having a health bar, the stack takes 6 hits to defeat.
Paper Mario: The Origami King[]
Tattle[]
Paper Mario: This is a Koopa Troopa. Everybody knows Koopa Troopas. They're Bowser's followers. Max HP: 4, Attack Power: 1, Defense Power: 1 Their shells are hard. If you can flip 'em over, their defense power will fall to 0 and it will become much easier for you to defeat 'em. You can flip 'em with a POW Block or a Jump attack.
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door: That's a Koopa Troopa. They've been around forever! Gotta respect the longevity! Their shells are hard, but flip them over and their Defense drops to zero. And you know how to flip them over, right? Just jump on their heads!
Super Paper Mario: This is a Koopa Troopa. It may be slow, but it is well defended inside its shell... Max HP is 1, Attack is 1, and Defense is 1. If you leap on it, it'll pull its head and limbs in. You can then kick the shell. From what I hear, Goombas have a long-held fear of Koopa Troopas...
Types of Koopas[]
There are quite a few types of Koopa in Paper Mario games. Below is a list of all known types.
[]
- Koopa Troopa
- Paratroopa
- KP Koopa
- KP Paratroopa
- Shady Koopa
- Shady Paratroopa
- Dark Koopa
- Dark Paratroopa
- Koopatrol
- Dark Koopatrol
Koopa Bros.[]
Magikoopas[]
- Magikoopa
- Red Magikoopa
- Yellow Magikoopa
- White Magikoopa
- Green Magikoopa
- Gray Magikoopa
- Dark Magikoopa
Lakitus[]
Dry Bones[]
- Dull Bones
- Red Bones
- Dry Bones
- Dark Bones
- Dark Bones
Other[]
Notable Friendly Koopas[]
- Kooper
- Parakarry
- Postmaster
- Koover
- Kolorado
- Kolorado's Wife
- Kolorado's Companions
- Koopa Koot
- Lakilester
- Lakilulu
- Koops
- Koopie Koo
- Koopley
- Kroop
- Koopook
- Laki
- King K.
- Shellshock
- Hamma Jamma
- Spiky Joe
- The Koopinator
Notable Enemy Koopas[]
- Jr. Troopa
- Koopa Bros.
- Tutankoopa
- Kent C. Koopa
- Flight (Lakitu. Unseen. Only heard through Lakilester's letter.)
- Spiky Tom (Koopatrol. Seen only once.)
- Spiky John (Koopatrol. Seen only once.)
- Mr. Hammer (Hammer Bro.. Seen only once.)
- Kammy Koopa
- Bowser
- Johnson (Koopa Troopa. Seen only once.)
- Captain (Hammer Bro. Seen only once.)
- Private Koopa (Koopa Troopa. Seen only once.)
Trivia[]
- Enemy Koopas have sunglasses and spiked collars, while docile Koopas have neither of these.