Koopa Troopa

One of Bowser's most common minions. They are protected by a hard shell.

Red Koopa Troopa

Overview

Koopa Troopas are an enemy from the Super Mario Bros series, and are the common foot soldiers of Bowser. Koopas resemble snapping turtles. The most common Koopas have green or red shells, though blue and yellow variants did appear in Super Mario World. The color of the Koopa's shell determines its behavior: green-shelled Koopas will always walk in a straight line, while red-shelled Koopas will turn around to avoid a pitfall. Other variants include the winged Koopa Paratroopas that are able to fly, the skeletal Dry Bones, and the cape-equipped Super Koopas of Super Mario World. The Hammer Bros, Magikoopas, and Lakitu are related to Koopa Troopas, albeit with more dangerous abilities. Possibly at the top of the Koopa hierarchy are the Koopa Kids, Bowser's children who first appeared in Super Mario Bros 3 as the bosses of the game's eight worlds.

Stylistic Changes

Koopa Troopa gets a rocket start as seen in Mario Kart Wii.

When they first appeared in Super Mario Bros, Koopas were vulnerable to a stomp attack from above. They would retreat into their shells, which could then be kicked along the ground. Super Mario World brought a stylistic change to the Koopas when they were first shown walking on their hind legs and in shoes. When stomped they would be ejected from their shells, dressed in white boxer shorts and t-shirts. Since Super Mario World, Koopas have continued to walk upright. Outside of the main Super Mario games, Koopas have made appearances in off-series games like Mario Kart, Paper Mario, Mario Party, and the Mario sports titles.

TRIVIA

Shellcreepers in Mario Bros

Mario Bros featured an enemy called the Shellcreeper, which looked identical to a Koopa Troopa. Though they could not be stomped from above, this is arguably the first appearance of the enemy that would come to be known as the Koopa Troopa.

Name	Platforms	Developer
Mario Kart Arcade GP 2	ARC	Namco Bandai Games Inc., Nintendo
Super Mario Bros. Mushroom World	PIN	Gottlieb
New Super Mario Bros. Wii released on Nov. 15, 2009	WII	Nintendo EAD
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games released on Oct. 13, 2009	DS, WII	Sega
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story released on Sept. 14, 2009	DS	AlphaDream Corporation, Ltd.
Mario Kart Wii released on April 27, 2008	WII	Nintendo EAD
Super Smash Bros. Brawl released on March 9, 2008	WII	Monolith Software, Inc., Sora, Game Arts Co., Ltd.
Mario Party 8 released on May 29, 2007	WII	Hudson Entertainment, Inc.
Super Paper Mario released on April 9, 2007	WII	Intelligent Systems Co., Ltd.
New Super Mario Bros. released on May 15, 2006	DS	Nintendo

Concept Name:	Koopa Troopa
Appears in:	43 games
First appearance:	Super Mario Bros.
Aliases	Shell Creeper