Ludwig Von Koopa

Ludwig in New Super Mario Bros. Wii.
Ludwig von Koopa
Species	Koopa
Hair color	Blue
Eye color	Black
Relatives	Koopalings (siblings)
Voiced by	Mike Vaughn (2009-2014) David J. Goldfarb (2014-Present)
Debut	Super Mario Bros. 3

Ludwig Von Koopa is the seventh and oldest of the Koopalings, who act as recurring boss characters under Bowser's command throughout several Mario games. His appearance is distinguished by his wild blue hair and single tooth. Like his younger siblings Morton and Roy, Ludwig is usually able to create small tremors whenever he slams the ground.

Background

Classic Appearances

In Super Mario Bros. 3, he invaded the Pipe Maze kingdom in an airship and stole their king's magic wand. He turned that king into an animal (a Piranha Plant in the original version and a Yoshi (species)Yoshi in the remake) and remained in his airship until the Mario Brothers came and defeated him. He acted as the game's seventh boss and the last boss faced before Bowser. In battle, he used magical blasts and produced tremors, and he also retreated into shell sometimes, even when he has not just been hit. After his defeat, the wand was reclaimed from him and returned to the king. Ludwig made an additional appearance as the boss of one of the e-reader levels of the GBA remake, in a stage that was initially available only in Japan and known as Koopaling Confusion. In this appearance, he was instead faced in a docking area, and the difficulty of the battle was decided by which of two routes the player took through the level. He would be defeated in one hit in one version of the battle, and in the other version, he would take three hits, and the room would have an uneven floor.

Ludwig in Super Mario World.

During Super Mario World, Bowser conquered Dinosaur Land, and Ludwig inhabited a fortress atop Cookie Mountain while holding one of Yoshi's friends captive. He acted as the game's fourth boss. He attacked by hopping and blasting fireballs, which was similar to Bowser's classic tactics, as well as spinning around in his shell again. Mario managed to defeat Ludwig and fired his fortress into a hill afterwards. In Yoshi's Safari, Ludwig was given the Green Crystal, one of the twelve magic crystals of Jewelry Land, and he acted as the boss of Mushroom Land. He was the game's second boss and piloted a mecha that resembled some sort of creature with a spiked shell.

Modern Appearances

After a long absence, the Koopalings returned when Bowletta called them into action to eliminate the Mario Brothers within Bowser's Castle in Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga. Ludwig was fourth Koopaling to be battled. Before fighting him, he slid around the room in his shell, and the brothers would have to successfully evade his shell in order to initiate the battle. In the original version, he had similar attacks as in the side-scrolling games, as he blasted fireballs and spun around in his shell. In the 3DS remake, the battle was altered into one where the brothers could not attack. Ludwig fired a giant ball of magic that slowly descended upon the brothers and also fired smaller blasts of magic that they had to block. The brothers had to deflect the giant blast of magic back at Ludwig in order to instantly end the battle..

Ludwig and the other Koopalings returned for New Super Mario Bros. Wii, where his design was modified to sport a blue shell. He and the others kidnapped Peach on her birthday and escaped in an airship. While returning to their kingdom, Bowser Jr. dropped the Koopalings off at fortresses along the way to slow down Mario and/or his friends. Ludwig remained at the World 7 fortress. He chuckled to himself when Mario arrived, then attacked with homing spells from a new magic wand and by fluttering overhead, though he lacked his tremor-inducing stomp. Upon losing, he escaped to the World 7 castle. Kamek aided Ludwig during his second fight by creating three small platforms that ascended the castle's tower. Ludwig continued to try attacking with blasts from the magic wand as they rode the platforms. After his second defeat, Ludwig returned home on foot along with the other Koopalings. There they discovered a fallen Bowser and helped him back up, after which Bowser's Castle fell on top of them.

In New Super Mario Bros. 2, the Koopalings worked together to kidnap Peach for Bowser while piled into the Koopa Clown Car together. They then took turns holding onto Peach while Mario and Luigi pursued them. Ludwig was the boss of World 5 and the last Koopaling who could be faced in the game, once again acting as the game's penultimate boss. During this battle, Ludwig hung onto chains from the ceiling while attempting to blast fireballs from his wand at Mario or Luigi. To defeat him, Mario or Luigi would have to fire himself out of one of the pipe cannons in the floor directly below Ludwig, which would knock him down and leave him temporarily stunned, so that he could then be stomped. Ludwig was ultimately defeated, but he and the other Koopalings returned in World 6's castle. There, they piled into the Koopa Clown Car and used a light that it emitted to attempt to temporarily petrify Mario or Luigi as they made their way through the castle. After Bowser's initial defeat, they used the magic from their wands to make him grow into a giant, at which point he knocked them into the lava. After the giant Bowser was defeated, the Koopalings tried to tow him away with the Koopa Clown Car, only to accidentally crash. The Koopalings also appeared again within World Star's castle, where they once more attempted to petrify the player and made Dry Bowser grow.

In New Super Mario Bros. U, the Koopalings each received their own personalized airship, with each ship having a figurehead of the respective Koopaling's face on the front and shell on the deck. Their airships accompanied Bowser's airship as he took over Princess Peach's Castle, and then they scattered to the nearby areas. Ludwig occupied Meringue Clouds, the seventh world, and he again was the game's penultimate world boss. To reach him in his airship for their battle, Mario and/or his friends would have to fire themselves through a cannon found at the end of his castle level (Ludwig's Clockwork Castle in the original or Ludwig's Block-Press Castle in New Super Luigi U). The battle with Ludwig took place in the crow's nest of the airship. He floated into the air and used his magic wand to create two magical duplicates of himself, and all three of them shot fireballs from their wands at the same time. They then dropped down one-by-one, and the real Ludwig would have to be stomped on in order to damage him. After Ludwig was defeated, his airship was left on a crash course. At the end of the game, the Koopalings attempted to make a getaway in Bowser's hastily-repaired airship, only for it to be weighed down by the giant Bowser's weight and crash. They then all clung to Bowser Junior's Junior Clown Car in a human chain.

Ludwig also appeared as a doctor in Dr. Mario World. He could be unlocked at random through the game's Staffing feature. The Koopalings were also added to Super Mario Maker 2 in April 2020 and were available as enemies for stages made in any style, except for the Super Mario 3D World style.

Sports Appearances

The Koopalings later made their Mario sports debut as unlockable racers in Mario Kart 8. They reprised this role in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, where they were available as default racers. In Mario Kart Tour, Ludwig was potentially available in the beta version of the game and was made available for the final version of the game in October 2019. He had to be unlocked at random through the game's gacha feature or could occasionally show up for sale at the shop (which uses coins earned in-game).

Ludwig also appeared as a playable guest character in the 3DS version of Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games (for Table Tennis) and in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 (for Fencing). A Mii costume of Ludwig has also been featured in every Mario & Sonic game, starting in Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Other Appearances

Video Games

• Ludwig also appeared alongside the other Koopalings as bosses in the licensed games Hotel Mario and Mario is Missing!. In Hotel Mario, he was the boss of Ludwig's Thump Castle Hotel and displayed the unusual abilities to teleport and shoot lightning.
• In the Super Smash Bros. series, Ludwig (along with the rest of the Koopalings) has appeared in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a playable alternate costume of Bowser Jr.. Thus, he has the same exact moves as Bowser Jr. and only attacks from the Junior Clown Car. He has also been represented by a sticker in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, a trophy in the 3DS/Wii U game and a Fighter Spirit (which has to be bought from the Vault's shop) in Ultimate. His 3DS/Wii U trophy notably refers to him as the cleverest of the Koopalings, who "has a mature air about him, but he likes to sound off and act pompous".
• In Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition, Ludwig was faced as a boss in the World 7-Castle and World 7-Airship, and he could be recruited after beating him in the latter level. He was a Fire attribute character.
• In Nintendo releases of Minecraft, playable skins of Ludwig and the other Koopalings are available as part of the Super Mario Mash-Up Pack.

Other Media

• Ludwig and the other Koopalings appeared in the Momotaro and Snow White portions of Amada's Super Mario OVA as minions of Bowser who Mario defeated to reach Bowser.
• Ludwig and the other Koopalings appeared in The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World animated series, where Ludwig was called Kooky Von Koopa. In this version, Bully was instead the oldest Koopaling.
• The Koopalings also appeared in the various comic adaptations of the Mario games such as the Mario comics of the Nintendo Comics System (where Ludwig's personality was based on the cartoon version), the Nintendo Adventure books and the Super Mario Adventures comic series.

Canceled Appearances

• Unused sprites of Ludwig and the other Koopalings were found in Super Princess Peach, indicating that they were intended to appear in the game as bosses but were removed at some point in development.

Trivia

• Ludwig's name comes from the classical composer Ludwig van Beethoven, who also had unusual hair. Because of his namesake, Ludwig is sometimes implied to have an interest in composing and makes references to music in appearances where he has dialogue.
• The Koopalings were initially known as Bowser's children, with Ludwig being his oldest son. It was initially assumed that Bowser Jr. was their youngest sibling, but Shigeru Miyamoto revealed in a 2012 interview that the Koopalings are not in fact related to Bowser, and that Bowser Jr. is his only child.
• Although his official art has always depicted him with blue hair, his sprite was depicted with white hair in Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World, as well as in those games' remakes. In Super Mario World and its remakes, his sprite also depicted his shell and part of his face as being yellow instead of green.
• In Mario Kart 8, graffiti can be seen for a business called "Ludwig's Painting", which implies that he is an artist.
• In Mario Tennis Aces, the Koopalings' personalized airships from New Super Mario Bros. U could be seen in the background of the Savaga Sea court.