Koops

An unconfident koopa.
Koops
Species	Koopa Troopa
Weaponry	Green Koopa Shell
Debut	Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

A sheepish koopa from Petalburg who lost his father some time ago on a quest to defeat the monstrous dragon, Hooktail. In the days after, he lived alone next door to the mayor. He found a girlfriend in Koopie Koo, who soon had him under her thumb. Being the smarter of the two, she tends to mother him quite a bit. He himself has confidence issues and has a harm time communicating when he's nervous. As Goombella describes him, he's a 'cringer'. When Mario arrives in Petalburg, Koops is already determine to stop Hooktail. At first he tries to convince Mario to take him along, but backs out at the last second. A little later, with more resolve, he convinces Mario to take him along. However, his girlfriend is not so pleased about his decision and berates him for it. Though she leaves in a fuss, Koops continues with Mario.

Background

Koops proves useful to Mario's quest. Like all koopa troopas, he excels at Shell Toss and other attacks involving his shell. During his excursion in Hooktail's castle, he is horrified to find the bones of a koopa who he thinks is his father. He learns afterwards that the bones belong to the father of the famed archeologist, Professor Kolorado Koopa. After defeating Hooktail, Koops's father, Koopley, is revealed to have been still alive in the belly of the beast. Although victorious, Koops continues with Mario on his quest to gather the Crystal Stars.

After finally saving Rogueport and the world itself, he returns to Petalburg with his father and girlfriend as a tougher, more confident koopa. As he told Goombella, he was considering becoming mayor of Petalburg.

Gameplay

Outside of battle, Koops can duck into his shell and be kicked by Mario to get a preemptive strike against enemies or to grab items and hit switches on the other side of impassable gaps. By holding the action button, Koops will spin in place after being kicked, allowing for more strategic use.

In battle, Koops has the following attacks:

• Shell Toss - Koops spins in place, then slides into the front enemy on the ground, similar to Mario's Hammer.
• Power Shell - For 3 FP, Koops spins in place and then hits every enemy on the ground.
• Shell Shield - For 4 FP, Koops creates a giant Koopa shell that Mario can hide inside to raise his defense for a few turns.
• Shell Slam - For 6 FP, Koops strikes every enemy on the ground for significant damage, also ignoring defense.

Koops starts with 10 HP, but will progress to 15 and then 25 HP as his rank is raised. He also has 1 point of defense.

Trivia

• He's not the only one looking to be mayor... the mandatory 'Welcome to Petalburg' koopa at the entrance has his eye on being mayor too.
• As with Kooper, Koops has a bandage on his face, though his is on the nose instead of the cheek.