Koopa

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A Koopa depicted in New Super Mario Bros.
Koopa
Type	Turtle
Debut	Mario Bros.

The Koopa (or Koopas pl.) are a diverse race of turtle-like creatures who usually wear protective shells. The most common type is the Koopa Troopa, a beaked Koopa grunt.

Information

The original Super Mario Bros. instruction manual refers to the Koopa as "a tribe of turtles well known for their dark magic". However, most Koopas have not displayed magical abilities with the notable exception of the Magikoopa, mysterious robed Koopa sorcerors.

The first Koopas Mario encountered were the Shellcreepers in "Mario Bros." (although they were replaced by Spinies in the remakes).

Koopas are found in a variety of places, depending on the type. Most Koopas are hostile and are led by King Bowser. Koopas often appear as minions of Bowser (and occasionally as minions of other enemies such as Tatanga), and many appear as bosses. Koopas were extensively used in nearly all of Bowser's campaigns except for Super Mario Sunshine; in that game, the only Koopas aside from Bowser and his son were the Electrokoopas. Also in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island set when Bowser was a baby), the only Koopas present are Baby Bowser, Kamek and Koopa Troopas in only a few levels, one of which becomes Hookbill Koopa.

However, there are also many Koopas who do not follow Bowser; there are a number of friendly Koopas living in the Mushroom Kingdom or other such places. Most of these Koopas wind up aiding Mario against their more malevolent bretheren.

There are many differences among the Koopas. Some have beaks while others have more human-like faces. Some walk on all fours, while others walk upright. Some Koopas have hair, and some do not. Some have smooth shells, while others have spiked shells. Very few Koopas walk around without shells, one of these being the Super Koopas of Super Mario World; they use capes to fly.

One example of the differences among the Koopas is comparing the Lakitu to the Hammer Bros.. Lakitus are more wimpy-looking and operate in the background, floating out of reach in a small cloud while dropping Spinies at enemies. As for the Hammer Bros., they are tough-looking hammer-tossers and engage their enemies directly in battle.

Most Koopas use their shells in battle. They either retreat into their shells and spin at enemies, or they kick their shells towards enemies. However, a Koopa's shell can also be kicked back at the owner, and Koopas are often very vulnerable to attack without their shells. Koopas can get surprisingly large and/or heavy, sometimes with the aid of magic potions. Many Koopas use their weight to cause earth-shattering hip drops that paralyze nearby enemies.

After Koopas die, usually their skeletons sometimes are reanimated as creatures called Dry Bones. In New Super Mario Bros., it is shown that Bowser also has a special pot that can be used to bring him back to life if his body is ever disintigrated, and it is possible that other Koopas use this technique as well.

Trivia

• In the Japanese version, Koopa (or as it is spelled there, "Kuppa") is used as the name for Bowser, and "Noko Noko" is used for Koopas instead. The name of "Kuppa" was apparently inspired by a Korean dish.