Goomba

A Goomba as depicted in New Super Mario Bros..
Goomba
Origin	Mushroom Kingdom
Type	Fungus
Debut	Super Mario Bros.

The Goomba is one of the most basic and common enemies within the Super Mario series. They are considered to tbe the lowest of Bowser's forces, and although they are his most commonly-used footsoldiers, they can often be defeated with just a simple stomp.

Information

Making their debut back in Super Mario Bros., the Goombas were described as being 'little mushrooms who betrayed the Mushroom Kingdom'. Although not related to Koopas, these mushrooms are commonly associated with Bowser's army. They are not all that strong, described in one instance as being the 'underling of the underling'. Their ability to attack is mostly limited to bumping into their opponent or attempting to leap at them with a Headbonk attack, with the latter move only being used in some of the RPG games. They have long sharp teeth, but these seem to be rarely used for attack. This does not limit the versatility offered when they use wings, spikes, and other accessories, weapons or power-ups. However, unprotected Goombas are easily defeated by simply being stepped on and squished. There are still some Goombas (particularly the 'round' Galoombas from Super Mario World) cannot be squished at all.

Goombas are often misunderstood as being mindless minions, when some have been shown to be exceptionally intelligent or powerful. The respect they receive from Bowser's army seems to be minimal, as they are sometimes treated as caged beasts and kept in barrels. There are actually a number of Goombas that are good-natured or 'reformed'. There is a small Goomba settlement west of Toad Town and a number of them live in Rogueport. Some benevolent Goomba characters include Professor Frankly (who taught Kolorado), Goompa (who taught The Master), and Gooma (who taught Tayce T.). There are also Goombario and Goombella, who have acted as partners for Mario himself in his Paper Mario adventures. Another Goomba character was Lt. Goomba, who was featured as the protagonist of the campaign "Minion Quest: The Search for Bowser" in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions.

Variations

Recurring

• Galoomba - These are variations of Goombas that have round bodies. Notably, jumping on them flips them over instead of defeating them. After being flipped over, they can be picked up and thrown at other enemies. Similar to Goombas, there are winged versions and versions that drop down with parachutes, both of which can be lost when the Galoomba is stomped on. Galoombas did not receive an individual name until their reappearance in Super Mario 3D World, before which they were merely referred to as the Super Mario World version of Goombas. They appeared in "Super Mario World", a world-e level of Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario 3D World and both Super Mario Maker games, although they were left out of the Super Mario 3D World style within Super Mario Maker 2. They have also appeared in several Mario Party games, including a pair of characters named Goombob and Goombetty appearing in Mario Party Advance.
• Giant Goomba - Also known as the Big Goomba or Mega Goomba, this is a huge variation of the Goomba that is usually stronger and harder to defeat. They originally appeared in Super Mario Bros. 3 as some of the inhabitants of Big Island and have made sporadic appearances in other Mario games. Giant Paragoombas have also appeared in Super Mario Galaxy 2, Super Mario Maker and Puzzle & Dragons: Mario Edition.
• Goomba Tower - Introduced in Super Mario 3D Land. These are simply a number of Goombas who stack on top of each other to from a tower, making it harder for Mario to jump on them. In Super Mario Odyssey, whenever Mario captured a Goomba, he could freely stack them up in large numbers in order to activate special switches or reach new heights.
• Goombrat - Introduced in New Super Mario Bros. U. They are similar to Goombas, but with heads that resemble persimmons. Unlike Goombas, they will turn and walk the other way upon reaching ledges. They only appeared in one Challenge Level of the original New Super Mario Bros. U, but they appeared more commonly in New Super Luigi U. They have since appeared in Super Mario Run, Super Mario Maker 2 and several minigames in Mario Party 10 and Mario Party: Star Rush, as well as appearing as an assistant in Dr. Mario World.
• Goomdiver - From Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins and Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. These Goombas are armed with diving equipment to take on plumbers in the Turtle Zone of Super Mario Land 2 and the Oho Ocean of Mario & Luigi.
• Micro-Goomba - In Super Mario Bros. 3, they are miniature Goombas that follow Para-Goombas around. They cannot harm Mario but will slow him down by clinging to him. Mario can shake them off by jumping rapidly. In desert areas of the game, individual Micro-Goombas (sometimes referred to as Super Micro-Goombas) hide beneath blocks and hop up and down.
• Paragoomba- This name is used for two different types of enemies. One is a Goomba with wings, commonly found in Mario games starting with Super Mario Bros. 3. Like Paratroopas, they can be turned into normal Goombas by hopping on them. In the original game they are followed by their children, the Micro-Goombas. The other enemy is a Goomba that drops from the sky wearing an actual parachute, from Super Mario World.

Paper Mario variants

• Dark Goomba - A Goomba found in the Flopside Pit of 100 Trials in Super Paper Mario. It is much stronger than a normal Goomba and is covered in shadows that obscure its physical features.
• Dark Headbonk Goomba - A Headbonk Goomba found in the Flopside Pit of 100 Trials in Super Paper Mario. It is much stronger than a normal Headbonk Goomba and is covered in shadows that obscure its physical features.
• Dark Paragoomba - A Paragoomba found in the Flopside Pit of 100 Trials in Super Paper Mario. It is much stronger than a normal Paragoomba and is covered in shadows that obscure its physical features.
• Dark Spiked Goomba - A Spiked Goomba found in the Flopside Pit of 100 Trials in Super Paper Mario. It is much stronger than a normal Spiked Goomba and is covered in shadows that obscure its physical features.
• Gloomba - A Goomba colored dark blue and only found in underground areas of the Paper Mario games. They are only slightly stronger than normal Goombas. In Paper Mario they are commonly found in the Toad Town Sewers. However they are only found in the Pit of 100 Trials in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door and Castle Bleck in Super Paper Mario. Additionally, the Goombas found in the underground levels of the original Super Mario Bros. had a similar color and may be the original Gloombas.
• Headbonk Goomba - A version of the Goomba found only in the Flipside Pit of 100 Trials in Super Paper Mario. They are wild Goombas who trained themselves to perform the "Headbonk" Maneuver. They are treated as freaks, although Headbonk was the default move used by all Goombas in the previous games including Goombario and Goombella.
• Hyper Goomba- A green Goomba from the Paper Mario games that is more powerful then a normal Goomba. Like all "Hyper" enemies, it can charge up to increase its Attack power greatly. Found in the Gusty Gulch of Paper Mario and Twilight Trail of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.
• Hyper Paragoomba - A winged incarnation of the Hyper Goomba. Found in the same areas as the wingless Hyper Goomba.
• Paragloomba - The Gloomba version of the winged Paragoomba.
• Spiked Gloomba - A Gloomba that wears a spiked helmet similar to the Spiked Goomba.
• Spiked Goomba - This Goomba wears a special spiked helmet, making it impervious to jumping attacks (unless the attacker is armed with a special badge). However, it can be defeated by a hammer or some other special ability. The Spiked Goombas are commonly found throughout all of the Paper Mario games.
• Spiked Hyper Goomba - A Hyper version of the Spiked Goomba, making a dangerous enemy much more deadlier. Found only in the Twilight Trail of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.

Mario & Luigi variants

• Choomba - In Bowser's Inside Story, Choombas are coal oven-like Goombas found underground. They charge forward after releasing puffs of smoke that are shaped like either fists or curled up shells, representing how Bowser should defend himself. Choombas will also suck up Coalbits, which increase the rate and speed of its attacks.
• Chuboomba - In Bowser's Inside Story, the Chuboomba is an obese Gooma wielding a large lollipop, found in Cavi Cape. Bowser's suction abilities will cause him to eat the lollipop and regain health, although this will also make the Goomba run away without any experience.
• Gritty Goomba - From Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. They reside in the Teehee Valley
• Jailgoon - In Bowser's Inside Story, they are robots armed with cannons that are operated by either Goombas or Bob-ombs. After a Jailgoon is destroyed, the Goomba will run away (and give a mushroom if battling Bowser).
• Tanoomba - The Beanbean Kingdom's version of the Goomba and spiritual successor of the Tanooki Suit, found in the Mario & Luigi games. They are also found in Thwomp Canyon in the Mushroom Kingdom. Tanoombas have tanooki tails which they use to attack enemies and also possess transformation powers. In Superstar Saga, they transform into Mario or Luigi in attack, while in Partners in Time a Tanoomba will turn into either a spiny, a giant Thwomp or a weird-looking balloon creature. In the wild, they are often camouflaged as items such as Coins or ? Blocks.

Other

• Cat Goomba - A cat-like version of the Goomba featured in Super Mario 3D World that appears to be under the effect of the Super Bell power-up. Like characters using the Super Bell power-up, they attack by jumping and diving down, and they sometimes drop a Super Bell after being defeated. They also appeared in the 3D World-based stage of the Wii U version of Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker.
• Goombette - Originally from Super Mario RPG. They are similar to the Micro-Goombas in that they are miniature Goombas. However, they are unbelievably powerful. They initially appear in the Sunken Ship where Hidon summons them in battle. The Monstro Town Shopkeeper's children are also Goombette triplets, but they are unreliable and sell Mario poisoned mushrooms.
  • In Super Mario Odyssey, this name was used for a feminine Goomba wearing a red hat who had the ability to disappear whenever Mario drew near. If Mario approached in the form of a Goomba, Goombette would instead be smitten and produce a Power Moon.
• Goombo - The Sarasalandian cousin of the Goomba and the only Goomba-like creature found in Super Mario Land. The only difference is that they are smaller in stature than the average Goomba. Their original Japanese name, Chibibo, is actually taken from a combination of "chibi" (a Japanese word which could mean child or small) and Kuribo (the Japanese name for the Goomba).
• Goombud - Featured in Super Mario Maker 2, the Goombud replaces the Goombrat in the Super Mario World style. In terms of both appearance and attributes, it is a combination of both the Galoomba and the Goombrat. Like the Galoomba, it is round, has a similar color scheme and is flipped over when jumped on. Like the Goombrat, it has leaves on its heads and will turn the other way when reaching ledges.
• Gu Goomba - In Super Mario RPG, a green Goomba found only in Bowser's Keep near the end of the game. They primarily act as a stronger version of the normal Goomba.
• Shoe Goomba - A Goomba that rides around in a giant shoe (often called Kuribo's Shoe due to a translation error) in an attempt to stomp Mario in revenge. This Goomba can be defeated and its shoe ridden by Mario afterwards. This type of Goomba appears only in Super Mario Bros. 3, although they can also be used in the Super Mario Maker games, and the shoe also appears as two stickers (Super Boots and Clone Jump) in Paper Mario: Sticker Star.
• Tail Goomba- Raccoon tailed Goombas found in Super Mario 3D Land. These differ from normal Goombas in that they use their tails to hover in the air. They will occasionally give out a Super Leaf when defeated.

Appearances

Ever since their first appearance in Super Mario Bros., Goombas have appeared in virtually every Mario game in some capacity and acting under their basic behavior. There have only been some exceptions throughout the games. They did not appear at all in the American version of Super Mario Bros. 2 (as it was not originally a Mario game). In some cases, a variation of Goomba appeared in place of the original one, such as the Goombos in Super Mario Land and Galoombas in Super Mario World (where were originally referred to as Goombas and appeared uncommonly). They are also very scarce within the Yoshi games, appearing in one level each of Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island and Yoshi's New Island, while being left out of all other Yoshi games entirely. Within the Yoshi games, Shy Guys were usually featured as the basic enemy instead.

Within Super Mario Maker and Super Mario Maker 2, Goombas are available as enemies that can be used in the game's various styles, and they can be enhanced into Paragoombas and Giant Goombas, as well as being capable of being stacked into Goomba Towers. Goombas could also be placed in underwater sections. Other variations that appeared included the Shoe Goombas (for Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. 3 styles), Galoombas (replacing the normal Goomba in the Super Mario World style), Goombrats (in the Super Mario Maker 2 for the Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3 and New Super Mario Bros. styles) and Goombud (introduced in Super Mario Maker 2 as a Super Mario World version of the Goombrat). In the Wii U version of the first Super Mario Maker, a Goomba also appeared as one of the potential costumes that Mario could transform into when using a Mystery Mushroom, with the costume being unlocked through the game or by scanning a Goomba amiibo.

Both Goombas and Paragoombas appeared in Super Mario Odyssey. Mario could use Cappy to 'capture' both Goombas and Paragoombas, essentially allowing the player to temporarily play as the creature. When possessing a Goomba, Mario could walk around normally on slippery surfaces and stack up on other Goombas. Tall stacks of Goombas could be used to activate special Goomba-shaped switches (which were labeled with the number of Goombas needed to trigger the switch) or get to out-of-reach areas. As for Paragoombas, they could simply be used to fly around freely when captured. Additionally, most of the game's kingdoms included a feminine Goomba wearing a red hat known as Goombette, who would disappear when approached by non-Goomba species. If Mario approached Goombette in the form of a Goomba, Goombette would be smitten and produce a Power Moon. In Dr. Mario World, Goombas, Paragoombas and Goombrats appear as Assistant characters, and a doctor version of Goomba Tower was made available as a playable character starting in late April 2020.

In Super Mario Bros. Wonder, Goombas were depicted with a more detailed level of expressions, looking grumpy when stuck between blocks and attacking player characters by biting them. The effects of Wonder Flowers could also stretch Goombas out in one stage, and there were also two stages (Maw-Maw Mouthful and Way of the Goomba) in which the Wonder effect would turn the player characters into Goombas. As Goombas, they could not jump in the air, but they could walk on spikes and hide behind trees. They were still vulnerable to other enemies and pitfalls, most especially the Maw-Maws, who were shown as predators of the Goombas. This marked the third time Mario could assume the form of a Goomba (after Super Mario Maker and Super Mario Odyssey) and the first time for the rest of the game's playable cast (Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Toadette, the Toads, Nabbit, Yoshi and the other Yoshis). When characters transformed into Goombas, they were distinguished by their headwear (the Mario Bros. and princesses wearing their respective hats and crowns, Nabbit wearing his mask, the Toad characters wearing their caps and the Yoshi characters wearing the top of a Yoshi Egg matching their original color).

In Other Mario-Related Games

Sports, Kart Racing and Party Spin-offs

Goombas have commonly appeared in the spin-off games of the Mario series, most commonly in non-playable roles as enemies or obstacles.

There have only been a few instances of Goombas being playable. In Mario Superstar Baseball and Super Mario Sluggers, Goombas and Paragoombas appeared as playable team players. A Goomba also appeared as a playable character in Super Mario Party.

Other Appearances

Video Games

• Goombas appear in The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening as enemies. They appear almost exclusively in the 2-D sidescrolling areas of some of the game's dungeons, but some of them are also found within the standard areas of the Eagle's Tower. They are easily killed by most weapons, but using the Roc's Feather to jump on them will always reveal a heart. In the Switch remake, a figure of a Goomba could also be won from the Trendy Game and displayed in Tarin's house.
• Within the Super Smash Bros. series, Goombas appear as enemies in Level 1 of Adventure Mode in Super Smash Bros. Melee, various levels of "The Subspace Emissary" in Super Smash Bros. Brawl (where they are under Bowser's command), and in the Smash Run Mode of Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS. Goombas have also been represented by a trophy in each game from Melee to the 3DS/Wii U Smash Bros., with a Giant Goomba trophy also being obtainable in Brawl and the 3DS/Wii U game, and a Paragoomba trophy being exclusively in the 3DS game. In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, the Goomba appears as a Novice-rank Primary Spirit that comes with the side effect of boosting foot attack power. When fought in a Spirit battle, the Goomba's Spirit would possess a group of five small Donkey Kong duplicates. A Goomba (from Super Mario Party) also appeared as part of the image used to represent the River Survival Spirit.
• Through the Super Mario Mash-Up Pack for Nintendo releases of Minecraft, Goombas could appear replacing chickens in the game.
• In Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition, Goombas appear as common enemies, and several other variations appear, including Paragoombas, Big Goombas, Goomba Towers and Gold Goombas.
• In Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, Goombas only make background appearances in the Ancient Gardens, which include an area called Goomba Grove. Goombas later made a full appearance as enemies in the sequel.

Other Media

• A pair of Goombas appear throughout the anime movie Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach, pursuing Mario and Luigi throughout the film and constantly trying to either trick them or lure them into a trap. Their attempts result in bumbling and failing.
• The Goombas make regular appearances in the Super Mario Bros. Super Show and Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 cartoons, as well as several episodes of Super Mario World, and are depicted similar to the game interpretation of them as the weakest soldiers of Bowser's army.
• Goombas also appeared in the 1993 live action Super Mario Bros. movie with a very different interpretation. They were creatures devolved by King Koopa so that they resembled huge, seven-foot tall reptilian creatures in trenchcoats with shrunken heads. They were quite dimwitted and thus also served King Koopa as his grunts.
• In the 2023 CGI film The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Goombas were shown as part of Bowser's army. An unstable Goomba Tower appeared in one scene, as well as a full Goomba Tower chasing Toad in a promotional scene. Some Goombas were also seen among Bowser's prisoners.

Trivia

• The Goomba's Japanese name is "Kuribou", which is a play on the Japanese word for a 'chestnut', as well as the Japanese word for "guy". Its English name is a play on a slang term referring to those of Italian descent, typically in the context of organized crime.
• In the original Super Mario Bros. manual, apparently they betrayed the Mushroom Kingdom. Super Princess Peach expands on this point when Bowser gives the Vibe Wand to a Goomba to take to Peach's Castle, assuming that he wouldn't be suspicious.
• The first game in which a Goomba (not counting specific characters in the Paper Mario games) was playable is in Mario Superstar Baseball.