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Goomba

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This article is about the Mario series enemy. For the slang term meaning an Italian-American, see Goombah.
Goomba
'Mario' character
Goombas are typically coloured brown, featuring two feet and no arms.
Goombas are typically coloured brown, featuring two feet and no arms.
A Goomba, as depicted in New Super Mario Bros. (2006)
Created byShigeru Miyamoto

Goombas, known in Japan as Kuribo (クリボー, Kuribō, "Chestnut People"), are fictional species from Nintendo's series of Mario video games. They first appeared in the NES video game Super Mario Bros. as the first enemy players encounter. They have appeared outside of video games, including in film, television, and other media. They are usually brown and are most commonly seen walking around aimlessly, often as an obstacle, in video games. They were included late in the development of Super Mario Bros. in order to create a simple, easy-to-defeat enemy.

The species is considered one of the most iconic elements of the Mario series, appearing in nearly every game in the series, and is often ranked amongst the most famous enemies in video games. Crave Online described it as the series' "everyman". It has been compared to other generic enemies in video games, such as the "Met" enemy from the Mega Man series'. The video game incarnation has been made into several plush toys.

Concept and creation

A Goomba as seen in Super Mario Bros. Its late addition to the game resulted in its animation being rather simple.

Goombas were first introduced in the video game Super Mario Bros., and were the last enemy added to the game after play testers stated that the Koopa Troopa was too tricky an enemy. As a result, the designers decided to introduce the Goomba as a basic enemy. When they decided to do this, however, they had very little space left in the game. They used a single image twice to convey the notion that the Goombas are walking, rotating it back and forth, causing it to look lopsided as it walks and giving the motion the appearance of a trot. The Goomba's resemblance to the Super Mushroom forced designers to change the mechanics and appearance of the Super Mushroom. They used the Goomba's ability to be jumped on and defeated to teach players how to deal with enemies and to not fear the Super Mushroom. The Goombas are designed after a shiitake[1][2] mushroom.

Early concept art for the Super Mario Bros. film showed that the design of the Goombas were originally intended to be for Koopa Troopas, another kind of Mario enemy.[3] A separate company from the primary makeup departments designed the Goombas in the film.[4]

Appearances

A shiitake, on which the Goomba is based. The pileus and stipe of the shiitake share similar colours to the Goomba's.

Goombas look like shiitake,[1] with bushy eyebrows and a pair of fangs sprouting from their lower jaw.[5] In most games, their movement is merely walking from side to side and they are most commonly defeated by being stomped on, which flattens them. They debuted in Super Mario Bros.,[5] and have reappeared in nearly all later games in the series. In contrast to Goombas' behavior in two dimensional games in the series, in which most would not pursue Mario, Goombas in Super Mario 64 (as well as Galaxy 1-2), upon noticing him, will attempt to crash into him. There are several different variations of the Goomba; notable ones include the Paragoomba, which is a Goomba with wings introduced in Super Mario Bros. 3, the Gloomba, a blue-grey variation of the Goomba in the underground levels of Super Mario Bros., and the Microgoomba, a tiny variation of the Goomba introduced in Super Mario Bros. 3, and sometimes found under blocks. Super Mario Land introduced a smaller variant called the Chibibo (renamed Goombo). In a single level in Super Mario Bros. 3, Goombas can be seen wearing a shoe called "Kuribo's Shoe", which has become a popular item in the Mario series despite appearing in only one level.[5] Super Mario World introduced a different variation of the Goomba, which was spherical in nature and would not be flattened when stomped. This variant is known in Japan as Kuribon. Super Mario Sunshine introduced an enemy called Strollin' Stu and Puffy Widget, which The Perfect Guide of Super Mario Sunshine describes as the "Isle Delfino versions of Goombas". Large Goombas called Grand Goombas are featured in Super Mario Galaxy. Grand Goombas with wings are called Grand Paragoombas that first appeared in the 1990 Cookie Jar animated series The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 only in the episode Princess Toadstool For President. Grand Paragoombas later appeared in Super Mario Galaxy 2, alongside the normal variant which is commonly found in levels. Goombas appear as bosses in multiple games in the series. A Goomba first appeared as a boss in Paper Mario as King Goomba, and later in Super Mario 64 DS and New Super Mario Bros. as Goomboss and Mega Goomba respectively.

Goombas appear in each of the Mario role-playing games. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars introduces the first non-hostile Goombas, while the follow-up game Paper Mario introduces a Goomba village, as well as a playable Goomba character called Goombario. A second playable Goomba is introduced in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door called Goombella. Goombas also appear in the three Mario & Luigi titles: Superstar Saga, Partners in Time, and Bowser's Inside Story, of which the latter two feature Goombas who are members of an alien race called the "Shroob". Bowser's Inside Story also features goomba-form cells who think Mario and company are viruses, and outside Bowser's body, they are used in one of Bowser's special attacks. Goombas have appeared in several other spin-off titles in and out of the Mario series, including the latter two titles of the Super Smash Bros. series, Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. They have a playable appearance in Mario baseball video games such as Mario Superstar Baseball and Mario Super Sluggers.

In other media

In the 1989 television cartoon The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, Goombas are loyal soldiers in King Koopa's army. The general appearance of the Goomba resembles the ones found in the Mario video games. In many of the episodes, the Goombas appear as zombies, pirates, or other themed variations in accordance with the plot. When the show spun off into The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, they continued their job as soldiers in the Koopa army in some episodes. However, the Super Mario World cartoon only featured them twice. Goombas were included in an Ice Capades show featuring characters from the Mario series.[6]

In the Super Mario Bros. live-action film, Goombas were originally inhabitants of Dinohattan who opposed the tyrannical King Koopa's rule, and were devolved as punishment for this disloyalty. In the film, upon being de-evolved, these people became Goombas, who were large, reptilian monsters (as opposed to the usual mushroom appearance seen in the games) with hulking bodies and disproportionately small, circular heads, who wore trenchcoats.

Goombas appear as enemies in The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening in the underground side-scrolling passages throughout the game, and also in the seventh dungeon, Eagle's Tower. They can be defeated either by striking them with a sword or by jumping on top of them with Roc's Feather.

A Goomba can also be spotted as an easter egg on "Basic Run" on Wii Fit Plus.

Reception and promotion

The Goomba has become an icon of the Mario series, both in its appearance and the concept of "stomping on them", often referenced as one of the key elements of the original Super Mario Bros.[7][8][9][10][11] The Goomba has appeared in multiple pieces of merchandise, including a Happy Meal toy as part of a Super Mario Bros. 3 promotion by Nintendo and McDonald's.[12] A plush Goomba that plays the Goomba "defeat" noise as well as the Game Over tune at certain points was also released.[13] IGN editor Craig Harris described the Goomba as a "household name" along with Koopa Paratroopas and King Koopa.[14] Video game musician and reviewer Tommy Tallarico commented that many new converts to gaming have "never even made Super Mario smoosh a Goomba".[15] In a criticism of video game storytelling, Gamasutra editor Daniel Cook referenced Goombas being mushrooms, but also that it was a less important fact than them being squat, to-scale with the world, and able to be squashed.[16] In an article discussing happiness in video games, Gamasutra editor Lorenzo Wang listed the sound the Goomba makes when it's squished as one of his pleasures.[17] IGN editor Mark Birnhaum praised the sound effects of Super Mario Bros., giving similar praise to the sound of the Goomba being stomped on.[18] It was compared to the Met enemy from the Mega Man series, calling them the "Goomba of the Mega Man series."[19] Crave Online editor Joey Davidson described the Goomba as the series' "everyman", describing it as both defenseless and of little threat, listing such exceptions as the giant Goombas seen in Super Mario Galaxy.[20] A common enemy in Braid has been compared to the Goomba, Gaming Age editor Dustin Chadwell calling it a "slightly skewed version of the Goomba."[21] GameDaily listed Goomba as the fourth best Mario enemy, stating that every gamer has run into one as Mario before.[22] Nintendo Power listed them as one of their favourite punching bags, stating that while it's hard not to feel bad for them, it is still satisfying.[23]

The Super Mario Bros. film version of the Goomba has received negative reception. IGN editor Jesse Schedeen called Bowser and his Goombas the most screwed up part of the film, commenting that it would be difficult to create a live action version of the Goomba that deviates from the original version more than this.[24] An Entertainment Weekly article called the design creepy, stating that its "foam-latex skin had to be baked for five hours at 200 degrees to achieve that lovely reptilian effect."[25] The facial design of the character Venom in Spider-Man 3 was compared to the film versions of the Goomba by Crave Online, describing Venom's face as stupid, short, and rounded.[26] Hal Hinson of the Washington Post called the Goombas "big dumb goons with shrunken little dino heads", yet also calling them the "best movie heavies since the flying monkeys in 'The Wizard of Oz'".[27]

References

  1. ^ a b "Iwata Asks: New Super Mario Bros. Wii Volume 2". Nintendo. Archived from the original on 2009-12-17.
  2. ^ "Iwata Asks: New Super Mario Bros. Wii Volume 1". Nintendo. Archived from the original on 2009-12-17.
  3. ^ "Super Mario Bros. The Movie Archive - Artwork". Super Mario Bros. The Movie Archive. Retrieved 2009-12-24.
  4. ^ Hoss, Ryan (2009-03-20). "Interview--Jeff Goodwin (Key Makeup Artist)". Super Mario Bros. The Movie Archive. Retrieved 2009-12-24.
  5. ^ a b c Parish, J. (2007-11-13). "Toastyfrog.com: Compendium of Useless Information : Games - The Goomba browse". GameSpite. Retrieved 2010-08-10.
  6. ^ Arendt, Susan (2008-01-15). "Retro Clip: Mario and King Koopa on Ice". Wired.com. Retrieved 2009-12-24.
  7. ^ Caron, Frank (2007-05-11). "Nintendo continues to dominate Japan". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2009-12-24.
  8. ^ Szadkowski, Joseph (2004-07-14). "Game Boy raises bar for hand-helds". The Washington Times. Retrieved 2009-12-24.
  9. ^ Burman, Rob (2007-05-25). "UK VC Friday Round-Up: It's-a-me Mario". IGN. Retrieved 2009-12-24.
  10. ^ Castro, Juan (2005-05-19). "E3 2005: DDR Mario Mix". IGN. Retrieved 2009-12-24.
  11. ^ Molina, Brett (2007-04-09). "Mario tough to resist on Wii". USA Today. Retrieved 2009-12-24.
  12. ^ "Review – McDonalds Mario 3 Happy Meal Toys". Lameazoid. 2006-11-17. Retrieved 2012-01-04.
  13. ^ "Plush Mario Sound Bops get updated". Coolest Gadgets. Retrieved 2009-12-24.
  14. ^ Harris, Craig (2004-06-04). "Super Mario Bros. (Classic NES Series) Review". IGN. Retrieved 2009-12-24.
  15. ^ Hunter, Colin (2009-03-13). "The world's most prolific video game composer connects with KWS for a unique concert". The Record. Archived from the original on 2010-01-07.
  16. ^ Cook, Daniel (2008-11-04). "Analysis: On Theme And Game Design". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2009-12-24.
  17. ^ Wang, Lorenzo (2008-05-27). "The Pursuit of Games: Designing Happiness". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2009-12-24.
  18. ^ Birnbaum, Mark (2007-03-06). "Super Mario Bros. VC Review". IGN. Retrieved 2009-12-24.
  19. ^ Schedeen, Jesse (2008-09-15). "Mega Man 9 Week: The Best Wily Bosses". IGN. p. 3. Retrieved 2009-12-24.
  20. ^ Davidson, Joey (2009-04-27). "Moustaches and Monocles Vol. 1". Crave Online. Retrieved 2009-12-24.
  21. ^ "Braid Review (Xbox Live Arcade)". Gaming Age. 2008-08-19. Archived from the original on 2010-08-02.
  22. ^ Buffa, Chris (2008-10-03). "Top 25 Mario Enemies". GameDaily. p. 22. Archived from the original on 2008-10-07.
  23. ^ Nintendo Power (250). South San Francisco, California: Future US: 59. 2010. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  24. ^ Schedeen, Jesse (2008-10-22). "Videogame Heroes Report Card". IGN. Retrieved 2009-12-24.
  25. ^ The Ridiculist (1993-06-18). "OH, BROTHER!". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2009-12-24.
  26. ^ craveonline (2007-09-07). "The Four Worst Summer Movies". Crave Online. Retrieved 2009-12-24.
  27. ^ Hinson, Hal (1993-05-29). "'Super Mario Bros.' (PG)". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2009-12-24.
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