Koopalings
A Koopa Kid — also known as a Koopaling, although this term usually refers to the first seven Koopa Kids that appeared in Super Mario Bros. 3 — is a character from the Super Mario Bros. series of video games. As far as it is known, there are eight Koopa Kids, all of them children of Bowser Koopa. Nothing else is known about their origins. The first seven originally appeared in Super Mario Bros. 3.
Appearances
The Koopa Kids are always world bosses, except for Mario & Luigi, in which they are minibosses in Bowser's castle. Oddly for an RPG, in their appearance in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, the Koopa Kids never speak. The eighth Koopa Kid is Bowser Jr., who first appears in Super Mario Sunshine, and in later Mario spin-off games like Mario Kart: Double Dash!! and the various Mario sports games; he also appeared in the new game New Super Mario Bros.. As of May 2006, all eight Koopa Kids have not appeared in the same game.
The Koopa Kids have appeared in the following games:
Koopalings:
- Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988)
- Super Mario World (1990)
- Mario Is Missing! (1992)
- Yoshi's Safari (1993)
- Hotel Mario (1994)
- Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (2003)
Bowser Jr.
- Super Mario Sunshine (2002)
- Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour (2003)
- Mario Kart: Double Dash (2003)
- Mario Power Tennis (2004)
- Mario Superstar Baseball (2005)
- New Super Mario Bros. (2006)
- Mario Hoops 3-on-3 (2006)
The Mario Party Koopa Kids appear in all Mario Party games to date.
Design
The Koopa Kids have wild punk hairstyles. It is said that each Koopaling was personally designed by a different member of the production staff of Super Mario Bros. 3. Explains Shigeru Miyamoto: "This is another way we give recognition to the many people who help make the games successful." [1] Nintendo did not initially name them for their debut in the Japanese version of Super Mario Bros. 3. It has been speculated by fans that the game's American translator at Nintendo of America named them after western celebrities[2]; for example, Morton and Wendy seem to be named after Morton Downey Jr. and Wendy O. Williams.
In the Mario cartoons by DiC, the original seven Koopa Kids were given different names based on their given personalities, but the fact that they weren't named in the Japanese version is often speculated by fans to this. The cartoons also gave them some slight changes in physical appearance, though not to the extent that Bowser himself had received. The comic books, however, featured the Koopalings with their original names and designs.
Ludwig Von Koopa
Ludwig Von Koopa resembles and is probably named after Ludwig van Beethoven, because they are both composers. (According to in-game text in Super Mario World, Ludwig composes "Koopa symphonies" in his castle.) He first appeared in Super Mario Bros. 3 as the boss of the seventh world, the Pipe Maze. The game's official player's guide claims that he is Bowser's "second-in-command", and he has the powers of his siblings, including multiple blasts from his wand and ground-shaking stomps. In Super Mario World, Ludwig is boss of the Twin Bridges area. He is the oldest of the Koopalings.
In a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure book, Ludwig kidnapped Princess Toadstool to be in his dance recital, but she was saved by the Mario Bros.
In the cartoon series, he was named Kooky Von Koopa and was the typical mad scientist character, inventing wicked devices for his dad, Bowser to use, such as a time machine to help prevent the Mario Brothers from even coming to the Mushroom Kingdom — because, in the series, the brothers were from Brooklyn, New York, in the "real world" — or a robot look-alike of Princess Peach that was programmed to turn the Mushroom Kingdom over to Bowser. Kooky's German-accented voice was provided by Michael Stark. The only major physical difference between Ludwig and Kooky is that Kooky has untamed hair and that Kooky is significantly smaller, girth-wise.
Lemmy Koopa
Lemmy Koopa has rainbow hair, a lazy eye, and balances atop a rubber ball. In Super Mario Bros. 3, Lemmy was the boss of the sixth world, Iced Land. In Super Mario World, Mario fought him in the subterranean Vanilla Dome area. In Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, and Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga, Lemmy's fighting style matched that of his sister, Wendy. In Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga, he was the third Koopaling to fight Mario and Luigi. He is the second oldest Koopaling.
In the cartoons he was named Hip Koopa and he often hung out with his similar-looking brother Hop (Iggy). The two of them shared most of their sentences (à la Donald Duck's nephews) and were usually seen pulling pranks. There are two major differences between Lemmy and Hip: Hip's hair is far thinner, and he has an overbite. He was voiced by Tara Strong.
In the comic books, Lemmy was quite stupid but could somehow understand Larry's picture-only dialogue. He was also a fan of Mario's favorite comic book superhero, Dirk Drain-Head.
Roy Koopa
Roy Koopa is the boss of The Sky in Super Mario Bros. 3 and boss of the Forest of Illusion in Super Mario World. In both games, his trademark attack is a ground-shaking stomp to the ground, which paralyzes Mario for a few seconds, leaving him open to an attack from the Koopaling. He is the third oldest Koopaling.
In the cartoons, he was named Bully Koopa, and he acted according to what his name implied. Also, he spoke with a gruff Brooklyn accent, voiced by Gordon Masten. He was usually seen beating up on his siblings, mostly Big Mouth (Morton) when he talked too much. Names aside, Roy doesn't seem to have any significant differences from his cartoon counterpart other than girth, as usual.
The comic books, however, did not carry the accent trait over, because Roy spoke in a standard English dialect in his one major Nintendo Comics System appearance. Incidentally, in the comics, it was revealed that he had a pet bunny named Pookie.
Iggy Koopa
Iggy Koopa is bespectacled, somewhat demented, inventor of the Koopa's Machinery, and has rainbow hair like his brother Lemmy. He's the boss of Giant Land in Super Mario Bros. 3, and he faces Mario in the first area of Super Mario World. He is the fourth oldest Koopaling.
The artwork for Super Mario Bros. 3 portrayed Iggy with blue eyes, but later depictions (including Super Mario World and Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga) show him with eyes that are swirls instead, possibly to indicate the reflection. Iggy is responsible for inventing the robots that the Koopalings use in Yoshi's Safari.
In the cartoons, he was called Hop Koopa (Lemmy, his brother, was named Hip, a play on hip hop). Hop's overbite is the only significant way in which he differs from Iggy. Like Hip, Hop was also voiced by Tara Strong.
In the Super Mario Bros. movie, one of King Koopa's cousins is named Iggy, along with a female interest possibly modelled after Birdo.
Wendy O. Koopa
In Super Mario Bros. 3, Wendy O. Koopa is the boss of Sea Side, where she hops about her cabin (in high heels) and throws life savers at Mario that bounce around the room. In Super Mario World, she is the boss of Chocolate Island, where she attempts to confuse Mario by emerging from various pipes along with two fake Wendy dolls. She is the fifth oldest Koopaling.
In the cartoons, she was named Kootie Pie Koopa, was apparently sixteen years old, and often whined about everything. Frequently, Bowser would execute his schemes just to keep Kootie Pie pleased. She also displayed animosity towards Princess Toadstool (the only other female character in the cartoon, whom Kootie Pie most likely saw as a rival). Indeed, in the opening credits of the Super Mario Bros 3 cartoon, Kootie Pie is shown attempting to whack Peach with a wand. There is little physical difference between Wendy and Kootie Pie. The only differences that really stand out are that Kootie Pie's bow is more pointy and she has two fangs sticking out of her mouth. Kootie Pie also has a smaller bow on her tail. Her voice was that of Paulina Gillis.
Other than Lemmy, Wendy is the only Koopaling to appear in her own story in the comic books; in "Fins and Roses", she is setting up a trap for Mario when she attracts the attention of Stanley the Talking Fish. Thinking his romantic feelings for her are mutual, Stanley accepts one of Wendy's bombs as a gift, and Wendy attempts "to make the world a better place by removing Stanley from it." In the end, Wendy fails in both obliterating Mario and destroying Stanley, but Mario, having had to put up with Stanley before, calls a truce with Wendy so they can say mean and nasty things about Stanley.
Wendy also played a prominent part in the Super Mario Adventures comic serial that ran in Nintendo Power in 1992. There, she continually matches wits with Princess Peach, who torments Wendy by threatening to shred her favorite dress. Later, Wendy calls Peach's bluff when she threatens to blow up the tower they're in. Wendy is the de facto leader of the Kooplings in this comic, and stands out among her siblings, who are all portrayed with more or less identical personalities.
Wendy is one of the first Nintendo characters to distinguish herself as female by wearing a bow on her hairless head, and the first to do so in a game. Other female characters who wear a bow include Birdo, who wears a similar bow on her head, Lady Bow from Paper Mario, who wears a smaller bow on each side of her head, and Candy Kong, who wears a bow in Donkey Kong Country, but not in any other games. Although Birdo appeared first, she only wore her bow in promotional materials, and didn't appear with a bow in a video game until Super Mario Bros. 2 was remade for the SNES compilation Super Mario All-Stars.
Morton Koopa Jr.
Morton Koopa, Jr. is the boss of Desert Hill and the Donut Plains in both Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World.
In the cartoons he was named Big Mouth Koopa, ostensibly because he was more talk than action, and which also was based on the talk show host, whose entire theme was his admittedly big mouth. His show's logo was a large open mouth, which Morton/Big Mouth Koopa's design even resembled. Aptly, in the Super Mario World cartoon, he occasionally served as an announcer (until an annoyed sibling or Bowser would toss him off the stage when he talked too much). There are a few physical differences between Morton and Big Mouth: Morton's shell is gray and Big Mouth's is purple; Big Mouth has much larger eyes and purple eyelids; and the star-shaped birthmark on Morton's face is darker around the cheek, while it's just one solid color on Big Mouth. Morton Jr. is also much larger than Big Mouth. Big Mouth's rambles were given by Dan Hennessey.
Strangely enough, unused sprites were found of the Koopalings in Super Princess Peach, indicating they were going to be in it. So far, Morton's sprites from the game are the only ones available, though others will be available. Given that the game features many enemies originally featured in Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World, it is unknown why exactly the Koopalings were abandoned from the game.
The junior part of Morton's name does not reflect his father's name, which is Bowser. Rather, he is named after Morton Downey, Jr.
Larry Koopa
Larry Koopa is the youngest of the original seven Koopalings and is the first boss Mario faces in Grass Land of Super Mario Bros. 3, but shows up in the last stage of Super Mario World, the Valley of Bowser.
In the cartoons, he was named Cheatsy Koopa and was usually scheming up the Koopa's next plan, sometimes with Kooky. A very common animation goof regarding Cheatsy was that his green head was often colored as orange as the rest of his body. A similar blooper had his head mistakenly colored purple in one particular shot in the episode "The Beauty of Kootie". Then in the Super Mario World series, Cheatsy's hair was given a lighter grey-green color and drawn a tad thicker. This could be because his hair appears to be white in the original games. Besides the change in hair color, there are several physical differences between Larry and Cheatsy: Larry's hair is pointed upwards but Cheatsy's hair was flatter and much more untamed; Cheatsy was almost always seen squinting and was given an overbite. Cheatsy was voiced by James Rankin.
In the comic books published by Valiant, Larry didn't speak English; instead, his dialogue balloons contained various pictures. Only Lemmy was able to understand him.
Bowser Jr.
Bowser Jr. was the main villain in Super Mario Sunshine, in which he used an alter ego known as Shadow Mario (shown to the left) to frame Mario for vandalizing Isle Delfino using his magical brush made by Professor E. Gadd. He has since then appeared in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, Mario Power Tennis, Mario Superstar Baseball, and Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, the last of which inexplicably features his alter ego, Shadow Mario, as well. Starting with Mario Superstar Baseball, Bowser Jr. has been portrayed as a left-handed player. He is also the main antagonist in New Super Mario Brothers.
In Super Mario Sunshine, Bowser Jr. was shown as covering his face with a drawing of Mario's distinctive nose and moustache (as pictured), presumably for his role as Shadow Mario. In future appearances however, this is replaced with a drawing of a set of fangs, which he can wear over his mouth — as it is in Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour and Mario Power Tennis — but which he can also hang loosely from his neck — as in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! and Mario Superstar Baseball. He only has one small fang at the top of his mouth, and presumably he can use these images of fangs, when needed, to make himself look more menacing, and more like his dad.
In the Mario series, Bowser Jr. is voiced by Dolores Rogers. Confusingly, Tara Strong's official website lists her being Bowser Jr.'s voice in Super Mario Sunshine, despite her apparent absence from the game's credits.
Bowser Jr. is often confused with Baby Bowser, who appears in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Yoshi's Story, and Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time. (Indeed, the character model for Baby Bowser in Mario & Luigi: Partners In Time is virtually identical to that of Bowser Jr., making it even more confusing for the uninitiated.) Baby Bowser, however, is the infant form of Bowser, rather than a child of his. He is also often confused with the Koopa Kids from the Mario Party series (which were also called Baby Bowsers until Mario Party 4).
According to the Official Mario Power Tennis Website, Bowser Jr. lives at "48 Lava Cul-De-Sac, Magma Manor."
Bowser Jr. is also the kidnapper of Princess Peach, and thus, the main boss, in the DS game New Super Mario Bros. He awaits Mario at the top of the various Towers in the eight worlds, as in Boom Boom in Super Mario Bros. 3, and fights alongside Bowser in the final castle of the game. Certain battles depend on how he's wearing his bandana. If it's hanging from his neck, he can charge at Mario and occasionally jumps, but is also vulnerable to getting stomped on. If he's wearing his bandana over his mouth, he would constantly duck into his shell and throw regular Koopa shells at Mario. He can only be stomped on if the shell he throws is thrown back at him. Mario can also easily defeat him with fireballs if he has the ability.
Bowser Jr. will be playable in the upcoming game, Mario Hoops 3-on-3. It is revealed that he might be a doppelgänger.
Koopa Kid (Mario Party)
Other characters that seem to be similar to Baby Bowser or Bowser Jr. have appeared in the Mario Party games under the names "Mini Bowser", "Baby Bowser", "Bowser's Cohort" and "Koopa Kid", the latter being the name they appear to stick with now. However, these games, created by Hudson Soft, don't follow the plotline of other Mario games, and the Bowser-related characters have larger horns. There is nothing to suggest that they are Bowser's offspring, like the Koopalings or Bowser Jr.
Mario Party 5 introduced three differently-colored Koopa Kids: Red Koopa Kid, Green Koopa Kid and Blue Koopa Kid. They have been around in the Mario Party Series ever since. While these three can compete with the player in mini-games in Mario Party 5 and 6, only the original Koopa Kid has ever been playable. Normally, that is, as the others could also be made playable via the debug menu (only in Mario Party 5 and 6). The Colorful Koopa Kids make cameo appearances in Bowser mini-games in Mario Party 7. They were all voiced by Frank Welker.
References
- ^ "Shigeru Miyamoto interview". Mario Mania Player's Guide, Nintendo Power. Retrieved May.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "Theoretical Origin of the Koopalings' Names". Super Mario Bros. Info Station message board post. Retrieved December 5.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help)
Extrenal Links
http://www.lemmykoopa.com/lkmain.html
| Game series |
| ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other games | |||||||||||
| Cancelled games | |||||||||||
| Universe |
| ||||||||||
| Other media |
| ||||||||||
| People | |||||||||||
| Related |
| ||||||||||
| Game series |
| ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other games | |||||||||||
| Cancelled games | |||||||||||
| Universe |
| ||||||||||
| Other media |
| ||||||||||
| People | |||||||||||
| Related |
| ||||||||||