Hoppycat

Hoppycat
Artwork from Super Mario Bros. Wonder
First appearance	Super Mario Bros. Wonder (2023)
Variants Kyodai na Hoppin Wonder Hoppycat
Comparable Dropper Spiny Skipsqueak Wallop

“Ha! They're copying you.”

—Talking Flower, Super Mario Bros. Wonder

Hoppycats are green mollusk-like enemies with spikes on their backs and large mouths with retractable sharp teeth on their undersides that appear in Super Mario Bros. Wonder. They are primarily found in Shining Falls, and attack by jumping whenever the player jumps, similar to Spiny Skipsqueaks in Super Mario Maker 2, before descending slowly back to the ground, during which the player can pass underneath them. They sometimes jump up into the level from underneath, while others can be found attached to the ceiling, jumping with reversed gravity. They can hit and activate blocks just like the player. There is also a red log-like lift that shoots out a Hoppycat from the side whenever the player jumps while riding it, which can be used to hit blocks to the right. One Wonder Effect turns the characters into Hoppycats (with Luigi's Hoppycat form bearing the most resemblance to regular Hoppycats), though this form is different from the enemy Hoppycats in that it can leap incredibly high into the air, not unlike the expert. It also starts with four spikes instead of three and is larger, though if the player takes damage, they will shrink to the normal Hoppycat size. Kyodai na Hoppin also appear during another Wonder Effect, which will destroy anything above them when they jump. A final variant is found in The Midway Trial: Hop to It, being the Wonder Hoppycat^[derived], an orange Hoppycat with an extended jump.

Their English name comes from "hop" and "copycat".

Gallery

• 

  A Hoppycat as it appears in game

• 

  A Kyodai na Hoppin

• 

  Artwork of Mario under the Wonder Flower Hoppycat transformation

• 

  Kyodai na Hoppin model

• 

  Wonder Hoppycat model

• 

  Standee of Hoppycat Mario

• 

  Standee of Hoppycat Luigi

• 

  Standee of Hoppycat Peach

• 

  Standee of Hoppycat Daisy

• 

  Standee of Hoppycat Yellow Toad

• 

  Standee of Hoppycat Blue Toad

• 

  Standee of Hoppycat Toadette

• 

  Standee of Hoppycat Yoshi

• 

  Standee of Hoppycat Red Yoshi

• 

  Standee of Hoppycat Yellow Yoshi

• 

  Standee of Hoppycat Light-Blue Yoshi

• 

  Standee of Hoppycat Nabbit

Additional names

Internal names

Game	File	Name	Meaning
Super Mario Bros. Wonder	Model/EnemyJumpUni.bfres.zs	JumpUni	From "jump" and「海胆うに」(uni, "sea urchin"); compare JumpToge

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	ホッピン Hoppin	From "hopping"; may involve "pin" (referring to their spikes)
Chinese	哈蹦 Hābèng	Transliteration of the Japanese name;「蹦」also means "to jump".
Dutch	Hoppycat[?]	-
French	Bondiss[?]	Portmanteau of bondir ("to jump") and possibly a nod to Hériss ("Spiny")
German	Hüpfer[?]	Hopper
Italian	Salterino[?]	Diminutive of saltare ("to jump")
Korean	호핑[?] Hoping	Transliteration of the Japanese name
Portuguese	Pulusco[?]	Portmanteau of pular ("to jump") and molusco ("mollusk")
Russian	Прыггер[?] Prygger	From прыгать (prygat, "to leap") and the English agentive suffix "-er"
Spanish	Saltamanta[?]	Portmanteau of saltar ("to hop") and manta ("blanket"), as well as a play on saltamontes ("grasshopper")

Trivia

• An unused orange Hoppycat variant was found in the game's code, which functions similarly to a normal Hoppycat but jumps away from the player. It shares the same model as the Wonder Hoppycat.