Goomba's Shoe

Mario in a Goomba's Shoe, stomping a green Spiny.

A Goomba's Shoe is a large, green-colored boot with a wind-up key sticking out of the back of it; it is one of the rarest of all the power-ups in all of the Mario series and made its only game appearance in Super Mario Bros. 3. It was originally known in English as Kuribo's Shoe, with "Kuribo" being the Japanese name of Goomba left unchanged. The name is translated in the re-releases of Super Mario Bros. 3 and the Game Boy Advance remake, but the item has been called Kuribo's Shoe again in Super Mario All-Stars.

History

Super Mario Bros. 3

File:Kuribo Shoe.png

The first and only appearance of the Goomba's Shoe was in Super Mario Bros. 3, in World 5-3. The Goombas of this level would hop around aimlessly in Goomba's Shoes and if jumped on by Mario, would be defeated; however, if Mario was to attack one of these Goombas from below, the Goomba will be knocked from the shoe and Mario could take it and ride in it. In Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3, there is an unreleased e-Reader level called "Castle a Go-Go" that uses the Goomba's Shoe and adds it coming out of blocks in that level, like a normal power-up.

Once wearing a Goomba's Shoe, Mario will be able to easily hop across spikes and sharp-toothed or spiky enemies, such as Piranha Plants and Spinies. Once the end of the level is reached, though, Mario will lose the Goomba's Shoe. In the original Japanese version, a hit will also cause Mario to shrink to Small Mario in addition to losing the shoe. However, if the player was already small, Mario will only lose the shoe, as in the international versions of the games.

In several of the unused levels of Super Mario Bros. 3, Goomba's Shoes can be found and used.

On the rare occasion that Mario should be wearing the Tanooki Suit, entering a Goomba's Shoe allows the normally stationary Statue Mario to become mobile, while retaining invincibility.

The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3

Super Koopa in a "Karoobi's Shoe" from The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3.

Goomba's Shoes only appeared in the episode "Super Koopa" of The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, despite also appearing in the show's opening sequence. During the episode, they were referred to as Karoobi's Shoes, a mispronunciation of Kuribo's Shoes.

The Thwomp Stompers of the Super Mario Bros. movie may be loosely based on the Goomba's Shoe.

References in Later Games

• In Super Paper Mario, one Sammer Guy is called Shoe of Kuribo. Also, the ability of the Super Paper Mario Pixl Carrie can be thought of as vaguely similar to that of the Goomba's Shoe, as Carrie, too, allows players to stomp on spiked enemies such as Piranha Plants and Spinies and allows them to glide over spikes.
• In Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, the enemy Sockop is very similar to a Goomba's Shoe. One Sockop is even named Kuribo as a reference to the mistranslation.

Trivia

• The artwork of the Kuribo Shoe is orange and the Spiny is green when there were no green spines.
• In Brazilian dubbing for the episode "Super Koopa" of The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, Mario calls the Goomba's Shoe "seven-league boot", probably alluding to European folklore. However, the original seven-league boots are used for running, not jumping.

Names in Other Languages

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