Koopa Troopa

Not to be confused with Shellcreeper, Koopa (species), or Koopa Troop.

"Small Koopa" redirects here. For the micro version of this enemy, see Small Koopa Troopa. For the character from Mario Party 4, see Koopa Troopa (Mario Party 4).

Koopa Troopa
Artwork of a Koopa Troopa from Super Mario Party
First appearance	Super Mario Bros. (1985)
Latest appearance	Super Mario Bros. Wonder (2023)
Variant of	Koopa
Variants Ankoopa Beach Koopa Big Koopa Troopa Blue Electrokoopa Bodyslam Koopa Bombshell Koopa Climbing Koopa Dark Koopa Dark Koopa (Super Paper Mario) Dark Nokonoko Dry Bones Glad Red Koopa Gold Koopa Koopa Paratroopa Koopa Troopa 6-Stack Koopatrol Koopeleon KP Koopa Mad Green Koopa Mural Koopa Paper Koopa Troopa Paper Macho Koopa Troopa Red Electrokoopa Robo Koopa Rolla Koopa Shady Koopa Small Koopa Troopa Snooza Koopa Snortoise Space Troopa State Troopa Stormtroopa Super Troopa Terrapin Troopea Wereturtle
Relatives Shellcreeper
Comparable Swirlypod Turtle (Wario World) Wild Wendell
Notable members Captain Koopa Troopa Egyptian Koopa Holly Koopa Hookbill the Koopa Jagger Johnson Jr. Troopa Kent C. Koopa Kolorado Kolorado's father Kolorado's wife Koopa Bros. Koopa Koot Koopa Krag Koopa Master Koopa Shepherdess Koopa the Quick Koopa Troopa (Mario Party 4) Kooper Koopie Koo Koopley Koopook Koops Koover Kroop Kung Fu Koopa Kuzzle Kylie Koopa Master Duff Master Lob Master Stinger Mecha Nokonoko Mega Koopa Parakarry Private Koopa Roving Racers Shisai

“This shell was made to order. That's why it fits me so well. I mean, how cool do I look?”

—Koopa Troopa, Paper Mario

Koopa Troopas (commonly shortened to Koopas or sometimes Troopas) are anthropomorphic, turtle-like creatures with removable shells that come in many different colors, with red and green Koopa Troopas being the most common; green Koopa Troopas usually walk back and forth without any concerns for pits or other obstacles, and red Koopa Troopas usually walk back and forth without falling off of their platforms. Koopa Troopas are the most common members of the Koopa species. Most serve as foot soldiers belonging to Bowser's Minions, being the second most common enemy encountered by Mario behind the Goombas. Since Super Mario 64, however, not all Koopa Troopas work for Bowser (or any other villain), some of whom even act as allies to Mario during his adventures, and have appeared as playable characters in various spin-off games starting with Super Mario Kart. They are notable for the many uses of their shells in the Super Mario franchise.

History

Main article: History of Koopa Troopas

Since debuting in Super Mario Bros., Koopa Troopas have been one of the most commonly returning enemy species, like with Goombas. Koopa Troopas appear in nearly every game of the Super Mario series. However, several spinoff games feature friendly Koopa Troopas, such as the Paper Mario series and Mario & Luigi series, though some of them still appear as enemies. A Koopa Troopa sometimes appears as a playable character, such as in a few games of the Mario Kart series.

Concept and creation

Artwork of a Shellcreeper

Early artwork of Koopa Troopas in How to win at Super Mario Bros.

An enemy that first appeared in Mario Bros., the Shellcreeper, was the "ancestor" of the Koopa Troopa. When creating Super Mario Bros., a few changes were made to the enemies, including the ability to jump on them in order to damage them.

The Koopa Troopa's Japanese name,「ノコノコ」(Nokonoko), is a Japanese term meaning "to walk unconcernedly", describing the green-shelled Koopa Troopas' behavior. The English name comes from Bowser's Japanese name,「クッパ」(Kuppa), which is itself derived from the Korean dish of the same name, while "Troopa" is a corruption of "trooper", seemingly to keep the reference to forward marching from the Japanese name intact.

It is worth noting that the Koopa Troopas' ability to remove their shells is not true to any type of turtle, although popular culture often overlooks this fact.

Physical appearance and traits

A Koopa Troopa walking with two legs

Koopa Troopas are tortoise-like creatures with removable shells. In general, they have basic appearances compared to other Koopa species. They have elliptical beady eyes, large beak-like noses, short limbs, and large heads. Their hands have four pointed/triangular-shaped digits (excluding artwork from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island and its remake, and the Paper Mario series where in-game their fingers are not) and have three pointed toes on their flat-soled feet, which, unlike other Koopa species, have no pads at all. In earlier games, Koopa Troopas were quadrupedal (walking on four legs), had flatter noses, and detailed leg joints. Starting from Super Mario World onwards, they now stand on two legs, have more rounded noses, and wear shoes with beige soles that often match the color of the shells they wear (in the Super Mario Galaxy series, however, they revert back to walking on four legs, having four toes on their back legs and being barefooted). Having beaks, Koopa Troopas have no teeth compared to other species, but may be drawn with them for expression purposes (although their conceptual ancestor, Shellcreepers, have them).

Koopa Troopas generally have yellow scales, but in earlier games had orange. Some Koopa Troopas can have olive green, peach and even cyan scales. In Super Mario Strikers, the color of their scales changes depending on which team they are on: salmon for Mario's, chalky yellow for Luigi's, peach for Waluigi's, and orange for Daisy's. In Super Mario Party, Red Koopa Troopas' scales have an orange tint from the playable Koopa Troopa.

A Koopa Troopa washing its shell.

A Koopa Troopa's shell consists of a carapace with colored, hexagon-shaped scutes in a pattern on the top, with smaller, triangular ones at the edges, with dark flesh underneath that appear as "grooves"; a beige colored plaston with several "ribs" on its surface and six holes on it where the Koopa Troopa's head, arms, legs, and tail emerge from; all joined by a white bridge that follows along the perimeter of the shell and rises at the spots where the Koopa Troopa's head and tail are. The most common color for a Koopa Troopa's shell is green, with red being the second. However, there have also been less common colors such as blue, yellow, light-blue, light-green, dark-green, orange, purple, black, and, on rare occasions, gold. Despite having large heads, Koopa Troopas can pull them into their shells with little effort. In Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition, Mario Kart 8, and Mario Kart Tour, a Koopa Troopa can withdraw into its shell and pop back out in mid-air. Underneath their shells, they wear white undershirts (in Super Mario 64 and its remake Super Mario 64 DS, they also wear pink or blue shorts, respectively) and have round bodies.

From Super Mario 64 onwards, Koopa Troopas have been given voices created electronically, starting with whooping sounds (which were also shared with Goombas, Grand Goombas and the Big Bob-omb, with varying speeds, until the sounds were exclusive to Koopa Troopas in later games), then other noises such as wheezing, clucking, and gurgling. In Mario Kart 8, they were also given high-pitched whistling sounds whenever performing an antigravity trick or placing first. One of Koopa Troopa's sound effects is derived from the stock sound HUMAN, YELL - YELL: FEMALE from Voice Spectral Vol. 1 - Track 02.

A Koopa Troopa wearing an eyepatch in The Super Mario Bros. Movie

In Illumination's The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Koopa Troopas are slimmer than before, have teeth, have perfectly round heads elevated above their brown eyes, wear socks and usually have helmets. They are also shown to be wearing accessories, to distinguish from each other; for example, one Koopa Troopa wears spiked shoulder pads and an eyepatch, and another wears a Spiny Shell as its shell and helmet. In addition, unlike their previous appearances, they wield various weapons such as spears and hammers.

Green Koopa Troopas are specifically given an association with water in games such as Mario Power Tennis and Puzzles and Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition, since their Offensive and Defensive Power Shots in the former game involve water, and in the latter game their attribute is Water. In Puzzles and Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition, Red Koopa Troopas have fire as their attribute, while Yellow Koopa Troopas have light.

Color variations

The following is all of the known colors of Koopa Troopas and their first appearances:

Image	Body color	Shell color	First appearance
	Yellow	Green	Super Mario Bros.
	Yellow	Red	Super Mario Bros.
	Yellow	Blue	Super Mario World
	Yellow	Yellow	Super Mario World
	Yellow	Dark green	Super Mario Strikers
	Orange	Red	Super Mario Strikers
	Pink	Light-blue	Super Mario Strikers
	Yellow	Dark blue	Super Mario Strikers
	Yellow	Light-green	Super Mario Strikers
	Yellow	Orange	Super Mario Strikers
	Yellow	Purple	Super Mario Strikers
	Yellow	Magenta	Super Mario Bros. Wonder

Profiles and statistics

Main article: List of Koopa Troopa profiles and statistics

Super Smash Bros. Melee

• Number: 194
• Name: Koopa Troopa
• Game:

Super Mario Bros.
10/85

• Description: Common soldiers in Bowser's army, Koopa Troopas can retreat into their shells. Unbelievable as it may seem, they're clearly unaware of being kicked and sent sliding when in this position. There are many Koopa types, each with a different shell color and unique traits. They all wear T-shirts and shorts under their shells.

Mario Kart Wii

Koopa Troopa's complete vehicle roster

• Size: Small
• Actual Bonuses
  • Handling: +3
  • Mini-Turbo: +6
• Site Bio:
  • "Koopa Troopa may be light, but he's rollin' heavy when you put him behind the wheel of this machine."
  • "A racer with the heart of a champion, Koopa Troopa suffers the ultimate irony every time a shell hits him."

Gallery

For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Koopa Troopa.

• 

  Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels

• 

  Mario Clash

• 

  Mario Party

• 

  Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour

• 

  Super Mario Strikers

• 

  New Super Mario Bros. U

Additional names

Internal names

Game	File	Name	Meaning
Super Mario Galaxy Super Mario Galaxy 2	ObjectData/NokonokoLand.arc	NokonokoLand	Land Koopa Troopa
Super Mario Galaxy Super Mario Galaxy 2	StageData/ObjNameTable.arc/ObjNameTable.tbl SystemData/ObjNameTable.arc/ObjNameTable.tbl	リクノコ (Riku Noko)	Land Koopa

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	ノコノコ[?] Nokonoko	A Japanese term meaning "to walk unconcernedly", which is a reference to the green-shelled Koopa Troopas' behavior; also likely from「ノロノロ」(noronoro, an onomatopoeic term for a slowly crawling turtle)
	ノコノコ （ミドリ） / ノコノコ （緑） / みどりノコノコ (Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition) Nokonoko (Midori) / Midori Nokonoko	Koopa Troopa (Green) / Green Koopa Troopa
	ノコノコ （アカ） / ノコノコ （赤）/ あかノコノコ (Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition) Nokonoko (Aka) / Aka Nokonoko	Koopa Troopa (Red) / Red Koopa Troopa
	ノコノコ （青）[?] Nokonoko (Ao)	Koopa Troopa (Blue)
	ノコノコ （黄）/ きいろノコノコ (Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition)[?] Nokonoko (Ki) / Kiiro Nokonoko	Koopa Troopa (Yellow) / Yellow Koopa Troopa
Catalan	Koopa (The Super Mario Bros. Movie) Koopa Troopa[?]	-
Chinese (simplified)	喏库喏库[?] Nuòkùnuòkù	Transliteration of the Japanese name
	慢慢龟 (since Mario Tennis Aces)[?] Mànmàn Guī	Slow Slow Turtle
Chinese (traditional)	慢慢龜[?] Mànmàn Guī	Slow Slow Turtle
Dutch	Koopa Troopa[?]	-
Finnish	Konnasoturi (Super Mario Bros.)	Turtle Soldier
French	Koopa[?]	-
	Koopa Troopa (Super Paper Mario)[?]
	Soldat Koopa (Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels)	Koopa Soldier
	Koop (Hotel Mario)	-
German	Koopa[?]	-
Italian	Koopa Koopa Troopa (earlier games/full species name)[?]	-
Korean	엉금엉금[?] Template:Nowrap	Korean mimetic word for a slowly crawling turtle (a translation of the Japanese name)
Portuguese	Koopa Koopa Troopa[?]	-
Russian	Купа-трупа Kupa-trupa Купа Kupa[?]	Transliterations of the international names
Spanish	Koopa Koopa Troopa[?]	-

Mask Koopa

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Italian	Koopa mascherato	Masked Koopa