Roy
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- “Dad would want a pointless act of violence in his name.”
- —Roy Koopa, Bowser Knows Best
Roy Koopa (known as Bully Koopa in the cartoons) is part of the Koopalings, a seven-member clan that functions as Bowser's elites. The Koopalings were originally depicted as Bowser's own children, however this idea was downplayed after their debut in Super Mario Bros. 3 and in 2012, Shigeru Miyamoto stated that Nintendo's current story was that Bowser Jr. is Bowser's only child, rather than the Koopalings[1]. He is considered to be the third-oldest in the games and is shown to be the oldest Koopaling in the cartoons. From what has been revealed about Roy's personality, he is more brawn than brains, preferring brute force over thinking things through. Despite this gruff, tough-guy demeanor, Roy originally wore a pink shell, which may be a reference to the fact that some (jokingly) say pink is a manly color. He now wears a purple shell, referring to the Japanese color of death. Roy also wears red sunglasses similar to his namesake, the legendary rock and roll musician, Roy Orbison.
History
Super Mario series
Super Mario Bros. 3
In Super Mario Bros. 3, Roy was charged by Bowser with taking over The Sky. Easily doing this with his airship and armies, Roy stole the wand of The Sky's king and transformed him into either an Albatoss or a Duck with it, depending on which version of the game.
Adventuring through The Sky, Mario managed to reach Roy's airship. Managing to pass all the traps on Roy's airship, Mario reached Roy's cabin, where he engaged the burly Koopaling in combat. In battle, Roy would leap at Mario and try to crush him with his ground-shaking stomps, Roy would also shoot energy blasts from his stolen wand. Despite his power, Roy was defeated by Mario.
Super Mario World
In Super Mario World, Roy took over the Forest of Illusion when Bowser invaded Dinosaur Land. After fighting his way through the perplexing Forest of Illusion Mario reached Roy's castle and ventured his way to the Koopaling's chambers.
In this battle, Roy would utilize Morton's attack pattern by climbing-up the walls of his room and try to crush Mario by dropping down from his ceiling. Unlike the last battle, the walls of the arena would steadily close in, giving Mario less of an easy time to avoid the attacks. Mario managed to defeat the wall-crawling Koopaling by bashing him on the head three times or hitting him with twelve fireballs.
New Super Mario Bros. Wii
Roy, along with the rest of the Koopalings, appeared in the game New Super Mario Bros. Wii as a boss. He wears a purple shell instead of his pink shell from the past games. Unlike his past appearances, where he was the fifth Koopaling that the player had to fight, Roy appears in World 2 instead.
In the first fight, Roy's arena is similar to Larry's first arena except that it is filled with quicksand. Before battling Roy, he is shocked that Mario made it to him and roars at Mario. In battle, Roy will make jump and ground pound like a Sledge Bro. If Mario doesn't jump when Roy lands on the ground, he'll be stunned by the shock wave, leaving him vulnerable. Roy's magic is purple in color and will hurt Mario if he comes in contact with it. In addition, his casting seems to be faster than Larry. Like most other bosses, three stomps on the head will defeat him. Roy will leave the fortress and flee to the castle at the end.
In the second fight, the arena closes up and there are no hazards. However, Kamek flies overhead and casts a spell on the arena, causing five huge Warp Pipes in different sizes to protrude from the ceiling. Roy will then jump into the Warp Pipe and start shuffling around. He'll then jump out of the pipe and make a huge shock wave, stunning Mario. Not only will Mario have to watch out for Roy's shock waves, but he also has to be careful not to be crushed by the Koopa from above. After 3 stomps, Roy is defeated and Mario claims the key that unlocks World 3.
Roy survived the battle, however, and was seen along with the other Koopalings getting Bowser back up, only to have Bowser's castle fall on top of all of them.
This is also the first game where the player faces Roy before facing Morton. Also, he is not the boss of a sky world (as he was in Super Mario Bros. 3), but rather a desert world (which Morton was the boss of in Super Mario Bros. 3).
New Super Mario Bros. 2
Roy and the other six Koopalings return in the Nintendo 3DS title, New Super Mario Bros. 2. Roy Koopa appears as the boss of World 1-Castle. He'll once again roar at Mario before battling him. In addition, in the prologue, he reveals to the player that he and the other Koopalings had kidnapped Peach during the Mario Bros' coin hunt, by unveiling a cage with Peach in it.
In his battle, Roy will charge toward Mario or Luigi (as he would have done in his cancelled Super Princess Peach appearance), and shoot purple fireballs with his magic wand to hit them. The Mario Bros. have to try to bait Roy Koopa into ramming into a wall to stun him. This in return will leave Roy vulnerable to being jumped on. Alternatively, the Mario Bros. can jump on Roy while he's doing the charge attack, but it's a bit harder to pull off.
Like in Super Mario World, the walls during his fight will constantly close each time Mario or Luigi stomps on him before retreating to his shell. After 3 stomps, Roy is defeated and the player will obtain the key, unlocking World 2.
Roy ended up surviving the encounter, later rejoining the rest of his comrades at Bowser's castle, where they used the Koopa Clown Car's petrification device in an attempt to petrify Mario. Afterwards, he, along with the rest of the Koopalings, attempted to aid Bowser by causing him to grow larger, although this resulted in Bowser knocking them into a lava pit. He and the others survived, and attempted to aid Bowser by airlifting him, but the combined weight caused the Koopa Clown Car to crash. Roy in the aftermath of the crash was hanging on to part of the "credits" and thus ended up going up to the sky.
New Super Mario Bros. U
Roy appears again in the Wii U title, New Super Mario Bros. U. Roy is the boss of Rock-Candy Mines. He is once again surprised by Mario's arrival and roars in response. His battle strategy is to shoot Bullet Bills with his Bill Blaster and jump between platforms that move around during the fight. He will occasionally shoot Missile Bills that home in on the player. He can also jump high in the air and ground pound the floor or platform, which makes him fire bullet bills on both sides of his blaster. The ground pound will also make the floating platforms appear after he comes out of his shell. Instead of fighting the Mario Bros. in the cabin room like his siblings, he is fought (along with Ludwig) on the crow's nest.
Roy has an airship with his head as the bow of the ship and his purple shell as the deck. The stern of his ship has a pink color design, similar to his former shell color from past appearances. Like most of the airships, Roy's airship is equipped with a propeller at the back of his ship as well as another one placed just beneath the crow's nest. The ship is equipped with four cannons, two on each side just like Morton's ship except the cannons are oriented horizontally. There are also magenta lids on top of the cannons used for closing and opening them. Roy has the second largest airship behind Morton. The interior of Roy's ship is unknown since the player never gets the chance to enter the cabin. When his airship first appears, the laughter uttered from it is higher-pitched than his voice in the battle. A similar oddity occurs with Morton Koopa Jr.'s airship.
Unlike the other Koopalings, Roy's artwork for New Super Mario Bros. U is an alteration of his New Super Mario Bros. Wii artwork, with his wand-wielding hand being replaced by the Bill Blaster held on his shoulder, and the entire image being mirrored. Similarly, Larry's New Super Mario Bros. U artwork is simply reused from the previous game, with only minor details tweaked.
Super Mario anime series
The Koopalings were featured in the Super Mario Amada Series, a set of three Japanese OVAs. In the Mario retelling of the story "Momotaro", Roy and his peers appear as minions of Bowser, aiding him in abducting Princess Toadstool. In "Shirayukihime (Snow White)" Roy also appears in a similar role and ends up being defeated by Mario. He was voiced in this incarnation by Naoki Tatsuta, who also voiced Ludwig, Luigi, and Lemmy in the same anime.
DIC Cartoons
In the The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World cartoons produced by Nintendo and DIC Entertainment, Roy was renamed Bully Koopa. As his name would imply, Bully constantly pummeled and pulled cruel-pranks on friend and foe alike. Out of all the Koopa Kids, Bully seemed to have the least amount of screen time in the DIC cartoons, only appearing occasionally, though he did have a major role in "Do the Koopa", "Recycled Koopa", and "The Yoshi Shuffle". He was also seen having a slightly major role in "Mush-Rumors". Bully was given a Brooklyn accent in the DiC cartoons, and unlike in the video games, the character wore a spiked collar, had only one spike in center of his shell, and was regarded as the oldest Koopa Kid.
Nintendo Comics System
Roy was also featured in the Nintendo Comics System. Here Roy's personality was similar to his "Bully Koopa" incarnation, but lacking the Brooklyn accent. The Nintendo Comics System issue "Bowser Knows Best" also revealed that Roy had a pet rabbit named Pookie, whom he would often abuse for his own amusement.
Nintendo Adventure Books
In Double Trouble, Roy is found piloting the Doomship, which he has parked above a patch of Munchers in the Mushroom Kingdom, by Mario. Upon sighting the plumber, Roy tries to escape, but if he gets a hold of an anchor, Mario can board the Doomship and confront him, discovering the Koopaling is holding Luigi captive. In the best possible scenario that occurs, Roy charges at Mario, who sidesteps, causing Roy to fall over the Doomship's railing and be sent plummeting to the ground below. All other possible choices presented to the reader merely end with Roy catching Mario and dumping him off the Doomship.
At the beginning of the book, if Mario decides to trust a clone of Luigi created by the GLOM, follows it into an alleyway behind Mario Bros. Plumbing and straps on an odd vest it hands him, he will be pulled up into the sky, and onto the Doomship. Before Mario can react, Roy catches him in a net, shoves him into a cage with the real Luigi, and pushes the two overboard after placing the cage in a large sack, causing a Game Over.
In Leaping Lizards, Roy and five of his siblings enter the International Mushroom Games, where Roy is the first Koopaling to compete. In two of three possible scenarios in the obstacle course, Roy cheats to get second place, and in the final one he is knocked out of the race when Rocky Wrench, a member of an opposing team called the Sneaks, cuts a hole in his Magic Carpet during the last stretch. After his carpet is sabotaged, Roy lands in a patch of Munchers, but is left uneaten due to the plants finding his tough skin unappetizing.
Roy also competes in the second event, the Beetlebowl. In one scenario, Roy teams up with Wendy to score, faking out the Mario Bros. with a ball of garbage he made up to look like a Hoopster while Wendy dunks a real one in their bucket. In another possible scenario, Roy proves immune to the blinding flashes employed by the Sneaks two Fire Snake members due to his sunglasses, and gets a hold of a Hoopster, only to lose it when Rocky Wrench throws ink in his face.
In Koopa Capers, Roy and his brothers have their wands stolen by Wendy, who disappears with them shortly afterward, intent on overthrowing their father with her own army, and a super wand she plans to create by fusing her own wand with her brothers'. If Luigi, who had been coerced by Bowser into searching for Wendy, tracks the female Koopaling down to her hideout, Bowser and the male Koopalings, who had been following him, will barge in after the plumber, but decide to stave off punishing Wendy for her mutiny if she helps search for the hiding Luigi. If Luigi had acquired Boom Boom's socks earlier in his adventure, he can toss them into Wendy's simmering wand combination potion, which will release fumes that knock the entire Koopa family and their minions out for at least a week.
Mario is Missing!
Though absent from the NES version of Mario is Missing! Roy does appear in the PC and Super Nintendo version of the game. In this game, Roy has a green shell, rather than his usual pink colouration. Following Bowser to Earth, Roy had planned on aiding him in his plot to melt Antarctica and flood the Earth. Roy was eventually defeated again in the corridor of Bowser's fortress by Luigi, who had been searching for his kidnapped brother. He also taunted Luigi by stating that even if the latter managed to succeed in sealing all the doors to the various parts of Earth, Bowser will still win due to their "being up to their tails" in terms of hair dryer amounts. He remained resolute in his belief that Bowser will succeed even as Luigi prepared to defeat Roy with a fireball, informing him as much.
Super Mario Adventures
Roy also appeared in the Super Mario Adventures comic, where he aided Bowser in his plot to hypnotize and marry Princess Toadstool.
Yoshi's Safari
In Yoshi's Safari Roy appears as the boss of Float Castle I. Roy battles Mario and Yoshi in a large hot-air balloon equipped with six cannons. Despite having this mass amount of firepower, Roy was still defeated by Mario's Super Scope.
Hotel Mario
In Hotel Mario Roy is in charge of and the boss of Roy's HardBrick Hotel; a hotel with somewhat shoddy electrical wiring. Fought on Roy's Rowdy Rooftop, Roy uses the same attack pattern against Mario in this game as he did in Super Mario World: climbing-up the walls and falling from the ceiling, trying to stomp Mario. He also can extend his arms to punch Mario if he's on the floor above or below Roy[2]. Like some of the other bosses, he can completely devour the player if he happens upon an elevator. Ultimately, Roy was once again beaten by the Mario Bros.
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
After several years of absence in a Mario game, Roy makes a return appearance in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. During Bowletta's invasion of the Beanbean Kingdom, Roy acts as a guard in Bowser's Castle, being the fifth Koopaling to be fought.
After making their way through Roy's puzzle filled room, Mario and Luigi approach the Koopaling, who flees at the sight of them. Leaving Roy's room, Mario and Luigi are then ambushed by the oversized Koopaling.
In this battle, Roy attacks by spitting fireballs (as with all Koopalings), spinning in his shell (akin to one of Ludwig's attacks), and stomping the ground, sending shock waves at Mario and Luigi (similar to Morton). Despite having the aid of a Time Bob-omb in battle, Roy is still defeated by the combined might of the Mario Bros.
Defeating Roy causes a barrel to fall into the room, allowing the brothers to rise up into the air and reach Wendy's location.
Super Princess Peach
Roy was originally going to appear in Super Princess Peach, although he was taken out of the final game along with the rest of the Koopalings. Like in Mario is Missing!, Roy's shell is green in the unused sprites, rather than pink. One of his attacks was a ram attack, which was worked into his fight in New Super Mario Bros. 2.
Character Description
Roy has the same yellow and tan skin complexion as the other Koopalings, but his head is pink instead of the standard green colouration. Roy has two fang-like teeth in the upper corners of both sides of his snout; they are the same as Larry's. His mouth is feline-shaped, as his lips are deeply curved, and his nose is flat. His head is a very simple round shape, and like the other Koopalings, he has a four-ribbed, padded stomach and padded feet.
Roy has always been rather large when compared to the other Koopalings. His long arms and hunched shoulders make him similar to a gorilla. His shell was originally pink, like his head; it was changed to green in unused sprites from Super Princess Peach, and is now purple, lined with a white encasing, and with the multiple, short spikes circled with hot-pink rings. His head and shell also appeared gray in Super Mario World, due to the limited color palette. Roy wears distinctive cat-eyed, hot-pink sunglasses, as well as the same metal, spiked cuffs as the other Koopalings. According to the Japanese New Super Mario Bros. Wii site bio for Roy, the glasses are "Bad Boy sunglasses," and they are his most defining feature.[3]
Personality and Traits
Roy is shown to speak in a calm and collected manner in the Super Mario Bros. 3 manual and Japanese promotional materials, though he is often depicted in the American medium as a typical bully who usually beats people up for his own amusement (hence the alternate name Bully Koopa). Regardless of the version, however, he is nonetheless depicted as preferring his brawn over his brains, as evidenced by his method of attacks in New Super Mario Bros. Wii and New Super Mario Bros. 2. In addition, he often roars at the Mario Bros. when encountering them, as evidenced by New Super Mario Bros. Wii and New Super Mario Bros. 2. It is rumored he spends most of his time beating up his little brother, Iggy, though he was seen beating mostly Big-Mouth (Morton) in the cartoons. His actions in Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga as well as in the Hoopster basketball scenario book also suggest that he also enjoys employing dirty tactics. His love of the color pink may be considered a subversion of his personality, although it could be a reference to the popular depiction of pink as a manly color. In New Super Mario Bros Wii, most of his colors were changed to purple, which in Japan is synonymous with death. He was also shown to be somewhat sarcastic in the PC version of Mario is Missing, such as when he faked fear of Luigi only to then declare "Not!" In addition, he also maintained a large amount of faith in the success of Bowser's plans even if he ends up defeated, as evidenced by his final lines to Luigi before being blasted by a fireball. His usage of a bullet bill blaster also implies that he likes using firearms.
Powers and Abilities
Roy has the ability to jump high into the air and use Ground Pounds to cause powerful tremors, capable of stunning (or even crushing) the Mario Bros. He can also climb up vertical walls and drop down from the ceiling to create tremors. He can also use his wand to shoot magic blasts or purple fireballs at his opponents. He is also shown to be strong enough to wield a huge bullet bill blaster with only one hand. In Hotel Mario, he uses his brawn by extending his arms to punch at Mario[2]. Like the others, Roy is capable of spitting fireballs and spin around while inside his shell. His unused sprites in Super Princess Peach suggest he was going throw spiked-balls and use a full body tackle for attacking. The latter concept was revived for New Super Mario Bros. 2. In Mario is Missing, Roy bragged that the only thing capable of destroying him was fire. Despite this, however, he was shown surviving alongside the other Koopalings being knocked into a lava pit by Bowser in New Super Mario Bros. 2.
Official Profiles and Statistics
Bio from The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 Writers Bible
As long as you're smaller than he is, Bully will push you around. His favorite sport is stealing lunches from second-graders in wheelchairs. Bully is the most dangerous of the kids. The oldest, he would try to take over his dad's position as king, if his dad would stop being such a big bully and let him do it. Bully has a gang, but nobody will join it. He thinks he's totally cool, and loves fifties greaser music in Nintendo style.
List of Appearances by Date
| Title | Description | Original Release Date | System/Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Super Mario Bros. 3 | Boss NPC | Japan: October 23, 1988 |
NES |
| Super Mario World | Boss NPC | Japan: November 21, 1990 |
SNES |
| Mario is Missing | Boss NPC | North America: 1992 |
PC, SNES |
| Yoshi's Safari | Boss NPC | Japan: July 14, 1993 |
SNES |
| Hotel Mario | Boss NPC | North America: December 31, 1994 |
CD-i |
| Mario Golf | Name appears on score board | Japan: 1999 |
N64 |
| Mario Golf | Name appears on score board | Japan: 1999 |
GBC |
| Super Mario Advance 2 | Boss NPC | Japan: December 14, 2001 |
GBA |
| Super Mario Advance 4 | Boss NPC | Japan: July 21, 2003 |
GBA |
| Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga | Boss NPC | North America: November 17, 2003 |
GBA |
| New Super Mario Bros. Wii | Boss NPC | Australia: November 12, 2009 |
Wii |
| Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games | Mii Costume | North America: 2011 |
Wii, 3DS |
| New Super Mario Bros. 2 | Boss NPC | Japan: July 28, 2012 |
3DS |
| New Super Mario Bros. U | Boss NPC | North America: 2012 |
Wii U |
Gallery
Quotes
- "Wow! Mario sure has some new neat tricks... I hope we can stop him!" - The Super Mario Bros. 3 manual (page 25)
- "Toss it in the sack! All of it!" - Crimes R Us
- "You beautiful Kootie Pie? I thought you were part of the garbage"- Recycled Koopa
- "Give up, Luigi. We already have cartons of hairdryers and Arctic Express is knocking at the door with another load." - Mario is Missing!
- "Oooh, I'm scared! NOT! Only fire can destroy me!" - Mario is Missing!
- "I knew the Koopa Critter defense would be too much for you. Try another door -- you can't stop us!" - Mario is Missing!
- "Go ahead, lock 'em all. We don't care, we're up to our tails in hairdryers. Soon this place will be a hairdryer-heated hot-house!" - Mario is Missing!
- "The hairdryers are still humming, pal. You might fry me, but Bowser will still be plugging away!" - Mario is Missing!
- "GRAAAAAAAAAA!" - When charging at the player in New Super Mario Bros. 2.
Names in Other Languages
References
- ^ Screw Attack reports that "The koopalings are NOT related to Bowser!!!" and provide a scan of a Game Informer interview with Shigeru Miyamoto. Posted September 12, 2012. (Retrieved September 19, 2012)
- ^ a b Hotel Mario review. 2005. (Retrieved July 10, 2012)
- ^ nintendo.co.jp - New Super Mario Bros. Wii character page (Click on the blue circle with the arrow to reach the Koopaling page and click on the pictures to see the short bio of each of the Koopalings). Translation (Retrieved November 13, 2011)
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