Hoopster
| Hoopster | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Artwork of a Hoopster | |||
| First appearance | Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic (1987, overall) Super Mario Bros. 2 (1988, Super Mario franchise) | ||
| Latest appearance | Ultimate NES Remix (2014) | ||
| |||
Hoopsters are large, ladybug-like insect enemies that first appear in Super Mario Bros. 2.
History
Super Mario series
Super Mario Bros. 2
In Super Mario Bros. 2, Hoopsters are found in a few levels and first appear in World 1-1. They are usually found crawling up and down vines, though occasionally they instead do so on trees in the background. Hoopsters speed up if the player's character (either Mario, Luigi, Princess Toadstool, or Toad) is near or on their vines. If the character touches a Hoopster from the side or below, they get injured. The character can jump on the Hoopster to ride up the vine it is crawling on. The character can defeat a Hoopster by either throwing a vegetable at it, touching it while under the Starman effect, or simply picking it up and throwing it.
In the original version and the Super Mario All-Stars remake, Hoopsters are red with black dots, while their Super Mario Advance sprites depict them as yellow with red dots. The artwork for all versions, however, depicts them as red with a lighter shade of magenta for their spots.
In the ending's cast list for the original version and the Super Mario All-Stars remake, Hoopster's name was misspelled as Hoopstar. This was corrected in Western versions of Super Mario Advance.
Super Mario Bros. 3 / Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3
In Super Mario All-Stars and Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3, both remakes of Super Mario Bros. 3, the king of Desert Hill is turned into a Hoopster with his own magic wand by Morton Koopa Jr.
In Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3, Hoopsters are featured as enemies in the e-Reader level, Rich with Ropes, acting the same as in Super Mario Bros. 2. They have the same sprite as in the main game.
The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!
Several Hoopsters appear as minions of King Koopa in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! episode "Mario and the Beanstalk", being sent by King Koopa to attack Mario, Luigi, Princess Toadstool, Toad and their goose ally on a giant beanstalk. These Hoopsters are defeated by Mario, who throws several Garbanzo Beans at them. Much like the game, they are red, but their spots are white instead of pink. Their legs are shown to be purple, while their feet seem to be gloved. Their eyes also are not separate, and the area around them is also purple instead of black.
Nintendo Adventure Books
When Mario first arrives in the Mushroom Kingdom in Double Trouble, he spots some Hoopsters (most of them presumably sand clones created by the GLOM) fighting for room on a hill. Later, Mario casually mentions that he hates it when the beetles ruin his picnics by stealing the food.
In Leaping Lizards, Hoopsters are used in the second International Mushroom Games event, the Beetlebowl, in which the goal is to catch and dunk Hoopsters into an opposing team's bucket. The gold trophy awarded to the winner of the tournament is also described as being based on a Hoopster.
In Pipe Down!, Ludwig von Koopa can use his giant pipe organ to summon some Hoopsters and other enemies to swarm the Mario Bros. if they attempt to attack him directly during one portion of the book. In Dinosaur Dilemma, while traveling through a forest, Yoshi spots some Hoopsters crawling around a tree trunk, and eyes them hungrily.
Profiles
Super Mario series
- Super Mario Bros. 2 instruction booklet: "He is a creature about the size of a basketball. He resembles a ladybug. He lives on vines and crawls up and down."
- Super Mario Advance instruction booklet: "You'll find Hoopsters hanging on vines and ropes. They're real speedsters, so step lively!"
Perfect Ban Mario Character Daijiten
ターペン
種族 クリープ族
性格 落ち着きがない
登場ゲーム USA
つたに住む変な虫
マリオUSAの6面の砂漠に登場する昆虫。つたに住み着いて、上下している。うまく上に乗れば、 エレベーターにもなる。アメリカ名をフープスターという。[1]
Turpen
Tribe: Creep clan
Disposition: Restless
Game appearances: USA
Strange insects living in the ivy
An insect that appears in the desert on the sixth page of Mario USA. It lives on ivy and moves up and down. If it rides up successfully, it can be used as an elevator. Its American name is Hoopster.
Encyclopedia Super Mario Bros.
Bio: つるやはしごを上下に移動している。ときおり速く移動する。[2] (They move up and down vines and ladders. Sometimes moves fast.)
Gallery
Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic Hisshō Kōryakuhō
Super Mario USA
An early poster for The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ターペン[3][4] Tāpen |
Turpen; likely a shortening of "turpentine" and possibly derived from a partial anagram of「ぺたぺた」(petapeta, onomatopoeia for the sound of a flat surface repeatedly making contact with something) | |
| フープスター[4] Fūpusutā |
Transliteration of the Super Mario Bros. 2 name | ||
| Chinese | 青藤虫[5] Qīngténg Chóng |
Green Vine insect | |
| German | Hoopster[?] | - | |
| Italian | Coccinellone[?] | Big Ladybug |
Trivia
- In the Japanese manual, Hoopster is likened to a soccer ball,[3] whereas in the English one, it is compared to a basketball (likely referring to the "hoop" in its name).[6]
References
- ^ Perfect Ban Mario Character Daijiten, page 100.
- ^ Shogakukan. 2015. Super Mario Bros. Hyakka: Nintendo Kōshiki Guidebook, Super Mario USA section, page 67.
- ^ a b 「サッカーボール大のテントウ虫みたい怪物。つるに住みつき上下に移動している。」 ("A soccer ball-sized, ladybug-like creature. It lives on vines and crawls up and down.") - Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic instruction booklet, page 32.
- ^ a b Perfect Ban Mario Character Daijiten, page 225.
- ^ From the ending scenes of Super Mario Advance as localized by iQue. Reference: 无敌阿尔宙斯 (August 28, 2013). 神游 超级马力欧2敌人官译 (Official names for iQue Super Mario Bros. 2 enemies). Baidu Tieba. Retrieved February 2, 2017.
- ^ "He is a creature about the size of a basketball. He resembles a ladybug. He lives on vines and crawls up and down." - Super Mario Bros. 2 instruction booklet, page 24 (Hoopster description).
