Koopa Troopas are a common species in Paper Mario games. They have a hookbill and have all sorts of different color shells, commonly red and green. In Paper Mario, they had a village called Koopa Village, where most Koopas lived, and in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, most Koopas resided in Petalburg. In Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Koops the Koopa joins your party to avenge his father, who is believed dead after going off to fight Hooktail. Koops then helps you throughout the game, coming home a stronger Koopa.
There are also Green Koopas that are docile, such as the ones in Koopa Village that had their shells stolen by Fuzzies, Koopa Village is where you meet Kooper.
They also appear as enemies, albeit wearing a spiked ring around their neck and shades. While battling, a Koopa Troopa will use its Shell Toss attack to slam into Mario or his partner. If a jump attack is used against these foes, they are flipped onto their back for two turns, during which they cannot attack. This also drops their defense value to 0. These enemies are also in Paper Mario Sticker Star but these Koopas appear green and without sunglasses. This could also be quite confusing because in Paper Mario: Sticker Star, and Color Splash there are no friendly koopas.
History
Paper Mario
Several Koopa Troopas appear in Paper Mario, both as enemies and allies. All of the enemy Koopa Troopas in this game have red shells, a pair of sunglasses, and spiked, black arm bands and collars, like Bowser. These Koopa Troopas aid Bowser in his plot to kidnap Princess Peach. In this game, Koopa Troopas are shown to be quite resilient, as they have a fair defense (full damage can only be dealt once they are flipped onto their backs) and have the ability to withdraw into their shells and shoot themselves at their opponents. It is also the first enemy to make the First Strike and if Mario gets hits outside battle with this enemy, the player cannot use the action command meaning Mario will have to take damage.
The "good" Koopa Troopas all live in Koopa Village, a place which is overrun by Fuzzies at one point in the game. After Mario and Goombario get rid of all the Fuzzies they become quite popular in the village (the Koopa Troopas even sends a letter to Mario later in the game, thanking him and apologizing for not rewarding him). One Koopa Troopa, Kooper, joins Mario's party to aid him in his fight against Bowser after Mario gets his shell back from the Fuzzies. There is also a baby Koopa Troopa by the name of Jr. Troopa, who constantly stalks Mario and his allies to pick fights with them for intruding on his playground early in the game. He also makes a very small cameo in the sequel Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
The red-shelled sunglasses-wearing style of Koopa Troopa was carried over to Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door as common enemies, despite Bowser not being the main antagonist of that game. In fact Bowser himself may encounter some Koopa Troopas during the parts of the game where he can be played as, though they all run away from Bowser when he approaches them. The "good" Koopa Troopas of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door live in Petalburg. These "good" Koopa Troopas in this game are more true to the original Koopa Troopa appearance, with green shells and no shades or collars. Mario once again receives a Koopa Troopa partner, Koops. It is also mentioned that a heroic Koopa, presumably a Koopa Troopa, was one of the original four heroes who defeated the Shadow Queen; this Koopa's spirit is encountered at Keelhaul Key, as one of the four Black Chest Demons.
In this game, the evil Koopa Troopas are first seen in the path to Shhwonk Fortress in Petal Meadows. This variation is slightly stronger than the Paper Mario variety, since this one has more attack power. The Koopa Troopa is also the first enemy with defense to appear in the game. Koopa Troopas also appear in Hooktail Castle alongside Paratroopas, and rarely in Rogueport Sewers after completing Chapter 5, though here they are only seen inside a battle when confronting a Hammer Bro, Koopatrol, or Magikoopa, again along Paratroopas.
Super Paper Mario
Red and Green Koopa Troopas reappear in Super Paper Mario. In this game, they don't have as much HP or Defense as in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. This time, defeating Koopa Troopas is harder, although one can do it with Boomer, Cudge or certain items. Even though they only have 1 HP, they duck inside their shells. One an easily be defeated by another's shell.
A glitch is found in Lineland Road. It appears when Princess Peach keeps jumping on the Koopa Troopas while using her float ability; The player will lose points.
This game uses the Good/Bad Koopa Troopas system that was introduced in the earlier Paper Mario titles, but with a twist: in this game Koopa Troopas under Bowser's control aren't the "Bad" Koopa Troopas, and some even tried to save Princess Peach from Count Bleck. However, these "Good" Koopa Troopas still attack Mario and his party (in fact, if the player revisits the earlier levels as Bowser, Koopa Troopas without glasses still attack him), as do the Koopa Troopas wearing sunglasses under Nastasia's spell. Their apparent neutrality coincides with the presence of Koopa Troopas wearing red shells and green shells; "Bad" Koopa Troopas no longer exclusively have red shells, as green-shelled Koopa Troopas appear as foes wearing sunglasses and spiked collars. They appear in Flipside Pit of 100 Trials in room 11, 14, 16, and 19. A soccer version appears in this game.
Paper Mario: Sticker Star
Koopa Troopas reappear in the Nintendo 3DS game Paper Mario: Sticker Star. These Koopa Troopas no longer wear sunglasses as friendly ones in the game help in battle by damaging enemies, in the form of normal and Shiny Shell stickers. Similar to the previous installations, Koopa Troopas attack by folding into shells and ramming Mario though with more attack power. Using a Tail Sticker will defeat them. In addition to dealing more damage unlike other games, the shell toss attack occasionally inflicts the dizzy status. Koopa Troopas can be beaten in the first strike without engaging in combat with them once the player has obtained six HP-Up Hearts.
Mario encounters some new sub-species of Koopa Troopas, such as the Mural Koopa that depict ancient Koopa Troopas to walk on all fours, similar to the Koopa Troopa's early appearance in the series, and the Shiny Koopa that does more damage and has more defense.
Paper Mario: Color Splash
Green Koopa Troopas and red Koopa Paratroopas appear in Paper Mario: Color Splash as enemies. When a Koopa Paratroopa is jumped on, it loses its wings and becomes a normal red Koopa Troopa. Additionally, three green and three red Koopa Troopas dance in Birdo's concert at Plum Park. Koopa Troopas appear as enemies in Ruddy Road, Cherry Lake, Bloo Bay Beach, The Golden Coliseum, Vortex Island, Lighthouse Island, Fortune Island, and Green Energy Plant. In Dark Bloo Inn, a Koopa Troopa is part of the Shady Sledge Bro's gang, and some Koopa Troopas appear as NPCs in levels such as The Golden Coliseum and the Sunset Express. A variant of Koopa Troopa known as Koopa Troopa 6-Stacks appear in Lighthouse Island and Green Energy Plant.
Koopa Troopas attack by getting into their shells and ramming Mario, doing 7 HP of damage. When a Koopa Troopa is jumped on, it will go into its shell, and if it are attacked again, it will be kicked into the enemies behind it. If there is a wall behind the enemies, the Koopa Troopa will bounce back and hit Mario, even if he summoned it in using an Enemy Card. They will be knocked onto their shells if a POW Block is used.
Types of Koopas
There are quite a few types of Koopa in Paper Mario games. Below is a list of all known types.
- Koopa Troopa
- Paratroopa
- KP Koopa
- KP Paratroopa
- Shady Koopa
- Shady Paratroopa
- Dark Koopa
- Dark Paratroopa
- Koopatrol
- Dark Koopatrol
Koopa Bros.
Magikoopas
- Magikoopa
- Red Magikoopa
- Yellow Magikoopa
- White Magikoopa
- Green Magikoopa
- Gray Magikoopa
- Dark Magikoopa
Lakitus
Dry Bones
- Dull Bones
- Red Bones
- Dry Bones
- Dark Bones
- Dark Bones
Other
- Koopa Striker
- Soopa Striker
- Toopa Striker
- Mega Koopa
- Beach Koopa
- Dark Striker
Notable Friendly Koopas
- Kooper
- Parakarry
- Postmaster
- Koover
- Kolorado
- Kolorado's Wife
- Kolorado's Companions
- Koopa Koot
- Lakilester
- Lakilulu
- Koops
- Koopie Koo
- Koopley
- Kroop
- Koopook
- Laki
- King K.
- Shellshock
- Hamma Jamma
- Spiky Joe
- The Koopinator
Notable Enemy Koopas
- Jr. Troopa
- Koopa Bros.
- Tutankoopa
- Kent C. Koopa
- Flight (Lakitu. Unseen. Only heard through Lakilester's letter.)
- Spiky Tom (Koopatrol. Seen only once.)
- Spiky John (Koopatrol. Seen only once.)
- Mr. Hammer (Hammer Bro.. Seen only once.)
- Kammy Koopa
- Bowser
- Johnson (Koopa Troopa. Seen only once.)
- Captain (Hammer Bro. Seen only once.)
- Private Koopa (Koopa Troopa. Seen only once.)
Trivia
- Enemy Koopas have sunglasses and spiked collars, while docile Koopas have neither of these.
