Koopa Troopas are the most common variety of Koopa encountered in the Super Mario games. Often serving as the foot soldiers of Bowser, they frequently appear as enemies that impede Mario's progress. Nowadays, Koopa Troopas appear to be bipedal, but before Super Mario World they moved around on all fours. In their various game appearances, Koopa Troopas usually march in one direction regardless of what hazards lay before them. Mario can defeat them by jumping on them, forcing them to retreat into their shells (or sometimes squeezing them out of the shell altogether) and then kicking the shell across the ground where it will knock down any other enemies in its path. However, if the shell is left alone then the Koopa will re-emerge and start moving again. Also, if a kicked Koopa shell hits a wall, it will bounce back and move the other way, threatening to hit Mario. Mario can defeat a Koopa Troopa for good with fireballs, spin-jumping, or by grabbing a Koopa shell and using it to hit another enemy directly.
Types of Koopa Troopa[]
The different types of Koopa Troopa can be identified by the colours of their shells.
- Green - These Troopas will aimlessly move forward regardless of any obstacles or threats ahead of them, so they will walk off platforms.
- Red - Red Koopas will not walk off cliffs like their green cousins; if they come to a platform edge, they will turn around and head the other way.
- Blue - The blue Troopas behave much like the reds, but they move faster. Also, if popped out of their shells, instead of jumping back into it they will kick it at Mario.
- Yellow - When a shell-less Koopa dons a yellow shell, it will become near-invincible. It will spin around in its shell which will flash different colours and it will quickly move to attack Mario. Mario's normal jumps and fireballs will not work against it, but spin-jumping will destroy it right away.