#shell creeper

So many people have wondered what the difference is between Bowser aka King Koopa and the Koopa Troopas. Well...

The Koopas in Japanese are turtles known as NokoNokos, while Bowser's name in Japanese is Kuppa. So Kuppa seems to be both Bowser's name and species name as other members such as the Koopalings are called little Bowsers as well. The Koopalings themselves are likely a Kuppa subspecies explaining their size as adult members of the Kuppas.

So we know Bowser, Bowser Junior, and the Koopalings are a member of the Kuppa species. But are there other members? Well of course... First we have the Blue Bowsers of unknown origin, you have Bowser's parents such as his dad obviously, and then there is the countless clones Bowser made of himself. Possibly Junior Troopa. Finally there is is Motley Bossblob. There are likely more members of the Kuppa species we just don't get to see. Written By Eris the Lorekeeper

So, shells in the Mario world are not necessarily biological but more like a type of clothing and possibly power up with variations of a single shell.

While not everyone remembers this but Koopas quite often could be kicked out of shells and run around without one Super Mario Bros. 4 Super Mario World, Super Mario 3D Land, Super Mario 64, etc. Even in the original Mario Bros. the Shell Creepers exit their shells to flip it. In Paper Mario 64 the Koopas of Koopa Village have their shells stolen by Fuzzies, one Koopa mentions their shell is custom made, this shows them to be something that can be ordered and worn.

This is further shown with characters like Bowser in the RPG games switching out shells, and Mario using the Blue Shell power up. Mario uses a Blue Shell Power up and block in NSMBDS and M&LBIS. There is also the Lazy Shell from SMRPG.

Not to mention Mario and Friends in Super Mario 3D World can enter empty Koopa shells.

They also seem to serve as power ups themselves Bowser gaining abilities from different shells, certain shells in SMB4SMW being able to chase Mario down when piloted by a Kamikaze Koopa, or even how when a Yoshi eats the SMW shells he can spit fire or grow wings.

We also see Blue Electrokoopas remove their shells and send it flying at Mario as a form of attack.

The shells are probably made by a company that is connected to the Strike Equipment from Mario Kart who Mario Red, Green, Bowser, and Spiny shells for kart races.

We also see shells being worn by non Koopa creatures as well that don't normally need shells like Goombas, Konkadors, and Ant Troopers. Yoshis themselves could be a Koopa as mentioned in a previous post, and like Koopas they are born without their shells.

Some shells might even be extra heavy causing Koopas to go on all 4. Written by Eris the Lorekeeper

A detail people have noticed is in Super Mario Bros. Wonder when you are hit by Koopas they bite. Here's the thing, this is not the first time Koopas have used bites as a form of attack.

If I am correct in Super Mario Galaxy if you run into a Koopa at the front it will bite you. But what's more notable is in Mario Bros. Arcade the Koopas aka Shell Creepers bite you if you get too close, with sprites depicting this.

A thing people get thrown off by is how sometimes Koopas like in Super Mario Galaxy 1 & 2 are walking on all 4 instead of 2 legs. However, quadrupled Koopas have been a thing for awhile and only occasionally show up. Since Mario Bros. Koopa Troopas or Shell Creepers as they were called then were quadrupled, and this is a detail that continued into Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. 3. While it may not be obvious in the Sprites in the games unless you pay attention. In addition the art for these games have them going on all fours.

It wasn't until Super Mario Bros. 4 Super Mario World did they become bipedal. From here Koopa Troopas would mainly remain bipedal, but occasionally would go bipedal here and there such as the Galaxy games, or in the RPG games like Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga with the Troopeas.

My hypothesis is that all Koopas are bipedal including the quadrupled ones, but are forced onto all fours because their shells are too heavy. My evidence for this is in Mario Bros. the Shell Creepers for a brief moment go bipedal, it happens when they exit their shells to flip it back over and then re-enter it.

Follow-up Written by Eris the Lorekeeper

There is a "theory" out there that claims the Koopa Troopas are based on the Yokai known as Kappa. That specifically the name Koopa comes from the name Kappa.

However, this ignores the actual origin of the name Koopa. As it should be common knowledge by now, Koopa is a name that was based on the Korean dish Gukbap. The reason I believe people think the name Koopa is based on the name Kappa is because of how to them it sounds similar, even though they aren't even homophones.

In addition the enemy of the Koopa Troopa originally didn't have the name Koopa, that was Bowser's name. Koopa Troopas were originally known as Shell Creepers and are called NokoNoko in Japanese.

However, Bowser and Bowser Junior while their names are not based on the name Kappa, they apparently take influence in their design from Kappas.

Written By Eris the Lorekeeper