Mechakoopa

Mechakoopa
	; Artwork of a Mechakoopa from New Super Mario Bros. Wii.
First appearance	Super Mario World (1990)
Latest appearance	Paper Mario: The Origami King (2020)
Variant of	Koopa
Variants
	Blasta Mechakoopa; Mega Mechakoopa; Zappa Mechakoopa
Notable members
	Bowser???; Mecha-Bowser; Mechakoopa

This article is about the robotic enemy. For Bowser Jr.'s down special move in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, see Mechakoopa (move). For the character in Mario Party Advance, see Mechakoopa (character).

Not to be confused with Mecha-Bowser, Micro Mecha-Bowser, or Mekakuppa.

Mechakoopas (also parsed Mecha Koopas, Mecha-Koopas^[1] or Meca Koopas^[2]) are one of Bowser's many minions that debuted in Super Mario World. They are small mechanical versions of Bowser, resembling a wind-up toy. They have a wind-up key on their back and their appearances feature several mechanical appendages. They walk in a rhythmical way and must wind themselves up again from time to time in order to keep moving.

History

Super Mario series

Super Mario World

Mechakoopas make a short appearance in Super Mario World, where they are only seen in the last level. In this game, they get paralyzed for a short time when stepped on, so Mario can kick them around, pick them up and throw them. When they get thrown, however, they do not travel very far like regular Koopa shells do. Mechakoopas are also not affected by ordinary kicks, as they just freeze, giving the player a chance to throw them somewhere; however, they are vulnerable against the Spin Jump, which turns them into dust.

Mechakoopas are also prevalent in Super Mario World's final battle, in which Bowser throws them off of his Koopa Clown Car. Mario or Luigi must throw them at Bowser six times in order to defeat him.

Super Mario Galaxy

Mechakoopas reappear in Super Mario Galaxy as Mecha-Bowsers.^[3] Their design is drastically different, they possess different attributes and, contrary to the name, are somewhat bigger and cannot be picked up by Mario or Luigi.

In Super Mario Galaxy, Mecha-Bowsers are found in both the Toy Time Galaxy and the Dreadnought Galaxy and can breathe flames for fairly long amounts of time. They can even chase Mario, like Goombas do. They can be defeated with a Ground Pound and stunned with a Star Spin. When defeated, they release a coin. They always tend to breathe fire right after recovering from being stunned.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii

Mechakoopas in New Super Mario Bros. Wii

Mechakoopas (also known here as Windup Koopas^[4]) return in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, where they are only encountered on Airship levels. In this game, Mechakoopas are designed after their appearance in the Mario Party series, and retain their attack pattern from Super Mario World. Unlike in Super Mario World, they do not have teeth, and their wind-up key is black instead of being white with a turquoise base.

It is shown through hacking methods that Yoshi can eat a Mechakoopa. However, he cannot jump on one.

Super Mario Galaxy 2

Mario near some Micro Mecha-Bowsers in the Flipsville Galaxy

The Mecha-Bowsers from Super Mario Galaxy reappear with the same attributes, but referred as Micro Mecha-Bowsers. ^[5] (alternatively Micro Mecha Bowsers^[6] They appear in the Flipsville Galaxy during the mission Flipsville's New Digs in the first section of the galaxy, and in the Cosmic Cove Galaxy during the mission Exploring the Cosmic Cavern on the last planet. In addition to the Ground Pound, Mario can also use the Spin Drill to defeat them by jumping over them and then drilling into them. Despite the new name Micro Mecha-Bowser, they are not any smaller than they were previously. The name is intended to be in relation to the giant Mecha-Bowser, which does not appear in this game.

New Super Mario Bros. U / New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe

Mechakoopas return in New Super Mario Bros. U with the same design and attacks as in New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Only three of them appear on The Mighty Cannonship in Soda Jungle.

Super Mario Maker 2

Mechakoopas were added to Super Mario Maker 2 in the version 3.0.0 update released on April 22, 2020. In addition to regular Mechakoopas, that behave as in previous installments, red and blue variants appear as alternate forms. The red versions, named Blasta Mechakoopas, spit homing missiles that explode after a little while. The blue variant, called Zappa Mechakoopas, periodically fire laser beams capable of destroying Brick Blocks. In the nighttime ground theme, all Mechakoopas are equipped with jet engines, allowing them to hover. If given wings, they fly back and forth horizontally. They do not appear in the Super Mario 3D World game style. If the player Spin Jumps on it when it is sleeping in low gravity, it will start moving either diagonally forwards or diagonally backwards at a steady pace. Since they did not appear in Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. 3, new sprites have been made for those styles. In addition, the Mega Mechakoopa from Mario Party 10 makes a reappearance by enlarging a normal Mechakoopa with a Super Mushroom.

Super Mario World cartoon

A Mechkoopa in the Super Mario World animated series.

Mechakoopas, referred to as Mechkoopas, and sometimes generically called "robots", appeared in several episodes throughout the Super Mario World animated series. Unlike their game counterparts, the animated Mechkoopas have light green arms, with white claws on their fingers.

Their first appearance is in the episode "Send in the Clown", where a Mechkoopa riding a bicycle acts as the tight-rope walker in King Koopa's circus, the "Koopaling Bros. Circus". After the circus is revealed to be a trap, this Mechkoopa, along with several Koopa football players, chase Mario through Neon Castle. The Mechkoopa is eventually defeated by Mario, who gains the cape ability. Later in the episode, Koopa attempts to defeat Mario by throwing several Mechkoopas at him from the Koopa Clown Car. Mario, after knocking a Mechkoopa unconscious, defeats Koopa by hurling the Mechkoopa at the car, causing it to malfunction and crash in a very similar way as Super Mario World.

Mechkoopas next make a small appearance in the "The Night Before Cave Christmas", where several of them attempt to attack Mario and Yoshi, who had broken into Neon Castle. Mario and Yoshi escape these Mechkoopas when Mario grabs a Feather to transform into Cape Mario and flies away.

The last appearance of Mechkoopas in the Super Mario World TV series is in the show's final episode, "Mama Luigi". During Luigi's story, Koopa sends a brigade of Mechkoopas after Mario and Luigi as the two explore Koopa's throne room looking for Yoshi. After the Mechkoopas chase them for a while, they are eaten by Yoshi.

Nintendo Adventure Books

In Flown the Koopa, if Mario and Luigi run into Bowser in the Valley of the Koopas, he will sic four Mechakoopas he had hidden in the trash can he was using as a chair on the two. In one possible scenario, Luigi will smash one of the Mechakoopas with his wrench, and make the others destroy themselves (by pressing the sports channel button) after taking their remote from Bowser. In the second scenario, the Mechakoopas will knock the Mario Bros. out with their telescoping robotic arms, then turn on Bowser, knocking him out as well. The Mechakoopas then wander off, intent on enacting their own world domination schemes.

In Unjust Desserts, it is mentioned by Luigi that some Mechakoopas were among the creatures Magikoopa shrank and tricked Yoshi into eating, though none are encountered in the actual story.

Super Mario-Kun

During a fight with Mario and Yoshi, Bowser uses Mechakoopas as projectiles in volume 4 of Super Mario-Kun, similar to his attack in the original game. Yoshi stuffs them in his mouth and spits them back, hitting Bowser.

Yoshi's Safari

Mechakoopas appeared in Bowser's Castle in Yoshi's Safari. In this game, they could be stunned with the Super Scope's bullets, but would awaken momentarily unless Yoshi walked into them.

Super Mario Adventures

In the Super Mario Adventures comic, the Koopalings, after having captured Mario by chance, used two Mechakoopas to send a message to Luigi, Toad and Yoshi. Either they exchange Princess Toadstool for Mario, or Mario will be killed, after saying this, the Mechakoopas symbolically burnt a Mario doll with the flamethrowers in their mouths. Luigi then said, "That's blackmail!". Luigi, with help from Friendly Floyd, managed to trick the two Mechakoopas by making them take him to the Koopalings instead of Princess Toadstool.

Hotel Mario

In Hotel Mario, Mechakoopas (parsed Mecha Koopas^[7]) reside in Bowser's Seizures Palace Hotel. They are blue in color, and trundle around in an odd manner. When stomped, they somewhat shrivel up, and temporarily cease movement. When roughly 3/4 of the stage's time runs out, they simultaneously break down and become immobile piles of junk. This can be an obstacle if one is in front of a door, requiring at least six jumps to be pushed aside. They can be defeated with a fireball.

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars

A giant Mechakoopa in Bowser Crush.

In Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, Bowser uses a giant, green Mechakoopa (parsed Mecha Koopa^[8]) as a weapon in his attack, Bowser Crush. This Mechakoopa was developed in a top-secret laboratory deep in Bowser's Keep for several months.^[9]

Mario Kart series

A Mechakoopa in Mario Kart 8

Mechakoopas appear as obstacles in one part of the tracks Bowser Castle 4 from Mario Kart: Super Circuit as well as GBA Ribbon Road from the Mario Kart 8 DLC pack Animal Crossing × Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. If a racer drives into one, their kart spins out.

A bike based on a Mechakoopa appears in concept art for Mario Kart Wii. It was called the メカクッパ DX (mekakuppa DX), translated to Mechakoopa DX, but the concept ultimately did not make it into the final product.

Mario Party series

Mario Party 5

In Mario Party 5, the player will fight a group of Mechakoopas in the first part of the final battle. They would walk around, occasionally flashing red, then unleashing fiery breath. Jumping on them once will cause them to explode. The player must throw them at each other, or just avoid them all for 60 seconds. Jumping on a Mechakoopa while it's breathing fire will hurt the player. This game marks the debut of Mechakoopa's current design.

Mario Party Advance

In Mario Party Advance, a mathematically gifted Mechakoopa works at the Mushroom Library.

Mario Party 7

A group of Mechakoopas in a circle as it appears in Mario Party 7.

In Mario Party 7, Mechakoopas appear in the minigame Tunnel of Lava!. Here, one Mechakoopa will eat the key required to win the minigame and will retreat into a hole, only to come back a second later with many other Mechakoopas. The Mechakoopas will then orbit a focal point at the player's starting position, and the player must stomp on the correct Mechakoopa within 30 seconds. The Mechakoopas have an attack pattern similar to that in the Frightmare minigame from Mario Party 5, except all the Mechakoopas will breathe fire simultaneously.

Mario Party 9

In Mario Party 9, Mechakoopas are given a minor appearance. They only appear in the minigame Mecha Choice, in which they chase the player through the hallways. They also surround the player if they choose the incorrect door. During the first Captain Event on Bowser Station, Heart Star Colony, if there are less than 4 players, Mechakoopas will fill the open spaces, ensuring that there will always be three players for the captain to match.

Mario Party 10

While regular Mega Mechakoopas do not appear in Mario Party 10, Mega Mechakoopa appears as a boss.

Super Mario Party

In Super Mario Party, a Mechakoopa makes a cameo appearance in the minigame Absent Minded, where it is one of the characters that can be chosen as a guess.

Mario & Luigi series

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga

Smaller versions of Mechakoopas make a short appearance in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga as conductors to complete circuits of electricity in Bowser's Castle; unnamed toy mice held the same purpose previously in Woohoo Hooniversity.

Mario & Luigi: Dream Team

Mechakoopas make their second appearance in the Mario & Luigi series in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team. They appear in Dreamy Neo Bowser Castle as common enemies rather than obstacles and retain the same appearance as in other recent games. In the field, Mechakoopas run back and forth rapidly, making them difficult to avoid. They gradually slow-down to a halt as their key unwinds, and will spend a moment rewinding it, before continuing running about again. In battle they appear in fairly large groups, working together to attack Mario in three ways. Their first attack method is lining up single-file and spitting fireballs, which Mario must jump to avoid. For the second attack they surround Mario from all four directions and charge at him in the order they hop, and Mario hits them away with the hammer. Their third attack has them line up and charge into Mario one-by-one, if they jump beforehand, it will jump over Mario at which point he must remain idle. If a Mechakoopa is damaged before or during battle, it will malfunction and reverse its attack pattern. Mechakoopas can give Mario the trip status.

During the battle with Bowser Jr., Mechakoopas appear as objects that Mario and Luigi can throw at him while riding his Junior Clown Car.

Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam

Mechakoopas appear in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam as enemies. They attack by standing in front of a bro and spitting a fireball at him which is countered with the hammer, if they look straight they will shoot straight, and if they look up the fireball will go in an angle, and if shooting at Paper Mario it will fire multiple smaller fireballs. They also do the same one-by-one charge attack as in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, which works the same way. Like in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, when they take damage, they will malfunction and reverse their attack pattern.

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions

In Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions, Mechakoopas replace Mecha-Chomps as regular enemies in Woohoo Hooniversity, and the Mechakoopas found in Bowser's Castle have been replaced with the toy mice. In battle, Mechakoopas attack by simply charging into the bro it lines up with. However, if it is malfunctioning, it will instead charge into the bro it is not aligned with. Mechakoopas also appear in Minion Quest: The Search for Bowser as recruitable allies, and appear in the missions Double Trouble Koopaling Caper and Goomba's Worth. They are melee troopers, and they attack by running into opponents. Their special skill, Mega Tackle, allows them to charge into an enemy. Mechakoopas are strong against Chargin' Chucks, but are weak to Broozers.

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey

In Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey, Mechakoopas appear in the Bowser Jr.'s Journey mode, where they are enemies and recruitable allies. They appear as Bowser Jr.'s first troops, and are melee troopers.

Mario Tennis series

Mechakoopas appear as line judges in the Bowser's Castle courts of Mario Power Tennis and Mario Tennis Open.

Mario Tennis Aces

In Mario Tennis Aces, Mechakoopas walk around in Inferno Island as obstacles, flashing red and exploding when they approach the player. The player can knock the Mechakoopas away with their tennis racket, allowing them to damage opponents.

Super Smash Bros. series

Main article: Mechakoopa (move)

Mechakoopas serve as Bowser Jr.'s down special move in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. They get released from the Junior Clown Car and walk across the arena, turning around at ledges. In the former games, if it makes contact with an opponent, it knocks them up into the air before exploding; in the latter, however, the Mechakoopa latches onto the opponent while knocking them upward. It will also explode if attacked or simply left on its own, as well as also being able to be picked up and thrown.

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, a Mechakoopa also appears as a support spirit, which reduces damage taken from lava floors when equipped.

Minecraft

In the Super Mario Mash-up in Minecraft, Hoglins are replaced by the Mechakoopas from Super Mario Galaxy. Additionally, red variants of Micro Mecha-Bowsers replace Zoglins.

Dr. Mario World

Mechakoopas appear in Dr. Mario World as assistants. In stage mode, their effect is to increase the obtained score for each yellow virus eliminated, where the base score increase is greater at higher levels. In versus mode, their effect is to instead increase the speed of the attack meter for both the user and their opponent, where the amount of points required to fill the attack meter is reduced by the percentage listed, rounded down to the nearest round number. The attack meters are reduced further when other assistants with the same effect are present, such as with Fly Guy or another Mechakoopa.

Paper Mario: The Origami King

An origami Mechakoopa

Mechakoopas make their Paper Mario debut in Paper Mario: The Origami King, where origami variants of them act as enemies. One Mechakoopa can appear in random battles, and can flee if not defeated in one turn. If they are defeated, a 1,000 Coin bag will be rewarded upon returning to the overworld.