Koopalings

"We just love being mean!"

- The Koopa Kids, Super Mario Bros. 3 instruction booklet

The Koopalings aka The Koopa Kids are seven minions of Bowser and the tertiary antagonists of the series, found in Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, Hotel Mario, Mario is Missing!, Yoshi's Safari, New Super Mario Bros. New Super Mario Bros. U, ''Mario Kart 8, and Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition. In addition to these appearances, they are also the main antagonists of New Super Mario Bros. 2''.

Birth Order
If there is something confusing about the Koopalings, it is their birth order. According to the Player's Guide for Super Mario Bros. 3, Larry is stated to be the youngest of the group, while Ludwig is said to be the oldest. As Larry is the first Koopaling of the game, while Ludwig is the last, it is strongly implied that all seven Koopalings are fought in order from youngest to oldest: Larry Koopa, Morton Koopa Jr, Wendy O. Koopa, Iggy Koopa, Roy Koopa, Lemmy Koopa, Ludwig von Koopa. However,the birth order for the five middle children has never been confirmed,. The release of New Super Mario Bros. Wii made even more confusion about their birth order. Morton is supposedly the second youngest Koopaling. However, he is very large in size and has a low-pitched voice, making him appear like one of the oldest Koopalings. As of now, however, the true birth order of the Koopalings (with the exception Larry and Ludwig who are the youngest and oldest respectively) remains to be seen. In the Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World cartoons, an alternate birth order was used. Bully (Roy Koopa) is regarded as the eldest, while Hip and Hop (Lemmy and Iggy Koopa) are 6 year old twins, as well as the youngest. However, the cartoons are considered non-canonical.

Super Mario Bros. 3
The first appearance of the original seven Koopalings was in Super Mario Bros. 3; here, the Koopalings were ordered by Bowser to use their airships and armies to conquer the various lands of the Mushroom World. Each Koopaling, after attacking a kingdom, would steal the magic scepter of the land's ruler and transform that ruler into an animal of some kind. (Sometimes Yoshi, or Donkey Kong Jr. in remakes.) Mario would encounter and battle a Koopaling every time he ventured through a heavily guarded airship. The battle against the Koopaling would consist mostly of dodging the Koopalings leaps and magical blasts from their stolen scepter (or in Lemmy and Wendy case shoot magic balls and rings). It would only take three jumps on the head in order to defeat a Koopaling or use several fireballs. Once defeated, a Koopaling would retreat into their shell, fly to an unknown place (possibly Dark Land) and drop their scepter.

Super Mario World
In Super Mario World the Koopalings aid Bowser in his attack on Dinosaur Land. Each Koopaling was charged with guarding a fortress on each of Dinosaur Land's areas. After traveling through a Koopaling fortress, Mario would battle a Koopaling, who would need to be bashed on the head repeatedly to be defeated. After a Koopaling was defeated, a captured Yoshi would be rescued and the path to a new area would be opened. For some reason, (maybe due to sprite limitations) the Koopalings' in-game sprites have alternate color schemes.

Yoshi's Safari
In Yoshi's Safari, the Koopalings once again aid Bowser in the conquest of a kingdom, this time the target is Jewlery Land. In this game, the Koopalings attack Mario by using weaponry built by Iggy. It would take various shots from Mario's Super Scope to beat a Koopaling, thus forcing him/her to hold up "the white flag of defeat".

Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga/Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions
After several years absence, the Koopalings made a return appearance in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. In this game, the Koopalings appear as bosses in Bowser's Castle, which had been hijacked by Bowletta and was currently attacking Beanbean Castle Town. In Bowser's Castle, Mario and Luigi would fight a Koopaling in their room, usually needing to complete some sort of challenge in order to battle them. They appeared in the same order as in Super Mario World (Iggy, Morton, Lemmy, Ludwig, Roy, Wendy and Larry), and none of them had any dialogue. Also, each Koopaling after Ludwig, Roy being the first used a Time Bomb in battle. If the Mario Bros. failed to defeat them in 9 turns, the Bomb's timer would reach zero and it would explode, causing Mario and Luigi to lose the battle.

The Koopalings return in the 3DS remake. They take their modern designs from New Super Mario Bros. Wii instead of their original designs.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii
The Koopalings finally make their return in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, serving as bosses in the game's first seven worlds. They also make an appearance in the game's opening sequence, hiding in a cake that the Toads presented Princess Peach with on her birthday. Bowser Jr. also appears alongside the Koopalings, marking the first time that the Koopalings and Bowser Jr. have appeared in the same game. The seven Koopalings appear to all have Magic Scepters, while Bowser Jr. has a Koopa Clown Car of his own. In the first seven worlds, Mario and friends would have to ascend a tower in the middle of the world, the top of which the Koopaling of that world awaits. When defeated in battle, they are also seen jumping away after their defeat much like Bowser Jr. in the original New Super Mario Bros., setting up a rematch at the castle at the end of the world. Upon catching up with the Koopalings again, Kamek will appear and add a new element to the battle, such as replacing the floor of Larry's room with one that shifts up and down, or giving Lemmy an even larger ball than before. Additionally, Iggy is now taller and skinnier than before, and his hair is now green and changed in shape (these changes were most likely done to make it easier to tell him apart from Lemmy). Likewise, Lemmy has obtained a blonde ponytail, and Larry has lost 2 of his four fangs. Morton also appears to be much larger than he was before, as he is now even bigger than Roy (the size comparison between the two can be seen in the game's intro, where the Koopalings kidnap Peach). The shell colors of the Koopalings have also been changed. Larry's shell is now light blue instead of green, Ludwig's shell is now dark blue instead of green, Roy's shell is now purple instead of pink, Morton's shell is now black instead of gray, Lemmy's shell is now orange instead of green, and Iggy's shell is now a lighter shade of green to match his new hair color (and to contrast the color of Bowser Jr.'s shell). Wendy O. is the only one who appears to have the same shell color as before (pink) and has barely any changes. The Koopalings are given voices as well. At the end of the game, Bowser and six of the Koopalings were crushed by the castle. Larry and Bowser Jr. were standing far away.

New Super Mario Bros. 2
In New Super Mario Bros. 2, the Koopalings are the main villains of the game. This is the first New Super Mario Bros. title to not include Bowser Jr. They kidnap Peach with Bowser's Koopa Clown Car. Roy's battle is similar to his battle in Super Mario World, but he does not go upside down at all. He is the boss of World 1. Iggy's battle is similar to his battles in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, but the Chain Chomp does not grow large. Sand comes up when the Chain Chomp is about to appear. He is the boss of World 2. Larry's battle has platforms that move up and down. The magic moves around, like what Wendy does with it. He is the boss of World Mushroom. Wendy's battle is similar to her battles in New Super Mario Bros. Wii. She whistles and Cheep Cheeps appear. She does not use her wand in the battle. She is the boss of World 3. Morton's battle consists of Morton creating spiky balls with his wand. He comes out of a pipe, attempting to paralyze Mario. He is the boss of World 4. Lemmy's Battle is similar to his battles in New Super Mario Bros Wii, but the icy platform has been replaced with a confabelt and his ball does not grow bigger. He is the boss of World Flower. Ludwig's battle consists of him hanging on chains. Mario must shoot up to where is and make him fall down. He is the boss of World 5. Unlike previous games which feature the Koopalings, it is not required to defeat all 7 of them to complete the game; only a minimum of 5 are required to be defeated due to the player being able to skip worlds using cannons.

New Super Mario Bros. U/New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe
The Koopalings have their own airships in this title. Lemmy is the boss of Acorn Plains. His boss battle consists of Mario dodging bombs thrown by Lemmy and jumping on his head. His airship is circus-themed. Morton's battle requires Mario to dodge the large pokey's body parts and jump on his head. His airship, which is decorated like ancient ruins, is in Layer-Cake desert. Larry is the boss of Sparkling Waters, and his battle requires Mario to simply jump on columns made of water to reach Larry, and jump on his head. All he does to retaliate is shoot beams from his magic scepter, similiar to his other battles. Wendy's battle is ice-themed. She skates around the room and uses her ringed bracelets to make rings appear, which then cause icicles to drop from the ceiling. Mario must avoid these and jump on her head. She is the boss of Frosted Glacier. Iggy's battle takes place in Soda Jungle, and consists of him running in and out of pipes and summoning magmaarghs to hurt Mario. The player must wait for him to return to the floor and jump on his head to defeat him. Roy, who is the boss of Rock-Candy Mines, takes place above the airship rather than in it, similar to Ludwig's. He uses his Bullet-Bill Bazooka to shoot Bullet Bills at Mario. He must avoid them and jump on his head. Ludwig's battle takes place above his airship in Meringue Clouds. He levitates and creates identical copes if himself. Mario must identify which Ludwig is the real one by looking at the magic blasts from their scepters (the real Ludwig will shoot three blasts, whereas the fakes will shoot one) and jumping on his head.

During the final battle against Bowser, the Koopalings appear following his defeat and use their magic to turn him giant. They are then knocked out of the air by Bowser. The final time the Koopalings are seen is during the credits, where they can be seen strewn about the Mushroom Kingdom following Bowser's defeat, as Mario takes Peach back to her castle and collects coins.

Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition
Just like New Super Mario Bros. U, they have their own airships. Their airship is unlocked when you beat the world castle. Each Koopaling has their own element. Larry's (World 1) and Iggy's (World 5) element is Wood. Lemmy's (World 2) element is Dark. Morton's (World 3) and Ludwig's (World 7) element is Fire. Wendy's (World 4) element is Water. And Roy's (World 6) element is Fire. Probably the hardest Koopaling boss is Roy's (Although many people can't get past Morton) unless you have King Bill because Roy has a high defense, but high health too (Unlike Spinys, and Bob-ombs which have a high defense, but low health). King Bill can set Roy's defense to 0 and then Roy is then the easiest boss. In the final battle, Bowser and the Koopalings go into the Koopa Clown Car and Bowser Jr. goes into the Mini Koopa Clown Car. The enemies are called "Bowser Jr." and Bowser and his Minions, not Koopalings. It is now questionable if the Koopalings are really Bowser's children. Unless if Bowser's children (The Koopalings) are his minions.

Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam
In Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, the Koopalings all appears as major antagonists along with the Bowsers (Bowser and Paper Bowser) and the Bowser Jrs. (Bowser Jr. and Paper Bowser Jr.).

Mario Kart 8/Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
The Koopalings are playable characters in Mario Kart 8 as revealed from February 2014's Nintendo Direct. This is their first appearance as playable characters in the series and they are unlockable. This is also their first appearance in the Mario Kart series overall.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
The Koopalings are playable in this game but only as costume changes for Bowser Jr.. The Koopalings all possess Bowser Jr.'s moveset and only have different Koopa Clown Cars and voices.

Hotel Mario
The Koopalings appeared in the non-canonical Hotel Mario. This was the last appearance of the Koopalings for several years. Six of them got their own hotel, while Iggy was in Bowser's hotel. However, they were defeated in the end.

Mario is Missing
In Mario is Missing!, the Koopalings travel with Bowser to aid him in his plan to melt Antarctica, thereby flooding the Earth. A Koopaling would guard the corridor of Bowser's fortress and battle Luigi, who was searching for his missing brother. All it would take was a few bops on the head to defeat a Koopaling in Mario is Missing!. In the Nintendo Entertainment System version of Mario is Missing!, only Ludwig, Roy, and Iggy Koopa appear; in the PC version of the game, Lemmy and Morton Koopa Jr. are the only ones not appearing, though they are mentioned in the game's manual.(Lemmy is said to play in the snow during the events of the game.) Also, in the PC version, instead of stomping the Koopalings, Luigi defeats them with a single blast from a Fire Flower that he gains after locking each door on a floor.

Other Media
The Koopalings also appeared in The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World. Their cartoon names are Bully (Roy), Kootie Pie (Wendy), Kooky (Ludwig), Hip (Lemmy), Hop (Iggy), Big Mouth (Morton), and Cheatsy (Larry). This difference is due to the fact that the names of the Koopalings were not known when the show was being made.

Koopalings Koopalinge