History of the Koopalings
The Koopalings are leaders of Bowser's Minions under Bowser who debuted in Super Mario Bros. 3 (originally depicted as his children), notable for appearing as world bosses in Super Mario platformers. In some role-playing games (such as the Mario & Luigi and Paper Mario series), they also appear as bosses. They made some appearances in spin-offs as separate playable characters. They appear in other Super Mario media under different names while they did not have their official names during production.
Super Mario franchise[edit]
Super Mario series[edit]
Super Mario Bros. 3 / Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3[edit]
The first appearance of the seven Koopalings was in Super Mario Bros. 3 where they are the main bosses of the first seven worlds of the game. Here, Bowser ordered the Koopalings to use their airships and armies to conquer the various lands of the Mushroom World. Each Koopaling, after attacking a kingdom, stole the ruler's magic wand and transformed that ruler into an animal of some kind (or in the case of Pipe Land's ruler in the original version, a plant).[1]
Mario and Luigi battle a Koopaling every time they travel through a heavily-guarded airship. The battle against the Koopalings consists mostly of dodging the Koopalings' leaps and magical blasts from their stolen wand. It takes three stomps on the head or ten fireballs in order to defeat a Koopaling. Unlike Bowser, they are immune to hammers. Once defeated, that Koopaling retreats into their shell, flies away, and drops their magic wand. After Mario or Luigi picks it up, the airship vanishes, and that world's king is restored. If the player fails to defeat a Koopaling and returns to the world's castle, the Toad there will refer to them as Little Koopa.[2] Unlike in future games, such as New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Super Mario Maker 2, it is safe to jump on a Koopaling while they are in their shell, with the impact of the stomp knocking Mario and Luigi away and possibly into the Koopaling's path.
The Koopalings played the same role in Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3, with Morton, Lemmy and Ludwig each given an extra e-Reader level. There is a scene where Larry attacks Grass Land and turns its king into a Cobrat. In addition, if the player manages to defeat Bowser before defeating the other Koopalings, a cutscene plays when the player arrives at their respective world's castle in which they ambush the king, steal the wand, and then depart shortly before Mario arrived. One Koopaling appears on the key art of several level cards, with the only exceptions being Classic World 1-1 and No Time to Dawdle (both of which feature Mario and Luigi), Treacherous Halls (which features Boom Boom), Bowser's Last Stand, Bowser's Airship 1, and Bowser's Airship 2 (all three of which feature Bowser himself, for obvious reasons).[3] On a related note, the cards also have the respective Koopalings giving some commentary in the flavor text, with the only exception being Airship's Revenge. To a lesser extent, the Koopalings also appeared on some of the level cards descriptions in the English releases of the level cards.[4]
Super Mario World / Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2[edit]
In Super Mario World, the Koopalings aid Bowser in his attack on Dinosaur Land. Each Koopaling was charged with guarding a castle on each of Dinosaur Land's areas.
After traveling through a Koopaling's castle, Mario or Luigi would battle a Koopaling, who would need to be bashed on the head three times, or in Iggy and Larry's case, knocked into the lava to be defeated. Morton, Ludwig, and Roy can also be defeated with a dozen fireballs. After a Koopaling was defeated, a captured Yoshi's Egg would be rescued, the castle would be destroyed and the path to a new area would be opened.
Once defeated, Morton, Ludwig, and Roy spiral into the background wall (signified by a puff of smoke), while Iggy, Lemmy, Wendy and Larry fall into the lava. Afterwards, Mario or Luigi would destroy their castle in a variety of different ways. The narration gives a unique description for each defeat in the English translation, though the original text for each castle is uniform for each victory and does not individually refer to their loss. In International versions, each fort and castle can also be challenged again by holding L & R at the rubble.
The Koopalings' in-game sprites differ drastically from their game artworks (likely due to technical restrictions). The Koopalings generally use the palettes intended for Koopa Troopas (blue for Iggy and Roy, green for Morton and Larry, yellow for Lemmy and Ludwig, and red for Wendy), and none of the Koopalings match their artwork coloration except Larry (who uses the green color sprite). Additionally, the game's cast roll uses alternate color palettes for three of the Koopalings, which if rearranged, would match their sprites from Super Mario Bros. 3: Morton gets a teal palette, the same one applied to the Buzzy Beetles' in-game sprites, which would match Ludwig's; Ludwig gets a pink palette more appropriate for Roy; and Roy gets a gray palette that would fit Morton. Iggy also uses Larry's hairstyle during battle, despite the correct style being used during the game's cast roll. The original version's sprites depicts the Koopalings with three fingers on each hand; this error was corrected in the Game Boy Advance remake to more closely resemble their actual appearances.
This is the only title in the main Super Mario series where Ludwig is not the final Koopaling to be fought.
Super Mario Sunshine[edit]
In Super Mario Sunshine, a small clip of Iggy being fought in Super Mario World is shown on the bottom-left corner for about one second when Mario is scanned by FLUDD on Delfino Airstrip.
New Super Mario Bros. Wii[edit]
The Koopalings reappear in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, serving as the tertiary antagonists and bosses in seven of the game's worlds. They are first seen in the game's opening sequence, where they, along with Bowser Jr., hide in a cake (with their hair, Wendy's bow, and Roy's sunglasses) as toppings that the Koopalings presented Princess Peach with. The seven Koopalings all sport what seems to be replicas of the magic wands from their first appearance, while Bowser Jr.'s Junior Clown Car is introduced. In the first seven worlds, an Airship drops off a Koopaling at a Tower in the middle of the world. Mario and his friends would have to ascend it, at the top of which the Koopaling of that world waited. When defeated in battle, the Koopaling then jumps 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 Koopaling again, Magikoopa appears and adds a new element to the battle, such as replacing the floor of Larry's room with one that shifts up and down, giving Lemmy an even larger Wonder Ball, flooding Wendy's room, or even making three platforms in Ludwig's room. In addition to this game being the first to feature the Koopalings' current designs, they have also been given unique voices from this game onwards; Roy, Morton and Ludwig in particular have noticeably deeper voices than they had in the cartoon series.
After the credits, they are shown helping Bowser get back up (with the exception of Larry, who is shown just arriving, exhausted and limping, and passing out before being gestured by Bowser Jr. to get up). When the Koopalings get Bowser back up, however, Bowser's castle falls on top of them. When the screen cuts to black at the moment of impact, Bowser can be heard moaning in pain afterwards.
In New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Larry is in World 1, Roy is in World 2, Lemmy is in World 3, Wendy is in World 4, Iggy is in World 5, Morton is in World 6, and Ludwig is in World 7.
While in Super Mario Bros. 3 Morton was the boss of a desert world, Roy was the boss of a sky world, and Ludwig was the boss of a pipe world, these have all been slightly switched. Roy is the boss of a desert world, Ludwig is the boss of a sky world, and Morton is the boss of a mountain world (replacing the pipe world). Also, Iggy's giant world is replaced with a jungle world. Larry, Lemmy, and Wendy each retain their world themes (grass, ice, and water, respectively).
New Super Mario Bros. 2[edit]
The seven Koopalings reappear in the game New Super Mario Bros. 2 as the secondary antagonists, serving the main antagonist, Bowser. Five of them (Roy, Iggy, Wendy, Morton, and Ludwig) serve as the castle bosses of the first five main worlds, while the two others (Larry and Lemmy) are the castle bosses in the two special worlds.
They use the Koopa Clown Car to kidnap Princess Peach, as seen in the intro, where Mario and Luigi fly around for coins while the Koopalings capture the Princess. After Mario and Luigi safely landed, the Koopalings crash onto the floor, making the Mario Bros. lose their Super Leaves. They show them Princess Peach and fly away, with Mario and Luigi closely behind them.
One of the Koopalings is seen at the beginning of each world, where they run to the Tower with Princess Peach. After defeating the Reznors in the Tower, the Koopaling of this world comes down with a chain, laughing or taunting Mario and then disappearing again, running to their castle. After the castle fight, the next Koopaling awaits with Princess Peach, only to run away to the next world. They are also seen with the Koopa Clown Car to turn Mario into stone in the final castle (and World 
Star-
Castle) by blasting a bright light. After Bowser's initial defeat, the Koopalings, similar to Magikoopa in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, attempt to aid Bowser by magically making him grow bigger, although this only resulted in them being knocked down by a giant Bowser (and later Dry Bowser). During the credits, they are seen trying to carry the defeated Bowser with the vehicle, but his weight pulls them down, scattering them all on the ground and trees.
In this game, Roy is in World 1, Iggy is in World 2, Wendy is in World 3, Morton is in World 4, Ludwig is in World 5, Larry is in World Mushroom, and Lemmy is in World Flower. On a side note, when all Koopalings are in the Koopa Clown Car, the five Koopalings that are required to be fought (Roy, Iggy, Wendy, Morton and Ludwig) are within the car, while the two optional Koopalings (Larry and Lemmy) are holding onto the outside of the car. The New Super Mario Bros. 2 guide mistakenly gives the name Larry Koopa to Iggy Koopa.[5]
New Super Mario Bros. U / New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe[edit]
The Koopalings, along with Bowser Jr. and Magikoopa, return in New Super Mario Bros. U and its Nintendo Switch port. The Koopalings aid Bowser in seizing Peach's castle and also travel to the neighboring regions in order to ensure that the Mario Bros. don't return to the castle. Like in Super Mario Bros. 3, each Koopaling has a personal airship, which have now been stylized with decorations of their heads representing the bow and their colored shells on the top. They are bosses in castle levels once again, but are fought in their airships, which are accessed via a cannon within the castles. Like New Super Mario Bros. 2, they are no longer the bosses in towers. While Larry, Iggy and Ludwig retain their magic wands, Lemmy, Morton, Wendy and Roy do not use them in this game. Instead, they each have a weapon specific to them: Lemmy throws bombs that bounce like his rubber balls, Morton uses a hammer, Wendy throws energy rings, and Roy uses a handheld Bill Blaster. In addition, Lemmy, Morton, Larry, Wendy, and Iggy fight Mario in the cabin area of their airships, while Roy and Ludwig fight Mario on the crow's nest of their airships.
Lemmy is the Acorn Plains boss and thus the first Koopaling to fight, followed by Morton who is the boss of Layer Cake Desert (which is his first time as a desert boss since Super Mario Bros. 3), Larry as the Sparkling Waters boss, Wendy as the Frosted Glacier boss, Iggy to be the boss of Soda Jungle, much like how he was the boss of World 5 in New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Roy as the boss of Rock-Candy Mines, leaving Ludwig as the final Koopaling to fight, like in the previous New Super Mario Bros. games, as the boss of Meringue Clouds.
After Bowser is defeated, the Koopalings attempt to get Bowser to jump to safety on his own beat-up airship. However, Bowser inadvertently destroyed the ship while attempting to board it, with the Koopalings clinging to Bowser's tail, while Bowser himself holds on to Bowser Jr.'s Junior Clown Car.
New Super Luigi U[edit]
The Koopalings return in New Super Luigi U. Unlike most other aspects of the game, they act the same way as they do in New Super Mario Bros. U. At the beginning of each castle, a stone face of the Koopaling with glowing eyes will appear on a wall, but is only for decorative purposes.
Super Mario Maker 2[edit]
The Koopalings appear as placeable enemies in the final update for Super Mario Maker 2. They are available in all game styles except for the Super Mario 3D World style. In the Super Mario Bros. style, the Koopalings' designs are based on Bowser's sprite from that game. In the North American update trailer, the Koopalings are shown using their Super Mario Bros. 3 sprites in the Super Mario World style. As already shown by the trailer, this was changed in the final release, where they are given new sprites, following a similar design to Bowser and Bowser Jr., while using palettes resembling those of their Super Mario Bros. 3 sprites (aside from Lemmy, who remains yellow). Each Koopaling fights differently in-game, and their abilities are as follows:
- Larry fights using blasts from his magic wand and jumps around.
- Iggy walks around and fires fast-moving spells.
- Wendy casts candy rings that bounce off the ground, walls, and ceilings.
- Lemmy casts magical balls while balancing on one himself.
- Roy digs into the ground and appears anywhere in the room (usually on the ceiling).
- Morton jumps up and slams into the ground, sending a shockwave across the floor, and can even break Brick Blocks if his slams are in the vicinity of them (Hard Blocks if he is given a Super Mushroom).
- Ludwig blasts 3 to 5 beams at once from his magic wand and flutter-jumps.
All Koopalings can be defeated with the same methods as Bowser Jr. and Boom Boom: three stomps or fifteen fireballs, with each single stomp or five fireballs causing them to retreat into their shells; attacking them with enemy-produced items such as shells and Bob-ombs, or from below with a Spiny Shell or by hitting ? Blocks or Brick Blocks three times; and attacking with the Super Star invincibility or a POW Block, Ground Pounding with a big Goomba's Shoe or Dry Bones Shell, or getting crushed by solid objects such as Thwomps and Bill Blasters will defeat them instantly.
The Koopalings can be made larger with a Super Mushroom, or given wings or a parachute, with the wings making Larry and Wendy's jumps higher, Iggy and Lemmy move by jumping, Morton and Roy sometimes fake out their attacks, and Ludwig float in the air for longer. They can also be put on a Lakitu's Cloud or Koopa Clown Car, though they will only attack the player with their magic spells in this state, and damaging them will make them fall off of the Lakitu's Cloud (similarly to Bowser Jr. and Boom Boom), or retreat into their shells while still riding the Clown Car.
The Koopalings are considered their own group in the editor, which has a limit of seven per section for a limit of fourteen per course, which means that in a single section all seven Koopalings or even seven of the same Koopaling can be placed to fight the player.
The Koopalings' magic spells are treated as fire elements in the New Super Mario Bros. U style, but not in the other styles; for example, they can be eaten by a Yoshi and are capable of thawing Frozen Coins in the former, but not in the latter.
The Koopalings exhibit several differences from their Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World appearances. The Koopalings use Magic Wands even in the Super Mario World game style, with Larry and Iggy's magical balls, Lemmy and Wendy's pipes and decoys, and Morton and Roy's wall-climbing being absent. The Koopalings also receive new sprites in the Super Mario World game style in order to look more like the existing Bowser and Bowser Jr. sprites first seen in Super Mario Maker's Super Mario World game style; in Super Mario Maker 2, they have beige muzzles and bellies and yellow skin everywhere else, instead of the white bellies and orange skin everywhere else, including their muzzles, seen in Super Mario World. This is likely also due to the original Lemmy and Wendy sprites lacking visible legs. Other visual differences for each Koopaling include Morton having a gray shell and darker skin, Iggy having a green tinge to his hair, Roy having a pink shell, Lemmy having rainbow-colored hair, and Ludwig having a teal shell.
Their shells once again share the same size in all game styles except for the New Super Mario Bros. U style, a characteristic last seen in Super Mario Bros. 3 and its remakes. Bowser Jr. and Spinies also share their spiny shell graphic with the Koopalings. It was also safe to jump on all the Koopalings' shells in Super Mario Bros. 3 and Ludwig's shell in Super Mario World, but it hurts the player in Super Mario Maker 2 unless they are wearing a Goomba's Shoe, another characteristic shared with Bowser Jr.'s Super Mario Maker 2 appearance.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Meetup in Bellabel Park[edit]
The Koopalings appear in Super Mario Bros. Wonder – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Meetup in Bellabel Park controlling a variation of the Koopa Clown Car as they fly past Captain Toad[6] and steal the eight Bellabel Flowers of Bellabel Park. As a result, Mario and company are tasked with tracking the villains down and returning the flowers. After a short boss fight against all seven Koopalings that ends in the heroes taking back the large Bellabel Flower, each Koopaling is fought in a Brigade Tent level across the seven worlds (including Bellabel Park), where they use Castle Bowser's Wonder power to take on a new form and ambush the player throughout the level before taking them on directly. When a Koopaling is defeated, they revert to their original form and flee, leaving a Bellabel Flower behind. This is the first appearance of the Koopalings in an original title since Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit, over five years prior, excluding re-releases or adaptations of games that already featured them. This is also the first mainline Super Mario game to feature the current voice actors for the Koopalings aside from Roy, who has retained the same voice actor since New Super Mario Bros. Wii.
Below is a list of each Koopaling's Wonder form and where they are fought.
| Name | Description | Courses | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular form | Wonder form | ||
 Wendy |
 Wendy (Wonder form) |
Wendy transforms into a giant Cheep Cheep. She attacks with Cloud Cheep Cheeps and rams into the player through portals shaped like her candy rings. Later in the fight, she jumps around the arena, growing larger with each hit. The player must defeat her by stomping on her or damaging her enough with the Super Flower Pot. She is fought in Pipe-Rock Plateau. | Wendy's Showdown! |
 Lemmy |
 Lemmy (Wonder form) |
Lemmy transforms into a jester with giant sleeves. He can launch bombs (which resemble the ones he throws in his New Super Mario Bros. U fight, but function like Kick Bombs from Super Mario 3D World), ride atop spiky magical balls, and transform into a giant spike ball. To defeat him, the player must knock the bombs at his ball tower, then stomp on him. He is fought in Fluff-Puff Peaks. | Lemmy's Showdown! |
 Larry |
 Larry (Wonder form) |
Larry transforms into a large, crystalline form. He fights by summoning jewel blocks, crystal versions of Fire Knuckles, and Cross Bob-ombs. To deal damage to him, the player must attack Larry while he is encased inside a jewel block (either by attacking from the bottom, a trunk swing in Elephant form, or a Ground Pound) as long as the side they are attacking is not shielded by spikes. He is fought in Shining Falls. | Larry's Showdown! |
 Roy |
 Roy (Wonder form) |
Roy transforms into a gigantic ghostly form and possesses a wrecked ship in the background. He launches Wonder Fish Bones, summons Boos wearing his sunglasses, and slams the ship down on the players. Uniquely, he cannot be damaged by a stomp or the Super Flower Pot due to attacking from the background, requiring the player to do so with a Light Vase dropped by a Plucky. He is fought in Sunbaked Desert. | Roy's Showdown! |
 Iggy |
 Iggy (Wonder form) |
Iggy transforms into a long-necked plant. He summons Wonder Piranhas and spits seeds similarly to both Melon Piranha Plants and Skedaddlers. The player must reach him by bouncing on the Wonder Piranhas (as long as they are not chomping) and stomping on him. He is fought in Fungi Mines. | Iggy's Showdown! |
 Morton |
 Morton (Wonder form) |
Morton transforms into a gigantic marionette, creating ground tremors from the background while Lakitus control him from the foreground. When the player catches up to him, he attempts to crush them with his fist. To defeat Morton, the player must pull on a loose string to subdue him; every three times this is done, he accidentally punches himself. He is fought in Deep Magma Bog. | Morton's Showdown! |
 Ludwig |
 Ludwig (Wonder form) |
Ludwig transforms into a cloudy form and attacks with lightning, wind, and summoned Downpour Clouds. In the first phase of the fight, he summons clones to attack (similar to his New Super Mario Bros. U fight). In the second phase, his clones fuse with him to make him larger. He cannot be damaged by the Super Flower Pot, so the player must reach him by jumping on the Downpour Clouds (Cloud Lifts in the second phase) and stomping on him. He is fought in Pipe-Rock Plateau. | Ludwig's Showdown! |
Mario is Missing![edit]
In Mario is Missing!, the Koopa Kids aid Bowser in his plan to melt Antarctica, thereby flooding the Earth. Presumably, they also headed the Koopas that were being deployed to steal the artifacts around the world. A Koopa Kid would guard the corridor of Bowser's fortress and battle Luigi, who was searching for his missing brother.
In the SNES version of Mario is Missing!, only Ludwig, Roy and Iggy appear, although Larry and Morton are referenced in the manual; in the DOS version of the game, Lemmy and Morton are the only ones not appearing. Cut dialogue in the CD-ROM Deluxe version, however, implied that Lemmy and Morton were considered to be implemented as bosses. Also in the DOS version, instead of stomping the Koopa Kids a few times, Luigi defeats them with a single blast from a fire flower that he gains after locking each door on a floor. Until Mario Kart 8, the DOS version is also the only major appearance of the Koopa Kids where they speak intelligibly in-game.
Hotel Mario[edit]
In Hotel Mario the Koopalings each guard one of seven hotels scattered throughout the Mushroom Kingdom. Their hotels are passed in this order:
- Morton's Wood Door Hysteria Hotel
- Roy's HardBrick Hotel
- Larry's Chillton Hotel
- Lemmy's High-ate Regency Hotel
- Ludwig's Thump Castle Hotel
- Wendy's Blitz Snarlton Hotel
Iggy does not have his own hotel; he is instead faced before Bowser in his hotel, wearing a Bowser mask.
Mario & Luigi series[edit]
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga / Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions[edit]
- “Koopalings! Your time has come!”
- —Bowletta, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
After a decade of absence, the Koopalings make a return appearance in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. During the game, the witch Cackletta who had previously stolen Bowser's body takes control of Bowser's Castle and uses the fortress to attack Beanbean Castle Town. The Koopalings serve "Bowletta" and work to impede the Mario Bros.' progress.
After getting into Bowser's Castle, Mario and Luigi fight the Koopalings in their respective rooms, usually needing to complete some sort of challenge in order to battle them. Additionally, the last three (Roy, Wendy, and Larry) use a special Time Bob-omb in battle. If the Mario Bros. failed to end the battle successfully in eight turns, the Bob-omb's timer would reach zero and it would explode, resulting in an instant Game Over. The Koopalings are encountered in the same order as in Super Mario World (Iggy, Morton, Lemmy, Ludwig, Roy, Wendy, and Larry). After being defeated, each Koopaling leaves a warp point for the Mario Bros.
