Kooper is Mario's second party member in Paper Mario. He is a blue, bold, adventure-loving (and seemingly young) Koopa who dreams of becoming an archaeologist like his childhood hero Kolorado. He is the exact opposite of his successor, Koops, in terms of his personality. However, in the battlefield, the two have very similar abilities. Kooper's name is a pun on the name "Cooper", but with a K for Koopa. Kooper's appearance is similar to that of an ordinary blue Koopa Troopa from Super Mario World (and in later games), except that he wears red arm bands on both hands and a bandana around his neck to distinguish himself from the other Koopa Troopas.
An illustration showing Kooper's overworld ability. Here, he is activating a red ! Switch.
Mario and Goombario enter Koopa Village to find that Fuzzies have attacked the village and are stealing all the Koopas' shells. Mario gets the shells back for the Koopas and eventually finds Kooper. He tells Mario that his blue shell had been stolen by a Fuzzy and Mario agrees to get it back. Once Mario gets the shell back for Kooper, he joins the party. In the field, Kooper will retreat into his shell and Mario can shoot him out short distances, allowing him to flip switches, grab items and attack enemies. Kooper has a defense value of 1, meaning he takes one less damage from attacks that happen to damage partners.
When the game ends, Kooper is seen in an expedition with Kolorado in Shiver City. Kooper is told by Parakarry that Peach wants him at the party (which is held at the end of the game). Kooper wants to help Kolorado instead, but Kolorado insists that he go to the party, and so he does.
It's a pity that he's missing his shell. How embarrassing! His name is Kooper. I wonder if he'd be our friend for life if we got his shell back for him.
Although Kooper himself does not appear in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, early concept artwork exists and unused sprites are found in the game's data. Koops functions very similarly to him, and is even encountered in the first chapter of the game.
Kooper, along with Goombario, is seen with Mario in the Paper Mario arc in Super Mario-kun. In volume 28's Super Wario-Kun, he is pushed away along with Mario and Goombario by Wario's foot.
Start menu bio:This adventure-loving Koopa wants to be an archaeologist. He admires Kolorado, a world-renowned expert in archaeology. Press to toss a shell and reach items at a short distance. His specialty is attacking enemies on the ground.
Instruction Booklet description:He'll help Mario by using his shell to spin into action.[1]
Official Nintendo Player's Guide description:The happy-go-lucky Koopa from Koopa Village will join your party after you retrieve his shell. When you have him by your side, you can use his shell to pick up items or hit objects that are out of your reach. His shell flies away then comes back like a boomerang.[2]
Kooper's unused images, from Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door and Super Paper Mario, respectively.
Although one of Kooper's artworks depicts him having an "X"-shaped arrangement of bandages on his cheek, no in-game sprites has shown him as such, not even those of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door or Super Paper Mario. It is worth noting that in another artwork for the game, Mario has a similar arrangement of bandages on his nose, meaning the two artworks may be intended to depict the two after a battle, and not be truly indicative of Kooper's intended appearance.
Kooper is one of only two partners in the original Paper Mario to be able to do a First Strike, the other being Bombette.
In the Japanese version, Kooper talks like a kid with a considerable overactive attitude using words like「オレッチ」(orecchi, me) and finishing his dialogues with「っス」(~su), a very polite and infant way to say「です」(desu, to be).
In the Simplified Chinese version localized by iQue, Kooper implies that he has a wife during his first encounter with Mario. This is likely due to the translators misreading "life" as "wife".[4]
^In-game dialogue: 这个绒毛怪抢走了我的壳，它是除我妻子以外我最重要的东西了。 (This Fuzzy stole my shell; it was the most important thing of mine next to my wife.) Compare the English version: "This wild Fuzzy took my shell, which, next to my life, is the most important thing I have."
