User:Walkazo/Essays

Here's where I shall rant about my views on the Mario series or the Super Mario Wiki itself and/or draft stuff to actually use on the wiki. Old stuff includes:


 * Courtesy
 * MarioWiki:Redirect (formerly)
 * Template:Wikipolicy
 * Categories
 * Proposal Archiving
 * Template:PArchive
 * Proposals/Archive
 * Proposals/Archive_Template
 * Version Differences

Navigation Templates

 * Templates to fix
 * white overall backgrounds; solid grey borders; footnotes darker than headers, lighter than banners
 * alternating bg stripes; darker bg stripes first; if only two lines, both bg stripes dark
 * headers centered and subheaders right, or both centered? simply right when no subheaders


 * ''( - unique colours: add to chart below G&W)
 * series items
 * (series)
 * - items
 * ''(, - unique colours: classify as species)
 * ''( - only two lines, both bg stripes dark)
 * - golf series characters
 * DK templates - levels
 * ''{{{tem|NSMBW}} - "further info" is good way to include subpages/galleries/etc.)
 * - could be merged with YI and YIDS
 * - do something with it
 * - misc rpgs with SMRPG colours

BS Super Mario USA
From my forum post here, from Feb. 21, 2012. (For admin eyes only.)

A translation of the ending dialogue is here, but it's not overly useful for plot stuff. The first episode's opening is on Nico Nico Douga (but I viewed it through page), and the entire fourth episode is on youtube: it's got the ending with narration and also the same opening as the first episode except for different closing enemy banter and one missing line from the Commander.

When I transcribed the text, I had only been studying Japanese for six months and listening comprehension was my weak point. Still is, but when I get a chance I'll give the videos a re-listen to try and figure out the stuff I missed before. Even in this crappy, unfinished transcription (italics and question marks are stuff I'm not sure about at all) and translation, however, some key plot points are quite clear.

Crappy transcription:

Narration: Yume no kuni Subcon. Kono kuni wa sono munokashi yasai ga daiki na Mamu to sono uchi ni otte kurushii me wa rarette imashita. Soko ni owarette ano wa onajimi Mario, Luigi, Kinopio, soshite Peach-hime. Kono yo-nin no daikatsuyaku no sei, Mamu wa sono uchi ni yasai yo ippai nitsu me komare, Subcon kara oidasareta no desu. Tokoro ga kurushii me rarette de Subcon wa hitotsu dake de wa arimasen deshita. Hito-bito no miru yume to onaji kase dake Subcon wa attano desu. Nigesata Mamu to sono uchi ni wa soto betsu na yume no naka ni moguri komi. Nandomo nandomo akuji o kurikashite tanō deshita. Commander: Ōsama, hoshi no chikara o tsukatte, Subcon o mamorimasho. King: Yoshi, Mario-kun-tachi onegai sho. Narration: Kōshite mata-mata ano yo-nin ga katsuyakusuru koto temota no desu. Shikashi, hoshi no chikara o tsukau, dōshite no e wa Ōsama-dachi dake dewa imasen deshita. Ano Mamu to sono uchi ni mo chika wa kui o shio[ to takuramu de imasu. Sono de hajime ni donchuru de ga me wa no akashii ano o gondo Mario. Sō doko ga me kakushite mata yo desu.

Crappy translation:

Narrator: Dream land Subcon. In the land, in a chest, are important vegetables - the painful sprouts that can drive away Wart and his group. There at the end are the familiar Mario, Luigi, Toad and Princess Peach. because of the foursome's great efforts, Wart and his group were packed full of vegetables and expelled from Subcon. Only one place of the painful, capable sprouts of Subcon was not there. The people [thought] Subcon had only been a dream. Wart and his group escaped outside and dived into a separate dream. Many times they repeatedly [did] various crimes. Commander: King, let's use the power of the star and protect Subcon. King: All right, [get] Mario and friends, please. Narration: Thus, those four [were] made active again (which they were not intending to be). But the star power is used ??why?? there, is not only the King's group missing. Wart and his group were also underground ??? plotting. That beginning ??? sprout ??? Mario. So, where have the sprouts been hidden again.

Basically, the narration confirms that Mario & Co. initially bested Wart with veggies and kicked him out of Subcon, but they thought it was a dream, but then Wart & Co., who had been hiding in another dream, come back and run amok, so the King summons Mario & Co. and they spring back into action again, only to find the King and his people gone (I'm not sure if he's kidnapped, however).

Table coding
Nested table, gradients, borders.

And to make it float...

(Also, note that the width of the background columns has to be of the overall template width - i.e. 17% gives you (approx.) half of 35%, whereas 50% just makes the column in question grow huge and the other one turn as skinny as the longest word will allow it.)

Sorting Table
"Title" = abc order; "Date" = default = release date order (reverse puts series at top); "Series" = abc order; right "#" = date-by-series order

Image Check
Check to see if the transparency is good, or crappy:

Family
Luigi is Mario's younger twin brother. Luigi often joins Mario on his adventures, and the two of them are normally paired together in sports titles and spin-offs. They have a strong brotherly bond and will stop at nothing to help each other when one is in trouble, as seen in in games such as Luigi's Mansion. While they love each other, in Paper Mario Luigi admits that he also feels jealousy towards his brother at times, and has also expressed that he is "tired of being Player 2", for despite being a hero in his own right, he is often overshadowed by Mario. While Mario jokes that "Luigi loves being my sidekick" in the Mario Sports Mix press conference, in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, he is quick to give Luigi proper credit for defeating the Shroobs in the previous game. At times, Mario does let sibling rivalry get the best of him, such as when he intentionally steps on Luigi's foo when the latter receives a trophy in Mario Power Tennis, but overall, he acts as a good brother and role model for Luigi.

Mario and Luigi's parents cameoed at the end of Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, although their faces were not seen and their names were not given, same as in their appearances in Family Album "The Early Years" and Super Mario Issun-bōshi. The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, on the other hand, mentioned or featured Mama Mario in a number of episodes, depicting her as a strict woman who loves her boys very much. Their father did not appear in the show and very little is known about him, although the Super Mario Bros. film revealed that he came from a long line of plumbers and passed the family tools and the trade on to Mario. The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! and the comics also make references or depict various other relatives of Mario, including aunts, uncles and cousins, although none have appeared in any games.

Friends and love interests
Mario saves Princess Peach quite often and she usually rewards him with a kiss him upon her rescue, and often bakes him cake as well. They care about each other very much, share good chemistry in sports games and have been good friends since childhood. In the German Club Nintendo comic "Warios Weihnachtsmärchen", it is even revealed that they spent their graduation ball in school together, and it is often said that the two have a romantic relationship in the present. The official European Mario website specifically lists Peach as Mario's girlfriend and in Mario Party 5, Peach and Mario are called "Cutest Couple". Mario Power Tennis even goes as far as showing Mario himself telling Peach of his love for her in Peach's victory scene, to which she smiles and blows him a kiss. The official guide of Yoshi's Island DS, the description for the level Baby Mario and Baby Peach: Dynamic Duo, states that before the "romantic entanglements" in their adult lives, they teamed up as babies to stop evil. While both Mario and Luigi deny a relationship when Luvbi asks if Peach was Mario's "lady friend", Luvbi also comments that the princess "looms large in his regard" and then wonders if Mario had a "one-sided crush". Other characters also know of the feelings between the two, with Rosalina calling Peach Mario's "Special One" in Super Mario Galaxy, Kersti saying she was the apple of his eye in Paper Mario: Sticker Star, and a Toad going so far as to tell Mario to take Peach on a date to Shooting Star Summit.

Peach has not been Mario's only romantic interest, however. In the original Donkey Kong, Pauline was Mario's first girlfriend and damsel-in-distress, but while he still has to occasionally rescue her in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series, the two are simply friends now. In addition, when Mario saved Princess Daisy in her debut appearance in Super Mario Land, a heard appeared overhead, implying a romantic connection. This was never explored further, however, and while Mario Party 4 gave them the tam name "Nice Couple", most games link Daisy with Luigi instead, with her and Mario simply being friends, not even sharing any player chemistry in the Mario Baseball series.

Mario's first friend was Yoshi, who, along with other Yoshis, saved him and Luigi from the Koopas when they were still babies. In the present day, Yoshi continues to help Mario against Bowser, usually serving as his steed, although he is capable of autonomously fighting alongside his human friend, as in Super Mario 64 DS. Another good friend of Mario's is Toad, who occasionally goes on adventures with him, as in Super Mario Bros. 2, various Mario cartoons and the Nintendo Comics System, where he was seen to be Mario's loyal and trusted sidekick. Toad trusts that Mario will always saves the day and even when not fighting alongside him will be quick to offer advice and encouragement.

Foes and rivals
Bowser is Mario's arch nemesis and the two are locked in a neverending cycle of conflict. Bowser constantly tries to take over the Mushroom Kingdom and kidnap Peach, and each time he upsets the peace, Mario stops at nothing to defeat him and set things right. Occasionally the two team up to defeat greater evils, such as in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga and Super Paper Mario, and while Bowser openly hates Mario and resents him for his close relationship with Peach, for his part, Mario has never truly shown hatred nor contempt against Bowser, and he is often more than happy to cheer up Bowser after he defeats him.

Bowser is not Mario's only foe, however, and in the original Donkey Kong, it was Cranky Kong (then known as "Donkey Kong") that Mario had to defeat. His grandson, the current Donkey Kong, and Mario are on much better terms and often participate in sports and spin-offs together, although they do maintain a friendly and somewhat competitive rivalry, and Mario has been forced to defeat Donkey Kong a couple times in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series when the latter went overboard due to his passion for Mini Marios and Mario's ex-girlfriend Pauline, the same woman who had been abducted by Cranky Kong in the past.

Mario's main rival, however, is Wario. Various comics depict their antagonistic relationship starting in childhood, and it is a major theme in the Super Mario Kun manga. In Wario's first appearance, Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, he stole Mario's castle, and in Mario Super Sluggers, he tried to destroy Mario, although for the most part, their rivalry is far more mild in nature, and the two even team up to defeat Bowser in Super Mario 64 DS. Nintendo Power has stated that Wario is Mario's cousin, but this is unconfirmed.

BOWSER
(in General Information section)

Relationships
Although technically a younger version of himself, Bowser has interacted with Baby Bowser during two occasions of time travel. In Yoshi's Island DS, Baby Bowser insults his future self, who then rashly blasts him out of the castle; later, however, Bowser becomes outraged when he discovers his younger self being bested by the Yoshis. In Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, the to Bowsers do not recognize each other and argue about the ownership of Thwomp Volcano, eventually putting their differences aside to work together to try and defeat Mario, Luigi and their own baby selves. After their defeat, Bowser's parting advice to Baby Bowser is to "Get stronger and more evil".

Bowser's minions all hold Bowser in high regards and loyally serve him out of respect, rather than fear, although most are mindful of his fiery temper. Bowser does not take betrayal well and will not hesitate to attack deserters as enemies, although h has been shown to b forgiving at times, such as letting the trio of Corporal Paraplonk, Private Goomp and Sergeant Guy return to service after they betrayed him for Fawful in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story. Bowser has also been shown to treat minions in a fatherly fashion, namely towards the Koopa Kids in the Mario Party series (who, despite their similar appearances are not related to Bowser), although they treat him as a boss only. One minion who treats Bowser fairly informally at times is Kammy Koopa, who loyally and tirelessly puts up with his constant stream of derision when working together during the first two Paper Mario games. In her tattle, Goombella wonders whether it is harder for Bowser to put up with Kammy or vice-versa, but despite his verbal abuse, Bowser often takes Kammy's advice to heart.

Family
Both the original Japanese and English versions of the game Super Mario Bros. 3 introduced Bowser's seven children, the Koopalings. They were also depicted as his children in the DIC cartoons and various comics released shortly after Super Mario Bros. 3, and the English box of Yoshi's Safari called the Koopalings Bowser's children. However, subsequent games did not draw attention to their kinship, and many years later, in 2002, Super Mario Sunshine introduced Bowser Jr., Bowser's youngest child who, unlike the Koopalings, resembles Bowser greatly. While the Prima Guide of New Super Mario Bros. Wii referred to Bowser Jr. as a "bothersome Koopaling." , other sources treated him independently from his Koopaling "siblings" and in a September 2012 interview, Shigeru Miyamoto stated that Nintendo's "current story" is that Bowser Jr. is Bowser's only child.

Before the introduction of Bowser Jr., the Koopalings acted as heirs to Bowser's kingdom, and the eldest and presumed leader of the bunch, Ludwig von Koopa, was said to be Bowser's second-in-command at the time. Bowser has always been very proud of the Koopalings' service and devout loyalty to him, and while the dynamics between them was very familial in the cartoons and comics, in the games, Bowser seemed to treat them as minions to an extent and used them to battle Mario in the games. Bowser also uses Junior as a pawn in his schemes, even going so far as to falsely claiming that Peach was the child's mother to give him extra incentive to destroy Mario for taking her away from their "family". However, in a rare moment of humility, Bowser eventually tells his son the truth about Peach, but Bowser Jr. had known all along, and simply wanted to fight Mario to be like his father. Bowser does indeed care about his son, and like is original relationship with the Koopalings, is proud of him and his loyalty to the Koopa Troop, and the two share closer ties than Bowser and the Koopalings, with Junior often acting as Bowser's default partner in sports and spin-off games.

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island introduced Kamek, the Magikoopa who raised Bowser from infancy and who has been seen interacting with him the most throughout the series. As seen in subsequent Yoshi series games and Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, Kamek takes great care of Baby Bowser and worries for his safety, with his devout loyalty continuing into Bowser's adulthood. Kamek's Psychopath line in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars even implies that he considers Bowser to be like a son to him, as despite his brain-washing by the enemies, he thinks "That's... my child?" when faced with Bowser in battle. The only time a rift was shown between the two was when Kamek briefly took leave of Koopa Troop when Bowser disappointed him by taking the title of "Game Master", rather than earning it, although the two reconciled in the end. Aside from that incident, the two get along well, and Bowser seems to show much more respect to his elderly guardian than to any other of his henchmen.

Bowser mentions his actual father in few issues of the Nintendo Comics System, with the implications being that he is a wanted criminal on the run. Similarly, Bowser's mother does not appear in any games, but was introduced in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! episode "Do You Princess Toadstool Take This Koopa...?", which showed her to be a bossy and bullying woman who resented her son for remaining a bachelor. Bowser also mentions a grandfather named Poopa La Koopa in the Super Show episode "Butch Mario & the Luigi Kid", saying his motto was "Cheat, beat, and be merry!" Bowser also mentions a paternal "great-great grandkoop" in the Super Show episode, "Raiders of the Lost Mushroom," claiming that he built the Temple of Koopa to hide the Lost Mushroom, which he then left to Bowser. In an episode of The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, Bowser's son Morton brings up one of the Koopalings' great grandmothers, and the family was shown to have a pet rabbit named Pookie in the Nintendo Comics System; he was often abused, until his eventual escape from Bowser's Castle in the comic "Bowser Knows Best". In the Nintendo Adventure Book Flown the Koopa, an unnamed Magikoopa stated to be Bowser's third cousin twice removed is featured as the main antagonist; this character also appears in the later books Unjust Desserts and Brain Drain, though has only a minor role in both. Finally, in both an episode of the Super Show and the song "Ignorance is Bliss", Bowser mentions a younger sister who is, according to him, a bookworm.

Love interests
One of the most complex aspects of Bowser's character is his relationship with Peach. As explained in the manual of Super Mario Bros., Bowser initially started abducting Peach to prevent her from restoring the transformed Toads back to normal. In the same The Super Mario Bros. Super Show episode that featured his mother, Bowser tried and failed to marry Peach, and his unrequited crush on the princess recurs in various games, starting with a diary entry he wrote in Paper Mario expressing his hopes that Peach would like him. He even told his son Bowser Jr. that Peach was his mother, although the events of Super Mario Sunshine forced him to admit that this was a lie. Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story revealed that Bowser's most carefully preserved memory was of Peach, but despite his feelings, he actually shows very little regard for her happiness and well-being as he constantly kidnaps her, attacks her kingdom, and fights the people she cares about. He has also put Peach herself in danger numerous times, ether inadvertently or on purpose, most notably in Super Princess Peach and Super Mario 3D World, where the eponymous princess herself faced Bowser in combat. In Super Paper Mario, the two were by Count Bleck and Nastasia as part of the former's plan to unleash the Chaos Heart, and while Bowser regarded the marriage as official and happily referred to Peach as his wife throughout the game, she refuted his claims and called the wedding a sham, as she does not return his affection at all. Despite this, she is still willing to work with Bowser when the situation calls for it, and will even sweet-talk, flatter or show him genuine goodwill or concern when they are acting as allies.

Bowser was shown to have his own admirer in high school, as seen in the comic "Koopa's High School Yearbook": after he asked for her sandwich, the unnamed Koopa developed a crush on Bowser, formed the one-member "Koopa Fan Club" and joined the "Future Wives of Tyrants Club", although it is unknown if her ambitions to marry the Koopa King ever panned out. Additionally, an issue of the UK Nintendo Power once said that Bowser had a wife named Clawdia Koopa, however this is largely believed to be a joke, as she was never mentioned again. In a recent interview, Miyamoto simply stated that Bowser Jr.'s mother was "unknown".

Foes
Mario is Bowser's arch-nemesis and as such, is almost always the one who stops the Koopa King's evil plans. Bowser despises Mario for this and constantly tries and fails to stop him as part of his schemes to conquer the Mushroom Kingdom and beyond. Despite the open hostility between the two, Bowser has occasionally been seen to hold a grudging respect for Mario, such as his statement in Super Mario Galaxy that he "chose the right guy to be his archenemy". Bowser's drive to be the one to destroy his nemesis has also led him to intervene when other villains threaten Mario, such as in Mario Super Sluggers, where Bowser stopped an attack launched by Wario and Waluigi. Many RPGs involve Bowser teaming up with Mario to stop an emergent foe that poses a threat to both of them, such as Smithy, who took over Bowser's castle in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, or Count Bleck in Super Paper Mario, whose plot to destroy all worlds ran counter to Bowser's dreams of global domination. While Bowser makes a show of his reluctance to team up, Mario seems more complacent with working with Bowser despite their history, and occasionally shows him some leniency, such as letting him go after his actions in Mario Party DS merely gave Mario and the others a fun experience. Overall, however, the animosity of mutual, and Bowser's run-ins with Mario usually end in the Koopa King's defeat.

Luigi often fights Bowser alongside Mario, and as such, is one of the Koopa King's greatest enemies. Like many other characters in the Mario series, Bowser is often depicted as holding Luigi in lower esteem than his brother, however he usually doesn't go so far as to discount Luigi as a threat. Another ally of Mario's is Yoshi, however the history between Bowser and both the Yoshi character and the Yoshis as a whole goes back to the Koopa's childhood, when he enjoyed stealing cookies from the Yoshis, and even took their Super Happy Tree at one point, forcing them to retaliate. Yoshi himself first faced Baby Bowser in his quest to save Baby Luigi, who had been kidnapped by Kamek, and the bad blood between him and both the Magikoopa and the Koopa King himself continues to the present day.

Generally speaking, any ally of Mario's is an enemy of Bowser's, although they occasionally share common foes, including the aforementioned Smithy, Count Bleck and Fawful. One of Bowser's few victories actually came out of his conflict with Fawful during Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, when the latter took over both Bowser and Peach's castles and kidnapped the Princess. While Mario and Luigi were aiding Bowser during this game, he was unaware of this, instead communicating exclusively with their ally Starlow, who used the alias "Chippy". Despite their common goal, Bowser and Starlow spent the whole adventure trading barbs and occasionally refusing to cooperate, although Starlow occasionally expressed concern and sympathy for the Koopa and he eventually came to think of her as a loyal minion, only to become enraged when he learned the truth of who she really was. Another "frenemy" situation is the one between Bowser and Wario, who have joined forces (along with Waluigi) against Mario in Mario Power Tennis, and worked together (albeit fractiously) as babies in Yoshi's Island DS. Most of the time they are on opposing sides, however, as in Super Mario 64 DS and the Mario Party series when Wario was on Mario' side, and even in Mario Super Sluggers, when Bowser stops Wario from destroying Mario, due to the Koopa King's own wish to defeat the plumber.

Koopa Taxonomy
There are many kinds of Koopa: some are like Koopa Troopas, some are like Bowser, some are like Lakitu, some are like Hammer Bros., and if I had my way, Buzzy Beetles and Clubbas would be Koopas too. Are these different species? Are Red Magikoopas and Yellow Magikoopas different species, or do they just wear different clothes? And what are sub-species? Koopatrols? KP Koopas? What's the relationship between Dark Koopas in Paper Mario and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door and Dark Koopas in Super Paper Mario? What is Bowser? And what the heck is a Koopa anyway? Since Nintendo didn't give us any sort of Koopa taxonomy, evolutionary chart, fossil record or family tree, it's totally up to us to answer those questions.

This is not impossible: mother nature didn't share her blueprints either, and yet we still know that spiders and crabs are cousins, and that tapeworms and earthworms aren't. We can't tell if Koopas evolved from turtles or dinosaurs, but we can tell that Bowser is not a Koopa Troopa based on the fact that they look nothing alike, besides their shells and overall skin colour. It's just like how tapeworms and earthworms look nothing alike beyond the fact that they're long and limbless and don't make for pleasant dinner conversations. By analyzing the facts, we can make reasonable deductions, enabling us to organize these enemy pages logically with minimal speculation involved, if we do it right. For example, we can associate Fire Bros. and Boomerang Bros. in because they are nearly identical except for colouration and some physical capabilities (fire or boomerang), just as we can say Ruby-crowned Kinglets and Golden-crowned Kinglets are closely related based on the fact that their body makeup is virtually the same, but their facial feathers and songs are different. But unlike the cute little birdies, we can't speculate on how the Fire and Boomerang Bros. are related: we can't assign them genera or place them in phylogenetic trees, but I think we can say they're different species. True, Nintendo never said they are, but, I mean, one breathes fire and one doesn't: any biologist will tell you that's enough to separate them.

Unfortunately, the "species" vs. "sub-species" debate is where things get really sticky; if you bring race into it too, all the stickier. It's easier just to say they're different "types" of a larger "group" of Koopas which are "related" to one-another, but our nature is to stick "species" in there as well - since it sounds more professional, and more importantly, way more posh. We can justify "species" when there's no doubt to the biology (if it quacks like a duck, it's a duck; if it's pitch black and throws hammers, it's a Dark Hammer Bro.), but when you have really similar enemies, the arguments start to waver. A no-brainer example: KP Koopas are basic Koopa Troopas who merely dyed their shells a different colour; they're "different", but not different species or even a different race or sub-species, just like how punk rockers who dyed their hair blue are still humans - very cool humans. A more difficult example: Dark Koopas in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door and Paper Mario are more Koopa Troopas of a different colour, but they also have unique skills and live in a specific habitat, so are they a sub-species, or a race, or what? In cases like these, to label them is to make an assumption out of uncertainty, which we have to avoid as much we can: no more of this "sub-species" nonsense - therein lies the face of speculation.

Now, the reason for this spiel (aside from my love of taxonomy) is the confusion over "Koopa" vs. "Koopa Troopa", and what to do with their respective articles. As I said before, to the best of my understanding, the "Koopa Troopa" is a specific species (with many similar species and races attached to it, though the actual relationships between the organisms are ambiguous), and "Koopa" is a general term for all the vaguely turtle/dragonish creatures (I'd call it an Order, but that would be speculation to the max). Therefore, I believe it is a very good thing to have separate Koopa and Koopa Troopa pages: one for the species, one for all the shelled enemies. Currently, Koopa is just a partial list of all the major species and some of the minor species, and that should be changed: it should be an annotated list of all the species. Note the "annotated" part: that's what will set the page apart from a mere category or a list in Koopa (disambiguation): it will give context to the Koopas, allowing us to present them in an organized and logical manner, and as long as we watch ourselves, it can be one that is virtually free of speculation. An example of what the Lakitu section could look like is at the end of this essay.

Of course, some level of speculation is unavoidable. Like tapeworms and earthworms, things like Sumo Bro. and Hammer 'Bro. may not be related at all, but if names are good enough reasons to cram everything else on the Wiki together (A Pirate Goomba is a Goomba? Who knew!), why not here too? No matter what we do, we will have to make some assumptions, but none wil be as large and misguided as saying "Koopa" = "Koopa Troopa" = all Koopas and merging the pages. Bowser is not a Koopa Troopa: any biologist could tell you that even if they never played a videogame in their life (like my Animal Diversity teacher: instead, he spends all his free time studying tapeworms). Therefore, we can't write about Bowser's species in Koopa Troopa, and if we merge Koopa, we lose the only logical place to put it - we'd have to make a nameless stub about them, which would be against various Super Mario Wiki policies. For this specific reason, and for the organizational benefits I stated above, in the name of taxonomy and in the spirit of organization, I say we leave the pages separate.

Lakitu
Lakitus are bespectacled Koopas who ride clouds through the skies, and which can occasionally be found snorkeling in water and hiding in walls or pipes. Unlike most Koopa species, they do not have snouts or beaks, but flat faces; their shells are also unique in their circular patterning. To attack, Lakitus typically throw unlimited numbers of Spiny Eggs at their opponents, and some will also dangle 1-Up Mushrooms from fishing poles to lure their targets closer.


 * Lakitus
 * Aqua Lakitu - A race of Lakitu that lives underwater with the aid of scuba gear, coming to the surface to breathe and throw Spiny Eggs.
 * Calm Lakitu - Lakitus that inhabit Vibe Island, where they are associated with the Calm Vibe, incarnating the power by sleeping most of the time.
 * Dark Lakitu - Lakitus that are darker in colour with red shells and that throw Sky-Blue Spinies.
 * Fishin' Lakitu - Lakitus that use Fishing Rods baited with a 1-Up Mushroom to lure enemies near their clouds. Once the bait is taken the rod is withdrawn and Spinies are thrown. The Fishing Rod can also be used to hook enemies, support various objects, or to simply fish.
 * Lakipea - The Beanish Lakitus. Lakipea have a leaf-like appendage growing from their head, inhabit vine-covered clouds, and throw the Beanish variation of Spiny, Sharpea.
 * Lakitufo - Red-shelled Lakitus bioengineered by the Shroobs to possess strange extraterrestrial features, including antennae in place of hair. They ride UFOs instead of clouds and beam down Spiny Shroopas in lieu of Spinies. They can also jump off their UFOs and assault their enemies themselves with a screw attack.
 * Pipe Lakitu - Lakitus that hide in Warp Pipes to ambush enemies (still attacking with Spiny Eggs).
 * Roketon - A species of Lakitu that flies in airplanes through the skies of Sarasaland. Instead of throwing Spinies, Roketons fire large amounts of Giras from their aircraft to attack their enemies.
 * Thunder Lakitu - This species of Lakitu has a red shell (like Dark Lakitus) and tanned skin. Instead of throwing Spinies it shoots fire generated by a device in its cloud that harnesses the energy from the sun.
 * Wall Lakitu - Lakitus that hide behind hills and other objects in order to throw Spiny Eggs in surprise-attacks.

Timeline
Every Mario game, show, movie and publication in chronological order (right), and in chronological order sub-divided by series (left). Things without specific dates go before everything else released in that month/year. Non-game titles are bold. Issues in serialized publications and the set-of-three anime are marked with dashes on the right column; usually not included in left column. Remakes and notable ports are in brackets, although most ports/re-releases aren't listed. All that is to help with organization/comprehension. Non-English names often have translations (just for fun), and I also have the NA names in parentheses for the things we use the PAL titles for (because my memory is bad).

For the left column, games (or books, special comic issues (most not included), TV series, movies, etc.) in a series are numbered in most cases. Ports/remakes are in brackets and bulleted under the game they are a remake/port of; compilations are also bracketed, but are numbered like original game (All-Stars within the Super Mario series; Nintendo Puzzle Collection is on its own, as it includes games from multiple series). Similarly, the Super Mario Advance series of games is broken apart, with each game being filed under the original it is porting. In some cases, sequels are merely bulleted under the original (without brackets), rather than a new series being made for the two games. All other important notes are more case-specific, and are included as references (listed at the bottom); the entries with references are denoted with goldenrod text.