Kooper

"I don't even care if I have no shell on! I'm gonna show those Fuzzies what's what!"

- Kooper

Kooper is Mario's second party member in Paper Mario. He is a blue, 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, personality-wise. However, in the battle field, the two have very similar abilities.

In Super Paper Mario, Kooper appears as a Catch Card found on the thirtieth floor of the Flopside Pit of 100 Trials. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl he is a sticker that raises arm attack power of a player by ten.

History
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. By pressing C-Down, Kooper will retreat into his shell and Mario can shoot him out short distances, allowing him to flip switches, grab items and attack enemies.

When the game ends, Kooper is seen in an expedition with Kolorado in Shiver City.

Catch Card


Card Type: Rare

Card Description: This is Mario's good buddy Kooper from Paper Mario. His Power Shell move was, and is, a thing of beauty.

Trivia

 * Kooper's name is most likely a combination of "Koopa", and the name of "Cooper".
 * Kooper was going to make some sort of appearance in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, perhaps one similar to that of Bow or maybe a larger role. However, he was removed.
 * Although all artwork depicts Kooper as having an "X"-shaped arrangement of bandages on his cheek, no in-game sprites have ever shown him as such, not even those of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door or Super Paper Mario. Originally an item consisting of two bandages in the shape of an "X" could be obtained and possibly given to Kooper, but this was removed for the final game. Also, Kooper's equivalent in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Koops, has a somewhat similar bandage on his nose.
 * Despite Kooper having a blue shell, his house has a green shell on top, while the house with a blue shell is where the player goes for the Goldies Station Giveaways.
 * There were many instances in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! where Mario erroneously referred to King Koopa as "Kooper".
 * In Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, a blue Koopa Troopa much resembling Kooper is seen trapped in a dark bubble at the end of the game.