Goomba's Shoe

A Goomba's Shoe is a large, green-colored boot with a wind-up key sticking out of the back of it; it is one of the rarest of all the power-ups in all of the Mario series and made its only game appearance in Super Mario Bros. 3. It was originally known in English as Kuribo's Shoe, with "Kuribo" being the Japanese name of Goomba left unchanged. The name is translated in the re-releases of Super Mario Bros. 3 and the Game Boy Advance remake, but the item has been called Kuribo's Shoe again in Super Mario All-Stars.

Super Mario Bros. 3
The first and only appearance of the Goomba's Shoe was in Super Mario Bros. 3, in World 5-3. The Goombas of this level would hop around aimlessly in Goomba's Shoes and if jumped on by Mario, would be defeated; however, if Mario was to attack one of these Goombas from below, the Goomba will be knocked from the shoe and Mario could take it and ride in it. In Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3, there is an unreleased e-Reader level called "With Boots On, GO! GO!" that uses the Goomba's Shoe and adds it coming out of blocks in that level, like a normal power-up.

Once wearing a Goomba's Shoe, Mario will be able to easily hop across spikes and sharp-toothed or spiky enemies, such as Munchers and Spinies. Once the end of the level is reached, though, Mario will lose the Goomba's Shoe. In the original Japanese version, a hit will also cause Mario to shrink to Small Mario in addition to losing the shoe. However, if the player was already small, Mario will only lose the shoe, as in the international versions of the games.

In several of the unused levels of Super Mario Bros. 3, Goomba's Shoes can be found and used.

In the original version and the SNES remake, on the rare occasion that Mario should be wearing the Tanooki Suit, entering a Goomba's Shoe allows the normally stationary Statue Mario to become mobile, while retaining invincibility. However, this ability was fixed in Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 so when attempting to enter Goomba's Shoe while a statue, Mario will revert back to Tanooki Mario.

The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3
Goomba's Shoes only appeared in the episode "Super Koopa" of The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, despite also appearing in the show's opening sequence. During the episode, they were referred to as Karoobi's Shoes, a mispronunciation of Kuribo's Shoes.

Paper Mario: Sticker Star
After 24 years of absence, (and being rejected twice) the Goomba's Shoe is set to make an appearance as a sticker in Paper Mario: Sticker Star. Its purpose is to greatly improve the chances of avoiding enemy attacks.

Other
The Thwomp Stompers of the Super Mario Bros. movie may be loosely based on the Goomba's Shoe.

References in Later Games

 * In Super Paper Mario, one Sammer Guy is called Shoe of Kuribo. Also, the ability of the Super Paper Mario Pixl Carrie can be thought of as vaguely similar to that of the Goomba's Shoe, as Carrie, too, allows players to stomp on spiked enemies such as Piranha Plants and Spinies and allows them to glide over spikes.
 * In Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, the enemy Sockop is very similar to a Goomba's Shoe, especially when Luigi is walking around in it. One Sockop is even named Kuribo as a reference to the mistranslation.

Trivia

 * In Brazilian dubbing for the episode "Super Koopa" of The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, Mario calls the Goomba's Shoe "seven-league boot", probably alluding to European folklore. However, the original seven-league boots are used for running, not jumping.
 * Even though Goomba's Shoes are green and Spinies are red, the original artwork for Super Mario Bros. 3 reversed the two colors.
 * In the Virtual Console re-release, the Goomba's Shoe is not mentioned in the Operations Guide. It was not mentioned in the manuals for the original game or its remakes either.
 * In Kirby's Return to Dream Land, Kirby can ride in a similar looking shoe with spikes on the soles and a blue color scheme. Its function is very similar to the Goomba's Shoe, which is stomping on harmful objects. However, it is used for a limited duration of time, no enemy has to be defeated before riding it, and it appears in more than one level.
 * The Goomba's Shoe was planned to appear in Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario 3D Land, but was rejected.
 * Oddly, the Nintendo Power Strategy Guide for Super Mario Bros. 3 refers to the Goomba in the shoe as "Kuribo's Goomba", essentially meaning "Goomba's Goomba".