Kolorado

"Archaeology is about mystery. And you know, without mystery life is rather bland, hm? Maybe you should write this stuff down Mario."

- Kolorado

Kolorado is a bold (although somewhat foolish), mustachioed Koopa explorer in Paper Mario. Mario can first hear of the famous adventurer during his visit to Koopa Village. Kooper mentions that Kolorado is his role model, and if Mario enters his house (the one with the yellow roof), he can meet Kolorado's Wife, who is angry that her husband is constantly away from home. A Letter addressed to Kolorado can also be found on Mt. Rugged.

Mario and his partners can meet Kolorado when they journey to Dry Dry Desert in an attmept to rescue the Star Spirit Mamar. Kolorado, along with a group of fellow explorers, is there to find the treasure of the famous Dry Dry Ruins. When Mario discovers the Dry Dry Ruins (which is where Mamar is hidden), he can find an Artifact to give to Kolorado. Later, Kolorado sends Mario a letter, stating that he finally found the ruins (which, unbeknowst to him, was because Mario had called it from the ground), but had not found any treasure there. Moustafa also sends Mario a letter saying he saw a "suspicious looking Koopa" messing around the ruins. He was probably referring to Kolorado.

Mario encounters Kolorado again in the Toad Town Port. The explorer was attempting to find a way to Lavalava Island, (the place where the Star Spirit Misstar was hidden) in order to find a treasure that was supposedly hidden there. Mario (who needs to get to the island in order to save Misstar) finds a Whale who agrees to carry the two adventures to the island after Mario cures it of a stomachache caused by the Fuzzipede. Kolorado then accompanies Mario to Yoshi's Village and when a path is opened to Mt. Lavalava, he follows him into the volcano. However, he is unable to find any treasure in the first part of the volcano. During Mario's battle with the Lava Piranha, Kolorado attempts to aid him, but is badly burnt and runs away. After the plant's defeat, Kolorado, Mario, and the newly freed Misstar venture deeper into the near-erupting volcano to try to find a way out. At the end of the volcano, a chest is discovered, and a frantic Kolorado makes a near fatal reach for it as lava rises behind him. He is scooped up at the last minute by Misstar, and the band of adventurers escape from the volcano.

Kolorado is distraught at his lost treasure, despite Misstar telling him he should be glad to still have his life. Kolorado is too miserable to leave Yoshi's Village until Mario finds the Treasure Chest, which miraculously survived the Volcano exploding and was simply blown to a section of Jade Jungle. Once Mario delivers the contents of the chest to Kolorado, the overjoyed explorer will accompany him back to Toad Town (via Whale). Once back in Toad Town, Kolorado tells Mario that he plans to go back to Koopa Village and see his wife. However, during his return, a large Koopa called Kent C. Koopa blocks the path to Koopa Village and demands one hundred Coins for passage. Although optional, Mario can help the distraught Kolorado by defeating the burly Koopa, and Kolorado will then spend the remainder of the game with his wife, despite the fact that he had plans to explore what is thought to be the Crystal Palace.

Through the rest of the game, Kolorado would be alluded to in two of Goombario's Tattles, in both of which Goombario impersonated Kolorado and his love for treasure. A Duplighost in Crystal Palace also disguised himself as Kolorado and matched his British accent, bizarrely intending to trick Mario into thinking he was Kooper.

After the game is beaten, Kolorado and Kooper organize an expedition to Shiver City to actually travel to Crystal Palace, fulfilling Kolorado's past plans. When they get there, though, they are stopped by Parakarry, who gives Kolorado a message from his infuriated wife, forcing him to forestall the expedition and return to Koopa Village. Kolorado is later seen alongside his wife (who seems to show no sign of anger at the wayward Koopa) in the game's ending parade, where he waves to the player atop a float based on the Whale and is sprayed into the air.

Kolorado is mentioned several times during Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. Goombella informs Mario that Kolorado was a student of the renowned scientist Professor Frankly, and in Hooktail Castle, the bones of his his father can be found. (His father was a fellow adventurer who died while exploring the castle.) If Mario reads Lumpy the Ratooey's journal, he will discover that at some point Kolorado went back to Dry Dry Desert and that Lumpy encountered him there. He may be named after the American state known as Colorado.

Personality
Kolorado is consistently portrayed as extremely courageous, willing to go into the depths of Mt. Lavalava to find treasure. As Raphael the Raven comments, this bravery often gives way to foolishness; Kolorado is also an ignorant character in his comical misnamings of the whale as a tuna and Misstar as a starfish. Kolorado is a generally friendly character who is willing to help, but despite his intentions, never actually aids Mario in his quest. In fact, he is shown to be very weak; during his time on Lavalava Island, he is attacked by both Jungle Fuzzies and Spear Guys, and is unable to fight back against either of them, requiring Mario to assist him. This paradox of courage and inability to fight is clearly shown when Kolorado attempts to help Mario in fighting the Lava Piranha; although he rushes courageously at the monster, he is easily beat back without laying a hand on him.

Kolorado seems to be a bit of a work-a-holic. He is obsessed with finding treasure, and his wife comments that he is rarely at home, always going on some expedition. Although there is no voice-acting in Paper Mario, Kolorado's text seems to hint at an English accent, as he often uses phrases such as "tally-ho", "old boy", "old chap", and "old bean". An English accent was also applied to Admiral Bobbery from Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.

Trivia

 * Kolorado's personality is derived from Indiana Jones, as they are both named after a State (Kolorado is a homonym for Colorado), and they are both legendary archaeologists. They also wear similar outfits and quest for unique artifacts.