Buzzy Beetle

"Buzzy Beetle Blocker...engage!"

- Buzzy Beetle Buzzy Beetles, also referred to as Buzzies, are common, quadruped, turtle-like Koopa enemies with hard, outer shells that are often dark blue. Buzzy Beetles are first introduced in the Mario franchise in Super Mario Bros., where they are first found in subterranean levels, the common habitat trope for Buzzy Beetles. Ever since, Buzzy Beetles can be found in a wider variety of darker, interior locations such as tunnels, sewers, ruins, etc. Buzzy Beetles attack mainly by walking towards characters. If Buzzy Beetles approach a ledge, they fall off of it with a few exceptions.

Buzzy Beetles hide in their shells if jumped on, and, like a Koopa Shell, they can be kicked to eliminate more enemies, destroy Brick Blocks, or activate switches. The shell of the Buzzy Beetle is strong enough to resist fireballs, and as such, they cannot be defeated by fire. In a way, they are the polar opposite of the Spinies; enemies who are immune to stomps, but vulnerable to fireballs. Buzzy Beetles and their derivative species such as Spike Tops are also able to climb up walls and ceilings; Buzzy Beetles often use that vantage point to drop onto characters below in an ambush. Unlike Koopa Troopas, Buzzy Beetles remain quadrupedal for all of their appearances in the Mario franchise.

Despite having the word "beetle" in their name, Buzzy Beetles are not beetles; rather, they were named as such because their shells give them an almost insectoid appearance, and that more recent games even confirm that Buzzy Beetles are indeed a type of Koopa.

Buzzy Beetles and Koopa Paratroopas are the only enemies from Super Mario Bros. that have yet to appear in a 3D Super Mario game, though, in Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2, similar enemies known as Goombeetles appear, which wear helmets that are designed similarly to Buzzy Shells. Buzzy Beetles, along with Lava Bubbles and Cheep Cheeps, are also the only enemies from Super Mario Bros. to not appear in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!.

Super Mario Bros.
Buzzy Beetles first appear as enemies in World 4-2, an underground level of Super Mario Bros. and its ports and remakes, including Super Mario All-Stars and Super Mario Bros. Deluxe. They are common enemies in the level, and their main method of attacking is walking into Mario. If they approach a ledge, they fall off as green Koopa Troopas. Similar to Koopa Troopas, they hide in their shell when jumped on and will reemerge if left for too long. Unlike the Koopa Troopas, there is no signal for when the Buzzy Beetles are about to reemerge from their shells. Their shells can be kicked in the same manner as Koopa Troopa shells, where they can break blocks and defeat enemies as well as rebound off walls. Due to their hard shells, Mario and Luigi cannot defeat them with fireballs. Buzzy Beetles then later appear in World 5-2, World 6-2, World 7-1,World 8-1, World 8-2, and World 8-4 all except World 8-4 being overworld levels, making World 4-2 the only underground level they appear in. In World 5-2, three of them appear in a consecutive line. A single Buzzy Beetle appears in World 7-1 on the steps before the flagpole (in VS. Super Mario Bros., this Buzzy Beetle is replaced with a Goomba, much like with the Koopas on the end staircase in World 3-1, possibly to prevent the player from potentially obtaining an infinite number of lives). When players complete the game and play the new quest option, which serves as the game's Hard Mode, all Little Goombas are replaced with Buzzy Beetles. Sometimes, like Koopa shells, Buzzy Beetle shells can potentially be flipped upside down (much like its death animation) only to right themselves back up if left undisturbed afterwards, either by being hit from below or being stomped while falling.

In World 3-4, a Buzzy Beetle is disguised as one of the seven fake Bowsers in the castle levels, being the first Buzzy Beetle players encounter in the game. While in Bowser form, this Buzzy Beetle can be attacked with fireballs, which requires five fireballs to defeat it, as with all other fake Bowsers.

In this game, Buzzy Beetles are black in the overworld, but blue-gray in underground levels.

Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels
In Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, Buzzy Beetles return and act just as they did in the previous game. They first appear in World 1-2, the first underground level of the game, though only one of them appears in that level. They appear more frequently throughout the game and in more levels than the game's precedent. They are also found underwater occasionally in World 9, along with all the other enemies, specifically in World 9-1 and World 9-4. When underwater, Buzzy Beetles cannot be jumped on, making them invulerable. These Buzzy Beetles are colored black with gray outlines due to them sharing Blooper's color palette. In the Super Mario All-Stars version, Buzzy Beetles replace all Goombas appearing in Worlds A-D, much like in Hard Mode of the original.

Super Mario Bros. 3 / Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3
In Super Mario Bros. 3, Buzzy Beetles return, acting the same way as they did before. Here, Upside-down Buzzy Beetles that walk on the ceiling also appear. To attack intruders, they can drop, and spin along the ground to attack. In the Game Boy Advance remake Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3, when the Red Switch e-Reader Card is scanned, all walking Koopa Troopas are replaced with Buzzy Beetles. In addition, there is a flying variation called Para-Beetle, which are found only in one level. In the original version, they have the same sprites as in Super Mario Bros., albeit with a different palette, slightly different color mapping, and a single missing pixel on the top of the shell on one frame. In this game, Buzzy Beetles are an exclusive feature of cave-themed levels and no longer appear in other places. A variant called Buster Beetle is also introduced.

Super Mario World
Buzzy Beetles also appear in Super Mario World, still as typical cave enemies. They are still resistant to fireballs; however, Yoshi can eat them and swallow them whole, unlike Koopa Troopas' shells, which Yoshi cannot immediately swallow. They hide in their shells when jumped on, as opposed to sliding out, as the Koopas sometimes do when stomped. Spike Tops, Buzzy Beetles with a spike on their back, which cannot be jumped upon, are introduced in this game. Yoshi or a successful Spin Jump will protect Mario and Luigi from getting hit by the spikes. This game also introduces Bony Beetles, which are undead skeletons of a Buzzy Beetle.

After clearing the Special Zone for the first time, stomped Buzzy Beetle shells will not shake before the beetles start moving again.

New Super Mario Bros.
Buzzy Beetles reappear as enemies in New Super Mario Bros., although they are very rare in this game. In fact, they only appear in two levels, World 5-C, and 2, where during the start of the level, the Buzzy Beetle is flipped over. They behave similar to their appearance back in Super Mario Bros. 3. As in Super Mario Bros., they can be kicked when stomped on, and are impervious to fire. Spike Tops reappear in this game also.

When a "paah" is heard in the music in this game and future installments, they will do a short jump, similar to Goombas.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii
Buzzy Beetles later reappear in the follow-up, New Super Mario Bros. Wii. In World 6-3, a big group of Buzzy Beetles can be seen on the ceiling, and will fall on Mario and the group, as they did in Super Mario Bros. 3. In both games, Buzzy Beetles hop to the electronic vocal "paah" in the background music. They also appear in World 8-1, and these ones do not walk off ledges, unlike normal Buzzy Beetles, mainly because they walk off ledges that lead to a body of lava. Magikoopa may also transform blocks into them during his boss fight in. Spike Tops also reappear again. Para-Beetles also make a reappearance, and a new sub-species called Heavy Para-Beetle. They only appear in World 7-6.

Unlike in Super Mario World, Yoshi cannot completely eat Buzzy Beetles. However, he can spit out their shells in the same manner as with a Koopa Troopa shell.

Big Buzzy Beetles were originally going to appear in this game too, but they never appeared in any levels in the final game. However, through hacking methods, it is possible to use one in a level.

New Super Mario Bros. 2
Buzzy Beetles reappear in Nintendo 3DS game New Super Mario Bros. 2. They are found in numerous underground levels, including World 6-1 and.

New Super Mario Bros. U
Buzzy Beetles also appear in the Nintendo Wii U title, New Super Mario Bros. U. Bony Beetles also make a return since their debut in Super Mario World, now resembling an undead Buzzy Beetle. The large variety of Buzzy Beetle, which first appeared in Paper Mario: Sticker Star, also appears.

Super Mario Maker / Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS / Super Mario Maker 2
Buzzy Beetles reappear in Super Mario Maker, Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS, and Super Mario Maker 2 with the addition of a new Buzzy Shell which Mario can wear on his head, protecting him from enemies and traps from above. The player can also place the empty shell by shaking a Buzzy Beetle in the editor.

Mario is able to ride on Buzzy Shells by jumping and landing on them as they move, if they are shot by a Bill Blaster. By adding wings, Buzzy Beetles will slowly float from right to left (or left to right in some scenarios, such as being shot by a Bill Blaster) while maintaining Mario's ability to stand on them. Single winged Buzzy Beetles will rise when stood upon, while those with any number of enemies stacked upon them (including additional winged Buzzy Beetles) will maintain a constant altitude.

When placed in a dark area in the Super Mario Bros. style, instead of using a cyan or gray palette like in the original game, they use a palette resembling the underground palette for brown enemies (including them) from Super Mario Bros. 3, having a dark teal shell with light tan details. However, the rim and feet colors are switched from this, due to still using Super Mario Bros.'s mapping. The Super Mario Bros. 3 graphics themselves are redrawn, having an outline to better fit with other sprites in the style.

Super Mario Run
Buzzy Beetles appear in Super Mario Run, behaving like in the New Super Mario Bros games. They appear in Danger High and Low and Chase the Snaking Coins.

Super Mario Bros.: Peach-hime Kyūshutsu Dai Sakusen!
In Super Mario Bros.: Peach-hime Kyūshutsu Dai Sakusen!, Buzzy Beetles appear gold in color. One makes brief appearance in the walking montage after Mario acquires the mushroom, seen staring at the super-sized Mario in shock. Another one appears with a big-sized Buzzy Beetle in the montage after Mario acquires the Fire Flower. Mario shoots the big one with a fireball, despite the fact that Buzzy Beetles are ordinarily immune to fire attacks in the games.

Nintendo Adventure Books
Some Buzzy Beetles appear in Nintendo Adventure Books series of gamebooks in the fourth book, Koopa Capers. They appear in Wendy O. Koopa's secret camp in the Magma Pits.

Hotel Mario
Buzzy Beetles appear as enemies in Hotel Mario. They are introduced in Larry's Chillton Hotel, where they are depicted with a clump of snow on their backs fit for the chilly environment, and later appear in Bowser's Seizures Palace Hotel without it. Unlike in other appearances, they behave more like Goombas except they will walk in Mario's direction when he arrives on their floor.

Super Smash Bros. series
In Super Smash Bros., a single Buzzy Beetle can be seen in the Mushroom Kingdom stage, hopping on a Trampoline. Each hop, it goes progressively higher, until the fourth hop, where it does a flip and restarts the cycle. This Buzzy Beetle returns in the same capacity in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

A Buzzy Beetle also appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS as a trophy. According to a datamine, Buzzy Beetles were meant appear as enemies in the Subspace Emissary. This was also the case for Dry Bones.

Paper Mario series
Buzzy Beetles also appear in the Paper Mario series. They are shell enemies like the Koopa Troopas, meaning they can be flipped over when they are jumped on or by a POW Block. However, unlike the Koopas, Buzzy Beetles do not spend a turn struggling on their back; they can right themselves on their very next turn, though they cannot attack on that turn. Fire attacks will not hurt them at all. However, if they are flipped on their back, they lose the fire immunity. Related enemies are Spike Tops, Parabuzzies (Para-Beetles which now lose their wings when they are stomped), and Bony Beetles. One of the new types of Buzzy Beetles are Spiky Parabuzzies, which flies and have a spike on their back, making it hard to damage them. In Paper Mario, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, and Super Paper Mario, Buzzy Beetles' eyes and entire face are visible, though starting in Paper Mario: Sticker Star, they resemble their appearance from New Super Mario Bros. and onward.

Paper Mario
In Paper Mario, Buzzy Beetles appear in the Toad Town Tunnels and in the Dry Dry Ruins. In Dry Dry Ruins, several Buzzy Beetles climb on the ceiling, like in Super Mario Bros. 3. They can drop on Mario to attack them, and he cannot jump on them while they are hanging from the ceiling. However, he can use a badge to cause an earthquake, which causes the Buzzy Beetles to fall to the ground. Spike Tops, which are red in the game, are enemies fought inside Mt. Lavalava; and Bony Beetles are found in Bowser's Castle.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
In Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, the first Buzzy Beetles in the game are fought in the Glitz Pit. They are red Spike Tops; however, as regular Spike Tops in the game are blue, they are called Red Spike Tops in the game. Two of them build up the fighting team known as the Tiny Spinies.

Regular Buzzy Beetles later appear as enemies in the cave under the well of the Creepy Steeple alongside Spike Tops. Para-Beetles, now known as Parabuzzies, appear in Pirate's Grotto. Spiky Parabuzzies are also introduced, which are found in Riverside Station. Most of these species can be found in the Pit of 100 Trials.

The game also features Sky-Blue Spinies. It is implied that these are a cross between Buzzy Beetles and Spinies, as they are called "Käfer-Stachis" ("Buzzy Beetle Spinies") in the German version of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.

Buzzy Beetles have very high defense and are immune to fire. Using special moves or some items such as Earth Quake will easily defeat them. The Buzzy Beetle and its species share the same stats and immunities.

Super Paper Mario
Buzzy Beetles reappear in Super Paper Mario. The game introduces a new variant, the Stone Buzzies: Buzzy Beetles with stone shells that always take three hits to be defeated. They are found in the Downtown and Gap of Crag. The game also features "dark" versions of several Buzzy Beetles variations, notably Dark Spike Tops and Dark Stone Buzzies, found in the Flopside Pit of 100 Trials.

Paper Mario: Sticker Star
Buzzy Beetles appear in Paper Mario: Sticker Star where they are inside cavern areas and in 2D underground segments. Their appearance is similar to that of their New Super Mario Bros. counterparts. In the overworld they are able to travel along the bottoms and sides of platforms, similar to a Spike Top. The Buzzy Beetle's only attack in this game is going into its shell and ramming into Mario. A Buzzy Beetle's shell toss attack sometimes gets Mario Dizzy. If Mario jumps on it but does not defeat it, it will hide inside its shell for a short time. When hiding, no attack will damage it. Mario can jump on it again to kick it at enemies behind it, damaging them. Spike Tops and Bony Beetles also appear in this game, as well as the introduction of Shiny Buzzy Beetles. A Buzzy Beetle may rarely drop a Flashy Shell sticker. Buzzy Beetles are aided by nobody except Goombas. If a Buzzy Beetle is upside down, it will try to get back up. Unlike the Koopa Troopas, these Buzzy Beetles will always get back up as soon as they are flipped over, and rarely make the First Strike. However, five Buzzy Beetles in Drybake Stadium are smart guards and will do their best to prevent Mario from leaving the rooms. They are also the last Buzzy Beetle fight and the only fight to have a group of 5.

A mini-boss, Big Buzzy Beetle, also appears in the game, encountered at Hither Thither Hill.

Paper Mario: Color Splash
Buzzy Beetles return in Paper Mario: Color Splash. They have the same behavior and appearance as they do in Paper Mario: Sticker Star. They appear in Indigo Underground and Redpepper Volcano. A Buzzy Beetle also serves as the second-round opponent in Roshambo Temple #2. Small Buzzy Beetles appear in the Sacred Forest, along with a Small Buzzy Beetle Gang. A Buzzy Beetle Tower that consists of a Buzzy Beetle, a Small Buzzy Beetle, a Big Buzzy Beetle, and a green Spike Guy appears in the Emerald Circus. Buzzy Beetle Gangs appear in the parallel world on Lighthouse Island.

Paper Mario: The Origami King
Origami versions of Buzzy Beetles appear as enemies in Paper Mario: The Origami King, first appearing in Breezy Tunnel. As usual, they attack Mario with a Shell Shot move, flinging at him in their shells.

Regular Buzzy Beetles later appear as NPCs in Shangri-Spa, and help battle the Folded Soldiers in Bowser's Castle.

In Scuffle Island, a Paper Macho version called the Paper Macho Buzzy Beetle is fought as the seventh and final opponent of the island. In Bowser's Castle, a different kind of Paper Macho Buzzy Beetle called the Paper Mistake Buzzy Beetle is fought as a boss.

Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam
Buzzy Beetles make their Mario & Luigi series debut, appearing in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam. They are encountered in the lower half of Mount Brrr. Each time it takes damage, it will hide in its shell. While the Buzzy Beetle is in its shell, the damage it takes is reduced to 0. The only way to get the Buzzy Beetle out of hiding is to hammer the shell and then dodge it when it comes back towards the bro who hit it. When it hides in its shell, it has an attack where it can spin so much that, if jumped on it when it spins hard, Mario and Luigi become dizzy, and Paper Mario loses most of his copies. They can also attack by walking towards one of the bros., occasionally getting into their shell. The attack can be countered with a hammer, though attacking them when they are in their shell causes the shell to get knocked away, and into the bro that hit it. If the Trio Hammer is used near them, they are flipped over. When they are flipped, the player can do a First Strike to them, which also prevents them from hiding in their shell at least once. Oddly, in this game, they are not fireproof when Mario and Luigi use the Fire Flower Bros. Attack on them, though they take half damage from fire. Their paper form does not appear in this game.

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions
Buzzy Beetles appear in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions after being absent in the original game. They appear as enemies and recruitable allies exclusively in Minion Quest: The Search for Bowser. They are melee troopers, and attack by ramming enemies with their shells. Buzzy Beetles have high defense, and their special skill, Rock Solid, allows them to increase their defense, depending on how filled the meter that appears becomes. They are strong against Para-Beetles.

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey
Buzzy Beetles reappear in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey, as enemies and recruitable allies in the Bowser Jr.'s Journey mode. They are melee troopers, and are strong against Para-Beetles.

Mario Party 6
Buzzy Beetles make a cameo appearance in the 2-vs-2 mini-game, Slot Trot. They appear as one of the images on the slots. Their appearance here is similar to the Paper Mario series appearance, except for their claws and paws, which are not white.

Mario Party DS
Buzzy Beetles make a cameo appearance in the Memory Mash minigame as pictures of a possible match. These Buzzy Beetles get their appearance from the Paper Mario series. These pictures are identical to Mario Party 6 Slot Trot ones.

Mario Party 8
Buzzy Beetles appear solely in the Battle Minigame, Glacial Meltdown in Mario Party 8. A Lakitu throws them onto the ice making them both obstacles and weapons for the players to use to knock the opponents off the ice. It is unknown why the Lakitu throws Buzzy Beetles instead of its species' normal Spiny accomplices.

Mario Party 9
Buzzy Beetles appear in the minigame Goomba Spotting, as a trick in order to lead the player into miscounting, since only the number of Goombas is counted at the end of the minigame. A Buzzy Beetle is also on one of the puzzles in Jigsaw Jumble.

Mario Party: Island Tour
Buzzy Beetles appear in Match Faker and Tap Dash in Mario Party: Island Tour. Also, one of them can be seen walking in the rocks of Bowser's Peculiar Peak board.

Mario Party: The Top 100
Buzzy Beetles make a cameo appearance in the return of the minigames Slot Trot from Mario Party 6 and Jigsaw Jumble from Mario Party 9.

Super Mario Party
In Super Mario Party, a Buzzy Beetle makes a cameo appearance in the minigame Absent Minded, where it is one of the characters that can be chosen as a guess.

Mario Party Superstars
In Mario Party Superstars, Buzzy Beetles reappear in the minigame Goomba Spotting from Mario Party 9.

Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition
Buzzy Beetles appear as enemies and potential allies in Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition. They have the Dark attribute, and their skill involves reducing enemy damage for three turns.

Enemy Buzzy Beetles have two skills that they can use. The first skill, called Light Bind, paralyzes all the player's teammates who have Light as their main attribute or sub-attribute for two turns. The second skill, called Beetle Guard, protects the Buzzy Beetle and its allies from all status defects (such as defense reductions and turn delays) for a few turns.

The player can transform a Buzzy Beetle into a Bony Beetle by using four Boo Mushrooms on it. Alternatively, the Buzzy Beetle can transform into a Para-Beetle when given four P-Wings.

Dr. Mario World
Buzzy Beetles appear in Dr. Mario World as assistants. In both stage mode and versus mode, their effect is to transform an object, mainly a virus, into a shell when the stage starts, where the chance of activation is higher at higher levels (20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, and 100% from levels 1 to 5 respectively).

Mario Golf: Super Rush
"XC Golf is really different from anything you've seen before. No two routes are the same! Of course, sometimes that means you really get into a pickle where the ball ends up. That's when you should think about a redo. Did you know about that? Just press to open your golfwatch, and scroll over into the In Trouble? menu. One of the options is to rehit! Yeah, you'll take a one-stroke penalty, but sometimes it's worth it."

- Buzzy Beetle

Buzzy Beetles appear for the first time in the Mario Golf series in Mario Golf: Super Rush in Ridgerock Lake.

Mario Kart Tour
While Buzzy Beetles themselves do not appear in Mario Kart Tour, they make cameo appearances on two badges, one on a colored Common Challenges badge and another on a red Expert Challenges badge.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Two Buzzy Beetles stacked on top of each other can be seen in The Super Mario Bros. Movie as a part of Bowser's army.

Profiles and statistics
Most Buzzy Beetle bios point out their hard carapace and their resistance to fire-based attacks. Some bios also mention their tendency to walk on ceilings, despite this being a trait shared by Spinies.

Gallery


Trivia

 * While playing as Richter Belmont's distant relative Maria Renard in his debut game Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, one of Maria's summons, the turtle, bears a slight resemblance to a Buzzy Beetle.