Roving Racers
Mario races against the Roving Racers.
Screenshot of Forgotten Isle from Super Mario Odyssey
First appearance Super Mario Odyssey (2017)
Latest appearance Mario Kart Tour (all colors) (2023)
Members
Koopa
Red Koopa
Blue Koopa
Purple Koopa
Gold Koopa
“We're the Roving Racers! We rove the globe—racing in every kingdom that we can get to!”
Green Roving Racer, Super Mario Odyssey

The Roving Racers are a quintet of multicolored Koopa Troopas that appear in Super Mario Odyssey. They wear backwards caps that correspond to their shell color and race Mario across the different kingdoms in a minigame called Koopa Freerunning.

HistoryEdit

Super Mario OdysseyEdit

During the Koopa Freerunning minigame, each Roving Racer takes a different path to the finish; the red Koopa Troopa is always the first of the four to finish, followed by the blue Koopa Troopa, then the green Koopa Troopa, and finally the purple Koopa Troopa. In each kingdom's race, Mario must come in first place to obtain a Power Moon; after doing so and hitting the kingdom's Moon Rock, he can rematch them and gain another Power Moon if he comes in first place again, with a gold Koopa that tends to take shortcuts and always finishes before the other Roving Racers replacing the purple Koopa. Mario can rematch the Roving Racers indefinitely after collecting both Power Moons, earning fifty to one hundred coins for coming in first place depending on the kingdom. The Roving Racers can perform moves that Mario can, such as the Cap Throw; they can also capture enemies and ride Jaxis, but appear to be rapidly spinning inside their shells with yellow sparks surrounding them when doing so. They notably have longer arms and legs than other Koopa Troopas in order to match Mario's body proportions.

The Roving Racers race Mario in a similar vein to Cosmic Mario from Super Mario Galaxy, and their role is reminiscent of Koopa the Quick from Super Mario 64. In order to participate in the race, Mario must find and talk to the green Roving Racer, who can be found in every kingdom after the completion of the story (except for the Cloud Kingdom, the Ruined Kingdom, the Dark Side, and the Darker Side). The Koopa Freerunning leaderboard is always next to him. If Mario approaches the green Roving Racer while capturing an enemy, he will complain about how he does not have time to deal with it.

Mario Kart TourEdit

All five Roving Racers appear in Mario Kart Tour as playable drivers. Named Red Koopa (Freerunning), Blue Koopa (Freerunning), Purple Koopa (Freerunning), Koopa (Freerunning), and Gold Koopa (Freerunning), they were introduced in the London Tour, 2021 Summer Tour (as a reward for placing high in the ranked cups), Singapore Tour (as a reward for placing high in the ranked cups), 2023 Mario Tour (as a reward for placing high in the first ranked cup), and 2020 New Year's Tour respectively (the first four as Super drivers and the last as a High-End driver). Their respective special skills are the Fire Flower, Ice Flower, Double Bob-ombs, Triple Green Shells, and Coin Box. While the Super-class Koopas use Pipe Frames and Super Gliders matching their respective colors, the Gold Koopa simply uses a black Pipe Frame and Super Glider.

Koopa (Freerunning) was added after his red, blue, purple, and gold counterparts, making him the first driver to be introduced after his variants.

Profiles and statisticsEdit

Mario Kart TourEdit

Red Koopa (Freerunning)Edit

  • Mario Kart Tour Twitter: This Koopa Troopa is decked out in all red, making for a hot look! It's the perfect outfit to pair with his special item, the Fire Flower. Get out there and heat up the track![1]

Blue Koopa (Freerunning)Edit

Purple Koopa (Freerunning)Edit

Gold Koopa (Freerunning)Edit

  • Mario Kart Tour Twitter:
    • The hat, the shell, he's got it all! Gold Koopa (Freerunning) is here to prove that all that glitters is gold! His special item is the Coin Box, and subscribers to the #MarioKartTour Gold Pass can earn him by collecting Grand Stars during the New Year's Tour![2]
    • Gold Koopa (Freerunning) is going for the gold in the Gold Blooper! They're together in a set available now.[3]

Koopa (Freerunning)Edit

Special skill   Triple Green Shells
Favorite courses
(Three items per Item Box)
 
SNES Mario Circuit 1R
 
N64 Luigi Raceway
 
SNES Donut Plains 3R/T
 
N64 Koopa Troopa Beach R
 
3DS Daisy Hills R
 
GCN Yoshi Circuit
 
GCN Baby Park R
 
GBA Boo Lake R/T
 
London Loop R/T
 
Berlin Byways
 
Athens Dash 2R
 
3DS Neo Bowser City R
 
SNES Bowser Castle 3R
 
Wii Koopa Cape
 
Piranha Plant Cove 3R
 
Wii Koopa Cape R
 
DS Peach Gardens T
 
GBA Peach Circuit R
 
N64 Mario Raceway R
 
Singapore Speedway 2R
 
Wii Moonview Highway R/T
 
Rome Avanti R
 
Piranha Plant Cove
 
Piranha Plant Cove 2R
 
Piranha Plant Cove 2R/T
 
SNES Koopa Troopa Beach 2
 
Bangkok Rush 2R
 
DS DK Pass R/T
 
RMX Vanilla Lake 2R
 
Tokyo Blur 3R
 
Los Angeles Laps 2R
Favored courses
(Two items per Item Box)
 
SNES Mario Circuit 1T*
 
N64 Luigi Raceway R**
 
GBA Battle Course 1
 
DS Mario Circuit R/T
 
DS Mario Circuit T
 
Wii Koopa Cape R/T
 
N64 Koopa Troopa Beach
 
N64 Koopa Troopa Beach T
 
3DS Daisy Hills
 
3DS Daisy Hills T
 
SNES Vanilla Lake 1R
 
GCN Yoshi Circuit R/T
 
GCN Baby Park
 
GBA Boo Lake T
 
GBA Riverside Park T
 
London Loop T
 
Berlin Byways R/T
 
Athens Dash 2
 
3DS Neo Bowser City R/T
 
DS Airship Fortress R
 
SNES Bowser Castle 3
 
DS Shroom Ridge
 
GCN Mushroom Bridge
 
DS Peach Gardens R
 
GBA Peach Circuit R/T
 
Singapore Speedway 2
 
Wii Moonview Highway
 
Rome Avanti T
 
Piranha Plant Cove 2
 
Piranha Plant Cove T
 
SNES Koopa Troopa Beach 2R/T
 
Tokyo Blur 2R
 
DS DK Pass
 
RMX Vanilla Lake 2
 
RMX Vanilla Lake 1R/T
 
Tokyo Blur 3
 
Los Angeles Laps 2
 
Sydney Sprint 3R
 
Vancouver Velocity 3R
 
Rome Avanti 3T

* indicates a favored course upgraded to a favorite course after reaching level 3. ** indicates a favored course upgraded to a favorite course after reaching level 6.
*** indicates a favored course upgraded to a favorite course after reaching level 8.

GalleryEdit

Super Mario OdysseyEdit

Mario Kart TourEdit

SpritesEdit

EmblemsEdit

ScreenshotsEdit

Names in other languagesEdit

Roving RacersEdit

Language Name Meaning
Japanese かけっこ団
Kakekko-dan
Footrace Group

Chinese (simplified) 赛跑团
Sàipǎo tuán
Footrace Group

Chinese (traditional) 賽跑團
Sàipǎo tuán
Footrace Group

Dutch Razende Racers
Raging Racers
French Rois de la course
Kings of the race
German Ländersprinter
Country-runners
Italian Corridori giramondo
Globetrotter runners
Russian Физкульт-туристы
Fizkul't-turisty
Athlete tourists

Spanish Corredores ambulantes
Traveling runners

Red Koopa (Freerunning)Edit

Language Name Meaning
Japanese あかノコノコ (レース)
Aka Nokonoko (Rēsu)
Red Koopa Troopa (Race)

Chinese (simplified) 红色慢慢龟 (比赛)
Hóngsè Mànmanguī (Bǐsài)
Red Koopa Troopa (Competition)

Chinese (traditional) 紅色慢慢龜 (比賽)
Hóngsè Mànmanguī (Bǐsài)
Red Koopa Troopa (Competition)

French Koopa rouge (course)
Red Koopa (running)
German Roter Koopa (Freerunning)
Red Koopa (-)
Italian Koopa rosso (corsa)
Red Koopa (running)
Korean 빨강엉금엉금(레이스)
Ppalgang-Eong-geum-eong-geum (Leiseu)
Red Koopa Troopa (Race)

Portuguese Koopa vermelho (corredor)
Red Koopa (runner)
Spanish (NOA) Koopa rojo (corredor)
Red Koopa (runner)
Spanish (NOE) Koopa rojo (Corredor)
Red Koopa (Runner)

Blue Koopa (Freerunning)Edit

Language Name Meaning
Japanese あおノコノコ (レース)
Ao Nokonoko (Rēsu)
Blue Koopa Troopa (Race)

Chinese (simplified) 蓝色慢慢龟 (比赛)
Lánsè Mànmanguī (Bǐsài)
Blue Koopa Troopa (Competition)

Chinese (traditional) 藍色慢慢龜 (比賽)
Lánsè Mànmanguī (Bǐsài)
Blue Koopa Troopa (Competition)

French Koopa bleu (course)
Blue Koopa (running)
German Blauer Koopa (Freerunning)
Blue Koopa (-)
Italian Koopa blu (corsa)
Blue Koopa (running)
Korean 파랑엉금엉금(레이스)
Palang-Eong-geum-eong-geum (Leiseu)
Blue Koopa Troopa (Race)

Portuguese Koopa azul (corredor)
Blue Koopa (runner)
Spanish (NOA) Koopa azul (corredor)
Blue Koopa (runner)
Spanish (NOE) Koopa azul (Corredor)
Blue Koopa (Runner)

Purple Koopa (Freerunning)Edit

Language Name Meaning
Japanese むらさきノコノコ (レース)
Murasaki Nokonoko (Rēsu)
Purple Koopa Troopa (Race)

Chinese (simplified) 紫色慢慢龟 (比赛)
Zǐsè Mànman Guī (Bǐsài)
Purple Koopa Troopa (Competition)

Chinese (traditional) 紫色慢慢龜 (比賽)
Zǐsè Mànman Guī (Bǐsài)
Purple Koopa Troopa (Competition)

French Koopa violet (course)
Purple Koopa (running)
German Lila Koopa (Freerunning)
Purple Koopa (-)
Italian Koopa viola (corsa)
Purple Koopa (running)
Korean 보라엉금엉금(레이스)
Bola-Eong-geum-eong-geum (Leiseu)
Purple Koopa Troopa (Race)

Portuguese Koopa roxo (corredor)
Purple Koopa (runner)
Spanish (NOA) Koopa morado (corredor)
Purple Koopa (runner)
Spanish (NOE) Koopa morado (Corredor)
Purple Koopa (Runner)

Gold Koopa (Freerunning)Edit

Language Name Meaning
Japanese ゴールデンノコノコ (レース)
Gōruden Nokonoko (Rēsu)
Golden Koopa Troopa (Race)

Chinese (simplified) 金色慢慢龟 (比赛)
Jīnsè Mànman Guī (Bǐsài)
Golden Koopa Troopa (Competition)

Chinese (traditional) 金色慢慢龜 (比賽)
Jīnsè Mànman Guī (Bǐsài)
Golden Koopa Troopa (Competition)

French Koopa doré (course)
Gold Koopa (running)
German Gold-Koopa (Freerunning)
-
Italian Koopa dorato (corsa)
Golden Koopa (running)
Korean 골드엉금엉금(레이스)
Goldeu Eong-geum-eong-geum (Leiseu)
Gold Koopa Troopa (Race)

Portuguese Koopa dourado (corredor)
Gold Koopa (runner)
Spanish (NOA) Koopa dorado (corredor)
Gold Koopa (runner)
Spanish (NOE) Koopa dorado (Corredor)
Gold Koopa (Runner)

Koopa (Freerunning)Edit

Language Name Meaning
Japanese ノコノコ (レース)
Nokonoko (Rēsu)
Koopa Troopa (Race)

Chinese (simplified) 慢慢龟 (比赛)
Mànman Guī (Bǐsài)
Koopa Troopa (Competition)

Chinese (traditional) 慢慢龜 (比賽)
Mànman Guī (Bǐsài)
Koopa Troopa (Competition)

French Koopa (course)
Koopa (running)
German Koopa (Freerunning)
-
Italian Koopa (corsa)
Koopa (running)
Korean 엉금엉금(레이스)
Eong-geum-eong-geum (Leiseu)
Koopa Troopa (Race)

Portuguese Koopa (corredor)
Koopa (runner)
Spanish (NOA) Koopa (corredor)
Koopa (runner)
Spanish (NOE) Koopa (Corredor)
Koopa (Runner)

TriviaEdit

ReferencesEdit

  1. ^ mariokarttourEN (December 7, 2019). Twitter. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  2. ^ mariokarttourEN (January 11, 2020). Twitter. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  3. ^ mariokarttourEN (March 29, 2020). Twitter. Retrieved March 29, 2020.