Shellcreeper

Template:Species-infobox Shellcreepers are green-shelled turtles that first appeared in the Mario Bros. arcade game. They are the first turtle enemies to appear in a Mario game, making them the conceptual ancestors of the Koopa Troopas, which appeared two years later in Super Mario Bros.. It is also shown that Shellcreepers wear undershirts and shorts when outside of their shells; Koopa Troopas first appeared out of their shells in Super Mario World wearing a shirt, and in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island wearing shorts. The trophy descriptions in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U state that the Koopas apparently evolved from Shellcreepers; however, the Japanese text specifies Koopa Troopas.

History

Mario Bros.

File:MBShellcreeperSprite.gif

File:ShellcreeperNESSprite.gif

Shellcreepers as they appear in various different versions of Mario Bros.

The Shellcreeper is the first enemy to appear in Mario Bros.. They walk out of the Warp Pipes at the top of the screen and walk towards the pipes at the bottom of the screen. The player must hit it from below to flip it over and run into it to defeat it. If the player does not run into it, the Shellcreeper jumps out of its shell (revealing that it wears a white shirt and shorts), flips its shell over, changes color from green to purple and continues moving faster than before. If it flips its shell again, it will turn red, its fastest state. If a Shellcreeper is the last target for the phase, it will automatically turn red. Unlike the similar Koopa Troopa, jumping on Shellcreeper will cause Mario or Luigi to lose a life.

Following the Mario Bros.-style battle mode in Super Mario Bros. 3, Shellcreepers have been replaced by Spinies in all subsequent versions, so they would not be mistaken for Koopa Troopas, which are safe to jump on. Despite this, a lone Shellcreeper still makes a cameo alongside a Sidestepper and Fighter Fly on the title screen of the Game Boy Advance remakes of Mario Bros.

Mario Bros. Special

In Hudson Soft's 1984 sequel of sorts to Mario Bros., Mario Bros. Special, Shellcreepers make a return appearance as enemies, though this time they can't be stunned by hitting them from below; instead, they can be stunned by jumping on a trampoline that they're on (second stage), jumping on a conveyor belt that they're on (third stage), or killed instantly by jumping over or next to them and hitting a platform, though they will often respawn if killed this way.

Punch Ball Mario Bros.

Shellcreepers appear as an enemy yet again in Hudson Soft's semi sequel to Mario Bros., Punch Ball Mario Bros.. The game is much closer to the Mario Bros., and thus Shellcreepers play a much more similar role as they did in that game. The only differences are that they can't be stunned from below and are instead stunned by Punch Balls, and that they do not change color if they get back up after being stunned.

Mario Power Tennis / New Play Control! Mario Power Tennis

Shellcreepers in Mario Power Tennis

Shellcreepers, along with the other Mario Bros. enemies, appear in the background of the Mario Classic Court in Mario Power Tennis, where they use their NES sprites. The game's data includes an unused 3D depiction of a Shellcreeper, showing it as a small, quadrupedal Koopa Troopa with clawed flat feet.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

A Shellcreeper, as it appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Shellcreepers appear on the Mario Bros. stage. They walk out from the pipes at the top of the stage. If knocked over by hitting them from below or from an attack, they can be picked up and thrown at opponents, making them fly sideways off the screen. The Shellcreepers also have their own trophy.

Super Mario 3D World

Shellcreepers appear in Luigi Bros., an additional game featured in Super Mario 3D World. Like the other enemies in Luigi Bros., Shellcreepers behave in the same way as Mario Bros., which this game is based on.

NES Remix

Shellcreepers appear in NES Remix in the challenges and remixes based on Mario Bros.

Super Mario Maker

File:Koopa.jpg

A Shellcreeper (left) and a Koopa Troopa (right) in Super Mario Maker

In Super Mario Maker, one of the unlockable playable costumes is based on the Shellcreeper from the arcade Mario Bros. It can be unlocked at random after clearing the 100 Mario Challenge on Expert setting or harder. If the player holds on the GamePad while wearing the costume, the Shellcreeper makes a grimace. While the player runs as the Shellcreeper, its shell turns red.

Game appearances

Title	Description	Release date	System/format
Mario Bros.	Enemy	1983	Arcade
Mario Bros. Special	Enemy	1984	PC-8801, PC-6001mkII/PC-6601, PC-9801, FM-7, Sharp X1, Sharp MZ-1500, Sharp MZ-2200, Hitachi S1
Punch Ball Mario Bros.	Enemy	1984	PC-8801, PC-6001mkII/PC-6601, FM-7, Sharp X1, Sharp MZ-1500
Kaettekita Mario Bros.	Enemy	1988	Family Computer Disk System
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga	Cameo on the Mario Bros. title screen. Also in the Super Mario Advance ports.	2003	Game Boy Advance
Mario Power Tennis	Cameo as enemy on Mario Classic Court	2004	Nintendo GameCube
Famicom Mini: Mario Bros.	Enemy	2004	Game Boy Advance
Super Smash Bros. Brawl	Cameo as enemy found on the Mario Bros. stage	2008	Wii
New Play Control! Mario Power Tennis	Cameo as enemy on Mario Classic Court	2009	Wii
Super Mario 3D World	Enemy in Luigi Bros.	2013	Wii U
NES Remix	Enemy/objective in Mario Bros. challenges and remixes.	2013	Wii U
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U	Cameo as a trophy.	2014	Wii U
Super Mario Maker	Unlockable playable character.	2015	Wii U

Super Smash Bros. Brawl trophy

Name	Image	Game	Description
Shellcreepers		NES Mario Bros.	Shelled enemies Mario and Luigi faced back when they were plumbers. They had to be bumped from below to flip them over and then kicked off the stage. The last one on a stage turned from green to red and raced really fast. If one got flipped but not sent off, it would eventually right itself and move at high speeds. They were simply called "turtles" in Japan.
		GBA Super Mario Advance

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U trophy

Name	Image	Appears In	NTSC-U Description	PAL Description
Shellcreepers		ARCADE Mario Bros. GBA Super Mario Advance	With a name that implies silently sneaking up on its prey, the Shellcreeper might be considered cooler than your average turtle. The Koopa is apparently an evolved form of this veteran of Mario Bros. We'd recommend not jumping on this one like you would a Koopa, though...	With a name that implies silently sneaking up on its prey, the Shellcreeper might be considered cooler than your average turtle. A true veteran from way back in Mario Bros., this guy even predates Koopas, which apparently it evolved into. We wouldn't recommend jumping on this one like you'd jump on a Koopa, though...

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	カメさん Kame-San シェルクリーパー Sherukurīpā	Mr. Turtle Shellcreeper
German	Schildkröte	Turtle
Italian	Tartaruga	Turtle
Korean	거북님 Geobuk-Nim	Translation of Japanese name
Russian	Черепашкин Cherepashkin	From черепаха (cherepakha, turtle)
Spanish	Tortuga	Turtle