Koopas

Koopa Troopa
Mario character
First game	Mario Bros. (1983) (As Shellcreeper)
Voiced by	(The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!) Testsuo Mizutori and Masaharu Satō (Super Mario Brothers: The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach!)

Koopa Troopas, or Koopas, known in Japan as Nokonoko (ノコノコ), are a fictional race of turtle or tortoise-like creatures from the Mario series, as well as its sister Yoshi series. Although the term 'Koopa' is a blanket term for the entire species of anthropomorphic turtles in the series, to which creatures such as Lakitu, Hammer Bros. and Bowser belong, the term is often used to refer colloquially to this particular enemy. First appearing in the 1985 Nintendo Entertainment System game Super Mario Bros., they are among the oldest recurring enemies in the series, and have appeared in some form in all of the main games, and most of the spin-off games. When defeated, Koopas may flee from or retreat inside their shells, which can usually be used as weapons. Koopa shells are a recurring weapon in the series, particularly popularized in the Mario Kart series, in which they can be fired as projectiles against other racers. Despite making up the bulk of Bowser's army, known as the "Koopa Troop", Koopas as a species are often shown to be peaceful, some teaming up with Mario. An undead Koopa Troopa becomes a Dry Bones.

A tortoise-like enemy first appeared in the 1983 arcade game, Mario Bros., called Shellcreepers (simply called "turtles" in Japan). Series creator Shigeru Miyamoto had a fellow designer draw the enemy, but the result was far too realistic to fit in with the tone of the game, so Miyamoto designed the enemy himself. While the design had quite a large head, Miyamoto validated it by suggesting it looked like a tortoise. In Mario Bros., Shellcreepers could only be defeated by hitting the platform on which they were stood from underneath, thus flipping them on their backs allowing Mario or Luigi to kick them off the screen.

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Wikipedia