#micro mecha-bowser

[weirdmarioenemies]

Name: Mechakoopa

Debut: Super Mario World

So a very polite anon has humbly requested we write a post about Mechakoopa! They are apparently this person's favorite, so today's their lucky day! See I don't like to brag but, I'd definitely consider myself as part of the top 100 most qualified people to talk about Mechakoopas in the world! And who am I to turn down such a request?

Now the 90s you see, were a turning point for good Mr. Bowser here. With a brand new clown-helicopter thing to pilot around you might think he's all set, but what kind of self-respecting villain would he be without filling his evil lair with a number of Evil Wind-up Toys based on himself? So he does exactly that- a whole fourteen years before Mario stole his idea, mind you!

Yes, you read that right! Despite their name, Mechakoopas are tiny mechanical versions of Big Bowser himself, not just any run of the mill Koopa, which explains their green heads and funky hair! You know how Koopa is actually Bowser's Japanese name? Yeah! They could've localized them as Mecha-Bowsers, but Mechakoopa just flows nicer doesn't it? And he is still technically a Koopa!

"Yo, somebody rang?"

No!! Not you, Mecha-Bowser from Super Mario Sunshine (2002)!! You'll get your turn eventually! Geez! Anyway. Where was I. Oh! Yes!

This is the obligatory part of the post where I'm like “Get a load of this funky guy”! Get a load of this funky guy! Instead of reinterpreting Bowser’s design very literally in toy form, the Mechakoopa is very much its own beast, with its funny beak and little funny legs. Our aforementioned anon mentioned the wind-up key, and oh, what a wind-up key it is! And of course the raisin d’eclair- the fantastic little googly eyes! Oh where would we be without those googly eyes?

Naturally though, Bowser doesn’t just use his toys to populate his spooky castle- he always has to keep a few on his person! So he chucks them at you in the game’s final boss fight, but he didn’t account for the fact that, in this game only, Mario can throw upwards! Oh no! His one weakness! Being pelted with plastic!

By the by, I’ve always thought the original Mechakoopa sprite from Super Mario World looked super funky! The hair almost looks like its on fire! And I like the goofy grin. 

The Super Mario World cartoon decided to interpret this sprite by turning him into a horrible little man. No, I don’t want this! He shouldn’t have arms!

The Mechakoopa’s next appearance in a mainline Mario platformer was in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, where they act... exactly the same as they do in Super Mario World! Cool! This basically established them as modern Mario enemies, but there isn’t much to say other than that!

Like all our posts about Common Mario Enemies, it would probably be boring if I just listed off their every appearance, so I will just bring up the ones that are worth mentioning. For example, Super Mario RPG! In this game, Bowser’s strongest special attack is Bowser Crush, which summons a giant Mechakoopa to stop on foes! According to the Player’s Guide, this Mechakoopa was a top secret weapon developed by Koopa researchers... to stomp flowers and scare butterflies! Wow! That is so so evil! These big guys would definitely live up to the name “Mecha-Bowser”! 

“Hey guys, are you talking about me?”

NO, we are NOT talking about you, Mecha Bowser (with no hyphen) from Mario Kart: Double Dash (2003)’s Bowser’s Castle course! Get the heck outta here! Gosh, some people just don’t know when they’re not wanted!

I am sure after all this you are wondering, they may be mechanical toys but can they do math? The answer is yes obviously! This is Mechakoopa from Mario Party Advance, and they’re a mathematician! They invented Mechakoopa’s Theorem, the very real mathematical theorem that we all used in school! Everyone give them a round of applause!

I’d like to bring up their appearances in the Mario & Luigi games, not because it’s particularly notable, but because of how much I like their sprite and idle animation! Look at the wind-up key spin around and the eyes go up and down! So cute! Oh, and also because in the Superstar Saga remake they replaced the Mecha-Chomp enemies (may god rest their souls)!

Super Mario Maker 2′s final update was an epic win and a #1 victory royale for Mechakoopa fans anywhere, since it not only added Mechakoopas to all four main game themes, but also two brand new variants: the Blasta Mechakoopa (in red) and the Zappa Mechakoopa (in blue)! 

As you might expect, they can Blast (missiles) and Zap (lasers) respectively! I’ve no idea why they added these random functionalities to Mechakoopas specifically, but they’re a lot of fun and some of the most unique projectiles in the game! Zappa? I barely know ‘a! 

Oh, and I almost forgot! They are in Super Smash Bros. as well! Bowser Jr.’s moveset is a treasure trove of little references to Mario gadgets, and even though Bowser no longer tosses these guys from his Clown Car, his son has taken up the job! Only in this game, Mechakoopas explode. Uh oh! They didn’t do that before! Still, I really like popping a Mechakoopa out of its Mechakoopa Compartment just to see it wander around the stage. It’s fun!

Now that’s all I have to say about good old Mechakoopas, but I’d like to give a special shoutout to this guy in particular- the Micro Mecha-Bowser, from Super Mario Galaxy! For a long time, I assumed they were just Mechakoopas with a different design... But this definitely looks like a beefed up version of the Mechakoopa, with their big goofy teeth, their pig nose and their funky cross-hair eyes! These dudes can breathe fire too, so they really are more like Bowser! And if there’s a Micro Mecha-Bowser, there’s gotta be a normal one!

“Whassup? I heard somebody call my name!”

Harumph! Nobody called you, Mecha-Bowser from Super Mario Galaxy (2007)’s Toy Time Ga- Er... hold on a second. You actually are exactly the person I was talking about after all! My mistake! Though I do wish you’d at least give us a heads up when you’re gonna show up, given you’re the size of a small planetoid!

Yeah, the Micro Mecha-Bowsers are named after this big robot from Toy Time Galaxy, Mecha-Bowser (not to be confused with Mecha-Bowser or Mecha Bowser)! Though I have to say, there isn’t much family resemblance! He’s so blue and un-turtle like! Still, this must’ve been my favorite mission in Galaxy as a kid- I’d replay it over and over again just because the idea of climbing on a giant planet-sized robot and dismantling it piece by piece was so cool! It was like Shadow of the Colossus before I knew what the heck that was!

Well that’s about the extent of the Mechakoopa family. Isn’t it fun? There’s a moral to be learned here, and it’s that, uh... little wind-up toys are very charming! Um, I suppose. Look, writing conclusions is hard! 

Mechakoopa

[micoc84]

1978- Space Invaders- atari/ taito - tomo nishi- fixed shooter 1979- Adventure - atari/ warren robinett - enchanted chalice, three dragons - yorgle/ grundle/ rhindle 1981- Frogger- sega/konami- four direct joystick 1983- Baseball- nintendo/shigeru miyamoto 1983- Mario Bros - ninten/ miyamo - plumbers NY sewer- side scroll platform, flag pole, 1-up mushroom, goomba, koopa, bowser 85 1984- Tetris - spectrum/ alex pajitnov- tile matching, gameboy 89 1985- Oregon Trail- mecc/d rawitsch- oxen, missouri 71 1986- Life Force/Sala- konami- hiro machi-  1986- Legend Zelda - ninten/miyamo- link vs ganon in hyrule, triforce, top down pov 1987- Final Fantasy -square/ninten- hiro saka - role player, magic 01 1987- Street Fighter - capcom/ nintendo - taka nishi/ yoshi okam - six buttons, one on one - ryu, ken, sagat, honda, guile, chun li, blanka, zangief, dhalism, bison, vega, balrog (tyson) 1987- Mega Man - capcom/ akira kita- rockman, side scroll- dr. wily, dr. light, rush dog, dr. cossack, bombman, bubble, mecha dragon, metal,  1987- Punch- Out- ninten/mino ara- king hippo, bald bull, soda popinski 1988- Dungeon Dragon PR (88) - strat simu/g macdonald- role player

1989- SimCity- maxis/will wright- transit links,  1991- Sonic Hedgehog (91) - sega/ hiro yasu- dr. robotnik, gold rings 1992- Mortal Kombat- midway games/ed boon- fatality- sub zero, noob saibot, kitana, john cage, jax brigg 1993- Daytona usa- sega/toshi nago- stock car, manual transmis 1997- James Bond GE - Rare/ninten- martin hollis- multiplayer, walther ppk 1998- DDance Revolution- konami/playsta- feet arrows, disco, rage, bonnie, emi Pong (1972), Pac Man (80), Donkey Kong (81), Gorf (81), Turbo (81)- sega/steve hana, Centipede (80), Pitfall (82), Swordquest (82), Robotron (82)- atari- eugene jarvis,1942 (82), Alex Kidd (86), Duck Hunt (84), Metroid (86), Shinobi (87), Castlevania (87), Contra (87), Madden Football (88), Golden Axe (89)- Gilius Thunder, Tyris Flare, Double Dragon (87) - taito- yoshi kishi- bill and jimmy lee, black warriors, abobo, willy machine gun Ninja Gaiden (88)- ryu haya, jaquio, Blades of Steel (88), Ducktales (89), Moonwalker MJ (90), Little Nemo (90), Battle Toad (91), Nba Jam (93), Tekken (94) - bandai/namco/ seichi ishi- mokujin, Warcraft (94), Pokemon (96), Quake (96), Tomb Raider (96), Grand Theft Auto (97)- DMA/dave jones- bubba, divine, mikki, Resident Evil (97), Grand Turismo (97), Starcraft (98), Tony Hawk (99), Smash Bros (99) _____

Buckaroo Banzai (84), Mad Balls, Chucky, Gremlins, He-man, Gundam, Thundercats, Speed Racer, Akira, Iron Giant, Micro Machines (87)- galoob, Game genie (90)