Mario franchise strategy guide/Enemies/Goomba

The Goomba, or Little Goomba (クリボー, Kuribō) (kuri means "chestnut", bō means "kid") is a fictional species from Nintendo's series of Mario video games. Goombas are the first enemy character to appear in the original Super Mario Bros., for the NES. Alongside Koopa Troopas, Piranha Plants, and Lakitus, they are the most common enemies in the Mario series.

Name

After Mario was given an Italian name, a number of other Mario characters were named following an Italian theme. Thus, the name "goomba" is believed to have come from the slang word "goombah" used by Italian-Americans to describe themselves; over time, it has gained a slightly derogatory connotation. The Italian-American slang term originates from the Italian word compare (akin to Spanish compadre), which was already (and still is) used in south Italy abbreviated in "compa'" and literally means "friend" and it is used colloquially mainly to address people living in the same town. Coincidentally, the Hungarian word gomba means "mushroom."

Characteristics

Typically, Goombas are brown, round creatures with faces and feet. They are mushroom creatures that betrayed the Mushroom Kingdom. Most of them are in alliance with King Bowser's Koopa army.

According to the American version of the Super Smash Bros. Melee Goomba trophy, the Goombas once lived in peace in the Mushroom Kingdom, but they betrayed their homeland to side with Bowser, reinforcing the Super Mario Brothers manual. Mario games such as Paper Mario elucidate that not all Goombas are bad. They are, according to Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, the lowest level of Bowser's army basically being nothing but cannon fodder.

Goombas can attack Mario by touching him from the side or (more rarely) falling upon him from above. However, they can be defeated by jumping or stomping on them. Goombas are typically the weakest enemies in Mario games; their only attack is walking slowly towards the player, and they can usually be dispatched in one hit. In the various Mario RPG titles, they are weak enemies encountered near the beginning of the game, but have stronger incarnations that appear later on in the games.

Goombas normally have bushy eyebrows formed into a scowl, and occasionally upward-pointing fangs. Goombas are blue or gray in the dark underground areas of the Mario video games and darker brown in night-time areas. This is probably intended to show lack of light while saving palette colors. "Little Goomba" is the name sometimes used for an ordinary Goomba in the games. The other distinct types of Goombas have their own names as well. When they are jumped on, they flatten.

Variants of the Goomba include the Microgoomba (マメクリボー; Mamekuribō meaning "Bean Kuribō") and the Paragoomba (パタクリボー; Patakuribō meaning "Wingbeat Kuribō"). The Microgoomba is a miniature, parasitic Goomba that either attaches onto Mario to reduce his jumping ability or hides under a brick and jumps whenever Mario approaches it (the latter is known as a Pile Driver Micro-Goomba.) To destroy the Micro-Goombas, Mario just simply has to dunk himself in water or vigorously repeat quick jumps and the Micro-Goomba will drop off. In New Super Mario Bros., the Microgoomba appears in several areas that can only be reached by Mini Mario. These Microgoomba simply act like a miniaturized version of their larger Goomba brothers. The Microgoomba first appears in Super Mario Bros. 3 along with the Paragoomba. According to the Super Mario Bros. 3 game manual (p. 35), Microgoombas are the children of the Paragoombas. In comparison with a regular Goomba, the Paragoomba has two wings which give it the ability to fly across the game screen. In Super Mario Bros. 3, it appears in two shades of brown: the lighter colored Paragoomba can fly and occasionally release Mugger Microgoombas, while the darker colored Paragoombas do not release Microgoombas, and merely hop along the ground like green Paratroopas. Paragoombas roughly correlate with the seagoing Blooper enemies, who sometimes lead a string of nuisance Baby Bloopers.

Appearances

Super Mario 2D Games

Goombas debuted as the first enemy encountered in Super Mario Bros.. Goombas are a very common walking enemy that disappears when Mario stomps on them. They often appear in groups of two or three, either forcing Mario to cautiously stomp on a single Goomba to avoid the nearby Goombas or, with the proper timing, it is possible to bounce from one to the next, defeating them all without touching the ground, gaining more points in the process. The original Goombas introduce the fundamental collision detection for a generic Goomba. When a Goomba collides with an obstacle or another Mario enemy, the Goomba will always walk away in the opposite direction. While certain Mario enemy sprites such as the Cheep-Cheep would pass through other Mario enemy sprites, the Goomba will react to other Mario enemies. This collision reaction is evident in later Mario games as well.

In Super Mario Bros., Goombas appear as blue in underground levels and grey in castles. However, this is actually due to the limited color palette of the game, which is why grey Goombas' appearances have been rare to nonexistent. The blue Goombas make a reappearance in Paper Mario as Gloombas in the Toad Town Sewers. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door continues the use of the enemy, and places them in the Pit of 100 Trials.

In Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels (released in Japan as Super Mario Bros. 2), Goombas return with the same appearance and movements as the first game. In the North American and European Super Mario Bros. 2 (released in Japan as Super Mario USA, Goombas do not appear due to the game being a conversion of a non-Mario Japanese game entitled Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic.

In Super Mario Bros. 3, the first variants of the Goomba were introduced, including the flying Para-Goomba, the tiny Micro-Goomba and the giant Grand Goomba. In level 5-3 you can find Goombas that jump around in a giant green boot called Kuribo's Shoe. If you attack the Kuribo's Shoe riding Goomba by jumping on it then it will be defeated, but if you hit the block they are standing on from underneath then the Kuribo's Shoe remains behind and Mario can jump inside. The Kuribo's Shoe allows Mario to jump on all enemies, including spiked enemies and Piranha Plants. The name for this power-up comes from the Japanese name for the Goomba, Kuribō, although the item was renamed "Goomba's Shoe" in subsequent Western Super Mario Bros. 3 remakes. Level 5-3 is the only time the Kuribo's Shoe appears in the original game, although several add-on stages in the Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 remake on Game Boy Advance also feature the power-up.

In Super Mario Land, many of the enemies from Super Mario Bros. return with variations on their Japanese names, even in the North American and European manuals. The Goomba variation is known as Chibibo. They are essentially the same as the Goomba, and they behave exactly as they do in Super Mario Bros.

In Super Mario World for the SNES, the Goombas differ in appearance by having a roughly spherical head and no stem, instead having the feet attach directly to the base of the head. In Japan, this Goomba is a variant with a different name, Kuribon. When Mario stomps on them, they are knocked upside down and rendered immobile for a short period of time. When this happens, Mario can pick the Goombas up and carry them, until they resuscitate themselves. Also, some Goombas can come to Mario in different ways, such as dropping in with a parachute (which are known as Para-Goombas (Para Kuri in Japan) and the Goombas with wings are called simply Winged Goombas) or floating inside a bubble. In comparison to earlier versions, the Goombas of Super Mario World This version of the Goomba reappears in Mario Party Advance alongside the normal Goomba.

In Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, Goombas return (rather than Chibibo) and look more like their Super Mario Bros. 3 design. A number of variations also appear, including the invincible ghost Boomba, and the underwater Aqua Goomba.

In Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island Goombas are a much less common enemy than in previous games, and act quite differently. When you jump on a Goomba it flattens, but continues to move around. You can ride around on top of the flattened Goomba. If left alone, the flattened Goomba will eventually right itself and carry on as normal.

Super Mario 3D Games

The Goombas' physical appearance in Super Mario 64 is based on their Super Mario Bros. 3 design, albeit in a 3D-rendered form. Their behavior changes slightly in that instead of wandering back and forth they first perform a small hop when they spot Mario, as if to indicate surprise, and then give chase to him. Similar to most Mario games, the Goombas in Super Mario 64 can be killed by stomping. However, in this game Mario has additional physical attacks besides ordinary jumping, and Goombas can also be killed with these new abilities. The giant Goombas will yield blue coins if Mario performs the ground-pound attack on them.

In Super Mario Sunshine, there are no Goombas, but a creature similar to an orange Goomba called "Strollin' Stu," that wears spotted briefs, is one of the most common enemies. According to The Perfect Guide of Super Mario Sunshine, these are the Isle Delfino versions of Goombas. Its Japanese name is "Hamkuri".

Super Mario 64 DS, a remake of Super Mario 64 on Nintendo DS, has some modifications. One of them is the addition of an original boss called Goomboss. The Goomba complains to Yoshi that his junior siblings have been stomped on in previous Mario games. Goomboss looks virtually identical to King Goomba from Paper Mario. Goomboss returned as a Mission mode boss in Mario Kart DS.

In the E3 demo of Super Mario Galaxy, as well as several promotional images, it shows that goombas will, in fact, be featured in this next 3D Mario installment.

Mario RPG Games

In Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, Goombas are one of the lowest-level monsters. They have two attacks: a bite attack and a thorn-spitting attack. However, since this is a role-playing game, both attacks have the same effect: several points of damage to a character in the player's party. In addition to normal Goombas, there are two more difficult species in Super Mario RPG: Gu Goombas and Goombettes. Gu Goombas, distinguished by their light green hue, appear in Bowser's Castle. They sometimes jump out from behind statues to attack Mario, and may also appear in enemy parties. Being former minions of Bowser, however, they will flee in fear if Bowser is one of the three party members. The Goombette is a smaller version of Goomba, bearing a resemblance to a Micro-Goomba (see above). Goombettes can mainly be found hidden inside treasure chest monsters. Super Mario RPG also includes non-hostile Goomba characters. In Monstro Town, Mario can visit a store run by a Goomba family, which comprises a regular Goomba and three Goombettes. Like most of the monsters in Monstro Town, the Goomba family decided to quit the Koopa Troop and live a peaceful life.

In Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, Goombas appear at the very beginning in the Koopa Cruiser as a battle tutorial. In Teehee Valley, there is a variation of Goomba called Gritty Goomba. It has a mummy-like bandage wrapped around it and a spear strapped onto its head that has a red flag. The Gritty Goombas will grab Princess Peach and run into a pipe if they get near her, or if she disappears off the edge of the screen. Usually, they call up a sandstorm to distort their enemy's vision. They can also be found in Gwarhar Lagoon, albeit stronger, and with a blue flag. Another form of Goombas resides in the Beanbean Kingdom, found in an area north of Beanbean Town. These Goombas, known as "Tanoombas", are Goomba-raccoon hybrids refer to the "Tanooki" ability found in Super Mario Bros. 3. They appear as regular Goombas with raccoon tails, and a leaf on their head. The leaf refers to the leaf power-up item needed to acquire the Raccoon ability in Super Mario Bros. 3. When they attack, Tanoombas transform into a duplicate of Mario or Luigi, similar to the "Tanooki" ability which allows transformation into a statue. Once transformed, the Tanoombas will always attack the opposite brother of their appearance. For example, a Tanoomba who appears as Luigi will attack Mario. Yet another form of Goombas appeared while traveling through the Seafloor. Those are called Goomdivers and they look like regular Goombas but with a scuba diving helmet. They attack by swimming toward Mario or Luigi.

In Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, the Goomba was a common enemy that could be found in Bowser's Castle in the past. They attacked simply by charging into either Mario or Luigi and/or their younger selves. The same Goombas could also be found in the underground section of Princess Peach's Castle in the present. Curiously, they were slightly stronger, but still offered little EXP and money. The Tanoombas from Superstar Saga make a return appearance on the Thwomp Volcano, but with completely different moves. They change their forms into a balloon, a Thwomp, and a spiked shell in order to attack the brothers. If the Tanoomba jumps straight up before attacking, its first attack is directed at Mario/Baby Mario, but if it flips, it's going for Luigi/Baby Luigi. Another point of interest is that they will take on the forms of a Thwack, a Toad, a 100-Coin coin, and an item block in the overworld, but their true identity can easily be spotted through their tell-tale tails and/or leafs. The Shroob Castle also has a stronger, Shroob version of the Tanoomba known as the Tashrooba.

Paper Mario Games

Paper Mario introduces a myriad of new Goomba types, and is notable for characterizing Goombas beyond enemies. There are various unique individual Goombas that play a part in the game's plot. There is the Goomba King (a giant Goomba who lives in a fortress), and a pair of Goombas called the Goomba Brothers, which consist of Red Goomba and Blue Goomba. However, the most prominent Goomba of the new Goombas is Goombario. He is an admirer of Mario, even having a blue hat similar to Mario's hat with a G symbol, who becomes a playable character and is the first ever playable Goomba, in addition to being the first in your party. Throughout Mario's journey, Goombario can help Mario by fighting enemies and providing information about their surroundings. He lives in Goomba Village with his family, which includes Gooma (grandmother), Goompa (grandfather), Goomama (mother), Goompapa (father), and Goombaria (sister). The village is located west of Toad Town and is the only place to find a kind of chestnut (which by no coincidence has relation with Goomba's Japanese name, see above) called Goomnut. However, there remain traditional Goomba enemies, including Spiked Goombas (equipped with spiked helmets to counteract Mario's jumping ability), Gloombas (a darker Goomba type that can be found mostly in the Toad Town tunnels; it also has a Paragloomba and Spiked Gloomba variant), and Hyper Goombas (a wild Goomba type that is stronger than a regular Goomba and can charge its attack; it also has a Hyper Paragoomba and a Hyper Spiked Goomba variant).

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door introduces a playable, female college student Goomba named Goombella. She is studying about the legendary treasure beneath the city of Rogueport alongside her instructor, Professor Frankly (also a Goomba). After learning of Mario's ongoing search for the treasure, she joins his party. Like Goombario, she has the ability to use "Tattle" to get information on an enemy, revealing their health and information, but unlike Goombario, this information is cataloged. In place of Goombario's Charge ability (which now can be given to any party member via a badge), she has Rally Wink, which gives Mario the courage to take another turn. In Rogueport, Goombas are fairly common, wearing green hats, once again making a reference to Link's hat in the Legend of Zelda series, similar to another Zelda reference in the Kirby series, where the hat Kirby wears with his Sword ability looks like Link's with cotton attached to it.

Super Paper Mario showed the return of Goombas, as well as Paragoombas, Spiky Goombas, and Gloombas. However, this game also introdued Headbonk Goombas, which are grey-ish white Goombas that leap into the air and "headbonk" anyone near them (similar the Goombario and Goombella's Headbonk ability). There are also Dark versions of the forementioned Goombas.

Goombas in other games

Goombas have appeared in three games outside of the Mario series: The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, Super Smash Bros., and Super Smash Bros. Melee:

• In The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, Goombas appear in side-scrolling parts of a dungeon (and also in the top-down portion of the Eagle's Tower), sometimes with other Mario-based enemies (such as the Piranha Plant). Link can either slash at them with his sword or jump on them to defeat them and earn a small life heart. They are otherwise indistinguishable from Mario game Goombas.
• In Super Smash Bros., Goomba sprites appear in the background of the secret Super Mario Bros. level, and in Super Smash Bros. Melee, Goombas are extremely rare items that sometimes come out of item-holding objects such as Party Balls and Crates. They are also commonly found in the first level of Adventure Mode, the Mushroom Kingdom stage. They are defeated by attacks or by being jumped on, and are otherwise like Mario game Goombas. Additionally, the game features a Goomba trophy that can be collected.
• In Hotel Mario, four types of Goomba appear. The first two are normal Goombas and Paragoombas (the latter of which are called Flying Goombas in the manual). The normal Goombas walk around and open doors, while the Paragoombas can fly around within the floor they are on. The other two types of Goomba are Bellhop Goombas and Rhinestone Goombas, types exclusive only to this game.
• In the Wario Land series, an enemy called the Goom appears. Gooms seem to be related to Goombas (the key difference is that Gooms have arms and are more round), as they are the common, easy-to-defeat enemies in Wario Land and have a similar name and appearance. In Super Mario Land 3: Wario Land, two types of Gooms appear: the Wanderin' Gooms and the Pirate Gooms. Wanderin' Gooms are pointless due to the fact that they cannot hurt you, but they are an easy way to get coins. Pirate Gooms, who wear bandanas, carry spears, and work under Captain Syrup, can hurt you, but only if you touch the side of them with the spear. Although Wario Land II took place in Kitchen Island, Wanderin' Gooms were nowhere to be found, but Pirate Gooms reappeared under the name "Spearman". A rare type of wizard Goom also appeared (actually two Gooms stacked atop each other) who could turn Wario into Small Wario. In Wario Land 3, none of the past Gooms appeared, but a new variant called the Para-Goom, who attacked with a parasol, showed up. Para-Gooms were vastly different than past Gooms, so they are probably only a distant relative. Para-Goom also appeared in Dr. Mario 64, which used several characters and elements from Wario Land 3. The enemy Spearhead, which was also featured in Wario Land 3, was called a Goom in the instruction manual.

• In contrast to other Mario games, the Goomba is not a common enemy in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. Instead, the more common enemy is the Shy Guy. In this game, Goombas can only be found in the level "4-1: Go! Go! Mario!!". They follow their regular pattern, which is slowly walking towards Yoshi with the possibility of collision. They are more durable than usual here: a regular stomp merely flattens them, cartoon-style, and they keep walking until they pop up again. They can be defeated with a ground pound, or simply eaten and turned into eggs.

• In the Mario Party series, Goombas have frequently appeared as shopkeepers, party hosts, events, and items. In the origanal Mario Party, a goomba was shown at a junction between Bowser and Toad. He plays a raffle game similar to the USA Lottery.

• In Mario Kart: Double Dash!! and Mario Kart DS, Goombas appear as obstacles on certain tracks. In both games they may be defeated with an item, revealing a Mushroom for a racer to use. Goomboss from Super Mario 64 DS also returns as a Mario Kart DS Mission Mode boss whom you must race on the Double Dash!! Baby Park track.

• A Goomba (as well as a Para-Goomba) appears as a playable character in Mario Superstar Baseball. In this game, the Goomba both uses a bat and glove in spite of the impediment of having no arms. This marks the third time that a Goomba is a playable character, after the two Paper Mario games.

• In Super Princess Peach, Goombas can be defeated in three ways; throwing it at another enemy, hitting it with Perry, or having Perry eat it. Another wave of Goombas are also introduced in this game like the Sad Goomba, Mad Goomba, and the Red Goomba.

• In Wario Ware: Smooth Moves a Goomba sometimes come on the third level of the Super Mario Bros mini game, which you shall collect coins on.

Goombas in other media

In the 1989 television cartoon The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! Goombas are loyal soldiers in King Koopa's army. The general appearance of the Goomba resembles the sprites found in the Mario video games. In many of the episodes, the Goombas appear as zombies, pirates, or other thematical variations in accordance with the plot. (One episode, ironically, had both of the Mario Bros. fleeing like cowards from a single Goomba. ) When the show spun off into The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, they continued their job as soldiers in the Koopa army in a few episodes. However, the Super Mario World cartoon only featured them twice. Sometimes the Goombas would talk.

In 1990, a few Mario characters became part of a series of McDonald's Happy Meal's toys, as part of a way to promote the release of Super Mario Bros. 3. The Mario toy set featured Mario (in his Raccoon form), Luigi, Paratroopa, and Little Goomba. The Goomba toy is spring loaded and has a hinge between its head and feet. There is a small suction cup at the front of the Goomba's head and sticks to the top of its feet when pressed down. Once pressed down, the toy backflips a few moments later by way of a compressed spring inside the casing of Goomba's head. Various forms of Goombas have also made appearances as plush dolls, largely from Asia.

In the film Super Mario Bros., (1993), the term Goomba refers to someone who de-evolves after being hit by King Koopa's de-evolution ray. As with most of the characters in the film, the Goombas are drastically different in appearance in comparison to their video game counterparts, represented as large (about seven feet tall) reptiles with extremely disproportionate bodies (tiny heads, and large bodies). They also, inexplicably, wear trench coats. There are two types of Goomba, one resembling a Koopa Troopa and the other resembling a Mushroom Goomba by the shape of their heads. The "goomba" Goomba has a rounded head, whereas the "koopa" goomba has a more reptilian shape (in addition to the obvious reptilian features upon their) head. They are played by human actors in costume and do not resemble the small Goombas seen in the video games at all. The actor who stars as the goomba in the movie is David Wrafter.

References

• Duck Hunt/Super Mario Bros. Instruction Booklet, Nintendo, 1988.
• Super Mario Bros. 3 Instruction Booklet, Nintendo, 1990.