worry. I'm here to help by providing the origins, history, and even trivia of some of your favorite

enemies. They can be from well-known titles or absolute bombs. But they are memorable,

and that's what matters. And who better to begin with than the humble Goomba.

This little guy is well known since he is the first enemy encountered in the original

Super Mario Bros. However, that wasn't always the case. It used to be the Koopa Troopa.

But as the game was being developed, testers at the time felt that the iconic turtles were

far too tricky to take out. Shigeru Miyamoto and his team knew they needed a much simpler

enemy. One that could teach players that Mario could jump on enemies without fear of being

hurt. The problem was they were nearly out of space

on the cartridge. So, the only way they could solve this was

by making the new enemy design as simple as possible. Hence, the Goomba. And after the

design of Goombas was settled, they used a single image twice to convey the Goombas walking

animation. The flipping of these two images provided the illusion that the Goombas were

walking along at a nice trot. See? One foot forward then the other. Very clever.

The design of the Goomba was also very purposeful. Players will note that they are almost the

exact same size and shape as the Super Mushroom. Since power-ups weren't yet common in the

days of early gaming, the first Goomba served as a teaching tool. You see, even if players

thought the Super Mushroom was an enemy, when they went to jump on one, it would provide

the power-up. Incidentally, Goombas themselves were designed

to resemble a shitake mushroom. Though that is a little odd since its Japanese name, Kuribo,

means Chestnut People. But that's not the only odd thing about Goomba's name.

Coincidentally, the word Goomba also serves as an Italian slang word though this version

is spelled with an 'H' at the end. It's a term that is often used by Italian-Americans

to describe themselves and others though it has emerged as a derogatory word over the

years. Goombahs also serve as a way to say a man is in the mafia which is oddly appropriate

considering that Goombas are in Bowser's Koopa Troop.

In the story of Super Mario Bros., at least the one found in the manual, it's revealed

that the Goombas used to live peacefully with the rest of the Mushroom Kingdom. But at some

unknown point they decided to turn traitorous and joined up with Bowser. But even though

most Goombas work for Bowser, that doesn't mean that they're all evil. At least not in

the Mario RPGs. While they still serve as enemies in those games, Mario will also encounter

nicer ones, most notably the Goomba Village in Paper Mario and Goombella and Professor

Frankly in Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door.

Over the years and across the many Mario games, Goombas have appeared in almost every one

of them in some capacity. Their tactics rarely change, if they even have any tactics at all.

In the 2D games, Goombas would just kind of wander aimlessly hoping to bump into Mario.

Maybe it was because they always sidled along not looking ahead. When the 3D games came

along, they would actually rush after Mario whenever he came into sight. They still weren't

that effective, but at least they were trying at this point.

Goombas have changed little over the years. They didn't even have a visible mouth until

Super Mario Bros. 3. However, they are about the most adaptable of the Koopa Troop. They've

appeared in almost every area save for underwater and even took on the form of Bowser in the

first castle of the original game. And though the basic Goomba hasn't really changed after

all this time, that doesn't mean there aren't variants. In Mario 3 they used a special shoe

that could even stomp on spikes. Known as Kuribo's shoe, it became an immensely popular

item despite appearing in only one level. And it really should have been called Goomba's

Shoe since Kuribo is its Japanese name. But then there's the Goombas in Super Mario

World. Unlike every other game, these guys are rounded and simply cannot be stomped.

Instead they are flipped over and can be carried and thrown much like a Koopa shell. The reason

for this change was never really made known and never carried over into any of the future

games. That is, until the revelation of Super Mario 3D World. Before this game, they were

never given a distinction from regular Goombas in the American releases while in Japan they

were referred to as Kuribon. However, they were officially given the American name Galoombas

for their appearance in 3D World. Of course this isn't even counting all the

other variants of the Goombas that have popped up over the years. Paragoombas, Microgoombas,

Goombos, Grand Goombas, Red Paragoombas, Octoombas, Goombeetles, Jack O' Goombas, Prickly Goombas,

Tail Goombas, Goomba Stacks, Bone Goombas, Mad Goombas, Sad Goombas, Sad Paragoombas,

Mad Red Paragoombas, and even the Goomboss. And there's still more out there from the

Mario RPGs. Goombas are everywhere in the Mario universe. Perhaps even the world of

Zelda where a few made an appearance in Link's Awakening along with other Mario enemies.

Heck, Goombas even appeared in the Super Mario Bros. Movie. Well, not really. I mean seriously

guys. Goomba. Not Goomba. Goomba. Not Goomba. These...things look more like shell-less Koopa

Troopas. Come on Hollywood. For shame. And they really should feel shame. Because

for many, the Goomba was the first enemy they ever fought. He's not hard, not strong, not

even that intelligent. But he is everywhere, ready to get in Mario's way and maybe, just

maybe, take him down. And that, my friends, is why you should know your enemy. It just

may save your virtual life.