Larry Koopa
| |
| Larry in New Super Mario Bros. Wii. | |
| Larry Koopa | |
| Species | Koopa |
| Hair color | Blue |
| Eye color | Blue |
| Relatives | Koopalings (siblings) |
| Voiced by | Lani Minella (2009) |
| Debut | Super Mario Bros. 3 |
Larry Koopa is the youngest of the Koopalings, and with the rest of this group he acts as a recurring miniboss throughout the Super Mario series and a servant of Bowser.
Background
In Super Mario Bros. 3 he was given an airship that he used to invade Grass Land and steal the king's magic wand. The wand was used to turn the king into an animal (a dog in the original version or a Cobrat in remakes), and he acted as the game's first boss. However, Mario defeated him and retrieved the wand. Larry next appeared in Super Mario World, where had his own fortress protecting the back door to his father's palace in the Valley of Bowser. This time Mario battled Larry atop a tilting island on a lava pool, and Mario beat him by knocking him into the magma pool.
Larry next showed up in Yoshi's Safari, where he helped Bowser steal the twelve magical crystals of Jewelry Land. Larry guarded the Diamond Crystal in the Crescent Coast and battled Mario in a robotic wheel as the fourth boss battle, only to be beaten again.
Larry and the older Koopalings went into inactivity for a while until Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, when Bowletta called them to dispose of the Mario Brothers. He is the last Koopaling to battle Mario and Luigi after his siblings fail. Larry trapped Luigi under a barrel and tried to nail Mario with fireballs, but they were deflected back at him. Larry then engaged the brothers in battle with a time limit set on a Bob-Omb. Larry put up a fight, only to be defeated once more.
The Koopalings returned again in New Super Mario Bros. Wii with revamped designs. Larry's new look sported a light blue shell, fewer fangs, and a star-shaped birthmark on his head. They kidnapped Peach on her birthday and flew back to Koopa territory in an airship, with Bowser Jr. dropping each of the Koopalings off at fortresses along the way to slow down Mario and co. Larry was left at the World 1 fortress. He was visibly angered when Mario arrived and faced off against him with a new magic wand. After his first defeat, he escaped to the World 1 castle for a rematch, this time with help from Kamek. The Magikoopa cast a spell that caused pieces of the floor to rise and fall, but Larry was defeated once again. Despite their failure, Larry and the other Koopalings returned home on foot. Having the farthest to travel, Larry arrived exhausted to find the other Koopalings tending to Bowser, only to have Bowser's Castle fall on top of them all.
In New Super Mario Bros. 2, the Koopalings worked together to kidnap Princess Peach for their father. In this installment, Larry was an optional boss, as he was the boss of the first of two secret worlds, World Mushroom (which can be unlocked while playing through the game's first world, making him potentially the second boss to be fought). He was battled in that world's castle, in a room with stone pillars that rose and fell to add complications to the battle. The shots fired by his magic wand also bounced off of the walls. Despite this, Larry was once again defeated. The Koopalings turned up again in World 6's castle, where they piled into the Koopa Clown Car and made attempts to temporarily petrify Mario with a special light that it emitted. They also used their magic wands to make Bowser gigantic after his first defeat and attempted to tow him away with the Clown Car after his next defeat, only for Bowser's weight to make them accidentally crash. They later made a similar appearance in World Star's castle, where they made another attempt to petrify Mario and made Dry Bowser grow.
Larry also appeared in New Super Mario Bros. U, as the boss of the third world, Sparling Waters. He used a magic wand as his weapon once again (one of only three Koopalings in this game to do so) and fought in a room where water geysers rose and fell.
The Koopalings also appeared as playable racers in Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, being unlockable characters in the former and default racers in the latter. Larry was also featured as a guest character who was playable in equestrian races in Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olumpic Games.
Other Appearances
Video Games
- Larry also appeared in the licensed titles Mario is Missing! and Hotel Mario as a boss alongside the other Koopalings. In Hotel Mario, he owned Larry's Chillton Hotel (an ice cave) and attacked using bombs as bowling balls.
- In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U, Larry Koopa appears as a playable character, being a costume swap for Bowser Jr.. He (along with the rest of the Koopalings) thus are restricted to the same moveset as Bowser Jr., which consists of fighting from within a Junior Koopa Clown Car. His appearance is accompanied by a trophy, which describes him as the leader of the Koopalings.
Other Media
- Larry appeared with the other Koopalings in the The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World animated series, where he was known as Cheatsy Koopa, due to the fact he was constantly concocting sneaky plots and schemes. He often coordinated with his brother Kooky (Ludwig von Koopa) on such schemes.
- Larry appeared in the Mario comics published as part of the Nintendo Comics System, where he was seemingly mute and spoke using pictures that only Lemmy understood.
Canceled Appearances
- Unused sprites of Larry and the other Koopalings were found in Super Princess Peach, indicating that they were intended to appear in the game as bosses or minibosses at some point.
Trivia
- It has been believed that he was named after tv host Larry King or U2 drummer Larry Mullen Jr., but the former Nintendo of America employee who named the Koopalings has stated in the interview that while the other Koopalings were named after musicians, Larry's name was decided because "he just looked like a Larry".
- He is referenced in Super Paper Mario, where Francis lists a game called Larry Koopa: Zombie Heartbreaker (possibly a play on the Leisure Suit Larry games) on his to-get list.
- The Koopalings were initially known as being Bowser's children, and Bowser Jr. was believed to be their brother when he was introduced. However, in a 2012 interview, Shigeru Miyamoto revealed that the Koopalings are not actually related to Bowser, and that Bowser Jr. is Bowser's only actual son.