Mechakoopa

Mechakoopa (メカクッパ, Mechakoopa) is Bowser Jr.'s down special move.

Overview[edit]

The Mechakoopa marches until colliding with an enemy, knocking them back before exploding. It does 2% when jumping and 7% explosive damage when it explodes for a total of 9%. It deals weak diagonal knockback. If the Mechakoopa walks to a ledge without hitting anyone, it will turn around, and if it isn't activated after about five seconds, it will explode on its own. Bowser Jr. can only have one Mechakoopa out at a time; the move will fail if he uses it again before the Mechakoopa is gone, leaving him with around half a second of lag. In Ultimate, if a Mechakoopa collides with a shield, it will switch off and become an item the opponent can pick up.

If a player picks up the Mechakoopa, it will reset the timer. This can be used for combos or potentially dropping off-stage for gimping opponents. However, the Mechakoopa counts as an item that can be picked up and thrown back at the user, similar to Diddy Kong's Banana Peel. As a result, these plays are not reserved to Bowser Jr., and they're equally effective against him as they are on the opponent.

When a Mechakoopa jumps onto an opponent, it will latch on for a limited period of time before exploding. This can be exploited by the Bowser Jr. player in a number of ways: "extending" throw knockback, combos into forward aerial and confirming smash attacks among other things. This is a massive part of Bowser Jr.'s playstyle, and learning how to use it is imperative to learning the character.

In Master Fortress, Mechakoopas can walk on the acid.

Instructional quotes[edit]

Customization[edit]

Special Move customization was added in Super Smash Bros. 4. These are the variations:

1. Mechakoopa: Default.
2. Impatient Mechakoopa: The Mechakoopa is flung from the Car, functioning more as a horizontal projectile, and will quickly explode upon hitting the floor. The explosion does a mere 4% damage, and hitting a player with the Mechakoopa prior to explosion does 1%.
   Main article: Bowser Jr. (SSB4)/Down special/Custom 1
3. Big Mechakoopa: A much larger Mechakoopa is deployed, which slowly walks a short distance and explodes on its own. It can be picked up and thrown. Thrown, it will do 1% damage and explode for 15% damage. Can KO around 140% damage.
   Main article: Bowser Jr. (SSB4)/Down special/Custom 1

• 👁 Impatient Mechakoopa being used in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.
  

  Impatient Mechakoopa being used in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.

• 👁 Big Mechakoopa being used in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.
  

  Big Mechakoopa being used in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.

Spirit[edit]

Mechakoopa appears in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as an Advanced-class support spirit.

In Adventure Mode: World of Light, Mechakoopa is presumably one of the countless spirits captured by Galeem during his takeover of the universe. Mechakoopa's spirit is located in the Molten Fortress sub-dungeon of The Light Realm.

Mechakoopa uses an army of Tiny Bowser puppet fighters and is fought on the Mushroom Kingdom U stage's Slide Tower layout. Each of the puppet fighters start off with a Bomber, referencing the Mechakoopa's tendency to explode.

Origin[edit]

Mechakoopas debuted in Super Mario World, appearing in Bowser's Castle and being thrown by Bowser out of his Koopa Clown Car during the final battle. Mario can disable them by stomping them, though they will return to normal after some time. When they are deactivated, Mario can pick them up and throw them; this is the only means of defeating Bowser in that game. They appeared mostly in spin-off games over the years, before returning in New Super Mario Bros. Wii.

The general functionality of the Mechakoopas summoned by Bowser Jr. in Smash Bros. has little in common with how Mechakoopas normally work in Mario games; instead, it may have been partially inspired by the Clockwork Kazooie from Banjo-Tooie. Once a Clockwork Kazooie Egg is fired by Kazooie in that game, it hatches upon touching solid ground to reveal a Clockwork Kazooie, a small mechanical automaton resembling her. Much like the Smash Bros. Mechakoopa, it can walk, and it also explodes automatically after a set amount of time or after coming into contact with enemies. However, unlike Smash Bros. Mechakoopas, its movements can be directly controlled using the Control Stick, it can pick up items, it can jump if the player presses the A button, the player can detonate it on command by pressing the B button, and it explodes automatically if it touches water (rather than merely sinking in water) or if Banjo & Kazooie get hurt.

Following the release of SSB4, a large type of Mechakoopa not unlike the Big Mechakoopa custom special move, known as the Mega Mechakoopa, made its first appearance in Mario Party 10 in the minigame Mega Mechakoopa's Swing & Stomp, before later appearing in Super Mario Maker 2 via the 3.0.0 update. While not explicitly described as such, similarly sized Mechakoopas appear in Mario Kart 8 and its Deluxe re-release in their remake of GBA Ribbon Road, the second course of the Bell Cup.

The first instance of a Mechakoopa exploding in the Mario series is in Mario Party 5 during the minigame Frightmare after being jumped on; however, the resulting explosion does not affect the player.

The more offensive and self-destructive instance shown in Smash carries over into Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope as one of Bowser's abilities where he can summon up to five Rabbid Mechakoopas to attack enemies, with them exploding on contact if they reach an enemy; these Mechakoopas will set the enemy on fire if they are upgraded. If they do not reach their target on their first turn, any ally (including Bowser) nearby can also pick them up and throw them at enemies. Bowser's clone Darkmess Bowser also has this ability as well by using Darkmess Rabbid Mechakoopas, though he does not pick them up to throw at enemies, nor can he summon up to five of them at once, being only able to summon the default three. Additionally, they cannot set anybody on fire as well.

Gallery[edit]

• 👁 Mechakoopa in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.
  

  Mechakoopa in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.

• 👁 Mechakoopa in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS
  

  Mechakoopa in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS

• 👁 Mechakoopa in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
  

  Mechakoopa in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

• 👁 Bowser Jr. using Mechakoopas as shown by the Move List in Ultimate.
  

  Bowser Jr. using Mechakoopas as shown by the Move List in Ultimate.

Names in other languages[edit]

Trivia[edit]

• The Mechakoopa's falling speed in Ultimate is identical to the pushing speed of a wind zone in Stage Builder set to 100 power. As such, when used in such a wind zone it will stay in place indefinitely and unanimated until grabbed.
• Mechakoopas have a hurtbox, and occasionally this can make them fall off platforms.
• The Mechakoopa is distinct for being one of the few known special moves with an associated spirit in Ultimate to not allude to the move in any direct sense (as its Spirit Battle is exclusively against 4 tiny Bowsers instead of Bowser Jr.)

Technical details[edit]

• Mechakoopa in Smash 4
• Mechakoopa in Ultimate