Koopa Paratroopa

History:

After Wario supplanted him in the mid-90s the loyal Koopa Troopa Bowser had chosen to race with him in the Grand Prix was looking for any chance to get back into the Races. When the Partner Rules of the 2003 Grand Prix were settled Koopa managed to wrangle another one of Bowser's forces, Koopa Paratroopa to ride with him. Paratroopa had seen heavy aerial combat in the many Wars against the Mushroom Kingdom, and although he would have rather been fighting Mario he agreed to race instead. Although Koopa has since found some stability, appearing in later races, Paratroopa disappeared after his only appearance. Koopa suspects that he used too many of his Red Shells on Lord Bowser, possibly sealing his fate after hours.

Double Dash:

Paratroopa only appears in Double Dash, as the default partner of Koopa Troopa, tho Koopa came back for Wii. I imagine in DS and Wii his role as a minor enemy has been taken by the more aesthetically interesting Dry Bones. Anyway, Individual Characters didn't matter in Double Dash as much as their Karts did. Characters determined Special Items and Kart Selection but not Stats. Each Character, though, has his or her own Vehicle. Paratroopa rode in the Para Wing.

The Para Wing is decent among Light Karts, but not the best. Its Acceleration is the 3rd Best in the game and its weight is 16th (both 3rd among Light Karts). It's relationship to the Koopa Dasher is similar to the Goo Goo Buggy's relationship to the Rattle Buggy. It has better turn speed but slower Top Speed and Acceleration as well as average shocks for those bouncy courses. It also somewhat inexplicably has one of the worst Offroad Speeds for a Light Kart, beaten only by the Bullet Blaster.

Paratroopa shares Koopa's Item with no changes at all, making that pair basically identical. The Triple Shell is one of the better Items in the game, although they no longer circle the Kart providing protection from aberrant objects. It's still a very good defensive and offensive item. Red Shells are especially useful in that Second or Third Place position to directly take down those ahead. Since you can't hold Items behind you it's a bit more difficult to deflect incoming objects but not impossible. They're pretty useful for climbing up a Grand Prix ladder.

There are Secret Staff Ghosts for each Track in Double Dash. Since no Secret Characters are used as Ghosts, the Koopas inherited the Mushroom Tracks from the Toads. Paratroopa leads on Mushroom City with Koopa in tow using the Koopa Dasher in 1:50:663. He also appears on Mushroom Bridge this time behind Koopa and goes a time of 1:31:458/