Koopa Troopa

History:

The Koopas lived for centuries in the Koopa Kingdom in relative peace with the Mushroom Kingdom but with underlying problems. The Koopa Kingdom was vastly inferior economically, with little arable land or developed areas. While it scuffled with the Mushroom Kingdom it could never sustain a war or supplant any of the Royal Family's deep-seeded interests in the Region. This all changed with the introduction of Bowser.

Lord Bowser arrived, although it's possible he had laid in wait in the area and considering his species it is likely he originated from somewhere in the depths of the Koopa Kingdom. He reformed the Region into Dark Land and suddenly the Koopas became a military powerhouse, if not still saddled with mounting economic problems. Military service is compulsory for all male Koopas ages 12 - 34.

When Mario offered an Olive Branch to Bowser through the Grand Prix Bowser was keen to bring an ally. He managed to convince one his best and speediest troopers to come along, and the reliable but nameless Koopa Troopa was eager to prove his worth. In 1995 Wario stole his Kart though, and it took Bowser years to put up the funds to field another. Eventually he came back but has only raced in the most Prestigious of Grand Prix.

Super:

Koopa is one of the best Racers of SMK. Along with Toad they are known as "The Small Guys," which have excellent handling along with average speed and acceleration at the cost of low weight. He can steer his way around the trickiest of courses with ease, including his namesake Koopa Beaches. As a computer player he'll often throw his own shell at the other players. In SMK's Rivalry System, if he finishes first the other Drivers will finish in the order Luigi, Yoshi, Peach, Mario, Bowser, DK Jr then Toad. I have no idea why Luigi is his biggest rival here, perhaps they're battling over the colour Green.

Double Dash:

Wario replaced Koopa in Super Circuit and 64 but he was back with the ensemble Double Dash. Double Dash featured less emphasis on individual Divers and more on Kart Selection. The Driver Choice is really just to determine weight class along with a Special Item specific to each Driver. Koopa paired with Paratroopa, the two are statistically identical in every way.

Their item is the Triple Shell returned from 64. Unlike 64 though the shells don't rotate around the Kart so it's still dangerous to run into things. The one advantage is that the shells will launch directly ahead instead of timing it on one of the rotations, which can get hairy. It's definitely one of the better Special Items in the game, especially because it's possible to get both Triple Green Shells which are beneficial defensive and offensive Items as well as the Triple Red Shell, which is one of the best Items to get while in the Top 4 of the Grand Prix, as it definitively seeks out and destroys those ahead. There's also three of them, making it superior in that sense to a Yoshi Egg. There is a weird chance sometimes if you get ahead of your own Red Shell it will actually hit you.

Koopa's Ride is the Koopa Dasher, which is a solid Light Kart. It's got the second best Acceleration in the game as well as pretty good speed and weight for a Light Kart. It has terrible turn speed though and is one of the bouncier Vehicles available to the Lightweights. It's Offroad is also average.

He also has a few Secret Ghosts in this game. Due to the fact that no Secret Characters are given Ghosts, Koopa and Paratroopa inherit the Mushroom Tracks, likely from their similar statuses going back to SMK. Both using the Koopa Dasher, Koopa leads on Mushroom Bridge with a time of 1:31:458. Paratroopa leads on Mushroom City with a time of 1:50:663.

Wii:

Koopa was left out of Double Dash but returned for Wii. Wii gave the Three Different Size Classes of Eight Drivers each Six Karts and Six Bikes to choose from, all of varying stats. In addition to this Vehicle difference, each Driver added his or her own Bonuses to certain stat areas. Koopa adds a slight handling bonus and a substantial Mini-Turbo Bonus, meaning that he's the kind of Racer that is good on difficult courses that require a lot of sliding and Turbos. Here are the Koopa-Specific Wii Stats:

His best Ride is probably the Nano Bike, which is the closest he gets to an Association. There are also Staff Ghosts in Wii during Time Trials. The Normal Ghost uses a Cheep Charger on Koopa Cape in 03:03.022. Koopa Cape is his signature course here and is one of the longest in the Game. It's clearly an extension of Koopa Beach but to such an extent that it can't really be considered a Beach Track anymore. The Expert Ghost pulls a 02:41.370 in the Bubble Bike. Koopa Troopa also has a Ghost on the Retro Shy Guy Beach, a more clear reference to his former Beach-owning status (even in games he wasn't a Driver in). The Normal uses the Cheep Charger again in 01:45.568, the Expert goes 01:32.867 in the Magikruiser, which has such a good Offroad stat that it's use on the shortcuts here is infamous. Toadette can take it down though.