KMC Forums - Goomba

The very first enemy encountered in Super Mario Bros!

Goombas are depicted as brown mushroom-like creatures with feet, bushy eyebrows, and a pair of fangs sprouting from their lower jaw. Also, they are known as being chesnut people. They generally tackle, headbonk, or bite an enemy. The Goombas once lived in peace in the Mushroom Kingdom, but they betrayed their homeland to side with Bowser. Some Goombas act as friendly characters in the Paper Mario series, two even joining Mario on his journey. Many variants of the Goomba have appeared throughout the years including Paragoombas and Microgoomba. Paragoombas are distinguished by their winged appearance, thus making them more versatile and mobile than typical Goombas. Microgoombas are miniature, parasitic Goombas which latch themselves onto Mario, reducing his jumping ability. They also appeared in New Super Mario Bros. as enemies for mini Mario. Many other types of Goombas have appeared throughout the Mario series, although these largely vary from game to game. Both Goomba and Paragoomba are playable in Mario Superstar Baseball.

In the 1989 television cartoon The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! Goombas are loyal soldiers in King Koopa's army. They often appear in costumes related to the episode's theme such as zombies or pirates. They were included in the subsequent spin-offs The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World. They also appear in the Super Mario Bros. live-action film, where they were originally inhabitants of Dinohattan who opposed King Koopa's rule, and were de-evolved into large, reptilian monsters as punishment for this disloyalty. Despite having the same name, Goombas in the movie look nothing like Goombas in the games: the Goombas in the movie have opposite characteristics to their video game counterpart, that is, they have large bodies and small heads. In Mario Kart series sometimes Goombas carry mushrooms, in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, when a Goomba is "flattened", a Super Mushroom is given out.