This article is about giant Koopa Shells. For the clam shell item from Paper Mario: The Origami King, seeBig Shell (Paper Mario: The Origami King). For the accessory from Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, seeList of Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story gear § Big Shell.

"Giant Shell" redirects here. For the accessory from Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, seeList of Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story gear § Giant Shell.

Big shell
Screenshot fromNew Super Mario Bros. U
First appearance	Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988)
Latest appearance	Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition (2024)
Variant of	Koopa Shell Paratroopa Shell Spiny Shell Swirlypod Shell[derived]
Related Large shell Lazy Shell
Comparable Bowser's Shell

“When inElephant form, you can carry big shells.”

—Loading screen tip,Super Mario Bros. Wonder

Big shells, originally known asGiant Shells,^[1] are large projectiles in theSuper Mario franchise. Usually a larger variant ofKoopa Shell that comes fromstomped Big Koopa Troopas, big shells typically destroy large swaths of terrain when launched. Unlike normal-sized shells, big shells do not ricochet off struckblocks, instead plowing through them, making them useful for solving certain puzzles or clearing obstructions. In some titles, the shells are too large to be picked up on their own, onlykicked.

Giant Koopa Shells have occasionally appeared in other capacities, such as thelarge shell platforms inNew Super Mario Bros. Wii that can be physically entered or the houses that make upKoopa Village inPaper Mario. WhileBig Koopa Troopas appear inSuper Mario Galaxy 2, their shells do not become available upon defeat. There are also large shelled enemies whose shells do not become available when struck, as is the case withHeavy Para-Beetles andBig Buzzy Beetles.

History[edit]

Super Mario series[edit]

Super Mario Bros. 3 /Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3[edit]

Giant Shells are introduced inSuper Mario Bros. 3, on the backs ofGreen Gargantua Koopa Troopas andRed Giant Koopa Troopas inGiant Land. Stomping on these Koopas makes them retreat into their shells, making them available for use. Unlike subsequent titles,Mario (orLuigi) can carry Giant Shells on his own volition regardless of his form. Both red and green Giant Shells function the same way regardless of their color, as with the normal-sized Koopa Shells inSuper Mario Bros. 3. They are the only shells capable of activating theMega ? Blocks also found in Giant Land.

InSuper Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3, Giant Shells also appear in the promotionale-Reader courseTreacherous Halls, where stomping on the Green Gargantua Koopa Troopa that walks along thespikes sends its shell flying intoGrand Goombas.

New Super Mario. Bros. U /New Super Luigi U /New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe[edit]

A Giant Shell in Jungle of the Giants

In the originalNew Super Mario Bros. U campaign, Giant Shells are only available inJungle of the Giants, the first course ofSoda Jungle. They are worn by Green and Red Big Koopa Troopas and become usable once they are stomped. UnlikeSuper Mario Bros. 3, the player character is incapable of picking up Giant Shells. They can break throughHard Blocks in this game, but rebound on impact, unlike the weakerBrick Blocks.Ground-pounding launched Giant Shells makes them stop. Giant Shells can be used to obtain multiple1-Ups if the player character is in theirFlying Squirrel form by repeatedly launching it into a solid wall and stopping it on the return without touching the ground in between.^[2]

Jungle of the Giants contains narrow corridors blocked by stacks of Brick Blocks that can only be cleared by launched Giant Shells. Rows ofHidden Coins turn visible as they travel, and the course's firstStar Coin is only collectible once a Giant Shell has cleared away the bricks that block access. While Giant Shells technically appear in the Special challenge based on Jungle of the Giants calledBe Gentle to Giants, the player must not attack any enemies more than three times in order to clear it. InNew Super Luigi U, Giant Shells only occur in the forest-themedGiant Swing-Along, in which only the red Big Koopa Troopas appear. Launching Giant Shells is the only way the player character can break theMega Blocks in the course.

Super Mario Maker /Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS /Super Mario Maker 2[edit]

InSuper Mario Maker,Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS, andSuper Mario Maker 2, if a Koopa Troopa is given aSuper Mushroom, it will turn into a Big Koopa Troopa that retreats into its shell when stomped. UnlikeNew Super Mario Bros. U, launched Giant Shells break throughHard Blocks without rebounding. Mario cannot pick up Giant Shells in any form, even in theSuper Mario Bros. 3 style.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder[edit]

A Hefty Swirlypod (left) and its big shell (right).

While Big Koopa Troopas are absent fromSuper Mario Bros. Wonder, big shells appear as part ofHefty Swirlypods, functioning as they did in theSuper Mario Maker titles. Stomping Hefty Swirlypods ejects them from the shells, which can then be kicked to break terrain andhard blocks. Player characters can only pick up big shells if they are in theirElephant forms, and big shells themselves mostly appear in courses that also feature theElephant Fruit power-up. Characters in their Elephant form can handle big shells like they would smaller ones, being able to drop them,toss them, and kick them upwards.

Big shells first appear inSwamp Pipe Crawl, where they can be used to clear hard blocks, some of which block access to aWarp Pipe leading to a background area holding a10-flower coin. Big shells later appear inThe Anglefish Trial: Ready, Aim, Fly! in a similar capacity, where one must be used to unobstruct a pipe and tossed upwards to collect a 10-flower coin.

Mario Strikers series[edit]

A blue Giant Shell on the field inSuper Mario Strikers

Giant Shells are some of the items in theMario Strikers series, along with theirsmaller counterparts. They are larger iterations of the normal-sized Koopa Shell items in the games and exhibit the same traits on a larger scale. For example, the blue-colored Giant Shells work like thesmaller ones, freezing opponents on impact. However, unlike them, the giant ones do not stop when they make contact with opponents, allowing them to impact multiple opponents instead of just one. This trait is similar to theBowser's Shells fromMario Kart: Double Dash!! Another difference is that Giant Shells only come individually, whereas the normal shells typically appear in groups of three. In addition to the blue-colored Giant Shells, there are three other ones, namely:

1. Green Giant Shells that squish and stun opponents for a brief period of time. After hitting a player, it still bounces around the stage until it wears out. They are the counterparts toGreen Shells in the games.
2. Red Giant Shells that function like the green ones but home-in on opponents, just like the smallerRed Shells in the games and theMario Kart series.
3. The blue Giant Shells previously described that freeze opponents.
4. Spiny Giant Shells covered in spikes. These shells function like the green ones, but are more durable. They can explode very suddenly, knocking out more players than they would otherwise. They are the larger counterparts of the normalSpiny Shells.

Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition[edit]

InPuzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition, opposingBig Green Koopa Paratroopas occasionally use theirBig Shells to nullify Fire and Dark attribute damage for three turns. When the Big Koopa Paratroopas are teammate, their Big Shells change any Fire and Wood Orbs on the player's Orb field into Water Orbs.

Gallery[edit]

• 

  Super Mario Bros. 3

• 

  Super Mario Bros. 3

• 

  Super Mario All-Stars (Super Mario Bros. 3)

• 

  Super Mario All-Stars (Super Mario Bros. 3)

• 

  Super Mario All-Stars (Super Mario Bros. 3)

• 

  Super Mario Strikers

• 

  Super Mario Bros. Wonder

Names in other languages[edit]

References[edit]

• Koopa Shells
• Projectiles
• Large variants
• Mario Strikers Charged items
• New Super Luigi U objects
• New Super Mario Bros. U objects
• Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition
• Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3
• Super Mario Bros. 3 items
• Super Mario Bros. Wonder items
• Super Mario Maker objects
• Super Mario Maker 2 objects
• Super Mario Strikers items