Shellcreeper
- This article is about an enemy from the original Mario Bros. For other uses, seeTurtle (disambiguation).
| Shellcreeper | |
|---|---|
  Sprite of a Shellcreeper fromMario Bros. | |
| Universe | Mario |
| Debut | Mario Bros. (1983) |
| Smash Bros. appearances | Brawl SSB4 Ultimate |
| Most recent non-Smash appearance | WarioWare: Move It! (2023, cameo) |
| Console/platform of origin | Arcade |
| Article on Super Mario Wiki | Shellcreeper |
Shellcreepers (シェルクリーパー,Shellcreeper) areenemies from the originalMario Bros. game.
Origin[edit]
Shellcreepers, along withSidesteppers andFreezies, made their debut inMario Bros.. They are turtle-like creatures and are considered to be the predecessors ofKoopa Troopas, which they strongly resemble. Unlike the Koopa Troopas, however, the Shellcreepers cannot be defeated by jumping on them and will cause the player to lose a life on contact. Also, Shellcreepers can attack by biting the player.
Shellcreepers emerge from the pipes on the upper portion of the stages and move from one side to the other. They can be defeated either by being hit from below or is turned upside-down by thePOW Block, after which they can be kicked off-screen. If the Shellcreepers are not defeated while flipped upside down, they take their shell off, put it upright, and put it back on, after which they change color and moves faster.
The initial design of Koopa Troopas in NESMario games was quadrupedal like Shellcreepers, but the former would become bipedal starting inSuper Mario World, with a brief return to a quadrupedal build inSuper Mario Galaxy. Shellcreepers' only appearances following the 1980s have been through the original pixel graphics fromMario Bros., with remakes and replicas ofMario Bros. such asMario Clash andMario Bros. Classic replacing them with spiked creatures such asSpinies to communicate to players unfamiliar with the original that they cannot be stomped. However,Mario Power Tennis contains unused graphics of a 3-dimensional Shellcreeper, which was to appear identical to the quadrupedal Koopa Troopas seen later inGalaxy.
InSuper Smash Bros. Brawl[edit]
As a stage hazard[edit]
Shellcreepers appear as a stage element in theMario Bros. stage. They are stage hazards until they are attacked or hit by the stage's POW Block, at which point they retreat into their shells and become throwable items. As items they can also be hit to send them flying: weak attacks like jabs orFox'sBlaster launching them a short distance and strong attacks will launch them very far.
Shellcreepers, like the other enemies in the stage, cause very large horizontal knockback, whether or not they are thrown. Due to the odd shape and low ceilings of the stage, throwing these enemies is the easiest way of defeating opponents, as there is not enough vertical knockback for them totech on the ceilings. A flipped-over Shellcreeper can be eaten byMunchlax.
Similar to their behavior in the original game, each time a Shellcreeper is left on its back for long enough, it will get up again, will change color (from green to purple to red), and move faster. Different colored Shellcreepers don't have any differences when hit or when used as an item.
Trophy[edit]
- Shellcreepers
- Shelled enemies Mario and Luigi faced back when they were plumbers. They had to be bumped from below to flip them over and then kicked off the stage. The last one on a stage changed colors and raced really fast. If one got flipped but not sent off, it would eventually right itself and move at high speed. They were simply called "turtles" in Japan.
:Mario Bros.
:Super Mario Advance
InSuper Smash Bros. for Wii U[edit]
The Shellcreepers appears as part of theMario Bros.Trophy Box.
- Shellcreepers
With a name that implies silently sneaking up on its prey, the Shellcreeper might be considered cooler than your average turtle. The Koopa is apparently an evolved form of this veteran of Mario Bros. We'd recommend not jumping on this one like you would a Koopa, though...- Arcade:Mario Bros. (1983)
- :Super Mario Advance (06/2001)
With a name that implies silently sneaking up on its prey, the Shellcreeper might be considered cooler than your average turtle. A true veteran from way back in Mario Bros., this guy even predates Koopas, which apparently it evolved into. We wouldn't recommend jumping on this one like you'd jump on a Koopa, though...- Arcade:Mario Bros. (09/1986)
- :Super Mario Advance (06/2001)
InSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate[edit]
Shellcreepers return as a stage hazard in the returningMario Bros. stage. Their behavior when walking around is unchanged, however howknockback affects them has been changed. InBrawl, any attack was able to flip a Shellcreeper and launch them, now they receive knockback similar to characters and need some amount of knockback to flip. This prevents things likeFox's Blaster orBayonetta'sBullet Arts from protecting themselves from Shellcreepers or having a low-commitment method of launching them at opponents. Low knockback attacks likeFalco'sBlaster can still flip them, but they will need to be picked up and thrown or hit with a stronger attack to be of any offensive use.
Trivia[edit]
- The trophies fromBrawl andSmash 4 listSuper Mario Advance as a game that Shellcreepers appeared in, however they were replaced with Spinies in that game, though they did have a minor cameo on the title screen.
