Koopa Kid-Ling?
WARNING: This is the stupidest waste of time I have ever done, but I do it all for fandom. And the ability to properly correct people.
I am not a HUGE fan of Bowser's seven original offspring, but I do like them and they hold a nostalgic place in my heart. But one thing I never understood when I first started using the internet, was how mysteriously (to me) everyone was calling the little guys "Koopalings" rather than "Koopa Kids". I always called them the latter, and never heard of the former until much, much later. Maybe it was because I never had many friends who liked mario, never played Mario 3 very much, or never watched the cartoon, I really couldn't tell.
Now, I've never really LIKED the term Koopaling. I've always felt Koopa Kid sounded better, and since it was used in my Super Mario World instruction manual, I assumed it to be the true canon one. It's just a personal preference I suppose, I just hate the sound of "Koopaling" for various reasons I wont go into. But the point is, I'd often get into small debates on which one was the "correct" term to use, and I was DEAD POSITIVE that the term must have come solely from that atrocious cartoon. (Well, I'm being mean there, it is kind of fun to watch, but I just REALLY dislike the designs and personalities of the kids on that show) Others would say it's the official way to say it and was used in Mario Bros 3, when I didn't recall it being used at all as a kid, and I reffered to my SMW manual mostly, as it does not mention the word Koopaling.
So today I decided, I was ACTUALLY going to figure out just where and when these terms were used, and if either one could be really considered the right way.
So, Koopa Kids, or Koopalings? here lies the extensive research I did, and a conclusion??
So, where did each term come from? Why did each one come into use, and which one is the true one? Well, let's find out!
Noe, the first thing I looked for, was, of course, the Super Mario Bros 3 manual. The one that came with the original game. I've always had a hunch (or just stubbornly insisted) What I found was both the original manual, and the manual for Super Mario All-Stars, which includes said game. Both are about the same, but I checked out the original manual first.
Turns out, I was right about there being no mention of the word "Koopaling" in the original manual! As I highlighted (you'll see why I highlighted the bit on the bottom soon), there is an abundance of "Bowsers 7 children" "Bowser's 7 kids" "Bowser's Kids" "His children", and every variation of that in-between. But no "Koopalings", it was starting to look like my original assumption was right. But was it?
So, I then decided to check to make sure that the word "Koopalings" was indeed used in the Mario Bros 3 cartoon.
Right here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqdGNH61o1U
oh ho, lookit that, around 20 seconds in! I didn't even have to sit through 30 seconds of the first episode of the cartoon, and Boswer uses "Koopalings." Great, got that bit down for sure, at least. Now, on to the Super Mario All-Stars manual to check if--
--ah-aaAHHH!! oh-hoh what's this? Looks as if "Koopalings" (along with the usual "his 7 children" etc) IS used in a Mario 3 manual in those two places! The All-Stars one, at least. Also, compare the "Anchor" quote!
◄from the original manual
The part about the Anchor was changed to include the word Koopalings, when it was not there before! Check the little part I highlighted in the original manual about losing to a Koopa Kid and being moved on the Map. In the original, it just says "him", while the other added "Koopaling" instead as well. That's certainly an interesting find. (The official Player's Guide for Mario All-Stars also uses "Koopalings")
But then I remembered I should check, what dates did all of these come out? Let's see...
(US releases)
-Super Mario Bros 3: Feb 12, 1990
-Mario 3 Cartoon airs: Sept 8, 1990
-Mario All-Stars: 1993/1994(with Super Mario World)
Interesting...it seems the localization of the Mario All-Stars game came AFTER the Mario 3 cartoon had aired for a while! Does this mean that they got the term "Koopaling" from the cartoon? No, it doesn't mean it for certain, but it's a possibility. Only being used AFTER the cartoon aired would certainly be good evidence against the "Koopaling" name, but now that doesn't seem to be the case. This isn't enough, I have to dig deeper, I have to check EVERY SOURCE to see if either is really right or wrong. So where do I go? Nintendo Power, of course!
First things first, I find out that Volume 13 of Nintendo Power was ENTIRELY a Super Mario Bros 3 strategy guide! What better place to look? So I find the scans and look over every word.
...oh my!
Woah! It get's more interesting!!
What do we have here..? They're using "Koopaling" like it's going out of style! It's everywhere with hardly a mention of the older phrases like "His kids/children". Let's check the date on this thing! (check the Anchor too, similar quote. And for reference, the Anchor description in the Mario Advance manual is about the same too. So there's ANOTHER instance of Koopaling.)
-Nintendo Power Volume 13: July 1990
Wow! This came out BEFORE the Mario 3 cartoon aired! This conflicts with the first impression I had, so was I wrong? It's starting to look like it. It also appears that at least 3 volumes earlier were advertising for this very guide, so it was already in production, as well. But, the cover on the advertisements were not the same as the cover of the actual Volume 13, so maybe this was still in working while the Mario 3 cartoon was being made? Were the people who made the cartoon and those who made the manual in contact with each other? Who knows, but the evidence is there, the word "Koopaling" was used BEFORE the cartoon.
But that's STILL not enough to come to a conclusion, Nintendo Power MUST have talked about the game before, so what did they say in earlier issues? I decided to check out issues 12, 11, and 10.
Woa what's THIS? There really was nothing in Issue 12 and not much in 10, but Issue 11 is using "Koopa Kids" almost EXCLUSIVELY! Not a Koopaling to be found in that article (the ANCHOR even says it different!!). This one came out in March/April 1990, so this was before the cartoon, and before the Mario 3 Nintendo Power Volume 13 Guide came out. How strange! Though like I mentioned earlier, there IS an advertisement for issue 13 in Issue 11 itself, but did they have it finished and edited by then? Why the sudden change in names? Is Nintendo just THAT inconsistent all the time? I'm positive this must be the first use of the term "Koopa Kids", so it could imply that this term was used first before the other. It also depends on how much you think Nintendo Power's stuff should be considered canon in the first place, and if the person only goes with current canon.
Well, speaking of "current", let's take a look at the game that reminded me of all this; New Super Mario Bros Wii. I'm really curious to find what exactly they call the Koopa spawn in a game that just came out, AND is the first time we've seen an appearance by them in a main game of the series. I don't have the game yet, so I ask around for people to tell me what's in the manual, as that will be the best and most "official" place to look for collective-Koopa-child-name-dubbing.
So I asked around... and apparently the Koopa kids are hardly mentioned at ALL in the manual. Well that's a rip-off! Looks like my next best bet is a new Nintendo Power that talks about it. I saw a small article in a semi-recent article, where the writer put down by the end "The Koopa Kids are back!" or something along those lines, but I'm not going to go by something that small. So if any of you find out what they call them in that game, please tell me and provide the source!!
EDIT:
Ah-ha, Found it! Thanks to a good pal on DA, we can finally see what they use! So it seems that "Koopalings" has in fact been adopted for the newest game that they appear. It's no surprise really, with how often it's used in the fanbase, and in how many of the "newer" games it was used in, such as the Gameboy Advance games. Even if I don't like the name, I'm sure others will be happy they seem to be keeping with it.
Here's the final time line from what I gathered:
-Feb 12, 1990: Super Mario Bros 3 ["Bowser's kids/children"]
-March/April 1990: Nintendo Power V.11 [Koopa Kids]
-July 1990: Nintendo Power V.13 SMB3 Guide [Koopalings]
-Sept 8, 1990: Mario 3 Cartoon airs [Koopalings and Koopa Kids]
-August 13, 1991: Super Mario World [Koopa Kids]
-1993/1994: Mario All-Stars [Koopalings + Kids/Children]
So, I pretty much BOTH ways are acceptable. Both have good reason to be used, and neither can really be argued against completely. Koopa Kids seems to be the first time it was used, plus and a few times afterward... while Koopalings was used in different places after the Nintendo Power guide (or after the cartoon, depending how you look at it) and still used today. So really, both are OK depending on what you grew up with. And to my dismay, I proved to myself that Koopaling is in fact used in official sources and guides, so I can't hate on it for being just "from that crappy cartoon"! But I guess proving BOTH to be right is just as much of an answer as if it were only one of them. And I can now tell someone they're wrong and be fully backed up with evidence! Especially if they try to tell me I shouldn't say Koopa Kids, or that someone else shouldn't be using Koopalings.
So in conclusion...
...Nintendo is just incredibly inconsistent and doesn't follow it's own canon for more than a month. (As in: Say whichever you want, I can't argue against it or for it.)
But I still think "Koopaling" sounds dumb.
The end!!
I am not a HUGE fan of Bowser's seven original offspring, but I do like them and they hold a nostalgic place in my heart. But one thing I never understood when I first started using the internet, was how mysteriously (to me) everyone was calling the little guys "Koopalings" rather than "Koopa Kids". I always called them the latter, and never heard of the former until much, much later. Maybe it was because I never had many friends who liked mario, never played Mario 3 very much, or never watched the cartoon, I really couldn't tell.
Now, I've never really LIKED the term Koopaling. I've always felt Koopa Kid sounded better, and since it was used in my Super Mario World instruction manual, I assumed it to be the true canon one. It's just a personal preference I suppose, I just hate the sound of "Koopaling" for various reasons I wont go into. But the point is, I'd often get into small debates on which one was the "correct" term to use, and I was DEAD POSITIVE that the term must have come solely from that atrocious cartoon. (Well, I'm being mean there, it is kind of fun to watch, but I just REALLY dislike the designs and personalities of the kids on that show) Others would say it's the official way to say it and was used in Mario Bros 3, when I didn't recall it being used at all as a kid, and I reffered to my SMW manual mostly, as it does not mention the word Koopaling.
So today I decided, I was ACTUALLY going to figure out just where and when these terms were used, and if either one could be really considered the right way.
So, Koopa Kids, or Koopalings? here lies the extensive research I did, and a conclusion??
So, where did each term come from? Why did each one come into use, and which one is the true one? Well, let's find out!
Noe, the first thing I looked for, was, of course, the Super Mario Bros 3 manual. The one that came with the original game. I've always had a hunch (or just stubbornly insisted) What I found was both the original manual, and the manual for Super Mario All-Stars, which includes said game. Both are about the same, but I checked out the original manual first.
Turns out, I was right about there being no mention of the word "Koopaling" in the original manual! As I highlighted (you'll see why I highlighted the bit on the bottom soon), there is an abundance of "Bowsers 7 children" "Bowser's 7 kids" "Bowser's Kids" "His children", and every variation of that in-between. But no "Koopalings", it was starting to look like my original assumption was right. But was it?
So, I then decided to check to make sure that the word "Koopalings" was indeed used in the Mario Bros 3 cartoon.
Right here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqdGNH61o1U
oh ho, lookit that, around 20 seconds in! I didn't even have to sit through 30 seconds of the first episode of the cartoon, and Boswer uses "Koopalings." Great, got that bit down for sure, at least. Now, on to the Super Mario All-Stars manual to check if--
--ah-aaAHHH!! oh-hoh what's this? Looks as if "Koopalings" (along with the usual "his 7 children" etc) IS used in a Mario 3 manual in those two places! The All-Stars one, at least. Also, compare the "Anchor" quote!
◄from the original manual
The part about the Anchor was changed to include the word Koopalings, when it was not there before! Check the little part I highlighted in the original manual about losing to a Koopa Kid and being moved on the Map. In the original, it just says "him", while the other added "Koopaling" instead as well. That's certainly an interesting find. (The official Player's Guide for Mario All-Stars also uses "Koopalings")
But then I remembered I should check, what dates did all of these come out? Let's see...
(US releases)
-Super Mario Bros 3: Feb 12, 1990
-Mario 3 Cartoon airs: Sept 8, 1990
-Mario All-Stars: 1993/1994(with Super Mario World)
Interesting...it seems the localization of the Mario All-Stars game came AFTER the Mario 3 cartoon had aired for a while! Does this mean that they got the term "Koopaling" from the cartoon? No, it doesn't mean it for certain, but it's a possibility. Only being used AFTER the cartoon aired would certainly be good evidence against the "Koopaling" name, but now that doesn't seem to be the case. This isn't enough, I have to dig deeper, I have to check EVERY SOURCE to see if either is really right or wrong. So where do I go? Nintendo Power, of course!
First things first, I find out that Volume 13 of Nintendo Power was ENTIRELY a Super Mario Bros 3 strategy guide! What better place to look? So I find the scans and look over every word.
...oh my!
Woah! It get's more interesting!!
What do we have here..? They're using "Koopaling" like it's going out of style! It's everywhere with hardly a mention of the older phrases like "His kids/children". Let's check the date on this thing! (check the Anchor too, similar quote. And for reference, the Anchor description in the Mario Advance manual is about the same too. So there's ANOTHER instance of Koopaling.)
-Nintendo Power Volume 13: July 1990
Wow! This came out BEFORE the Mario 3 cartoon aired! This conflicts with the first impression I had, so was I wrong? It's starting to look like it. It also appears that at least 3 volumes earlier were advertising for this very guide, so it was already in production, as well. But, the cover on the advertisements were not the same as the cover of the actual Volume 13, so maybe this was still in working while the Mario 3 cartoon was being made? Were the people who made the cartoon and those who made the manual in contact with each other? Who knows, but the evidence is there, the word "Koopaling" was used BEFORE the cartoon.
But that's STILL not enough to come to a conclusion, Nintendo Power MUST have talked about the game before, so what did they say in earlier issues? I decided to check out issues 12, 11, and 10.
Woa what's THIS? There really was nothing in Issue 12 and not much in 10, but Issue 11 is using "Koopa Kids" almost EXCLUSIVELY! Not a Koopaling to be found in that article (the ANCHOR even says it different!!). This one came out in March/April 1990, so this was before the cartoon, and before the Mario 3 Nintendo Power Volume 13 Guide came out. How strange! Though like I mentioned earlier, there IS an advertisement for issue 13 in Issue 11 itself, but did they have it finished and edited by then? Why the sudden change in names? Is Nintendo just THAT inconsistent all the time? I'm positive this must be the first use of the term "Koopa Kids", so it could imply that this term was used first before the other. It also depends on how much you think Nintendo Power's stuff should be considered canon in the first place, and if the person only goes with current canon.
Well, speaking of "current", let's take a look at the game that reminded me of all this; New Super Mario Bros Wii. I'm really curious to find what exactly they call the Koopa spawn in a game that just came out, AND is the first time we've seen an appearance by them in a main game of the series. I don't have the game yet, so I ask around for people to tell me what's in the manual, as that will be the best and most "official" place to look for collective-Koopa-child-name-dubbing.
So I asked around... and apparently the Koopa kids are hardly mentioned at ALL in the manual. Well that's a rip-off! Looks like my next best bet is a new Nintendo Power that talks about it. I saw a small article in a semi-recent article, where the writer put down by the end "The Koopa Kids are back!" or something along those lines, but I'm not going to go by something that small. So if any of you find out what they call them in that game, please tell me and provide the source!!
EDIT:
Ah-ha, Found it! Thanks to a good pal on DA, we can finally see what they use! So it seems that "Koopalings" has in fact been adopted for the newest game that they appear. It's no surprise really, with how often it's used in the fanbase, and in how many of the "newer" games it was used in, such as the Gameboy Advance games. Even if I don't like the name, I'm sure others will be happy they seem to be keeping with it.
Here's the final time line from what I gathered:
-Feb 12, 1990: Super Mario Bros 3 ["Bowser's kids/children"]
-March/April 1990: Nintendo Power V.11 [Koopa Kids]
-July 1990: Nintendo Power V.13 SMB3 Guide [Koopalings]
-Sept 8, 1990: Mario 3 Cartoon airs [Koopalings and Koopa Kids]
-August 13, 1991: Super Mario World [Koopa Kids]
-1993/1994: Mario All-Stars [Koopalings + Kids/Children]
So, I pretty much BOTH ways are acceptable. Both have good reason to be used, and neither can really be argued against completely. Koopa Kids seems to be the first time it was used, plus and a few times afterward... while Koopalings was used in different places after the Nintendo Power guide (or after the cartoon, depending how you look at it) and still used today. So really, both are OK depending on what you grew up with. And to my dismay, I proved to myself that Koopaling is in fact used in official sources and guides, so I can't hate on it for being just "from that crappy cartoon"! But I guess proving BOTH to be right is just as much of an answer as if it were only one of them. And I can now tell someone they're wrong and be fully backed up with evidence! Especially if they try to tell me I shouldn't say Koopa Kids, or that someone else shouldn't be using Koopalings.
So in conclusion...
...Nintendo is just incredibly inconsistent and doesn't follow it's own canon for more than a month. (As in: Say whichever you want, I can't argue against it or for it.)
But I still think "Koopaling" sounds dumb.
The end!!