It is quite difficult to describe the universe in which Super Mario lives. favorite character of Nintendo He roams freely through the Mushroom Kingdom, although from time to time the tireless Bowser decides to ruin everything by kidnapping Princess Peach. To achieve such an evil purpose, the main villain uses all sorts of henchmen and henchmen.
Some of the most prominent are the Koopalings, seven hooligans who are dedicated to causing evil wherever they go and who first appeared in Super Mario Bros. 3, back in 1988 in Japan. However, the story behind its members is much more curious than it might seem at first.
First of all, it must be clarified that their images and personalities are based on the members of the video game development team. Even so, more than 30 years ago, they did not have an official name, which was solved for the launch of the western version of the work. Dayvv E. Brooks, Nintendo of America localizer, was responsible for naming them and had the idea to be based on popular musical artists. In this way we have that the Koopalings are inspired by the following people:
- Roy Koopa is in reference to Roy OrbisonAmerican singer of the 50s and 60s.
- Larry Koopa does not actually take the name of Larry Mullen Jr., the drummer of U2. He is the only one who has no inspiration from anyone who exists.
- Morton Koopa comes from Morton Downey Jr., American pop and country songwriter. Also, the star in his left eye is a detail that points to Paul Stanleyguitarist for KISS.
- Wendy O. Koopa is inspired by Wendy O. Williamslead singer of the Plasmatics, a heavy metal band.
- Iggy Koopa is a nod to the popular Iggy Pop of the group The Stooges.
- Lemmy Koopa is none other than Lemmy Kilmisterthe iconic leader and vocalist of Motörhead.
- Ludwig von Koopa is unmistakable. Indeed, it is a reference to the unforgettable German composer Ludwig van Beethoven.
Regarding what were the reasons that led him to take these inspirations, Brooks wakefulness many years later it was because music was a subject that was on his mind all the time:
“Music has always been an important part of my life. I’ve been a DJ for years and a music collector for even longer. When I first saw the group of seven Koopalings, music was on my mind.
For some reason, the hairstyle of one of them reminded me of Ludwig von Beethoven, and thus Ludwig von Koopa was born. Next up was the one with the glasses: Roy Koopa, after Roy Orbison, who almost always wore glasses. Then Wendy O. Koopa (Wendy O. Williams) [e] Iggy Koopa (Iggy Pop). One looked like a loudmouth, so it was Morton Koopa Jr. from host Morton Downey Jr. And then there was Larry. There’s no real world equivalent, he’s not U2’s Larry Mullen Jr. or Larry King, he just looked like Larry.
And so we come to Lemmy. Besides being a cool name, he is perfect for a video game character. This Koopaling struck me as the type of character who would do whatever he wanted, regardless of what others thought. I think it was those crazy eyes. Lemmy Koopa was on the team.”
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