Hoopster

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Hoopsters are large, lady bug-like insects first encountered in Super Mario Bros. 2 as enemies with limited attack power. In Super Mario Bros. 2, Hoopsters can be found absentmindedly crawling up and down vines, hurting the player if they touch it. They sense when the player is directly above or below them and speed up. By jumping right on to the head of a Hoopster though, the player can ride them up the vine the creature is crawling on.

In Super Mario All-Stars and Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3, the king of Desert Land is turned into a Hoopster with his own Magic Scepter by Morton Koopa Jr.

[edit] Appearances in Other Media

Several Hoopsters appeared as minions of King Koopa in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! episode "Mario and the Beanstalk", being sent by King Koopa to attack Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Toad and their goose ally on a giant beanstalk. These Hoopsters are defeated by Mario, who throws several Garbanzo Beans at them