Name: Tanoomba
Debut: Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
Hey, remember how 3D Land tried to push the Tanooki Suit a whole bunch? And so they gave Tanooki tails to a bunch of enemies, including the Goomba! But they weren’t the first! Tanoomba beat ‘em to it!
Right off the bat, Tanoombas much more like a proper tanuki, ain’t he? The ears, the leaf, even a little white belly- without a doubt, it’s a mammal! All it’s missing are the testicles! Not only that, but they’re able to shapeshift! That’s something not even Tanooki Mario can do! Well, not really.
First appearing in Superstar Saga, the Tanoomba can attack using their tail (pretty standard stuff), or by transforming into either Mario or Luigi, attacking the opposite brother. Thankfully, the brothers’ bond is unbreakable, and they’d never fall for this kind of nasty trick! Regardless, it’s pretty obvious how this behaviour relates to the bake-danuki, aka the tanuki yōkai, aka the Japanese raccoon dog! But as Mario fans, I’m sure you all know this story all too well. I may love rambling about yōkai, but I’ll spare you guys just this once!
Mind you, I’m not a huge fan of the word “raccoon dog”... I suppose they do look like raccoons and dogs, but they’re a totally different thing! I suggest we adopt the word tanuki into English. Please donate to my Kickstarter!
Haven’t had your fill of Tanoomba? They make a grand return in Partners in Time, and what a return it is- their moveset has gotten a major boost. Not only can they transform into several new things in battle, but they disguise themselves out of battle and sneak attack you! Ooh, that’s just vile!
Here, they’re disguised as a Thwack, a very common enemy on Thwomp mountain! They’re on Thwomp Mountain, by the way. But that distinct Goomba face is unmistakable! They change back when you get fairly close, anyway.
A question block! The most tempting item for any Mario brother- but might it hide a secret? Yes, that leaf on top is a dead giveaway. There’s no way a leaf would fall that neatly on top of a relatively small surface! Probably?
For all the greedy money-grubbers out there- a coin with a Tanoomba face! It’s not a great disguise, but props for creativity. What would this be worth? A raccoon, I hope!
And the aforementioned new transformations in battle! Here, it’s a Spiny Shell. Not that interesting, really. Of all the things in the Marioverse to become, you pick a turtle shell? Go back to Mario school!
Speaking of not-very-interesting, one of Tanoomba’s other moves involves turning into... uhm, an orb? A bubble? A Dirty Bubble, even? What is this, and why! Surely you can think of something better to be!
Did I mention they’re on Thwomp Mountain? So of course they can turn into a Thwomp, which I feel is much more threatening than a large bubble. Funnily enough, this exact design appeared as its own enemy in 3D Land, a Tail Thwomp! Definitely a coincidence, but fun never the less.
Wait, Mario’s about to get squished! Watch out!!
And what kind of enemy blog would we be if we didn’t bring up their obligatory RPG recolour: Tashrooba! You know, I really feel like they were going for a pun here, and it didn’t sound as good as it did in their heads. Regardless, these guys are stronger, but they don’t really do anything special, and they don’t transform into anything unique! But they’re here, I guess.
And at last, the shocking revelation! In Superstar Saga’s remake, they didn’t replace Tanoomba with the more recent and generic Tail Goomba! Miracles do happen! Well, I kinda spoiled that with the gif up there. In fact, they actually appear alongside Tail Goombas in the new Bowser’s Minions mode, and that’s just lovely! As a Mario Enemy Extraordinaire, it melts my heart to see such different enemies from different eras, coexisting in harmony! Mechachomps still dead, though. Sorry.
