In the original Super Mario Bros., the first enemy Mario encounters is a Goomba.
In the opening section of World 1-1, a brown Goomba walks toward Mario shortly after the level begins. It is deliberately simple: Mario can defeat it by jumping on it, teaching new players the game’s basic enemy interaction before the level introduces more complicated hazards and opponents.
The Goomba was added late in development as an easier enemy after playtesters found the Koopa Troopa too difficult for beginners. The designers created a straightforward mushroom-like creature that could move across the ground, and limited graphical resources even influenced its animation. A single sprite was flipped back and forth to suggest walking.
Koopa Troopas, Piranha Plants, and Bullet Bills all appear in the original game, but none is the first enemy in the standard opening route. The Goomba’s role as Mario’s introductory opponent helped make it one of the most recognizable enemies in video-game history. It has since appeared in numerous Mario platformers, spin-offs, television productions, and other Nintendo games.