Lakitu

Lakitu
Mario character
Artwork from Mario Kart Tour
First Episode Appearance	Super Mario Bros. (1985)
Created by	Shigeru Miyamoto
Character played by	Dex Manley (2005–2011, 2012–2013) Tadd Morgan (2011, 2013–present) Junko Hori (Super Mario Bros.: The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach!)
In-universe information
Species	Koopa

Lakitu (/ləˈkiːtuː/ lə-KEE-too or /ˈlækɪtuː/ lak-IT-oo), known in Japan as Jugem, is a fictional flying Koopa in the Mario franchise. Created by Shigeru Miyamoto, he first appeared in the Nintendo Entertainment System video game Super Mario Bros., where he dropped enemies called Spinies on the stage. He has a striped green shell, wears aviator goggles, and rides around in a smiling cloud. He has since appeared in several main Mario titles since, as well as Mario spin-off titles, notably the Mario Kart series where he acts as the referee and a playable character in Mario Kart 7, Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart Tour. He has appeared in non-Mario titles, including the Super Smash Bros. series as an assist trophy.

Since appearing in Super Mario Bros., Lakitu has received somewhat positive reception. It has appeared in the form of several kinds of merchandise, including on t-shirts, stickers, and a dry erase board. While he has been regarded as one of the best Mario villains by GameDaily, he has been decried by several editors for being a troublesome enemy, including 1UP.com editor Jeremy Parish and G4TV editor Andrew Pfister.

Concept and description

Lakitu is a Koopa who rides in a cloud and drops creatures called Spinies on the ground. It has a green turtle shell and yellow skin like most Koopas, but is differentiated by a thick pair of glasses (or goggles) and a different shell design. Its cloud "vehicle" has a smiling face on it. Lakitus come in several varieties as well. Some Lakitus can be seen coming out of pipes, while others use a fishing pole for a variety of things, such as holding a 1-Up Mushroom or a traffic light (in Mario Kart games). An early variation of the Lakitu features Lakitu riding a plane. Lakitus frequently also utilize the ability to produce electricity. A variation of the Lakitu is the Fishin' Boo a ghost that rides a cloud. Mario series creator Shigeru Miyamoto commented that Lakitu was the game character who represented him best. He described Lakitu as "very free, floating in the air, going anywhere. And that's me, that is." The Spinies that it drops are typically red turtles with spikes on their backs that hatch from "Spiny Eggs

Appearances

Lakitu's first appearance in Super Mario Bros., throwing Spinies at Mario.

Lakitu first appeared in Super Mario Bros. for the NES, where it appears as an enemy that drops Spiny Eggs, which hatch into Spinies when they hit the ground or players. While Lakitu did not make an appearance in the western Super Mario Bros. 2, he did appear in the third game Super Mario Bros. 3; besides being an enemy, its cloud appears as an item called "Lakitu's Cloud" that the player-character can use to skip levels. An enemy bearing a resemblance to Lakitu called Roketon appears in Super Mario Land for the Game Boy, where it uses a plane. In Super Mario World for the Super NES, its cloud can be stolen by the player-character and used as a flying vehicle for a period of time. Lakitu made an appearance in Yoshi's Island, where it had several variations, including the first occurrence of an electricity-producing Lakitu. Super Mario 64 and its DS remake features two characters called the "Lakitu Bros." in a friendly capacity, where they act as the cameramen for the player to control during Mario's adventure. However, Lakitus appear as enemies as well. It would not appear in a primary Mario title afterward until New Super Mario Bros., which featured a boss encounter with a Lakitu called "Lakithunder". Lakitu also appeared in his very own minigame called "Lakitu Launch", where players throw Spiny Shells at the baskets Lakitu is holding within thirty seconds. It appeared in New Super Mario Bros. Wii in roughly the same capacity as in New Super Mario Bros. Most recently, it appeared in Super Mario Galaxy 2, with a boss encounter called "King Lakitu." He also appeared in New Super Mario Bros. U and its DLC New Super Luigi U as well as Yoshi's New Island. In Super Mario Odyssey, Lakitus with fishing rods can be found in various kingdoms, and can be captured by Mario in order to fish in ponds.

Lakitu has a prominent role in the Mario Kart series since its debut in 1992 with Super Mario Kart. In addition to his appearance in Mario Kart 7, Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart Tour as a playable driver, he is a prominent non-playable character as the referee, where he is holding a traffic light hanging on a fishing pole to signal when to start the race (except for Mario Kart DS and Mario Kart Tour), tells them which lap or section they're on, alerting players to go the wrong way, and waving the checkered flag to finish the race. This is also true for other games, where it acts in various assistant roles, such as an umpire in the Mario Baseball games and an official in the Mario Tennis games. He also starts every match in Mario Hoops 3-on-3 and Mario Sports Mix. He also acts as the cameraman in Super Mario 64 and its DS remake. Each game in the Mario role-playing games has featured a Lakitu, starting with Super Mario RPG. A playable Paper Lakitu appears in the first Paper Mario game called Lakilester. While he acts antagonistically towards Paper Mario, it eventually joins him after his girlfriend, Lakilulu, convinces him. The playable Lakitu in Mario Kart 7, Mario Kart 8, and Mario Kart Tour has a red shell, though the differences between red and green shelled Lakitus are unknown. Lakitu has also made appearances in the Super Smash Bros. series starting with the original Super Smash Bros. as a cameo where he can be seen in the background of the stage Peach's Castle, his design is taken from Super Mario 64. Lakitu returns in Super Smash Bros. Melee once again appearing in the background of a stage. this time being Yoshi's Island where his design is taken directly from Super Mario World, and is featured as one of the 293 obtainable trophies in the game. Lakitu also appeared in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U as an assist trophy in the form of his 8-bit Super Mario Bros. design, while appearing as a common enemy in the Smash Run mode in the Nintendo 3DS version. He appears again in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, where he is a spirit that can be fought, along with his Spinies. It also appeared in The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap as an enemy. In the Mario Party series, he appears in various minigames and in Mario Party Advance, he is the referee with his whistle-blowing cloud. In Super Mario Maker with its 3DS remake and Super Mario Maker 2, Lakitu can be customized to throw other objects, such as coins, power-ups and even other enemies; his cloud can be ridden on by the player after he has been defeated and by shaking the Lakitu in the level editor it will be tossed away leaving the cloud empty, that can be ridden or used to carry power-ups, cannons or certain enemies.

In other media

Lakitu has appeared several times in other media. The Nintendo DSi app "DSi Sound" featured a Mario theme that had Lakitu producing coins in it while playing a song. It originally appeared in the anime movie Super Mario Bros.: The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach! as an enemy. It again appeared in the episode of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! called "Mario and the Red Baron Koopa", where its appearance differs from its traditional appearance, featuring green skin and red sunglasses. It also appears in The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 in the episode "Life's Ruff". It has appeared in several comics, such as the Nintendo Comics System issue "Cloud Burst", the Club Nintendo issue "Mario will hoch hinaus", and in the Super Mario Adventures comic. Lakitu also appeared in Puzzle & Dragons Z + Super Mario Bros. Edition.

Reception

Since appearing in Super Mario Bros., Lakitu has received positive reception. It has appeared in the form of several kinds of merchandise, including on t-shirts, stickers, dry erase board and a figurine. 1UP.com described Lakitu as a "series mainstay." Official Nintendo Magazine editor Chris Scullion listed Lakitu as one of the unsung Nintendo heroes, commenting that while it, like Birdo, does get some recognition, it is less so than other enemies such as the Goomba and the Koopa Troopa. GameDaily listed Lakitu as the sixth best Mario enemy, describing him as "cute" and "friendly," yet also "a pain" for players to beat. In discussing an independent video game called Explodemon, video game developer Jonathan Biddle called the "Bomber" enemy from Explodemon a rip-off of Lakitu. GameSpy editor Jonti Davies made a comparison between Telly Vision from Chibi-Robo!, who acts as a flying companion to the protagonist. In his review of the Virtual Console re-release of Super Mario Bros., GameSpot editor Jeff Gerstmann stated that Lakitus "are still awesome." G4TV editor Yodapollo listed Lakitu's first appearance as one of the "Epic Fail Videogame Levels," commenting that he "cannot come up with a single other videogame character who comes close to being half as annoying as Lakitu." G4TV editor Andrew Pfister called Lakitu's first appearance as one of the memorable moments of Super Mario Bros. He also referenced its appearance in one of the later levels as being a difficult encounter. In his retrospective of Super Mario Bros. 2, 1UP.com editor Jeremy Parish commented that after "being harassed endlessly by that jackass Lakitu, it was a relief to be able to hop onto Pidgit's magic carpet and swipe it right out from under his feet."

In discussing the challenges of Super Mario Bros., 1UP.com stated that the Spinies were never a "welcome sight", due to appearing in "infinite numbers courtesy of that rat bastard Lakitu, a cowardly bespectacled turtle who hovered on a cloud overhead tossing Spiny eggs at Mario." It was also described by IGN's Audrey Drake as one of the best Mario enemies, stating that "Are they evil, spiny-tossing fiends out to destroy the Mushroom Kingdom? Are they RTVF dropouts whose day job is following Mario around with a camera? Or are they racing fans, always around to lend a hand to a fallen kart racer? Whatever they are, they've certainly contributed a lot to the Mushroom Kingdom through their various jobs." In criticizing some of the game design choices in Yoshi's Island DS, NGamer criticized an appearance by Lakitu, where when it knocks Baby Mario off of Yoshi, players have to jump into Lakitu to get him back, thereby losing Baby Mario again. UGO Networks editor Chris Littler listed having to be rescued by Lakitu after falling off the track in Super Mario Kart as one of the top 50 worst ways to die in a video game. Shacknews praised the pixel art used in Super Smash Bros. Brawl for Lakitu. In discussing the quality of the Hammer Bros., CNET editor Nate Lanxon commented that "when preparing defenses for your forts of the future, you can take your grumpy little mushroom things and Lakitu's lame cloud," showing preference to Hammer Bros. Editor Scott Jones listed Lakitu and its cloud as an uncomfortable pairing, joking that "if that cloud ever gets free of Lakitu, it will need many years of therapy just to feel like a normal cloud again." The parody film There Will Be Brawl features an "Ira Glass-esque" Lakitu, resembling a human more than a turtle.