Lakitu

is a recurring fictional enemy species from the Mario franchise. They first appear in the Nintendo Entertainment System best-seller Super Mario Bros. (1985). They are always accompanied by their cloud, in which they ride and throw Spiny Eggs that hatch upon landing. Without their cloud, Lakitus are defenseless, and no Lakitu has ever been seen walking without their cloud.

Although they were originally designed as enemies, Lakitus often play a friendly role in some games, such as the friendly Lakitu Bros. in Super Mario 64. They also often serve as referees or cameramen in many of the spin-offs where they appear, such as the Mario Kart series, Mario Tennis, and Mario Sports Mix.

 Characteristics 
Lakitus are short Koopas. They have shells with light green and dark green stripes. Their skin is yellow, just like regular Koopas. They only have three black hairs on their heads, round noses, and glasses. Lakitus have two hands and two legs, although the latter are not usually visible as they are tucked inside the cloud.

The cloud they ride is also small. It is white and nearly always displays a happy expression. At times, the cloud has been shown with an angry expression. This expression can be stolen in games like Super Mario World, allowing it to fly for a period of time.

 Appearances 
Super Mario series
Lakitus have appeared in a majority of the mainline platforming games of the Super Mario series.

Super Mario Bros.
In Super Mario Bros., Lakitus are first encountered about midway through the game, in World 4-1. They move back and forth horizontally, throwing Spiny Eggs below.

Super Mario Bros. 3
In Super Mario Bros. 3, Lakitu returns as an enemy, having the same role as in Super Mario Bros. However, Lakitu's Cloud now appears as a rare item that either of the player characters, Mario or Luigi, can use on the world map to skip levels.

Super Mario World
In Super Mario World, regular Lakitus return as enemies, throwing Spiny Eggs as usual. They were given a variety named Fishin' Lakitus, which have a fishing rod on which they bait Mario with a 1-Up Mushroom, but once he collects it, they start throwing Spinies at him. Super Mario World is the first game where if Mario or Luigi defeats Lakitu, they can use its cloud to fly around for a certain period of time.

Super Mario 64
In Super Mario 64, besides the friendly Lakitu Bros. that take on the friendly role of controlling the game camera, regular Lakitus appear as regular enemies in the giant part of Tiny-Huge Island.

New Super Mario Bros.
In New Super Mario Bros., Lakitus return as enemies. Like in Super Mario World, Mario can ride their cloud temporarily. There is also a boss named Lakithunder, who shoots strikes of lightning to attack.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii
In New Super Mario Bros. Wii: They return only as enemies and have similar characteristics to its previous appearance.

Super Mario Galaxy 2
In Super Mario Galaxy 2, aside from Lakitus returning as regular enemies, there now another Lakitu boss named King Lakitu. Similar to Lakithunder, it attacks by shooting lightning from its cloud.

New Super Mario Bros. U
In New Super Mario Bros. U, Lakitus retain the same role as enemies as in earlier games of the New Super Mario Bros. sub-series.

Super Mario Odyssey
In Super Mario Odyssey, Lakitu is among the living beings whom Mario can "capture" with his new sentient cap, Cappy, and take temporary control of. As Lakitu, Mario can go fishing, allowing him to obtain a common collectible item, coins or in some cases a Power Moon, the main collectible item.

Super Mario Maker 2
In Super Mario Maker 2, Lakitu is among the many enemies that the player can place in their custom-created courses.

 Other appearances 
Lakitus have also appeared in spin-off Mario games and even some other Nintendo series.

Mario Kart series
Since the first game of the series, Super Mario Kart, Lakitu is a character who is in charge of giving the starting signal, indicating the lap number, or picking up the player if they fall off the track. In Mario Kart 7, Mario Kart 8, and Mario Kart Tour, Lakitu takes a prominent role of being one of the playable racers.

Yoshi's Island series
In Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, there are a variety of Lakitus. They are not seen riding their clouds as usual, and also hide behind walls to throw Spiny Eggs at Yoshi.

Super Smash Bros. series
In Super Smash Bros. Melee, he can be obtained as a trophy, as well as in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. In the Nintendo 3DS version only, Lakitu is a common enemy in the game's exclusive Smash Run mode. In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Lakitu is a spirit that can be defeated along with his Spikes.

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap is the only appearance of Lakitus in a The Legend of Zelda game. They are encountered in one of the game's dungeons, the Palace of Winds.

Mario Baseball series
Lakitu is a referee in Mario Superstar Baseball and Mario Super Sluggers.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games
In the Nintendo DS version of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, Lakitu appears in the main adventure story, Adventure Tours. He is not an enemy and hosts two of the missions for Princess Daisy in two of the game's worlds, Icepeak and Blizland.

Category:Villains
Category:Fictional turtles
Category:Mario series characters