Lakitu

Lakitu, known in Japan as Jugem (ジュゲム), is a video game enemy in the Mario series. It was created by Shigeru Miyamoto. It first appeared in the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) video game Super Mario Bros., where it dropped enemies called Spinies on the stage. It has a striped green shell and wears a thick glasses as he rides in a smiling cloud. It has since appeared in several main Mario titles since, as well as Mario spin-off titles, notably the Mario Kart series where it acts in the capacity of the race starter. He has appeared in non-Mario titles, including the Super Smash Bros. series, specifically Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap. His most recent appearance in the main Mario series was in Super Mario Galaxy 2.

Series creator Shigeru Miyamoto commented that he identified with Lakitu better than any other video game character, describing Lakitu as "very free, floating in the air, going anywhere. And that's me, that is." 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. Like most Koopas, it has a green turtle shell, yellow skin, and a thick pair of glasses, while its cloud 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 1UP or a stoplight. 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 first appeared in Super Mario Bros. for the NES, where it appears as an enemy that drops Spinies on the player-characters. While it 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 "Jugem'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: Super Mario World 2, where it had several variations, including the first occurrence of an electricity-producing Lakitu. Super Mario 64 features two characters called the "Lakitu Bros." in a friendly capacity, where they act as the camera for the player to control. 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." 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 "Giga Lakitu."

Lakitu has a prominent role in the Mario Kart series ever since the first game, Super Mario Kart. While it is not a playable racer, it is a prominent non-playable character, where it announces the start of the race and each lap, as well as pulling racers out of the water. This is also true for other games, where it acts in various assist roles, such as an umpire in the Mario baseball games, a ball catcher in the Mario Golf games, and an official in the Mario Tennis games. He also acts as the cameraman in Super Mario 64 and its DS counterpart. Each game in the Mario role-playing games has featured a Lakitu, starting with Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. A playable Lakitu appears in Paper Mario called Lakilester. While he acts antagonistically towards Mario, it eventually joins him after his girlfriend Lakilulu convinces him. It appeared in the Wii video game Super Smash Bros. Brawl as a summonable helper. It appears in its Super Mario Bros. incarnation as a two dimensional sprite, dropping Spinies on opponents. It also appeared in The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap as an enemy.

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. It originally appeared in the anime movie Super Mario Bros.: Peach-Hime Kyushutsu Dai Sakusen! as an antagonist. 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.

Reception
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. 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 harrassed [sic] 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." 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. Shack News 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.