Read more about Lakitu at: Wikipedia

Official Site: Nintendo

Lakitu, known in Japan as , is a video game creature 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, wears thick glasses, and rides around 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. His most recent appearance in the main Mario series was in Super Mario Galaxy 2.

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-shirt, sticker, 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.

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. 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 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."

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 not been a contender in any CBUB matches.