Lakitu
Encyclopedia
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
s, sticker
s, 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.
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."
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 has not been a playable racer until Mario Kart 7, 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 and bottomless pits. 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 officiates and starts every match, with the exception of volleyball
, in Mario Sports Mix
. 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.
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.
, Lakitu has received somewhat positive reception. It has appeared in the form of several kinds of merchandise, including on t-shirt
s, sticker
s, 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.
Mario (series)
The video game series, alternatively called the series or simply the series, is a series of highly popular and critically acclaimed video games by Nintendo, featuring Nintendo's mascot Mario and, in many games, his brother Luigi. Gameplay in the series often centers around jumping on and...
. It was created by Shigeru Miyamoto
Shigeru Miyamoto
is a Japanese video game designer and producer. Miyamoto was born and raised in Kyoto Prefecture; the natural surroundings of Kyoto inspired much of Miyamoto's later work....
. It first appeared in the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
video game Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros.
is a 1985 platform video game developed by Nintendo, published for the Nintendo Entertainment System as a sequel to the 1983 game Mario Bros. In Super Mario Bros., the player controls Mario as he travels through the Mushroom Kingdom in order to rescue Princess Toadstool from the antagonist...
, 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
Mario Kart
is a series of go-kart-style racing video games developed by Nintendo as a series of spin-offs from its trademark Mario series of platformer adventure-style video games...
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
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Super Smash Bros. Brawl, known in Japan as , often abbreviated as SSBB or simply as Brawl, is the third installment in the Super Smash Bros. series of crossover fighting games, developed by an ad hoc development team consisting of Sora, Game Arts and staff from other developers, and published by...
. His most recent appearance in the main Mario series was in Super Mario Galaxy 2
Super Mario Galaxy 2
is a platforming video game developed by Nintendo EAD and published by Nintendo for the Wii. It was first announced at E3 2009 and is the sequel to Super Mario Galaxy. It was released in North America on May 23, 2010, in Japan on May 27, 2010, in Europe on June 11, 2010, and in Australia on July 1,...
.
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
T-shirt
A T-shirt is a style of shirt. A T-shirt is buttonless and collarless, with short sleeves and frequently a round neck line....
s, sticker
Sticker
A sticker is a type of a piece of paper or plastic, adhesive, sticky on one side, and usually with a design on the other. They can be used for decoration, depending on the situation. They can come in many different shapes, sizes and colours and are put on things such as lunchboxes, in children's...
s, and a dry erase board. While he has been regarded as one of the best Mario villains by GameDaily
GameDaily
GameDaily was a video game journalism website based in the United States. Launched in 1995 by entrepreneur Mark Friedler under the name Gigex and focused on free game demo downloads, The site changed its business model from a flat fee per download CDN distributed service network to an...
, he has been decried by several editors for being a troublesome enemy, including 1UP.com
1UP.com
1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
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. 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 MiyamotoShigeru Miyamoto
is a Japanese video game designer and producer. Miyamoto was born and raised in Kyoto Prefecture; the natural surroundings of Kyoto inspired much of Miyamoto's later work....
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.Super Mario Bros.
is a 1985 platform video game developed by Nintendo, published for the Nintendo Entertainment System as a sequel to the 1983 game Mario Bros. In Super Mario Bros., the player controls Mario as he travels through the Mushroom Kingdom in order to rescue Princess Toadstool from the antagonist...
for the NES
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
, 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
Super Mario Bros. 2
Super Mario Bros. 2, often abbreviated SMB2, is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System as a sequel to the 1985 game Super Mario Bros. The game was also remade as part of the Super Mario All-Stars collection for the Super Nintendo Entertainment...
, he did appear in the third game Super Mario Bros. 3
Super Mario Bros. 3
, also referred to as Super Mario 3 and SMB3, is a platform video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System , and is the third game in the Super Mario series. The game was released in Japan in 1988, in the United States in 1990, and in Europe in 1991...
, 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
Super Mario Land
is a platforming video game developed by Nintendo for the Game Boy handheld game console. It and the Game Boy debuted in Japan on April 21, 1989, in the United States on July 31, 1989, and in Europe on September 28, 1990...
for the Game Boy
Game Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
, where it uses a plane. In Super Mario World
Super Mario World
, subtitled Super Mario Bros. 4 for its original Japanese release, is a platform video game developed and published by Nintendo as a pack-in launch title for the Super Famicom/Super Nintendo Entertainment System , and is the fourth game in the Super Mario series...
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
Super Mario 64
is a platform game, published by Nintendo and developed by its EAD division, for the Nintendo 64. Along with Pilotwings 64, it was one of the launch titles for the console. It was released in Japan on June 23, 1996, and later in North America, Europe, and Australia. Super Mario 64 has sold over...
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.
New Super Mario Bros.
is a side-scrolling platform video game published and developed by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld game console. The game was released in North America and Japan in May 2006 and in Australia and Europe in June 2006...
, which featured a boss encounter with a Lakitu called "Lakithunder." It appeared in New Super Mario Bros. Wii
New Super Mario Bros. Wii
is a 2009 side-scrolling platform video game published and developed by Nintendo for the Wii video game console. The game was released on November 12, 2009 in Australia, November 15, 2009 in North America, November 20, 2009 in Europe and December 3, 2009 in Japan...
in roughly the same capacity as in New Super Mario Bros. Most recently, it appeared in Super Mario Galaxy 2
Super Mario Galaxy 2
is a platforming video game developed by Nintendo EAD and published by Nintendo for the Wii. It was first announced at E3 2009 and is the sequel to Super Mario Galaxy. It was released in North America on May 23, 2010, in Japan on May 27, 2010, in Europe on June 11, 2010, and in Australia on July 1,...
, with a boss encounter called "Giga Lakitu."
Lakitu has a prominent role in the Mario Kart
Mario Kart
is a series of go-kart-style racing video games developed by Nintendo as a series of spin-offs from its trademark Mario series of platformer adventure-style video games...
series ever since the first game, Super Mario Kart
Super Mario Kart
is a go-kart racing video game developed by Nintendo EAD for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System . The first game of the Mario Kart series, it was launched in Japan on August 27, 1992, in North America on September 1, 1992, and in Europe on January 21, 1993. Selling eight million copies...
. While it has not been a playable racer until Mario Kart 7, 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 and bottomless pits. 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
Official (tennis)
In tennis, an official is a person who ensures that a match or tournament is conducted according to the International Tennis Federation Rules of Tennis and other competition regulations....
in the Mario Tennis
Mario Tennis
Mario Tennis, known in Japan as , is a sports video game developed by Camelot and Nintendo for the Nintendo 64 video game console. The game was released in North America and Japan in the summer of 2000, and released in Europe later in November. It is the first tennis-based game starring Mario since...
games. He officiates and starts every match, with the exception of volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
, in Mario Sports Mix
Mario Sports Mix
is a sports video game developed by Square Enix for Wii. It was released on November 25, 2010 in Japan, and was released in early 2011 in other regions. It features volleyball, both field hockey and ice hockey, dodgeball, and street basketball...
. He also acts as the cameraman in Super Mario 64
Super Mario 64
is a platform game, published by Nintendo and developed by its EAD division, for the Nintendo 64. Along with Pilotwings 64, it was one of the launch titles for the console. It was released in Japan on June 23, 1996, and later in North America, Europe, and Australia. Super Mario 64 has sold over...
and its DS counterpart
Super Mario 64 DS
is an enhanced remake of the 1996 Nintendo 64, platform game Super Mario 64, produced by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld game console. The game was a launch title for the Nintendo DS, released in North America and Japan in 2004; it was later released in Europe and Australia in 2005.Nintendo...
. Each game in the Mario role-playing games has featured a Lakitu, starting with Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, often shortened and officially known in Japan as , is an action role-playing game developed by Square and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System . It was originally released on March 9, 1996 in Japan and on May 13,...
. A playable Lakitu appears in Paper Mario
Paper Mario
Paper Mario, known in Japan as , is a role-playing video game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64 game console. It was first released in Japan on August 11, 2000, in North America on February 5, 2001, and in Europe and Australia on October 5, 2001...
called Lakilester. While he acts antagonistically towards Mario, it eventually joins him after his girlfriend Lakilulu convinces him. It appeared in the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
video game Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Super Smash Bros. Brawl, known in Japan as , often abbreviated as SSBB or simply as Brawl, is the third installment in the Super Smash Bros. series of crossover fighting games, developed by an ad hoc development team consisting of Sora, Game Arts and staff from other developers, and published by...
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
The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, known as in Japan, is the twelfth game in The Legend of Zelda of video games, developed by Capcom, with Nintendo overseeing the development process. It was released for the Game Boy Advance in 2004 in Japan and Europe and 2005 in North America and Australia...
as an enemy.
In other media
Lakitu has appeared several times in other media. The Nintendo DSiNintendo DSi
The is a handheld game system created by Nintendo and launched in 2008 and 2009 in Japan, North America, PAL territories, and other regions. It is the third iteration of the Nintendo DS, and its primary market rival is Sony's PlayStation Portable...
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!
The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!
The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! is an American television series based upon Nintendo's Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. 2 video games. It was originally broadcast via first-run syndication to mostly independent or Fox television stations from September 4, 1989, to December 1, 1989, with...
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
The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3
The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 is an American animated television series based on the video game Super Mario Bros. 3. It aired on NBC with Captain N: The Game Master in a programming block titled Captain N & The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 from September 8, 1990 through December 1,...
in the episode "Life's Ruff." It has appeared in several comics, such as the Nintendo Comics System
Nintendo Comics System
The Nintendo Comics System was a series of comic books published by Valiant Comics in 1990 and 1991. It was part of a licensing deal with Nintendo, featuring characters from their video games and the cartoons based on them.- The comics :...
issue "Cloud Burst," the Club Nintendo issue "Mario will hoch hinaus," and in the Super Mario Adventures
Super Mario Adventures
is an anthology of comics that ran in Nintendo Power magazine throughout 1992, featuring the characters from Nintendo's Mario series and based loosely on Super Mario World. Charlie Nozawa, the artist who created the comics, is also known by the pen name Tamakichi Sakura...
comic.
Reception
Since appearing in Super Mario Bros.Super Mario Bros.
is a 1985 platform video game developed by Nintendo, published for the Nintendo Entertainment System as a sequel to the 1983 game Mario Bros. In Super Mario Bros., the player controls Mario as he travels through the Mushroom Kingdom in order to rescue Princess Toadstool from the antagonist...
, Lakitu has received somewhat positive reception. It has appeared in the form of several kinds of merchandise, including on t-shirt
T-shirt
A T-shirt is a style of shirt. A T-shirt is buttonless and collarless, with short sleeves and frequently a round neck line....
s, sticker
Sticker
A sticker is a type of a piece of paper or plastic, adhesive, sticky on one side, and usually with a design on the other. They can be used for decoration, depending on the situation. They can come in many different shapes, sizes and colours and are put on things such as lunchboxes, in children's...
s, and a dry erase board. 1UP.com
1UP.com
1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
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
Birdo
Birdo, known in Japan as , is a fictional character in the Mario series of video games, who first appeared in Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic, which was localized for English audiences as Super Mario Bros. 2 and is an enemy to Mario...
, does get some recognition, it is less so than other enemies such as the Goomba
Goomba
Goombas, known in Japan as , are fictional species from Nintendo's series of Mario video games. They first appeared in the NES video game Super Mario Bros. as the first enemy players encounter. They have appeared outside of video games, including in film, television, and other media...
and the Koopa Troopa. GameDaily
GameDaily
GameDaily was a video game journalism website based in the United States. Launched in 1995 by entrepreneur Mark Friedler under the name Gigex and focused on free game demo downloads, The site changed its business model from a flat fee per download CDN distributed service network to an...
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
Explodemon
Explodemon! is a 2.5D platform video game developed by Curve Studios for the PlayStation 3. It was released on the PlayStation Network in February 8, 2011.-Overview:...
, video game developer Jonathan Biddle called the "Bomber" enemy from Explodemon a rip-off of Lakitu. GameSpy
GameSpy
GameSpy Industries, Inc., known simply as GameSpy, is a division of IGN Entertainment, which operates a network of game websites and provides online video game-related services and software. GameSpy dates back to the 1996 release of an internet Quake server search program named QSpy. The current...
editor Jonti Davies made a comparison between Telly Vision from Chibi-Robo!
Chibi-Robo!
, fully titled Chibi-Robo! Plug Into Adventure!, is a platform-adventure video game for the Nintendo GameCube console. It was developed by Skip Ltd. with collaboration from Nintendo. The game was first released in Japan on June 23, 2005, in North America on February 6, 2006, and in Europe on May...
, who acts as a flying companion to the protagonist. In his review of the Virtual Console
Virtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
re-release of Super Mario Bros., GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
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
Super Mario Bros. 2
Super Mario Bros. 2, often abbreviated SMB2, is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System as a sequel to the 1985 game Super Mario Bros. The game was also remade as part of the Super Mario All-Stars collection for the Super Nintendo Entertainment...
, 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
NGamer
NGamer is a British magazine which mainly covers Nintendo video game consoles and software, and also to a much lesser extent, Sony and Microsoft consoles. The first issue was released on 13 July 2006...
criticized an appearance by Lakitu, where when it knocks Baby Mario off of Yoshi
Yoshi
, is a fictional dragon-like character who appears in video games published by Nintendo. His debut was in Super Mario World on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System as Mario and Luigi's sidekick , and he later established his own series with several platform and puzzle games, including Super...
, 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
Super Mario Kart
is a go-kart racing video game developed by Nintendo EAD for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System . The first game of the Mario Kart series, it was launched in Japan on August 27, 1992, in North America on September 1, 1992, and in Europe on January 21, 1993. Selling eight million copies...
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
CNET
CNET is a tech media website that publishes news articles, blogs, and podcasts on technology and consumer electronics. Originally founded in 1994 by Halsey Minor and Shelby Bonnie, it was the flagship brand of CNET Networks and became a brand of CBS Interactive through CNET Networks' acquisition...
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
Ira Glass
Ira Glass is an American public radio personality, and host and producer of the radio and television show This American Life.- Early life :...
-esque" Lakitu, resembling a human more than a turtle.