Lakitu

Overview

As with any anthropomorphic species in the Mario series, the Lakitus come in good and evil varieties. Using its own personal flying cloud Lakitu can either hinder or help Mario and the gang on his many adventures, and has appeared in much of the Mario series since its inception- effectively in the same category as the classic Mario characters ( Goombas, Koopa Troopas, Bullet Bills and Piranha Plants being among some).

Lakitus as foes of Mario use their height and speed advantage to attack from the sky with various projectiles; usually spiny shells. A pain to avoid, it turns out, and equally so for Mario to remove these enemies from his path. It wasn’t until Super Mario World that the plumber could get his own back and steal Lakitu’s cloud from under it. Not all variants had the aerial advantage, though- some chose to hide in pipes from which to attack.

It’s not all bad for Mario, though- some useful characters from the flying turtles have appeared to help him in his quests. Super Mario 64’s pioneer approach to the 3D platform game camera involved an actual in game camera that the Lakitu Bros would carry while following Mario. Also as the professed referee of the Mario Kart series, Lakitu would carry the

race’s start light, and bring aid to anyone who had taken an ill turn in the race when the player needs help.

Also he has appeared in the Mario Baseball franchise as the umpire in which he calls strikes, balls and more.

In Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games, he is served as the referee in various events during the game, he also appears in the Winter version as the referee as well as the London 2012 edition and the Sochi 2014 edition, and in the Mario Golf franchise, he can be seen fishing out golf balls when the player reaches a water hazard. Here are some tools that Lakitu used in the series of Mario games:

Tools

• Fishing Pole: The fishing pole is a tool that Lakitu used during the franchise. He can fish for Cheep-Cheeps, racers and signs in the Mario Kart series who took an ill turn during the race.
• Spiny Shell: The Spiny Shell is an attack item that he used to defeat Mario and co. in his adventures.
• Lakitu's Start Signal /Lap Signs: The start signal is a device that he used during the Mario Kart series of games. It has 3 light bulbs going from top to bottom in the first 3 games, then left to right in later games. The signal has a countdown timer that displays when the race officially begins. If the player intends to do a rocket start or a double dash!!, they'll need to pay attention to his start signal. 3, 2, 1... GO! Also in the series, he holds up lap signs that indicates what lap the player's on each time they cross the Start/Finish Line and if there is only one lap left until the end of the race, he used the Final Lap sign to signal the race's final lap.
• Lakitu's Cloud: Lakitu's Cloud is another tool that he used. It has a smile on his face that informs that he is friendly in the Mario Baseball and Mario Kart franchises. He rides on the cloud whenever he is seen in those games as a friend, foe, umpire or referee.

Mario Kart

Lakitu is also the friendly referee in the Mario Kart series. He would carry his very own start signal when the race or battle is about to start, his fishing pole which will catch any racer who had taken an ill turn in the race and he also announces the laps when crossing the finish line for each race here and also announces the winner of the race. He may be friendly in all eleven games, but he is always here to help at anytime during the race or battle! Lakitu made his debut as a playable racer in Mario Kart 7.

Mario Party

In the Mario Party series of games, Lakitu played some minor and major roles as an orb, capsule and made some minigame appearances. But in Mario Party Advance, he is the minigame referee with his whistle-blowing cloud, telling the players when to start or end the minigame at the sound of the whistle.

Mario Baseball

Not only that Lakitu is a referee in the Mario Kart series of games, he is also the umpire of the Mario Baseball series. He can call strikes, outs, and more.