History of Kamek

From the Super Mario Wiki, the Mario encyclopedia
Jump to navigationJump to search

Kamek debuted in the Yoshi franchise as a main antagonist with Baby Bowser, his master. In his later appearances, he appeared as a boss and an antagonist in the core series and spin-offs; sometimes, he is playable in spin-offs.

Yoshi franchise[edit]

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island / Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3[edit]

Kamek (formatted as Kamec on one occasion[1]) first appears in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island and its reissue Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3 as one of the main antagonists in the game. Kamek foresees that Mario and Luigi would cause trouble for the Koopa family in the future. Due to this, Kamek attacks the Stork that is delivering the babies to their parents. However, Kamek only managed to kidnap Baby Luigi during his attack, and Baby Mario falls to Yoshi's Island below during the attack. After returning to his castle, Kamek discovers that he missed a baby and becomes upset. He sends out the Toadies to go out in search for Baby Mario.

Before a boss is fought by a Yoshi and Baby Mario, Kamek appears to taunt the Yoshi before using his magic, increasing the boss enemy's size, with the exception of Froggy (in which case, he decreases Yoshi and Baby Mario's sizes).

When Yoshi and Baby Mario reach the entrance to Baby Bowser's Castle, Kamek tries to stop them from entering it by flying into them on his broom while Yoshi tries to fly across a large gap as the Helicopter. Later on in the castle, when Yoshi enters Kamek's chambers, Kamek attacks him directly using the Magikoopa attack pattern from Super Mario World, teleporting around his room, trying to blast Yoshi with his magic wand, which turns the blocks in his room into enemies and stars, as well as damaging Yoshi. Kamek can't be damaged, however, and instead teleports to a new location whenever Yoshi or an egg approaches him.

Once Yoshi passes through his room, Kamek appears before Yoshi in Baby Bowser's room, and demands Yoshi to give back Baby Mario. Woken up by Kamek's shouting, Baby Bowser complains about the noise and Ground Pounds him. Once Baby Bowser is defeated by Yoshi, Kamek appears and uses his magic to increase Baby Bowser's size. After Baby Bowser's giant form is beaten by Yoshi and Baby Bowser is reverted to his normal form, Kamek appears and, after grabbing Baby Bowser, declares to return before he flies off into the moon with Baby Bowser, leaving Yoshi to rescue Baby Luigi and the Stork.

Kamek also appears as the main threat of the Extra Level "Kamek's Revenge" and a minor threat towards the end of the Secret Level "Endless World of Yoshis". Both encounters are similar to his encounter in King Bowser's Castle in that he tries to smash into Yoshi and Baby Mario while flying around on his broom.

According to the Player's Guide and official website for Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3, Kamek's nickname is Fang.[2][3]

Tetris Attack[edit]

Kamek and several Toadies
Kamek with several Toadies.

In Tetris Attack, Kamek, along with the adult self of Bowser, put a curse on Yoshi's Island, mind controlling the bulk of its inhabitants to serve them. Kamek appears as the penultimate boss in the hard difficulty setting, after encountering Hookbill The Koopa and Naval Piranha on Mt. Wickedness, replacing Sanatos from Panel de Pon. He is fought alongside his Toadies, and once he is beaten the player fights Bowser. Kamek is also playable in two player mode, serving as the first time Kamek is a playable character.

Yoshi Touch & Go[edit]

Kamek once again attacks the Stork and kidnaps Baby Luigi in Yoshi Touch & Go. What happens next depends on the mode played. In some scenarios, the Stork will get Baby Luigi back, and in others, Yoshi must "battle" Kamek's Toadies to get Baby Luigi back. In all modes, Kamek will appear to kidnap Baby Mario if Yoshi is to befall one of his traps. Challenge Mode actually places Yoshi in a race against time as a meter (which can be expanded second-by-second with the destruction of an enemy or collection of any sort of coin) counts off the moments before an invincible Kamek appears to attack Yoshi and steal Baby Mario.

Yoshi's Island DS[edit]

Kamek YIDS.png
Kamek of the present stealing Baby Bowser from Kamek of the past.
Kamek of the present (left) and past (right).

During Yoshi's Island DS, Kamek is once again one of the two main antagonists, alongside Bowser. Kamek travels back in time with the adult self of Bowser in search of the star children, seven babies whose hearts possess unimaginable power. Kamek is shown with his Toadies kidnapping several babies, trying to obtain the star children. Like in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Kamek appears before every boss battle to give an enemy monster an advantage in battle (usually making them gigantic). After Bowser is beaten in combat by Yoshi, Kamek once again uses his magic to turn Bowser gigantic. Despite this, Bowser is still beaten by a team of Yoshis and Kamek and his master are forced to retreat.

The Kamek of the past makes a brief cameo in Yoshi's Island DS; when Baby Bowser is kidnapped by Kamek of the present, he can be seen yelling for Baby Bowser to be returned. This Kamek's sprite and palette seem to be based off his appearance in Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3, while the Kamek from the future uses edited sprites from Yoshi Touch & Go.

Yoshi's New Island[edit]

Kamek
Kamek's in-game model
Artwork of Kamek and Baby Bowser, from Yoshi's New Island.
Kamek being scolded by Baby Bowser

Kamek appears in the Nintendo 3DS game, Yoshi's New Island as one of the two main antagonists, alongside Baby Bowser. He once again attempts to kidnap the Baby Mario Bros. from the stork, but only succeeds in kidnapping Baby Luigi again. He once again powers up the game's bosses, but through use of a giant magical hammer this time. He is also fought as the boss of the forts in the game (much like Bowser Jr. and Boom Boom), marking the first time he is directly a boss in the Yoshi series. The Kamek of the present timeline makes a surprise appearance with the present Bowser as the true final bosses, where during the second phase, Kamek would appear and launch fireballs at Yoshi. After the battle, Kamek and Bowser transform into a star and are transported back to their present timeline.

Yoshi's Woolly World / Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World[edit]

Kamek in Yoshi's Woolly World
Kamek, as seen in Yoshi's Woolly World.

Kamek reappears in Yoshi's Woolly World and Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World as the main antagonist once again. At the beginning of the game, the Yoshis are on Craft Island relaxing in harmony, only for Kamek to suddenly appear and magically transform nearly all the Yoshis into five pieces of Wonder Wool each and places them in a sack. Kamek misses two Yoshis (Yoshi and Red Yoshi), who attempt to stop him, but Kamek escapes their grasps. However, the weight of all the Wonder Wools in the sack causes Kamek's flying to become wobbly, making the sack spill several Wonder Wools across the six worlds for the two Yoshis to collect, with Kamek failing to notice.

As in past titles, Kamek appears at the end of each of the worlds' forts and castles to make a comment and then use his magic to empower the bosses to battle Yoshi. After each castle bosses defeat, Kamek would scream in frustration and fly off to the next world, dropping more Wonder Wool as he does so.

At World 6-8, just before the final Baby Bowser battle, Kamek spawns several times along a section made of boxes, which if hit by one of Kamek's spells, will reveal an enemy, previously encountered in the game. After this, Kamek returns to Baby Bowser's Castle where the reason behind his actions are revealed: Baby Bowser wants to make a new, bigger castle made of yarn (Kamek specifically turning the Yoshis in the yarn required for the new castle may have been for personal revenge against the Yoshi Clan, as hinted in some of his comments). As Yoshi arrives to retrieve the remaining Wonder Wools, Baby Bowser and Kamek battle him. As Baby Bowser directly fights Yoshi, Kamek will fly around in the background to assist Baby Bowser in some of his attacks, such as enlarging Baby Bowser's fireball or enlarging Baby Bowser himself to perform a more devastating ground pound.

After Baby Bowser is defeated, Kamek begins to panic and uses the remaining Wonder Wools, turning them into evil, purple wool with Baby Bowser's emblem to make Baby Bowser giant. Once Mega Baby Bowser is finally defeated and shrinks back to normal size, the Wonder Wools knit themselves back into Yoshis and Kamek appears to swear revenge and flies away to take Baby Bowser to safety. During the credits, Baby Bowser awakens and starts throwing a tantrum. This (along with Poochy suddenly popping up from the moon to bark) causes Kamek to accidentally drop his young master, prompting him to fly down and rescue him.

Kamek features in the level Kamek's Last-Ditch Flyby, where he can be seen flying in the background before flying in the foreground, and despite Yoshi able to defeat him, like any other flying enemy, Kamek keeps respawning. A Kamek Yoshi pattern is unlocked if all the Wonder Wool is collected on this level.

Yoshi's Crafted World[edit]

Kamek and Baby Bowser
Kamek with Baby Bowser in Yoshi's Crafted World

Kamek reappears in Yoshi's Crafted World, with some of his voice clips reused from Super Mario Galaxy, along with several from New Super Mario Bros. Wii.

During the very beginning of the game, Kamek and Baby Bowser are seen flying towards the Sundream Stone, and Kamek casts a spell to carry it off. Several Yoshis start pulling and tackling the Sundream Stone, resulting in Baby Bowser, Kamek, the Yoshis, the Sundream Stone's gems and the Sundream Stone itself being scattered around the island.

As in previous titles, Kamek often shows up to enchant certain enemies and inanimate objects with his magic to fight Yoshi, though he may also simply impede Yoshi's progress, as seen in Rail-Yard Run. By the time Yoshi finds the final Dream Gem in The Great King Bowser, Kamek steals the Sundream Stone and corrupts it with his magic, allowing it to grant Baby Bowser's wish to create a giant robot. However, Yoshi defeats the robot, and Kamek then enlarges Baby Bowser with his magic, turning him into Mega Baby Bowser. Once Baby Bowser is defeated for good, Kamek vows revenge and flies off into the distance with Baby Bowser in tow. Kamek and Baby Bowser are then seen in the credits staring in shock at the Yoshis' makeshift airship.

Kamek also appears as a secret boss in the level Kamek Kerfuffle, where he expresses his disdain over Baby Bowser's defeat and decides to fight Yoshi on his own terms.

Club Nintendo[edit]

Kamek
Kamek, as he appears in Club Nintendo's comic adaptation of Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island.

Kamek is featured as a recurring villain in the Mario comics in the German edition of Club Nintendo, the German equivalent to Nintendo Power, first appearing in the story "Mario in Mariozilla", in which he tries to shrink Mario. His plan fails, and Mario grows to an enormous size, resulting in a fight between the two of them. The power of Kamek's broom unintentionally shrinks them both, and only Dr. Light is able to transform them back. At the end of the story, Kamek and Mario give each other a hug. Kamek also appears in Club Nintendo's adaptations of Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island and Yoshi's Story (despite not appearing in Yoshi's Story).

Mario Party series[edit]

Mario Party 2[edit]

Kamek
Kamek in Mario Party 2.

Kamek first appears in the Mario Party series in Mario Party 2 on the Horror Land board, where he offers the player the Darkness Lamp, which, should the player accept, changes the board to night.

Mario Party 5[edit]

In Mario Party 5, a Kamek Orb can be obtained; when used on a space, this orb summons Kamek, who will proceed to shuffle everyone's orbs around.

Mario Party 6[edit]

Kamek's appearance in Mario Party 6
Kamek's appearance in Mario Party 6.

In Mario Party 6, the Kamek Orb must again be used on a space, and when an opponent player lands on it, it summons Kamek, who will change their Character Spaces into Character Spaces for the player who originally used the Orb.

Mario Party Advance[edit]

Kamek also appears as the famous Game Mage in Mario Party Advance; Monty Mole, Hoot, and Amp all mention him when their quests are cleared. If players can find Kamek's location, he challenges them to a mini-game, the winner of that mini-game becoming the Game Master. If players defeat Kamek he explains that he has left Bowser's forces due to Bowser simply taking the title of Game King instead of earning it. The end credits for Mario Party Advance say that Kamek had "forgiven Bowser and rejoined his side."

Mario Party 7[edit]

In Mario Party 7, the Kamek Orb is again used on a space, and if a player lands on this space, three of their orbs are taken by Kamek and given to whoever originally used the Kamek Orb.

Mario Party 8[edit]

In Mario Party 8, Magikoopa appears on Bowser's Warped Orbit. If a player lands on the nearby Green Space, he switches that character's candy with someone else's. He also makes an appearance on Shy Guy's Perplex Express. If the player lands on a particular Green Space, Magikoopa is summoned, remarks that he will use his magic to make the match "a little more interesting" (or, in the PAL release, recites a rhyming spell), and sends the front train car to the back.

Mario Party DS[edit]

Screenshot of Kamek
Kamek in Mario Party DS.

In Mario Party DS, Kamek is the one who acts out the first stage of Bowser's plan, by delivering the invitations to dinner at Bowser's Castle to Mario and his friends. Then, once the heroes have been shrunken and Bowser has taken their Sky Crystal, Bowser orders Kamek to "give 'em the boot", which he does offscreen. Later in the story mode, he hosts the board Kamek's Library and traps Koopa's grandfather, Koopa Krag, inside one of his library books. Koopa asks Mario and co. to rescue Koopa Krag, thus beginning the Party.

Kamek appears on the board within his crystal ball if the player steps on one of the three Green Spaces close to it. He then uses one of two spells: Kamek Spell No. 8, which replaces the player's inventory with three Halfway Dice Blocks and makes them switch places with another player; or Kamek Spell No. 88, which replaces the player's inventory with three Halfway Dice Blocks and makes all players switch places with each other. Upon completing the board in story mode, the player begins a boss fight with Kamek in the minigame Book Bash. Kamek attacks the player by shooting magic from his wand and summoning walls of books. The player must fire ink at Kamek's face in order to defeat him.

Additionally, Kamek is stated to own several of the collectible items in the game, among them a picture frame, a star globe, and several of the magic books.

Mario Party 9[edit]

Magikoopa's appearance in Mario Party 9.

Kamek (referred to as Magikoopa in the American localization) is one of the unlockable characters in Mario Party 9, along with Shy Guy. In Solo Mode, he appears randomly in the boards as a CPU player competing against the player. If he or Shy Guy wins a board (including if they both tie for first), the player has to play through the board again. If a character other than Kamek or Shy Guy gets first (whether or not Kamek or Shy Guy ties with them for first), the player proceeds to the next stage. When the player finishes Solo mode once, Kamek and Shy Guy both become playable characters for any mode excluding Solo. Although other Magikoopas have been playable in the Mario Baseball games, this is the first game since Tetris Attack where Kamek himself is playable. He is also the only playable character in Mario Party 9 who has not returned as a playable character in later installments.

Mario Party: Island Tour[edit]

Kamek is seen riding his broomstick in Mario Party: Island Tour. Here he owns a board known as Kamek's Carpet Ride, which allows the players to move forward or back. He also has two items that appear in Perilous Palace Path. These are the Crazy Kamek, which summons him to switch the user's space with another randomly-chosen player, and the Chaos Kamek, which switches everyone's spaces like the Bowser Shuffle event from Mario Party 3.

Mario Party 10[edit]

Boss minigame from Mario Party 10; Kamek's Rocket Rampage.
Kamek in the Mario Party 10 minigame Kamek's Rocket Rampage.

Kamek, who is giant, appears as the final boss of Airship Central. He attacks by shooting Bullet Bills, Banzai Bills, and Big Amps. To defeat him, the player must collect missiles from bubbles and shoot them at him. Small missiles are worth 2 points, while big missiles are worth 5 points. Kamek just shoots standard Bullet Bills at first, but when he loses half of his HP, he gets mad and then shoots Banzai Bills and Big Amps along with the Bullet Bills. After Kamek loses all of his HP, he is defeated and is sent flying with his broom.

Mario Party: Star Rush[edit]

Kamek appears as both a boss in the Toad Scramble mode and as an obtainable item in the Coinathlon mode in Mario Party: Star Rush. His boss minigame is Kamek's Card Tricks, where players need to select cards with down arrows to deal damage to him. If players select a card with an image of him in it, he delivers a lightning blast that deducts one point from the team. Kamek also briefly appears in the beginning of the minigame, Bowser Jr.'s Pound for Pound, where he enlarges Bowser Jr. before leaving.

In Coinathlon, when used, Kamek appears to trap opponents in multiple chains. Players need to tap the screen repeatedly to get rid of the chains so they can proceed in the minigame.

Super Mario Party[edit]

Kamek reappears in Super Mario Party, where he is a host alongside Toad and Toadette. He places Bad Luck Spaces and Extra Bad Luck Spaces on the board, which replace the Bowser Spaces, thus taking over Bowser's role of bringing bad luck to players that land on the Bad Luck Spaces. When interacting with Bowser and Bowser Jr., Kamek has unique dialogue such as when they land on a Bad Luck Space where he is apprehensive and apologetic unlike with the other player characters. The player can also talk to him in the Party Plaza, where he will get rid of the Piranha Plants blocking the pipes or change the time.

Mario Party Superstars[edit]

The Data House in Mario Party Superstars
Kamek in the Data House in Mario Party Superstars

Kamek reappears in Mario Party Superstars, where he runs the Data House in Village Square. He also appears on the Horror Land board where he reprises his role from Mario Party 2.

Mario Kart series[edit]

Mario Kart: Super Circuit[edit]

Kamek in Bowser Castle 3.

Kamek makes a minor appearance in Mario Kart: Super Circuit, where he can be seen floating back and forth near the finish line at Bowser Castle 3.

Mario Kart: Double Dash!![edit]

Kamek makes a cameo appearance in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! on a sign in Baby Park, which is advertising "KAMEK'S MAGIC SHOW" with an animated image of Kamek above it.

Mario Kart DS[edit]

In Mario Kart DS, the previously mentioned sign can be seen in the remade GCN Baby Park.

Mario Kart Wii[edit]

Although Kamek himself does not return in the Mario Kart Wii version of GBA Bowser Castle 3, there is a bike modeled after the Magikoopa called the Magikruiser. More specifically, it is designed like a Magikoopa riding on his broom and is a bike for small characters. Since this includes the baby characters, it may be a reference to Kamek's frequent kidnapping of the babies in the Yoshi series, which he does on his broom.

Mario Kart Tour[edit]

Kamek makes his first fully playable Mario Kart series appearance in Mario Kart Tour, making his debut in his own tour, the Kamek Tour. He is a High-End driver, and his special item is the Coin Box. Kamek has a kart named after him called Kamek's Zoom Broom, as well as a self-named cup. As of the Battle Tour, Kamek became available in regular tour pipes, including the All-Clear Pipe. Kamek uses brand new voice clips instead of reusing his old ones. His emblem uses the unused emblem design from Mario Kart 8. Additionally, Wii Coconut Mall features advertisements for Kamek Book Store like in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe[edit]

Screenshot of Kamek racing on 3DS Rainbow Road in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
Kamek racing on 3DS Rainbow Road in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

In Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's Booster Course Pass DLC, one of the sponsors that appears in the course Wii Coconut Mall is Kamek Book Store. The logo for the company features the shapes that Kamek usually emits from his wand, and Kamek himself appears in some of the advertisements.

Kamek returns as a character included in Wave 5 of the Booster Course Pass.[4] This marks his first appearance in a mainstream title of the Mario Kart series after previously being scrapped in the original Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 64. He is a middleweight driver, sharing statistics with Luigi and Iggy, while his horn sound is his speaking sound effect from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. Kamek uses the turquoise Peach Parasol glider, making him and Funky Kong the only male characters (not counting Wiggler, whose gender is unknown) to use a recolor of the glider.

Mario & Luigi series[edit]

It has been requested that this section be rewritten. Reason: Sections need trimming down, as they are too excessive in story detail. (tagged on 17:44, October 14, 2020 (EDT))

It has been requested that more images be uploaded for this section. Remove this notice only after the additional image(s) have been added. Reason: Images from Partners in Time, Bowser's Inside Story and the remake, and Paper Jam

Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time[edit]

Mario, Luigi, and their younger selves meeting Kamek in Yoshi's Island.

At the beginning of Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, a desperate Baby Bowser, after his failed attempt to kidnap Baby Peach before the Shroob attack on Peach's Castle, calls Kamek to pick him up in the Koopa Cruiser.

Rather than pick up the prince directly, Kamek instead sends members of the Koopa Troop to help him find Baby Bowser. After Baby Bowser crash-lands the Koopa Cruiser into his own castle, Kamek begins to search for Baby Bowser in the castle, eventually running into the Mario Bros. Kamek recognizes the Baby Bros. as those he had once tried to kidnap, referencing Yoshi's Island. He summons Goombas and Boos to stop them as he leaves to continue his search.

After the Bros. defeat the Swiggler at the Vim Factory, Kamek and Baby Bowser arrive to steal the Cobalt Star Shard the Bros. had taken from their castle, as well as the second one obtained from the Swiggler. They proceed to escape to Yoshi's Island, and the Bros. give chase. On the island, Kamek is reduced to running errands for Baby Bowser, including stealing Yoshi Cookies for him. When the Bros. attempt to reach the island, Kamek uses his magic powers to create fires to impede their progress up the cliff. In a last-ditch attempt to stop the Bros., Kamek fights them directly.

In battle, Kamek is able to fly on his broom, and toss spike balls from above that can be countered with the Hammer. During this attack, he may accidentally toss a Mushroom that can heal the Bros. Kamek can also split up into 5 duplicates of himself, which only have 1HP each, and are almost indistinguishable from the real one. At a certain point in the battle, Kamek will fall off his broom and attack from the ground. He now uses a fireball attack that can be countered with the Hammer. Doing so will cause the fireball to hit Kamek and set him on fire; after which, he will charge at the Bro. he meant to shoot the fireball at in a state of panic. This can also be countered by the Hammer. After two turns, he will regain his broom once more. Around halfway through the battle, Kamek will also heal himself once. After his defeat, Kamek does not appear again until the epilogue after the defeat of the Shroobs, traveling back to Baby Bowser's Castle with Prince Bowser.

Kamek sports an apron while on Yoshi's Island. He uses it to store important items such as his scepter and broom and is never shown performing such tasks as cooking or cleaning. Kamek's role as a parental figure is a primary source of comic relief whenever he appears; he often has to perform duties similar to those of a normal parent, but twisted to fit with Bowser's need for villainy (for instance, getting Baby Bowser "evil milk" from "an evil cow").

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story / Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey[edit]

“Come what may... My allegiance is pledged to Lord Bowser and the Young Master for as long as I live. *sigh* ...I have a few regrets.”
Kamek, Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey

Although not directly stated in the original Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, it is implied that the Magikoopa who resuscitates Bowser after his defeat at the hands of Mario near the beginning of the game is Kamek. Likewise, the Magikoopa nursing Bowser back to health in the ending is also implied to be him.

In the remake, Kamek's role is greatly expanded upon in the Bowser Jr.'s Journey sub-game mode, where he acts as Bowser Jr.'s dedicated aide and a narrator in certain segments. The sub-game mode also confirms that the Magikoopa accompanying Bowser at the start of the game is indeed Kamek.

Like with the Toads of the Mushroom Kingdom, Koopa Troop minions are afflicted by the recent phenomenon known as the blorbs. With Bowser's Castle in disarray, Kamek reports the cases to Bowser. Despite Kamek's concerns, a slighted Bowser orders Kamek to accompany him to Peach's Castle after receiving word from a messenger bird that a conference concerning the blorbs was being held; with Bowser being excluded from invitations.

Kamek later appears at Dimble Wood after Bowser Jr., along with Morton and Iggy, obtains a piece of the Giga-carrot needed for the Skeletone Formula:D. Having been separated from Bowser, after the latter had eaten a Vacuum Shroom given to him by an odd stranger, Kamek halts his search for Bowser and opts to join Bowser Jr. after discovering the youth had driven away a majority of the Koopalings who had accompanied him at the start of his journey. As the group scours Cavi Cape for the Omega-onion, Bowser Jr. drives Iggy away, leaving only Kamek and Morton as his only travel companions willing to put up with his attitude. The trio return to the now-vacated site of Bowser's Castle (which had flown to Dimble Wood) and access the castle basement's cold storage, fighting off Shroobs while retrieving a chunk of Ever Ice. Seeing that Morton was the last Koopaling left in the group, Kamek makes himself a First Officer should something happen.

Having gathered the necessary ingredients for the Skeletone Formula:D, Kamek reveals an affiliation with Broque Madame, directing the group to her abode in Blubble Lake to have her prepare the concoction. With the batches of formula in their possession, the group make their return trip to Bowser's Castle but are ambushed by Kaley and Dieter of the Best Fitness Friends, with the former having stolen the group's batch of Skeletone and the latter infusing it with a Malodorous Fibbian, creating Malatone Formula:X. Keen to test its effects, Dieter forces Morton to ingest the formula and its mind-altering effects slowly take hold of the Koopaling. To Kamek and Bowser Jr.'s dismay, Morton is turned into a mindless brute under the command of the BFF pair, and the two are subsequently knocked out and thrown into Blubble Lake; washing out to sea.

Washing up on Plack Beach, Kamek and Bowser Jr. reunite with the latter already preparing to set out for his "rematch". Exasperated with Bowser Jr.'s arrogance, Kamek lectures him on the importance of respecting one's minions as they would respect their master, a lesson his father knows. When Bowser Jr. objects, Kamek makes the youth look around to make him realize that he has isolated himself through his selfishness and immaturity. With his words seemingly getting through to the youth, Bowser Jr. simply remarks of his current state of hunger. Dejected, Kamek sets off to look for food. In his absence, however, Bowser Jr. slowly comes to realize his own shortcomings and the importance of having allies. Kamek is attacked by a group of Drillbit Crabs and Bowser Jr. comes to his rescue, announcing his plan of rescuing the Koopalings. Elated with Bowser Jr.'s change of heart, Kamek joins him in their newfound quest of gathering the scattered Koopalings.

Mario & Luigi: Dream Team[edit]

“What? You think I just wanted to wear this? Actually... Yeah, you know, this frilly pink thing is pretty darn cute, I must say. I mean, those blue robes are just so DRAB. Sometimes I open the closet and just gag.”
Kamek, Mario & Luigi: Dream Team

Kamek reappears as the secondary antagonist and recurring boss in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team.

He first appears on Pi'illo Island in Mushrise Park with Bowser as Mario explores Dreamy Mushrise Park. Kamek often appears with Bowser and later Antasma throughout the story, although his first major role is not apparent until after Mario and Luigi defeat Mount Pajamaja in Dreamy Mount Pajamaja. While Princess Peach is waiting for the Bros. at Pi'illo Castle, Kamek abducts her unknowingly to anyone and takes her place by disguising as her. He plans to enter the Dream World under her guise to sneak enemies in there. He, as Peach, asks Toadsworth to escort her to Driftwood Shore for "she" feels the need to go into hiding from Bowser, who has recently built a new castle with the help of Antasma and the Dream Stone.

With the help of Broque Madame, "Peach" and Toadsworth are disguised as Brocks in exchange for giving her massages. Shortly after, Mario and Luigi are sent here by Broque Monsieur to find Peach. Realizing he could use them for this purpose, "Peach" expresses the wish to go into further hiding in the Dream World. Mario, Luigi, Starlow, Prince Dreambert, and Toadsworth agree without hesitation. After meeting Seadric the Seadring and using Dream Eggs retrieved from his siblings (Seabelle, Seatoon and Seabury) to expand the Dream World, Mario and Luigi go in to investigate and make sure the path ahead is safe. "Peach" follows soon after, because she became "too worried". She also requests that Mario and Dreamy Luigi save their game before entering the final door, warning them it might be dangerous, and inadvertently helping them in the process.

Kamek explaining his strange decision he made... twice.
Kamek revealing his true identity to the brothers.

After entering the door, "Peach" starts to act more and more suspicious, to the extent she flirts with Mario slightly. The Bros. are puzzled, then Kamek's trademark laugh is heard and he reveals himself, amused that they had not seen through his disguise earlier, and reveals his true intentions. Mario asks if he just wanted to wear the dress, and Kamek admits that he likes it. Realizing to his embarrassment that he got distracted, Kamek summons Private Goomp, Sergeant Guy, and Corporal Paraplonk to take care of the Bros.

After the Elite Trio's defeat, Kamek reappears and demotes them to janitorial duty, telling them to scrub the castle floors and sending them back to Neo Bowser Castle in the real world, Kamek following soon afterward after informing Mario and Dreamy Luigi that Peach has already been kidnapped sometime prior. In Neo Bowser Castle, Kamek is seen mixing up the doorways to make it harder for the Bros. to progress, afterwards fleeing into the dream portal created by Antasma. He repeats this on the second floor, except the third time, Kamek does not get time to mix up the doorways, and thus just flees into the dream world without doing so. In Dreamy Neo Bowser Castle, Mario fights Kamek three times, due to him fleeing during battle the first two times.

The first fight (in Area A) is with Kamek, but later in the battle, he creates four clones to confuse Mario with. Before Kamek is fought the second time (in Area B), he attempts to trick Mario and Dreamy Luigi by disguising himself as Peach again, but the brothers do not fall for it. The fight that follows sees Kamek commanding an army of Dry Bones. The third and final battle is with Kamek alongside green, red, and white clones of himself, who all have their own behavior patterns and stats.

After Kamek is defeated in the third battle, he remains on the floor until Mario and Luigi leave the area. Kamek then flies off to look for Bowser, and reappears during the battle with Giant Bowser, commanding the squad of Magikoopas with him and leading the magical energy ball attack. When Giant Bowser is felled, Kamek appears, and with the co-operation of several other Magikoopas, increases Bowser's size further, yet unintentionally getting flung off the platform as a result. In spite of the fact that the trajectory would have most likely flung him into the lava, Kamek again is not killed, as he is seen with Private Goomp, Sergeant Guy, Corporal Paraplonk, and Bowser escaping from the island on the Koopa Clown Car after Dreamy Bowser is defeated by the Mario Bros. The villains soon encounter a shower of coins from the newfound Dream Coin, which causes Private Goomp and Sergeant Guy to shake the car so much it plummets into the ocean, prompting Kamek and Paraplonk to fly down and rescue them.

In Japanese, Kamek refers to himself with feminine pronouns and has a feminine style of speaking. It is unknown if this is because it is a different Magikoopa, or this is just his style of speaking.

Battle 1

In the first battle with him, Kamek can attack by creating magical shapes with his wand, sending them upwards and having four of the shape created surround Mario from all four sides, the real version of the shape floating into Mario from a particular angle depending on what shape it is. Mario must face the shape from its floating path, and destroy the shape with a swing of the hammer to avoid taking damage. If he creates a blue circle, the real one of the four will be the southern circle. If he creates a green square, the real one of the four will be the northern square.

After taking a certain amount of damage, Kamek will split into five identical duplicates, four being clones who disappear after getting struck and one being the real Kamek who takes damage as a signal that is the real one. Occasionally they will shuffle amongst each other to confuse Mario - the real Kamek can be identified as the one that snickers to himself after the shuffle.

With his clones when they're all on brooms, Kamek can attack by lining up with them, all five moving up for a split second on the spot for a brief moment, having them all prepare a magical blast which starting from the southmost Kamek, will fire straight forward in a downwards arc. After the northernmost fires, they will all float down and fly straight ahead, the real Kamek dropping down to nearly ground-level at the last moment. Mario must remember which Kamek moved upwards last as that would be the real one, jump over the magical blasts and then line himself up with that Kamek to jump over or on to him to avoid taking damage.

Battle 2

In the second battle with Kamek, he keeps his magical shape attack but uses a wider variety of shapes. If he creates an upright red triangle, the real one of the four will be the eastern triangle. If he creates an upside-down red triangle, the real one of the four will be the western triangle.

Kamek also still duplicates into five, but instead attacks with his clones by having them all spawn three enemies one by one in a row that could either be a Spiny or a Goomba. After three have been created by each, the enemies may be swapped between rows before they move towards Mario, Mario having to line up with the row with three Goombas to jump and bounce off each in order to avoid damage and possibly counter-attack if the real Kamek is in that row.

A unique attack to this fight is when Kamek summons an entire army of Dry Bones to attack Mario. The Dry bones surround Mario from either side, and either charge Mario or throw bones at him. As they charge, Mario can either jump over them or counterattack by jumping on them, which causes them to crumble. Any crumbled Dry Bones after this attack ends can be thrown at Kamek for quite a bit of damage. The Dry Bones can be crumbled, although they will resurrect in a few turns if they do crumble.

Battle 3

In the third battle, Kamek keeps his magical shape attack, but instead of cloning into five, he clones into four and colors his three clones green, red, and white, each one with different abilities and stats. Kamek attacks using these clones by creating a blue ring and stacking it with the rings of the creator's respective colors that the clones create, the rings closing up in a set order and speed, Mario having to jump as the rings close to avoid taking damage. If any Kamek is defeated, their ring will not appear in this attack and will thus be skipped. Kamek is the last to close up his ring, his ring widening up quickly then closing at a smooth yet fast pace.

On his own, Kamek can chase Mario on his broom into the background, where rows of three Thwomps appear and Kamek attempts to blast Mario with a wave of magic. Mario must run in line with the Thwomps who pound the ground before he reaches them; going under the Thwomps who idle before Mario reaches them will result in them crushing Mario when he goes under them while the Thwomps who smashed the ground already idle. In order to avoid the blasts Kamek fires, Mario must jump over them with good timing or move to the side opposite where Kamek is flying. If Kamek is in the middle, Mario must jump to avoid the blasts as they cover the whole running area. If Mario survives three waves of Thwomps, Mario will make it under a fourth wave of Thwomps automatically just before they crash into the ground, Kamek flying right into them and taking damage as a result, the attack ending. Getting hit by either Kamek's blasts or the Thwomps will result in the attack ending.

Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam[edit]

Kamek reappears in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam as the secondary antagonist alongside his paper counterpart. Kamek is initially seen at Bowser's Castle, giving a status update on Bowser's plan. He is interrupted, however, by the appearance of Paper Bowser. After the Bowsers begin to fight, Kamek talks with a minion who claims to have seen paper Toads and minions erupt from Peach's Castle and talks of a book housing a world between the pages. He later joins forces with Paper Kamek, primarily by creating paper constructs to halt the Mario Bros' progress.

Paper Kamek later appears at the exit of Sunbeam Plains and hinders Mario & co. from progressing by blocking the path with a Papercraft Goomba. At Bowser's Castle, Kamek and Paper Kamek line up the two Bowsers' army and makes them cheer to form an alliance. Both Kameks continue to line up the troops until the two Bowsers appear. Later on, in Doop Doop Dunes, both Kameks appear and make obstructions throughout the area with cardboard platforms to prevent Mario's team from rescuing the princesses. Kamek also reminds them that they have to deal with two armies of Bowser and that it's a long way to Bowser's Castle. After Mario's team defeats the big Pokey duo, the Kameks introduce them their newly built Papercraft Kamek. After some short bickering between the two Kameks about the appearance of their papercraft, a couple of paper Toads appear and bring the newly built Papercraft Luigi to Mario's team. Mario's team battles the Kamek duo in a papercraft battle. After the battle, the Papercraft Kamek is destroyed and the Kamek duo is forced to retreat.

Back at Bowser's Castle, the Bowser duo discuss their plans with the Kamek duo before being interrupted by the Bowser Jr. duo. The two Bowser Jr.s start to fool around until Kamek gets annoyed and suggests Bowser to take the Bowser Jr.s to the villa, with Paper Kamek also reminding them that their new papercraft will also keep the Juniors occupied at the villa. Later on at Gloomy Woods, Paper Kamek appears and creates more cardboard debris to block the path proceeding through Gloomy Woods. After Mario & co. destroy the cardboard debris with the help of Wiggler and also going through two electric gates, Kamek appears and creates a magic barrier to prevent Mario's team from proceeding. Kamek challenges them in a mini-game, but is shortly defeated with bombs. After Kamek is defeated, he retreats and the magic barrier vanishes, allowing Mario's team to continue. At the end of Gloomy Woods, Wiggler encounters Paper Kamek and yells at him for being responsible in trashing his woods. When Paper Kamek sees Mario's team arrive, he decides to use his magic and brainwash Wiggler to attack Mario's team. Mario & co. battle Wiggler and Paper Kamek. They are eventually defeated, turning Wiggler back to normal and forcing Paper Kamek to retreat.

When Mario's team arrives at the top of the Mount Brrr villa, the Kamek duo can be seen talking to the Bowser Jr. duo. The Kameks advise the Bowser Jr.s to leave the area and go back to Bowser's Castle, informing them that Mario is close to reaching them, but the Juniors decide to stay around to play with their new papercraft. Shortly, after Mario's team confronts them and Kameks now remind the Juniors that they must now deal with Mario. Shortly after a Papercraft battle begins between Mario's team and the Bowser Jr. duo. After the battle, the Kameks and the Juniors retreat, with both Kameks taking the Princesses on their broomsticks, back to Bowser's Castle. When Mario's team travels far into Bowser's Castle they are eventually halted by the Kameks and the new Papercraft King Boo. Kamek orders Morton and Lemmy to settle things once and for all, with the two Koopalings eagerly waiting to stomp Mario's team with the Papercraft King Boo. The Kamek duo then discusses the design of their Papercraft before Paper Kamek informs Kamek that they would not get the chance to use the Papercraft since Mario's team lacks a Papercraft themselves. As the Kamek duo feel confident about this, Paper Kamek sees a Papercraft Yoshi. Kamek sarcastically goes along with it before Paper Kamek tells him that he literally sees the Papercraft Yoshi. When Kamek finally sees the Papercraft Yoshi, both Kameks fall of their brooms in dismay. Paper Kamek starts asking questions to Toadette but he and Kamek eventually get annoyed and finally allow Morton and Lemmy to use the Papercraft King Boo for battle.

After the Papercraft King Boo is destroyed, the Kamek duo kidnaps Toadette to prevent the production of any more opposing Papercrafts. They later hand Toadette to a Fly Guy and regroup with the Bowsers. The Kameks later, on Bowser's orders, activate the castle's thrusters to make it airborne. Kamek then causes the heroes to fall off the new Neo Bowser Castle. Kamek and Paper Kamek then talk with their respective Bowser in private and with them come up with a plan to double-cross and trap their counterparts within the book holding the Paper Mario universe and destroy it. The Kameks are not seen again until the heroes reach Neo Bowser Castle, where they assist the Bowsers in stopping the heroes, which included re-building the previous Papercraft bosses to battle the heroes again. After the Papercraft Bowser is destroyed, the two Bowsers order the Kamek duo to regroup the Koopalings. Later, the Kamek duo personally fights the heroes in one last attempt to prevent them from reaching the Bowser duo. Despite their powerful magic and teamwork, the Kamek duo is defeated. After the fight, the Kameks admit that it was fun working with each other but quickly engage in an insult war after Kamek calls Paper Kamek ugly. Their arguing annoys the heroes to the point that Mario and Paper Mario jump on their heads to silence them, causing them to explode in a burst of stars.

Battle

In battle, Kamek will create a magic beam with his paper counterpart. The trio must jump over the beam each time it passes under them, as well as jump in sequence when the Kameks move the magic beam in a circular motion. Another attack involves either Kamek traveling through different portals that the other creates and each targeted Bro. must jump once Kamek exits a portal of a certain color. In another attack, Kamek will charge up a magic fireball while Paper Kamek creates copies of himself, initiating Trio Boomerang. The Bros. must fire Paper Mario at Paper Kamek's copies, then hit Kamek enough times, causing him to get hit by the fireball. After enough turns have passed, the Kameks will disable the most-used command block for each bro, and after more turns have passed they will summon some Paper Dry Bones stacks.

Mario Superstar Baseball[edit]

While Kamek does not explicitly appear in Mario Superstar Baseball, he is mentioned in the English localization's Magikoopa trophy, being described as "the best Magikoopa". In the original Japanese script, there is no such specification, merely listing the events of Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island while attributing them to Magikoopas in general.

Super Mario series[edit]

Super Mario Galaxy[edit]

The possible Kamek
Kamek, as he appears in Super Mario Galaxy.
“So long! Enjoy your flight!”
Kamek, Super Mario Galaxy

In Super Mario Galaxy, Kamek makes a brief appearance in the opening cutscene. As Mario tries to enter Peach's Castle after being lifted into space, Kamek appears. He attacks Mario with his magic, sending him, Luma, and other debris flying off into space. The Magikoopa's identity as Kamek is confirmed by the description, quoted below, on his official Super Mario Galaxy trading card, along with the Prima guide book. Although his appearance is small, it marks his return in the main series. However, Japanese sources do not distinguish this Magikoopa as Kamek.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii[edit]

Magikoopa assisting Roy Koopa
Magikoopa casts his magic at the start of Roy Koopa's castle battle.
Mario battles Magikoopa at his tower.
The boss battle with Magikoopa at World 8-Tower.
Magikoopa in a cage
Magikoopa dressed as Princess Peach

Kamek, under the name Magikoopa,[5][6][7] appears in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, playing a similar role to Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island and Yoshi's Island DS. Right before the second battle against a Koopaling in their castle, he will use his magic to make the battle more difficult for the heroes, dropping magic dust over the room that makes something happen that is unique to each Koopaling. He is also seen carrying Bowser Jr. after his first two battles with him, and is the boss of World 8-Tower, being the only tower boss in the game that is not a Koopaling.

Magikoopa casts the following spells before each Koopaling battle:

  • World 1-Castle: He divides the floor into fifths and causes it to alternate rising and falling.
  • World 2-Castle: He causes five giant Warp Pipes to protrude from the ceiling that Roy Koopa can shuffle around in.
  • World 3-Castle: He causes Lemmy Koopa's circus ball to multiply in size.
  • World 4-Castle: He floods Wendy O. Koopa's room, rendering her invincible to jump attacks until the water recedes.
  • World 5-Castle: He causes the Chain Chomp that is attached to Iggy's carriage to multiply in size.
  • World 6-Castle: He lowers the floor so that when Morton Koopa Jr. ground pounds, the two pillars around him shoot up.
  • World 7-Castle: He causes three platforms to rise from underneath the floor.

In his boss battle in World 8-Tower, Magikoopa casts magic on the field, causing the whole arena to start sidescrolling to the left. Magikoopa teleports onto the field, casting his own type of magic as well. If the bolts land onto the sidescrolling blocks, it turns into a random enemy, a Super Mushroom, or coins. He can also teleport himself anywhere else along the field. Again, it takes three stomps to take down Magikoopa. After he is defeated, he spins around slower and slower, and eventually falls down, unconscious. He then wakes up after Mario's celebration and flies to the Airship. He is next seen kidnapping Peach off of the Airship and taking her to Bowser's Castle.

Magikoopa later appears for the finale in Bowser's Castle. After Bowser's defeat, the princess inside the cage turns around, revealing that "she" was actually Magikoopa dressed as Peach in order to fool Mario and co. In another reference to Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Magikoopa turns Bowser giant with his magic, but after emerging from the pit, Bowser accidentally knocks Magikoopa off his broom.

New Super Mario Bros. U / New Super Luigi U / New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe[edit]

Mario battles Magikoopa at his tower.
Mario battles Magikoopa at Slide Lift Tower.

Kamek, again under the name Magikoopa,[8][9] reappears in New Super Mario Bros. U and New Super Luigi U, as well as the games' Nintendo Switch port New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe, as the tertiary antagonist and a boss. In addition to starting the light purple tornado that shrouds Peach's Castle, Magikoopa appears at the beginning of Boom Boom boss battles from Layer-Cake Desert onwards and uses his magic to empower him, either by giving him new abilities or enlarging him. Magikoopa also appears at Screwtop Tower (Sumo Bro's Spinning Tower in New Super Luigi U) to empower the boss of the tower, Boss Sumo Bro. Magikoopa makes his appearance as a boss in Slide Lift Tower (Stonecrush Tower in New Super Luigi U), where he uses magic blocks which contains enemies to crush the players and shoot magic blasts that turn the blocks of the floor into Donut Blocks upon contact. After he is defeated, instead of lying down unconscious, he falls offscreen while flailing his arms, just like the Koopalings. Finally, Magikoopa makes one last appearance at the end of the first Bowser fight in The Final Battle (The Final Battle in New Super Luigi U), where he is seen unconscious and being held by Bowser Jr., who wakes him up and convinces him to turn Bowser into Giant Bowser to continue fighting the heroes.

In this game, Kamek has a new laugh that he utters before powering up Boom Boom and Boss Sumo Bro, but when he is about to be fought himself, he reuses his laugh from New Super Mario Bros. Wii.

Super Mario Maker 2[edit]

Although Kamek does not physically appear in Super Mario Maker 2, it is strongly implied that he is A Certain Mage in the game's story mode. This is evident in A Certain Mage's course descriptions having "Kee hee hee!" in them, and his courses being trap-filled and enemy-heavy.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder[edit]

Kamek reappears as one of the main villains in Super Mario Bros. Wonder, though he is never physically fought. He appears in the opening cutscene alongside Bowser and Bowser Jr., watching as Bowser steals the Wonder Flower and becomes Castle Bowser.

Kamek will appear on the world map to spawn the Fluff-Puff Peaks Flying Battleship, the Petal Isles Flying Battleship, and the Deep Magma Bog Flying Battleship. He later appears alongside Bowser Jr. in The Final Battle! Bowser's Rage Stage. After Bowser Jr. is knocked away by Bowser's Wonder Effects, Kamek pursues the fallen prince in a panic.

After the credits, Kamek is seen attempting to fly Bowser and Bowser Jr. out of the Flower Kingdom on his broomstick. However, their weight becomes too much for him to handle, and he crashes into a tree in the distance, creating a cloud of smoke resembling Bowser's emblem on impact.

Super Smash Bros. series[edit]

Super Smash Bros. Brawl[edit]

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Kamek appears as two stickers. One sticker shows him casting a spell; in The Subspace Emissary it can be used by Zelda or Peach to raise the power of their magic-based attacks by thirteen points. The second sticker is Kamek riding his broom, which can be used on any character to raise the damage done by indirect moves, such as throwing projectiles.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Super Smash Bros. for Wii U[edit]

Kamek makes an appearance as an enemy in the Smash Run game mode, which is exclusive to Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS. He tries to attack players with his magic attacks, which cause the players' stats to be lowered when damaged. He moves by teleporting and flying on a broom, two maneuvers he has used in Yoshi's Island.

Kamek also appears at the Mushroom Kingdom U stage in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, where he transforms the stage's layout and appearance.

In both games, Kamek also appears as a trophy. In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, it can be obtained from the Trophy Shop. The trophy lists Super Mario World and Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island as appearances, although these are respective appearances of the species and character.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[edit]

Kamek returns on the Mushroom Kingdom U stage in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, in which he acts the same as in the previous game. He also appears as an Advanced-class Grab-type primary spirit with one support slot. It slightly increases the power of magic attacks when used. In World of Light, the spirit is encountered inside the Molten Fortress. In the spirit battle, the player faces four male Inklings on the tower phase of the Mushroom Kingdom U stage.

Mario & Sonic series[edit]

Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games[edit]

Kamek appears in the Wii version of Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games, where he appears in Dream Equestrian, where he spots the characters attempting to deliver the Yoshi Eggs to Toad and tries to hinder them. During the Event, Kamek follows the cart, and in one segment summons flaming haybales as obstacles, and later uses magic to drop stalactites from the roof of the cave, before getting hit by one himself and then stops following the players. Kamek also appears as one of the ? effects in London Party, where he will remove some stickers from the player's current sheet when triggered.

Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games[edit]

Kamek (under the name Magikoopa in the American English version) appears in Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games as a rival in the Legends Showdown mode. He is found in Area 2, and is raced against in Bullet Bill Sledge Race. Kamek also appears as an antagonist in Mario's Figure Skating Spectacular, where he kidnaps five Toads at the start of the event, but frees them when Tail Bowser falling into the Lava causes his broom to catch fire.

Paper Mario series[edit]

In Paper Mario and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Kammy Koopa generally fills Kamek's role as Bowser's advisor. There are some unnamed Magikoopas that are suspected to be Kamek, such as one standing by Bowser's side in the opening scene of Super Paper Mario, but Kamek himself does not make any formal appearances until Paper Mario: Sticker Star; since then, he has become a recurring character in the series.

Paper Mario: Sticker Star[edit]

“Well, well, well. Very impressive. You two somehow managed to make it all the way here. Eventually.”
Kamek, Paper Mario: Sticker Star

Kamek makes his official debut in the Paper Mario series in Paper Mario: Sticker Star, behaving similarly to Kammy Koopa in past Paper Mario games. He retains mostly the same appearance as the Magikoopas from past Paper Mario games, just with updated colors. He is first encountered in World 1-3, Water's Edge Way, near the Comet Piece, immediately facing Mario in battle. At the beginning of the battle, Kamek is aided by two Goombas. In every battle, Kamek sits on his broom, making him immune to any ground and low-altitude attacks. Kamek attacks by firing a magic blast at Mario, as well as flying near him and whirling his broom at him. When Mario defeats Kamek, he paperizes, removes the Comet Piece, and flings it away before leaving.

Kamek in Paper Mario: Sticker Star.

In World 2-2, he fights Mario when Mario is on the tongue of the Yoshi Sphinx. When he is fought, he turns all of Mario's stickers into Flip-flops. In addition, he is also revealed to have been directly responsible for the Drybake Stadium's disappearance. In World 3, he splits Wiggler's body into pieces and scatters them across the forest. In World 4, Kamek comes to the Enigmansion. He finds the Book of Sealing and opens it up, causing a swarm of Boos to come out and haunt the mansion. He then watches as Mario puts all the Boos back into the book. When Mario puts the Book of Sealing back on its pedestal, Kamek comes out of hiding and uses his magic to transform all the Boos into one Big Boo to fight Mario.

When he is fought in Bowser's Castle, he uses his magic to turn all of Mario's stickers into Flip-flops once again, and he can also split up into clones. When Mario defeats him in Bowser's Sky Castle, he dissolves into ash. Despite this, Kamek is revealed to have survived as shown in the end parade, where he introduces the Koopa Troop. He also has his own theme when he appears.

Kamek's reaction to meeting Mario in Paper Mario: Sticker Star when introduced implies that he never met him before the events of the game.

Paper Mario: Color Splash[edit]

“You may have bested us before, but this time will be different. You'll leave this battle looking like a pile of confetti! Confetti in a parade honoring our fearless Koopa King! I've sized you up, Mario! But my magicks may size you down! Eheeheehee!”
Kamek, Paper Mario: Color Splash
Sacred Forest
Kamek shrinks Mario during his battle in Paper Mario: Color Splash.

Kamek is a somewhat recurring character in Paper Mario: Color Splash, but less so than his appearance in Paper Mario: Sticker Star, appearing first after Mario uses an Unfurl Block's power on a related object in Daffodil Peak.

He can appear in random battles (somewhat uncommonly), and curse the player with something that messes with their card collection, for example turning the faces of all the cards around, making all of the cards worn-out, taking all but six of the player's cards, or changing all of the player's cards. The last of these is flawed, as it can result in situations where the player cannot win.[10] He also disables Battle Spin and fleeing everytime he appears. Outside of this, he appears in the Mondo Woods, which he had made huge with his magic, and did something similar with the Sacred Forest, except he made it small instead.

Later on, in the Sacred Forest, Mario and Huey encounter him near a green Mini Paint Star. He battles Mario, shrinking him in size before the battle begins, and cursing all of his cards along with disabling fleeing and Battle Spin. Later in the battle, Kamek will steal all of Mario's cards and permit Battle Spin. Upon defeat, Kamek attempts to make Mario huge, but being weak from Mario's cards, ends up just making him normal size again. Kamek then admits defeat, giving Mario a Card Max Up. Huey tries to remind Kamek about what he had done wrong and how giving Mario an extra card slot does not make up for his deeds, but Kamek falls flat and explodes into Paint and Hammer Scraps. Even though he is defeated in the Sacred Forest, he can still appear rarely in random battles after his defeat.[11]

Paper Mario: The Origami King[edit]

“As Lord Bowser's number one, I have faced off against this meddling mustachioed marauder more times than I can count!”
Kamek, Paper Mario: The Origami King

Kamek reappears in Paper Mario: The Origami King, where he acts as an ally to Mario. In battle, Kamek attacks enemies by using Magic, firing magic blasts at them in a hammer or jump formation, dealing 38 damage (57 if the Ally Tambourine is equipped), although he can sometimes hold out his broom instead of his wand, causing nothing to happen.

Mario and Olivia first meet Kamek in Shangri-Spa, just outside the entrance building, where he is sweeping a path. Kamek explains that Bowser retreated to his castle after escaping King Olly's attack on Peach's Castle, but the castle was overrun with Folded Soldiers. Kamek had secreted himself during the attack and was ready to engage an emergency protocol for the castle, but he pressed a button that shut down its engines instead, causing the castle to crash-land into Shangri-Spa's banquet hall. To pay for the destruction, Kamek and the uncorrupted minions were forced to do groundskeeping work.

Learning from Olivia that she and Mario need to go into Bowser's Castle to reach a green streamer they are following, Kamek leads the two to Bowser's Castle, but Boss Sumo Bro attacks them from a high-up cloud. As Kamek ponders how to get up to the cloud, he sees Bowser Jr. flying in his Junior Clown Car, aiming for the castle. Unfortunately, Bowser Jr. gets sliced into pieces by Scissors, to Kamek's horror. After Kamek picks up the dismembered pieces of Bowser Jr., he, Mario, and Olivia hurry to Spring of Purification, where Bowser Jr. is pieced back together, but is creased, wrinkled, and smudged and unable to assist the trio. With Bowser Jr. riding on Kamek's back, Mario, Olivia, and Kamek take him to other springs around Shangri-Spa to revitalize him further; while soaking in Spring of Bliss, Kamek catches sight of Olivia nearly unfolding, prompting him to refold her. While on the way to Spring of Jungle Mist, every time there is a fork in the road, Kamek always chooses the correct path.

After Bowser Jr. is restored to normal and Boss Sumo Bro is defeated, Kamek uses the intercom to rally the minions in the spa to fight alongside the party to retake Bowser's Castle from the Folded Soldiers. While leading Mario to search for a key in his quarters, Kamek suddenly vanishes. It is later revealed that he was cut up and his face, along with those of the other minions, were stuck to a Paper Macho Buzzy Beetle to create a Paper Mistake Buzzy Beetle, which draws its magic power from Kamek. When Mario peels Kamek's face off, the Paper Mistake Buzzy Beetle loses its magic power.

Kamek clones himself in Paper Mario: The Origami King.
Kamek holding back Paper Macho Goombas

After Mario defeats Scissors in a near-death battle, Kamek is restored to normal, along with the other minions, and regains use of his magic broom. After freeing Bowser with assistance from Bowser Jr. and Mario following the removal of the green streamer, Kamek joins Mario, Bowser, and the rest of the Koopa Troop on an airship bound for Peach's Castle, in which he flies alongside the airship and partakes in the battle against a fleet of paper planes dispatched by King Olly. However, a particularly large plane slams into the airship, causing it to crash-land into Hotfoot Crater. As Kamek has lost his broom in the event, he has to proceed on foot with Bowser Jr. (who has lost his Junior Clown Car), Mario, and Olivia. As they make their way out of the volcano, they find a horde of small Paper Macho Goombas, who dropped into the volcano, in hot pursuit. Kamek then creates clones of himself in an attempt to hold back the horde, allowing the others to keep going. Eventually, Kamek and his clones become strained and cannot hold back the horde any longer, causing the horde to break through and trample over them.

After Mario, Olivia, and Bowser defeat King Olly, Kamek is shown to have survived being trampled, as he and Bowser Jr. assist Luigi in escorting the Origami Craftsman to Origami Castle, where they witness the Origami Craftsman help Olivia complete the Thousand Cranes Technique that King Olly started. After Origami Castle is transformed back to Peach's Castle, Kamek is later seen attending the Origami Festival.

During the credits, a photo of Bowser Jr. and Bowser soaking in the Spring of Sanctuary shows Kamek assisting with repairs to Bowser's Castle in the background.

Mario Golf: World Tour[edit]

Kamek receiving a Hole-in-One

Kamek makes his first appearance in the Mario Golf series in Mario Golf: World Tour, where he appears as an unlockable playable character. He is unlocked by collecting 45 Star Coins in Challenge Mode. His drive is 214 yards, and his Star Drive is 277 yards. Unlike in previous games, Kamek's model is slightly brightened, giving him a more cartoonish look.

Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition[edit]

Kamek portrait from Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition.

Kamek appears in Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition as one of the antagonists alongside Bowser, being responsible for casting a spell that overflows the Mushroom Kingdom with special objects called Orbs. Curiously, despite being one of the antagonists, he is not fought at all and cannot be recruited as an ally during the course of the game, appearing only in three cutscenes when Bowser Jr. is defeated in World 6-Tower 2, World 7-Tower 2, and World 8-Tower 3.

Minecraft[edit]

In the Super Mario Mash-up in Minecraft, Kamek appears as a playable skin.

Mario Tennis Aces [edit]

In Mario Tennis Aces, Kamek appears in the mission Rally Challenge (Advanced) in the adventure mode as an enemy, where the player must rally four hundred balls with Kamek while making sure to not let three balls pass by the player. After the player beats the challenge, Kamek disappears off the boat and leaves behind the Shell Racket.

Kamek became a playable character following the game's release, originally unlocked by participating in the April 2019 online tournament but available to everyone starting May 1, 2019. He is classified as a Tricky-type character, with curving topspin and slice shots. This marks Kamek's playable debut in the Mario Tennis series. He always floats above the ground, and his racket emits aesthetic magic effects that resemble the magic blasts from his wand in other games. His horizontal Trick Shot, Broom Dash, has him riding his broom to reach the ball, while his vertical Trick Shot, Wicked Warp, has him teleport to reach the ball. He also rides on his broom in his entrance animation, where he covers the screen in smoke after he turns with the broom. His Special Shot, Gigantic Smash, involves him using his magic to make himself gigantic and then hitting the ball before returning to normal in a large puff of smoke.

Dr. Mario World[edit]

Kamek makes his debut in the Dr. Mario series as a playable character in Dr. Mario World, under the name Dr. Kamek. He was added to the game around December 2019 along with Dr. Baby Rosalina. In stage mode, Dr. Kamek is available after beating World 19's special stage.

Dr. Kamek's skill is to immediately eliminate a number of viruses of the most common color, even those that require multiple matches or are contained inside objects such as floatie viruses or viruses in barrels respectively. In stage mode, the amount is up to four of them, while in versus the amount is 4, 8, 12, 16 and 20 for level 1 to 5 respectively, with the skill meter charging faster at level 4 and even faster at level 5. If there are less viruses or an equal amount of viruses than the skill clears, it will remove every virus of that color. In versus mode, there is a slight delay between the skill's usage and the execution. If no viruses are found in the stage while this skill is used, it does nothing.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie[edit]

The official Kamek artwork from The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Artwork of Kamek in The Super Mario Bros. Movie
“Behold! The king of the Koopas!”
Kamek, The Super Mario Bros. Movie

Kamek, voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson, appears in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, in which he works as Bowser’s right-hand man in the Koopa Troop.[12] He is given a Peter Lorre-esque voice for the film.[13]

Throughout the film, Kamek does Bowser's every bidding, especially when he waves his magic wand, which he uses to defeat the penguins with ease, as well as levitating Luigi towards Bowser during an interrogation and torturing Toad to get Princess Peach to give in to his master's demands. He is also present at Bowser's wedding before Peach ruins it by punching him in the face. He also dresses up as Peach when Bowser practices his proposal, which alludes to him doing the same thing in New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Mario & Luigi: Dream Team.

Despite appearing prominently throughout the film, Kamek is never addressed by name at any point aside from the credits nor is he implied to have been Bowser's caretaker.

Canceled appearances[edit]

Mario Kart series[edit]

Mario Kart 64[edit]

The Player Select screen of Mario Kart 64 showing Kamek in an early build of the game.

Kamek appears as a playable character in early screenshots of Mario Kart 64, but was dropped and was eventually replaced by Donkey Kong in the final version.

Mario Kart 8[edit]

Unused Kamek emblem from Mario Kart 8.

An unused Kamek emblem is present in the internal files of Mario Kart 8, suggesting that at one point he was planned to be a playable character before being scrapped once again. However, the logo would eventually be used for Kamek's reappearance in the Booster Course Pass for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Nintendo Magazine System (Australia) issue 30, pages 10 and 11.
  2. ^ Williams, Drew. Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3 Player's Guide. Page 18. "Kamek the Evil Magikoopa Fang for short. The myopic Magikoopa is the real villain in the Yoshi/Baby Mario/King Bowser melodrama. He stole the baby. He knocked Baby Mario out of the sky. Now it’s payback time. You’ll have to get past him at the end of World 6."
  3. ^ Super Mario Advance 3 website, Web Archive
  4. ^ [1]
  5. ^ Bueno, Fernando. New Super Mario Bros. Wii PRIMA Official Game Guide. Page 159.
  6. ^ New Super Mario Bros. Wii trading card
  7. ^ English New Super Mario Bros. Wii entry on the official Mario Portal. nintendo.co.jp. Retrieved August 13, 2022. (Archived August 13, 2022 14:56:56 UTC via archive.today.)
  8. ^ Stratton, Steve. New Super Mario Bros. U PRIMA Official Game Guide. Page 175.
  9. ^ English New Super Mario Bros. U entry on the official Mario Portal. nintendo.co.jp. Retrieved August 13, 2022. (Archived August 12, 2022, 23:41:11 UTC via archive.today.)
  10. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOwKQ7mVc2g
  11. ^ Mario Party Legacy (October 18, 2016) Mossrock Theater (Mini Star 1) - Paper Mario: Color Splash Walkthrough. YouTube. Retrieved March 9, 2017.
  12. ^ Universal Pictures UK (October 6, 2022). The Super Mario Bros. Movie - Official Teaser Trailer (Universal Pictures) HD. YouTube. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
  13. ^ Matyas (December 2, 2022). The Super Mario Bros. Movie - Brand NEW Footage (Mario with a British Accent). YouTube. Retrieved December 3, 2022.