Lakitu

"Oh, I just saw a Rabbit taking off with a key in its mouth."

- Lakitu

Lakitus are bespectacled Koopas who ride clouds through the skies. Though Lakitus have become a recognizable trait of the Mario series, they have suffered neglect in common appearances per game and seem especially rare in other forms of Mario-related media. Lakitus are best known for tossing Spinies or similar enemy characters down to the player below.

''Super Mario Bros.
Lakitu's first appearance release-wise was in Super Mario Bros., whose manual aptly described him as "the mysterious turtle who controls the clouds". Lakitu debuted in World 4-1 in this game, where he would simply move back and forth at the top of the screen, occasionally ducking into his cloud to toss Spiny Eggs (which would hatch into adult Spinies upon collision with the ground) down at Mario or Luigi. Lakitu could be destroyed by both a stomp or Fireball, earning the heroes 200 points; a Lakitu also dressed up as Bowser in World 5. Lakitu would retain his Super Mario Bros. role in the Japanese-only release Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels.

''Super Mario Bros. 3
Lakitu was left out of the American Super Mario Bros. 2 (due to the game actually being a graphical change to the Japanese game Doki Doki Panic), although he managed to return as one of the Koopa Troop's many operatives in Super Mario Bros. 3. In this game, the sprites of Lakitus made them appear somewhat more recognizable than they were in Super Mario Bros., clearly having easily visible heads and goggles here. They would once again throw Spiny Eggs down at players, although the eggs were here thrown in a more realistic manner; while no major changes were made to Lakitus in this game, some of them tossed an unripened, green sub-species of Spiny Egg that would never become an actual Spiny, instead choosing to roll and bounce around on the ground. In the Game Boy Advance remake of this game, an unnamed Lakitu also helped in e-Reader use and conversion, and all editions of Super Mario Bros. 3 allow Mario and Luigi to actually use Lakitu's Cloud as an item to temporarily skipped disliked levels.

''Super Mario World
Lakitu sub-species made their debut in Super Mario World, whose technology also allowed normal Lakitus to pursue the Mario Bros. in a more frantic, realistic manner. Another noticeable change to Lakitus in this game was the ability for Mario or Luigi, after shooting Lakitu down with Fireballs or a throwable item, to actually steal the Koopa's cloud and use it to fly (in a four-directional manner) to hidden parts of stages and over other gaps and obstacles for a limited amount of time. Lakitus were also given an animation when hurt; they fell out of their clouds (revealing details of their lower bodies for the first time in games) when stomped and their cloud dissipated into nothing. As stated above, Super Mario World also introduced Lakitu sub-species, such as the Warp Pipe-dwelling Pipe Lakitus, the tempting Fishin' Lakitus, and the undead Fishin' Boos.

''Super Mario 64
Super Mario 64 (as well as its remake), Mario's debut in three-dimensional platforming, gave Lakitu a large role. The first two Lakitus seen in this game were the friendly Lakitu Bros., who helped Mario out towards the beginning of the game, gave him hints in Whomp's Fortress, and, being camera-carrying Fishin' Lakitus, filmed his entire adventure. This "filming" technique was actually a creative way to depict players' views behind Mario; as such, going in front of mirrors, reflections, and the like would actually reveal that Mario was being followed by one Lakitu Bro. throughout the whole course of the game, although the Lakitu himself was invisible due to the fact that the tip of his camera was what the player was seeing through. Belligerent, unfriendly Lakitus also appeared as actual enemies in stages such as Tiny-Huge Island and Rainbow Ride, where they would float around and (just like they did in older Mario platformers) throw Spinies down at the player. Destroying these Lakitus could be a challenge, although it would reward Mario with five coins. A filmin' Lakitu was at SM64DS in the King Boo Battle. And Goomboss Battle stage has one Lakitu enemy. Finally, two Lakitus appeared in Sunshine Isles.

''New Super Mario Bros.
When Mario and Luigi returned to two-dimensional platforming in New Super Mario Bros., Lakitu was not absent. The Lakitus of this game fought in manners largely the same as those of classic, NES-era Mario games (although the Super Mario World ability to take control of Lakitu's Cloud after its natural pilot had been knocked out by a Fireball returned), and they, like every other character in New Super Mario Bros., were rendered in three dimensions. Although Lakitus weren't extremely prominent in New Super Mario Bros., the boss of World 7 was a Dark Lakitu-like character called Lakithunder, who combated the Mario Bros. with lighting.

''Super Mario Bros.: Peach-hime Kyushutsu Dai Sakusen!
In the obscure Mario anime movie Super Mario Bros.: Peach-hime Kyushutsu Dai Sakusen!, the only difference in the appearance of the Lakitus was that their clouds had no faces. (However, a pair of Lakitus whose clouds did have faces appeared in the film's opening credits.) In the movie itself, many Lakitus made their debut toward the beginning of the anime during the Koopa Troopa invasion of Mario's house; however, no Lakitus were given major roles until shortly after Mario and Luigi had collected the Super Mushroom. During the events that followed, the Mario Bros. were eventually attacked by a Lakitu who ended up trapping Luigi amongst a horde of giant Spinies, although Mario managed to escape his eggs. Mario then made a Magic Vine appear and was disorientingly boosted to Lakitu's height; the amused Lakitu then scoffed at Mario and shook his hand before realizing that he was so close to his enemy; after this epiphany came to the Lakitu, he quickly flew away. However, Mario managed to get control of the Koopa's cloud, which he tampered with until he accidentally destroyed the Spinies, saving Luigi.

"Mario and the Red Baron Koopa"
Only one Lakitu ever appeared on The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!; this sole appearance was made in the episode "Mario and the Red Baron Koopa". The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! strangely depicted Lakitu as a green, more-reptilian turtle with a large nose (which was actually how all generic Koopa Troopas looked in the cartoon) who wore red-lensed, gold-framed aviator's goggles. In the episode, King Koopa (using a Magic Carpet he had stolen from Sam Shalam) brought Lakitu to the country of Pasta Land, where he terrorized the citizens (as well as the visiting group of Mario, Luigi, Princess Toadstool, and Toad) with Spinies and rain. Afterwards, Lakitu helped King Koopa launch the Wicked Weather Satellite and the two relaxed atop Lakitu's Cloud until Mario, Luigi, and Toad avenged themselves and defeated King Koopa, in addition to destroying the Wicked Weather Satellite. Lakitu himself was last seen attempting at maintaining his cloud, which had been broken by the Mario Brothers' biplane; it is assumed he later plummeted to his doom. Finally, it is interesting to note that this cartoon episode marked the only time Lakitu's Western name was spoken; King Koopa and Princess Toadstool pronounced it /lækiːtuː/. Also of note, this Lakitu's voice was similar to that of comedian Groucho Marx.

"Life's Ruff"
Lakitu made his final cartoon appearance as a minor, unnamed character (with no speaking roles) in the The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 episode "Life's Ruff". Compared to the Super Mario Bros. Super Show! counterpart, the one Lakitu seen in this episode looked quite a bit more accurate to the games; however, he had a more prominent nose and forehead, in addition to the fact that his Lakitu's Cloud (which was a dark, eyed-though-smileless stormcloud) was vastly different. Lakitu's only role in this cartoon was to throw some (strangely explosive) Spiny Eggs down at the then-canine Luigi to stall him in his chase with Hip and Hop Koopa.

"Cloud Burst"
Lakitu's one and only appearance in the Nintendo Comics System came in the comic "Cloud Burst", which depicted Lakitu as almost identical to how he appeared in games. However, drastic changes were made to this Lakitu's cloud; although the front of this cloud (which happened to be the only side with a smile) looked par to game art, this front was attached to a larger, flat cloud where Lakitu kept his things and seemed to live in. This Lakitu's Cloud, which Lakitu identified in one line of dialogue as Fluffy, was also capable of speech, limited free movement, and it had a large dissipation plug amidst it. Lakitu himself was depicted in this comic as a kleptomaniac, stealing most everything he saw, including his own king's crown and Koopabits. The Lakitu had also stolen Princess Toadstool's crown, which she desperately needed for her re-coronation ceremony; as such, she sent Mario and Luigi out to find the jeweled headdress (which she thought had been stolen by King Koopa). Lakitu, with orders from his king (who happened to not be aware of the cloud-riding Koopa's mutinous crimes), attacked Mario and Luigi with Spinies; although Mario managed to get away from Lakitu, a less fortunate Luigi was sprung up into his cloud. This Lakitu, despite his later cruelty to the plumber in green, actually started a limited friendship with Luigi as he stole his clothing; however, Luigi would appear to have just been playing along when he started a bond with the turtle, as he had found Princess Toadstool's crown amongst Lakitu's treasures and had to get away with it. In the end, Luigi pulled the cloud's aforementioned dissipation plug (raining Koopabits and the like down at Bowser's troops) and got away with Princess Toadstool's crown along with Mario. While it is unknown what happened to Lakitu, it is assumed that he was reprimanded by Bowser for theft.

"Mario will hoch hinaus"
In its only appearance in the Club Nintendo comics, Lakitu was briefly seen in the opening panel of "Mario will hoch hinaus".

''Super Mario Adventures
Many Lakitus also appeared in Super Mario Adventures, where they briefly attacked Princess Toadstool and her Toads with Spiny Eggs. These Lakitus appeared in an unknown desert area just at a time when Princess Toadstool's troopers were dehydrating; when the gang of Toads first saw a Lakitu's Cloud appear, they mistook it for a harmless raincloud and initiated a rain dance to ensure water. However, when they saw that their actions had only provoked the Lakitus, they declared that they had "done the wrong dance" and chaos ensued. Although the Lakitus were never revisited after this brief appearance, it was later revealed that Bowser had kidnapped Princess Toadstool and therefore assumed that the Lakitus captured her and her gang.

Mario Kart series
Lakitu may be best known for his role in the Mario Kart series, where he is depicted as the owner of the Super Mario Kart Race Track. As such, Lakitu plays a friendly role in these games, helping his racer clientèle in various ways such as notifying racers when to start the race, telling them what lap they're on, and picking them up if they happen to fall in water or succumb to another obstacle (a feat which he notably charged two coins for in Super Mario Kart and Mario Kart Super Circuit). In a short intro before the Mario Kart: Double Dash!! opening screen, Lakitu is usually seen with the traffic light on his fishing pole, but rarely also a Cheep-Cheep or a Giant Cheep-Cheep hanging on it.

''Mario vs. Wario
A single Lakitu makes a small appearance in Mario vs. Wario, appearing as a mailman who delivers Wario's letter to Mario at the start of the comic.

''Yoshi's Safari
A lone Lakitu appeared as a mini-boss in Yoshi's Safari, where he was combated in the Dark Realm stage Ghost Mansion (which was a Ghost House, a rather strange place to find a Lakitu). This Lakitu, like all his brethren, attacked by throwing Spinies; although simply shooting him was all one had to do to defeat him, the fact that he had much HP and no "hurt" animation made him a very challenging and confusing enemy for Mario and Yoshi to fight. However, they eventually blasted him out of his cloud and he was not seen again in Yoshi's Safari until just before the final battle, where they fought him (or possibly another Lakitu) in a long round of rematches against other mini-bosses; he was here battled after Boomerang Bro. and before Sledge Bro.

''Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
Lakitu's egg-throwing skills were temporarily amplified to match those of the Yoshis in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island and its remake, which featured him so prominently that he had three stages ("Watch out for Lakitu", "Lakitu's Wall", and "The Cave of the Lakitus") named in his moniker. In this game, Lakitus would chase their opponents (here Yoshi and some of his friends) in the same manner that they did in Super Mario World, although the Lakitus' mechanics were changed the most in that they now used cursors (not unlike Yoshi's own) to throw Spiny Eggs; if a Yoshi was to accidentally touch one of these cursors, its Lakitu owner would initiate egg-throwing towards the Yoshi's spot, making his projectiles very accurate but somewhat easy to avoid (as he would fumble around before actually throwing the Spiny Egg, giving Yoshi time to escape). Lakitu's attacking methods were also changed by the fact that Spinies themselves did not exist in Super Mario World 2, meaning that his eggs simply exploded upon contact with the ground. These Lakitus also threw Needlenoses, albeit rarely. The game also introduced the common, wall-bound Wall Lakitu sub-species, as well as a rarer Aqua Lakitu which used a snorkel to live underwater and an even rarer Thunder Lakitu creature (found only in the level "BLIZZARD!!!") which could emit Thunderbolts at oncoming Yoshis. The game also reused Super Mario World ' s ability to hijack Lakitu's Cloud (although it was here done with a stomp due to Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island ' s lack of Fireballs) and gave the Fishin' Lakitu a return appearance, although rather than tempting Mario with a 1-up Mushroom (as it did in the previous game), the Fishin' Lakitus of Yoshi's Island rather used actual fishing hooks to grab Baby Mario and run away with him.

''Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Lakitu made his RPG debut as a somewhat uncommon enemy in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. In this game, Lakitus for the most part took up their role in other games, although one noticeable change was given to them: Rather than throwing Spinies, Super Mario RPG Lakitus tossed that game's similar Spikeys. Only four Lakitus ever appeared in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, each in a different area and attacking (in the overworld) in different ways. Despite their appearances being fairly spread out, there was no more powerful sub-species of Lakitus to take their place later in the game. The first Lakitu Mario encountered was found in Mushroom Way, where he threw Spikeys and was a rather challenging enemy for being fought so early in the game. The next one was found shortly afterward in Rose Way; this Lakitu (who was depicted with a Fishin' Lakitu pole on the overworld) attacked by lowering Shy Guys down at Mario and Mallow. The crew (which then consisted of Mario, Mallow, and Geno) found the last Lakitu in Booster Pass, where he attacked with Spikesters despite the fact that he himself had no different stats than the one that tossed Spikeys. Lakitus can also be fought in the enemy corridors in Bowser's Keep. It was hard for Mario and friends to actually initiate battle with any of Super Mario RPG ' s Lakitus as they flew more or less completely out of jumping range; however, if the team was able to fight one, he would often use quick, hard-to-dodge attacks. Although Lakitus had a minor role in this game, a huge, mustachioed Lakitu actually played a vital part in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars by operating a bus from Nimbus Land to Bowser's Keep, and another Lakitu appeared in Tadpole Pond as a helper of Frogfucius. (Both these Lakitus appeared riding a large cloud float based on the former's bus during the game's ending sequence.) Super Mario RPG was also initially going to feature a Fishin' Lakitu helper in Booster Tower.

''Tetris Attack
When the largely Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island-themed game Tetris Attack was translated from the Japanese game Panel de Pon, Lakitu took the role as a hero in place of the air fairy Windy. Yoshi and Lakitu settled their differences and became friends in this game, although the events of Vs. Com stated that Lakitu rejoined the Koopa Troop when Bowser and Kamek hypnotized him. Yoshi, bent on freeing all his friends, then traveled to the Breeze Stage and fought Lakitu and his Goonie ally, which broke the enchantment and reforged Lakitu's friendship with Yoshi. Like the majority of Tetris Attack bosses, Lakitu was also playable in that game's Time Trial mode, which made Tetris Attack the first game to feature a playable Lakitu and the only game where a generic, unnamed Lakitu can be taken control of by the player.

Mario Party series
Thanks to the prosperity and fame of the Mario Kart series, Lakitu often takes up similar roles in other spin-offs. However, due to the fact that the Mario Party series often employs alternate hosts (such as Toad or the Star Spirits) per game, Lakitu is often left out of a main role. He does, though, manage to get similar purposes in the game, often as a mini-game character (for instance, Lakitu played a major role in the Mario Party 4 mini-game Fish n' Drips, and the Mario Party-e mini-game Lakitu's Luck was named after him). However, despite Tumble's role as the main host of Mario Party Advance, Lakitu actually did get minor (but noticeable) roles as that game's mini-game overseer; at the start of a mini-game, Lakitu (and his whistle-blowing cloud) would alert players to start and announce the end when time runs out for mini-games.

A single Lakitu also appeared in the Lakitu House in the Sea Area of Shroom City. This Lakitu is an avid Toad Force V fan, and carrys a Fishing Pole with a Toad Force V Action Figure on the end of it. He enjoys knowing trivia about the show, and the Quest "What's That Line" revolves around traveling to the Mushroom Condo to ask Mushbert what a certain line in the show is, and then returning to the Lakitu House to inform the questioner. He then rewards the Player with the Gaddget Bait 'n Wait.

However, Lakitu is perhaps best known in the Mario Party series for his Orb, the aptly-named Lakitu Orb. This Orb (under the name "Lakitu Capsule") debuted in Mario Party 5 and allowed players to either steal Orbs of their choice from other players (if they landed on the space which the possessor of the Lakitu Orb placed his Orb) or earn ten coins. The Lakitu Orb (finally being named as such) made a return appearance in Mario Party 7 ' s Neon Heights, where players could use it to swipe one of Koopa Kid's Treasure Chests at random, awarding the player with the item inside (which could vary in helpfulness).

Super Smash Bros. series
Lakitu made his Super Smash Bros. debut in Super Smash Bros., where a Lakitu Bro rarely appeared in the background of the Peach's Castle stage. It would then again appear in Super Smash Bros. Melee, where a Super Mario World sprite of him cameoed alongside a Banzai Bill in the background of the Yoshi's Island stage. It also appeared in the upper part of Mushrom: Kingdom, alongside two Green Koopa Troopas and a Goomba. Also, a Fishin'-variety Lakitu (although simply named "Lakitu") also appeared as a trophy. Lakitu appears again in Super Smash Bros. Brawl as an Assist Trophy character, appearing in its original 8-Bit form from Super Mario Bros. It will toss Spinies on the ground when released from the Assist Trophy, hurting players who hit the Spinies.

''Paper Mario
In Paper Mario, Lakitu are found only in the area Flower Fields, where they aid Huff N. Puff in his plot to cover the fauna filled place with clouds. In this game, Lakitus, as well as throwing Spiny Eggs, employ a new tactic, if one sights Mario in the field, it will charge towards him, attempting to ram the plumber. As well as appearing as generic enemies, Lakitus appear as mini-bosses at least three times in Paper Mario. The Lakitu in this game appear to directly serve Huff N. Puff rather than just Bowser.

Two notable Lakitu in this game are Lakilester, who joins the party after a fight, and his girlfriend Lakilulu.

''Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
Although the Nintendo GameCube RPG Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door featured certain Lakitu non-playable characters (such as Laki, a train enthusiast found near the Excess Express boarding area), its most memorable Lakitu (or at least the only one that could be battled) was a part of Spike Storm, a Lakitu/Spiny team Mario (under the fighting pseudonym "the Great Gonzales") and his partners fought in the Glitz Pit's major league. Although these were the only combat-friendly normal Lakitus in the game, a more powerful sub-species known as the Dark Lakitu, along with the regular ones, could be found in the Pit of 100 Trials.

''Super Paper Mario

 * For Lakitu's tattle information, see below.

As is par with Mario RPGs, Lakitu was a rare enemy character in Super Paper Mario, which is actually a cross between platforming and role-playing. In this game, Lakitus are only seen in areas such as The Dotwood Tree and Overthere Stair; however, the aforementioned Laki character from Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door was given a reference in some Merlee's Mansion graffiti in this game and a Lakitu (despite his species's obscurity in Super Paper Mario) can appear as one of the randomly-generated characters on the first page of the Japanese Super Paper Mario website. The Lakitu Catch Card in Super Paper Mario states Lakitu's motives for throwing Spiny Eggs at opponents: Lakitu's actions are because someone "made fun of its glasses".

''Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
Lakitu has always been a rare thing to come across in the Mario & Luigi series, which he debuted in with Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. In that game, a Fishin' Lakitu would appear every time a Mario Bro. leveled up, carrying a selecting device that would let Mario and Luigi choose what they wished to level up in; the device would then flip over and become a roulette that would determine how many points the brother would earn. The only other appearance of Lakitus in this game was in the final battle with Fawful, where a cutscene before said battle would depict a pair of Lakitus holding up spotlights to reveal Fawful's cloakless form; Lakitus also had the Lakipea sub-species in the game, one of the Beanbean Kingdom's many vegetable-based answers to Mushroom Kingdom foes. Lakipeas, who threw Sharpeas rather than Spinies, could be found in a northeastern area of the Beanbean Kingdom near the entrance to Teehee Valley.

''Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
Lakitu's minor, friendly roles in the Mario & Luigi series continued with Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, where he took on his role of level up assistant yet again, only here with a better-animated fishing line. A Fishin' Lakitu with a camera (quite possibly one of Super Mario 64 ' s Lakitu Bros.) also went to Princess Peach's Castle presumably to report on the launch of Professor Elvin Gadd's Time Machine towards the beginning of the game; when Toadsworth's fainting faced Mario with the challenge of retrieving a Refreshroom from the elderly Toad's room, this friendly Lakitu reporter aided the plumber with a "cloud-cam view" of the castle, actually the bird's-eye map that Mario, Luigi, and their baby selves would continue to use throughout the rest of their adventure. The Lakitu then flew off and was never seen again; as a matter of fact, the only other generic Lakitu seen in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time was an unnamed agent of Lakitu Travel who transported Kylie Koopa and Toadbert to the Star Shrine right before the battle with Elder Shrooboid. However, another Lakitu sub-species could be fought in the Vim Factory; these Shroobified Lakitus, the Lakitufos, flew on UFOs rather than clouds, had antennae, and beamed down Spiny Shroopas rather than throwing Spinies.

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
Lakitu kept his role in the Mario & Luigi series for a third time in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story as the level up assistant yet again. However this was his only role. Two new species of Lakitu were also introduced: Glam Lakitu and King Lakitu, respectively.

''Super Princess Peach
Bowser brought with him many Lakitus (who in this game fought with Spiny Egg-throwing mechanics similar to those seen in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island) when he invaded Vibe Island in Super Princess Peach, and some of them (the Calm Lakitus) were even made drowsy by the Vibe Scepter (only sneaking past these sleeping Lakitus could keep them from waking up and fighting like normal Lakitus). Super Princess Peach also brings back the long-neglected Fishin' Boos, and even introduces a calm variety of them.

Appearances in Other Games
As stated above, Lakitu's hosting role in the Mario Kart series has made him popular for similar positions in other secondary Mario games. For instance, Lakitu's sports debut in the seemingly Super Mario Kart-influenced Mario's Tennis depicts him as an umpire, Mario Superstar Baseball gave him an identical umpire's role, and Lakitu is used as catcher of balls lost to water hazards in Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, which also featured a surprisingly Lakitu-less course called Lakitu Valley. Lakitu helps save lost balls yet again in Mario Power Tennis, where he also attempted at protecting players from Klaptraps with Thunder Lakitu-like bolt spheres; Mario Golf, perhaps with influence from Super Mario 64, places Lakitu in the role of cameraman. Lakitu appears in Mario Super Sluggers, as the umpire like in Mario Superstar Baseball



Lakitus also appear as referees in the game Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games and the Winter Version.

Additionally, he appears in the Mario-themed mahjong game Yakuman DS as the host of the tutorial, as well as providing advice to the player during games.

Lakitu is notable for breaking the boundaries of the Mario series by appearing in non-Mario games such as the Legend of Zelda game The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap. In this game, Lakitus were recognizable, but their clouds had no smiles, they seemed to not wear goggles, their hair was thicker (actually resembling Lakitu's hair as it appeared in Mario Superstar Baseball), and they threw thunderbolts rather than Spiny Eggs (much like the Mario enemy Thunder Lakitu). They were found in the sky and even Link had the ability to steal their clouds with an item called the Gust Jar. A Lakitu also appeared as a sticker featured on the Game Boy Camera, and a Super Mario Bros. Lakitu sprite is the opponent icon in the fourth difficulty level of the Vs. CPU game featured in Tetris DS's Standard Mode, as well as the player's own icon in various other Standard Mode games.

Physical Appearance
Lakitus are Koopas who employ clouds as vehicles. However, Lakitus themselves have a rather different appearance than the normal Koopa Troopas; Lakitus have very different heads with much smaller, circular noses, all generic Lakitus wear thick goggles, and Lakitus have a ring pattern on their shells rather than the hexagon pattern featured on those of Koopas. Also, while most Koopas (other than the Dry Bones of certain Paper Mario games) have no hair at all, Lakitus are usually depicted with three small strands of hair, or (as seen in Mario Superstar Baseball) a small clump of black hair.

However, Lakitus are most differentiatable from Koopa Troopas in that they simply ride clouds. These clouds have changed over the years perhaps even more than Lakitus themselves; although 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System games depicted Lakitu as riding a cloud identical to certain block-like cloud platforms, Super Mario World (which still included these small platforms of old) gave Lakitus more realistic, larger clouds to commandeer.

Lakitu

 * HP: 12
 * Attack: 3
 * Defense: 0
 * Tattle: This is a Lakitu. Lakitus are strange Koopas that can ride clouds. Max HP: 12, Attack Power: 3, Defense Power: 0 They toss down Spiny Eggs, and these sometimes turn into crawling Spinies. We'd better deal with them quickly or else we'll be surrounded by Spinies. It seems like these Lakitus have been hassling you for your entire career, Mario.

Super Smash Bros. Melee Trophy
''These airborne menaces used to ride their clouds exclusively as Bowser's henchmen. They typically hover just out of Mario's reach and hurl Spinies with irritating precision. More recently, however, they've been known to take on less evil tasks, such as doing camera work for sports events and even helping Mario on his quests.''

Super Smash Bros. Brawl Trophy
''A particularly stubborn breed of Koopa. Lakitus chase Mario aboard clouds and attack by throwing Spiny Eggs down from above. More recently, Lakitus have taken over the role of cameramen, filming with cameras that they dangle from long rods. Spinies are Koopa creatures with tough, spiked shells. Jumping onto them has no effect, but fireballs can dispatch them.''

Tools

 * Fishing Pole – Super Mario World, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Super Smash Bros. Brawl and the Mario Kart series.
 * Lakitu's Cloud – All games.
 * Spiny Egg – Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, Super Mario 64, Paper Mario, Super Mario 64 DS, New Super Mario Bros., Super Paper Mario and Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
 * Camera: Super Mario 64, Mario Golf, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Super Mario 64 DS and Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time

Trivia

 * After being asked what video game character would represent him the best, Shigeru Miyamoto replied that Lakitu would, as he "seems to be very free, floating in the air, going anywhere", a type of personality Miyamoto can apparently relate to.
 * Several manuals refer to Lakitu as a sole entity rather than a generic enemy, indicating that the term "Lakitu" (as can many Mario series enemy names) can refer to both an individual character and the species that character belongs to. However, most references to Lakitu as a character only come in manuals to Mario sports titles while those to him as a species typically come from platformers. However, Super Mario Bros. actually does use a singular entry for Lakitu in its manual (presumably because only one Lakitu could appear on the screen at a time in that game).
 * Lakitu's sprite in Super Mario Kart is almost identical to the sprites of Lakitus in Super Mario World. The only major difference between the two is that the Lakitus of Super Mario World have red eyes while the Super Mario Kart Lakitu has green ones (making him appear similar to the Pipe Lakitus and Fishin' Lakitus of Super Mario World). It is unknown what inspired Nintendo to change the eye colors, although it is possible that they did it to simply make Lakitu (who was a friendly character in Super Mario Kart) look less "evil".
 * The official strategy guide of Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars incorrectly listed Lakitu's attack power as 450, which would have made him stronger than Culex.