Kamek

"You know, when I think "little Mario," I think "Bowser's perpetual enemy." Which makes you MY enemy."

- Kamek

Kamek (referred to as Magikoopa on occasion) is an old yet powerful Magikoopa, adviser to Bowser and a high-ranking member in the Koopa Troop. He is the arch-enemy of Yoshi and serves as one of the secondary antagonists in the Mario franchise, alongside Bowser Jr., and is one of the two main villains of the Yoshi franchise, alongside Baby Bowser. He is also Baby Bowser's primary caretaker, and he continues to look after Bowser, even in the present day. Kamek's name comes from the name for the Magikoopa species in Japanese: Kamekku (カメック), which is derived from kame, the Japanese word for "turtle."

Various unnamed Magikoopas appearing in the Mario franchise are presumed to be Kamek, often due to the parallels between their relationship with Bowser or their position in the Koopa Troop. This relates to confusion with the Japanese games where the character is only given a unique name in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. Many appearances of individual Magikoopas, however, specifically call back to Kamek's behavior in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island in having him power up bosses, likely making these the same individual.

Concept and creation
Prior to the development of Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, singular Magikoopas had already been depicted in important roles as elite members of the Koopa Troop across various media, likely owing to their powerful abilities. Examples of this include Wizenheimer from the Super Mario World cartoon, the Magikoopa boss in Yoshi's Safari, a Magikoopa hypnotist from Nintendo Power ' s Super Mario Adventures comic, and a Magikoopa from the third volume of Super Mario-Kun. These continued even after Kamek's introduction with examples such as Kammy Koopa. However, most singular Magikoopas since have been identified as the character from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, who in many Japanese materials, is not given any formal distinction from the species whatsoever.

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
Kamek first appears in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island and its remake 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 Prince Froggy.

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, 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.

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.

Tetris Attack
In Tetris Attack, Kamek, along with the adult self of Bowser, put a curse on Yoshi's Island, brainwashing 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 (Thanatos when translated in English) 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. This is also the first time Kamek is a playable character.

Yoshi Touch & Go
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
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 palette seems to be based off of that of the original Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, while the Kamek from the future looks just like he did in Yoshi Touch & Go.

Yoshi's New Island
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
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 Giant 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
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.

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
In Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, Kamek appears under the name Magikoopa (or "Kamezard" in Japanese). He is first seen leading Bowser's troop of Magikoopas in Rose Way and also in Moleville, where his units have dwindled and he complains to Bowser that they are inexperienced with fighting the Smithy Gang. By the time Bowser is met at Booster Tower, he and the rest of the Koopa Troop are nowhere to be seen. Later, he is found at Bowser's Keep. He has been brainwashed to work for Smithy and attacks the party for trespassing the castle. In battle, Magikoopa would attack by using magic attacks (such as Water Blast, Blizzard, and Flame Wall), and would summon monsters (such as Bahamutt, King Bomb, and a Jinx Clone) to fight for and protect him. After being defeated, he returns to normal (signified by his robe changing from red to blue), and apologizes to Bowser. He makes a magic treasure box that has an infinite amount of coins appear for the player, and will fully heal them when spoken to.

During the battle with Magikoopa, his thought via Mallow's Psychopath ability is 「キイーッウキイーーッ！　あの時の赤んぼう！？」 (Kiii ukiii! The baby from that time!?) in the Japanese version, which refers to recognizing the adult Mario for the first time since the events of Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. However, his thought is "That's...my child?" in the English version, which refers to seeing Bowser, whom he helped raise since a baby. Despite this, Bowser is not required to be in Mario's active party, and Magikoopa does not react to Bowser like the castle's earlier monsters that run away from him.

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

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

Mario Kart Wii
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 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.

Mario Kart Tour
Kamek makes his first fully playable Mario Kart series appearance in Mario Kart Tour making its debut on his own tour, the Kamek Tour. His special item is the Coin Box. Kamek also has a self-named cup in the game; despite this, however, he is not available in regular tour pipes. Kamek also has brand new voice clips instead of reusing his old ones.

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.

In Japan, this character was likely a generic Magikoopa.

Mario Party 5
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
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
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
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
In Mario Party 8, what is possibly Kamek or simply a generic 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, Kamek is summoned, remarks that the train could use a little mixing up (or in initial English releases, recites a rhyming spell), and sends the front train car to the back.

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. 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
Kamek (referred to as Magikoopa in the American localization) is one of Bowser's minions in Mario Party 9, along with Shy Guy. In Solo Mode, he appears randomly in the boards, and if he or Shy Guy wins, the player has to play through the board again, but if they tie with or are defeated by a player, the player moves onto the next stage. When the player finishes Solo Mode, both Magikoopa and Shy Guy become playable characters. Although other Magikoopas have been playable in the Mario Baseball games, this is the first game since Tetris Attack where Kamek himself is playable.

Mario Party: Island Tour
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
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
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
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. 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 & Luigi: Partners in Time
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, while Kamek himself remained at Baby Bowser's Castle. After Baby Bowser crash-lands the Koopa Cruiser into the castle, Kamek desperately begins to search for his charge. Before he finds Baby Bowser, Kamek notices the Mario Brothers and recognizes the babies as those he had once tried to kidnap, referencing Yoshi's Island. Assuming they mean the worst, Kamek magically summons Boos and Goombas to attack the brothers. The quartet quickly defeat the enemies, and in his haste to find Baby Bowser, Kamek is forced to leave, letting the brothers go undefeated.

Once Kamek finds the Koopa's crown prince, the pair set out to reclaim the Cobalt Star Shard that the brothers had taken from the castle. Kamek and Bowser were able to find the brothers at the Vim Factory, where they took both their Shard and the one Mario and Luigi had taken from Swiggler. The pair proceeds to escape to Yoshi's Island. However, Mario, Luigi, and their infant counterparts quickly discover their hiding place. On the island, Kamek is reduced to running errands for Baby Bowser, including stealing Yoshi Cookies for him. When the brothers attempt to reach the island, the Magikoopa uses his magic powers to create fires that deter them throughout their quest to defeat the resting Baby Bowser at the island's cliffs. In a last-ditch attempt to stop the Mario Bros., Kamek fights them directly.

In battle, Kamek has 450 HP and uses a mixture of the Magikoopa attacks from Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. First, he will throw spike balls at either brother which has to be countered with a Hammer but he occasionally throws a Mushroom, inadvertently healing the heroes. When he has only 110 HP left, he heals himself with 206. After that, he will make multiple copies of himself, which are indistinguishable from the original except for the fact that any deflected attacks only return to the real Kamek, and that the real Kamek follows a slightly different up-and-down floating pattern than the fakes. Multi-hit items will hit Kamek and all his copies. After Kamek takes enough hits, he will fall off of his broom. He will throw fire using his scepter and if it only hits one Bro. or less, Kamek himself will catch on fire (though this does not damage him) and charge towards the brother that the fire was intended for which can be stopped by hitting him with a Hammer. Then, after two turns, he will get back on his broom. Unlike most bosses in Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time, after his defeat, he will appear to explode like a normal enemy; the same thing happens with Junior Shrooboid, the Shroobs, and the Hammer Bros. 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 was a primary source of comic relief whenever the Magikoopa appeared; he would often have to perform duties similar to those of a normal parent, but twisted to fit with Bowser's need for evil (for instance, he once had to get Baby Bowser 'evil milk' from 'an evil cow').

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story / 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
"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

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, a dream genie, 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.

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. He says that he has taken a shine to Peach's dress since the last time he wore it, and that it is so much better than his "drab" blue robes. 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. 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 three times, 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 don't fall for it. The fight that follows is with Kamek who commands an army of Dry Bones. The third and final battle is with Kamek and a green Kamek clone, a red Kamek clone and a white Kamek clone, 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, Magikoopa refers to himself with feminine pronouns and has a feminine style of speaking. It is unknown if this is because it's a different Magikoopa, or this is just his style of speaking.

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.
 * Battle 1

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.

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.
 * Battle 2

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 creates 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.

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.
 * Battle 3

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 left if Kamek is flying on the right and vice versa. 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
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.

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.
 * Battle

Mario Superstar Baseball
While Kamek does not explicitly appear in Mario Superstar Baseball, he is mentioned in the Magikoopa trophy, being described as "the best Magikoopa".

Super Mario Galaxy
"So long! Enjoy your flight!"

- Kamek

In Super Mario Galaxy, Kamek makes a small yet significant appearance in one of the opening cutscenes. 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
Kamek, under the name Magikoopa, 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 the Eighth World's tower.

Here is what he does in each world:
 * World 1: He divides the floor into fifths and causes it to alternate rising and falling.
 * World 2: He causes five giant Warp Pipes to protrude from the ceiling that Roy Koopa can shuffle around in.
 * World 3: He causes Lemmy Koopa's circus ball to double in size.
 * World 4: He floods Wendy O. Koopa's room, rendering her invincible to jump attacks until the water recedes.
 * World 5: He causes the Chain Chomp that is attached to Iggy's carriage to double in size.
 * World 6: He lowers the floor so that when Morton Koopa Jr. ground pounds, the two pillars around him shoot up.
 * World 7: He causes three platforms to rise from underneath the floor.
 * World 8 Tower: He causes the floating blocks to move around.
 * World 8 Castle: He turns Bowser into Super Bowser.

In the battle of his fortress, 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 the Magikoopa. 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 the Koopa King'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 before the final battle commences, the enlarged Koopa King accidentally knocks Magikoopa off his broom.

New Super Mario Bros. U / New Super Luigi U / New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe
Kamek, again under the name Magikoopa, reappears in New Super Mario Bros. U (and New Super Luigi U) 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 fights (from Layer-Cake Desert onwards) to empower him, by giving him new abilities, or enlarging him. Magikoopa also appears at Screwtop Tower to empower the boss of the tower, Boss Sumo Bro. Magikoopa makes his appearance as a boss in Slide Lift Tower, 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. Finally, Magikoopa makes one last appearance at the end of the first Bowser fight in The Final Battle, where he is unconscious and being held by Bowser Jr., who wakes him up and convinces him to turn Bowser into Super Bowser to fight off the Mario Bros. Magikoopa is not seen anywhere in the ending.

Super Mario Maker 2
Although he does not physically appear in Super Mario Maker 2, it is strongly implied that Kamek 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 Smash Bros. Brawl
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
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
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 at the London 2012 Olympic Games
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
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.

Paper Mario series
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
"Well, well, well. Very impressive. You two somehow managed to make it all the way here. Eventually."

- Kamek

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.

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
"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

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. 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.

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

- Kamek

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.

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
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
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, , and.

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

Mario Tennis Aces
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
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.

Physical appearance
In his most recent appearances, Kamek is depicted as being entirely identical to the generic Magikoopas. This means that in most of his appearances, he wears a pair of round spectacles and a set of blue robes, complete with a blue wizard's hat. Both the brim of his hat and the edges of his sleeves are white, though in earlier appearances the former was also blue. He is always seen with his scepter, a golden stick with a red jewel at the end; he is also usually seen with his broom, which is a stereotypical straw-colored broom with no particular quirks about its appearance. He is shown to have legs in Super Mario Galaxy, a feature not seen in any other game.

Kamek's skin, like all Magikoopas and most other Koopa species, is yellow. Despite being very old, he shows no physical signs of his age, looking very similar in the present as he did in the past. However he appeared somewhat smaller in his past appearance in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time. In the Super Smash Bros. series, Kamek's appearance is mostly unaltered, compared to other Mario characters. However, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate gives Kamek a slightly subdued color scheme, while his clothing and broom receive simple detailing.

Speech
Kamek hardly had any voice acting in early games, though he has babbling sound effects when speaking in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island and its sequels. In Mario Superstar Baseball, Kamek received a voice acting for the first time, where he is portrayed by Atsushi Masaki, who provides him a very high screeching voice. In the games released after this, his voice clips are generally a mixture of yells and grunts, as well as laughs with the in-game text showing what he is actually saying. In New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, Kamek is also shown to be able to mimic Princess Peach's voice when disguised as her. Throughout all instruction booklets, Kamek also speaks intelligibly.

Powers and abilities
Kamek displays powers commonly associated with Magikoopas, including teleportation, creating beings from inanimate objects, pyrokinesis, firing magical blasts from his scepter, summoning enemies and the ability to create multiple copies of himself. These are assumed to be much more powerful than those of a regular Magikoopa, because of his top rank. The evidence of this is in Mario and Luigi: Dream Team where Kamek created an army of Dry Bones surrounding Mario, creates different colored clones of himself with unique properties, and being able to fire a gigantic magic blast with other Magikoopas at a Giant Dreamy Luigi during the battle against Giant Bowser, despite being fatigued from previous battles with Mario and Dreamy Luigi. Kamek is also capable of flying on a broomstick, being the first ever Magikoopa to display such an ability.

Aside from the aforementioned powers inherent to all Magikoopas, Kamek is portrayed as having powers unique to himself, the most prominent of which is his ability to shrink and grow other creatures (including himself) to extreme proportions. Kamek is also capable of psychic powers, such as divination, brainwashing, foreseeing events in the future, and manipulating objects with his mind. These he does without using his scepter, although he does utilize a crystal ball for precognition and divination. He also has the ability to Paperize. However, he also admits that his magic is limited in some areas, such as his proclaimed inability to restore Iggy's memory in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey.

Kamek also displays some expertise at mechanics, supposedly building the apparent time travel device he and Bowser utilize in Yoshi's Island DS; Kamek's ingenuity at mechanics remains in the Club Nintendo comics, with one story even having him create a vacuum cleaner-like device which can absorb color and emotions. Kamek is also a master at various types of games, pertaining such skills at them that he has been given the coveted title of Game Mage.

Although not usually shown in his appearances, Kamek has been shown to have superhuman strength. This is revealed in Yoshi's New Island, as for many times throughout the game, Kamek has been able to lift and use a giant magical hammer many times his size to power the game's bosses with little to no effort. He also has been shown to have significant levels of durability and is capable of enduring lethal situations as he survived being knocked into lava by Giant Bowser in New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Mario and Luigi: Dream Team, even after being weakened in the latter game, and appearing in the ending of Paper Mario: Sticker Star after being dissolved into ashes.

Personality
From Mario Party DS, it would seem that Kamek is academic, as the board that he owns is a library. This is reinforced by the fact that Kamek can build complicated machines. In Super Mario Party, Kamek is shown to be quite knowledgeable, since he gives articulate advice to the player about modes such as Partner Party. In that game, Kamek is shown to be quite polite, though he takes clear enjoyment in either conjuring Bad Luck Spaces or scorceling them into Extra Bad Luck Spaces (exempting instances where the victim is Bowser or Bowser Jr., in which case he is apologetic to his liege and horrified at having to do so). When speaking to Mario and Yoshi, Kamek usually puts on a sarcastic, falsely polite demeanor.

It is hinted that Kamek likes to act feminine. This is notable in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team when he starts talking about how cute the dress based on Princess Peach's is while calling the Magikoopa robes drab. Furthermore, in the Japanese version, Kamek uses the feminine pronoun 「あたし」 atashi to refer to himself, and in the Japanese version of Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time Kamek is referred to as「ばあさん」bāsan or "old woman" by Kylie Koopa, though it is unclear if this is meant to be an insult, an ignorant comment or an actual indication of Kamek's gender in that game. However, in the Japanese version of Paper Mario: Sticker Star, Kamek instead uses the standard pronoun 「私 」 watashi, and in the Japanese version of Paper Mario: Color Splash Kamek is called「おっさん」ossan or "middle-aged man" by Huey.

His personality is expanded upon in Bowser Jr.'s Journey, where he is shown to have acted as a mentor to Bowser Jr., and is very loyal to the Koopa Troop, even making Bowser Jr. swear to aid the minions beyond the sake of personal glory. He is also shown to be very concerned when the Koopalings begin slowly dwindling in numbers. He is also shown to have some foresight, as evidenced by how he developed a freezer to store the Ever Ice, despite knowing it will not ever melt, due to anticipating Bowser Jr. would ultimately need it, and also deciding to act as Bowser Jr.'s first captain due to anticipating that even Morton may ultimately leave Bowser Jr.'s command before long. He also admits that, despite his faithful service to Bowser and his son, he does have a few regrets. He is also shown at times to be sarcastic, such as in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, where he sarcastically goes along with a Papercraft Yoshi due to thinking it is a hallucination until his paper counterpart tells him he is indeed seeing a Papercraft Yoshi, and also in Bowser Jr.'s Journey, he "gladly" accepted Bowser Jr.'s ignoring the Ever Ice despite Kamek spending 36 hours trying to find it. In addition to sarcasm, he also has the tendency to be quite condescending, often taunting the Yoshis with pet names such as "baby" and "cutie" in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Yoshi's New Island, and Yoshi's Woolly World. In Paper Mario: The Origami King, Kamek is shown to have a love for cleaning, at times replacing his trademark broomstick with a rake.

Role in the Koopa Troop
Kamek's role in the Koopa Troop is yet to be made completely clear. What is certain is that he is Bowser's caretaker (and possibly later Bowser Jr.'s). Although Kamek is of the highest rank in the Koopa Troop, his actual title and role is unknown. He refers himself as Bowser's "number one" in Paper Mario: The Origami King, meaning he might be Bowser's second-in-command. He does seem to have a certain level of military command; especially back when Bowser was young, when he took almost complete control of the army of the Koopas. This was shown again in Yoshi's Island DS, although this is the present day incarnation of the wizard, confirming that he still maintains a position as one of Bowser's generals. He spends a lot more time actually in the field than Bowser, and may also serve as one of Bowser's individual agents.

There is also a possibility that he is the head of the Magikoopas who serve under Bowser, in a similar manner manner of Goomboss ruling the Goombas. This is evidenced by the Magikoopa bio from Mario Superstar Baseball, which calls him "the best of the Magikoopas."

If Kamek is about the same rank as Kammy Koopa, a fellow main Magikoopa, it is likely that he will be ranked slightly below Bowser and take orders only from the Royal Family themselves.

Friends
Kamek interacts far more with Bowser than with any other character. He seems to serve the role of a father figure to Bowser, since it was largely Kamek who raised him since infancy, and is very loyal and protective to the King. While overall being very loyal to his liege, there were three instances when he showed complete fear of Bowser, two of which were immediately before the boss battle against the latter in Yoshi's Island and Yoshi's New Island, when upon discovering that he accidentally woke his master from his slumber, he stumbles backwards and proceeds to sweat profusely and gape in horror at what he had done (and in the latter game, even ponders aloud what he should do to get himself out of the mess he got himself into), and once in Super Mario Party where if Bowser (or Bowser Jr.) lands on a Bad Luck Space, he will be shocked and frightened and apologizes to him saying he is only doing his job. Likewise, Kamek also seems to view Bowser as being like a son to him. Much of his time is spent ensuring the welfare and comfort of Bowser, as shown by his errands on Yoshi's Island and his frantic searching after the Koopa Cruiser crash in Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time. Bowser seems to show much more respect to his elderly guardian than to any other of his henchmen (except Bowser Jr.), and rarely insults him, if not at all; completely contrasting his relationship with Kammy. In two instances, when Bowser was a baby, he attacked Kamek for waking him up from his sleep. These were the only known times Bowser has ever attacked Kamek and once he grew into an adult, Bowser has respected Kamek since then, not attacking Kamek (although he does once accidentally knock the latter away after he is turned giant.). He has also shown to betray Bowser, as seen in Mario Party Advance, because he was being unfair, though he forgave him later. In the Mario & Luigi series, Bowser has been shown to sometimes be impatient with Kamek and will (albeit very rarely) ignore his advice and simply call him "Minion", which often leaves Kamek annoyed and make a snarky remark. Regardless, as in most other games, Bowser is generally respectful of Kamek and appreciative of his loyalty and efforts. It is also implied throughout Paper Jam that Bowser trusts Kamek with the progression of his plans more than any other of his minions, possibly even more so than Bowser Jr.

Aside from his interactions with Bowser, he was also shown to ally with various other henchmen of Bowser, most notably the Koopalings. In New Super Mario Bros. Wii, he was shown to aid the Koopalings by enchanting certain aspects of the battlefield to give them more of an advantage against Mario. In addition, in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey, Kamek aided the Koopalings alongside Bowser Jr. in trying to find a cure for the blorbs. He also is shown to care for the other minions, as after retrieving the ingredients for the Skeletone Formula:D via the Ever Ice, he made Bowser Jr. swear to aid the minions that had been brainwashed by Fawful. Despite this, however, when any of Bowser's minions lands on a Bad Luck Space in Super Mario Party, he shows no regrets making them spin the roulette wheel like with every other character except Bowser and Bowser Jr.

Owing to Bowser Jr. being Bowser's son, he also serves him as much as he does Bowser, aiding him in his abduction of Princess Peach in New Super Mario Bros. Wii (including ensuring Peach was retrieved and sent to Bowser's main castle in the event that Bowser Jr. was unable to beat Mario a third time). The two even teamed up to aid Bowser by enchanting the latter into becoming large in New Super Mario Bros. U. He also worked alongside the Koopalings to aid Bowser Jr. in the latter's search for the blorb cure in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey, with the Japanese site also referring to him as being Bowser Jr.'s caretaker. In Paper Mario: The Origami King, Kamek implies that he also took care of Bowser Jr. while the latter was a baby.

Although Olivia is a close ally of Mario, Kamek quickly befriended her due to her amiable nature. Kamek is shown to care for Olivia, expressing alarm and concern when she faints and loses some of her folds after bathing in the Spa of Creases. He shows a hint of annoyance when Olivia refers to him as a groundskeeper on multiple occasions, but calmly dismisses these instances.

Enemies
Mario and Luigi are mostly on negative terms with Kamek, as both adults and babies. This is especially apparent after having endured two attempted kidnappings and having a fair number of battles against him. However, Kamek himself does not really show any interest or hatred towards the brothers, mostly just dismissing them as inferior to Bowser, unless ordered to directly oppose them. In addition, he is willing to aid Mario if needs be, as evidenced by his actions in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, although it is implied that he aided them solely because Bowser was allied with them at the time. After being beaten by Mario in Paper Mario: Sticker Star, he acknowledges that Mario is stronger than him, but maintains that he is no match for Bowser. In Super Mario Party, Kamek treats the Mario Bros., as well as all of their other friends with politeness and a friendly attitude, but also has no regrets making them spin a Bad Luck Space's roulette wheel; additionally, Kamek is shown to challenge their intellect.

Toadette and Kamek are also enemies; in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, Kamek and Fly Guy kidnap Toadette, though it is simply on Bowser's orders, mainly to prevent her from making more Papercrafts for the Mario Bros. and Paper Mario. In Super Mario Party, Toadette is initially bewildered to have Kamek join as the third host, but later on, she accepts this fact and gets along well with him.

Despite his conflict with the Mario Bros., Kamek's true main enemy is Yoshi, similar to Mario and Bowser; Luigi and King Boo; and Donkey Kong and King K. Rool. It is clear that Kamek shows a natural hatred for Yoshi, as the pair are arch rivals and are always battling each other, much like Bowser and Mario. Throughout the Yoshi series, Kamek has made numerous attempts to defeat them and prevent them from reuniting the Mario Brothers. Naturally this caused friction between the two. The main cause of this is that their ideals conflict; Kamek wants to ensure the success of the Koopa Troop by preventing the Mario Bros. from becoming heroes, and the Yoshis want to make sure that they are born simply because they are kind and want the best for them. Ever since these events occurred, the Yoshis have had a bad relationship with the Magikoopas, seeing as their chemistry is bad in Mario Super Sluggers, and one kept Yoshi captive in Super Mario Galaxy 2.

Quotes
Kamek's quotations range from stereotypical villain boasting to those of a caring yet haggard parent, and as the child in question is Bowser, the two themes overlap such as this appeal made to Baby Bowser in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time: "Oh, here, have some warm milk. It's, uh, from an evil cow." Kamek has also been shown to be snarky, patronizing and condescending at various times, and is clearly taken aback whenever things go awry, the most infamous example being when the player manages to defeat the boss Naval Piranha before the fight even begins, causing Kamek to appear, exclaim "OH MY!" and fly away again without another word. Typically, however, his response to setbacks is a more subdued "Oh dear".

Trivia

 * Official artwork for Yoshi Touch & Go depicts Kamek with five fingers, whereas he only has four in every other appearance.
 * In New Super Mario Bros. U, Kamek has a new laugh that he does before powering up Boom Boom or Boss Sumo Bro, but when he is about to be fought in his tower, he laughs the same way he did in New Super Mario Bros. Wii.
 * According to the Player's Guide and official website for Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3, Kamek's nickname is Fang.
 * In a Nintendo Japan questionnaire, Kamek was included as a popularly requested character for Super Smash Bros. Melee.