King Kaliente


 * Not to be confused with King Calamari from Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars.

"Give 'em some heat, King Kaliente!"

- Bowser Jr.

King Kaliente is a boss in Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2. He is an octopus who seems to be in league with Bowser as he was leading a portion of his fleet, was called upon by Bowser Jr. to fight Mario, and guarded a Grand Star. He is fought twice: once in the Good Egg Galaxy and again in Bowser Jr.'s Lava Reactor. The first battle is for a Power Star and the second battle is for a Grand Star. His name comes from the Spanish word caliente, which means hot or spicy.

''Super Mario Galaxy
After Mario lands on the Magma Planet in the Good Egg Galaxy, a yellow Luma will warn him about the king. When Mario reaches the volcanic side, the king will emerge from the lava pool and shake his head, angered that Mario has awakened him, beginning the battle. He will first spit out three fireballs, followed by a coconut. Mario must perform a Spin or a Spin Jump to whack it back at him, then the king will throw it back at Mario. If Mario whacks it at him three times without the coconut flying past him, he will knock the king's crown off. If it is missed, the attack pattern will repeat until Mario is successful.

King Kaliente will get very angry after his crown falls and sinks into the lava, then unleash a big roar of wind, blowing the lava around and sprouting little bouncing Lava Bouncers, that will bounce on the lava or on the ground toward Mario for the rest of the battle. If they touch Mario, they will burn him and cause him to lose up to two HP.

Again, the King must be hit three more times in a row with a coconut. If this is pulled off, King Kaliente will be knocked out and will collapse back into his lava hot tub-home. A Power Star will sprout out of the lava and appear next to Mario, and every Lava Bouncer will vanish.

King Kaliente is fought for a second time in Bowser Jr.'s Lava Reactor. His tactic is the same as in the Good Egg Galaxy, but the fight itself is much harder. The fight takes place on a ring of small platforms that will sink into the lava if Mario stands on them for too long. King Kaliente's attacks are also much more frequent, and include sending in dozens of Lava Bouncers, taking an additional shot in the first hit, and, after having his crown knocked off, summoning fiery meteors from the sky or spitting them out. After Mario defeats him for the second time, he will give up a Grand Star. He also looks scorched, a dark orange-brown color, possibly from the last fight.

''Super Mario Galaxy 2
King Kaliente makes a return appearance in Super Mario Galaxy 2 's Boss Blitz Galaxy, with several other bosses from the first game. He's the second boss Mario fights. His appearance and attack methods are identical to Mario's first encounter with him in the Good Egg Galaxy, and Mario also defeats him using the same method as well.

When King Kaliente is beaten, Mario can access a Launch Star that blasts him to the next planet.

Appearance
King Kaliente is best described as a giant Blooper with an Octoomba for a head. His skin is orange and his eyes are blue. He has a crown on his head, a small red cape tied around his neck with a jeweled brooch, and a white mustache above his nozzle-like mouth. A small antenna topped with a red orb emerges from the top of his head, just barely visible above his crown.

When he is battled a second time, his whole body has a much darker, blacker hue and his eyes are red. His attacks include shooting coconuts/watermelons and fireballs at Mario and summoning Lava Bouncers. His change in skin tone may come from the fact that he has fallen full-body into lava once, thus charring his skin.

Trivia

 * King Kaliente shares his boss music with Bugaboom and Topmaniac.
 * Kaliente appears to have a tuft of some sort after his crown is knocked off.
 * King Kaliente somewhat resembles King Calamari and Gooper Blooper.
 * It is unknown what King Kaliente looks like below his neck, or how many tentacles he truly has.
 * The concept of the player and a boss deflecting a projectile back and forth in attempts to damage one another may be based off of the concept of Dead Man's Volley from the Zelda franchise. Because Shigeru Miyamoto created both the Mario and Zelda franchises, it is clear how the concept of Dead Man's Volley would be brought into Super Mario Galaxy.