Kamek

''This article is about the Magikoopa with the nickname Fang. For the species, click here.''

Kamek is an old, yet powerful Magikoopa and apparent adviser to Bowser, or at least high-ranking member in the Koopa Troop. He first appeared in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island.

First Attack
In the game Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, the apparent leader of the Koopa Troop and caretaker for the young Prince Bowser, Kamek had a vision saying that two babies would be born that very night and these two babies, Mario and Luigi would cause havoc for the Koopa Troop in the future.

Attacking the stork delivering the Baby Mario Bros., Kamek only succeeded in capturing Baby Luigi, Baby Mario having plunged to the ground below.

Somehow learning Baby Mario had survived and was being aided by the Yoshi clan, Kamek mobilized the forces of the Koopa Troop to search out Baby Mario and the Yoshis. Appearing to taunt a Yoshi every time they reached a fortress, Kamek would also cause the resident creature there too turn gigantic or improve it in some way.

Yoshi, having made it to Bowser's Castle, transformed into a helicopter and began to head to the castle's entrance; only to be attacked by Kamek, who, riding his broom, tried to knock Yoshi out of the sky.

Making it inside Bowser's Castle, Yoshi, making it passed all obstacles, was attacked by Kamek again. In a last ditch effort to beat Yoshi, Kamek began to teleport around, hurling spells at the dinosaur.

Making it through Kamek's room alright, Yoshi entered Baby Bowser's playroom. Groveling to Prince Bowser and threatening Yoshi, Kamek ended-up being crushed by the spoiled and angry prince.

After defeating Baby Bowser in combat, Kamek appeared before Yoshi and using his magic, managed to turn Baby Mario enormous in size. Battling the colossal Baby Bowser, Yoshi managed to defeat him using his giant eggs. Regressed back to normal, Baby Bowser was picked-up by Kamek, who, vowing revenge, rode on his broom into the night.

Attacking Again
In Yoshi Touch & Go, which is a game of somewhat questionable cannoncity, Kamek once again attacks the stork and steals away Baby Luigi; 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 to get Baby Luigi back.

Kamek Fights the Brothers
In Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, after his botched attempt to kidnap Baby Peach and during the Shroob attack on Princess Peach's Castle, Baby Bowser, in desperation, called Kamek to pick him up in the Koopa Cruiser.

After this, Kamek is seen sporadically throughout the beginning of Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time aiding Baby Bowser in his mischief. It is only when Mario, Luigi, Baby Mario and Baby Luigi are on Yoshi's Island that they battle Kamek.

In battle Kamek utilizes a mixture of the Magikoopa attacks from Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga; making multiple copies of himself and shooting rings of fire. Oddly, after being beaten on Yoshi's Island, Kamek does not reappear in the game, except at the end where he is seen with Baby Bowser travelling back to Baby Bowser's Castle.

Revenge of the Yoshis
In Tetris Attack, acting on the vow of revenge he swore against Yoshi at the end of Yoshi's Island, Kamek, the now adult Bowser and several other baddies placed a curse on Yoshi's Island and brainwashed several of the island's inhabitants.

It was up to Yoshi and Little Yoshi to lift the curse on the island and bring it's inhabitants back to they're senses. Defeating various characters, Yoshi and Little Yoshi ventured to Mt. Wickedness to confront Bowser. Before they could face Bowser though, Yoshi and Little Yoshi had to face Hookbill the Koopa and Naval Piranha. Defeating the two, Yoshi was next confronted by Kamek.

Taunting the dinosaur, Kamek was sure of his victory. After a long puzzle battle, Yoshi defeated Kamek and moved on to battle Bowser, whom he defeated as well.

Psycho Kamek
Seemingly retired as Bowser's minion, in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga Kamek began to work as a hypnotist in Little Fungitown, a Beanbean Kingdom town filled with Toad immigrants. Though somewhat incompetent as a hypnotist, during the events of Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, Kamek did manage to successfully trick Luigi into believing he was Mario, giving him the courage to explore Guffawha Ruins.

Also of note in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, Kamek gained a wardrobe change; instead of wearing a plain blue robe like he did in previous games, Kamek instead wore a white one with red zig-zag patterns on it. His wand also had a large star on the end of it.

Also in this game, Kamek seems to have become a bit senile, attempting to hypnotize a Toad into believing he was a Toad, he can also sometimes be seen purposely trying to hypnotize himself in front of a mirror. This has caused the residents of Little Fungitown to begin to refer to Kamek as "Psycho Kamek".

Giant Kamek
In Super Princess Peach, Kamek reappears as Giant Kamek, working for Bowser once again. After the Mario Bros. and several Toads are kidnapped by the Army Hammer Bro, Kamek is trusted with safeguarding the captured Luigi. During his battle against Princess Peach and Perry in Giddy Sky, Kamek will turn gigantic in size and attack by shooting spells and summoning Magikoopas. After being defeated by Princess Peach and Perry, Kamek relinquishes Luigi.

In Super Princess Peach Kamek's appearance changes again; he now wore cyan robes along with a purple hat and cape. He also showed some level of control over the Gloom vibe and had a weakness to wind-based attacks.

From the Future
The beginning cutscene of Yoshi's Island DS shows Kamek, along with several Toadies, kidnapping babies from all across the planet, though why he is doing this is only revealed later in the game. 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 be making them gigantic.

After Six-Face Sal is defeated, it is revealed that this Kamek is from the future. Kamek, along with Bowser, had travelled back in time in search of the Star Children, seven babies whose hearts possess unimaginable power.

After Bowser is defeated in combat by Yoshi, Kamek uses his magic on Bowser to make him huge. 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 panickingly yelling for Baby Bowser to be returned.

Other Appearances
In Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, an unnamed and brainwashed Magikoopa appears as a boss. It was thought by some that this Magikoopa may have been Kamek due to too him apparently being old friends with Bowser and if players read his mind with Mallow's Psychopath ability, the Magikoopa will state "That's... my child?", possible refering to Bowser, whom he raised.

In Mario Party 5, a Kamek Orb can be obtained; when used, this orb will summon Kamek who will proceed to shuffle around all the orbs of players. In Mario Party 6, the Kamek Orb will summon Kamek who will change other player's Character Spaces into Character Spaces for the player who summoned him. In Mario Party 7, Kamek's Orb can be used to make a Kamek Space. If a player lands on this space, three of their orbs are taken by Kamek and given to whoever own the Kamek Space.



Kamek also appears as the famous "Game Master" in Mario Party Advance; if players can find Kamek's location, he will challenge them to a mini-game, the winner of that mini-game becoming the Game Master. If players defeat Kamek he will explain that he has left Bowser's forces due to Bowser simply taking the title of Game Master instead of earning it. Interestingly, the end credits for Mario Parety Advance say that Kamek had "forgiven Bowser and rejoined his side".

Kamek makes a small cameo appearance in both Mario Kart: Super Circuit and Mario Kart: Double Dash!!. In the former, Kamek can be seen in the background of Bowser Castle 3. While in the latter, a sign advertising "KAMEK'S MAGIC SHOW" with an animated sign of Kamek above it can be seen in Baby Park. This Kamek sign can also be seen in the Mario Kart DS version of Baby Park.

Appearances in Other Media
Though Kamek has never directly appeared in any Mario derivative works, an unamed Magikoopa character extremely similar to him appears in the Super Mario Adventures comic. This Magikoopa acted like a second-in-command to Bowser and was in charge of Bowser's wedding to Princess Toadstool, doing such duties as creating a giant wedding cake and acting as the wedding's minister.

Trivia

 * Some have theorized that Kamek's white and red robe from Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga was designed after that of White Mage, a Final Fantasy series character who managed to later appear playable in Mario series game Mario Hoops 3-on-3.
 * The Nintendo Power Guidebook of Yoshi's Island says that his nickname is Fang.