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{{about|a specific character|the generic enemy occasionally called Kamek|[[Magikoopa]]}}
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{{character infobox
{{character-infobox
|image=[[File:SMPJ Kamek Artwork.png|250x250px]]<br>Artwork of Kamek for ''Super Mario Party Jamboree''
|image= [[Image:KamekNSMBW.png|250x250px]]<br> '''Kamek''', as he appears in ''New Super Mario Bros. Wii''.
|full_name=Kamek the Magikoopa<ref>{{cite|title=''Nintendo Magazine System'' (UK) issue 40|page=18|date=January 1996}}</ref>
|full_name=Kamek the Evil Magikoopa
|first_appearance=''[[Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island]]''
|species=[[Magikoopa]]
|species=[[Magikoopa]]
|affiliation=[[Koopa Troop]]
|first_appearance=''[[Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island]]'' ([[List of games by date#1995|1995]])
|latest_appearance=''[[New Super Mario Bros. Wii]]'' (2009)
|latest_appearance=''[[Mario & Luigi: Brothership]]'' ([[List of games by date#2024|2024]])
|latest_portrayal=[[Kevin Michael Richardson]] (English, 2023 movie)
}}
}}
{{quote|I guess I'll just show you your place again!|Kamek|Mario Party DS}}
{{quote|You know, when I think 'little [[Mario]],' I think '[[Bowser]]'s perpetual enemy.' Which makes you MY enemy.|Kamek|Paper Mario: Sticker Star}}
 
'''Kamek''' (referred to as '''Magikoopa''' on occasion) is an old yet powerful [[Magikoopa]], adviser to [[Bowser]]<ref>{{cite|quote=A legendary magician and trusted adviser to Bowser. For some reason he’s recently taken up cleaning as a hobby.|title=Kamek's description in the ''Paper Mario: The Origami King'' official website|url=papermario.nintendo.com/story}}{{dead link}}</ref> and a high-ranking member in [[Bowser's Minions|Bowser's army]]. He is the arch-enemy of [[Yoshi]] and serves as one of the secondary antagonists in the [[Super Mario (franchise)|''Super Mario'' franchise]], alongside [[Bowser Jr.]], and is one of the two main villains of the [[Yoshi (franchise)|''Yoshi'' franchise]], alongside [[Baby Bowser]]. He is also Baby Bowser's primary caretaker, and he continues to look after his master, even in the present day. Kamek's name comes from the name for the Magikoopa species in Japanese:「カメック」(''Kamekku''), which is derived from「亀」(''kame''), the Japanese word for "turtle."
'''Kamek''' is an old, yet powerful [[Magikoopa]] and apparent advisor to [[Bowser]], or at least high-ranking member in the [[Koopa Troop]]. He first appeared in ''[[Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island]]''. He is also [[Baby Bowser]]'s caretaker, and 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"<ref>[http://themushroomkingdom.net/mariosan.shtml The Mushroom Kingdom] (Accessed on 10-11-08)</ref>. He is the main villain of the Yoshi Series.


There are various unnamed Magikoopas presumed to be Kamek, often due to the parallels between their relationship with Bowser, Bowser Jr., their position in Bowser's army or a specific 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. This relates to confusion with the Japanese games where the character and species have the same name.
==History==
==History==
===''[[Yoshi (series)|Yoshi'' series]]===
{{Main|History of Kamek}}
====''Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island====
Kamek debuted in the [[Yoshi (franchise)|''Yoshi'' franchise]] as a main antagonist with [[Baby Bowser]], his master. In his later appearances, he appeared as a boss and an antagonist in the core series and spin-offs; sometimes, he is playable in spin-offs.
[[File:KamekNew.jpg|thumb|right|Kamek in ''Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island''.]]
===Concept and creation===
Kamek makes his debut appearance in ''[[Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island]]'' as the main antagonist of the game. Using his crystal ball, Kamek foresees that [[Baby Mario|Mario]] and [[Baby Luigi|Luigi]], who were born that night, would cause great havoc for the Koopa Troop and the adult Bowser in the future. Deciding to capture Baby Mario and Baby Luigi before they could become a threat to the Koopa Troop, Kamek attacks [[The Stork|the stork]] delivering the babies. Kamek succeeds in capturing only Baby Luigi during his attack on the stork though, and Baby Mario is sent plummeting to [[Yoshi's Island (place)|Yoshi's Island]] below during the scuffle.  
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 [[Bowser's Minions]] across various media, likely owing to their powerful abilities. Examples of this include [[Wizenheimer]] from the ''[[Super Mario World (television series)|Super Mario World]]'' cartoon, the Magikoopa boss in ''[[Yoshi's Safari]]'', a Magikoopa adviser and a Magikoopa hypnotist from the ''[[Super Mario Adventures]]'' comic, and a right-hand man Magikoopa from the fourth chapter onwards of ''[[Super Mario-kun]]''. These continued even after Kamek's introduction with examples such as [[Wizakoopa]] (who is implied to be an iteration of the same character) and [[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.


Learning he had only captured Baby Luigi, Kamek has his minions, the [[Toady|Toadies]], go out in search of Baby Mario. Meanwhile, Mario has been found by the [[Yoshi (species)|Yoshis]], who help him track down and try and rescue his abducted brother. Before a [[Bosses|boss]] is fought by a Yoshi and Baby Mario, Kamek will appear to taunt the Yoshi before using his magic to turn the boss enemy into a giant (except on [[Prince Froggy|one occasion]]).
==General information==
===Physical appearance===
Kamek is visually identical to [[Magikoopa]]s; 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 were also blue. He is never seen without his scepter, which is a golden staff 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. Though never seen, he remarks that the Mario bros. "really chap [his] shell", explaining the hunch in his back.


When [[Yoshi]] and Baby Mario reach the entrance to [[King Bowser's Castle|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 [[Yoshi Helicopter]]. Later on in the castle, when Yoshi enters Kamek's own chambers, Kamek will attack him directly, teleporting around his room, trying to blast Yoshi with his magic scepter, which can turn the blocks scattered throughout his room into enemies and [[star]]s, as well as injuring Yoshi.
Kamek's skin, like all Magikoopas and most other Koopa species, is yellow. Despite being elderly, he shows no physical signs of his age, looking very similar in the present as he did in the past - though this may be because he is so old that the past version of him seen in ''Yoshi's Island DS'' was still considerably old. However he appeared somewhat smaller in his past appearance in ''Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time'', though this may be due to the game's differing art style. In the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series, Kamek's appearance is mostly unaltered, compared to other ''Super Mario'' characters. However, ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'' gives Kamek a slightly subdued color scheme, while his clothing and broom receive simple detailing.


Once Yoshi passes through his room, Kamek will appear before Yoshi in Baby Bowser's room, and demand he hand over Baby Mario; awakened by Kamek's shouting at Yoshi, the irritated Baby Bowser will knock him aside and crush him before engaging in battle with Yoshi. Once Baby Bowser is defeated by Yoshi, Kamek will appear and, using his powers, turn Baby Bowser into a colossus, destroying his castle in the process. After Baby Bowser's monstrous form is beaten by Yoshi and Baby Bowser is regressed back to normal, Kamek will appear and, grabbing Baby Bowser, will threaten Yoshi before flying off into the night, leaving Yoshi to rescue Baby Luigi and the stork.
===Speech===
Babbling sound effects were used as Kamek's speaking sounds in ''Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island'' and its sequels. In ''Mario Superstar Baseball'' and in games that followed this, Kamek has a high screechy voice. Kamek's dialogue is only shown through in-game text; his sound clips are a mixture of yells, grunts, and laughs. 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.


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]]"(a.k.a. Crazy Maze Days). Both encounters are similar to his encounter in Bowser's Castle in that he tries to smash into Yoshi and Baby Mario while flying around on his broom. However, his big mouth will give him away as he shouts something and flies towards [[Yoshi]].
===Powers and abilities===
[[File:KamekMagicBlast.jpg|thumb|Kamek, sending out a magical blast from his scepter.]]
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.


====''Tetris Attack====
[[File:PMTOK Kamek Clones.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Kamek clones himself in ''[[Paper Mario: The Origami King]]''.]]
In ''[[Tetris Attack]]'', Kamek, along with the now adult Bowser, puts a curse on Yoshi's Island, brainwashing the bulk of its inhabitants to serve them. Kamek appears as the penultimate boss, after encountering [[Hookbill the Koopa]] and [[Naval Piranha]] on [[Mt. Wickedness]], along with his Toadies and right before Bowser.
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 [[Wikipedia: Divination|divination]], brainwashing, [[Wikipedia: Precognition|foreseeing events in the future]], and [[Wikipedia: Psychokinesis|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''.


====''Yoshi Touch & Go====
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.
Kamek once again attacks the stork and steals away 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====
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.
[[Image:Kamek_YIDS.png|frame|'''Kamek''' from ''Yoshi's Island DS''.]]
During ''[[Yoshi's Island DS]]'', Kamek traveled back in time with an adult Bowser in search of the [[Star Children]], seven babies whose hearts possess unimaginable power. Kamek is shown with his Toadies kidnapping babies across the [[Mushroom World|planet]], trying to obtain the Star Children. Like in ''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 uses his magic on Bowser to make him enormous. 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 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''.
===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 respectful, though he takes clear enjoyment in either conjuring [[Bad Luck Space]]s or transforming 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). How genuine his politeness is tends to vary from game to game, ranging from being legitimately civil and reasonable (such as in the ''[[Yoshi's Island (series)|Yoshi's Island]]'' series where he tries to reason with Yoshi and doesn't seem to have much against Baby Mario himself) to his "politeness" merely being a facade (such as in ''[[Paper Mario: Sticker Star]]'' where Kamek puts on a condescending, falsely polite demeanor when speaking to Mario and Kersti).


===''Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars===
It is hinted that Kamek has a feminine side. This is notable in ''[[Mario & Luigi: Dream Team]]'' when he starts talking about how cute the dress based on [[Princess Peach|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.<ref>{{cite|author=蓮山史樹(はすやましき)|date=April 13, 2014|url=www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJSkTb2tduI&feature=youtu.be&t=11m21s|timestamp=11:21|title=【マリオ&ルイージRPG4ドリームアドベンチャー】実況プレイPART73|publisher=YouTube|language=ja|accessdate=May 26, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite|author=アイザック(ゲーム実況)|date=February 16, 2019|url=www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRIkAG0-TUw&feature=youtu.be&t=9m45s|timestamp=09:45|title=マリオ&ルイージRPG2×2 #7 『好き嫌いの多い≪ゲッシー» 登場!! 新エリア突入!!』|publisher=YouTube|language=ja|accessdate=May 26, 2024}}</ref> However, in the Japanese version of ''[[Paper Mario: Sticker Star]]'', Kamek instead uses the standard pronoun 「{{hover|私|わたし}}」 ''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]].<ref>{{cite|author=チームどんぺりのゲーム実況!|date=July 18, 2014|url=www.youtube.com/watch?v=S17raB45p3I&index=5&list=PLP-y9Jf3jmdNIad7sKfeYc82rlKKSd0YT|title=ペーパーマリオスーパーシールを初見な俺が実況プレイ!#5|publisher=YouTube|language=ja|accessdate=May 26, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite|author=aika|date=October 22, 2016|url=www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4d-xL8nXpE&feature=youtu.be&t=2m8s|title=【Wii U】ペーパーマリオ カラースプラッシュ ボス戦 カメック|timestamp=02:08|publisher=YouTube|language=ja|accessdate=May 26, 2024}}</ref>
In ''[[Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars]]'', a brainwashed Magikoopa appears as a boss. This Magikoopa is intended to be Kamek due to him being old friends with Bowser and, if players read his mind with [[Mallow]]'s [[Psychopath]] ability, the Magikoopa will state "That's... my child?", referring to Bowser, whom he raised. However, when the game was translated to English, the translators forgot about giving the name "Kamek" to the individual Magikoopa character and, as a result, Kamek was called "Magikoopa" in the English release. This has caused confusion among fans and led many to believe it was another character altogether.


In the Japanese version, the character has the name "Kamezādo" (カメザード) and his Psychopath line is 「キイーッウキイーーッ! あの時の赤んぼう!?」 "Kiiukiii! The baby from that time!?", again implying that he is the Magikoopa from Yoshi's Island. However, the name has not been used again.
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 Bowser's Minions, 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.


===Club Nintendo===
===Role in the the army===
[[Image:ClubNintendoKamek.jpg|thumb|left|Kamek, as he appears in ''Club Nintendo''<nowiki>'s</nowiki> comic adaptation of ''Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island''.]]
Kamek's role in Bowser's army is yet to be made completely clear. What is certain is that he is Bowser's caretaker, and later Bowser Jr.'s. Although Kamek is of the highest rank in the army, 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 or right-hand. 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.
Kamek is featured as recurring villain in the Mario comics in the German edition of ''[[Club Nintendo]]'', 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''<nowiki>'s</nowiki> adaptations of ''[[Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island]]'' and ''[[Yoshi's Story]]'' (despite not appearing in the game the latter comic is based upon).


===''Mario Kart'' series===
===Relationships===
Kamek makes a small cameo appearance in both ''[[Mario Kart: Super Circuit]]'' and ''[[Mario Kart: Double Dash!!]]''. In the former, Kamek can be seen floating back and forth near the finish line at [[Bowser Castle 3]]. In the latter, a sign advertising "KAMEK'S MAGIC SHOW" with an animated image 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.
====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 his son, [[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) or being abusive of him in one of his rages. 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.


It has been theorized by many that the Magikoopa that appears as a playable character in early screenshots of ''[[Mario Kart 64]]'' is Kamek, although this has yet to be officially proven.
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.


Although the Magikoopa himself doesn't appear in the game, in ''[[Mario Kart Wii]]'' there is a bike modeled after Kamek called the [[Magikruiser]]. More specifically, it is designed like Kamek riding on his broom and is a bike for small characters. Since this includes the baby characters, it may be a reference to his frequent kidnapping of the babies in the ''Yoshi'' series, which he does on his broom.
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.<ref>{{cite|url=www.nintendo.co.jp/3ds/a3rj/junior/index.html|title=クッパJr.RPG {{!}} マリオ&ルイージRPG3 DX {{!}} ニンテンドー3DS {{!}} 任天堂|publisher=Nintendo|language=ja|accessdate=May 26, 2024}}</ref> In ''Paper Mario: The Origami King'', Kamek implies that he also took care of Bowser Jr. while he was a baby, much like he did with his father.


===''Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time===
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.
{{pitenemy|
|title='''''[[Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time|Partners in Time]]'' Enemy'''
|image=[[Image:KamekBroomstick.gif]]<br>'''Kamek''' (with his broomstick) in battle
|location=[[Yoshi's Island]]
|hp=450 / 1 (copy)
|power=48 / 40 (copy)
|defense=36
|speed=29
|experience=130 / 0 (copy)
|coins=50 / 0 (copy)
|items=
|related=None
|notice=Stats in parentheses are from the Japanese and European versions of the game if they differ from the original American stats.<ref>[http://themushroomkingdom.net/mlpit_guide.shtml TMK Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time Enemy Guide]. Some stats were changed from the original American version of the game to the Japanese and European versions.</ref>
}}


At the beginning of ''[[Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time]]'', a desperate Baby Bowser, after his botched attempt to kidnap [[Baby Peach]] before the [[Shroob]] attack on [[Princess Peach's Castle]], calls Kamek to pick him up in the [[Koopa Cruiser]].  
====Enemies====
Kamek is mostly on negative terms with Mario and Luigi, 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 ''Paper Mario: The Origami King'', 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.


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 [[Bowser's Castle|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. Assuming they meant the worst, Kamek magically summons [[Boo]]s and [[Goomba]]s 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.
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 [[Papercraft]]s for the Mario Bros. and [[Paper Mario (character)|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.


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, Baby Mario, and Baby Luigi quickly discover their hiding place. On the island, Kamek is reduced to running errands for Baby Bowser, including stealing [[Yoshi Cookie]]s for him. When the brothers attempt to reach the island, the Magikoopa uses his magic powers to create fires 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.
Despite his conflict with the Mario Bros., Kamek's 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 Bowser's Minions 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]]''.


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 occasionally throw a [[Mushroom]], inadvertently healing the heroes. 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. 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. Then, after two turns, he will get back on his broom. After his defeat at the hands of Mario and Luigi, Kamek declines to show his face again in the game, but he does appear in the epilogue after the defeat of the Shroobs, traveling back to Baby Bowser's Castle with Prince Bowser.
==Profiles and statistics==
{{main|List of Kamek profiles and statistics}}
===''Super Mario Galaxy'' trading card===
[[File:KamekTradingCard.png|thumb|150px]]
''Bowser's evil minion, Kamek, is a powerful wizard who will do anything to please his master. After Bowser hoisted Peach's entire castle out of the ground in a massive laser attack, Mario clung on to the castle walls trying to save her. Kamek saw this and cast a spell on Mario that sent him floating out into the universe.''
{{br}}


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').
==Portrayals==
*[[Atsushi Masaki]] - Games
*[[Kevin Michael Richardson]] - ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Movie]]''
*[[Khaled Shershaby]] - ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Movie]]'' (Arabic)
*[[Ricardo Juarez]] - ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Movie]]'' (Brazilian Portuguese)
*[[Ko Hon Man]] - ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Movie]]'' (Cantonese)
*[[Juan Antonio Bernal]] - ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Movie]]'' (Catalan)
*[[Gilbert Lachance]] - ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Movie]]'' (Canadian French)
*[[Zhao Mingzhou]] - ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Movie]]'' (Chinese Mandarin)
*[[Jiří Knot]] - ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Movie]]'' (Czech)
*[[Peter Zhelder]] - ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Movie]]'' (Danish)
*[[Reinder van der Naalt]] - ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Movie]]'' (Dutch)
*[[Taavi Teplenkov]] - ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Movie]]'' (Estonian)
*[[Donald Reignoux]] - ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Movie]]'' (European French)
*[[Rui Oliveira]] - ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Movie]]'' (European Portuguese)
*[[Juan Alfonso Arenas]] - ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Movie]]'' (European Spanish)
*[[Antti Pääkkönen]] - ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Movie]]'' (Finnish)
*[[Peter Van Gucht]] - ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Movie]]'' (Flemish Dutch)
*[[Timmo Niesner]] - ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Movie]]'' (German)
*[[Pétros Damulís]] - ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Movie]]'' (Greek)
*[[Gilad Kleter]] - ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Movie]]'' (Hebrew)
*[[Vinod Sharma]] - ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Movie]]'' (Hindi)
*[[József Kerekes]] - ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Movie]]'' (Hungarian)
*[[Þórhallur Sigurðsson]] - ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Movie]]'' (Icelandic)
*[[Hardianto]] - ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Movie]]'' (Indonesian)
*[[Franco Mannella]] - ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Movie]]'' (Italian)
**[[Fabrizio Vidale]] - ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Movie]]'' (Italian, teaser trailer only)
*[[Jin Urayama]] - ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Movie]]'' (Japanese)
*[[Roberto Carrillo]] - ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Movie]]'' (Latin American Spanish)
*[[Bang Seong-jun]] - ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Movie]]'' (Korean)
*[[Darius Auželis]] - ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Movie]]'' (Lithuanian)
*[[Christoffer Staib]] - ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Movie]]'' (Norwegian)
*[[Janusz Wituch]] - ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Movie]]'' (Polish)
*[[Marius Săvescu]] - ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Movie]]'' (Romanian)
*[[Vladimir Friedman]] - ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Movie]]'' (Russian)
*[[Milan Antonić]] - ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Movie]]'' (Serbian)
*[[Juraj Predmerský]] - ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Movie]]'' (Slovak)
*[[Boris Kerč]] - ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Movie]]'' (Slovenian)
*[[Ivan Mathias Petersson]] - ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Movie]]'' (Swedish)
*[[Chen Chin-Yi]] - ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Movie]]'' (Taiwanese Mandarin)
*[[Wittaya Phasuk]] - ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Movie]]'' (Thai)
*[[Erkan Taşdöğen]] - ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Movie]]'' (Turkish)
*[[Volodymyr Nikolayenko]] - ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Movie]]'' (Ukranian)
*[[Phạm Bình]] - ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Movie]]'' (Vietnamese)


===[[Mario Party (series)|''Mario Party'' series]]===
==Voice samples==
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 owns the Kamek Space. In ''[[Mario Party 8]]'', Kamek appears on [[Bowser's Warped Orbit]]. If a player lands on his space, he'll switch that character's candy with someone else's. He also makes appearances on other boards, usually summoned by a green space.
{{media table
|file1=NSMBW Kamek's laugh.oga
|title1=''[[New Super Mario Bros. Wii]]''
|description1=Kamek laughing (2009)
|file2=BeholdKamek.mp3.oga
|title2=''[[The Super Mario Bros. Movie]]''
|description2=''"Behold, the [[Bowser|king of the Koopas]]!"'' - Kamek introducing Bowser (Kevin Michael Richardson)}}


====''Mario Party Advance====
==Quotes==
Kamek also appears as the famous '''Game Mage''' in ''[[Mario Party Advance]]''; [[Monty Mole]], [[Hoot the Owl]], and [[Amp]] all mention him when their quests are cleared. 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 King instead of earning it. The end credits for ''Mario Party Advance'' say that Kamek had "forgiven Bowser and rejoined his side."
{{main|List of Kamek 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''".


====''Mario Party DS====
==List of game appearances by date==
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 on in the story mode, Kamek is fought as a boss, in his library, [[Kamek's Library]], in the minigame "[[Book Bash]]". Firstly, the player must fly through the library hallway on a flying book with a pen gun, avoiding book cases and books that have been enchanted by Kamek, the chracter can shoot the books with the pen gun so that they never reach them. Once they reach the end, Kamek himself will be waiting. His main attacks consist of shooting magical blasts and summoning books. To defeat him, the player must repeatedly shoot his face with the ink from the pen gun, in a similar way to a shooting game, until he is completely blinded. At this point, he will fire magic in all directions, attempting to hit the player, but will instead cause a book to fall down onto his own head. He can, however, wipe off some of the ink from his face if the player doesn't blind him fast enough. Eventually, the evil sorcerer is beaten and he is not seen for the rest of the story. There are also several collectible items that belong to Kamek, including his fountain pen.
{|class="wikitable sortable"align=center width=100% style="border-collapse:collapse"
|-
!width=30%|Title
!width=30%|Role
!width=15%|Original release date
!width=25%|System/format
|-
|''[[Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island]]''
|Main Antagonist
|August 5, 1995
|SNES
|-
|''[[Tetris Attack]]''
|Secondary Antagonist, Boss
|1996
|SNES
|-
|''[[Mario Kart: Super Circuit]]''
|Non-playable character
|July 21, 2001
|Game Boy Advance
|-
|''[[Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3]]''
|Main Antagonist
|September 23, 2002
|Game Boy Advance
|-
|''[[Mario Party 5]]''
|Non-Playable character
|November 10, 2003
|Nintendo GameCube
|-
|''[[Mario Kart: Double Dash!!]]''
|Cameo
|November 17, 2003
|Nintendo GameCube
|-
|''[[Mario Party 6]]''
|Non-playable character
|December 6, 2004
|Nintendo GameCube
|-
|''[[Yoshi Touch & Go]]''
|Main Antagonist
|March 14, 2005
|Nintendo DS
|-
|''[[Mario Party Advance]]''
|Non-playable character
|March 28, 2005
|Game Boy Advance
|-
|''[[Mario Party 7]]''
|Non-playable character
|November 7, 2005
|Nintendo GameCube
|-
|''[[Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time]]''
|Minor Antagonist, Boss
|November 28, 2005
|Nintendo DS
|-
|''[[Mario Kart DS]]''
|Cameo
|November 14, 2005
|Nintendo DS
|-
|''[[Yoshi's Island DS]]''
|Main Antagonist
|November 13, 2006
|Nintendo DS
|-
|''[[Mario Party DS]]''
|Major Antagonist, Boss
|November 8, 2007
|Nintendo DS
|-
|''[[Mario Party 8]]''
|Non-playable character
|May 29, 2007
|Wii
|-
|''[[Super Mario Galaxy]]''
|Minor Antagonist
|November 1, 2007
|Wii
|-
|''[[Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story]]''
|Non-playable character
|February 11, 2009
|Nintendo DS
|-
|''[[New Super Mario Bros. Wii]]''
|Major Antagonist, Boss
|November 12, 2009
|Wii
|-
|''[[Mario Party 9]]''
|Unlockable playable character
|March 11, 2012
|Wii
|-
|''[[New Super Mario Bros. U]]''
|Major Antagonist, Boss
|November 18, 2012
|Wii U
|-
|''[[Paper Mario: Sticker Star]]''
|Secondary Antagonist, Boss
|November 11, 2012
|Nintendo 3DS
|-
|''[[Mario & Luigi: Dream Team]]
|Secondary Antagonist, Boss
|July 12, 2013
|Nintendo 3DS
|-
|''[[Mario Party: Island Tour]]''
|Non-Playable Character
|November 22, 2013
|Nintendo 3DS
|-
|''[[Yoshi's New Island]]''
|Main Antagonist, Boss
|March 14, 2014
|Nintendo 3DS
|-
|''[[Mario Party 10]]''
|Boss
|March 20, 2015
|Wii U
|-
|''[[Yoshi's Woolly World]]''
|Main Antagonist
|June 25, 2015
|Wii U
|-
|''[[Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam]]''
|Major Antagonist, Boss
|December 3, 2015
|Nintendo 3DS
|-
|''[[Mario Party: Star Rush]]''
|Boss
|October 7, 2016
|Nintendo 3DS
|-
|''[[Paper Mario: Color Splash]]''
|Minor Antagonist, Boss
|October 7, 2016
|Wii U
|-
|''[[Mario Kart 8 Deluxe]]''
|Playable Character
|April 28, 2017
|Nintendo Switch
|-
|''[[Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World]]''
|Main Antagonist
|February 3, 2017
|Nintendo 3DS
|-
|''[[Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions]]''
|Non-playable character
|October 6, 2017
|Nintendo 3DS
|-
|''[[Mario Party: The Top 100]]''
|Non-playable character
|November 10, 2017
|Nintendo 3DS
|-
|''[[Super Mario Party]]''
|Non-Playable Character/host
|October 5, 2018
|Nintendo Switch
|-
|''[[Mario Tennis Aces]]''
|Playable Character/DLC, May 1 2019
|June 22, 2018
|Nintendo Switch
|-
|''[[New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe]]''
|Major Antagonist, Boss
|January 11, 2019
|Nintendo Switch
|-
|''[[Yoshi’s Crafted World]]''
|Main Antagonist, Secret boss
|2019
|Nintendo Switch
|-
|''[[Mario Kart Tour]]''
|Playable Character
|September 25, 2019
|iOS, Android
|-
|''[[Paper Mario: The Origami King]]''
|Ally
|July 17, 2020
|Nintendo Switch
|-
|''[[The Super Mario Bros. Movie]]''
|Secondary Antagonist
|April 7, 2023
|Film
|-
|''[[Super Mario Bros. Wonder]]''
|Minor Antagonist
|October 20, 2023
|Nintendo Switch
|-
|''[[Super Mario Party Jamboree]]''
|Non-playable character/host
|October 17, 2024
|Nintendo Switch
|-
|''[[Mario & Luigi: Brothership]]''
|Non-playable character
|November 7, 2024
|Nintendo Switch
|}


It is mentioned that the [[barrels]] on [[DK's Stone Statue]] are thrown by Kamek.
==Gallery==
{{main-gallery|Kamek}}
<gallery>
SMW2 Kamek spell art.png|''[[Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island]]''
KamekNew.jpg|''[[Yoshi Touch & Go]]''
NSMBW Kamek Artwork.png|''[[New Super Mario Bros. Wii]]''
MP9 Kamek Artwork.png|''[[Mario Party 9]]''
Kamek2 YWW.jpg|''[[Yoshi's Woolly World]]''
Paper Kamek MLPJ.png|''[[Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam]]''
</gallery>


===''Mario Superstar Baseball===
==Names in other languages==
While Kamek does not appear in ''[[Mario Superstar Baseball]]'', he is mentioned in the Magikoopa trophy, being described as "the best Magikoopa".
{{foreign names
 
|Jap=カメック
===''Super Princess Peach===
|JapR=Kamekku
[[Image: Giantkamek.PNG|frame|Giant Kamek.]]
|JapM=Kamek (same as [[Magikoopa]]), sometimes romanized as "Kameck"<ref>{{cite|url=www.nintendo.co.jp/wii/ssqj/character|title=マリオパーティ9:マリオと仲間たち|publisher=Nintendo|language=ja|accessdate=June 24, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{file link|NAP-05 Spades 8.png|''Mario Trump'' NAP-05 8 of Spades}}</ref>
In ''[[Super Princess Peach]]'', Kamek reappears as '''Giant Kamek''' (Japanese デカメック ''Dekamekku''), 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 [[Magikoopa]]s. After being defeated by Princess Peach and Perry, Kamek relinquishes Luigi.
|Chi=卡美克
 
|ChiR={{nw|Kǎměikè}}
Unlike the other bosses, who explode upon being defeated, Kamek turns transparent and disappears, hinting that he survived the battle (enforced by his appearance in ''New Super Mario Bros. Wii'').
|ChiM=Transliteration of the Japanese name
 
|Dut=Kamek
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.
|Fre=Kamek
 
|Ger=Kamek
The glossary of ''Super Princess Peach'' refers to Kamek as "A Kamek made huge by magic." Because "Kamek" is the Japanese name of both the Kamek character and the species known as "Magikoopa" in Western localizations, Giant Kamek may actually be a generic Magikoopa and not the genuine Kamek due to translation errors (which would explain the seemingly improper article "a" being applied to him). However, because Giant Kamek is clad in robes that are not the same as the Magikoopas he summons, it is still likely that he is the true Kamek due to this form of distinction. The fact that Giant Kamek was guarding Luigi, a hostage of major importance, also supports the theory that he was indeed intended to be accepted as the Kamek character, as naturally Bowser's best wizard would be suitable for the job of guarding Luigi.
|Ita=Kamek
 
|Ita2=Magikoopa<ref>{{cite| title = [[List of New Super Mario Bros. Wii trading cards|''New Super Mario Bros. Wii'' - Album ufficiale]] | page = 6 }}</ref>
===''Super Mario Galaxy===
|Ita3=Kamek il Magikoopa<ref>''[[The Super Mario Bros. Movie#The Super Mario Bros. Movie Official Activity Book|Super Mario Bros. il Libro-Gioco Ufficiale]]''</ref>
In ''[[Super Mario Galaxy]]'', Kamek only makes a small cameo in one of the opening cutscenes. As Mario tries to enter [[Princess Peach's Castle]] after being lifted into space, Kamek appears. He attacks Mario with his magic, sending him flying off into space. Afterward, Kamek isn't seen for the remainder of the game, although normal [[Magikoopa]]s are seen.
|Ita3M=Kamek the Magikoopa
 
|Kor=마귀
===''Super Smash Bros. Brawl===
|KorR=Magwi
In ''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]'', Kamek gets a very minor appearance as two [[stickers]]. One sticker shows him casting a spell. This sticker, if used in the [[Subspace Emissary]] by a specific [[player|character]], will raise the power of the character's magic attacks by thirteen. The second sticker is Kamek riding his broom, which raises the selected characters indirect special power by 5.
|KorM=From "마귀할멈" (''magwihalmeom'', "witch"), highlighting his abilities concerning magic. This name can also be read as "魔龜", meaning "magic turtle".
 
|Por=Kamek
===''New Super Mario Bros. Wii===
|Rus=Камек
[[Image:KamekRoyNSMBWII.PNG|thumb|200px|left|Kamek appears on the top left of the screen and casts his magic at the start of [[Roy Koopa]]'s battle.]]
|RusR=Kamek
Kamek appears in ''[[New Super Mario Bros. Wii]]'', where he plays a similar role to ''[[Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island]]'' and ''[[Yoshi's Island DS]]''. Right before the second battle against a [[Koopaling]], he will use his magic to make the battle more difficult for the heroes, dropping magic dust over the room making something unimaginable happen. He is also seen carrying [[Bowser Jr.]] after his first two battles with him, and is the boss of the [[World 8 (New Super Mario Bros. Wii)|Eighth World's]] fortress.
|Spa=Kamek
 
|Tha=คาเม็ก<ref>{{cite|date=November 30, 2022|url=youtu.be/3Egwz629D8c|title=The Super Mario Bros.Movie {{!}} Trailer 2 {{!}} Thai Sub {{!}} UIP Thailand|language=th|author=UIP Thailand|accessdate=May 26, 2024|publisher=YouTube}}</ref>
In the battle of his fortress, Kamek casts magic on the field, causing the whole arena to start sidescrolling to the left. Kamek 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. Of course, Kamek can teleport himself anywhere else along the field. Again, it takes three stomps to take down the Magikoopa. He does not spin around in a shell when stomped and also unlike the Koopalings, when Kamek retreats from the fortress, he returns to the Airship instead of the Castle. He is next seen kidnapping Peach off of the Airship and taking her to Bowser's Castle.
|ThaR=Kha-mek
 
|ThaM=Kamek
Kamek 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 Kamek dressed as Peach in order to fool Mario and Co. In another reference to ''Yoshi's Island'', Kamek turns Bowser giant with his magic, but before the final battle commences, the enlarged Koopa King accidentally knocks Kamek off his broom.
}}
 
Strangely enough, if a player loses a life and re-enters the fight from the save point, Kamek cannot be seen in the cage, instead flying in and using his magic after Bowser falls. However, if Bowser's Castle is started from the beginning a second time (after Bowser is defeated), the "Kamek disguised as Peach" scene is shown again. This holds true for all runs of Bowser's castle from the beginning.
<br clear=all>
 
==Possible Appearances==
Various unnamed, yet high-ranking Magikoopas have appeared in the [[Mario (series)|''Mario'' series]]. Strong parallels are often drawn between Kamek and these other Magikoopas, based on their relationships with Bowser and/or their standings in the [[Koopa Troop]]. In the case of ''[[Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga]]'', this stems from the fact that the character has "Kamek" in his name, and not from the so-called [[Psycho Kamek]]'s protrayal, which bears little resemblance to Kamek himself.
 
===''Super Mario Adventures===
An unnamed Magikoopa character extremely similar to Kamek appears in ''[[Nintendo Power]]''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s ''[[Super Mario Adventures]]'' comic, which was created at least four years before his debut in ''Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island''. This Magikoopa acted like a second-in-command to Bowser and was in charge of his wedding to Princess Toadstool, doing such duties as creating a giant wedding cake for the occasion and overseeing Bowser's troops and the Yoshies he had enslaved.
 
===''Yoshi's Safari===
In ''[[Yoshi's Safari]]'', a Magikoopa appears as a boss in the latter part of the game. If this is indeed the Kamek character, then this would make this game the first appearance of Kamek.
 
===[[Paper Mario (series)|''Paper Mario'' series]]===
Kamek may have been the unnamed Magikoopa seen delivering news to [[Kammy Koopa]] in ''[[Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door]]'' and/or the one standing by Bowser in the opening scene of ''[[Super Paper Mario]]''. However, since neither Magikoopas are referred to by name or have any dialogue, this remains unconfirmed. Also, unused text for the game reveals an enemy called "Kamek's Apprentice". No sprites or images have been found for the enemy, however.
 
===''Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga===
A [[Magikoopa]] with the name [[Psycho Kamek]] made appearance in ''[[Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga]]''. He was a bit nicer than Kamek, and has a job in [[Little Fungitown]] to hypnotize the residents of the village, if they want to. [[Luigi]] also was hypnotized by the Magikoopa, to get as much courage as [[Mario]], because Luigi needs to find [[Crabbie Grass]] for his bro, that has [[Bean Fever]], but Luigi was too nervous and scared to do it alone. Despite the name, they are not the same character, as [[Magikoopa]]s are known as Kameks in Japan.
 
===''Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story===
[[Image:MandL 3 kamek.PNG|frame|left]]
[[Image:KamerTreatingBowser.png|thumb|140px|The possible Kamek feeding the wounded Bowser]]
In [[Dimble Wood]], a Magikoopa instructs [[Bowser]] on how to use his punch and fire breath. Another Magikoopa is seen treating Bowser's wounds during the credits, and again at the end informing Bowser of the arrival of [[Birdley]]. It is never specified whether or not this Magikoopa is Kamek. Though at the end of the game, the same Magikoopa appears to have a similar personality to Kamek, so it is assumed that the Magikoopa is him.
<br clear=all>
 
==Physical Appearance==
In his most recent appearances, Kamek is depicted as being identical to the generic [[Magikoopa]]. 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. He is always seen with his scepter, a golden stick with a red jewel at the end. In the past, there have been a few alterations from his generic Magikoopa appearance. The first of these was introduced in his debut appearance. His blue hat has a white brim, while regular Magkioopas' hat brims were blue. White trim is also on the end of his robes' sleeves. In ''Super Princess Peach'', he had a complete change of wardrobe at first; instead having cyan robes covered by a purple cloak and changing his round glasses for a more triangular shaped pair. In addition his scepter was longer and had a green jewel as opposed to red. After receiving enough damage in the battle with Peach, his colors return to his classic set.
 
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 Partners in Time.
 
==Powers and Abilities==
[[Image:KamekMagicBlast.jpg|thumb|right|Kamek, sending out a magical blast from his scepter.]]
Kamek displays powers commonly associated with Magikoopas, including short range teleportation, creating beings from inanimate objects, pyrokinesis, firing magical blasts from his scepter 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. 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 has 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 [[Wikipedia: Divination|divination]], brainwashing, [[Wikipedia: Precognition|foreseeing events in the future]] and [[Wikipedia: Psychokinesis|manipulating objects with his mind]]. These he does without using his scepter, although he does utilize a crystal ball for precognition and divination.
 
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.
 
==Personality==
Kamek is a character that is devoted to Bowser; he does what his master wishes, without question. This means that if Bowser gives an order, no matter how ridiculous or difficult, Kamek will follow it. He is also very evil, formulating diabolical schemes with little thought as to how they will affect innocent people, such as kidnapping the Baby Mario brothers and attempting to destroy his enemies without a second's hesitation and instead a feeling of joy (apparent in his speeches to the Yoshis before setting one of his monsters on them). Kamek does, however, have some sense of nobility and free thinking, as seen when he abandons Bowser for unjustly taking the Game King name in ''Mario Party Advance''.
 
A more sympathetic side of Kamek is seen as he raises his prince in ''Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time''. As aforementioned, his menial errands and grudging acceptance towards them makes the Kamek of this game more snarky and comical than evil, though he is still a threat.
 
From ''Mario Party DS'', it would seem that Kamek is also quite an academic character, as the board that he owns is a library. This is reinforced by the fact that Kamek can build complicated machines; an ability obviously requires much skill and knowledge in the areas of science, math and technology.
 
==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 was once the caretaker of the previous Koopa king. Although Kamek is of the highest rank in the Koopa Troop, his actual title and role is not really known. 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 the same manner that [[Goomboss]] rules the [[Goomba]]s as a "puppet king". This is evidenced by the Magikoopa bio from ''Mario Superstar Baseball'', which calls him "the best of the Magikoopas", and in ''Super Princess Peach'', where he commands the only legion of them in the entire game.
 
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.
 
==Relationship with Other Characters==
===Bowser===
{{main|Bowser}}
 
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. 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, although he doesn't have any problems with attacking Kamek when annoyed, seems to show much more respect to his elderly guardian than to any other of his henchmen (except [[Bowser Jr]]), and does not insult him at all; completely contrasting his relationship with [[Kammy]].
 
===Mario Brothers===
{{main|Mario}} {{main|Luigi}}
 
Mario and Luigi are mostly on negative terms with Kamek, after having endured two attempted kidnappings and having a fair number of battles against the wizard. 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.
 
===Yoshi===
{{main|Yoshi}}
{{main|Yoshi (species)}}
Another group of Kamek's enemies are Yoshi and the rest of the Yoshi clan. 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]]''.
 
==Gallery==
<center><gallery>
Image:KamekSW2YI.png|<center>''[[Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island]]
Image:KamekMagicBlast.jpg|<center>''Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
Image:KamekNew.jpg|<center>''[[Yoshi's Island DS]]
Image:KamekNSMBW.png|<center>''[[New Super Mario Bros. Wii]]
</gallery></center>


==Trivia==
==Trivia==
*Official artwork for ''Yoshi's Island DS'' depicts Kamek with four fingers, whereas he only has three (excluding the thumb) in every other appearance.
*Official artwork for ''Yoshi Touch & Go'' depicts Kamek with five fingers, whereas he only has four in every other appearance.
*The spells in ''New Super Mario Bros. Wii'' are similar to ''Yoshi's Island''.
*In a questionnaire from Nintendo, Kamek was included as a popularly requested character for ''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]''.<ref>{{cite|url=www.nintendo.co.jp/n01/n64/software/nus_p_nalj/smash/PostResult3.html|title=アンケート集計拳!!|language=ja|publisher=Nintendo|accessdate=May 26, 2024}}</ref>


==References==
==References==
<references/>
<references/>


==Names in Other Languages==
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{{foreignname
{{Magikoopas}}
|Jap=カメック
{{YI}}
|JapR=Kamekku
{{TA}}
|JapM=Kamek
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|Spa=Kamek
{{YT&G}}
|SpaM=-
{{M&LPIT}}
|Ger=Kamek
|GerM=-
}}
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{{MPDS}}
{{MPDS}}
{{Magikoopas}}
{{MKAGP2}}
{{SPP}}
{{SMG}}
{{PiT}}
{{M&LBIS}}
{{NSMB Wii}}
{{NSMBW}}
{{Yoshi}}
{{MP9}}
[[Category:Koopas]]
{{PMSS}}
[[Category:Bosses]]
{{NSMBU}}
[[Category:Villains]]
{{M&LDT}}
[[Category:Magicians]]
{{M&SATSOWG}}
{{MPIT}}
{{YNI}}
{{MGWT}}
{{MP10}}
{{P&DSMBE}}
{{YWW}}
{{M&LPJ}}
{{PMCS}}
{{MPSR}}
{{SMP}}
{{YCW}}
{{DMW}}
{{PMTOK}}
{{MKT}}
{{MPS}}
{{TSMBM}}
{{SMBW}}
{{SMPJ}}}}
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[[Category:Yoshi's Island DS]]
[[Category:Yoshi's New Island bosses]]
[[Category:Yoshi's Woolly World bosses]]

Latest revision as of 16:21, November 25, 2024

This article is about a specific character. For the generic enemy occasionally called Kamek, see Magikoopa.
Kamek
Artwork of Kamek for Super Mario Party Jamboree
Artwork of Kamek for Super Mario Party Jamboree
Full name Kamek the Magikoopa[1]
Species Magikoopa
First appearance Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (1995)
Latest appearance Mario & Luigi: Brothership (2024)
Latest portrayal Kevin Michael Richardson (English, 2023 movie)
“You know, when I think 'little Mario,' I think 'Bowser's perpetual enemy.' Which makes you MY enemy.”
Kamek, Paper Mario: Sticker Star

Kamek (referred to as Magikoopa on occasion) is an old yet powerful Magikoopa, adviser to Bowser[2] and a high-ranking member in Bowser's army. He is the arch-enemy of Yoshi and serves as one of the secondary antagonists in the Super 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 his master, even in the present day. Kamek's name comes from the name for the Magikoopa species in Japanese:「カメック」(Kamekku), which is derived from「亀」(kame), the Japanese word for "turtle."

There are various unnamed Magikoopas presumed to be Kamek, often due to the parallels between their relationship with Bowser, Bowser Jr., their position in Bowser's army or a specific 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. This relates to confusion with the Japanese games where the character and species have the same name.

History[edit]

Main article: History of Kamek

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

Concept and creation[edit]

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 Bowser's Minions 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 adviser and a Magikoopa hypnotist from the Super Mario Adventures comic, and a right-hand man Magikoopa from the fourth chapter onwards of Super Mario-kun. These continued even after Kamek's introduction with examples such as Wizakoopa (who is implied to be an iteration of the same character) and 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.

General information[edit]

Physical appearance[edit]

Kamek is visually identical to Magikoopas; 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 were also blue. He is never seen without his scepter, which is a golden staff 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. Though never seen, he remarks that the Mario bros. "really chap [his] shell", explaining the hunch in his back.

Kamek's skin, like all Magikoopas and most other Koopa species, is yellow. Despite being elderly, he shows no physical signs of his age, looking very similar in the present as he did in the past - though this may be because he is so old that the past version of him seen in Yoshi's Island DS was still considerably old. However he appeared somewhat smaller in his past appearance in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, though this may be due to the game's differing art style. In the Super Smash Bros. series, Kamek's appearance is mostly unaltered, compared to other Super Mario characters. However, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate gives Kamek a slightly subdued color scheme, while his clothing and broom receive simple detailing.

Speech[edit]

Babbling sound effects were used as Kamek's speaking sounds in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island and its sequels. In Mario Superstar Baseball and in games that followed this, Kamek has a high screechy voice. Kamek's dialogue is only shown through in-game text; his sound clips are a mixture of yells, grunts, and laughs. 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[edit]

Kamek
Kamek, sending out a magical blast from his scepter.

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.

Kamek clones himself in Paper Mario: The Origami King.
Kamek clones himself in Paper Mario: The Origami King.

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[edit]

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 respectful, though he takes clear enjoyment in either conjuring Bad Luck Spaces or transforming 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). How genuine his politeness is tends to vary from game to game, ranging from being legitimately civil and reasonable (such as in the Yoshi's Island series where he tries to reason with Yoshi and doesn't seem to have much against Baby Mario himself) to his "politeness" merely being a facade (such as in Paper Mario: Sticker Star where Kamek puts on a condescending, falsely polite demeanor when speaking to Mario and Kersti).

It is hinted that Kamek has a feminine side. 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.[3][4] However, in the Japanese version of Paper Mario: Sticker Star, Kamek instead uses the standard pronoun 「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.[5][6]

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 Bowser's Minions, 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 the army[edit]

Kamek's role in Bowser's army is yet to be made completely clear. What is certain is that he is Bowser's caretaker, and later Bowser Jr.'s. Although Kamek is of the highest rank in the army, 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 or right-hand. 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.

Relationships[edit]

Friends[edit]

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 his son, 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) or being abusive of him in one of his rages. 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.

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.[7] In Paper Mario: The Origami King, Kamek implies that he also took care of Bowser Jr. while he was a baby, much like he did with his father.

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[edit]

Kamek is mostly on negative terms with Mario and Luigi, 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 Paper Mario: The Origami King, 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 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 Bowser's Minions 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.

Profiles and statistics[edit]

Main article: List of Kamek profiles and statistics

Super Mario Galaxy trading card[edit]

KamekTradingCard.png

Bowser's evil minion, Kamek, is a powerful wizard who will do anything to please his master. After Bowser hoisted Peach's entire castle out of the ground in a massive laser attack, Mario clung on to the castle walls trying to save her. Kamek saw this and cast a spell on Mario that sent him floating out into the universe.

Portrayals[edit]

Voice samples[edit]

Icon of an audio speaker. New Super Mario Bros. Wii - Kamek laughing (2009)
File infoMedia:NSMBW Kamek's laugh.oga
Icon of an audio speaker. The Super Mario Bros. Movie - "Behold, the king of the Koopas!" - Kamek introducing Bowser (Kevin Michael Richardson)
File infoMedia:BeholdKamek.mp3.oga
Help:MediaHaving trouble playing?

Quotes[edit]

Main article: List of Kamek 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".

List of game appearances by date[edit]

Title Role Original release date System/format
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island Main Antagonist August 5, 1995 SNES
Tetris Attack Secondary Antagonist, Boss 1996 SNES
Mario Kart: Super Circuit Non-playable character July 21, 2001 Game Boy Advance
Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3 Main Antagonist September 23, 2002 Game Boy Advance
Mario Party 5 Non-Playable character November 10, 2003 Nintendo GameCube
Mario Kart: Double Dash!! Cameo November 17, 2003 Nintendo GameCube
Mario Party 6 Non-playable character December 6, 2004 Nintendo GameCube
Yoshi Touch & Go Main Antagonist March 14, 2005 Nintendo DS
Mario Party Advance Non-playable character March 28, 2005 Game Boy Advance
Mario Party 7 Non-playable character November 7, 2005 Nintendo GameCube
Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time Minor Antagonist, Boss November 28, 2005 Nintendo DS
Mario Kart DS Cameo November 14, 2005 Nintendo DS
Yoshi's Island DS Main Antagonist November 13, 2006 Nintendo DS
Mario Party DS Major Antagonist, Boss November 8, 2007 Nintendo DS
Mario Party 8 Non-playable character May 29, 2007 Wii
Super Mario Galaxy Minor Antagonist November 1, 2007 Wii
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story Non-playable character February 11, 2009 Nintendo DS
New Super Mario Bros. Wii Major Antagonist, Boss November 12, 2009 Wii
Mario Party 9 Unlockable playable character March 11, 2012 Wii
New Super Mario Bros. U Major Antagonist, Boss November 18, 2012 Wii U
Paper Mario: Sticker Star Secondary Antagonist, Boss November 11, 2012 Nintendo 3DS
Mario & Luigi: Dream Team Secondary Antagonist, Boss July 12, 2013 Nintendo 3DS
Mario Party: Island Tour Non-Playable Character November 22, 2013 Nintendo 3DS
Yoshi's New Island Main Antagonist, Boss March 14, 2014 Nintendo 3DS
Mario Party 10 Boss March 20, 2015 Wii U
Yoshi's Woolly World Main Antagonist June 25, 2015 Wii U
Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Major Antagonist, Boss December 3, 2015 Nintendo 3DS
Mario Party: Star Rush Boss October 7, 2016 Nintendo 3DS
Paper Mario: Color Splash Minor Antagonist, Boss October 7, 2016 Wii U
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Playable Character April 28, 2017 Nintendo Switch
Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World Main Antagonist February 3, 2017 Nintendo 3DS
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions Non-playable character October 6, 2017 Nintendo 3DS
Mario Party: The Top 100 Non-playable character November 10, 2017 Nintendo 3DS
Super Mario Party Non-Playable Character/host October 5, 2018 Nintendo Switch
Mario Tennis Aces Playable Character/DLC, May 1 2019 June 22, 2018 Nintendo Switch
New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe Major Antagonist, Boss January 11, 2019 Nintendo Switch
Yoshi’s Crafted World Main Antagonist, Secret boss 2019 Nintendo Switch
Mario Kart Tour Playable Character September 25, 2019 iOS, Android
Paper Mario: The Origami King Ally July 17, 2020 Nintendo Switch
The Super Mario Bros. Movie Secondary Antagonist April 7, 2023 Film
Super Mario Bros. Wonder Minor Antagonist October 20, 2023 Nintendo Switch
Super Mario Party Jamboree Non-playable character/host October 17, 2024 Nintendo Switch
Mario & Luigi: Brothership Non-playable character November 7, 2024 Nintendo Switch

Gallery[edit]

For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Kamek.

Names in other languages[edit]

Language Name Meaning Notes
Japanese カメック[?]
Kamekku
Kamek (same as Magikoopa), sometimes romanized as "Kameck"[8][9]
Chinese 卡美克[?]
Kǎměikè
Transliteration of the Japanese name
Dutch Kamek[?] -
French Kamek[?] -
German Kamek[?] -
Italian Kamek[?] -
Magikoopa[10]
Kamek il Magikoopa[11] Kamek the Magikoopa
Korean 마귀[?]
Magwi
From "마귀할멈" (magwihalmeom, "witch"), highlighting his abilities concerning magic. This name can also be read as "魔龜", meaning "magic turtle".
Portuguese Kamek[?] -
Russian Камек[?]
Kamek
-
Spanish Kamek[?] -
Thai คาเม็ก[12]
Kha-mek
Kamek

Trivia[edit]

  • Official artwork for Yoshi Touch & Go depicts Kamek with five fingers, whereas he only has four in every other appearance.
  • In a questionnaire from Nintendo, Kamek was included as a popularly requested character for Super Smash Bros. Melee.[13]

References[edit]

  1. ^ January 1996. Nintendo Magazine System (UK) issue 40. Page 18.
  2. ^ "A legendary magician and trusted adviser to Bowser. For some reason he’s recently taken up cleaning as a hobby." – Kamek's description in the Paper Mario: The Origami King official website.[dead link]
  3. ^ 蓮山史樹(はすやましき) (April 13, 2014). 【マリオ&ルイージRPG4ドリームアドベンチャー】実況プレイPART73 (11:21). YouTube (Japanese). Retrieved May 26, 2024.
  4. ^ アイザック(ゲーム実況) (February 16, 2019). マリオ&ルイージRPG2×2 #7 『好き嫌いの多い≪ゲッシー» 登場!! 新エリア突入!!』 (09:45). YouTube (Japanese). Retrieved May 26, 2024.
  5. ^ チームどんぺりのゲーム実況! (July 18, 2014). ペーパーマリオスーパーシールを初見な俺が実況プレイ!#5. YouTube (Japanese). Retrieved May 26, 2024.
  6. ^ aika (October 22, 2016). 【Wii U】ペーパーマリオ カラースプラッシュ ボス戦 カメック (02:08). YouTube (Japanese). Retrieved May 26, 2024.
  7. ^ クッパJr.RPG | マリオ&ルイージRPG3 DX | ニンテンドー3DS | 任天堂. Nintendo (Japanese). Retrieved May 26, 2024.
  8. ^ マリオパーティ9:マリオと仲間たち. Nintendo (Japanese). Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  9. ^ Mario Trump NAP-05 8 of SpadesMedia:NAP-05 Spades 8.png
  10. ^ New Super Mario Bros. Wii - Album ufficiale. Page 6.
  11. ^ Super Mario Bros. il Libro-Gioco Ufficiale
  12. ^ UIP Thailand (November 30, 2022). The Super Mario Bros.Movie | Trailer 2 | Thai Sub | UIP Thailand. YouTube (Thai). Retrieved May 26, 2024.
  13. ^ アンケート集計拳!!. Nintendo (Japanese). Retrieved May 26, 2024.