Ukiki: Difference between revisions

Ukiki
	; Encyclopedia image of an Ukiki from Mario Party Superstars
First appearance	Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (1995)
Latest appearance	Mario Party Superstars (2021)
Variants
	Uckykong
Notable members
	Akiki

Revision as of 21:26, July 28, 2024

"Monkey" redirects here. For the mentioned character in the Donkey Kong Country television series, see Monkey Kong. For other monkeys in the Super Mario franchise, see Category:Primates.

“Uukee-kee! Don't eat me. I won't taste good, and I'll give you a terrible stomachache! Help me! Uukee-kee!”

—Ukkiki, Super Mario 64 DS

Ukikis (initially spelled Ukkikis,^[1] though Ukiki the Monkey^[2] was also in use), originally known as Grinders^[3] and sometimes referred to as monkeys,^[4] are a species of monkey in the Super Mario franchise. They originally appeared in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, with Super Mario 64 giving them a different name across languages and slightly different appearance. Due to this, it is possible they were not originally intended to be the same entity, but were merged in later games, starting with Super Mario 64 DS.

Ukikis often appear as audience members in various sports games of the Super Mario franchise, such as in Mario Power Tennis, the Mario Baseball series, and Mario Strikers Charged.

History

Yoshi's Island series

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island / Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island artwork, depicting their original design

Grinders first appear in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island and its remake, Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3. They usually show up in jungle stages and attack Yoshi in a variety of ways, including spitting watermelon seeds and grabbing Baby Mario; when hit, they turn a darker shade of brown and run away. Some Grinders drop bombs, and were named Short Fuses in the Player's Guide.^[5] Others drop Needlenoses, and were named Seedy Sallies.^[5] Some Grinders are harmless and simply run around the stage, acting as a source of eggs; others swing in long chains. Fleeing Grinders jump onto vines and climb them as high as possible, jumping off and running if a Yoshi gets too close. Grinders can also swim slowly in water. Grinders can be stunned with eggs or a stomp, after which Yoshi can defeat them by eating them or running over them while they are unconscious. However, they are difficult to eat while running because of their speed. Grinders cannot be defeated while in water, as stunning them instead causes them to "flail" in place. A larger Grinder that wears a red tie and attacks by throwing barrels (a clear reference to Donkey Kong) was planned, possibly as a boss, but is not implemented in any way in the final release, though its graphics can be found unused.

Yoshi's Island DS

Ukikis make a reappearance in Yoshi's Island DS. One of them kidnaps Baby Peach at the beginning of the level Baby DK, the Jungle King!. They are all harmless, but are still difficult to catch due to their agility. If a Yoshi goes near them, they immediately run away or climb away on nearby vines, though they usually stop once they make it off-screen. They can be stunned by jumping on top of them or by throwing eggs at them. They can be defeated by eating them, or by taking a second hit while they are stunned. Ukikis can be viewed in the Land Enemies exhibit in the Island Museum.

Yoshi's New Island

They once again appear in Yoshi's New Island. In this game, Ukikis can no longer be swallowed (though they can still be defeated by other means, such as a Ground Pound), and are prominent in the stages Ukiki Jammin' and Ukiki Trouble in Clawdaddy Cove, though they also appear in other levels of World 3, including Rise of the Nasty Nep-Enuts, Harry Hedgehog's Labyrinth, and Ride the Blarggwich. They remain almost entirely unchanged from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island

Super Mario 64 / Super Mario 64 DS

An Ukkiki's redesigned look for Super Mario 64

“Owwwuu! Let me go! Uukee-kee! I was only teasing! Can't you take a joke? I'll tell you what, Let's trade. If you let me go, I'll give you something really good. So, how about it?”

—Ukkiki, Super Mario 64

Ukkikis return in Super Mario 64 and its remake, Super Mario 64 DS. Two of them inhabit the course Tall, Tall Mountain. One can be seen following Mario around and doing tricks. However, if Mario grabs him, he will steal Mario's cap and wear it. He will also gain it if it is blown off Mario by the Fwoosh farther up the mountain. To get it back, Mario has to grab him again; this is made more difficult by the fact that the Ukkiki now runs away from Mario and jumps over him if he gets cornered.

In the second mission of Tall, Tall Mountain, Mario has to catch a different Ukkiki on top of the mountain. This one tries to run away from Mario, rather than bother or chase him. When caught, the monkey will promise to give Mario "something really good" if Mario lets him go. If the player accepts, the Ukkiki will make his way down to the cage (which has the course's Power Star) and jump on it, making it accessible for Mario to collect. This Ukkiki appears only when the second mission is selected.

Their Super Mario 64 DS design replaces the Super Mario 64 design with a new one that resembles their artwork from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island as their standard appearance for further games. With the introduction of different playable characters in Super Mario 64 DS, one of the Ukkikis is also given an additional role during gameplay. If any character is wearing another character's cap, the Ukkiki will take it. This will cause the disguised character to transform back to his normal self. An in-game glitch allows Wario to pick up the Ukkiki with the Metal Cap. Using this method, it is also possible to carry the Ukkiki into the water. If Yoshi eats him, he will tell Yoshi that he will give him a stomachache, but Yoshi can eat the other Ukkiki and spit him out for the Power Star.

According to early text in leaked source code, the "nice" Ukkiki would have originally revealed that the "enemy" one is his naughty brother, Wakkiki.^[6]

Tetris Attack

A Grinder appears in Tetris Attack alongside Poochy in every mode as one of Yoshi's opponents. Due to a spell cast by Bowser and Kamek that brainwashed them, they tried to stop Yoshi on his adventure to stop Bowser. Once the Grinder is defeated, he and Poochy are freed from the spell and are unlocked as playable characters, though Poochy is used for the icon and the sound effects during gameplay.

Mario Kart 64

An Ukkiki with a hat makes a background appearance in Mario Kart 64, where its silhouette is seen driving a bus in Toad's Turnpike.^[7]

Mario Golf series

An Ukkiki appearing after a Pin Shot in Mario Golf

In the Mario Golf series, "Ukkiki" is one of the names on the scoreboard in both the Nintendo 64 version of Mario Golf as well as the Game Boy Color version of Mario Golf. Additionally, if the player gets a Pin Shot in the Nintendo 64 version, they will see an Ukkiki climbing down the flagpole.

Mario Party series

Mario Party 3

In Mario Party 3, Ukkikis make their Mario Party series debut and appear in the mini-game Picking Panic, where they drop the cherries for the player to grab.

Mario Party 4

In Mario Party 4, Ukikis make an appearance under their current name, keeping their look from Super Mario 64. They appear on Koopa's Seaside Soiree, on two junctions on either side of the board. Once a player reaches it, an Ukiki tosses a banana peel that the player immediately slips on. They are forced to continue in whichever direction they slipped in. Ukikis also appear in the minigame Tree Stomp, in which they throw banana peels at players, cheering if one of them slips. They occasionally throw a golden banana that makes any player who picks it up move faster for a while.

Mario Party 5

The Ukiki Capsule in Mario Party 5

“Ook...oookiii! (I used your capsules!)”

—Ukiki, Mario Party 5

In Mario Party 5, they appear in the minigame Chimp Chase, in which four variants of Ukikis make an appearance: gray, blue, red and very rare gold ones. Besides a difference in appearance, they all behave the same. In the minigame, baby Ukikis are running around, and they have to be grabbed and delivered to the adult Ukiki that is colored correspondingly to it. Delivering a baby to the wrong adult makes them scream in rage, paralyzing the player who delivered the baby and freezing all of the baby Ukikis of the same color. Golden baby Ukikis occasionally appear, running much faster than the others, and not only can they be delivered to any adult, but they are also worth more than the others. An Ukiki Capsule also appears; using it, whether by throwing it onto a space and landing on it or used directly on the player for ten coins, summons an Ukiki that randomly selects another player and throws all of their capsules onto random board spaces.

Mario Party 6

In Mario Party 6, Ukikis appear in Castaway Bay hosting a special coin-collecting minigame. They also appear in various minigames such as Snow Brawl in the day, where they act as allies to the solitary player, and Strawberry Shortfuse, where they deliver plates with either cakes or explosives. They also appear in the Memory Quiz, the Variety Quiz, the Comparison Quiz, and the Counting Quiz of Speak Up.

Mario Party Advance

“Ook! You found me! That's my Akiki!”

—Ukiki, Mario Party Advance

In Mario Party Advance, Ukiki is the mayor of the jungle area, and lives with his niece Akiki in the Ukiki House. According to his description, he is fond of baked goods and adores children. Wanting to play a prank on Akiki, he writes a letter saying that he's been kidnapped, along with a hint on where he is located ("bIg teAM cAT leaTHEr fLAKE!? blarmpot"; the capital letters spell out "I AM AT THE LAKE"). After leaving it at his house, he goes to hide at Loch Dorrie. Akiki, however, started to panic, not realizing that it was meant to be a surprise, and asks the player to help her find Ukiki. At the loch, Ukiki jumps out, expecting Akiki to be there, but is surprised himself to find the player. After the situation is explained to him, he apologizes for the confusion, giving the Mini Maze Gaddget as compensation, before running back to Akiki. The ending credits state that Ukiki resigned as mayor, though he is still on good terms with Akiki.

Ukikis also appear in the minigame See Monkey?, which involves saving ten Ukikis from drowning in a lake while the player rides in a boat. Once the player come into contact with an Ukiki, they are given a lifebuoy and get attached to the boat. The minigame is failed if any of the Ukikis are missed once the time limit runs out.

Mario Party 7

Ukikis are non-playable characters in Mario Party 7. They appear as the main hazard in the Apes of Wrath minigame, as well as in the background of the forest-themed Duel minigames like Camp Ukiki. They also cameo in the backgrounds of the Minigame Cruise, cleaning the MSS Sea Star, and the Royal Rumpus minigame, playing on swing sets. This is the first Mario Party game where Ukikis consistently appear in their Yoshi's Island design.

Mario Party 8

An Ukiki

A horde of three Ukikis

An Ukiki and a hoarde of three on their respective cards in Cardiators

In Mario Party 8, Ukikis appear in DK's Treetop Temple, where they are summoned if a player lands on an Event Space. They roll down the stage on barrels, chasing anyone in their path and sending them to a lower part of the board. In Star Battle Arena, they will run over anyone in their path, taking ten coins from them. Mechanical Ukikis appear in the minigame Flip the Chimp, with each player controlling an Ukiki; they have to make their Ukiki climb to the top of a tree while avoiding falling coconuts. They also appear in the battle minigame Snipe for the Picking, where two Ukikis are seen turning cranks in the introductory cutscene, and also at the ending cutscene where they carry away the losers, and in the duel minigame Cardiators on the "2" card and the "6" card. If the "2" card is chosen, a single Ukiki attacks the opposing player for two damage, and if the "6" card is chosen, three Ukikis attack the opposing player for six damage.

Mario Party: The Top 100

Ukikis return in Mario Party: The Top 100, in the minigame Strawberry Shortfuse from Mario Party 6, and have the same role.

Mario Party Superstars

Ukikis reappear in Mario Party Superstars, in the minigame Picking Panic from Mario Party 3, and have the same role. They are one of the collectible encyclopedia pages.

Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix

Ukikis appear in Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix in the Banana Storm minigame. They can drop bananas, which Mario or Luigi collects, and Spinies, which stun Mario or Luigi.

Yoshi's Woolly World / Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World

Yarn-like versions of Ukikis appear in Yoshi's Woolly World and Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World, where they resemble their in-game sprites from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, instead of their artwork from said game like most appearances. Once again, they cannot be eaten, but can be defeated via other means. In addition to spitting watermelon seeds, the Short Fuse type also appears in this game. Ukikis are one of the kinds of enemies to get bound by yarn. They are seen in the levels Monkeying Round and Round and A Little Light Snowfall.

Yoshi's Crafted World

Several Ukikis on a vine in Yoshi's Crafted World

Ukikis return in Yoshi's Crafted World where they are seen in two levels: Jumping to Victory and Bombs Away on Pirate Island. They behave like in previous games and are often seen on vines. Short Fuses return and a new kind of Ukiki that tosses down Yoshi Eggs appears. A Kong-like Ukiki known as Uckykong makes an appearance, as well as a blue variant called Snow Ucky Kong. Unlike previously, spitting them out on water can defeat them.