Lakilester, Lakitu à lunettes rouges, juché sur son nuage souriant

Lakilester: the Lakitu who called himself Spike

1131 words | Reading time : 5 minute(s)

CharacterPaper MarioPartners

A black jacket, a fake name and a girlfriend who saves his life. The last partner recruited in Paper Mario, Lakilester is a Lakitu who plays the tough guy under the alias Spike. This profile covers his boss fight in Flower Fields, the moment his girlfriend Lakilulu steps in, the cloud that carries him over lava and spikes, and the soft heart hidden beneath the hoodlum getup.

The last partner in Paper Mario doesn't join Mario out of gratitude, but because he ended up deciding the plumber was cool. That character is Lakilester — a Lakitu who insists on being called Spike because he finds his real name ridiculous.

Leather jacket, rebellious quiff, swaggering tone: everything about him is part of the tough-guy act. A portrait of the plumber's most boastful ally.

Contents

A Lakitu who joined the enemy… then the friend

Lakilester belongs to the species of the Lakitu, those Koopas perched on a cloud who pelt Mario with Spinies as far back as the very first games. His first appearance follows tradition to the letter: he is an enemy.

You run into him in Flower Fields, where he has put himself at the service of the forces smothering the region. The fight is a genuine boss duel, led by an opponent utterly convinced he is terrifying.

His defeat doesn't wipe him out: it converts him. Convinced that Mario is far more impressive than his employers, he switches sides and invites himself onto the team.

Spike, an alias that fools nobody

The character stubbornly refuses his own name. Finding Lakilester far too soppy for a tough guy, he demands to be called Spike — a nickname he handed himself and that nobody takes seriously.

That little vanity sums up the whole character: he spends the adventure polishing an image that his own behaviour contradicts non-stop. He swaggers, then frets; he plays it jaded, then gets carried away.

The gap between the hoodlum getup and the character's genuine kindness is one of the most reliable running gags in the last third of the game.

Lakilulu, the one really in charge

Behind the tough guy hides a hopeless romantic. Lakilulu, his girlfriend, steps in at the most critical moment: just as Mario is about to finish him off, she throws herself in the way to stop the final blow.

And it is she who then pushes Lakilester to leave the wrong side. The character doesn't change his mind out of calculation, but because the one he loves rubs his nose in his own contradictions.

The couple gives the game one of its rare love stories that actually pays off, played completely straight: the swagger stops dead the moment Lakilulu walks in.

A cloud that soars over everything that burns

His field ability comes straight from his ride: Mario climbs onto the cloud and leaves the ground behind. And in the final chapters, the ground is precisely the most dangerous thing around.

  • He glides over lava flows without taking a scratch.
  • He passes above the carpets of spikes that block the way forward.
  • He opens up access to entire areas designed to be impassable on foot.

Arriving so late in the journey, this power works like a skeleton key: it suddenly opens up no end of corners left behind along the way, much like Parakarry's carried flight but with no time limit whatsoever.

Painted illustration of Lakilester carrying Mario on his cloud above a bed of spikes
A cloud that soars over everything that burns — spikes, lava and booby-trapped floors.

The last recruit, and far from the least

His place in the recruitment order is no accident: Lakilester brings up the rear of the partners, right as the adventure tips into its final act. By then the player has the complete toolkit in hand.

In battle, he dives nose-first at his targets and throws projectiles, along with a handy ability to protect the duo. A solid profile, eclipsed by the sheer power of his traversal ability.

What sticks in the memory above all is his personal arc: from stock enemy to loyal ally, he is the partner whose moral transformation is the most explicit in all of Paper Mario.

Lakilester at a glance

Name Lakilester
Nickname he gives himself Spike
Species Lakitu
Game Paper Mario (2000, Nintendo 64)
Rank Last partner recruited
First encounter Boss of Flower Fields, before switching sides
Girlfriend Lakilulu
Field ability Flies Mario on his cloud over lava and spikes
Personality Braggart on the outside, genuinely kind

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FAQ

  • Who is Lakilester in Paper Mario?
    He is a Lakitu recruited as the last partner in Paper Mario, released in 2000 on Nintendo 64. You first face him as a boss in Flower Fields, before he switches sides.
  • Why does Lakilester want to be called Spike?
    Because he finds his real name far too soppy for a tough guy. He handed himself that nickname, and nobody on the team really takes it seriously.
  • Who is Lakilulu?
    She is Lakilester's girlfriend. She throws herself in the way during the fight to stop Mario from landing the final blow, then pushes her partner to leave the wrong side.
  • What is Lakilester good for outside of battle?
    Mario climbs onto his cloud and flies above the ground, which makes it possible to cross lava flows and carpets of spikes unharmed where travelling on foot would be blocked.
  • Why is Lakilester recruited last?
    Because his flight power works like a skeleton key: he shows up just as the adventure tips into its final act and suddenly opens up no end of areas left behind along the way.
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