King Boo

This article is about the main King Boo. For information about the King Boo from Luigi's Mansion, see here. For the King Boo from Super Mario Sunshine, see here.

King Boo
King Boo as he appears in Mario Super Sluggers.
Full name	King Boo
Species	Boo
First appearance	Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (2003)
Latest appearance	Mario Party Superstars (2021)

“Eee hee hee...I am King Boo, the scariest of the spirits. Eek! What's this?! Your face...It would even scare a ghost. How horrible! You've got it backwards...I do the scaring around here! All right, now I'll put some real fear in that frightening face of yours! Eee hee hee!”

—King Boo, Super Mario 64 DS

King Boo is the leader of the Boos and is the arch-enemy of Luigi. He is also an ally of Bowser, who has aided him in his various schemes. He is more than capable of devising and enacting villainous plans by himself. Although not the biggest Boo, King Boo is still much stronger than a standard Boo as he has several abilities that normal Boos don't possess such as fire breath and immense strength. The King Boo from the main games is clearly different from the King Boos from Super Mario Sunshine and the Luigi's Mansion meaning there could be multiple Boo monarchs.

History

Super Mario series

Super Mario 64 DS

King Boo as encountered in Super Mario 64 DS.

King Boo appears in the Super Mario 64 remake, Super Mario 64 DS. As the boss who locked Luigi away, he captures a part of Princess Peach's Castle. However, in the English version of the game, King Boo is incorrectly called Big Boo, even though the Big Boo from the original game also appears in the game.

Regardless, King Boo aids Bowser in his conquest of Peach's Castle by capturing Luigi and imprisoning him in the Big Boo's Haunt Tower. Specifically, Luigi is imprisoned behind a painting of himself inside the haunted mansion. Mario heads to the Big Boo Battle level to save Luigi. Upon entering the level, he is greeted by King Boo, and from there he must listen for King Boo's cackle and enter the door where it is loudest. Eventually Mario reaches the end and fights King Boo to free Luigi. To defeat King Boo, Mario has to follow King Boo's movements in the arena's mirror and stomp him when he comes close enough. Ultimately, Mario saves his brother from King Boo and together (with Yoshi and Wario once he is saved) they defeat Bowser and save Princess Peach.

New Super Luigi U

King Boo makes a small cameo in New Super Luigi U in the Secret Exit of Vanishing Ghost House, where his art from Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon can be seen in the form of a sign hanging from the side of the building.

Mario Kart series

Mario Kart: Double Dash!!

King Boo and Petey Piranha in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!.

King Boo is an unlockable character in the racing game Mario Kart: Double Dash!!. This is his first appearance in a spin-off, and also his first playable appearance. His appearance in this game results in his frequent appearances in the Mario Kart series, as he appears in Mario Kart DS as a boss and in Mario Kart Wii as a playable character again. Despite being a ghost, King Boo is classified as a heavyweight driver due to his large size. His partner is Petey Piranha, and both have the ability to use any other character's special item (if they are going to get a special item, it is randomly chosen, based on their race position).

King Boo's personal kart is the Boo Pipes, which is a gray version of Petey's Piranha Pipes kart, but with an image of a Boo instead of a Piranha Plant where the item-using partner stands. However, the more important difference between the two is that, while the Piranha Pipes has high speed and low acceleration, the Boo Pipes is vice versa, with low speed and high acceleration, which is quite odd for a heavy kart. In fact, the only other heavy kart like this is the Offroader from Mario Kart Wii.

When partnered with Petey Piranha, King Boo appears much smaller than he does when partnered with another character. He also appears to slightly shrink when he becomes the driver. On the second "Thanks for Playing!" screen (after beating the Special Cup with a Gold Trophy while all other cups already have a Gold Trophy), King Boo appears in the background chasing Wario and Waluigi.

Mario Kart DS

In Mario Kart DS, King Boo, along with six other bosses from Super Mario 64 DS, appears as one of the bosses of the Mission Mode. King Boo is the boss of the fourth level, with the playable character being Peach. Peach attempts to collect fifty coins on the Lava Arena within the time limit, but after a few seconds King Boo appears, surrounds her, and then attacks her, stealing ten of her coins and making all the other, uncollected coins disappear, before teleporting to another area of the arena. To take them back, Peach has to drive and bump into King Boo, making him transparent. Then, she can drive through him again, retrieving her coins and making the other coins reappear. However, King Boo soon reappears a few moments later to get the coins again. After collecting all fifty coins, Peach finally defeats King Boo.

Mario Kart Arcade GP 2

King Boo makes a cameo appearance in Mario Kart Arcade GP 2 on the Yoshi Park 2 course in the Horror House. Here, a large picture of him appears near the end of the course where it inhales many ghosts and the racers. As the player drives into his mouth, they are warped back to the beginning of the course.

Mario Kart Wii

King Boo, racing in Mario Kart Wii.

King Boo returns in Mario Kart Wii as a large-sized driver, and is unlocked by completing the Star Cup in 50cc. He features a good handling bonus and a small off-road bonus, which comes in handy for vehicles like the Offroader, Wario Bike, and Phantom. He is used as the Staff Ghost on the SNES Ghost Valley 2 course. In the credits, he appears driving the Jetsetter on the SNES Ghost Valley 2 course.

King Boo is one of very few characters to have his standing animation on the Character Select screen altered from Mario Kart: Double Dash!! In this case, his tongue is not sticking out of his mouth the whole time like before; now, before selecting him, his tongue is still in his mouth. Other characters whose sprites were altered include Birdo, whose bow was made larger, Wario, who now has short sleeves, Waluigi, who, when selected, does something somewhat different from what he did before, and Donkey Kong, who does not have his mouth as wide open as before while looking in another direction.

Mario Baseball series

Mario Superstar Baseball

King Boo is a playable character in Mario Superstar Baseball and a member of Wario's baseball team, the Wario Greats. He does not need to be unlocked. He is a power hitter, using his white, crowned, Boo-like baseball bat to hit long outfield drives and even homeruns. King Boo has chemistry with Boo and Petey Piranha, and he has bad chemistry with Luigi. However, like Boo, his hits are usually very curved, and this causes them to be fouls most of the time.

Mario Super Sluggers

King Boo with Wario at the latter's stadium in Mario Super Sluggers.

King Boo reappears in Mario Super Sluggers and is one of the few characters that were on Wario's team in the last game that are still on it. He is once again a power hitter, and he also excels in pitching, with both stats being his highest. In Challenge Mode, he appears immediately after the player defeats Bowser Jr. at the Wario City stadium, stating that he turned invisible and was watching the whole game. However, he is uninterested in joining the player's team unless the team has some Boos with them. This is accomplished by finding both Boo and the Mini Boos item. In this game, King Boo has chemistry with Petey Piranha, Boo, King K. Rool, and Wiggler, but he has bad chemistry with Mario, Luigi, Baby Mario, and Baby Luigi.

His baseball bat does not have a physical crown on it anymore. In this game, it is represented as a crown picture above the "Boo mouth" picture. As well, in this game only the colours of the jewels on his crown are reversed.

Super Princess Peach

Princess Peach battling King Boo in Super Princess Peach.

Sprite of King Boo in Super Princess Peach.

King Boo appears in Super Princess Peach. In this game, he is the boss of Shriek Mansion and the third boss. After making it through Shriek Mansion, Peach discovers an imprisoned Toad surrounded by Boos. The three Boos take the Toad with them, King Boo appears and Peach engages him in combat. During the battle, King Boo fires blue homing fireballs at Peach. Peach can damage King Boo with direct light, which is made by having his own flames light the candles spread throughout the room. After a few attacks, King Boo starts crying, his tears can extinguishes the candle flames. After enough attacks, King Boo is eventually defeated. With King Boo eliminated, Peach rescues the Toad.

Mario Party series

Mario Party 8

King Boo reluctantly gives Waluigi a Star in the Japanese version of Mario Party 8.

King Boo makes his first appearance in a Mario Party game in Mario Party 8. He gives out Stars on his own course King Boo's Haunted Hideaway. He hides in one out of three altars and gives the player a Star for ten coins if they can find him where he is hiding. If the player is able to buy the Star, he will "summon the bizarre" and disappear, causing the player to jump into a Warp Pipe that returns them to the starting point. This "makeover mojo" causes the whole layout of the course to change. However, if they do not have enough coins, King Boo will cause a pitfall to appear under the player, causing them to return to the starting point and allowing the next player that reaches him to buy the Star. Additionally, if the player fails to steal anything from the board event Pickpocket Pinball, the hosting mouse sounds like King Boo. The player can purchase King Boo sounds from the Fun Bazaar, along with a figurine titled "King Boo's Revenge". When the player presses on the figurine during the Figurine Parade, King Boo floats up and gives off a brilliant glow, as if he is a light bulb.

Mario Party 9

King Boo, in Mario Party 9.

King Boo appears as the stage boss of the board Boo's Horror Castle in Mario Party 9. He is fought in the minigame, King Boo's Puzzle Attack, where the competitors line up power-ups in lines of three or more to deal damage to him. Once his health reaches halfway, he throws Boos onto the field which can stun the player's cursors, making them unable to move until they shake the Boo off. What is unique about his boss battle is that if a player gets the Final Attack, they get ten points instead of the usual three, likely because the players can easily accumulate points up to fifty. In the final fight against Bowser, King Boo can also appear to hinder the players' progress. If Bowser throws the die with all the stage bosses' faces on it and King Boo's face appears on top, King Boo will materialize above the stage. Then, he will summon five Boos that move in a counterclockwise direction while moving outwards. When the Boos reach the boundaries of the stage, King Boo summons another five Boos, except this time they move clockwise. After that, King Boo disappears from the battle unless his face appears on the top of the die again. King Boo also has a constellation that can be returned to the sky; it is called the Ghost Major. It is located in the farthest left portion of the sky, near Big Bob-omb's constellation and right next to Boo's constellation. Like all constellations, it can be bought for fifty Minigame Points.

Mario & Sonic series

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games

Mario races against King Boo in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games.

In the Wii version of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, King Boo appears as the first and sixth (in Individual Festival mode only) rival. King Boo races the player in the Alpine Skiing Downhill event in both Individual and Group Festival modes but he only races the player in Giant Slalom in the Individual Festival mode. King Boo has no skis so he goes down the hill smoothly. If the player loses to him, the guide (either Cream or Toad) says that it is unfair because King Boo has no skis.

In the Adventure Tours mode in the DS version, King Boo is the mid-boss of Polastraits. When the challenger approaches him, King Boo tells Mario/Sonic that he must race someone afraid of him. He selects Luigi and they must race in Giant Slalom. In this version, King Boo is transparent and the player can ski through him. He also appears slightly larger than in his other appearances.

Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games

King Boo appears in the next installment of the Mario & Sonic series, Mario and Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games. In the Wii version he is one of the characters that can be found in the London Party mode, and when he is encountered, he will challenge the player to the Dream Sprint event. Since he has no feet, though, it is questionable how he gets the ball to roll. If the player reaches the goal line before him, they will get a sticker as an award.

In the 3DS version, King Boo teams up with a Boo to face Sonic and Tails in the Badminton Doubles event. After winning, the player finally completes Sonic's second episode.

Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games

King Boo appears in Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games as a rival in the Legends Showdown mode. He is found in Area 4, and is raced against in Short Track Speed Skating 1000m.

Mario Golf: World Tour

King Boo makes a cameo appearance in Mario Golf: World Tour on Hole 4 of Bowser's Castle. He is floating in the background alongside other Boos, and he is also much larger than in other games. His name can also appear on the tournament scoreboard.

General information

Physical appearance

Main article: King Boo/Characteristics

King Boo is the king of all the Boos. His body is a ghostly white color. Most likely because he is a ghost. His is round shape with two arms on either side of his body (or face, it's really hard to tell), and he has a tail. He always has his mouth open in a haunting manner, so his tongue and sharp teeth can be seen quite clearly. He has black eyes. So, with that being said, what makes him different from a regular Boo? He is noticeably bigger in size, and he has a royal golden crown with red and blue jewels encrusted in it. Try to take away his crown and he will haunt you for the rest of your life!

Personality

King Boo is an enemy of the Mario Bros., He loves scaring weaker and wimpier humans and claims to not be afraid of anything although in Super Mario 64 DS he admits that Wario's face scares him, rendering the previous statement a generalization. Also, in Mario Super Sluggers, King Boo says that he finds little Boos cute and says that he actually considers his Boo minions his friends and cares for them. In Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, he says that he is unbeatable at the Alpine Skiing events, though this is proven false when the player beats him. Bowser would sometimes call upon him to aid him in his plans showing that the two of them are allies. He doesn't seem to care for ghosts that aren't Boos, however he will use them in his plans as tools rather then subjects. King Boo also loves to scare and toy with his opponents. Despite King Boo's huge size he will still cover his face in fear when looked at much like a normal Boo showing that he still has a shy nature like his minions, however also like a normal Boo he will attack when his foes back is turned. Lastly, King Boo has a distinct cackle, which is significantly lower in pitch than other Boos.

Abilities

Besides possessing the abilities of other Boos, including the ability to teleport, King Boo has a numerous amount of other powers. King Boo also has the power to materialize things, including highly detailed mansions and lifelike robotic replicas of some of Mario's enemies. He has also shown the ability to create Boos, bubbles, and blue fire, which he spits out of his mouth. King Boo is also shown to be able to regenerate from his crown in Super Princess Peach.

King Boo appears with a rather high power stat in many of his spin-off appearances. This is most noticeable in the Mario Baseball series, where he is able to hit home runs with relative ease. King Boo also appears to be a good Alpine Skier, as he states that he is exceptional at that event, though this remains questionable due to his lack of skis (or legs for that manner).

Boo leadership

Although he commands a large band of Boos, not all Boos call King Boo their leader, with some Boos working directly for Bowser, and many others living peacefully with the other denizens of the Mushroom Kingdom, either independently or as part of a small band of Boos led by Lady Bow.

Relationships

King Boo has been shown to work with Bowser on numerous occasions, including Super Mario 64 DS, Mario Party 9 and Super Princess Peach. Despite their apparent alliance, the two share neutral chemistry in Mario Superstar Baseball and Mario Super Sluggers, with King Boo appearing on Wario's team, rather than Bowser's.

Besides Wario, King Boo has also been paired up with Petey Piranha as in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, with the two sharing chemistry in the Baseball games, although their relationship has never been fully explored.

Official profiles and statistics

Main article: List of King Boo profiles and statistics

Mario Kart: Double Dash!!

Website Bio: If you're not afraid of ghosts, you will be once King Boo is through with you. To unlock him, finish the Mirror Mode Star Cup with a 1st place win.

Game Appearances

Main article: List of King Boo Appearances

Gallery

For this subject's image gallery, see King Boo/gallery.

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  Mario Superstar Baseball

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  Mario Party 8

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  Mario Kart Wii

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  Mario Kart Wii

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  Super Princess Peach

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  Mario Kart Arcade GP 2

Names in Other Languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	キングテレサ Kingu Teresa	King Teresa; King Boo, Teresa being Japanese for Boo
Dutch	King Boo	Same as in English
French	Roi Boo	King Boo
German	König Buu Huu	King Boo, Buu Huu being German for Boo
Italian	Re Boo	King Boo
Korean	킹부끄 King Bukkeu	King Boo, Bukkeu comes from Bukkeubukkeu, Korean onomatopoeia for being shy
Portuguese	Rei Bu	King Boo
Spanish (Americas)	Rey Bú	King Boo
Spanish (Europe)	Rey Boo	King Boo

Note: The Japanese, Dutch and Korean names use the English word for king, instead of a word in their own language.

Trivia

• When King Boo says, "I don't plan to give up my favorite decoration. I like Mario where he is.", he references a quote from Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi, when Jabba the Hutt said, "I don't plan to give up my favorite decoration. I like Captain Solo where he is."
• In the Mario Party 9 Sound Test, there are two voice sounds with the name "King Boo's Entrance"; one is King Boo and the other is actually Boo.
• For some reason, King Boo's voice is sometimes sped up in games like Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, Mario Kart Wii, Mario Super Sluggers, and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe while in such games like Super Mario 64 DS, and Mario Kart DS it is unaltered. This is quite similar to Bowser's voice being slowed down in some games, while in others it is not.