Mario franchise strategy guide/Enemies/Ukiki

Ukkiki, also frequently spelled "Ukiki," is a monkey from several Nintendo video games, most notably Super Mario 64 and Super Mario 64 DS. His main function in Super Mario 64 and Super Mario 64 DS is to steal the hat of the games' playable characters, Mario, Luigi, and Wario, causing them to take extra damage. In both Super Mario 64 and Super Mario 64 DS, Ukkiki is featured in the course "Tall, Tall Mountain," where he appears as a charcter in one of the course's playable episodes.

In this specific episode, the character-controlled player needs to retrieve a treasure, which is locked in a cage, and the only way to open is to retrieve a key to open it. The only such key that can do this is in the possession of Ukkiki, who lives on the mountain summit. After retrieving the key, Ukkiki will attempt to steal the hat of the player-controlled character. This can be serious, as Mario, Luigi, and Wario take twice as much damage when they do not have their hats. The only way to take the hat back is to find Ukkiki and physically wrest the hat from his grip, usually with a diving tackle. This can be dangerous, as Ukkiki frequents high mountain slopes, and players overzealously attempting to reclaim their lost headgear may inadvertently plunge over the side of the mountain. After being caught, Ukkiki returns the hat to the player with a minimum of additional problems. However, as soon as the player has their hat back, Ukkiki will not hesitate to steal it again.

Ukkiki has cameo appearances in other video games from the Mario series, including some of those from the Mario Party series. He usually plays a part in throwing bananas onto the game board during play, which may change the direction of player's motion. He also interferes in mini-games much the same way, with effects specific to each mini-game. He does not engage in hat-stealing activities in the Mario Party games, however. Finally, he has made some brief appearances in the Zelda games on the Gameboy.