Kamek was King Bowser Koopa's guardian (and possibly adopted father) and the ultimate enemy in the game Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. He kidnapped Luigi and tried to kidnap Mario but Yoshi and his multicolored friends protected Mario and saved Luigi after defeating Bowser.

Kamek wears big spectacles and rides a broomstick. During the events of Yoshi's Island, Kamek attempted to block the Yoshis' progress by swelling enemies to dramatic size using magic. Unfortunately for him, the Yoshis beat all of these bosses.

Kamek has made a few cameo appearances in other Mario and Mario-themed games, such as Tetris Attack and Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga. In the latter, he was referred to as "Psycho Kamek," and actually helped Luigi out by hypnotizing him into thinking he was Mario. This Kamek may only be related to the original Kamek, as he is friendly. It is popular fanon to apply his name to other prominent Magikoopa characters in Mario games, such as the Magikoopa boss in Super Mario RPG.