Culex

“I am matter... I am antimatter... I can see your past... I can see your future... I consume time... And I will consume you!”

—Culex, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars

Culex is an optional hidden boss who appears in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. Alongside the Crystals, Culex is an even more powerful boss than the main story's antagonist, Smithy. His alignment and motives differ drastically between the Japanese and English versions.

Culex could be considered a crossover from Square's flagship Final Fantasy series, although the character has never appeared in a Final Fantasy game.

History

Before or during the events of Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, Culex crosses over to Mario's dimension. Culex eventually comes to reside in a cross-dimensional region that is found behind a sealed door in Monstro Town, a village of reformed monsters, which is located in Land's End. Despite waiting in a dimensional rift, Culex's next-door neighbors can still hear him talking to himself through the walls. According to one of his neighbors, a Piranha Plant, Culex is "always mumbling about Crystal-this and an Evil-that."

The Piranha Plant neighbor of Culex provides a clue to opening the sealed door, reporting to Mario about Culex's obsession with Crystals, and then hypothesizing: "Isn't a “Crystal” some kind of a shiny rock...or something? I know I've seen those somewhere!" This "shiny rock" is actually a Shiny Stone, a micro-sized crystal that can be acquired in Moleville. To retrieve a Shiny Stone, Mario first must buy the Fireworks from a male mole in Moleville for five hundred coins, then trade the Fireworks for a Shiny Stone from a young mole girl in the same town.

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Mario returns to Culex, perhaps ready to accept his challenge.

With a Shiny Stone in his possession, the small crystal begins reacting to the sealed door, eventually dispelling the magical seal. The door can now be opened, allowing access to the dimensional vortex. After Mario enters it, Culex greets the visitor and explains his story. He then challenges Mario to a battle, which he can either accept or refuse. If Mario refuses, Culex if drift away and Mario will appear outside the door, but can return as he desires at any time. If Mario accepts the challenge, the battle begins.

Mario, Toadstool, and Geno face Culex with the Crystals in combat.

In battle, Culex is aided by four seemingly sentient crystals – the Earth Crystal, the Fire Crystal, the Water Crystal, and the Wind Crystal. Each crystal has command over potent magic attacks aligned with their elemental power. Culex himself is a powerful fighter, who has 4,096 HP, the most of any character in the game besides the final form of the final boss Smithy. The group as a whole has 12,396 HP, which exceeds both of Smithy's forms combined. All four Crystals can be defeated independently before targeting Culex, but if Culex is defeated, any remaining Crystals shatter one by one on their next turn.

If Mario's party is victorious against Culex and the Crystals, he will reward Mario with the Quartz Charm, a special accessory that boosts attack and defense by 50% and also prevents instant death. Culex then leaves Mario's dimension as Mario is transported back to Monstro Town. The door to Culex's dimensional rift will have vanished, leaving a solid rock wall in its place. The Piranha Plant next door thinks "our neighbor moved away." Culex is later mentioned by Dr. Topper when he quizzes Mario at Bowser's Keep. He asks Mario what Jinx, Goomba, and Culex all have in common. The correct answer is: "They live in Monstro Town."

In the Japanese version, Culex claims to be a timeless overlord made of pure evil. As a two-dimensional being, he is perplexed at the foreign three-dimensional forms of Mario's party, so he demands a fight to grasp the power of creation. Upon defeat, he senses the party's positive energy, and his dimension is vanquished to parts unknown until the day he gains the power of the third dimension. In the English version, Culex's dialog and backstory is completely rewritten: his dimension is named Vanda, and he is said to be a "Dark Knight" sent by the Dark Mage. He has more noble mannerisms, and attempts to leave Mario's company in good terms.

Allusions to Final Fantasy

Culex stands out in the game Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars for being an allusion to the conventions of the Final Fantasy series.

Culex has two different sprites in the game, one for the overworld and a much larger one for battle, just like bosses in the Final Fantasy series. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars enemies (except for Valentina, Shelly, Jonathan Jones and Magikoopa), on the other hand, have the same sprite for both the overworld and for battles. In the style of early Final Fantasy games, all enemies and bosses are rendered as static pieces of two-dimensional character artwork, lacking any kind of animation. Similarly, in battle Culex is rendered as a two-dimensional image that does not change when attacking or being attacked, unlike the sprites of all other enemies in Super Mario RPG, which can go through complex animations when attacking, being attacked, and even walking in place.

Additionally, Culex himself somewhat resembles the final form of the final boss from Final Fantasy VI (or, at the time of the game's North American release, Final Fantasy III). Culex's battle music is the same as the Final Fantasy IV (initially Final Fantasy II in North America) boss battle music. Culex's name is also the Latin word for "Mosquito," which is a subtle reference to the main antagonist of Final Fantasy IV, Golbez, whose name is derived from a type of fly.

The four Crystals used by Culex in battle are also important reoccurring artifacts from the Final Fantasy series, appearing in many games in the series with different functions in each. All four Crystals featured in the battle are from the original Final Fantasy for the Nintendo Entertainment System, although they did not gain their unique coloration until Final Fantasy V for the Super Famicom.

Moreover, the three music tracks played when around Culex are covers of three music tracks from the Final Fantasy series. His battle music is a cover of the boss battle theme from Final Fantasy IV, the music that plays when Mario defeats Culex is a cover of the victory music present throughout the Final Fantasy series, and the conversation with Culex is a cover of Final Fantasy's main theme.

Quotes

For a full list of quotes, see here

• "Greetings. I am Culex, Dark Knight of Vanda. I've crossed into this dimension to fight for the Dark Mage. But this world is uninhabitable for me and my kind. I must return to my own world. Before I go, though, I would like to challenge your strongest knight. Will you accept my challenge? You will enter combat against me?"
• "You are wise to hesitate. Without any weapon or armor, you have no chance."
• "En garde!"
• "I am matter... I am antimatter... I can see your past... I can see your future... I consume time... And I will consume you!"
• "A little off, eh?"
• "Perhaps in another time, another game, we may have been mortal enemies... Let us part as comrades in arms."
• "Take this. Treasure it as a keepsake of our fight."
• "Farewell, champion knight!"