Fracktail

".... I AM ERROR. ......"

- Fracktail

Fracktail is a boss in the game Super Paper Mario, found in Yold Desert, at the end of Yold Ruins. It has spiral eyes and red skin, and it can burrow into the sand and go underground. It will surprise Mario and shoot out of the ground, and then fly in the air. Fracktail slightly resembles a Chinese dragon, and is coloured like Hooktail, his equivalent from Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. The repeating patterned segments of Fracktail's body, as well as its name are both references to a fractal, a geometric repetition of a pattern.

In order to defeat Fracktail, Mario must jump on top of its long back when the robot glides low. The battle scene will then shift to the back of Fracktail's back as he flies. Players must then pick up a Frackle crawling around on its back and throw the enemies at the serpent's yellow orb on its antenna. The process must be done nine times before Fracktail is defeated.

After taking three hits, Fracktail will perform an aerial loop. Mario must jump from the tail at the end of the loop back onto the head; failing to do so will result in falling to the ground and having to dodge Fracktail's attacks until the chance to jump onto its back arises again.

Fracktail was originally the robotic protector of the Pure Heart, who spent "thousands of years" (it was actually 1,500 years), protecting it from "lawless intruders." When he noticed that Mario was the hero meant to obtain the Pure Heart, he was going to just let him pass. But Count Bleck's minion, Dimentio short-circuited it, and it attacked Mario. Upon being defeated, it returns to normal. Upon its final moments, it starts apologizing for its error and pleading Mario to save the world.

Related Enemies

 * Wracktail – A stronger, more violent version of Fracktail found in the game Super Paper Mario.
 * Hooktail – The dragon that ate Koopley in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door; she hates crickets.
 * Bonetail – A skeleton boss enemy at the Pit of 100 Trials in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.
 * Gloomtail – A dark dragon in the Palace of Shadow; he is encountered in the game Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.

Trivia
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 * When searching for data, its eyes turn into the Internet connection symbol for the Wii Shop Channel.
 * This boss fight has many references to the The Legend of Zelda games. The way Fracktail dies is similar to the similar lava dragon from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and the giant sand worm  from The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker. The two bosses are similar, as Volvagia is a long Chinese dragon-like creature, and Molgera is a long worm that lives in a desert-like environment. Another similarity between Fracktail and Volvagia is that both were originally benevolent beings that were corrupted by the main villain, and only reverted back to good shortly after the hero delivers the final blow (in the manga adaptation of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Volvagia was originally a dragon that Link befriended at the Hyrule Market, but Ganondorf corrupted it while Link was in stasis, and it wasn't until Link decapitated it that Volvagia reverted back to its original identity). Also, when short-circuiting, the first thing Fracktail says is "I AM ERROR". This is a reference to the famous line spoken by the character  in the game Zelda II: The Adventure of Link.
 * Despite being robots, both Fracktail and Wracktail have bones when defeated.
 * Excluding Bowser, Fracktail is the only Paper Mario boss to have a trophy in Super Smash Brothers Brawl.