Sandworm
The Scythe-armed Monster[1] (referred to as Big Scorper in the game's European website[2] despite this being the name of an unrelated enemy, and named Sandworm in the Prima Games guide[3]) is a boss in Wario World. It is the boss of Greenhorn Ruins, and the second of the three bosses in Excitement Central (the others being Greenfist and DinoMighty).
The Scythe-armed Monster is fought in a large sand pit that continually pulls Wario towards the center. Its main attack is spitting spiked balls at Wario; Wario can easily damage it with repeated attacks. The Scythe-armed Monster cannot be stunned; when it loses one of its health skulls, it instead becomes temporarily invincible, and either slashes after Wario with its scythe-like hands, or burrows to the center of the arena and starts spitting many spiked balls in random directions. When this happens, the sand pit pulls Wario in much faster. If damaged enough, it will also strike back with more powerful moves, including slicing Wario with its hands. Defeating the Scythe-armed Monster gives Wario access to DinoMighty.
The Scythe-armed Monster also appears in Pecan Sands as a regular enemy, where its attacks are a bit faster, but it is fought and defeated in the same way. This time, it only takes four cycles to defeat instead of five, and during its invincibility phases, it will only attack with its scythes.
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | アンツキラー Antsu kirā |
Corruption of "ant killer". |
Trivia
- The Scythe-armed Monster, along with Dual Dragon and Red-Brief J, are the only bosses that don't require throws to defeat, as they can't be used at all; the Scythe-armed Monster can't be grabbed and carried, and there is nothing to pick up around its arena.
- The Scythe-armed Monster and Greenfist are the only bosses whose names are never mentioned in-game. All of the other level bosses are mentioned by Spritelings in their respective levels, while the boss-only stages that the world bosses appear in are named after the bosses themselves.
- It appears to be based mostly on antlion larvae, which make sand pits like the one in which the Scythe-armed Monster is fought and have very large jaws that they use to catch and eat arthropods that fall into said pits. Additionally, its Japanese name, which translates roughly to a corruption of "Ant killer", references antlion larvae, which largely prey on wondering ants. Its scythe arms seem to reference the praying mantis, an animal whose arms are shaped like scythes.
References
- ^ Wario World Player's Guide, page 99
- ^ Wario World official site
- ^ Stratton, Steve. Wario World Prima Official Strategy Guide. Page 34
