Culex
Sprite fromSuper Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
First appearance	Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (1996)
Latest appearance	Super Mario RPG (Nintendo Switch) (2023)

“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 inSuper Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. Culex is a being from the alternate world of "Last Illusion," who desires to do battle with warriors fromMario'sworld. He appears to be a type of demon, having dark purple skin, red twisted horns and wings, a red mark along his torso, a jagged tail, and several crystals surrounding his waist. He also emanates what appears to be dark energy.

Culex serves as the game'ssuperboss: alongside the Crystals, he is an even more powerful boss than the main story's antagonist,Smithy, as he has 4,096HP, the second most of any encounter in the game (behind only Smithy's second phase). Culex, combined with the Crystals, has 12,396 HP, which exceeds both of Smithy's phases combined.

Culex's appearance contains many allusions to theFinal Fantasy series; the creators ofFinal Fantasy,Square, also createdSuper Mario RPG. He is depicted in the hand-drawn pixel art style of theSNESFinal Fantasy games, contrasting with the pre-rendered 3D models of the rest of the game. His overworld sprite is significantly smaller than how he appears in battle, which is another characteristic taken fromFinal Fantasy. The songs that play during his encounter and battle are arrangements of music from theFinal Fantasy series.

In theNintendo Switch remake,Super Mario RPG, Culex initially retains his original two-dimensional 16-bit appearance, offering a stark contrast to the game's revamped and updated 3D graphics. Additionally, he retains the music from the SNES version of the game even if the modern soundtrack is set to play. However, a post-game rematch gives him a full model, namedCulex 3D, along with the Crystals; this rematch features rearranged music even if the classic soundtrack is set to play.

History[edit]

Culex appears toMario.

Culex resides in a cross-dimensional region found behind a sealed door inMonstro Town. According to one of his neighbors, aPiranha Plant, Culex is "always mumbling about Crystal-this and an Evil-that." The sealed door that leads to Culex requires aShiny Stone, also mentioned by the Piranha Plant. When Mario enters the region, Culex greets him and explains his story. He then challenges the party to a battle, which the player can either accept or refuse.

Mario,Toadstool, andGeno face Culex and the Crystals.

In battle, Culex is aided by four Crystals – theEarth Crystal, theFire Crystal, theWater Crystal, and theWind Crystal. These Crystals have magical attacks that correspond with their elemental power. All four Crystals can be defeated independently before targeting Culex, but if Culex falls, any remaining Crystals shatter one by one on their next turn.

If Mario's party wins, Culex rewards Mario with theQuartz Charm. Culex then leaves Mario's dimension as Mario is transported back to Monstro Town. The door to Culex also vanishes, leaving a solid rock wall in its place.

In the Nintendo Switch remake, he can be fought again after beating Smithy. The fight itself becomes accessible once theExtra-Shiny Stone is collected after beatingJohnny's post-game rematch. Because of the Star Road being repaired by Mario and his party, they consequentially granted the various wishes of powerful people. This ultimately included Culex, who wished to gain the power of the third dimension. He then drew them back to his realm to fight them in this new form. In this form, he uses eitherMeteor orFinal Claw every five turns, the former deals damage equal to maximum HP minus 1 to all active party members and the latter deals 9999 damage to one party member. He also attacks twice each turn after all the Crystals are defeated. Similarly toBowyer's battle, the,, or buttons can be disabled for several turns, rendering the party unable to use the commands from those buttons. Finally, if the player attempts to defeat Culex while leaving any Crystals alive, the remaining Crystals sacrifice themselves to bring him back with full health.^[1]

After Mario's party wins, he is reduced back to his 2D sprite due to the forces of malevolence fading and is forced to retreat to regain his 3D form, although not before keeping count of the amount of turns it took to defeat him in battle. He will also provide the player with aCrystal Shard. After defeating Smithy once this battle is won, Culex appears in the credits scene withMonstermama and the other characters, briefly appearing in his 2D form behind the background.

One question thatDr. Topper can ask in Western languages is whatJinx,Goomhilde, and Culex have in common. The correct answer is: "They live in Monstro Town." In Eastern languages, this question is instead whatBlooper,Leuko, andCheep Cheep have in common, with the correct answer being "They live in the sea."

Profiles and statistics[edit]

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars[edit]

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars enemy
Culex
	HP	4096	FP	200	Speed	50
	Location(s)	Monstro Town	Attack	250	Magic attack	100
	Role	Boss	Defense	100	Magic defense	80
	Bonus Flower	None	Yoshi Cookie	None	Morph rate	0%
	Evade	0%	Magic evade	0%	Spells	Shredder,Flame Stone,Dark Star,Meteor Blast
	Weak	None	Strong	Fear, Poison, Sleep, Mute, Critical	Sp. attacks	None
	Coins	0	Exp. points	600	Items	None
Psychopath	"A little off, eh?"

Super Mario RPG (Nintendo Switch)[edit]

Culex[edit]

Super Mario RPG enemy
Culex
	HP	4096	Weak Elements	N/A	Drops	N/A
	Exp.	732	Weak Statuses	N/A	Rare Drops	N/A
	Found in	Monstro Town
	Monster List profile	He crossed dimensions in order to come here from the world of "Last Illusion," a story about crystals. Too bad he's still so two-dimensional.
	Thought Peek	"I feel...a bit out of place."
	Animations

Culex 3D[edit]

Super Mario RPG enemy
Culex 3D
	HP	9999	Weak Elements	N/A	Drops	N/A
	Exp.	732	Weak Statuses	N/A	Rare Drops	N/A
	Found in	Monstro Town
	Monster List profile	You beat the toughest fight in the game! Thanks for playing all the way to the very end! -The Development Staff
	Thought Peek	"You shall bear witness to the power of post-game content!"
	Animations

• Thought in other languages:
  • Japanese:
    思おもい知しるがよい！エンドコンテンツの力ちからを！！
    (Translation:Know this! The power of end content!!)

Regional differences[edit]

Culex's alignment and motives differ drastically between the Japanese and English versions.^[3]

In the Japanese version, Culex claims to be a timeless overlord made of pure evil. As a two-dimensional being, he is perplexed by the three-dimensional forms of Mario's party, so he demands a fight to try and understand them. Upon defeat, he recognizes the party's strength and positive energy, and he and his pocket dimension disappear until the day he finally gains the solidity of the third dimension.

In the English version, Culex is said to be the "Dark Knight of Vanda" sent by theDark Mage, but his plans came to a halt after discovering that Mario's world is uninhabitable to him and his kind. He remains in a secure location in the hopes that the world's "strongest knight" will seek him for a challenge before he departs. He has nobler mannerisms, and attempts to leave Mario's company on good terms.

The remake changes Culex's depiction to be consistent in all languages. It is primarily based on the original Japanese version, in particular his perplexion for the three-dimensional forms for Mario's party that acted as his motivation for fighting them, and his nature as an evil being rather than a noble one. In Western languages, his Dark Knight of Vanda title and ties to the Dark Mage are retained.

Allusions toFinal Fantasy[edit]

Culex himself is an allusion to theFinal Fantasy series, asSuper Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars is developed bySquare, who are the creators of theFinal Fantasy series. Culex has two different sets of game sprites, one for the overworld and a much larger one for battle, with the former being from a more top-down perspective instead of isometric like other enemies. His overworld sprite resembles enemy designs in the 2DFinal Fantasy titles, and these sprites do not have as complex animations and frames, reminiscent of earlyFinal Fantasy games. This is particularly pronounced in the Nintendo Switch remake, which reuses Culex's sprite from the SNES version instead of updating him to match the new art style. Moreover, the three music tracks associated with Culex are rearrangements of three music tracks from theFinal Fantasy series: his battle music is a rearrangement of "Battle 2", the boss battle theme fromFinal Fantasy IV; the music that plays when he is defeated is a rearrangement of "Victory Fanfare", the victory music present throughout theFinal Fantasy series, and the ending conversation is an arrangement of theFinal Fantasy "Prelude".

In the Japanese version, Culex mentions「次元じげんのはざま」(jigen no hazama, dimensional rift), which is the same asa location inFinal Fantasy V. Culex's English name appears to have a similar origin asGolbez fromFinal Fantasy IV, who is named after the Golubaeser fly, as "Culex" is a genus of mosquito. His English Dark Knight of Vanda title may also be a reference toCecil from the same game, introduced as aDark Knight ofBaron. In the Nintendo Switch remake, his in-game description in the Monster List claims that he hails from the world of "Last Illusion", a play on the name "Final Fantasy", and that said world is based on "a story about crystals", a common narrative device in the earlierFinal Fantasy titles. In addition, his defeat animation in the remake has him disintegrating in both his standard and 3D Culex fights, referencing a common defeat animation for final bosses in theFinal Fantasy games.

In the JapaneseMonster List, the entries for Culex and the Crystals are written in a format consistent with the other characters' descriptions, usingkanji withfurigana; Culex 3D and the Crystals 3D, meanwhile, are written in the format of the text from the earliestFinal Fantasy games, using no kanji and including more pronounced spaces between phrases. For example, the description for Fire Crystal is written as「火ひの力ちからを司つかさどるクリスタル。正義せいぎの炎ほのおを邪悪じゃあくなる波動はどうの源みなもとにせんとする主あるじに、劣化れっかの如ごとき遺憾いかんの念ねんを抱いだく。」, and the description for Fire Crystal 3D is written as 「ひのちからを　つかさどる　クリスタル。　せいぎのほのおを　あくに　りようする　あるじに　ふまんをいだく。」In the English localization, this convention is conveyed by having the descriptions for the Crystals 3D translated more literally and simply than the ones for the originals, reflecting how text was translated in the early years of video game localization. For example, the description for Fire Crystal is written as"A crystal with mastery over fire. It has a burning dissatisfaction with its master, who is trying to turn the fire of justice into a malevolent force," and the description for Fire Crystal 3D is written as"A crystal with the power of fire. It's unhappy with its master, who wants to use the fire of justice for evil."

Gallery[edit]

• 

  Concept artwork

• 

  Culex's field sprite fromSuper Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars

• 

  Culex in theNintendo Switch remake

• 

  Culex 3D

• 

  Post-game epilogue scene

Quotes[edit]

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars[edit]

For a full list of quotes, seeList of Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars quotes § Culex.

• "Greetings. I am Culex, Dark Knight of Vanda. I've crossed into this dimension to fight for theDark Mage. Butthis 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."
• "Takethis. Treasure it as a keepsake of our fight."
• "Farewell, champion knight!"

Super Mario RPG (Nintendo Switch)[edit]

Post-game wishes on Star Hill

• "I, the Dark Knight of Vanda, await the one destined to challenge me." (before having been defeated)
• "I have returned, having attained even greater power. I await the one destined to challenge me once again." (after having been defeated)
• "I await the destined one's return..." (after having been defeated as Culex 3D)

Culex 3D[edit]

• "Denizens of the three-dimensional world... Our paths cross once more."
• "You have used your great strength to grant the wishes of powerful people."
• "The force of your strength resonated with my wishes, enabling me to attain greater evil power and return to this plane."
• "You shall see this power firsthand!"
• "Heh heh... Feast your eyes!"
• "This new form is worthy of your three-dimensional world!"
• "I return to this world remade."
• "I am matter and antimatter. I am past, present, and future. I will consume all of time and space!"
• "My evil power is in harmony with this three-dimensional world. And now, it will crush you!"
• "You shall bear witness to the power of post-game content!" (thought)
• "Unbelievable. You defeated me at my strongest, in my three-dimensional splendor."
• "The forces of malevolence have faded. I have lost my depths, diminished once more to the form of a flat plane."
• "I will withdraw to that land to regain my three-dimensional power and then await your return."
• "It took you [#] turns to defeat me this time."
  • "The gap between your power and mine has proven greater than I thought. I must admit it. There are none more powerful than you!" (24 turns or fewer)
  • "We are nearly evenly matched." (25-40 turns)
  • "That is quite a long time." (41 turns or greater)
• "I await the destined one's return..."
• "So, you denizens of the three-dimensional world come before me once again. I will fight you as often as you wish. Let the mightiest prevail!" (Rematch)

Names in other languages[edit]

Culex[edit]

Dark Knight of Vanda[edit]

Culex 3D[edit]

References[edit]

• Demons
• Third-party Super Mario characters
• Optional bosses
• Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars bosses