- "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
Culex and the Crystals
Culex ("Crystaller" (クリスタラー) in Japan) is an optional superboss in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. He is associated with several references to the Final Fantasy series.
Culex dwells in Monstro Town behind a sealed door, and the neighbors complain about hearing him mumbling about "crystals". Once the seal is undone using a 'shiny stone' from Moleville, Culex meets Mario in a purple-blue void of space. Culex proceeds to tell Mario he is a Dark Knight from Vanda who came to Mario's world to conquer it in the name of the Dark Mage. However, Mario's world is uninhabitable to Culex and his kind, so he willingly departs. Before Culex goes, he requests a battle with Mario and his allies. The player can choose not to fight Culex at all, however, as he is an entirely optional subquest.
In battle, Culex is accompanied by four elemental Crystals and shifts from his knight-like from to an angelic form with red wings and purple skin. Unlike the other enemies in the game which use 2.5-D isometric sprites and move in place during combat, Culex appears as a flat sprite that is motionless save for floating up and down, in an animation style similar to Final Fantasy enemies. Culex has just over 4000 HP, the highest of any enemy in the game with the exception of the final boss Smithy. However, the four crystals have HP totals of 2500, 3200, 1800 and 800. Combined with Culex, this gives the entire enemy party over 12,000 HP, far more than the final boss. Each Crystal uses magic aligned with their elemental power (fire, water/ice, earth, wind/lightning) and Culex uses non-elemental spells.
The music played during the battle is a remix of the boss music from Final Fantasy IV. Upon winning, the victory fanfare is played and afterwards, Prelude plays. Culex's parting words are to compliment Mario on his strength and gives him the Quartz Charm as a memento. Culex also says that "in another life, another game, [we] may have been mortal enemies". Despite breaking the fourth wall to all but explicitly state he had crossed over from one of the Final Fantasy worlds, Culex himself never appears in any Final Fantasy game and seems to be based on the generic themes of enemies and plotlines the series has become known for.
A more powerful version appear in the switch remake as post-game content.
Culex in 3D