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Super Mario RPG (2023)

Culex 3D Boss Guide - Super Mario RPG

By
Jessica Dillon

Culex 3D is the final boss of Super Mario RPG and will be hidden until you finish with the rest of the post-game content. This time around, Culex is much tougher and has more health, and the Crystals that come with him have to be taken out first. At the start of the fight, Culex will attempt to do a party wipe, and even if players survive it, they will only be left with a single point of health. The guide below goes over how to unlock Culex 3D and how to defeat him in battle.

Once you have completed all the boss rematches you can face Culex 3D in Monstro Town.

Where to Find The Culex 3D Secret Boss

Culex 3D is a hidden boss that you can’t fight until you reach the very end of the game. First, you must be the original Culex fight, which can be unlocked once you reach Monstro Town. Then you must beat the game and make it to the post-game. Once this is done, you will need to defeat every rematch boss for the door to Culex’s lair to reappear in Monstro Town.

Best Party for Culex 3D

Icon Party Member
Mario_Icon_Super_Mario_RPG.png Mario
Geno_Icon_Super_Mario_RPG.png Geno
Mallow_Icon_Super_Mario_RPG.png Mallow

These are the characters that you should start the battle with. To be honest, though, it doesn’t much matter if you swap one out for "Bowser" iconBowser, as your team will be wiped on the first turn if you don’t have certain pins on. Most importantly, do not put Peach in your starting party, as you will need to use Come Back and Group Hug during the first few turns of battle. On top of having Peach in the battle, we highly recommend you also bring the following healing items.

Royal Syrup restores your FP, while Croaka Cola restores both HP and FP. Royal Syrup can be won from Crate Guy’s Casino while Croaka Cola can be bought at the Juice Bar after unlocking the Soprano Card in "Marrymore" iconMarrymore. Pick Me Up can revive an on-field character and should be a backup in case you need to revive Peach. Party Cleanse can remove the status effects placed on you. Both of these items can be bought at an Item shop. Red Essence can block all attacks for three turns, giving you the upper hand to wail into the Crystals. It’s a rare item that can be found throughout the game.

Best Equipment For Culex 3D

Mario

Equipment Name
Weapon Lazy Shell
Armor Super Suit
Accessory Attack Scarf

Geno

Equipment Name
Weapon Stella 023
Armor Star Cape
Accessory Feather

Peach

Equipment Name
Weapon Frying Pan
Armor Lazy Shell
Accessory Jinx Belt

Mallow

Equipment Name
Weapon Sage Stick
Armor Prince Pants
Accessory Safety Ring

Bowser

Equipment Name
Weapon "Chain Chomp" iconChain Chomp
Armor Heal Shell
Accessory Enduring Brooch

You will want to pull out all your best gear and outfit the party with items that boost defense and help them survive powerful hits, especially in the case of Peach. Be sure to also get and equip everyone’s ultimate weapons, as you will need all the help you can get in this fight. Lastly, the best way to beat Culex 3D is to level everyone to 30 so that they have the highest stats possible.

Culex 3D - Stats and Weaknesses

Enemy HP Weaknesses Resistances
Culex 9,999 None Status Effects
Fire Crystal 3,150 Ice Fire
Water Crystal 2,520 Fire Ice
Wind Crystal 1,620 Jump Lighting
Earth Crystal 3,780 Lighting Jump

As you can see, the enemies you are fighting are the same. The only thing that has changed is how hard they hit and how much health they have. At 9,999 health, Culex has the most health out of any enemy you have fought in the game, and the crystals themselves are no pushovers, either.

How to Defeat Culex 3D in Monstro Town

Culex 3D is much harder than any other boss in the game and is more reminiscent of a final boss from the Final Fantasy series. He comes onto the field again with his four crystals, but they all have had a huge attack and health buff. At the start of the battle, Culex will use Meteor, his newest move, to kill or bring your party down to a single health, depending on your set-up. Even if you hang on by a shred, there is a high chance that a Crystal will go on the next turn. If you can’t block its attack, then you will likely have a party wipe. Switch in Peach and Bowser at this point. Use Peach’s Come Back to restore Mario. On the next turn, you will want to try and revive Mallow so that he can use Snowy on the Fire Crystal and Shocker on the Wind Crystal.

If possible, use an Energizer on Mario to give him a 50% attack boost. If you have a Party Energizer, then you can boost everyone’s attack by 50%. He can use Ultra Jump to take down the Wind Crystal and Ultra Flame to damage the Water Crystal. You should once again focus on taking the Wind and Earth Crystals out quickly. The Earth Crystal has the most unblockable moves, and the Wind Crystal can inflict status ailments. You should also be aware that Culex likes to use Shredder to remove your buffs when his counter reaches three. At this point in the fight, though, do not attack Culex. You need to take down the Crystals first, as they will continue to batter your team. Furthermore, if you beat Culex first, the Crystals can revive him. In addition, the Item Lock move is used in the battle by the Wind Crystal. Until the X block disappears, you won’t be able to use items.

(1 of 4) Culex will use Meteor at the start of battle.

At the end of every seven turns, Culex will use Meteor again as long as a single Crystal remains on the field to try and wipe your party. Be sure to switch Peach out when the counter reaches one so that you can revive everyone with ease. You can also use Spare-Us-All to protect your party. With each Crystal, you defeat, the rest, as well as Culex, will be given a buff.

Defeated Crystal Buff
Earth Crystal Physical Defense Increase.
Fire Crystal Attack Power Boosted.
Water Crystal Magic Attack and Magic Defense Boosted.
Wind Crystal Speed Increase.

Don’t let these buffs throw you off. It’s still a much easier fight with each Crystal you take down. Once the Crystals are dealt with, you can start working on Culex and his 9,999-point health bar. At this stage, he gets a new attack called Final Claw and attacks twice in the same turn. This takes the place of Meteor at the end of the countdown and targets a single party member. It can be blocked, but if it hits, then it deals 9,999 damage. This is easy to deal with, though, as you can shuffle Peach out when the counter gets to one to ensure that you can bring back any fallen party members. Just keep this strategy up and heal often to beat Culex. Without his Crystals, the fight is much more manageable as long as you keep everyone’s health topped off.

You will know you won the fight when Culex explodes into stars and the Final Fantasy fanfare plays. At the end of the battle, he will tell you how many turns it took to beat him. You can challenge Culex 3D as many times as you like if you want to keep working on getting the best time.

Culex 3D - Attacks and Special Abilities

Fire Crystal Attacks

Attacks and Abilities Attack Type Description Blockable
Flame Fire Shoots a ball of fire at a party member. Yes
Flame Wall Fire Sends a wall of flames at the party. Yes
Flare Fire Summons a rotating beam to attack the party. Yes
Hot Shot Fire Shoots a ball of fire at a single party member. Yes
Fire Saber Fire A saber of fire runs across the battlefield, hitting a single party member. No

Water Crystal Attacks

Attacks and Abilities Attack Type Description Blockable
Blizzard Ice Summons a blizzard onto the field that damages all party members. No
Crystal Ice Drops a crystal on a single party member. Yes
Diamond Saw Neutral Sends two circular saws at a single party member. Yes
Ice Rock Ice Drops a rock of ice on a single party member. Yes
Solidify Ice Engulfs the entire party in ice crystals. Yes

Earth Crystal Attacks

Attacks and Abilities Attack Type Description Blockable
Blast Neutral Sends an eruption of explosions at a single party member. No
Boulder Neutral Drops boulders onto the entire party. No
Sandstorm Neutral Unleashes a sandstorm onto the entire party. Has a chance to inflict Fright. No
Storm Neutral A tornado engulfs a single player. No
Water Blast Neutral Water rises up from the ground, attacking the whole party. No

Wind Crystal Attacks

Attacks and Abilities Attack Type Description Blockable
Bolt Thunder Drops a bolt of lightning on a single party member. Yes
Electroshock Thunder Summons electricity to his own party member. No
Item Lock Neutral Locks the item button. No
Light Bubble Neutral A bubble of light floats down onto the party. It has the possibility of causing sleep. No
Lightning Orb Thunder Drops an orb of light onto a single party member. Yes
Petal Blast Neutral A storm of petals attacks the entire party with a chance of turning members into mushrooms. No
Static Electricity Thunder Targets the whole party with a surge of electricity. Yes

Culex 3D Attacks

Attacks and Abilities Attack Type Description Blockable
Dark Star Neutral Drops a bouncing black star onto a single party member. Yes
Flame Stone Fire Drops a fiery stone onto a single party member. Yes
Meteor Blast Neutral Rains meteors down onto the field to attack the entire party. No
Shredder Neutral Undos attack and defense buffs. No
Meteor Neutral Brings the entire party down to one health at the end of the countdown. This move is only used while the crystals are on the field. No
Final Claw Neutral This attack will activate after all the crystals have been defeated and the countdown ends. It hits a single party member for 9,999 health. Yes

The attacks are all the same as the first Culex battle, with the exception of Culex using Meteor and Final Claw. In addition, the Wind Crystal now has Item Lock, which keeps you from using items until the X block disappears from the field. The best course of action is to know which moves you can block and do your best to use action commands to protect your party. Each round, all four Crystals will attack, along with Culex, who can go twice, so be sure to keep healing up your party to survive.

Culex 3D - Rewards

There is no amazing reward for beating Culex 3D. You simply get the Crystal Shard. This is an item that only proves that you have defeated Culex before. The good news is that this does count towards 100% completion of the game, and you will finish filling out your Monster List.

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Guide Information
  • Publisher
    Nintendo
  • Platforms,
    Switch
  • Genre
    RPG
  • Guide Release
    17 November 2023
  • Last Updated
    28 November 2023
  • Guide Author

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Super Mario RPG is a wonderful and whimsical remake of the 1996 classic Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. You’ll need to assemble a group of heroes (starting with Mario of course!) to embark on a quest to repair the wish-granting Star Road! Along the way you’ll encounter enemies from the Smithy Gang, and you’ll unlock access to a whole cast of nostalgic playable characters, from Princess Peach to Geno the puppet to the adorable Mallow.

This guide includes everything you need to make your way through the Super Mario RPG remake. Whilst this game is a faithful remake of the original, the game developers, ArtePiazza, have also included some fun post-game match-ups for those who are looking for an extra challenge and a departure from the OG game! We’ve got walkthroughs for the following:

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