Super Mario RPG’s Hidden Boss Explained

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and its remake have a secret, true final boss that some players will never even encounter. This is a classic RPG tradition — many games in the genre, including several other RPGs, have hidden bosses separate from the ones that appear during the course of the main story. Some games have multiple secret bosses that can be unlocked throughout the campaign, while others can only be fought after watching the credits roll. only has one, but he more than makes up for it by being incredibly difficult.

's hidden boss is harder to unlock than any other enemy in the game. And even after that, the challenge is only getting started. He's tough to beat, requiring careful consideration of equipment, items, and special attacks used. The remake even adds a powered-up version, making him stronger than ever before. Here's how to find him and fight him, and an explanation of why he exists.

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's secret boss is named Culex, and the remake uniquely includes a powered-up version called Culex 3D who can only be unlocked after completing the game. Culex has the torso of a muscular, purple man with golden wings and ram horns, but his lower half resembles a cluster of crystals with a black, wispy tail extending beneath it. His name is derived from the real-life genus of mosquitoes, and from certain angles, his tail resembles a mosquito's stinger.

The original version of Culex, who's functionally identical to the first one fought in the remake, has 4,096 HP, and is accompanied by four elemental crystals that bring the total enemy HP pool up to 12,396. In the SNES version of, Culex's HP easily dwarfs that of the game's regular final boss, and he could be called the most