Oh, you thought the SSE was over with the defeat of Nightmare? Not quite...if one clears the SSE with 100% and then re-defeats (or beats for the first time) Nightmare, they'll be returned to the map screen as normal...but one of the stages will not be 100% cleared; the stage where you fight Galleom as Lucas and Pokemon Trainer. Why not head back there and see what's up...?
Upon heading back to the stage, one will discover a strange glowing purple door. Now...since this is only a normal SSE stage, you can only choose four characters; make sure they're your best four as you'll have to fight the secret final boss of the SSE directly after going through the door! And who better for a secret final boss than...
Culex
“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 is a dimensional travelling Dark Knight from the distant land of Vanda as well as the secret final boss of Super Mario RPG...and now Super Smash Bros. Brawl! Originally, Culex appeared in Monstro Town behind a door that only a "Shiny Rock" could open. Sent from Vanda by the Dark Mage, Culex was sent possibly to take over the Mushroom Kingdom...but eventually discovered that Mario's world was unlivable for his kind. With his mission failed, Culex waited in the dimensional rift between his realm and the Mushroom Kingdom, awaiting a challenge from the Mushroom Kingdom's "strongest knight" before he returned. Mario and crew fought Culex along with his elemental crystals and ultimately defeated the Dark Knight who was honored by their hard fought fight and granted Mario the Quartz Charm, a really handy accessory. Culex leaves for Vanda, teling Mario as he leaves:
"Thank you, brave knight. I will treasure this memento of my journey here. Perhaps in another time, another game, we may have been enemies... Let us part as comrades in arms."
Perhaps that time is now...or perhaps Culex just wishes to fight stronger knights again. Either way, upon entering the door, the player comes face to face with Culex who gives his "I am matter. . ." quote before exclaiming "En guarde!" the
true final battle begins!!
Culex is one mean final boss. He has a whopping
1,800HP and has a number of deadly attacks he'll use to finish you off. Keep in mind that you only have four characters to beat this guy too...so play very carefully! Fortunately, Culex won't be included in Boss Battles; if you care to fight him again, play this stage again! To make matters even worse, Culex doesn't fight alone; that'd be too easy...instead, he brings his four Elemental Crystals that are with him at all times and can attack seperately from Culex himself! For the most part though, Culex is stationary aside from his ability to teleport around. As for the Crystals, they circle around Culex, stopping only to fire off attacks. Destroying the Crystals helps make the fight easier for sure...but it also makes the fight longer; do you want to take Culex out asap or even up your odds...? I'll go over the Crystals first...
Earth Crystal
The Earth Crystal has the highest HP of all the Crystals at
325HP. It is however the slowest (at Ganondorf's run speed) of the Crystals making it one of the easiest to hit...which is probably a good thing as its attacks are incredibly annoying and tend to be far more distracting than the other Crystals. Because the Crystals are just that, crystals, you have to pay extra special attention to their attack "gives" before they do attack...this can be incredibly annoying however when in the thick of the fight. Just know that each Crystal will blink a certain amount of times before each of their attacks.
Boulder:
Blinking only once, Earth Crystal will turn a dark brown as large boulders the size of Kirby start raining from the sky! These boulders are rather damaging and there's quite a few of them so do your best to avoid them! They do only have 10% stamina each however so they can be smashed out of the sky before they hit you. If one of these boulders do hit you however, you'll take 12% and moderate knockback. Earth Crystal usually throws down between 5 to 10 of these at a time.
Sandstorm:
Earth Crystal will blink twice as it summons up a massive sandstorm from the bottom of the stage! This sandstorm is entirely unavoidable and will steadily damage characters for 1% per second but other than that, this won't do any harm to characters...directly. What it does do however is make Earth Crystal entirely invisible for the duration making it very hard to take it out and even harder to see other attacks incoming (regardless of Crystal). This sandstorm lasts for ten seconds...but thankfully, Earth Crystal won't constantly cast it.
Storm:
Strangely an electric attack yet Earth Crystal -DOES- use this, Earth Crystal will blink thrice signifying this attack's incoming. Shortly after it blinks for the third time, a massive shimmering blue wave of electricity will rain down from the sky, covering half the stage in pure blue energy. Touching this will deal 25% and medium-high knockback so make sure you avoid it. Fortunately, Earth Crystal only uses this attack when its on the far left of the screen or the far right; run
under Earth Crystal to avoid this blast.
Water Blast:
I swear he knows this one too, don't yell at me! Blinking four times in rapid succession, Earth Crystal will uses its ultimate technique here...and it's quite the nightmare to dodge. Rain will start pouring from the sky as several bursts of water will errupt from random locations on the stage! These bursts will deal 15% damage and medium knockback...but the real catch is that they'll knock you towards the center of the stage. After five bursts, a massive explosion will occur center stage. If you get caught by this explosion, you'll take 40% and insane knockback! Avoid at all costs!
The Fire Crystal is next in terms of strength, coming in with
275HP and speed equal to that of Mario's dash. Fire Crystal has a ton of powerful attacks as well making it nightmarish to deal with in conjunction with the other Crystals and, of course, Culex himself.
Corona:
Fire Crystal will blink only once before flying to the center of the stage. It will then proceed to fire a massive beam of solar energy diagonally upwards to the right. This Bowser-wide beam of energy will deal 20% and medium-high knockback if your character touches it...but the real harm comes from the fact that Fire Crystal will sweep the beam counter-clockwise at a rapid pace! Run away or jump over Fire Crystal if you must...just make sure you stay away from this beam!
Flame:
Blinking twice, Fire Crystal summons a series of five fireballs that will fall down on your character's exact location, one at a time. These can be avoided however by constantly moving....but this of course puts you at risk of being hit by other attacks. If struck by a fireball, your character will take 8% damage and upward knockback....so you'll have to think quickly if you don't want to get struck by all five in a row.
Flame Wall:
Blinking three times, Fire Crystal will summon a massive wall of flames that will travel from the right side of the screen to the left. If this connects, it'll deal 25% damage and high knockback! Fortunately, it's one of the easier attacks to dodge. Like Tabuu's Off Waves, it can simply be side stepped when it approaches; since there's only one, it should be pretty easy to dodge...so long as you're not under pressure from other attacks.
Mega Drain:
An attack called Mega Drain that doesn't drain health. Silly, no? Well in Japan this move's name is actually "Light Saber." Either way, Fire Crystal will blink four times in rapid succession before flying over your character and hovering in place. Fire Crystal will proceed to follow your ever move for the next five seconds...before stopping to unleash a Bowser-wide beam of bright red energy directly below it! Providing you're under it when it does so, you'll take 50% and insane knockback. This is however a pretty good opportunity to damage the Fire Crystal before it attacks; keep attacking until you need to run!
Yeah, for some reason the .gifs for these last two aren't as nice as the other ones. Regardless, the Water Crystal is a strange one. It actually uses -NO- water-based attacks. It also has
225HP and has Zero Suit Samus' movement speed. They may be getting faster and weaker health wise...but these last two Crystals still pack a punch!
Solidify:
You better keep moving once you see Water Crystal blink once! Exact three seconds after Water Crystal blinks, it will fire an orb of ice towards the stage! Once this touches the stage, the entire platform will be coated in ice instantly. If you're touching the ground when the platform freezes, you'll be frozen solid as well (and will take 12%). Jumping at the last second is your safest bet here. After a moment, the stage will instantly thaw meaning you won't have to worry about reduced traction or anything...unless...
Blizzard:
Unless Water Crystal uses this attack! If the crystal blinks twice, it will summon up a blizzard out of nowhere! This blizzard has three distinct downsides to it for your character. Like Earth Crystal's Sandstorm, this move will hide Water Crystal for as long as the blizzard continues (eight seconds). Secondly, standing still for too long (a second and a half) will result in your character being frozen solid and taking 15% damage. Finally, traction will be reduced and you will act as if you're on ice...which you are technically. Keep moving and ride out the blizzard!
Crystal:
Blinking three times, Water Crystal will fly upwards, off screen. A moment later, several dark shadows will appear on the stage. Find a clearing in them to hide, quickly! A brief moment later, several icy crystals will come crashing down from the ceiling in an attempt to crush you! If successful, you'll take 15% damage and be pitfalled, so make sure you find that safe spot and fast!
Diamond Saw:
Even the mere mention of this attack name strikes fear into the hearts of SMRPG veterans. Blinking four times, Water Crystal will quickly summon two razor sharp sawblades which will quickly fly off screen. A second later, these two blades return, one going horizontally, the other vertically, attempting to cross where the player is standing. If the player is struck by either blade (let alone both blades), they'll take 60% damage and high knockback. Being hit by both at the same time however is instant death.
The fourth and final Crystal also happens to be the weakest of the four. With only
150HP to back it up, Wind Crystal won't be around too long....it
is however the speed of Captain Falcon...so maybe it will see some life to it. Wind Crystal possesses numerous Electricity based attacks to fight with, oddly enough...
Bolt:
Blinking once, Wind Crystal summons a fierce crack of lightning from the sky which strikes several random spots on the stage. These lightning bolts will deal 16% damage each and deal moderate upward knockback. Wind Crystal will summon up to six of these (they won't all strike at once) but usually summons about three at a time.
Static E!:
A strange attack for sure, Wind Crystal will blink twice and the begin glowing brightly. After about two seconds of this glowing, a huge burst of light will shoot out from Wind Crystal, zooming across the stage! Against what is probably your better judgement, simply shield this attack. This attack will deal zero damage to you and zero damage to your shield...but if you're not shielding, your character will enter a shattered shield state instantly after coming in contact with the light! Make sure to shield this move or you'll be a sitting duck for the next one!
Light Beam:
Wind Crystal will blink three times before it flies to the top of the screen! Moments later, the green crystal will fire a giant rainbow colored laser downward that slowly travels towards the stage! Coming in contact with this laser won't deal any damage...but it will put you to sleep instantly, regardless of whether your on the ground or not! The only way to dodge this attack is to go off stage before it connects. Wait until the last moment (but not
too late) to get out of the way so you're not vulnerable afterwards.
Petal Blast:
In Super Mario RPG, this attack would turn your characters into Mushrooms. In Brawl, Wind Crystal will blink four times before a spray of petals fly across the stage! If you're hit by any of these Kirby-sized petals, you'll suffer from a random status condition! This could be something helpful such as a Super Mushroom or a Metal Box effect...or it could be something bad like a Poison Mushroom or a Lip's Stick effect. Just be aware that the odds of it being a negative status effect are slightly greater than the odds of it being beneficial.
Culex
But of course, you didn't forget whose boss fight this really is, did you?! Culex has only a scant few moves...but combined with the Crystals, he's a damn near impossible foe to defeat!
Meteor Blast:
Meteor Blast acts much like Tabuu's teleporting explosion in the actual Super Smash Bros. Culex will point to quite a few spots on the stage which will glow brightly for a moment before exploding harshly! Getting caught by this explosion will deal 20% and high knockback, so keep track of where they're going to be! Unless of course...Sandstorm or Blizzard is blocking your view...
Flame Stone:
A massive meteor will form in Culex's hands, a meteor the size of Bowser himself! Of course you know what he's going to do with this...THROW IT AT YOU. If you see this move coming, dash away as fast as possible! Culex will proceed to hurl the fireball towards your character; if this connects, it'll deal 30% damage and insane knockback! If it hits the stage however, it'll sit there for a few moments before exploding in a Smart Bomb-esque explosion that will deal 40% damage and high knockback! Pretty much avoid this attack period and you should be a-okay.
Dark Star:
Culex's most powerful attack. With one swift movement, Culex will point above his head as a massive black star (the size of a Smart Bomb explosion yet star-shaped) forms above him. A moment later, the Dark Knight will point towards the stage causing the star to crash into it, bouncing on the stage up to five times before bouncing off! Getting hit directly with the star will deal 999% damage and instant-death knockback...so stay to the edges of the arena and you should be safe from that. Each time the star bounces however, it creates a shockwave that will deal 30% damage and inward knockback; it'll try to pull you into the star! Jump the shockwaves whenever they approach however and you should be fine. Do note that Culex will only use this attack once his HP reaches half.
Once the player has defeated Culex...whenever that may be...Culex will admit his defeat with a sigh, conceeding that the Smash Bros. have bested him as the strongest knights in the realm, adding that he was surprised when Mario beat him the first time...but is humbled to have been beaten a second. With that, Culex departs from our world and the player gains 100% completion of the SSE. They also unlock the Culex Trophy as well as his boss theme for Final Destination. You also earn a slight chance of seeing Culex emerge from an Assist Trophy to perform his Dark Star attack!
Plus you...ya know? Beat one of the most infamous Mario bosses ever. Again.
