Rex
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| Rex | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Super Mario World artwork | |||
| General information | |||
| Species origin | Dragon/Dinosaur | ||
| Appearances | |||
| First appearance | Super Mario World (1990) | ||
| Latest appearance | Minecraft: New Nintendo 3DS Edition (2018) | ||
| Similar entities | |||
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Rexes are dinosaur-like dragons that primarily inhabit Dinosaur Land. They first appear in Super Mario World. Rexes have an indigo-to-violet body with an orange belly, a nasal horn, fangs, and small dragon wings, although Rexes are incapable of flight. They also wear big red shoes. A recurring trait with all Rexes are their compressive bodies, as their stature becomes flatter when jumped upon. They first appeared in Super Mario World.
Rex's English name is the Latin word for "king", and is derived from the predatory dinosaur Tyrannosaurus rex.
History
Super Mario World
Rexes are rare enemies in Super Mario World who, just as Goombas, put no effort into attacking Mario other than walking into his direction. In order to defeat a Rex, Mario would need to jump on it twice. After being jumped on once, a Rex will simply become flattened and move slightly quicker. A Spin Jump would destroy them with one hit. A Rex could also be defeated by shooting a fireball, hitting it with a cape or running into it while using a Starman. Rexes can also be eaten by Yoshi.
Mario & Wario
Rexes make a small background appearance in Mario & Wario, being encased in blocks of ice in the game's fourth stage.
Mario's FUNdamentals
A Rex makes a cameo in Mario's FUNdamentals as a playing card while playing Go Fish.
Mario Family
A Rex appears as a sewing design in Mario Family.
Mario & Luigi series
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
Rexes reappeared in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga as enemies located on Hoohoo Mountain. Like in Super Mario World, Rexes will attack Mario or Luigi by charging into them; Rexes could also be decreased in size by repeatedly jumping on them in this game as well. When they are at their full size, the Rexes' attacks cannot be dodged or countered.
Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
Though regular Rexes do not appear in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, a Shroob-variant of them, called Shroob Rex do appear. Shroob Rexes are encountered in Shroob Castle and have a different appearance, having pincers, purple scales and glowing red eyes.
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions
Rexes reappear in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions, with virtually the same role as in the original game, after a twelve-year absence. They are much larger than in the original game, but Mario and Luigi can now counterattack them when they are at their full size. Rexes make high-pitched grunts when jumped on. They also appear as enemies in Minion Quest: The Search for Bowser. Rexes are Melee troopers, and attack by charging into opponents. Their Special Skill, Mega Tackle, allows them to charge quickly into an opponent, inflicting more damage than a regular charge. When a Rex is a captain on the enemy team, it does not say anything when using a Captain Command, as indicated by an ellipses in its text box.
Super Princess Peach
Normal Rexes appeared in Super Princess Peach as well. Colorful Rexes who have been affected by the Sad Vibe from the magic of Vibe Island also appeared. They are known as Sad Rexes. Sad Rexes will simply sit and weep to themselves, until they are approached by Princess Peach. They will then proceed to charge at her.
Crossover appearances
Minecraft
In the Super Mario Mash-Up Pack in Minecraft, Zombie Pigmen are replaced by Rexes.
Appearances in other media
Super Mario World television series
Rexes, generically referred to as Dinosaurs, make several appearances in the Super Mario World animated series. The Rexes of Super Mario World come in different colors, such as green, red and yellow. Unlike in the game, they bear at least some resemblance to actual dinosaurs, they lack shoes, have clawed hands and feet, and their lower jaw now has different coloring from their belly. Some Rexes have bird-like wings, and others have second nasal horns.
"Send in the Clown"
Rexes first appeared in the episode "Send in the Clown", where several are shown disguised as clowns in King Koopa's "Koopaling Bros. Circus". After several misadventures in their circus act, that the clowns are accidentally revealed to be Rexes, who, upon tearing off their costumes, begin to herd all the circus audience members into a large pit. In this episode, they more closely resemble their in-game depiction.
"King Scoopa Koopa"
In "King Scoopa Koopa", several multicolored Rexes are shown to be working as employees at King Koopa's fast food stand. After it is revealed that King Koopa had planned on mutating the inhabitants of Dome City into Chickadactyls — which he plans on deep frying and selling to Rexes — King Koopa sends several Rexes to capture Mario and Princess Toadstool. Mario and Princess Toadstool escape using the Star Path, and return later to defeat the Rexes using a cape. The Rexes that were not defeated by Cape Mario later escaped down a Warp Tube, along with King Koopa.
"Born to Ride"
In the episode "Born to Ride", two Rex bikers named Duke and Rockman appear. Duke and Rockman, along with their ally, Lulu, attempted to manipulate Yoshi into capturing Mario and Luigi for them, only to be beaten in the end.
"Rock TV"
In a later episode entitled "Rock TV", two other Rex characters named the Tyrannosaurus Twins appear. The Tyrannosaurus Twins are wrestlers, and pummeled Mario and Luigi for sometime, though they were eventually defeated by Cape Mario.
Nintendo Adventure Books
In Brain Drain, Mario and Luigi, while looking for Iggy Koopa in his base, pass a Rex that has had its mind switched with a German opera singer's due to the Synapse Switcher.
Super Mario-kun
A Rex has appeared in volume 3 of Super Mario-Kun.
Super Mario Adventures
Rexes also appear in the Super Mario Adventures comic, where several of them are seen among the attendees at Bowser's wedding to a brainwashed Princess Toadstool. Later on, after Mario, Luigi, Yoshi and a herd of Yoshis crashed Bowser's wedding, a lone Rex is seen among the creatures trying to defeat the Yoshis, only to be trampled by them.
Super Mario Bros. film
In the Super Mario Bros. film, a building with a neon sign displaying the word REXX can be seen in Dinohattan.
Nintendo Monopoly
In the Nintendo Monopoly, Rexes only make a very small cameo. They appear on the background of the board, in a screenshot, where Mario rides a Green Yoshi that is spitting out fire at the Rex.
Characteristics
Rexes are obviously dinosaur-like dragons as you could probably tell by looking at the image above with single nasal horns, large fangs, and small dragon wings. They have purplish bodies with an orange pattern that covers their bottom jaw and runs down from the sides of their mouths to underneath their bellies (there is no known orange pattern on the bottom of their tails). The main color of the Rexes' bodies varies between games and official artwork: the official artwork for Super Mario World shows them having dark blue bodies, but in games the color is often violet or purple (with the exception of Super Princess Peach which is a solid cobalt blue). There are three rib patterns on the orange part of their bellies. Their tails have two small spines down the center. Rexes wear big red shoes similar to the Yoshis, but are more simplistic in design and have smaller beige soles underneath. Rexes have no nostrils and the backs of their heads do not have any distinguishing traits. In page 61 of the Nintendo Kōshiki Guidebook, it is said even said that Yoshis are relatives of Rexes from long ago.
Rexes have small wings, but cannot fly as the wings are too small. The wings' membranes are often red and have three "fingers", and slightly thick "arms". In official artwork, the color of the wings' arms is a deep orange, and the membranes the same color as the Rex's belly. Starting from Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, the color the wings' arms match the color the Rex's body, and the membranes are red, matching the color of their shoes.
The depiction of the Rexes' eyes between artwork and games vary between always closed or with small pupils when open. In Super Mario World, Mario & Wario, Super Princess Peach, and the Super Mario Mash-Up Pack in Minecraft, their eyes are open, and in the original Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga their pupils can be seen when they're hit. In most other games or artwork, their eyes are shut or squinting. A sub-species of the Rex, the Shroob Rex, are always depicted with open eyes.
In the games, Rexes are taller than the Mario Bros. while even in Super form, and are even larger in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions. Their size is used as a gameplay mechanic in the Mario & Luigi games where they are too tall for the player to jump over when dodging or counterattacking them while at their full size (regular Rexes in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga and it's remake, and Shroob Rexes in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time), and must be shrunken down to counterattack them safely. The Rexes in Super Princess Peach are smaller however, standing slightly shorter than Princess Peach herself. This could mean that there are different types of Rexes that differ from game to game.
A trait that Rexes have in games are their compressive bodies, being shrunken down when jumped on (similar to the Mario Bros. shrinking when powering down from their Super forms). This allows them to withstand single jump attacks and move quicker while in this flattened state (they can still be defeated instantly by any other attack, however). In the Mario & Luigi games, Rexes can be flattened two times with jump attacks (the second time flatter than the last) and the player can safely counterattack or dodge their attacks. In the Minion Quest: The Search for Bowser mode in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions, however, Rexes do not shrink when attacked by the player's troopers that attack from above. The Rexes' body compression trait is also possessed by Morty Moles from Super Mario 3D Land.
While Shroob Rexes have the ability to breath fire, it is unknown if regular Rexes can do so too. Nevertheless, Rexes seem to have some affinity to fire as they can absorb fire damage in both versions of Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga and can only be encountered in the stages of Fury Volcano in Super Princess Peach.
Notable Rexes
Variants
- Sad Rex: A Rex that is often seen sobbing and crying.
- Shroob Rex: A Rex that has been Shroobified by the Shroob alien race.
Profiles
- See also: List of Rex profiles in Japanese
Super Mario series
Super Mario World
- Instruction booklet (page 25): As one would expect, you could only meet this kind of enemy in dinosaur land, and there are lots of them too. You have to stomp on a Rex twice to defeat him. Rex has wings, but I don't think he can fly.
- Mario Mania (page 51): It's easy to vex Rex. Stomp once to crunch him like an accordian[sic] and twice to get rid of him for good. A Spin Jump takes him out in one step.
- Nintendo Power Volume 28 (page 10): Rexes: They're relatively weak, but these kooks come out several at a time.
Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2
- Denizens of Dinosaur Land poster: To defeat Rexes, you need to bounce on their noggins twice. Although they have wings, it doesn't appear that they can fly.[1]
Mario & Luigi series
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
- Nintendo Player's Guide (page 41): Always target Rexes first. As you stomp them, they get shorter and thus easier to jump over.
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions
- Minion Quest: The Search for Bowser profile: Mighty dragons that can't fly, despite having wings. They charge forward when they spot an enemy.
Super Princess Peach
- 78: A dinosaur-like enemy. Flip it with two stomps.
Stats
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
  Rex | ||||||
| Level | HP | POW | DEF | SPEED | Experience | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 16 | 22 | 24 | 10 | 8 | |
| Location(s) | Coins | Item drop | Fire | Thunder | Jump | |
| Hoohoo Mountain | 3 | Regular: Syrup Jar - 32.26% Flattened: 1-Up Mushroom – 16.13% 1-Up Mushroom – 32.26% (Green Pepper - 64.52%) |
Heal | Normal | Normal | |
| Hammer | Hand | Burn? | Stat down? | Stun? | ||
| Normal | Normal | 0% | 100% | 60% | ||
| Notice: Stats in parentheses are from the Japanese version (if they differ from the original American and European stats). | ||||||
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions
 Rex | |||||
| Level | HP | POW | DEF | SPEED | Experience |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 28 | 32 | 14 | 15 | 13 |
| Coins | Item drop | Fire | Thunder | Jump | Hammer |
| 6 | Syrup (24%) None (0%) Super Syrup (50%) |
Heal | Normal | Normal | Normal |
| Location(s) | Stat down? | Dizzy? | Burn? | Speed down? | |
| Hoohoo Mountain | 60% | 100% | 0% | 30% | |
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ドラボン Dorabon |
Portmanteau of「ドラゴン」(doragon, dragon) and「坊」(bon, an affectionate term for boys) |
| Chinese | 邦邦龙[2] Bāngbāng Lóng |
Bang-Bang Dragon |
| French | Drabon | From the Japanese name |
| German | Rex | - |
| Italian | Draghetto Rex (Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, as the sub-species' Italian name is Shroob Rex) |
Small Dragon - |
| Korean | 드래본 Deuraebon |
From 드래곤 (deuraegon, dragon), and same as Japanese name |
| Portuguese | Rex | - |
| Spanish | Rex | Rex |
Trivia
- The name "Rex" is most likely a reference to Tyrannosaurus rex, a dinosaur species.
References
- ^ Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2 promotional flyer
- ^ 无敌阿尔宙斯 (August 28, 2013). 神游 超级马力欧世界 敌人官译. Baidu Tieba. Retrieved February 2, 2017.
