T-Rex

This article is about the enemy from Super Mario Odyssey. For the dinosaur from the Super Mario World television series, see evil dinosaur.

T-Rex
Artwork of a captured T-Rex
First appearance	Super Mario Odyssey (2017)
Latest appearance	The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) (cameo)
Derived subjects Skelesaurus
Comparable Mega Mario

“T-Rex, most terrible of all dinosaurs, can pulverize a boulder with a single blow. On the other hand, most people don't realize how much time they spend napping.”

—Cascade Kingdom brochure, Super Mario Odyssey

T-Rexes, nicknamed "Prehistoric Tyrants" and occasionally referred to as dinosaurs, are enemies from Super Mario Odyssey that can be captured by Cappy. They are artistically realistic Tyrannosaurus rex, contrasting with the fantastic designs of most characters in the Super Mario franchise. Unlike most enemies, T-Rexes are generally framed as wildlife in Super Mario Odyssey, not as adversaries.

Design

According to director Kenta Motokura, the T-Rex's realistic design was influenced by Super Mario World, another game where Mario is alongside dinosaurs. The development team wanted to include a dinosaur never seen in a Super Mario game before in hopes of surprising the player, causing the developers to steer away from the more cartoonish and caricatured dinosaur designs used in Super Mario World. The realistic design philosophy applied to the T-Rex permeates through Super Mario Odyssey. Other examples of realistic character designs include the Sphynx, New Donkers, the dog, and the Ruined Dragon.

History

Super Mario Odyssey

A sleeping T-Rex in Fossil Falls.

In Super Mario Odyssey, T-Rexes are native to the Cascade Kingdom and the Deep Woods of the Wooded Kingdom, two of the only places in the world where they have survived into the modern era. Their iconography is incorporated into souvenirs available at the Crazy Cap in Fossil Falls, namely a diorama and sticker. One of the individuals here, the first T-Rex encountered by Mario, is believed to be female and is a subject of field research. Apparently, throwing a rock in their general vicinity is enough to spook them. A T-Rex appears on the pages of newspapers read by New Donkers.

Two T-Rexes can be found in the Cascade Kingdom: one on a hill in the western half of Fossil Falls, and one in an subterranean area called the Dinosaur Nest. These dinosaurs are found napping and will not attack Mario or damage him on contact. He can even stand on one's body as it sleeps. A fedora-wearing T-Rex can be found patrolling a path around a large tree in the Deep Woods and will chase Mario when it sees him. T-Rexes turn slowly. Occasionally, it will snap its jaws while swinging toward the ground as an attack. It can crash through stone walls. Neither stomps or Cap Throws can stop a T-Rex. Instead, Mario can allow it to chase him until the T-Rex stops, roars, and uses forward ramming attack. If that attack is lured into a wall, including a stone wall, it will be stunned for a short time and lose the hat. (The stone wall will break.) Thus, it can be captured much like the sleeping variation. An alternative method is throwing a giant seed at its head, which can be done even outside of the ram attack. While this T-Rex can be touched while stunned, it cannot be climbed. If it regains consciousness, the hat reappears on its head. A fourth T-Rex in an Aviator Cap can be found in a hidden area within the Metro Kingdom, where it chases down Mario down a narrow street. It tears up the ground behind it, leaving a bottomless pit behind. Occasionally it can snap at Mario, gaining a brief speed boost so that this must be actively avoided even at Mario's top speed.

To capture a T-Rex, it has to be sleeping or unconscious. The player has to throw Cappy at the head, instead of just at the enemy in general. A captured T-Rex is indestructible and destroys any enemy or stone wall it touches. It dashes when the player holds , and snaps its jaws with or by shaking the controller. While standing, Mario's attack is different. He instead takes a quick step forward while swinging the head upward. T-Rexes cannot jump. However, their strides are massive, so they can can climb steps. They can also use trampolines to get a large height boost. After coming down from a fall, the impact creates a tremor that defeats nearby enemies. Turning as a T-Rex is still slow, even while standing still. Mario is unable to use the ramming attack. Unlike the other captures, T-Rexes can only be controlled for a limited time due to Cappy requiring a lot of energy to keep such a large creature captured. The T-Rex will start to flash when the time remaining is low, accompanied by a ticking clock sound effect. Once the time expires, the T-Rex appears in its original location. The player can circumnavigate this limitation by releasing and recapturing it quickly. The dinosaur in the Metro Kingdom cannot be captured. It exists solely for a motor scooter-based chase sequence, and ultimately falls down a pit.

In a My Nintendo-exclusive poll conducted during E3 2017, the T-Rex was voted the top enemy that account owners wanted to capture and play as, well above the Goomba, Bullet Bill, Hammer Bro, Chain Chomp, and Cheep Cheep which were also part of the poll. Shigeru Miyamoto likened Mario's ability to capture and control a T-Rex in Super Mario Odyssey to riding Yoshi.

Other appearances

The Skelesaurus enemy in Yoshi's Crafted World is referred to as a "Tyrannosaurus" in the game's files.

In The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Toad's backpack includes a pin designed after the Cascade Kingdom Sticker and features the T-Rex. It is visible here, towards the bottom left.

Gallery

Artwork, models, and sprites

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  Artwork

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  Artwork (captured T-Rex)

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  Artwork (Cascade Kingdom Sticker)

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  Splash artwork

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  Splash artwork

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  Splash artwork

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  Official Twitter illustration

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  Wallpaper

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  My Nintendo wallpaper

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  My Nintendo wallpaper

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  Concept art, featuring a more traditional Super Mario design

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  Concept art of Fossil Falls, with a top hat-wearing T-Rex in the background

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  Storyboard sequence for the E3 2017 trailer

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  Model

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  Sprite (T-Rex Model souvenir)

Screenshots

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  Official screenshot

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  Official screenshot (captured T-Rex)

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  Official screenshot (captured T-Rex)

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  Official screenshot (captured T-Rex)

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  Screenshot of Mario sliding down its body

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  Screenshot of the T-Rex in the Deep Woods

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  Screenshot of the T-Rex in New Donk City

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  Official screencap of a captured T-Rex breaking stone walls

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  Screenshot of the commercial for Super Mario Bros. 35th Anniversary

Music

Fossil Falls: Dinosaur

File infoMedia:OST Fossil Falls Dinosaur Super Mario Odyssey.oga ​

Help:Media • Having trouble playing?

This piece was composed by Naoto Kubo and performed by The Super Mario Players. It plays for the duration that Mario and Cappy have captured a T-Rex, making it analogous to the "Super Star" and "Mega Mario" themes of prior games. Though clustered with other pieces from Fossil Falls in the Music List, it also plays when a T-Rex is chasing Mario in the Deep Woods and New Donk City. It is track 4 on the Music List.

In the Japanese release, this piece is referred to as「ダイナフォー - 恐竜"」(Dainafō - Kyōryū, "Fossil Falls - Dinosaur"), similar to the English localization. It was given a different name in the Super Mario Odyssey Original Soundtrack released in 2018,「キャプチャー・ティラノサウルス!」(Kyapuchā・Tiranosaurusu!, "Capture Tyrannosaurus!"). It is track 11 on disc 1.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	ティラノサウルス Tiranosaurusu	Tyrannosaurus
Chinese (simplified)	暴龙[?] Bào lóng	Tyrannosaurus
Chinese (traditional)	暴龍[?] Bào lóng	Tyrannosaurus
Dutch	T. rex[?]	T. rex
French	T-Rex[?]	T-Rex
German	T-Rex[?]	T-Rex
Italian	T-Rex[?]	T-Rex
Korean	티라노사우루스[?] Tiranosauruseu	Tyrannosaurus
Russian	Тираннозавр[?] Tirannozavr	Tyrannosaurus
Spanish	Tiranosaurio[?]	Tyrannosaurus
	Tiranosaurio Rex[?]	Tyrannosaurus rex
	T-Rex[?]	T-Rex