Smilax
| Smilax | |
|---|---|
| |
| Species | Piranha Plant |
| First appearance | Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (1996) |
| Latest appearance | Super Mario RPG (Nintendo Switch) (2023) |
Smilax is a minor boss in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. It is a Piranha Plant resembling Naval Piranha capable of fiery attacks.
History
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Smilax is found in the pipe in Bean Valley that leads to Nimbus Land to prevent any intruder from interfering with Valentina's plans to dethrone the royal family. During their search for the sixth Star Piece, Mario and his party comes across Smilax and fight it in a four-stage battle in order to free access to the sky.
The plant starts with a single bud, itself called Smilax. After the bud is defeated, Valentina's Beezo arrives and pours water on it, causing it to grow two Smilax buds. This process is repeated to grow three Smilax buds. Subsequently, the large flower, known as Megasmilax, blooms with two remaining Smilaxes. If Megasmilax is defeated first, it will instantly defeat any remaining Smilaxes. The original artwork of Megasmilax depicts it with three Smilaxes; however, Megasmilax only blooms with two Smilaxes in-game.
In battle, the smaller Smilaxes cast Hot Shot and Flame. Megasmilax can cast Petal Blast.
The stem of the flower in its first phase has an internal enemy entry known as "Thrax" in the English version and 「クィーンフラワー」 (or "Queen Flower," shared with Megasmilax) in the Japanese version. It is possible that the player was originally meant to be able to one-shot Smilax before it grows buds if a character had high enough speed (similar to the original Naval Piranha in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island), although it was unimplemented.
Minecraft
In the Super Mario Mash-up in Minecraft, the Wither is replaced by Megasmilax with two Smilaxes.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Megasmilax is mentioned briefly by Viridi during Palutena's Guidance dialogue for Piranha Plant. In addition to being mentioned among regular variations, it is referred to in the plural form in most other languages, implying it is a species rather than simply an individual.
Profiles and statistics
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
| Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars enemy | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smilax | |||||||||
|
HP | 200 | FP | 100 | Speed | 5 | |||
| Location(s) | Bean Valley | Attack | 100 | Magic attack | 70 | ||||
| Role | Support | Defense | 80 | Magic defense | 50 | ||||
| Bonus Flower | Attack Up! (20%) | Yoshi Cookie | None | Morph rate | 0% | ||||
| Evade | 0% | Magic evade | 0% | Spells | Drain, Flame | ||||
| Weak | Ice | Strong | Fear, Poison, Sleep, Mute, Critical | Sp. attacks | Pollen Nap | ||||
| Coins | 0 | Exp. points | 0 | Items | None | ||||
| Psychopath | "Turn your eyes!" | ||||||||
| Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars enemy | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Megasmilax | |||||||||
|
HP | 1000 | FP | 100 | Speed | 2 | |||
| Location(s) | Bean Valley | Attack | 140 | Magic attack | 70 | ||||
| Role | Boss | Defense | 80 | Magic defense | 80 | ||||
| Bonus Flower | Attack Up! (20%) | Yoshi Cookie | None | Morph rate | 0% | ||||
| Evade | 0% | Magic evade | 0% | Spells | Petal Blast, Drain, Flame Wall | ||||
| Weak | Ice | Strong | Fear, Poison, Sleep, Mute, Critical | Sp. attacks | S'crow Dust | ||||
| Coins | 0 | Exp. points | 120 | Items | None | ||||
| Psychopath | "I was a water baby!" | ||||||||
Super Mario RPG (Nintendo Switch)
| Super Mario RPG enemy | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smilax | |||||||||
|
HP | 200 | Weak Elements | 
|
Drops | N/A | |||
| Exp. | 0 | Weak Statuses | N/A | Rare Drops | N/A | ||||
| Found in | Bean Valley | ||||||||
| Monster List profile | Is it strange to call these "Smilaxes" when the only time they show their pearly teeth is to bite? | ||||||||
| Thought Peek | "Look away! Look away!" | ||||||||
| Animations | |||||||||
| Super Mario RPG enemy | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Megasmilax | |||||||||
|
|
HP | 1000 | Weak Elements |
|
Drops | N/A | |||
| Exp. | 120 | Weak Statuses | N/A | Rare Drops | N/A | ||||
| Found in | Bean Valley | ||||||||
| Monster List profile | It can use Petal Blast even though it isn't the right season for it to bloom. That's what you get from a freak of nature like this. Pretty though. | ||||||||
| Thought Peek | "I got watered and grew quickly. I'll wilt quickly too. That's the life of a flower." | ||||||||
| Animations | |||||||||
Gallery
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars artwork
The stem in the first stage
The stem in the second stage
The stem in the third and fourth stages
Animation of the battle's fourth stage
Megasmilax with Smilaxes as the Wither in Minecraft
Megasmilax with Smilaxes in Minecraft
The stem in the remake's first stage as seen in battle
The stem in the remake's second stage
The stem in the remake's third stage
Megasmilax blooms in the remake
Names in other languages
- Smilax (in battle)
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | つぼみ[?] Tsubomi |
Bud | |
| クィーンフラワー (つぼみ)[1] Kwīn Furawā (Tsubomi) |
Queen Flower (Bud) | ||
| Chinese | 花蕾[?] Huālěi |
Bud | |
| Dutch | Smilax[?] | - | |
| French (NOA) | Floriole[?] | Small flower | |
| French (NOE) | Plantule[?] | Plantlet | |
| German | Knospiran[?] | From Knospe ("bud") and "Piranha" | |
| Italian | Piranhina[?] | Li'l Piranha; from "Piranha" and the diminutive suffix -ina | |
| Korean | 꽃봉오리[?] Kkotbong'ori |
Bud | |
| Spanish | Brote Regio[?] | Regal Sprout |
- Smilax (outside of battle) / Megasmilax
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | クィーンフラワー[?] Kwīn Furawā |
Queen Flower | |
| クィーンフラワー ( Kwīn Furawā (Kyodai Ka) |
Queen Flower (Giant Form) | ||
| Chinese | 王后花[?] Wánghòu Huā |
Queen Flower | |
| Dutch | Megasmilax (Super Smash Bros. Ultimate)[?] | - | |
| Mega-Smilax (Super Mario RPG)[?] | |||
| French (NOA) | Floriose[?] | From Floriole ("Smilax") and "grandiose" | |
| French (NOE) | Piranha tricéphale (Super Smash Bros. Ultimate)[?] | Tricephalous (three-headed) Piranha | |
| Plantumentale (Super Mario RPG)[?] | - | ||
| German | Piranha-Königin (Super Smash Bros. Ultimate)[?] | Piranha Queen | |
| Grinspiran (Super Mario RPG)[?] | From grinsen ("to grin") and "Piranha" | ||
| Italian | Piranha tricefala (Super Smash Bros. Ultimate)[?] | Tricephalous Piranha | |
| Piranhona (Super Mario RPG)[?] | Big Piranha; "Piranha" with the augmentative suffix -ona | ||
| Korean | 퀸플라워[?] Kwin Peullawo |
Queen Flower; from the Japanese name | |
| Russian | трехголовое растение-пиранья (Super Smash Bros. Ultimate)[?] trekhgolovoe rastenie-piran'ya |
Three-headed Piranha Plant | |
| Spanish | Planta Piraña Tricéfala (Super Smash Bros. Ultimate)[?] | Tricephalous Piranha Plant | |
| Piraña Regia (Super Mario RPG)[?] | Regal Piranha |
Trivia
- Smilax gets its name from a real-life plant of the same name. Smilax in real life resembles the enemy in the red spheres (fruit) it bears, as well as its thorns. The enemy in the video game was likely also named as such due to phonetically containing the word "smile."
- The fact that Smilax can use the Flame and Hot Shot attacks is an allusion to the Venus Fire Trap, as is its habit of "looking" directly at Mario and company rather than facing straight up.
