After nearly three decades, the classic Super Mario RPG is back and as quirky as ever. This one-of-a-kind take on both the Super Mario universe and RPG genre is packed with unique mechanics, secrets, and puzzles that may be a bit perplexing for new players at first, but we’re here to help you.

　　Warning: The following article contains SPOILERS for Super Mario RPG.

　　While most of the bosses in Super Mario RPG are required confrontations, there is one infamous optional boss – Culex. This fight is not only tough as nails, but introduces a bit of Final Fantasy flavor to Mario’s world. Culex is lurking behind a locked door in Monstro Town, but how do you get in and fight him? Don’t worry, we have the answer for you…

　　Step 1 – Go to Moleville and go into the house north of the shop. There’s a mole selling fireworks in the corner of the house. Buy some for 500 coins.Step 2 – Head outside. As soon as you exit, you’ll see some boxes bunched together. You can just barely see the bow on the head of a girl mole sitting behind them. She’s running a pretend store – give her the fireworks and she’ll give you the Shiny Stone.Step 3 – Take this Shiny Stone back to Monstro Town and you can now open the previously-locked door and fight Culex.Culex is a tough nut to crack, but if you managed to beat the campaign’s final boss, you can handle Culex with the right strategy.

　　But wait! There’s actually a second even tougher version of Culex in the SMRPG remake, now rendered in full polygonal 3D! This is part of the new boss rematches that have been added to the game. In order to face off against 3D Culex, you’ll need to kick off the boss rematch questline and beat the other five returning bosses (here’s how to do that).

　　Super Mario RPG is available now on Nintendo Switch. You can check out Wccftech’s other Super Mario RPG guides here.