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The Rexon[1] (ザウラ[2],Zaura?), also known as the Rexor,[3] is an enemy that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It is a mass-produced, plesiosaur-based Badnik model created by Dr. Robotnik that resides in lava pools and shoot its targets with energy projectiles.
Rexons are plesiosaur-based Badniks with heavily armored carapaces. Most of their armor plating is light purple while their underbellies are light grey. For limbs, they have four gray flippers with purple front edges. They also have very long necks made up of four spheres, yellow details around their bodies, gray jaws, and two cartoonish black eyes each.
Game appearances[]
Sonic the Hedgehog 2[]
The Rexons first appeared in the 16-bit version of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, where it served as an enemy. In this game, the player encounters them at the lava pools in Hill Top Zone.
In gameplay, when the player gets near, the Rexons' head and neck will pop out of the lava and start shooting energy projectiles at the player from one position if they are in front of it. However, since the Rexons do not change their heads' direction, it is easy to defeat them from behind using the Spin Jump. Also, upon their head's destruction, they release an Animal.
Since their body is invulnerable, the player must attack the Rexons' head. When successfully struck, the Rexons' head and neck will collapse while their main body is left behind to float in the lava pool. Since the playable characters will not take damage from touching the Rexons' main body, the player can use it as a stepping stone in the lava pools for purposes like getting closer to the Rexon's head to beat it.
Sonic Blast[]
In Sonic Blast, Rexons appear in Red Volcano Zone Act 1,[4] albeit sporting a different red colored design. Similar to their appearance in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, these Rexons emerge from lava pools and will shoot projectiles at the player when they get close, while steadily moving around in only one position. However, only their heads appear while their main body seemingly remains beneath the lava.
Like their previous appearances, these Rexons do not change the direction of their heads after coming out of the lava, making them easy to defeat. Upon defeat, they will reward the player with 100 points, but like in every Sonic game for the Sega Game Gear and Master System, these Rexons do not release any Animals upon defeat.
In Sonic Mania and its expansion Sonic Mania Plus, Rexons are enemies found in both Acts of Lava Reef Zone. In gameplay, when the player gets near, the Rexons' head and neck will pop out of the lava and start shooting energy projectiles at them from one position if they are in front of it. These projectiles can be deflected by using Shield-derived power-ups or through Mighty's Spin Attack. However, they cannot change their heads' direction. Since their body is invulnerable, the player must attack the Rexons' head with a Spin Jump. Doing so will release the Animals inside of them and award the player with 100 points. Their head and neck will also collapse while their main body will be left behind to float in the lava pool. Since the playable character will not take damage from touching the Rexons' main body, the player can use it as a platform.
In Lava Reef Zone Act 2, it is possible to crush the Rexons using the walking devices. Doing so will cause their entire bodies to explode, but they will not release Animals. This will grant the player the "Without the Trace" trophy-achievement.
In the Nintendo Switch version of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, the Rexons appear as enemies in the "Tokyo Sky Flight" mini-game. Here, they possess a sprite-based appearance derived from their sprites in Sonic the Hedgehog 2. However, they are several times larger in this game than in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, their size taking up most of the screen's height. During the "Tokyo Sly Flight" mini-game, Rexons will try shooting the playable characters with fireballs that they spit from their mouths. In addition, due to how the screens scrolls forward during the mini-game, the Rexons pose an ever-encroaching threat. A Rexon can be defeated with any of the Tornado's armaments, but it can take a lot of damage before getting destroyed. Also, when destroying a Rexon, the player receives 1000 points.
Sonic Speed Simulator[]
This section requires an expansion.
Personality[]
While built to serve as work drones, Rexons possess a degree of sentience and personality traits. These traits include fawning over Dr. Eggman and trying to give him a great birthday on their own volition.[5]
Powers and abilities[]
The Rexons are shown to be very resistant to extreme temperatures, as they can dive their entire bodies into lava. They can also shoot energy projectiles from their mouths.
In Sonic the Hedgehog Yearbook 1992, a Rexon made a small appearance in the story, "Space-Hedgehog", where it and a Spiker ambushed Sonic the Hedgehog, with Rexon shooting fireballs at him. After beating Robotnik, Sonic defeated both the Rexon and Spiker easily and released the animals inside them.
In the Sonic the Comic series published by Fleetway Editions, the Rexons are a part of Dr. Robotnik's Badnik army. They only appeared in Hill Top Zone where they ran Robotnik's operations from lava pools. Unlike most other Badniks in the comics, the Rexons retained a consistent design during the series' run.
When Dr. Starline took over the Eggman Empire, he sent out an override code that brought Badniks all over the world under his control, including the Rexons. The Rexons would then make their way towards Eggperial City upon Starline's command, eventually arriving in said city in droves.[7]
Trivia[]
The Rexons' fins are never seen in gameplay due to their main body residing below the surface of lava pools where they are not visible.
There is a chance that the game may crash when destroying a Rexon's head. This is caused by conflicts in the code that causes the game to jump to a section of code earlier than it was meant to jump to, resulting in invalid opcodes being processed and an eventual crash. This would be fixed in REV02 of the game, included in Sonic Compilation, though it is possible to fix this by modifying the game's code
The UK Stay Sonic book states that Rexons are one of the oldest inhabitants of Mobius that survived due to the environment they live in, and being well equipped for both protection and attacking.[8] However, this claim is likely non-canonical (as the book pertains to the early Sonic canon).
↑Prima Publishing (1993). "Sonic The Hedgehog 2 for Sega Genesis". Sonic the Hedgehog 1 & 2: Sega's Official Player's Guide. Prima Publishing. p. 105. ISBN 1-55958-335-5.
