Complex Parasite
CAUTION: SPOILERS
This is the final boss of Pikmin: Sinister Incinerator and it is found on the final floor of the Worlds Beyond. Getting to the boss is a long and arduous journey, but fighting it is a whole other story. The battle is anything but simple, which is partially why the boss is called the "Complex Parasite". Note that the boss has more than one form. After you defeat a form, you can hop on the geyser and save, escaping the dungeon and return later to fight the next form with more Pikmin and supplies.
History of the Parasite
The Parasite's beginnings are unknown. Because the parasite is rooted to the spot in the depths of an isolated abyss, it cannot easily obtain its energy source, the Dark Spore. Without the spore it cannot continue to consume the roots of the great tree which grows above it. (Note: This is not the same tree seen in The Portal. It is a completely different one referred to as "The Spire of Being" which holds everything together.) The Parasite is indeed the "Sinister Incinerator" mentioned in the title. Because it cannot obtain Dark Spores directly, it relies on another creature to pass on its own spores to the world above in order to spread its influence. The spores of the Parasite manifest themselves in the form of Puffstools, which can in turn pass their own spores onto other creatures such as Pikmin. In this way, the Parasite controls its own army to seek out Dark Spores throughout the universe and bring them back to obtain more energy and burn further into the Spire of Being.
The Parasite itself is not really the creature's true form. It is merely a structure that holds its true essence in place. Before it developed its parasitic covering, the being itself was not dangerous at all. But endless ages of being trapped within the parasite have made it grow tremendously powerful off the power of the Dark Spores it consumed. The parasite and the being within should be thought of as two different minds; the parasite focuses on consuming while the being has no mind left at all.
Trivia
The Complex Parasite is based off of two different antagonistic figures.
- The first is the Nidhugg, a beast of Norse mythology that consumes the roots of the World Tree, the tree that holds the universe together. In the myths, its hateful speech is carried to the rest of the world by a red squirrel. The Parasite needs carriers to spread its spores in a similar fashion.
- The second is Giygas of the SNES game EarthBound. The Parasite could be thought of as the "Devil's Machine" from the game, whereas the being within that has lost its mind is not unlike the actual Giygas.
- The relation to Giygas ties in with the title's abbreviation, PSI.
- The fight against the Complex Parasite is similar to the fight against the Meteor Parasite from the game "Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles."