Chimera

The chimera is a type of enemy introduced in Mother 3.

Description

Chimeras are Pigmask Army-designed hybrid monsters set loose on the Nowhere Islands during the events of the game. These creatures can be sorted into two distinct groups: the biological chimeras, which are "blends" of two or more animals and/or objects (e.g. Firefly and Flying Mouse), and the mechanical chimeras, which are animals and people whose body parts have replaced by robot parts (e.g. Reconstructed Mole and Mecha-Turtle). Both groups also serve as an enemy classification type that can be determined by Boney's Sniff ability; the latter group are naturally vulnerable to battle items that target machines, such as the Saltwater Gun.

As corrupted beings, chimera are almost always hostile, and many act as threats to the player characters and the people of Tazmily Village.

History

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The first chimera appears in Chapter 1. As Flint runs through the flaming Sunshine Forest, he finds Lighter on the ground next to a strange-looking fly. As Flint proceeds north to rescue Fuel from their burning house at Lighter's request, three Fireflies attack him.

During Flint, Boney and Duster's search for Hinawa and her children, they come across two Pigmasks in the middle of working on the Reconstructed Caribou. Caught off guard, the two soldiers bring the newly-created chimera to life, and it attacks the trio, but is defeated. The Pigmasks flee, allowing the group to pick up the Pig Mark Notebook that one of them drops.

The notebook's text states that one of their leader's goals for the islands is to replace all the animals with "better" reconstructed creatures through the use of technology, a process which also turns the normally peaceful wildlife hostile; the worst case of this is the Mecha-Drago, whose rampaging costs the loves of Hinawa and Claus, and that of the Drago itself after Flint defeats it.

Throughout Chapter 7, more information about the chimeras are revealed. The party arrives in the Chimera Laboratory, located within the Murasaki Forest, where they delve deeper into the facility while disguised as Pigmasks searching for a pair of monkeys. Within a museum-like area, an Almost Mecha-Lion attacks the party and is then taken out by a Clayman. The Pigmasks then reveal that several other chimeras escaped confinement, including the most dangerous one created: the Ultimate Chimera.

Dr. Andonuts's specialized chimeras.

As the party continues their search for Samba and Salsa, they meet the time-displaced Dr. Andonuts, who is shown to be the head scientist for the Pigmask Army and the creator of the chimeras. They learn that the Ultimate Chimera is a monstrous mixture of several animals, and broke loose before Dr. Andonuts could remove its only weakness: a button on its back. With the help of Salsa, the party deactivates the Ultimate Chimera and escapes from the lab; however, the bird on its back presses the button again and reactivates the monster, who then escapes from the lab and lets several other chimeras out in the process.

Later, when trying to empty the pond containing Doria's Needle, the party is assisted by Dr. Andonuts, who offers some friendly chimeras for the job: Dryguy, the Bucket Brothers and Mr. Pump, the last of which easily moves the water and allows Lucas to pull the Needle.

Spoiler warning: Spoilers end here.

For a full list of chimeras in Mother 3, see Category:Chimeras.

Trivia

• On a shelf in the Chimera Laboratory, some animal food called Chimera-Chow can be found, with the slogan "Chimeras Go Straight For It!"