The Calcified Crushblat (ホシオトシ?, lit.: "Star Dropper") is an enemy that makes its debut in Pikmin 3. It is a strange creature, apparently just a head with long, chicken-like legs. Its head is usually protected by a thick layer of silica which can only be broken off by Rock Pikmin and bomb rocks. It is a rare creature, appearing only once in one area in story mode, but appears quite more often in Mission Mode and Bingo Battle. It has the qualifications of a mini-boss, but is not considered as one, as the mini-boss music does not play when fighting it.
Notes
US version
“Structural flaw: breakable armor
Weight: 12
The solid crystal structure covering its torso is a formidable both defensive and offensive mechanism, capable of crushing Pikmin beneath its weight. A Bomb Rock or an assault with Rock Pikmin can easily shatter the crystalline armor, after which it has no ability to damage Pikmin and no way to keep them from striking its exposed flesh.
”
European version
“Structural flaw: breakable armour
Weight: 12
The solid crystal structure covering its torso is both a formidable defensive and offensive mechanism, capable of crushing Pikmin beneath its weight. A bomb rock or an assault with Rock Pikmin can easily shatter the crystalline armour, after which it has no ability to damage Pikmin and no way to keep them from striking its exposed flesh.
”
“I thought the stalks around their eyes were some kind of symbiotic plant, but nope. Just ordinary whiskers. What a letdown... I hate whiskers. Alph better never grow a mustache like the captain, or I'll be surrounded by them.”
“I bet you it feels pretty safe in there behind that thick crystal shell. But break that crystal and then watch as it goes berserk out of sheer desperation. It knows that when your time comes, you gotta go out fighting.”
“This beast's bouncy texture is addictive, but it can be a choking hazard if overcooked. Sauté and drizzle with brown butter to draw out the nutty undertones.”
- US version
“Calcified Crushblat
Durotesta longuscrus
Crushblat family
Originally, these creatures were water-based mollusks. Their hard shell let them live on the land by keeping its soft flesh from being exposed to predators. It absorbs nutrients from the water through its skin, which is a relatively inefficient way of feeding compared to hunting. As a result, it spends most of its time sedentary due to its low metabolism. The crystal shell on its back is made of silica that it absorbs. The shells shed by younger crushblats find use as projectiles used by skutterchucks.
”
- European version
“Calcified Crushblat
Durotesta longuscrus
Crushblat family
Originally, these creatures were water-based molluscs. Their hard shell let them live on the land by keeping its soft flesh from being exposed to predators. It absorbs nutrients from the water through its skin, which is a relatively inefficient way of feeding compared to hunting. As a result, it spends most of its time sedentary due to its low metabolism. The crystal shell on its back is made of silica that it absorbs. The shells shed by younger Crushblats find use as projectiles used by Skutterchucks.
”
Pikmin 3 Prima Guide[edit]
“The Calcified Crushblat is a large amphibious creature. This well-armored enemy attacks by leaping into the air and crushing its victims.
When you encounter a Calcified Crushblat, toss Rock Pikmin at the creature's armor to expose the soft flesh beneath it. Once its armor is destroyed, this enemy inflates its body to knock back any attackers. Since the Calcified Crushblat tends to stick close to water, your Blue Pikmin are well suited to survive these knock-back attacks. Unlike the Rock Pikmin, however, your Blue Pikmin are vulnerable to the creature's crushing attacks.
Throw your Blue Pikmin onto the creature's exposed flesh, and recall any Pikmin that are knocked to the ground. As you continue to battle, keep your squad clear of the Calcified Crushblat's attacks.
”
Behavior[edit]
This creature is passive, only waking from slumber if approached. The Calcified Crushblat starts out sitting on the ground with its legs folded underneath it. From a distance, it looks like a crystalline rock. Once a Pikmin or leader approaches it, it will stand up and walk around the area, attempting to sit on and crush the creatures. If its armor is on, it will crush all Pikmin except for Rock Pikmin and Winged Pikmin. If the armor is gone, it will only knock back Pikmin underneath it, but if Pikmin are directly underneath the Crushblat, they can be buried. The Crushblat moves rather fast despite its appearance.
Strategy[edit]
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The following article or section contains guides.
The strategies presented may not be the only ones or the best ones.
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As mentioned, this creature is covered with a crystal armor, making either Rock Pikmin or bomb rocks necessary to fight it conventionally. As Rock Pikmin will generally take a longer time, it is recommended to use bomb rocks. By using bomb rocks, a portion of its armor will be blown off (or all of it, if it is in the center of the blast), and damage equal to about 2/3 of its health will also be dealt to the creature, as opposed to using Rock Pikmin, which will break its armor more slowly. After its armor is removed, simply bombard it with Pikmin.
Should bomb rocks not be available, Rock Pikmin still prove useful. It is recommended to have a decent size group when fighting this creature, as the Pikmin may constantly end up planted in the ground. With its armor, the Crushblat deals more damage to leaders and can kill Pikmin, so it is advised to get rid of it. On the other hand, the Crushblat moves slower when without armor, so it is recommend to blow about half to two-thirds of its armor off.
Another possible strategy is to simply swarm its feet until it dies; however this is dangerous as it can easily crush the Pikmin. A very effective way of using this strategy is by using Winged Pikmin as they can easily swarm its under-section and are shaken away the moment it tries to squash them. This is a very useful time-saving strategy on Twilight Hollow, as you can get the Winged Pikmin to defeat the Calcified Crushblat without having to keep watch over them.
Upon its death, the crystal shell will always break, no matter how much you managed to destroy during the fight, and you may then collect its carcass.
Technical information[edit]
- See also: Crushblat family#Naming.
- Common name: Calcified Crushblat. Something that is calcified has a collection of calcium salts in its body tissue, which is similar to what the Calcified Crushblat has with its protective layer of crystal. The name "Crushblat" is a combination of "crush", because of its main method of attack, and "blat", which is not a word, but can be an onomatopoeia similar to “splat”, used to show the sound of something being squished.
- Japanese nickname: ホシオトシ?. ホシ? translates to "star", referring to its star-like body, and オトシ? means "dropping", or "to drop", referring to how this enemy falls on top of Pikmin.
- Japanese name: アシボソタマモチ?, lit.: "Long-legged Ball Mochi".
- Scientific name: Durotesta longuscrus. It combines the two Latin words duro (hard) and testa (head), refering to its protective helmet. "Longuscrus" comes from longus (long) and crus (leg).
- Internal names: Internally, it is called
crystal_frog. crystal_maro_frog is the name of an unused enemy, which is a Wollywog (maro_frog) with a rock. It is possible that both crystal_frog and crystal_maro_frog were planned to be the two main amphitubers but with some rock or crystal accessory. At some point in development, crystal_maro_frog was abandoned and crystal_frog was reworked into the Calcified Crushblat. Alternatively, the Crushblat's internal name was simply chosen because it jumps like a frog and has a layer of crystal.
- Prerelease: None.
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language
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Name
|
Meaning
|
 Japanese |
ホシオトシ?
Hoshi Otoshi |
Star Dropper
|
 Chinese
(traditional) |
墜星怪 |
|
 French |
Astéropode |
Portmanteau of astéroïde (asteroid) and gastéropode (gastropod)
|
 Korean |
별쿵쿵이 |
|
 Spanish (NoA) |
Sapo patilargo |
Long legged toad
|
Gallery[edit]
A sleeping Calcified Crushblat with its crystal shell completely intact.
A dormant Calcified Crushblat.
Closeup of a Calcified Crushblat with its shell intact.
A sleeping Calcified Crushblat with half its shell broken.
A sleeping Crushblat without its shell.
The Calcified Crushblat standing up.
A Calcified Crushblat attacking Rock Pikmin.
A Calcified Crushblat being scanned while it’s walking around in its crystal shell.
An armorless Crushblat stretching out as it lands.
The rear end of a Calcified Crushblat. It has a pronounced set of buttocks.
The Calcified Crushblat in its jumping animation.
The Calcified Crushblat, when seen from behind a transparent object, has no visible shell.
- Calcification usually takes around 3-4 years to take place. It is unknown how long the Crushblat takes to develop its shell.
- The Crushblat's appearance when its armor is taken off somewhat resembles the Large-Mouth Wollywog from Pikmin Adventure.
- Interestingly, the Crushblat's head still expands and retracts after its death.
- The Calcified Crushblat is the third creature, and only non-boss enemy in Pikmin 3 that requires Rock Pikmin to expose its weak point, with the others being the Armored Mawdad and the Quaggled Mireclops. However, it can be defeated without them with the use of bomb rocks or by swarming at its legs.
- The Calcified Crushblat will respawn after being killed, but it doesn't respawn with the shell until a certain amount of days have passed.
- The Calcified Crushblat can kill enemies in the same manner as Yellow Wollywogs, with or without its shell.
- If the enemy is seen from behind a transparent object, its shell will not be visible. This is a common problem with transparency in game development.
See also[edit]
