Mr Cactus
Mr Cactus is the seventh boss of Rayman: The Dark Magician's Reign of Terror. He's a huge cactus creature wearing a sombrero hat, threatening anyone entering his territory within the Desert of Despair.
| Mr Cactus | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| Alignment | Bad | |
| Appears in | Rayman: The Dark Magician's Reign of Terror | |
| Location | Angry Cacti | |
| Resistance | 
| |
| Attacks | Cactus projectiles, cactus bombs, picks, jumping | |
| Species | Cactus | |
In Rayman: The Dark Magician's Reign of Terror
Mr Cactus is encountered multiple times in the first two parts of Angry Cacti, attacking Rayman by launching series of bouncing cactus bombs from the top of certain areas. To progress, Rayman must avoid his projectiles and reach him, which will prompt Mr Cactus to flee to another location.
Mr Cactus is ultimately fought in the final part, first attacking Rayman three times with two bouncy cacti which explodes into spikes when hitting walls. Mr Cactus then throws a spiky cactus bomb, which Rayman must punch to send it back to Mr Cactus, as it's the only way to damage him. After getting hurt, a series of vertical picks will come out from the ground, and Mr Cactus will make a slow series of jumps to the other side of the area, forcing Rayman to pass below him to avoid getting hurt. On the other side, Rayman can pick up a Big Power, which can be very helpful as Mr Cactus will repeat this cycle of attacks whenever he's hurt or Rayman fails to deflect a spiky cactus bomb and will get more dangerous the more damage Mr Cactus takes.
Despite having a health bar of twenty points like the other bosses in the game, Mr Cactus can only sustain five hits as every reflected cactus bomb takes four points away from it. After being damaged three times, the picks will be replaced by their bigger counterparts, and Mr Cactus will attack faster, also launching a wall of spikes towards Rayman after two cacti which the hero must duck under. With only one health point left, the big picks will suddenly be surrounded by two small ones, making the jumping phase even more difficult.
Once defeated, Mr Cactus releases five coins and turns into a harmless ordinary cactus, with only his hat remaining on top. Mr Cactus will reappear if Rayman later returns to Angry Cacti, but the player will be able skip the final battle by pressing the Enter key.
Gallery
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Mr Cactus attacking with his cactus bombs. -
A doodle of Rayman: The Dark Magician's Reign of Terror's bosses by Ryemanni, featuring Mr Cactus with an updated design, having prominent orange spikes and detailled hands with fingers.
Trivia
- Mr Cactus is the only boss in Rayman: The Dark Magician's Reign of Terror with an early version of his music theme, which was shared in the stereo soundtrack released in 2023 by Ryemanni. This unused version was quieter and had a slower rhythm, and a leitmotif far more similar to the other Desert of Despair themes, even featuring the sandstorm ambience heard in all of them.
- Mr Cactus is widely considered to be one of the most difficult bosses in Rayman: The Dark Magician's Reign of Terror, due to his long attack cycles with many projectiles and the limited opportunities to damage him.