Lar

Lar is a common final boss, appearing in all the Sonic Wings games except the first. Although it is described as Fata Morgana's ultimate weapon, Lar's exact nature is unclear. The game designers suggest that Lar might be "a robot with a will of its own" or a vessel piloted by a "phantom" within it.^[1]

Whatever it is, Lar is shaped like a giant black sphere. Its face is blank when it first appears, but then a large eye with a red iris opens on the sphere's face. In most forms, Lar's eye stretches almost all the way across its face. Lar can also produce a variety of appendages, including various cannons and guns, mechanical wings, and a gigantic human arm. Lar may have a four-dimensional pocket within its body to contain its appendages.^[1]

Lar usually attacks using either fireballs or lasers. It can fire both from its eye, and at times a pale green corona appears around Lar's body. Lar also shoots fireballs from its various mechanical appendages, and it can grasp at the player's aircraft using its human arm. Because it has no dialogue in the games, Lar shows little personality; however, in some game artwork it is shown looking at Ellen and Mao Mao flirtatiously.

Lar's title, 大怪球, translates to "large mysterious sphere" or "giant monster ball" in English.

Inspiration[]

Grparis — The Eye of Vogler attacking Paris.

Lar is a parody of the Eye of Vogler from the anime OVA Giant Robo: The Day the Earth Stood Still. Like Lar, the Eye of Vogler is also called 大怪球 ("large mysterious sphere" or "giant monster ball"). In the game data for Sonic Wings Special, Lar is referred to as "Fogra," which is an alternate romanization of the katakana which spell "Vogler" (フォグラー). The game designers called Lar フォー○ラー (a censored form of "Vogler") during development.

The Eye of Vogler is a mechanical weapon/vehicle which, like Lar, resembles a giant black sphere with a red eye. While the Eye of Vogler's eye is more detailed, it too opens when the machine is activated and closes when it is turned off. One episode of Giant Robo shows the Eye of Vogler drifting through a burning Paris; this scene is replicated with Lar in Sonic Wings 2 and later Sonic Wings Special. The Eye of Vogler appeared in Giant Robo's first episode in 1991, whereas Lar's first appearance was in 1994.

Lar is also quite similar to one form of the enemy Dark Matter, who appears in several Kirby video game. Dark Matter first appeared in Kirby's Dream Land 2 at the end of 1994, the same year as Lar first appeared; therefore, there is likely no connection between the two.

Sonic Wings 2[]

Larfair — Possible cameo of Lar in Sonic Wings 2.

Stage: Another Dimension

Lar is one of three possible final bosses for Sonic Wings 2, along with Tenukie Chaudo and Manbou; however, Lar appears far more frequently than the other two. Lar attacks using its mechanical appendages and large humanoid arm, as detailed above. If Lar is allowed to escape the first time it appears, or if the player runs out of time, Lar is shown attacking Paris. If Lar escapes after the second run of the game, an animation of Lar appears in which it lifts its eye in a humorous manner as if smiling.

An eye very similar to Lar's also appears on the Aztec pyramid in the Mexico stage. The game's other two final bosses appear at the fairground in the America stage, along with a blank black sphere. Although it does not have an eye, the sphere may be meant to represent Lar in a cameo.

Sonic Wings 3[]

Stage: Mars

A gigantic version of Lar appears as part of the sub-boss of the Mars stage; it makes up 大怪球おさるステーション (Large Mysterious Sphere/Giant Monster Ball Osaru Station) along with Osaru from Sonic Wings. Lar is the more aggressive of the two bosses and has a wide range of attacks, including mechanical parts that extend from its sphere. Damage to these parts heals, so the player should instead focus on attacking Lar's eye. Lar usually has one large red, bloodshot eye in the middle of its sphere from which it attacks; however, the eye changes frequently. It may take the form of six smaller eyes, produce two extra irises which attack with laser beams, or send out copies of the much smaller version of Lar from Sonic Wings 2. Its main iris may also turn green in some attacks.

Sonic Wings Special[]

Stage: Another World

Lar reprises its Sonic Wings 2 role in Special, behaving exactly the same way as before. If allowed to escape, Lar again demolishes Paris.

Sonic Wings Limited[]

Swllar1 — Lar's first appearance in Sonic Wings Limited.

Swllar2 — Lar's second appearance in Sonic Wings Limited.

Stage: Another Dimension

Lar may appear as the game's final boss if the player has more than 600,000 points at the end of the Red Square stage; sometimes the small version of Do-ni Kai is the boss of "Another Dimension" instead. A smaller, weaker version of Lar appears at the beginning of the stage, surrounded by small white spheres. When defeated, this Lar provides a Full Power power-up. Lar returns in its normal, larger form at the end of the stage, where it behaves as it does in Sonic Wings and Sonic Wings 2. If allowed to escape, Lar is shown attacking the Earth-- and nauseating a poor man who now can't eat his lunch (see gallery below).

Sonic Wings Assault[]

2011-03-16 2231 — Lar in Sonic Wings Assault.

Stage: Ice Cave

Weapon of Human Extinction

This strange object, a black eerie sphere with a single eye, is a weapon to exterminate humanity!

—Sonic Wings Assault strategy guide

Lar has been sent to Earth to destroy all humanity.

—Ellen's briefing in Aerofighters Assault

Lar is the final boss of the regular part of the game, unless the player completes all bonus stages and unlocks the Moon level. It hides at the center of a cave deep in the ice of Antarctica, protected by meandering corridors and supporting aircraft.

Lar is frozen in ice if the player has more than 300 seconds remaining in the mission which approaching it. When there are less than 300 seconds left, it will thaw out and attack. As in previous games, Lar can control three different sets of mechanical appendages (though no human arms this time). However, it looks slightly different in its three-dimensional form, with a more cat-like eye.

This eye is Lar's weak point, and the player should aim for it when attacking. If the player approaches Lar while firing weapons, Lar will blink to mitigate the damage. Therefore, the best strategy is to use a special weapon on Lar from a distance. If the mission time runs out before Lar is defeated, it will change into its final form and take down the player's ship with a beam from its eye.

SukuSuku Inufuku[]

As a cameo, Lar appears during a quiz question from Minakata, who asks the player which of three sets of items they recommend. The choices are as follows:

"Mysterious Robot Set" featuring Lar and Mecha-Keaton. Lar is shown with two humanoid arms, though it only ever appears with one in the Sonic Wings series.
"USAGI set" featuring Rabio, Lepus, and Tenukie Chaudo. The names Aka ("red"), Midori ("green"), and Chaudo appear with them in romanji.
"Inufuku Abuse Set" featuring two poor Inufuku being tortured.

"Mysterious Robot Set" is the correct answer. If chosen, Minakata quotes Keaton's line, "A drill is a man's weapon."