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Rez, named Ranald (ラナルド Ranarudo) in Spin Tail, is a megalomaniac, cybernetic entity, and the main antagonist of the series; he is also the arch-nemesis of Gex. His one true ambition is to control the entire Media Dimension under his own rule and ensure the longevity of bad TV shows and Z-Grade movies. He leads an army of various TV characters from different TV worlds which is where his nickname "Lord of the Media Dimension" came in. He also has a collection of Star Trek bloopers, according to Xtra (whom he kidnapped in the third game to get to Gex).

Appearance[]

Rez's appearance has changed over the course of the series, with each form having consistent characteristics from previous ones.

Rez's form in Gex is much thinner and sleeker than his later designs; Rez is purple in this design. Rez does not have any legs, he travels by hovering. The back of his head is full of liquid noise; there is a large, sharp blade at the back of his head; Rez has several large, sharp teeth; his right eye is a test pattern, while his left eye is a film leader. This design is the only one where Rez wears a cloak; there is a circle on Rez's abdomen. His arms have several spikes all along them; his hands look skeletal.

In Enter the Gecko, Rez went under a massive redesign. This new design is much larger, and a more dangerous appearance; he is also mostly dark gray with holes in the armor. Rez now has sharp-bladed missile launchers on top of his shoulders, which seem to have heart monitors on them; their usage was only implied as the camera would change to his point-of-view when they are being used. His arms no longer have the spikes along them; his fingers now appear to be made of fire. His head is mostly unchanged from his original form; he now has more organic-looking eyes; the liquid noise on the back of his head is now a pulsing, blue sphere. Wires can be seen all around his head and waist. Rez still has no legs, though instead of just hovering, there is a large flame burning. What appears to be lizard skin can be seen on certain parts of his body, this is most noticeable around his chest and arms.

Rez's form in Deep Cover Gecko is somewhat of a mixture of his two previous forms. Rez still has the larger form from Enter the Gecko, though several aspects of his Gex form can be seen, such as; Rez's right eye is a 1, while his left is a 2. Rez still has the sharp-bladed missile launchers which he first used in Enter the Gecko, though their usage is made clearer in this game. The circle on his abdomen returns, though it now has armor, as it is Rez's one weak spot which becomes exposed when using his missile launchers. While Rez had one flame that kept him hovering, he now has four smaller thrusters to do this job.

History[]

Prior to the events of the game series, Rez fell in a scrapheap during an attempt to steal cable TV.[1] Eventually, Rez created his own television empire with several installations claiming lord from his world called Media Dimension.[2][3] He continued his expansion controlling various TV channels to be part from his world, the Cemetery for example was the scenery where Abbot and Costelo met Frankenstein and other monsters.[4]

In first game, Rez needed a mascot for his empire's network where he sends a robotic fly to Hawaii and the chosen one was Gex where the same swallowed his fly.[5] When he is confronted by Gex, Rez tries to attack him with remote controle as boomerang, beams, cyclone spin and lasers until he was defeated by being hit with Gex's spit. Rez is transformed in a energy sphere.

Rez Profile

Rez's government profile from Enter the Gecko's intro.

In second game, Rez has his dossier discovered by government agents where this time he is wanted and Gex is his opposition.[6] He had help from several minions in his reformed empire until they were eliminated by Gex one by one, such as: The Tiki Brothers, Mooshoo Pork and Mecharez.[7][8][9]In the final battle, Rez attacks swooping, shooting missiles, increasing in size to attack with his own hands and firing lasers until he is defeated when he is electrocuted in his first phase and hit by giant TVs in the second. Rez is trasformed in a energy sphere again, but this time is trapped in a TV. Rez claims he is Gex's father, but all the same Gex doesn't believe it and turns off the TV, despite Rez trying to bargain with him by getting him a meeting with someone's fiancee he claims to know.

In third game, Rez is seen on a pirate ship in the opening where he picks up his spyglass to look for Gex. In the adventure that takes place, Rez kidnaps Agent Xtra to lure his enemy out, orders the Mobsters to imprison Cuz and spreads chaos in the Media Dimension with his space station.[10][11] In the final battle that follows, Rez attacks Gex with missiles, ramming, create shockwaves and use his cyclone spin until he is defeated when is hit on abdomen by Gex's spit. Unlike the previous two games, parts of Rez's body explode and he falls into a liquid noise pit. He is therefore presumed dead, as he hasn't been seen since.

Abilities[]

This is a list of all of Rez' powers and weapons seen in throughout the series.

  • Remote Control: Rez used a control to activate traps and launch as a boomerang against Gex in Gex.
  • Bombs: Rez summoned bombs that rain down on Gex. Seen in Gex.
  • Cyclone: Rez has is able to spin at incredibly fast speeds, creating a "cyclone" effect. Seen in Gex and Deep Cover Gecko.
  • Diminishment/Growth: Rez is seen being able to increase or decrease his size instantaneously. He is only seen actively doing this in Enter the Gecko, though it was hinted he could in Gex; when Rez reached through Gex's TV to bring him to the Media Dimension, his arm was larger than Gex himself, though when Gex actually meets Rez they are roughly the same size.
  • Exploding TVs: Rez summoned several exploding TVs in Gex.
  • Hand Slam: Rez slams his hands on Gex when the player has to make Rez hit the green tower in Enter the Gecko.
  • Laser Vision: Rez is able to shoot powerful laser beams from his eyes. Seen in Gex and Enter the Gecko
  • Liquid Rez: Rez is able to shoot bolts of Liquid Rez from his abdomen, and also summoned several globs of liquid Rez to target Gex. Seen in Gex.
  • Missile Launcher: Rez has two missile launchers mounted on his shoulders and fires his missiles at Gex. Seen in Enter the Gecko and Deep Cover Gecko. In Enter the Gecko the camera changes to Rez's lock-on screen, making the player not see where the missiles come out from until Deep Cover Gecko.
  • Ramming: Rez was seen trying to ram Gex. Seen in Gex and Enter the Gecko.
  • Shockwave: Rez created a shockwave. Seen in Deep Cover Gecko.
  • Swipe: Rez made several swipes. Seen in Enter the Gecko and Deep Cover Gecko.
  • Transformation: In Gex and Enter the Gecko, Rez is seen transforming into a sphere of energy, to retreat. In the Deep Cover Gecko novelization, Rez is seen transforming to liquid noise rather than exploding, when he is hit with slime from the slime flies, and transforming back.

Gex's Father?[]

Gex's father is mentioned in the Gex instruction manual as "Dad". He works for NASA and is always doing research. He and ten other volunteers were chosen to see if they would eat tapioca pudding in zero gravity. However, their rocket exploded due to a Band-Aid floating in one of the fuel tanks, killing them. His death devastated his family, and resulted in Gex's love for TV after he spends most of his days in front of the screen to deal with his death.[12]

In Enter the Gecko, after Gex defeats Rez, Rez says that he is Gex's father. Gex, in doubt, asks how that's possible, and Rez explains about his "stealing cable mishap". To this day it is still not known whether Rez truly is Gex's father, though in the special ending of the U.S. version of Enter the Gecko, Gex says: "Dad is a megalomaniac TV Killer who happens to dress as the tin man." Also in the ending of the PS1 version of Deep Cover Gecko, Gex makes a sarcastic comeback to this ("That's my dad! Good thing I got you out of there when I could/did!"). The Deep Cover Gecko novelization reworks the whole concept.

Years later, during an April Fools takeover event in 2019, the official Crystal Dynamics Twitter account made a reply to a commenter questioning Gex's absence in recent years, saying "Rez put him in time out", which could be a reference to this.[13]

Liquid Rez[]

Throughout the series, liquid noise is seen all around Rezopolis. The game manuals and the Deep Cover Gecko novelization describe it is as the very essence of Rez.

In Gex and Enter the Gecko, Rez transforms into liquid Rez to retreat; and in Enter the Gecko and Deep Cover Gecko, Rez is seen sitting in a giant vat of liquid Rez.

Quotes[]

The following section is Rez's quotes heard from Gex: Enter the Gecko in the Playstation version (Nintendo 64 version has less quotes because CDs have more data than a cartridge). A majority of them are heard in Channel Z although some quotes can be heard outside the level (When entering a boss channel except Mooshoo Pork, and touching a gate that hasn't been unlocked). The Rez quotes when the player hasn't unlocked any gates or entering a boss channel can still be heard if you activate the "Blabbermouth Gex" cheat.

Touching the gates[]

  • "You'll never survive Gilligex Isle." (Touching the first gate if it hasn't been unlocked)
  • "No one can defeat the Tiki Brothers." (Touching the first gate if it hasn't been unlocked)
  • "You cannot get past the Tiki Brothers." (Touching the first gate if it hasn't been unlocked)
  • "You'll never defeat the evil Mooshoo." (Touching the red gate if it hasn't been unlocked)
  • "Mooshoo Pork cannot be destroyed!" (Touching the red gate if it hasn't been unlocked)
  • "Hahahahahahahahahaha!!!" (Rez's Laugh and used when the green gate hasn't been unlocked too)
  • "Just try and defeat Mecharez!" (Touching the blue gate if it hasn't been unlocked)
  • "Mecharez will stop you!" (Touching the blue gate if it hasn't been unlocked)

When entering on bosses TV[]

  • "Ha! Ha! Ha! I hope you have an extra kidney!" (When entering Gilligex Isle)
  • "Gecko stew, anyone?" (When entering Gilligex Isle)
  • "My ultimate creation: Mecharez." (When entering Gexzilla vs. Mecharez)
  • "You'll never stop my creation: Mecharez!!!" (When entering Gexzilla vs. Mecharez)
  • "You finally met your match young lizard." (When entering Channel Z)

Channel Z[]

  • "The wrath of Rez...Is upon you."'
  • "You cannot escape from my empire!!!"
  • "YOU!!! Will be destroyed!!!"
  • "Prepare to suffer, under my wrath."
  • "I will destroy you."
  • "LOSER!!!"
  • "You want a peace of me?"
  • "Come and get me."
  • "Now I have you."
  • "You will fail worthless lizard."
  • "Another worthless opponent."
  • "You cannot hide little reptile."
  • "You are not worthy."
  • "You are not what you claim to be!!!"
  • "Time to die."
  • "You are ready for a whip in the tail."
  • "Your quick tongue is no match for me."
  • "You are tongue-wise, tail-foolish."
  • "It's time to succumb to my power!!!"
  • "You now have my full attention."
  • "I will...CRUSH you!"
  • "I have you now."
  • "You are mine!!!"
  • "Tail whip this."
  • "There is no way to survive inferior one!!!"

Blabbermouth Gex[]

  • "My world is much too difficult, young gecko."
  • "The Media Dimension wasn't what it once was young Gex."
  • "You'll never leave the Media Dimension."
  • "You'll never escape the Media Dimension."
  • "You'll be trapped in my Media Dimension."

Ending[]

  • "Gex. It's me, your father"
  • "It's true. I didn't always look like this; I fell into a scrapheap, while trying to get free cable."
  • "No, no! Don't do it."

Theme[]

NOTE: These songs don't work on Internet Explorer

  • Main

  • Battle #1

  • Battle #2

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • Just like with Gex being renamed to Reno in the Japanese version of Gex 2 (Spin Tail), Rez (レズー Rezū) received a similar name change to Ranald, despite the first game still keeping their English names. He also seems to share the same voice actor as him, as they're both voiced by Mitsuo Senda, with the difference of Ranald having a more deeper-pitched voice than Reno.[14]
  • According to a blogpost discussing the development of Gex 1, Rez's full name is Rezull. His full name would appear in an issue of Videogames - The Ultimate Gaming Magazine as Rez Zul.[15][16]
  • Throughout the Gex trilogy, Rez's appearances were always different.
  • In Gex 3, Rez's Lair (Rezopolis) didn't appear and there was only one Rez level, Channel Z: RezRaker.
  • Rez in Gex: Enter the Gecko talks. When entering a Boss Channel, except for Mooshoo Pork, he says something before Gex enters the channel. In the N64 version due to data limitations of cartridges compared to CDs, he has less quotes in the game. However, to hear some of his quotes, the player would need to tail whip the Channel Z level entrance.
  • When defeated in Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko, Rez seems to fall into the main reactor of his space station. Not only is this similar to Emperor Palpatine's death in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, but the station's main reactor resembles that of the Death Star as well.
  • Like Mecharez, Mooshoo Pork, and the Tiki Bros., Rez's theme in the second game changes after a certain amount of hits. However, like the Tiki Bros. and Mecharez, Rez's theme gets a whole different arrangement of music. He is currently the only character that has this trait and it can only be heard in the Playstation version of Enter the Gecko.
  • In Gex: Enter The Gecko, it seems Rez likes disco. He has disco rooms which appear in the Four Weddings And A Funeral level and in the bonus level, The Spy Who Loved Himself.
  • In Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko, he shares the same boss theme as Brain of Oz and Rock Hard. Thus, being the only entry in the series that he has no boss theme of his own.
  • Interestingly in Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko, when the player goes to the War and Pieces bonus level to destroy the Reztanks, Rez's design is the same design as it was in Gex: Enter the Gecko.
  • There is a glitch in Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko in which Rez can't damage Gex at all. In order for this to happen the player needs to simply stand on the edge to the pathway to the Slimefly TV. However if Rez has 1 HP left he will fire missiles no matter where the player is.
  • Throughout the trilogy, Rez cannot be damaged directly with Gex's regular moves, i.e the tail whip. He shares this distinction with the Flatulator and Sun Snake from the first game, the Tiki Bros. and Mooshoo Pork from the second, and Brain of Oz from the third. For the first battle, he shoots Beacon Flies at him, in the second, he tricks him into slamming buttons on the floor of his lair, and in the third, he destroys him by spitting acid flies at him. However, Gex can tail whip Rez into the electrified generator during the first phase of his battle in Enter the Gecko, though he can alternately trick him into flying into it.
  • In Gex: Enter The Gecko three different pictures of Rez can be seen in the levels. Of course, there is his normal form in the game (seen on the Rezopolis TV and Channel Z TV); there are the pictures used on the stained glass windows in the inner sanctum of Rezopolis (Four Weddings And A Funeral) which can be seen properly on the wall of the disco room in The Spy Who Loved Himself, depicting Rez with mainly green flesh and a multicolour, circular screen on his abdomen with the number 5 on it; finally there is a more robotic looking Rez, with a full metal body and blue glowing eyes and circular screen on the abdomen, seen on the TV screens lining the entrace walls in Channel Z, laughing, and in full in the hanging tapestries on the walls of the boss room in Channel Z. This doesn't include the concept artwork in the bonus ending, which also has a picture of Rez with some differences.
  • Rez is similar to Emperor Zurg from the Toy Story franchise, as both are evil robotic beings that tell the main characters they're their father.

References[]

  1. Rez: "It's true. I didn't always look like this; I fell into a scrapheap, while trying to get free cable." - Gex: Enter the Gecko
  2. Rez: "You cannot escape from my empire!!!" - Gex: Enter the Gecko
  3. Gex Manual, Panasonic 3DO, 1994, p. 12 - "REZOPOLIS: A world beyond insanity takes center stage. Vast installations of alien hi-tech circuitry fume with eletrical force! Energy geysers leap from pulsating waves of liquid television. This is the twisted reality where network programs are chose. At last, Gex confrons Rez himself in a battle that will decide the fate of the universe... and more importantly, whether a gecko will be season's network mascot!"
  4. Gex Manual, Panasonic 3DO, 1994, p. 10 - "GRAVEYARD: Gex hurtles though the Media Dimension, back to the time and place when Abbott and Costelo met Frankestein. GEX is caught in a creepy horror flick alive with Franken-geckos, mad slashers, crazy tomatoes and other Fright Night foes. Slime, fog... an exorcism in the offing! Better check your calendar, 'cuz you're stuck on Friday the 13th."
  5. Gex Manual, Panasonic 3DO, 1994, p. 9 - "INTRODUCTION: Rez was the lord of Media Dimension. He now intnded to make GEX the new network mascot. "Out with the peacock, in with the gecko!"
  6. Gex: The next thing I know, some government goons show up at my place/house! It seems they've caught a whiff of old Mr. Sunshine himself: Rez! He's back in the Media Dimension and they think I'm crazy enough to go back in after him."" - Gex: Enter the Gecko
  7. Rez: "No one can defeat the Tiki Brothers." - Gex: Enter the Gecko
  8. Rez: "You'll never defeat the evil Mooshoo." - Gex: Enter the Gecko
  9. Rez: "You'll never stop my creation: Mecharez!!!" - Gex: Enter the Gecko
  10. Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko Manual, Playstation, 1999, p. 2 - "INTRODUCTION: Another descent into bad movies is at hand"
  11. Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko Manual, Playstation, 1999, p. 9 - "CUZ: GEX's coursin has been captured by Rez. Find and rescue him and have the chance to play as him in Secret Level."
  12. Playstation Gex instruction booklet, p. 6-10
  13. Crystal Dynamics on Twitter. April 1st, 2019.
  14. Playstation Spin Tail (Gex 2, Japanese version) ending cutscene. Name is also referenced in manual.
  15. "GEX," Gregg Tavares, greggman.com. Posted on April 3rd, 1997. Accessed on May 28th, 2021.
  16. Videogames - The Ultimate Gaming Magazine Issue 70, p.51
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