Citron

For other uses, see Citron (disambiguation).

Citron is a recurring character within the Plants vs. Zombies franchise. Originally just a simple orange from the future, Citron has since become a futuristic bounty hunter who time traveled to the present day to help the plants cut their ongoing feud with the zombies short.

Unlike most other recurring plants, Citron has interestingly never functioned the same way twice, having a different ability and play-style in every game he's appeared in.

As of Plants vs. Zombies 3, Citron has appeared in five games.

Origins

Citron's name is derived from Citrus medica, known as the citron in English. However, its round body and orange color resemble the more widely known orange.

Citron could also be a combination of citrus (a family of fruits including oranges, lemons, grapefruits, etc.) and the suffix -tron, which usually relates to something mechanical, electrical, or futuristic (which makes sense, as Citron originates from the Far Future).

History

Plants vs. Zombies 2

Main article: Citron (PvZ2)

Citron's first appearance is in the mobile tower defense game Plants vs. Zombies 2, as the third plant the player obtains in the Far Future world.

He costs 325 sun and attacks zombies by firing a high damage plasma ball but them, but needing to charge for 10 seconds in between shots. He acts as a counter to the numerous armored robot zombies that appear in Far Future.

Citron's appearance in Plants vs. Zombies 2 is currently his only appearance in a mainline tower defense game, all of his other appearances have been in spin-off titles.

Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2

Main article: Citron (PvZ: GW2)

Citron reappears in Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2, the first Plant from Plants vs. Zombies 2 to become playable in the spin-off series. Citron received both a backstory and visual redesign, now sporting a pair of sunglasses, an orange beam, and legs made out of orange slices.

Citron's role is that of a tank, having both high health and low mobility. His primary weapon is a continuously damaging laser with infinite ammo similar to All-Star. He is also equipped with a Peel Shield to allow Citron to defend himself and has the ability to go into a ball form which allows for easier mobility at the cost of having little means to defend himself.

Plants vs. Zombies: All Stars (China only)

Main article: Citron (PvZ: AS)

Citron appears in the Chinese-exclusive turn-based game Plants vs. Zombies: All Stars, here he is the second plant in the Citron line, introduced in the v1.0.88 update, being released alongside the Far Future world.

He attacks by firing large balls of plasma at zombies, and deals damage to all zombies in their lane when his Plant Food/Anger effect is activated. The Citron line specializes in dealing heavy damage to mechanized zombies, referencing Citron's intended purpose in Plants vs. Zombies 2.

Plants vs. Zombies Heroes

Main article: Citron (PvZH)

Citron's next appearance is in the turn-based mobile game Plants vs. Zombies Heroes, where he is one of the two Guardian and Smarty heroes and his strong suit is playing offensively in water lanes, and defensively in ground lanes.

His signature Superpower is Peel Shield, which prevents all Plants on the field from being hurt that turn as well as drawing a card. His other superpowers are Transmogrify, Nut Signal and Root Wall.

Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville

Main article: Citron (PvZ: BfN)

Citron's latest reappearance is the third-person shooter game Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville. He is a Defend class who specializes in providing mobile defense.

Compared to Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2, Citron's arsenal has been largely reworked. His projectile is now a 50 ammo triple barrel cannon with his continuously damaging laser being made into an ability, his ball form has been reduced to a sprint rather than an ability and can even be used backwards unlike most sprints, and zooming in will instead create a large Peel Shield to protect both him and plants behind him from heavy damage, but Citron will be unable to attack.

Unlike Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2, Citron no longer has any Character variants, but instead has a large number of character upgrades, some of which grant abilities to Citron's primary weapon and abilities.

Trivia

• Citron is one of the seven Plants to receive a major redesign throughout the series, the other Plants being Grave Buster, Spikeweed, Tangle Kelp, Starfruit, Imitater, and Night Cap.