It was time to resume my game of Super Mario 3D World, so I headed off to the eighth world, known as World Bowser. It starts off with Spiky Spike Bridge (World Bowser-1). It’s a tricky level played in the rain, with raindrops running down the “camera.” And of course there are a multitude of spiky bridges and dangerous jumps. I must say, I really like the graphical style of these last couple worlds.
World Bowser-2 is another Plessie dino-riding level. But instead going down a river, this time Plessie plunges down sand dunes. These Plessie levels may provide a change of pace and some variety, but I don’t really care for them that much.
World Boswer-Train: The Bowser Express is a cool train level, where each car of the train has a different type of enemy or obstacle. One car has a spiky trapeze to avoid, another has bullies that try to push you off the train, and one even has an underwater segment. Once you reach the front of a train, a Hammer Brother guards the pipe to the boss fight.
World Bowser-4: Footlight Lane has you walking on a series of invisible platforms and bridges. Parts of them become visible as you stand on them, so you can see the area directly around your character, but not much beyond that. The level also has some Thwomps however, and their hard landings will make the platforms temporarily visible. The stage is a bit tricky, particularly in the later part of the level, but it’s not as bad as it may look in pictures.
In World Bowser-6: A Beam in the Dark, Mario has an unusual power-up to wear. He essentially puts a flashlight on over his head body and rides moving platforms through a haunted house. If you direct the beam of light onto ghosts and hold it there for a couple seconds, the ghosts will be defeated. This is a unique, creative level and it’s a lot of fun.
World Bowser-7: Grumblump Inferno has you riding a rotating block through fields of lava. It reminds me of those challenge levels from Super Mario Sunshine (the ones where you didn’t use the waterpack). It can be a challenge to keep your footing, but it’s also a very enjoyable level.
After a couple of encore fights against previous bosses, I made it to World Bowser-Castle: The Great Tower of Bowser Land. You need 170 stars to unlock it, but I only had 168. However, it didn’t take me long to revisit a previous level to get the other two stars I needed. I was then able to enter the castle.
The level consists of a huge tower you must ascend. The final boss reveals itself about halfway through. I won’t spoil it for those who haven’t played this far yet, but I’ll say it wasn’t exactly what I expected. In fact, I laughed out loud when I saw what I was up against. I continued my climb upwards, and at the top, I easily beat my opponent in about three seconds flat.
The game started acting like I had beaten the game, but I knew that couldn’t be it. The little rainbow fairy munchkin girls were freed from their bottle, and the path to the flag was right in front of me. I just knew something was going to happen right before I got to the flag. But nothing did. A message said “Course Clear,” so I figured there must be another level waiting for me. And then…the credits started rolling. What? Seriously? There were no tricks, I had beaten the game. That final boss fight wasn’t really even a fight. That was a bit disappointing, although World Bowser overall was quite impressive and fun.
And even though I’ve beaten the game, I still haven’t completed it. I’m going to go back and get all the stars and stamps that I’ve missed. I’ve had a lot of fun with the game, and it’s not over yet. There may still be another blog entry about Super Mario 3D World, and later on, a review as well. So stick around!