Super Mario 3D World has tons of level gimmicks and power-ups among its levels, but one of the most varied parts of the game are undoubtedly its several bosses. Many of them have a simple core theme of jumping on their head, but the obstacles they throw at you to protect themselves are some of the most intimidating and frustrating.
Whether you’re playing the game for the first time, or just trying to beat them faster than ever in the boss rush level in the post-game’s Flower World, you’ll need to deal with them a few times throughout the game. Here are a quick few tips on how to take them on, bringing the easiest ones down quickly and the hardest ones safely.
9 King Ka-Thunk
King Ka-thunk is one of the most pathetic excuses for a boss in gaming history. This living grate will flip over slowly with a glowing red aura exactly where it’ll damage, so you just need to be out of its way until it lands on its face. Then, simply hop on its giant pink behind while it struggles to get back up.
Since he moves so slowly, you don’t particularly need to stay inside him when he lands on his back trying to hit you. Just stand in a different square than he’ll land and you’re unlikely to take any damage, and if you do squeeze through his open spaces you can easily beat him in under a minute.
8 Boom Boom
Boom Boom is back, being one of the most traditional mini-bosses since Super Mario Bros. 3 on the original NES. This enemy is just as simple as before, but is far less aerial than his prior jumping forms. Simply hop on his head three times while he spins around with his arms outward like a tornado.
You fight him a few times with some different tricks, but for the most part, you can get ahead of him by jumping immediately onto him. Letting him spin too long might result in other hazards he throws at you like Koopa shells get the best of you. Just dive right onto him the moment he pokes his head out of his shell, and get a good running start to make sure you clear his arms.
7 Prince Bully
This mini-boss is hardly complicated, but more of a challenge to those who had trouble with the original bullies from the Nintendo 64. Hitting the bully or jumping on the side of its head will knock it back, and beating it into a pipe will shrink it down long enough for you to kick it across the room.
The key is to not stop attacking, as giving Prince Bully enough time will cause it to attack. Repeatedly firing with Fire Balls or scratching with the Cat Suit will let you rapidly stun-lock it, and if you get it onto a wall it’ll almost always end up in one of the corner pipes without any trouble.
6 Pom Pom
Pom Pom may just be an alternate version of the classic Mario enemy Boom Boom on the surface, but they’re much more troublesome thanks to a variety of clones and ninja stars it can throw around the small room. Once the army of clones becomes revealed, the real Pom Pom will be the one that’s slightly less translucent and has a pink star in their hand to tell it apart.
After that, just jump on their head as fast as you can. Much like Boom Boom, you can usually take down Pom Pom easiest by jumping immediately when they reveal a head, as it’ll eliminate the clones immediately and interrupt all the room hazards from getting out of control.
5 Boss Brolder
This giant magma-filled rock might move slow, but it can be surprisingly frustrating and time-consuming if you aren’t careful. You simply have to jump on its smaller boulder children and throw it at Boss Brolder while it’s slowly rolling towards you, but it’ll also crush them underneath and make you wait for new ones to spawn.
The best way to do this quickly is by throwing a boulder child far away, since Boss Brolder will always roll towards you. This lets you taunt Boss Brolder long enough to get an easy shot when you grab the boulder child when the arena’s more empty, or give any co-op players a chance to throw it while you create a distraction.
4 Bowser’s Muscle Car
Unlike many fights with Bowser through the years, Super Mario 3D World’s encounters are much more of a survival run than a typical boss fight. In both World 1 and Castle World, you’ll have a battle with Bowser from his weaponized muscle car as he throws fireballs and soccer bombs that you can hit back at him by running into them before they explode.
This is hardly a difficult fight, but a solid trick is to stay a slight distance back from the car. This will not only make it easier to aim the soccer balls at him, but also gives a better view of the road so you don’t accidentally walk onto some spikes while waiting for a ball. Bowser isn’t too threatening in these battles, but the changing road you fight him on absolutely can be.
3 Hisstocrat & Queen Hisstocrat
Hisstocrat, as well as his wife Queen Hisstocrat in a few later fights, are two of the most iconic bosses from Super Mario 3D World, and it’s for a good reason. This boss throws a lot of different hazards at you, and because of its height it can be tricky to find which of its tails will have a plate for you to land on, but if you keep your catsuit and take your time it can be easy to get enough height.
These two also have an encounter where you fight both at the same time, but a big trick to deal with them fast is to always jump on them from a horizontal angle. This will let you easily land on them without being tricked by the game’s odd camera angle, and also give you a better angle to potentially jump on both of them before landing on the ground.
2 Motley Bossblob
The Hisstocrats might be the most iconic traditional bosses of this Wii U classic, but they’re hardly the most difficult. That trophy instead goes to Motley Bossblob, a small clown that takes the form of a metallic monster before exploding into many piles of slime that chase you while Motley runs wild.
This is one boss where you just have to run as far as you can, as its large form will jump incredibly far and can easily crush you or your Double Cherry clones. Once it explodes, just make sure to let Motley run out of the swarm and run around the little slime balls, since you only need to deal with the Koopa Clown to win the fight.
1 Meowser
Motley might be the most difficult traditional boss in the game, but Bowser has one more survival trial that makes a plenty climactic final boss fight. Once infused with a Cat Suit, he becomes a menacing Meowser with incredible strength, size, and even some Double Cherry clones to cause you trouble in an auto-scrolling building climb.
Beating him here is somewhat similar to dealing with his Muscle Car, in that you don’t want to rush too close to the edge of the screen. Staying directly in the center of the scroll as you go up the skyscraper is the easiest way to avoid him striking without warning, but lagging too far behind will often lead to platforms falling from beneath your feet. Just stay a solid middle distance, and you’ll easily reach the top and knock him into oblivion.
