Super Mario Bros. Wonderexcels at a lot of things. The new power-ups are wild like being able to turn into an elephant. The Wonder Flowers provides unique platforming challenges, unlike any title in this series before it. The one exception is the boss battles.
Besides Battleships which just have players stomp on a switch to blow them up, there are five core boss fights inSuper Mario Bros. Wonder. Four of them areagainst Bowser Jr.while the finale should be obvious. It would have been nice to fight other characters but each fight is at least designed differently. These rankings will take into account creativity, difficulty, and the overall level design.
5Fluff-Puff Peaks Palace (Bowser Jr.)
World 2: Fluff-Puff Peaks
This castle is located in Fluff-Puff Peaks which is the second world players will travel to inSuper Mario Bros. Wonder. The main power-up of this stage will be the Bubble Flower and it can help a lot with the boss fight. First, the level itself is nothing grand. However, the Wonder Flower transition is quite cool as it will turn everything into shadow art. The wilder thing is that players will stretch into an elongated version of themselves.Yoshi will be oneof the weirdest ones as this tall, lanky Slender Man-like version of Yoshi can still swallow enemies.
It’s unsettling but still a cool effect overall. The boss will be against Bowser Jr. and the special effect of this fight will intrude ice in the first part. The floor will rise and lower as well, making it hard to gain traction in the ice. Next, the floors will be covered in what looks like honey, but this also allows Bowser. Jr. to dive through the floor. From the shadow parts of the stage to the goopy honey-covered floors, Fluff-Puff Peaks Palace is a weird level overall. But, as mentioned previously, the Bubble Flower can help in this fight. Players can produce bubbles to stay above the ice and honey-covered floors to then pounce on Bowser Jr. when the time is right.
4Deep Magma Bog Palace (Bowser Jr.)
World 6: Deep Magma Bog
This is a tough level as there are pits of green fire everywhere along with sentient fireballs shooting smaller fireballs at players. It’s a death trap and finding where the Wonder Flower is can be tricky without the Sensor Badge. Once discovered, the effect will turn the player into a blob.
As for Bowser Jr., he will turn his arena into a silhouette. This will make it easier for him to blend in with the pillars. After the first attack, he will create two clones like a weaker version of the Shadow Clone Jutsu from theNarutoanime. The shadowed background and the clones are both clever ways to add challenge to this encounter. Also of note, Bubble Flowers are the main power-up of this stage, but won’t have much effect against Bower Jr.
3Sunbaked Desert Palace (Bowser Jr.)
World 4: Sunbaked Desert
The Sunbaked Desert is the fourth world ofSuper Mario Bros. Wonderand as the name implies, it consists of a large desert. This level is one of the harder castle keeps in the game as Bowser will produce classic enemies like Thwomps to strike players along with spiked balls. The floors are lined with sand, making it hard to get traction too. The Wonder Flower effect will be both a curse and a boon to players as it will go between slow-mo actions and sped-up ones. If players time their moves right, they can avoid traps easily during this special time.
The main power-up of this stage will be the Drill Mushroom which will help with navigating the stage too but it won’t help much with the boss fight. What will help in the boss fight inSuper Mario Bros. Wonderis the Dolphin Kick Badge. Once faced with Bowser Jr., he will create pools of water on the floor and on the ceiling. It’ll be a lot easier to speed through these pools with the Dolphin Kick Badge equipped, turning players into a metaphoric dolphin. It’s one of the harder fights against Bowser Jr. because of these water traps, that’s for sure.
2Pipe-Rock Plateau Palace (Bowser Jr.)
World 1: Pipe-Rock Plateau
This is the first boss fight that players will encounter in the game and it is in the first world too via Pipe-Rock Plateau. The level itself does not stick out much as it is a fairly simple castle stage that has existed inMariogames before. The only noteworthy thing about it is that the Wonder Flower will trigger pipes and other things to fall from the ceiling. Also, the power-up players will find primarily in this stage areElephant Fruits which are new toSuper Mario Bros. Wonder. The boss, like all but one fight in the game, will pit players against Bower Jr.
The fight will begin like other encounters in the series with the turtled tyke spinning after players. Players have to avoid his barrage of spins until they can stomp on his head. After this happens, Bowser Jr. will get affected by his father, Bowser, and triggers some trippy Wonder Flower-adjacent things to happen. The first part will turn players into a giant as if they were suddenly transported into a 2D version ofShadow of the Colossus. After hitting Bower Jr. again, the effects will shift, making Bowser Jr. the colossus instead.Pipe-Rock Plateau Palace has the only boss fight inSuper Mario Bros. Wonderthat affects players too, making it one of the cooler experiences in the game.
1The Finale Battle! Bowser’s Rage Stage
Petal Isles
The best boss fights in the series are often the final ones because they are like a culmination of everything in the game previous. That rule applies to the final conflict with Bowser for one heck of a showdown. The layout of the castle before the fight with Bowser is like a greatest-hits collection of the levels leading up to The Finale Battle! Bowser’s Rage Stage and it is astounding. There is even a musical part to it like thePiranha Plants on Parade stage way earlier inSuper Mario Bros. Wonder.
Now, as for the boss battle, it’s going to take everything players have totake down Bowseronce and for all. Players need to break through his floating head and his hands several times to slow him down. Bowser will throw everything but the kitchen sink at players too, so hopefully their dodge skills will be up to snuff at this point. It’s a marathon, not a race, so players should take their time taking Bowser down. The creativity in this fight will make players lament the lack of creativity in Bowser Jr.’s fights as a lot of things were reused. Still, fans can at least take solace thatSuper Mario Bros. Wonderends with a bang.
