Welcome to our all boss battles guide for Super Mario 3D World. Here you can check out our walkthroughs of every boss fight in the game and get tips on how to beat any that you might be struggling with
Our 32 minute video of every boss fight in Super Mario 3D World, in chronological order. It can display up to 1080P and you can watch it in full screen if you like.
And below you can check out our full guide featuring how to beat each boss in Super Mario 3D World with tips, and talking you through each fight.
Bowser fight 1 - Bowser's Highway Showdown
To the Bowser Mobile! the first Boss fight in Super Mario 3D World comes at the castle in World 1. At the end of the level, the music stops and you walk up some steps (Rocky style - all you need is a grey tracksuit and you're away) at the top is a highway over the sea - and Bowser revving the engine of a car which looks suspiciously like Wario's.
The fight takes place with Bowser driving down this narrow highway, throwing football-bombs which you can kick back at him, and fire which you have to avoid. If you kick the football bomb and it hits his vehicle, it will slow him down but doesn't count as a full hit, you need to be close enough to kick the bomb and actually hit Bowser himself - do that three times and he's a gonner! This fight is particularly easy if you have a Super Bell because you can then just use your big ole' cat paws to throw the football bombs straight at Bowser's face.
Boom Boom fight 1 - Bowser's Bullet Bill Brigade
Enter Boom Boom! in World 2 once you have defeated Bowser's Bullet Bill Brigade you'll come out of a pipe into a green enclosed arena where Boom Boom awaits combat. He'll use his standard issue spinny attack until you hit him once, he'll then come after you in his shell, you can't hit him while his shelled up and flying about - so wait for him to go back to his normal spinning fists attack and hit him again.
He'll got nuts again, wait for him to finish and hit him the third time, KNOCKOUT!!
If you have the cannon block, you can just wait for him to get dizzy from his spinning fists attack and shoot him with a cannon ball, instead of jump on him.
Pom Pom fight 1 - The Bullet Bill Express
At the end of the train level which acts as World 3 - 8 you will be faced with a 1v1 fight to the death with Pom Pom, Boom Boom's equally menacing girlfriend. Pom Pom is a little bit more tactful than the old spinning fists move, and will disappear into a trail of smoke headed in different directions and creating clones of herself.
Once Pom Pom and her clones spawn they'll all try to hurl their throwing discs at you. Remember only one of the Pom Pom's is real, killing the clones won't help you - you can distinguish Pom Pom from the clones by her brighter colours. After you hit her the first time she'll repeat the same move again, but the next time there will be even more clones - that means more throwing stars, and more clones to get through to find the right one; the real one stands out pretty well though due to her brighter colours.
Try to stay away from the smoke trails so one of those clones doesn't land on top of you, hit her the third time and shes down! Nothing too difficult.
Hisstocrat Fight 1 - A Banquet with Hisstocrat
Hungry for fun, joy, and super bells? Hisstocrat is here to aggressively bring you all three of these things with the help of his trusty team of waiters. So hop on the floating platform and it'll happily deliver you to Hisstocrats "secret underground lair" - here he will pop out of the ground throwing rocks everywhere and welcome you to his humble abode. (note: rocks kill)
Hisstocrat will summon his waiter service, and lots of smaller snake-like enemies will come out of the ground with plates on their heads. Jump up these guys plates until you reach a high enough point to jump on Hisstocrats head. After the first hit, offended that you have jumped on his head Hisstocrat will angrily retreat underground for a moment.
After a few seconds he'll be back, accompanied by a couple of his waiters, and he will start throwing rocks again. Again use the waiters plate-platforms and climb up the plates until you reach a point high enough for you to jump on the main snakes head once more. At this point Hisstocrat thinks you are an incredibly rude dinner guest and disappears into the earth from whence he came.
Once he re-emerges he starts with the usual rock barrage, and even more waiters then before - scale the waiters plates and put Hisstocrat down with the finishing move of your choice. Maybe a pounce from a great height with Super Bell if you feel like some showboating!
Boss Broulder Fight 1 - Lava Rock Lair
At the end of the castle in World 4, on a platform surrounded by molten rock, a very angry stone gentlemen awaits you - he'll roar and spin round to show his power and once his got that out of his system him and his 3 bodyguards will roll after you with horrible intent.
You need to knock out one of his bodyguards, pick em up and throw them at Boss Broulder to kill him. Once you hit him his remaining two bodyguards will disappear, and he'll start spinning violently - he doesn't take damage while his spinning like this - so you're probably best off getting out of his way, oh and do try to avoid the balls of molten rock his throwing at you.
He'll revert to normal mode and continue to roll after you; wait until his bodyguards come back up out of the ground, knock one out and kick it at him again. Avoid the bosses attacks one more time, and throw another of his bodyguards at him to ultimately defeat him... but beware, he'll be back!
King Ka-Thunk Fight 1 - King Ka-Thunk's Castle
Once you reach the castle in this purple beach-clad Island you will have to take on the one and only King Ka-Thunk on his home turf! No easy task for even the bravest of Mario adventurer!
King Ka-Thunk is a small blue metal square who uses a larger Ka-Thunk as a platform, he swings around it with his little red hands, and will try to tip the larger Ka-Thunk over onto the player. You need to bait him in so he falls forward and reveals his pink bandaged back - this is his weak point, and the point you have to jump on.
Each time you jump on him, he'll jump angrily into the air, spin around a few times and come down with a slam so hard that it knocks out two of the floor platforms! Make sure you aren't on them when they fall, or the eternal abyss awaits you. Hit Mr Ka Thunk 3 times on his soft underbelly and he'll disappear... for now..
Boom Boom Fight 2 - Bowser's Bob-Omb Brigade
Should you be lucky enough to make it past Bowser's Bob-Omb Brigade in world six, you'll find Boom Boom waiting for a rematch.
He'll come at you with his spinning fists, wait for him to finish spinning and jump straight on him. Repeat a few times and he is once again left with the foul taste of bitter defeat. Onward!
Motley Bossblob Fight 1 - Motley Bossblobs Big Battle
Motley Bossblob is encountered for the first time at the end of World 6 - the namesake is actually the little jester guy - not the big gelatinous blob monster that he creates at the start of the fight. Once he transforms into the big jelly monster, he'll chase you about and try to jump on you, running around the edge of the arena should avoid him. Eventually he'll take one jump too many and the monster will be split into lots of different globules on the floor, and reveal/expose Motley Bossblob the jester himself, its him you need to hit.
Killing off all the globules on the floor will simply gain you more score - 200 points a piece to be precise, you can just run straight for the little jester himself and jump on him; each time you hit him, he'll reform his jelly monster and chase you around the place - just wait til he disperses again and go for the jester - three strikes and his out!
Bowser Fight 2 - Bowser's Lava Lake Keep
Right at the end of World Castle, you will find Bowser's Lava Lake Keep, after you fight your way through some of Bowser's finest henchmen you'll ascend a flight of steps (get the grey tracksuit out!!) and see another highway - this time over a sea of lava instead of water, just to show you his serious - he has notably also had his car fixed since what you did to him last time.
The fight is very much the same as when you fought him in his car in World 1 however there are a few more additional features to make the fight more difficult as you would expect, including spike strips along the highway - Bowser also seems to throw out fireballs at a much higher velocity and the middle of the road directly behind him is nearly always covered by fire or spike strips. It is useful to have a Boomerang Suit on this level as you can then Boomerang the bombs back at Bowser without risking running into the fire behind him.
Pom Pom Fight 2 - The Bowser Express
The fourth course in World Bowser is the Bowser Express Train level full of swinging spiked obstacles as well as Conkdors and Bullies, at the end of this level you reach Pom Pom at the front of the train. This battle with Pom Pom is much like the first, however there are always more clones of Pom Pom. And they change formations every time, for example they might all be in a row right in the middle of the room first time, once you hit her, there will be a full row of clones either side of the room with only one real Pom Pom (distinguished by her brighter colours). An easy three hits on the real one and you are on your merry way!
Motley Bossblob Fight 2 - Motley Bossblob's Encore
Towards the end of World Bowser, just outside the gates of the beast himself Motley Bossblob awaits a rematch. He has been doing some work on his gelatinous monster transformations since we last met him, this time instead of a silvery coloured monster, he becomes a golden one - it seems to jump a little further, and is a little quicker inbetween jumps - also each time it lands it creates a shockwave which will hurt/kill the player if it touches them. So keep running from him until he disperses and avoid the circular shockwaves he creates when he lands - once he goes back to his vulnerable jester mode hit him where it hurts, and get ready to run from him again - repeat three times and all good.
Hisstocrat Fight 2 - Hisstocrat Returns
The title is a little misleading of this one, since your first fight you had back in World 3 was with the Purple, Male, Hisstocrat King and this fight is with his fuchsia coloured queen - so not really a return as such. You fight this one in World Bowser - B just after the Motley Bossblob fight, which is only next door.
The main difference between Hisstocrat and Queen Hisstocrat is that the queen throws fireballs about (which leave fire pools on the floor which you have to avoid) where the original Hisstocrat you fought threw rocks - apart from that this fight is pretty much the same, you wait for the waiters to arrive with their plates, and climb the plates til you are high enough to get a jump on Queen Hisstocrats head, repeat x3 and shes down.
The Final Bowser Showdown - World Bowser - The Great Tower of Bowser
Right at the very end of the illuminated theme park land in which Bowser resides you will reach the Great Tower of Bowser; which looks kind of like a remastered version of the sort of tower that Donkey Kong once used to escape up when he kidnapped Pauline.
The fight starts once the player reaches the base of the tower, Bowser jumps down from the Great Tower and proudly equips a Super Bell of his own. Once the transformation is complete you are fighting a hideous looking Reptile-Kitty. You need to climb your way up the Tower carefully, beware because a) he will come from beneath you b) he can destroy the cloud platforms temporarily, which halts your ascent and could potentially result in your demise. Also don't think you are safe just because his climbed above you - due to him not being the most slender of baddie he is prone to slide back down even when he has got his kitty powers.
Once you are about a third of the way up the tower you'll come to a room with Kitty Bowser perched on a set of blocks in the middle of it - hit the POW block beneath him and he'll be thrust into the air. Take this oppurtunity to jump into the clear pipe and continue your ascent of the tower.... after a few seconds in transit you'll find out whats worse than Super Bell Bowser... yep, Super Bell Bowser with a supply of double cherries! There are now several menacing reptillian kitties pursuing you up the tower and you are armed only with a clear pipe for protection; you will emerge from the clear pipe to a room with the half way flag in - a time of relief for most.
Beat up the two Cat Goombas guarding the jump pad, and you'll get a Super Bell from the second one. Jump up the jump pad and get ready to be troubled by multiple Bowser's once more - continue ascending the cloud platforms, watching out for Bowser who will smash his way out of walls to try and get you, you'll come to a set of green stairs. The only advice I can give here: RUN!!!!! as the Bowsers will very shortly be smashing through the floor beneath you, taking out the staircase as they go!
You will also get Bowsers smashing out of the wall at you as you continue on the windy staircase to the top - as long as you are making good time they should miss you, just keep running. Once you get to the top with the Bowser clones in tow just behind you, you'll find the real Bowser again sat on a POW Block (When will he learn) clutching a big glass vial with a load of captured Sprixies in!
Get under that POW block straight away, even if you have to take a hit to do so and repeatedly punch that POW Block. Three strikes and his out! The Sprixies are saved, and Bowser is once again banished, defeated. Good job; this is the last of Bowser, but if you think this is where Super Mario 3D World ends you are terribly mistaken, there is a whole new games worth of Bonus Worlds awaiting you, with perils beyond your wildest dreams!
Boss Blitz - World Flower 12
Three bonus worlds after defeating Bowser, you will reach the end of World Flower, it is here that Bowser's finest henchmen who you previously defeated in battle have regrouped for one final confrontation - the level gives you a 500 second time limit; which sounds pretty generous right? Thats because you have to defeat five bosses back to back without dying to proceed, you will fight Boom Boom, Pom Pom, The Hisstocrat King & Queen at the same time, Boss Brolder and King Ka-Thunk - it is only after you beat these five fights and collect the key cards that you will be able to get through to the final challenge.
Biggest advice I can give to beating this level is to ensure when you fight the Hisstocrat King & Queen, once you hit one of them, try to bounce straight off ones head onto the other, "killing two royal snakes with one stone" - this will effectively half the time of what is otherwise one of the longer fights, perhaps the longest depending on how you play, of the Boss Blitz level.
The last fight is against Motley Bossblob and when he is beaten you can proceed to the goal pole, this then concludes the final boss fight in Super Mario 3D World, and all that lies ahead to really test your skill is World Crown and
