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The Fiery Stronghold
Super Mario 3D All-Stars

The Fiery Stronghold

Master The Fiery Stronghold, the Grand Star level in Bowser's Star Reactor! Learn to dodge fire bars, navigate gravity, and defeat Bowser with this guide.

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Master The Fiery Stronghold, the Grand Star level in Bowser's Star Reactor! Learn to dodge fire bars, navigate gravity, and defeat Bowser with this guide.

Alright, let's tackle The Fiery Stronghold! This is the Grand Star level for the Fountain dome, found in Bowser's Star Reactor. You'll need 15 stars to even get in here, so you've earned it!

Walkthrough
  1. 1
    You'll start in a warp pipe structure that leads to a colorful, winding path. A Luma will pop up to give you a heads-up on what's coming. Keep an eye out for rotating fire bars – they can totally block your way. There's also a 1-Up Mushroom you can snag along this path.
  2. 2
    As you reach the end of the path, you'll face more fire bars. You can either jump over them or wait for them to move. Right after those, watch out for a Thwomp! These guys vibrate before they smash down. If you're caught underneath, it's an instant KO and back to the spawn point, so be super careful!
  3. 3
    After the Thwomp, a platform will whisk you away to an area with gravity walls. The arrows will show you which way gravity is pulling. You gotta be really careful here; if you're in the wrong gravity section, you could get sucked into a black hole!
  4. 4
    There's a tricky part where you need to jump from the anti-gravity section (where you're walking on the ceiling) down to a moving platform in normal gravity. If you try to jump to a ledge while on the ceiling, you'll get pulled up into a black hole. Time your jump to land on the moving platform when the fire bars aren't in the way. Once you're on the moving platform, ride it to the end and jump back into the upside-down gravity. Quickly move past the next Thwomp and into the next area.
  5. 5
    In this new area, you'll first encounter four spinning fire bars. Just walk through the quarter-circle gap between two bars to get to the path upwards. If you need an extra life, there's a 1-Up Mushroom to the left. At the top of the path, you'll find another Thwomp. This one's a bit tougher; he rises, and shortly after, fire shooters behind him activate. You need to quickly dash under the Thwomp and then jump over the fire shooters before they fully ignite.
  6. 6
    Next up, you'll see an area covered in fire bars. You should be able to run through if you time it right. When you reach the checkered path, a cutscene will play showing Bowser on a tower, throwing boulders that make the paths crumble. You'll need to run and jump across these crumbling paths to reach the next platform. There's an extra life mushroom on the corner path just before this section – grab it if you can, as it'll be super handy for the boss fight, even if it makes the crumbling paths trickier.
  7. 7
    Once you reach the end of the checkered path, it's time for the Bowser boss fight! You'll be transported to a small planet with blue domes.

Bowser Boss Fight Strategy:

  1. Bowser has a few attacks: he'll spit fireballs (easy to dodge, but they do fire damage), create circular electric waves when he jumps (you need to jump over these, sometimes up to 3 in a row), and attempt to groundpound you when you're close (just get out of the way).
  2. The key to beating him is to get him to groundpound specifically on the blue domes. Lure him towards a blue dome, and when he groundpounds, make sure you're not standing on it! The dome will smash, exposing lava that damages Bowser, making him run away.
  3. You can't chase him directly because he's too fast. Instead, run around the planet in the opposite direction he's heading to catch up to him on his path. Once you catch him, quickly spin attack to stun him. He'll then spin around the island in his shell.
  4. Again, run in the opposite direction he's heading to intercept him, and spin attack him again to deal more damage. If you miss him during these phases, you'll have to repeat the process.
  5. You need to repeat this entire sequence (luring him to groundpound, stunning him, intercepting him) a total of three times. Bowser gets more aggressive with his attacks after each hit, spitting out more fireballs.
Tips
  • Watch out for the Thwomps – they're instant KOs if they hit you!
  • Timing is crucial in the gravity-bending section and when dodging fire bars.
  • The extra life mushroom before the Bowser fight can be a lifesaver, but it might make the crumbling path section a bit harder to navigate.
  • Don't chase Bowser directly after he's damaged; run the opposite way he's going to intercept him.

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