The last Mario game to make my heart race the same way as Bowser’s Fury was Super Mario Sunshine, thanks to its notorious platforming levels. I was thrilled when this game brought back some of that blood-pumping panic.
Bowser’s Fury does something different than most Mario games with its structure, making every stage a part of an open world map, rather than having areas that you access from a hub. Instead of jumping into a painting or taking a ride on a ship to the next level, you’ll simply approach the area, and the area name will appear on your screen, along with a challenge to complete, like fighting a boss or collecting colorful coins. The named stages are not small, with some of them sprawling over mountains, and others being the usual grassy pads seen in other Mario games.
I have to complete challenges around the map to earn shiny objects, called Cat Shines. Each challenge is bite-sized, with none taking more than 10 minutes to complete.
Most Cat Shines aren’t particularly hard to get, but everything is cranked up to 11 when Fury Bowser, a black paint-soaked Kaiju-esque version of the Koopa King, randomly emerges from the sea, spewing fire and pillars of rock. Any Cat Shine that required me to carefully scale a cliff or jump from platform to platform would get placed on hold once it began to rain — a signal that Fury Bowser is on his way.
I caught myself screaming, “No, no, no, NO!” as he appeared during my platforming expedition to a Cat Shine over some lava. I ended up falling into the lava and dying, after being shot at countless times. While I was sheepishly relieved that my death meant that Fury Bowser would be gone and I could try again without his torment, he reappeared again within minutes, causing me to do the same thing again. I moved on to a different Cat Shine in a fit of sweaty-palmed frustration.
The horrifying thing about Fury Bowser is that he doesn’t seem to spawn on a set timer. There were times when there was as little as six minutes between his appearances and other times when he’d disappear for around 15 minutes. Any time I felt comfortable collecting Cat Shines, Fury Bowser would appear to ruin it.
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Of course, there are ways to get rid of Fury Bowser. You can try to wait him out, but he can stick around for a while. At various points, you can turn into Giga Cat Mario with a power-up and fight him yourself, slapping him back into the ocean. The most efficient way to get rid of him is to collect a Cat Shine, which causes him to immediately leave.
Despite the frustration that Fury Bowser gave me, I was thrilled when he appeared, excited for the challenge that shook up my otherwise peaceful Cat Shine collection. Bowser’s Fury is a perfect bite of adrenaline and panic that I needed between the calming and cute Super Mario 3D World levels.