Bowser's Fury

It's a peaceful, sunshiny day in the Mushroom Kingdom, and Mario's going for a pleasant stroll. Everything is nice and calm... until Mario starts finding splatters of black goop everywhere. Following the goop, Mario suddenly finds himself pulled through a portal leading to Lake Lapcat, a once peaceful land that has been turned into the stomping grounds of a ferocious monster. And after a bit of exploring, Mario discovers that this monster is none other than his persistent enemy Bowser, whose anger has consumed him and warped him into a humongous, hellish monstrosity called Fury Bowser. Nothing can calm him down, not even Bowser Jr.! And once the kid explains everything, he and Mario set on an adventure to restore peace to Lake Lapcat and calm Bowser down.

Bowser's Fury is a 2021 game bundled as a companion piece to Super Mario 3D World for its Nintendo Switch rerelease. While very technically a side campaign, it has more than enough meat to feel like a full game in its own right. Many 3D World mechanics return, adapted to a more open-world format in the vein of Super Mario Sunshine and Super Mario Odyssey - Mario can tackle the various islands and their Cat Shine collectibles in whatever order you wish, while staying vigilant for the times Fury Bowser awakens and unleashes hell. Another major difference from 3D World is that instead of Luigi, Peach, Toad, and, Mario's main ally is Bowser Jr., who is always present as an AI helper or a human-controlled character for Player 2.


 * Adult Fear: A recurring NPC is a calico cat mom, whose kittens keep getting lost around Lake Lapcat. Until you safely return them, she'll be crying continuously. There's also the notion of Bowser's wrath endangering even Bowser Jr. and leaving him worried sick.
 * And Your Reward Is Clothes: Beating the game the first time will turn Plessie into Cat Plessie, while beating it 100% will turn Cat Mario into a scaled-down Giga Cat Mario.
 * Animal Motifs: If you think 3D World went over the top with the cat themes, you ain't seen nothing yet. Lake Lapcat has tons of cat imagery, whether it's the cat-shaped trees, cat statues at the Giga Bell shrines, the adorable kittens you can find wandering around, or all the cat-themed enemies running around.
 * Autobots Rock Out: During Fury Bowser's rampages, death metal can be heard playing in the background.
 * Battle in the Rain: Fury Bowser's attacks are heralded by sudden rainstorms, and every time you fight him the sky is blotted out by thick rainclouds.
 * Bullet Hell:
 * Catfolk: Every enemy except for Fury Bowser is a cat version of an existing Mario enemy or boss. Even the metallic ones such as Bob-ombs and Bullies!
 * Cats Are Mean: All the enemies you encounter are cat versions of normal Mario enemies such as Goombas, Hammer Bros, and Piranha Plants. And they're every bit as eager to end Mario's game as their normal counterparts are. The adorable, harmless kittens as well as the crying mama cat will also turn into dangerous shadow creatures during Fury Bowser's rampages.
 * The Corruption: The ink from Fury Bowser turns the kittens around Lake Lapcat into shadowy monsters.
 * Cute Kitten: Adorable little kittens can be seen around many of the islands, and if you put on a Cat Suit they'll be very friendly and affectionate towards Mario. Unfortunately, when Fury Bowser wakes up and attacks, his ink corrupts them into dangerous shadow monsters until he falls dormant again.
 * Cute Monster Girl: Pom Pom is back and as cute as ever, especially since she has a bit of a Cat Girl motif going for her this time around.
 * Dark Is Evil: And how. Fury Bowser is easily the most dangerous and frightening incarnation of Bowser yet, and he's colored jet black save for his eerie glowing hair, eyes, and spines.
 * There are also the Fury Shadows, which are shadowy clones of Luigi of all characters. They won't attack you, but will force you to chase them for a Cat Shine while they taunt you from a safe distance.
 * Deadpan Snarker: Mario manages to be this through pure body language alone: when Bowser Jr. is explaining the problem with Fury Bowser, Mario is not impressed and is frowning at him with his arms cross, clearly not believing that he isn't telling the truth. And when Bowser's been bought back to normal, his attempt at murdering Mario out of hatred and rage is met with the same unamused attitude from earlier.
 * Death Mountain: Mount Magmeow, which is a dangerous volcanic mountain filled to the brim with annoying Fire Bros and Fire Bars that get in your way.
 * Demoted to Extra: After having his own dedicated levels where he was a playable character in 3D World while being a recurring NPC, Captain Toad only shows up once as part of a series of quests dedicated to finding the scattered members of the Toad Brigade in the postgame.
 * Easy Level Trick: You're supposed to get the Ice Flow Cat Shine by waiting for a slow moving ice floe to emerge so you can ride it towards the Shine... or you can just grab it immediately with a well-timed dive and jump from Plessie.
 * Enemy Mine: Bowser Jr. isn't happy about it, but he begs for Mario to help him calm Bowser down. Mario is similarly wary of Junior, but agrees to help.
 * Green Hill Zone: The Shore part of Lake Lapcat is generally united by a lot of easy islands, with a few such as Fur Step Island and Scamper Shores having a lot of greenery to go along with the simple nature of their challenges.
 * Jerk With a Heart of Gold: Bowser Jr. is a real brat, and is rude to Mario to the point that he'll laugh at him if he gets hurt. But for all his meanness, the little guy still has a heart: the art he draws in the credits and postgame makes it clear that he's having fun adventuring with Mario, and if the plumber dies he'll be horrified.
 * Kaiju: Fury Bowser, who is so gigantic that most of Lake Lapcat's structures can only come up to his waist, while Mario himself is about as tall as his toes. Mario can also get in on the fun by grabbing a Giga Bell, which turns him into a Super Saiyan-styled version of Cat Mario that's as big as Fury Bowser.
 * Knight of Cerebus: 3D World was a fun, cutesy romp, and as tough as he was is still ridiculous-looking and comical. Then comes Bowser's Fury and the terrifying monster known as Fury Bowser, who looks like a goddamn demon that constantly spews fire, and will obsessively chase Mario around until he's forced to retreat. Oh, and every time he appears, he kicks up an intense thunderstorm.
 * Light Is Good: Light is the one thing that can put an end to Fury Bowser's rampages, whether it's the Cat Shines and the lighthouses they activate, or the bright gold Giga Bells that turn Mario into the similarly bright Giga Cat Mario so he can fight Fury Bowser on equal footing.
 * Light Is Not Good:
 * Mix-and-Match Critters: As a consequence of all enemies being cat-themed, you end up with plenty of cat-animal hybrids such as the cat-turtle Koopas, cat-fish Cheep Cheeps, and cat-bug Biddybuds.
 * Mythology Gag: It's hard to tell if it's intentional or not, but is very reminiscent of the plot of Paper Mario: Color Splash.
 * Recurring Boss: Even if you don't count all the times he wakes up and chases you down, you still fight Fury Bowser a lot through the story. Cat Boom Boom is also fought twice during the Colosseum Shine missions.
 * Slippy-Slidey Ice World: The islands in the ruins area are all united by an ice level theme.
 * Super-Persistent Predator: Fury Bowser always knows where Mario is at any given time, and will do everything in his power to try to kill him. If he can't get to you from one angle on an island, he'll simply jump around for a clearer shot. And if you try to lose him on Plessie, think again! He'll leap across Lake Lapcat and cut off your escape.
 * Unique Enemy: There are only three Cat Rammerheads in one small stretch of land in the Ruins area. Compare that to 3D World where the vanilla Rammerheads are still rare, but at least have a level dedicated to them.
 * Unwitting Instigator of Doom:
 * Visual Pun: Among the many cat-themed enemies are Cat Cheep Cheeps and Rammerheads... or in other words, catfish.