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How to unlock the secret ending in Bowser’s Fury

Despite being short, there’s quite a bit to do in Bowser’s Fury — the side game that comes packaged with Super Mario 3D World for Nintendo Switch. Bowser’s Fury sends you to a small-scale open world on a quest to find Cat Shines, all while keeping safe from the evil Bowser. Though, in this entry, Bowser is quite a bit more evil than in past iterations.

You can finish Bowser’s Fury in around 4-5 hours, though if you want to unlock the secret ending, it will take you a little longer. In this guide, we’ll show you everything you’ll need to know about getting the true ending in Bowser’s Fury, along with tips to make it as easy as possible for you.

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How to unlock the secret ending in Bowser’s Fury

Find all 100 Cat Shines

Image used with permission by copyright holder

The first — and most time consuming — step to getting the secret ending in Bowser’s Fury is to find all Cat Shines in the game. In total, there are 100 Cat Shines across the game’s 16 islands, so you’ll have plenty to do. The Cat Shines are similar to the green stars from the main Super Mario 3D World game, and are found hidden throughout the world or are rewarded after completing an objective. Some are even only accessible while Bowser is raining firebombs at you, so you’ll need to keep your eyes peeled.

Challenge Bowser one last time

Image used with permission by copyright holder

After you’ve found all 100 Cat Shines, the game will notify you of your accomplishment. You then need to head to a nearby Giga Bell to trigger one last fight with Bowser. You’ll notice Bowser will now look a little different, with white hair. The first part of the fight plays out pretty much like it has the rest of the game. Throw objects at him, slash him when you can, and perform a ground pound move on his shell when it’s flipped over.

Once you get his health bar all the way down, the black ink that has plagued him (and you) the entire game will dispel from his body. But even so, you’ll need to take Bowser down yet again to finish the fight. This stage is unlike the others and requires you to ride Plessie around the water while chasing Bowser. Dodge the attacks and hit the ramps to crash into Bowser’s cat bells, which are guarded by a forcefield.

Each time you crash into the forcefield, it will send Bowser flying back, so you’ll need to repeat the process three more times to finish the fight. After you’ve crashed into the forcefield four times, Bowser will go down and for your troubles, you’ll get a cute cutscene as a reward (which we won’t spoil here).

Joseph Yaden
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Joseph Yaden is a freelance journalist who covers Nintendo, shooters, and horror games. He mostly covers game guides for…
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