-------------------------- Super Mario Bros. Boss FAQ v. 1.0 (c) Pegboy 2003 All rights reserved -------------------------- Welcome to my Super Mario Bros. Boss FAQ! This document is copyright Pegboy (Derek Kader) 2003 and should not be copied, in whole or in part, changed in any way, shape or form, stolen from, or any other illegal crap that you might try to pull. If you'd like to use part of it or post it on your website, e-mail me at kader3@msn.com. Also, if you see it on any other site besides www.gamefaqs.com, e-mail me so I can take care of the problem. If you have anything to add, be it strategies, tips, tricks, or have questions, or just want to say what's up, e-mail me at kader3@msn.com. I will credit you with the info in the next update. If you want to use any of the ASCII art you see in the guide, feel free to ask me to use it. That being said, sit back, have a coke and enjoy the guide! =============================================================================== TABLE OF CONTENTS =============================================================================== I. Intro and Notes II. Version History III. Bosses | 1. Goomba | 2. Koopa Troopa | 3. Buzzy Beetle | 4. Spiny | 5. Lakitu | 6. Bloober | 7. Hammer Brother | 8. Bowser - King of the Koopa IV. Credits and Legal Stuff ******************************************************************************* I. INTRO AND NOTES ------------------- A Boss FAQ for Super Mario Brothers? But I thought all of the bosses were the same? If you were thinking that when you clicked on the link, you are mistaken, my friend. Although each Koopa at the end of the castle levels look the same, each one has different abilities, room layout, and obstacles. And, in fact, they are all different enemies only disguised as Bowser. In theory, each one is a unique boss, needing his own seperate strategy (for the most part). A Boss FAQ may come in handy for some people, so I provided those people with one. Why did I write this? Because to my disbelief, there wasn't already a Boss FAQ for this game, and I thought I'd dish one out. So, without further ado, THE Super Mario Bros. Boss FAQ. Onward. ******************************************************************************* II. VERSION HISTORY -------------------- Updates, changes, addtions, yada yada yada. v. 1.0 - April 7, 2003 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Work was started on this guide on April 5, 2003. The most basic version of the guide. There probably won't be too many updates, but hey, you never know. If you do have anything to add, though, feel free to e-mail me with your info. If I like it, I'll stick it in the next update and credit you, of course. ******************************************************************************* III. BOSSES ------------ There are a total of eight bosses in the game, each one different than the one before him. Read the whole section, or skip down to the particular boss of your choice. Use the following key to help better understand the ASCII maps: o----------------------o | KEY | o======================o | ___ - Platform | | _ | | |_| - Brick | | | | * - Podoboo's path | | o - Fire Chain | | | | (|) | | | - Axe | o----------------------o 1) GOOMBA ========== This is, by far, the easiest boss to defeat in the entire game. He doens't have any obstacles to hinder you, and actually has a platform overhead him to "help" you over him. "Help" as in it doesn't necessarily help you, so you might want to disregard it entirely. His room is set up like so _________________________ | ____________________ | | | | | |__| | | ___ |_| (|) |_ __ __________________/| | | |___________________| | | | | | | |^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^| | | | | | There will be a platform overhead the bridge. You can either jump on the platform, ride it over him, and jump on the ax to cut the bridge down, or wait until he jumps to run under him and cut the bridge.During the battle, he periodically spits fireballs, so be on the lookout. There is one other way to beat him, and that's if you make it all the way to him with a Fire Flower. A few shots and he'll go down, making for quite an easy fight. 2) KOOPA TROOPA ================ The second boss offers nothing more than the last one, excluding the fact that there is a row of bricks hovering over the first half of his bridge. This can be annoying if you're Super Mario, but if you rush through and take charge, you'll do fine. _________________________ | ____________________ | | | | | |__|_ _ _ _ _ | | |_|_|_|_|_| ___ |_| (|) |_ __ __________________/| | | |___________________| | | | | | | |^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^| | | | | | There will be a short row of bricks near the ceiling, as pointed out earlier, that seem to be there mainly to get in the way. If you are Super Mario, you can crush the bricks to get them out of the way if you see it necessary. Either way, jump over him using the assistance of the platform floating over him, but you don't have to use it, or you can run under him when he jumps. Watch out for the occasional fireball. If you have a Fire Flower, blast him to death. 3) BUZZY BEETLE ================ Okay, so it's starting to seem like there's no differences in the bosses. But, they do change occasionally, rest assured. This guy's really no different than the last two. _________________________ | ____________________ | | | |_|_| | | |__| |_|_| | | |_|_| ___ |_| (|) |_ __ __________________/| | | |___________________| | | | | | | |^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^| | | | | | Use the platform, jump over him, run under him, fireballs... take your pick. Whatever you do, avoid the bricks in front of the platform and don't expect anything new. 4) SPINY ========= This battle is where things start to heat up. There are now several big obstacles to look out for, including Podoboo and a fire chain. _________________________ | ____________________ | | | | | |__| | | |_| * o * (|) o * |_ __ ___o___*__________/| | | |____o__*___________| | | | * | | | |^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^| | | | | | This fight differs from the previous three in that there are more distractions and obstacles on the bridge. Also, there is no platfrom to "help you" over him (it never really helped me). The same ways to kill him apply here, too, as he himself is no different (just a different character). Run under him, jump over him, or blast him with fireballs to reveal his true identity, Spiny. You must avoid a fire chain attached to the bridge as illustrated above, and also, Podoboo inhabits the lava under the bridge, and will jump up occasionally to say hello and make trouble. The bottom line is to just be careful, watch out for enemies/obstacles, and you should pull through. 5) LAKITU ========== Podoboo's back, as well as that row of bricks situated above the bridge. Also, the platform makes it's triumphant return in this battle. _________________________ | ____________________ | | | | | |__|_ _ _ _ _ | | |_|_|*|_|_| ___ |_| * * (|) * |_ __ ____*_____________/| | | |____*______________| | | | * | | | |^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^| | | | | | This boss is the same as all the other fights physically. He himself does nothing different. But, the layout of his bridge area is different, as you can see. Run, jump, blast, slide, moonwalk, whatever your choice of destruction may be. As long as you avoid Podoboo, the bricks and the platform, he's not really difficult. 6) BLOOBER =========== This is where it gets difficult for some people. This boss spits fireballs like the others, but in addition he throws multitudes of hammers, as many as 6 to 8 at a time. The new main threat, the hammers are your basic concern throughout the battle. _________________________ | ____________________ | | | | | |__| | | ___ |_| * * (|) * |_ __ ____*_____________/| | | |____*______________| | | | * | | | |^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^| | | | | | If you stand directly in front of him, the arc that he throws his hammers in will not affect you and you won't be hit. But if you stand there too long, he will eventually throw a fireball, disturbing the peace you were enjoying. The three normal methods to opening up a can on him all apply, from running under him, jumping over him, or pegging him with fireballs of your own. Fireballs will reveal that he is really Bloober, and still not the real King of the Koopas quite yet. 7) HAMMER BROTHER ================== This guy fights the same way as the last one and his level layout is even the same, except that the platform is gone. _________________________ | ____________________ | | | | | |__| | | |_| * (|) * |_ __ _____*____________/| | | |_____*_____________| | | | * | | | |^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^| | | | | | When you arrive to him, you find the bridge looks like the ASCII art above. This fight is nearly the same as in 6-4, but there is no platform to "assist you" over him. He will be hurling hammers as well, and the Podoboo is still there in the same area, but he has shifted to the right a little. Use any of the strategies mentioned before, including running under him, jumping over him, fireballs, to take this guy out. This time, the enemy behind the mask is a Hammer Bro. 8) BOWSER - KING OF THE KOOPA ============================== Almost in a sad sense, this fight is one of the easiest in the game. He fights no differently than the last two bosses, but he has no obstacles in the level to assist him. _________________________ | ____________________ | | | | | |__| | | |_| (|) |_ __ __________________/| | | |___________________| | | | | | | |^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^| | | | | | It's just a straight fight between you and him, he has no assistance here. Like the previous two fakes, the real King of the Koopa throws multiple hammers at one time and throws fireballs, but his fireballs come out faster and in more quantity than in any previous fights. As infamous as Bowser is, this battle is not tough at all. The same strategies that applied before apply now. You can run under him, jump over him (not recommended), or the best way to beat him, blast him with fireballs of your own. He takes the same number of shots as the previous bosses, and goes down just as easy. Kinda disappointing for the final boss fight, eh? After you defeat him, you go to the back room where you usually find Toad, but this time it's the Princess! You saved the Mushroom Kingdom from their evil invaders, and saved the day! The game will say: THANK YOU MARIO! YOUR QUEST IS OVER. WE PRESENT YOU WITH A NEW QUEST. PUSH B BUTTON TO SELECT A WORLD Congrats on beating the arch rival of Mario in one of the most classic games of all time, Super Mario Brothers! ******************************************************************************* IV. CREDITS AND LEGAL STUFF ---------------------------- This document is copyright Pegboy (Derek Kader) 2003 and should not be copied, in whole or in part, changed in any way, shape or form, stolen from, or any other illegal crap that you might try to pull. If you'd like to use part of it or post it on your website, e-mail me at kader3@msn.com. Also, if you see it on any other site besides www.gamefaqs.com, e-mail me so I can take care of the problem. If you have anything to add, be it strategies, tips, tricks, or have questions, or just want to say what's up, e-mail me at kader3@msn.com. I will credit you with the info in the next update. If you want to use any of the ASCII art you see in the guide, feel free to ask me to use it. I would like to credit the following people/sites/corporations: GameFAQs - For hosting this and all of my other FAQs. CJayC - For posting my stuff. Nintendo - For creating this game and their wonderful console, the NES. Anybody who helped me develop my writing talent or got me involved in writing this stuff, thanks. The newest version of this guide can always be found at www.gamefaqs.com. (c) Pegboy 2003