Bowser’s Fury – Review (Switch)
It’s hard to believe that Nintendo is about to celebrate the fourth anniversary of their hybrid console, the Switch. However, as the years go by one thing is evident about the last decade for Nintendo – The WiiU was a colossal failure with a ton of great games. For every original game on the Switch, Nintendo seems to release a forgotten gem from their last generation console. Recently we were gifted a combination of both worlds. Packed in with the rerelease of quite possibly the most under appreciated game in the Mario Saga, Super Mario 3D World, is a brand-new Mario adventure – Bowser’s Fury.
Super Mario 3D World is an incredible game, and we love it deeply, but for this review we’ll focus on the new content of Bowser’s Fury.
Though not the full Mario experience that we have come to love, Bowser’s Fury is a force to be reckoned with. It reminds us of Halo 3: ODST. Overlooked by many when ranking the top Halo games, ODST is top tier Halo the way Bowser’s Fury is top tier Mario.
Consisting of three to five hours of gameplay, Bowser’s Fury takes the best part of nearly every game in the catalogue and perfects them all while adding new ingredients into the mix.
Bowser is terrorizing everyone, even his family, so Bowser Jr. decides to team up with the most unlikely ally in order to bring his dad peace and save the island from ultimate destruction. You can play through the game alone or with a friend who controls Bowser Jr.
The goal is simple. Collect enough Cat Shrines to clean the island and free Bowser from whatever spell he is under. The game is one big sandbox that doesn’t quit from the moment you boot up the game. Unlike most of the games in the franchise, Bowser’s Fury doesn’t have traditional levels. Instead, you can tackle any of the challenges as you see fit. Collecting Cat Shrines will help you clean off the lighthouses around the island which in turn will unlock more of the island for you to explore.
Every so often Bowser will rise and make your life miserable. Suddenly you are on the defense and survival is your number one goal. While Bowser is being a menace, collecting Cat Shrines will return him to a static state until he is free to come after you again. You’ll know he is about to rise when the weather starts to change. By the time he appears you will also be dealing with a tropical storm.
Collecting Cat Shrines is a blast. You’ll find them by completing traditional platforming areas, collecting items, catching rabbits, and so many more ways that we won’t spoil for you here. They really take the core elements of a 3D Mario game dating back to the N64 days, add the openness of Mario Odyssey, the level design of Super Mario 3D World, and elements from nearly every game in the cannon in order to give us what may be the best Mario Game to date. The length will obviously keep it from ever winning that crown, but we’d love to see a longer iteration of this in the future.
Once you think you’ve finally figured out exactly how to handle this game, they throw one more incredible feature at you. After collecting so many Cat Shrines you will unlock Bell’s around the island that, when opened, will give you the ability to morph into a giant version of Mario and take on Bowser in an epic battle that competes with Godzilla vs. Kong as one of the all-time great monster fights. Every time Bowser hits you with an attack, find the Bell Shrine and you will be restored.
When you hit Bowser with that final ground pound and thereby unleashing the last part of the boss battle you will be grinning from ear to ear.
This is the complete package. This game is right at home on the Switch and, due to the length and setup of the game, it can be played in a single setting or attacked in bite size pieces on the go. The best part of the whole experience was not having to save the princess. Nintendo thought way outside of the box on this one and we cannot wait to see what they come up with next.
