Mario and Luigi: Dream Team Boss FAQ The fourth installment of the popular and zany Mario and Luigi series for Nintendo 3DS systems, the game takes place on a remote location known as Pi’illo Island, where it’s possible to traverse the expansive world of dreams. Known as a pleasant tourist resort, it’s where Mario and Luigi’s newest adventure takes place, from the traditional Peach-plucking to Bowser antagonizing the duo, from finding out about the mysterious Zeekeeper to engaging with new villain Antasma, who threatens to rule the world. The battle system is the same as the previous three games; battles are turn-based, with button accuracy leading to stronger attacks and effective dodging. Below is a list of basic commands in battle. A: Mario B: Luigi L: Cancel R: Idle (Thunder Sass battle only), turn 3D effect on/off (certain Bros. Attacks and Luiginary Attacks) Circle Pad: Select, Move Good timing and dodging are the ways to succeed in this game; fortunately, the game gives you many opportunities to practice these during regular battles. This FAQ only covers boss battles (excluding Giant Battles) in a normal game; the bosses in Hard Mode use the same attacks and mostly require the same strategy. Further notes on Hard Mode can be found towards the end of this FAQ. As with all enemies, bosses have a “tell” – a hint to see what their attack is, who they’ll attack, and when. It’s important to pay close attention to these tells to avoid damage. A good strategy is to use a Boo Biscuit, which will make you invisible and immune to damage for three turns (although you can’t damage your enemies either), and allow you to learn what the tells are before actually attacking, particularly if you’re having trouble against a certain boss. If you fail a boss battle, you’re given the option to restart the battle, either normally or under significantly easier conditions. A Hint Block will also appear to give you a clue as to how to defeat the boss. Exceptions are in the Battle Ring, where you’re sent back to the arena, and Hard Mode, which takes you back to your last save. Below is a list of all the bosses you’ll encounter, in chronological order. 1) ??? (Zeepelin) HP: ??? This “boss battle” is more of a chance for you to learn how to jump and dodge. You can’t damage the boss and vice versa, and your only option is to jump on him; the fight will end soon enough. 2) Smoldergeists x4 (Pi’illo Castle Underground) HP: 12 Your first real boss battle is really a test to see if you’ve mastered the Jump ability. There are 4 Smoldergeists here, each lit by a purple flame. At the beginning, Starlow will conjure a wind that extinguishes the flames; this is your chance to hit them. Press A or B as soon as Mario or Luigi lands on the enemy, and A or B again to get an “Excellent!”, which will build up your badge meter. The Smoldergeists have only a couple of attacks. A: They’ll summon a huge ring of fire and blast it at you. Pay attention to where the Smoldergeist is. If it’s on the ground, jump; if it’s airborne, don’t jump. B: They’ll roll slowly towards you. Jump with good timing to hit them and knock them back. It’s imperative to dodge and counter their attacks; failing to do so will reignite their flame, and will force you to either jump on them to extinguish it again, damaging the bro in the process, or use an item. Your badge meter should fill up during this battle, so use it when your HP is low. You shouldn’t have difficulty with this battle. 3) Dreamy Mario (Dreamy Pi’illo Castle) HP: 96 This is your first Dream World battle, so the mechanics are slightly different. At the beginning of his turn, Dreamy Mario will shuffle around his clones; pay attention to where he goes (the real one always jumps at the beginning of his turn). Jump on the real one to dissipate the fake ones (again, pressing A as soon as Mario lands, and A again on the rebound). He’s got a few tricks up his red – er, purplish sleeves: A: Dreamy Mario will disappear and the Antasma cloud will spit out coins, Mushrooms, or flames. Run up and down to collect the first two, and dodge the flames either by jumping or simply avoiding them. B: Antasma will taunt Mario, then race into the background, where Dreamy Mario clones will race towards the real Mario. Jump with good timing either over them or on them. C: Another background chase takes place, this time with the Dreamy Marios under an Invincibility Star. Do NOT jump on these, as you’ll take damage and the chase will end. Keep jumping on Dreamy Mario and heal when necessary; this battle shouldn’t be too difficult. 4) Grobot (Mushrise Park – Maintenance Hut) HP: 288 Poor Grobot’s gone haywire… If only Brickle had given up the Pi’illo in the first place… Well anyway, this is your first boss battle with Bros. Attacks. You’ll have both the 3D Green Shell and the 3D Red Shell at this point; they’re all you’ll be using in the fight anyway. Grobot isn’t terribly difficult, but you still need to be careful. A: He’ll charge head-on into a bro. Counter with your Hammer. B: He’ll blast bubbles of water at you; pay attention to their sizes. If it’s small, jump. If it’s big, remain grounded as it’ll bounce over you. C: He’ll chase both bros into the foreground, shooting more water bubbles. Sometimes he’ll target both bros; jump accordingly. Eventually he’ll trip over a rock, taking damage, and the attack will end. Use both 3D Shells to attack him, and use a Syrup Jar when your BP gets low, and Mushrooms or your badges to heal. He’s not too bad. 5) Bowser and Antasma (Dream’s Deep) HP: 233 A classic Mario vs. Bowser fight!...sort of. Antasma is to Bowser what Dreamy Luigi is to Mario; he’ll fuse with the Koopa King at the start of the battle. As expected, Bowser attacks primarily by spitting flames at you, but he’s got other moves in his arsenal. A: Bowser will shoot a line of purple flames at you. He’ll follow Mario whenever he moves, so move and jump accordingly. After a few of these, he’ll charge for a yellow fire attack, then move up or down the line, depending on where Mario is. Try to be at the very bottom for this; it’s easier to see the fire’s trajectory and time your jump. B: A swarm of Antasma bats will fly at you; hammer these away. Any bats you don’t hit will fuse back with Bowser, healing him. C: Bowser rolls up into a ball (Bowser’s Inside Story, anyone?) and chases Mario into the foreground, but not before spitting lots of fireballs to make things harder. You can jump over the yellow flames, but not the purple ones. If you trip twice, Bowser rams you for immense damage. Try not to move around too much, as you’ll slow down and make it easier for Bowser to ram you. D: Bowser will charge straight at you; look at his face for the tell. If he’s grinning, he’ll fake you out and then charge at you from the other direction. Counter with your hammer. Luiginary Ball is your best bet with this battle, as are Mushrooms and Syrup Jars for healing. You might have a bit of difficulty with this one, so be patient. 6) Torkscrew (Dozing Sands) HP: 656 The monster that’s been terrorizing Britta and her employees is ready for a fight. You should have gotten Luigi’s Fire Flower Bros. Attack by now, but if you haven’t, the 3D Shells work fine here. Since Torkscrew has a drill on his head, you can’t jump on him, so stick to hammer attacks and Bros. Attacks. This battle can be challenging for a few reasons. A: Torkscrew will burrow into the sand and move toward a bro. Jump with precision when you think he’s under you to avoid being impaled. If you have perfect timing, you’ll dodge the attack entirely. If you slightly miss the timing, the bro will balance on Torkscrew’s drill and be carried away into the background; the other bro will give chase. The bro on the drill will gradually lose coins; try to recover as many as you can. Torkscrew will occasionally throw out Bombs; jump over these. B: Torkscrew will attack from above; counter will the hammer. Succeed and Torkscrew will be flat on his back, allowing you to jump on him. He’ll also take more damage from the 3D Shells. C: Torkscrew pushes Mario into the background and Luigi remains where he is. Don’t let this separation divide your attention! Torkscrew will try to drill into Mario, and enemies will rush into Luigi. Keep your concentration on both bros and jump accordingly. You might need to heal frequently, since jumping to avoid being impaled is tough to avoid. Continue using Bros. Attacks to deal out damage. 7) Hooraws (Dreamy Wakeport) The Hooraws are Big Massif’s disciples, and must be faced before meeting Big Massif himself. Each one has a special condition that must be fulfilled before winning the match. They’re really sub-bosses, so they’re listed as follows (you can fight them in any order depending on the pipe you take): Sorrow Fist HP: 395 Win Condition: Win with “Excellent!” attacks only The sad one of the bunch, he’s actually rather strong. You must get “Excellent!” attacks to deal damage; any other type heals him! Luiginary Ball is effective here, and if you’re really good with Luiginary Stack, use it as well. He’s only got two attacks: one is hitting a shell at you (counter with Hammer), and another is flying at you with rapid fists. For the latter, unless you’re confident you can jump in his head, jump over it entirely, as hitting his fists will damage you. Beef Cloud HP: 357 Win Condition: None (constant healing) This guy loves to sleep…but he uses it against you! The longer he sleeps, the more HP he recovers. Start out using a Luiginary attack, and make sure you score an “Excellent!” on it. After this, DON’T use another Luiginary attack. The time it takes for you to attack with another, he’ll already have recovered the damage you just dished out. Stick to jumping attacks; he might wake up in the process, stopping his sleeping/healing phase. At that point, you can use another Luiginary Attack. This one’s pretty easy. (See, Mom?! Sleeping a lot IS good for you!) Heavy Zest HP: 282 Win Condition: Win in 3 turns or fewer A happy-looking Hooraw, you must defeat him within three turns. This includes ALL the small Hooraws as well. He’s got two attacks; the first is he’ll bounce around on groups of Hooraws before ramming into you. Pay attention to the Hooraws with their hands up; he’ll bounce on those. Hammer him away to deal additional damage to him and the Hooraws. The second is that he’ll rush at Mario, while a Hermite Crab is behind Mario. Look at the Hooraws in the background; if they jump a little, jump over Heavy Zest. If they jump high, remain grounded. Either way, position yourself so that you’re in front of the Hermite Crab. If you’re successful, the crab’s coconut will defeat a lot of the Hooraws in the background. Remember that to win, you must defeat BOTH Heavy Zest and all the Hooraws within three turns! Thunder Sass HP: 140 Win Condition: Win with only counterattacks This one’s certainly got a lot of sass! Counterattacks are the only way to win. Fortunately, you can still use a turn to heal if needed (if not, press R to skip your turn), but you can’t use badges. Thunder Sass can rush at you; jump on him to counter. Also, like Heavy Zest, he’ll bounce off groups of Hooraws; pay attention to the groups that have their arms raised, and be prepared to hammer back. This one is probably the hardest of the four, but you’ll eventually win. 8) Big Massif (Dreamy Wakeport) HP: 864 Finally, he shows up!...although it’s annoying to find out he was the Shelltop all along. Big Massif is certainly your toughest opponent yet, so don’t be surprised if this one takes you a couple of tries. The one key thing to watch out for is how many of his Hooraws you defeat with your attacks; the more you take out, the angrier Big Massif gets and the more his POW is raised, so try not to take too many out at once. The best strategy for this is to use simple Jump attacks on Big Massif only, then take out the Hooraws during a counterattack, THEN use a Luiginary attack when there are none left. His tells are mostly dictated by the Hooraws; look at them for hints. A: Big Massif summons a large pillar to punch at you. If the Hooraws wave, he’ll hesitate a bit before punching it. If they don’t, hammer back immediately when he strikes. B: Similar to Thunder Sass and Heavy Zest, he’ll bounce around on groups of Hooraws before hitting you. He bounces faster here, so be ready to strike back quickly. C: Also similar to Sass and Zest, he’ll rush at you with a Hermite Crab behind Mario. If the Hooraws jump a little, jump when Big Massif is in front of you. If the Hooraws jump high, stay grounded. If Big Massif collides with the coconut, it will defeat a lot of the Hooraws. D: Big Massif’s got his own version of Luiginary Stack! He’ll jump on the Hooraw stack and chase Mario into the foreground. This is his deadliest attack; he’ll jump and the resulting landing will create a shockwave. You’ll need to dodge both the stack and the shockwave; otherwise Mario will trip and receive lots of damage, enough to KO him at half-HP. You can run side to side, but Big Massif gets faster and faster the more you avoid the stack. Evade enough times and Big Massif’s stack of Hooraws will disappear, leaving him unprotected. This is a good time to dish out Luiginary Ball and Stack, since his POW won’t increase. Overall, this is one of the tougher battles, but you should be able to survive. If you’re having trouble with the tells, use a Boo Biscuit to learn them, as some of them can be tricky. Don’t be afraid to use Super Mushrooms and Candies here too. 9) Mammoshka (Mount Pajamaja Summit) HP: 918 Well, you’d have avoided this one if a certain someone hadn’t sneezed…but oh well. Mammoshka is particularly vulnerable to jump attacks, as marked by the X on his head. You should have Mario’s Bye-Bye Cannon and Luigi’s Dropchopper at this point, which are both Jump-based. Mammoshka can summon Block Monolifts that carry helmets, some of which are spiked; dispose of these with the Dropchopper. You can still target Mammoshka, and the resulting shockwave will get rid of the Monolifts since they only have 1 HP. Mammoshka can be a challenging boss for a few reasons. A: He runs into the background and throws a huge boulder at both bros. You need to hammer with BOTH bros, otherwise both will take immense damage and possibly make them dizzy. Continue hammering back and forth until it hits Mammoshka. B: He chases a bro and tries to cause him to collide with the other bro. You need to jump either over or on the running bro; if they collide, they both fall to the ground and Mammoshka rams them both, causing damage. C: He summons a huge snowball. You need to hammer back and forth to dissipate it. If you fail, it runs over one bro, causing him to get stuck. Jump with the corresponding bro’s button to get him out. After dealing enough damage, Mammoshka sheds a shell and runs away, with Mario and Luigi giving chase. Jump with A or B when prompted, and Mammoshka will continuously shed shells until it’s defeated. This one can be tough, but you should also have the Heart Boots at this point, which will give you back HP for jump attacks. 10) Elite Trio (Dreamy Driftwood Shore) HP: 249 (Private Goomp), 415 (Corporal Paraplonk), 581 (Sergeant Guy) These guys from Bowser’s Inside Story are back, and have been promoted since. The gimmick to this one, as Private Goomp spills early on, is that you must defeat all three of them at once to win. If you don’t, they’ll revive each other, though with only 1 HP. Private Goomp is most likely to fall first, so target Corporal Paraplonk and Sergeant Guy, since they have more HP. They’ve got TONS of attacks, so pay attention! A: Corporal Paraplonk will retreat into his shell and dive at you. He’ll ricochet continuously between two blocks in Mario’s path, so jump to avoid him. If you jump on him, he’ll hit Private Goomp and a ton of Goombas in the background. B: Sergeant Guy will turn the Goombas into copies of himself and rush at Mario from all directions, sometimes holding a hammer. The real Sergeant Guy has Bowser’s red-and-black flag sticking out of his backpack, so hammer this one to end the attack. C: Private Goomp will summon a stack of Goombas that charge at Mario. You’ll have to continuously jump on the stack to disband it. Miss and the Goombas will swarm at Mario, causing small amounts of damage. If you succeed, they’ll target Private Goomp instead. D: A giant Bob-omb is summoned, and a rather funny chase begins in the foreground. Private Goomp is hiding behind the Goombas that will rush towards Mario; jump on or over them. Pay attention to where Goomp is; if you manage to jump on him as he rushes towards Mario, the attack will end and the Bob- omb will explode, dealing heavy damage to the Elite Trio. This is one of the best methods for taking out all three at once. E: Sergeant Guy will load the Bullet Bill cannon, though it costs him a turn. Take the opportunity to jump on it; when you do, Mario will step aside and the Bullet Bill will do its thing, damaging Private Goomp and Sergeant Guy. If you don’t attack it, the Bullet Bill will chase after Mario; press A repeatedly to run away from it. If you’re successful, the Bullet Bill will hit Sergeant Guy instead. Even if you defeat them one by one, chances are that they’ll only have 1 HP left anyway, so when all three have fallen at some point, use Luiginary Ball to get rid of them all. 11) Fly Guy Rs x3 (Pi’illo Blimport) HP: 149 While these goons have the boss battle music playing, they’re not any different from the other Fly Guy R enemies. A couple of airborne Bros. Attacks like Slingsniper and Dropchopper will end the fight quickly. 12) Pi’illodium (Somnom Woods) HP: 1673 THIS is one long and tough battle. Though dormant for a while, this machine’s still got a powerful arsenal of attacks. You’ll want to take down its wings first; once you do, they’ll greatly lower its defense. Don’t be afraid of using the Guard + Bronze badge to increase your defense, as this mechanism hits mecha-hard. A: It’ll mark the spots where it’ll fire laser jets at you (I’MA FIRIN’ MAH LAZER – sorry, couldn’t resist). Pay attention to where it marks you, then be prepared to jump, since it fires fast. Once you disable its wings, the lasers are considerably slower. B: It’ll rise into the air, turn into a hammer, and begin a countdown. It’ll blink red sparks if it’s targeting Mario, and green for Luigi. The countdown will disappear, so continue counting down on your own; the moment it reaches zero, it strikes, causing loads of damage and potentially the Dizzy status if you don’t counter. This is a VERY difficult attack to counter, and requires extreme precision. C: It’ll chase after Mario and Luigi into the foreground and summon missiles to attack the duo. Jump over the assault, then jump over Pi’illodium when it tries to ram you. D: The Mini-Pi’illoids can restore HP and both of Pi’illodium’s arms. To get rid of them, you can use Taunt Balls, since they’ve only got 1 HP. E: Pi’illodium will hammer Mini-Pi’illoids at you; simply hammer them back. When you’ve dealt enough damage, Pi’illodium will enter self- destruct mode, giving you only 40 seconds to defeat it! Keep in mind that the 40 seconds is in real-time, so don’t delay! Use fast Bros. Attacks like Bomb Derby, Jet-Board Bash, and Slingsniper to finish it off. If you’re successful, it’ll be destroyed. If not, it self-destructs, causing enough damage to take out both bros at full HP. If needed, use the Guard + Master Badge to avoid damage altogether, or the Guard Shell DX. It’s one tough cookie, but don’t give up. 13) Kamek (Dreamy Neo Bowser Castle) You’ll fight Kamek three times in Dreamy Neo Bowser Castle, with each fight considerably harder than the last. Here’s the rundown of each of those encounters. Kamek (1st time) HP: 1428 He’ll begin the battle by creating four extra copies; the real one will always cackle at the beginning. A: The Kameks will line up and fire magic blasts at Mario, then rush at him; move and jump accordingly. B: Kamek will fire differently-colored shapes at you, and you’ll have to hammer them to avoid getting hit. The blue circle will come at you from the bottom, and the green square will come at you from the top. Luiginary Typhoon will get rid of the copies; once the real Kamek is left, a couple of Luiginary Walls should send him fleeing. Kamek (2nd time) HP: 1743 Kamek’s back, and he’s got some new moves he’s added to his arsenal from the previous battle. He’ll split himself into copies again at the beginning; again, the real one will always cackle. A: The Kameks will still line up, but this time, they summon Goombas and Spinies on the ground. The baddies will rush at you, followed by the Kameks; jump over the line that has Goombas only. B: Kamek will summon an army of Dry Bones that will surround Mario. They’ll come at Mario one or two at a time from various angles; some will also throw bones at him. Try to jump on as many Dry Bones as possible and avoid the ones that throw bones. You can then throw the defeated Dry Bones back at Kamek for hefty damage; use the crosshairs and throw with A. This battle’s a lot easier, since you can use the Dry Bones attack to end him quickly. If that attack doesn’t take him out, the same strategy from the first fight (Luiginary Typhoon, then Wall) will end the battle in a few turns. Kamek (Final time) HP: 1496 (Kamek), 816 (Green), 544 (Red), 626 (White) In this final battle, Kamek can now split himself into his Green, Red, AND White variants. They all have less HP than Kamek himself, but they still pose a challenge. A: A set of rings will encase Mario. The pink one will quickly enlarge twice, the green one will slowly enlarge three times, the white one will enlarge once, and the blue one will slowly enlarge twice. Jump before the rings hit to avoid damage. B. A huge broom is summoned; if it tries to fake you out, that’s the direction it’ll attack from, so move and jump in a different direction just before it hits. C. A background chase takes place with a lot of Thwomps. Run towards the Thwomp that lands first; it’ll rise in time for you to keep running. Kamek will occasionally blast a line of magic at you; jump over this to continue the chase. If you’re successful, Kamek will run into a wall of Thwomps, dealing himself a lot of damage. D: Kamek and his Red variant can use the colored-shapes attack from the first battle. In addition to the blue circle from below and the green square from the top, there are now two pink triangles; the regular one will come at you from the right, and the upside down one will come at you from the left. These come at you faster and can lower your DEF if you’re hit, so be prepared to hammer quickly. Target the White Kamek first, as it can heal loads of HP each turn. The Green Kamek should be next, as it provides status boosts like ATK, DEF, and SPEED to everyone. Once the copies are taken care of, you can focus on the mad magician himself; Kamek won’t split himself into the copies again. He’s tough, so you may want to use a Boo Biscuit to learn (or re-learn) the timing of his attacks. Luiginary Wall or Typhoon are ideal here; don’t be afraid to use a few Candies either if you’re running low on HP and BP. 14) Antasma (Dreamy Neo Bowser Castle) HP: 2435 The last Dream World battle’s atmosphere could hardly be any more fitting, as well as the music (dat violin tho). But Antasma is absolutely no pushover, and some of his tells seem obvious, but they’re not. Here’s breakdown of the (spoiler!) not-quite-the-real-villain’s moves. A: Not an attack, but at the start of most turns, he’ll consume Antasmunchies (the little black orbs) and his POW will increase. B: Antasma creates clones of himself, summons an energy ball, and hides within the clones. Pay attention to the one will the ball, as they’ll all point their arms towards you, but the real one will release the energy ball. Counter with the hammer to hit it back and damage the bat king. C: Antasma summons a giant spiked ring and chases Mario into the foreground. When he throws the ring, STEP INSIDE IT; if you’re outside of it when it lands, it explodes immediately, dealing immense damage. It seems obvious to avoid the ring, but not here. Sometimes when he throws it, he’ll raise an arm and make a little noise as to where the ring will go, so follow the ring. Once you’re inside, position yourself in the middle. When Antasma throws down his arms, wait for a fraction of a second, THEN jump. Do it right, and the shockwave will damage Antasma. He’ll do this a few times, so pay attention. D: He’ll turn into multiple bats, which will fly at you. Jump either over or on the bats to avoid damage. This is one of his deadliest attacks, and here’s why. It can be hard to see where the bats are (turning on the 3D effect helps sometimes), and if you get hit by this attack, Mario will have a black aura surrounding him. At the end of this attack, Mario will fall asleep! This leads to… E: Mario must run away from Antasma in the nightmare and find his way out. Don’t jump into any of the portals yet; jump OVER them while also jumping over the lasers Antasma shoots at you. Avoid the red and black portals; if you fall into them, tilt the 3DS to avoid the saws and escape. The saws can easily kill you if you’re not careful. When you see a yellow portal, fall into it; that’s the exit. Tilt the 3DS to collect the Mushrooms and coins. This attack is dangerous, particularly in the Battle Ring, as it costs Mario a turn. F: Sometimes Antasma will steal Dreamy Luigi away from Mario and trap him in an Antasmunchie. He’ll then shuffle the orbs, so remember which one Dreamy Luigi is in. Free him quickly, or else Antasma will consume him and become stronger! (He’ll spit him out eventually, though.) This attack is also dangerous in the Battle Ring, since Luiginary Attacks will be temporarily inaccessible. G: Antasma will fall asleep, recovering his HP. You need to defeat the Antasmunchies quickly to wake him up; Luiginary Wall or Typhoon should do it. Fail to do so, and Antasma will flip the screen upside down! The Antasmunchies will then attack you, and you need to hammer them away; remember that the screen is inverted. Antasma is extraordinarily difficult; it’s a good idea to stock up on badge combos such as Virus + Master and Guard + Master to avoid his attacks and defeat him quickly. Luiginary Wall or Typhoon work wonders here, but I find Wall to be more useful. Fortunately, Dreambert heals you for 30HP every turn, so healing shouldn’t be too much of a factor here. You’re almost there! 15) Dreamy Bowser (Neo Bowser Castle) HP: 2417 Just when the Dream Stone was destroyed, Bowser pulls a Vacuum Block trick and inhales it! Darn you Broque Monsieur…well, this is the final battle, so go all out! Dreamy Bowser is TOUGH and can be a long battle if you don’t know how to beat him. He’s got his head, his right arm, and his left arm; the right arm protects his head, and the left arm can kidnap a bro, preventing access to Bros. Attacks. I suggest getting rid of the right arm first with Jet-Board Bash or Star Rocket, as the right arm prevents damage to Bowser altogether. You should have the Zee Egg Bros. Attack if you rescued all the Pi’illos and spoke to Eldream in Mushrise Park. If not, go back and get it, as it’s an invaluable attack. Here’s a complete breakdown of the big bad brute’s attacks. A: He summons a coin that will indicate which bro he’ll attack, then use a hammer to attack said bro. This attack hits HARD. so counter it if possible or use Guard + Master. B: A Shy Guy Airtub DX will appear and chase Luigi. In one awesome display of brotherly love, Mario gets angry and jumps onto the airtub in retaliation. This phase requires concentration; press B for Luigi to avoid the airtub’s attacks, and hammer away with A for Mario to get rid of the Shy Guys. If you’re successful, the airtub gets destroyed; if not, it retreats into the background and can attack from there; counter their attacks with your hammers. If you want to have another go at it, lure it into the foreground with a Taunt Ball. C: Dreamy Bowser retreats into the background and eats meat, replenishing his HP! This is VERY annoying, particularly because he can do it every turn, canceling out any damage you just dished out. He’ll summon his minions to fight in his place, which will attack soon after. Jump on the Goombas, jump OVER the Bob-ombs (they’ll explode if you touch them), and don’t jump when the Shy Guys approach, as they’ll jump over you. When it’s your turn, you can try to get rid of all of them at once, or you can throw a Taunt Ball at Dreamy Bowser, forcing him to come back. He’ll give you chase; guide him to destroy his minions. You get three attempts before he goes into the background again. If you’re not successful, target the Bob-ombs first when it’s your turn, as they’ll defeat surrounding enemies. D: Dreamy Bowser shoots bright flames at both bros; jump over them to avoid damage. Pay close attention, since you’ll either have to jump at the same time or at slightly different times. E: If his left arm isn’t disabled, Dreamy Bowser will grab a bro and throw him, and the other bro must attempt to catch him. If you’re successful, you’ll reunite with the bro. If not, the kidnapped bro will bounce on the ground, taking damage, and eventually return to Dreamy Bowser’s arm. You’ll have to free him with standard Jump and Hammer attacks. F: Dreamy Bowser chases the bros into the foreground, separating the two with jets of fire. Look where he shifts (left or right), and jump correspondingly. This being the final battle, don’t hesitate to use your best attacks and healing items. If you’ve attained Rainbow Rank (Level 40), you can get some of the best gear at Broque Madame’s shop, such as the Master Boots and the Angel Bangle. If you’ve completed ALL Expert Challenges, you’ll get the Duplex Crown, which allows you to move twice in one turn. If you got the incredibly rare Farmer’s Boots from a Flaming Antasmaton in Neo Bowser Castle, you can go hunting for extra beans, which permanently raise your stats. Stock up on your preferred badge combos beforehand; if things get difficult, or if Dreamy Bowser keeps healing himself every turn, you can use Miracle + Gold to stop Bowser for two turns and dole out your strongest attacks. Be persistent, learn the timing, practice “Excellent!” attacks, and you’ll eventually win. Now sit back and enjoy the ending! Battle Ring Similar to the Gauntlet from Bowser’s Inside Story, the Battle Ring is a collection of previous bosses you’ve fought in your adventure. These bosses (marked with an X after their names) are significantly harder, with increased HP, ATK, SPEED, and DEF, and must be defeated within a certain number of turns. The game gives you recommended levels to be at before taking on each boss, but if you’re skilled enough and have the right equipment, you can defeat most of these bosses earlier. Each boss requires a fee, and winning will net you more coins. The bosses’ attack patterns don’t change, but they are considerably faster than their regular counterparts. Defeating the first 8 bosses in the Battle Ring gives you access to the Medley, which contains all 8 bosses plus a secret boss at the end in a row (detailed below), with a turn allotment of 45. Here are their stats, and additional notes if needed. (For their attack patterns, see the corresponding bosses above.) Class 1) Grobot X Turn Allotment: 6 Recommended Level: 17 HP: 1133 This is the only mandatory X boss in the game; you must defeat him to receive the Zeekeeper’s Feathers, an item used in constructing the Ultibed. By the time you need to fight him, you should be in the early to mid-20s levels, so this battle shouldn’t pose a problem. Class 2) Bowser X and Antasma X Turn Allotment: 8 Recommended Level: 19 HP: 771 Class 3) Torkscrew X Turn Allotment: 8 Recommended Level: 23 HP: 1594 Class 4) Big Massif X Turn Allotment: 12 Recommended Level: 26 HP: 1901 Again, be careful of taking out too many Hooraws at once; if you do, Big Massif gets very angry and his POW significantly increases. Class 5) Mammoshka X Turn Allotment: 16 Recommended Level: 30 HP: 1771 Use Jump attacks like Star Rocket and Dropchopper to deal critical damage. Class 6) Elite Trio X Turn Allotment: 12 Recommended Level: 33 HP: 468 (Private Goomp X), 780 (Corporal Paraplonk X), 1092 (Sergeant Guy X) Like its normal version, you must defeat all three at once. Make use of counters, since this will get the job done much more quickly. Class 7) Pi’illodium X Turn Allotment: 26 Recommended Level: 40 HP: 2742 You really don’t need 26 turns to take him out; this shouldn’t take you more than 15 at most. Remember his self-destruct mechanism, so take him out fast! The cheap way to save your turns and still win is to use the Guard Shell DX to soften the blow (the Guard + Master badge combo takes too long to fill in the Battle Ring). Class 8) Antasma X Turn Allotment: 14 Recommended Level: 45 HP: 3336 If Mario falls into Antasma’s nightmare by getting hit with any one of his attacks, this counts as a turn! This 14-turn battle can easily turn into 7 if your dodging isn’t up to speed. Avoid his attacks to the best of your ability; use Guard Shell DX if you’re having trouble. Class 9) Battle Medley Turn Allotment: 45 Recommended Level: 50 All Previous X Bosses plus: Bowser Jr. HP: 4099 While the road leading to the ninth and final boss has certainly been tough, Bowser Jr. is actually quite a relief and lots of fun to fight against, especially for those who fought against Bowser X (shudder) in the previous game. However, Bowser Jr. is NOT a pushover. For one, he’s got WAY more HP than any other boss you’ve faced, including the final boss; he’s at the end of the medley when you’ve already fought through eight tough bosses (although the first six shouldn’t give you too much trouble by now); AND he seems to have followed ye olde “like father, like son” mantra of stealing Bros. Attacks, this time by tickling the user. (Jerk.) You can get them back later, though, in a very hilarious manner. Overall, he’s not that difficult, but you’re probably exhausted already. A major note! When he’s in the Junior Clown Car, only aerial Bros. Attacks (Dropchopper, Bye-Bye Cannon, Zee Egg, and Star Rocket) will do damage. The others won’t do zip. When he jumps out, you can use all of them, although Slingsniper might give you trouble since he’s so small. (D’awww.) Fortunately, his attacks don’t do loads of damage and he can’t attack twice in one turn, but his attacks can give you Burn or Dizzy status. A: A counterattack every time Mario or Luigi use a Bros. Attack, whether it connects or not. Bowser Jr. will leap out of the car carrying the Magic Paintbrush (from Super Mario Sunshine), tickle either Mario or Luigi, and steal the Bros. Attack they just used. It’ll be inaccessible for about four turns. B: Bowser Jr. will throw a Bob-omb on the ground that will start to encircle the bros. You’ll need to jump over it (not ON it, mind you) continuously. Bowser Jr. may also occasionally spit fire at the other bro at the same time. It’s easier to always jump with both bros. Eventually the Bob-omb will explode. C: Bowser Jr. will throw a spiked ball and Mario and Luigi will need to hammer it back and forth between them. At some point, Bowser Jr. will ram the other bro (this is NOT in sync with the hammer, so be ready). This is a tough one to avoid. D: Bowser Jr. will jump out of his car and summon a group of Shy Guys holding a fiery rope. In a scene reminiscent of the Border Jump mini-game from Superstar Saga, you’ll need very precise jumping to leap over the flame. The Shy Guys will try and trick you, so don’t jump too soon or too early. Eventually they’ll start circling around the bros and Bowser Jr.; a Shy Guy might trip, so wait a bit. If you dodge it enough, the Shy Guys will disband the rope and come at you, and you’ll need to dodge them when they do. If you hit the flame, there’s a chance you’ll get Burn status. E: Bowser Jr. will come out of his car and summon more Shy Guys, this time holding what looks like presents. One of them, however, has a bomb! You’ll take turns hammering the boxes, and you’ll have to avoid hitting the explosive one. Some of the boxes hold actual items; however, these aren’t actually added to your inventory. The Shy Guy that’s sweating is the one with the explosive, so hammer the others. If you’re successful, Bowser Jr. will be stuck with the explosive, causing him damage. If you attack the explosive, there’s a chance you’ll end up Dizzy. Whenever Bowser Jr. jumps out of the car, IF both bros have a speed higher than him (i.e. Mario AND Luigi take their turn before Bowser Jr.), use a strong non-aerial Bros. Attack like Jet-Board Bash or Slingsniper to cause additional damage. He’ll still tickle Mario or Luigi and steal it, but here comes the fun part. Have the second bro use a Jump attack – into the car! The bro who jumped in will be shocked, the remaining bro jumps in, Bowser Jr. cries “NONONONO!” and a hilarious car chase begins! Tilt the 3DS to target Bowser Jr. who is trying to run away from you, and use A or B to throw various kinds of junk at him, such as spiked balls or hammers. Occasionally you’ll throw one of your Bros. Attacks at him, which you’ll then recover. Once the car chase ends, the Junior Clown Car goes out of commission and a pair of Monty Moles show up to fix it. If you have a Taunt Ball, throw it at the Monty Moles to delay its repair. At this point, if you didn’t get back all your Bros. Attacks, use either 3D Shells or another multi- hitting Bros. Attack to have a chance at recovering it. Bowser Jr. will steal the Shells, but that’s the least of your problems. Overall, this is a very fun and hilarious battle, but it can still be tricky. If the status effects are giving you problems, use Guard + Master if you’ve been able to build it up to this point. Once you’ve defeated him, you’ve officially conquered the Battle Ring Medley! Hard Mode The major difference between this and the normal game is that your dodging HAS to be spot on; otherwise, you’ll find yourself losing more than winning. Losing a normal boss battle in Hard Mode also returns you to your last save, which can be annoying, especially if there’s a lengthy cutscene right before. The Battle Ring bosses also become more difficult; the recommended level is increased by 5 for each boss. Practice your attacks and dodging, fight every enemy to level up more often, pick badges you’re comfortable with (I’m particularly keen for Virus + Master for weakening enemy defenses), and most importantly, don’t forget to have fun! Credits: Me, for writing this FAQ. Nintendo, Alpha Dream, and Good-Feel, for making an awesome Mario & Luigi game Prima Guide for reference (Enemy Stats and some attacks) If you’ve got questions, comments, or concerns, email me at gamerdaisymp3@gmail.com. Thanks for reading and have a nice day! :) Copyright © 2016 GamerDaisy.