Dark Land

This article is about the world of Bowser in Super Mario Bros. 3. For the world of Baby Bowser in Yoshi's Island, see World 6 (Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island). For the kingdom of Bowser in Super Mario Odyssey, see Bowser's Kingdom.

Not to be confused with Dark Realm.

Dark Land (alternatively Castle of Koopa or Bowser's Castle) is the eighth and final world in Super Mario Bros. 3. A stark contrast to the rest of the Mushroom World, Dark Land is a wasteland-inspired area untouched by sunlight, filled with skulls and flames. One of the areas in the map is so dark that it appears to be completely black, except for a circle of light around Mario or Luigi. It is shown to be south of Ice Land, and to the north of Sky Land in Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3.

Dark Land is Bowser's kingdom, and is the place where his main castle stands. It is also the Koopa Troop's main base of operations in Super Mario Bros. 3. Large numbers of tanks and airships patrol these lands, which most levels take place on, with only two standard Action Scenes in the entire world.

It is possible for the player to enter Dark Land via Warp Zone (notably, both Magic Whistles from World 1 can be used to reach Dark Land without restoring any of the kings).

Level information

Level	Preview	Summary
World 8-Tank		One of the tank levels and the first level of Dark Land, this is an autoscrolling level with many cannons that fire cannonballs and Bob-ombs.
World 8-Ship		Another autoscrolling level with many cannons, this time on ships over water.
World 8-Hand Trap		A group of three levels that contain many traps.
World 8-Jet		Another autoscrolling level, though this one moves quicker, has small platforms, and takes place in the air.
World 8-1		The first of two standard levels in Dark World, this level has many Turtle Cannons and pipe platforms.
World 8-2		The second of two standard levels in Dark World, this level reintroduces the Angry Sun from Desert Land.
World 8-Fortress		The fortress level which is made up of a maze of doors and traps.
World 8-Tank		Another autoscrolling tank level with many cannons and enemies.
World 8-Bowser's Castle		The final level of the game and is where King Koopa is keeping Princess Toadstool captive.

The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3

Dark Land in The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3.

As it is home to Bowser and the Koopalings, Dark Land appears in quite a few episodes of The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, where it is depicted as a gloomy wasteland. Lava-filled caverns are shown to be beneath the surface of Dark Land in a few episodes as well. However, most of what goes on within Dark Land happens either near or inside Kastle Koopa. Not counting episodes in which all the Dark Land scenes were restricted to events within the perimeters of Kastle Koopa, Dark Land appears in the following episodes:

Reptiles in the Rose Garden: In order to give Kootie Pie rulership of the United States of America as a birthday present, Bowser transports the White House, along with everyone inside, to Dark Land. Bowser later sinks the White House to the bottom of the Mushroom Sea. However, Mario managed to raise the White House to the surface, and with Luigi's help, was able to return the building to its proper spot to Washington, D.C..

Mind Your Mummy Mommy, Mario: Luigi, Princess Toadstool and Toad travel through Dark Land via a Steam Cloud Balloon to recover Prince Mushroomkhamen's stolen sarcophagus, only for it to get flung into a tower of Kastle Koopa by a Mushroom Kingdom twister. Luigi then uses the remnants of the Steam Cloud Balloon to construct a steam powered mummy sled, which he, Princess Toadstool and Toad use to escape from Kastle Koopa, and subsequently, Dark Land.

Princess Toadstool for President: After discovering that Bowser in ahead in the polls for leadership over the Mushroom Kingdom only by using a Nice Guy Potion, Mario and Luigi travel to Dark Land in order stop Kooky and Cheatsy from making another dose before the election. Upon arriving in Dark Land, Mario and Luigi are pursued by Rocky Wrenches in tanks, which chase them through a pipe into a lava-filled cavern. From that point, Mario and Luigi then have to deal with Fire Chomps, Hot Foots and a Fire Snake before making it to Kastle Koopa.

Never Koop a Koopa: When Bowser announces that he is giving up his evil ways, he donates Kastle Koopa to Princess Toadstool. Deciding she wants to turn Kastle Koopa into a retirement home for elderly Mushrooms, Princess Toadstool travels to Dark Land with Mario to check the place out. However, Luigi is wary of the whole thing. He and Toad travel to Dark Land after Mario and Princess Toadstool, where they wait in a boat on the Mushroom Sea for their friends to return from Kastle Koopa. When Mario and Princess Toadstool fail to come out after waiting for a long time, Luigi drags Toad into the Mushroom Sea, and both enter Kastle Koopa via a drainpipe. Discovering that the whole ordeal turned out to be a trap, the group of four reunite and later escape from Kastle Koopa after obtaining Raccoon Power.

Do the Koopa: Princess Toadstool discovers a map leading to the Doom Dancer Music Box, which is hidden in the underground Temple of Gloom. Mario, Luigi and Toad accompany Princess Toadstool to Dark Land, but they are immediately spotted by a Dry Bones, who heads to Kastle Koopa to warn Bowser of their arrival. As Bowser is sick, he orders Bully, Big Mouth, and Cheatsy to follow the Dry Bones, who leads them to where the heroes are traveling. Mario's group brave the cavern's many traps and ultimately make it to the Temple of Gloom, where they succeed in obtaining the Doom Dancer. However, a trap set up by Bully causes Mario to lose the Doom Dancer, which winds up in Bully's hands. Bully then brings uses the Doom Dancer's power to bring everyone back to Kastle Koopa, where Bowser, who is unable to hear well due to his cold, takes the Doom Dancer from Bully. Bowser then uses the Doom Dancer to force everyone in the Mushroom World to dance forever, but the Mario Bros. foil his plan.

The Venice Menace: Although Dark Land is unseen in this episode, Bowser's intention is to scare all the humans out of Venice so that he can warp the entire city to Dark Land and turn it into a water park for Kootie Pie.

Nintendo Adventure Books

Dark Land is the setting of the fourth Nintendo Adventure Book, Koopa Capers, where Bowser has a magic carpet bring Luigi to the kingdom to help (whether he wants to or not) in the search for Wendy O. Koopa after the Koopaling disappears. The two main areas of the region that can be explored in the book are a gloomy and trap-filled fortress, and a highly volcanic area known as the Magma Pits.

In the proceeding book, Pipe Down!, Dark Land (though here referred to as Dark World) is mentioned once by Ludwig von Koopa, who states that he intends to take his new opera, Dribbling Beauty, on a seven year tour of the kingdom.

Gallery

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  Raccoon Mario, Bowser, and one of his tanks in Dark Land.

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  Map in NES version of Super Mario Bros. 3

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	ワールド８ 暗黒の国 Wārudo 8 Ankoku no Kuni カメ帝国 Kame Teikoku	World 8: Dark Land (alternatively "Castle of Kuppa" in-game) Turtle Empire (Super Mario Bros. manual)
German	Dunkelland[?]	Dark-Land
Romanian	Tărâmul întunecat (The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, episode Princess Toadstool for President) Regatul Koopa (The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, episode Up, Up, and a Koopa)[?]	Dark land Koopa kingdom
Spanish (NOA)	Castillo de Bowser Reino de las Sombras (The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3)[?]	Bowser's Castle Kingdom of the Shadows

Trivia

• This is the only world in the game that does not have any Toad Houses, Hammer Brothers patrolling the map, or Spade Panels in it.
• According to Lemmy in the Japanese instruction manual, the kingdom's activity was top secret even to the Koopalings, as he claims Bowser was exclusively in charge.
• The background music for Dark Land was covered for the minigames Skateboard Scamper and Piranha's Pursuit, from Mario Party.
• Dark Land's background music in the NES version was sampled in the song "King Bowser" in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, which is an arrangement of Bowser's battle theme.
  • Dark Land's music can also be heard in Bowser Castle in Mario Kart DS.