Bowser's Muscle Car
The Koopa Chase[1] is a vehicle owned by Bowser, which makes its first appearance in Super Mario 3D World. It is a purple muscle car with gold plating, spikes on the top, and wheel covers, with a Bowser hood ornament at the front. The car initially moves slow, but moves faster and faster when damaged, and when the player catches up with it. The car is also able to jump without the driver's input.
With the exception of World Bowser-Castle: The Great Tower of Bowser Land, the Koopa Chase is Bowser's main weapon and mode of transportation in the game. It first appears in World 1-Castle: Bowser's Highway Showdown, where Bowser rides it for the duration of his boss fight. Bowser shoots fireballs and tosses Kick Bombs from the car to attack the player, which could be kicked back to damage the car. After enough hits, the Koopa Chase is destroyed and Bowser is blasted away.
The car appears as the Koopa Chase Lv2[2] in World Castle-Castle: Bowser's Lava Lake Keep, where it gets a visual upgrade, with a mostly blue color scheme and neon features. The strategy to defeat it is unchanged and it is again wrecked. The Koopa Chase Lv2 makes a reappearance in the beginning of The Great Tower of Bowser Land, in its destroyed state. Players can hit it, but nothing happens other than the car making noise. The car mostly makes beep noises, but a soundclip of Bowser's laugh and some soundclips from Super Mario World can be heard after some hits.[3]
Battle
The Koopa Chase appears as the boss of World 1. The battlefield consists of a long highway, which the Koopa Chase drives along, with the player pursuing it. Bowser will toss Kick Bombs and that must be hit back at him nine times (three if they are knocked back with the Cat form's scratch attack, the Tanooki form's tail attack, or rolled into); players can also defeat him with 27 hits from the Boomerang form's boomerangs or 45 hits from the Fire form's fireballs. As Bowser takes damage, he will breathe more fireballs and throw less Kick Bombs. The first stretch of the highway is very basic. The only things of note is a small rise that the Koopa Chase and player must jump to and a small ditch cut through the road. At the end of this stretch, Bowser ramps up to the next section of the highway. The player can follow via a Warp Box dropped by Bowser. The next section has two short walls on the sides that the Koopa Chase rides on. Between the walls, a Goomba Tower and a Goomba carrying a Super Bell can be found. After this is a small jump, followed by a big jump to the next section. The next section is very simple, with the only thing of note being a small jump. This section repeats itself for the remainder of the battle. After being hit enough times, the Bowser Mobile crashes away breaking the road in the process. Bowser realizes that there is nothing supporting him and falls down to the wreckage. The Bowser Mobile explodes when he lands and he is blasted away. The Warp Box to the Goal Pole then appears along with some coins.
The Koopa Chase Lv2 is battled at Bowser's Lava Lake Keep, the final level of World Castle. In this battle, Bowser does not throw as many Kick Bombs and breathes more fireballs. Some of the Kick Bombs he throws will already be activated and will harm the player if touched. The layout of the highway is also more hazardous. In the first section, there will be retractable spikes in different spots throughout the road, as well as two pits with lava geysers. The next area is a large grated bridge. Lava geysers may spew up here. After a little bit, the bridge splits into two sides, just close enough together for the Koopa Chase Lv2 to be supported by both sides. The bridge soon ends and there is another jump to the next section. This is a repeating stretch with several vertical rows of spikes that retract in rapid succession.
Gallery
Bowser entering the stage in Bowser's Highway Showdown
Bowser defeated
The second Bowser battle
The vehicle found at the start of The Great Tower of Bowser Land
Trivia
- The Koopa Chase bears a resemblance to the Bruiser from Mario Kart 7.
References
- ^ Super Mario 3D World internal filename (KoopaChase)
- ^ Super Mario 3D World internal filename (KoopaChaseLv2)
- ^ YouTube: Super Mario 3D World Easter Egg - Retro Sound Effects From Bowser's Car
