When Super Mario 3D World came to the Switch, a self-contained expansion called Super Mario 3D platformers, such as Galaxy or Odyssey. Having an open world design does away with the level timer in Bowser's Fury, but the game still creates a sense of urgency through Fury Bowser's frequent appearances.
At the start of Bowser's Fury, Mario is recruited by Bowser Jr. to help calm down Bowser, who has become entrenched in a nasty fit of rage. Mario then runs around Lake Lapcat with Bowser Jr., who is actually quite helpful, collecting Cat Shines to keep Bowser's anger at bay. Every so often, Fury Bowser will emerge from the lake, breathing and raining fire down from the sky until a Cat Shine is collected or Mario grabs a Giga Bell and faces off against Fury Bowser in a Kaiju showdown.
This gameplay loop repeats until Mario and Bowser Jr. have collected enough Cat Shines in Lake Lapcat to trigger the game's climax, at which point the game reaches a wonderfully hectic fever pitch. There will be major spoilers for Bowser's Fury ahead, so those who want to experience the chaotic final act organically might want to back out now.
The Chaotic Climax of Bowser's Fury
Throughout the course of Bowser's Fury, Fury Bowser's appearances range from interesting gimmick to minor annoyance. It's not hard to become inundated with all the Bowser's Fury's secret ending).
50 Cat Shines are required to initiate the final fight against Fury Bowser. Near the end, when Mario has collected 47 or 48 Cat Shines, the player is notified that Fury Bowser has grown too powerful and is resisting the power of the Cat Shines, meaning he won't retreat into the lake until the player has collected the 50th Shine and finished the game. Now the player has to collect two or three Cat Shines while Bowser hops around Lake Lapcat, continuously breathing fire. The sky is incredibly dark, the music has reached an un-ending intensity, and the rain is whipping across the screen almost perfectly sideways.
The whole experience is very exhilarating, and offers a more extended sequence of pressured play than the previous instances of a single Cat Shine getting rid of Bowser momentarily. At this point in the game, the player may be running out of immediately obvious Cat Shines to collect, and a high-octane Plessie ride will ensue when they have to make it to another island to find another.
It begins to beg the question of whether or not the completely open approach to exploration could have been more refined. Giving more rigidity to the game's overall structure in regards to initiating the Giga Cat Mario fights might have allowed the game to throw in a few more of these extended Fury Bowser sequences. It would have increased the sense of urgency and the overall excitement of finally reaching a Giga Bell, making the Kaiju showdowns between Giga Cat Mario and Fury Bowser ultimately more meaningful.
Regardless, Bowser's Fury is a worthy addition to the canon of 3D Mario games. It may be relatively short, but it packs a lot in while it has the player's attention, and crescendos into an incredibly urgent climax.
