Prologue - Bowser's Keep

In the prologue for Super Mario RPG Remake, we’ll tag along with Mario on another quest to save Princess Peach from Bowser’s clutches — though the story might not play out the same way it always does this time around.

As the adventure begins, Princess Peach of the Mushroom Kingdom will be kidnapped by the King of the Koopas, Bowser, but Mario will arrive in hot pursuit.

Bowser's Keep

As you enter the foreboding Bowser’s Keep, you’ll gain control of the character as you move through rooms or environments. The first room is empty, so continue on to the second room, where you’ll find several roaming enemies.

When maneuvering around these environments, you’ll find that bumping into an enemy will start a turn-based battle, but you also have certain opportunities to run or jump out of the way to avoid fights. This particular room has two patrolling enemies that can be avoided, but those at the end of the hall guarding the door must be defeated to proceed.

As this is the prologue, you won’t have to worry too much about these enemies, even if they outnumber you. Their hits are very basic and only deal 1 damage, whereas a regular hit by Mario will instantly KO them.

Given that they only offer 1 experience point and no coins, you don’t need to worry about attacking every enemy in the room, so try to dodge the ones in the hall and only fight the two at the end.

To defeat them, just select A to attack, select your target, and Mario will let his fists fly.

In the next room, keep running across the bridge and it will collapse behind you, and advance to the throne room.

Here you’ll find Peach tied up in the rafters, prompting a showdown against Bowser up on the chandeliers.

Boss Battle - Bowser

While you may not deal as much damage to Bowser as you did to his minions, he’s still unable to deal more than 1 point of damage to you per turn (either with his slash or shell spike), so you won’t be in any immediate damage.

After you trade a few blows, Peach will interrupt to attract your attention to the Chaindelier - the little chain chomp that’s holding the chandelier up. Unlike Bowser, it doesn’t have nearly as much HP, and since it holds up Bowser’s battle arena, it should be your priority target.

If you want to speed things up, press Y to select your Special Moves, which at this point includes the Jump move, and also encourages you to press A just before you land. By doing this, you can deal upwards for 35 damage per jump, and can defeat the Chaindelier in just a few hits.

With the Chaindelier gone, Bowser will immediately be defeated with no platform to stand on. However, he’s not content to go down alone, and will try to send Mario hurtling down with him.

Ever the hero, Mario will employ his skills to give Bowser one last trouncing, but before he can be reunited with the Princess, a strange rumbling will fill the castle.

From above, a massive sword with an angry face will smash through a giant star and into the keep, sending Mario hurtling back to his home. It’s the start of a brand new adventure, and your next stop is the Mushroom Kingdom Region!