Super Mario 3D World Ending Explained

For those who missed out on the Wii U classic, a Switch version of the beloved "Super Mario 3D World" arrived as part of Nintendo's big "Super Mario Bros." 35th-anniversary celebration. This port came packaged with the semi-open-world "Bowser's Fury." With two great games in one, you'll have plenty of "Super Mario" goodness to keep you satisfied. So what happens when you've beaten both "Super Mario 3D World" and "Bowser's Fury?"

You can finish the game in a relatively short amount of time, though there is plenty of replay value with its fun multiplayer mode and all of the collectibles hidden throughout.

Have you gone the extra mile for 100% completion of "Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury?" If not, you may have missed out on some content you weren't expecting. And even if you've played the game to death and have nothing left to collect, you may have a few lingering questions. This is the ending of "Super Mario 3D World" explained.

Nintendo's legacy will be forever marred by the embarrassing Philips CD-i Mario games. One of those games was the infamous "Hotel Mario." Well, it seems as though Bowser took a page from Mario's "instruction book" and built a hotel of his own in "Super Mario 3D World."

When you reach the last level of the game's main story, you arrive at the gate of what appears to be a Bowser theme park of some kind. The camera tilts up to reveal an intimidatingly tall tower that pierces the night sky. Now, this building may not have an explicit designation, but considering the fact that there's a Ferris wheel and zipline rides, this stage definitely looks like a theme park. And what are theme parks like Disney and Universal known to have? Hotels.

Bowser's hotel is certainly big. It also looks to be a pretty nice hotel, which is why it's such a shame that he's so willing to damage this impressive structure during his obsessive pursuit of Mario. The hotel seems like it can accommodate a lot of guests and make him tons of money. Perhaps instead of kidnapping Princess Peach, Bowser should dedicate himself to the hospitality industry.

Mario and Bowser have been at it for a long time. For over 35 years, the courageous plumber has been rescuing Princess Peach from his rival, and the poor Koopa King just can't seem to catch a break. But perhaps he's onto something during the final battle in "Super Mario 3D World."

As Mario zips through a pipe running along the side of Bowser's tower, the camera moves past "Meowser," and a flash of red light is accompanied by the distinct sound of the Double Cherry power-up. From this point on, Mario is facing not one, not two, not three, not even four, but five Meowsers. Even though the mighty hero thwarts Bowser yet again, perhaps the Double Cherry would be a good strategy for the villain moving forward. Maybe in future Mario games, Bowser will continue to duplicate himself in an effort to finally defeat his rival. After all, he's been failing for three and a half decades now — it's time to shake things up.

After the credits roll, you might think you're finished with "Super Mario 3D World," but of course, you'd be wrong. You may notice that the Sprixie princesses are all gathered around a blocky formation at the end of the game. What are they doing there? It just so happens that there's an entire section of "Super Mario 3D World" following the main story that contains four bonus worlds.

When you start the game again, you'll discover the reason the Sprixies were hovering by this formation is that they were about to transform it into a rocket ship that takes you to the bonus worlds.

These are the stages that really put your skills to the test. You'll find that the true final level is called "Champion's Road," which is quite the fitting name. In it, you'll encounter some incredibly challenging obstacles, some of which may appear impossible. If you somehow make it through to the end, you are thanked and then rewarded not only with superfluous coins and a stamp but the satisfaction of knowing you are nothing short of a "Mario" champion.

Ever since "Super Mario Bros. 3," animal costumes have been a big part of the "Mario" universe. Everyone remembers the iconic Raccoon Mario gliding across the yellow background of the "SMB3" box. The game also introduced the Frog Suit, the Hammer Suit, and the Tanooki Suit.

These animal costumes became prominent once again with "Super Mario Galaxy," and one of the most memorable transformations was Bee Mario. In "Super Mario 3D Land," the Tanooki Suit returned as the main animal costume, and the Flying Squirrel Suit debuted in "New Super Mario Bros. U." It pretty much goes without saying that cats were a big theme for both "Super Mario 3D World" and "Bowser's Fury."

Nintendo will likely have another Mario game that prominently features an animal costume, though the question is, what kind of animal will it be? Will the Frog Suit make a comeback? Will there be a Dog Suit? Perhaps a Hamster Suit would be a fitting addition, though one has to wonder what those powers would look like. Whatever the next costume may be, Nintendo will find a way to make it fun.

Did you love "Super Mario 3D World"? Were you dying for more after finishing the game? If so, you're not alone.

On Reddit, a user called the game "criminally underrated" and asked others if they wanted to see a sequel. In the comments, one user said, "The 4 player co-op on 3-d world was one of the greatest co-op experiences I've had on a Nintendo console," to which another replied, "I don't think I've ever laughed harder while playing a video game than during 4 player 3D World. It's pure madness." One other person in the thread stated, "I'm sure the same style will return eventually. How long though, who knows."

While Nintendo hasn't revealed any plans for a "Super Mario 3D World 2," perhaps the popularity of the Switch port will encourage Nintendo to green-light a new entry in the series. As Engadget's Chris Velazco put it, "Super Mario 3D World" was given "a second chance on the Switch," not to mention the fact that the game is considered one of the best platformers of 2021.

Just because there's demand doesn't necessarily mean Nintendo will deliver. Even so, fans might very well see a new game in this style in the future.