Bowser in the fire sea red coins

This page of IGN's Super Mario 64 wiki contains a walkthrough for how to unlock Bowser in the Fire Sea, and defeat Bowser and obtain the next key. This page is also a walkthrough for getting one of the Castle's Secret Stars, Bowser in the Fire Sea 8 Red Coins.

Unlocking Bowser in the Fire Sea

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To unlock Bowser in the Fire Sea is located in the basement of Peach's Castle. Go through the double doors that unlock after you've collected 30 Power Stars. This course is available after getting the first Star in Dire, Dire Docks. Once unlocked, the enter this course by jumping into the brick well that is located in the same hallway as Dire, Dire Dock’s entrance. You must defeat Bowser in this course to obtain the second boss key that unlocks the doors on the second floor of Peach's Castle.

Finding the Red Coins and Reaching Boswer

As the name suggests, to get the Power Star, you’ll need to get all eight Red Coins in the course. Follow this walkthrough to find all the Red Coins in: Bowser in the Fire Sea - 8 Red Coins.

Enter the course and head right. There isn’t much room, as you’re surrounded by lava. Step onto the mesh platform floating in the lava. You need to ride this platform across the stage. The platform follows a track, which you can see just below the surface. There are sections of the track that dive deeper into the lava and cause the platform to sink below the surface. You’ll need to jump onto surrounding platforms until the mesh platform resurfaces and is safe to ride once again.

You’ll quickly be blocked by a large stone arch. Jump onto the arch and grab the 1-Up Mushroom. Once the mesh platform has passed through the arch, jump back on board. You’ll quickly need to abandon mesh again as it begins to sink. Jump on the square floating platforms next to you. Watch out! Mario’s weight shifts these platforms, causing them to rise and fall below the lava’s surface. Don’t stand on a corner for too long or you’ll get a hot butt. Once the mesh platform reemerges, jump onto it and disembark once you reach the stone platform ahead.

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Jump across the curved platform in the lava to reach the stone platform on the other side. Deal with the Bully and then walk up the metal platform. Follow the metal platform to find the first Red Coin. You need to jump across the end of the platform to reach the Coin.

After getting the first Red Coin, backtrack through the metal platform to exit and head to the stone platform with the Goombas. Continue going down the stone path and you’ll reach a platform moving up and down. Jump to grab onto the pole. You need to go across the stone platforms to the left of the screen. Their platforms will begin to spin as soon as you step on them. Jump onto the platform on the left to get Red Coin #2;continue going left until you reach another pole at the end.

Climb up the pole to enter a caged room above. Red Coin #3 is in the right corner of the room, near the ceiling.

After getting the third Red Coin, go left and step onto the stone elevator. Immediately go right to get off the elevator and let it lift on its own. This reveals Red Coin #4 floating in the space where the elevator was initially positioned. Jump lightly to grab the coin; you’ll land on a platform below. Return to this spot and, this time, take the elevator all the way to the top.

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After reaching the top and getting off the elevator, walk toward the left. Wait to time your jump so that the fire stops shooting off the side and the moving platform is positioned well enough for you to get across. Go up the steep hill and use the platform in the back, and follow it up to reach Red Coin #5 in the middle of the area with the Bully.

After getting the fifth Red Coin, jump onto the metal platform below and continue going left. Jump across the moving platforms and avoid the two Bullies as you continue up the ramp. After going up a few ramps, stop at the platform that is on the right that has a corner missing in it. Look at the larger section of the platform and you’ll notice a dot in the center of the floor. Stand on the dot and keep jumping in place until Red Coin #6 appears and drops to you.

Continue going up the ramps as they transition into stone. The next section has stones that shoot fire. Hop across the bumps and wait for the second stone to stop shooting fire and allow you to grab Red Coin #7 right in front of it.

When you’ve reached the other end, use the Heart Icon, if you need to heal, and jump onto the pole of the elevator next to you. Jump over to the next platform and walk to find a pole sticking through a metal grate. Climb onto the pole and get below the metal grate. Jump to the stone platform on the right and onto the pole of another elevator. Climb to the very top of the pole and ride the elevator up to reach Red Coin #8 floating above.

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After getting the final Red Coin, the Power Star appears on the roof of the stone structure that contains all the elevators. Return to the elevator with the pole that sticks slightly out of the metal grating. Climb the pole and jump off at the top. Use the wall on the right to kick-jump to the wall on the left and kick-jump off that wall to reach the ledge on the top right. Once you’re up there, jump over to the higher ledge on the left to finally reach the Power Star. Save the game – it’s time to deal with Bowser! Jump back to the platform on the right. Long-jump to the right off the platform and continue running as you land on the bridge below. Then, jump into the funnel to reach Bowser.

Fighting Bowser

You’ll need to defeat Bowser the same way you did before – grab him by the tail, spin him around and toss him into a bomb. Your biggest concern here should be Bowser’s ground-pound move. He leaps high into the air and slams down, causing the whole arena to tilt over. Keep running to avoid falling. Once Bowser spits fire at you make you move.