How many hits does it take to defeat Bowser?

Basically there are limited things you can do to enemies in the game; restricted to jumping on them, using fireballs, or colliding with them while using invincibility. Now since there is no invincibility near the Bowser fight, and colliding with him (whether you jump on him or not) causes player damage, you're limited to Fireballs, and hitting the lever.

Table of Contents Show

Chronological information
Game appearances
Personal information
Connections
Character traits
First battle
Second battle
Third battle
How many times do you have to hit Bowser?
How long does it take to beat Bowser?
How many hits does Bowser take in Super Mario World?

The only argument against this however is in the case of the "Imposters" or "Fake Bowsers", which will revert to their original forms once being hit by a fireball and can be dealt with in their own respective manner (e.g. the Goomba can be squashed).

EDIT: @Michaellogg has pointed out that this last statement is actually incorrect; the "transformed sprite" is purely aesthetic, as hitting it with fireballs kills it outright.

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Bowser

Bowser's artwork from Super Mario 64

Chronological information

First game

Super Mario 64 (1996)

Game appearances

Super Mario 64
Super Mario 64 DS
Super Mario 3D All-Stars

Personal information

Gender

Male

Homeland

Koopa Kingdom

Species

Koopa

Connections

Enemies

Mario

Character traits

Alignment

Evil

Bowser is the main antagonist of Super Mario 64 and Super Mario 64 DS. He is also fought as the most recurring boss in the game.

1 History
2 Battles
- 2.1 First battle
- 2.2 Second battle
- 2.3 Third battle
3 Trivia
4 Gallery

History

Main article: Bowser

Bowser, once again, kidnapped Princess Peach and taunts Mario to rescue her. Bowser can be heard throughout the castle at points taunting Mario on his progress. Bowser is confronted on three different levels, in which, he is defeated by Mario at all times. It wasn't until the third and final battle where Bowser is put down for good.

Battles

First battle

Main article: Bowser in the Dark World

Bowser is first fought at this level after getting 8 Power Stars (in Super Mario 64) or 12 (in Super Mario 64 DS). Bowser is fought on a large circling platform requiring Mario to grab him by the tail and spin him toward any of the bombs outside of the arena. Bowser's primary attack is a fire breath that has a very short range. Mario simply needs to avoid Bowser's fire breaths and throw him once at one of the bombs to end the battle.

Second battle

Main article: Bowser in the Fire Sea

In order to get to Bowser for the second fight, Mario must first go through Dire, Dire Docks, and obtain the first Power Star there (which involves boarding Bowser's submarine). After making through the levels, Mario will come across Bowser once more. The same elements apply here from the first battle: Grab Bowser by his tail and spin him once at one of the bombs around the arena to defeat him. However, Bowser some new tricks one mainly being him rocking the platform back and forth when he stomps on it.

Third battle

Main article: Bowser in the Sky

The third and final fight with Bowser can be accessed by first collecting 70 Power Stars (80 in Super Mario 64 DS) and making it through the level. Bowser puts up much more of a fight in this final battle now using shockwaves forcing Mario to jump over them with timing. Bowser also breathes fire that can even follow Mario around for a few moments. Also, Bowser now requires three hits into the bombs to defeat him. After two hits, Bowser destroys most of the arena making it into the shape of a Power Star which makes throwing him into the bombs and avoiding his attacks more difficult. Eventually, Mario is able to defeat Bowser once and for all and dons the Wing Cap before flying away with the last Power Star.

Trivia

For the first two battles, Bowser is the only major boss in the games that require only one hit to defeat.
The technique to toss Bowser has become popular even outside of the series. The Super Smash Bros. series even refer to this move as the "64 Throw".
A short clip of Mario spinning Bowser around in Super Mario 64 is shown by F.L.U.D.D. in Super Mario Sunshine which is considered the spiritual sequel to Super Mario 64.

Gallery

Bowser's Model in Super Mario 64

Mario Throwing Bowser

Bowser's Artwork in Super Mario 64

Bowser's Model in Super Mario 64 DS

Bowser's Artwork in Super Mario 64 DS

Mario & Bowser Fighting

Mario & Bowser

The Third and Final Battle in Bowser in the Sky

The second Battle in Bowser in the Fire Sea

The First Battle in Bowser in the Dark World

A Big Star Door, which Bowser is Behind

The Paintings of Bowser, Which lead to his courses.

How many times do you have to hit Bowser?

You need to jump on the mecha-koopas to disable them and then throw them in the air so that they land on Bowser¿s head. If you do this successfully six times, then you win! For every two hits you make, Bowser will fly away and fire will rain from the sky.

How long does it take to beat Bowser?

When focusing on the main objectives, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury is about 10 Hours in length. If you're a gamer that strives to see all aspects of the game, you are likely to spend around 28½ Hours to obtain 100% completion.