Castle in the Clouds is the 4th fortress level in the Mushroom Kingdom.
Layout[]
This level takes place inside of the floating fortress around the Sky World. The first area has the player travel around the castle while dealing with various enemies, such as Shy Guys (including some that hang on Stilts), Snifits, and Bony Beetles. There are also fences to climb on to reach higher ground while avoiding the spikes on the ground and ceiling. In addition, there are some Climbing Koopa Troopa around the fence that the player must be aware of. If the player find a hidden pipe, it will take them to a bonus area outside of the fortress, where they ride on the Snake Block to collect as many coins and rupees as they can.
The second area has the player fighting through more enemies, such as Banzai Bils, Thwomps and Thwimps, across the hallway to the next area. The last area have the player climb their way up to the top of the fortress, using the fence and rotating platforms while avoiding more spikes and many cannons that fire Bullet Bills at them. Once the player reaches the top, there is a checkpoint room and a pipe to launch the player at the airship in the background.
Once the player lands on the airship, they will fight the boss of the level, Lakithunder, who attacks by shooting throwing fireballs to the ground which create a flame that travel across the ground. Lakithunder also throws Spinies and Nokobons at the player and swoops down to attack the player, the latter of which is the only way to hurt him by jumping on him. Alternately, the player can attack Lakithunder if they are equipped with a power up that can hit him in the air, such as a Hammer Bros Suit, or if their character has the ability to attack upwards like Arthur. When Lakithunder's only has half of his health left, he will start shooting thunder underneath his cloud at the player and some of the fireballs will summon Sparks. After taking enough damage, Lakithunder will fall out of the sky in defeat and the level is completed as the player can now go to the Ice Land section on the map.
Enemies[]
- Snifit
- Shy Guy
- Dry Bones (SMW version)
- Bony Beetle
- Stilt Guy
- Climbing Koopas
- Rotodisc
- Jumping Piranha Plant
- Banzai Bill
- Thwimp
- Thwomp
- Bullet Bill
- Spiny (during the Lakithunder fight)
- Spiny Egg (during the Lakithunder fight)
- Nokobon (during the Lakithunder fight)
- Spark (during the Lakithunder fight)
Fusion Portal enemies:
- Doll (Mystical Ninja)
Boss[]
- Lakithunder (NSMB)
Trivia[]
- The original title of this level was "Castle In the Sky".
- This level is inspired by the one fortress level in Yoshi Island with the same name.
- This level's music was previously "Attack of the Airships" from the 2007 Nintendo Wii game Super Mario Galaxy but has been replaced with a remix of the Super Mario Bros 3 Fortress theme.
- SMB3-style Dry Bones originally appeared in this level but were replaced with Bony Beetles. Also, Fangs were replaced with Swoopers in the V0.5 update but were removed altogether in the V 0.75 update, which revamped this level.
- Stilt Guys, Shy Guys, Snifits and Jumping Piranha Plants were previously absent from this level.
- Goombas, Koopa Troopas (SMB3 version), Koopa Paratroopa (SMB3 version), Hammer Bros, Boomerang Bros, Cannons, and Firebars were originally found in older versions of this level but were replace with other enemies.
- The tileset and backgrounds originally were a mixture of Super Mario Bros 3 (All-Stars version) and Super Mario World. Since the Version 0.75 Update, the level now combines graphics from SMW and Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. A SMB3-style airship can also be seen from the background in the 2nd area of the level.
- Originally, Roy Koopa was the boss of this level but was replaced with Lakithunder beginning with the v0.81 update.
Gallery[]
Revamped Version[]
Original Version[]
Video[]
RCBlazer Plays MKF Part 71 - Castle in the Clouds w/new Boss fight in v0.81 update
Mer!X Plays MKF v0.8 Castle in the Clouds
RCBlazer Plays MKF: v75 Stages Revamped (Castle In The Clouds)
RCBlazer Plays MKF Part 6: Castle In The Sky
Mushroom Kingdom Fusion Play-Through: World 1-F3 Castle in The Sky