Hell Prominence is the last level in World 1: The Mushroom Kingdom and is also where the player confronts the King of Koopa himself, Bowser,
Layout[]
This level takes place in Bowser's Castle on top of the Molten Underpass mountain as Mario and the rest of the Mushroom Kingdom Coalition make their way to the entrance while dealing with Goombas and Banzail Bills before making their way to the castle.
The first main area has the player travel to the hallways as they first deal with additional Mario enemies, such as Dry Bones, Bony Beetles, and Thwomps, while avoiding the swinging Ball N Chains. Next, the player must cross a pitfall using the white stretch platforms while avoiding the Boos popping out of them. After that, the player rides on the caravan belt while dealing with more Thwomps and crosses an elevator section while avoiding the Eeries floating by, which leads to the door to the next area.
The second area has the player jumping over the lava and climbing on the fence while avoiding the various fire hazards, such as Podoboos, Firebars, and Lava Geysers, before entering a pipe to the next area.
The third area has little to no floor and is mostly covered in lava, meaning that the player needs to use the Donut Blocks and ropes to cross through while avoiding more fire-based enemies, such as Fire Snakes, Fire Bros, Fire Chomps, and Blarggs. After getting past all of that, the player enters a pipe that launches them up into the castle rooftop above.
The fourth area is based on the Dark World Airship levels from Super Mario Bros. 3, as the player lands on a small airship above Bowser's Castle outside while rain starts to pour. Here, the player needs to jump from ship to ship while avoiding the Rocket Engines and Rocky Wrenches as they are being pursued by a huge airship above called the Doomship which occasionally drops bombs at their location. After surviving all that onslaught, the player lands safely in the center tower of the castle as they continue their way.
In the last area, the first half is similar to Wendy's Castle from Super Mario World as the hallway is full of Skewers that the player must avoid touching or else risk getting crushed to death and losing a life. In addition, the player must encounter more beds of lava and Firebars with the layout looking similar to the last castle level from Super Mario Bros. Also, they must deal with members of the Hammer Brother family, such as Hammer Bros., Boomerang Bros., and Sledge Bros., guarding the door to the throne room.
After getting past the hallways, the player has made it to the throne room, in addition to getting to the last checkpoint and some ? Blocks for some power-ups before entering the red door to prepare for the fight against Bowser.
Upon entering, Bowser appears from above and talks to the player with many different dialogues depending on the playable character as he roars to them to fight. He has a variety of different attacks, such as shooting fireballs that have different effects (like creating a lava geyser underneath or homing on them), throwing a number of hammers that bounce around the area, trying to stomp on the player with a powerbomb, and doing a shoulder tackle that, once he hits one of the sides of the wall, will cause the debris to fall from above. There are two ways to hurt Bowser since he cannot be stomped on due to his horns on the top of his head and the back of his shell. The player can pick up one of the hammers that gets stuck in the ground and throw it at Bowser, or if they have a projectile-like power-up and sub-weapons, they can shoot at him easily from a distance. After taking enough damage, Bowser kneels down in defeat, thinking that it is over, before tricking them as his personal flight vehicle, the Koopa Clown Car, comes to the rescue as he hops on and escapes. Luckily, Professor Hector came to the aid with his own smaller clown car (probably based on the one that Bowser Jr. uses) and modified it with a Bullet Bill cannon attached to it as the player hops on and flies off the castle. There is also a ? Block with a vine that takes the player immediately to the second phase in case the player parks the car too high to reach it.
The player catches up to Bowser as he looks back in frustration, roaring one more time at them as the second phase begins. This time SHMUP gameplay is featured, as the player needs to shoot Bowser with the Bullet Bill cannon to hurt him as he attacks with fireballs and hammers, but he has the assistance of his chief Magikoopa and loyal servant Kamek, who uses his wand for a variety of different attacks, which include many Thwomps falling from the sky, a barrage of Bullet Bills and summoning a huge number of flames from the top and bottom screens as Bowser shoots many fireballs in between at the player. After taking enough damage, Bowser's clown part explodes as he falls into his own turf and is taken down for good. The player has now saved the Mushroom Kingdom and gained the mushroom-looking World Key to clear the level.
Enemies[]
- Goomba
- Banzai Bill
- Podoboo
- Dry Bones (SMB3 version)
- Firebar
- Lava Geyser
- Bony Beetle
- Rocket Engine
- Hotfoot
- Stretch
- Thwomp
- Ball N Chain
- Eerie
- Grinder
- Fire Snake
- Fire Chomp
- Fire Bros
- Blargg
- Koopa Troopa (SMB3 version)
- Cannon (shoots from an airship)
- Skewer
- Sledge Bros
- Hammer Bros (both SMB1 and SMB3 versions)
- Boomerang Bros
- Rotodisc
- Rocky Wrench
- Bullet Bill
- Bowser's Fireballs (SMB/SMB3)
Bosses[]
Dialogue[]
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Trivia[]
- The name "Hell Prominence" comes from the Japanese name of Melty Molten Galaxy from Super Mario Galaxy, "Hell Prominence Galaxy" (ヘルプロミネンスギャラクシー).
- The music used in this level is the Bowser Castle theme from Fortune Street. However, in one of the later versions of MKF, it was originally "Prelude To Truth" from Ys: Memories of Celceta but was changed back to the former.
- Goombas, Banzai Bills and Rocky Wrenches were originally absent in this level.
- This level originally had the following enemies before they were removed: Boos, Piranha Plants (SMB3 & SMB:LL versions), Venus Fire Traps, Jumping Piranha Plants, Bloopers, Zig Zag Lava Bubbles, and Chargin' Chucks. In the v0.82 version, The SMW Dry Bones, SMW Koopa Troopas, SMB3 Koopa Paratroopas, and Ninjis were removed from the level.
- In older versions of MKF, this level ended against Bowser Jr. as the Bowser boss battle wasn't complete at the time.
- In v0.8, the room where the player fights against Bowser Jr. has been removed. Prior to his removal, Bowser Jr.'s dialogue after he was defeated depended how the player defeated him: either by dropping the axe on the bridge he's standing on or by using projectile-based attacks to take him down.
- According to the old defunct MKF Wiki, there were early plans for Hell Prominence to have a "Back Door" secret level, a likely reference to the Super Mario World final castle level, which featured a secret level where the player would skip the first two rooms and go straight to the dark room, the final area before the fight against Bowser.
- Prior to the v0.82 update of MKF, Bowser had only one phase during the boss fight.
Gallery[]
Revamped Version[]
Original Version[]
Video[]
Lancer Plays MKF v0.82: Hell Prominence
MeR!X Plays MKF v0.8 Hell Prominence
RCBlazer Plays MKF Part 10: Hell Prominence
MeR!X Plays MKF Part 120: Hell Prominence (Older Version)