Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury is out on Nintendo Switch, the former being a port of one of the Wii U’s best titles. The latter is more interesting though. It’s an open world 3D platforming adventure more akin to Super Mario Odyssey (but on a larger scale), set in Lake Lapcat. Your main foe is Fury Bowser who emerges every now and then to cause havoc. There’s a lot more to Bowser’s Fury than meets the eye, however.
In total, there are 100 Cat Shines to collect with each island in Lake Lapcat having five. If you can’t find any new Shines after clearing an island, try coming back later – a new objective should become available and offer some hints. As such, you should always be open to exploring other islands as they open up (which is what occurs when Fury Bowser is defeated).
You’ll notice a Cat Shine flying to a tower when it’s collected – travel to the top of the tower and ground-pound the shiny bit to get a power-up. Since you can store up to five of each power-up, these can be especially useful for filling out your inventory. Collecting a Shine will provide a power-up on a tower each time, though keep in mind that this stops once five Cat Shines have been obtained on an island.
As for Fury Bowser, he’ll come up every now and then, his appearances increasing in frequency as you collect more Cat Shines. Collecting a Shine will immediately make him go away and deplete his health for the next fight. He’ll eventually leave if you survive for long enough so keep that in mind if there no Shines nearby. Also worth noting is that certain boxes can only be opened by Fury Bowser. Stand near them and once he uses his flame breath, they’ll be destroyed. These boxes can contain Shines so it’s worth the effort of trying to stay alive.
Upon gathering a certain number of Cat Shines, the Giga Cat Bells become available. Use these to turn into Giga Cat Mario and take on Fury Bowser. Just keep in mind that taking a hit will transform you back to regular Mario. You’re still giant -sized so Bowser can still be beaten (at least in the early going) but gathering another Giga Cat suit is as easy as going back to the Giga Cat Bell again.
Finally, you won’t be able to collect all of the Cat Shines before the final encounter with Fury Bowser. When the last fight is wrapped up, return to Lake Lapcat and speak to Bowser Jr. He’ll clue you in on the remaining Shines and their locations.
For even more tips and tricks, check out the video below courtesy of SwitchForce on YouTube.
