Description¶

This page is dedicated to Sinking the Airships, which is the Grand Star level of Kitchen dome. This level takes place in Bowser Jr.’s Airship Armada, which requires 23 Power Stars to unlock.

Riding the Airship Cannons¶

You’ll begin the level on an Airship where you will be met with Octoguys and Electro Goombas. They will attack you on sight but they can be defeated with a spin attack. Other than the enemies there are also Star Bits in crystal that you can get by spin attacking. To advance onto the next Airship, head to the back of the Airship where you can enter a cannon.

Aim yourself at Pull Star above the next Airship and you can fire the cannon by pressing A or tap if you’re playing in handheld. When you’re flying towards the next airship be sure to catch yourself with the Pull Star.

The next Airship will have enemies between you and the cannon. The enemies on this Airship are a Magikoopa and two Sentry Beams. You cannot destroy the Sentry Beams so be careful and avoid their lasers. However, the Magikoopa can be defeated by jumping on their head or using a spin attack.

Like the last Airship you need to catch yourself with the Pull Star above the Airship you’re launching yourself to. The enemies on this ship consist of two wigglers which can be defeated by either spinning to incapacitate them and then jump on them, or jump on them twice in a row. Alternatively you can ground pound to incapcitate both and then jump on each of them once.

This Airship will have a Luma Shop and from here you can buy either a 1-Up Mushroom or a Life Mushroom 30 Star Bits. If you are low on Star Bits the wrigglers will yield a good amount along with the ? Block on the right side of the Airship. Next to the Luma Shop there’s a screw and when you spin on it should give you some more Star Bits. A Life Mushroom is likely to be the better choice due to the nature of this level and the boss battle.

Bombardment of Airships¶

Follow the boardwalk that’s attached to the Airship and it should lead you to a platform with a lever. There’ll be a Mandibug on said boardwalk who will charge at you but you can defeat it by groundpounding them. Hit the lever with your spin attack to make it start moving.

The platform will start moving between multiple Airships who will then start bombarding you with Cannonballs. There are also Spranglers hanging from the Airships that will be blocking your path.

Try to avoid getting hit by Cannonballs and the Spranglers while in mid-air, as this will send you into a fall animation. This will cause you to fall into the black hole as the you have no time to recover and stay on the moving platform. During this segment it may be better to avoid enemies and shoot your Star Bits at them to make this part more troublefree.

The platform you’re riding will stop when it reaches another boardwalk which leads to the final Airship.There’s a Magikoopa at the entrance of the Airship who can be beaten with just a spin attack. The Sling Star in front of you should take you topside of the Airship and your battle with Bowser Jr. will begin.

Bowser Jr. Boss Fight¶

Once you make onto the final Airship Bowser Jr. arrives on his own Airship and will remain there for the duration of the battle. Bowser Jr. will attack you in a number of ways:

• Cannonballs - As Bowser Jr.’s Airship will be broadside he will be firing a constant stream of Cannonballs from the central cannon. Due to their speed they are avoidable but with their large numbers they can prove to be a inconvenience as they hinder you mobility. They will inflict damage if they hit you.

• Bullet Bills - He will fire a of Bullet Bills from each of his cannons and they can home in on you. To avoid them it is best to head towards the high end of the ship on the left or the right as they will likely collide with the side of the Airship.

• Fireballs - After being hit three times Bowser Jr. will turn the Airship towards you and begin shooting fireballs from the Bowser face at the front. The fireballs will come at you in waves of three. They can be easily avoided as they gradually disperse the further they go.

Bowser Jr. will begin by shooting Cannonballs at you but this will be in slow intervals, so this first stage shouldn’t be too difficult. On your Airship there will be an incased 1-Up Mushroom on your right, which you can get by using a Koopa Troopa shell and triple jumping to get to where the 1-Up Mushroom is located. On the left side of your Airship there are wooden crates containing a Coin and a Goomba.

To inflict damage on Bowser Jr.’s Airship you need to utilise the Koopa Troopas on your Airship. You need to jump on them to get their shells, which you will then need to throw at Bowser Jr.’s Airship.

After the first hit and every hit you make on Bowser Jr.’s Airship, he will fire a barrage of Bullet Bills at you. Avoid them by getting to higher levels of your own Airship and make them hit the surface of the Airship rather than you. Cannonballs will also begin to fire more rapidly. When you have managed to hit the Bowser Jr.’s Airship a second time, a Magikoopa will spawn and begin to shoot fireballs at you. Though the Magikoopa can be easily disposed of with one spin attack.

After you hit Bowser Jr. for a third time, he will turn his Airship to face you. As the Airship now directly faces you, it will begin to shoot three large fireballs at you, which add to the number of projectiles Bowser Jr. is throwing at you.

However, this does not change how you inflict damage. You still need to throw a Koopa shell but you will be faced with a thinner target. When you hit Bowser Jr. after this stage he will shoot Bullet Bills from either side of his Airship, which is a total of six Bullet Bills coming your way.

You’ll need to hit Bowser Jr’s Airship a total of five times before it explodes. Once you have accomplished this, Bowser Jr. will escape and his destroyed Airship will leave a Grand Star for you to claim.