Underground Depths is a secret level in SM64 Last Impact and is located in the cave leading to Bowser's Fiery Castle. It is accessed through a warp in an alcove in the wall, off the side of the bridge. The level is an underground volcanic area, filled with stone bridges connecting the platforms and ruined buildings above the lava.
This level features a new enemy, as well as a new boss. Helmet Goombas wear a protective wooden helmet which makes them invulnerable to Mario’s standard attacks, and require the Fire Flower to burn them off. The Devil Big Bully has red horns and three pointed red tails, and mostly acts as a standard Big Bully, but also has a fire shield which pulses if Mario approaches, adding a new layer of difficulty to the fight. The fire shield deals 3 damage and will kill Mario in 2 hits, so avoiding it is essential.
Levels[]
Beat the Bully[]
The intended way to get to the Bully is to jump across the broken bridges, onto the platform and then run all the way around down the path, past the box with the Fire Flower, and then down the path to the arena suspended over the lava. However it is much faster to simply jump down from the second broken bridge directly to the arena itself, kicking or diving before hitting the ground to avoid damage. Usually when fighting a Bully, it’s best to hit them repeatedly as fast as possible, but in this case, the key to the Bully fight is to wait slightly between jump kicks so that the fire shield has time to retract. The other common Bully strategy is to lure them to the edge of the platform and jump over them, but this Bully will stop chasing Mario before he gets close enough to the edge. Knock the Bully into the lava to get the star.
Light the Braziers[]
Jump across the broken bridges, onto the platform and then follow the path all the way down to reach a box with a Fire Flower inside. Use the Fire Flower to light the two braziers and raise the gate. Go past the Goombas to reach the blocks floating in the lava. This is the hard part - the camera can making dropping onto the blocks difficult, and taking any damage will cause Mario to lose the power-up, making the reaching star impossible. It is possible to long jump directly to the set of three blocks next to the brazier platform, though Mario will have to catch the edge of the block to avoid taking fall damage. Once the braziers are lit, massive stone platforms rise out of the lava making it easy to reach the star.
Enemies[]
- Helmet Goombas
Trivia[]
- The music in this level is also used in Melty Molten Mountains.