New Super Mario Bros. - Plot

Plot

At the beginning of the game, Princess Peach and Mario are walking together when lightning suddenly strikes Peach's castle nearby. As Mario runs to help, Bowser Jr. appears and kidnaps her. Realizing what has happened, Mario quickly rushes back and gives chase. Mario ventures through eight worlds pursuing Bowser Jr. and trying to rescue the kidnapped princess. Mario catches up to them and confronts Bowser Jr. occasionally, but is unable to save the princess from the evil Koopa's clutches. At the end of the first world, Bowser Jr. retreats to a castle, where his father, Bowser, awaits Mario on a bridge over a pit filled with lava. In a scene highly reminiscent of the original Super Mario Bros., Mario activates a button behind Bowser to defeat him, and the bridge underneath Bowser collapses, causing him to fall into the lava and leaving a skeleton.

Despite Bowser's demise in the first level, this doesn't stop Bowser Jr. from running through the remaining worlds with Peach in tow, forcing Mario to chase after him before reaching Bowser's castle in world 8. There, Bowser Jr. revives his father's skeleton, creating Dry Bowser, but Mario once again defeats Bowser by dropping him into a deep pit. In the final battle, Bowser Jr. flees once more across a lava chasm to a larger castle, where he throws his father's bones into a cauldron and revives Bowser in a more powerful form. They attack Mario in tandem, but Mario drops the pair into the pit below. In the game's final sequence, Mario rescues Peach, who kisses him on the cheek. Over the end credits, Bowser Jr. is seen dragging his unconscious father across the floor. He looks at the screen, and growls, breaking the fourth wall.