Trama

On a relaxing walk with Mario, Princess Peach gets kidnapped by Bowser Jr., and Mario must travel across 8 different themed worlds to save her.

The game begins with Mario and Peach taking a nice walk along the grassy field near Peach's Castle. Suddenly, clouds appear above the castle and lightning bolts start raining down. Mario runs towards the castle to figure out what is going on, only to realize that it was just a diversion. While Mario is gone, Bowser Jr. appears and grab Peach, running off with her and leaving Mario to chase after them. Bowser Jr. hides himself within a tower near the castle, and so begins another one of Mario's rescue missions, during which he traverses eight different lands.

The first is the grassy field biome near the castle. The levels there are filled with goombas and Koopa Troopas, and Mario defeats them all on his way through the land. Midway through the first world he enters a tower and defeats Bowser Jr, (this fight repeats itself in every world), and at the end of the world he enters a large castle, and avoids lava and spikes before defeating Bowser at the end.

The next world is a desert, filled with quicksand and pyramids. Once again, Mario defeats a lot of enemies, takes out Bowser Jr. at the mid-way tower, and enters a castle by the end. There, he runs and ducks to avoid large balls covered in spikes, traverses some more sand, before taking out the boss, MummyPokey. After the second world, Mario has two options as to where he goes next. He can travel to world three or world four.

The third world is a beach, and this time Mario has to traverse a lot of the world under water. While there, he battles fish and squids, and as usual, he defeats Bowser Jr. in the mid-way tower. The final castle this time is a dark one, filled with retractable pillars covered in spikes, which Mario has to avoid. The boss is a giant fish, Cheepskipper, and Mario defeats him bu luring him out of the water.

The fourth world is a deep jungle, filled with mystical plants and poisonous water. There, Mario encounters a haunted mansion for the first time, an abandoned house filled with ghosts and poltergeists. The castle at the end is another dangerous fight against lava and enemies, and the boss at the end is a giant goomba.

The fifth world is an ice-filled one, this time with a lot of slippery surfaces and enemies that pushes Mario of cliffs. The castle at the end is a personification of this, although it also has rocks and moving platforms, as well as a few Pirahna Plants. The boss is a giant Pirahna, Called Petey, and defeating him once again gives Mario two options, world six or world seven.

World six is located up in the mountains, and there are a lot of vertical levels who take Mario to great altitudes. This world also has alot of levels whose themes belong in other worlds, such as ice, plain and desert themes. It also has 2 mid-way towers, and the castle at the end is a very vertical-oriented one. The boss is a monty mole in a tank, called Monty Tank.

The seventh and penultimate world is a cloud-themed one, and this time there's a lot of empty gaps that Mario can fall into. Mario uses moving platforms and other objects to get through each level, and take down both mansions and towers along the way. The boss at the end of the castle is the king of Lakitu's called Lakithunder.

Finally, Mario enters the eighth world. It is a dark and lava-filled land, full of volcanoes and treacherous creatures. Mario defeats birds, spiders and other creatures, as well as a tower and a castle. After the castle though, he has to endure even more levels, who all become more and more dangerous. Another tower follows, and then he is at the final castle. This is the longest level in the game, and Mario has to deal with lava, rotating rooms and branching paths on his way to the final room, where Bowser Jr. awaits with Bowser, who is much bigger the usuals and much stronger. Mario takes them both on at the same time, and after defeating them, he is reunited with Peach, giving the story its usual happy ending.