Progress: 29 Stars Collected | 89 Remaining | 18 Lives
Platform: Steam Deck
Settings: Vanilla Mario & Music — the chaos provides its own soundtrack.
With two stars left in Rainbow Ride, I decided to finish what I started and clear the hardest course so far. I remembered spotting one on the airship last time, so that was the first target.
The final star was a guess, so I followed instinct and headed for the triangle platforms. For once, instinct didn’t betray me. Two clean grabs later, Rainbow Ride is officially complete.
The Basement Surprise: Whomp’s Fortress
Expecting Dire Dire Docks, I stepped into its usual spot and instead landed in Whomp’s Fortress. The twist? The water level in this version doesn’t lower, so the passage to Bowser in the Fire Sea stayed sealed.
Which leaves one option: I need to find Dire Dire Docks somewhere else. Because of course the randomizer wasn’t going to make boss access simple.
Whomp’s Fortress: Smooth Climbing
Despite the odd placement, Whomp’s Fortress went down without much resistance. No weird geometry, no star placements that require a physics degree — just straightforward platforming for once.
By the time I exited, I sat at 29 stars and 18 lives, still needing to hunt down Dire Dire Docks and, eventually, Bowser.
Survivor Incognito 