Dark Star Core

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Dark Star Core
Sprite of the Dark Star Core from Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey
First appearance	Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story (2009)
Latest appearance	Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey (2018)

The Dark Star Core is Mario and Luigi's final boss of Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story and Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey. It consists of the remains of Dark Fawful after Bowser weakened him, combined with the Dark Star itself. In this form, Fawful's appearance is altered further; he has become a dark blob with red glass eyes along with his usual grin, and the Dark Star is attached to his head via a black antenna. He also gains even greater powers, notably the ability to change his appendages.

History

Dark Fawful fleeing Bowser after his defeat.

Following his defeat at Bowser's hands in the Conference Hall, Dark Fawful collapses into a small, insect-like blob and flees the room; Bowser follows him into the throne room just in time to see Dark Bowser inhale the weakened Dark Fawful, completing the Dark Star's new form. At some point between this and the final battle, the Dark Star merges with Dark Fawful to become the Dark Star Core; while they are not seen until then, it is implied that Dark Fawful assisted Dark Bowser in dueling Bowser on the way to the pinnacle of Peach's castle.

During the final battle with Dark Bowser, Dark Fawful reveals his presence when Dark Bowser is knocked out, reviving him and turning him giant. After Bowser punches the enlarged Dark Bowser, however, he spits out Dark Fawful, who is then inhaled by Bowser and lands inside his body, where he manifests into the Dark Star Core to battle Mario and Luigi.

Eventually, Mario and Luigi triumph over the Dark Star Core, and Bowser then lands the final blow on Dark Bowser, ultimately defeating him and saving the kingdom. Dark Fawful appears before the Mario Bros. one final time as a dark, battered, unstable blob, and gives one last psychotic smile before exploding, intending to take the pair with him; instead, the explosion negates the effects of the Vacuum Shroom and expelling Mario, Luigi, Starlow and the Toads from Bowser's body.

Battle

During the final battle, Bowser must deal at least 1000 HP damage to Dark Bowser (1260 in the game's 3DS remake). Upon this, Dark Bowser will collapse, and Dark Fawful, revealed in Dark Bowser's body, will revive Dark Bowser to his full HP. Dark Bowser then retaliates by becoming giant sized. During this, Bowser must punch Dark Bowser's stomach, which will cause him to spit out Dark Fawful and the Dark Star Core, who will then flee. Bowser then has to inhale Dark Fawful when he flees. However, Dark Bowser will also attempt to inhale Dark Fawful. If Bowser successfully inhales Dark Fawful, Mario and Luigi take over the fight. If not, Dark Bowser will inhale Dark Fawful, forcing Bowser to deplete Dark Bowser's HP again. If Bowser does not inhale Dark Fawful and the Dark Star Core after a few turns, he will run back onscreen and jump into Dark Bowser's mouth, forcing Bowser to deplete Dark Bowser's HP again. If Dark Bowser is KO'd again before Dark Fawful and the Dark Star Core are inhaled by either party, Dark Fawful will run back onscreen and revive Dark Bowser to his full HP before running away again, with Dark Bowser remaining at normal size.

Inside Bowser, Dark Fawful and the Dark Star Core grow gigantic sized. Dark Fawful has two glasses and three appendages. The Dark Star Core is located at the top of Fawful's antenna, which cannot be reached until the Mario Bros. destroy his appendages. If at least one or two of Dark Fawful's glasses are not shattered, he will retract two or one of his appendages. However, the remaining appendage(s) will be left open for attack, allowing the Bros. to get past the appendages even if the glasses are not shattered. His appendages regrow after a few turns if they have been destroyed.

Once all three of his appendages are destroyed, Dark Fawful will shatter, and the Dark Star Core is vulnerable. While shattered, The Bros. must deal 1560 damage to the core (2070 in the remake) in a few turns before it revives Fawful, sucks him up, and leaves Bowser's body back into Dark Bowser's, forcing the above to be repeated.

The instant the Dark Star Core gets defeated in the original game.

Dark Fawful has three attacks if at least one of his appendages remain. In his first attack, he will pick up Mario and Luigi, Mario with his right hand and Luigi with his left, putting the two on separate sides, while the Dark Star Core detaches from its antenna and begins to shoot star rings at the Bros. Fawful will move both of his hands up and down and the Dark Star Core does the same. Depending on both the Bros. and the core's height, the Bros. must either jump or remain still to avoid the star rings, which can be used 3-5 times. The second attack involves the Dark Star Core darkening the arena. Dark Fawful appears in front of the Bros. as a giant head and chases them to the left, while the Core will attempt to ram into the Bros. It will fly past the top of the screen ether with a red or green aura, before ramming into the Bro. of that respective color, which is avoidable by jumping. Being hit by this attack twice will cause the Bro. to be crushed by Fawful and take heavy damage. The Core's speed becomes faster every time it attempts to ram, and it does so about 6-9 times before the attack ends and the Bros. are warped back to the main area. The final attack involves Dark Fawful rooting both his hands in front of each Bro, sending energy orbs at random down each arm. The Bros. must use their hammers to destroy each orb before it reaches them, which could result in tripping. Occasionally, a larger orb appears, and if hit by the Bros'. hammers, will be launched back at Fawful's arm, putting it out of commission until the attack ends.

Dark Fawful about to explode.

After Dark Fawful shatters, the Dark Star Core will have two new attacks. For the first attack, it will charge up a deadly laser that deals major damage, similar to the previous battle with the Dark Star in the Airway. The Bros. must grab Starlow to avoid the attack, only letting go of her once it has finished. For its second attack, the Dark Star Core creates a long energy spear and spins it above the Bros. heads either clockwise or counterclockwise. After spinning the arrow for a while, it will drop it on the ground, forcing the Bros. to jump each time it passes under their feet. The Core may trick the Bros. into jumping early by lowering the spear slightly before raising it up again. If the Bros. do not sustain too much damage, the Core follows up by conjuring a larger arrow and launching it at a Bro. It can be telegraphed by its shadow, and countered back at the Core with the hammer.

The 3DS remake makes a few visual and technical changes to the battle with the Core. If the Bros. try to attack Dark Fawful's legs before destroying his glasses, he will now retract all of his legs and cling to the ceiling, making it impossible to damage his legs without destroying the glasses. The speed of the Dark Star Core itself during its ramming attack has also been generally lowered, and the spear attack while Dark Fawful is shattered has been drastically altered. The Dark Star Core instead summons multiple black orbs of different sizes that circle around Dark Fawful's body. the Bros. must jump over the orbs as they pass, although some can fly over the Bros. to damage them if they jump. If a Bro. is hit by an orb, that orb will shatter. After this, the Dark Star Core will suck in any remaining orbs to create an arrow to fire it at a Bro, which, like the original game, can be countered with the hammer. Like all bosses in the remake, The Core will gain the Fury status when its HP drops below half.

When the Dark Star Core is damaged enough, it will be defeated along with Dark Fawful. In the 3DS remake, it will have its own unique defeat animation in which a massive explosion will occur. This will cause Dark Bowser to become unstable.

Stats

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story enemy
Dark Star Core
	HP	1,560 (2,340)	POW	204 (510)	DEF	131 (197)	SPEED	154 (231)
	Coins	0 (0)	Level	32	Fire	Normal	Burn?	Immune
	Role	Boss	Battled by	Mario and Luigi	Location(s)	Peach's Castle	Dizzy?	Immune
	Stat down?	Half	KO?	Immune	Experience	0	Item drop
Notice: The second set of numbers next to the enemy's HP, POW, DEF, SPEED and Coins are stat increases from the Challenge Medal accessory; a 50% increase for HP, DEF, SPEED and Coins earned, and a 150% increase for POW.

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story enemy
Glasses
	HP	250 (375)	POW	93 (233)	DEF	104 (156)	SPEED	154 (231)
	Coins	0 (0)	Level	32	Fire	Normal	Burn?	Immune
	Role	Support	Battled by	Mario and Luigi	Location(s)	Peach's Castle	Dizzy?	Immune
	Stat down?	Half	KO?	Immune	Experience	0	Item drop
Notice: The second set of numbers next to the enemy's HP, POW, DEF, SPEED and Coins are stat increases from the Challenge Medal accessory; a 50% increase for HP, DEF, SPEED and Coins earned, and a 150% increase for POW.

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story enemy
Appendage
	HP	156 (234)	POW	93 (233)	DEF	104 (156)	SPEED	154 (231)
	Coins	0 (0)	Level	32	Fire	Normal	Burn?	Immune
	Role	Support	Battled by	Mario and Luigi	Location(s)	Peach's Castle	Dizzy?	Immune
	Stat down?	Half	KO?	Immune	Experience	0	Item drop
Notice: The second set of numbers next to the enemy's HP, POW, DEF, SPEED and Coins are stat increases from the Challenge Medal accessory; a 50% increase for HP, DEF, SPEED and Coins earned, and a 150% increase for POW.

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey enemy
Dark Star Core
	HP	2070	POW	205	DEF	147	SPEED	150	Experience	0
	Fire	Normal	Jump	Normal	Hammer	Normal	Battled by	Mario & Luigi	Coins	0
	Burn	Immune	Dizzy	Immune	Stat down	0,5x	Speed down	0,5x	Item drop	None - 0% None - 0%
Level           32	Location(s)	Peach's Castle

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey enemy
Glasses
	HP	250	POW	93	DEF	104	SPEED	154	Experience	0
	Fire	Normal	Jump	Normal	Hammer	Normal	Battled by	Mario & Luigi	Coins	0
	Burn	Immune	Dizzy	Immune	Stat down	0,5x	Speed down	0,5x	Item drop	None - 0% None - 0%
Level           32	Location(s)	Peach's Castle

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey enemy
Appendage
	HP	156	POW	93	DEF	104	SPEED	154	Experience	0
	Fire	Normal	Jump	Normal	Hammer	Normal	Battled by	Mario & Luigi	Coins	0
	Burn	Immune	Dizzy	Immune	Stat down	0,5x	Speed down	0,5x	Item drop	None - 0% None - 0%
Level           32	Location(s)	Peach's Castle

Gallery

• 

  The Dark Star Core's shattered form without the Dark Star on its head.

Names in other languages

Glasses

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	メガネ Megane	Glasses
French (NOA)	Lunette	Glass
French (NOE)	Verre	Glass
German	Brille	Glasses
Italian	Occhiali	Glasses
Spanish (NOA)	Anteojos	Glasses
Spanish (NOE)	Gafas	Glasses

Appendage

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	あし Ashi	Foot or Leg
French (NOE)	Patte	Foot
German	Beine	Legs
Italian	Tentacolo	Tentacle
Spanish (NOA)	Pata	Paw or Leg
Spanish (NOE)	Tentáculo	Tentacle

Dark Star Core

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	ダークスターコア Dāku Sutā Koa	Dark Star Core
French (NOA)	Noyau Étoile obscure	Dark Star Core
French (NOE)	Astre Noir (noyau)	Dark Star (core)
German	Krankkern	From "Krankfried" (Fawful) and "kern" (core)
Italian	Nucleo Stella Oscura	Dark Star Core
Spanish (NOA)	Núcleo Estrella Oscura	Dark Star Core
Spanish (NOE)	Nucléovitz	From "núcleo" (core) and "Grácovitz" (Fawful's European Spanish name)

Trivia

• When one of Fawful's eyes is damaged, the Dark Star Core closes one of its eyes as well, showing that both Fawful and the Dark Star feel pain at the same time.
• When the Dark Star Core absorbs Fawful and leaves Bowser, Fawful looks visibly upset, implying the two are still acting mostly as individuals.
• The Dark Star Core's overworld sprite while having four legs resembles a Dark Satellmite's body structure.
• The position of the Dark Star attached to Fawful's head by an antenna of black electricity may be a nod to the bulbous antenna Fawful gains for the final battle against him in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga; this is supported by Dark Mechawfuls having a star antenna in place of the normal Mechawful's bulbous antenna.
• The Dark Mechawfuls fought near the end of the game also likely foreshadow Fawful's core form as they have star antennas that shoot stars and lasers and when beaten they lose their body and become little more than a head with two claw-like arms.
• The Dark Star Core is similar to Cackletta's spirit form, as they were both villainous Beanish who were turned into undead forms, then fused with Bowser's essence to become twisted versions of him before being fought and dying inside of him.