Whomp's Fortress

Whomp's Fortress, also known as the Whomp King's Fortress, is the stronghold home of the Whomp race and its leader, the Whomp King. It is the second course in Super Mario 64 and its Nintendo DS remake, Super Mario 64 DS, and can be accessed via a painting on the ground floor of the Mushroom Castle. Only one Power Star is needed to unlock the door to the room containing the painting.

The level received some additional elements and platforms in the Nintendo DS remake and was remade for Super Mario Galaxy 2 under the name Throwback Galaxy. In addition, the Whomp's Fortress painting that appears in Super Mario 64 also appears in the Super Mario Mash-up of Minecraft as one of the paintings that can be hung on a wall.

Layout
Whomp's Fortress is a large, tall stone fortress populated by Whomps, Thwomps, and Piranha Plants. The player starts off in a field area at the base of the fortress, which contains some patches of flowers, a Piranha Plant, some Goombas, and this course's Star Marker. The tree at the start of the level also contains Hoot during certain missions. At the top of the nearby ramp are some Moving Bars that will try to shove the player off the ledge. After those are gaps with receding platforms over them followed by a couple of Thwomps guarding a set of stairs to the upper area. Near the Thwomps are a green block and a warp that will take the player farther up the fortress. The path splits at the top of the stairs: The ramp going downward leads to a pool of water, a Bob-omb Buddy and a cannon, and a small area with some Goombas, and the right path leads to the top of the fortress and contains Piranha Plants, Whomps, and both a falling and turning bridge. At the top of the fortress is the Whomp King, though only during the first mission. Every other mission has a tall tower with receding steps at the top of the fortress. Above the course are several platforms that can be reached either by using Hoot to fly up there or by knocking over a board at the top of the fortress.

Super Mario 64 DS has additional platforms going around the base of the fortress that can be reached by jumping over the fence near the start or by long-jumping over the fence at the area with the Goombas and a Blue Coin Block near the cannon. This new area contains the Star Switch and Star Sphere (at opposite ends), more Piranha Plants, a Turtle Cannon, and a mushroom the player can find by breaking a Brick.

Super Mario Galaxy 2
Whomp's Fortress reappears in Super Mario Galaxy 2, referred to as the Throwback Galaxy. The graphics have been updated, the music has been recomposed, and the level layout is essentially the same with some minor differences, such as a Checkpoint Flag at the top of the fortress, Star Bits around the level, a Chance Cube near the beginning, and the removal of Hoot. The floating isles were also removed, although a Bonus Planet was added. Unlike in the original, the walls are already blasted away, suggesting that this is the same place Mario visits in Super Mario 64. Also suggesting this is a Bob-omb Buddy who says that Mario/Luigi looks familiar. The player fights a Whomp at the top of the fortress, as opposed to the king himself, and then drops down to the underside of the planet to fight the Whomp King.

Statistics from Super Mario 64

 * Total Number of Coins: 141 (213 in Super Mario 64 DS)
 * Caps Found: Metal Cap (1)
 * Spinning Heart: (none)
 * Cannons: 1
 * 1UP Mushrooms (4):
 * Homing Mushroom : #1 In the top of the giant pole.
 * Static Mushrooms : #2 Hidden inside the tower. Mario can punch the wall at the back to get it.
 * Triggered Mushroom : #3 Appears after the player collects coins above the spinning bridge.
 * Butterfly Mushroom : #4 Mario can punch one of the butterflies in the bush nearest to the Star Marker.
 * Warps:
 * Mario can stand in the corner near the green block to warp above the platform with the giant pole.

Media
The theme of this course is the same as that of the Bob-omb Battlefield; Tall, Tall Mountain; and Tiny-Huge Island.

Trivia

 * An early pamphlet for the game states that Whomp's Fortress was originally going to be called The World of Rocky Mountain.