Whomp's Fortress

Whomp's Fortress is the stronghold home of the Whomp race and their leader, the Whomp King. It is the second level in Super Mario 64 and its Nintendo DS remake, Super Mario 64 DS, and can be accessed via a painting on the first floor of Princess Peach's Castle. Only one Power Star is needed to open the door to the painting. In Super Mario 64 DS, a few minor changes were made, and in Super Mario Galaxy 2, the Throwback Galaxy is essentially a replica of Whomp's Fortress.

Star 1: Chip Off Whomp's Block
This mission is unchanged between Super Mario 64 and its remake, Super Mario 64 DS. For the first star, Mario has to defeat the Whomp King who is standing on a flat platform on top of the fortress. On his way to the top, Mario is hindered by several platforms which move away from his feet, as well as Whomps, Thwomps, Sliding Stones and sleeping Piranha Plants which awake when Mario runs fast past them. However, there is a Metal Cap available to make Mario temporarily immune to those enemies after he has already found the switch. A Power Flower is available in the DS remake in place of the Metal Cap, so Yoshi and Luigi can take advantage of Fire Yoshi and Vanish Luigi's abilities, while Wario can use Metal Mario's abilities just like before. If Mario hits this block, however, a Bob-omb will come out and explode almost immediately. Upon facing the angry Whomp King, he will complain about humans making them do work and show no appreciation for it, so he decides to crush Mario for fun. To defeat Whomp King, Mario has to trick the King into falling down to try hitting Mario. Mario can then jump on the Whomp King's back and Ground Pound on the adhesive tape on it. Once Mario does this three times, the Whomp King will explode, releasing his Power Star. The level name is a pun on the famous expression "A Chip Off the Old Block".
 * Names in Other Languages

Star 2: To the Top of the Fortress
This level is unchanged between Super Mario 64 and its remake. The second Power Star is located on top of a tall tower which has appeared after the Whomp King's defeat. When Mario has climbed up to the flat platform as before, he will find a Bill Blaster shooting Bullet Bills at him, making it the only appearance of Bullet Bills in the entire game. Mario has to use ledges around the tower to get to the top and to get the Power Star. Under certain conditions, Hoot can be used to easily fly to the top get this Power Star. He can also use the cannon to fly up to the platform which rises to the top of the tower, but only if he's completed the mission after this one.
 * Names in Other Languages

Star 3: Shoot Into the Wild Blue
This level is unchanged between Super Mario 64 and its remake. For the third Power Star, Mario has to go to a different area of the fortress. After jumping from the tree at the starting point, cross the water basin to meet the level's Bob-omb Buddy. With the nearby cannon, he has to shoot himself onto a ledge on the wall of the fortress, aiming for the far back pillar of the platform, where several coins and a Power Star are found. It is also possible to jump onto the ledge (by jumping on the wall and then on the ledge) to get the Star. In the DS remake, this platform can be very easily accessed by performing a backflip with Luigi on the platform above, and spinning to the Power Star. Mario can also Triple Jump up to the wall next to the Power Star from the platform below, and then Wall Jump to the platform.
 * Names in Other Languages

Star 4: Red Coins on the Floating Isle
This is the Red Coin mission of Whomp's Fortress. Despite the name of the mission, only two of the eight red coins are located on the floating islands in the level - unless, the "Floating Isle" in the title refers to Whomp's Fortress as a whole, which is indeed floating in the air. Several other Red Coins are found on top of a Thwomp and on a 'slide'. To get to the floating, spinning islands, Mario first has to kick down a giant plank of wood to build himself a bridge. However, it is easier to just get Hoot out of the tree at the starting point and simply fly and drop to the floating islands. The Power Star itself is located near the start of the level, next to two logs of wood. The first two are on the floating islands. (AGAIN? SERIOUSLY?) Another is above the second Sliding Stone. Three more are near the Piranha Plants: one behind the first, one on the skinny ledge, and one obtained while riding the spinny thing. (NOTE: If you get it, a 1-up Mushroom will appear in the center of the spinny thing. :D) #7 is on a slide below the spinny thing, and the last one is above the second Thwomp. (You have to jump on top of it.) However, in Super Mario 64 DS, the previous Red Coin is on the new area of land that connects the whole course together, between three Piranha Plants in a flower patch.
 * Names in Other Languages

Star 5: Fall Onto the Caged Island
Mario's next Power Star is located on one of the floating isles. One method to reach it was with Hoot's assistance, who had to fly him to the cage that contained the Power Star. Mario can find Hoot in the tree next to his starting point. Another way is to blast from the cannon and into the cage, although this method can be troublesome sometimes because the player might miss the cage.

While the gameplay is the same in both Super Mario 64 and its remake, it should also be noted that in Super Mario 64 DS, the island is much larger. It resembles an island more than in the original game, and it isn't barricaded by the cage. Instead, it has a cage on it containing the Power Star, so Mario can not fall directly on it from Hoot anymore.
 * Names in Other Languages

Star 6: Blast Away the Wall
This level is unchanged between Super Mario 64 and its remake. For the sixth Power Star, Mario has to use the cannon on the left of the starting point from Star 3 again and blast himself against the wall edge on the far right. The wall will crumble away and release the star. If he hits the wall on the left, the wall will crumble like the other one but nothing else will happen.
 * Names in Other Languages

Star 7 (DS): Switch Star of the Fortress
Super Mario 64 DS added a seventh mission to Whomp's Fortress. It is a Switch Star mission, where Mario had to find the switch on the new area of the fortress not present in the original game. The switch was obscured by an orange block, so Yoshi cannot do this level. After hitting the switch, the player must run to the other side of the fortress along the new grassy area to nab it before the timer runs out, or else the Star will disappear and he has to do it all over again. At this point, if the player was using a cap on Yoshi, they may do the mission as Yoshi.
 * Names in Other Languages

Super Mario Galaxy 2


A near-perfect replica of Whomp's Fortress appears in the game Super Mario Galaxy 2 as the Throwback Galaxy. The graphics have been redesigned, the music has been recomposed, and the level layout is basically the same with some minor differences, such as a Midway Point 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 removed, although a bonus planet was added, most likely replacing the said islands. Unlike the original, the walls are automatically blasted away, suggesting Mario revisits the same place as in Super Mario 64. Also suggesting this is the fact one Bob-omb Buddy says Mario/Luigi looks familiar. This is probably because he has seen him in Super Mario 64 or, in the case of Luigi, its DS remake. Also, the player fights a Whomp at the top of the fortress, as opposed to the King himself, then drops down to the underside of the planet to fight the Whomp King. This difference was to probably trick players of the original game into thinking that he was the Whomp King, as Whomps had been greatly increased in size to be almost identical to Whomp King, while the King was made even bigger.

Enemies

 * Whomps
 * Thwomps
 * Piranha Plants
 * Sliding Stones
 * Bullet Bills
 * Bill Blasters
 * Bob-omb only if ! Block hit with no cap or if Mario hits ? Block (DS).