Ludwig's Clockwork Castle

Ludwig's Clockwork Castle, or , is the castle course of Meringue Clouds in New Super Mario Bros. U. It is not only the last main course in Meringue Clouds but also the last Koopaling castle in the game. It is unlocked via completion of Snaking above Mist Valley or via the secret exit of Spinning Spirit House, and its own completion unlocks Boarding the Airship.

Layout
The level begins near a moving platform operated by gears, with a ? Block above it. Platforms with Bony Beetles on them are found, with more moving platforms located in between them. A Big Dry Bones and a Fire Bro are found. Above the Big Dry Bones are two ? Blocks. There is a Hidden Block between them that contains a 1-Up Mushroom. A row of Donut Blocks is found, along with multiple moving platforms that can crush the player when they move against each other. A Bony Beetle is found prior to another moving platforms and a Sledge Bro. A Checkpoint Flag is found next to a platform with a Bony Beetle and another ? Block. A section containing to platforms moving under low ceilings, with Amps on either side a Sledge Bro and a Red Ring in the middle. A Big Dry Bones can then be found on a row of Donut Blocks. There is a yellow Warp Pipe on the ceiling that takes Mario to a room with a moving platform and a ? Switch that produces coins. A platform with a Fire Bro follows. A large moving platform is then found, along with a Sledge Bro and two Amps. The boss door is found at the end of the area.

Ludwig von Koopa is the boss of the castle, with his boss arena taking place on the crow's nest, like Roy's boss arena. In battle he levitates in the air while making two duplicates of himself, and all three blast fireballs at Mario before dropping onto the ground. If the duplicate is jumped on, it simply disappears. Fireballs do not affect them. One way to find out which Ludwig is the real one is to see which one lands last, and then jump on that one. Also, the duplicates only fire two fireballs at a time each, while Ludwig fires three. When the fight starts off, after shooting their fireballs, they disappear before landing. After the first stomp, the duplicates do not disappear, making it a little harder on which is the real Ludwig. After the second stomp, not only do Ludwig and his duplicates shoot faster, but swap positions, but the real Ludwig still shoot three fireballs.

Additionally, during the boss battle, the tornado and a silhouette of Peach's Castle and Bowser's airship flying around it can be seen.

Star Coins

 * Star Coin 1: After the first Fire Bro, the first Star Coin is found within a coin-filled portion of the ceiling.
 * Star Coin 2: Shortly after the first Star Coin, there is a POW Block which can only be reached by bouncing off the Sledge Bro below. Hitting the POW Block drops the second Star Coin.
 * Star Coin 3: The third Star Coin is found before the boss door, occasionally hidden by the large geared platform.

Enemies

 * Fire Bros
 * Sledge Bros.
 * Bony Beetles
 * Big Dry Bones
 * Amps
 * Boss: Ludwig von Koopa

Level map


Ludwigs Uhrwerk-Festung Castello meccanico di Ludwig