Bowser's Lava Lake Keep

Bowser's Lava Lake Keep, or, is the seventh castle level of Super Mario 3D World and the eighth course in World Castle. It is unlocked via completing Simmering Lava Lake, as well as by having collected 130 Green Stars. This castle is where the seventh and final Sprixie Princess, the red one, is saved. However, Bowser immediately kidnaps all the Sprixie Princesses and builds a Clear Pipe to his own amusement park, World Bowser.

Layout
The level starts in an area with many platforms, Lava Bubbles, and Boomerang Bros., one of which drops a Boomerang Flower upon defeat. A nearby P Switch must be uncovered by kicking a Kick Bomb at the nearby wall hiding it. Hitting the switch results in a nearby bridge being lowered, which gives the player access to a Ka-Thunk and Fire Bro-infested area, with the Checkpoint Flag near. After traversing a narrow pathway filled with Lava Bubbles, the player has to defeat two Hammer Bros. in order to reveal a Warp Box that transports the player to a boss fight with Bowser in his Bowser Mobile.

The basic strategy to defeating Bowser is identical to the encounter in World 1: Knock the Kick Bombs that he throws back at him by dashing into them. However, the main hazard is not Bowser himself, but the road. It is littered with hazards to impede your progress. It starts off as only spike traps, but every time a gap appears, expect lava geysers to spurt through. Occasionally, the fight will travel to a section of the road with a continuous gap in the middle, making it hard to hit the Kick Bombs. Bowser himself spits fire onto the road more often, and also sneaks in a lot of primed Kick Bombs that are already close to detonation to catch you off guard. Other than that, the fight remains the same.

When the player defeats Bowser, a Warp Box brings the player to the area with the Sprixie Princess and the Goal Pole. However, when the player frees the last princess, Bowser appears and steals all seven once again.

Green Stars

 * Green Star 1: Near the beginning, the first Green Star is above the lava, next to a wall.
 * Green Star 2: Before activating the P Switch, the Green Star is on top of the drawbridge. The Cat Suit is needed to get it, which has to be obtained from a different level.
 * Green Star 3: After the checkpoint, the Green Star is floating above the lava, and can only be reached by a Boomerang from a Boomerang Flower.

Stamp

 * After the first green star, the player has to Wall Jump his or her way up above the P Switch to get the stamp.

Enemies

 * Boomerang Bros.
 * Flopters
 * Ka-Thunks
 * Fire Bros.
 * Lava Bubbles
 * Hammer Bros.
 * Bowser (Boss)