Bowser's Castle

""Step into the Koopa King's lair and duke it out in his lava-filled halls. Be careful, though - This castle might have some tricks up its sleeves...""

Bowser's Castle is a stage in Nexed, resembling the interior of Bowser's castles from throughout the Super Mario series (although its exterior is based off its appearance in Mario Kart 8).

History
Bowser's Castle is a recurring location in the Super Mario series - While it technically first appeared in the original Super Mario Bros., the first castle to bear Bowser's likeness was featured in Super Mario Bros. 3. Ever since, the castle has reappeared in numerous forms in several games, such as Super Mario World, Super Mario 3D Land, and Super Mario 3D World, with the castle's exterior appearance changing in some games. The castle's interior often resembles that found in previous castles.

In addition, Bowser's Castle is a recurring location in Mario spinoff games. Its most notable appearance is as a track in the Mario Kart series, with at least one incarnation of the castle being featured in every entry in the series.

Layout
Bowser's Castle resembles the interior of the castle as seen in several Super Mario games, taking no heavy inspiration from any one incarnation. The background displays the castle wall, adorned with a bust of Bowser's head hung on each side of the screen. A platform can be seen in the background, adorned with some Fire Bars and a Thwomp hanging in the air. Podoboos occassionaly jump out of the lava.

The stage takes place primarily on one floating platform with a sloped bottom, which holds a statue of Bowser's likeness. Joining this platform is a soft platform above the stage (right below the Bowser statue's jaw) and a taller, hard platforms on each side of the stage. The bottom blast zone is covers with lava which damages and launches opponents upon contact.

Hazards

 * Lava: With this hazard on, lava will cover the bottom blast zone, making it impossible to KO opponents through it.
 * Sinking Platforms: With this hazard on, either of the side platforms will occassionaly sink into the lava, only to rise again some time later.
 * Bowser Statue: With this hazard on, the Bowser statue's eyes will occassionaly fire a laser at the floor in front of itself, dealing multiple hits of damage.

Trivia

 * Early versions of the stage included Podoboos as stage hazards.