Like Rosa Reef, the Salute Islands were a warm, tropical region teaming with life above and beneath the waves. It was quite the symbol of natural health… before Bowser and his crew’s antics, of course.

After trying incompetently to pimp and buff Boom Boom many times, Kamek has returned yet again to hinder the player with his very own creation: Boozilla. Boozilla was a big boo with eccentric hair created by Kamek to wreak havoc on the Salute Islands. Using abilities such as his fierce laser beams, and odd affinity to bouncing balls, this dangerous spirit was able to use his brutal strength to exterminate much of the wildlife around Salute to build up his own expansive army of undead soldiers.

The Salute Islands have become a bare haunted wasteland in comparison to their previous glorious form. Both the land and water are absolutely crowded with the undead, especially boos of various abilities and sizes that Boozilla has recruited in the masses. Much of the former life that was on these formerly healthy islands has either been killed off entirely, or wilted in grief of Boozilla’s ruthless reign.

Boozilla’s influence on the area has enveloped it in a dark, gloomy sky. They say the weather only gets worse the nearer you approach the light amplifying apparition.

(To mimic their behavior and speed from the original SMB3 as much as possible, all of the normal sized boos in this world have been given wings. I didn’t add wings to any of the big boos, because these are a lot slower than the normal ones, anyways.)

6-1 Skull Surfing in Salute

The once tropical islands of Salute are now a lot more grim in color. The many palm trees that used to dot the landscape have also been wilted, leaving the only things to grow successfully on the islands to be tiny mushrooms.

Much of the rest of the wildlife that was once here has been overtaken by the numerous boos, and koopas whose encounters with Boozilla has caused them to turn into dry bones. Perhaps that’s why so many of their shells were washing up along the edges of Fungo.

But, unlike Fungo, the waters around the Salute Islands are still swimmable. However, not without teaming with the aura of death. Several bizarre “skull waves” have begun to pop up along Salute’s surface, ascending high either vertically, or diagonally. These waves are oddly skinny, so crossing them may be a bit tricky with the imminent threat of boos trying to chase you down.

It is said that boos like to circle around where pink coins are.

6-2 Paranormal Planks

Extensive wooden boardwalks have been built around the waters of Salute, now more graytone in color due to Boozilla’s influence.

As a matter of fact, swarms of boo buddies, such as those within the houses of Dinosaur Land have overtaken these planks. Some of these boos like to shimmer in place, whereas some may bounce out and try to attack you.

After a long absence, lakitus also make their return. Although unfazed by Boozilla’s death beams, these lakitus have decided not to throw spinies, but rather special “boo bombs” that turn into a whole circle of boo buddies upon touching a surface. Will stealing their clouds still prove useful this time around?

So, you better move fast if you want to escape those boo bombs. But, there’s boost panels and item boxes to help you. And also… a start line? Did Bowser want you to go kart racing with him again?

6-LH Lightspeed Lighthouse

A large lighthouse located on one of the many Salute Islands. This island in particular is the last one to be well lit under Boozilla’s undead reign due to the light at the top of its magnificent lighthouse, causing it to not be as drastically affected.

Lush gardens complete with flowers, bushes, and trees surround the lighthouse on all sides, some of the last fully living vegetation within Salute.

However, despite its more lighthearted, welcoming exterior, this lighthouse is still quite a challenge to behold due to Kamek’s tweaks to the bright structure. For one, the lighthouse’s illumination on the island has caused the boos to act oppositely from how they usually would. Even boo buddies will chase you down if you’re not careful.

But, the inside of the lighthouse is a puzzling gauntlet designed by Kamek dedicated to one central-theme; speedrunning. If you wish to escape this lighthouse, you’ll have to get through each room quickly before the time runs out. A hub exists with multiple doors leading to different rooms. You need to figure out which doors will lead you to success, so the inside is a labyrinth.

In order to escape, you must make it to the lighthouse’s rear fountain garden, which can be entered from a few rooms in the lighthouse. A hot spot for big boos, this fountain garden contains a key that’s essential to unlocking the door that leads to the top of the lighthouse, where Kamek is waiting. He’s built his very own arena from his magic blocks right across from the top balcony.

6-3 Boolgae Bleached Reef

A grayish haze falls over Salute, as you inch closer and closer to Boozilla. The clouds of boo buddy swarms are still quite present across the horror-marked landscape.

Boozilla’s paranormal activity hasn’t only devastated the islands of Salute, but also its surrounding waters. Salute, like Rosa, has prominent coral reefs, but, unfortunately, the excess of undead influence within the water has caused a lot of the coral around Salute to bleach. So, its coral is a lot whiter and perhaps thinner than it once was. Many of the cheep cheeps living in the water have also been unfairly converted to undead beings.

A major reason for this mass wipeout under the water’s surface is the stretches and boolgae that now inhabit Salute’s reefs. Boolgae are a rather unique, kelp-like formation of stacked boos. Their “blades” sway back and forth horizontally, or diagonally depending on their anchorage on the reef floor. Nonetheless, their presence in Salute’s coral reefs has ruined the reef ecosystem, leaving little besides some spare seagrasses still growing in the reefs. The boolgae blooms have also discolored many of the rock formations in the reef, causing them to appear paler and more ghost-like.

Waiting for you on the other side of the cursed keys is the Cloudergeist, a group of circling boo buddies all operating the same cloud. How come they’re all flying around the cloud, and not in it?

6-GS Boozilla’s Voltage Flotilla

You finally reach Boozilla, who, like Captain Prick and King Bob-Omb, has decided to try and stop you with fleets of ships, which are haunted by the remainder of his undead army.

Unlike previous haunted vessels you may have encountered in the past, Boozilla’s ships are by no means wrecked. Rather, he (or, perhaps only his extensive crew) built his own ships, with wood constantly lit with blue light due to the electricity running through it. And, instead of going by water or propelling his ships with engines, Boozilla has counted on the competence of his remaining crewmates to use their power to make all of the ships fly. So, several boos have buddied up to haunt and lift each of his vessels. Holy ship!

At this point, the weather has become quite rough and inclement along Salute. A violent thunderstorm has broken out in the brink of night, only enhancing Boozilla’s abilities. And, because of their charged nature, you need to watch out for the lil sparkies and hotheads that crawl about most vessels. Lil sparkies are extra fast, despite their meager name and size.

Boozilla himself is stationed very high up in the sky, so you’ll need to trek all the way up his vertically arranged fleet, cautiously climbing ladders to jump from ship to ship. Some ladders may even have extra sparked creatures crawling about them.

But, as for the electric spirit himself, Boozilla has dedicated many of his best ships to fight you, shooting blue hoops and laser beams at you, as well as bouncy balls that are about as strange as the shape of his haircut. He wants you to fight in one of his ships’ hulls first, but he quite prefers chasing down his enemies out in the open a lot more. He’s quite swift, so good luck having any chance of outpacing his unpredictable floating pattern.