Super Mario RPG: How To Defeat The Final Boss

Welcome to our boss guides for Super Mario RPG on Nintendo Switch and SNES.

The seventh Star Piece is right in front of you — all you need to do is defeat the leader of the Smithy Gang. Super Mario RPG's final boss is a tough encounter, and you'll need to throw everything you have at the final boss in order to beat him.

In this guide, we'll help you defeat both forms of Smithy and roll credits on Super Mario RPG. Wahoo!

How to beat the final boss

Recommended party: Mario, Geno, Peach

Like any good RPG final boss, the fight against Smithy is split into two separate phases. We've broken them down below for you.

Final boss - First phase

Right away, you’ll notice that we brought Peach for a very good reason. Many of Smithy’s attacks target the whole party, which makes her healing skills invaluable.

Smithy doesn’t have any weaknesses, so attack him with any offensive spells or physical moves you want. You may want to prioritize Mario’s physical moves so that Peach has Flower Points left to spend on healing. Geno Boost works great here, too.

Smithy will also create Shypers with the nearby Smelter. If they prove annoying, feel free to smash the Smelter; otherwise, ignore the Shypers and continue attacking Smithy to end this phase of the fight faster.

When Smithy has taken enough damage, he will enter a fit of rage and destroy the floor. This begins the second phase of the final boss.

Final boss - Second phase

Smithy transforms and shows his true power by transforming his head multiple times. Both offensively and defensively, the Lazy Shell comes in clutch here. If you don't have it, then just do your best. On Switch, you could even use Mario, Geno, and Peach's Triple Attack to nullify one of Smithy's attacks.

Each of Smithy's heads are susceptible to high damage from the Lazy Shell. Continue using Geno Boost, Peach’s healing spells, and any bombs or Rock Candy items you have left.

Each of Smithy’s heads has its own health bar, so you’re going to be here for a while. If you have the Lazy Shell armor equipped on Peach, her defense should be more than enough for you to make it through.

The most troublesome head is the Tank head, as it has an attack that can one-hit KO Peach every so often, so you’ll need a stock of Pick Me Ups as well as Maple Syrup to get past this.

The Wizard head will deal high magic damage to your whole party, but it's much weaker than the Tank. The Casket form has a high defense but doesn't do as much damage as the previous two, while the Treasure Chest head is the weakest — and means that he's almost down.

You can also do damage to Smithy's body which, if you deplete to 0, will prevent Smithy from using certain attacks for a few turns.

When all four heads have been defeated, Smithy explodes, leaving the seventh Star Piece, and you'll be rolling credits of Super Mario RPG. Congratulations!

For more help on getting through Super Mario RPG, check out our full Super Mario RPG guide for everything you need.