How to Get a High Score on Mario Kart: Bowser's Challenge

From steering secrets to hidden targets, this is your ultimate guide to beating Bowser and topping the leaderboard at Epic Universe.

ORLANDO, FL – Mario Kart: Bowser's Challenge at Epic Universe's Super Nintendo World is a chaotic, colorful, and utterly unique attraction. It's a dark ride, a motion simulator, and a competitive video game all rolled into one. While it's fun to simply experience the spectacle, the real goal for many riders is getting a high score and helping Team Mario achieve victory. But with so much happening on screen, it can be tough to know what to focus on.

After digging into the ride’s mechanics and the strategies of top-scoring players, we’ve assembled the ultimate guide. Forget just blindly firing shells; with these tips and tricks, you’ll be ready to challenge for the top score.

The Basics: Understanding Your Kart

Before you can win the race, you need to understand how your kart works. You are equipped with an AR (Augmented Reality) visor that projects characters and effects onto the physical sets. Your main weapon is the Koopa Shell, which you collect by looking directly at the floating, multi-colored Item Boxes along the track. To fire a shell, you simply press the trigger button on your steering wheel. Your goal is to hit as many members of Team Bowser as possible while collecting at least 100 coins to be considered a "winner."

The Two Golden Rules of Mario Kart

The biggest mistake new players make is misunderstanding how to aim and steer. Mastering these two concepts is the absolute key to a high score.

First, and most importantly: you aim with your eyes, not your hands. The targeting reticle that you see in your visor is controlled by where you are looking. You must physically turn your head and look directly at a target to aim at it. Do not try to aim by turning the steering wheel; it has no effect on where your shells go.

Second, you steer for coins, not for targets. The physical steering wheel in front of you is used to move your kart left and right along the track to collect the virtual gold coins that appear in your path. While your teammates can also grab these coins, focusing on steering through as many as possible is a crucial and often overlooked part of racking up a high personal score.

Advanced Strategy: How to Rack Up the Points

Once you've mastered the basics of aiming and steering, you can focus on advanced techniques. Not all targets are created equal. Your primary goal should always be to hit members of Team Bowser—the Koopalings, Koopa Troopas, Bowser Jr., and Bowser himself. Accidentally hitting a "friendly" character on Team Mario, like Yoshi or Toad, will actually cause you to lose coins, so be careful with your shots.

One of the most valuable secrets for a high score is the Drifting Bonus. Pay close attention to the other karts in your four-person vehicle. When a teammate turns their wheel sharply to drift, a secret "?" Block will briefly appear above their kart's tires. By quickly looking at and shooting this hidden block, you can earn a significant point bonus.

There are also other hidden, high-value targets to look for throughout the ride's different scenes. In one of the underwater sections, keep an eye out for a hidden golden Mario statue. Hitting this statue will reward you with a large number of bonus coins.

The Final Battle: Teamwork Makes the Dream Work

The ride culminates in a chaotic battle against Bowser on Rainbow Road. This is where teamwork becomes essential for a big score. During this final sequence, the goal is to spam Bowser with as many shells as possible. A coordinated effort from all four riders in your kart, with everyone firing shells as quickly as they can collect them, is the only way to defeat him and achieve the coveted "win" for Team Mario, which provides a massive point bonus for everyone in the vehicle.

The Power-Up Band Advantage

While not required, using a Power-Up Band can give you a slight edge. Syncing your band to your steering wheel at the beginning of the ride tracks your score. While any band works, using a golden-colored Mario Power-Up Band is widely believed to provide a small but helpful boost to the number of coins you collect throughout the ride.

By following this strategy—aiming with your head, steering for coins, prioritizing Team Bowser, finding the hidden targets, and working together in the final battle—you'll be well on your way to leaving Bowser in the dust and etching your name onto the leaderboard.

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