The beginning of the first level (Canon route)

Maria clenched her fists as Bowser's laughter echoed through the castle courtyard, his spiked tail swishing mockingly as he disappeared into a swirling dark portal with Peach still struggling in his grasp. The princess's desperate cry—"Maria, please!"—hung in the air like a taunt. Maria's jaw tightened. "Damn it," she muttered, kicking a loose brick in frustration. It skidded across the cobblestones before vanishing into the grass beyond the castle gates. No power-ups, no backup—just her own stubborn determination.

Maria cracked her knuckles and adjusted her cap, the familiar red fabric casting a shadow over her narrowed eyes. The first level stretched before her—a gauntlet of crumbling brick platforms suspended over bottomless pits, their surfaces dotted with smirking Goombas and twirling Piranha Plants.