Locating the Best Weapons in Super Mario RPG

While Mario has his legendary Lazy Shell, the rest of your party cannot rely on basic shop gear if you want to crush the Smithy Gang and conquer the endgame. Equipping your companions with their ultimate weapons is the key to maximizing their damage output and surviving the game's toughest encounters.

Here is the step-by-step field guide to acquiring the ultimate main-game weapons for Princess Peach, Geno, Mallow, and Bowser, including their stats and what they bring to the battlefield.

Princess Peach: The Frying Pan

Do not let the culinary aesthetic fool you; the Frying Pan is an absolute powerhouse of a weapon that turns your dedicated healer into a physical damage-dealing monster.

• How to get it (Step-by-Step):
  1. Progress through the main story until you liberate Nimbus Land by defeating the boss, Valentina.
  2. Once Nimbus Land is saved, travel back to the mining town of Moleville.
  3. Enter the local Item Shop and look for the Toad standing in the corner (the treasure-hunter).
  4. Speak to him, and he will offer to sell you a "Metal Pan" for 300 coins. Purchase it immediately.
• Stats & Abilities: +90 Attack. This grants Peach an absurdly high attack stat (tying with Mario's Lazy Shell). Her action command is incredibly easy to time (press the button right as she smacks the enemy with the pan), making her physical hits devastating when she isn't busy healing the party.

Geno: The Star Gun

Geno is a magical powerhouse, but his physical attacks can pack a serious punch with this weapon, which allows him to fire twin star projectiles from his mechanical arms.

• How to get it (Step-by-Step):
  1. Reach the final dungeon area: Bowser's Keep.
  2. Progress until you reach the infamous "Six-Door Challenge" hallway. You must complete four of these randomly generated doors to proceed.
  3. To get the Star Gun, you need to enter and complete the first Battle Course (a gauntlet of straight combat rooms, typically starting with Pro Goombas and Malakoopas).
  4. Survive all the enemy waves in this door. At the very end of the course, a treasure box will spawn containing the Star Gun.
• Stats & Abilities: +57 Attack. Geno shoots stars out of both of his arms. The action command requires you to press the button right before the stars fire, resulting in a satisfying and highly damaging multi-hit burst.

Mallow: The Sonic Cymbals

Mallow relies heavily on his magic spells (like Thunderbolt and Snowy), but the Sonic Cymbals finally give the fluffy prince a reason to use standard physical attacks.

• How to get it (Step-by-Step):
  1. Inside Bowser's Keep, return to the Six-Door Challenge area.
  2. You need to successfully complete the first Action/Obstacle Course. You will know you are in the right room if the first challenge requires you to jump across floating, moving platforms over a pit of lava.
  3. Carefully navigate the platforming sections, including the tricky room where you must balance and roll on top of a giant cannonball.
  4. At the end of the obstacle course, a treasure chest awaits with the Sonic Cymbals inside.
• Stats & Abilities: +70 Attack. Mallow crashes two massive cymbals together right on the enemy's head. Time the button press exactly as the cymbals clash to maximize the damage.

Bowser: The Drill Claw

Bowser is your heavy-hitting tank, and the Drill Claw enhances his natural brute strength by equipping him with razor-sharp, spinning metallic claws.

• How to get it (Step-by-Step):
  1. Once again, you will find this in the Six-Door Challenge inside Bowser's Keep.
  2. You must complete the second Battle Course (the other combat gauntlet door, which features different enemy compositions like Terra Cottas and Magmus).
  3. Fight your way through the consecutive enemy encounters without falling.
  4. Claim the Drill Claw from the reward chest at the end of the gauntlet.
• Stats & Abilities: +40 Attack. While the number seems lower compared to Peach's pan, Bowser's naturally high base attack stat makes up the difference. The action command triggers right as Bowser steps forward and revs up the drill, tearing through enemy armor.

A Journalist's Note for Nintendo Switch Players:

If you are playing the modern Nintendo Switch remake, the weapons listed above are the ultimate gear for the main campaign. However, the Switch version introduces exclusive post-game boss rematches that drop even stronger "True Ultimate" weapons for these three characters. Once you beat the game and access the post-game content, you can defeat the Belome rematch for Mallow's Sage Stick (+80), the Booster rematch for Geno's Stella 023 (+62), and the Punchinello rematch for Bowser's Wonder Chomp (+57).