Super Mario RPGis a pretty straightforward game, right up until it’s not. One such instance is right after you liberate the sixth star from the Axem Rangers. So, where do you go after getting the sixth star?
Once again, the sixth star is obtained in Barrel Volcano. You obtain it after defeating the Czar Dragon, but then it gets swiped by the Axem Rangers. Once you defeat them and their flying axe, Blade, you are reunited with the star.
The party mentions that the last star must be in Bowser’s Keep, but what they leave out is how to actually get there. If you go to the hill beside Mario’s house that looks over the keep (aw, they’re neighbors), nothing has changed. You still won’t be able to proceed.
After you have the sixth star, to actually get to Bowser’s Keep, you have to go back to the people who sent you to Barrel Volcano in the first place: Mallow’s parents, the King and Queen of Nimbus Land. Once you do, the King will suggest that you take the cloud bus to your destination.
The cloud bus is located back in the town of Nimbus Land. There’s an exit in the top-left side of the town. Once you go there, dialogue will be triggered wherein the Cloud Bus pulls up to the station platform, and the party jumps on. Then it’s off to Bowser’s Keep to try and find the seventh (and last) star.
As a note, going to Bowser’s Keep isn’t a point-of-no-return. You can leave and return at any point that you want. If you’re already at the cloud bus, you might as well take it to place a node on the map that will let you get there more easily.
