A fan has discovered that Bowser Jr. can fly extraordinary distances in Mario's newest adventure, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury. As Bowser Jr. assists the player in this game, they can abuse his flight to remotely grab some important items with no effort, bypassing some tricky challenges.

Although the 3D World half of Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury focuses on linear platforming, Bowser's Fury instead emphasizes open-world exploration. Bowser's Fury tasks players with collecting 100 Cat Shines in Lake Lapcat, a vast body of water filled with islands to explore. If players get a high vantage point, they will likely see many Cat Shines waiting in the distance. While Bowser Jr. is primarily an assist character who finds hidden items and fights enemies, his powers of flight can make getting some Cat Shines much easier.

RELATED: Bowser and Bowser Jr. Amiibo Do Something Special in Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury

YouTube user Stealthgyro posted a demonstration of the Bowser Jr. bypass strategy. While Bowser Jr. doesn't stand out in Smash Bros. games, his power is absolutely game-breaking here. Stealthgyro simply needs to point Bowser Jr.'s cursor at distant collectibles, and Bowser Jr. immediately flies off to claim them. Given that many of these normally require precise jumping to access, players will likely find Bowser Jr.'s help a major relief. By standing on all of the game's lighthouses and remotely directing Bowser Jr., they should get a head start on collecting everything the game has to offer.

Viewers may wonder why Stealthgyro's overall Cat Shine count isn't increasing, despite Bowser Jr. claiming multiple cat-shaped tokens. This is because Stealthgyro is actually collecting Cat Shine Shards, rather than full Cat Shines. Similar to the Silver Star challenges found in the Super Mario Galaxy games, each island has five Cat Shine Shards; when the player collects them all, they become a complete Cat Shine to add to their collection. Any Cat Shine Shards Stealthgyro can collect with Bowser Jr. are ones that don't need to be collected by Mario later, so it's still a useful time-saver even if the Cat Shine count doesn't increase.

To be fair, Bowser's Fury is no cakewalk, regardless of how much the player relies on Bowser Jr. The main focus of this mode, the constant threat of Fury Bowser's next appearance, means that players will always need to be on lookout for the next boss battle. If they persist in using Bowser Jr. to obtain items while Fury Bowser attacks, Mario is liable to be hit by Bowser's rapid-fire flame attacks. Plus, many Cat Shines only appear once Mario completes battles, timed coin challenges, and so on, meaning Bowser Jr.'s flight won't accomplish anything for those.

On the other hand, some may worry that Bowser Jr. will be too helpful, depriving them of the chance to complete interesting challenges. Thankfully, this is not the case. Bowser's Fury allows the player to adjust how much assistance Bowser Jr. provides, ranging from a lot of help to none at all. This way, players can enjoy the game regardless of what they want from Bowser Jr. Time will tell whether Nintendo will nerf Bowser Jr.'s abilities, but for now, Mario's one-time adversary has become one of his most impressive allies.

Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury is available now for the Nintendo Switch.

MORE: Super Mario Sunshine: 10 Things Only Real Fans Know About Bowser Jr.