Bowser (Super Smash Bros. Brawl)


 * This article is about Bowser's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. For other uses, see Bowser or Bowser (SSBM).

Bowser (Koopa in Japanese) (, Kuppa) is the primary antagonist of the "Super Mario" series. His SSB debut was in Melee and he returns in Brawl. Currently, he is 32nd on the tier list, improving slightly from his position in Melee, as he has great power and range, but his mediocre tournament results, vulnerability to infinite chain grabs, and very poor match-ups clocks him at the bottom of the E Tier.

Attributes
In addition to being the largest character model in the game, Bowser is the heaviest playable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. This makes him difficult to KO, yet an easier target to hit. Because of his heavy weight, Bowser's recovery has significant horizontal range but marginal vertical movement. He has very poor ground shield game, second slowest roll and slowest spot dodge. He also has the ability to crawl, but due to his large size, it is very inefficient in avoiding incoming projectiles or other attacks. As with other large characters, Bowser's strengths lie in his KO ability and not his speed. He sports a wide variety of powerful attacks both in the air and on the ground. For example, Bowser's forward smash is a high-priority KO move that has such high knockback that it is able to eat through almost any super armor frames save for Wario's Forward Smash, Pikmin Order or Donkey Kong's fully-charged Giant Punch. However, this KO ability comes at the price of high lag, both on startup and ending. Due to his average speed and reliance on power KOs, Bowser can struggle somewhat in the low damage game as he lacks diverse ways of racking up damage on the opponent. This can be remedied with his neutral special, Fire Breath and his advantage of 10 frames when ground releasing and 30 frames when air releasing makes him able to do great chain grabs or combos into his strongest attacks. He can also regrab anyone by ground releasing except Donkey Kong (because of Donkey Kong's unusual short ground release animation). The Fire Breath serves the multiple roles for Bowser such as racking up damage on the opponent as well as preventing an opponent's approach and a functional edge guard. Bowser also has a potent Sacrificial KO, the Flying Slam. This move allows Bowser to grab an opponent, then leap into the air and fall back to the ground with Bowser on top of them. Thus, the opponent will always be KOed first. If this move is used through a Blast Line, both Bowser and the opponent will be KOed. It's also useful in the Classic and All-Star Modes, making for an easy KO when only one opponent is left. Given Bowser's difficulty racking up damage, this can be a useful move when the opponent is far ahead of Bowser in the damage count. However, opponents can control Flying Slam when Bowser is at higher or even equal damage, preventing "Bowsercide", or forcing it. Bowser's standard attack can even cancel out incoming projectiles, including Samus' and Lucario's standard specials. This is effective as it allows the player to conserve Bowser's shield as well as provide quicker reaction times after blocking enemy projectiles.

However, given Bowser's extreme heavyweight and decent falling speed it makes him also open for infinite chain grabs like Wario and Dedede's infinite chain grab due to his extremely large size and weight. His horizontal recovery, Whirling Fortress, is worse than Donkey Kong's Spinning Kong and it also gives poor vertical distance.

Changes from Melee to Brawl
Bowser has been buffed from SSBM to SSBB. He is about the same in speed and slightly stronger. Bowser also became lighter so it's easier to move him than in Melee. His up aerial is faster, but shorter ranged. His side tilt and up smash both have more range. His side smash now hits twice as well as doing 14% more damage. On the downside, its knockback has decreased slightly, and it does very little damage or knockback if hit from very close or from very far. Bowser's air speed and jump height have both increased. His down smash is much easier to trap with. Bowser is lighter than he was in Melee, but he is still by far the heaviest character in the game. As for specials, Bowser Bomb hits while leaping upwards and has faster falling speed. Whirling Fortress goes higher in midair, and Fire Breath can be aimed up and down. Lastly (in terms of special moves), Bowser has a new side special move, the Flying Slam.

Bowser's purely cosmetic changes are a new voice actor (Eric Newsome) rather than having recycled voice clips from Super Mario 64, different sounds in his tilts and jab, and more realistic roars (as opposed to his usual cartoonish roars). He also has two new palette swaps: brown and a combination of black and white.

Normal

 * Standard Attack - Two quick claw swipes. 5% per swipe. Large, disjointed hitbox and surprisingly good speed make this one of his best moves and is best option against most weak projectiles.  One of his few reliable out of shield options along with Whirling Fortress.  Will hit most characters out of a ground release.
 * Dash Attack - Ramming headbutt. Has good vertical knockback. 11%. Horrid ending lag makes this move easily punishable.
 * Strong Side - Punches while leaning his body forward. Can be aimed up or down. Good speed and range despite not being disjointed, but somewhat low shieldstun.  Has KO potential near edges at high percents. 11%.  There are some characters that can avoid his jab from a ground release but not his forward tilt.
 * Strong Up - Swats the air above him. Good anti air or beneath platform move given its large disjoint, but fairly high ending lag and minimal low hitboxes make it difficult to use on grounded characters. High knockback for an up tilt (one of the strongest after Ike's, Snake's, and Dedede's) but fairly easy to DI.  12%. More reliable than his Up Smash for vertical KOs.
 * Strong Down - Claw swipes while crouched. Does two hits.  Good knockback for a down tilt but lower range and speed than his forward tilt limits its usefulness. First hit is 14%, second is 11%.

Smash

 * Side Smash - Rears back and then performs a very strong headbutt. Two hits.  Fully charged first hit does 14% damage, second hit right after does 32%  (total of 46% damage). This makes it the most damaging side smash in the game. If used correctly this can prevent shield grabbing. A highly shield damaging move with enough shieldstun to help prevent countering, though leaves Bowser rather vulnerable if avoided through methods other than shielding.
 * Up Smash - Pounces on all fours and jumps straight up, hitting with his shell. Opponents who only shield his jump will be hit by him landing. High knockback and high shield stun (on the initial jumping portion of the attack).  However slow start up and minimal horizontal range make it rather unreliable. Full charge does 28% damage.
 * Down Smash - Retracts into his shell and spins. Limited suction.  Multi-hit attack that does up to 29% damage fully charged.  Great on shields but also low horizontal range, predictable start up, and punishable end lag make it risky against skilled players. One of the strongest down smashes in the game in terms of knockback, on par with Donkey Kong's (though it's easy to DI).

Other

 * Ledge attack - Spins onto stage barreling opponent over with shell, then retreats back a bit. 8% damage.
 * 100% ledge attack - Slowly climbs onto stage, and does a quick claw jab. 10% damage.
 * Floor attack - Slams body forward, then back. Does two hits. Both hits do 6% damage.
 * Trip attack - Gets up while facing backwards, and does a claw swipe that brings him facing forward. 6% damage.

Aerial Attacks

 * Neutral Aerial - Spins around inside his shell. 15% damage with low knockback that has low KO potential and minimal range.  Very unsafe on shields.
 * Forward Aerial - Slashes in the air in front of him quickly. 13% damage. Decent knockback with surprising speed and good disjointed range, though somewhat difficult to land on short, grounded opponents.  A good auto canceled attack against short hoppers and tall characters, but even the normal landing lag is manageable when properly spaced.
 * Back Aerial - Thrusts out his shell behind him. High, low angle knockback. 15% damage. Much ending lag in the air and even worse landing lag, but dangerous as an edgeguard given its KO power.
 * Up Aerial - Swings his head upward with moderate start up and ending speed, but high landing lag. 17% damage. One of the strongest up airs in terms of knockback and decent range make it a powerful, if somewhat avoidable KO move.
 * Down Aerial - Retracts into his shell and spins himself into the ground. Limited shockwave if hits the ground. It can Meteor Smash when hit by the last hit, but it's weak and overall not recommended. Multi-hit attack that does up to 23% damage. High aerial and ground lag.  Debatably his worst attack.

Grabs & Throws

 * Pummel - Hits foe with his head. 3% damage. Very slow pummel.
 * Forward Throw - Launches foe forward using his head. 10% damage. Decent knockback, but will rarely KO.
 * Back Throw - Turns around, and tosses foe forward. 10% damage. Decent knockback and better at KOs than forward throw, but still rarely KOs.
 * Up Throw - Bowser tosses foe upwards, retreats into his shell, and spins, damaging the foe with his spikes. 10% damage. Decent but set knockback.
 * Down Throw - Sets opponent on floor, then flings himself forward, performing a body slam on his opponent. 12% damage. Low knockback even with scaling.

On-screen appearance

 * Emerges from a wall of flames.

Taunts

 * Up: Throws his head back and roars.
 * Side: Snaps furiously forward five times.
 * Down: Balances precariously on one leg.

Role in the Subspace Emissary
Bowser first appears after Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong chase down his troops, who had stolen their bananas in order to lure them to him as a trap. Bowser confronts the two and transforms DK into a trophy with a Dark Cannon, but not before DK punches Diddy away. Bowser chases him down, and has a Shadowbug clone of him fight Diddy and Fox. After defeating the clone, the real Bowser attempts to turn them into trophies, but they manage to dodge the shot. Although Diddy is eager to fight Bowser, Fox knows that they're no match, so he grabs Diddy and makes their escape. He finds Zelda/Peach alone and turns her into a trophy, and after having another Shadowbug clone of him copy her, orders her Shadowbug clone to attack Mario and Pit/Link and Yoshi. After returning to his chase of Diddy and Fox, he is told by Ganondorf to hunt down King Dedede, who had stolen Wario's trophies. Bowser and his troops attack King Dedede's castle, where Dedede is hiding but when they broke the roof a stone fell on Dedede's head, knocking him out. Bowser steals Peach/Zelda's trophy and evades Mario and Pit's attacks, but when he dodges Pit's arrow he falls off a cliff, but is shown to be unharmed after he landed in his Clown Car. After this, he returns to the jungle and transforms Diddy into a trophy and sends his Shadowbug clone to clone the trophy. He flees after Falco Lombardi attacks him and destroys his Dark Cannon. He is next seen with Ganondorf on the Subspace Gunship. They destroy the Halberd, but fail to stop Kirby from destroying the Gunship with the Dragoon. Fleeing into the Subspace, Bowser is betrayed by Ganondorf and turned into a trophy by a suprise blast by a dark cannon. He is eventually brought back to life, and after being defeated by King Dedede, beats up Ganondorf's trophy for revenge. Bowser then notices the downed Master Hand and decides to help the heroes take down Tabuu. The sight of Master Hand lying on the ground seems to trouble Bowser, probably because Bowser was really the only smasher accomplice who was loyal to Master Hand, unlike Ganondorf (who planned to betray him to take control of the Subspace Army) and Wario (who did it just to enjoy himself).

Exclusive Stickers
These stickers may be used by only Bowser or a select few including Bowser:
 * 1-Up Mushroom: [Leg] attack +4
 * Bowser (DDR:Mario Mix): [Throwing] attack +20
 * Bowser (Mario Kart 64): [Weapon] attack +13
 * Bowser (Super Paper Mario): [Arm] attack +23
 * Coin: [Specials: Indirect] attack +4
 * Dice Block: [Arm] attack +8
 * Dr. Mario: [Head] attack +18
 * Koopa: [Body, Spin] attack +10
 * Lakitu (Mario Kart Super Circuit): [Leg] attack +13
 * Luigi & Baby Luigi: Launch power +5
 * Luigi (Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga): Launch power +23
 * Mario & Luigi: [Flame] resistance +19
 * Mario & Yoshi: [Specials: Indirect] attack +13
 * Mario (Mario Kart DS): [Leg] attack +22
 * Mega Rush Badge: [Specials: Direct] attack +8
 * Mushroom: [Arm, Leg] attack +5
 * Peach (Mario Superstars Baseball): [Slash] attack +5
 * Peach (Super Mario Bros. 2): Launch resistance +29
 * Peach (Super Princess Peach): [Weapon] attack +23
 * Rawk Hawk: [Arm] attack +5
 * Red Fire: [Flame] attack +26
 * Super Mario Bros.: [Arm, Leg] attack +15
 * Waluigi (Mario Superstar Baseball): [Specials: Indirect] attack +8
 * Waluigi (Super Mario Strikers): [Slash] attack +15
 * Yoshi (Mario Party 2): [Launch] resistance +35
 * Yoshi (Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door): [Throwing] attack +5
 * Yoshi (Yoshi Touch & Go): [Arm, Leg] attack +8

Cheer

 * Several deep male voices chanting "Bowww-serrr..."

Trophy Description
''The king of evil and Mario's eternal menace. He breathes fire, hurls hammers, attacks from vehicles like the Koopa Clown Car, and uses all sorts of weapons in hopes of destroying Mario. As his size suggests, he's immensely powerful. His son Bowser Jr. is a chip off the old block who spends his time creating trouble for Mario.''


 * Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo)
 * Super Mario Sunshine (Nintendo Gamecube)

Trivia

 * Possibly due to Bowser's heavy weight, when he lands, the screen shakes slightly.
 * Bowser and Marth are the only characters without a new piece of music used for the Credits; Bowser has Giga Bowser's battle theme, while Marth uses the Fire Emblem theme in Melee.
 * In the Subspace Emissary, Bowser can be harmed and even attacked by the Koopas and Goombas despite being their leader.
 * Despite being buffed between Melee and Brawl, Bowser actually dropped from 23rd in Melee to 27th in Brawl. However, it is worth noting that his relative position was improved.
 * Bowser's voice clip for his Wii Remote selection is a roar he uses from the end of a cut scene in Super Mario Sunshine.
 * Surprisingly, Bowser's matchup with Meta Knight is somewhat high, having a 45:55; the same goes with Zero Suit Samus, Snake and Diddy Kong. This means that Bowser has the highest matchup with Meta Knight out of all the Mario Series. The same applies for Link but instead of Meta Knight, it's Snake, having a 45:55, the highest out of all the Zelda series.
 * For reasons unknown, when certain characters grab Bowser and attempt to pummel attack him while he is on a slope above him/her, the pummel does not hit him and deals him no damage.
 * Bowser is the only non-human character that is a representative of the main Mario series (in contrast to Wario).