Bowser (Super Smash Bros. Brawl)


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

Bowser (, Kupā: Koopa) is the primary antagonist of the "Super Mario" series. His SSB debut was in Melee and he returns in Brawl. Currently, he is 25th in Tier list, improving much from his position in Melee, because of his Bowsercide, Koopa Hopping technique, grab releases chain grabs and great KO potential. But, his mediocre tournament results, ability to be infinite chain grabbed and mediocre match-ups, clocks him at the top of the D-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 easier target to hit. Because of his heavy weight, Bowser's recovery has significant horizontal range but marginal vertical movement. 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. 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. 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. 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 "Bowserside", or forcing it. Also, his dash speed is somewhat faster than someone would think (about the same as Mario's), he has no attack with the ability to spike opponents and he is perfect candidate to infinite chain grabs like Wario's due to his extremely large size and weight. Finally, Bowser's long arms give him a medium and even long range with his normal attacks. 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.

Changes from Melee to Brawl

 * Has a new side special move, the Flying Slam.
 * Fire Breath can be aimed up and down.
 * Increased jump height.
 * Up Smash has longer range.
 * Up Aerial is faster, but shorter ranged.
 * Super Armor on Forward Smash.
 * Much faster but slightly weaker overall character.
 * Bowser Bomb hits while leaping upwards.
 * Falling speed while using Bowser Bomb is faster.
 * Bowser Bomb has super armor frames.
 * Forward smash does about 14% more damage but the knockback has decreased slightly and does very little damage or knockback if hit from very close or from very far.
 * Increased air speed.
 * More range in side tilt.
 * Different sound in his tilts and jab.
 * Forward smash hits twice.
 * Different roars.
 * New voice actor: Eric Newsome.
 * Down smash is much easier to trap with.
 * Whirling Fortress goes higher in midair.
 * He is lighter than in Melee.

Normal

 * Standard Attack - Two quick claw swipes. 5% per swipe.
 * Dash Attack - Running headbutt. 11%.
 * Strong Side - Punches while leaning his body forward. Can be aimed up or down. Similar to Wario 11%.
 * Strong Up - Swats the air above him. 12%.
 * Strong Down - Claw swipes while crouched. Does two hits.  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).If used correctly this can prevent shield grabbing.
 * 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. Very high knockback. Full charged does 28% damage.
 * Down Smash - Retracts into his shell and spins. Limited suction.  Multi-hit attack that does up to 29% damage fully charged.

Other

 * Ledge attack - Quickly spins onto the stage, 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. 13% damage.
 * Forward Aerial - Swats forward rather quickly. 13% damage.
 * Back Aerial - Thrusts out his shell behind him. High knockback. 15% damage.
 * Up Aerial - Swings his head upward, biting the air above him. 17% damage.
 * Down Aerial - Retracts into his shell and spins himself into the ground. Limited shockwave if hits the ground. Multi-hit attack that does up to 23% damage.

Grabs & Throws

 * Pummel - Hits foe with his head. 3% damage.
 * Forward Throw - Launches foe forward using his head. 10% damage.
 * Back Throw - Turns around, and tosses foe forward. 10% damage.
 * Up Throw - Bowser tosses foe upwards, retreats into his shell, and spins, damaging the foe with his spikes. 10% damage.
 * Down Throw - Sets opponent on floor, then flings himself forward, performing a body slam on his opponent. 13% damage.

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. 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. While continuing his chase, he is told by Ganondorf to hunt down King Dedede, who had stolen Wario's trophies. He also transforms Zelda/Peach 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. Bowser and his troops attack King Dedede's castle, where Dedede is hiding. Bowser steals Peach/Zelda's trophy and evades Mario and Pit's attacks. 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 a Dragoon. Fleeing into the Subspace, Bowser is betrayed by Ganondorf and turned into a trophy. 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 accomplise who was loyal to Master Hand, unlike Ganondorf and Wario.

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

Trivia

 * In the Smash Bros. DOJO!! update of April 14, 2008, the last piece of trivia given was, "For the final portion of The Subspace Emissary, you’ll only be able to use the characters you’ve revived. If you don’t bother to save any characters along the way, you’ll have only five characters (King Dedede, Ness, Luigi, Kirby, and Sonic) at your disposal for the final showdown." In reality, Bowser is one of the characters that would have to join you. This was a minor mistake that was made by Sakurai.
 * If you jump and then land as Bowser, the screen shakes slightly.
 * Bowser, along with Marth, is the only character without a new piece of music used as his Credits song.
 * Unlike in most Mario games, where Bowser has cartoonish roars, SSBB has him using dinosaur-like roars. (as with Donkey Kong's gorilla-like roars and Diddy Kong's chimpanzee-like sounds)
 * Despite commanding an army of Koopas and Goombas in the Subspace Emissary, Bowser has no attacks that has anything to do with Koopas and Goombas.