Smashpedia
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==Trivia==
 
==Trivia==
 
*Bowser's roar of his taunt hails from Super Mario 64, whenever he was defeated he would use the roar.
 
*Bowser's roar of his taunt hails from Super Mario 64, whenever he was defeated he would use the roar.
  +
*Changing the language to Japanese on an english SSBM changes Bowser's name to Koopa
   
 
{{SSBMCharacters}}
 
{{SSBMCharacters}}

Revision as of 05:06, 4 April 2010

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

Bowser (クッパ, Kupā: Koopa), is a character in Super Smash Bros. Melee and is available from the start. Announced at E3 2001, a stronger form of Bowser also appears as the "final" boss in Adventure Mode. He is 23rd on the Tier List, mid-way through the Bottom Tier (his extremely high weight makes him a bit higher from bottom).

Appearance in Melee

Bowser is one of the few characters who has a different name in the Japanese version. In English, Bowser, but Japanese is 'Koopa'. 'Koopa' comes from the fact that in the original Mario series, he evolved from a Koopa Troopa.

Attributes

Bowser is the heaviest and largest character in the game. This means that it takes many hits to KO Bowser, but landing those hits is easy (although having by far the largest shield in the game can help this problem). As one would expect from a large heavyweight, Bowser has very powerful (his side smash is the 2nd strongest in the game next to Pichu's), yet very slow, attacks. In the air, Bowser's F-air has great priority, and his U-air is very powerful. However, all of his aerial attacks are laggy if not L-canceled. Bowser has decent range and large hitboxes for most of his moves, but his standing grab range is awful (resulting in a terrible shield grab). Bowser's side special move, Koopa Klaw, can grab opponents and throw them with 1.3 times normal throw power, or can slash opponents which throws them into the air. Bowser is relatively slow on both the air and the ground, and his wavedash is very slow and near useless (except when used as a waveland) due to his very slow jumping. Bowser's very slow jumping and landing animation is one of the major, if the not the biggest, reasons he is so slow. Bowser has good edgeguarding tactics (e.g. fire breath), but a lot of his KOs are dependent on his ability to edgeguard opponents, which means they must first be off the edge. Bowser's up special recovery move, Whirling Fortress, is useful and very fast. However, like Donkey Kong's Spinning Kong, it mostly only goes horizontally and has poor vertical recovery. Bowser's neutral special move, Fire Breath, acts as Bowser's projectile. However, Bowser lacks a reliable way to deal with opponents' projectiles.

What really hurts Bowser the most, however, is combos, or susceptibility to thereof. Bowser is one the easiest characters (if not the easiest character) in the game to combo (due to being large, extremely heavy, and falling relatively quickly). He also has very poor combos. The few combos that he has only work on three characters, are not guaranteed (they can be escaped with proper DI), and are generally only two hit combos. Having such problems with combos are truly problematic at high level play.

Moveset

Ground Attacks

Normal

  • Neutral Attack- Bowser scratches with his left claw, and then his right claw. 8%-11% damage when both hits connect. Noticeable killing potential at higher damages.
  • Strong Side- Bowser hits with his knuckle. Has a bit of start up lag and little range, but high priority and fairly good knockback for a tilt. 6%-14%
  • Strong Down- Bowser slashes along the ground with his claws. Two hits. First hit doesn't have much knockback, but the second hit is fairly slow. 7%-22%
  • Up Tilt- Bowser claws upward. Good knockback, good for setting up comboes. 7%-11%
  • Dash Attack- Bowser charges forward. Decent knockback, but easily countered due to starting and ending lag. 6%-11%

Smashes

  • Forward Smash- Bowser rears back for a short moment, and hits incredibly hard with his head. Very high damage and knockback, though suffers from a lot of lag in general. Strongest Smash attack in the game. 13%-32%
  • Down Smash- Bowser spins around in his shell, doing great damage with multiple hits from his spines. Subpar range, can be DI'd out of, and has noticeable ending lag, but still powerful nonetheless. 1%-27%, depending on number of hits.
  • Up Smash- Bowser jumps upward, hitting with his spikes. A powerful attack in general. 11%-27%

Aerials

  • Neutral aerial- Bowser spins around in his shell. Low knockback, but long duration. 7%-13%
  • Forward aerial- Bowser slashes forward in midair. Good priority and knockback, good edgeguarding option. 9%-14%
  • Back aerial- Bowser hits backward with his shell. Great knockback, good edgeguarding option when used in a SHFFL or ledge hop. 8%-13%
  • Down Aerial- Bowser spins downwards, hitting with the spikes on his shell. Not much knockback or damage, small hitbox, but releases a shockwave upon hitting the ground. 1%-15%, depending on number of connecting hits.
  • Up aerial- Bowser hits upward hard with his head. Very high knockback, but one of Bowser's slower moves. 9%-17%

Grabs

  • Pummel- Bites foe. 2-3% per pummel.
  • Forward Throw- Bowser throws his foe forward. Kills at high percents 5%-10%
  • Back Throw- Bowser throws his foe backward. 5%-10%
  • Up Throw- Bowser throws his foe upward a short distance and on his shell, doing damage to the opponent while spinning.
  • Down Throw- Bowser throws his foe on the ground and lands on them with tremendous force. 6%-12%

Taunt

  • Control Pad Up- Roar (0%) Bowser roars while facing upwards.

Special Moves

In Single-player

Bowser appears as the general "final boss" of the Adventure mode, and he will be slightly larger, heavier, and stronger than normal. If you defeat him, the Adventure Mode would normally be complete, but if you defeat him on Normal difficulty or harder within the elapsed time under 18 minutes without using a continue (Bowser will also have the black color scheme), Bowser's trophy will come back to life and the Giga Bowser fight will initiate. Bowser also makes several appearances in the Event matches:

  • Event 1: Trouble King: Bowser is the first opponent of the Event mode. You play as Mario, and Mario and Bowser have 2 stock each in an untimed match on the Battlefield stage. KO Bowser twice to win, which is an easy objective because Bowser is lighter than usual and has less competent AI.
  • Event 10: All-Star Match 1: Bowser is the last of five opponents you must fight in this series of staged battles. Your character battles him on the Rainbow Cruise stage, and your character has 2 stock while Bowser has 1. With a timer of four minutes, you must defeat him and the other four characters one-by-one with the overall time and life you have: Mario, Donkey Kong, Yoshi, and Peach beforehand.
  • Event 17: Bounty Hunters: In this original scenario, you play as Samus teamed up with Captain Falcon (with Friendly Fire turned off), and your shared opponent is Bowser on the Jungle Japes stage. With everyone receiving one stock and 2:00 as the time limit, your aim is to be the one to K.O. Bowser. You fail if Captain Falcon delivers the finishing blow.
  • Event 19: Peach's Peril: A scenario designed in homage to the standard plot of traditional Super Mario games of Bowser being after Peach and Mario saving her. You play as Mario teamed with Peach whose AI is set on walking to each end of the stage aimlessly, and you each have 1 stock while the enemy Bowser has infinite stock. Bowser is especially strong and durable in this match, and he will attack either of you in the area on the Final Destination stage. The objective is to last a full minute with both Mario and Peach surviving by the end, and high score is determined by how many times Mario can K.O. Bowser.
  • Event 25: Gargantuans: A scenario designed in homage to old, campy monster movies like Godzilla and King Kong. On the Fourside stage, with unlimited time, you play as a giant-sized Bowser (as "Godzilla") with 1 stock against a giant-sized Donkey Kong (as "King Kong") with two stock. Two other characters on the match are a tiny Mario and a tiny Peach, who will be K.O.'d within seconds of the battle between the two main monsters.
  • Event 42: Trouble King 2: This tough event takes place in Poké Floats. You control Luigi against a giant Bowser in an untimed match where the two of you have a stock of two each.

Trophy Descriptions

In addition to the normal trophy about Bowser as a character, there are two trophies about him as a fighter, unlocked by completing the Adventure and All-Star modes respectively with Bowser on any difficulty:

Bowser (Smash Red)
In many ways, Bowser is the toughest character around. Not only does he have near-impervious hide, but his great mass makes him almost impossible to hurl offscreen. Of course, his weight also makes him rather slow to maneuver, so when facing him in battle, it's best to press your attack and not give him a chance to counter.
Bowser (Smash Blue)
Bowser's Fire Breath strikes continuously, but it grows gradually smaller over time until it's barely smoldering. The Koopa Klaw rakes enemies at a distance and pulls nearby foes in close for a good gnawing. Bowser's Whirling Fortress moves laterally over the ground; it works in midair as a recovery. The Bowser Bomb is powerful and paves the way for more attacks.

Palette Swaps

Alt-bowser

Bowser's palette swaps in SSBM

Trivia

  • Bowser's roar of his taunt hails from Super Mario 64, whenever he was defeated he would use the roar.
  • Changing the language to Japanese on an english SSBM changes Bowser's name to Koopa
MarioSymbol Super Mario universe
Characters Mario (64  · Melee  · Brawl  · 3DS/Wii U  · Ultimate)
Luigi (64  · Melee  · Brawl  · 3DS/Wii U  · Ultimate)
Princess Peach (Melee  · Brawl  · 3DS/Wii U  · Ultimate)
Bowser (Melee  · Brawl  · 3DS/Wii U  · Ultimate)
Dr. Mario (Melee  · 3DS/Wii U  · Ultimate)
Rosalina & Luma (3DS/Wii U  · Ultimate)
Bowser Jr. / Koopalings (3DS/Wii U  · Ultimate)
Daisy (Ultimate)
Piranha Plant (Ultimate)
Side Characters Bosses Metal Mario  · Metal Bros.  · Petey Piranha
Assist Trophies Waluigi  · Hammer Bro  · Lakitu and Spinies  · Chain Chomp  · Thwomp  · Flies & Hand
Mii Fighter Costumes Mario  · Luigi  · Princess Peach  · Daisy  · Wario  · Waluigi  · Chain Chomp  · Spiny  · Shy Guy  · Super Mushroom  · Toad  · Geno  · Builder Mario  · Cappy
Background characters Koopa Troopa  · Banzai Bill  · Goomba  · Pidgit  · Toad  · Boo  · Toad Brigade  · Chain Chomp  · Luma  · Pauline
Stage Hazards Piranha Plant  · Banzai Bill  · Birdo  · Shy Guy  · Shellcreeper and Sidestepper  · Kamek  · Nabbit
Enemies Goomba / Giant Goomba  · Koopa Troopa / Koopa Paratroopa  · Bullet Bill  · Banzai Bill  · Bill Blaster  · Chain Chomp  · Flame Chomp  · Hammer Bro.  · Lakitu and Spinies  · Magikoopa  · Shy Guy  · Spike Top
Stages Peach's Castle  · Mushroom Kingdom (Super Smash Bros.)  · Princess Peach's Castle  · Rainbow Cruise  · Mushroom Kingdom (Super Smash Bros. Melee)  · Mushroom Kingdom II  · Delfino Plaza  · Mushroomy Kingdom  · Figure-8 Circuit · Luigi's Mansion · Mario Bros.  · 3D Land  · Golden Plains  · Paper Mario  · Rainbow Road  · Mushroom Kingdom U  · Mario Galaxy  · Mario Circuit  · Super Mario Maker  · New Donk City Hall
Mushroom Kingdom (Adventure)
Items Banana Peel  · Bob-omb  · Boomerang  · Bullet Bill  · Fire Bar  · Fire Flower  · Freezie  · Golden Hammer  · Grass  · Green Shell  · Hothead  · Lightning Bolt  · Metal Box  · Poison Mushroom  · POW Block  · Red Shell  · Soccer Ball  · Spiny Shell  · Super Leaf  · Super Launch Star  · Super Mushroom  · Super Star
Music Lists List of Music (Mario series)  · List of Music (Mario Kart series)
Songs "Main Theme (Super Mario 64)"  · "Paper Mario Medley"  · "Rainbow Road Medley"  · "Jump Up, Super Star!"
Collectibles Trophies Melee Trophies  · Brawl Trophies  · 3DS Trophies  · Wii U Trophies
Stickers List of Stickers (Super Mario series)
Spirits List of spirits (Mario series)
Masterpieces Super Mario Bros.  · Super Mario Bros. 2  · Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels  · Super Mario World  · Super Mario Kart  · Dr. Mario
Related universes Donkey Kong · Yoshi · Wario · Wrecking Crew