Bowser (SSBB)

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

Bowser
Bowser
Universe	Mario
Appears in	SSBM SSBB
Availability	Starter
Tier	E (26/27)

Bowser (Koopa in Japanese) (クッパ, Kuppa) is the primary antagonist of the "Super Mario" series. His SSB debut was in Melee and he returns in Brawl. Currently, he is 26/27th on the tier list (tied with Ness), improving much from his position in Melee. However, 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 heavy weight 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. 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 (so it's easier to move him), 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.

Moveset

Bowser's Moveset
	Move	Description	Segment		Damage	Angle	Hit Frames		BKB	KBG	WBKB	WBKBS	Type
Neutral	Double Claw	Two quick claw swipes.	Hit 1	Hand	5%	30	6	8	0	0	45	100
				Arm		50					30
				Shoulder		83					18
			Hit 2		5%	*	18	20	50	100	0	0
F-Tilt	Backhand Knuckle	Bowser gives a backhanded punch while leaning his body forward. Can be aimed up or down. Has decent KO potential at later percentages. If angled down, has a decent chance of tripping (40%).			11%	*	10	14	45	83	0	0
U-Tilt	Vertical Claw	Swats the air above him. A decent juggling move. This is also a very powerful KO move and can KO lightweights very early given its surprising speed.			12%	100	8	13	55	97	0	0
D-Tilt	Claw Trip	Claw swipes while crouched. Does two hits; unlike most multi-hit moves, the first hit is the stronger one. High knockback for its kind with speed make this another speedy KO move.	Hit 1		14%	*	10	12	20	100	0	0
			Hit 2		11%		20	22	12
Dash	Dashing Headbutt	Running headbutt. Has good vertical knockback. Horrid ending lag makes this move easily punishable.	Clean		11%	80	10	13	120	30	0	0
			Late		8%		14	19	80
U-Smash	Shell Slam	Bowser hunkers down on all fours and jumps straight up, hitting with his shell. Hitting with the sides of the attack does less damage. Opponents who only shield his jump will be hit by him landing. Very high knockback.	Hit 1	Shell	Template:DamageWhenCharged	90	17	22	23	80	0	0
				Head	Template:DamageWhenCharged	70				90
				Tail		120
			Hit 2	Shell	Template:DamageWhenCharged	90	32		60	100
				Head/Tail	Template:DamageWhenCharged	74
D-Smash	Shell Blender	Bowser retracts into his shell and spins around. Multi-hit attack that does up to seven hits. Very high knockback.	Hits 1-6	Edge	Template:DamageWhenCharged	150	15-16, 18-19, 21-22, 24-25, 27-28, 30-31		40	50	0	0
				Near		190
			Hit 7		Template:DamageWhenCharged	65	32			140
F-Smash	Horn Lunge	Bowser rears back and then performs a very strong headbutt. This is the most damaging side smash in the game. If used correctly, the second hit can prevent shield grabbing, as it has 20% extra hitstun.	Hit 1		Template:DamageWhenCharged	60	27		30	130	0	0
			Hit 2	Body	Template:DamageWhenCharged	*	29	32	25	81
				Head	Template:DamageWhenCharged	60
Nair	Shell Spin	Bowser spins around inside his shell. Low knockback and very low KO potential.	Clean		13%	*	8	13	20	80	0	0
			Late		9%		14	23
Fair	Air Claw	A rather quick slash forwards. Decent knockback with surprising speed.	Hand		13%	*	8	11	40	80	0	0
			Arm		12%
			Shoulder		11%
Bair	Shell Bulge	Bowser thrusts out his shell behind him. High knockback. High ending lag if not auto-cancelled.	Clean		15%	35	9	11	25	83	0	0
			Late		7%	*	12	15	35	100
Uair	Upper Headbutt	Bowser swings his head upward with a little but noticable startup lag but little ending lag in the air. Very high damage and knockback make it one of the best up airs in the game power-wise.	Head		17%	85	16	20	35	93	0	0
Dair	Inverted Spin	Bowser retracts into his shell and spins himself into the ground. Limited shockwave if hits the ground. The last hit can Meteor Smash, but it's weak and overall not recommended.	Hits 1-8		3%	80	14-15, 17-18, 20-21, 23-24, 26-27, 29-30, 32-33, 35-36		0	0	10	100
			Hit 9			270	38		10	100	0	0
			Landing		2%	20	1	3	60	30
Pummel	Headbutt	Hits foe with his head. Very slow pummel.			3%	80	9	10	0	0	30	100
F-Throw	Big Heave	Launches foe forward using his head. Decent knockback, but will rarely KO.			10%	45	36		60	50	0	0
B-Throw	Big Hurl	Exactly identical to Bowser's forward throw, but has a faster execution.			10%	45	19		60	50	0	0
U-Throw	Spike Slice	Bowser tosses foe upwards, retreats into his shell, and spins, damaging the foe with his spikes. Decent but set knockback.	Hits 1-8		1%	0	21-24, 25-28, 29-32, 33-36, 37-40, 41-44, 45-48, 49-53		0	100	0	0
			Throw		2%	70	53		0	0	120	100
D-Throw	Flatten	Sets opponent on floor, then flings himself forward, performing a body slam on his opponent. Low knockback even with scaling. The full damage of the attack is also applied to bystanders; the throw itself does no damage.	Hit 1		12%	0	45		0	100	0	0
			Throw		0%	50	56		75	30
Floor (back)	Claw Spin	Bowser gets up while swinging his hand around.	Hit 1		6%	*	18	19	80	50	0	0
			Hit 2				23	24
Floor (front)	Worm	Bowser leaps forward to strike with his head, then back to kick behind, and finally up into a standing position.	Hit 1		6%	*	10	11	80	50	0	0
			Hit 2				26	27
Floor (trip)	Floor Spin	Bowser gets up while facing backwards, and does a claw swipe that brings him facing forward.	Hit 1		5%	*	19	20	60	50	0	0
			Hit 2				23	24
Edge (<100%)	Quick Spin	Quickly spins onto the stage, then retreats back a bit.			8%	*	8	17	0	0	110	100
Edge (100%+)	Slow Swipe	Slowly climbs onto stage, and does a quick claw jab.			10%	*	46	50	0	0	110	100
Neutral Special	Fire Breath	Bowser takes a short breath and lets loose with a stream of fire.	Near		2%
			Far		1%
Side Special	Flying Slam	Bowser snatches the opponent and done a massive flying suplex. Opponents not close enough to grab get slashed. Can be used to commit Bowsercide.	Slash (ground)		13%	70	8	10	60	80	0	0
			Slash (air)			*	17	19
			Slam	Throw	18%	60			80	50
Up Special	Whirling Fortress	Bowser gets into his shell and helicopters around. One of the best out-of-shield moves in the game.	Hit 1 (ground)		11%	80	6	7	70	80	0	0
			Hit 2 (ground)		5%	90	8, 12, 16, 20	39	80	50
			Hit 3 (ground)		3%	70	24, 28, 32, 36		50
			Hit 1 (air)		10%	80	6	7	80	60	0	0
			Hit 2 (air)		3%	84	8-11, 12-15, 16-19, 20-23, 24-27		50	20
			Hit 3 (air)		2%		28-31, 32-35, 36-39, 40-43, 44-47
Down Special	Bowser Bomb	Bowser leaps into the air and plummets downwards.	Ground hop		4%	85	11		0	0	110	100
			Drop (from ground)		20%	76	38		45	75	0	0
			Drop (from air)				32
			Landing		11%		1	2	60	72
Final Smash	Giga Bowser	Bowser turns into Giga Bowser.					60

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.

Bowser's Match-ups

Super Smash Bros. Brawl Character Matchups

Avg.

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

File:Subspace bowser.PNG

Bowser in the SSE

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 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 a 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

Palette Swaps

File:Alt-bowser2.jpg

Bowser's palette swap in SSBB

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.
• Bowser's voice clip for his Wii Remote selection is a roar he 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).

External links

• Bowser's page at Smash Bros. DOJO!!.
• Bowser character guide at SWF
• Bowser's hitbox size of each of his moves