Bowser (SSBU): Difference between revisions
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However, in spite of his potent strengths, Bowser is not without his drawbacks. Despite his excellent options to rack up damage, his frame data is below average overall, which means that faster opponents can beat Bowser to the punch, and he is susceptible to being punished if his attacks are whiffed, shielded, or dodged. This ties in with Bowser's biggest weakness, which is his great vulnerability to heavy pressure of any kind. Bowser's combination of extremely high weight, large hurtboxes, fast falling speed, and high gravity makes him exceptionally susceptible to combos, and as such, characters like {{SSBU|Captain Falcon}}, {{SSBU|Mario}}, {{SSBU|Pikachu}}, and {{SSBU|Ryu}} can easily punish and combo him for large amounts of damage if he makes a single mistake. His below average frame data and frame 4 [[air dodge]] also results in an inability to effectively break out of combos. Although Bowser has remarkable range, his is mostly melee-based, so characters with weapons that grant them disjointed reach (like {{SSBU|Marth}}, {{SSBU|Cloud}}, and {{SSBU|Shulk}}) can prove to be difficult for him to overcome, especially if they're able to space their moves efficiently. As Bowser essentially lacks a projectile (due to Fire Breath's range being short and strict to Bowser's frame), he can also have difficulty at approaching characters with strong zoning games, like {{SSBU|Min Min}}, {{SSBU|Samus}}, and Toon Link, especially since their melee range also tends to be comparable to his. The latter two methods of pressure also give Bowser trouble at properly approaching. | However, in spite of his potent strengths, Bowser is not without his drawbacks. Despite his excellent options to rack up damage, his frame data is below average overall, which means that faster opponents can beat Bowser to the punch, and he is susceptible to being punished if his attacks are whiffed, shielded, or dodged. This ties in with Bowser's biggest weakness, which is his great vulnerability to heavy pressure of any kind. Bowser's combination of extremely high weight, large hurtboxes, fast falling speed, and high gravity makes him exceptionally susceptible to combos, and as such, characters like {{SSBU|Captain Falcon}}, {{SSBU|Mario}}, {{SSBU|Pikachu}}, and {{SSBU|Ryu}} can easily punish and combo him for large amounts of damage if he makes a single mistake. His below average frame data and frame 4 [[air dodge]] also results in an inability to effectively break out of combos. Although Bowser has remarkable range, his is mostly melee-based, so characters with weapons that grant them disjointed reach (like {{SSBU|Marth}}, {{SSBU|Cloud}}, and {{SSBU|Shulk}}) can prove to be difficult for him to overcome, especially if they're able to space their moves efficiently. As Bowser essentially lacks a projectile (due to Fire Breath's range being short and strict to Bowser's frame), he can also have difficulty at approaching characters with strong zoning games, like {{SSBU|Min Min}}, {{SSBU|Samus}}, and Toon Link, especially since their melee range also tends to be comparable to his. The latter two methods of pressure also give Bowser trouble at properly approaching. | ||
Landing with Bowser while he's being juggled can prove a notable issue despite his high gravity and fast falling speed, as his most notable options for landing, [[down aerial]] and Bowser Bomb, are laggy and predictable due to being [[stall-then-fall]] moves. Landing with his other aerials, although seemingly not an issue thanks to his forward aerial's range and knockback, can also prove a liability due to none of them being particularly safe on shield | Landing with Bowser while he's being juggled can prove a notable issue despite his high gravity and fast falling speed, as his most notable options for landing, [[down aerial]] and Bowser Bomb, are laggy and predictable due to being [[stall-then-fall]] moves. Landing with his other aerials, although seemingly not an issue thanks to his forward aerial's range and knockback, can also prove a liability due to none of them being particularly safe on shield. His [[roll]]s are also short-distanced, and his [[tech]]s are slow and have low durations, which makes him prone to tech-chasing. Bowser's recovery, while serviceable and much better than most of the other super heavies, tends to be mediocre in practice, as it is rather slow and doesn't offer Bowser as much protection as other recovery moves would; as a result, he is particularly vulnerable to being edgeguarded, especially by counters or moves that can 2-frame. His out of shield game, despite being consistent, is nevertheless predictable due to Whirling Fortress being his most viable option out of shield; all other options can be punished or do not have the proper range to punish well-spaced moves. Moveover, his damage-based armor (on his grounded attacks) and universal knockback-based armor (from his signature Tough Guy ability) fails to compensate for all of this, as they do not compensate for his lack of medium-ranged and zoning or counterzoning options. Altogether, despite his great mobility and excellent tools to punish melee-focused options making him not as susceptible as his fellow super heavyweight contemporaries, Bowser's defensive game remains just as poor overall compared to them, due to him being so susceptible to pressure. | ||
Other weaknesses include a few of Bowser's moves either lacking proper utility or being largely outclassed by his other options. [[Neutral attack]] is Bowser's third fastest attack overall, the first hit can [[lock]] (although this is best suited for bulkier characters), and the second hit can beat spotdodge attempts; however, it is largely outclassed by his Whirling Fortress, since the latter is faster and can be used out of shield. His [[down tilt]], while being equally fast as forward tilt while dealing more damage, has less utility for 2-framing due to its weaker knockback and it is much more punishable, especially on shield. Up aerial, while powerful and relatively quick, has poor range and moderate endlag and landing lag, meaning that up tilt is normally considered a superior vertical KO option. Down aerial, while being Bowser's second strongest aerial and the third strongest meteor smash in the game when hit cleanly, has numerous weaknesses, including its slow startup, stall-then-fall nature, and extreme ending and landing lag. This means that its offstage utility is severely hampered when compared to other down aerials of its nature, such as those of {{SSBU|Mr. Game & Watch}} and {{SSBU|Sonic}}. While [[forward throw]] still has some utility due to its strong knockback, it lacks the damage output of his down throw and the quick release of his back throw, making it somewhat outclassed in terms of KO power and damage. Lastly, while his down special, Bowser Bomb, deals immense damage and is infamous for instantly breaking shields, its slow aerial startup and extreme endlag make it unsuitable for landing and it is agreed to be his worst special as a result. | Other weaknesses include a few of Bowser's moves either lacking proper utility or being largely outclassed by his other options. [[Neutral attack]] is Bowser's third fastest attack overall, the first hit can [[lock]] (although this is best suited for bulkier characters), and the second hit can beat spotdodge attempts; however, it is largely outclassed by his Whirling Fortress, since the latter is faster and can be used out of shield. His [[down tilt]], while being equally fast as forward tilt while dealing more damage, has less utility for 2-framing due to its weaker knockback and it is much more punishable, especially on shield. Up aerial, while powerful and relatively quick, has poor range and moderate endlag and landing lag, meaning that up tilt is normally considered a superior vertical KO option. Down aerial, while being Bowser's second strongest aerial and the third strongest meteor smash in the game when hit cleanly, has numerous weaknesses, including its slow startup, stall-then-fall nature, and extreme ending and landing lag. This means that its offstage utility is severely hampered when compared to other down aerials of its nature, such as those of {{SSBU|Mr. Game & Watch}} and {{SSBU|Sonic}}. While [[forward throw]] still has some utility due to its strong knockback, it lacks the damage output of his down throw and the quick release of his back throw, making it somewhat outclassed in terms of KO power and damage. Lastly, while his down special, Bowser Bomb, deals immense damage and is infamous for instantly breaking shields, its slow aerial startup and extreme endlag make it unsuitable for landing and it is agreed to be his worst special as a result. | ||
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Bowser has seen several buffs to his character attributes, power, and to his side special move, [[Flying Slam]]. Both Bowser's grounded and aerial mobility have improved (along with the rest of the cast), sporting a faster [[jumpsquat]] as well as faster [[dash]]ing, [[air speed|air]], and [[falling speed]]s, noticeably improving his ground-to-air transitioning and making him more adept at [[punish]]ing, while also allowing him to land and escape juggles with less difficulty than before, especially in the case of the former. Bowser is even heavier, and he also received an increase on his defensive game through a higher amplification of damage-based [[armor]] on his [[tilt attack|tilt]]s and [[smash attack]]s, which tones down one of the issues his [[Tough Guy]] armor had in ''SSB4'', improving it in general and making his already excellent endurance better. | Bowser has seen several buffs to his character attributes, power, and to his side special move, [[Flying Slam]]. Both Bowser's grounded and aerial mobility have improved (along with the rest of the cast), sporting a faster [[jumpsquat]] as well as faster [[dash]]ing, [[air speed|air]], and [[falling speed]]s, noticeably improving his ground-to-air transitioning and making him more adept at [[punish]]ing, while also allowing him to land and escape juggles with less difficulty than before, especially in the case of the former. Bowser is even heavier, and he also received an increase on his defensive game through a higher amplification of damage-based [[armor]] on his [[tilt attack|tilt]]s and [[smash attack]]s, which tones down one of the issues his [[Tough Guy]] armor had in ''SSB4'', improving it in general and making his already excellent endurance better. | ||
Bowser's already high power was further strengthened in the transition as well (most notably on moves such as his tilt attacks, [[down throw]], [[Fire Breath]] and [[Whirling Fortress]]), which supplements his higher weight and improved adeptness at punishing. As for Flying Slam, it has significantly faster startup overall, now being on par with | Bowser's already high power was further strengthened in the transition as well (most notably on moves such as his tilt attacks, [[down throw]], [[Fire Breath]] and [[Whirling Fortress]]), which supplements his higher weight and improved adeptness at punishing. As for Flying Slam, it has significantly faster startup overall, now being on par with the fastest standing grabs in the game such as {{SSBU|Mario}}'s and making it the fastest command grab in the game, which heavily improves his options against shielding opponents. | ||
However, despite his lower amount of nerfs, the hindrances to Bowser's grab game has been very detrimental to him. Much like {{SSBU|Donkey Kong}}, Bowser's infamous up throw, previously a fearsome combo starter with a myriad of followups and KO setups, has lost its combo potential past | However, despite his lower amount of nerfs, the hindrances to Bowser's grab game has been very detrimental to him. Much like {{SSBU|Donkey Kong}}, Bowser's infamous up throw, previously a fearsome combo starter with a myriad of followups and KO setups, has lost its combo potential past mid to high percentages due to its increased knockback and ending lag, removing its KO setups, and requiring precise execution to combo past mid percent. Additionally, his pivot grab, notorious for its massive range in ''SSB4'', has shorter range. The universal nerfing of grabs further compounds these hindrances, as it's now harder for Bowser to make use of his otherwise respectable grab game. | ||
Aside form the nerfs to grabs, the universal changes both help and hinder Bowser, but halt him more overall. On one hand, the ability to [[Run cancel|use any attack out of a run]] further enhances his ground game, as it gives him more reliable ways to punish the opponent due to his powerful, heavy-armored tilts and smash attacks. On the other hand, the universally decreased [[landing lag]] has improved Bowser's atrocious landing options, giving him less trouble at landing than before, which complements his now fast falling speed and streamlined jumpsquat; however, it also allows several characters to combo him with much more ease (comparable to in ''Melee''), especially due to his larger weight and faster falling speed. The changes to [[air dodge]]s, while making him slightly less susceptible to horizontal combos and general juggling since he can use one to escape, they also make him more vulnerable to [[edgeguarding]]. In bulk, these changes have improved Bowser's offense at the notable cost of his already poor disadvantage state and decent defensive game, despite the existence of [[Whirling Fortress]] as an [[out of shield]] option. | Aside form the nerfs to grabs, the universal changes both help and hinder Bowser, but halt him more overall. On one hand, the ability to [[Run cancel|use any attack out of a run]] further enhances his ground game, as it gives him more reliable ways to punish the opponent due to his powerful, heavy-armored tilts and smash attacks. On the other hand, the universally decreased [[landing lag]] has improved Bowser's atrocious landing options, giving him less trouble at landing than before, which complements his now fast falling speed and streamlined jumpsquat; however, it also allows several characters to combo him with much more ease (comparable to in ''Melee''), especially due to his larger weight and faster falling speed. The changes to [[air dodge]]s, while making him slightly less susceptible to horizontal combos and general juggling since he can use one to escape, they also make him more vulnerable to [[edgeguarding]]. In bulk, these changes have improved Bowser's offense at the notable cost of his already poor disadvantage state and decent defensive game, despite the existence of [[Whirling Fortress]] as an [[out of shield]] option. | ||
Overall, Bowser's moveset has seen a general increase in utility, his survivability and speed were improved further, and his incredible power was kept intact | Overall, Bowser's moveset has seen a general increase in utility, his survivability and speed were improved much further, and his incredible power was kept intact. The neutering of his combo throw has removed the ease of his highly damaging and KOing setups, removing much of the oppressive factor he had on the ground and shifting the focus on overall movement and threatening the opponent from mid range with un-reactable grabs and wide aerials to push the opponent in a corner or put them in disadvantage. These changes have made his moveset less polarized, with all-around decently effective options for different situations and a renewed affinity for quickly closing the distance between him and his opponent, moving away from his "mighty glacier" playstyle. Bowser also still retains flaws such as a heavy susceptibility to general pressure (such as combos, juggling and tech-chasing), and his changes have failed to completely alleviate the latter problem. Combined with several veterans receiving buffs just as significant as his, decidedly unimpactful changes from game updates, general optimizations to the metagame, and the introduction of powerful DLC characters, Bowser performs worse than in ''SSB4'', being slightly worse relative to the cast. | ||
{{SSB4 to SSBU changelist|char=Bowser}} | {{SSB4 to SSBU changelist|char=Bowser}} | ||
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|dsmashname=Rampage Scratch ({{ja|あばれひっかき|Abare Hikkaki}}) | |dsmashname=Rampage Scratch ({{ja|あばれひっかき|Abare Hikkaki}}) | ||
|dsmashdmg={{ChargedSmashDmgSSBU|16}} (hit 1),<br>{{ChargedSmashDmgSSBU|15}} (hit 2) | |dsmashdmg={{ChargedSmashDmgSSBU|16}} (hit 1),<br>{{ChargedSmashDmgSSBU|15}} (hit 2) | ||
|dsmashdesc=Does two grounded claw swipes, hitting opponents in front of him, then behind him. Active on frame 12, making it Bowser’s fastest smash attack. It's also among the strongest down smashes in the game; the front hit deals slightly more damage than the back hit, though they both do about the same knockback. Grants damage-based armor (frames 5-11), but unlike his other smashes, it possesses no invincibility. It can hit | |dsmashdesc=Does two grounded claw swipes, hitting opponents in front of him, then behind him. Active on frame 12, making it Bowser’s fastest smash attack. It's also among the strongest down smashes in the game, with KO power comparable to many other characters' forward smashes; the front hit deals slightly more damage than the back hit, though they both do about the same knockback. Grants damage-based armor (frames 5-11), but unlike his other smashes, it possesses no invincibility. It can hit most characters' ledge hangs and is useful for covering rolls, but its extremely high ending lag, even more than on his forward smash, makes it very punishable. | ||
|nairname=Koopa Wheel ({{ja|クッパホイール|Kuppa Hoīru}}) | |nairname=Koopa Wheel ({{ja|クッパホイール|Kuppa Hoīru}}) | ||
|nairdmg={{ShortHopDmgSSBU|6}} (hits 1-4) | |nairdmg={{ShortHopDmgSSBU|6}} (hits 1-4) | ||
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|bairname=Rocket Kick ({{ja|ロケットキック|Roketto Kikku}}) | |bairname=Rocket Kick ({{ja|ロケットキック|Roketto Kikku}}) | ||
|bairdmg={{ShortHopDmgSSBU|19}} | |bairdmg={{ShortHopDmgSSBU|19}} | ||
|bairdesc=A dropkick. It's incredibly powerful, one of the strongest | |bairdesc=A dropkick. It's incredibly powerful, one of the strongest back aerials in the game, as it can KO around 100% from center-stage and as low as 60% at the edge. It is active on frames 9-11 and can [[auto-cancel]] in a short hop, making it somewhat safe when retreating. However, it has the most landing lag out of any back aerial in the game (24 frames), making it risky to use when close to the ground. Despite its kill power and quick startup, its hitbox is lackluster, lacking much vertical range, and Bowser's hurtbox extends beyond the actual hitbox of the move on its first active frame, making it susceptible to failing against disjointed attacks. | ||
|uairname=Heading ({{ja|ヘディング|Hedingu}}) | |uairname=Heading ({{ja|ヘディング|Hedingu}}) | ||
|uairdmg={{ShortHopDmgSSBU|15}} | |uairdmg={{ShortHopDmgSSBU|15}} | ||
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While improved relative to other traditional heavyweights, Bowser has largely not benefited from the power creep that much of the cast has enjoyed in part due to the lack of substantial updates following the early game; this has been reflected in an increasingly smaller competitive base, especially outside of the online meta. Recently, Bowser has experienced a significant downfall in results due to the buffs of some of the characters that he struggles against like {{SSBU|Diddy Kong}} and {{SSBU|Sonic}} and the introduction to the DLC characters that also give Bowser a very hard time like {{SSBU|Steve}} and {{SSBU|Kazuya}}. | While improved relative to other traditional heavyweights, Bowser has largely not benefited from the power creep that much of the cast has enjoyed in part due to the lack of substantial updates following the early game; this has been reflected in an increasingly smaller competitive base, especially outside of the online meta. Recently, Bowser has experienced a significant downfall in results due to the buffs of some of the characters that he struggles against like {{SSBU|Diddy Kong}} and {{SSBU|Sonic}} and the introduction to the DLC characters that also give Bowser a very hard time like {{SSBU|Steve}} and {{SSBU|Kazuya}}. | ||
Overall, Bowser currently sits | Overall, Bowser currently sits at the 59th place out of 82 on the tier list, placing him in the C+, though he is still considered to be the best traditional heavyweight in the game. | ||
===Most historically significant players=== | ===Most historically significant players=== | ||