Bowser (SSBM): Difference between revisions

|rankingPAL = 24

}}

Bowser has no voice actor, but uses realistic roars, similarly to his sounds in ''Mario Kart 64''.

==Attributes==

Bowser's greatest strength is his raw damage output and KO potential. Many of his attacks are the strongest of their kind, and their damage output can reach perhaps ludicrous levels; his uncharged forward smash, for instance, deals 24%, and his down tilt has the second highest damage output in the game for a tilt (behind Ganondorf's up tilt), dealing a potential 22% if both hits connect. As a result of this high damage output, Bowser possesses numerous finishing options, with all of his tilts, smash attacks, forward, back, and up aerials, [[Koopa Klaw]] back throw, [[Whirling Fortress]], and [[Bowser Bomb]] becoming potentials for garnering KOs. In addition to their high power, Bowser's attacks also have very large hitboxes, granting a more threatening offensive presence.

In addition to this, Bowser has a surprisingly high amount of tricks that can be used to aggravate opponents, such as the set knockback on his down throw setting up tech chases against fast fallers. One of Bowser's most versatile moves takes form as his up special move, [[Whirling Fortress]]. In addition to its superb damage potential, it is among the most flexible moves in the game, acting as a combo breaker due to its extremely quick five start-up frames, allowing it to serve as a very strong [[out of shield]] option, and a dangerous substitute to Bowser's poor defensive roll. Bowser is also surprisingly proficient at edgeguarding, despite his sluggish movement. He can quickly grab the ledge while using his Whirling Fortress off the side of the stage (known as Fortress Hogging), and can push recovering enemies backwards with his below-100% ledge attack, which is one of the best ledge attacks in the game due to its speed and the large area around the ledge that it covers. Meanwhile, his forward aerial is one of his fastest and highest reaching attacks, while his back aerial is a semi-spike, giving him two more useful tools to gimp opponents.

While Bowser does have high endurance potential due to being the heaviest character in the game, it is offset by his terrible mobility and extreme susceptibility to getting [[combo|comboed]], allowing him to be put into KO percentages very quickly. Faster characters, including {{SSBM|Fox}}, {{SSBM|Falco}}, and most of the ''Melee'' cast can easily combo, [[juggle]], and [[chain grab]] him, with very little chance for Bowser to escape. His slow, predictable, and easily gimpable recovery also hampers his survivability; despite Whirling Fortress being a good out of shield move, it is very poor as a recovery move, granting decent horizontal but terrible vertical distance. This makes [[meteor smash]]es and [[spike]]s extremely threatening to Bowser, as characters with reliable spikes (such as {{SSBM|Falco}} and {{SSBM|Marth}}) can instantly gimp his recovery, even at extremely low percentages. Bowser's recovery is further hampered by his poor air speed and his lack of alternate options to recover or ways to slow down his falling speed; as a result, Bowser is very simple to edgeguard.

==Version history==

'''NTSC 1.02'''

|game=SSBM

|neutralcount=2

|neutral1dmg=5%

|neutral2dmg=6%

|neutraldesc=Bowser slashes with his left claw, and then his right claw. Resembles a swiping action he performs in ''Super Mario 64''. Noticeable KO potential at higher percentages, being the third most powerful jab in the game.

|ftiltangles=3

|ftiltupdmg=13% (fist), 15% (arm)

|ftiltdowndmg=11% (fist), 13% (arm)

|ftiltdesc=Bowser leans forward and throws a backhanded punch. Has a bit of start up lag and little range, but it has fairly good knockback for a tilt. In fact, it is the most powerful forward tilt in ''Melee''. Can be aimed up or down. The attack is based on the second hit of his [[supermariowiki:List of weapons in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars#Drill Claw|Drill Claw]] attack in ''{{s|supermariowiki|Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars}}''.

|utiltdmg=13%

|utiltdesc=Swats the air above him with his left claw. Has good knockback and can be good for setting up combos. It is the second strongest up tilt in ''Melee'', surpassed by Ganondorf's.

|dtiltdmg=13% (hit 1), 10% (hit 2)

|dtiltdesc=Bowser slashes along the ground with his claws. Oddly, despite having two separate hits, they cannot link together past very low percentages and the first hit is stronger. The first hit is one of the stronger down tilts in the game and can KO at higher percentages.

|dashdmg=11% (clean), 8% (late)

|dashdesc=Bowser charges forward. Decent knockback at low percents, but cannot KO at very high percents and is very punishable due to startup and ending lag.

|fsmashdmg={{ChargedSmashDmgSSBM|24}}

|usmashdmg={{ChargedSmashDmgSSBM|20}} (leap), {{ChargedSmashDmgSSBM|12}} (landing)

|usmashdesc=Bowser thrusts his shell upward from a jump and hits the opponent with the spikes. A powerful attack with a rather long-lasting hitbox. Bowser has a smaller hitbox inside his shell that does {{ChargedSmashDmgSSBM|17}} damage, but it rarely connects due to overlapping the bigger hitbox. Bowser's himself is intangible the moment he jumps off the ground.

|dsmashdmg={{ChargedSmashDmgSSBM|2}} (hits 1-6), {{ChargedSmashDmgSSBM|10}} (hit 7)

|dsmashdesc=Bowser spins around in his shell, doing great damage with multiple hits from his spikes. Subpar range, can be DI'd out of, and has noticeable ending lag, but still powerful nonetheless. Combos into itself on fast-falling characters. Sixth most powerful down smash in the game.

|nairdmg=13%

|nairdesc=Bowser spins around in his shell, similarly to down smash. Low knockback, but long duration.

|fairdmg=14% (left claw), 12% (left arm), 11% (right shoulder)

|fairdesc=Bowser slashes forward in midair. It has good knockback and good damage output throughout, which makes it a rather viable [[edgeguarding]] and KOing option.

|bairdmg=13% (clean), 9% (late)

|bairdesc=Bowser thrusts his shell backwards. It is a viable [[edgeguarding]] option due to being a [[semi-spike]]. Has [[sex kick]] properties.

|uairdmg=17%

|uairdesc=Bowser whips his head above him horizontally. It is the slowest up aerial in the game, but is also the strongest. This is Bowser's only aerial that can KO reliably at 100%, and even earlier on lighter characters.

|dairdmg=3% (hits 1-9), 2% (landing)

|dairdesc=Bowser retreats into his shell and spins while facing upside-down. Does a lot of damage if all hits connect, but has low knockback, the hits don't reliably connect, and can lead to a self-destruct if used offstage due to its long duration and Bowser's weak recovery. It has a landing hitbox.

|grabdesc=

|pummeldmg=3%

|pummeldesc=Headbutts the foe. Moderately slow.

|fthrowdmg=10%

|fthrowdesc=Bowser throws his foe forward. Can act as a potential KO move at high percentages.

|bthrowdmg=10%

|bthrowdesc=Bowser throws his foe backwards.

|uthrowdmg=1% (hits 1-8), 2% (throw)

|uthrowdesc=Bowser throws his foe upward a short distance and on his shell, doing damage to the opponent while spinning. Has [[set knockback]] and can chaingrab fastfallers.

|dthrowdmg=12% (hit), 0% (throw)

|dthrowdesc=Bowser throws his foe on the ground and splashes them. It has a hitbox which lasts for one frame and deals a rather high 12%. The throw itself deals no damage. Can set up a tech-chase. In NTSC versions of the game, the throw is weight dependent. This makes the throw not deal any damage against {{SSBM|Jigglypuff}} or {{SSBM|Mr. Game & Watch}}, because they are a certain weight, where the down throw animation plays at a speed where it skips the frame the hitbox comes out on (frame 47). In the PAL version, the throw was made weight independent, so it plays at the same speed, and works properly against the entire cast.

|floorfdesc=Bowser leaps forward to strike with his head, then back to kick behind, and finally gets up into standing position.

|floorbname= 

|floorbdesc=Bowser gets up while swinging his right hand around.

|edgefname= 

|dsdmg=21% (drop), 8% (landing)

|dsdesc=If used on the ground, Bowser jumps up into the air, then plummets back down to the ground, damaging anyone who's in the way. If used in the air, the move functions the same, except there is no initial jump. The shockwave on the ground can damage nearby opponents. This move is a [[stall then fall]] move.

}}

{{Victory/SSBM

|victory-theme=MushroomKingdomThemeMelee.ogg

|desc-1=Steps forward, builds up a little, and roars.

|desc-3=Spins around in his shell and comes out smiling.

===Most historically significant players===

<!--This character has a ten player limit for this section. Before adding and/or removing a player, read these guidelines: https://www.ssbwiki.com/SmashWiki:Notability#%22Most_historically_significant_players%22_guidelines -->

===Tier placement and history===

Since the beginning of the metagame, Bowser has always been a bottom-tiered character, ranking at or near the bottom on many revisions, due to his shallow combo tree, severe vulnerability to getting comboed and edgeguarded, atrocious mobility, and his pitiful [[matchup]]s against top/high tier characters, which has led to very poor tournament results overall. Even with the innovations of dedicated Bowser professionals such as {{Sm|62-bit Hero}} and {{Sm|WarriorKnight}}, who propelled Bowser to a level of play that many rarely ever saw before, Bowser players simply could not reach the ubiquity and consistency needed as a main to be considered as a relevant threat in the top-level environment. Currently, Bowser is last on the tier list and is ranked in the F tier in 26th place. He has negligible representation in tournaments outside of situational matches where he is counterpicked against players unfamiliar with the matchup (e.g. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9NaIYFnVgY&t=7m41s DJ Nintendo vs. Unknown522 at Zenith 2013]) and is considered non-viable for high-level play.

===In {{SSBM|Classic Mode}}===

In Classic Mode, Bowser can appear as an ordinary opponent, an opponent alongside {{SSBM|Mario}}, {{SSBM|Zelda}}, {{SSBM|Mewtwo}} or {{SSBM|Peach}}, a giant opponent, a metal opponent, or an ally in the team and giant battles.

===In [[Adventure Mode]]===

In Adventure Mode, Bowser acts as a final boss of sorts, fought on the last stage, Stage 12: Final Destination. In this appearance, he is larger than usual, and as a result, he is more resistant to knockback. When played on Very Easy and Easy [[Difficulty|difficulties]], or if the player spent too much time in the Adventure Mode, then the game is concluded there. Classic Bowser's [[trophy]] falls off the stage, and the player's selected character celebrates with one of their [[Victory pose]]s.

If the player, however, arrives at Stage 12: Final Destination on Normal difficulty or higher, Bowser will appear with his black color scheme instead of his ordinary green color scheme (or his green color scheme if the player plays Bowser with his black color scheme). After he is KO'd and the ordinary cutscene is played, however, the eerie music continues where another cutscene shows the classic Bowser's trophy returning to Final Destination to face the player's character one last time. The trophy is then struck with lightning, and Bowser turns into Giga Bowser. Then Giga Bowser comes to life when he opens his mouth. As a last challenge for the player, they must defeat Giga Bowser in order to clear the Adventure Mode. After he is defeated, a cutscene shows Bowser's trophy falling off the stage again; this time, however, it breaks apart in which appears to be a "floor" in a pitch black background.

===In [[Event Match]]es===

*'''[[Event 1: Trouble King]]''': Bowser is the first opponent of the event mode. The player plays as {{SSBM|Mario}}, and Mario and Bowser have 2 stock each in an untimed match on the {{SSBM|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 the player must fight in this series of staged battles. The player's character battles him on the [[Rainbow Cruise]] stage, and their character has 2 stock while Bowser has 1. With a timer of four minutes, the player must defeat him and the other four characters one-by-one with the overall time and life the player has: Mario, {{SSBM|Donkey Kong}}, {{SSBM|Yoshi}}, and {{SSBM|Peach}} beforehand.

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 Mode]]s respectively with Bowser on any difficulty:

==[[Alternate costume (SSBM)#Bowser|Alternate costumes]]==

==Glitch==

Method:

<gallery>

Bowser Melee.jpg|Official artwork of Bowser.

CaptainFalconClassicMode.jpg|Knocked back by {{SSBM|Captain Falcon}}'s [[Falcon Kick]] on [[Corneria]].

</gallery>

==References==

{{reflist}}

{{SSBMCharacters}}

{{Mario universe}}