Bowser (SSBM): Difference between revisions

Bowser is currently ranked 26th in the F tier in the current ''Melee'' [[tier list]], making him the lowest ranked character in the game as well as being his worst placement in the series. Among Bowser's positive traits is his difficulty in getting KO'd due to his high weight and rather fast falling speed for a heavyweight; additionally, he has among the most powerful attacks in the game (most notably his forward smash), as well as some useful aerial attacks, most notably his forward and upward aerials. However, he suffers due to his large size and falling speed, which makes him extremely easy to combo. His moves are burdened with sluggish frame data, and his approach is among the worst in the game, with laggy aerials, a poor jumping ability (leading to an awful SHFFL), a short wavedash, poor projectile, and a slow, predictable [[recovery]]. Bowser suffers from having terrible matchups in the game, with most of the cast being able enough to camp, edgeguard, and overwhelm him with attacks easily.

Bowser acts as the game's primary "slow and powerful" fighter; other equally heavy and powerful characters, such as {{SSBM|Donkey Kong}} and {{SSBM|Ganondorf}}, are of considerably higher speed than Bowser in a variety of ways. Bowser has an average dashing speed, average falling speed, below average air speed, below average traction and the slowest initial dash. These characteristics, however, also give Bowser a short and slow wavedash.

One of Bowser's greatest strengths is his raw damage output and KO potential. Many of his attacks are the strongest of their type, 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), 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, 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.

Bowser's extreme power that sacrifices speed, however, is what causes him to be considered a contender for the worst character in ''Melee''. Bowser is arguably the slowest character in ''Melee'', as he possesses abysmal mobility and among the slowest attacks. Despite an average dashing speed, he has poor air speed, the slowest walking speed, the slowest jump in the game (an 8-frame jump squat) and a mediocre wavedash. [[Fire Breath]] is also tied with Zelda's [[Din's Fire]] for possibly the worst projectile in the game; with high startup and ending lag, short reach for a projectile, and gradual loss of power, it is almost completely useless outside of edgeguarding already linear recoveries. His aerial approach is of equally poor quality, due to his aforementioned slow jumping speed and high-lag aerials. This leads to a horrible SHFFL that is, ironically, very easy to perform. These deficiencies give Bowser the worst neutral game of the entire cast.

Bowser's poor neutral game is exacerbated by poor defensive options; his only good option is the aforementioned Whirling Fortress, as all of his other defensive options are among the worst in the game. With a small shield that invites shield stabbing, as well as slow defensive rolls and sidesteps, Bowser has very few ways to escape pressure inflicted onto him. He also has no options against projectiles, due to his massive hurtbox and lack of an effective projectile or reflector of his own. Finally, Bowser's attacks have extremely sluggish frame data, and are extremely easy to punish. Despite his extreme power, he ironically has trouble KOing opponents due to his poor approaching options and the extreme lag in his moves, making him prediction-reliant to land his finishers.  

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.

Bowser's lack of low-knockback moves, coupled with high ending lag, give him a very shallow combo game; most of his combos require precise timing and L-cancelling, and even then, these combos are limited to two or three hits even if the opponent [[DI]]s poorly, with the last hit often not being one that can lead to a KO. Bowser's slow speed on both the ground and in the air also prevent him from easily pursuing foes after they have been knocked back, leading to opponents easily recovering from hits and being able to counter Bowser's further attempts at comboing. This makes Bowser's punishes highly inconsistent, even at the lowest levels of play.