Bowser (SSBU): Difference between revisions

Bowser has received a mix of buffs and nerfs in his transition from ''SSB4'' to ''Ultimate''; he has received many improvements which alleviate some of his most severe weaknesses, but some of his biggest strengths from the previous game have been toned down, and the new engine changes compound both his strengths and weaknesses. As a result, it is difficult to determine if Bowser has been buffed or nerfed overall.

Among Bowser's biggest nerfs are to his grab game. 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 middling percentages due to its increased knockback and ending lag, which in turn removes its KO setups. Additionally, his pivot grab, notorious for its massive range in ''SSB4'', has shorter range.

However, Bowser has seen comparatively more buffs to help compensate, particularly to his character attributes, his KO potential, 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 made even better in the transition (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. Finally, Flying Slam has significantly faster startup overall, now being on par with other characters' grabs such as {{SSBU|Mario}}, which heavily improves his options against shielding opponents.

The universal changes both help and hinder Bowser. On one hand, the ability to [[Run cancel|use any attack out of a run]] has also improved 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 universal nerfing of grabs further compounds some of the hindrances his respectable grab game has received as well. The universally decreased [[landing lag]] has significantly improved Bowser's previously atrociously unsafe landing options, as he has less trouble landing than ever before now, which complements his now fast falling speed and streamlined jumpsquat; however, it has also allowed 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]].

Overall, Bowser's ease of KO setups due to his combo throw has been neutered, removing most of the oppressive factor he had on the ground and forcing him to rely on his attributes to deal with pressure, but his moveset has seen a general increase in utility, his survivability and speed were improved further, and he has been generally compensated in terms of damage while keeping his incredible power mostly intact. These changes have made him an "all-rounder" of the game's super heavyweights, and have repurposed his playstyle from a "mighty glacier" with great mobility and grappler capabilities to more of a "lightning bruiser" with all-around decently effective options for different situations. However, Bowser still retains flaws such as a below-average approach and heavy susceptiblility to general pressure (such as combos, zoning, juggling and tech-chasing). Combined with several veterans receiving buffs just as significant as his, decidedly unimpactful changes from game updates, and the introduction of DLC characters such as {{SSBU|Steve}} and {{SSBU|Kazuya}}, Bowser performs similarly effective as in ''SSB4'', though he is slightly worse relative to the cast.

Overall, Bowser currently sits as an upper-mid tier character, though he is still considered to be the best traditional heavyweight in the game, ranking 50th on the first and current tier list.