Bowser Jr. (SSB4): Difference between revisions

|image = {{tabber|title1=Bowser Jr.|tab1=[[File:Bowser Jr. SSB4.png|250px]]|title2=Larry|tab2=[[File:LarrySSB4Render.png|250px]]|title3=Roy|tab3=[[File:RoySSB4Render.png|250px]]|title4=Wendy|tab4=[[File:WendySSB4Render.png|250px]]|title5=Iggy|tab5=[[File:IggySSB4Render.png|250px]]|title6=Morton|tab6=[[File:MortonSSB4Render.png|250px]]|title7=Lemmy|tab7=[[File:LemmySSB4Render.png|250px]]|title8=Ludwig|tab8=[[File:LudwigSSB4Render.png|250px]]|}}

|ranking = 48

:{{cquote|Bowser Jr. Clowns The Competition!|cite=Introduction Tagline}}

'''Bowser Jr.''' ({{ja|クッパJr.|Kuppa Jr.}}, ''Koopa Jr.'') is a playable character in ''[[Super Smash Bros. 4]]''. After initially being [[leak]]ed on August 19th, 2014 as part of the [[ESRB leak]], he was revealed as a fighter with ''Smash for 3DS''{{'}}s launch in Japan on September 13, 2014, followed by his official trailer being shown off during the [[Nintendo Direct#Super Smash Bros. for Wii U: 50-Fact Extravaganza|''Super Smash Bros. for Wii U'' 50-Fact Extravaganza]] on October 23rd, 2014.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0BBGzfw0pQ Wii U - Super Smash Bros. for Wii U 50-Fact Extravaganza]</ref> Caety Sagoian reprises her role as Bowser Jr.'s voice actor from ''{{s|mariowiki|Mario Strikers Charged}}'' and onwards, albeit via recycled voice clips from various [[Mario (universe)|''Mario'' spin-off games]]. The [[Koopalings]] also use their voice clips from the ''{{iw|mariowiki|New Super Mario Bros.|disambiguation}}'' games, which were voiced by Lani Minella ([[mariowiki:Larry Koopa|Larry]], [[mariowiki:Morton Koopa Jr.|Morton]], [[mariowiki:Wendy O. Koopa|Wendy]], and [[mariowiki:Lemmy Koopa|Lemmy]]), Mike Vaughn ([[mariowiki:Iggy Koopa|Iggy]] and [[mariowiki:Ludwig von Koopa|Ludwig]]) and Dan Falcone ([[mariowiki:Roy Koopa|Roy]]), in place of their respective voice actors (except Roy) from ''{{s|mariowiki|Mario Kart 8}}''.

Bowser Jr. is currently ranked 48th out of 55 on the [[tier list]], placing him in the F tier. He is able to attack from a reasonably safe distance, which is supplemented by a few of his attacks being powerful enough to KO under 100%. He also has a very capable [[neutral game]]: [[Clown Kart Dash]] functions as an excellent approach option and provides an impressive amount of versatility, while [[Mechakoopa]] is useful for pressuring and stage control. Despite being a [[Weight|heavyweight]], Bowser Jr. also sports a deceptively good air game, courtesy of his fairly fast aerial mobility and his aerial attacks' follow-up and juggling potentials.

Despite his strengths, Bowser Jr. has noticeable flaws. His overall grounded mobility is slow, which necessitates using Clown Kart Dash in order to keep up with faster opponents. Lag is another glaring issue; many of Bowser Jr.'s attacks have among the largest amounts of ending lag in the game, requiring players to use [[read]]s or [[baiting]] in order to secure KOs with him. Bowser Jr.'s grab game also suffers from his standing, pivot and dash grabs' overall lag, and his grab game is further made worse by very unimpressive throws, with only his back throw being useful, as a situational KOing option. Lastly, Bowser Jr.'s recovery is predictable and unsafe, as [[Abandon Ship!]] is very susceptible to [[gimp]]s due to offering no overhead protection, it can only travel in one direction, and it can be rendered unusable if he is hit even by a weak attack.

Bowser Jr. has had minimal impact in tournaments and the current [[metagame]], owing to a small playerbase. Although Bowser Jr. previously attained stronger tournament results and a deeper metagame from {{Sm|Tweek}}, he later switched to using the higher-tiered {{SSB4|Cloud}}, leading to a stagnation of Bowser Jr.'s own metagame. Bowser Jr. has still made waves of attention from time to time, such as with Jade defeating {{Sm|Trela}}'s {{SSB4|Ryu}} at [[CEO 2016]], but he struggles to make an impact at large tournaments.

==How to unlock==

Bowser Jr. is a [[starter character]] in {{forwiiu}}.

Bowser Jr. is tied with {{SSB4|Samus}} as the sixth [[Weight|heaviest]] character, yet he possesses overall decent mobility. While he has slow [[walk]]ing and [[dash]]ing speeds, a fast [[falling speed]] and above average [[gravity]], all of which are typical of a heavyweight, he has a surprisingly fast [[air speed]] and above-average [[air acceleration]]. Outside of this, Bowser Jr. possesses a few unorthodox, yet noteworthy, traits. Like [[Duck Hunt (SSB4)|Duck Hunt's dog and duck]], he and his [[Koopa Clown Car#Super Smash Bros. 4|Junior Clown Car]] have two separate hurtboxes. However, the properties of Bowser Jr. and his Clown Car's hurtboxes are much more apparent: attacks that hit the Clown Car will deal 0.88× damage, whereas those that hit Bowser Jr. himself will deal 1.15× damage.<ref name="ClownCar">[http://smashboards.com/threads/bowser-jr-s-damage-mitigation-mechanic.369430/ Bowser Jr.'s damage mitigation mechanic]</ref> However, Bowser Jr.'s hitbox takes priority over the Clown Car's hitbox<ref name="Hitboxes">[https://ssbworld.com/blog/45/bowser-jr-s-hurt-boxes:-an-inconvienent-quirk Bowser Jr's Hurtboxes: An Inconvienent Quirk]</ref>, making him vulnerable to receiving more damage more often than not. Although the knockback calculation ignores this, he will still be KO'd earlier than most heavyweights, as the knockback formula takes the target's damage after the attack damage has been added. One unique quirk Bowser Jr. possesses is that all but one of his attacks have disjointed [[hitbox]]es (with the only exception being [[Clown Kart Dash]]), which gives him decent overall range.

[[Clown Kart Dash]] is considered to be Bowser Jr.'s best move overall because of its versatility, with its most apparent benefit being much better movement to make up for his slow dashing speed (which can be made even faster via [[jump-canceling]]) and grants him an excellent approach option. Clown Kart Dash is also integral to Bowser Jr. due to its mindgame and damage racking potentials. It can function either as a strong head-on attack or initiate aerial combos due Bowser Jr. being able to jump during it, which are further improved by jump canceling. Lastly, it can function as a horizontal recovery option, which is further supplemented by its {{iw|wikipedia|doughtnut|driving}}-based attack and having [[armor]] that can withstand a maximum of 7%.

[[Abandon Ship!]] is another useful move that possesses impressive knockback and grants Bowser Jr. considerable vertical distance. Unlike most recovery moves, Abandon Ship! does not initiate helplessness; this allows Bowser Jr. to not only air dodge if necessary, but also allows him to perform a powerful hammer swing upon pressing the attack button, which is an almost guaranteed KOing option when used in sync with Clown Kart Dash at high percentages. [[Mechakoopa]] is a very useful tool for zoning, combos, follow-ups, and even defensive purposes due to its ability to block incoming projectiles like {{SSB4|Link}} and {{SSB4|Toon Link}}'s [[Bomb (Link)|Bombs]] can.

Bowser Jr.'s good aerial mobility supplements the utility of his aerial attacks. His neutral aerial is useful as both an edge-guarding and out of shield option. His forward and back aerials are useful as edge-guarding, spacing and KOing options. While Bowser Jr.'s up aerial only hits above him, it is capable of juggling and can KO on stages with low ceilings, such as {{SSB4|Battlefield}} or [[Town and City]]. Down aerial can shield stab and works well used out of Clown Kart Dash at lower percentages, due to the hitbox it produces compensating for its high landing lag.

Despite his great aerial mobility and damage racking potential, Bowser Jr. is not without his flaws. One of his biggest problems is that his recovery is glaringly susceptible to gimps. While Abandon Ship! grants him impressive vertical distance, a weak hit from an attack can result in Bowser Jr. not being able to respawn his Clown Car if the player does not [[button mash]]. Another major problem that Bowser Jr. faces is a lack of viable options on shield, making him susceptible to punishes. Bowser Jr. is also a very straight-forward character, which can make him quite predictable at times. In addition, Mechakoopa is the crux of Bowser Jr.'s neutral game, making it easy (especially for characters such as {{SSB4|Rosalina & Luma}}) to shut down his options. Also, his [[Clown Cannon]] is a slow move that, unlike most chargeable projectiles, cannot be stored. Despite his overall grab range being rather long, his grabs have very high start-up and ending lag, while his throws are not very useful in general due to their inability to KO at reasonable percentages or initiate combos. Lastly, Bowser Jr. suffers from poor KO potential due to having very few reliable KOing options (his smash attacks and his forward/back aerials), which is further compounded by said options being burdened with considerable ending lag.

Bowser Jr. gains very few buffs from his [[Character customization|custom moves]]. Piercing Cannon is faster and pierces opponents, but it deals less damage and knockback. Air Cannon is also faster and briefly stalls Bowser Jr. in midair, but replaces the cannonball with a windbox, which re-purposes it from an offensive option to a defensive option. Big Mechakoopa is stronger and larger, but it sacrifices Mechakoopa's ability to trip up opponents. Outside of these, Bowser Jr.'s remaining customs are less effective than the default versions.

Overall, Bowser Jr. fares well with a bait and punish playstyle like [[Bowser (SSB4)|his father]] does, but he can also be potent at pressuring the opponent thanks to Clown Kart Dash and Mechakoopa. However, his slew of his easily exploitable weaknesses can make him a bit underwhelming overall and greatly overshadowed compared to the rest of the cast. While his flaws have resulted in his lack of representation in the Western scene, the Japanese scene views him more favorably. Additionally, professionals like {{Sm|Tweek}} have shown that he can be viable when his strengths are played wisely and to their fullest.

Bowser Jr. has been buffed slightly via game updates. The most notable instance occurred in update 1.1.4, which moderately decreased his smash attacks' ending lag and made his forward and back aerials stronger. The changes to the shield mechanics in updates [[1.1.0]] and [[1.1.1]] also slightly help him due to some of his moves possessing high damage outputs and/or hitting multiple times.

|fsmashname=Smash Twin Drills

==In competitive play==

*{{Sm|Fluzi|USA}} - Placed 13th at [[Final Round 20]]. Ranked 10th on the [[South Carolina Power Rankings]].

*{{Sm|Hatsuyuki|Japan}} - The best Bowser Jr. player in Japan. Placed 7th at [http://challonge.com/Karisuma8T Karisuma 8], 13th at [[Sumabato 10]], and 17th at [[Sumabato for THE BIG HOUSE]] and [[Sumabato 8]].

*{{Sm|LaRiata|Mexico}} - One of the best Bowser Jr. players in Mexico. Placed 5th at Smash Pendiente 45. He has a win over {{Sm|MKLeo}}.

*{{Sm|Llany|USA}} - The best Bowser Jr. player in the Midwest. Has wins over {{Sm|Mr E}} and {{Sm|ScAtt}}. Currently ranked 15th on the [[Michigan Smash 4 Power Rankings]].

*{{Sm|Moti|USA}} - Placed 7th at {{Trn|Kings of the North 4}}, 13th at {{Trn|Midwest Mayhem 3}}, 17th at {{Trn|King of the Springs 2}}, and 49th at both {{Trn|Smash 'N' Splash 2}} and {{Trn|UGC Smash Open}}. Formerly ranked as high as 1st on the [[St. Louis Power Rankings]].

*{{Sm|Hino|USA}} - Formerly ranked 5th on the {{h1|Las Vegas Power Rankings|Smash 4}} prior to switching to {{SSB4|Villager}}.

*{{Sm|Tweek|USA}} - The former best Bowser Jr. player in the world. Placed 25th at [[EVO 2015]], 33rd at [[GENESIS 3]], and 3rd at [[SKTAR 4]]. Has since switched mains to {{SSB4|Cloud}}. He still occasionally uses Bowser Jr. as a rare counterpick or for sandbagging and is considered the best by many players in the community.

*{{Sm|ZomBiehn|USA}} - Placed 3rd at [[MCGArena]] and 13th at [[GUMS 8]]. Formerly ranked 2nd on the {{h1|Maine Power Rankings|Super Smash Bros. for Wii U rankings}} prior to his retirement. He has wins over {{Sm|Ntarps}}, {{Sm|Cagt}}, {{Sm|DM888}}, {{Sm|LordXav1er}} and {{Sm|Light|p=Connecticut}}.

 

===Tier placement and history===

Bowser Jr. was initially considered to be a high-tier character due to his attacks having disjointed hitboxes and [[Clown Kart Dash]]'s incredible versatility. However, like many other characters, Bowser Jr. began to drop on the tier list once players discovered that his he has a very linear [[neutral game]], lackluster shield pressure, laggy grabs, and exploitable recovery. All of these attributes resulted in him struggling against many top-tier characters. However, {{Sm|Tweek}} still managed to achieve impressive results with Bowser Jr., such as placing 25th at [[EVO 2015]], which was especially significant due to Bowser Jr.'s lack of improvement with custom moves. Tweek also managed to place 33rd at [[GENESIS 3]] and consistently achieve top 8 placings in his region. As a result, Bowser Jr. was ranked 34th on the first [[tier list]].

 

However, after Tweek dropped Bowser Jr. in favor of {{SSB4|Cloud}}, his tournament prominence has dropped significantly. While he still achieves decent results thanks to many dedicated players, such as {{Sm|Vicegrip}} and {{Sm|Jade}} (the latter of whom notably defeated {{Sm|Trela}} at [[CEO 2016]]), and his metagame keeps being developed, Bowser Jr.'s lack of high placings at tournaments have resulted in him tying with {{SSB4|Wii Fit Trainer}} for 46th/47th on the second tier list, and then slightly dropping to 48th on the third tier list. Currently, Bowser Jr. remains ranked as 48th on the fourth and current tier list, which can be attributed to {{Sm|Kub4444}} achieving 17th at [[Smash Factor 6]]. Despite this, his tier placement remains debatable; some players say he should be ranked even lower, whereas others argue that he should be ranked slightly higher.

==Trophies==

:'''Bowser Jr.'''

::{{flag|ntsc}} ''Bowser's beloved, spoiled son sports a bandanna with a large mouth drawn on it. Like his father, Bowser Jr. longs to take Mario down. In Smash Bros., he'll fight from inside his heavily armed Junior Clown Car. The Clown Car takes less damage than Bowser Jr., so mind your positioning.''

::{{flag|pal}} ''Bowser's probably a big fan of his son, what with him hating Mario just as much as dear old Dad does. The tyke's Junior Clown Car is packed with gadgets and gizmos to throw at enemies! By the way, he's extra vulnerable when he jumps out of it, but...you wouldn't dream of attacking the cute little fella then, would you?''

{{Trophy games|console1=GC|game1=Super Mario Sunshine (08/2002)|console2=Wii|game2=New Super Mario Bros. Wii (11/2009)}}

 

 

 

{{Trophy games|console1=GC|game1=Super Mario Sunshine (08/2002)|console2=Wii|game2=New Super Mario Bros. Wii (11/2009)}}

 

::{{flag|ntsc}} ''In Super Mario Sunshine, someone went around causing havoc disguised as Mario. It turned out not to be the brawny Bowser, but his brainier son, Bowser Jr. Now he becomes Shadow Mario again for his Final Smash, painting a giant X on the screen. It sticks around after Bowser Jr. transforms back, letting him gleefully knock foes into it.''

 

::{{flag|pal}} ''In Super Mario Sunshine, someone went around causing havoc disguised as Mario. It turned out not to be the brawny Bowser, but his brainier son, Bowser Jr. Now he becomes Shadow Mario again for his Final Smash, painting a giant cross on the screen. It sticks around after Bowser Jr. turns back, so he can gleefully knock people into it.''

 

BowserJrTrophy3DS.png|Classic (3DS)

*'''[[Family Ties]]''': Bowser Jr., who is aided by a giant {{SSB4|Bowser}}, must defeat {{SSB4|Mario}} and {{SSB4|Luigi}}.  

*'''[[A Lurking Menace]]''': Mario and Luigi must defeat Bowser Jr., but if the match lasts too long, they must also defeat a giant Bowser.  

|colspan=8|[[Image:Bowser Jr. Palette (SSB4).png|link=Palette swap (SSB4)#Bowser Jr.]]

LarrySSB4Render.png|{{s|mariowiki|Larry Koopa}}.

RoySSB4Render.png|{{s|mariowiki|Roy Koopa}}.

WendySSB4Render.png|{{s|mariowiki|Wendy O. Koopa}}.

IggySSB4Render.png|{{s|mariowiki|Iggy Koopa}}.

MortonSSB4Render.png|{{s|mariowiki|Morton Koopa Jr.}}

LudwigSSB4Render.png|{{s|mariowiki|Ludwig von Koopa}}.

*Bowser Jr. is the only character who does not have an alternate costume that shares the same name as the default costume or is a palette swap of the original costume. Due to this, he's the only character to use his default color scheme in his Alt. trophies.<!--Do not add Pac-Man here. Neither his 3DS nor Wii U trophy show his default palette.-->

**Similarly, Bowser Jr. is the only character who does not use an alternative costume when he is fought in rounds 4-5 in {{forwiiu}}'s classic mode, as well as Smash Tour with customs. However, Larry will appear in his place in a team battle if the player chooses a previously-defeated Bowser Jr. as a teammate.

**This additionally makes Bowser Jr. and {{SSB4|Villager}} are the only characters where all eight of their palette swaps have a chance of appearing in [[All-Star Mode]]. However, because his placement in All-Star Mode is based on his debut rather than that of the [[Koopalings]] (who debuted before him), the Koopalings will be misplaced chronologically during All-Star mode if the opponent's costume is a Koopaling. The same applies to {{SSB4|Olimar}} and [[Alph]].

*In Bowser Jr.'s reveal trailer, he is seen firing a cannonball which then explodes. However, this does not happen in game, not even from his custom moves. Also, his reveal trailer is the only one to have a character use a shield in the CGI portion of the trailer.

**On the same Facebook and Twitter pages, Lemmy is noted as "Hip but no Hop", a reference to Lemmy being called Hip and Iggy being called Hop in the cartoons.

*In Bowser Jr.'s trailer, a music piece, "{{s|mariowiki|Bowser Jr.'s Fiery Flotilla}}", was featured, but did not appear in the game.