Editing Bowser (PM)

{{ArticleIcons|pm=y|p+=y}}

|name = Bowser

|image = {{tabber|title1=Bowser (PM)|content1=[[File:Bowser SSBB.jpg|250x250px]]|title2=Bowser (P+)|content2=[[File:PPlus Bowser.png|250x250px]]|title3=Dry Bowser (PM)|content3=[[File:PMBowserAlt.png|250x250px]]}}

|mod = Project M

|base = SSBB

|altcostume = {{s|mariowiki|Dry Bowser}}

|moveset1 = Bowser (SSBM)

|moveset2 = Bowser (SSBB)

Hailing from the {{uv|Mario}} universe, '''Bowser''' is a playable character in the ''[[Brawl]]'' mod ''[[Project M]]''. His moveset in ''Project M'' comes from a combination of his ''Brawl'' and ''Melee'' movesets, though with heavy buffs.  

 

Bowser is currently ranked 41st out of 41 characters on the [[Project M#Tier list|official]] [[tier list]], ranking himself as the worst character on the tier list, the same ''Melee'' placement ranking 26th out of 26 characters and a somewhat larger drop from his ''Brawl'' placement of 33rd out of 38. In the official [[Project+]] tier list, he places higher, ranking 32nd out of 42 characters.

In ''Project M'', Bowser keeps most of his characteristics from ''Brawl'' and ''Melee''. He is both the largest and heaviest character, but still has a somewhat high dash speed for his size, and his powerful attacks are offset somewhat by lag or awkward animations. His only recovery move, Whirling Fortress, maintains its strong horizontal capabilities while still being weak vertically. However, in ''Project M'', Bowser's offense has been greatly buffed, giving him better damage, [[armor]], additional shield damage, and less lag on many of his moves, making him excellent at dealing burst damage and, consequently, a terrifyingly dangerous force when he's in control of the match. Bowser's armor mechanic allows him to absorb the knockback and flinch effects from attacks of various strengths while performing certain moves, as well as during his dash, crouch, and crawl. As a result, Bowser can nullify what would otherwise be a potentially combo starting move, or simply plow straight through an attack intended to stop Bowser from advancing. Additionally, the damage buffs on his attacks now allow Bowser to outprioritize stronger attacks if his armored moves aren't appropriate. Even though he is a slower character, Bowser has high speed in some areas: besides his above-average [[dash]]ing speed, [[Bowser Bomb]] can be cancelled before Bowser reaches its peak, allowing for quick follow-ups into the air that are impossible to achieve with his normal jumps.

 

Bowser has other setups at his disposal. Whirling Fortress remains a stellar out-of-shield option that can let him get the upper hand out of a defensive situation, and its first hit has lower knockback to keep damaged foes close enough for a combo. Fire Breath keeps its buffs from ''Brawl'' and remains a great tool for trapping foes too far away for melee attacks. It also now has a bite hitbox in its ending animation, punishing foes who attempt to DI close to him to punish the ending lag. Bowser Bomb is now a much safer move; in addition to its new cancelling capabilities, it is more damaging, it is armored (especially during its descent), and upon landing, it produces a shockwave that serves the same purpose as Fire Breath's bite, making the move harder to punish from the ground. The shockwave can lead into most aerials, an up-tilt, or a down- or up-smash.  

However, Bowser's high gravity, large size (almost double that of his ''Brawl'' counterpart), and high weight make him susceptible to attacks and [[combo]]s. Despite his speed in some aspects, he remains easy to out-maneuver, as he has relatively poor air speed. In addition, Bowser possesses one of the longest jump squats of the cast, leaving him with one of the slowest wavedashes in the game, though not the shortest. While it is difficult to send Bowser far due to his weight and moves with [[armor]] frames, it is fairly easy to send him off the bottom of a stage or [[gimp]] him, as he suffers from a predictable [[recovery]] that does not cover much vertical distance.  

 

==Changes from ''Melee'' to PM==

Likely as result of his poor competitive dominance in the previous games, Bowser has been heavily buffed in the transition to ''Project M''. Many of his attacks are both quicker and more powerful. He has received widespread armor of varying levels depending on the move, and in addition some of his favorable traits from ''Melee'' such as the [[Koopa Klaw]] and [[Fortress Hogging]] return.

 

 

*{{change|Bowser's third idle pose from ''Brawl'' now replaces his down [[taunt]], and he additionally emits a roar from his ''Super Mario 64'' incarnation, which is also his [[Wii Remote]] [[Wii Remote selection sound|selection sound]] in ''Brawl''. Giga Bowser also has this taunt, but instead uses his own roar.}}

*{{change|Bowser now has a unique victory theme, which is a rock version of the prelude to his final battle theme in ''Super Mario 64''.}}

 

*{{change|Bowser is approximately twice as large as he was in ''Brawl''; this gives him more [[reach]] in his attacks, but also makes him more vulnerable.}}

*{{buff|Bowser retains his longer arms from ''Brawl'', giving his arm attacks more reach.}}

*{{change|Bowser is slightly heavier (117 → 118), increasing his endurance but making him more susceptible to combos.}}

*{{buff|Several of Bowser's moves and animations now have varying levels of [[armor]]; his [[crouch]], [[crawl]], and [[dash attack]] give him light armor while his [[neutral aerial]] grants him medium armor and [[Bowser Bomb]] gives him medium and heavy armor. All of his smash attacks grant variable armor from light to super armor depending on how long they are charged.}}

*{{buff|Many of Bowser's attacks do much more [[damage]] and [[knockback]] than either of his past incarnations and now deal [[shield damage]].}}

*{{buff|[[Spot dodge]] keeps its long duration but has more invincibility frames, dodging attacks more effectively.}}

 

*{{buff|[[Neutral attack]] has less start-up and ending lag.}}

*{{change|Jab damage has been swapped, with the first hit now dealing the most damage.}}

*{{buff|[[Forward tilt]]'s clean hits deals 4% more damage and has slightly less ending lag. It also retains its longer reach from ''Brawl''.}}

*{{buff|[[Up tilt]] has a longer hitbox duration and significantly less ending lag.}}

*{{nerf|Up tilt now has a clean and late hitbox, with the latter dealing 5% less damage.}}

*{{buff|[[Down tilt]] has less start-up and the second hit, now optional and activated by a second button press, deals 2% more damage; this allows Bowser to either launch the foe with a single hit to then follow on, or punish [[shield]]ing or [[crouch cancel]]ing foes with a second hit.}}

*{{buff|[[Dash attack]] deals 1% more damage and has slightly less ending lag. It also now has light armor during its start-up and initial hit (frames 1-12).}}

*{{buff|[[Forward smash]] has less start-up, a 1 frame longer hitbox, and deals 2% more damage and knockback, making it the strongest side smash in ''Project M''. It has medium armor when charging on frames 0-19, heavy armor on frames 20-38, and super armor on 39-60.}}

*{{change|Forward smash now deals flame damage and an explosive effect on hit.}}

*{{buff|[[Up smash]] has less start-up and ending lag, and the second hit has a longer hitbox duration. The second hit also now meteor smashes and can hit opponents on ledges.}}

*{{nerf|Down smash's final hitbox deals 4% less damage.}}

*{{buff|Up smash and down smash now have light armor when charging on frames 0-19, medium armor on frames 20-38, heavy armor on frames 39-57, and super armor on frames 58-60.}}

 

*{{buff|[[Neutral aerial]] has less start-up and landing lag, slightly less ending lag, and [[auto-cancel]]s earlier. It also now has medium armor on frames 5-8.}}

*{{buff|[[Forward aerial]] retains the slashing trail from ''Brawl'' indicative of its sweetspot. The sweetspot also deals 2% more damage and knockback, while the sourspot deals 1% more. It also interrupts earlier.}}

*{{buff|[[Up aerial]] deals 6% more damage and has less start-up, albeit slightly slower than in ''Brawl''.}}

*{{buff|[[Back aerial]]'s clean hit deals 4% more damage while the late hit deals 1% more. It also has a significantly longer hitbox duration and auto-cancels earlier.}}

*{{buff|[[Down aerial]] has faster start-up and significantly less ending lag.}}

 

*{{buff|[[Pummel]] deals 1% more damage (3% → 4%).}}

**{{change|Pummel is now a bite similar to the Koopa Klaw pummel.}}

*{{buff|Down throw deals 4% more damage (12% → 16%).}}

===Special Moves===

*{{buff|Fire Breath retains its ability to be angled from ''Brawl''. Bowser now also bites in front of him when the move is stopped, hitting foes attempting to punish the move's ending lag.}}

*{{nerf|[[Fire Breath#Flame cancel|Flame cancel]]ing has been removed.}}

*{{buff|Back throw with [[Koopa Klaw]] is much more powerful, dealing 4% more damage and KOing near edges more reliably. Bowser can now also perform a down throw with it which [[meteor smash]]es foes when used on the ground, allowing him to tech-chase with it on the ground and KO foes when used over an edge; when performed in midair, it will [[spike]] opponents.}}

*{{nerf|Koopa Klaw can no longer bite opponents, weakening its damage potential. It can also no longer be held indefinitely; Bowser will automatically perform the forward throw a few seconds after grabbing the opponent.}}

*{{change|Forward throw with Koopa Klaw is now a head smash.}}

*{{nerf|Whirling Fortress has much less knockback on its first hitbox.}}

*{{buff|Bowser Bomb's descending hit deals 4% more damage is much stronger, and can be canceled with a jump before the apex when used from the ground, letting Bowser perform followups on foes knocked into the air. It can still grab ledges from both sides as in ''Brawl'' so it can be reliably used from the stage to then be [[Edge-canceled Bowser Bomb|edge-canceled]], equipping Bowser with a deadly [[edgeguard]] in this move. The landing hitbox deals 2% more damage, and the move now produces a large shockwave on Bowser's sides, making its landing harder to punish. It also now has medium armor on start-up and landing, and heavy armor when Bowser begins to descend.}}

[[File:PMDryGigaBowser.png|thumb|Giga Bowser's alternate costume.]]

{{b|Giga Bowser|Final Smash}} remains Bowser's [[Final Smash]] in ''Project M''. However, by holding a shield button at the character selection screen, it is possible for Bowser to start and participate as Giga Bowser permanently during the match, similar to how {{SSBB|Zero Suit Samus}} was playable in ''Brawl''. Starting from v3.0, Giga Bowser can now receive knockback in addition to damage, as well as now being vulnerable to status ailments like [[sleep]]ing or getting [[buried]], though his moveset has been improved to compensate for this, and he still cannot be [[grab]]bed. In 3.6, he gained the ability to pick up items and use the majority of them. Giga Bowser's main flaw is that he is extremely prone to combos because of his size and weight. His duration when summoned via Final Smash was also increased to almost twice as long. In addition to receiving most of Bowser's changes, some changes to Giga Bowser include:

*{{buff|[[Dashing]] now produces hitboxes in front of Giga Bowser's feet, which repeatedly inflict 3% damage while weakly pushing enemies forward. His heavy landing also produces a 6% damage hitbox that sends any close grounded opponents straight up.}}

*{{buff|Landing with Bowser Bomb produces an enormous quake hitbox that affects all grounded opponents (no matter the platform in which they are standing) near him, similar to [[Venusaur]]'s Earthquake in ''Melee''.}}

*{{buff|Bowser Bomb hits opponents powerfully in different directions depending on when they get hit; at the apex of Bowser Bomb, they are sent upwards; while Giga Bowser is falling at any other point of the attack, they are spiked; if they are on the ground and directly below Giga Bowser, they are buried and then sent horizontally.}}

*{{buff|Down throw now involves Giga Bowser forcefully slamming his opponent into the ground, which is faster than the original throw, and hits nearby characters.}}

*{{nerf|Down throw deals 2% less damage (16% → 14%).}}

*{{nerf|Vulnerability to knockback now leaves Giga Bowser heavily susceptible against [[combo]]s due to his large size, especially against [[juggling]].}}

*{{nerf|Whirling Fortress is not intangible during startup, instead granting Giga Bowser heavy armor.}}

*{{change|Ending the match as Giga Bowser will now make him appear that way on the results screen, using the same victory poses and clapping motion as the regular Bowser. His name is now properly displayed on the jumbotron on the Pokémon Stadium stages and the results screen if he wins. The announcer also has a separate voice clip for Giga Bowser's name.}}

*{{change|Giga Bowser has two new victory poses, replacing Bowser's roar and claw swipes. One of them has him in a crouching position. The other has him biting rapidly similar to his side taunt.}}

==Changes from PM to P+==

 

 

 

===v2.0===

===v2.6b===

*{{buff|Dash attack now hits a second time; when Bowser lands on the ground .}}

*{{bugfix|Corrected a mistake where crawl armor was much stronger than light armor when not moving.}}

*{{nerf|Neutral aerial timings and cooldown reverted to those of v2.1.}}

*{{change|Ledge attack knockback reverted to [[set knockback]] (v2.1's knockback).}}

===v3.0===

*{{buff|Forward aerial's hitboxes restructured into a tipper format. The inner “flub” hitboxes have damage and knockback approximating ''Melee''{{'}}s hitboxes, while the tipper hitbox has damage and comparable knockback to PM v2.5's forward air.}}

Up to date as of version 3.6.

! colspan=2 | !!Name!!Damage!!Description

!→

|16% (clean), 10% (late)

!↘

|15% (clean), 9% (late)

! colspan=2 | Up tilt

| || 13% (early), 8% (late) || Bowser swats in an upwards arc his left claw. This move deals good knockback and can set up combos well. Similar to the forward tilt, Bowser's left arm is once again intangible while the hitboxes are out.

! colspan="2" rowspan="2" | Down tilt

| rowspan=2 | || 13% || rowspan=2 | Bowser slashes along the ground with both his claws. The second attack is optional by pressing the attack button again, though Giga Bowser is forced to perform both swipes.

! colspan=2 | Dash attack

| || 12% (ram), 8% (fall) || Bowser tackles the opponent. Has light armor during the initial frames of the attack.

! colspan=2 | Forward smash

| || {{ChargedSmashDmgSSBM|26}} || Bowser rears back for a short moment, and hits incredibly hard with his head. If this move it connects, an explosion occurs. Strongest forward smash in ''Project M'', acting as a great finisher at low percentages. Has medium to super armor depending on the length of its charge. Unfortunately, it has rather massive starting lag.

! colspan=2 | Up smash

| || {{ChargedSmashDmgSSBM|20}} (leap), {{ChargedSmashDmgSSBM|12}} (landing) || Bowser jumps upward, hitting opponents with his spikes of his shell. Causes an earthquake when coming down. Opponents who avoid the leaping hitbox can still be hit by Bowser whenever he lands, during which it inflicts a [[meteor smash]]. Has light to super armor depending on the length of its charge. Bowser's shell is intangible while the hitboxes are out.

! colspan=2 | Down smash

| || {{ChargedSmashDmgSSBM|2}} (hits 1-6), {{ChargedSmashDmgSSBM|6}} (hit 7) || Bowser spins around in his shell, doing great damage and hitting multiple times. Has light to super armor depending on the length of its charge.

! colspan=2 | Neutral aerial

| || 13% || Bowser spins around in his shell. Has medium armor during the first loop.

! colspan=2 | Forward aerial

| || 16% (sweetspot), 13% (sourspot) || Bowser slashes forward with his left claw. The glowing area is the sweetspot.

! colspan=2 | Back aerial

| || 17% (clean), 10% (late) || Bowser thrusts his shell backwards. Contains high [[landing lag]].

! colspan=2 | Up aerial

| || 23% || Bowser strikes upwards with his head. Causes serious damage and knockback, being the most damaging up aerial in the game.

! colspan=2 | Down aerial

| || 2% (hits 1-9), 3% (hit 10), 5% (landing) || Bowser spins downwards, hitting multiple times with the spikes on his shell, capable of [[meteor smash]]ing opponents.

! colspan=2 | Grab

| || — ||

! colspan=2 | Pummel

| || 4% || Bites the opponent. A fairly slow pummel.

! colspan=2 | Forward throw

| || 10% || Bowser tosses the opponent forwards.

! colspan=2 | Back throw

| || 10% || Bowser violently throws the opponent backwards.

! colspan=2 | Up throw

| || 1% (hits 1-8), 2% (throw) || Bowser tosses the foe upwards, retreats into his shell, and spins, damaging the foe with his spikes. Has great knockback.

! colspan=2 | Down throw

| || 16% (hit 1), 0% (throw) || Bowser places the opponent on the floor and then body slams them. This throw contains [[set knockback]].

! colspan=2 | Floor attack (front)

| || 6% || Bowser leaps forward to strike with his head, then back to kick behind, and finally gets up into standing position.

! colspan=2 | Floor attack (back)

| || 6% || Bowser gets up while swinging his right hand around.

! colspan=2 | Floor attack (trip)

| || 5% || Bowser gets up while swinging his right hand around.

! colspan=2 | Edge attack (fast)

| || 8% || Bowser quickly spins onto the stage while inside his shell, then retreats back a bit.

! colspan=2 | Edge attack (slow)

| || 10% || Bowser slowly climbs onto stage and does a quick claw swipe.

! colspan=2 | Neutral special

| [[Fire Breath]] || 1-3% (flames), 3% (bite) || Bowser lets out a stream of flames that can be angled up or down. Over time, the flames it loses its range, but gains slightly more power.

! colspan=2 | Side special

| [[Koopa Klaw]] || 15% (throw), 10% (claw tip), 12% (claw body) || Bowser grabs the opponent to then throw them either forward, backward, or downward. If no one is grabbed, Bowser does a forceful swipe that deals vertical knockback. The aerial version of the downward throw [[spike]]s opponents. Giga Bowser cannot perform the down throw.

! colspan=2 | Up special

| [[Whirling Fortress]] || Ground: 13%/10%/8%/6%<br/>Air: 10% (hit 1), 2% (hits 2-6), 1% (hits 7-11) || Bowser spins rapidly in his shell to gain height. This move can be used for [[edgehogging]].

! colspan=2 | Down special

| [[Bowser Bomb]] || 25% (drop), 10% (landing body), 7% (shockwave close), 4% (shockwave far) || Bowser leaps diagonally into the air and plummet downward, creating a shockwave that damages nearby foes. If performed in the air, Bowser performs straight downward without initiating the leap. Has medium armor during the jumping animation and when hitting the ground, and heavy armor when he begins to descend. The grounded version of this move can be cancelled by performing a midair jump before Bowser reaches the apex of the jump.

! colspan=2 | Final Smash

| [[Giga Bowser]] || Varies || Bowser transforms into an enlarged, much more powerful version of himself, which uses elemental effects such as [[fire]], [[electricity]] and [[darkness]] during most attacks. Lasts for roughly 24 seconds. Giga Bowser himself can receive damage and knockback, though he becomes significantly heavier and is immune to grabs.

===Most historically significant players===

 

==Alternate costumes==

 

 

{|style="margin:1em auto 1em auto;text-align:center"

|colspan=8|[[File:Bowser Palette (PM).png|frame|center|Bowser's alternate costumes in PM]]

|-

|[[File:BowserHeadSSBB.png]]

|[[File:BowserHeadBlackSSBB.png]]

|[[File:BowserHeadRedSSBB.png]]

|[[File:BowserHeadBlueSSBB.png]]

|[[File:BowserHeadWhiteSSBB.png]]

|[[File:BowserHeadBrownSSBB.png]]

|[[File:BowserHeadDryPM.png]]

===Project+===

''[[Project+]]'' provides several new recolors for both Bowser's default and Dry Bowser costumes. Bowser's new green alternate costume resembles his appearance in ''Super Mario World'', and his new red costume resembles a costume in ''Mario Golf''.  The last default costume recolor resembles his appearance on the Japanese cover for ''Super Mario Bros.'' (which would be touched up slightly in 3.0). Dry Bowser received additional recolors, his team colors representing the Dry Bone colors in ''Mario Superstar Baseball'' and ''Mario Super Sluggers'', and his brown color resembling fossilized dinosaur bones.  Additionally, Dry Bowser's attacks now use a blue fire effect instead of the regular red fire of his default costume.

 

<center>{{tabber|title1=Bowser|content1=[[File:Bowser Palette (P+).png|800px|thumb|center|Bowser's alternate costumes in P+]]|title2=Giga Bowser|content2=[[File:Giga Bowser Palette (P+).png|800px|thumb|center|Giga Bowser's alternate costumes in P+]]}}</center>

 

 

 

 

'''R-Secret Costume:''' Rookie: Based on [[mariowiki:Rookie|Rookie]], Bowser's alter-ego that he develops after winding up with amnesia in ''Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga''. The only visual distinction from Bowser is the blue burglar mask he wears.

 

'''Giga Bowser Z-Secret Costume:''' Giga Dark Bowser: A Giga Bowser version of the Dark Bowser Z-Alt. ''Project+'' Ver. 2.4 altered the mask-like markings and placed the [[mariowiki:Dark Star|Dark Star]] on the left side of his chest where the scar mentioned above used to be.

 

'''Giga Bowser R-Secret Costume:''' Giga Rookie: A Giga Bowser version of the Rookie R-Alt.}}

*[https://pmunofficial.com/en/characters/bowser/ Bowser's page at the Project M website]

*[https://www.reddit.com/r/SSBPM/comments/ah5trh/labbing_discord_results_bowser/ Labbing Discord Tech Post]