Bowser (SSBM)/Neutral special

Hitbox visualization showing Bowser's Fire Breath.

Overview[edit]

Bowser performing a Fire Breath and a Flame cancelled Fire Breath in Melee 1.00.

Fire Breath is Bowser's only projectile in Melee, reaching roughly a Battlefield platform in length while dealing decent damage with multiple hits. However, coming out on frame 23 and requiring additional frames to reach its full range potential, all while being easy to SDI on reaction, it often fails to achieve anything significant beyond niche edgeguarding situations against spacies - which are often better-suited for aerials or tilts leading to an edgehog or KO. This, coupled with its extreme endlag leaving no room for follow-ups has lead Fire Breath to be considered (along with Final Cutter and Din's Fire) to be one of the worst projectiles in the game, arguably the worst. Its utility somewhat resembles the move Chain, although it depletes over time, cannot be angled and is equally, if not more punishable.

If playing on version 1.00 or 1.01, Bowser has access to Flame cancelling, which allows one to cancel the move on frames 1-22. In doing so, Fire Breath can, technically speaking, come out instantly. However, the 8 frame jumpsquat and airtime must be considered: While it is technically faster, it is not practically frame 1. Where it brings utility is in reducing the opponents possible reaction time, recovering from tech situations where auto-canceled landing may not be wise, and giving Bowser a niche off-ledge option, though his <100% edge attack is better-suited for general purposes. However, the considerable endlag of the move means that, even if the move comes out on frame 1, it is still highly likely to be punished on-hit should the opponent SDI the move.

Hitboxes[edit]

ID	Part	Damage	SD	Angle	BK	KS	FKV	Radius	Bone	Offset			Clang	Rebound	Effect	G	A	Sound	Blockable	Reflectable	Absorbable
0	0	2%	0		12	50	0	2.7342	0	0.0	0.0	0.0						Burn

Timing[edit]

Minimum duration[edit]

Flames	23-43, 26-46, 29-49, 32-52, 35-55, 38-58, 41-61, 44-64, 47-67, 50-70, 53-73, 56-76, 59-79, 62-82
Animation length	92

In general[edit]

This article or section may require additional technical data.
The editor who added this tag elaborates: Missing loop points & timing data for flame duration at various stages (flames last for less the longer the B button is held.
You can discuss this issue on the talk page or edit this page to improve it.