Editing Fire Breath

|universe=''{{uv|Mario}}''

While holding the B button, Bowser continuously exhales a stream of fire in front of him, which gradually decreases in length over time. In ''[[Brawl]]'' onwards, the flames can be angled up and down and will never completely recede, unlike in ''[[Melee]]'', where Bowser will eventually begin to exhale smoke instead.

In general, Fire Breath's long duration is useful for staving off opponents and preventing their return to the stage, while also assisting with defensive play in [[neutral]] while dealing heavy damage. Unfortunately, an opponent using [[DI]] can escape the flames fairly easily in most directions, although as time has gone on this issue has become much less prevalent. For example, in ''Ultimate'', opponents can rarely escape without taking an upwards of 25%. If used too much, however, Bowser will have to recharge his breath, punishing players for overuse and requiring it to be used carefully. The fire will flow off of floors and walls, and can actually split in two directions if the angle is perpendicular, allowing for interesting mixups on walled stages.  

In ''Melee'', Fire Breath originated as a defensive maneuver for Bowser to make use of. However, its slow startup made it a very risky move to use, with it requiring 28 frames just to start coming out. However, it greatly made up for this in its formidable range and large amounts of hitboxes. It was easy to [[SDI]], however, making it overall one of the worst projectiles in the game. This was due to characters being able to SDI towards Bowser, escape it, and punish Bowser for virtually free due to the 30 frames of endlag. [[Flame canceling]] helped the move and gave it utility, but [[List_of_regional_version_differences_(SSBM)|was removed after NTSC 1.1]], leaving it out of the tournament standard. Thus, as a result of it being easy to react to and its endlag, Bowser's Fire Breath was solidified as one of the worst special moves in the game.  

In ''[[Super Smash Bros. 4]]'', Fire Breath gained improved speed and reach, but the outermost hitboxes could no longer [[flinch]] foes. However, the buffs greatly outweighed the nerfs, with it being combined with his formidable grab game and [[forward aerial]] to create a tough selection of attacks for an opponent to escape. Players could simply stop Fire Breath early to prevent the non-flinching area from ever coming up, and react to the opponent's response accordingly. The non-flinching hitboxes can be used to rack up damage after [[shield break|shield breaking]] an opponent or punishing a missed [[Rest]] as well, making it have additional functionality as an offensive option, unlike its previous incarnations.

''[[Ultimate]]'' dramatically increased the damage output of the move, which, when combined with the increased 1.2x damage in 1v1s, allows it to consistently deal around 30% at close range before running out, making it an extremely potent punish and a mainstay in his toolkit. Opponents are more inclined to panic due to this drastic increase in damage, allowing Bowser to bait out worse options and punish them harder than ever before. Acting as a strong jump-in mixup and a strong deterrent to the opponent's in addition to this, Fire Breath's identity is somewhat warped around its improved damage output, making it by far its best incarnation in the series.