Editing Whirling Fortress

{{ArticleIcons|melee=y|brawl=y|ssb4=y|ultimate=y}}

|image=[[File:Bowser Up B SSBU.gif|300px]]

|caption=Whirling Fortress in ''Ultimate''.

'''Whirling Fortress''' ({{ja|スピニングシェル|Supiningu Sheru}}, ''Spinning Shell'') is [[Bowser]]'s [[up special move]].

 

 

 

*It has very little start-up (4 [[frame]]s), during which Bowser is [[invincibility frame|invincible]], and has relatively little cooldown [[lag]].

*Bowser cannot get [[shield grab]]bed if used in sequence.

*It allows Bowser to move quickly and suddenly in one direction, being much faster than his normal movement speed.

*It has high [[knockback]] on the ground, and inflicts high [[damage]] in the air (32% if all hits connect perfectly).

*It can be used to [[edgeguard]] quickly and efficiently. Spinning off the side of a stage leads directly to an [[edgehog]], known as Fortress hogging.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another nerf the move received is that while Bowser can grab ledges from the front much sooner, he cannot grab ledges from behind until later. While this does hurt his recovery if he is facing away from the ledge, this mainly affects him when trying to perform Fortress Hogging (as the animation now has a fixed point when Bowser can grab ledges from behind). Fortress Hogging does still work if Bowser is facing the ledge, although the altered momentum the move has does make the execution different if he is further away from the ledge. If he is facing away from the ledge however, Bowser has less access to the technique. If he slides off the ledge too early, he will just fall down, often to his death on tournament legal stages. The only way he can grab the ledge is if he falls off late into the animation where it becomes much less useful.  

Overall, Whirling Fortress on the ground is more versatile yet less rewarding out of shield option. While it is not as strong and Bowser cannot utilise Fortress Hogging as much, the move still has respectable KO power despite its reduced strength and its greater range makes it even easier to land, allowing the move to continue being one of Bowser's best moves. The aerial version is a better recovery move overall with slightly more range and it can grab ledges much earlier, although it still remains a very poor and exploitable recovery move, while also continuing to be a very poor attack on its own.

==In ''[[Super Smash Bros. 4]]'' onwards==

In ''[[Super Smash Bros. 4]]'', pressing the special move button repeatedly during the move—specifically after the initial rise for best results—will give Bowser marginally more height, somewhat similarly to [[Dr. Tornado]]. It also travels much faster and further than before. As an attack, the ground attack was reworked to deal multiple weak hits—up to 8, with the last hit delivering the most knockback instead of two strong hits—making its use as an out of shield option more reliable. The attack is also safer to use against shields, as the multiple hits make it harder for opponents to punish Bowser; they can still take the full impact of the final hit if they drop their shield too early. This trend continued into ''Ultimate'', though its massive damage in the air was significantly nerfed.  

|ssbmchar=Bowser

|ssbmdesc=Spin on the ground to launch opponents skyward, or do it to get back onto the stage.

|ssbbdesc=Get additional loft while airborne to make recoveries a snap.

|ssb4-3desc=Spin inside your shell, and hit foes with your spikes.

|ssbudesc=Ducks inside his shell and spins. Can be moved sideways while spinning.

Special Move customization was added in ''[[Super Smash Bros. 4]]''. These are the variations:

# '''Flying Fortress''': Has slightly increased startup, making it slightly less effective out of shield, but increases vertical distance, to about twice the regular height, at the expense of horizontal distance and damage dealt. Launches foes sideways, only hitting once for 4% damage clean (contrary to its in-game description saying that it doesn't do any). Synergizes well with [[Flying Slam|Dash Slash]], where the Claw can move Bowser horizontally and then Flying Fortress to go vertically. However, when using this move while taking knockback, it won't rise as high or at all. Bowser also sustains slightly increased landing lag.

# '''Sliding Fortress''': Increased horizontal distance, going as far as the entire stage of Battlefield on the ground, and 2/3 the length in the air. Only hits once, doing 6% damage and reduced knockback, however possesses a bigger hitbox, especially in the air. Takes longer to start up than the default move, making it less useful as a quick [[out of shield]] option. Also has increased endlag and landing lag as well. Less vertical reach than the standard version.

While unique to ''[[Super Smash Bros. (series)|Smash Bros.]]'' as a whole move, Whirling Fortress is similar to how [[mariowiki:Koopa Troopa|Koopas]] retreat into their shells when jumped on in the [[Mario (universe)|''Super Mario'' series]], which can be held and thrown or kicked by the {{s|mariowiki|Mario}} [[mariowiki:Luigi|Bros.]] as a spinning attack. {{h2|Koopalings|Ludwig von Koopa}} had a move similar to Whirling Fortress in ''[[Super Mario World]]''. In ''{{s|mariowiki|Mario Kart: Double Dash!!}}'', released a few years after ''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]'', a special item called the "{{s|mariowiki|Bowser's Shell}}" was given to [[Bowser]] and [[Bowser Jr.]], featuring a large, spinning Bowser shell, vaguely similar to Whirling Fortress.

Despite the above, Bowser himself never used a move remotely like Whirling Fortress outside of ''{{iw|mariowiki|Mario's Time Machine}}'', where he would perform a move similar to Ludwig's attack in ''Super Mario World'' after being attacked, though this was not Nintendo-developed and likely didn't inspire the move. In fact, Bowser was never seen retreating into his shell in any Nintendo-developed game prior to the move's debut in ''Super Smash Bros. Melee''. Like the [[Egg Roll]] and [[Green Missile]], however, the move's concept later led back into the Nintendo-affiliated ''Mario'' series starting with an appearance as Bowser's defensive power shot in ''{{s|mariowiki|Mario Power Tennis}}'', his shell-retreating move in''{{s|mariowiki|Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time}}'' and Bowser also has used the move in ''{{s|mariowiki|New Super Mario Bros U}}''. In ''{{s|mariowiki|Super Paper Mario}}'', Bowser performs a similar move in one of his {{s|mariowiki|Stylish Move}} animations, and in ''{{s|mariowiki|Mario Sports Mix}}''. In ''{{s|mariowiki|Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle}}'', Bowser (as {{s|mariowiki|MegaDragonBowser}}) uses the Whirling Fortress during the final phase of the final boss fight. Bowser also uses a similar move in ''{{s|mariowiki|Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope}}'' for his dash and spinning animations.

<gallery>

Whirling Fortress SSBM.jpg|Whirling Fortress in ''Melee''.

Bowser Whirling Fortress.png|Whirling Fortress in ''Brawl''.

WhirlingFortress3DS.jpg|Whirling Fortress in ''SSB3DS''.

RocketFortress.jpg|Flying Fortress.

FastFortress.jpg|Sliding Fortress.

</gallery>

==Names in other languages==

|en=Whirling Fortress