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''.

 

 

 

 

*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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The way the grounded version handles momentum has been changed. Previously, it was largely based on stick position, so if the player let go of the control stick, they would stop moving. In ''Brawl'' however, if the player lets go of the stick, they will keep moving. This also makes turning less sharp than it was before.  

The aerial version has seen a few changes of its own. Despite its higher startup lag and slightly larger hitboxes, the hitboxes are largely identical to how they were before, dealing an even higher amount of damage due to the changes to [[stale move negation]]. The aerial version travels slightly higher than it could before and Bowser can now grab ledges while he is rising (at least if he is facing them), which makes it a better recovery move overall. The move still does not go very high however, the multi hits can still easily be avoided and opponents can still easily hit Bowser out of it, so it still remains a poor recovery move overall.  

A rather noticeable nerf the move has received is that it has much more landing lag, going from 10 frames to 50 frames. This makes it much more punishable if Bowser tries to recover high, or even if he just slides off a platform and then lands. Bowser can reduce this lag by landing just before he enters free fall, although he is still in a noticeable amount of lag if he lands before entering free fall. The move also now suffers from [[RCO lag]], so Bowser receives additional landing lag if he hard lands at any point after using the move in the air. Bowser only gets four additional frames of hard landing lag however, and he does not get any extra lag from a soft landing or his aerials, so RCO overall does not hurt Whirling Fortress as much as some other recovery moves.  

 

 

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

:{{Main|Bowser (SSB4)/Up special}}

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.

 

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>

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

RocketFortress.jpg|Flying Fortress.

FastFortress.jpg|Sliding Fortress.

</gallery>

|zh_cn={{rollover|刺壳旋转|Cì Ké Xuánzhuǎn|?}}

|zh_tw={{rollover|刺殼旋轉|Cì Ké Xuánzhuǎn|?}}

}}