Bowser (SSBM)/Up special

Hitbox visualization showing Bowser's up special, Whirling Fortress, when grounded.

Hitbox visualization showing Bowser's up special, Whirling Fortress, when aerial.

Overview

Bowser retreats into his shell and starts spinning. A recovery move with very little start up. The attack has great knockback when used on the ground, and in the air, it is good for racking up damage. The attack hits once on the ground, but multiple times in the air. It's great for horizontal recovery, but does not cover much vertical distance. Can be used to grab the ledge quickly when grounded facing either direction.

The grounded version is one of Bowser's fastest and best moves, intangible from frames 1-4 and hitting starting on frame 5 (multiple hits until frame 46).

Hitboxes

Ground

ID	Part	Damage	SD	Angle	BK	KS	FKV	Radius	Bone	Offset			Clang	Rebound	Effect	G	A	Sound
Clean hit
0	0	13%	3		90	80	0	7.812	0	0.0	7.4214	-3.906						Burn
1	0	13%	3		90	80	0	7.812	0	0.0	7.4214	7.812						Burn
Mid hits
0	0	5%	0		80	50	0	4.6872	0	0.0	7.4214	-3.906						Slash
1	0	5%	0		80	50	0	4.6872	0	0.0	7.4214	7.812						Slash
Late hits
0	0	3%	0		50	50	0	4.6872	0	0.0	7.4214	-3.906						Slash
1	0	3%	0		50	50	0	4.6872	0	0.0	7.4214	7.812						Slash

Air

ID	Part	Damage	SD	Angle	BK	KS	FKV	Radius	Bone	Offset			Clang	Rebound	Effect	G	A	Sound
Hit 1
0	0	10%	3		80	60	0	8.9838	0	0.0	8.2026	0.0						Paper
Hits 2-6
0	0	3%	0		50	20	0	7.812	0	0.0	8.2026	0.0						Slash
Hits 7-11
0	0	2%	0		50	20	0	7.812	0	0.0	8.2026	0.0						Slash

Timing

Grounded

Intangible	1-4
Clean Hit	5-6
Head and Limbs Intangible	6-49
Mid Hits	7-10 11-14 14-18 19-22 23-26
Late Hits	27-30 31-34 35-38 38-42 42-46
Animation length	79

Hitboxes

Entire body

Head and limbs

Aerial

Clean Hit	5-6
Head and Limbs Intangible	7-49
Hits 2-6	7-10 11-14 14-18 19-22 23-26
Hits 7-11	27-30 31-34 35-38 38-42 42-46
Animation length	49

Hitboxes

Head and limbs

Landing lag

Animation length	10

Legend (1 square = 1 frame)

Lag time

Hitbox

Hitbox change

Vulnerable

Intangible

Bowser's moveset

Neutral attack (1 · 2) · Forward tilt · Up tilt · Down tilt · Dash attack · Forward smash · Up smash · Down smash
Neutral aerial · Forward aerial · Back aerial · Up aerial · Down aerial
Grab · Pummel · Forward throw · Back throw · Up throw · Down throw
Forward roll · Back roll · Spot dodge · Air dodge · Techs
Floor attack (front) · Floor getups (front) · Floor attack (back) · Floor getups (back)
Edge attack (fast) · Edge getups (fast) · Edge attack (slow) · Edge getups (slow)
Neutral special · Side special · Up special · Down special