Bowser Jr. (SSB4)

Bowser Jr. in Super Smash Bros. 4
Universe	Mario
Availability	Unlockable (3DS) Starter (Wii U)
Final Smash	Shadow Mario Paint
Tier	F (34)

“	Bowser Jr. Clowns The Competition!	”
—Introduction Tagline

Bowser Jr. (クッパ Jr., Koopa Jr.) is a newcomer in Super Smash Bros. 4. Alongside Mr. Game & Watch, Bowser Jr. was officially revealed during the Super Smash Bros. for Wii U: 50-Fact Extravaganza on October 23, 2014, being the second-to-last newcomer shown by an official source. Prior to that, he was leaked by ESRB on August 29th, 2014 alongside Shulk and Ganondorf. Bowser Jr. was also among the sixth wave of amiibo figures that are compatible with SSB4. Caety Sagoian reprises her role as Bowser Jr.'s voice actor, albeit via recycled voice clips from various Mario spin-off games. The Koopalings also use their voice clips from the New Super Mario Bros. games, which were voiced by Lani Minella (Larry, Morton, Wendy, and Lemmy), Mike Vaughn (Iggy and Ludwig) and Dan Falcone (Roy).

Bowser Jr. is currently ranked 34th out of 56 on the tier list, placing him in the F tier. He has one of the best neutral games among the cast, with Clown Kart Dash acting as an excellent approach option and providing an impressive amount of versatility, while Mechakoopa is a very useful pressure option. Despite being a heavyweight, Bowser Jr. also sports a deceptively good air game, courtesy of his fairly fast aerial mobility and his aerial attacks' follow-up and juggle potentials. Unsurprisingly for a character that relies on weaponry over hand-to-hand combat, Bowser Jr. has disjointed hitboxes. However, he is the only character whose every attack is disjointed, which enables him to attack from a reasonably safe distance, while many of his attacks are powerful enough to KO under 100%.

Despite his strengths, Bowser Jr. has noticeable flaws. His overall ground mobility is slow, which necessitates using Clown Kart Dash in order to keep up with faster opponents. Lag is another glaring issue, as many of his attacks have among the highest amounts of ending lag, while his grab game suffers from his standing, pivot and dash grabs' overall lag. His grab game is further compounded by very unimpressive throws, with only his back throw being somewhat viable at best as a KOing option. Lastly, Bowser Jr.'s recovery can be problematic despite his good aerial mobility due to Abandon Ship! being predictable, susceptible to gimps due to offering no overhead protection, and being unable to be re-used if he is hit by a weak attack.

Overall, Bowser Jr. is a character who can pressure opponents easily once mastered. However, due to his current position in competitive play, he has not made a notable impact in the metagame. This is also reflected in his tournament results, which are currently below average despite having a few dedicated players to his credit, such as Seagull Joe, Vicegrip, ZomBiehn and Tweek.

How to unlock

Complete one of the following:

• Play 100 VS Matches.
• As Bowser, complete Classic mode on Intensity 6.0 or higher.

After completing one of the two methods, Bowser Jr. must then be fought on 3D Land, where defeating him unlocks him.

Bowser Jr. does not have to be unlocked in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

Attributes

Bowser Jr. possesses decent mobility overall; while he has slow walking and dashing speeds, a fast falling speed and above average gravity, all of which are typical of a heavyweight, he has a surprisingly fast air speed and above average air acceleration. Outside of this, Bowser Jr. possesses a few unorthodox, yet noteworthy, traits. Like Duck Hunt's dog and duck, he and his Junior Clown Car have two separate hurtboxes, although this is much more apparent for Bowser Jr. and his Clown Car: attacks that hit the Clown Car will deal 0.88x damage, whereas those that hit Bowser Jr. himself will deal 1.15x damage. Another quirk Bowser Jr. possesses is his vast amount of disjoints, as he is the only character in the game whose every attack has disjointed hitboxes.

Clown Kart Dash is considered to be Bowser Jr.'s best move overall because of its versatility, with its most apparent benefit being much better movement to make up for his slow dashing speed (which can be made even faster via jump canceling) and grants him an excellent approach option. Clown Kart Dash is also integral to Bowser Jr. due to its mindgame and damage racking potentials. It can function either as a strong head-on attack or initiate aerial combos due Bowser Jr. being able to jump during it, which are further improved by jump canceling. Lastly, it can function as a horizontal recovery option, which is boosted with its spin-out, while the move in general provides a minimal amount of armor that can withstand a maximum of 7%. Abandon Ship! is another useful move that possesses impressive knockback and grants Bowser Jr. considerable vertical distance. Unlike most recovery moves, Abandon Ship! does not initiate helplessness; this allows Bowser Jr. to not only air dodge if necessary, but also allows him to perform a powerful hammer swing upon pressing the attack button, which is an almost guaranteed KOing option when used in sync with Clown Kart Dash at high percents. Mechakoopa is a very useful tool for zoning, combos, follow-ups, and even defensive purposes due to its ability to block incoming projectiles like Link and Toon Link's Bombs can.

Bowser Jr.'s good aerial mobility supplements the utility of his aerial attacks. His neutral aerial is useful as both an edge-guarding and out of shield option. His forward and back aerials are useful as edge-guarding, spacing and KOing options. While Bowser Jr.'s up aerial only hits above him, it is capable of juggling and can KO on stages with low ceilings, such as Battlefield or Town and City. Down aerial can shield stab and works well used out of Clown Kart Dash at lower percents due to the hitbox it produces compensating for its high landing lag.

Despite his great aerial mobility and damage racking potential, Bowser Jr. is not without his flaws. One of his biggest problems is that his recovery is glaringly susceptible to being gimped. While Abandon Ship! grants him impressive vertical distance, a weak hit from an attack can result in Bowser Jr. not being able to respawn his Clown Car if the player does not button mash. Another major problem that Bowser Jr. faces is a lack of viable options on shield, making him susceptible to punishes. Bowser Jr. is also a very straight-forward character, which can make him quite predictable at times. In addition to this, Mechakoopa is the crux of Bowser Jr.'s neutral game, making it easy (especially for characters such as Rosalina & Luma) to shut down his options. Also, his Clown Cannon is a slow move that, unlike most chargeable projectiles, cannot be stored. Despite his grab range being rather long-ranged and his back throw being a somewhat viable KOing option, his grab comes out very slowly (on frame 12) and his other throws are not very useful in general due to their inability to KO reliably or initiate combos. Finally, Bowser Jr. suffers from poor KO potential due to having very few reliable KOing options.

With customs on, Bowser Jr. gains very few buffs. Piercing Cannon is faster than the default standard special and it passes through multiple foes, but it deals less damage and knockback. Air Cannon is also faster and briefly stalls Bowser Jr. in midair. It also replaces the cannonball with a windbox, making it useful for gimping foes who recover high. Big Mechakoopa, unlike his standard special variations, gives Bowser Jr. very situational buffs. It is stronger and larger, but it sacrifices the default Mechakoopa's ability to trip up opponents. As for the rest of his custom moves, they only make his already useful specials less effective.

Overall, Bowser Jr. is a greatly overshadowed character, with a slew of his easily exploitable weaknesses making him a bit underwhelming overall. This is evident in his lack of representation in the west. In comparison, the Japanese competitive scene regards him more favorably, and players such as Tweek have shown that he can be viable when his strengths are played wisely and to the fullest.

Update history

Bowser Jr. has been buffed via the game updates. The most notable instance occurred in update 1.1.4, which moderately reduced his smash attacks' ending lag and made his forward and back aerials stronger. The changes to the shield mechanics in 1.1.0 and 1.1.1 also slightly help him due to some of his moves possessing high damage outputs and hitting multiple times.

1.0.4

• Down throw deals slightly less damage: 8% → 7.5%. It also does eight hits, down from ten.

1.0.6

• Forward smash's hitbox improved, which enables it to hit at a closer range.
• Neutral infinite has less visual whiffs.

1.1.0

• Clown Cannon deals more damage: 4.4%/7% → 5.9%/8.5% (uncharged), 12.6%/18% → 14%/20% (fully charged).

1.1.1

• Floor attack's shield damage now matches the other characters': 1 → 8.
• Back floor attack deals 10 shield damage, as did other characters' before update 1.1.1.
• Air Cannon's ending lag decreased by 14 frames due to frames 5-25 now running 1.3x slower rather than 2x.
• Clown Cannon's knockback increased: 60 (sourspot), 80 (sweetspot) → 65 (soutspot), 85 (sweetspot).
• Clown Cannon's hitbox size increased: 4.5u → 5.5u.

1.1.4

• All smash attacks' ending lag decreased: 60 frames → 56 (forward), 63 frames → 57 (up), 68 frames → 60 (down).
• Forward aerial deals more damage: 8% → 9% (clean), 5% → 7% (late).
• Forward aerial knockback increased: 30 (base)/90 (scaling) → 33/93.
• Back aerial's late hit deals 2% more damage (8% → 10%) and knockback scaling (90 → 92).

Moveset

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			3%	The Junior Clown Car punches twice, followed by a flurry of punches and a finishing punch. It is surprisingly powerful for a neutral attack, as it can KO around 130%-150% at the edge of the stage.
			2%
			1% (loop), 3% (last)
Forward tilt			8%	The Junior Clown Car stabs forward using a pitchfork. Can be angled.
Up tilt			6%	The Junior Clown Car slashes upward using a pitchfork. Can chain into itself beginning at 0% and juggle at medium percentages.
Down tilt			1.5% (hits 1-2), 5% (hit 3)	The Junior Clown Car opens its mouth to attack with its tongue, launching opponents away at the end of the attack. It has a fair amount of utility, as it is efficient at warding off rushdowns, can be used as a set-up for a dash attack, or interfere with an opponent attempting to grab a ledge due to the tongue's undulating hitbox.
Dash attack			1.5% (loop), 4% (last)	The Junior Clown Car slashes multiple times with a Grinder. The loop hits do not connect together very well at high percentages.
Forward smash			1% (loop), 11% (last)	The Junior Clown Car uses two drills to pierce the opponent. A powerful KOing option with low ending lag. Can be angled.
Up smash			1% (first), 1.3% (loop), 1% (second to last), 6% (last)	Performs a handstand and attacks with the Junior Clown Car's spinning propeller. It is his fastest smash attack.
Down smash			18%	The Junior Clown Car slams wrecking balls on both sides. Bowser Jr.'s most powerful smash attack, but unlike his other smash attacks, it has high ending lag.
Neutral aerial			6% (clean), 5% (mid), 3% (late)	The Junior Clown Car spins around with the boxing glove arms extended. Can combo reliably from Clown Kart Dash. A useful anti-pressure option.
Forward aerial			11%/9% (clean), 8%/6.5% (mid), 5%/4% (late), 2% (landing)	The Junior Clown Car swings a wrecking ball forward. Landing while the wrecking ball is still out produces another hitbox, which can lead to more follow-ups on the ground, as well as compensate for its high landing lag. Useful for edge-guarding and spacing as well as a viable KOing option.
Back aerial			14% (clean tip), 8% (clean base, late)	The Junior Clown Car swings a wrecking ball backward. Landing while the wrecking ball is still out produces another hitbox, which can lead to more follow-ups on the ground. Useful for edge-guarding and a viable KOing option.
Up aerial			10% (clean), 6.5% (late)	Swings a hammer above himself. Very little ending lag and is useful to make a chain of attack without letting the opponent land.
Down aerial			1.3% (loop), 2% (last), 2% (landing)	The Junior Clown Car extends a drill below to pierce opponents. Its high ending lag is compensated by the hitbox it produces when landing, letting it be followed up by another attack.
Grab			—	A claw appears from the Junior Clown Car and grabs the opponent. A slow grab.
Pummel			2%	Hits the opponent with a toy hammer. A fairly fast pummel. The toy hammer looks identical to the one used in the Eekhammer sticker from Paper Mario: Sticker Star.
Forward throw			3% (hit 1), 6% (throw)	The Junior Clown Car uppercuts the opponent forward. Good for putting opponents at the edge for an edge-guard.
Back throw			12%	The Junior Clown Car spins, then throws the opponent backward. Bowser Jr.'s most powerful throw, it can KO starting at 150%.
Up throw			7%	The Junior Clown Car throws the opponent upward. Can lead into up aerial at low percents.
Down throw			0.5% (loop), 4% (throw)	The Junior Clown Car throws the opponent onto the ground and drills into them. It can be used to pressure the opponent into his Clown Kart Dash.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			6%	Gets up while spinning with boxing gloves outstretched.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			7%	Gets up while spinning with a Grinder.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	Gets up while thrusting a pitchfork from on both of his sides.
Edge attack Edge getups			7%	Climbs up and swings two wrecking balls onto the ground.
Neutral special	Default	Clown Cannon	7% (uncharged), 18% (fully charged)	The Junior Clown Car fires a slow, heavy cannonball from its mouth. It can be charged to increase the cannonball's speed and power. At the end of its path, the cannonball will drop to the ground, which can hit opponents attempting to recover.
	Custom 1	Piercing Cannon	4% (uncharged), 10% (fully charged)	Fires a smaller, weaker cannonball that can pierce through multiple opponents. Travels faster than the standard Clown Cannon.
	Custom 2	Air Cannon	—	Fires a gust of wind that will push opponents backward, though it deals no damage. In the air, it can also be used to move backward quickly, aiding Bowser Jr.'s horizontal recovery.
Side special	Default	Clown Kart Dash	4%+speed (collision), 8% (spin-out)	The Junior Clown Car transforms into a go-kart that speeds forward. Changing the direction will cause it to spin out, dealing more damage to opponents than simply charging into them. Spinning out in the air can produce horizontal movement, after which this move can be used again. All versions of the move can be jump canceled, even right after hitting an opponent, which can lead into combos and mix-ups.
	Custom 1	Koopa Drift	2%+speed (collision), 1% (spin-out loop), 2% (spin-out last)	When spinning, the go-kart careens forward, hitting opponents multiple times. Careening in the air produces much more horizontal movement, but the jump portion of this move is much lower.
	Custom 2	Grounding Dash	8%+speed	The Junior Clown Car travels faster initially, but the spin does not do any damage. It buries grounded opponents on contact, but covers less horizontal distance.
Up special	Default	Abandon Ship!	5% (contact), 13% (explosion), 15%/10% (hammer)	Bowser Jr. executes a leaping ejection from the Junior Clown Car. The Car slowly falls to the ground and then explodes when the move is used in midair, whereas it will simply explode after a brief period when used on the ground. When Bowser Jr. is out of the Junior Clown Car, he can still attack with a hammer, in which it is one of his most powerful attacks and a reliable KOing option.
	Custom 1	Meteor Ejection	8%/3% (contact), 10% (explosion), 15%/10% (hammer)	The Junior Clown Car produces a meteor effect upon activation. However, is covers less vertical distance, whereas he seems to cover more horizontal distance after being launched.
	Custom 2	Koopa Meteor	17% (contact), 15%/10% (hammer)	Launches Bowser Jr. high into the air before the Junior Clown Car explodes, firing him downward. Produces a powerful meteor effect upon contact and great knockback on opponents caught near the bottom.
Down special	Default	Mechakoopa	2% (contact), 9% (explosion)	The Junior Clown Car drops a Mechakoopa from its underside hatch. If it reaches a wall, it will turn around and walk in the opposite direction. If it makes contact with an opponent, it will detonate. Finally, if enough time passes and they have not hit an opponent yet, they will spark out and detonate automatically. They can be picked up and thrown as items.
	Custom 1	Impatient Mechakoopa	5%	Launches a Mechakoopa at a fair distance. The Mechakoopa is armed to explode the moment it is launched and will explode shortly after landing.
	Custom 2	Big Mechakoopa	15%	The Mechakoopa is larger and walks a shorter distance, but it does more damage if thrown.
Final Smash		Shadow Mario Paint	3% (paint), 5% (explosion)	Bowser Jr. transforms into his Shadow Mario disguise and paints a giant, orange X on the screen. Anyone caught in the X's hitbox will take damage. The X will clear away with a final burst after some time. The sheer size of the X makes avoiding damage from the Final Smash difficult.

On-screen appearance

• Flies in onto the stage in the Junior Clown Car and makes a taunting facial expression at the camera.

Taunts

• Up taunt: Jumps up, sits on the rim of the Junior Clown Car, and exhales a tiny flame while chuckling.
• Side taunt: Pulls out a hammer and swings it around twice.
• Down taunt: The Junior Clown Car turns into its go-kart form, turns angry and performs a donut, then returns to normal.

Up taunt	Side taunt	Down taunt

Idle poses

• Places his hand over his eyes and looks around.
• Jumps impatiently in the Junior Clown Car.

Crowd cheer

English

Japanese

Victory poses

An original rock-based remix of the sound clip that plays when Mario reaches the end of a level in Super Mario Bros. This is also shared with Bowser.

• Drives the Clown Car around like a go-kart, then stops and pulls out a hammer.
• Gets out of the Clown Car and rubs it with his right hand while smiling with his mouth open or smiling with his mouth closed.
• Jumps out of the Clown Car, hops in celebration a few times while laughing, then poses.

In competitive play

Official Custom Moveset Project

Character	Custom sets available
Bowser Jr.	1113	1121	1123	1211	1213
	1313	3111	3113	3213	1112

Notable players

Active

•  Hatsuyuki
•  Hino
•  Kub4444
•  Omochi
•  Vicegrip

Inactive

•  Tweek

Reveal trailer

<youtube>UI7mc5OMssw</youtube>

Trophies

Bowser Jr.

Bowser's beloved, spoiled son sports a bandanna with a large mouth drawn on it. Like his father, Bowser Jr. longs to take Mario down. In Smash Bros., he'll fight from inside his heavily armed Junior Clown Car. The Clown Car takes less damage than Bowser Jr., so mind your positioning.

Bowser's probably a big fan of his son, what with him hating Mario just as much as dear old Dad does. The tyke's Junior Clown Car is packed with gadgets and gizmos to throw at enemies! By the way, he's extra vulnerable when he jumps out of it, but...you wouldn't dream of attacking the cute little fella then, would you?

: Super Mario Sunshine (08/2002)

: New Super Mario Bros. Wii (11/2009)

Bowser Jr. (Alt.)

The Clown Kart Dash special move turns the Junior Clown Car into a kart. If you change direction while driving it, it'll spin and do more damage. When you use his up special, Bowser Jr. leaps from his Junior Clown Car, dropping it on the foes below.

The Clown Kart Dash special move turns the Junior Clown Car into a kart. If you change direction while driving it, it'll spin and do more damage. When you use his up special, Bowser Jr. jumps out of the Junior Clown Car, letting it hit opponents. Try to catch opponents with it while you're directly over them to hit them on the head!

: Super Mario Sunshine (08/2002)

: New Super Mario Bros. Wii (11/2009)

Shadow Mario Paint

In Super Mario Sunshine, someone went around causing havoc disguised as Mario. It turned out not to be the brawny Bowser, but his brainier son, Bowser Jr. Now he becomes Shadow Mario again for his Final Smash, painting a giant X on the screen. It sticks around after Bowser Jr. transforms back, letting him gleefully knock foes into it.

In Super Mario Sunshine, someone went around causing havoc disguised as Mario. It turned out not to be the brawny Bowser, but his brainier son, Bowser Jr. Now he becomes Shadow Mario again for his Final Smash, painting a giant cross on the screen. It sticks around after Bowser Jr. turns back, so he can gleefully knock people into it.

• 

  Classic (3DS)

• 

  Alt. (3DS)

• 

  Classic (Wii U)

• 

  Alt. (Wii U)

• 

  Shadow Mario Paint

In Event Matches

Solo Events

• Behind Enemy Lines: As Fox, the player must survive one minute against Bowser Jr. and Mega Man.
• It's Past Your Bedtime!: As Jigglypuff, the player must make Bowser Jr., Ness, and Toon Link fall asleep at the same time by using Sing.
• New Challengers 1: Bowser Jr. is one of the seven opponents fought, alongside Rosalina & Luma, Wii Fit Trainer, Little Mac, Villager, Duck Hunt and Lucina.
• Family Ties: Bowser Jr., who is aided by a giant Bowser, must defeat Mario and Luigi.
• Enough with the Kidnapping: As Peach, the player must defeat Bowser and Bowser Jr. on Mushroom Kingdom U.

Co-op Events

• A Lurking Menace: Mario and Luigi must defeat Bowser Jr., but if the match lasts too long, they must also defeat a giant Bowser.
• Peach in Peril: Bowser and Bowser Jr. must defeat all opponents except Peach, where KOing her results in a failure.
• Solidarity: Bowser and Bowser Jr. appear after the players have defeated Mario and Luigi.
• The Ultimate Battle: Two players select a character and must defeat the entire roster.

Alternate costumes

Instead of color swaps, Bowser Jr.'s alternate costumes consist of all seven Koopalings. Bowser Jr.'s Junior Clown Car is the only one with black eyes and horizontal orange "eye paint", while the Koopalings' Clown Cars have yellow mechanical eyes with vertical black "eye paint".

Gallery

• 

  Artwork of Bowser Jr. from the official site.

• 

  Bowser Jr.'s splash art.

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  Bowser Jr.'s amiibo.

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  Larry Koopa.

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  Roy Koopa.

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  Wendy O. Koopa.

• 

  Iggy Koopa.

• 

  Morton Koopa Jr.

• 

  Lemmy Koopa.

• 

  Ludwig von Koopa.

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  Using Clown Kart Dash with Wario.

• 

  Taunting with his father.

• 

  Using Clown Cannon with Kirby.

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  Bowser Jr. and all the Koopalings on Onett.

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  Morton and Iggy using Abandon Ship! on Ludwig and Lemmy. Note Morton and Iggy's size differences in comparison to their sizes in the Mario series.

• 

  Wendy using her forward smash on Iggy.

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  Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings on The Great Cave Offensive.

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  Using Shadow Mario Paint, his Final Smash, on Mario and Luigi.

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  Summoning a Mechakoopa.

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  Using Clown Kart Dash on Spirit Tracks.

Trivia

• Bowser Jr. is the only character who does not have an alternate costume that shares the same name as the default costume or is a palette swap of the original costume. Due to this, he's the only character to use his default color scheme in his All-Star trophy.
  • Similarly, Bowser Jr. is the only character who does not use an alternative costume when he is fought in rounds 4-5 in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U's classic mode, as well as Smash Tour with customs. However, Larry will appear in his place in a team battle and the player chooses a previously-defeated Bowser Jr. as a teammate.
  • This additionally makes Bowser Jr. and Villager are the only characters where all eight of their palette swaps have a chance of appearing in All-Star mode. However, because his placement in All-Star mode is based on his debut rather than that of the Koopalings (who debuted before him), the Koopalings will be misplaced chronologically during All-Star mode if the opponent's costume is a Koopaling. The same applies to Olimar and Alph.
• Bowser Jr. is the only newcomer to be both a starter and an unlockable in SSB4.
• Bowser Jr. was on the brink of being cut as a playable character due to limited time and resources. He barely got in due to the game's staff's diligent work.
• When Bowser Jr. gets a Super Leaf, the ears will be on his head but the tail will be on the back of his Clown Car.
  • When he uses Abandon Ship!, the tail on the Clown Car disappears.
• One of Bowser Jr.'s Conquest teams is called the "Kooky Kids". "Kooky" is also Ludwig's name in the DiC Entertainment cartoons The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World.
  • On the official Super Smash Bros. Facebook page, Wendy was called "a Kootie-Pie", a reference to her name in the DIC Entertainment cartoons.
  • On the same Facebook page, Lemmy is put down as "Hip but no Hop", a reference to Lemmy being called Hip and Iggy being called Hop in the cartoons.
• The pitchfork used in Bowser Jr.'s forward and up tilts has a matching engraving corresponding with the Koopaling being used.