Bowser (SSBU)/Down special

This article is about the hitbox visualization in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. For the move itself, see Bowser Bomb.

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Hitbox visualization showing Bowser's grounded down special, Bowser Bomb

Hitbox visualization showing Bowser's aerial down special, Bowser Bomb

Hitbox visualization showing Bowser's down special landing, Bowser Bomb

Overview

Bowser headbutts opponents with his horns before preforming his ground pound attack from Super Mario Bros. 3. The first notable quality of Bowser Bomb is its tremendous shield damage, breaking even full shields if both ground hits connect. This can be effective at any precent as Bowser, as Bowser can KO at 0% on a shield break thanks to his tipper Flame Breath and strong Forward Smash. Additionally, the move can be used to snap to ledge, regardless if Bowser is facing the ledge while making the move difficult to challenge due to its strong hitbox.

However, despite these great traits, Bowser Bomb has sluggish startup in the air, making it difficult to set up shield breaks with due to the aerial version being reactable and susceptible to Perfect shielding. Additionally, using the move to KO is generally not a good idea, as Bowser has no shortage of powerful KO options such as Back aerial and Forward tilt. Additionally, the scooping hitbox only lasts for a single frame, meaning that the scoop hitbox can be whiffed easily, with the move being very unsafe due to its sizable ending lag. While the move does have a Meteor smash hitbox when Bowser starts falling, it is outclassed in setting up edgeguards and kamikazes due to Down aerial being faster and having a longer meteor window.

As a result, Bowser Bomb is seldom used in competitive play due to it's sluggish startup in the air making it hard to shieldbreak with. The main use for the move is as a ledge grab option, which is a rather shallow niche.

Hitboxes

Grounded

ID	Part	Rehit rate	Damage	SD	Angle type	BK	KS	FKV	Radius	Bone	Offset			H×	SDI×	T%	Sound	Hit bits	Hit part	Hitstun
Start
0	0	0	4.0%	0	Standard	0	100	60	4.0	top	0.0	1.0 to 9.0	17.0	1.0×	0.5×	0%	Kick	All	All	+8 frames
1	0	0	4.0%	0	Standard	0	100	60	2.0	top	0.0	0.5 to 9.5	22.5	1.0×	0.5×	0%	Kick	All	All	+8 frames
2	0	0	4.0%	0	Standard	0	100	60	4.0	top	0.0	2.5 to 7.5	13.0	1.0×	0.5×	0%	Kick	All	All	+8 frames
Fall
0	0	0	20.0%	5	Forward	13	65	0	8.3	top	0.0	5.2	0.0	1.0×	0.5×	0%	Kick	All	All	—

Aerial

ID	Part	Rehit rate	Damage	SD	Angle type	BK	KS	FKV	Radius	Bone	Offset			H×	SDI×	T%	Sound	Hit bits	Hit part
Clean
0	0	0	20.0%	5	Standard	13	65	0	8.6	top	0.0	5.2	0.0	1.0×	1.0×	0%	Kick	All	All
Late
0	0	0	20.0%	5	Forward	45	75	0	8.3	top	0.0	5.2	0.0	1.0×	1.0×	0%	Kick	All	All

Landing

ID	Part	Rehit rate	Damage	SD	Angle	Angle type	BK	KS	FKV	Set weight	Radius	Bone	Offset			H×	SDI×	T%	Clang	Rebound	Effect	Type	G	A	Sound	Direct	Hit bits	Hit part	Blockable	Reflectable	Absorbable	Flinchless	No GFX	Heedless
0	0	0	11.0%	5		Standard	60	72	0		8.0	top	0.0	1.5	-5.5 to 5.5	1.0×	1.0×	0%							Kick		All	All