Bowser Jr. (SSB4)

Bowser Jr. in Super Smash Bros. 4
Universe	Mario
Other playable appearance	in Ultimate
Availability	Unlockable (3DS) Starter (Wii U)
Final Smash	Shadow Mario Paint
Tier	F (47)

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

Bowser Jr. (クッパJr., Koopa Jr.) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4. After initially being leaked on August 19th, 2014 as part of the ESRB leak, he was revealed as a fighter with Smash for 3DS's launch in Japan on September 13, 2014, followed by his official trailer being shown off during the Super Smash Bros. for Wii U 50-Fact Extravaganza on October 23rd, 2014. Caety Sagoian reprises her role as Bowser Jr.'s voice actor from Mario Strikers Charged and onwards, albeit via recycled voice-clips from various Mario spin-off games. The Koopalings also retain their voice-clips from the New Super Mario Bros. games, in which they were voiced by Lani Minella (Larry, Morton, Wendy, and Lemmy), Mike Vaughn (Iggy and Ludwig) and Dan Falcone (Roy), in place of their respective voice actors (excluding Roy) from Mario Kart 8.

Bowser Jr. is ranked 47th out of 54 on the tier list, placing him in the F tier. Due to his disjointed hitboxes, Bowser Jr. has surprisingly good range for a heavyweight, allowing him to attack from a relatively safe distance, which is supplemented by a majority of his attacks being powerful enough to KO under 100%, true to the archetype of a heavyweight. He also sports an excellent neutral game: Clown Kart Dash functions as an excellent approaching option and provides an impressive amount of versatility, while Mechakoopa is useful for pressuring and stage control. Despite being a heavyweight, Bowser Jr. also sports a deceptively good air game, courtesy of his fairly quick aerial mobility and his aerial attacks' follow-up and juggling potentials.

However, Bowser Jr. has noticeable flaws. His overall grounded mobility is quite sluggish, which necessitates using Clown Kart Dash in order to catch up with speed demons. Lag is another glaring issue; several of Bowser Jr.'s attacks have among the largest amounts of ending lag in the game, requiring players to use reads or baiting in order to secure KOs with him. Bowser Jr.'s grab game is also limited by his set of grabs' high lag, and his grab game is further made worse by unimpressive throws, with only his back throw being useful, as a situational KOing option. Lastly, Bowser Jr.'s recovery is predictable and unsafe, as Abandon Ship! is very susceptible to gimps due to offering no overhead protection, it can only travel in a single direction, and it can be rendered unusable if he is hit even by a weak attack.

Bowser Jr. had minimal presence throughout the entire metagame, owing to a small playerbase and results. Although he previously attained stronger tournament results and a deeper metagame from Tweek, he later switched to using the higher-tiered Cloud, leading to a stagnation of Bowser Jr.'s own metagame. Bowser Jr. still made waves of attention from time to time, such as with Jade defeating Trela's Ryu at CEO 2016, but he struggled to make an impact at most tournaments.

How to unlock (3DS version only)

Complete one of the following:

• Play 100 VS Matches.
• Clear Classic Mode as Bowser on Intensity 6.0 or higher.

After completing one of the two methods, Bowser Jr. must then be defeated on 3D Land.

Attributes

Bowser Jr. is tied with Samus as the sixth-heaviest character, yet he possesses overall decent mobility. While he has the eleventh-slowest walking speeds, the tenth-slowest dashing speeds, low traction, 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 a pair of separate hurtboxes. However, the properties of Bowser Jr. and his Clown Car's hurtboxes are much more apparent: attacks that hit the Clown Car will deal 0.88× damage, whereas those that hit Bowser Jr. himself will deal 1.15× damage. However, Bowser Jr.'s hitbox out-prioritizes the Clown Car's hitbox, making him vulnerable to receiving more damage more often than not. Although the knockback calculation ignores this, he will still be KO'd earlier than most heavyweights, as the knockback formula takes the target's damage after the attack damage has been added. One unique quirk Bowser Jr. possesses is that all, excluding one, of his attacks have disjointed hitboxes (with the only exception being Clown Kart Dash), which gives him decent overall range for his weight class.

Clown Kart Dash is considered to be Bowser Jr.'s best move in his kit overall because of its versatility, with its most apparent benefit being much quicker mobility to compensate for his otherwise sluggish grounded mobility (which can be made even faster via jump-canceling) and grants him an excellent approaching 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 further supplemented by its doughtnut-based attack and possessing 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 recoveries, 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 attacking input, which is an almost guaranteed KOing option upon usage in sync with Clown Kart Dash at high percentages. Mechakoopa is an extremely 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 functions well when performed out of Clown Kart Dash at lower percentages, due to the hitbox it produces compensating for its high landing lag.

Bowser Jr.'s smash attacks are go-to KO options, all dealing high knockback and overall damage: forward smash has low ending lag, pokes shields, and can be angled. In addition, it deals multiple hits, and the move's hitboxes last long enough to catch spot dodging opponents; up smash has instantaneous startup and ending lag, pressures shields, and denies aerial approaches; and finally, down smash, one of the strongest in SSB4, has high range and secures stocks when landed, killing the earliest out of Junior's smash attacks.

Bowser Jr. is not without his flaws, however. Chief among them is Bowser. Jr's extremely gimpable recovery: while Abandon Ship! grants him impressive vertical distance, even a weak hitbox from an attack can result in Bowser Jr. his Junior Clown Car being unavailable to respawn without excessive button mashing, often preventing him from using his recovery more than once if Bowser Jr. is reckless. This is further compounded by the fact that Abandon Ship! lacks protection from overhead, with the hammer-swing attack's hitbox and Abandon Ship!'s explosion failing to compensate for it, leaving him quite vulnerable to edgeguarding. Another circumstantial problem that Bowser Jr. faces is a lack of viable options on shield: most of Bowser. Jr's attacks are burdened with high lag and, outside of Clown Cannon, lack strong shield damage, making him susceptible to punishment if his attacks are performed unwisely. In addition, his grab is one of the slowest non-tether grabs, his aerials are either burdened with high lag or have poor range for being disjointed and his Mechakoopas will deactivate if colliding with a shield, making him susceptible to punishes, and as his traction is among the lowest in the game, this gives him a poor out-of-shield game.

Furthermore, despite Bowser Jr.'s excellent neutral game due to the utility of his special moveset, Bowser Jr. is also a straightforward character, which can make him quite predictable at times. In turn, Mechakoopa is the crux of Bowser Jr.'s neutral game, making it easy for opponents to shut down his options, especially for characters with reflectors and/or moves capable of absorption, such as Fox and Rosalina & Luma, respectively. Additionally, Clown Cannon is a sluggish projectile that, unlike most chargeable projectiles, cannot be stored. Finally, Bowser Jr. is otherwise over-reliant on Clown Kart Dash for approaching, as his great aerial mobility is offset by his somewhat sluggish grounded mobility without the usage of Clown Kart Dash. Altogether, this means that Bowser Jr.'s neutral game is overall predictable and his playstyle is linear.

Despite his grab's relatively long range and possessing a fairly fast pummel with passable damage output, his grab game is also rather mediocre: his grabs are burdened with noticeable start-up and ending lag, while his throws lack general utility due to their inability to KO at reasonable percentages or initiate combos. However, there are some notable exceptions: his down throw overall outclasses Bowser Jr.'s back throw due to its much stronger knockback, able to KO middleweights at around 160% at the edge of Final Destination, although this can easily be prevented with good DI. His forward throw can set up tech-chasing at low precents and set up edgeguards, and the latter trait is shared with his back throw. Lastly, Bowser Jr. also surprisingly struggles securing KOs at times due to possessing a few reliable KOing options (his smash attacks and his forward/back aerials), which is further compounded by said options being burdened with considerable ending lag. While all of Bowser Jr.'s throws can KO at higher precents, they are only capable of effectively doing so if Bowser Jr. stacks high levels of rage (up throw) and/or if near the ledge (back throw), or even both (forward throw).

Despite possessing disjointed hitboxes, a majority of his attacks, such as his tilts, have rather poor range for a disjoint, so he fares surprisingly poorly against swordfighters considering his disjointed moveset, such as Marth and Cloud. Finally, Bowser Jr. receives more damage if he is hit instead of his Koopa Clown Car, so he suffers from high vulnerability to aerial approaches and after using Abandon Ship!, and he also struggles with dealing with pressure from his opponents. As mentioned before, this is especially prevalent since Bowser Jr.'s hurtbox out-prioritizes the Clown Car's hurtbox, which means that Bowser Jr. can be KO'd earlier in comparison to other heavyweights of the same class. Since he typically out-prioritizes his Clown Car when thrown, Bowser Jr. is also especially vulnerable to grabs and can be knocked out earlier than most characters of his weight class by strong killing throws, such as Ness.

Bowser Jr. gains only a few improvements from his custom moves. Piercing Cannon is quicker and pierces opponents, but it deals less damage and knockback. Air Cannon is also quicker and briefly stalls Bowser Jr.'s momentum in midair, but replaces the cannonball with a windbox, which re-purposes it from an offensive option to a defensive option. Big Mechakoopa is stronger and larger, but it sacrifices Mechakoopa's ability to trip up opponents. Outside of these, Bowser Jr.'s remaining custom moves are less effective than the default variations.

Overall, Bowser Jr. is best described as a powerhouse who fares well with a defensive bait-and-punish playstyle at the same extent of his father, but he can also be potent at pressuring and zoning out the opponent thanks to Clown Kart Dash and Mechakoopa. Like Bowser, Bowser Jr. also benefits from comparatively excellent damage output, KO power and shield-breaking capabilities with Clown Cannon, while still retaining good range due to his disjointed hitboxes and overall decent mobility, although he is typically outclassed by his father in terms of these offensive traits. However, his slew of his easily exploitable weaknesses prevent his strengths from easily maintaining track of and getting mastered to the fullest, which is further compounded by the overwhelming mechanic of the Clown Car, which means that he lacks the respectable endurance of other heavyweights. While his flaws have resulted in his lack of representation in the Western scene, Japan regards him more favorably. Additionally, professionals, like Tweek, have shown that he can be viable when his strengths are mastered wisely and to their fullest.

Update history

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

• Neutral infinite has decreased trails.
• Forward smash's initial hitbox re-positioned, and its last hit's hitbox size increased: 6u → 7u.

1.1.0

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

1.1.1

• Floor attack's shield damage output matches the other characters': 1 → 8.
• Back floor attack deals 10 shield damage, as did the other characters' before update 1.1.1.
• Clown Cannon's knockback increased: 80 (sweetspot)/60 (sourspot) → 85/65.
• Clown Cannon's hitbox size increased: 4.5u → 5.5u.
• Air Cannon's frame speed multiplier decreased: 2× → 1.3×, decreasing its ending lag by 14 frames.

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

• Fighter ability: Moves that hit the Junior Clown Car deal 0.88× damage, whereas those that hit Bowser Jr. himself will deal 1.15× damage. Bowser Jr.'s hurtbox takes priority over the Clown Car's hurtbox.

For a gallery of Bowser Jr.'s hitboxes, see here.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			3%	The Junior Clown Car performs a one-two combo, followed by a flurry of punches, followed by a jab. It has impressive damage racking potential, as it can easily deal around 20%. Its first hit is quite useful for jab locks due to its minimal ending lag, whereas its last hit's extremely high knockback growth can KO around 130%-150% while near the edge. However, its neutral infinite is quite easy to escape, even with minimal SDI, while its last hit is punishable. As a result, it is best used against off-stage opponents that are attempting to grab the edge. The flurry punches of the move are similar to an attack Bowser Jr does when smashing the steel blocks in the Boarding the Airship level from New Super Mario Bros U.
			2%
			2% (loop), 3% (last)
Forward tilt			8%	The Junior Clown Car thrusts a pitchfork forward. It can be angled and is very useful for spacing.
Up tilt			6%	The Junior Clown Car thrusts a pitchfork upward. It can combo into itself beginning at 0% and juggle at medium percentages, but has a blind spot between the fork's prongs and the Junior Clown Car.
Down tilt			1.5% (hits 1-2), 5% (hit 3)	The Junior Clown Car uses its tongue to lick forward three times. It has a fair amount of utility, as it is efficient at warding off rushdowns, can act as a set-up for a dash attack, or interfere with an opponent attempting to grab an edge due to its undulating hitbox. This is possibly based on a cutscene in Super Mario Sunshine were Shadow Mario sticks his tongue out at Mario when he is kidnapping Peach.
Dash attack			1.5% (hits 1-5), 4% (hit 6)	The Junior Clown Car opens its mouth to swing a Grinder twice. Its loop hits do not connect together very well at high percentages.
Forward smash		Smash Twin Drills (スマッシュツインドリル)	1% (hits 1-5), 11% (hit 6)	The Junior Clown Car uses two drills to drill the opponent in place. The final hit is a powerful KOing option, while the whole move has low ending lag and it can be angled.
Up smash			1% (hit 1), 1.3% (hits 2-5), 1% (hit 6), 6% (hit 7)	Bowser Jr. performs a handstand to attack with the Junior Clown Car's spinning propeller. It is Bowser Jr.'s fastest smash attack, with its multiple hits being useful for pressuring shields or denying aerial approaches.
Down smash			18%	The Junior Clown Car slams wrecking balls on both sides. It is Bowser Jr.'s most powerful smash attack, and is the third strongest down smash in the game, making it deadly for punishment. However, it has high ending lag unlike his other smash attacks, making it equally as punishable.
Neutral aerial			6% (clean), 5% (mid), 3% (late)	The Junior Clown Car spins around with the boxing glove arms extended. It is a weak but useful aerial, which combos reliably from Clown Kart Dash and is effective as a anti-pressure and edgeguarding option.
Forward aerial			11%/9% (clean), 8%/6.5% (mid), 5%/4% (late), 2% (landing)	The Junior Clown Car swings a wrecking ball forward in a circling motion. 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 thrusts a wrecking ball backward. Like his forward aerial, 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 due to its high knockback.
Up aerial			10% (clean), 6.5% (late)	Swings a hammer above himself. It has little lag and is a useful juggling option.
Down aerial			1.3% (loop), 2% (last), 2% (landing)	The Junior Clown Car extends a drill from its underside hatch to pierce opponents. Its high ending lag is compensated by the hitbox it produces upon landing, which grants it follow-up potential. If the attack hits an opponent, it can cancel quickly into other moves; if not, Bowser Jr. suffers from moderate ending lag. This could be similar to the Spin Drill from Super Mario Galaxy.
Grab			—	The Junior Clown Car extends a claw to grab the opponent. A slow grab overall.
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. Each hit plays the recurring sound of Mario jumping onto a Goomba in the Super Mario franchise.
Forward throw			3% (hit 1), 6% (throw)	The Junior Clown Car throws an uppercut. It is fairly good for launching opponents at the edge for an edge-guard.
Back throw			12%	The Junior Clown Car spins and then throws the opponent backward. Bowser Jr.'s most powerful throw, as it can KO most middleweights starting around 160% without rage.
Up throw			7%	The Junior Clown Car flings the opponent upward. It can lead into up aerial at low percentages.
Down throw			0.5% (hits 1-5), 4% (throw)	The Junior Clown Car throws the opponent onto the ground and then extends a drill from its underside hatch to pierce opponents. 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 a pair boxing gloves outstretched on both sides.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			7%	Gets up while spinning a Grinder around himself.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	Gets up while thrusting a pitchfork on both of sides.
Edge attack Edge getups			7%	Slams a pair of wrecking balls while climbing up.
Neutral special	Default	Clown Cannon	8.5% (uncharged), 5.9% (uncharged late), 20% (fully charged), 14% (fully charged late)	The Junior Clown Car opens its mouth and fires a cannonball. 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 if it is spaced properly. However, it has high overall lag.
	Custom 1	Piercing Cannon	4% (uncharged), 2% (uncharged late), 10% (fully charged), 5% (fully charged late)	Fires a cannonball that pierces opponents and travels faster, although the cannonball is smaller and deals noticeably less damage.
	Custom 2	Air Cannon	—	Fires a gust of wind that will push opponents backward, although 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	5% (beginning leap), 4%-7% (collision), 8-12% (doughnut)	The Junior Clown Car transforms into a go-kart that jumps back slightly before speeding forward. Holding the control stick/circle pad forward increases speed, and tilting it in the opposite direction or pressing the attack/special button will cause the Junior Clown Car to perform a doughnut, which deals more damage and has higher knockback to opponents on contact compared to simply charging into them. Using the Kart in the air slightly improves horizontal movement, after which it 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, and gives Bowser Jr. more vertical recovery, though he cannot double jump after the leap. The Kart will bounce slightly upon hitting the ground.
	Custom 1	Koopa Drift	2% (collision), 1% (doughnut loop, up to 8 hits), 2% (doughnut last)	The go-kart careens forward during the doughnut, hitting opponents multiple times. Doesn’t have a hitbox in the middle of a dash. Careening in the air grants much more horizontal recovery, but its jumps are much lower.
	Custom 2	Grounding Dash	8% (collision)	The Junior Clown Car travels faster, but its doughnut does not deal damage. It buries grounded opponents on contact, but grants less horizontal distance.
Up special	Default	Abandon Ship!	5% (contact), 13% (explosion), 15%/10% (hammer)	Bowser Jr. ejects himself from the Junior Clown Car. The Junior Clown Car slowly falls to the ground and then explodes with high power when the move is used in midair, whereas it will simply explode after a brief period when used on the ground. The move covers a decent amount of vertical distance, and is flexible with horizontal steering. When Bowser Jr. is out of the Junior Clown Car, he is not rendered helpless and can still dodge or attack with a hammer, which is powerful enough to KO at medium to high percentages. However, taking any weak hit while out of the Junior Clown Car prevents another use of the move without button mashing or landing.
	Custom 1	Meteor Ejection	8%/3% (contact), 10% (explosion), 15%/10% (hammer)	The Junior Clown Car produces a meteor effect upon activation. However, it covers less vertical distance, whereas Bowser Jr. seems to cover more horizontal distance after being ejected.
	Custom 2	Koopa Meteor	17% (contact), 15%/10% (hammer)	Ejects Bowser Jr. high into the air before the Junior Clown Car explodes, ejecting him downward. Deals strong knockback and a powerful meteor smash upon contact on opponents caught near the bottom.
Down special	Default	Mechakoopa	2% (contact), 7% (explosion)	The Junior Clown Car drops a Mechakoopa from its underside hatch. The Mechakoopa falls in a strong downward arc; once it lands, it starts walking around. If it reaches a wall or dead end, it will turn around and walk in the opposite direction. If it makes contact with an opponent (or travels enough distance in the air without landing), it will detonate. 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 either by Bowser Jr. or his opponent. Picking them up will delay their detonation slightly. Bowser Jr. won’t be damaged by his own explosions.
	Custom 1	Impatient Mechakoopa	1% (contact), 4% (explosion)	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	1% (thrown), 15% (explosion)	The Mechakoopa is larger and walks a shorter distance, but doesn’t detonate upon colliding.
Final Smash		Shadow Mario Paint	3% (paint), 5% (explosion)	Bowser Jr. transforms into Shadow Mario and uses the Magic Paintbrush to paint a giant, orange X on the screen. Anyone caught in the X's hitbox will be damaged, with the X pulling opponents into it once they are hit. The X will clear away with an explosion after some time. The sheer size of the X makes avoiding damage from this Final Smash difficult, similarly to Iceberg.

Stats

Stats	Weight	Dash speed	Walk speed	Traction	Air friction	Air speed	Air acceleration	Gravity	Falling speed	Jumpsquat	Jump height	Double jump height
Value	108	1.6 – Initial dash 1.424 – Run	0.88	0.045	0.015	1.08	0.01 – Base 0.07 – Additional	0.092	1.65 – Base 2.64 – Fast-fall	6	34.400002 - Base 16.592869 - Short hop	68.800004

Announcer calls

Bowser Jr.

• English

• Japanese/Chinese

• French

• German

• Italian

• Spanish

• Spanish (PAL)

Larry

• English/Japanese/Chinese

• French

• German

• Italian

• Spanish

Roy

• English/Japanese/Chinese

• French

• French (PAL)

• German

• Italian

• Spanish

Wendy

• English/Japanese/Chinese

• French

• German

• Italian

• Spanish

Iggy

• English/Japanese/Chinese

• French

• German

• Italian

• Spanish

Morton

• English/Japanese/Chinese

• French

• French (PAL)

• German

• Italian

• Spanish

Lemmy

• English/Japanese/Chinese

• French

• German

• Italian

• Spanish

Ludwig

• English/Japanese/Chinese

• French

• German

• Italian

• Spanish

On-screen appearance

• Flies onto the stage in the Junior Clown Car and makes a taunting facial expression toward 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, sports an angry expression while performing a doughnut, then returns to normal.

Up taunt	Side taunt	Down taunt

Idle poses

• Places his hand above his eyes and looks around while smiling with his mouth closed or smiling with his mouth open.
• Hops impatiently in the Junior Clown Car.

Crowd cheer

English

Japanese

Victory poses

A rock-based remix of the Course Clear Fanfare used in Super Mario Bros.

• Uses Clown Kart Dash while laughing, then stops and pulls out a hammer.
• Gets out of the Junior 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 Junior Clown Car, hops in celebration a few times while laughing, then strikes a pose.

In competitive play

Tier placement and history

Similar to his father's initial competitive perception in SSB4's early metagame, Bowser Jr. was initially considered to be a high-tier character due to his attacks possessing disjointed hitboxes, his great aerial game and Clown Kart Dash's incredible versatility, which allowed him to easily compensate for his otherwise poor approach due to his rather sluggish grounded mobility. However, like most of the cast, Bowser Jr. began to drop on the tier list once players discovered that his he has a very linear neutral game, lackluster shield pressure, a mediocre grab game, and exploitable recovery. All of these attributes resulted in him struggling against several top-tier characters, like Rosalina & Luma and Cloud. However, Tweek still managed to achieve impressive results with Bowser Jr., such as placing 25th at EVO 2015, which was especially significant due to Bowser Jr.'s lack of improvement with custom moves. Tweek also managed to place 33rd at GENESIS 3 and consistently achieve top 8 placings in his region. As a result, Bowser Jr. was ranked 34th on the first tier list.

However, after Tweek dropped Bowser Jr. in favor of Cloud, his tournament prominence dropped drastically. While he still achieved some decent results thanks to several dedicated players, such as Vicegrip and Jade (the latter of whom, in particular, defeated Trela at CEO 2016), and his metagame continued to be developed, Bowser Jr.'s lack of high placings at tournaments resulted in him tying with Wii Fit Trainer for 46th/47th on the second tier list, and then slightly dropping to 48th on the third tier list. Bowser Jr. would be slightly bolstered up to 47th on the fourth and final tier list, which can be attributed to players like Kub4444 achieving good, albeit scarce, placements in their region.

Despite this, his ranking on the tier list remained debatable throughout the game’s competitive lifespan; some players advocated that he should be ranked even lower due to his linear neutral game and gimpable recovery, whereas others argued that he should be ranked slightly higher thanks to his previously attained success and decent disjoints.

Official Custom Moveset Project

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

Most historically significant players

See also: Category:Bowser Jr. players (SSB4)

•  Blanc - The best Bowser Jr. player in Canada. Placed 17th at Canada Cup 2016 as well as 25th at both Get On My Level 2017 and Get On My Level 2018 with wins over players such as Infinity and Jayy. Ranked 24th on the Smash Canada Rankings.
•  Hatsuyuki - One of the best Bowser Jr. players in the world. Placed 7th at both Sumabato 2 and Karisuma 8, 13th at Sumabato 10, and 17th at both Sumabato for THE BIG HOUSE and Sumabato 8 with wins over players such as DIO, ikep, and Yakara.
•  Kub4444 - One of the best Bowser Jr. players in Mexico. Placed 5th at Concomics 2016 abril, 13th at ConComics April 2018, and 17th at Smash Factor 6 with wins over players such as Regi and Hyuga. Ranked 43rd on the Mexican Power Rankings.
•  Magi - The best Bowser Jr. player in Europe. Placed 5th at Albion and Schism 2, 25th at Albion 2, and 49th at Syndicate 2017. Ranked 15th on the England Power Rankings.
•  Moti - Placed 7th at Kings of the North 4, 13th at Midwest Mayhem 3, 17th at King of the Springs 2, and 49th at both Smash 'N' Splash 2 and UGC Smash Open. Formerly ranked 1st on the St. Louis Power Rankings.
•  Tweek - The best Bowser Jr. player in the game's early metagame but has since switched to Cloud. Placed 3rd at SKTAR 4, 25th at EVO 2015, and 33rd at GENESIS 3.
•  Vicegrip - One of the best Bowser Jr. players in the United States. Placed 5th at 2GGT: Fatality Saga, 13th at 2GGT: ESAM Saga, and 33rd at 2GGT: Abadango Saga with wins over players such as Rich Brown, Tyrant, and VoiD. Formerly ranked 17th on the SoCal Power Rankings.

Trophies

3DS Classic Mode trophy

Wii U Classic Mode trophy

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.

: Super Mario Sunshine (08/2002)

: New Super Mario Bros. Wii (11/2009)

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 (10/2002)

: New Super Mario Bros. Wii (11/2009)

3DS All-Star Mode trophy

Wii U alternate trophy

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.

: Super Mario Sunshine (08/2002)

: New Super Mario Bros. Wii (11/2009)

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 (10/2002)

: New Super Mario Bros. Wii (11/2009)

Shadow Mario Paint trophy

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.

In Event Matches

Solo Events

• Behind Enemy Lines: As Fox, the player must survive one minute against Bowser Jr. and Mega Man while they are all heavily damaged.
• 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 Jr. and Bowser.

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 Jr. and Bowser must defeat all opponents except Peach, where KOing her results in a failure.
• Solidarity: Olimar and Rosalina & Luma must defeat Mario and Luigi and then they must defeat Bowser Jr. and Bowser.
• The Ultimate Battle: Two players select a character and must defeat the entire roster.

Alternate costumes

Instead of alternate color schemes, Bowser Jr.'s alternate costumes consist of the 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

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  Bowser Jr.'s splash art.

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  Bowser Jr.'s amiibo.

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  Bowser Jr.'s unlock notice in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.

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  Artwork of Bowser Jr. from the official site.

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  Using Clown Kart Dash alongside Wario's Wario Bike.

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  Taunting alongside his father, who is using Fire Breath.

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  Using Clown Cannon alongside Kirby, who is also using it due to having copied him.

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  Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings on Onett.

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  Morton and Iggy using Abandon Ship! on Ludwig and Lemmy. Morton and Iggy's size differences in SSB4 are noticeably different in comparison to their sizes in the Mario series.

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  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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  Using Mechakoopa.

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  Using Clown Kart Dash on Spirit Train.

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 is the only character to use their default color scheme in their Alt. trophies.
  • Similarly, Bowser Jr. is the only character who does not use an alternative costume when 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 if the player chooses a previously defeated Bowser Jr. as a teammate.
  • This additionally makes Bowser Jr. and Villager the only characters for whom 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.
• In Bowser Jr.'s reveal trailer, he is seen firing a cannonball which then explodes. However, this does not happen in game, not even from his custom moves.
• Bowser Jr.'s reveal trailer is the only one to have a character use a shield in the CGI portion of the trailer.
• Bowser Jr. is the only newcomer to be both a starter character and an unlockable character in Smash 4.
• Bowser Jr. was on the brink of being cut as a playable character due to limited time and resources. He barely got onto the roster due to the game 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 Junior Clown Car.
  • When he uses Abandon Ship!, the tail on the Junior 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 and Nintendo of Europe's official Twitter account, Wendy was called "a Kootie-Pie", a reference to her name in the DIC Entertainment cartoons.
  • On the same Facebook and Twitter pages, Lemmy is noted as "Hip but no Hop", a reference to Lemmy and Iggy being called Hip and Hop respectively in the cartoons.
• In Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, the Koopa Clown vehicle, if used by a Koopaling will change colors to match the ones they use in Super Smash Bros. 4.
• In Bowser Jr.'s trailer, the music for Bowser Jr.'s Fiery Flotilla was featured, but did not appear in the game.
• In Bowser Jr.'s reveal trailer, when the Koopalings first appear, Morton's hand phases right through his Koopa Clown Car.
• Interestingly, in the lineup in for 3DS that replaces the opening movie, Bowser Jr. is ordered after Duck Hunt despite being unlocked before them.