Bowser

For fighter info, see Bowser (SSBM), Bowser (SSBB), Bowser (SSB4), and Bowser (SSBU). For the smasher, see King Koopa.

Bowser
File:BowserNSMBUDX.png Official artwork of Bowser from New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe.
Universe	Mario
Debut	Super Mario Bros. (1985)
Smash Bros. appearances	Melee Brawl SSB4 Ultimate
Most recent non-Smash appearance	Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury (2021)
Console/platform of origin	Nintendo Entertainment System
Species	Koopa
Gender	Male
Place of origin	Koopa Kingdom (birthplace) Bowser's Castle (surrogate home)
Created by	Shigeru Miyamoto
Article on Super Mario Wiki	Bowser

Bowser (クッパ, Koopa), is the supreme leader of the Koopa Troop, and King of the Koopas. He is the main antagonist of the Mario series. Since his debut in the world-famous Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo Entertainment System as the archenemy of main hero Mario, Bowser is easily one of the most recognizable of all villain figures in the game industry. He has therefore appeared in Super Smash Bros. Melee, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Super Smash Bros. 4, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate in the Super Smash Bros. series as a playable fighter, and due to his size and strength, Giga Bowser (a gargantuan, power up version of said character) also appears in Melee as the final boss of Adventure Mode and as his Final Smash in Brawl, SSB4, and Ultimate.

Origin

Bowser, as he appears in Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels. His appearance since this game (designed by Yoichi Kotabe) inspired his look in Melee.

Bowser was introduced in the seminal Super Mario Bros. for the NES, with most of his traditional character traits introduced along with it: his storyline role as a comically monstrous villain who always goes out of his way to kidnap the Mushroom Kingdom's Princess Peach, his gameplay role as a boss enemy for Mario to defeat, his fire-breathing abilities, his immeasurable army of henchmen such as mushroom-headed Goombas and turtle-like Koopa Troopas, and so on.

Super Mario Bros. holds the Guinness World Record for best-selling video game at 40 million copies, essentially guaranteeing worldwide fame for all characters who appeared in the game, Bowser included. He has appeared in some form in almost every Mario game to date, along with additional members of his "family": his only child, Bowser Jr., and his subordinates, the seven Koopalings. He also has a helper named Kamek, who has raised him since birth and serves as his mentor and father figure.

Bowser is a heavyset, chimeric, reptilian creature who combines traits of various real and mythological animals. Like his Koopa Troopa underlings, he features elements of a turtle or tortoise (albeit with qualities of a fire-breathing dragon or dinosaur) with his spike-covered shell and tail. He also has the facial structure and horns of an ox, as well as a very distinctively-constructed face and red hair arranged like a mohawk, both very unlike a typical Koopa Troopa. Though he is commonly thought of as a turtle-like being, the games indicate that he is intended to be a more generic representation of a "monster".

At times, Bowser is depicted in vastly different sizes, somewhat resembling Mario's tendency to grow or shrink in size during games starring him; he is a colossus in his appearance as the final boss of Super Mario Sunshine, while in other appearances, he is only slightly larger than the average person. Generally, his size is reduced for spin-off titles, and increased for games where his role as a major antagonist is emphasized.

Bowser is the primary villain in many Mario platformers, and therefore he is usually not playable. Bowser has appeared as a playable character, however, in several Mario games nonetheless, such as in the Mario Kart series. Whereas Mario is consistently the most balanced character in the roster of any competitive Mario spin-off, Bowser traditionally fits the "big, slow, and strong" archetype to the extreme. In these games, Bowser is typically classified as a "power" type, who performs relevant actions with more strength but less speed than others. This archetype is faithfully preserved in Bowser's appearance as a playable fighter in both Melee and Brawl.

In contrast, Bowser's actual agility greatly varies in each of his appearances; as another example, Bowser features the highest top speed and heaviest weight of the racers in the Mario Kart games, offset by low acceleration and handling abilities. This aspect of his character is more represented in SSB4 and Ultimate, which feature him with a more active and athletic moveset.

Bowser remains part of the regular cast in the Super Mario empire of video games, though his level of menace has fluctuated throughout his various game appearances. In many spin-offs, Bowser is on seemingly good terms with the other Mario characters in competitive scenarios like sports and kart racing, and has even allied himself with the protagonists of some games — albeit typically to serve his own purposes. In particular, some of the RPG entries feature Bowser as a playable party member, to the point of being a central protagonist in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story. When in antagonistic roles, Bowser has occasionally been depicted as bumbling, comical, and slightly incompetent. He works hard to come across as "bad" in spite of this, and has been doing so from a young age, as seen in the Yoshi's Island series.

Most current Mario games return Bowser to his previous status of a legitimate threat, as can be seen in the transition from Super Mario Sunshine to Super Mario Galaxy, and his character development throughout the Mario & Luigi RPG subseries. In such appearances, the Koopa King is more cunning and sinister than his brutish appearance would suggest, but still boisterous and somewhat whimsical. Additionally, ever since the introduction of Bowser Jr. in Sunshine, one of Bowser's defining traits has been his love and support for his son — regardless of how evil or competent either of them may be.

In Super Smash Bros.

Bowser does not appear in the original Super Smash Bros. in any sort of capacity. However, according to a page on Smabura-Ken (the Japanese Super Smash Bros. site), Bowser was planned to be included as a playable character, but was cut. In fact, it has been confirmed that Bowser and King Dedede were actually playable characters during development of the game in 1998. In the end, Bowser would end up being completely scrapped while King Dedede became a background character in the Dream Land stage. This was mostly a result of the Nintendo 64's hardware limitations, as well as time constraints.

In an official poll held on Smabura-Ken regarding characters for a potential sequel, Bowser placed first with 169 votes.

In Super Smash Bros. Melee

As a playable character

A Japanese image of Bowser, as he appears in Super Smash Bros. Melee.

Bowser makes his Smash Bros. series debut as a default playable character in the GameCube installment, and is billed as staying true to his archetype in normal competitive Mario games: he is among the heaviest and strongest characters in the game, but also among the most sluggish. Like Mario and Luigi, his appearance is based on his appearance in Nintendo 64-era artwork, except he has a noticeably more muscular frame and darker skin tones.

Bowser's neutral special move is Fire Breath, a continuous stream of fire breathed from his mouth into the area in front of him for several seconds until it weakens in power and size. His side special move, the Koopa Klaw, can be a good-range claw swipe attack, but can also grab onto enemies that are very close to him, and the move has the unique ability to grab onto enemies when both combatants are in midair. His up special move, the Whirling Fortress, is a third jump consisting of him withdrawing into his damaging spiked shell which is now spinning wildly upwards, and his down special move, the Bowser Bomb, causes a midair Bowser to crash down to earth vertically with great force. If Bowser is on the ground when doing this, he will leap up and in front of him diagonally before performing the crashing down maneuver.

Bowser's archetype does not translate well in the fast-paced metagame in Super Smash Bros. Melee. His powerful, damaging attacks with average range are good only when it manages to connect with opponents, for they have large amounts of startup and endlag, and such flaws detriments his combat capabilities. His dash speed is slow, his jumping and landing animations are very laggy, and his wavedash is very slow and nearly useless. He is also not able to reliably combo opponents, and his great size renders him combo fodder against the vast majority of the case. Bowser players must therefore be able to read their opponents extremely well and must successfully pressure their opponents in battle, and make use of his good edge-guarding game, to even have a chance at competitive play, though even an expert Bowser player will be severely disadvantaged against a regular Fox player. As a result, his humongous deficiencies have resulted in him placing 26th out of 26 characters in the F tier at the very bottom of the tier list.

Trophies

Bowser is a playable character, so he is featured on three trophies that can be acquired by beating each Regular Match with him on any difficulty. His first trophy is earned by defeating the Classic mode as him on any difficulty, his second from the Adventure mode, and his third from the All-Star mode. There is also a trophy of Bowser at a younger age, "Baby Bowser", who is often confused with his son Bowser Jr..

Bowser's Classic trophy plays a large, symbolic role in Melee's "story", so to speak; the trophy is shown near the end of the opening FMV, getting struck by lightning. At the end of Adventure mode, after K.O.ing Bowser, the trophy is seen plummeting into the darkness. If the right conditions are fulfilled, however, the trophy will rise back up onto the stage, land, and get struck by that special lightning, which will cause it to break apart and reveal Giga Bowser breaking out of it, and the Giga Bowser battle begins. If Giga Bowser is defeated, the trophy will again be seen plummeting into the darkness, where it will now shatter like a little firework, signifying the player's ultimate victory.

Bowser's normal trophies read as follows:

Bowser

Bowser has a long history of kidnapping Peach to lure his nemesis, Mario, into traps. He leads an enormous group of mischievous creatures, not the least of which are his seven children. With outrageous strength, flammable breath, and more spikes than you can shake a Star Rod at, Bowser is a constant threat.

• Super Mario Bros., 10/85 (NES)

Bowser [Smash Red]

In many ways, Bowser is the toughest character around. Not only does he have near-impervious hide, but his great mass makes him almost impossible to hurl offscreen. Of course, his weight also makes him rather slow to maneuver, so when facing him in battle, it's best to press your attack and not give him a chance to counter.

• B: Fire Breath
• Smash B: Koopa Klaw

Bowser [Smash Blue]

Bowser's Fire Breath strikes continually, but it grows gradually smaller over time until it's barely smoldering. The Koopa Klaw rakes enemies at a distance and pulls nearby foes in close for a good gnawing. Bowser's Whirling Fortress moves laterally over the ground; it works in midair as a recovery. The Bowser Bomb is powerful and paves the way for more attacks.

• Up & B: Whirling Fortress
• Down & B: Bowser Bomb

Baby Bowser

Even as a youngster, Baby Bowser was already playing pranks and causing trouble for Baby Mario and his pal Yoshi. Even at this early age of his evil career, Baby Bowser had tons of henchmen at his disposal. Many experts speculate that Mario and Bowser have some sort of connection that can be traced back to their mutual births.

• Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, 10/95 (SNES)

• 

  Bowser [Classic Mode] trophy

• 

  Bowser [Smash, Adventure Mode] trophy

• 

  Bowser [Smash, All-Star Mode] trophy

• 

  Baby Bowser trophy

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl

As a playable character

Bowser, as he appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Bowser is another returning playable character in Brawl, but with an updated look with more realistic textures, though with a design more akin to the Mario series rather than his more muscular appearance in Melee. All but one of his special moves from Melee return in Brawl-- his side special move, Koopa Klaw, has been replaced with a new move called Flying Slam. His appearance is based on his current appearance in the later Mario games, starting with Super Mario Sunshine. As Masahiro Sakurai previously mentioned on the Smash Bros. DOJO!! website, Bowser now comes in a "slightly different flavor this time around", like all the other characters; this can be taken as indication of Sakurai's claim that Brawl was designed with balance in mind.

Bowser's moveset and running speed are slightly faster than in Melee. His forward smash now has a chance to hit twice, once for the head, and again for his body, doing anywhere from 36 to 48 percent damage, and being by far the most damaging smash attack in the game. While he has been buffed from Melee, Bowser still retains a multitude of gaping flaws, rendering him to still be a bottom-tier character with meager tournament results in Brawl, ranking 33rd on the current tier list.

Trophies

Bowser

The king of the Koopas and Mario's eternal rival. He breathes fire, hurls hammers, attacks from vehicles like the Koopa Clown Car, and uses all sorts of weapons in hopes of taking out Mario. As his size suggests, he's immensely powerful. His son Bowser Jr. is a chip off the old block who spends his time creating trouble for Mario.

: Super Mario Bros.

: Super Mario Sunshine

Paper Bowser

The great king of the Koopas who plots to rule the land with a firm fist. In a change of events, Bowser goes from being Mario's rival to adventuring side by side with him. Bowser's special skill is breathing fire and he has nearly twice the attack power of Mario or Peach, which allows him to take out foes from a distance or multiple enemies with a single blow.

: Super Paper Mario

Wedding Bowser

The great Koopa king in a sharp, white tuxedo. Bowser is forced into marriage with Princess Peach by Count Bleck, who plots to wipe out the universe with the Chaos Heart. Although it's all part of Count Bleck's plan, Bowser doesn't seem to be displeased with the prospect. This might just be the last time we ever see Bowser in a tuxedo.

: Super Paper Mario

• 

  Classic Mode trophy

• 

  Paper Bowser

• 

  Wedding Bowser

Stickers

Name	Game	Effect	Characters
Bowser	Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix	AttackThrowing+020 Attack +20	Mario Luigi Peach Bowser Yoshi
Bowser	Mario Kart 64	AttackWeapon+013 Attack +13	Mario Luigi Peach Bowser Yoshi
Bowser	Mario Power Tennis	AttackDarkness+021 Attack +21	Ganondorf
Bowser	Super Paper Mario	AttackArm+023 Attack +23	Mario Luigi Peach Bowser Yoshi
Super Mario Bros.	Super Mario Bros.	AttackArmLeg+015 Attack +15	Mario Yoshi Luigi Bowser Peach

Bowser (DDR: Mario Mix)

Bowser (Mario Kart 64)

Bowser (Mario Power Tennis)

Bowser (Super Paper Mario)

Super Mario Bros.

In Super Smash Bros. 4

As a playable character

Bowser as he appears in Super Smash Bros. 4.

Bowser returns as a playable character in SSB4, with a more upright posture and increased mobility. Like Mario, Luigi and Peach, his design is based on his appearance from recent Mario games, such as Super Mario 3D World and Mario Kart 8.

Bowser ranks 24th out of 55 characters on the tier list. He has been considerably buffed from Brawl to Smash 4, having been granted increased speed and faster attacks. The general changes to Smash 4 improve Bowser further, as he no longer has to contend with the likes of chain-grabbing, and the new rage mechanic brings more benefit to his great survivability. Unfortunately, he still suffers from combos and a lack of defensive options, courtesy of his large size and high weight. Such benefits resulted in him having stronger tournament presence and a larger playerbase.

Trophies

Bowser

The archenemy of Mario and the reason Peach spends more time kidnapped than in her own castle. His plans aren't always the best, and occasionally he even finds himself on Mario's side. In Smash Bros., he's a serious heavyweight who laughs off weaker attacks. Hit him hard to send him flying!

Mario's archnemesis and the reason Peach spends more time in "another castle" than in her own. His plans almost never work out, and occasionally he even finds himself on Mario's side. In Smash Bros., he's a serious heavyweight who laughs off weaker attacks. Hit him hard to send him flying!

Mario's princess-kidnapping arch-enemy. Yes, he's quite the villain, but he can also be a bit of a buffoon, too. And sometimes, he even ends up on Mario's side! As a serious heavyweight, he's tough to launch, and using standard attacks on him will only make him laugh. If you want to send him flying, make sure to whack him really hard!

: Super Mario Bros. (10/1985)

: Super Mario 64 (09/1996)

Bowser (Alt.)

Bowser makes good use of his heavy physique with his down special Bowser Bomb, slamming down with his bottom. If he's on the ground, he'll jump into the air before crashing down. Also, he can gain a bit of altitude if you press the special button repeatedly while executing Whirling Fortress, his up special.

Bowser makes good use of his heavy physique with his down special Bowser Bomb, slamming down with his backside. If he's on the ground, he'll jump into the air before crashing down. Also, he can gain a bit of altitude if you press the special button repeatedly while executing his up special Whirling Fortress.

Down special Bowser Bomb makes good use of Bowser's bulky physique to crush opponents. If you use it on the ground, he'll jump first, hitting anyone on the way up with his horns, then hit for a combo on the way down. When you use his Whirling Fortress up special in the air, press the button repeatedly to climb higher.

: Super Mario Bros. (10/1985)

: Super Mario 64 (09/1996)

Paper Bowser

Bowser's defense team argues that, considering his latent savageness and the promises of wish-granting power, it could only be expected that Bowser would try to grab the Sticker Comet. Who could resist something like that? Bowser was just a victim of circumstance!

The Sticker Fest looked super fun, so he thought he'd get up on stage. And with the Sticker Comet looking all sparkly and stuff, how could he NOT touch it?! And that's when the evil, evil Royal Sticker brought out poor Bowser's dark side. You see? Bowser was just a victim of circumstance!

Paper Bowser (Second Form)

The Royal Stickers can grant wishes, both good and bad. One sticker enhanced Bowser's natural greediness and rage, making him so powerful that Mario had to beat him twice in a row—the recycled Bowser even bigger and more powerful than before!

The Royal Sticker grant wishes, and in the wrong hands, they can wreak all kinds of havoc. When one of them landed on Bowser, he ran riot through the Mushroom Kingdom, and even when Mario managed to beat him, he came back in an even more destructive form than before! Yikes!

Bowser + Standard Kart

Bowser has tricked out his kart exactly like Mario's. With a level playing field, it all comes down to the driver's skill. Well, and luck. And if the driver got a good night's sleep... Only the goddess of victory knows who will win. That's part of the fun of Mario Kart!

The kart Bowser has here isn't unique to him. You can use the same parts with any racer - even Mario! Of course, even if everyone has the same kart, the race still won't come down to pure skill - luck always plays a part. It's that unpredictability that makes Mario Kart so exciting, after all!

Bowser + Flame Runner
Bowser + Bowser Bike

Now THIS is a monster of a bike! It was obviously designed with Bowser in mind, since they both weigh a ton and both have trouble accelerating. Once you get up to top speed, though, these two really come into their own! Incidentally, Bowser is known as Koopa in Japan, but the Japanese name for this bike is Super Bowser. How rare.

Now THIS is a monster of a bike! It was clearly designed with Bowser in mind, but since they both weigh a ton, they might have trouble accelerating. Once they get to top speed, though, they're a practically unstoppable team! Incidentally, although Bowser is known as Koopa in Japan, this bike still uses his English name there.

: Mario Kart Wii 04/2008

• 

  Classic (3DS)

• 

  Classic (Wii U)

• 

  Alt. (3DS)

• 

  Alt. (Wii U)

• 

  Paper Bowser

• 

  Paper Bowser (Second Form)

• 

  Bowser + Standard Kart

• 

  Bowser + Flame Runner

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

As a playable character

Bowser as he appears in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Bowser returns as a playable character alongside the entire playable roster of the series. This is Bowser's first appearance in Super Smash Bros. where he is not a starting character. As the first character in Donkey Kong's unlock tree, he can potentially be the first character to be unlocked.

Spirits

Fighter spirits

• 

  7. Bowser

Primary spirits

No.	Image	Name	Type	Class	Slots	Base	Max	Base	Max	Base	Max	Ability	Series
30		Bowser (Wedding)		★★★	2	2824	8516	1836	5536	988	2980	No Effect	Super Mario Series
63		Dry Bowser		★★★★	1	4854	12137	1831	4579	2582	6455	Fire Attack ↑	Super Mario Series
95		Paper Bowser		★★★	2	2986	9005	1717	5178	1269	3827	Can Be Enhanced at Lv. 99	Paper Mario Series
96		Paper Bowser (Paper Mario: Sticker Star)		★★★★	2	4655	11640	2307	5768	1887	4719	Mouthful of Curry	Paper Mario Series
301		Baby Bowser		★★★★	2	4224	10562	1816	4542	2408	6020	No Effect	Yoshi Series
1471		Fury Bowser		★★★★	2	4796	11990	2834	7085	1526	3815	Fire Attack ↑	Super Mario Series

Support spirits

No.	Image	Name	Class	Cost	Ability	Series
1,301		River Survival	★★	1	Falling Immunity	Super Mario Series

Names in other languages

Language	Name
Japanese	クッパ, Koopa
English	Bowser
French	Bowser
German	Bowser
Spanish	Bowser
Italian	Bowser
Chinese (Simplified)	酷霸王, Koopa (lit. King Koopa)
Chinese (Traditional)	庫巴, Koopa
Korean	쿠파, Koopa
Dutch	Bowser
Russian	Боузер
Portuguese	Bowser

Trivia

• While Bowser has had a voice actor in his own series since Super Mario Sunshine, with his current voice actor being Kenneth W. James, neither Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Super Smash Bros. 4, nor Super Smash Bros. Ultimate gives Bowser a voice actor, instead giving him realistic roars, similar to his appearances in some Mario games such as New Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo DS.
• Since his debut in Melee, Bowser is the heaviest fighter in the Smash series.
• In Smash 4, Bowser is the only returning character to have a different victory theme.