Whirling Fortress
| Whirling Fortress | |
|---|---|
 Whirling Fortress in Super Smash Bros. Brawl | |
| Users | Bowser Giga Bowser |
| Universe | Mario |
| Article on Super Mario Wiki | Whirling Fortress |
Whirling Fortress, sometimes shortened to only Fortress, is Bowser's up special move and third jump. Known for the defensive and maneuvering attributes it adds to Bowser's game, it fills several 'holes' in Bowser's otherwise slow metagame, being widely regarded as the only reason Bowser is playable competitively. It is similar to Donkey Kong's Spinning Kong. Several unique properties make it highly beneficial to play:
- It has very little start-up (5 frames), during which Bowser is invincible, and has relatively little cooldown lag.
- One cannot get shieldgrabbed if one cancels a Fortress directly into another.
- It hits throughout most of its animation (on the ground).
- It allows Bowser to move quickly and suddenly in one direction.
- It has high knockback on the ground, and inflicts high damage in the air (32 % if all hits connect perfectly) (though this was reduced in Brawl).
- It can be used to edgeguard quickly and efficiently. Fortressing off the side of a stage leads directly to an edgehog.
The above properties make Whirling Fortress a versatile move. It can also be used as a damaging and effective replacement to Bowser's quick, yet laggy, roll. Can be jump-canceled out of a shield to discourage overly aggressive opponents. It can be used to clank just about anything with decent timing.
This special attack is shared by Giga Bowser, both in his boss appearance in Melee and in his playable appearance in Brawl. It gives him lots of invincibility frames and it's almost impossible to attack him while he is using this. In Melee, Giga Bowser's Fortress also gave him much more vertical recovery when used in midair.
Manual Descriptions
Melee manual description
"Spin on the ground to launch opponents skyward, or do it to get back onto the stage."
Brawl Manual description
"Get additional loft while airborne to make recoveries a snap."
Origin
In Super Mario Bros., Koopas retreat into their shells when jumped upon, and can be used as an attacking spinning projectile when kicked or jumped upon again. In Super Mario Bros 3. when the player jumps on any Koopaling, he/she will fly in the air inside his/her shell. Ludwig von Koopa had a move similar to Whirling Fortress in Super Mario World, except there was no aerial gain.
Despite the above, Bowser himself never used this move, and in fact was never seen retreating into his shell in any game prior to the move's debut in Super Smash Bros. Melee. Like the Egg Roll and Green Missile, however, the move's concept later bled back into the Mario series starting with an appearance as Bowser's defensive power shot in Mario Power Tennis, and Bowser using shell maneuvers is now a somewhat common occurence.
Gallery
Whirling Fortress in Melee
