Bowser: Difference between revisions

In ''Super Mario Bros.'', Bowser is the main antagonist, on the account that he stole the Princess, turned most of the Toads into blocks and mushrooms, and planned to take over the peaceful Mushroom Kingdom. He is the final boss, fought at the end of the last level, World 8-4. At the end of the previous seven worlds, Mario or [[Luigi]] face off against a Fake Bowser instead, each disguised as an enemy; this can be revealed from Fire Mario or Fire Luigi throwing enough fireballs at a Fake Bowser.

Bowser has the ability to breathe fire, like the other Fake Bowsers and throw hammer, like with Hammer Bros. and some of the later Fake Bowsers. Bowser can also jump, usually providing an opportunity for Mario or Luigi to quickly move beneath him, as Mario or Luigi have to only touch an axe on the other end so that the bridge disappears and Bowser drops into a pit of lava.

Bowser does not appear in the Western ''[[Super Mario Bros. 2]]'', in which Wart instead has the role of being the main villain.

Bowser is again the main antagonist of ''[[Super Mario Bros. 3]]'', which is also the first appearance of the Koopalings. Bowser sent out the Koopalings to take over the neighboring areas of the Mushroom Kingdom, steal the respective King's magic wand, and turn them into an animal.

Once Mario and Luigi complete the seventh world, Pipe Land, they receive a letter from Bowser to inform that he had kidnapped the Princess. Bowser is encountered and fought by Mario or Luigi at the end of his own castle at the end of the final world, Dark Land. During the battle, Bowser mainly attacks by Ground Pounding. To defeat Bowser, Mario or Luigi have to trick him into Ground Pounding the Brick Blocks enough times until he falls through. Alternatively, if he is in their Fire form, Mario or Luigi can throw enough fireballs at Bowser until he is finally defeated.

Bowser is fought on the roof of his castle, located at the end of the Valley of Bowser. This is the first game where Bowser makes use of his aerial vehicle, the Koopa Clown Car, which is during his boss fight. Bowser attacks by throwing Mechakoopas and Big Steelies at Mario or Luigi. Either Mario brother can attack Bowser by throwing a Mechakoopa as he flies around in the Koopa Clown Car. When hit, Bowser casts flames into the air, which proceed to rain down onto the ground, then Bowser briefly attempts to stomp Mario or Luigi with the Koopa Clown Car. After enough hits, Bowser loses control of his Koopa Clown Car, which flips upside down, allowing Princess Toadstool to float down to the roof, then Bowser spirals away into the distance.

''[[Super Mario 64]]'' is Bowser's first appearance in a three-dimensional game. Aside from the usual premise of kidnapping Peach, Bowser steals the [[Power Star]]s powering her castle. There are some Power Stars that Bowser is not aware of, and these are named the "Castle Secret Stars."

Bowser is a boss fought three different times: the first time is in Bowser in the Dark World, then in Bowser in the Fire Sea, and lastly in Bowser in the Sky. In the first two stages, Mario can defeat Bowser by throwing him into a spiked ball once, while in Bowser in the Sky, this must be done a total of three times. In the latter stage, when Bowser is defeated, Mario can collect the Jumbo Star, then he returns just outside of Peach's Castle and uses it to release Peach from her imprisonment in a stained glass portrait.

''[[Super Mario Sunshine]]'' is the first appearance of Bowser's son, [[Bowser Jr.]], who more prominently serves as main antagonist than his father. Bowser is first mentioned by Bowser Jr. in Pinna Park.

Bowser is first seen at the end of Corona Mountain, where he and Bowser Jr. are fought together as the final boss. They sit in a hot tub filled with green slime for the entire battle. Bowser's main attack during the battle is breathing out massive streams of fire and splashing green slime from the hot tub that he and Bowser Jr. are in. Mario can defeat both characters by using the Rocket Nozzle to perform an impactful Ground Pound on each end of the hot tub.

In ''[[New Super Mario Bros.]]'', Bowser is somewhat of a lesser antagonist than Bowser Jr., similarly to ''Super Mario Sunshine'', as Bowser Jr. is the one who kidnaps Peach at the start. However, Bowser still remains a major antagonist in the game.

Bowser is the boss fought at the end of the castle in World 1. The battle is designed similarly to the Fake Bowser and Bowser fights in ''Super Mario Bros.'' Bowser attacks Mario or Luigi by shooting fireballs at him, and he can also jump into the air. However, Bowser cannot throw hammers like in ''Super Mario Bros.'' The main way of defeating Bowser is by having Mario or Luigi activate the skull switch, which functions identically to the axe from ''Super Mario Bros.'', as it causes the bridge to disappear. Bowser can alternatively be defeated if hit with enough fireballs from Mario or Luigi, if he is in his Fire form, or if Mario or Luigi touch him while under the effects of the Mega Mushroom. Regardless of how Bowser is defeated, he once again falls into the pit of lava, but a difference from before is that Bowser transforms into a skeletal version of himself, Dry Bowser.

Dry Bowser is the first boss of World 8, where he is fought at the end of World 8-Castle. The boss fight is essentially a variation of the battle in World 1-Castle, but Dry Bowser can also throw bones at Mario, similarly to ''Super Mario Bros.'', where some of the later Fake Bowsers and Bowser himself can throw hammers. Just as before, Mario or Luigi can defeat Dry Bowser by activating the skull switch on the other side, causing the bridge to disappear. Fireballs can no longer be used to defeat Dry Bowser, as his skeletal body makes him invulnerable to them.

Bowser is fought a third and final time in Bowser's Castle at the end of World 8. Before the battle starts, Bowser is revived when Bowser Jr. throws his bones into a cauldron, except Bowser comes out larger than before. During this battle, Bowser attacks by approaching Mario, jumping, and shooting fireballs. Later in the battle, Bowser also shoots barrages of blue fire. Like in the previous two battles, Mario or Luigi can defeat Bowser, as well as Bowser Jr., by activating the skull switch on the other side of the room. Like in the first two battles, the effects of the Mega Mushroom can instantly defeat both Bowser and Bowser Jr., and unlike Dry Bowser, they can also be defeated from having enough fireballs thrown at them.

''[[Super Mario Kart]]'' is Bowser's first appearance in a ''Mario'' spinoff game. He is one of the eight playable characters. Bowser has slow acceleration, but a very high top speed, matched only by Donkey Kong Jr.  

In ''[[Mario Kart: Double Dash!!]]'', Bowser is one of the twenty playable racers. He is paired with Bowser Jr. By default, Bowser's signature kart is the Koopa King, and both he and Bowser Jr. have the Bowser Shell as their special item.

In ''[[Mario Kart DS]]'', Bowser is one of the starting playable racers. Aside from having his own standard kart, the Standard BW, Bowser's other two personal karts are the Hurricane (modeled after the Koopa Clown Car) and the Tyrant.

Bowser is the main antagonist of ''Mario is Missing!'' He plans to purchase multiple hair dryers to melt [[Antarctica]], which would therefore flood the planet. Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi set out to stop Bowser, although when Mario is kidnapped, forcing Luigi to embark on a journey to rescue him. The group manages to thwart Bowser's plan.

Bowser is the main antagonist of ''Mario's Time Machine''. Bowser built a time machine known as the Timulator so that he could travel through various time periods and steal historic artifacts to put into his own museum. In the process, this would drastically affect the course of history. Mario uses the Timulator to return the artifacts to their respective time periods and thwarted Bowser's scheme, preventing history from being changed.  

Bowser is the main antagonist of ''Hotel Mario''. He is first seen in the opening cutscene, letting out a menacing laugh as Mario and Luigi enter the Mushroom Kingdom on their way to have a picnic with Princess Toadstool. Mario finds a note from Bowser, stating that he and the Koopalings have conquered the Mushroom Kingdom and made Princess Toadstool a "permanent guest" in one of the seven Koopa hotels.

Bowser is the final boss, and he is fought in his own hotel, Bowser's Seizures Palace Hotel, after Iggy Koopa is defeated. Mario and Luigi rescue the Princess and thwart Bowser's scheme once more.

By the time Bowser made it to Booster Tower, he agreed to help Mario until he could get his castle back from Exor and the main villain group, the Smithy Gang.

Since the first game, ''Mario Party'', Bowser has frequently had the role of an antagonist in the ''Mario Party'' series. Bowser usually has his own space, the Bowser Space, and if a character lands on it, they are taken to Bowser, who usually penalizes them with misfortune, such as from taking away their coins and/or stars.

In the Story mode of ''Mario Party 2'', Bowser took over Mario Land and nearby lands. The characters competed to beat Bowser the fastest in order to be the "Super Star." Bowser eventually lost control over all but his own land, Bowser Land, which he desperately sought to keep, but the "Super Star" character used the stars they obtained to defeat him.

In the Story mode of ''Mario Party 3'', Bowser tries to become a Super Star by collecting the seven Star Stamps, but is unsuccessful due to the efforts of the player's character. At one point, Bowser tries to steal the Mischief Star Stamp, but realized that Waluigi had stolen it. At this point, Bowser's role of being the antagonist is fulfilled by Waluigi instead, and when Bowser tries to confront Waluigi, he quickly defeats Bowser.

In ''Mario Party 4'', Bowser claims to have stolen the player's presents and challenges them to get their presents back by winning his board, Bowser's Gnarly Party.

In the Nintendo 64 game, ''Mario Golf'', Bowser is an unlockable playable character, and the player can unlock him by completing the seventh character match.

In ''Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour'', Bowser is a character who can now be played from the start. He has a drive of 217 yards, and his Star Drive is at 290 yards.

Bowser has a role in the opening cutscene. When Wario accidentally hits a golf ball into Bowser's eye, this enrages Bowser, who chases Wario and Waluigi across many golf fields. Bowser eventually traps Wario and Waluigi and prepares to throw a Bob-omb at them, but this backfires when one of Mario's golf shots knocks the Bob-omb out of Bowser's hands, instead capturing him, Wario, and Waluigi in the explosion at the same time.

In the Nintendo 64 game, ''Mario Tennis'', Bowser is a playable character, classified as being a Power yype.

In the Game Boy Color game, ''Mario Tennis'', Bowser is an unlockable playable character, and he is unlockable only from using the Transfer Pak accessory between the game and the identically-named Nintendo 64 game.  

In ''Mario Power Tennis'', Bowser is a playable character, and he retains his Power classification from before. His Offensive Power Shot is simply his Fire Breath, while his Defensive Power Shot is Spinning Shell Dash, in which Bowser ducks into his shell and spins around to recover the ball.

In ''Paper Mario'', unlike the previous ''Mario'' role-playing game, ''Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars'', but like most games in the ''Super Mario'' series, Bowser has the role of being the main antagonist. With the help of Kammy Koopa, Bowser stole the Star Rod from the Star Haven and used its power to imprison the seven Star Spirits into cards, distributing each one to his most trusted minions. He also lifted Peach's Castle into space. Mario's first attempt at fighting Bowser was unsuccessful, due to Bowser's invincibility, but much later on, after Mario rescues the seven Star Spirits, he can fight Bowser properly, as the Star Spirits use a Star Beam to render Bowser's invincibility useless.

''Super Princess Peach'' is unlike the average installment of the ''Super Mario'' series, as Bowser instead kidnaps Mario and Luigi, so Peach goes on an adventure to rescue them, with help from her umbrella companion, Perry.

Bowser is again the main antagonist of ''Yoshi's Safari''. He took over Jewelry Land not only by stealing the twelve magical gems, but also from kidnapping the land's rulers, King Fret and Prince Pine. As a result, Jewelry Land is split into a Light Realm and a Dark Realm, and both Mario, armed with the Super Scope given to him by Peach, and Yoshi go on an adventure to save Jewelry Land.

In ''Tetris Attack'', Bowser is fought as the final boss in the Hard setting of the [[Game Boy]] version and in both the Hard and Extreme settings in the [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System]] version.

In ''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]'', Bowser made his first playable appearance in the [[Super Smash Bros. (series)|''Super Smash Bros.'' series]], let alone in general. He is a very strong character, although his slower movements compensate for this. Additionally, Bowser is the final boss of Adventure mode, and in higher difficulty settings, after Bowser is defeated, the player has to fight an even more powerful, grotesque version of him, Giga Bowser.

Bowser's standard special move is Fire Breath, in which he breathes out a constant stream of fire, similarly to how a Fire Flower functions in the game, except Bowser's flames become increasingly smaller.

Bowser's side special move is Koopa Klaw, in which he slashes his claws, but if the opponent is nearby, Bowser can grab them and then either bite or throw the opponent.

Bowser's up special move is Whirling Fortress, and when used, Bowser hides within his shell and spins around with it in midair. In many cases, Bowser can use Whirling Fortress to recover from falling off of the stage.

Bowser's down special move is Bowser Bomb. When used, Bowser jumps to the right and performs a Ground Pound, an attack directly carried over from ''Super Mario Bros. 3''.

Bowser returns as a playable fighter in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]''. Like every other fighter, Bowser received his own Final Smash, and Bowser's temporarily transforms him into Giga Bowser. His Koopa Klaw attack is replaced with Flying Slam, in which he grabs the opponent and then body slams them onto the ground.

Bowser is one of the antagonists of the single-player mode, Adventure Mode: The Subspace Emissary, in which he is one of the higher ranked leaders of the Subspace Army.