Bowser
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- “Give it to me straight...Princess Peach is gone? Hello? That is MY thing! Only I get to kidnap her!”
- —Bowser, Mario & Luigi: Dream Team
Bowser, sometimes known as King Koopa (Japanese: 大魔王クッパ, Daimaō Kuppa or "Great Demon King Koopa"), is the main antagonist of the Mario series and the King of the Koopa. He has repeatedly kidnapped or attempted to kidnap Princess Peach and take over the Mushroom Kingdom. He has on other occasions attempted to conquer the entire Mushroom World, as well as the entire universe. Despite his villainous nature, he has occasionally helped the heroes of the Mushroom Kingdom against common threats and participates with them in their numerous sporting events in spin-off games.
Since his debut, Bowser has been in nearly every Mario game, including the main series, spin-offs, and crossovers. Due to his role as the primary villain of the Mario series, he is mostly the final or penultimate boss in his appearances, if not as the main antagonist (an example being Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga). In the Mario RPGs, Bowser is generally cast as an antihero or a minor villain, with the exception of Paper Mario, Paper Mario: Sticker Star, and Mario & Luigi: Dream Team.
Creation
Bowser was created by Shigeru Miyamoto as the villain of Super Mario Bros. Miyamoto stated that they considered naming him either Kuppa (국밥), Yukke (육회), or Bibinba (비빔밥), which are all Korean dishes as they are known in Japanese. In the end, "Kuppa" was chosen[1]. For the later North American release of the game, which also introduced the anglicized spelling Koopa, the character was named "Bowser."
During the development of Super Mario Bros., Miyamoto considered asking a manga artist or illustrator to do the art for the game. However, time was running short, so he drew the game's original box-art himself. This artwork included a depiction of Bowser that is significantly different than later designs, the most obvious anomalies being his grey-blue skin and lack of horns. For the character's appearance, Miyamoto drew inspiration from an anime film adaptation of the Chinese novel Journey to the West, renamed Alakazam the Great during the film's American localization. He liked the film's main antagonist Gyū-Maō (lit. "Ox Demon King," King Gruesome in the dub), so loosely based Bowser on an ox as a homage.[2]
Yoichi Kotabe, an animation artist, later joined Nintendo and was asked to do new illustrations for the Mario series. His only reference was the package illustration for Super Mario Bros., so Kotabe asked Miyamoto many questions on how to draw the characters. However, designing Bowser caused problems, since Miyamoto hadn't drawn him often. He brought up that he liked the Ox King from the film, and this was how he imagined Bowser, but Nintendo designer Takashi Tezuka pointed out that Bowser should be a turtle. Through their discussions, Bowser's appearance gradually came together. Since he was now in the turtle family with the Koopa Troopas, they partly based Bowser's new appearance on them. Finally, the new design was created, and Miyamoto congratulated himself by saying "Wow, I can really make Bowser look cool now!"[2]
History
Background
- Main article: Baby Bowser
Bowser's first chronological appearance in-universe is as Baby Bowser in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. At this age, he is shown to have similar powers to the ones he currently possesses as an adult.
When Baby Mario and Yoshi enter his room in his castle, Baby Bowser is unintentionally and forcibly awakened from his nap by Kamek (who is trying to demand Yoshi to give Baby Mario), and pounds him flat in retribution. Baby Bowser then notices Yoshi and decides he wants to ride the "green donkey." He notices that Baby Mario is riding Yoshi, however, so he attacks them to get Baby Mario. Yoshi eventually defeats Baby Bowser, even when Kamek turns him into a giant. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island is also his first meeting with Mario. Baby Bowser later steals the Super Happy Tree from the Yoshis and turns Yoshi's Island into a pop-up book in Yoshi's Story, but is defeated again by a newborn Yoshi. Both incidents quickly define the young Bowser as a selfish character lacking empathy. In Yoshi's Island DS, he teams up with the heroes to defeat future Bowser after being betrayed, but betrays them at the end of the game. Baby Bowser is also one of the Star Children.
In Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time, Baby Bowser once again appears. At the beginning of the game, he attempts to kidnap Baby Peach, but ends up evacuating everyone when the Shroobs attack. They are shot down by the Shroobs after intercepting a transmission, however. He later steals the Cobalt Star Shards the Mario Bros. have collected and flees to Yoshi's Island, where he is found eating Yoshi Cookies he stole from the islanders. After he eats the shards, Baby Bowser, along with everyone else, is eaten by Yoob, though everyone later escapes. After leaving Yoshi's Island, he heads to Thwomp Volcano to build a new castle, where he finds future Bowser. They team up to defeat Mario and Luigi, though are both defeated. Later on, he reunites the Cobalt Star Shards, unintentionally reawakening Elder Princess Shroob, who transforms him into a Shroob Mushroom, but he is later transformed back to normal and flees.
Super Mario series
Super Mario Bros.
Release-wise, Bowser first appears in Super Mario Bros.. Bowser and his army invade and conquer the Mushroom Kingdom, using a spell to transform the citizens into inanimate objects as well as kidnapping the only one capable of undoing the curse, Princess Toadstool. The seven kidnapped Mushroom Retainers are kept at each of the castles, guarded by a False Bowser, while the princess is kept at the real Bowser's castle.
In the eighth castle, Bowser's attack pattern is similar to that of his False Bowsers. He sits on the bridge spitting fireballs and tossing hammers, as well as leaping into the air. Mario grabs the ax on the opposite side of the bridge causing the bridge to collapse and Bowser to fall into the lava.
In addition to the original game, Bowser appears in all the game's variations, including Super Mario Bros. Special, All Night Nippon Super Mario Bros., VS. Super Mario Bros., Super Mario All-Stars, and Super Mario Bros. Deluxe.
Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels
Bowser repeats his plan in Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, using black magic to transform the kingdom's inhabitants and kidnapping Princess Toadstool, holding her in his own castle while the Mushroom Retainers are held by False Bowsers in the other castles.
Bowser again resides in the eighth castle, with attacks the same as the original: throwing hammers and breathing fireballs at Mario and Luigi; the arena, however, is aesthetically different, in that there are two pillars of blocks on the ceiling, the second having a firebar on the end. Grabbing the ax at the end of the bridge once again causes Bowser to fall into the pit of lava. Bowser is later found in the castle located in World D, using the same attacks against Mario, and the ax is present.
Super Mario Bros. 3
Bowser returns with his henchmen, Boom Boom and the Koopalings in Super Mario Bros. 3. After saving Pipe Island from Ludwig and restoring its king to normal, Bowser informs Mario and Luigi that he has kidnapped Princess Toadstool while they were saving the conquered lands. When Mario reaches the final room of Bowser's Castle, Bowser himself falls in to start the battle. Bowser's attack pattern involves breathing two fireballs at Mario, then leaping into the air and attempting to Ground Pound him. Whenever Bowser ground pounds a pair of blocks, they are destroyed. After destroying an entire column of blocks, Bowser plummets to the massive pit and hits the ground.
In Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3, Bowser's appearance in the main game is the same as the original, but his first appearance in the e-Reader levels is in the twenty-seventh level, Kakushi Kuppa Jō, (Hidden Koopa Castle) which is a compilation of obstacles from the previous Bowser's Castles, ending with the Super Mario Bros. 3 Bowser fight. A set of blocks that Bowser can break through are placed in the air, though.
He later appears in the thirtieth and final e-Reader level, Kuppa no Hikōsen Kōhen (Koopa's Airship Part 2), where he is fought again at the end. This time, however, the entire room is composed of the blocks seen in the original room as well blocks that he cannot break.
Super Mario World
Bowser reappears in Super Mario World, where he kidnaps Princess Toadstool while she is on vacation in Dinosaur Land with the Mario Bros. He and the Koopalings also capture several of the native Yoshis, trapping them in eggs with one of the Koopalings guarding an egg in one of their seven castles. Yoshi himself attempts to stop them, but Bowser traps him in an egg as well.
In the Valley of Bowser, Bowser himself can be seen in his Clown Car flying above his castle, and he is faced on the roof. He attacks Mario by tossing Mecha-Koopas from his Koopa Clown Car; hitting Bowser with these, however, causes him to fly away and cast flames at Mario. Afterward, Bowser then returns and first tries to fly above Mario, dropping Big Steelies and, later, Mecha-Koopas at him. After having Mecha-Koopas thrown at him a second time, he attempts to pound Mario with his Koopa Clown Car before stopping to throw two Mecha-Koopas. Hitting him again causes Bowser to lose control of the Clown Car and fly into the distance.
While his art is similar to his normal appearance, his in-game sprite appears differently, making him primarily green in color. The Super Mario Advance 2 sprite corrects this, making his arms their normal color.
Super Mario 64
- “Welcome. No one's home! Now scram--and don't come back! Gwa ha ha!”
- —Bowser, Super Mario 64
In Super Mario 64 and its remake, Super Mario 64 DS, Bowser invades Princess Peach's Castle and steals the castle's Power Stars, giving them to his minions that are inside the castle's paintings. He then kidnaps Princess Peach. To ensure that Mario does not disrupt his plans, Bowser seals the doors in the castle by requiring Mario to fight for the stars to unlock the doors and even creates doors that open only with his keys.
Super Mario 64 DS retains the original game's basic plot, but parts of it have been changed. In Super Mario 64 DS, Mario, as well as Luigi, and Wario, enter the castle and chase Bowser. The trio are ambushed, however, and Bowser's minions lock them behind special doors. He then locks the castle entrance.
In both versions, Bowser is battled three times: once in the Dark World, once in the Fire Sea and once in the Sky. When Bowser is defeated the first two times, he gives the player a special key, allowing them to open the door to another area of the castle; when he is defeated the third time, Bowser surrenders and is defeated for good, allowing Mario to collect the Giant Star.
During each battle, Bowser can only be attacked by grabbing his tail, spinning him around, and tossing him into one of several bombs surrounding the arena. Tossing Bowser off the platform causes him to leap up out of the abyss; during the battle in the Fire Sea, Bowser tilts the platform, and during the battle in The Sky, Bowser uses a shockwave attack when doing so. In the Dark World battle, Bowser has two attacks: his fire breath, and leaping up and pounding the ground. During the Fire Sea battle, Bowser can warp from one section of the platform to another and can also pound the platform to skew it; he can also spit single balls of fire, as opposed to a continuous stream. During the final battle, Bowser leaping out of the abyss can result in part of the platform breaking, and after taking two hits, he causes the entire outer edge of the platform to break off, creating a star-shaped arena. He also attacks Mario by dashing in his direction. Bowser also has various fire-based attacks: one involves breathing fire into the air, causing several small fireballs to fall before disappearing; another involves Bowser spitting a number of fireballs that disappear after a while; and the third involves shooting a continuous stream of fire for a short time.
In Super Mario 64, Bowser is defeated solely by Mario. In Super Mario 64 DS, however, both Yoshi and Mario are required to reach him. Luigi and Wario are unlocked in Big Boo's Haunt and Chief Chilly Challenge respectively, but Bowser accepts only Mario as his opponent for each battle.
Super Mario Sunshine
- “Mario! How dare you disturb my family vacation!”
- —Bowser, Super Mario Sunshine
In Super Mario Sunshine, Bowser's son Bowser Jr. is introduced. Bowser convinces his son that Peach is his mother and that Mario has kidnapped her. Taking on the disguise of Shadow Mario, Bowser Jr. covers Isle Delfino with graffiti and frames Mario to put him in prison and return Peach to Bowser.
After Bowser Jr. flees from Pinna Park, Bowser, his son, and Peach (who is sitting on a massive rubber duck) are relaxing in a floating, sun-shaped, slime-filled tub just above the peak of Corona Mountain before Mario arrives. Angered by his intrusion during their "family vacation," Bowser attempts destroy him again. He attacks Mario by breathing massive gusts of flame over the section Mario is traversing and splashing the slime in the tub at him. Ground-pounding the five sections of the tub using F.L.U.D.D.'s Rocket Nozzle causes the entire tub to flip over, dumping everyone down to the world below.
During the ending, it is shown that Bowser and Bowser Jr. landed on the flipped tub, which is in the ocean near Isle Delfino. While out at sea, Bowser is about to confess to his son that he had used him as a pawn, but Bowser Jr. then reveals to his father that he knew all along that Peach is not his mother, but also that he is eager to challenge Mario again sometime in the future. Filled with pride for his son, Bowser decides that they rest for a while.
New Super Mario Bros.
In New Super Mario Bros., Bowser is again responsible for the kidnapping of Princess Peach, this time though sending Bowser Jr. to do the job. He first appears as the boss of the World 1 castle, and the battle is similar to that of the battle in Super Mario Bros.. He attacks Mario by shooting fireballs at him and leaping into the air. After Mario activates switch on the other side of the bridge, hits Bowser enough times with fireballs, or defeats Bowser with a Mega Mushroom, Bowser once again falls into the pit of lava; this time, however, the lava causes him to be turned into a Dry Bones version of himself called Dry Bowser.
Bowser's undead form called later appears as the boss of the World 8 castle. His attacks are similar to the World 1 battle, but he is also able to throw bones at Mario, a tactic similar to the later boss battles in Super Mario Bros. and the Dry Bones attack. Additionally, he is immune to fireballs in this form. Pressing the switch on the other end of the room once again causes the bridge to collapse, resulting in Dry Bowser crashing.
Once Mario reaches the end of Bowser's Castle, Bowser Jr. revives Bowser. The then duo fight Mario one last time. During this battle, Bowser attacks by walking, leaping, shooting fireballs. He eventually starts to shoot barrages of blue fire. However, they once again can be defeated by pressing the Skull Switch located on the other side of the room, which sends both of his enemies into the pit below. They can also be defeated from fireballs and use of the Mega Mushroom.
After the credits, Bowser and Bowser Jr. are seen at the bottom of the pit, with Jr. dragging his unconscious father away.
Super Mario Galaxy
- “That's it, Mario! I'm gonna stomp you into space bits!”
- —Bowser, Super Mario Galaxy
Prior to the events of Super Mario Galaxy, Bowser attacks Rosalina's Comet Observatory and steals all the Power Stars, as well as the Seven Grand Stars that power the observatory. Bowser uses these incredible stars to bring his entire fleet to the cosmos and take over many galaxies, planning to construct a galaxy reactor powered by the Grand Stars to create his own galaxy at the center of the universe. Once the reactor is completed, he can proceed to conquer the entire universe, establishing an eternal galactic empire with Peach as Bowser's empress. He then kidnaps Peach during the Star Festival, using a UFO and several airships to uproot her castle and taking it to the center of the universe.
Mario, helped by Rosalina, collects many Grand and Power Stars and destroys much of the Koopa Troop, encountering Bowser twice in his attempt to rescue Peach, once at Bowser's Star Reactor and the second time at Bowser's Dark Matter Plant. At the Star Reactor, before the player can reach him, Bowser attempts to stop Mario by destroying the staircase leading to him by breathing meteors at him. During battle, Bowser's attacks include stomping the ground, which creates a shock wave, and ground pounding the plumber; however, if the player can cause Bowser to ground pound the glass, it breaks; he instead strikes the magma inside and burns his tail. Mario can then Spin attack him, causing Bowser to spin around the planet inside his shell, much like a normal Koopa. When Mario does this again, he falls unconscious, only to recover seconds later. Bowser is defeated when this is done again.
At the Dark Matter plant, Bowser uses the same tactics as before, but can generate more shock waves and even has his own version of the spin attack, but can be defeated by using the same method as the first battle. Regardless of these drawbacks, Bowser remains confident in his victory and the follow-through of his main goal to construct his own galaxy.
Mario eventually battles Bowser at the almost-completed galaxy reactor. During the final battle, Bowser Jr. holds Peach captive in an airship while Mario fights Bowser on multiple planets. On the first planet, Bowser attacks by using his shock waves. He then curls into a ball of stone and rolls around the planet, with his head exposed to attack. On the second planet, Bowser's attacks include curling up into two combined shells and rolling around the planet, as well as fireballs. By hitting him with a Stretch Plant, Bowser is knocked onto his back and begins moving around the planet; he can then be defeated as normal. At this point, the gravity of the nearby sun then pulls them toward it, and they begin the actual final battle at the core of Bowser's soon-to-be galaxy. Bowser's attacks are simply improved tactics from the previous battles, meaning that he can once again be trumped by ground pounding the glass and burning himself, allowing Mario to spin attack him. The defeated Bowser then flies into into the magma of the sun.
Afterward, the final Grand Star frees itself from the galaxy reactor. However, the lack of the Grand Star causes the sun to collapse in on itself, resulting in the formation of a massive Black Hole that begins to devour the universe. Bowser, however, is on the surface of the sun, on a piece of rock, before it explodes. As the universe is being sucked inside, the Lumas head into the black hole, and destroy it from the inside. Bowser later awakens in Toad Town, near Mario and Peach.
New Super Mario Bros. Wii
Bowser appears, once again as the final boss, in New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Here, he appears together with eight youths, the Koopalings and Bowser Jr.. In the last castle of World 8, Bowser is located in the final chamber, sending out fireballs toward Mario, similar to his appearance in the original Super Mario Bros.. When the battle begins, Bowser is fought in a similar manner as in Super Mario Bros., as well as in the first and final castles in the original New Super Mario Bros., attacking by shooting fireballs and leaping into the air.
When the switch is pressed, the floor collapses, and Bowser plummets into the abyss below. However, the Princess Peach in the cage nearby turns out to be Kamek in disguise. He escapes from the cage and casts a spell over the chasm that Bowser has fallen down. After several moments, Bowser reappears, now at a gigantic size, knocking Kamek off his broom, and proceeds to chase after Mario. He attacks by spitting massive fireballs, as well as clawing away at the walls and leaping over to Mario if he is far enough away.
After the credits, Bowser is seen unconscious and outside his castle, having survived the drop and returned to normal size. Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings are trying to push him over, and succeed, resulting in him regaining consciousness. However, pushing him over causes the entire castle to fall over onto them.
Super Mario Galaxy 2
- “I'm HUUUUGE! Even scarier up close, huh?”
- —Bowser, Super Mario Galaxy 2
Bowser appears in Super Mario Galaxy 2, once again as the main antagonist. At the beginning of the game, he invades the Mushroom Kingdom again, but this time at a gigantic size, due to the power of the Power Stars that he stole earlier. He kidnaps Princess Peach and flees into space again, claiming to build a galactic empire to suit his new size and put it's capital at the center of the universe. Additionally, he attacks and destroys Lubba's starship prior to the game, stealing all the ship's Power Stars.
Bowser is faced three times in the game. The fights take place on a spherical planetoid, where Bowser, in his gigantic size, attempts to crush Mario with his fists, and by sending meteors crashing down. He also uses his Fire Breath. When using his fists, Bowser's hand gets stuck in the planetoid briefly, and any meteors on the battlefield at the time rise and turn yellow, allowing Mario to strike. After each battle, when Bowser is defeated, he coughs up a Grand Star, causing him to shrink back down to his normal size and fall to the ground, but he is not discouraged at all and flees, telling Mario each time that his plan is too far along to stop.
The final battle at Bowser's Galaxy Generator has two phases. When Bowser is defeated once, Mario attempts to collect the Grand Star coughed up by Bowser, but the Koopa King reappears, eats the Grand Star, regains his gigantic size, and then the two fall into a vortex to fight again. Bowser advances on Mario as time passes, eventually allowing Bowser to attack with a punch. Mario pushes him back by ground-pounding the meteorites at him. After Mario defeats Bowser for the final time, Bowser is sucked into the vortex, and is not seen again until Mario, Peach, and the Toad Brigade return to Mushroom World near the end of the credits, where it is shown that he has become smaller than normal, and is unconscious when he is first seen. Mario can jump on top of Bowser or spin him, waking him up and causing him to become angry.
Super Mario 3D Land
Bowser appears once again as the main antagonist of Super Mario 3D Land. On one day, a storm blows all the Super Leaves off the Tail Tree. When Mario and three Toads check on the tree, they find an envelope containing a picture showing Peach being captured by Bowser.
It is revealed through the letters found after each world that Peach tries to escape, but Bowser's forces eventually overpower her. Bowser then holds her in a cage and keeps her next to his throne. At Bowser's Castle, Mario faces the actual Bowser, though in the same manner as the False Bowsers. However, Bowser had planned ahead; he set up a wooden cutout of Peach on the top of a tower. After Mario discovers this, Bowser appears from above, holding the real Princess Peach, and heads to his second castle.
Inside Bowser's quarters in the second castle, Mario discovers the princess bound to the flagpole, but Bowser falls out of the sky, attempting to pound him from above, and roars, which causes the floor beneath them to fall.
During the second battle, Bowser attacks Mario with spiked balls at the beginning, with fireballs for the second portion of the area, and with barrels near the end as he makes his way along. On the bridge before the switch, Bowser's attack pattern is the same as in previous battles. After the switch that collapses the bridge is pressed, however, Bowser reemerges from below. While progressing through a second obstacle course-like area, Bowser leaps across to various platforms, shooting massive white fireballs at Mario. Bowser then chases him again upon reaching a second bridge. When the switch at the end is pressed, Bowser plummets into the lava below, being hit by falling debris. After defeating Bowser, Peach is returned to her castle with the help of Tanooki Mario and three Tanooki Toads. The credits show Bowser trying to reach Mario with the help of a massive Goomba Tower, but failing.
After completing all the special worlds, it is revealed that Bowser has once again captured Peach.
New Super Mario Bros. 2
Once more, Bowser appears as the final boss of New Super Mario Bros. 2. He is the boss of World 6, and he attacks using fire and iron mallets in a battle reminiscent of the original Super Mario Bros. On the other side of him is a switch, which Mario presses to send him into the pit below the bridge. However, after he is defeated the Koopalings appear in the Koopa Clown Car and use their wands' magic on Bowser. This causes him to grow to a massive size, also knocking the Koopalings down into the rising lava pit in the process. While Mario is using the platforms to travel upward, Bowser swipes at them with his claws. In two segments of the battle, the platforms disappear, and Bowser breathes fire at Mario on a full platform. On the roof of Bowser's Castle, there is a massive ! Switch, similar to the one from New Super Mario Bros.. When the switch is pressed, Bowser plummets to his doom and the game is won.
He and the Koopalings later appear during the credits. Bowser is normal-sized again, and the Koopalings are carrying him away in the Koopa Clown Car, Bowser being held outside of the car by his tail. However, the added weight causes the car to plummet to the ground, scattering the occupants around the area. Bowser is seen with his head stuck in the ground.
Aside from the main story mode, Bowser is also faced on course three of the Gold Classics Pack, one of the game's downloadable Coin Rush course packs. He is fought and defeated in the same manner as the first portion of the final boss battle in the main game. Unlike the main game, however, he does not grow in size, for the same reasons why Bowser's Castle in World 6 and the World Star Castle are not playable in Coin Rush.
New Super Mario Bros. U
Bowser returns in New Super Mario Bros. U, as the main antagonist and final boss. In the game's intro, Bowser, along with his Koopalings, invade the Mushroom Kingdom in their airships. Bowser's ship then uses a mechanical hand to grab Mario, Luigi, Blue Toad, and Yellow Toad (who are having tea with Princess Peach) and fling them out of the castle. Afterward, he lays siege to Peach's Castle.
The first part of his battle is similar to Super Mario Bros., where the player has to get to the other side and press the switch. This will cause the axe to fall and make the bridge collapse, leaving Bowser to fall. Then the gate will open and Mario will enter, then Bowser Jr. will lower Kamek and order him to make Bowser huge. When Mario reaches the top of the castle, Peach is being held up in the tower. After this, Bowser Jr. will show up in his Koopa Clown Car, and Bowser hops on top of the castle while he's huge. Bowser Jr. also fights the player. In order to defeat them, the player must jump on Bowser Jr., causing him to fall out of his Clown Car. This allows the player to jump in and hover over Bowser to harm him. Like the Koopalings, he curls into his shell and spins around when hit. It is necessary to repeat this three times in order to defeat him. The only other way is to pelt him with multiple fireballs. He then falls off of the castle as Bowser Jr. witnesses this and is left with Mario, until jumping off on his own.
At the end, the Koopalings and Bowser Jr. are on their wrecked airship (Bowser Jr. had inadvertently damaged the Airship when attempting to crush Mario earlier) and fly away. Bowser notices and climbs on, but his weight causes the airship to crash. Bowser then holds onto Bowser Jr.'s Koopa Clown Car to fly away, with the other Koopalings holding onto his tail and lined up like a chain.
New Super Luigi U
Bowser plays the same role in the downloadable game New Super Luigi U.
Super Mario 3D World
Bowser is once again the main antagonist and final boss in Super Mario 3D World. At the beginning of the game, Bowser is revealed to have invaded the Sprixie Kingdom, kidnapping six of the seven Sprixie Princesses in the process. Bowser then shows up from a Clear Pipe in the Mushroom Kingdom and captures the last one, disappearing back down soon after. Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, and Toad give chase in order to save the Sprixies.
Bowser is the boss of the World 1 castle, Bowser's Highway Showdown. Unlike most of his prior battles, Bowser does not fight Mario in direct combat: instead, he confronts them from the back of the Bowser Mobile. From this car, Bowser throws explosive soccer balls and the occasional residue-producing fireballs at the heroes; these soccer balls must be knocked back at Bowser to damage his car. After taking six (or two if the player hits Bowser instead of the car) hits from the soccer balls, Bowser starts to breathe fire much more often, only occasionally throwing soccer balls at this point.[3] Upon being struck by the ninth (third if the player hits Bowser instead of the car) soccer ball, Bowser's car is sent bouncing forward and causes part of the road to collapse, destroying the car and ejecting Bowser from his own castle.
Mario later faces Bowser a second time in World Castle's Castle, Bowser's Lava Lake Keep, where Bowser has yet again is in the car, now with a new blue paint job and a much more aggressive attitude. Bowser now spends most of the battle spewing the residue-producing fireballs at Mario and only occasionally throws the soccer balls needed to bring about his undoing: much more dangerous than Bowser himself, though, is the terrain he's driving over - the road is now littered with holes, retractable spikes, and even jets of flame which shoot up from the lava below the stage. When Bowser is struck with the ninth bomb, his car once again destroys the road he was driving on: this time, however, the ensuing fall sends Bowser straight into lava, and he is presumed to be vanquished.
However, just as the heroes clear the level and free the final Sprixie Princess, Bowser jumps out in front of them, re-captures the seven Sprixies in a larger bottle, and takes them to the game's true final world, World Bowser, an amusement park built in his image. When the heroes finally reach the base of his tower in the center of World Bowser, the Koopa King falls out of the sky and uses a Super Bell power-up to transform into Meowser, a much stronger version of himself which utilizes the same abilities that Cat Mario does, and then chases the party all the way to the top of the tower, all the while attacking them. In spite of the fact that Bowser even uses Double Cherries to copy himself into no fewer than five Bowsers, he is beaten via a POW-block, freeing the Sprixie Kingdom from Bowser's influence and undoing all the harm that he had done to their world. Bowser is last seen in the credits, where he is ironically trapped in a bottle.
Super Mario Bros.: Peach-hime Kyushutsu Dai Sakusen!
Bowser is featured as the main villain in the Japan-exclusive movie Super Mario Bros.: Peach-hime Kyushutsu Dai Sakusen!. The plot of the film is similar to that of Super Mario Bros. in that Bowser is trying to conquer the kingdom and turning its inhabitants into inanimate objects; he even turns Princess Peach's fiancé, Prince Haru, into a dog going by the name Kibidango. Bowser is also trying to marry Peach, making this film the first instance in which Bowser has shown a love interest in her.
Bowser first appears emerging from Mario's television to capture Princess Peach. Mario tries to stand up to him, but to no avail. Peach tries to fight back, but is grabbed and taken back into the television, where she is held at his castle. At one point, Bowser attempts to make Peach love him, but Peach tricks him by having him transform into various things, eventually ending up as a teddy bear which she locks inside a box. However, Bowser breaks free by transforming back to normal, leaving and locking her in her room.
Later, Bowser commences the wedding ceremony with Peach, but it is interrupted by Mario and Luigi. Taking the princess, Bowser and the minister escape to another room to continue the ceremony, only for the castle to fall apart around them. After emerging from the rubble, Bowser and Mario battle. During the battle, Bowser is easily able to fight him, though after he consumes the three power-ups Mario becomes strong enough to grab Bowser by the tail and send him flying, undoing his black magic over the land.
Mario Bros.
Bowser does not appear in the original Mario Bros., as he was not yet introduced as a character. However, he appears in the Battle Mode in the remake included in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga and all four Super Mario Advance games. He moves around on the middle platform, and only attacks by breathing fire. He cannot be defeated; hitting him from underneath only stuns him briefly.
Game & Watch series
Bowser's appearances in the Game & Watch games are very minor compared to his roles in other titles, having appeared only in the later Super Mario Bros.-based game as the "Alarm Koopa" and as the one who kidnapped Princess Toadstool in the game's storyline. Bowser has more appearances in the ports included in the four Game & Watch Gallery games.
Game & Watch Gallery's modern version of Oil Panic features Bowser dropping oil from the top of a tower. Below, the player must try to catch the oil and hand the buckets to Yoshi for disposal. Occasionally, Yoshi can knock Bowser from his position.
The modern version of Ball from Game & Watch Gallery 2 features Bowser as one of the four playable characters; the objective of the game is to control him as he attempts to juggle a Goomba, a Boo, and a Koopa Shell, as well as collecting coins and avoiding Bob-ombs.
He also appears in the modern port of Mario Bros. in Game & Watch Gallery 3 and Game & Watch Gallery 4. His role in this game is to hinder the player's progress by reversing the directions of the conveyer belts they are working on; however, they can switch the flow of the belts back to normal by flipping a switch.
Game & Watch Gallery 4 also has Bowser in the modern Rain Shower. Here, he is seen in a tree, trying to throw balloons filled with paint at Mario's friends, who are relaxing on various objects attached to the ropes. Mario is able to help his friends avoid the balloons by using the ropes to move them out of the way.
Super Mario Bros.: Trapped in the Perilous Pit
In the Golden Look-Look Book Super Mario Bros.: Trapped in the Perilous Pit, Bowser heads down to the basement of Peach's castle to kidnap the princess while Mario and Luigi, who are working on the castle's plumbing, are with her. Mario tries to fight him, but is defeated; it is when Luigi takes a Fire Flower and fights him that Bowser is defeated. Bowser escapes, however, and the bros try to chase after him, but fall down a large pit. Bowser also throws the princess into the pit, then escapes, locking the basement door behind him. At the end of the book, however, the three escape the basement and force Bowser out of the castle.
Amada Anime Series: Super Mario Bros.
Bowser is also featured as the main antagonist in all three shorts in the Super Mario anime series, which have him taking on the roles of various fairy tale villains. In the first story, Momotarō, Bowser acts as an ogre that steals rare treasures from other areas of the galaxy. He hears of the beauty of Princess Peach, and, with the help of his henchmen, the Koopalings, she is kidnapped. Peach's grandparents try to stop him, but fail. During the time that the princess is kidnapped, Bowser proposes to her, but she refuses and is thrown into a cell as a result; Bowser then continues to plunder the galaxy as usual. As he is proposing to her again, he hears news that a strange ship is approaching; Mario and his friends, a Para-Beetle, a Spike, and a Boomerang Bro. arrive at the city, face Bowser and the Koopalings and defeat them. Having been beaten, Bowser vows to never perform another bad deed.
The second story, Issun-bōshi, features Bowser with a somewhat minimal role, as a bully to both Princess Peach and Mario. While harassing Princess Peach, Mario tries to stand up for her, but Bowser simply tries to stomp him, which later leads to him eating Mario. However, Mario starts slashing and stabbing at his insides with the makeshift sword he was given by his father. This causes Bowser to experience a horrific stomachache and regurgitate Mario, falling unconscious. However, when Bowser wakes up, Mario is on his head, but he slices off his horns and eyebrows as he leaps off. Embarrassed, Bowser runs away from the two, dropping a magical hammer on the way. This hammer allows Mario to be grown to a normal size.
The final story, Shirayuki-hime (Snow White), has Bowser playing the role of the Wicked Queen. He is a selfish tyrant, who often asks his mirror who is the most beautiful in the land, with the mirror's response being an image of himself. However, one day, when asking the mirror the question, Bowser is shocked to see the image of Princess Peach appearing on the mirror, making him angry. After much frustration, he has the Koopalings attack her, but she is saved by Mario, who defeats them. Angered by the failure of the Koopalings, Bowser asks the mirror the question again; this time the mirror tells him that Peach is hiding in Toad's hosue. In his laboratory in the basement, Bowser creates a poison, which he then injects into several apples. While both the Toads and Mario are gone from the house, Bowser, disguising himself using a cloak, gives Peach a poisoned apple, which causes her to fall into a comatose state, and flies back to his castle.
Once Mario, Peach, and the Toads arrive at Bowser's castle, he has his Koopalings attack Mario. They succeed with their attack, but the Toads combine with Mario, increasing his strength and allowing him to once again defeat them. Bowser attempts to escape, but Mario chases after him. However, Mario stops when he sees Bowser holding a knife at Peach. At that moment, Luigi unexpectedly enters the scene with a hammer and attacks Bowser. The brothers then take him and throw him head first into his mirror to defeat him.
DIC Cartoons
Bowser, though only commonly referred to by the name of King Koopa, is featured as the main antagonist of all three of DIC Entertainment's Super Mario cartoons, The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World. He later gets his own show in King Koopa's Kool Kartoons, a live-action DIC production. Bowser's appearance in the shows is based on his in-game sprite from the original Super Mario Bros. and also bears some resemblance to Wart from Super Mario Bros. 2, whose army, the 8 bits, are loyal to Koopa in the shows along with the original Koopa Troop.
The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!
- “Koopa Pack, attack!”
- —Bowser, The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!
In The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, Bowser often takes on various aliases and costumes and try to enact a dastardly plot of some sort, most commonly trying to conquer a kingdom or steal an ancient treasure and/or artifact; aiding Bowser in these plots are his Koopa Pack and a sidekick of sorts, most commonly Mouser. In several episodes, Bowser captures Princess Toadstool and attempts to blackmail her into giving him the Mushroom Kingdom, although some other episodes imply that he already has some measure of control over the kingdom.
The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3
In The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, Bowser, having seemingly been banished from the Mushroom Kingdom sometime after the events of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, returns to it to cause havoc, with the aid of his seven Koopalings (referred to as the "Koopa Kids"). In The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, Bowser stops his use of aliases and costumes and his plans became somewhat odd in nature, such as turning his children into giant, ninja warriors for the sole purpose of kidnapping Prince Hugo, only to end up transforming him into a poodle.
Super Mario World television series
In Super Mario World television series, Bowser makes somewhat infrequent appearances. He was, as revealed in the episode "Mama Luigi", once again banished from the Mushroom Kingdom, which results in him moving to Dinosaur Land, where he, along with his Koopa Kids, cause trouble. Bowser's fate at the end of the cartoons is never actually disclosed, as his final appearance shows him trapped in his bedroom, which is rapidly filling with lava.
King Koopa's Kool Kartoons
After The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, Bowser received his first live-action appearance in King Koopa's Kool Kartoons, a show starring Bowser that only aired for one season between 1989 and 1990. His appearance, as well as his personality and demeanor, is based off of his cartoon appearance in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, but changed to make him look more believable for a live action TV show. Like the cartoons, King Koopa's Kool Kartoons was produced by DIC. During the show, Bowser hosts a quiz, to which any viewer can send their answers through the mail, and answers fan mail. He then shows public-domain cartoons unrelated to the Mario series. At the end of each episode, Koopa gives away Nintendo merchandise to the child-exclusive studio audience.
Super Mario World: Mario & Yoshi's Adventure Land
Bowser appears as the main villain in the interactive anime OVA Super Mario World: Mario & Yoshi's Adventure Land. As the plot is the same as the game it is based upon, Bowser kidnaps Princess Peach while she is on vacation in Dinosaur Land, conquers the Yoshis and sets up fortresses, putting the Koopalings in charge of them. He eventually faces off against Mario and Luigi in his Koopa Clown Car, and is defeated, spinning out of control into the horizon.
Mario Ice Capades
In the real-life Mario Ice Capades production, Bowser, known as King Koopa (but referred to as Bowser only once), appears while Jason Bateman is explaining Super Mario Bros. to Alyssa Milano. He plans to use the NES they are playing to spread a computer virus and take over the world. He then has his minions head out to infect the system's hardware.
When the Mario brothers show up, Bowser sends his minions after them, but Luigi easily defeats them with a fire-shooting weapon. After most of his minions are defeated, Bowser, accompanied by a Spiny, attempt to attack the Mario bros. and some children from the audience, but they are defeated as well.
White Knuckle Scorin'
In the comic included with the White Knuckle Scorin' album, Bowser appears as the main antagonist. He once again kidnaps Princess Toadstool and brings her to his castle, explaining his plan to turn the dinosaurs of Dinosaur Land into fossil fuel and join OPEC. The princess tells him that he isn't smart enough to be an oil tycoon, but Bowser informs her that he would rather have "brute force and a bad attitude over smarts and education," informing her (in song) that "ignorance is bliss."
Later, Bowser's spies tell him that the Mario Bros. and their ally Yoshi are approaching his castle. Bowser selects a spell from his spellbook that he believes to have a nasty effect, and (with help from Lemmy, who wished to show off the reading skills the princess had taught him earlier), they cast the spell (Bowser unable to do it himself due to leaving his reading glasses in the pantry when reading the nutritional label on a bag of "toasted lard chips"), which instead creates an illusion that gives the countryside a medieval motif, also boosting the brothers' confidence.
The spell wears off as soon as Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi arrive at the castle, but Bowser has his Mecha-Koopas attack them. He also places Toadstool in a cage lowering into a vat of lava; the brothers and Yoshi cannot save her in time, and she disappears into the lava. Mario attempts to fight Bowser still, but his grief allows Bowser to easily beat him. However, Princess Toadstool suddenly appears out of the shadows and strikes Bowser. Revitalized by her sudden appearance, Bowser is able to be defeated by Mario again, while the princess explains that she escaped due to Bowser leaving the operating manual inside the cage (Bowser admitting that his illiteracy caused him to not think about them). Bowser is defeated by the heroes (aided by Lemmy), but he orders all Warp Pipes leading outside Dinosaur Land be severed, supposedly trapping them on the island. However, Princess Toadstool had stolen Bowser's spell book, and Yoshi recites the spell to transport his friends home.
Yoshi series
Bowser's first chronological appearance in-universe is as Baby Bowser in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. At this age, he is shown to have similar powers to the ones he currently possesses as an adult.
When Baby Mario and Yoshi enter his room in his castle, Baby Bowser is unintentionally and forcibly awakened from his nap by Kamek (who was trying to demand that Yoshi hand over Mario), and pounds him flat in retribution. Bowser then notices Yoshi, and decides he wants to ride the "green donkey." However, he notices that Mario is riding Yoshi so he attacks them to get Baby Mario off. Yoshi ends up defeating Baby Bowser, even when Kamek turns him into a giant. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island is also his first meeting with Mario.
Yoshi's Cookie
In Yoshi's Cookie, Bowser appears as one of the four playable characters in versus mode. He has the highest attack of the four, but his other stats are average.
The Nintendo Puzzle Collection version of the game features a story mode. While Mario and Yoshi are resting as they are delivering Yoshi Cookies, Bowser appears and steals the cookies. When they awake, they go after him. Bowser is faced on stage seven on every difficulty, as the final enemy in the game. He is defeated after beating him three times out of five.
Tetris Attack
Bowser also appears in Tetris Attack, a game that is based on the Japanese Panel de Pon. The remake replaces several characters of the game with characters from the Mario series and the Yoshi series. Bowser takes the role of Cordelia, as the game’s final boss.
During VS. Mode, the game's story mode, Bowser has Kamek cast a spell over the inhabitants of Yoshi's Island, brainwashing them into working for him and his Koopa Troop. He also has a massive rain created, threatening to flood the world. He is faced in Mt. Wickedness on hard mode, on the twelfth and final stage, after Kamek is defeated.
Bowser is also faced on the final stage and special stage on Stage Clear mode. His health is depleted by stringing together multiple combos.
Yoshi's Story
Baby Bowser steals the Super Happy Tree from the Yoshis and turns Yoshi's Island into a pop-up book in Yoshi's Story, but is defeated again by a newborn Yoshi. Both incidents quickly define the young Bowser as a selfish character lacking empathy. In Yoshi's Island DS, he teams up with the heroes to defeat future Bowser after being betrayed, but betrays them at the end of the game. Baby Bowser is also one of the Star Children.
Yoshi Topsy-Turvy
In Yoshi Topsy-Turvy, Bowser and his minions attack the island. A spirit named Hongo attempts to contain Bowser and his army by using his magic to place the entire island inside the Forbidden Pop-Up Book, mirroring what Bowser did to Yoshi's Island as a baby. After Yoshi satisfies each of the six spirits of Yoshi's Island, the spirits allow Yoshi to confront Bowser. The first part of the battle takes place on a platform. Bowser attacks Yoshi by breathing fire at him while bombs fall from the sky. Bowser is damaged if he walks into the bombs. He flies into the air and lands, causing two Shy Guys to fall onto the platform.
When Bowser is damaged enough times, the two fall to a lower platform. Bowser only attacks by leaping and slamming the ground, causing two enemies to fall. The parachuting bombs damage him if he walks into them. Once this is done enough times, he and Yoshi fall to a pair of even lower platforms over a pit of lava; the size of Bowser, however, allows only one of his feet on it. Tilting the system causes Bowser to fall into the lava, defeating him. Afterward, with Bowser eliminated, Hongo releases Yoshi's Island, reverting it.
Yoshi's Island DS
In Yoshi's Island DS, Bowser travels to the past to find the Star Children, which are said to have the power necessary for him to conquer the universe. Among the many children he kidnaps or attempts to kidnap are Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, Baby Peach, Baby Donkey Kong, Baby Wario, and even Baby Bowser. Bowser from the future uses a scepter to bring him back to the past and invades Baby Bowser's Castle. Bowser later kicks Baby Bowser out of the castle when he insults him.
Baby Bowser teams up with Baby Mario, Baby Wario, Baby Donkey Kong, Baby Peach, and Yoshi to save Baby Luigi and the other babies from the future Bowser out of revenge, since his future self had betrayed him. Near the end of the game, while traversing the castle, Baby Bowser turns on his team because he thought they'd come to try and steal his treasure, but he is outnumbered and defeated. The future Bowser then shows up and attacks them for being rude to his past self. During the fight, Bowser attacks Yoshi and the babies by leaping around and blasting them with fireballs. Bowser is knocked off his feet by hitting him with Giant Yoshi Eggs, which leave him vulnerable to ground-pounding.
When the player defeats Bowser, Kamek intervenes and enchants Bowser using his magic. The magic causes Bowser to become a giant in the final battle against Baby Mario, Baby Peach, Baby Donkey Kong, and Baby Wario. During the battle, Bowser moves around to the left and right sides of the area and attacks the Yoshis and babies with fireballs, as well as sending down debris. The player must throw the Giant Yoshi Eggs, once again obtained by Baron von Zeppelins, at Bowser so that they explode in his face. Once they defeat him again, the unconscious Bowser is carried away by Toadies while Kamek vows revenge and Baby Bowser follows them. it is revealed that the babies, including Baby Bowser, make up six of the seven Star Children, with a Baby Yoshi that is born soon after Bowser leaves the past, being the seventh.
Yoshi's New Island
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Bowser has been confirmed to appear in Yoshi's New Island. In this game, he plans to turn Egg Island into his own private resort, so the Yoshis, as well as taking Baby Mario to his brother (who was previously kidnapped by Kamek), decide to defeat Bowser.[4]
Club Nintendo comics
Bowser is one of the many characters that appear during the Club Nintendo comics. His appearances are as an antagonist, and are mostly major. His first appearance in one is Wart steht unter Strom (Wart is Tensed Up). During the comic, Bowser, who is erroneously named "Wart", is playing what appears to be "Template:Conjecturaltext" on a Game Boy, when the batteries die. He angrily throws the batteries out, but Mario shows up and reminds him that they should be properly disposed of. Infuriated, Bowser fights Mario, but the dead batteries end up electrocuting him. In the end, Bowser decides to accept Mario's advice and goes off to buy a battery set.
In Süße Weihnachten (Sweet Christmas), Bowser first appears outside Mario's house, while he is not at home. Bowser also takes advantage of the fact that their door is unlocked and enters. He notices several treats inside, and starts to eat them; afterward, however, a somewhat overweight Bowser starts feeling sick. He tries to leave, but falls over. Dr. Mario, being told of Bowser's condition by a Toad doctor, rushes over and, along with Nurse Toadstool, checks his condition, then gives him a prescription. He is later seen in bed, still sick, in the background while Mario, Luigi, Princess Toadstool, and Toad sing "Silent Night".
Bowser's appearance in Super Mario: Mario im Wunderland (Super Mario: Mario in Wonderland) is minor. He, along with Wario and Donkey Kong, emerge from a bush in front of Mario, Toad, and Kirby. They claim that the group stole their cookies, and begin to fight. However, they are scared away by Fox McCloud. He also has a minor appearance in Super Mario: Erholung? Nein, danke! (Super Mario: Recreation? No, thanks!), where he works at the front desk of the Gumba Royal Hotel.
In Die Jagd nach dem Nintendo 64: Krawall im All (The Race for the Nintendo 64: Ruckus in Outer Space), Bowser and Wario have teamed up in order to find a special spacecraft on the planet Earth; they are planning to use the spacecraft to rule the universe. Their only opposition on this quest is Mario and Luigi. Upon landing on earth, the duo notice that the Mario bros. landed first, and fly off in their para-gliders. They notice Mario and Luigi in karts, and begin to attack them. Bowser knocks Mario off the road, but he loses control of his glider. Mario, back on the road, grasps the opportunity and throws banana peels in front of him. He slips on one and collides with Wario; the villains are knocked out while the Mario brothers continue.
Even later, in order to reach the island containing the spacecraft, Wario and Bowser use a type of aircraft with rocket boosters. They outrace Mario and Luigi, who are using their karts converted into jet skis. However, Mario tricks them into believing flying straight is boring, and the villains begin to do various midair maneuvers until they run out of fuel and fall into water. They eventually emerge from the water and try to take the craft, shaped like a Nintendo 64, from the Marios, but fail after the brothers put a flag up on top of it. Their friends congratulate them while Bowser and Wario are sulking.
Mario Teaches Typing games
Bowser also makes some minor appearances in the two Mario Teaches Typing games, such as appearing when the letter "B" is typed in the first game's alternate game mode. Additionally, a Bowser portrait also appears in the room where the Koopa Troopas are playing cards in Mario Teaches Typing 2. In both games' story modes, Bowser is not featured, but his castle is, though it is destroyed by Mario and Luigi at the end. In the second game's story mode intro, the Magical Typewriter gives them a message that states it is "the key to beating Bowser."
Mario Kart series
Bowser is always a default-unlocked heavyweight character in the Mario Kart games. He also always has his own course, aptly named Bowser's Castle. In later games, both a new incarnation and at least one past incarnation of the track appear.
In Super Mario Kart, he and Donkey Kong Jr. have the heaviest weight and highest speed, but at the same time suffer from poor acceleration and steering. If controlled by a computer, Bowser can toss fireballs onto the track. In the Japanese release of the game, every character's awards ceremony victory animation involves a bottle of champagne, but part of Bowser's involves drinking it. This is changed in English releases, in which Bowser simply tosses the bottle into the air and catches it.
In Mario Kart 64, Bowser and the other heavyweight characters have poor speed, acceleration, and steering, but high weight, allowing them to ram lighter racers out of their way.
In Mario Kart: Super Circuit, Bowser has the highest weight, but also the lowest speed in the game.
In Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, Bowser's default partner is Bowser Jr.. Their shared Special Item is the Bowser Shell, and his kart is the Koopa King.
In Mario Kart DS, Bowser's Koopa Clown Car appears as his unlockable kart, the Hurricane. His default karts are a standard kart (Standard BW), like the other racers, and the Tyrant. Once the game is beaten, Bowser can drive any of the thirty-six karts in the game. He also appears as the ghost on Airship Fortress with a time of 2:07:748 on the Hurricane, on Bowser Castle on the Hurricane with a time of 2:19:661, and on GBA Bowser Castle 2 with a time of 1:52:258 on the Standard BW. In Missions Mode, Bowser is the character played as for missions 3-2, 4-5, 5-4, 6-1, 6-8, and 7-7. In addition, he also appears as the opponent to be raced against for mission 7-2.
In Mario Kart Wii, Bowser has the highest weight bonus for his class size, which makes vehicles like the Offroader and Piranha Prowler heavier than normal. The Staff Ghosts that use Bowser are Nin*YABUKI at Bowser's Castle in the Piranha Prowler, with a time of 3:04:836 with no Wii Wheel and manual drift. The expert staff ghost is Nin*Masa with the same settings, except this time, Bowser is on the Flame Runner with a time of 2:42:098.
In Mario Kart 7, Bowser returns as a heavy racer. He has one of the best speed and weight boosts in the game. His Koopa Clown Car also has an appearance as the Koopa Clown, an unlockable kart body. The staff ghosts using Bowser are Ret*Matt M on Bowser's Castle, with the standard kart body, Monster tires, and the Super Glider with a time of 02:34.815; the expert staff ghost also uses Bowser in the Blue Seven with Red Monster tires and the Beast Glider, the time being 02:15.244. He is also both ghosts on GBA Bowser Castle 1; the normal ghost, Nin*Hayata, uses the Pipe Frame with Standard tires and the Beast Glider and has a time of 01:31.030, while the expert, Nin*hokwai, uses the Koopa Clown with the Roller tires and the Super Glider, and has a time of 01:22.221. If using a glider with a stem (Super Glider, Flower Glider etc.) while playing as Bowser, the stem of the glider is bent to go around his shell; for the other characters it is straight.
Bowser has also been confirmed to be a playable character in the upcoming Mario Kart 8.
Bowser also makes an appearance in the three Mario Kart Arcade GP games; Mario Kart Arcade GP has no weight stat to classify characters by, but Mario Kart Arcade GP 2 classifies him as a power racer, and Mario Kart Arcade GP DX places him in the heavyweight category. The second game also gives him a personal kart in addition to a standard kart; Bowser's resembles his shell, with spikes lining the sides and on the tires. In the first two games, Bowser has four special items: Bowser Shell, the same item from Double Dash!!; Shell Body, which makes him invincible; Flaming Tender, which damages any rival that hits it; and Thwomp, which squishes any driver that drives under it. Bowser also receives his own two-course cup in the first two games, both of which consists of Bowser's Castle and Castle Wall, which takes place on the wall surrounding his castle. In the first game, beating the Bowser Cup allows the player to face Bowser in a battle as the challenge stage. The player must leap over the streams of fire Bowser spits at them while tossing shells at the supports for his platform. If the player is playing as Bowser for this challenge, they instead face Mecha Bowser. In Mario Kart Arcade GP DX, the Bowser Cup consists of Bowser Factory and Bowser Castle.
Mario Is Missing!
Bowser causes much trouble on Earth during Mario is Missing!. Bowser plans to use several hairdryers to melt Antarctica, which would result in the Earth flooding. However, because he cannot afford the amount of hairdryers needed to enact the scheme, Bowser sends his Koopa Troop across the world to steal rare and valuable artifacts to sell.
Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi head to Antarctica to stop him, but Mario is captured by Bowser. Mario's kidnapping, however, differs between the three versions. In the PC version, Luigi remains outside with Yoshi, as he is too scared to go in, so Mario enters by himself; Bowser, disguised as a butler, gives Mario some candy, and he is caught in a net afterward. In the SNES version, Mario falls down a pit trap activated by Bowser. In the NES version, Bowser catches him in a sack. Either way, Mario is kidnapped, forcing Luigi to save Mario using the skill of deduction.
The endings differ from the console as well. When the player saves Mario in the NES version, Luigi and what appears to be Bowser fight, but he flees as a Beach Koopa. Bowser is later seen outside his fortress, crying over his defeat in the snow. In the SNES version, Bowser leaps down from above after Mario is saved. However, Luigi pulls a nearby switch that causes Bowser to fall into a hole, into a cannon. He is then shot out of his castle and into the Antarctic snow; he freezes instantly after, then shatters. In the PC version, Bowser advances toward Luigi, but Luigi forcefully removes his shell, making him a "Beach Bowser", much to his humiliation. When Bowser returns, Luigi lies to Bowser by gestering that he threw his shell off the balcony. When Bowser looks over the ledge, Luigi kicks him off and he lands in the snow. He then emerges from a pile of snow, dazed, and falls into unconsciousness. After Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi leave, Bowser appears in the corner, looking in that direction before the credits roll.
Nintendo Adventure Books
In Double Trouble, Bowser intends on using Iggy's latest invention, a cloning machine called the GLOM, to overrun the Mushroom Kingdom with duplicates made of sand. After encountering Mario in his Koopahari Desert Fortress, Bowser brags about his scheme before giving chase to the plumber, though he quickly loses him. After Mario causes Fort Koopa to collapse by making the GLOM overload and blow up, he spots Bowser, Iggy and Wendy limping off after digging themselves out of the rubble.
Bowser has only a cameo appearance in Leaping Lizards, where he threatens the orchestra performing at the International Mushroom Games (which six of his children are competing in) to play the Koopa Anthem.
In Monster Mix-up, Iggy Koopa builds the Monster Mixer for Bowser, a device that can fuse two or more objects or creatures together. He begins to use it by fusing several of his minions into conglomerations of the two creatures that formed it (such as a Goomerang Bro. and a Buzz-Bomb). However, in the end, Bowser is stopped and the machine is destroyed.
After Wendy disappears in Koopa Capers, Bowser uses a Magic Carpet to abduct Luigi from Brooklyn, so he can force the younger Mario brother into searching for the wayward Koopaling after his own minions prove incapable of finding her. In the best ending, Bowser and the male Koopalings confront Wendy, who had planned on performing a coup, in her secret lair by following Luigi, but they decide to stave off punishing the treacherous Koopaling if she helps search for the hiding Luigi. If Luigi has Boom Boom's socks, he can throw them into Wendy's simmering potion, creating fumes which knock Bowser, his family and their minions out for at least a week.
Bowser's appearance in Doors to Doom is as an enemy in the series of worlds created by Dr. Sporis Von Fungenstein.
In Dinosaur Dilemma, Bowser has his minions begin abducting all the dinosaurs in Dinosaur Island, so he can "prove" his theory that the dinosaurs went extinct due to not looking both ways before they crossed the street; once the dinosaurs and all evidence of their existence are gone and his theory is thus "proven" true, Bowser intends to be awarded the Snowbell Prize (feeding the cooked dinosaurs to the committee awarding it) and be named curator of the Mushroom Kingdom Museum of Natural History, conveniently located across the street from Mushroom Palace, which he plans on pelting with garbage. Mario and Yoshi ultimately crash Bowser's award ceremony, defeat his evil Slimosaurs, rescue the dinosaurs and the kidnapped Luigi, and humiliate the Koopa King in front of the Snowbell Prize committee and the rest of the guests, including Wart.
In Flown the Koopa, Bowser can be found hanging out in the Valley of the Koopas by Mario and Luigi; when asked about the whereabouts of Princess Toadstool and Yoshi, Bowser denies having anything to do with their disappearance, but since the Mario Bros. have annoyed him he sics a quartet of Mecha-Koopas on them. In the best possible outcome, Luigi bludgeons Bowser with a wrench, sending him running and causing him to drop the remote control needed to disable the Mecha-Koopas and defeat a Magikoopa, who is Bowser's cousin and the main antagonist of the book.
Disguised as a Toad named Fungus Cap, Bowser crashes Yoshi's birthday in Unjust Desserts, placing a cherry on the dinosaur's cake that, when eaten, causes Yoshi to go on an eating binge that ends when he devours Luigi. After unsuccessfully trying to dissuade Yoshi's friends from calling dinosaur physician Doc Drake, Bowser sheds his Toad disguise and escapes, but returns later after having Magikoopa shrink him and his forces so he can follow Mario (who intends to rescue Luigi) into Yoshi's body. When Yoshi and Luigi regurgitate everyone they have eaten, Bowser and his forces try to overwhelm Mario, but are defeated and forced to retreat, with the still tiny Bowser being menaced by an ant.
During the earlier books, Bowser's appearances on the covers of Double Trouble and Monster Mix-up show him with his cartoon appearance; on the cover of the later book Unjust Desserts, Bowser, albeit only his face being on the cover, is shown with his game appearance.
Super Mario Adventures
Bowser appears as the primary antagonist in Nintendo Power's comic series Super Mario Adventures. Some time prior to the events of the comics, he has hundreds of Yoshi's captured and enslaved. Yoshi tries to go after them, but he is trapped in an egg and left in the forest. Later, pipes begin to pop out of the princess's castle grounds, and several of Bowser's minions emerge from them. Bowser and his children, in his Koopa Clown Car, later appear out of a massive warp pipe. Bowser explains to Princess Toadstool that he wanted to conquer the kingdom, and that he can only do so by marrying her. Toadstool declines his proposal, but Bowser gives her a week to decide anyway. He then heads back down the pipe, with the princess and several Toads in pursuit, to attempt to compromise with him.
Several of Bowser's Lakitus capture Toadstool, and Bowser places her in the custody of his kids, telling them to keep a video line between his castle and theirs open. She is kept in a jail cell inside their castle. After interrupting them playing a video game, Bowser begins to tell his kids that he proposed to Toadstool, but is interrupted by a Magikoopa who informs him that the model of his cake is finished. Bowser is shown the model, but wants it bigger, and has to interrupt his children's video game again to tell them to keep Toadstool inside the castle.
After the princess escapes, Bowser is furious at his kids for losing his "bride," but the Koopalings show him that they have captured Mario. Bowser then has them send two Mecha-Koopas across the moat dividing the mainland from the castle to blackmail Luigi; if he wants Mario back, he must hand over Princess Toadstool or Mario dies. Luigi tricks Bowser and the Koopalings by sending himself disguised as the princess, and actually says yes to Bowser's proposal when he arrives.
Bowser and his minions later capture Toad when he flies into the Warp Pipe to find Toadstool, Mario, and Luigi a rescue party. He and several Koopas then disguise themselves as Toads and help the princess and the Mario brothers by sending a ladder. However, on the way up Bowser pulls out a knife and severs the ladder, separating himself and the princess from Mario and Luigi. Afterward, he sheds the disguise as the ladder is pulled back up the pipe, revealed to be a small airship. Bowser then sends Paratroopas after Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi.
Having defeated the Koopas, the brothers find a house in the middle of the forest, unaware that Bowser and the Koopalings are watching them and that the house is one of his traps. Bowser prematurely believes that the brothers will enter the house, but when he sees they don't, he pushes a button that causes the scent of cheese to emanate from the structure. The smell convinces Luigi to head inside, and Mario rushes after to find him. Afterward, Bowser returns to planning his wedding.
On the date of the wedding, Bowser witnesses a Magikoopa command several hundred enslaved Yoshis to drag the enormus cake into the courtyard. He then watches as they are commanded to enter a special room, where they enter a machine that traps in eggs. As he is preparing for the wedding, he learns that the princess is still resisting. However, he has the Magikoopa hypnotize her into loving him.
Just as the ceremony commences, Mario emerges to stop him. However, he is shocked to hear that the princess loves Bowser. Bowser then has his minions charge after Mario, subduing him. As he is about to continue with their marriage, a gigantic pack of Yoshis charges in, instantly defeating all of Bowser's minions. After the Magikoopa is defeated, the princess is freed from hypnosis. Bowser tries to escape in his Koopa Clown Car, but Mario lassos the car, causing Bowser to fall out of it and into the cake, which the Yoshis start to consume. Bowser tries to continue the wedding, but the cake collapses while he is still on it.
Nintendo Comics System
In the Mario comics of Valiant Comics' Nintendo Comics System, Bowser, known under the name King Koopa at first, is once again featured as the main enemy of the Mushroom Kingdom, which he continues to try and cause chaos in. Though several of his appearances involve him trying to take over the Mushroom Kingdom, he also has a handful of joke comics revolving around him; said comic appearances include shorts such as "Koopa Kola," in which he is advertising the soda of the same name, and "Koopa's Believe It or Else!," in which he gives several obscure but allegedly true "facts" about the Mushroom Kingdom. His appearance in this comic series is exactly similar to his appearance in the DIC cartoons. Throughout the comics, it is implied that Bowser, in some way, is affiliated with the Apook Corporation, a large corporation selling most of the Mushroom Kingdom's commercial products, if not the owner. The corporation mainly retails their products at the Koopamart, a store also implied to be owned by Bowser; it is even designed to look like him.
"The Legend"
The short comic "The Legend" explains how Bowser originally kidnapped the princess, and how the Mario brothers went on their quest to rescue her.
"Just Deserts"
In "Just Deserts," Koopa creates a mirage machine, which he uses to create a mirage of the Mushroom King splashing around in an oasis in the middle of the desert Mario and Luigi are trapped in, while he stays at his underground base. However, once they reach the spring, Koopa deactivates the mirage, prompting the bros to search for the king. They eventually arrive at the pyramid Koopa's base is in, and Mario rescues the king and presses a "master mirage" button on the machine, destroying the fortress.
"Piranha-Round Sue"
Bowser also appears during "Piranha-Round Sue." During the comic, the Piranha Plant Piranha Sue starts a revolution amongst the plants from King Koopa, who transforms the Mushroom King into a lizard. The king then sends Mario and Toad to retrieve a magic wand to turn him back, giving them the Green Gecko Gem, which gives its user a forcefield. Mario gets the wand, but eventually loses both it and the gem to Sue, who then claims that she rules the world; however, Bowser appears then, and Sue states that she got them for Bowser. He disregards this and claims both; however, he tosses the gem aside, deeming it worthless, and notices the wand has the words "Brooklyn Plumbing Novelty Company" inscribed upon it. Bowser then punishes Piranha Sue for being duped.
"Beauty and the Beach"
During "Beauty and the Beach," Bowser assumes control of a beach island, giving himself the alias "Ka-Hoopa." His plot is to use bombs to heat up the volcano on the center of the island to the point where it erupts and turns the Toads inhabiting the island into Fryguys. He achieves this by having the residents themselves throw the bombs into the volcano, convincing them that doing so will scare off the Trouters near the island. After Princess Toadstool, Mario, and Toad wash ashore on the island, their boat having been destroyed by the aforementioned Trouters, they eventually encounter Bowser. However, he offers them no trouble, even telling them his plan in its entirety, and leaves, stating the volcano would erupt in a matter of minutes. Out at sea, however, he is shocked to notice that the volcano is not erupting, thanks to Mario's installing of bamboo pipelines to divert the lava.
"Magic Carpet Madness"
In "Magic Carpet Madness," Bowser first prank phone calls King Toadstool while he is tending his garden; however, his trip to the phone causes him to track mud across the castle's carpet. Princess Toadstool scolds him for this, then calls a carpet cleaner. Bowser then sends three Pidgets to the castle under the guise of carpet cleaners, while he fills the cleaner with Flying Carpet Juice. Bowser watches from a window and later the roof as Toadstool flies out of her castle's skylight, then into the air. However, the plan falls apart when the hypnotized Princess Toadstool crashes into Bowser's blimp. He is last seen whining on the ground, having crashed into the ground and formed a hole.
"Bedtime for Drain-Head"
Before the events of "Bedtime for Drain-Head," Bowser kidnaps Toad. However, a sleepwalking Mario, believing himself to be his favorite comic book hero Dirk Drain-Head, breaks in to Bowser's Castle and beats him up; not wanting to be beaten any more, he calls for a truce. They then head back to Peach's Castle, where he is seen serving the king, Wooster, and Toad grape sodas with little umbrellas upon Luigi and Princess Toadstool's arrival. The king then commends Mario by giving him a slap on the back, waking him up; realizing that Bowser was defeated by Mario in his sleep, he and the others storm off.
"Betrayal Most Proper"
In "Betrayal Most Proper," Bowser only gets a minor appearance. The king's adviser Wooster apparently commits treason, and is kidnapped by Koopa Troopas. Back at Bowser's Castle, however, he feeds Bowser and his minions so much junk food that they become overweight and enter into a state of hibernation.
"Duh Stoopid Bomb!"
In "Duh Stoopid Bomb!," Bowser, along with several minions and an incognito Toad, attend a meeting in which a Shy Guy presents the Stupid Bomb, a device that releases a gas that makes anyone inhaling it stupid for several hours. A Snifit later tells him that Mario and Luigi set off a Stupid Bomb they took on themselves; Bowser is first displeased by this, but then is happy, explaining that they will probably set off more bombs on the rest of the population. He then presents a Smart Bomb, a bomb that will not only reverse the Stupid Bomb, but make the one who inhales its gas highly intelligent. The Snifit takes the bomb, and it explodes in his hands. Using his newfound intelligence, the Snifit usurps Bowser of his power and dumps him into Fryguy Kindergarten, where he is crowned by a group of over-excited Fryguys.
"Cloud Burst"
Bowser once again is given a minor appearance in "Cloud Burst," where he is seen explaining to a recently amassed army in "World 3" that he has recently been robbed of several Koopabits and even his crown, and that they should be on the lookout for the traitor. However, it turns out that that Lakitu and his cloud and partner Fluffy had robbed Bowser and, earlier, Princess Toadstool. While on a mission to reclaim Princess Toadstool's crown, Mario runs into Bowser (who is wearing a hat) and several minions. As Bowser interrogates Mario for the location of his crown and money, Luigi, up above, pulls an escape hatch on Fluffy open, causing himself, the Lakitu, and all the stolen items to fall to the ground, Lakitu bonking Bowser on the head and knocking him unconscious.
"The Buddy System"
In "The Buddy System," Bowser's plan is to blow up the underground's main water pipe. He later explains that he is doing this so he can start up a taxi service to replace the soon-to-be useless underground. However, the plan's main flaw is Lemmy's stupidity; he nethier knows how to set up the bombs and where the main water pipe is. On the last section, Lemmy uses four bombs, however; the catastrophic explosion causes Bowser and a nearby Mario to be blown toward a Mouser colony. They capture the pair, chaining them together, and Bowser (after the mice call Mario the more intelligent of the duo) explains his plan. However, the Mousers then show him the real main water pipe, and even blow it up as a demonstration to how they would do it, flooding the underground.
He attempts to escape using a Warp Pipe, but Mario explains that the pipes shut off after the water reaches a certain level. They then head back and work together to shut off the water main, and, once this is done, the emergency drain activates. Upon reaching the above ground, Mario and Bowser fight, using a plunger and a tree branch respectively. However, Lemmy then interrupts the fight by bringing in another bomb, and he clumsily drops it; the bomb misses the duo, but cuts the chain keeping them together. Bowser then angrily chases after Lemmy.
"It's Always Fair Weather"
Bowser later appears in the comic "It's Always Fair Weather." Here, he is seen storming around the Mushroom Kingdom fair grounds, annoyed that he is being mistaken for Luigi inside a Bowser suit at the dunk tank. He then notices a group of hot air balloons, and decides to take out his anger by using his helicopter's propeller blades to blow them away; However, they are then rescued by Mario, who has been transformed for the first time into Raccoon Mario. After landing, Mario is given a kiss by Princess Toadstool; however, the lovestruck plumber stumbles into Bowser, causing him to lose his raccoon abilities. However, Mario is still able to defeat him by activating the cyclone once more, sending Bowser flying into the pool for the "Douse the Bowser" attraction.
"The Revenge of Pipe Ooze!"
Bowser is also in "The Revenge of Pipe Ooze!," where he is supervising Lemmy's ambush test, which they decide to do at The Annual Dirk Drain-Head Role-Playing Game under the disguise of hotdog vendors (their only form of disguise being fake mustaches). The Mushroom King and Toad, cosplaying as Pipe Ooze and Muck respectively, head over to their hotdog stand; it is here that Lemmy and Bowser knock them out with magic wands. They then take the pair's costumes, and Lemmy decides to ambush Mario, who is role-playing as Dirk Drain-Head himself.
Later, he uses a catapult to launch Lemmy at Mario, as Bowser questions why his son isn't paying taking in his "evil villain lessons." However, the ambush fails, and Bowser attacks a Piranha Plant who insulted his son earlier. He then takes Lemmy onto a pipe and orders him to attack, but Lemmy asks if he can role-play first. Bowser yells at him, causing his son to feel sad, and then apologizes, granting him two minutes to have fun. He then assists Mario and Luigi in their attempt to act out comic #287 in Dirk's series by beating up Bowser. After this is over, Luigi (who recognizes Pipe Ooze to be Bowser instead of the king) convinces him to help him get Mario's spirit back by pretending to be afraid of him, since Luigi's being Dirk attracted several fans. The ruse works, and Mario proceeds to beat up Bowser. Lemmy and Bowser then leave their costumes and sneak away. Lemmy asks if attacking his own father counts toward passing the ambush test, and Bowser tells him that it does; he also gives him extra credit for attacking a close family member. The two then head off to get some food and rest.
"Tanooki Suits Me"
In the comic "Tanooki Suits Me," during the grand opening of an art gallery, Mario pushes a button on his Tanooki Suit, turning him into Statue Mario. After the opening party, several Mice steal the art, including Mario, and sell it to Bowser for fifty Koopabits, as part of his plan, which also involves selling the art to Wart for a much higher price. Hearing Wart at the door, he sends the mice off, convincing them that it is the police.
As he is about to sell the entire collection for five million Koopabits, Mario transforms back into Tanooki Mario. Not recognizing the plumber in his Tanooki form, Mario convinces Wart that the paintings and statues are actually worthless products from the Apook Corporation, and that they will transform into raccoons as well in a few minutes. Angered by the revelation, Wart and Bowser fight while Mario escapes on a forklift with the stolen art.
Yoshi's Safari
Bowser and the Koopalings take over the kingdom of Jewelry Land, kidnapping the rulers King Fret and Prince Pine, and steal twelve magical gems in Yoshi's Safari. This causes a disturbance, causing an earthquake that splits Jewelry Land into the Light Realm and the Dark Realm. Mario, riding Yoshi, heads for Jewelry Land with the Super Scope Princess Peach gives them to defeat Bowser.
After traversing every land, the duo arrive at Bowser's Castle. Once all of the minions inside the castle are defeated, Yoshi and Mario fall down a pit leading to a room with Bowser wearing a robotic suit of armor. Inside the armor, Bowser attacks by shooting projectiles at them with the blasters on the hands. However, the entire robot is invincible except for the hands; attacking these enough times disables them and cause the robot's actual weak point to be revealed. When this is attacked enough times, the robotic suit is destroyed, revealing Bowser himself. In this state, he attacks Mario and Yoshi by tossing Koopa shells at them. Like with the robot, Bowser's hands are the only venerable part of him at first. Once his hands are shot enough, they are disabled (being wrapped in bandages), and Bowser attacks by breathing flame at them. Yoshi and Mario must shoot Bowser's head in order to damage him at this point. Once he is shot at enough, Bowser surrenders (appearing dazed and holding two white flags). The game's credits state that Bowser and the Koopalings return to their home.
After beating the game, a code for the hard mode is unlocked, increasing the difficulty and changing level colors. The text is also changed, to make it appear as though the events of the game are occurring a second time. Mario must once again save King Fret and Prince Pine, as well as reclaim the twelve gems to save Jewelry Land. After defeating Bowser a second time, the game states that he and the Koopalings return to their home for good.
Mario's Time Machine
In Mario's Time Machine, Bowser uses a time machine known as the Timulator to steal valuable artifacts from Earth's past, then places them in his own personal museum. He plans to destroy the Timulator after he is done, which would drastically alter the present. The player must take back Bowser's stolen artifacts and use the Timulator to return them to their proper places, saving the time stream.
If the player fails to return all the artifacts in time or returns at least one of them in the wrong order, Bowser escapes by using the Timulator and setting it for "Paradise", forcing the player to start over. However, if the task is done, Bowser attempts to use the machine to escape, but it overloads, then self-destructs, and he is teleported to the Jurassic era, where a Tyrannosaurus Rex stomps him.
Hotel Mario
In Hotel Mario, Bowser and the Koopalings turn the entire Mushroom Kingdom into their own personal resorts and retain Princess Toadstool as a "permanent guest" in one of the seven Koopa Hotels. At the beginning of the game, Bowser appears at the entrance to the Mushroom Kingdom after the Mario Bros. enter, and laughs ominously. The brothers then discover a note left by Bowser explaining the situation, and Mario and Luigi set off to retrieve her.
After Wendy is defeated and her hotel vanishes, Princess Peach runs over to the Mario Bros., but is teleported away by Bowser, with his laughter being heard by the two. The hotel the brothers find afterward is Bowser's Seizures Palace Hotel. After reaching Bowser's Barbecue Room, the final level in the hotel, the player must first face Iggy, who works at Bowser's hotel rather than run his own.
Once he is defeated, the player moves to the next area to face Bowser. He attacks Mario and Luigi by breathing fire and summoning multiple bolts of lightning. Like Iggy, Bowser does not use the elevators, instead changing floors by jumping between them. However, he can be attacked by jumping on him like the Koopalings, and two stomps to the head temporarily sends him off-screen. Like some of his children, he attempts to put a bitter end to their rivalry by savagely dining on them whole. However, when Mario and Luigi shut all the doors in the hotel, the entire building falls to the ground as the brothers and the princess escape.
Bowser also makes a small cameo during a cutscene in the game, in which his name and face appear on the package for Bowser's Sourpuss Bread.
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
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Bowser serves as Mario's ally in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, making this game the first time they have teamed up. At the beginning of the Super Mario RPG, Bowser, in his Koopa Clown Car, flies to Mario's Pad to kidnap Princess Toadstool and take her back to his keep. However, Mario, hearing Toadstool scream, is on his tail. Bowser and Mario face each other atop a pair of chandeliers in the throne room. During battle, he attacks Mario by swiping him with his claws and launching his back spikes at him. At first, Bowser seems to be unbeatable, but the princess then advises Mario to attack the Kinklink chain holding up the chandelier. Once the Kinklink is damaged enough, it let's go of the chandelier, and Bowser plummets to the ground below. Not giving up, however, he throws Hammers at Mario's chain, bringing him down as well, but before he can hit the ground, Mario jumps off of Bowser's head, giving him a boost up to the princess to free her. After the battle, a huge sword named Exor crashes into Bowser's Keep, sending Mario, Toadstool, and Bowser flying in different directions.
While traveling through Rose Way, Mario and Mallow spot Bowser, with a small army of minions consisting of several Goombas, Magikoopas, and Terrapins; he gives them some pep talk, then they head off to reclaim his keep from the Smithy Gang. Later, at Moleville, Bowser is conveniently there at the same time as Mario once again; however, most of the minions he had earlier are now gone.
Upon arriving at Booster Tower, Bowser is once again sighted; this time, however, he is sulking because all his remaining minions have abandoned him. After noticing Mario behind him and Toadstool on the balcony, he leaves, but returns after Mario finds the door is locked. Realizing that Mario needs his assistance, Bowser rams the door in and joins Mario, naming him, Mallow, and Geno honorary Koopa Troop members. After returning her to the Mushroom Kingdom, the Chancellor and fellow Toads are surprised to see that Mario is working with Bowser. Although he is nervous to tell the truth, he is able to stretch it to some extent with the others when they explain what is happening.
After the defeat of Exor, Bowser decides to abandon the group to return to his keep, having finally reclaimed it, and telling Mario that, as a Koopa Troop member, he is required to help with repairs. However, Geno stops him and reminds him that, as long as Smithy is still active, the keep remains at risk. This convinces Bowser to stay with the group.
Upon reaching Smithy, the entire party demands that Smithy hand them his Star Piece, Bowser demanding that he leave his keep. He declines, and the group face him in the final battle. Once Smithy is defeated for good and the seventh Star Piece is claimed, Geno wishes the group goodbye, and they all witness as the Star being possessing the Geno doll, actually named ♥♪!? but going under the name of the doll for the entire game, leaves the doll and returns to the newly repaired Star Road. The credits show that Bowser returns to his castle to help in its repair. Additionally, during the end credits parade, Bowser flies after Croco and a Crook in the Koopa Clown Car after they rob his keep. Some time later in the parade, Booster's Snifits have what Croco stole, Croco and the Crook are chasing after them, Booster is chasing them in the Koopa Clown Car, and Bowser is chasing after him, with several beetles behind him.
Bowser's weapons are mostly variations of Chain Chomps and his claw, as well as tossing Mario at enemies, using the Hurly Gloves (Described as: "A classic Mario-toss attack," though when Bowser tosses Mario any other time is a mystery); Bowser's weapons themselves are Chomp, Chomp Shell, Hurly Gloves, Spiked Link, and Drill Claw. Bowser's special attacks are Terrorize, in which he summons a Big Boo to attack; Poison Gas, in which he summons a Mokura to poison enemies; Crusher, in which he creates a large column of earth that emerges from the ground and strikes enemies; and Bowser Crush, which involves Bowser summoning a giant Mecha-Koopa to attack enemies. Additionally, while fighting the enemies in Bowser's Keep, having Bowser as an active party member can scare away some of the monsters. If he is not, his mood can instead confuse them.
In this game, whenever Bowser uses a Special Move, a diamond is superimposed over his body. In the Japanese version, when Bowser is one of the active party members during battle, he does a gesture similar to giving the middle finger for his victory pose[5]. This was changed before the game was released in America. The theme that plays during Mario's battle with him is a remix of the final battle theme in Super Mario Bros. 3.
Wrecking Crew '98
In Wrecking Crew '98, Bowser begins constructing many new fortresses, greatly deforesting the Mushroom Kingdom. When Mario reaches his house, he notices that one of Bowser's buildings is directly in front of his house, as well as the plants withering due to the lack of sunlight, so he decides to go on a quest to tear them all down. Bowser sends many of his minions to stop the plumber, but they all fall; even Bowser's right-hand construction worker, Foreman Spike, cannot defeat him.
When Mario reaches Bowser's castle, he notices the Koopa King outside, putting the final touches on his fortress. He panics when he notices Mario, but regains his senses and decides to battle him. However, once he is beaten, Bowser is forced to watch as his fortress is destroyed. He is depressed at the sight of his building falling apart, but is then angered at Mario, and vows revenge.
After Bowser is defeated in story mode, both he and Princess Peach are unlocked as playable characters in multiplayer mode.
Mario Party series
Bowser appears as an enemy, and in most cases, as the primary antagonist, in the Mario Party series since the first game. His appearances in the game are mostly to bring misfortune upon the players. In every game he is given his own space, which when landed on by the player causes Bowser to appear and wreak havoc. There are also multiple minigames based around Bowser, where a character's coins, items, or stars are taken if they lose. (In the first game, winning the minigame also results in this.) Throughout the series, Bowser takes many forms, mostly in Mario Party 2. Bowser is only playable in the Beach Volley Folley minigame of Mario Party 4. Another feature in every installment is Bowser being given his own board, which is almost always the final board to be unlocked.
Mario Party
In the original Mario Party, Bowser commonly appears on a random spot on all the boards. When the player runs into him, an event called "Bowser's Bogus Items" is initiated, in which he gives the player completely useless items that usually cost coins. However, there are two exceptions to this; on Luigi's Engine Room, he gives the player one coin at the cost of twenty, and on Wario's Battle Canyon, he uses his claws to launch the player to a completely random space on the board.
When the player lands on a Bowser Space, Bowser appears to the player, then activates a roulette that triggers one of several events. Many of the options on the roulette are simply minigames, but despite the results of the minigame, Bowser always takes someone's coins (or a Star in exchange for ten coins, in some cases). If the roulette stops on "Bowser Revolution", Bowser takes all the competitors' coins and distributes them evenly. If it lands on "Coins for Bowser," Bowser steals some of the player's coins. If the roulette lands on one of the gold-lettered phrases, Bowser does nothing and leaves.
Bowser appears during the ending sequence of two boards. At the end of Luigi's Engine Room, he watches as the loser is continuously burnt by the steam generators. In Wario's Battle Canyon, he launches the loser out of his cannon.
Bowser may also appear when the player hits an Event Block. If the result of hitting the block is Bowser's shell, Bowser appears to the player, then takes twenty coins from them; if the player does not have that many, Bowser steals all their coins.
Bowser's board in this game is Bowser's Magma Mountain, consisting of a volcano with one path leading up and can only be unlocked by purchasing it for 980 coins at the shop. The players must collect stars in order to defeat Bowser. Several volcano-head statues, which he speaks through, appear throughout the board. Trying to take an intersection results in Bowser asking if the player wishes to take a shortcut to the top for ten coins. If the player selects yes, a roulette initiates; if the result is a star, the player can take the shortcut, and landing on Bowser's face forces the player to continue on the normal path, with no refunds. Additionally, when the player lands on a Happening Space, Bowser causes the volcano to erupt, turning all Blue Spaces into Red Spaces for two turns; they change back when it is that player's turn. When the player encounters the purple volcano statue, another roulette is initiated. If the result is a star, the player can confront Boo; if the result is Bowser, the player can confront Bowser, who steals a star or twenty coins from the player depending on the result of another roulette.
At the end of the board, the winner's stars form a larger star that destroys the part of the volcano Bowser is in. He then flies into the air and lands back on the ground, followed by the winner jumping on him.
Once the player has won a total of 100 Stars, Bowser steals them all and challenges them to a battle on Eternal Star, the final unlockable board, to win them back. This board is a giant Star, broken into pieces and covered in graffiti by Bowser. Landing on a Happening Space results in Bowser using his magic to send every player back to the start. Once the player wins on this board, his or her stars merge into one large star that blasts Bowser and Baby Bowser into space.
A wanted poster of Bowser appears in the Mushroom Shop, on the bulletin board that briefly appears when the player leaves. Additionally, in the minigame Balloon Burst, the four players are competing to inflate and pop Bowser balloons. The minigame Tug o' War and Bash 'n' Cash feature the solo player in a Bowser suit.
Mario Party 2
During Mario Party 2, while the characters argue over what to call the land they created, Bowser invades Mario Land. Because of this, Toad decides to settle the character's argument, stating that whoever defeats Bowser earns the right to name the land. Like the characters, Bowser also wears a costume and has an alias to fit the theme of each land; in Pirate Land, Bowser becomes Capt. Bowser; in Western Land, he becomes Bowser the Brash; in Mystery Land, he becomes Bowser Sphinx; In Horror Land, he is Wizard Bowser; and in Space Land, Bowser becomes Black Hole Bowser.
At the end of each board is cutscene featuring the winner of each board defeating Bowser in some way. In Pirate Land, a Koopa Troopa finds the treasure in a cave, but Cap'n Bowser then shows up and and attempts to claim it when the winner emerges and challenges him for it. They sword fight, which ends with Bowser being poked in the stomach and running off.
At the end of Western Land, Bowser the Brash is robbing the Koopa Bank when the victor arrives to confront him. Bowser then engages with the winner in a quick-draw. The two draw at the same time, but Bowser misses the character and is hit by their cork, then falls over in pain.
The ending of Space Land features Black Hole Bowser attacking Koopa Troopas with lasers. When the winner arrives and blasts him with their own, but to no avail. They try running behind him and attacking, but Bowser blocks their attacks once more. The player then runs around him in a circle, making him dizzy and open to attack. The winner successfully blasts Bowser, launching him into space.
In Mystery Land, Bowser Sphinx is seen attempting to steal the treasure, a golden Bob-omb statue, from a green Koopa. Bowser Sphinx has him guess what the silhouetted figure is, and the Koopa guesses incorrectly, causing Bowser to put him in a rock. The victor then arrives and correctly guesses the figure: it is Bowser himself. Bowser Sphinx then disappears.
The end of Horror Land features Bowser appearing to a Koopa after it is scared by a Boo. Wizard Bowser offers to help him, but he instead transforms the Koopa into a frog. The player then arrives, reverses Bowser's spell on the Koopa, and engages in a magical duel with him. Bowser loses, and is turned into a frog by the player's magic. Bowser then hops away.
The characters then arrive at the territory Bowser conquered, aptly named Bowser Land. After beating this board, Bowser disappears, and the players heads off to search for him. He reappears behind a Koopa and attempts to harm it, but is confronted by the winner before he can. He breathes fire at them, which they dodge. The winner tries to throw him by the tail, but Bowser utilizes his Metal Bowser power-up, preventing them from throwing him. Toad then gives the winner's Power Stars to gain strength, giving the character the necessary power to throw Bowser across the world and landing where he started, defeating him.
During the event in which a player lands on a Bowser Space, one of many things can happen. In addition to every non-minigame event from the original, several other possible events were added: Bowser's Coin Potluck, Bowser's Multiplying Toads, and Bowser's Appearing Act. Another new option, Stars-Packed to Go, was added, but this is in gold font, and Bowser leaves like in the original if this is the result of the roulette.
In addition, during the Last Five Turns Event, Bowser predicts who the winner may be in Bowser Land.
Bowser is also one of the options the player can choose in Rock, Paper, Mario. In the game, Bowser beats Peach, but Mario beats Bowser. In addition, the minigame Balloon Burst returns, but as a 2-vs-2 minigame.
Mario Party 3
In Mario Party 3, Bowser attempts to become the superstar by collecting the seven Star Stamps. However, he is always behind the player and never gets any stamps. He attempts to steal the Beauty Star Stamp, but is beaten by Daisy. When the Mischief Star Stamp appears, Bowser unknowingly sends it flying into the castle when he appears and demands the player battle him to gain the stamp. Waluigi then emerges from the castle with the stamp, and Bowser attacks Waluigi but is easily defeated. A weakened Bowser then begs the player to defeat Waluigi in his name.
For Bowser Space events, several of the options for events were carried over to this game, with several more being added. Several of the events cause hindrance to the competitors, but there are two events that help the player: Bowser Phone Giveaway and Bowser Suit Giveaway. Bowser Suit Giveaway causes Bowser to give the player a free Bowser Suit, and Bowser Phone Giveaway causes Bowser to give them a free Bowser Phone, which allows the player to call Bowser and initiate a Bowser event upon one of the players upon its use. Additionally, during the final five turns event, Koopa Kid occasionally hosts the event, and lets Bowser predict the loser.
Mario Party 4
In Mario Party 4, Bowser claims to have stolen the player's birthday presents, stating that they must win on his board, Bowser's Gnarly Party, to win them back. The final minigame, The Final Battle!, involves chasing Bowser around a cube-shaped arena, until the player finally reaches the actual arena. Once there, the player must press the various buttons around the arena to trigger lightning strikes that electrocute Bowser. Upon defeat, Bowser is in disbelief that he lost to the player and grudgingly leaves, leaving behind something. Koopa Kid then appears and explains that the object is a present from Bowser, as well as that he really didn't take the player's presents. Afterward, as he is trudging away, he wishes the player a happy birthday.
When players land on a Bowser space, he occasionally shows up, flattening the player who lands on his space and triggers an event. In addition to Bowser Revolution, Bowser Shuffle, and Bowser Suit Giveaway, there is also a new event: Bowser minigame, in which the player plays a minigame with Bowser.
On the board Bowser's Gnarly Party, Bowser is located at a certain point on the board that changes when a Star is collected, waiting for a player to pass by him and do various things to them depending on their current size. If the player is normal size, Bowser breathes fire, causing the player to lose half their coins. If the player is miniature size, Bowser uses his fire to send them to a different starting point. If the player is mega-sized, Bowser challenges them to a game of Bowser Wrestling or Panels of Doom; winning causes Bowser to leave until the next Star is claimed, and losing causes Bowser to take half the player's coins. He also occasionally miniaturizes everyone for one turn.
He also has roles in the three Bowser minigames in the game. In Balloon of Doom, he burns any player that ends up popping the balloon, resulting in them losing. In Fruits of Doom, Bowser demands that the players bring him a piece of fruit in the order he demands one at a time; the players who fail to do so lose. He also announces the loser of Darts of Doom. Additionally, as stated above, Bowser is also an playable character in the Beach Volley Folley minigame; however, he must be unlocked.
Mario Party-e
Bowser makes two appearances in the Game Boy Advance e-reader portion of Mario Party-e. The first is a cameo appearance in Daisy's Rodeo!, in which he is the mechanical bull Daisy has to stay on. The second is in the Wonder Challenge minigame Spinister Bowser, in which he stands atop the roulette.
Mario Party 5
In Mario Party 5, Bowser's plan is to take over Dream Depot and have only his dreams come true. In each of the first four dream boards, Bowser attempts to destroy each dream by filling them with his own dreams. The player then arrives to stop him. Bowser, however, has his three Koopa Kids (a Koopa Kid divided into three, distinguished by color) to challenge the player. When the player advances to Bowser, Bowser challenges the player to a duel at his own dream board, Bowser Nightmare. Toward the end, Bowser states that his dream is coming true, and that it involves the player.
After defeating the Koopa Kids at Bowser Nightmare, the player must defeat Bowser in his final minigame, Frightmare. Once the player has defeated Bowser, Bowser tells the player that his dream did come true, his dream being to have a strong opponent. Then, the player unlocks Bowser Nightmare for multiplayer.
All of the Bowser Space events in this game are the same as the previous installment, with the exception of Bowser Suit Giveaway, which was replaced with Bowser Bonus. In this event, Bowser has a Ztar steal a star and give it to him. However, sometimes Donkey Kong will intervene, causing Bowser to run with twenty of the player's coins.
The Last Five Turns Event is also run by Bowser. He gives the standings, and has the last place player spin the roulette, which can cause good and bad things to happen.
Bowser Capsules are also collectable items in the game. Bowser lands on and squashes them upon receiving one, then throws it on a Red Space, resulting in that space turning into a Bowser Space.
Bowser is also given a role in the three Bowser minigames. In Cage-in Cookin', Bowser roasts any players that fail to escape their cage in time. In Rain of Fire, Bowser uses his fire breath to activate the cannon that shoots several flaming rocks down upon the player. Finally, in Scaldin' Cauldron, after all the players jump into one of the three cauldrons, Bowser enters the room and breathes fire upon two of them; players inside the cauldrons he burns lose.
He is also one of the computer-controlled opponents in the game's Super Duel Mode. Bowser only appears as an opponent when playing a tournament on the hard difficulty. His machine, called the Bowser Dozer, consists of the Heart Body, Spiny Tires, and Bowser Breath as the weapon.
Mario Party 6
In Mario Party 6, Bowser appears as one of the hosts of the quiz minigame Speak Up, where he changes the rules and the scenery of the game. Bowser also appears in the rare minigame Seer Terror, where players can have their "fortune" told by pulling a rope. However, many of the fortunes are spoken after an unfortunate event happens to the player, which greatly amuses him. There is one fortune in which Bowser is sucked into a black hole; the player "wins" the minigame if they happen to get this fortune.
Bowser is also involved in two of his Bowser minigames. The first is Pit Boss, in which players must dodge spiked balls tossed into an arena by Bowser. The second is Dark 'n' Crispy, in which the players must avoid Bowser's fiery breath in the dark. He is not involved in Dizzy Rotisserie, the third Bowser minigame, but is watching from a platform overhead.
Bowser Spaces cause him to appear and perform one of two actions. The first forces the player to play one of three Bowser minigames. The second Bowser space event involves Bowser rolling a die to determine what the player loses. Bowser Spaces can only be landed on at night, with DK Spaces appearing in their place during the day. In Solo Mode, Bowser pits the player against his Koopa Kids in a minigame; losing causes him to take the player's minigames that they earned so far, and winning gives the player the minigame and ten coins. Additionally, in the final five turns event, one of the options the roulette may land on is Bowser Revolution.
Aside from Bowser spaces, Bowser also appears on three boards. The first is Clockwork Castle, in which he only appears at night to replace DK, who appears during the day. After all the players take a turn, Bowser gets to take a turn as well, rolling two dice blocks instead of one if he breathes fire. Anybody he encounters during his turn is given a Shadow Star, which deducts the player's current Star total by one. If the player runs into him during their turns, Bowser forcibly gives them a Shadow Star, then leaps to another random space on the board.
The second board is Castaway Bay, in which he can be the boat docked at the Star Space. If the player reaches Bowser's Battle Yacht, he "rewards" the player by giving them a Shadow Star, which takes one Star or twenty coins if they have none. Additionally, if DK's Boat is docked at the Star Space while the player is participating in the rafting activity, Bowser fires three cannonballs, causing them to lose five coins if hit.
The third board he appears on is the Bowser-themed board of the game, Infernal Tower, one of the Solo Mode boards. If the player passes the final space, a cage falls around them, which Bowser, in his Koopa Clown Car, then carries away.
Mario Party Advance
In Mario Party Advance, Bowser arrives while Toad is explaining the game and scatters the numerous Gaddgets and minigames throughout Shroom City. After completing the first quest, Bowser seals off the eight pipes in the Pipe House. He also has a slight role on the actual game board; whenever Koopa Kid randomly shows up while traveling through Shroom City, he can use lava to fling the player somewhere else in the city. He can also appear and challenge them to rochambeau (rock, paper, scissors). If he wins, Koopa Kid can choose to block the path, which causes Bowser to drop a statue of him similar to the ones he placed on the pipes on top of Koopa Kid, blocking that section of the board.
As the player completes quests, Bowser destroys the statues covering the pipes. These pipes lead to one of the eight areas Bowser owns around the city.
In Bowser Stadium, Bowser challenges the player to a game of soccer, and, after he is defeated, is forced to play Splatterball. When this game is won, the player wins the game Splatterball, to play any time in minigame mode, and the Gaddget Snooze Ewes.
At Mt. Frostbite, Bowser and Koopa Kid are freezing on the mountain top. When the player arrives, he believes that they can warm him up by answering his jokes with the correct punchlines. Once he feels better, he challenges them to play Crushed Ice. After the game is won, Bowser gives them the minigame and the Gaddget Breeze Buddy.
At Bowser Mansion, Bowser is accused of stealing a painting from the museum, and the player, along with Shroomlock, must prove whether Bowser is guilty or not by finding faults in his alibi. Bowser tells them that he stayed home all day that day, that he hadn't even seen the painting due to his hatred of Toads and twilight, and that is impossible to hide the painting in the mansion. The player proves Bowser's alibi false by questioning that nothing in the house is big enough to hide the painting, which he could only know if he had seen it. Bowser then states that he hid the painting somewhere outside, and, once Koopa Kid and Shroomlock leave, he forces the player to play Mush Rush Once the game is won, the prize given to them is the game and the Gaddget Lip Sync.
At Bowser Toy Shop, the player is challenged by Bowser and Koopa Kid to answer five trivia questions about his favorite show, Toad Force V. If player answers the questions correctly, they must play the minigame Slammer. Upon winning, they obtain the mini-game.
In Bowser Hideout, Bowser challenges the player to a game of luck: guessing whether the value on the upside-down card is higher or lower than the one preceding it. Upon winning the game, the player is forced into playing Koopa Kappa. Victory results in receiving the minigame and two Gaddgets: Faux Flame and Hourglass.
At Bowser Pad, Bowser wants the player to get him a gift according to his tastes. The gift either has to be a bracelet, a ring, or a necklace, though the one bought must be the one Bowser truly desires. As a hint, he states that he likes necklaces as much as bracelets, but he likes rings more than bracelets. After retrieving the correct gift and delivering it to him, the gang is challenged to the game Peek-n-Sneak. When the minigame is won, the prize is the game and the Gaddget Shroom Bloom.
In Bowser Game Hall, Bowser brags about himself being the Game King. At the Pyramid, Kamek states that he gave him the title long ago, but that he became too arrogant because of it afterward. Upon the player stating that they are the King of Games, Bowser challenges them to the minigame Watch 'Em, which he states to have created, to determine the true king of games. Winning forces Bowser to give the player the title, the minigame, and the Gaddget Jewelry Case.
At Bowser Lab, Bowser allows the player to select one of the two monsters he created and duel it. Choosing the scary monster challenges Naval Piranha to the game Koopa Kurl; choosing the very scary monster only releases Huffin' Puffin, embarrassing Bowser and forcing the player to leave. Once the Piranha is defeated, the minigame is the prize won.
Once the player accomplishes forty-nine out of the fifty quests, Bowser opens the gate in the back of the Pipe House, revealing his lair. After arriving at the house, Bowser challenges Mario to a showdown for the final Gaddget. The showdown is the minigame Trap Floor. After the minigame is beaten, the player receives it, as well as the Gaddget Bowser Print. The end credits state that he wants to make a clean slate at defeating Mario.
Bowser also has his own mode, as a part of Challenge Land, known as Bowser Land, which he hosts. The mode involves the player advancing on a roller coaster to get to the end, playing Bowser minigames every time the coaster stops at a designated checkpoint. Once the player reaches the end, Bowser rewards the player coins based upon how long it took to reach him. However, if the player takes too long, Bowser automatically ends the game.
Mario Party 7
In Mario Party 7, Toadsworth invites Mario and friends to go on a vacation around the world. This enrages Bowser because they did not invite him. Because of this, Bowser tries to spoil their vacation. Eventually, the players arrive at Bowser's Enchanted Inferno!, Bowser's own board. Upon obtaining a Star and reaching him, Bowser takes the player to his castle to play Bowser's Lovely Lift!. If the player wins, then Bowser and Koopa Kid are pelted with Stars, their vehicles being destroyed. The pair are then blasted onto an island in the middle of the ocean. After recovering from being dazed, Koopa Kid points out the player on the cruise ship in the distance. Enraged, Bowser demands revenge, but does admit that he had fun before Koopa Kid points this out, causing Bowser to return to his enraged state.
Whenever the player begins a party, Bowser arrives and throws three Koopa Kid Orbs onto three random spaces. During a party, a special Bowser-based event occurs every five turns, named Bowser Time. This event causes Bowser to appear and trigger something that hinders the competitors. On every board minus his own, one of the possible events that can occur is that he takes a photograph of him and the player and forcibly takes coins from them as payment (without giving them the photo). On most boards, he destroys one of the orb shops, only to replace it with his own. Whenever a player passes by the shop, they are forcibly sold a Koopa Kid Orb for twenty coins or a Bowser Statue for thirty coins.
In addition to these, there are also some board-exclusive events. On Grand Canal, for instance, he can also destroy the bridges and rebuild them, this time with only Bowser spaces on them. Bowser also hosts the final four turns event in the game. He gives the standings, then lets the last place player stop a roulette, which may cause various events to happen.
Bowser Spaces cause the player to either play a single or multiplayer minigame, and Bowser takes coins or stars if the game is lost.
Mario Party 8
In Mario Party 8, after defeating Star Battle Arena, Bowser steals the Star Rod right as it is about to be rewarded to the player for defeating the other competitors. Bowser and the player then files off to Bowser's Warped Orbit, where he has either a Hammer Bro. or Blooper face against them in order to win the rod back. Once the opponent is defeated, Bowser honors his word and returns the Star Rod, but challenges the player to a battle in the minigame Superstar Showdown. During the minigame, Bowser first attacks the player with fireballs. The player can attack him by using the Star Rod to create and launch projectiles that damage him. When he is hit a certain number of times, Bullet Bill launchers appear on the sides of his Koopa Clown Car. After causing him more harm, Bowser's car gains the ability to fire numerous lasers. He also gains the ability to shoot a massive fireball when his health reaches two points. When Bowser's health reaches zero, the car, with Bowser in it, flies into the vortex below.
Landing on a Bowser space causes an event based on the setting of the board to occur. On King Boo's Haunted Hideaway and Shy Guy's Perplex Express, where Bowser remains until reached, he can be negated by landing on a DK Space, or, in the case of King Boo's board, by shuffling the mansion. On DK's Treetop Temple, Bowser moves the Star. On Goomba's Booty Boardwalk, Bowser has the player dodge three Podoboos for ten seconds; hitting them causes the player to lose ten coins. On Shy Guy's Perplex Express, he replaces the current train with his Bad Breath Express, which causes the player who reaches him to lose a Star. On King Boo's Haunted Hideaway, he covers the pitfalls with his own platform; finding him causes whoever does so to lose a Star. On Bowser's Warped Orbit, he steals a Star from the player. On the latter three boards, if the player has no stars when landing on a Bowser Space, Bowser gives them ten coins.
Also on Bowser's Warped Orbit, when the player lands on one of the Happening Spaces, Bowser come down from his observation tower and chase the player (as well as anyone else he runs in to) across the board. Another set of ? Spaces make Bowser reverse the flow of the board, causing the players to move in the other direction.
Bowser is also one of the thirty racers in Moped Mayhem.
Mario Party DS
In Mario Party DS, Bowser shows his less goofy and more sinister side when he invites the Mario gang, Donkey Kong, and Diddy Kong to his castle for a banquet, stating in the invitation that it is an apology for his wrongdoings. When Mario and his friends arrive at the castle, however, they are captured. Bowser then uses his Minimizer to shrink them to the size of chess pieces for the purpose of obtaining Mario's Sky Crystal. Afterward, he has Kamek throw them out.
At Bowser's Castle, Bowser and Bowser Jr. take the group and place them inside their pinball machine. After collecting enough stars, the player breaks out of the machine to fight him. Bowser wants to shrink them more, but at that moment Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong barge into the castle and ram into Bowser. DK trips on the device and breaks it, causing Mario and friends to grow back to normal size to fight Bowser. However, Bowser uses his Megamorph Belt to turn himself into Blockhead Bowser. In this form, Bowser takes on three forms: a top, a cube, and a snake. In every form, Bowser shoots fireballs at the player, as well has having another unique attack for every form. However, each one also has one golden block that is Bowser's weak spot; After hitting this multiple times, Bowser shifts forms, and after three times he is defeated.
When he is beaten, Bowser and Bowser Jr. are captured and bound in ropes. With all five Sky Crystals in their possession, they combine to form a DS to play Triangle Twisters. Bowser admits that he only wanted the crystals to obtain the game all for himself, but his plans were ruined. However, despite his actions the group offer Bowser the opportunity to play as well. He accepts their offer, and everyone has fun playing the challenge.
Landing on a Bowser Space in this game results in Bowser appearing and causing havoc by choosing an event at random. If he chooses "Gimme Stars!", he steals a number of stars from the player; if they have none, he gives them coins. If the option is "Gimme Coins!", he steals 10 or 20 coins from the player. If he chooses "Gimme Charity!", he forces the player to give 10 coins to the others (if they don't have at least 30, Bowser divides their coins equally amongst the others). If he decides on "Gimme Equality!", he takes everyone's coins and redistributes them evenly. Bowser also once again runs the last five turns event, in which he helps the last place player by spinning a roulette. He is also involved in two board events, both on his own board; Landing on one of the ? Spaces near the start of the board causes him to launch the player into the Bowser Zone (though they may occasionally land in the Star Zone). The ? Spaces in the Bowser Zone have Bowser launch his Zero Flame at the player, causing them to lose all their coins and Stars.
Bowser targets also appear in the minigame Hot Shots. Hitting one causes the player who does so to earn one hundred points.
Mario Party Fushigi no Korokoro Catcher
Bowser is one of the characters that appears in the Japanese-exclusive arcade game Mario Party Fushigi no Korokoro Catcher. During Fever Chance, if one of the player's results is Bowser, he appears. With the game being based upon Mario Party 8, Superstar Showdown is also a playable minigame in this game.
Mario Party 9
Bowser appears in Mario Party 9 as the primary antagonist and the boss of his own board, Bowser Station. During the game, he and Bowser Jr. use a device from the station to suck the Mini Stars out of the sky.
Before each board in Solo Mode, there is a cutscene featuring Bowser and Bowser Jr. Bowser is admiring the Mini Stars that he has captured when Bowser Jr. tells him that the player is advancing, and Bowser is shocked by this. He then sends two of his minions to their next destination. However, on Bowser Station, Bowser instead decides to take on the player himself with Bowser Jr.'s help.
When Bowser Jr. is defeated, he flies down in his Koopa Clown Car, creates a Boss Battle Space and Bowser gate at the beginning of the stage, and waits for the players to challenge him there. When the player reach this space, they are forced to face him in his boss minigame, Bowser's Block Battle. He is giant for the whole game. The boss battle involves the players throwing blocks with their faces on them to damage Bowser. He is damaged when the player tosses a block which lands face-up with their heads on them; however, if they land on a Bowser symbol, Bowser can use these to attack by spitting a trio of fireballs a number of times equal to the number of blocks with his logos rolled. Once Bowser's health reaches the midway point, Bowser grows even more. He still uses the fireball attack, but he spits larger fireballs each time. He also attacks by tossing one large block with the faces of six previous bosses on it, which summons one of said bosses to the battlefield so they can rampage and damage the player; the boss depends on what is rolled when the block lands. If the block lands on Bowser himself, he attacks the players with a barrage of fireballs. Bowser also tilts the battlefield when the competitors are tossing the blocks.
Once Bowser's health reaches zero, he explodes and the ending cutscene reveals that Bowser only wanted the Mini Stars to decorate his castle as he and Bowser Jr. fly off in their Koopa Clown Cars. Out of anger, Bowser chases off the Mini Stars that approach him, but he falls out of his car, with Bowser Jr. flying after him.
Landing on a Bowser Space in this game causes one of eight events to happen to the current captain (though the roulette result can also affect other players). Bowser Revolution returns from previous games, but Mini Stars are taken and divided equally since coins were excluded from this game. The seven new events are Lose Half of Your Mini Stars (though if the captain is in last place, Bowser doubles their Mini-Stars); Battle for Half of your Mini Stars, in which half of everyone's Mini Stars are taken, fought in a minigame for, and distributed based on the results; Reverse Minigame, in which the players compete in a minigame, but Bowser gives Mini Stars to the player who places last; Give 5/10 Mini Stars to Last Place, (depending on the event landed on, though Bowser gives the captain Mini Stars if they are in last place) Everyone Loses Special Dice Blocks, and Get 10,000 Mini Stars, in which the player is given ten Mini Stars instead (with Bowser stating that he does not have ten thousand).
Bowser also appears during the "Almost There!" event, in which he asks the captain if they want some "presents." Even if the player selects "no," Bowser still converts several spaces toward the end of the board into Bowser Spaces. On Bowser Station, Bowser changes several spaces without the player's consent.
Bowser is also given his own constellation, known as "Koopa Major".
Mario Party: Island Tour
Template:Newsubject-section Bowser is the main antagonist in Mario Party: Island Tour. In the introduction to Bowser's Tower mode, Bowser is jealous that he was not invited to the party. At that moment, he decides to "make his own party" by creating Bowser's Tower and "lock away the fun" of the Party Islands inside of bubbles.[6] If the player uses Bowser Jr. in Bowser's Tower, he gives his son unique dialogue. Also, Bowser has his very own board called Bowser's Peculiar Peak.
Mario Golf series
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Bowser is usually a default playable character in the Mario Golf games, though in Mario Golf: Advance Tour, he is unlockable and can only be unlocked by transferring data to and from Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour. He also must be unlocked in Mario Golf, by completing character match seven. In the Game Boy Color version of Mario Golf, Bowser appears as a non-playable character. In the Nintendo 64 version of Mario Golf, hole nine of the Mario's Star course is designed after Bowser. Additionally, beating him or Metal Mario on the course unlocks an alternate credits sequence.
In Mario Golf: Advance Tour, he is present to compete against the characters Neil and Ella. He is very rude towards them and almost gets into a fight with Mario as a result, but they are stopped by Peach, who reminds them of their manners. Bowser has the longest hit ratio of all characters but has low control. He hosts a tournament like Peach in Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour.
During the opening of Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, Wario and Waluigi attempt to outdo Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong when Wario manages to hit his golf ball across the field and into the forest. However, they hear a cry of pain, and, after the golf ball flies back at them, Bowser emerges on the other side of the hole, breathing fire and with a black eye where the ball hit him. He tries to chase after them on foot, but summons his Koopa Clown Car and begins firing Bullet Bills at them as he chases them. After a while, Wario and Waluigi enter a Warp Pipe to escape; Bowser tries following them through, but the car instead jams the pipe. They think they are safe, but Bowser then flies up to them and pulls out a lit Bob-omb. Wario and Waluigi try to escape by opening a massive door, and they do, but the golf ball Mario hits at this point bounces off their heads and knocks the bomb out of Bowser's hands. The bomb then explodes on the three of them.
Bowser is confirmed to return in Mario Golf: World Tour. In the trailer, he was seen grabbing the camera and waving his finger at it.
Mario Tennis series
Bowser also appears as a playable character in almost every title in the Mario Tennis series, (Mario's Tennis for the Virtual Boy being the lone exception). He is a power character who can make service and return aces easily; he lacks speed, though.
In the opening for Mario Tennis, Right before Mario and Luigi and Wario and Waluigi are about to fight, a spotlight appears right in the middle of them. Bowser and a Boo then descend from above onto the court. Everyone present thinks they are there to cause trouble, but they reveal that they simply wish to play tennis, which the others let them. However, out of nowhere, a Bob-omb appears, about to explode. Unable to react in time, Wario, Waluigi, Mario, Luigi, Bowser, and the Boo are caught in the explosion.
He is also playable in the Game Boy Color version of Mario Tennis, but can only be unlocked through transfer with the Nintendo 64 game. Additionally, by winning three rounds of Two-on-One matches in the Game Boy Color version, then transferring with the Nintendo 64 version, Bowser Court is unlocked.
In the opening for Mario Power Tennis, Bowser has a more dastardly scheme. Near the beginning, he is watching from an unknown location as Wario and Waluigi lose to the Mario Bros.. After vandalizing a poster as revenge, the duo enter a room in the stadium to escape the Bucketheads; this room turns out to be a pit leading to Bowser's lair. Bowser decides to ally with the two, and he trains them to become better at tennis.
That night, the trio interrupt the final match of the tournament. Wario and Waluigi shoot Bob-ombs at the Mario bros., but Mario, along with other players, hit the bombs back with their rackets. Bowser fires a Bullet Bill from his balloon, but Mario deflects it, and it hits the Bob-omb launcher. The launcher, now aimed upward, shoots a Bob-omb at Bowser's balloon, popping it and not only causing it to descend but also exposing several dozen Bob-ombs. Upon seeing this, Wario and Waluigi attempt to run away, but the balloon crashes on them, resulting in a massive explosion.
In both Mario Power Tennis and Mario Tennis: Power Tour, Bowser uses his Fire Breath for his Offensive Power Shot and his Defensive Power Shot is Spinning Shell Dash, where he ducks into his shell and spins around to recover the ball.
Bowser also appears in Mario Tennis Open. In addition, one of the unlockable Mii costumes in the game is a Bowser costume; it can be unlocked either by beating fifty players online, or by earning fifty victory medals. Several Bowser-based accessories can also be purchased to be equipped to the player's Mii.
Paper Mario series
Paper Mario
- “Mario defeated me...again... He always defeats me... This time I became invincible! And I STILL couldn't beat him!”
- —Bowser, Paper Mario
During the events of Paper Mario, Bowser and his minion Kammy Koopa invade Star Haven and steal the Star Rod, which can grant any wish of the holder. With this object, Bowser imprisons the seven Star Spirits in cards and then places them under the guard of seven of his minions. The next day, Bowser uses his flying fortress to lift Peach's castle up into the sky. Mario attempts to stop him, but Bowser uses the Star Rod to make himself invincible during their fight. Mario's attacks can no longer harm Bowser, and he is able to defeat Mario, ending the fight with his fire breath. Believing his rival to be dead, Bowser summons lightning using the Star Rod to knock Mario out the window and to the ground, locks the party guests in the dungeons of his castle, and puts Peach under heavy guard in her bedroom.
After each chapter, the player has the opportunity to play as Peach. She can sneak out of her room and learn information on where Mario needs to head next. When Peach first escapes her room, she and Twink, the Star Kid with her at the time, find and read Bowser's diary. However, when Bowser enters the room, he sees the he left his diary out and that Peach has read it. Two Koopatrols then enter the room, and Bowser has them take Peach back to her room.
After Mario defeats Tutankoopa, Bowser enters her room. Here, she is told that he is going to send "the Invincible Tubba Blubba" to fight Mario; he is only invincible, however, because his heart has been separated from his body by Bowser at an earlier point. It is at this point that Kammy enters the room and informs Bowser that the Star Spirit escaped from Tubba Blubba's Castle. The two then leave to discuss the matter.
On one occasion when Peach is out of her room, she hears a conversation between Bowser and Kammy. Kammy reports that Tubba Blubba has been defeated, as well as that Mario may be heading to Shy Guy's Toy Box next. Bowser suggests setting something up for him there when he notices Peach. Instead of immediately sending her back to her room, he instead asks her what Mario hates; however, some of the answers she can choose are actually items that benefit Mario. After receiving the answers, Bowser has Kammy place the chosen items in Shy Guy's Toy Box, Mario's next destination, while the guards take Peach back to her room.
After competing in the 64th Trivia Quiz-Off, Bowser enters the room and sees the set, and wishes to participate. However, since the game show is over when he enters, he cannot. He then sees Princess Peach trying to sneak away from the area, and has the Koopatrol and Hammer Bro. take her back to her room.
Even later, Bowser enters Peach's room and attempts to make friendly conversation, though Peach ignores him, stating that Mario will defeat him. However, Bowser denies this when Kammy shows up and informs Bowser that Mario has freed all seven Star Spirits and can use them to get to the castle. In response, Bowser has Kammy inform his minions take up positions across the castle, and has the princess bound to keep her out of trouble. Out of anger for this, Twink tries to attack Bowser, but the attack proves ineffective and Bowser easily swats him out the window. He then leaves to prepare himself for Mario's arrival.
After reaching the location where Mario was defeated by Bowser when he first uprooted Peach's Castle, Bowser enters the room, and the two battle again. During the battle, Bowser uses the Star Rod, but using the Star Beam allows the player to negate this. Once he is defeated, Bowser takes Peach and retreats to the roof of the castle.
Once Mario reaches the castle's roof, Kammy activates her Power Platform, which increases Bowser's size and strength; with his increased power, the Star Beam is rendered useless against him. However, Princess Peach and Twink defeat Kammy Koopa and, by wishing on everyone in the Mushroom Kingdom, Peach increases the Star Spirits' power. With this extra power, they create an even more powerful Star Beam known as the Peach Beam, which is strong enough to once again cancel the powers of the Star Rod every time Bowser uses it. With Bowser vulnerable once again, Mario can defeat Bowser and reclaim the Star Rod. After the battle, however, the Power Platform starts to malfunction due to the intensity of the fight and is about to explode; while it is doing so, one of the smaller-scale explosions sends Bowser and Kammy flying away. Bowser, upon learning of this development, attempts to issue an evacuation order, but the earlier explosion prevented him from doing so. The Star Rod is returned to the Star Spirits, Peach's castle is put back in place, and peace returns to Star Haven and the Mushroom Kingdom.
Bowser is also present in the parade at the end of the game, in his Koopa Clown Car. While he is floating on, Kammy and Jr. Troopa are blasting magic at each other around him, which ends with Bowser being caught in the middle and struck by both of them at the same time. Bowser chases them off and roasts the pair with his fire breath.
During the battle at the beginning of the game, Bowser only attacks by hitting Mario with his claws, and at the end of the battle, he breathes fire at him. During their second battle, he once again attacks with a claw swipe, which can poison Mario. He also has the ability to breath fire, as well as attacking by jumping on Mario. During the battle on the Power Platform, Bowser still uses his jumping, claw swipe, and fire breath attacks, and he can also use the Star Rod to recover 30 HP, send out a beam to damage Mario and his partner, and summon bolts of lightning to damage Mario.
Paper Mario is also significant because it reveals another of Bowser's motives for kidnapping Peach: he has a crush on her and hopes to steal her away from Mario.
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
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Bowser also appears as a minor villain in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. In this game, Kammy Koopa summons Bowser to tell him that Mario his attempting to find treasures known as the Crystal Stars. Bowser decides to find them himself because he believes they are "good world-conquering tools." She also states that Princess Peach has been taken by someone else, after having just been told herself, so he makes it his mission to find and kidnap her himself. Optionally, prior to Kammy Koopa delivering this news, Bowser can also listen in to two Hammer Bros. talking, with one talking about seeing Bowser swooning over a portrait of Princess Peach before realizing that Bowser was right behind him, although Bowser will apparently find it amusing enough to attempt to get him to continue with the story, to the Hammer Bros.' reluctance. Accompanied by Kammy, Bowser appears in many cutscenes, in which he is a playable character. These scenes sometimes involve Bowser traveling through a side-scrolling world similar to the ones in Super Mario Bros. (these levels partially inspired Super Paper Mario). During these segments, Bowser can breathe fire or jump to defeat enemies, and can collect the Meat found in blocks to increase in size, becoming invincible and being able to destroy blocks and pipes after eating three. He also has infinite lives. Throughout these cutscenes, Bowser always appears to be a step behind Mario, and ultimately fails to find a single Crystal Star.
At Petalburg, Bowser finds what he thinks is Peach and talks to her, but eventually finds out that he is really speaking to a poster.
After Mario defeats the Magikoopa Masters in the Glitz Pit, Bowser enters the ring, having heard about a man with a mustache fighting in the arena, and faces him in front of the large crowd. Bowser can attack by either breathing fire, ground-pounding the player, or biting them. This fight can either result in Bowser's defeat or victory, but no matter the outcome he leaves Glitzville afterward.
Later, at The Great Tree, Bowser and Kammy find the Puni Elder, who believes that they desire the Crystal Star. Bowser asks where it is, but the elder informs him that Mario took the "legendary treasure" to save Peach. Kammy automatically assumes that Peach and the treasure are connected, and that Mario is going to get them both, prompting Bowser's rage.
He later attempts to return to Glitzville to search for one of the Crystal Stars, choosing his Koopa Clown Car as transportation over the Cheep-Cheep Blimp, the latter of which was flown away by the captain in fear upon realizing who he was. Unfortunately, the airborne vehicle breaks down during flight, sending him plummeting into the ocean below and forcing him to swim back to Rogueport. Upon arriving, Bowser is enraged to see that Kammy went to Glitzville without him, and has her obtain information on Peach and the Crystal Stars.
In Twilight Town, Bowser overhears X-Naut second-in-command Lord Crump mention the Crystal Stars after finding the Superbombomb. When Kammy asks him about the stars, Crump demands that Bowser tell him all that he knows about the Crystal Stars, though Bowser demands the same. In response, Crump summons the X-Naut army to deal with the Koopa King, but Kammy summons the Koopa Troop. Crump throws the Superbombomb at Bowser, though it doesn't explode. Bowser, however, breathes fire at Crump, accidentally detonating the weapon.
After the incident, Bowser returns to Rogueport, and is sulking when Kammy informs him that their scouts found a hidden underground chamber in Rogueport Sewers. Kammy directs him to the chamber, which turns out to be a workout room, and they find what they believe to be the Gold Star on a belt. Rawk Hawk then enters the room, and is impressed that Bowser was able to infiltrate his workout room, but refuses to let him take his championship belt. Bowser, however, calls him weak, and Rawk Hawk attempts to attack Bowser, but fails when he jumps on him. However, his attack does hit Kammy. She is knocked into to the champ belt, resulting in the star on the belt breaking. They are shocked at first, but Kammy realizes that it is a fake, and Rawk Hawk tells Bowser that the "Great Gonzales" possesses the real one.
Some time later, at Poshley Heights, Bowser and Kammy arrive at Poshley Sanctum after hearing that a Crystal Star is inside. Bowser attempts to enter, but finds the door is locked, but in his rage he breaks the lock, granting him access. Inside, Bowser finds the Garnet Star on a pedestal, and is excited to finally obtain one. However, Pennington then arrives and informs Bowser that what he is holding is a duplicate created to trick thieves, as well as that "Luigi" already obtained the real one. A Paragoomba then flies in and informs Bowser that Mario has collected all seven Crystal Stars and is heading for The Thousand-Year Door. Bowser and Kammy leave to head after him.
After Mario opens the Thousand-Year Door, Bowser and Kammy Koopa enter the Palace of Shadow to take Peach and steal the treasure that is rumored to be held behind the door. Meanwhile, Sir Grodus threatens to murder Princess Peach after his defeat at the hands of Mario, but Bowser's weight causes him to crash through the floor above them and landing on the X-Naut leader. Bowser admits that he has no idea as to what is going on, but that he is going to "end it right NOW!" Bowser and Kammy are battled before the player gets a chance to save after battling Grodus, and thus wind up supplanting Grodus as the penultimate bosses. His attacks are the same as when he is fought in the Glitz Pit. When the two are beaten, they are left dazed on the floor of the Palace of Shadow. If the player leaves the room and re-enters, they are gone.
Bowser also has a small cameo appearance in the game; his face is used for the Fright Mask item. As the name states, its use scares enemies away.
Super Paper Mario
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Bowser joins forces with Mario in Super Paper Mario as one of the four heroes destined to save all dimensions from destruction. During the opening for the game, Mario and Luigi hear from Toad that Princess Peach has been kidnapped, and they head to Bowser's Castle, thinking that he is the perpetrator. However, when they accuse him for this, he surprised as well, for he is still only preparing to kidnap Peach at the time. A mysterious figure named Count Bleck then appears, knocks Mario unconscious, and abducts Luigi, Bowser, and his minions. Count Bleck warps everyone to Castle Bleck, his base of operations, where he forcefully marries Bowser and Peach in order to unleash the Chaos Heart. The heart's purpose is to open The Void, to end all worlds, although Bowser is unaware of his plans.
After the wedding, most of Bowser's minions are brainwashed by Nastasia, Bleck's secretary. Bowser is removed from Count Bleck's Castle and wakes up in a field in The Bitlands. With a handful of minions at his side, Bowser establishes a stronghold in an abandoned castle and fortifies the defenses by stationing his forces throughout the area. However, the fortress is destroyed when Mario and Peach, while on the way to Fort Francis, use their Pixl Boomer to blast the red "X" on the side of the castle. Enraged that Mario has once again ruined his plans, Bowser engages Mario in combat, putting up two barriers so that he cannot escape. Bowser attacks Mario by breathing fire, as well as trying to jump on him. Normal attacks do not affect him; Boomer is the only way to damage him.
It is after the battle that Bowser learns the true purpose behind his marriage to Princess Peach. While he initially refuses to help them, Bowser is told by the pair that he can't take over the world if it is destroyed and that his minions now obey Count Bleck, and agrees to come with them. (However, he states that he is only doing so for the purpose of one day conquering the world himself.) With Bowser as a party member, the group continues to Fort Francis.
Before the group can claim the sixth Pure Heart at Sammer's Kingdom, the entire dimension is destroyed by the Void. Afterward, they return to the dimension, but find that it has been reduced to an empty world. Upon claiming the rock-like Pure Heart of that dimension from Mr. L, Luigi's hypnotized alter-ego, they return to Flipside, where Dimentio appears and "kills" Mario, Princess Peach, and Bowser.
In the Underwhere, Bowser is found by some of Queen Jaydes' D-Men. Thinking him to be a highly deadly and horrific creature that escaped its prison earlier, they subdue him and throw him in a room along the Underwhere Road. When Mario and Luigi, who is also sent to the Underwhere by Dimentio, while escorting Luvbi, a Nimbi, to the Overthere due to the actual creature that escaped, are traveling along the Underwhere Road, they encounter three D-Men, and Mario and Luigi offer to handle the "monster" that they contained for them. They head into the room, and find Bowser, asking himself about his current situation, inside. He asks where Peach is, and Mario, Luigi, and Tippi tell him they do not know where she is, but Bowser immediately assumes Mario and Luigi are going to ditch him and take Peach for themselves. Angry, Bowser once again engages them in battle. During this fight, he uses the same attacks he uses in the earlier fight. He also charges directly at the player. It is when he is defeated a second time that Mario and Tippi are able to explain that they are in the Underwhere and that Peach's location truly is unknown to them, and he rejoins Mario's party.
After claiming the eight Pure Hearts, the group arrive at Castle Bleck. When they encounter O'Chunks, Bowser opts to fight him alone, though O'Chunks powers himself up into Super O'Chunks. After he is defeated, the ceiling begins to fall on them, but O'Chunks holds it up before everyone present is crushed; he explains that his defeat earned the heroes the right to pass, and he is taking matters into his own hands to make sure this is possible. Despite this, Bowser assists him in holding the ceiling, urging Mario and the others to pass on. He also attempts to get O'Chunks out of there as well, sparking an argument between them as to who should leave and who should remain, resulting in both apparently being crushed, although Tippi and Luigi suspect that Bowser might have survived, the latter also pointing out that Bowser has "survived far worse." This causes Bowser to be conveniently left behind during two crucial scenes, the first one being the part where Mimi disguises herself as Merlee and asks Mario and company about their weak-points, and the second being when Dimentio asks Mario and company to join him, stating that they can rule every world with the Chaos Heart in their possession.
It is later revealed that Bowser is still alive while Count Bleck is preparing an attack to destroy Mario. Bowser reveals that he (and apparently O'Chunks) fell through a hole in the floor before they could be crushed by the ceiling. The uniting of the four Heroes of Light, however, causes the barrier surrounding Count Bleck to be destroyed.
Once Count Bleck is defeated, Dimentio appears and takes control of the Chaos Heart for himself, then fuses himself with Luigi, whom he enslaves with a Floro Sprout while he is unconscious after Dimentio's "last ditch effort", and the Chaos Heart to form Super Dimentio. However, from within Dimension D, Bleck and Tippi's love for each other allows the Pure Hearts to power up the heroes. After defeating the powered-up Dimentio, Bowser witnesses as Bleck and Tippi conduct their own marriage ceremony to permanently destroy the Chaos Heart and the Void. The heroes and Bleck's minions are then teleported to Flipside, where they are given a congratulatory feast by Saffron.
Mario cannot jump on Bowser when battling him without getting hurt due to his horns and spikes like he can in the other RPGs. The theme that can be heard during the boss fights with Bowser is notable for being a remix of both the Super Mario Bros. 3 Dark World map music and his boss theme from the first two fights with him in Super Mario 64. When Piccolo is the active Pixl, Bowser's jump sound effect, as with the other characters, is the same as the Mario jump sound effect from Super Mario Bros., and his fire breath sound effect is the one from Super Mario Bros. as well. His theme heard whenever Piccolo's ability is activated is a metal song.
As a playable character, he moves slower than the others; however, he can not only jump but also breathe fire if the player pushes 
on the Wii Remote, and his attack stat is double the stat of the other heroes. The fire attack is especially useful on the Underwhere Road, in which it can light the torches along the path. Also, unlike the other characters, Bowser cannot climb ladders or vines; he grows tired if the player tries.
Paper Mario: Sticker Star
Bowser appears in Paper Mario: Sticker Star as the main antagonist. At the beginning of the game, Bowser invades Decalburg on the night of the Sticker Fest to claim the Sticker Comet for himself. Several Toads attempt to pull him away as he moves toward it, but they lose their grip, sending Bowser flying into the comet; his touching the star results in it splitting into several pieces that are spread across the Mushroom Kingdom. One of the Royal Stickers that is split off falls onto Bowser's head, amplifying his power. Mario appears on stage to defend Peach, but Bowser is able to defeat him and kidnap her.
He is not seen again until World 6-3, Bowser's Sky Castle. Bowser appears as Mario and Kersti are about to save Princess Peach, then sends the wall back, revealing a lengthy hallway for the final battle. At the start of the battle, three random minions appear to assist him, and when they are defeated, he can summon more unless the doors are barred. Some turns after they are defeated, Bowser heads to another area, where he is defended by a Whomp. After retreating again, Bowser has no minions defending him, but he uses the Podoboos leaping out of the lava to attack. Finally, at the last section, Bowser is assisted by a Chain Chomp, which Bowser also uses to attack but also assists him in battle. Bowser's other attacks include jumping directly on Mario, breathing fire, or folding up into his shell and ramming Mario. Additionally, before each section of the battle, Bowser heals himself.
After being defeated, Bowser falls off a nearby ledge, but soon after emerges in the form of a giant cardboard version of himself. Bowser attacks Mario by slamming either one of his hands directly onto him, by slamming both onto him multiple times, or by swatting him. In addition, the Royal Sticker he possesses prevents him from being heavily damaged. His head also cannot be attacked with a normal jump. To counter the Royal Sticker's power, Kersti, Mario's partner throughout the game, sacrifices herself to be used as a sticker to give Mario enough power to stand up to him. When Bowser is damaged enough, both of his arms fall off. At this point, he attacks by either breathing fire or ground-pounding, which causes several boulders to fall onto Mario. After he is defeated, Bowser returns to his normal state, and is left flat on the ground as Mario frees Peach and uses the combined power of the seven Royal Stickers to return everything to normal. Back at the Sticker Fest, Bowser attempts to steal the Sticker Comet again by sneaking over to it, but Kersti appears, having been revived with Mario's wish, and scolds him. Bowser also appears in the parade during the credits sequence. He is seen on an airship float with Bowser Jr.
In an odd first for the Paper Mario series, Bowser does not have any lines of dialogue in this game, neither in the beginning cutscene nor during the final battle and ending, presumably because Miyamoto was not satisfied with the way he was portrayed in the previous installments.[7]
Super Smash Bros. series
- Main articles: SmashWiki:Bowser (SSBM), SmashWiki:Bowser (SSBB), SmashWiki:Bowser (SSB4)
Template:SSB Infobox Bowser is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and is confirmed as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U. Bowser is very strong, making him a key character to deliver strong attacks. His massiveness makes him incredibly hard to launch out of the arena, though he is very slow as a result. However, his throwing ability is on par with the faster characters. He is also one of the few who can crawl and is also a good edge guarder. The fourth installment, however, shows Bowser with a more upright stance rather than his more hunched appearance in the past games, as well as being able to move and attack faster. Melee also introduces Giga Bowser, a more monstrous version of Bowser. Bowser transforms into Giga Bowser with his Final Smash in Brawl.
Bowser is given a more realistic animal voice in the Super Smash Bros. series, with his Melee voice being similar to his voice effects from the games before Melee's release (such as Mario Kart 64). Bowser's voice effects in Brawl are different than in Melee, but are still more realistic than his cartoonish voice.
Solid Snake Codec Conversation
- Colonel: Careful, Snake! That's the great and terrible Bowser!
- Snake: Bowser? Looks like a cheap movie monster.
- Colonel: Hardly. Bowser leads an entire army of monsters. But I'd worry more about his claws and fire if I were you.
- Snake: Doesn't look that tough to me. Seems kind of slow, actually.
- Colonel: Well, he is the king of Koopas. It's only natural he'd be slow. But that's only because he's the heaviest fighter here--by far. He's a powerhouse of destruction. Careful he doesn't flatten you.
The Subspace Emissary
In the Subspace Emissary storyline of Brawl, Bowser, a leader of the Subspace Army, orders his minions to steal Donkey Kong's Banana Hoard. After Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong have recovered it, he faces them himself. He reveals his Dark Cannon and turns Donkey Kong into a trophy, though not before Diddy is sent to safety with Donkey's Giant Punch. Bowser claims Donkey Kong's trophy, then pursues Diddy and Fox McCloud with the assistance of a Shadow Bug clone and the Koopa Troop. After his clone is defeated by them, he attempts to blast them with the Dark Cannon, but misses.
Later, he encounters the princess Kirby saved (either Peach or Zelda), having been left behind when Kirby heads off to check out an ominous noise. Bowser blasts her from behind using his Dark Cannon, and his shadow bug clone dissolves and forms into the princess, while he retreats with the trophy of the real princess.
It is later shown that Bowser is working closely with Ganondorf in running the Subspace Army, though he dislikes him and prefers Master Hand. He reluctantly follows his orders, however, and heads to King Dedede's castle upon receiving info from Ganon that the king has some trophies there. Bowser arrives at the castle by falling through the ceiling, chunks of which knocking Dedede out cold and burying the Luigi and Ness trophies. However, Bowser instantly finds the trophy of the other princess, and takes it. Mario, Link, Pit, Kirby, and Yoshi catch up to him at this point, and Mario attempts to punch Bowser, but he intentionally misses when he holds up the princess trophy as a shield. Pit fires an arrow, which Bowser dodges, but falls off the cliff nearby and into his Koopa Clown Car, flying off to the Halberd.
He later appears a third time to Fox and Diddy Kong, this time turning Diddy into a trophy. He tries to blast Fox, but misses. Shadow Bugs then crawl over it upon his command and assume the form of Diddy. He once again attempts to blast Fox with his Dark Cannon, but it is kicked out of his hands by Falco Lombardi and destroyed when he blasts it multiple times. Bowser then decides to retreat in his Koopa Clown Car, leaving a mega-sized Diddy Kong clone to deal with him, Fox, and Diddy, but it is defeated.
Eventually, Bowser and Ganondorf fly a Subspace Gunship into the other world and use it's massive primary cannon to bring pieces of the world into Subspace. They see the recently liberated Halberd flying toward the ship and use the Subspace Gunship's defense systems to destroy it, but are unable to hit the smaller, more maneuverable ships that emerge from the wreckage until the Subspace Gunship is destroyed by Kirby's Dragoon. The two then head into Subspace to report the failure, but Bowser is betrayed when Ganondorf blasts him with a Dark Cannon, transforming him into a trophy. Master Hand then appears to them, but it is revealed that Master Hand is being controlled by the being Tabuu; Master Hand breaks free afterward and attempts to attack him, but is defeated easily and left unconscious.
Upon being revived by King Dedede, Bowser is still enraged by Ganon's betrayal, and fights him out of anger, but is soundly defeated. He is turned back to normal once more, and this time learns the truth behind the Subspace mission and, upon taking in the situation, joins the heroes in the fight against Tabuu. Upon finding Ganondorf's trophy (just after Kirby's discovery of it), he furiously attacks it, as retribution for the treason of which he was victim earlier.
Eventually, Tabuu is defeated by the combined power of the heroes, and they all return to the World of Trophies. The credits depict the entire group on a cliff, looking out at sea towards a large "X" formed out of light, the location of what once was the Isle of Ancients.
Special Moves
Fire Breath
- Main article: SmashWiki:Fire Breath
- Main article: Fire Breath
Fire Breath is one of Bowser's special moves in Super Smash Bros. Melee and Brawl. Bowser uses this move when 
is pressed. It is exactly the same as a Fire Flower, except that the flames get smaller the more it is used. The attack is somewhat of a long-distance move, and is usually best to use when the enemy is coming in for close-range combat. However, the move leaves Bowser motionless while using the attack, and also leaves his back open for attack. If Kirby copies Bowser's abilities, he gains the Fire Breath attack.
Koopa Klaw
- Main article: SmashWiki:Koopa Klaw
Koopa Klaw is one of Bowser's special moves in Super Smash Bros. Melee. Bowser uses this move when is pressed in conjunction with either left or right on 
. This move has two variations, based on Bowser's distance from his opponent. If the two are sufficiently far apart, he simply lashes out with his claws, leaving a visible trail in the air. If Bowser is near enough to his opponent, however, he grabs a hold of his foe, allowing him to either gnaw on them or execute a throw move. If Bowser grabs them, he can bite them repeatedly, until they manage to escape from his grasp.
Flying Slam
- Main article: SmashWiki:Flying Slam
Flying Slam is Bowser's Side Special Move in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U, replacing the Koopa Klaw from Super Smash Bros. Melee. In essence, Flying Slam is essentially the same move as Koopa Klaw, with one fundamental difference: Bowser claws at his opponent and if he connects, he performs a flying suplex, rather than throwing them over his shoulder as he does with the Koopa Klaw. Bowser's air movement can be controlled somewhat during this move. If connecting midair, Bowser lands with the enemy, and can KO himself as well as the enemy. The enemy can, however, control the movement of the two, and fight back, depending on both the enemy's and Bowser's damage percentages. Bowser doesn't bite his enemy with this move, unlike with the Koopa Klaw.
Whirling Fortress
- Main article: SmashWiki:Whirling Fortress
Whirling Fortress is a move that can only be used by Bowser in both Super Smash Bros. Melee and its sequel, Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Bowser activates this move when a player presses Up and simultaneously. Bowser conceals himself inside his shell and spins around with it in the air. If it hits any of the other players, they take a relatively large amount of damage, depending on how long they are in contact with the spinning shell. The attack can also be used on the ground, instead of just in the air.
Bowser Bomb
- Main article: SmashWiki:Bowser Bomb
Bowser Bomb is an attack that is used by Bowser in Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. It is executed by pressing down+, however, there are several different control types for Super Smash Bros. Brawl (see here). Bowser jumps up to the right, and smashes down on the ground, damaging any players under him and launches them into the air. Like the Yoshi Bomb, this always result in an SD if used off the edge as this attack is a stall-then-fall. It is called the Bowser Bomb because it is like a bomb coming down at a high speed, and when Bowser hits the ground, the move's power is quite explosive. This is one of the things that separates the Bowser Bomb from the Ground Pound move. Yoshi has a similar move called the Yoshi Bomb.
The move is a reference to one of Bowser's attacks in Super Mario Bros. 3, in which the Koopa King Ground Pounds where Mario or Luigi is standing. In fact, the position Bowser gets into when using Bowser Bomb is even borrowed from Super Mario Bros. 3.
Giga Bowser
- Main article: Giga Bowser
- Main article: SmashWiki:Giga Bowser
Although not normally playable in Super Smash Bros. Melee, Giga Bowser appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl as Bowser's Final Smash. He still takes damage from hits but does not flinch, making him nearly impossible to KO. Because of his large size, he is able to easily attack and KO an opponent. The duration of this move is very short. While Giga Bowser is activated, Bowser's icon doesn't change. It's also noted that when Giga Bowser performs a Smash-based attack, it can turn into several Elements, such as Flame, Darkness, Ice, or Lightning.
Giga Bowser is a Smash Bros.-exclusive creation, but the concept of Bowser growing in size is not unheard of. In several games, including Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Super Mario Sunshine, Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, Super Mario Galaxy 2, and New Super Mario Bros. Wii, he has changed his size at different points. The method of this, though, varies from game to game.
Mario & Luigi series
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
In Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, Princess Peach's voice is replaced with a literally explosive vocabulary by the evil witch Cackletta and her minion Fawful. Some time after this, Bowser arrives at the castle to kidnap the princess. However, Mario and Luigi enter soon after, and Mario engages in battle with Bowser. However, once the fight is over, Bowser states that it isn't the time for a battle, and a Toad explains the situation. Realizing that, if he kidnaps Peach now, her voice will destroy his castle. He and the Mario Bros. venture to the Beanbean Kingdom to recover Peach's voice on Bowser's Koopa Cruiser, Bowser only wanting to kidnap her afterward. On the way, however, Fawful and Cackletta herself show up, the latter ordering Fawful to destroy the group. One of Fawful's attacks from his helmet defeats Bowser, leaving the brothers to fight him. Nonetheless, Bowser gives the Mario Bros. some hints on how to evade/counter Fawful's attacks. After Fawful is defeated, he uses his helmet to attack the cruiser once more, sending it plummeting to the ground, specifically Stardust Fields.
Bowser falls into a large cannon. After locating him, Tolstar, the cannon's owner, appears and demands 100 Beanbean Coins to free Bowser and keep the incident a secret. Even after gathering the coins, Tolstar does not uphold his end of the bargain and attacks Mario and Luigi. When he is defeated, however, Bowser's griping annoys Sergeant Starshade, one of the Starshade Bros., enough to the point where he appears and shoots him out of the cannon. He hurriedly requests that the Mario Bros. continue their journey to save Peach's voice before he is fired into the mountains, the impact giving him amnesia. He is later found by Popple, the Shadow Thief. Popple decides to take him under his wing, renaming him Rookie.
As Rookie, Bowser and Popple fight the Mario Bros. twice, not remembering them but seeming familiar to him. Rookie's attacks, which involve throwing hammers and breathing fire, are a reference to Super Mario Bros., where Bowser performs both of those moves during later boss battles. They are first fought at Chateau de Chucklehuck, Popple wanting the Chuckola Reserve for himself, and later at Woohoo Hooniversity, after the Beanstar randomly lands right in front of Popple. After the Beanstar battle, a Peach-bot head falls in front of the group, the noise it generates disturbing the Beanstar. Mario, Luigi, Popple, and "Rookie" all grab onto the star before it flies into the air, each of them falling off in different directions before it splits into four pieces. However, before he falls off, Bowser recovers from his amnesia.
Bowser lands near the border between the Beanbean and Mushroom Kingdoms. Fawful, who is carrying around Cackletta's soul inside a helmet, releases her spirit to possess the unconscious Bowser, transforming him into Bowletta. Bowletta takes command of the Koopa Troop, kidnaps Princess Peach, and launches a massive military strike against the Beanbean Kingdom from Bowser's Castle. After Mario and Luigi defeat Bowletta, the brothers are taken into its stomach to fight Cackletta's spirit for the final battle. When Cackletta is completely destroyed, Bowser returns to normal. Still a bit bedazzled, Bowser gets no break, as his castle explodes shortly afterward (sending him literally flying toward the screen of the Game Boy Advance). Bowser falls into Oho Ocean, but is rescued by Prince Peasley. He later awakens with a cold, inside a present box (attached to Peach's Plane) given to Peach and the Mario Bros by Prince Peasley. During their flight back to the Mushroom Kingdom, he is dropped off at his castle while his minions watch.
Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
Bowser first appears in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time after Princess Shroob (disguised as Princess Peach) is brought to the present. In Peach's room, he is about to take the princess when Mario and Luigi show up. As they are about to battle, a part of the Shroob Mushroom covering her face flies into Bowser's face. He plies it off and eats it, though it tastes awful, with a purple gas spewing out of his mouth which incapacitates Mario and Luigi. Using this to his advantage, he grabs the princess and runs off. Toadsworth the Younger attempts to attack him by charging at him in Baby Peach's stroller, but Bowser jumps over them. This causes the part of the balcony he is standing upon to break, himself and the princess falling into a Time Hole below which sends both of them to Thwomp Volcano. At the bottom of the volcano's interior, he declares it the perfect place to build another castle when Baby Bowser suddenly falls down into the area, stating the same thing. The two then spot each other and argue over ownership of the volcano, claiming that the other is an imposter.
When Mario, Luigi, and the babies reach the bottom of the volcano, Bowser and Baby Bowser appear before they can save "Princess Peach", reveal that they have teamed up, and challenge them. Bowser can attack the four heroes by jumping, which both creates a shockwave and sends down debris to be avoided. He also attacks by breathing bursts of flame at the Mario bros., though he sometimes fakes it; the player can tell if he is when Bowser laughs before he attacks. Baby Bowser's attacks also involve Bowser. His first attack involves ground pounding Bowser to have him spit flames at them, and his second involves Bowser retreating into his shell, and Baby Bowser using his hammer to smack him at Mario and Luigi; once he misses, Bowser does not return for another turn. When the duo are defeated, a geyser of lava sends the Thwomp they stand upon flying out of the volcano. Bowser is then knocked off the Thwomp by a Shroob UFO, and is sent into another Time Hole.
After defeating Elder Princess Shroob and returning to the present, Toadsworth and Toadsworth the Younger lead Mario and Luigi to an unconscious Bowser in Peach's throne room; Toadsworth explains that they found him unconscious in the castle's backyard after emerging from the Time Hole. While trying to wake him up, Elder Princess Shroob, in the form of a mushroom which was claimed by Baby Luigi, levitates toward Bowser and forces him to eat her; this results in Bowser's body being inhabited by the spirit of Elder Princess Shroob, a combination named Shrowser. He awakens, feeling revitalized, and engages Mario, Luigi, and their past selves in battle. However, he does not give the Mario bros. any opportunity to attack, instead barraging them multiple times with fireballs. Any form of counter results in Elder Princess Shroob, whose spirit emerges from Bowser at the beginning of the fight, being damaged. Once her health is depleted, Elder Princess Shroob is destroyed and Bowser once again falls into a state of unconsciousness.
In addition, one of the signs that the Handfake enemy can hold up is a Bowser sign, based upon his Super Mario World artwork.
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
- “Did somebody page the king of AWESOME?”
- —Bowser, Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
In the third Mario and Luigi game, Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, Bowser is the main protagonist, and his playability is a major plot point, as well as him being the namesake of the game; much of Mario and Luigi's side of the plot takes place inside Bowser's body. At the beginning of the game, Bowser barges into the Conference Hall to once again kidnap Peach, but Mario stands in his way. During the resulting battle, Bowser only attacks by spitting fireballs at Mario. After he is defeated, Bowser is flung to Dimble Woods by Princess Peach and Starlow. After he recovers and explores the woods, he finds a stand owned by a cloaked person that gives him a "Lucky Mushroom," claiming it will allow him to defeat Mario. Bowser carelessly eats the mushroom, which causes him to start inhaling his surroundings and places him under Fawful's control. Returning to the castle, he inahles the occupants of the conference room before passing out and being dragged to Cavi Cape Cave, where he is awakened by Mario and Luigi. After leaving and fighting Midbus, Bowser learns that Fawful has set out to take over his castle, with Bowser's main focus being to return and undo what Fawful has done.
After Bowser is blown out of his castle and ends up in the Tunnel, he helps the Monty Bros. dig a tunnel to Toad Town Caves; however, when he explores this area he triggers a security system that electrocutes him, knocking him unconscious. Bowser later awakens and heads to Dr. Toadley's clinic, where he fights Mario and Luigi. Bowser uses the same attacks as when the player battles with him: punching, breathing fire, Goomba Storm, and Shy Guy Squad, though he does not use the second special move until later in the battle. His punch can be dodged by jumping, and if Bowser huffs before, he instead slips, flying over his target. The fire can be avoided by grabbing onto Starlow while he is charging the attack. Goomba Storm can be avoided by jumping over them and hammering the ones he burns back at Bowser, damaging him. Finally, Shy Guy Squad is stopped by deflecting Bowser with the hammer as he approaches one of the brothers. After defeating him, they learn that they need to find the three Star Cures to cure the Blorbs and access Peach's Castle. Hearing the first cure is in Dimble Woods, Bowser rushes off. During the quest for the Star Cures, Bowser manages to find only one, which is in a safe in his treasure room, but is sealed inside by General Guy, Private Goomp, and Corporal Paraplonk, who have betrayed him for Fawful.
After Bowser is freed from the safe in Junker's rampage, he makes his way to Fawful and Midbus and faces Midbus as Blizzard Midbus. After beating him the Dark Star awakens and Fawful attempts to claim its power, but is knocked aside by Bowser before he can absorb too much, the energy he did absorb turning him into Dark Fawful. The Dark Star then flies down Bowser's throat, where it absorbs some of his DNA and transforms into Dark Bowser, which heads after Fawful with Bowser following it. After Bowser defeats Dark Fawful, he escapes in the form of a mass of Dark Energy, which is inhaled by Dark Bowser, completing his transformation. Chasing Dark Bowser to a tower above the castle, Bowser witnesses as his dark clone spreads his darkness around the kingdom, threatening to destroy the kingdom. Engaging in battle with Dark Bowser, he is able to inhale Fawful after forcing him out of Dark Bowser, allowing Mario and Luigi to defeat him, which in turn allows Bowser to defeat Dark Bowser. Defeating him destroys the Dark Star, although Fawful is still alive in the end, and he self-destructs to destroy Mario and Luigi; this instead causes everyone inside Bowser's body to return to the outside world. Angered by the fact that the Mario bros. were romping around in his body, he fights them, but is defeated and carried home by his minions. Bedridden after the defeat, Bowser receives a gift from Princess Peach, which turns out to be a cake.
During the game, Bowser's gameplay is mapped to the 
and 
buttons. His normal battle system is mostly the same as Mario and Luigi's; his fire breath and punch are his equivalent of the Mario Bros. hammer and jump attacks, respectively. Bowser's special attacks involve various Koopa Troop soldiers coming to his aid. Replacing Mario and Luigi's Bros. Badges is the Vacuum Block, which allows Bowser to inhale small enemies, items and parts of enemies, and sometimes Blitties. Any enemies that are inhaled are fought by Mario and Luigi. When being attacked, Bowser has two forms of defense: He can curl into his shell with , or he can counterattack by punching with . However, while on the overworld, he can run into smaller enemies to instantly defeat them.
Bowser also has a unique form of battle in that the player can fight while he is giant. During these battles, the player must hold the DS on its side. His health is also represented by a bar rather than a number. Bowser only has two attacks: punching, achieved by swiping the stylus across the Touch Screen, and breathing fire, achieved by the player blowing into the microphone. Occasionally, Mushrooms also appear during battle, which can be used to heal him. When counterattacking, Bowser can punch in the same way, or breathe fireballs by tapping the desired direction on the Touch Screen; however, the more fireballs spit, the smaller they are.
Bowser's out-of-battle gameplay is also similar to the bros. Pressing causes him to punch, allowing him to break objects such as large rocks as well as hitting blocks, and later while moving allows him to perform a Sliding Punch. Holding down causes him to breathe fire in a continuous stream, letting him burn flammable objects, but doing so for a prolonged time causes him to tire. At Bubble Lake, Bowser can go underwater, and the switches functions to allow Bowser to swim. As the game progresses, Bowser gains two more abilities, giving these buttons alternative functions; by pressing 
, allows Bowser to perform the Body Slam, and allows him to use the Spike Ball move. Bowser may also use special portals called Chakroads, which are used to teleport him to any location with a Chakroad that has been discovered.
Bowser's ranking system is also different. It starts at Bronze Boss as the default and changes to Silver Boss at level 10, Gold Boss at level 20, and Final Boss at level 40.
Additionally, in the Flab Zone, the brothers occasionally encounter Nutsoglobins, who are not mandatory, but can help in navigating the area. Nutsglobins ask the player trivia questions about Bowser, but, before they so, they allow them to ask Bowser questions, with the Nutsoglobin being the mediator; each question asked costs five coins. They then ask the player the questions, which are based upon what Bowser says in response to the possible question they ask him. Whenever a Nutsoglobin talks to Bowser from inside his body, Bowser does not know who it is that is speaking.
Bowser X
Template:Bisenemy A boss called Bowser X appears in the Challenge Node in Bowser's body and can be fought by Mario and Luigi. To get to him, the player must beat all X bosses, and then face all the other X bosses in a row before facing Bowser X. He is, by far, the strongest boss in the game. He is also the only X boss without a color change from the original. While this is clearly not the real Bowser, such an entity existing inside of him may have been the result of the Emoglobin at the Gauntlet within creating it to challenge the Bros. further, after besting all of the other X bosses.
Like all the other X Bosses in the Challenge Node, Bowser X has upgraded stats. He is capable of performing all of the original Bowser's attacks, plus three new ones. However, Bowser X does not use the remaining troops later on in the battle. Attacks Bowser X performs during battle include:
- Punch - A variant of Bowser's fist attack which is slightly faster than the original one. Mario and Luigi must jump to avoid taking damage. Every once in a while, his nostrils smoke out. When this happens, he completely misses the punch and jumps over the Bros. in clumsiness. Mario and Luigi should not jump during this attack.
- Flame - A fire-based combat technique. It can be avoided by grabbing onto Starlow before Bowser X launches the attack. If the player misses, the attack deals massive damage to the Bros.
- Goomba Storm - This attack has two phases. At first, Goombas run after Mario and Luigi, while Bowser X sets some of them on fire. After that the burning Goombas fall from the sky and the player must use the hammer attack to hit them back. They move at a much faster speed than the original.
- Shy Guy Squad - This attack is similar to Bowser's attack. It can be countered by a timed hammer attack.
- Fireball - Bowser X shoots a simple fireball at one of the Bros.. The attack doesn't do much damage, but he continues to execute this attack over and over. The Bros. must hammer the fireball back at Bowser X to damage him. Doing this causes Bowser X to curl up into a ball and head for the upper portion of the screen. There, a rain of fireballs drops from Bowser X at random times. The Bros. must hammer the fireballs when they're above them directly. The final part of this attack is when Bowser X, still curled up, attempts to ram himself onto one of the Bros., heavily damaging him.
- Giant Bowser X - Bowser X grows in size and attacks the Bros. with a barrage of fireballs. The Bros. should jump only when the fireballs head toward the Bro. directly. The Bros. shouldn't jump when the fireball passes overhead. After Bowser X finishes that, he proceeds to chase the Bros.. They must jump over the fiery obstacles and head for the two springs waiting at the end without taking major damage.
- Vacuum - A counter move used every time when the player uses a special attack. Bowser X inhales the used move, making it inaccessible for five turns.
Mario & Luigi: Dream Team
- “Give it to me straight. Princess Peach is gone? Hello? That is MY thing! Only I get to kidnap her!”
- —Bowser, Mario & Luigi: Dream Team
Bowser is (formerly) the secondary antagonist, the true main antagonist and major boss in the game, Mario & Luigi: Dream Team. Unlike past RPG installments, he forms an alliance with Antasma, the primary main antagonist. He is fought 3 times in the game; his power boosted by Antasma, as the last giant boss and also the final boss in a form known as Dreamy Bowser.
Bowser first appears by a sleeping Luigi in Mushrise Park, during Mario's trek into Dream's Deep. After expressing his outrage over Princess Peach being taken by someone else, he is curious as to what the portal above Luigi's head is, and after catching her scent leaps into the portal to the Dream World. He walks into the middle of a confrontation between the Mario Bros. and Antasma, punching the latter away and allowing Mario and Luigi to pull Peach out of danger. Bowser than prepares to battle Mario and Luigi, but is stopped by Antasma, eventually being convinced by him to allow him to power Bowser up. The powered up Bowser with the help of Antasma bat clones then battles Mario. In the aftermath of the battle, Bowser knocks Mario and Luigi unconscious with his fire breath, having been supercharged by Antasma. He is then convinced to leave Peach lying there unconscious by Antasma, being told he could come for her later. The two then leave the Dream World.
When Mario and Luigi reach the Dreampoint in Dozing Sands where the Dream Stone lies, they find that Bowser and Antasma have already taken it and are heading to Mount Pajamaja. By the time Mario and Luigi made it to the peak where the duo are, Antasma, Bowser and his cronies (Kamek, Corporal Paraplonk, Private Goomp and Sergeant Guy) had set up some speakers, ready to play the Dreambeats, which they use to both scare off the Bros., and to collect power for the Dream Stone as the Dreambeats play. Bowser stays awake by covering his ears.
Bowser is later seen after Mario escapes Dreamy Mount Pajamaja, arriving while riding Antasma to show off his fully-charged Dream Stone. Bowser is not seen until after the Bros. rush to Pi'illo Castle, where he and Antasma wish for a impenetrable castle, which causes the creation of Neo Bowser Castle.
Bowser is not seen again until Mario and Luigi storm Neo Bowser Castle, who is convinced into allowing himself to sleep on Antasma, him doing so causing a barrier that prevents him from being touched or woken up, as shown by the Bros. attempts. Bowser reappears in Dreamy Neo Bowser Castle, where he hinders the Bros. by sending a giant iron ball rolling after them.
He isn't seen in person again until Mario and Luigi find him eating meat, which he devours the remaining amount of to grow big enough to crush Mario in one punch, however, not pleased to hear he just ate all the meat, causing him to jump into what seems to be a bottomless pit, which proves not to be one as a massive Bowser (referred to as Giant Bowser in-game) shoots out of the pit and begins raising havoc. Unlike other pre-Giant Battle segments, Mario and Luigi are both prepared to face Bowser, and do so confidently.
After a long battle, Giant Bowser is felled by the Finishing Bros. attack, much like other giants. Kamek, however, intervenes and casts an enlarging spell on Giant Bowser, causing him to grow even bigger and nearly impossible through normal means. Luigi manages to knock Bowser into the lava, making him woozy and susceptible to a strong blow. Mario, Luigi and Dreambert combine their strengths into an enhanced version of Finishing Bros. known as Star Driver, which manages to finally defeat Giant Bowser, truly ending the long battle.
After the battle, Bowser wakes up, and heads to a higher floor of the castle with Antasma, where he reveals he'd been using Antasma rather than Antasma using him, and that he'd been planning to double-cross him the whole time. Bowser with the Dream Stone in tow, proceeds to abandon Antasma to be defeated by the pursuing Bros., and heads up to the highest floor (both inside and outside) of the castle. Mario and Luigi soon confront Bowser, and as Bowser proceeds to try and use it to destroy the Bros., Peach and Starlow end up breaking the Dream Stone into many microscopic pieces with their power, all of which Bowser, in one last gamble, inhales, transforming into Dreamy Bowser.
After Dreamy Bowser is defeated, he transforms back into Bowser and is smacked off the island by Mario and Luigi with their hammers. He is seen in the final cutscene with Kamek and Corporal Paraplonk, Private Goomp and Sergeant Guy, where he praises them for doing slightly better than usual, much to their joy.
In battle, Bowser may curl up into a spike ball, grow in size, then chase Mario through the foreground, shooting flames ahead of them that serve as obstacles; the purple flames must be entirely avoided, while the red ones can be jumped over or avoided. Bowser can also jump to Mario and sliding punch into him from any direction. Before shooting his fist at him, Bowser may turn invisible and slip behind Mario and punch him from behind. Regardless, Mario must bring out his hammer and hammer from the side Bowser shoots towards him from. He may also approach and line up with Mario, where he will then charge up a flame blast. If the flames in his mouth are purple, he will shoot out a low wave of purple fire that will hit Mario unless he jumps. If the flames in his mouth are red, he will shoot a line of flames in front of him at Mario, it swerving to either side if Mario does the same beforehand. This can be avoided by stepping out of the way, however cannot be avoided by jumping on the spot. This is done at the end of the attack, and causes him to cough out some Antasma Bats that surround him after the attack, who may heal him after time.
Normal X Battle
Template:Dtenemy Bowser is also fought in the Battle Ring, as Bowser X. Unlike most Battle Ring bosses, there's no change in appearance between the X version and the normal version of him. In battle, Bowser X has the boosted stats that all Battle Ring X bosses have, and the same attacks as the original version.
Giant Battle
- “Time to give up hope, Mario! In my dreams, I fear nothing! I can crush even you like a little red bug!”
- —Giant Bowser, Mario & Luigi: Dream Team
In the battle, Giant Bowser is mainly fought over two long strips of land surrounded by lava. During the battle, he forces Luigi along the strip with him, and his Shy Guy-manned airships (that very much resemble Shy Guy Airtubs) blow up a section of the strip furthest away from Bowser on Luigi's side each turn. If Luigi's on the section that's destroyed, he'll fall into the lava and take damage. Luigi must avoid this by forcing Bowser up the strip with the Hammer Uppercut in a similar fashion to Earthwake, making frequent use of Rhythm Mushroom disadvantageous as Luigi would likely wind up falling into the lava if he stalls enough.
Luigi's Jump and Drill Stomp attacks does a small and medium amount of damage respectively to Bowser if used, doing some extra damage (as would jump-related counter-attacks) if Bowser is currently on unstable footing, as the footing he's on will sink into the lava below, burning Bowser. The Hammer Chop attack will do an identical amount of damage to Bowser too, and the first time Luigi uses it against him will do extra damage as Bowser is knocked into the lava in the background. If Luigi does this, Bowser will, before Luigi's every turn, order a group of airships to bring up a wall behind the strip of land. If the Hammer Chop is used again after this, Bowser will merely bounce off the wall and land back on the strip, no extra damage being dealt. The Hammer Uppercut does an identical amount of damage to the Jump and Hammer Chop, also pushing Bowser up the strip and progressing the battle further.
Giant Bowser may suddenly run towards Luigi, lifting him up in an attempt to throw him into the pool of lava behind him. The player must scribble on the Touch Screen with the stylus frantically in order for Luigi to escape Bowser's clutches. If Luigi fails to escape, he will be thrown into the lava and take a some damage. If Luigi frees himself, he must then push Bowser away (via the player sliding the stylus leftwards across the Touch Screen) before Bowser retaliates and pushes Luigi in. Bowser will quickly skid to a stop, and then charge towards Luigi in an attempt to knock him into the lava in the form of a running tackle. Depending on whichever side Bowser runs towards Luigi on, he will have to either step out of the way to the left or right through the player sliding the stylus across the Touch Screen in either a leftwards or rightwards stroke). If Luigi fails to step out of the way (which includes failing to decide which way to step), he will be pushed into the lava and take the aforementioned damage anyway. If Luigi succeeds in avoiding Bowser, he will fall into the lava and take the damage himself.
Giant Bowser will also exhale a streak of flames, which Luigi must avoid by catching a brief ride on a nearby airship that is flying overhead Bowser and Luigi, the player sliding the stylus upwards on the Touch Screen to do so. Failure to avoid the initial flame will result in Luigi getting burned. If successful, Luigi will then latch on to the airship as it teeters forwards towards Bowser, and backwards towards the vast sea of lava behind. Luigi must let go of the airship and smash down on Bowser's head (through the player tapping the Touch Screen) to avoid the flames Bowser spews as he gradually looks up to Luigi. If the counter-attack hits Bowser while he stands on unstable footing, it will have the same effect as a Jump or Drill Stomp attack would have on him.
When Giant Bowser reaches the end of a strip, Bowser will go behind the fortress (about half his height) near the end and starts to summon his minions out from it.
When a squad of Magikoopas led by Kamek appears on top of the fortress, they will fire a magic-infused energy ball towards Luigi, who must deflect the ball back at the Magikoopas through the player sliding the stylus leftwards on the Touch Screen. Failure to deflect it will result in Luigi getting hit and thus taking damage, as well as quite a bit of extra damage from him falling into lava as a result of knock-back. Success will result in the Magikoopas getting knocked off the top of the fortress. Regardless of the outcome, the wave of fortress will continue.
When several groups of Spear Guys come out of the fortress' main entrance, a single group will run towards him and cling on to his legs, continuously attacking them and gradually dealing damage until either Luigi is defeated or Luigi shakes the whole group of Spear Guys off (through the player tapping the spots where the Spear Guys are on Luigi's leg on the Touch Screen with the stylus). If Luigi shakes them all off and there are more groups waiting to attack, the next group will attack.
When a squad of five airships fly on-screen at Giant Bowser's command, they will line up either vertically or horizontally, stop very briefly and all fire cannonballs simultaneously at Luigi, who must destroy them all by performing either a Hammer Chop or Hammer Uppercut in the form of a counter-attack to blow them up as he hits them all, through the player sliding the stylus leftwards or upwards across the Touch Screen respectively. Failure to stop the cannonballs will result in a large amount of damage being taken. The airships will fire several rounds of this before flying away.
When three groups of Spear Guys come out of the fortress' main entrance, the middle group carrying meat, they will attempt to heal Giant Bowser by chucking it in a backwards arc into Bowser's mouth. Luigi must prevent this by smashing the ground with his hammer to wobble Bowser and prevent him from facing the meat when it lands on him, it bouncing off his head and going off-screen in that case. The player must slide the stylus downwards on the Touch Screen before the meat enters Bowser's open mouth. This will be done several times, regardless of each attempt's outcome.
After all attacks at the fortress end, Giant Bowser will jump on top of the fortress, roar and leap towards Luigi in an attempt to body slam him. Luigi must step out of the way before Bowser lands on Luigi in order to avoid damage through the playing sliding the stylus rightwards on the Touch Screen. Failure to avoid this will result in Luigi getting temporarily flattened and Bowser repeating this attack. If Luigi is successful, Bowser will attempt to get up but will collapse while facing the fortress.
Luigi will then grab Giant Bowser's tail and start swinging him in a similar fashion to how he was swung in Super Mario 64. The player must rapidly draw circles on the Touch Screen with the stylus in order to swing Bowser faster, identical to a style the player could swing Bowser in Super Mario 64 DS. Depending on how fast Luigi swings Bowser, he will take more damage and get thrown farther across the strip. An OK! rating will make Bowser smash through the fortress and slide to a stop near the end of the strip, while an Excellent! rating will make Bowser bounce off and break the fortress (taking a small amount of damage in the process), and then falling off the end of the strip into lava, taking extra damage.
At the end of the first strip, Giant Bowser will move the battle on to an identical second strip of land. At the end of this strip, Bowser will move the battle on to a circular piece of ground, where he withdraws into his shell and starts spinning, similar to his Whirling Fortress attack in the Super Smash Bros. series or an unnamed identical attack his battle in New Super Mario Bros U. Luigi, under the suggestion of Dreambert, will then stick out his hammer and start spinning too. The player will have to tilt the 3DS in order to control Luigi and knock Bowser into the lava repetitively until Bowser reaches a low amount of health. Mushrooms will appear during this phase, and fortresses are scattered across the platform.
When Giant Bowser reaches a low amount of health, Bowser will come out of his shell, dazed and standing. Luigi will stop spinning in a somewhat unstable fashion, and finishes off Bowser with the Finishing Bros. attack.
After Giant Bowser is felled, Kamek will appear, and will power up Bowser in a similar fashion to how he powers up most of the bosses in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island and Yoshi's Island DS. Bowser will then grow to a much larger size, the battle turning out not to be over. In this phase, Luigi can only perform the Star Driver attack, and only after he manages to counter one of Bowser's attacks.
This phase of Giant Bowser can attack by launching a massive fireball at Luigi, who attempts to not get burned and stop it by smashing it with his hammer when it gets closer enough. The player must (on the Touch Screen) tap the middle of the fireball as it shifts between positions every so often in order to make Luigi push the fireball with his hammer back at Bowser, pushing him right into the lava and leaving him woozy and susceptible to the Star Driver attack.
Giant Bowser can also attack by putting one of his feet on top of Luigi and attempt to crush him, Luigi having to push up against the pressure of Bowser's foot to avoid getting crushed. The player must slide the stylus upwards on the side the Touch Screen that Luigi is getting pushed down more in order to push Bowser off Luigi and send him off balance into the lava, leaving him woozy and susceptible to the Star Driver attack.
When the Star Driver attack is used, it starts up like the Finishing Bros. attack, but Dreambert adds his power to it and enlarges the star Mario rides on, making the attack more potent. Mario will then be thrown while on the star as normal, but he will have to tilet around the fireballs along the way to Giant Bowser in order to successfully hit Bowser. The player must tilt the 3DS in order to avoid the aforementioned fireballs touching the star and ending the attack in failure, which will make Luigi have to counter another attack and try the Star Driver again to have another shot at it. If successful, the battle will end in a similar fashion to how it nearly did before the second phase.
Hard Mode differences
In the Hard Mode, no mushrooms appear during the tilting segment, the airships will fire more rounds of cannonballs and there are more waves of Spear Guys. Luigi also takes more damage from attacks.
Giant X Battle
Template:Dtenemy Giant Bowser is also fought in the Battle Ring, known as Giant Bowser X. Unlike the other Giant X bosses, his appearance doesn't change between versions. As with the other Giant X bosses, Giant Bowser X deals more damage than usual with his attacks, and there are some changes to his patterns.
Mario Pinball Land
At the beginning of Mario Pinball Land, Mario, Princess Peach, and a group of Toads go to a fair and are enjoying a day of merriment. Princess Peach rides a special ride, the Air Cannon. A machine called the Spheresizer turns Princess Peach into a pinball and allows her to play a special pinball game. However, two of Bowser's Goombas take advantage of her pinball state, changing the direction of the cannon and shooting her to Bowser's Castle. Mario uses the machine to become a pinball to defeat Bowser and rescue Peach.
The player can only access Bowser's room when they have fifteen Power Stars. Bowser does not attack Mario, instead roaming around the room and ground pounding, which temporarily disables the flippers. When Mario hits him, Bowser spins around if he is hit from behind, and is momentarily dazed by a frontal attack. The player must use the flippers to hit Mario into the pulleys in the back of the room to raise at least one of the Thwomps in the room as high as possible, so that the blue ! Switch in the center begins to glow. By hitting it, the Thwomps fall, causing Bowser to fall backward and leaving him vulnerable to attack; each successful attack gives the player 100,000 points. After three hits, Bowser rolls into a giant-sized pinball. Mario must knock Bowser into the pulleys and the wall to create a hole. Once a large enough hole in the wall is formed, Mario can launch him through it, out of the castle, and into a nearby hill. Bowser's defeat earns the player 100,000 points times the number of Stars the player has; if the player has all 35 Stars, the bonus is 5,000,000 points.
Yakuman DS
In Yakuman DS, Bowser appears as one of the unlockable characters, unlocked by defeating all of the hard challenges in Challenge Mode. He also appears as the rank 2 opponent faced in Ranking mode. As a computer, Bowser is an offensive opponent, who likes "Open riichi."
Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix
In Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix, Bowser is not the main antagonist of the game's story mode, but he is the final boss. Once Mario and Toad regain all four Music Keys and return them to Truffle Tower, Bowser arrives and steals them all. Mario and Toad, in the S.S. Brass, follow him, dodging Bowser's Bullet Bills.
When Mario and Toad enter the castle, Bowser attempts to harness the power of the Music Keys for his own purposes, but finds that they are gone. Toad, standing on a ledge with Mario, then reveals that they stole the keys back from him. Angered, Bowser challenges Mario to a dance-off. The battle consists of the player and Bowser dancing to the Mario Kart: Double Dash!! Bowser's Castle music. Bowser is attacked by collecting rocket pieces, which replace some dance steps, to build rockets that contain hammers which smash Bowser flat. Near the end of the song, another such rocket flies in and hammers Bowser out of his castle.
Defeated, the Koopa King admits that he only wanted the keys as a remedy for his tone-deafness. Before Mario and Toad leave, Mario uses the power of the keys to turn Bowser's Castle and the land surrounding it into a paradise. Afterward, the three start dancing, and cannot stop; Toad explains that, when they recaptured the keys, some music was implanted into their souls. The three then continue dancing. Bowser is later seen in the credits, where he is dancing in front of his castle.
If the player dances to Bowser's Castle in Free Mode, the battle against Bowser and the rocket hammering Bowser away are still present, with the Mush Mode objective being to collect other rockets.
Mario Baseball series
Bowser is a playable character in Mario Superstar Baseball and its sequel, Mario Super Sluggers. He is a team captain with high power stats.
Mario Superstar Baseball's Challenge Mode features Bowser and his team as the final opponents to be faced in Challenge Mode. He can only be faced when the player defeats all the other captains. When the player beats Bowser , the Bowser Castle stadium is unlocked. When he is defeated on Special difficulty, the player can play as Bowser in Challenge Mode. In this mode, Bowser must defeat the other captains, and then face of team composed of nine out of ten of the captains and sub-captains. Like everyone else, Bowser can also recruit other characters to be on his team. In addition, when playing as Bowser, Bowser Jr. does not wander around the map.
In Mario Super Sluggers, Bowser Jr. crashes his own stadium into the Baseball Kingdom; emerging from the fortress is not only Bowser Jr. and his team, but also Bowser. After Bowser Jr. is beaten by Mario's team, Bowser faces Mario in a baseball game. Mario's team emerges victorious and celebrates. Bowser and Bowser Jr. are invited to the celebration out of pity on the Daisy Cruiser. Bowser refuses, but reconsiders only because Bowser Jr. wants to have fun, so Daisy leads them to the table. To their dismay, however, they only get a small portion of food, while everyone else receives much more.
Back at Mario Stadium, Wario and Waluigi attempt to take Mario out with a sneaked Bullet Bill in the Bob-omb Derby during the celebration. The bullet is fired, and Mario, upon noticing, has not enough time to react, but Bowser jumps in front of him and uses his bat to deflect it back at them. The reason Bowser does this is unknown, though it is likely that either if it hit Mario, he would have no arch-rival, or that he thinks it is his job to take Mario out.
In Mario Superstar Baseball, Bowser has one of the highest batting and pitching stats, but his fielding and running skills are poor to balance him out. His special move is the Killer Ball, where he hits or pitches a Bullet Bill. If used when batting, it pushes back any character that catches it. Bowser's running ability is Body Check, allowing him to tackle the baseman and knocking the ball out of his or her hand, and his fielding ability is Laser Beam, which allows him to throw the ball at high speeds to home base. His team can be named either the Bowser Monsters, Bowser Flames, Bowser Blue Shells, or Bowser Blackstars.
In Mario Super Sluggers, Bowser's power stats are still very high (tied with Petey Piranha and King K. Rool), but his pitching skills are weaker than in the predecessor. His fielding and running abilities are higher than in the predecessor, but they are still lower than average. While Bowser's Star Pitch remains the same, his Star Swing is changed to the Breath Swing, in which he uses his fire breath on the bat to hit the ball. His team name is the same as the predecessor, Bowser Monsters.
Super Princess Peach
In Super Princess Peach, Bowser, having heard about the mysterious power on Vibe Island, builds a summer villa on the island to obtain the Vibe Scepter. One day, Army Hammer Bro. rushes into Bowser's throne room to report that the Vibe Scepter has been recovered. He then sends Bowser's minions to use the power of the scepter to capture Mario, Luigi, and Toad. Back at the villa, Bowser is pleased to see that the plan has worked. Wondering about the limits of the Vibe Scepter, the Army Hammer Bro. summons the Goomba he gave the scepter to; however, the artifact had already affected the Goomba with the Joy vibe, and it begins to wave the scepter around, giving everybody in the throne room various vibes.
After Peach reaches Bowser's villa, Army Hammer Bro. opts to fight her when she reaches the throne room. Bowser gives him the opportunity, increasing his strength with the Rage vibe, then flees. After defeating the Hammer Bro., Peach heads to the next floor to face Bowser. He attacks her by throwing hammers at her, as well as breathing streams of fire and fireballs that create a column of fire. He also attacks by charging toward her. After reducing him to three health points, Bowser enhances himself with the Joy vibe, causing him to leap up and create shockwaves upon landing. At two health points, he uses the Gloom vibe, in which he attacks by throwing several hammers, which fall as giant hammers. Finally, at one health point, he gives himself the Rage vibe, which causes him to attack faster.
Once Bowser is defeated, Peach is forced to battle him once more, however, this time, he has made himself giant. He attacks Peach by slamming his hands onto the ground, which also sends down several Spiked Balls. He also attacks by throwing several hammers at once. He may also breathe a massive fireball at her; when his health is reduced to three points, he breathes two, when it reaches two, he breathes a stream of fire, and when it is at one, he breathes multiple, bigger fireballs. Finally, he can slam both hands onto the ground, which sends down several Bob-ombs, which are used to damage him. When Bowser reaches one health point, he uses the vibe scepter to activate the Calm vibe to restore his health. Once Bowser is defeated, he reverts to his normal size, and Peach uses Perry to launch Bowser and the scepter away from the island.
Mario Strikers series
Bowser makes brief appearances in Super Mario Strikers as a hazard by tilting the field or attacking the players. During the game, he also has his own robotic Super Team to challenge the player's team at the finals for the Bowser Cup and Super Bowser Cup.
Bowser reappears in Mario Strikers Charged as a team captain and playable character. His team number is 66, and his theme is hard rock music. During the game, Bowser wears metal claws and armor on his shell. He is a power type character, giving him a high shooting and defense stat, but low movement and passing stats. His deke involves him crouching into his shell and knocking away any nearby opponents. His Super Ability is the Fire Storm!, allowing him to breathe fire and render any other players on fire, including his teammates. Bowser's Mega Strike involves him leaping, his spikes and claws growing, his hair turning to flame, and throwing the ball toward the goal. Bowser is used in the Zero Tolerance! challenge and is the opponent for the Against All Odds! challenge.
Mario and the Incredible Rescue
During the events of Mario and the Incredible Rescue, Bowser steals The Book of Spells from Cybele, a sorceress, and uses one of the spells to summon an army of ghosts. He then has several of them go to Peach's Castle to capture the princess. However, Mario, with help from Luigi and Toad, find the six mushrooms necessary to cast the spell that sends the ghosts back to their own realm and defeats Bowser.
Mario Hoops 3-on-3
Bowser appears in Mario Hoops 3-on-3 as an unlockable character. He is unlocked by completing the normal Star Tourney with at least a bronze medal. In this game, he is classified as a powerful character. The only other powerful characters are Donkey Kong and Wario. Bowser's special shot is the Bomber Dunk, which can be performed if the player taps a B-like shape on the touch screen. He sets fire to the ball, and then leaps into the air and dunks it, a large column of flame appearing afterward. Bowser is also the only unlockable Mario character with a baller name, "The Big Shell". Bowser's Castle is also one of the courts in the game.
Itadaki Street series
- “Thank my lucky stars! I'll take some of that money off your hands, wimps! Bwah hah hah!”
- —Bowser, Fortune Street
Bowser appears as a playable character in the game Itadaki Street DS. In the game, the player can also unlock customization options for his or her character. Bowser's customizations include a Bowser Cap and a Bowser Suit. By default, Bowser when controlled by a computer is an A-rank character.
He later returns as a default playable character in the game's follow-up, Fortune Street. He is once again by default an A-rank opponent. In Tours mode, Bowser is one of the opponents faced on Peach's Castle, as well as on Bowser's Castle
Mario & Sonic series
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games
Bowser appears in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games as a power type character. He has the highest power stat in the game, combined with a high level of stamina. It is because of his strength that he can do better in events such as the Hammer Toss. His swim stroke is the breaststroke.
Bowser's six missions in the game are Pole Vault, in which he must clear the bar set at 5.70 meters twice; Javelin Throwing, in which the player must throw the javelin between 50 and 55 meters; 400m Hurdles, in which the player mustn't knock over a single hurdle and finish with a time between 45 and 53 seconds; Hammer Throw; in which the hammer must be thrown between 50 and 55 meters; Singles table tennis, in which the player must win by scoring 7 points with blast-shots; and Dream Fencing, in which the player must win by knocking his or her opponent out of the ring twice.
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games
Bowser appears as a playable character in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games. He is once again a power character, having high power and speed stats, along with average acceleration and skill stats in the Wii version. In the DS version, he has high speed, power, and stamina, but below average technique and jumping.
In the DS version of the game, in the Adventure Tour mode, Bowser is one of the two main antagonists. He teams up with Dr. Eggman to stop the 2010 Winter Olympic Games and host their own games. In order to achieve this, Bowser uses his fire to melt all the snow, and Eggman captures the six Snow Spirits; however, one manages to escape, but Bowser and Eggman disregard this, believing that the five they have can produce all the snow they need.
Upon hearing about the predicament from the one Snow Spirit, Frosty, Mario and Sonic set out to stop Bowser and Eggman and rescue the other five spirits. They defeat Bowser and Eggman's henchmen and save the Snow Spirits, then confront Dr. Eggman and Bowser right after saving Frosty from Dry Bowser at Blizland. The two challenge them first to Blazing Bobsleigh, then to Fever Hockey, and finally to Extreme Snowboarding. Once their rivals defeat fhem, they are disappointed that they lost, but are then angered about it and escape.
Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games
Bowser returns as a power type character in Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games. He has high speed, stamina, and power, but low acceleration and technique. In the Wii version, a Bowser suit is also an unlockable costume for the player's Mii to wear.
In the 3DS version of the game, Bowser and Dr. Eggman return as the primary antagonists of the game's story mode. Before the events of the game, after allying with Dr. Eggman again, Bowser has a Magikoopa break the seal on the urn keeping a powerful colored fog known as the Phantasmal Fog contained, located at Stonehenge. From there, Eggman has E-123 Omega retrieve the urn and bring it to him.
On the night before the Olympic Games, Bowser and Eggman are observing the city via several video feeds inside Big Ben, angered that the games have been set up and they have not received invitations. Eggman suggests that they were intentionally uninvited because they are too well prepared for the games. To exact their revenge, Bowser suggests activating the doctor's newest device: a machine that amplifies and unleashes the Phantasmal Fog through various machines scattered throughout London. Eggman asks Bowser and the Koopa Troop to guard the machines that spread the fog and then activates the main machine. The duo then watch from the video monitors as their plan is set into motion.
However, their plans begin to halt when Mario, Sonic, and friends destroy several of their fog-spreading machines. Desperate to keep the London Olympics from happening, Eggman sends out a 3D hologram of him out to wreak havoc near an Olympic stadium. However, the clone is chased down by Vector and Knuckles to the inside of the stadium, where he is cornered by them and Sonic and defeated by the former two, while the real Eggman and Bowser remain safe and hidden inside Big Ben. From there, Eggman uses the main machine to unleash ten times the amount of Phantasmal Fog the other machines could have. However, when Eggman activates this function, Bowser is concerned that the machine may not be safe. The machine then overloads, and fog begins spreading around the interior of the lair. Bowser and Eggman begin to absorb the fog, which makes them stronger, as the Phantasmal Fog begins to spread outside of Big Ben and across London.
As soon as Mario, Luigi, Sonic, and Tails arrive at Big Ben, Bowser and Dr. Eggman instantly reveal themselves, visibly powered up by the fog: they are now glowing various colors and are emanating electricity. They inform the heroes that, as they speak, armies of fog imposters are heading around the city and preventing the Olympic Games. However, Toad and various other allies of Mario's and Sonic's inform them that the fog across the city has been cleared. They are shocked to hear this, but decide to achieve vengeance by defeating Mario's team at a series of Olympic events. When Sonic and Mario defeat them, they try to stop Mario and Sonic from ruining their plan, but are forced to watch as Sonic destroys the machine. Once this is done, Mario uses the urn to suck up the fog, thus stripping Eggman and Bowser of their increased power and sealing the Phantasmal Fog away once more when he places the lid on.
At first, the two are disappointed that they cannot participate in the Olympic Games. Upon Tails' asking, they explain that they were the only ones that were not invited, accusing them of intentionally not inviting them. However, Tails explains that it was a mistake; Toad then informs them over the walkie-talkie that, despite the fact that they have not received invitations, Eggman and Bowser are on the list of competitors, and that there is still time to register by providing their IDs at the main stadium. Eggman and Bowser, however, state that they do not have their IDs, but the heroes convince Toad to make an exception and he allows them to register without them if they can make it to the stadium in time. That night, Bowser is among the various competitors present at the opening ceremony for the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games
Bowser returns as a playable character in Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games. He once again returns as a Power-type character.
Mario Sports Mix
Bowser appears in Mario Sports Mix as a powerful-type character. His power stat is high, but his technique stat is lower as a result, and he also has a very low speed stat. His high power stat allows him to hit balls and pucks harder than normal, which can push back weaker characters. In Dodgeball, Bowser can repel dodgeball attacks by spinning inside his shell. However, this move is rendered useless when the dodgeball is equipped with an item. Bowser's special ability involves him spitting a fireball onto the court, near the goal, and then throwing the sports object toward the goal. Anyone caught within the radius of the blast is knocked back and burned, and has a harder time stopping Bowser's shots, or evading them in Dodgeball.
Other appearances, cameos and references
Bowser has received many minor appearances and mentions in Mario media. In Luigi's Mansion, Bowser himself does not appear, but Madam Clairvoya mentions that Bowser was defeated by Mario, and King Boo wears a suit modeled after Bowser. The Japan-only game I am a Teacher: Super Mario Sweater features Bowser as one of the possible designs players can put on their shirt. Another Japan-exclusive game called Mario Roulette has Bowser appear if the player stops the roulette on him. Bowser also appears in the many activities in the Mario's Early Years! games, like dancing for the letter "D". In Mario's Game Gallery, Bowser appears in the checkers game; whenever Mario crowns one of his pieces, it turns into Bowser. Bowser also appears in the coloring book-based game Super Mario Bros. & Friends: When I Grow Up; he appears on the "attorney and judge" page, in which he is being questioned by Mario, who is an attorney; and the "business executive" page, in which he appears as the business executive. Bowser appears with his game and cartoon appearance in this game.
Bowser also appears as a prominent character in the Super Mario-Kun Japan-exclusive manga. With each novel being based upon the Mario games, Bowser's appearances in Super Mario-Kun give him the same role he has in the game each volume is based on. The Super Mario-Kun manga published by Pikkapika Comics also features Bowser as a prominent character and antagonist.
Aside from the appearances listed above, Bowser has also either been referenced, or has appeared in various other ways in the Mario series. The most common one is in the form of the emblem of the Koopa Troop, the design being based upon Bowser's own face. Bowser statues and busts also appear in locations such as castles and airships.
Bowser also appears in various forms of merchandise. In Super Mario Chess, Bowser takes the role of one of the kings. In Nintendo UNO, Bowser replaces the Draw 2 card. Additionally, in both versions of Nintendo Monopoly, Bowser's only appearance is on the box; aside from this, one of the ? Block cards has the player pay $15 for "Bowser tax." The 2006 board also shows several scenes featuring Bowser, such as a Bowser interlude from Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door or the fight with him from Super Mario 64.
Although he appears in the book How to Draw Nintendo Heroes and Villains, Bowser is mistakenly known as "Kerog." Although it is unknown how this mistake was made, "kero" is the Japanese onomatopoeia for a frog's croaking. This mistake is not made in the follow-up book, How to Draw Nintendo's Greatest Heroes and Villains.
Bowser also makes a number of cameos in non-Mario video games, as well as in other forms of media such as movies, TV and print publications. Minor appearances include his presence in F-1 Race, where he and other Nintendo characters wave at the driver when they complete a circuit, and the inclusion of a Super Mario Bros. sprite of Bowser in Art Style: PiCTOBiTS.
In the SNES version of SimCity, one of the natural disasters the player can cause is a Bowser attack, in which he tramples through the destroys the player's city. He replaces the generic Godzilla-style monster used in the other version of the game.
In Pikmin 2, one of the treasures, the Flame of Tomorrow matchbox, is emblazoned with Bowser's face and is said to contain "Bowser Breath" brand matches.
One of the Nintendo 3DS Mii accessories that can be obtained is a Bowser hat. It is in the shape of Bowser's face, and covers the entire Mii's head, with its face being visible inside the mouth. Additionally, one of the Puzzle Swap panels is named, "Mario and Bowser"; the panel features Mario, Luigi, and Bowser standing together, back to back, arms crossed.
Tetris series
The results screen for the NES version of Tetris features Bowser as part of a band composed of himself, Donkey Kong, Link, Pit, Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Samus Aran. He is playing the accordion.
In Tetris DS, during Standard Mode, a Bowser sprite from Super Mario Bros appears on the touch screen on stage ten. Additionally, when viewing the amount of Tetris Points the player has, if the player has between 8000-8999 Tetris Points, Bowser's Super Mario Bros. sprite appears on the top screen.
The Legend of Zelda series
While Bowser himself does not appear in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, a portrait of him can be found by Young Link, hanging on a wall in Hyrule Castle. Later, at the Lon Lon Ranch, the characters Malon and Talon both wear broaches of Bowser's face, which is ironic because Talon bears a great resemblance to Mario.
When Link travels to the world of Termina in The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, he meets a pair of sisters named Romani and Cremia, who also wear Bowser broaches. This is due to them sharing the same character models as Malon's child and adult forms, respectively.
Wreck-It Ralph
Like Mario, Bowser cameos or is referenced in numerous television or film productions, but only Bowser makes an appearance in the Disney film Wreck-It Ralph, as the story team could not find a proper place to utilize Mario in the story.[8] In the film, Bowser is a member of "Bad-Anon" (Bad Guys Anonymous) along with the titular character, Ralph, and appears in a couple scenes.[9] He is also shown reciting the Bad Guy Affirmation with the other video game villains. Once Ralph states he does not want to be a villain anymore, Bowser breathes fireballs in shock.
General information
Personality
When Bowser was created, he was a typical villain without much personality beyond simply wanting to take over the Mushroom Kingdom. Later games started showing various different aspects of Bowser's character, depending on the nature of the plot. While his platformer role continues to be that of a simple antagonist, his Mario Party antics typically being more angry, childish, and mischievous than dangerous, and his portrayals in the RPGs ranging from a threatening, yet humorous villain to a playable anti-hero. Even when Bowser is acting as a protagonist in a game, however, he continues to insist he is an evil character, and his reasons for doing the right thing are typically selfish in nature.
Bowser's personality is explored most extensively in the various RPGs, starting with the first one, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, in which Bowser loses his castle to a greater villain. As well as the grief he expresses over his castle, Bowser is shown to be as sad as the other playable characters about Geno's body breaking down, and at one point, his boasting takes the form of a haiku. As in later RPGs, however, most of Bowser's actions in the game are self-centered, with his motivation for joining the heroes solely being to reclaim his stolen castle and prevent another villain from taking over the world that he himself desires. This reasoning is also behind Bowser's alliance with Mario and the others in Super Paper Mario, after the somewhat oblivious Koopa is reminded that he can't conquer anything if the other villain's plans to destroy all worlds comes to fruition. While Bowser is shown to take pride in his villainy and boasts of being a quality "final boss" throughout the adventure, he seemingly sacrifices himself to save Mario and the others, and even argues with his rival O'Chunks to save himself while Bowser held the crumbling roof above them (although it is later revealed that they both survived). He is also shown to be as horrified as the others when witnessing the Sammer's Kingdom's destruction, a sharp contrast to his attitude in the Super Mario Galaxy platformers, where he is willing to create his own galaxy at the expense of the universe.
As in Super Mario Galaxy, most other platformers leave Bowser as a typical villain, as does the most recent RPG, Paper Mario: Sticker Star. The original Paper Mario also casts Bowser as the main antagonist, however like Super Mario RPG that came before it, this portrayal is more well-rounded, introducing a humorous side to Bowser alongside his evilness, and revealing that he has a crush on Peach. Bowser's affection for the princess is later showcased in Super Paper Mario, with the two being forcibly wed in the game by the main antagonist; while the princess disavows the ceremony, Bowser happily and persistently acts as if they are indeed spouses. Bowser's relationship with Peach also comes into play in Super Mario Sunshine, in which Bowser's son apparently believes her to be his mother, although at the end of the game, Bowser sadly admits that he had lied to his child about his parentage. Aside from this, Bowser has never shown remorse for his troublesome actions and the havoc they often cause, but he is often saddened by his own losses. In Super Mario Galaxy, his only regret is his failure to create his own realm, and in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, he is upset about having to damage his own captured castle as he tried to reclaim it from Fawful. By contrast, in Mario Party 4, Bowser grudgingly giving the player a present and wishing them a happy birthday as he leaves in shame, moving one of the Koopa Kids to wonder if there might be more to Bowser than he leads others to believe, as Bowser claimed to be somewhat happy.
Unlike the platformers and the other Paper Mario titles, Bowser's role is reduced to a dim-witted comic relief villain in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, where he tries and fails to collect the Crystal Stars before Mario. The first two Mario & Luigi titles also cast Bowser as a comical recurring secondary villain, with Partners in Time having him team up with Baby Bowser, whom he did not even recognize as being his infant self. Despite being the central character of Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, the third Mario & Luigi game reveals nothing new about Bowser's character, but it does provide an overview of his personality to date. His reasons for saving the world from Fawful and the Dark Star involve pride, selfishness, and possessiveness toward Peach. He is extremely conceited and boastful about himself and his accomplishments, and he resents having to ask nicely for help from Starlow. He acts as a leader to his troops and forgives them for joining Fawful, but his usual rashness and his penchant for destruction and violence come to a head when he flies into a rage upon discovering that Mario and Luigi had been helping him the entire time from within his body. He attacks them and is promptly defeated, mere moments after the three had worked together to save the world.
While his range of emotions varies from game to game, it is his nearsightedness, anger, and hatred that typifies Bowser in all his appearances, whether he is a reluctant protagonist or a straightforward villain who cares only about conquering lands and destroying his opposition.
Physical appearance
Bowser is a huge, burly, green-shelled Koopa with spikes, horns, and hair. His bushy eyebrows and mane are fittingly a bright, fiery red-orange and has bright red eyes. He sports two small horns, many spikes on his shell (similar to a Spiny) with brown-orange spike-rings, as well as along his tail (minus the spike-rings). He wears several spiked collars around his neck and arms. He has three claws on each of his massive feet, which support his impressive girth. He has three claw-tipped fingers and a thumb on each hand, and his arms are noticeably burly, indicating his vast physical strength. While his face and his shell are green, his underbelly and snout are flesh-colored (occasionally depicted as being closer to tan or even yellow), and his tail and limbs are an orange-tinged yellow. The exact coloration of Bowser's head varies depending on the media: while official 2D artwork and most of his in-game appearances have his head and shell match in color, the majority of the official 3D artwork, trailers, merchandise as well as Mario & Luigi games show him with a light green head, similar to Bowser Jr.'s appearance.
Bowser's appearance is based upon a combination of the many species of Koopa, including Koopa Troopas, Spinies, and Hammer Bros. According to Prima's Super Mario Galaxy guide, the appearance of Bowser and the Koopas are also based on kappa of Japanese mythology, although this has not been officially stated by Shigeru Miyamoto.[10]
Bowser's appearance is not always the same. Graphical limitations in the original Super Mario Bros. meant Bowser could not have hair; artwork for Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels depicted him with yellow hair, and his iconic red hair was finally seen in-game in Super Mario Bros. 3. The original Super Mario Bros. also depicted Bowser as being mostly green, rather than having yellow body scales. The creators of the Mario cartoons wished to follow the graphic design of Super Mario Bros., and so their portrayal of King Koopa had him almost completely green in colour and lacking hair, with a crown atop his head instead. His stomach was a deeper yellow than in later game depictions, and the whites of his eyes were also yellow; he also had a more crocodile-like snout, which was also colored green. He was also given a single pair of spiked bands on his wrists, with the spikes on said bands being yellow in color.
Nintendo Comics System used the same design as the cartoons for the Mario comics, and different installations in the Nintendo Adventure Books used either it or Bowser's game depiction, interchangeably. By comparison, the two Mario anime (the three OVAs and Super Mario Bros.: Peach-hime Kyushutsu Dai Sakusen!) are relatively true to the games' depiction of Bowser, except for the fact that his eyes are blue instead of red.
Powers and abilities
Bowser possess various abilities, the more prominent of which being his fire breath. He can produce continuous flares or flurries of individual fireballs, and as seen in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door and Super Paper Mario, he can even use his fire breath underwater. He has been shown to cause fiery rain in Super Mario World and New Super Mario Bros U, while in Super Mario 64 and New Super Mario Bros., he can produce blue flames that home in on Mario. Bowser is very proud of his fire breath, and is immensely displeased to find himself temporarily unable to use his flames in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story. In the PC version of Mario is Missing!, Bowser is immune to fireballs, however this is not the case in most other games. Similarly, while lava defeats Bowser in many games, including the original Super Mario Bros., or New Super Mario Bros. (in which it skeletonizes him into Dry Bowser), in other titles, he appears to be resistant to it, such as New Super Mario Bros. Wii.
Bowser's near immunity and the fact that he always recovers from his defeats is another hallmark of his capabilities. As well as being submerged in lava, Bowser has also fallen great distances, been blown up, crushed, electrocuted, flash frozen and shattered, yet not one of these defeats has been permanent, with Luigi once remarking that "Bowser's survived far worse" after the Koopa appeared to sacrifice himself to save the others from a collapsing roof in Super Paper Mario. Bowser's playable side-scrolling sections in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door show him to have infinite lives, which may explain his durability.
Another hallmark of the Koopa King is Bowser's raw physical strength and power. Bowser is often the most powerful character in sports games, and in Super Paper Mario, his attack stat as twice that of the other heroes. He can easily break through boulders and topple enemies many times his own size, and in Mario & Luigi Bowser's Inside Story, when Mario and Luigi stimulate his muscles with minigames, Bowser can move islands and lift giant stone statues, among other things. Like his fire breath, Bowser takes pride in his strength, and is quick to use punches, claw swipes, tackles, stomps, body slams and other physical attacks in battle.
Unlike his strength, Bowser's speed and agility is not consistent between games. Bowser is usually slower than Mario, like in Super Paper Mario, the Super Smash Bros. games and most sports titles, although despite being the slowest runner in the Mario & Sonic summer Olympics, with a 2/10 stat, in the winter games, he has an 8/10 stat. In Super Mario 64 Bowser can jump incredible heights and make short charges as Mario, and while he can't climb ladders in Super Paper Mario, both it and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door show him to be a good swimmer, although the later reveals that he dislikes the activity.
In the original Super Mario Bros., Bowser throws hammers at Mario, like a Hammer Bro., and this ability reappears in various games, including Super Princess Peach, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga and New Super Mario Bros. 2. Several games also show Bowser causing shockwaves with his ground pounding, and he can also duck into his spiked shell and spin or roll around to attack. In Super Mario RPG and Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, Bowser can attack his enemies using bites, with the latter game giving him the ability to poison others with his fangs, while the former gives him a poisonous claw attack. Like these poisonous moves, another uncommonly seen skill is Bowser's lightning power, which only appears in Hotel Mario and the opening cutscene of Super Mario Galaxy. Both games also make use of Bowser's teleporting ability, as he uses it to bring Peach to his hotel in Hotel Mario and teleports away after his first two defeats in Super Mario Galaxy; he also teleports across the battlefield if the player comes near him in Super Mario 64.
According to the Super Mario Bros. instruction booklet, Bowser is a skilled user in dark magic, using it turn the citizens of the Mushroom Kingdom into blocks and other items. While this aspect of Bowser's abilities is not seen in many other games, he makes use of similar magic to shrink players in Mario Party 4 and turn a Koopa Troopa into a frog in Mario Party 2. Bowser can also transform himself, such as turning into a giant boulder during his final fights with Mario in Super Mario Galaxy, or changing into Giga Bowser in the Super Smash Bros. games, which grants him numerous new powers, such as the ability to freeze opponents. In the anime film, Super Mario Bros.: Pīchi-hime Kyushutsu Dai Sakusen! he has the ability to shapeshift into anything he desires, and he can drastically change his size in various games.
Size
Like his speed, Bowser's size changes between games, and often varies between or during battles in single titles. In Super Princess Peach, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Paper Mario: Sticker Star, Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, and various Mario Party titles, Bowser uses an assortment of magical artifacts and items to turn himself temporarily giant for his final showdowns with Mario, and starts out giant in Super Mario Sunshine, shrinking back down to regular proportions after his defeat. Kamek and the Koopalings use spells to turn Bowser gigantic in New Super Mario Bros. Wii and New Super Mario Bros. 2, respectively, and Kamek also makes Baby Bowser giant in Yoshi's Island. In Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, Mario and Luigi can make Bowser temporarily giant by supercharging him with adrenaline; Bowser X and Dark Bowser can become giant for a short while as well. Other games also show him to have modest increases in size from one boss battle to another, such as New Super Mario Bros. and Paper Mario. In the playable Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door intermissions, eating Meat gradually increases Bowser's size, and like the other characters, Bowser can grow with the aid of Super Mushrooms in the Super Smash Bros. games. There are also Super Smash Bros. Events that feature Bowser as being larger than normal, and while his "normal" size varies from game to game, usually he's about twice Mario's height, or a head taller than Peach, and is always much bulkier than the other characters.
Relationships
Although technically a younger version of himself, Bowser has interacted with Baby Bowser during two occasions of time travel. In Yoshi's Island DS, Baby Bowser insults his future self, who then rashly blasts him out of the castle; later, however, Bowser becomes outraged when he discovers his younger self being bested by the Yoshis. In Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, the to Bowsers do not recognize each other and argue about the ownership of Thwomp Volcano, eventually putting their differences aside to work together to try and defeat Mario, Luigi and their own baby selves. After their defeat, Bowser's parting advice to Baby Bowser is to "Get stronger and more evil".
Bowser's minions all hold Bowser in high regards and loyally serve him out of respect, rather than fear, although most are mindful of his fiery temper. Bowser does not take betrayal well and will not hesitate to attack deserters as enemies, although he has been shown to be forgiving at times, such as letting the trio of Corporal Paraplonk, Private Goomp and Sergeant Guy return to service after they betrayed him for Fawful in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story. Bowser has also been shown to treat minions in a fatherly fashion, namely towards the Koopa Kids in the Mario Party series (who, despite their similar appearances are not related to Bowser), although they treat him as a boss only. One minion who treats Bowser fairly informally at times is Kammy Koopa, who loyally and tirelessly puts up with his constant stream of derision when working together during the first two Paper Mario games. In her tattle , Goombella wonders whether it is harder for Bowser to put up with Kammy or vice-versa, but despite his verbal abuse, Bowser often takes Kammy's advice to heart.
Family
Both the original Japanese and English versions of the game Super Mario Bros. 3 introduced Bowser's seven children, the Koopalings[11][12]. They were also depicted as his children in the DIC cartoons and various comics released shortly after Super Mario Bros. 3, and the English box of Yoshi's Safari called the Koopalings Bowser's children. However, subsequent games did not draw attention to their kinship, and many years later, in 2002, Super Mario Sunshine introduced Bowser Jr., Bowser's youngest child who, unlike the Koopalings, resembles Bowser greatly. While the Prima Guide of New Super Mario Bros. Wii referred to Bowser Jr. as a "bothersome Koopaling."[13], other sources treated him independently from his Koopaling "siblings" and in a September 2012 interview, Shigeru Miyamoto stated that Nintendo's "current story" is that Bowser Jr. is Bowser's only child [14].
Before the introduction of Bowser Jr., the Koopalings acted as heirs to Bowser's kingdom, and the eldest and presumed leader of the bunch, Ludwig von Koopa, was said to be Bowser's second-in-command at the time. Bowser has always been very proud of the Koopalings' service and devout loyalty to him, and while the dynamics between them was very familial in the cartoons and comics, in the games, Bowser seemed to treat them as minions to an extent and used them to battle Mario in the games. Bowser also uses Junior as a pawn in his schemes, even going so far as to falsely claiming that Peach was the child's mother to give him extra incentive to destroy Mario for taking her away from their "family". However, in a rare moment of humility, Bowser eventually tells his son the truth about Peach, but Bowser Jr. had known all along, and simply wanted to fight Mario to be like his father. Bowser does indeed care about his son, and like is original relationship with the Koopalings, is proud of him and his loyalty to the Koopa Troop, and the two share closer ties than Bowser and the Koopalings, with Junior often acting as Bowser's default partner in sports and spin-off games.
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island introduced Kamek, the Magikoopa who raised Bowser from infancy and who has been seen interacting with him the most throughout the series. As seen in subsequent Yoshi series games and Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, Kamek takes great care of Baby Bowser and worries for his safety, with his devout loyalty continuing into Bowser's adulthood. Kamek's Psychopath line in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars even implies that he considers Bowser to be like a son to him, as despite his brain-washing by the enemies, he thinks "That's... my child?" when faced with Bowser in battle. The only time a rift has been shown between the two is in Mario Party Advance; after winning a minigame Kamek explains that he took leave of Koopa Troop when Bowser disappointed him by taking the title of "Game Master", rather than earning it, although the two reconciled in the end. Aside from that incident, the two get along well, and Bowser seems to show much more respect to his elderly guardian than to any other of his henchmen.
Bowser mentions his actual father in few issues of the Nintendo Comics System, with the implications being that he is a wanted criminal on the run. Similarly, Bowser's mother does not appear in any games, but was introduced in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! episode "Do You Princess Toadstool Take This Koopa...?", which showed her to be a bossy and bullying woman who resented her son for remaining a bachelor. Bowser also mentions a grandfather named Poopa La Koopa in the Super Show episode "Butch Mario & the Luigi Kid", saying his motto was "Cheat, beat, and be merry!" Bowser also mentions a paternal "great-great grandkoop" in the Super Show episode, "Raiders of the Lost Mushroom," claiming that he built the Temple of Koopa to hide the Lost Mushroom, which he then left to Bowser. In an episode of The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, Morton brings up one of the Koopalings' great grandmothers, and the family was shown to have a pet rabbit named Pookie in the Nintendo Comics System; he was often abused, until his eventual escape from Bowser's Castle in the comic "Bowser Knows Best". In the Nintendo Adventure Book Flown the Koopa, an unnamed Magikoopa stated to be Bowser's third cousin twice removed is featured as the main antagonist; this character also appears in the later books Unjust Desserts and Brain Drain, though has only a minor role in both. Finally, in both an episode of the Super Show and the song "Ignorance is Bliss", Bowser mentions a younger sister who is, according to him, a bookworm.
Love interests
One of the most complex aspects of Bowser's character is his relationship with Peach. As explained in the manual of Super Mario Bros., Bowser initially started abducting Peach to prevent her from restoring the transformed Toads back to normal. In the same The Super Mario Bros. Super Show episode that featured his mother, Bowser tried and failed to marry Peach, and his unrequited crush on the princess recurs in various games, starting with a diary entry he wrote in Paper Mario expressing his hopes that Peach would like him. He even told his son Bowser Jr. that Peach was his mother, although the events of Super Mario Sunshine forced him to admit that this was a lie. Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story revealed that Bowser's most carefully preserved memory was of Peach, but despite his feelings, he actually shows very little regard for her happiness and well-being as he constantly kidnaps her, attacks her kingdom, and fights the people she cares about. He has also put Peach herself in danger numerous times, either inadvertently or on purpose, most notably in Super Princess Peach and Super Mario 3D World, where the eponymous princess herself faced Bowser in combat. In Super Paper Mario, the two were wed by Count Bleck and Nastasia as part of the former's plan to unleash the Chaos Heart, and while Bowser regarded the marriage as official and happily referred to Peach as his wife throughout the game, she refuted his claims and called the wedding a sham, as she does not return his affection at all. Despite this, she is still willing to work with Bowser when the situation calls for it, and will even sweet-talk, flatter or show him genuine goodwill or concern when they are acting as allies.
Bowser was shown to have his own admirer in high school, as seen in the comic "Koopa's High School Yearbook": after he asked for her sandwich, the unnamed Koopa developed a crush on Bowser, formed the one-member "Koopa Fan Club" and joined the "Future Wives of Tyrants Club", although it is unknown if her ambitions to marry the Koopa King ever panned out. Additionally, an issue of the UK Nintendo Power once said that Bowser had a wife named Clawdia Koopa, however this is largely believed to be a joke, as she was never mentioned again. In a recent interview, Miyamoto simply stated that Bowser Jr.'s mother was "unknown"[14].
Foes
Mario is Bowser's arch-nemesis and as such, is almost always the one who stops the Koopa King's evil plans. Bowser despises Mario for this and constantly tries and fails to stop him as part of his schemes to conquer the Mushroom Kingdom and beyond. Despite the open hostility between the two, Bowser has occasionally been seen to hold a grudging respect for Mario, such as his statement in Super Mario Galaxy that he "chose the right guy to be his archenemy". Bowser's drive to be the one to destroy his nemesis has also led him to intervene when other villains threaten Mario, such as in Mario Super Sluggers, where Bowser stopped an attack launched by Wario and Waluigi. Many RPGs involve Bowser teaming up with Mario to stop an emergent foe that poses a threat to both of them, such as Smithy, who took over Bowser's castle in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, or Count Bleck in Super Paper Mario, whose plot to destroy all worlds ran counter to Bowser's dreams of global domination. While Bowser makes a show of his reluctance to team up, Mario seems more complacent with working with Bowser despite their history, and occasionally shows him some leniency, such as letting him go after his actions in Mario Party DS merely gave Mario and the others a fun experience. Overall, however, the animosity is mutual, and Bowser's run-ins with Mario usually end in the Koopa King's defeat.
Luigi often fights Bowser alongside Mario, and as such, is one of the Koopa King's greatest enemies. Like many other characters in the Mario series, Bowser is often depicted as holding Luigi in lower esteem than his brother, however he usually doesn't go so far as to discount Luigi as a threat. Another ally of Mario's is Yoshi, however the history between Bowser and both the Yoshi character and the Yoshis as a whole goes back to the Koopa's childhood, when he enjoyed stealing cookies from the Yoshis, and even took their Super Happy Tree at one point, forcing them to retaliate. Yoshi himself first faced Baby Bowser in his quest to save Baby Luigi, who had been kidnapped by Kamek, and the bad blood between him and both the Magikoopa and the Koopa King himself continues to the present day.
Generally speaking, any ally of Mario's is an enemy of Bowser's, although they occasionally share common foes, including the aforementioned Smithy, Count Bleck and Fawful. One of Bowser's few victories actually came out of his conflict with Fawful during Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, when the latter took over both Bowser and Peach's castles and kidnapped the Princess. While Mario and Luigi were aiding Bowser during this game, he was unaware of this, instead communicating exclusively with their ally Starlow, who used the alias "Chippy". Despite their common goal, Bowser and Starlow spent the whole adventure trading barbs and occasionally refusing to cooperate, although Starlow occasionally expressed concern and sympathy for the Koopa and he eventually came to think of her as a loyal minion, only to become enraged when he learned the truth of who she really was. Another "frenemy" situation is the one between Bowser and Wario, who have joined forces (along with Waluigi) against Mario in Mario Power Tennis, and worked together (albeit fractiously) as babies in Yoshi's Island DS. Most of the time they are on opposing sides, however, as in Super Mario 64 DS and the Mario Party series when Wario was on Mario' side, and even in Mario Super Sluggers, when Bowser stops Wario from destroying Mario, due to the Koopa King's own wish to defeat the plumber.
Impersonators
As feared as Bowser is throughout the Mushroom Kingdom and the rest of the Mario World, there are others who try to imitate his appearance, generally for their own gain. There have been many impostors in some games who have tried to replicate or manifest him in varying ways, albeit perfectly or imperfectly:
| Impersonation | Impersonator/Creator | Appearance |
|---|---|---|
| False Bowser | Various | Super Mario Bros., Super Mario 3D Land |
| Mecha-Koopas | Super Mario World, Yoshi's Safari, Hotel Mario, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, Mario Kart: Super Circuit, Mario Party 5, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, Mario Power Tennis, Mario Party Advance, Mario Party 7, Super Mario Galaxy, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Mario Party 9, New Super Mario Bros. U, Mario & Luigi: Dream Team | |
| Iggy Koopa | Hotel Mario | |
| Bowser clone | Belome | Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars |
| Bowser Suit | Mario and company | Mario Party, Mario Party 2, Mario Party 3, Mario Party 4, Mario Party 8 |
| Bowser??? | Koopa Bros. | Paper Mario |
| Koopa Kid | Mario Party 3 | |
| King Boo | Luigi's Mansion | |
| Mecha Bowser | Bowser Jr. | Super Mario Sunshine, Mario Party 5, Mario Power Tennis, Mario Kart Arcade GP, Mario Party 7, Mario Kart Arcade GP 2, Super Mario Galaxy, Mario Party 9 |
| Dark Bowser | Shadoo | Super Paper Mario |
| False Bowser | Shadow Bugs | Super Smash Bros. Brawl |
| Dark Bowser | Dark Star | Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story |
| Bowser X | Gauntlet Emoglobin | Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story |
Nicknames and Aliases
Template:Seealso In several of his appearances, Bowser has been known to use aliases, or is referred to through a self-given nickname or a nickname given by others. The Super Mario Bros. Super Show and Mario Party 2 mostly show him under an alias matching the theme of each location explored.
- King of the Koopa / King of the Koopas / Koopa King (Various)
- King Koopa (Japanese name and other media such as cartoons)
- Koopa (Japanese name and other media such as cartoons)
- King Bowser (Various)
- Lord Bowser (Paper Mario series)
- Big dude (Baby Bowser)
- Fungus Cap
- Ka-Hoopa
- Cap'n Bowser
- Bowser the Brash
- Wizard Bowser
- Bowser Sphinx
- Black Hole Bowser
- The King of Awesome
- Mr. Bowser (Merlon, Koopa Kid)
- Mr. Getsfoiledallthetimebytheredguywiththemoustache (Mr. L)
- Arm Flailer (Dimentio)
- Large Angry Bowser Guy (Birdley)
- Mr. Violent Face-Puncher (Birdley)
- The Great Bowser
- His/Your Queasiness (Kamek)
- His/Your Grouchiness (Kammy Koopa)
- His/Your Gnarliness (Kammy Koopa)
- His/Your Filthiness (Kammy Koopa)
- His/Your Rancidness (Kammy Koopa)
- His/Your Awfulness (Kammy Koopa)
- His/Your Massiveness (Kammy Koopa)
- His/Your Chunkiness (Kammy Koopa)
- His/Your Ghastliness (Kammy Koopa)
- Your Grunginess (Kammy Koopa)
- Your Sogginess (Kammy Koopa)
- Your Ungratefulness (Kamek)
- Your Wretchedness (Kammy Koopa)
- Your Rottenness (Magikoopa)
- Your Surliness (Various)
- Your Beefiness (Magikoopa)
- Your Rudeness (Various)
- Your Grumpiness (Kammy Koopa)
- Your Forgetfullness (Corporal Paraplonk)
- His Touchiness (Kamek)
- His Grouchiness (Kamek)
- His Timeliness (Kamek)
- His Groomness (Various)
- Your Rashness (Goomba)
- Your Huffiness (Koopatrol)
- The Boss of Bwahaha (Nintendo)
- King Dad (Koopalings)
- Pop (Koopalings)
- Big B (Iggy Koopa)
- Daddykins (Kootie Pie)
- Papa (Bowser Jr.)
- Dad (Bowser Jr., Koopalings)
- Koopa Stoopa (Toad and Princess Toadstool)
- Koopums (His mother)
- Rookie (Popple)
- Monsieur Turtle Bits (Broque Monsieur)
- Monster (Lubba)
- Mr. Big Bowser Guy (Toad)
- Dr. Big Bowser Pants (Toad)
Official profiles and statistics
- Main article: List of Bowser profiles and statistics
Super Mario series
Super Mario Bros.
Manual Description: "The sorcerer king holding Princess Toadstool captive in the last castle. He comes at you spitting fire. There are several ways to kill him, but you only get points if you use fireballs."
New Super Mario Bros. Wii
- European Website Bio: "The flame-haired, fire-breathing King of the Koopas could never be described as a quitter. For every failed attempt to hold Princess Peach captive, Bowser seems to have five more schemes up his sizeable sleeve. Could his latest plot finally see him getting the better of Mario?"
Super Mario 3D Land
Website Bio: "The dastardly King of the Koopas is making Mario's life difficult again. He'll spit fireballs, shake the ground, and throw whatever he can get his hands on to keep you from getting Princess Peach."
New Super Mario Bros. 2
Website Bio: "The colossal King of the Koopas is up to no good again—and with the Koopalings in tow, he might be unstoppable... Can you make it all the way to his castle?"
New Super Mario Bros. U
Website Bio: "With a fearsome fleet of airships at his disposal, Bowser and his cohorts have decided to mount an attack right on the heroes' home turf."
Portrayals
Over the years, Bowser has been voiced by several people, both in the games and in other media. They include:
Quotes
- Main article: List of quotes by Bowser
Gallery
Super Mario Bros.
- Bowsersmb3.png
Super Mario Bros. 3
Super Mario World
- Bowsersm64.gif
Super Mario 64
- Bowser-SuperMarioGalaxy.jpg
Super Mario Galaxy
Nintendo Comics System
Super Smash Bros. Melee
Yoshi Topsy-Turvy / Yoshi's Island DS
Super Paper Mario
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
Names in other languages
Trivia
- All 8-bit sprites have only three colors, but Bowser's original sprite from Super Mario Bros. appears to have four. This is because the black background is what gives Bowser his black spiked collars around his wrists. Due to this, using cheat codes so Bowser appears in a non-castle level will look like his hands are separated from his arms. This occurs again in Super Mario Bros. 3 where Bowser's sprite is designed to exploit the black background and use it as an outline element.
- While King Koopa is not normally referred to as Bowser Koopa in Japan, there are occasions where it is alluded to. For example, in the Japanese version of Mario Kart Wii, his Flame Runner is known as the Super Bowser. In all versions of Super Mario Sunshine, Peach calls Bowser Jr. "Bowser's son," and Bowser himself calls his family the "royal Koopa line," meaning that Koopa is also his surname in Japan. Bowser Koopa is rarely directly given as his full name, but it has occured in some official sources such as White Knuckle Scorin', as well as certain cartoon episodes and comic issues.
References
- ^ The Legend of Zelda interview with Shigeru Miyamoto from 2000 at Famitsu.com (Japanese)
- ^ a b Iwata Asks: Nintendo DSi, Volume 8 - Flipnote Studio - An Animation Class (part 4) at Nintendo.co.uk
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43tV_3NSZqs
- ^ http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/impressions/36406
- ^ The Mushroom Kingdom (Accessed on 9-19-08)
- ^ [1]
- ^ http://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/#/3ds/papermario/0/2
- ^ http://www.inquisitr.com/334657/wreck-it-ralph-explains-why-mario-wont-make-an-appearance/ Interview explaining in greater detail why Mario and Luigi weren't placed in the film, the claims of money reasons having been a joke taken literally. (Retrieved December 7, 2012)
- ^ Wreck-It Ralph trailer on IMBD. (Retrieved June 7, 2012)
- ^ As told in Prima's official Super Mario Galaxy guide.
- ^ 「ワッハハ。これから俺様の息子達がこのゲームの説明をするぜ。息子達の言うことをよーく聞いてせいぜいガンバルことだな。ワッハハ。」 - Super Mario Bros. 3 Famicom manual. Note Bowser's use of 「俺様の息子達」 ("ore-sama no musuko-tachi"), which equates to "my children" (literally, "my sons"), while at the same time referring to himself in a comically arrogant manner.
- ^ VC スーパーマリオブラザーズ3 Nintendo of Japan website. Note that Larry refers to Bowser as 「オヤジ」 ("Oyaji") in katakana, which both is a Japanese term for "Father" as well as a Japanese term of endearment.
- ^ "After you reach Bowser Jr.'s chamber, the bothersome Koopaling hops into his flying carriage" - New Super Mario Bros. Wii Premiere Edition, pg. 129
- ^ a b Screw Attack reports that "The koopalings are NOT related to Bowser!!!" and provide a scan of a Game Informer interview with Shigeru Miyamoto, in which he states that the Koopalings are not "currently" considered to be Bowser's children, unlike Bowser Jr., whose mother is "unknown". Posted September 12, 2012. (Retrieved September 15, 2012)
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