Bowser (PM)

Hailing from the universe, Bowser is a playable character in the Brawl mod Project M. His moveset in Project M comes from a combination of his Brawl and Melee movesets, though with heavy buffs. 
Bowser is currently ranked 41st out of 41 characters on the official tier list, ranking himself as the worst character on the tier list, the same Melee placement ranking 26th out of 26 characters and a somewhat larger drop from his Brawl placement of 33rd out of 38. In the official Project+ tier list, he places higher, ranking 32nd out of 42 characters.
==Attributes==
In Project M, Bowser keeps most of his characteristics from Brawl and Melee. He is both the largest and heaviest character, but still has a somewhat high dash speed for his size, and his powerful attacks are offset somewhat by lag or awkward animations. His only recovery move, Whirling Fortress, maintains its strong horizontal capabilities while still being weak vertically. However, in Project M, Bowser's offense has been greatly buffed, giving him better damage, armor, additional shield damage, and less lag on many of his moves, making him excellent at dealing burst damage and, consequently, a terrifyingly dangerous force when he's in control of the match. Bowser's armor mechanic allows him to absorb the knockback and flinch effects from attacks of various strengths while performing certain moves, as well as during his dash, crouch, and crawl. As a result, Bowser can nullify what would otherwise be a potentially combo starting move, or simply plow straight through an attack intended to stop Bowser from advancing. Additionally, the damage buffs on his attacks now allow Bowser to outprioritize stronger attacks if his armored moves aren't appropriate. Even though he is a slower character, Bowser has high speed in some areas: besides his above-average dashing speed, Bowser Bomb can be cancelled before Bowser reaches its peak, allowing for quick follow-ups into the air that are impossible to achieve with his normal jumps. 
The keystone of Bowser's combo potential is Koopa Klaw, which returns from Melee with some reworking. Instead of providing Bowser with a pummel, Koopa Klaw is now purely a grab, and now gives Bowser a down-throw option which spikes when used in the air while knocking grounded foes down, setting up a highly advantageous tech-chase. Bowser can use his down-smash or the quake hitbox on his up-smash to hit foes attempting to roll into him; the latter can keep foes close for another Koopa Klaw. Foes attempting to get up in place can easily be hit with a forward-smash, and its lingering hitbox and armor can easily circumvent the invincibility and weak hitboxes on get-up attacks. Meanwhile, foes who roll away from Bowser can be chased down thanks to his surprisingly high dash speed, which can outpace all but the quickest and farthest rolls. The versatility and numerous setups Bowser has off of this tech-chasing option, combined with his armor, shield-damaging capabilities, and highly damaging attacks, allow Bowser to easily dominate opponents who attempt to play defensively in close quarters with him. The forward- and back-throws off of Koopa Klaw, while nowhere near as useful as the down-throw, can set up an edgeguard when used from the ground, and at low percentages, lead well into all of his aerials. While Bowser's ordinary jump is often too slow to serve this purpose, using a cancelled Bowser Bomb can let Bowser quickly chase foes into the air at low heights. 
Bowser has other setups at his disposal. Whirling Fortress remains a stellar out-of-shield option that can let him get the upper hand out of a defensive situation, and its first hit has lower knockback to keep damaged foes close enough for a combo. Fire Breath keeps its buffs from Brawl and remains a great tool for trapping foes too far away for melee attacks. It also now has a bite hitbox in its ending animation, punishing foes who attempt to DI close to him to punish the ending lag. Bowser Bomb is now a much safer move; in addition to its new cancelling capabilities, it is more damaging, it is armored (especially during its descent), and upon landing, it produces a shockwave that serves the same purpose as Fire Breath's bite, making the move harder to punish from the ground. The shockwave can lead into most aerials, an up-tilt, or a down- or up-smash. 
However, Bowser's high gravity, large size (almost double that of his Brawl counterpart), and high weight make him susceptible to attacks and combos. Despite his speed in some aspects, he remains easy to out-maneuver, as he has relatively poor air speed. In addition, Bowser possesses one of the longest jump squats of the cast, leaving him with one of the slowest wavedashes in the game, though not the shortest. While it is difficult to send Bowser far due to his weight and moves with armor frames, it is fairly easy to send him off the bottom of a stage or gimp him, as he suffers from a predictable recovery that does not cover much vertical distance. 
With his new buffs alongside his old weaknesses, Bowser is played best when used offensively enough to get in close range to opponents, but defensively enough to punish a foe instead of trying to start a combo himself. Bowser's new offensive tools can allow him to get KOs more easily than ever off of an opponent's mistakes, but his increased size and poor recovery necessitate that the player keep from making mistakes themselves.
==Changes from Melee to PM==
Likely as result of his poor competitive dominance in the previous games, Bowser has been heavily buffed in the transition to Project M. Many of his attacks are both quicker and more powerful. He has received widespread armor of varying levels depending on the move, and in addition some of his favorable traits from Melee such as the Koopa Klaw and Fortress Hogging return.
While his tournament viability is only moderate, his results are better than ever before. 
===Aesthetics===
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===Attributes===
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===Ground Attacks===
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===Aerial Attacks===
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===Grabs and Throws===
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===Special Moves===
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===Giga Bowser===
 remains Bowser's Final Smash in Project M. However, by holding a shield button at the character selection screen, it is possible for Bowser to start and participate as Giga Bowser permanently during the match, similar to how was playable in Brawl. Starting from v3.0, Giga Bowser can now receive knockback in addition to damage, as well as now being vulnerable to status ailments like sleeping or getting buried, though his moveset has been improved to compensate for this, and he still cannot be grabbed. In 3.6, he gained the ability to pick up items and use the majority of them. Giga Bowser's main flaw is that he is extremely prone to combos because of his size and weight. His duration when summoned via Final Smash was also increased to almost twice as long. In addition to receiving most of Bowser's changes, some changes to Giga Bowser include:
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==Changes from PM to P+==
Term clarification:
FAF: First Actionable Frame
IASA: Interrupted as soon as
BKB: Base Knockback
KBG: Knockback Growth
===v2.0===
(Taken from https://projectplusgame.com/changes/2.0)
*Attributes:
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*Jab 1 & 2:
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*Up Tilt:
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*Up Smash:
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*Down Smash:
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*Grab boxes: 
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*Dash Grab:
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*Neutral Special (Firebreath → Fireball):
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*Side Special (Koopa Klaw):
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*Aerial Side Special:
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*Other:
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*Costumes & Aesthetics:
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===v2.0 - v2.28===
No Changes
==Revisions==
===v2.1===
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===v2.5b===
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===v2.6b===
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===v3.0===
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===v3.5===
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===v3.6===
====Beta====
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====Full====
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==Moveset==
Up to date as of version 3.6.
 	 	Name 	Damage 	Description
Neutral attack 	Neutral attack 	 	6% 	Bowser swipes at the opponent twice.
Neutral attack 	Neutral attack 	 	5% 	Bowser swipes at the opponent twice.
Forward tilt 	↗ 	 	17% (clean), 11% (late) 	Bowser extended his arm and delivers a backhanded punch with impressive knockback. This move can be angled up or down. Bowser's left arm is intangible while the hitboxes are out.
Forward tilt 	→ 	 	16% (clean), 10% (late) 	Bowser extended his arm and delivers a backhanded punch with impressive knockback. This move can be angled up or down. Bowser's left arm is intangible while the hitboxes are out.
Forward tilt 	↘ 	 	15% (clean), 9% (late) 	Bowser extended his arm and delivers a backhanded punch with impressive knockback. This move can be angled up or down. Bowser's left arm is intangible while the hitboxes are out.
Up tilt 	Up tilt 	 	13% (early), 8% (late) 	Bowser swats in an upwards arc his left claw. This move deals good knockback and can set up combos well. Similar to the forward tilt, Bowser's left arm is once again intangible while the hitboxes are out.
Down tilt 	Down tilt 	 	13% 	Bowser slashes along the ground with both his claws. The second attack is optional by pressing the attack button again, though Giga Bowser is forced to perform both swipes.
Down tilt 	Down tilt 	 	12% 	Bowser slashes along the ground with both his claws. The second attack is optional by pressing the attack button again, though Giga Bowser is forced to perform both swipes.
Dash attack 	Dash attack 	 	12% (ram), 8% (fall) 	Bowser tackles the opponent. Has light armor during the initial frames of the attack.
Forward smash 	Forward smash 	 	 	Bowser rears back for a short moment, and hits incredibly hard with his head. If this move it connects, an explosion occurs. Strongest forward smash in Project M, acting as a great finisher at low percentages. Has medium to super armor depending on the length of its charge. Unfortunately, it has rather massive starting lag.
Up smash 	Up smash 	 	(leap), (landing) 	Bowser jumps upward, hitting opponents with his spikes of his shell. Causes an earthquake when coming down. Opponents who avoid the leaping hitbox can still be hit by Bowser whenever he lands, during which it inflicts a meteor smash. Has light to super armor depending on the length of its charge. Bowser's shell is intangible while the hitboxes are out.
Down smash 	Down smash 	 	(hits 1-6), (hit 7) 	Bowser spins around in his shell, doing great damage and hitting multiple times. Has light to super armor depending on the length of its charge.
Neutral aerial 	Neutral aerial 	 	13% 	Bowser spins around in his shell. Has medium armor during the first loop.
Forward aerial 	Forward aerial 	 	16% (sweetspot), 13% (sourspot) 	Bowser slashes forward with his left claw. The glowing area is the sweetspot.
Back aerial 	Back aerial 	 	17% (clean), 10% (late) 	Bowser thrusts his shell backwards. Contains high landing lag.
Up aerial 	Up aerial 	 	23% 	Bowser strikes upwards with his head. Causes serious damage and knockback, being the most damaging up aerial in the game.
Down aerial 	Down aerial 	 	2% (hits 1-9), 3% (hit 10), 5% (landing) 	Bowser spins downwards, hitting multiple times with the spikes on his shell, capable of meteor smashing opponents.
Grab 	Grab 	 	— 	
Pummel 	Pummel 	 	4% 	Bites the opponent. A fairly slow pummel.
Forward throw 	Forward throw 	 	10% 	Bowser tosses the opponent forwards.
Back throw 	Back throw 	 	10% 	Bowser violently throws the opponent backwards.
Up throw 	Up throw 	 	1% (hits 1-8), 2% (throw) 	Bowser tosses the foe upwards, retreats into his shell, and spins, damaging the foe with his spikes. Has great knockback.
Down throw 	Down throw 	 	16% (hit 1), 0% (throw) 	Bowser places the opponent on the floor and then body slams them. This throw contains set knockback.
Floor attack (front)	Floor attack (front)	 	6% 	Bowser leaps forward to strike with his head, then back to kick behind, and finally gets up into standing position.
Floor attack (back) 	Floor attack (back) 	 	6% 	Bowser gets up while swinging his right hand around.
Floor attack (trip) 	Floor attack (trip) 	 	5% 	Bowser gets up while swinging his right hand around.
Edge attack (fast) 	Edge attack (fast) 	 	8% 	Bowser quickly spins onto the stage while inside his shell, then retreats back a bit.
Edge attack (slow) 	Edge attack (slow) 	 	10% 	Bowser slowly climbs onto stage and does a quick claw swipe.
Neutral special 	Neutral special 	Fire Breath 	1-3% (flames), 3% (bite) 	Bowser lets out a stream of flames that can be angled up or down. Over time, the flames it loses its range, but gains slightly more power.
Side special 	Side special 	Koopa Klaw 	15% (throw), 10% (claw tip), 12% (claw body) 	Bowser grabs the opponent to then throw them either forward, backward, or downward. If no one is grabbed, Bowser does a forceful swipe that deals vertical knockback. The aerial version of the downward throw spikes opponents. Giga Bowser cannot perform the down throw.
Up special 	Up special 	Whirling Fortress	Ground: 13%/10%/8%/6%Air: 10% (hit 1), 2% (hits 2-6), 1% (hits 7-11) 	Bowser spins rapidly in his shell to gain height. This move can be used for edgehogging.
Down special 	Down special 	Bowser Bomb 	25% (drop), 10% (landing body), 7% (shockwave close), 4% (shockwave far)	Bowser leaps diagonally into the air and plummet downward, creating a shockwave that damages nearby foes. If performed in the air, Bowser performs straight downward without initiating the leap. Has medium armor during the jumping animation and when hitting the ground, and heavy armor when he begins to descend. The grounded version of this move can be cancelled by performing a midair jump before Bowser reaches the apex of the jump.
Final Smash 	Final Smash 	Giga Bowser 	Varies 	Bowser transforms into an enlarged, much more powerful version of himself, which uses elemental effects such as fire, electricity and darkness during most attacks. Lasts for roughly 24 seconds. Giga Bowser himself can receive damage and knockback, though he becomes significantly heavier and is immune to grabs.
==In competitive play==
===Most historically significant players===
 
	
See also: :Category:Bowser players (PM)
* - Ranked 38th on the PMRank 2019.
* - Won Blacklisted 5 with solo Bowser, now ranked 8th on the PMRank 2022
* - Ranked 5th on the PMRank 2022, secondaries Bowser.
==Alternate costumes==
===Project M===
 appears in Project M as Bowser's alternate costume. In , Bowser falls to his apparent doom in a pit of lava, only to emerge and be fought later on in his skeletal form, Dry Bowser. He is an undead skeleton of Bowser (similar to how are apparent skeletons of Koopas) with an orange tuft of hair and his shell intact, though badly burnt. As of v3.5, Bowser's eyes gain an orange glow during certain attack animations as Dry Bowser. However, Bowser's moveset and sounds remain the same while playing as Dry Bowser.
Giga Bowser now additionally uses recolors correspondent to those of the regular Bowser, including a Giga Dry Bowser alt costume. Disregarding size, shell and tail, the latter costume looks exactly the same as the regular Dry Bowser, though with a more pronounced muzzle and additional spikes protruding from his chest and nose.
							
							
===Project+===
Project+ provides several new recolors for both Bowser's default and Dry Bowser costumes. Bowser's new green alternate costume resembles his appearance in Super Mario World, and his new red costume resembles a costume in Mario Golf. The last default costume recolor resembles his appearance on the Japanese cover for Super Mario Bros. (which would be touched up slightly in 3.0). Dry Bowser received additional recolors, his team colors representing the Dry Bone colors in Mario Superstar Baseball and Mario Super Sluggers, and his brown color resembling fossilized dinosaur bones. Additionally, Dry Bowser's attacks now use a blue fire effect instead of the regular red fire of his default costume. 
==External links==
*Bowser's page at the Project M website
*Labbing Discord Tech Post
Category:Bowser
Category:Characters (PM)