Bowser (SSBU)

Bowser (, Koopa) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He was suggested to appear in the then unnamed Ultimate in its first teaser trailer at the end of the March 8th, 2018 Nintendo Direct, and officially announced in Ultimates E3 2018 trailer As opposed to being a starter character like in previous Smash games, Bowser is now an unlockable character. Bowser is classified as Fighter #14.
Bowser retains the realistic roaring effects that he had in Super Smash Bros. 4, rather than using his voice actor from the Mario series, Kenny James.
Bowser is ranked 63rd out of 82 on the tier list, placing him in the upper half of the C- tier. This is a noticeable drop from his placement in SSB4, where he was ranked 24th out of 54. Bowser's greatest strength is his endurance, as he is the heaviest character in the game and has armor on several of his moves, as well as passive armor in the form of Tough Guy. Despite his heavyweight status, Bowser also has an above-average mobility, especially boasting fast air and dashing speeds. In addition, Bowser possesses a plethora of great moves that are not only among the most damaging of their kind, but also have great KOing potential. Finally, Bowser's specials all have great utility: Whirling Fortress is an effective out-of-shield option, Fire Breath is an effective edgeguarding tool; Flying Slam is the fastest command grab in the game and has impressive KO potential, and Bowser Bomb can break shields. 
Countering Bowser's strengths, however, are several noticeable weaknesses. As his frame data is overall sluggish, Bowser is susceptible to pressure and is especially vulnerable to combos, as his large size, high gravity, and fast falling speed makes it difficult for him to land. He also lacks many options to land, as his best moves in this situation have high frame data. In addition, Bowser's overall slow frame data means he struggles at approaching, especially against characters with great range, disjoints, and speed, and Bowser's lack of a traditional projectile leaves him susceptible to characters with strong projectile games. Finally, Bowser's defensive options are also underwhelming, as he has short rolls and slow and long techs, while he lacks any other effective out-of-shield options outside of Whirling Fortress. 
Overall, Bowser is a strong, tanky character who can dish out damage fast and KO at earlier percents than normal; however, Bowser himself is also vulnerable to being overwhelmned by characters who have faster frame data and strong combo games. Though he initially had great representation courtesy of players such as and , his playerbase gradually declined as his weaknesses became more apparent, especially in the more recent metagames.
==How to unlock==
Complete one of the following:
*Play VS. matches, with Bowser being the 3rd character to be unlocked.
*Clear with or anyone in his unlock tree, being the 1st character unlocked.
*Defeat Giga Bowser in World of Light.
With the exception of the third method, Bowser must then be defeated on Mushroom Kingdom U.
==Attributes==
Bowser, as per tradition, is a super heavyweight and the heaviest character in the game. This is reflected by some of his attributes, which fit in the mold of his archetype: he has a slow walking speed (16th slowest in the game), very quick falling and fast-falling speeds (tied with for the 19th fastest), slow air acceleration, high gravity, and immensely powerful attacks. However, Bowser sports otherwise excellent mobility, as his air speed is well above average (tied with , , , , and as the 20th fastest in the game), his initial dash is extremely quick, and he also boasts a surprisingly fast dashing speed (the 22nd fastest in the game) that surpasses most of his fellow heavyweights, even outrunning characters such as , , , and . Due to his above average dashing speed and initial dash, Bowser sports a respectable dash-dance.
Unsurprisingly, Bowser's most notable trait is his impressive endurance, being among the best in the game. His extreme weight makes him very difficult to launch and KO, while his fast falling speed and high gravity make it trivial to stay grounded. Bolstering his endurance is his varied forms of armor; Bowser has damage-based percentage armor on the startup of all his tilts and smash attacks. Bowser also has an attribute called "Tough Guy," which is constantly active knockback-based armor that allows Bowser to withstand a handful of weak attacks, like rapid jabs and weak projectiles. This lets him tank and approach effectively while at low percents, and allows him to simply break through any rapid jab with a powerful attack, acting as a hard punish. Supplementing Bowser's endurance is the immense damage and power his moveset provides, as all of his moves deal high damage, and most of them have KO potential. Rage further helps Bowser, as he can easily take advantage of being at KO percentage to easily turn the tables on the opponent should they make one single error.
Bowser's grounded game has numerous merits, thanks to the combination of his damage-based armor, the damage and power it boasts, and its speed all around. All of his tilt attacks render his limbs intangible during their active hitboxes, which makes them pseudo-disjointed, while some of his smash attacks give his body parts invincibility. These traits further aid Bowser in spacing or beating out attacks, which can lead to very hard punishes. Forward tilt is decently fast and powerful, able to KO before 150% and even earlier at the edge. It can be angled and, when angled down, can 2-frame punish most recovery moves. Up tilt has very good coverage all around Bowser and is not only his most powerful tilt attack but one of the strongest up tilts in the game, killing middleweights below 125%. Forward smash, while being his slowest smash attack, is the second strongest in the game (killing at around 60% from center stage uncharged) and renders his legs invincible, allowing it to outprioritize other moves. Up smash is fast relative to its power (coming out on frame 16 while being the strongest up smash in the game when sweetspotted), has invincibility on his entire shell and a hitbox on landing that provides safety, making it an excellent anti-air option. Down smash is Bowser's fastest smash attack, coming out on frame 12, being especially fast for its power as well (being able to KO around 70% at the edge of a stage) and hits both sides, making it an ideal punish option out of a perfect shield, despite its very high ending lag.
His aerial moveset also has useful options. Forward aerial is considered his best one, as it has relatively average landing lag alongside above average damage and knockback (which allows it to KO below 115% from the edge), great range with good coverage above and below him (comparable to swordfighters with similar "frontal slash" moves), and can combo on landing. Back aerial deals great damage and has extremely high knockback scaling (killing at around 100% from center stage and as early as 60% by the edge), and is very fast for an aerial of its caliber. Both aerials autocancel in a short hop, making them good coverage options at the edge, and their power also makes them terrific edgeguarding options. Neutral aerial deals very high damage if all of its hits connect (although this is difficult to accomplish), being the second most damaging aerial attack in the entire game, and using it while landing gives it combo potential and KO setups at high percentages. Finally, up aerial renders Bowser's head intangible and is a fairly useful vertical kill move due to its high damage output and knockback, although it is typically situational due to its short range.
Bowser's grab game is also versatile, thanks to its combination of damage and utility. While his grab is rather slow, it is among the longest reaching non-tether grabs in the game. His forward and back throws serve a similar purpose as kill throws; both are among the strongest in the game. Up throw is a useful combo throw which can lead to extremely damaging combos at low to medium-high percentages. Finally, his down throw is the third most damaging throw in the entire game, but due to its lack of KO potential, it is mostly used to refresh other moves and put the opponent in an unfavorable position offstage.
His special moveset commands a balance of both raw damage racking and kill options, all of which are versatile. On one hand, in terms of damage racking, Fire Breath is Bowser's "projectile" move, spewing flames that peter over time but recharge when the move is not in use. The flames deal absurd damage and shieldstun, and unlike other projectiles, don't deal negative shield damage, so the move will always deal full damage to shields. When angled correctly, it can also hit ledge hanging characters and even 2-frame punish many recoveries, making it a good edgeguarding tool, although it can be countered if Bowser is too close to the ledge. At maximum range, the flames don't cause opponents to flinch, which allows Bowser a very dangerous damage racking option that won't break an opponent's dazed state (similar to 's Poison Breath or 's Blaster), allowing him to KO opponents as early as 0% if he successfully breaks their shield. His up special, Whirling Fortress, is Bowser's fastest attack at frame 6 on the ground; combined with its multi-hit nature and considerable horizontal mobility, this makes it an effective "get-off-me" move and out of shield option. In the air, it is Bowser's primary recovery move, traveling decent vertical distance and massive horizontal distance, and has decent KO potential to boot. On the other hand, in terms of kill options, Flying Slam is the fastest command grab in the game (and tied with Whirling Fortress as Bowser's fastest attack at frame 6), and has incredible power if it grabs an opponent, killing around 120%, or earlier if he has rage. Since he leaps a high distance in the air, he can land on platforms, which can put him at a much more advantageous position and KO opponents even earlier. It can also be B-reversed, allowing Bowser to bypass shields unexpectedly, even in midair. Bowser Bomb deals fantastic vertical knockback and can even meteor smash at the start of its descent; it also deals extreme shield damage, allowing it to break a full shield if properly landed. These two moves, combined with Bowser's fantastic damage output, allows him to play mindgames with the opponent's shield.
Thanks to his great damage output, once Bowser has gained the advantage, his abundance of options for racking up damage allows Bowser to put the opponent at a gradually worse and worse position before sealing a stock. Unlike previous incarnations, Bowser also doesn't waver in terms of mobility, which means that, if the opponent is at a disadvantage, he can close in on the distance to his opponent, read their options and mantain the advantage. His consistent prowess, with several moves at his disposal being able to heavily dent shields, means that if the opponent chooses the incorrect defensive option, they can be put in an even worse position, since his moveset is also full of kill options, most notably his forward smash.
However, in spite of his potent strengths, Bowser is not without some flaws. Despite his excellent options to rack up damage, his frame data is somewhat sluggish, which means that faster opponents can beat Bowser to the punch, and he is susceptible to being punished if his attacks are whiffed, shielded, or dodged. This ties in with Bowser's biggest weakness, which is his great vulnerability to heavy pressure of any kind. Bowser's combination of extremely high weight, large hurtboxes, fast falling speed, and high gravity makes him especially susceptible to combos, and as such, characters like , , , and can easily punish and combo him for large amounts of damage if he makes a single mistake. His below average frame data and frame 4 air dodge also results in an inability to effectively break out of combos. Although Bowser has remarkable range, his is mostly melee-based, so characters with weapons that grant them disjointed reach (like , , and ) can prove to be difficult for him to overcome, especially if they're able to space their moves efficiently. As Bowser lacks a true projectile (due to Fire Breath's range being short and strict to Bowser's frame), he can also have difficulty at approaching characters with strong zoning games, like , , and Toon Link, especially since their melee range also tends to be comparable to his. The latter two methods of pressure also give Bowser trouble at properly approaching.
Landing with Bowser while he's being juggled can prove a notable issue despite his high gravity and fast falling speed, as his most notable options for landing, down aerial and Bowser Bomb, are laggy and predictable due to being stall-then-fall moves. Landing with his other aerials, although seemingly not an issue thanks to his forward aerial's range and knockback, can also prove a liability due to none of them being particularly safe on shield. His rolls are also short-distanced, and his techs are slow and have low durations, which makes him prone to tech-chasing. Bowser's recovery, while serviceable and much better than most of the other super heavies, tends to be mediocre in practice, as it is rather slow and doesn't offer Bowser as much protection as other recovery moves would; as a result, he is particularly vulnerable to being edgeguarded, especially by counters or moves that can 2-frame. His out of shield game, despite being consistent, is nevertheless predictable due to Whirling Fortress being his most viable option out of shield; all other options can be punished or do not have the proper range to punish well-spaced moves. Moveover, his damage-based armor (on his grounded attacks) and universal knockback-based armor (from his signature Tough Guy ability) fails to compensate for all of this, as they do not compensate for his lack of medium-ranged and zoning or counterzoning options. Altogether, despite his great mobility and excellent tools to punish melee-focused options making him not as susceptible as his fellow super heavyweight contemporaries, Bowser's defensive game remains just as poor overall compared to them, due to him being so susceptible to pressure.
Other weaknesses include a few of Bowser's moves either lacking proper utility or being largely outclassed by his other moves. Neutral attack is Bowser's third fastest attack overall, the first hit can lock (although this is best suited for bulkier characters), and the second hit can beat spotdodge attempts; however, it is largely outclassed by his Whirling Fortress, since the latter is faster and can be used out of shield. His down tilt, while being equally fast as forward tilt while dealing more damage, has less utility for 2-framing due to its weaker knockback and it is much more punishable, especially on shield. Up aerial, while powerful and relatively quick, has poor range and moderate endlag and landing lag, meaning that up tilt is normally considered a superior vertical KO option. Down aerial, while being Bowser's second strongest aerial and the third strongest meteor smash in the game when hit cleanly, has numerous weaknesses, including its slow startup, stall-then-fall nature, and extreme ending and landing lag. This means that its offstage utility is severely hampered when compared to other down aerials of its nature, such as those of and . While forward throw still has some utility due to its strong knockback, it lacks the damage output of his down throw and the quick release of his back throw, making it somewhat outclassed in terms of KO power and damage. Lastly, while his down special, Bowser Bomb, deals immense damage and is infamous for instantly breaking shields, its slow aerial startup and extreme endlag make it unsuitable for landing and it is agreed to be his worst special as a result.
In the end, Bowser can be considered to be the "all-rounder" of super heavyweights. While his playstyle remains largely bait-and-punish oriented compared to previous incarnations of him, his attributes make him more of a "lightning bruiser" on this regard. Bowser has among the most raw damage output, highest KO power, and best shield breaking capabilities of any character, while still retaining great range and movement speed, meaning that once he gains the upper hand, it can be practically impossible to break his pressure if he continuously reacts properly. With hard-hitting and relatively laggy moves like his, Bowser is anything but a character who strings together long combos; rather, he usually just needs four or five good hits in order to rack up high amounts of damage, and eventually score KOs. Even some of Bowser's moves that have little KO potential still have some kind of utility, so even in areas where Bowser cannot outright KO, he can continue to dish out immense damage in a short amount of time, and his moveset contains very well-rounded and versatile options to achieve this. However, his moveset is so lopsided for netting damage and easy KOs that he outright lacks options to properly approach or to combat heavy pressure. This means that, if Bowser makes one wrong move, he can be easily pressured as much as he can do such to the opponent, and his lack of safe and fast moves, lack of zoning and counterzoning options, and unreliable mid-ranged options can leave him zoned out and comboed easily by his opponent, leaving him with little to no room to breathe.
==Changes from Super Smash Bros. 4==
Bowser has received a mixture of buffs and nerfs in his transition from SSB4 to Ultimate, though while he has received a comparatively higher amount of improvements, some of his biggest strengths from the previous game have been toned down or outright removed, and the new engine changes pronounce his weaknesses. As a result, Bowser has been slightly nerfed overall.
Bowser has seen several buffs to his character attributes, power, and to his side special move, Flying Slam. Both Bowser's grounded and aerial mobility have improved (along with the rest of the cast), sporting a faster jumpsquat as well as faster dashing, air, and falling speeds, noticeably improving his ground-to-air transitioning and making him more adept at punishing, while also allowing him to land and escape juggles with less difficulty than before, especially in the case of the former. Bowser is even heavier, and he also received an increase on his defensive game through a higher amplification of damage-based armor on his tilts and smash attacks, which tones down one of the issues his Tough Guy armor had in SSB4, improving it in general and making his already excellent endurance even better.
Bowser's already high power was further strengthened in the transition as well (most notably on moves such as his tilt attacks, down throw, Fire Breath and Whirling Fortress), which supplements his higher weight and improved adeptness at punishing. As for Flying Slam, it has significantly faster startup overall, now being on par with the fastest standing grabs in the game such as 's and making it the fastest command grab in the game, which heavily improves his options against shielding opponents.
However, despite his lower amount of nerfs, the hindrances to Bowser's grab game has been very detrimental to him. Much like , Bowser's infamous up throw, previously a fearsome combo starter with a myriad of followups and KO setups, has lost its combo potential past mid to high percentages due to its increased knockback and ending lag, removing its KO setups, and requiring precise execution to combo past mid percent. Additionally, his pivot grab, notorious for its hugr range in SSB4, has shorter range. The universal nerfing of grabs further compounds these hindrances, as it's now harder for Bowser to make use of his otherwise respectable grab game.
Aside form the nerfs to grabs, the universal changes both help and hinder Bowser, but halt him more overall. On one hand, the ability to use any attack out of a run further enhances his ground game, as it gives him more reliable ways to punish the opponent due to his powerful, heavy-armored tilts and smash attacks. On the other hand, the universally decreased landing lag has improved Bowser's horrendous landing options, giving him less trouble at landing than before, which complements his now fast falling speed and streamlined jumpsquat; however, it also allows several characters to combo him with much more ease (comparable to in Melee), especially due to his larger weight and faster falling speed. The changes to air dodges, while making him slightly less susceptible to horizontal combos and general juggling since he can use one to escape, they also make him more vulnerable to edgeguarding. In bulk, these changes have improved Bowser's offense at the notable cost of his already poor disadvantage state and decent defensive game, despite the existence of Whirling Fortress as an out of shield option.
Overall, Bowser's moveset has seen a general increase in utility, his survivability and speed were improved much further, and his incredible power was kept intact. The neutering of his combo throw has removed the ease of his highly damaging and KOing setups, removing much of the oppressive factor he had on the ground and shifting the focus on overall movement and threatening the opponent from mid range with un-reactable grabs and wide aerials to push the opponent in a corner or put them in disadvantage. These changes have made his moveset less polarized, with all-around decently effective options for different situations and a renewed affinity for quickly closing the distance between him and his opponent, moving away from his "mighty glacier" playstyle. Bowser also still retains flaws such as a heavy susceptibility to general pressure (such as combos, juggling and tech-chasing), and his changes have failed to completely alleviate the latter problem. Combined with several veterans receiving buffs just as significant as his, decidedly unimpactful changes from game updates, general optimizations to the metagame, and the introduction of powerful DLC characters, Bowser performs worse than in SSB4, being slightly worse relative to the cast.
==Update history==
Aside from glitch fixes, Bowser has been buffed slightly via game updates. Update 2.0.0 strengthened his neutral attack, forward tilt and down smash and improved Whirling Fortress' consistency. Update 3.0.0 further buffed Whirling Fortress by ensuring that its grounded version cannot be teched, which makes it an even more potent out of shield option. Update 4.0.0 removed down aerial stalling, which standardized his down aerial and other stall-then-falls by extension. Most recently, Bowser's shield was enlarged as part of a near-universal buff via update 7.0.0.
As a result of these changes, Bowser fares slightly better than he did at Ultimates launch.
 
 
 
 
 
 
==Moveset==
*Bowser has universal armor against attacks with low knockback, known as Tough Guy. This is most apparent when Bowser has low damage, and it can be amplified by crouching, but not while crawling. Its effectiveness will decrease as Bowser starts taking more damage, and thus more knockback.
*Bowser also has damage-based armor on the start-up of his tilts and smash attacks. Each move has a damage threshold: 4% for tilts, 8% for up and down smash, and 10% for forward smash. Any attack that is below the indicated percent will be armored, but an attack with a larger percent won't.
**For example, Bowser will armor the first 4 hits of Limit Cross Slash (which deal 3% each) during his up tilt, but the 5th hit (which deals 10%) will launch him. However, Bowser's forward smash will be able to armor even the last hit of Limit Cross Slash.
*Bowser can crawl. While it does lower his hurtbox quite a bit, his sheer size means it is not possible for him to crouch under typical projectiles. It has uses at ledge for repositioning before a 2-frame attempt; outside of this, it is almost always impractical.
For a gallery of Bowser's hitboxes, see here.
===Stats===
===Announcer calls===
Bowser English Announcer SSB4-SSBU.wav|English
Bowser Japanese Announcer SSB4-SSBU.wav|Japanese/Chinese
Bowser French Announcer SSBU.wav|French
Bowser French EU Announcer SSBU.wav|French (PAL)
Bowser German Announcer SSBU.wav|German
Bowser Italian Announcer SSBU.wav|Italian
Bowser Russian Announcer SSBU.wav|Russian
Bowser Spanish Announcer SSBU.wav|Spanish
===On-screen appearance===
*Emerges from a wall of flames hunched over, before standing upright. Very similar to his battle entrance animation in Super Mario 64, without the wall of flames.
BowserOnScreenAppearanceSSBU.gif|Bowser's on-screen appearance
===Taunts===
*Up Taunt: Throws his head back and swivels it in a circle while roaring.
*Side Taunt: Leans forward and furiously bites his jaws three times.
*Down Taunt: Bounces precariously on one leg, similarly to his teetering animation.
SSBUBowserTaunt1.gif|Bowser's up taunt.
SSBUBowserTaunt2.gif|Bowser's side taunt.
SSBUBowserTaunt3.gif|Bowser's down taunt.
===Idle poses===
*Sways his head around and back while roaring and exhaling smoke from his mouth.
*Clenches his fists and bashes them together, then bends over and roars.
SSBUBowserIdle1.gif|Bowser's first idle pose.
SSBUBowserIdle2.gif|Bowser's second idle pose.
===Crowd cheer===
 	Cheer (English)	Cheer (Japanese/Chinese) 	Cheer (Italian)	Cheer (Dutch)	Cheer (French)
Cheer 	 	 	 	 	
Description	Bow - ser! 	Koo - pa! *claps 3 times*	Bow - ser! 	Bow - ser! 	Bow - ser!
 	Cheer (German)	Cheer (Spanish)	Cheer (Russian)	Cheer (Korean)
Cheer 	 	 	 	
Description	Bow - ser! 	Boooow - ser! 	Bow - ser! 	Koo - pa! *claps 3 times*
===Victory poses===
*Left: Rears his head back and sways it forward, then stomps and spreads his arms while roaring, ending in a celebratory pose.
*Up: Runs into the scene and slashes down with his claws twice.
*Right: Breathes fire around himself, then assumes a celebratory pose similar to his render from SSB4.
BowserVictoryPose1SSBU.gif
BowserVictoryPose2SSBU.gif
BowserVictoryPose3SSBU.gif
==In competitive play==
===Most historically significant players===
See also: :Category:Bowser players (SSBU)
* - The best Bowser player of all-time, performing at his peak between 2021 and mid-2023 where he frequently placed top 8 at majors, including 3rd at and 4th at . He is best known for his 2nd-place finish at defeating and , which is tied for the best Bowser placement at a major.
* - One of the best Bowser players of all-time who was considered the definitive best in the early metagame. He was first known for some strong early runs such as placing 5th at defeating and placing 9th at defeating . He later gained greater recognition for his 2nd-place finish at defeating , , and , which is not only tied for the best Bowser placement at a major but is also arguably the best major performance from a Bowser player.
* - Plays a multitude of characters but his best results were with Bowser. He was considered the best Bowser player in Japan in the early metagame, placing 4th at , 5th at , and 17th at both and and has defeated players such as and with Bowser.
* - The best Bowser player in Europe who was the first Bowser player to win a PGR-ranked event, doing so at the C-tier event . He is also known for his strong performances at European superregionals, including placing 3rd at and 5th at both and ; he has also seen success at majors, notably placing 17th at .
===Tier placement and history===
Despite a negative reception from the E3 build, upon the game's initial release Bowser was initially viewed as a strong, viable pick due to improvements to his power and mobility, the addition of armor to his tilts and smash attacks, and the universal changes to landing lag and jumpsquats that had toned down his greatest weakness. This was reflected in early tournament performances from , who achieved several top 8 major performances with the character and was ranked high on the Spring 2019 PGRU; , who saw strong runs at and ; and , who found great success in Europe including winning , the first C-tier victory for a Bowser player. With other "traditional" heavyweights such as seeing a sharp decline during this period, players began taking a greater notice towards Bowser's strengths, specifically how he lacked most weaknesses that plagued the other traditional heavyweights. As such, Bowser was commonly viewed as the best traditional heavyweight character and an upper-mid tier character. This perception was maintained throughout the next few years and during the online metagame, which also saw the meteoric rise of in Japan.
Unfortunately, a lack of substantial updates since the early metagame, the rise of oppressive characters such as and , and the introduction of other oppressive DLC characters such as and hurt Bowser's standing as time went on. This power creep affected Bowser's representation, which slowly declined as time went on. Although Hero, LeoN, and Mukuro~ (DarkThunder) were still able to find some success, their tournament performances declined alongside Bowser's decline in the metagame. This has shifted opinions on Bowser towards a more negative light, with most players believing the character was only a mid tier at best. This was reflected in Bowser's placement on the first tier list, where he was ranked 50th as an upper-mid tier in the B- tier. Further decline in Bowser's representation, especially with Hero's less consistent performances, led to Bowser dropping on the second tier list to 59th, ranking in the C+ tier and marking one of the largest drops from the first tier list.
==: The Red One. Every Red One!==
Bowser's opponents are all wearing attire that is red (and/or use fire-based attacks), which is a reference to his mortal enemy (Mario) wearing red clothing. Bowser also fights Rathalos as the penultimate boss, who is red. The final battle is against Mario, with Metal Mario appearing after Mario is defeated.
Round 	Opponent 	Stage 	Music 	Notes
1 	(×2), , and 	Find Mii 	 	costumes:
*Builder Mario's Outfit (Brawler)
*Wild West Wear (Gunner)
*Ninja Suit (Swordfighter)
*Toad Outfit (Brawler)
All the enemies wear Mario caps, for Mario's likeness.
The stage references Bowser's Castle.
2 	 	Suzaku Castle 	 	
3 	 	Norfair 	 	
4 	Giant and Giant 	Pokémon Stadium 2 	 	Giant Charizard's is absent. Items do not appear.
5 	 	Kongo Jungle 	 	
6 	Rathalos 	Forest Hill 	 	
Bonus Stage	Bonus Stage 	Bonus Stage 	Bonus Stage 	Bonus Stage
Final 	, then Metal Mario	New Donk City Hall (Ω form)	(Against Mario) (Against Metal Mario)	Functions as a role-reversal to the final battle of Mario's Classic Mode route, where he fights Bowser, then Giga Bowser.
Credits roll after completing Classic Mode. Completing it as Bowser has accompany the credits.
==Role in World of Light==
Bowser was among the fighters that were summoned to the cliffside to fight the army of Master Hands.
During the opening cutscene, Bowser was present on the cliffside when Galeem unleashed his beams of light. Bowser attempted to fight back against the beams, using his Fire Breath alongside the using his Pokémon to perform Triple Finish. This effort ended up being fruitless, however, as both were vaporized and placed under Galeem's imprisonment alongside the rest of the fighters, except for . Presumably, it was during this time that he ended up transformed into Giga Bowser and later dispatched to a molten castle to guard it. Eventually, several fighters cornered and fought Bowser in his Giga Bowser form and, upon defeating him, he was freed from Galeem's control.
Bowser is later seen among several other fighters, making their last stand against Galeem and Dharkon. He also shows up in the bad ending where Galeem emerges victorious against Dharkon, witnessing Galeem engulf the world in light.
Unlike most fighters, Bowser does not have a Fighter Battle and is simply unlocked after defeating Giga Bowser within the Molten Fortress in The Light Realm.
==Spirits==
Bowser's fighter spirit can be obtained by completing as Bowser. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 300 Gold, but only after Bowser has been unlocked. Unlocking Bowser in World of Light allows the player to preview the first spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As a fighter spirit, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and is purely aesthetic. His fighter spirit has an alternate version that replaces it with his artwork in Ultimate.
Additionally, Bowser makes an appearance in various primary and support spirits.
SSBU spirit Bowser.png|7. Bowser
SSBU spirit Bowser (Wedding).png|30. Bowser (Wedding)
SSBU spirit Dry Bowser.png|63. Dry Bowser
SSBU spirit Paper Bowser.png|95. Paper Bowser
SSBU spirit Paper Bowser (Paper Mario Sticker Star).png|96. Paper Bowser (Paper Mario: Sticker Star)
SSBU spirit Baby Bowser.png|301. Baby Bowser
SSBU spirit River Survival.png|1,301. River Survival
SSBU spirit Fury Bowser.png|1,471. Fury Bowser
==In Spirit Battles==
Conditions in italics aren't listed on the Spirit Battle preview screen.
===As the main opponent===
Spirit	Spirit	Spirit 	Spirit 	Battle parameters	Battle parameters	Battle parameters 	Battle parameters 	Battle parameters 	Battle parameters	Battle parameters 	Inspiration
No. 	Image 	Name 	Series 	Enemy Fighter(s) 	Type 	Power 	Stage 	Rules 	Conditions 	Music 	Character
30 	 	Super Mario Series 	• •Ally: 	 	9,700 	New Donk City Hall 	N/A 	•You lose if your CPU ally is KO'd•The enemy favors dash attacks•The enemy has increased attack power 	 	 	
62 	 	Super Mario Series 	•Tiny Team ×4 	 	3,800 	Mushroom Kingdom U (Slide Lift Tower)	N/A 	•The enemy starts the battle with a Bob-omb 	 	 	
63 	 	Super Mario Series 	• 	 	13,500 	Reset Bomb Forest (Battlefield form) 	•Defense ↑•Curry-Filled•Hazard: Lava Floor 	•The floor is lava•The enemy breathes fire after a little while•The enemy has increased defense after a little while 	 	 	
95 	 	Paper Mario Series 	• (140 HP) 	 	9,300 	Peach's Castle (Ω form) 	•Defense ↑•Attack Power ↑•Item: Star Rod 	•The enemy will occasionally be invincible when the enemy's at high damage•The enemy's special moves have increased power•Stamina battle	 	 	
219 	 	The Legend of Zelda Series	• 	 	1,900 	Garden of Hope (Battlefield form) 	N/A 	•The enemy favors down specials 	 	 	
301 	 	Yoshi Series 	•Giant (100 HP)•Tiny (100 HP)	 	13,800 	Find Mii (Ω form) 	•Hazard: Lava Floor 	•The floor is lava•The enemy has super armor and is hard to launch or make flinch•Stamina battle 	 	Mega Baby Bowser (Giant Bowser)	
315 	 	Yoshi Series 	•Curry 	 	3,900 	Castle Siege (Underground Cavern) 	N/A 	•The enemy breathes fire 	 	 	
428 	 	Pokémon Series 	• 	 	1,800 	Mushroomy Kingdom (Battlefield form) 	•Item: Pitfall 	•The enemy is easily distracted by items 	 	 	
450 	 	Pokémon Series 	• •Larry 	 	3,700 	Windy Hill Zone 	N/A 	•Defeat the main fighter to win•Reinforcements will appear during the battle 	 	Parent Kangaskhan 	
455 	 	Pokémon Series 	• 	 	3,800 	Gerudo Valley 	•Uncontrollable Speed 	•The enemy is very fast and can't stop quickly•The enemy can deal damage by dashing into you 	 	 	
477 	 	Pokémon Series 	• 	 	4,400 	Garden of Hope (Battlefield form) 	•Attack Power ↑•Hazard: Sticky Floor 	•The floor is sticky•The enemy's throws have increased power•The enemy has increased attack power when the enemy's at high damage 	 	 	
498 	 	Pokémon Series 	•Giant 	 	4,700 	Norfair (Battlefield form) 	•Hazard: Lava Floor 	•The floor is lava•The enemy is giant 	 	 	
550 	 	Pokémon Series 	•Giant (130 HP) 	 	9,800 	Norfair (hazards off) 	•Sudden Damage•Hazard: Fog 	•The stage is covered in fog•Stamina battle•You'll occasionally take sudden damage 	 	 	
593 	 	F-Zero Series 	• 	 	3,500 	Mute City SNES (Battlefield form) 	N/A 	•The enemy starts the battle with an enhanced Ray Gun 	 	 	
1,301 	 	Super Mario Series 	• • • • 	 	5,500 	Kongo Falls (Ω form) 	•Bob-omb Festival•Item Tidal Wave•Item: Food 	•Survive until the timer runs out (1:00)•Bob-ombs will rain from the sky after a little while 	 	 	
1,452 	 	FINAL FANTASY Series 	•Giant 	 	7,500 	Norfair (Ω form) 	•Move Speed ↑•Attack Power ↑•Hazard: Lava Floor	•The floor is lava•The enemy has increased attack power after a little while•The enemy has increased move speed after a little while 	 	 	
1,470 	 	MONSTER HUNTER Series 	•Giant (150 HP) 	 	10,500 	Castle Siege (underground cavern) 	•Uncontrollable Speed•Defense ↑•Attack Power ↑ 	•Stamina Battle•The enemy has increased attack power after a little while•The enemy has increased defense after a little while 	 	 	
1,471 	 	Super Mario Series 	•Metal 	 	13,800 	Find Mii (Ω form) 	•Sudden Final Smash•Curry-Filled 	•The enemy will suddenly have a Final Smash after a little while•The enemy breathes fire after a little while•The enemy is metal 	 	 	
===As a minion===
Spirit	Spirit	Spirit 	Spirit 	Battle parameters	Battle parameters	Battle parameters 	Battle parameters 	Battle parameters 	Battle parameters	Battle parameters	Inspiration
No. 	Image 	Name 	Series 	Enemy Fighter(s) 	Type 	Power 	Stage 	Rules 	Conditions 	Music 	Character
39 	 	Super Mario Series 	•Iggy •Tiny ×8	 	3,400 	 	N/A 	•Defeat an army of fighters 	 	 	
104 	 	Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars	• • • • • 	 	13,700 	Mario Galaxy (Battlefield form)	N/A 	•Defeat the main fighter to win•Timed battle (2:30)•The enemy's FS Meter charges quickly 	 	 	
700 	 	Game & Watch Series 	• • •Morton • 	 	1,700 	Flat Zone X (hazards off) 	N/A 	•The enemy favors back air attacks 	 	Turtle 	
1,148 	 	Trade & Battle: Card Hero Series 	• • • • 	 	1,700 	Pokémon Stadium 2 	•Move Speed ↓ 	•Defeat the main fighter to win•The enemy's melee weapons have increased power•Reinforcements will appear during the battle 	 	Wild Bull 	
1,232 	 	Fossil Fighters Series 	• • • • 	 	1,800 	Arena Ferox 	•Item: Pitfall 	•Defeat the main fighter to win•Reinforcements will appear during the battle 	 	Munchsaurus 	
1,426 	 	Paper Mario Series 	• • •Tiny 	 	3,700 	Paper Mario 	•Defense ↑•Attack Power ↑•Item: Bob-omb	•The enemy has increased attack power when the enemy's at high damage•The enemy has increased defense when the enemy's at high damage•The enemy favors air attacks•Reinforcements will appear after an enemy is KO'd	 	 	
==Alternate costumes==
							
							
==Gallery==
SSBU Bowser Number.png|Bowser's fighter card.
Bowser_unlock_notice_SSBU.jpg|Bowser's unlock notice.
SSBUWebsiteBowser1.jpg|Idling on the Umbra Clock Tower.
SSBUWebsiteBowser2.jpg|Attacking and with Bowser Bomb on Gaur Plain.
SSBUWebsiteBowser3.jpg|Attacking with his down smash on Mushroomy Kingdom.
SSBUWebsiteBowser4.jpg|Swiping at on 3D Land.
SSBUWebsiteBowser5.jpg|Striking with his up smash on Super Mario Maker.
SSBUWebsiteBowser6.jpg|Performing Whirling Fortress with a Spiny Shell on Palutena's Temple.
SSBUWebsite7.jpg|Coming to a stop next to a Fire Flower on The Great Cave Offensive.
SSBUMarioJPTwitter2.jpg|Performing his forward tilt next to and Peach on Princess Peach's Castle.
SSBUWebsiteMetaKnight5.jpg|Struck by on Smashville.
SSBUWebsiteSimon4.jpg|With on Hyrule Castle.
SSBUWebsiteToonLink3.jpg|With on Bridge of Eldin.
===Fighter Showcase Video===
==Trivia==
*The pose Bowser strikes in his official artwork is similar to artwork of him for , , and .
*Much like in Smash 4, Bowser was the first Melee newcomer to be confirmed for Ultimate.
*During the segment of the E3 2018 Nintendo Direct focusing on Bowser, Sakurai states that the size change made to his Final Smash is an allusion to the boss fight with at the end of .
*Bowser is the only fighter to be fought in a form other than their regular appearance to recruit them in World of Light.
**He is therefore the only unlockable fighter in the series who can be unlocked in such a condition.
*Bowser is one of only four characters to face a metal opponent in Classic Mode, facing Metal Mario upon normal Mario's defeat in the final round. The others are Sonic, who faces a giant metal version of himself in the third round, Kazuya, who faces a metal version of himself upon defeating his normal self in the final round, and Sora, who faces a metal version of himself in the sixth round.
**Bowser is the only character of these four who does not face a metal version of himself, instead facing Mario.
*In World of Light, Bowser is the only villain that is unlockable in The Light Realm. The others are unlocked in The Dark Realm, with the exception of , who is unlocked in , though she is still affiliated with Dharkon.
** is also a recurring antagonist in his game series that can be found on The Light Realm, making him and Bowser the only two recurring antagonists found under Galeem's control. Unlike Bowser, King Dedede is more of an anti-hero although Bowser is an anti-hero in some Mario spin off games like Super Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story.
*On the "No Contest" screen, Bowser's model is significantly smaller relative to other characters than it is during normal gameplay.
*There appears to a visual glitch where Bowser's shell model is not used while under the effects of Superspicy Curry.
**There's also another glitch where if he performs a jump while equipped with a , he will be shown in a t-pose. This glitch has now been patched.
*Bowser's Classic Mode is one of only four to feature a fight against a boss (in this case, Rathalos) outside of the boss round, the others being , and , and one of the few whose boss round does not feature a designated boss, instead fighting characters who are otherwise playable (in this case, Mario and Metal Mario).
*Despite also wearing primarily red clothing, King Dedede, , , and do not appear in Bowser's Classic Mode route.
*Interestingly, performing Bowser's down aerial on a does not cause him to let go and fall to the ground, despite being a stall-then-fall move. He is the only character with this trait.
*Bowser briefly reverts to his hunched-over Super Smash Bros. Melee/Brawl idle pose after his stun animation.
 
Category:Spirits
es:Bowser (SSBU)