Character Sheet: Bowser (Original Sidescrollers)

BOWSER

Now that we have all of the original sidescrolling Mario titles for the NES and SNES under our belt, I think it's time we go through and evaluate every character we have picked so far as being playable.

This time we have several, many of which can be fully developed right now, many who do not have a full moveset yet but have been pegged for their role in the series, and many with only half a moveset. We'll start with our main cast for now:

1. Mario
2. Luigi
3. Princess Toadstool
4. Toad
5. Yoshi
6. Bowser
7. Koopalings
8. Wart

Next up, we have Bowser, the main villain of Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, Super Mario Bros. 3, and Super Mario World. For the most part, he only appears at the end of each game, so his moveset will be drawn from those battles and those battles only.

Bowser will be a heavy fighter, with strong, powerful moves, but not a lot of speed. In the first two games, he will stand on a bridge over some lava, jumping into the air, spitting fireballs, and throwing hammers. As the main villain, he also has the possibility of sending out his minions to fight for him. In Super Mario Bros. 3, he will instead stand on a series of blocks, jumping into the air and slamming down with enough force to break the blocks (the obvious inspiration for his current Down B). In Super Mario World, we see the introduction of the Koopa Klown Kar. Now, this of course, will go on to serve as the basis for Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings' moveset, but Bowser is the only one who can use it for now. He can fly around in it, drop giant cannonballs, toss out Mechakoopas, and rain fire from above.

Here is the moveset I came up with:

Standard B: Fire Breath

Bowser will breathe heavy fire at his opponents, which is his current standard special. The move will do heavy damage, but no knockback.

Side B: Mechakoopas

For this move, I combined the ideas of him sending out minions to fight for him with the mechakoopas from Super Mario World. He will send the mechakoopa forward and it will explode, knocking away an enemy.

Up B: Koopa Klown Kar

Bowser will use the Koopa Klown Kar to fly up into the air. The airship's girth will be enough to knock opponents away if they get hit by it.

Down B: Slam Down

Bowser will flip up into the air and slam down hard, just like his current Down B and his boss battle from Super Mario Bros. 3. This move will do heavy knockback.

Final Smash: Rain Fire

This move mimics his strongest move from his boss battle at the end of Super Mario World. First, he will hop into his Klown Kar, which will swoop toward the screen, damaging anyone in its path, followed by fireballs raining down from the sky and setting fire to the stage.

Entrance: Bowser will land in his Koopa Klown Kar.

Taunts: Uncertain, he doesn't express much in these.

Next up: We will cover Bowser's seven children, the Koopalings!