The heavyweight archetype was always an infamous one in the Super Smash Bros. franchise. Characters on the heavy side were usually not considered viable, thanks to the trends in their characteristics dragging them down. In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, however, heavyweight characters have been on a bit of a rise thanks to the game’s overall balance being the best it’s ever been. The character that’s arguably leading that charge is the most iconic Nintendo villain, Bowser.
Bowser is quite a strong character, both literally and in terms of viability. A skilled player can use that strength to exert lots of pressure on their opponents. Here’s what Bowser is capable of, as well as how he falls short and the steps you can take to gain the upper hand.
Bowser’s Strengths
Bowser’s most notable strength is his resistance. Part of this is thanks to his somewhat unique mechanic, Tough Guy, which allows him to power through attacks with weaker knockback. He can also power through stronger attacks due to super armor on his tilts and smash attacks, as well as the intangibility and invincibility on some of them as well. Paired with his weight being the heaviest in the game and his fast-falling speed, Bowser is a fighter that’s incredibly tough to kill.
Another notable strength of Bowser is his overall offense. It’s hard to out-space and challenge him due to the range that comes with his moves. However, there’s also lots of power behind them, with many of his attacks being among the strongest in the game. He also has means of damaging shields with his Neutral- and Down-B, the latter of which can easily break them (and the former of which can two-frame at the ledge and rack up damage). He can bypass shields altogether with his command grab, which can kill from the high damage and launch power or take out someone offstage if they have a bad recovery.
What makes all of this especially scary for Bowser is his mobility. For the heaviest character in the entire game, the speed at which he can run beats that of many characters. Paired with his airspeed and falling speed being just as fast, Bowser can get around surprisingly quickly. It makes it especially hard to be safe against his power.
Bowser’s Weaknesses
His biggest weakness is the endlag on the majority of his moves. There are some outliers, such as his FAir and Nair, if properly timed. However, most of his attacks are very easy to punish if he whiffs them. This makes his disadvantaged state even harder for him to escape than it already is, especially for a careful player. Only his Up-Air offers intangibility in the air, but it’s pointless for landing on the ground. His best option is being able to catch his opponent with a Side-B, but that has a fair amount of endlag on it as well.
His next weakness is his exploitable recovery. Bowser has a hard time making it back to the stage with his tools. For starters, his fast-falling speed and unremarkable jump mean that he’ll have to use his resources sooner than most characters would. This is exemplified by the nature of his Up-B; the move can take him pretty far, but it’s pretty slow, and the hitbox on his shell is small. Weaker attacks will be beaten by it if it’s well-timed, but stronger attacks from above are even more deadly for him.
Strategy & Counterplay
Bowser’s various means of applying pressure and mind games mean that the ground isn’t a very safe place for you against him, especially if you’re shielding. You’ll want to challenge Bowser’s offense with your own, especially if he’s in the air. His attacks have great melee range, especially FAir, but their startup is a tad bit long. Quick aerial attacks can beat him out if they’re well-timed. If you’re jumping in on Bowser, make sure to space your attacks against his shield, or else you’ll get caught in his out-of-shield options.
You should make the most of every opportunity to juggle Bowser, but also be careful when you’re directly below him. While the moves he’ll often land with are laggy and punishable, they’re also very strong and can easily kill if you’re hit by them. The same goes for your shield, as it can either be broken or circumvented depending on whichever move he decides to use. You can make a guess on which move he’ll use depending on where he is in the air already. If he’s rather close to you while you’re on the ground, or there are platforms between you two, it’s unlikely that he’ll go for the stronger landing options.
Good/Bad Matchups
Bowser performs best against characters that lack the tools to approach him or keep him out. This usually includes characters with aerial games more exploitable than his, such as Little Mac, Piranha Plant, Bayonetta, Hero, and Banjo & Kazooie. He also has an easier time against lighter characters or those with weaker attacks, as he can usually power through their moves and kill them easier. Meta Knight, Jigglypuff, Sheik, Isabelle, and Pit aren’t good picks against him.
Characters he has a worse time with are those that are hard for him to hit. This includes high-mobility characters with small hitboxes, such as Greninja, Pikachu, Inkling, and Wario. He also struggles with characters that can either keep him out of range with zoning or keep him at a disadvantage really well. These are basically characters that do well at executing combos, such as Palutena, Peach, Joker, Samus, and, ironically enough, Mario.
