A PSA to Bowser Jr. mains

[Christhewolf63]

I've been noticing a lot of negativity on the BJ Boards and it's stemming from his high learning curve and general lack of spotlight. I love b
Bowser Jr. As a Character and a fighter in smash so i feel it would be great to list some bread and butter that we've found through our hard work in the lab and in tourneys. Even the shortest of attack strings or even approach options would help. .. i feel like our character has one of the lesser developed metas at least that's being broadcasted let's change that

 

[OBI1JABLOMI]

Bowser Jrs. Nair is fantastic for hitting opponents sideways

 

[Christhewolf63]

I love using Nair out of the Clown car ram+jump cancel although Uair is another option too!

Thanks for contributing!

 

[Uberlord]

Bowser Jrs. Nair is fantastic for hitting opponents sideways

Yea, but most of his hitboxes only hit sideways. If the foe is right in my face, my attacks seem to miss.

 

[Christhewolf63]

Yeah once you're being rushed you have fewer options just keep spacing man!

 

[Melonfrog]

Here is an epic combo I haven't seen anyone but me use:
Up A, Up A, (Up A) JUMP, Air Up A, JUMP, N A.

The second Up A depends on characters weight. Very damaging. Sometimes N air can be Side air but not consistently.

 

[Marthmario]

I think if you use Up B correctly, you should be able to use his OoCC (Out of Clown Car) attack to quickly finish your opponent and get the kill.

 

[EmperorBowserJr]

The best way to play him is to bait the opponent. Especially off the edge. He might as well act like another jigglypuff while off the edge with his FAir. Even if they go under you can just clown kart back and upB guard. Man just talking about this makes me want to play. xD

 

[Regulus]

How should one come back on the stage with BowJow? I generally just do the shortest climb on but people seem to hit me before I can get my shield up (did this game make that easier?)

 

[Christhewolf63]

I try to leave a Mecha koopa out of a ledge jump/re grab to cover my re entry or I just side B in and spin out

 

[Regulus]

I feel like the mecha koopa wouldn't be that effective. By the time the move ends and you get back on they'll have either dodged it or caught it and will be ready to counter again.

 

[EmperorBowserJr]

It's best to use it on an airborne opponent. Like someone going in to attack you while you're in air at least that's been my application for it.

 

[Regulus]

Btw I feel like if you're going to clown kart dash at someone, jump first. This way the kart hops once it reaches the ground and if people try to counterattack it they have a higher chance of hitting the bottom which has super armor.

 

[Sonnet]

Yeah once you're being rushed you have fewer options just keep spacing man!

That, and you can make great use of BowJow's tilt game.

 

[Abyssal Lagiacrus]

The best way to play him is to bait the opponent. Especially off the edge. He might as well act like another jigglypuff while off the edge with his FAir. Even if they go under you can just clown kart back and upB guard. Man just talking about this makes me want to play. xD

I can vouch for this; it's one of the core elements of my Iggy playstyle. My main goal is to build up some damage and then bait them off the stage (or hit them off) because Bowser Jr.'s off-stage game is fantastic.

 

[Sonnet]

I can vouch for this; it's one of the core elements of my Iggy playstyle. My main goal is to build up some damage and then bait them off the stage (or hit them off) because Bowser Jr.'s off-stage game is fantastic.

Can confirm. I've managed to secure a few early kills on characters that lack decent horizontal recovery by getting them off the stage and continually using fair or bair to push them further out. The second they lose their jump offstage, they may as well be dead if you can edgeguard properly.

 

[ProofByContrapositive]

Has anyone tried jumping off stage and b reversing a mechakoopa toward the ledge? I bet this could be useful.

 

[Wintropy]

I'm not all that well-versed in Junior's playstyle, though when I play around with Ludwig, I get good results with side-b -> shorthop f-air and up-b -> fastfall n-air.

Those are two well-known and predictable moves, so I try not to use them too much, lest I become stale and readable. Baiting your opponent to expect a shorthop f-air with your side-b approach and then mixing up with a spinout can be useful, but it only really works if they're guaranteed to fall for it, since the endlag is abysmal and you can get easily punished for it.

I think that, as with all Smash characters, predictability and flowcharting are the cardinal sins of good competitive play. I have very little unique moves to contribute overall, but I love this character and would like to imbibe any wisdom that others are willing to share. :3

 

[Abyssal Lagiacrus]

Has anyone tried jumping off stage and b reversing a mechakoopa toward the ledge? I bet this could be useful.

I do this sometimes, and occasionally I get a momentum reversal as well which sends me back on the stage, good for quick followups.

 

[krazyzyko]

Yea, but most of his hitboxes only hit sideways. If the foe is right in my face, my attacks seem to miss.

Side B might help in those situations.

 

[PD | Lewd]

Could someone describe in detail how to momentum cancel as BowJow? I know it's possible for everyone but is it easier for certain characters or is it basically the same mechanic for everyone?

 

[Pippin (Peregrin Took)]

I think if you use Up B correctly, you should be able to use his OoCC (Out of Clown Car) attack to quickly finish your opponent and get the kill.

This. I probably need to use it less and work on connecting better but have gotten many a satisfying ko with the hammer.

Also, to add another positive even though it's not much, the fact that you can essentially play as 8 different characters make bj one of the most flavorful fighters and thus one of my favorites - some of my favorite matchups include bowser jr vs diddy kong and roy vs marth

 

[Abyssal Lagiacrus]

I've found the f-tilt (the fork) is a great tool to cancel a lot of incoming attacks.

​

 

[Mega Espeon]

Something I like to do with the Mechakoopa is to plop it onto them. Jr.'s bair is excellent for horizontal KOs, once the opponent is offscreen. Something I've been trying to work on getting consistently is hitting opponents with both hits of Abandon Ship!, then whacking them with the hammer. Also, the down tilt is excellent for getting people off of you. Up tilt is basically juggle heaven, which can then transition into up air juggle heaven. Respect the prince, yo.

 

[krebstar]

I'm just gonna throw this out here. I'm sure it's been covered but I feel it needs mentioned often. Angling BJ's forward smash is a game changer. Seems to help with the bizarre whiffs that occasionally happen.

 

[Duck SMASH!]

I'm just gonna throw this out here. I'm sure it's been covered but I feel it needs mentioned often. Angling BJ's forward smash is a game changer. Seems to help with the bizarre whiffs that occasionally happen.

Yep. It stops multi hit approaches and most aerials when angled upwards, and downwards can catch people recovering before the snap to the ledge.
Make sure they've expended their double jump to prevent them jumping over you though. I sometimes do that, using Fair and Nair to deprive people of momentum and jumps before jumping back to the ledge and meeting their recovery with an Fsmash :D

 

[madnessforlife1]

I'm not sure if this has already been mentioned, but at early percents his side b can jump into his up b for about 25%.

 

[Sonnet]

I'm not sure if this has already been mentioned, but at early percents his side b can jump into his up b for about 25%.

I don't know why you'd do that, though, because kart into dair starts strings that could end up dealing 40-50%

 

[PlTe]

Here's a fun thing to do with customs:

1. Bury an opponent with the custom side B
2. Stop yourself next to them before they get out
3. Drill 'em

 

[Abyssal Lagiacrus]

The burying side-special is actually my preferred one. I tend to bury them and then set them up with a kart explosion into hammer.

 

[Sonnet]

The burying side-special is actually my preferred one. I tend to bury them and then set them up with a kart explosion into hammer.

I dunno, I feel like there's so much you can do with your standard kart. Any hit with it is guaranteed to follow into an aerial. At low percents it'll combo into dair, which can lead to 50% strings. At higher percents it'll lead into a free uair, which you can use to start juggling or even get a kill if they're at a high enough percent.

 

[Glicnak]

I dunno, I feel like there's so much you can do with your standard kart. Any hit with it is guaranteed to follow into an aerial. At low percents it'll combo into dair, which can lead to 50% strings. At higher percents it'll lead into a free uair, which you can use to start juggling or even get a kill if they're at a high enough percent.

Agreed. Grounding dash would be a decent move but regular side-B is just too good and synergistic with everything bjr can do

 

[Abyssal Lagiacrus]

You guys have very valid points and I definitely agree with you two. I just like being able to shoot forward at the speed of sound and set my opponent up for different and sometimes unexpected things while they're buried. (Or just do the laughing taunt, lel)

Doesn't mean I don't like the standard side special though, I definitely utilize it to its fullest potential when not playing with customs.