Bowser's Official Stage Discussion Thread
Inspired by some other character boards, and a try to breathe some life into these boards.
Here we will talk about Bowser's performances on the tournament viable stages. We will discuss his advantages and disadvantages on the stage, and what hazards he exactly has to watch out for. Specific MUs with several characters on this stage should only be mentioned them if they're turning everything into Bowser's advantage or horrible stage+character combinations.
Post your thoughts on the stage we are discussing, and after we decided, I will create a summary of the discussion and give the stage a rating.
Here we have a list for all stages, I will cross off every stage which has been done from this list.
Starter
Battlefield
Final Destination
Smashville
Yoshi's Island (Brawl)
Starter/Counter
Castle Siege
Halberd
Lylat Cruise
Pokémon Stadium 1
Counter
Brinstar
Delfino Plaza
Frigate Orpheon
Jungle Japes
Pictochat
Pirate Ship
Pokémon Stadium 2
Rainbow Cruise
Counter/Banned
Distant Planet
Green Greens
Luigi's Mansion
Port Town Aero Dive
Yoshi's Island (Melee/Pipes)
Norfair
Discussion Summaries
Week #1: Battlefield
This stage easily is one of Bowser's better starters. The small size make approaching or punishing easier, and powerful attacks will result in the enemy being gone sooner. The platforms are very helpful, especially due to the fact Up Tilt and Up Smash will go through the lower ones, and Up Air can easily penetrate the top one. Bowser has to take care, though, if being on the platforms himself (he has no proper way of attacking someone under him), and if below the lower platforms, as his hurtbox is going through them, but this is only a small problem that can be easily overcome. The platforms also allow the Klaw Drop, allowing Bowser a huge mobility through the three smaller platforms. The only thing you really want to avoid is playing against Snake here. Small stages with a lot of platforms will make it awful for Bowser as Snake will stuff it full with his explosives. Overall, though, Battlefield is definitely a good starter stage for the King of Koopas.
Week #2: Final Destination
Final Destination is a very situational stage for Bowser. It's one of the biggest stages allowed in tournament play. The ceiling, though, is average. The length of the stage profits chaingrabbers, so playing against Dedede on Final Destination is a bad idea, taking a victim of Bowser's Grab Release shenanigans here, though, is very good. Due to the stage's far away blast zones, Bowser should be able to survive long. Characters who have major advantages when playing on stages with platforms or want to control the stage can have disadvantages if taken here, prime example being Meta Knight. Klaw Hopping is very easy on this stage, and very useful. The lip can be helpful for stagespikes, but also be dangerous if you get careless. Overall one of Bowser's more neutral stages, and mostly matchup-dependant.
Week #3: Smashville
Smashville is one of Bowser's best starter stages. The size is perfect to prevent campers from taking overhand, and makes it easy for Bowser to land a KO. The moving platform allows Klaw Drop with a possible nice gimp, and it's generally easy to Klaw Hop on the main platform. The moving platform in general allows Bowser to gimp the hell out of his opponents and can help recovering, too. Bowser can even attack the enemy from below if they are on the platform. If in doubt, take Smashville.
...and it has the Balloon...
Week #4: Yoshi's Island (Brawl)
Yoshi's Island is Bowser's worst neutral stage. Not that Bowser performs horribly bad on it, but rather because it doesn't help Bowser's game at all. The platform in the center absolutely prohibits using Klaw Hopping, and due to its size and constant moving it will hinder Bowser's possibilities to kill enemies from below with USmash or UTilt. Additionally to this, the ghost platforms to the side can save your opponent should the be recovering from your blow. Overall, Bowser's worst Neutral... try to avoid it if possible.
Week #5: Norfair
Norfair is a stage that can be very dangerous - both for Bowser and your opponent, as well. Generally said, the stage is a great place for Bowser, since the huge amount of ledges boost Bowser's mobility and recovery by much. It also allows Bowser to be in his most favourite position - below someone. The layout of Norfair allows Bowser to abuse moves going upward, and as we all know, those are his best. The size of the platforms also make it possible for Bowser to safely use grounded Fortresses and retreat quickly to a ledge thus cancelling off the cooldown. The stage hinders the use of his Grab Release, though. However, with all those upsides, there comes a huge downside to Norfair. Characters with spammable projectiles pretty much **** Bowser here, as well as Meta Knight - as this is one of his best stages. Try to avoid it, but it can be a very good stage against characters who prefer hand-to-hand combat.
Week #6: Luigi's Mansion
Luigi's Mansion has similar traits as Norfair - some characters do exceptionally well against Bowser, and others do very bad here. Generally, the mansion is a worse stage for Bowser than Norfair, though. The breakable pillars are giving Bowser a safe shield against projectiles, but lets Fire Breath through, making it an incredibly useful move on this stage. Additionally, the Fortress is a great move here, as well, due to its vertical knockback. However, as with Norfair, Luigi's Mansion has negative aspects, too. The high ceiling of the stage and the solid ceilings inside of the mansion make it hard for Bowser to land upwards kills. Generally, this stage is a bad counterpick choice, though... you might want to take another stage.
Week #7: Castle Siege
Since JayDeth summed it up very well, I simply quote him instead of making a writeup:
This stage has 3 faces: the small sized first version, the massive 2nd form, and the medium sized last form. Unlike the Wario Ware stage, this one has a rising floor to catch you between switches. You need to be careful when that floor leaves however, especially when it loops back from version 3 to version 1.
The opening look is very Battlefield-y only missing the high platform and the right side is raised a bit. This area just seems like it was built for Bowser; Small, couple platforms, a castle in the background (I wonder if it reminds him of home?). What's really neat is that this is one of the few stages where it's possible to recover from a Bowser-cide do to the rising floor I mentioned.
Speaking of, when that ground comes up it creates walk-offs which has good potential if you can get a grab in here, either normal or Klaw based.
The second stage is pretty massive, though the projectile stopping statues are quite comforting. Again we have walk-offs too, so despite the size, Bowser should do well here.
The last stage... basically it's Final D., only it tilts a la Lylat and has a bump in the middle, both of which make Klaw Hopping and Auto Cancelling more difficult than normal. Definately not as good as the first or second stage or even the between stages stage.
An odd and surprizingly good counter pick.
Week #8: Battleship Halberd
This is not much of a good stage for Bowser. The only thing he gains from here is the fact the stage has a low ceiling, making kills to above easier than usually. Be aware that the main platform of the floating part of this stage is not solid, so you perhaps will UpB through the platform instead of grabbing the ledge. Also, keep out from the hazards on the deck part of the stage. Try to avoid going here.
Week #9: Lylat Cruise
This is basically a worse version of Battlefield, at least for Bowser. You have several platforms you can take advantage of. The stage tilts, so it might make recovering a tad hard sometimes. Bowser does better on Battlefield, but go here if you play against characters with good projectile games like Falco or R.O.B..
Week #10: Pokémon Stadium 1
This stage is rather neutral for Bowser. The Windmill on the Water-part can be a bit annoying, and so can the walls that are on a few transformations. But in general, it's an okay stage that won't give Bowser too much trouble, though not benefitting him either. Just watch out for the ledges.
Week #11: Brinstar
Brinstar is a matchup-dependant stage for Bowser. Projectile-dependant characters like Falco or R.O.B. might be in trouble here due to the weird layout, wavy design of the stage and the membrane pillars used to shield projectiles, so it's the best to take them here. Light characters with mediocre aerial approaches are definitely a good choice to take her, as well. Due to the acid, KOs have to mainly go through horizontal or ceiling ways, which makes it hard to kill Bowser, but easy for him to score KOs. Watch out for characters with multiple jumps coming from below the main platform which can be passed through.
Week #12: Delfino Plaza
Delfino is probably one of the worse stages Bowser can be taken to. By no means it's awful, but it's definitely not beneficial. While the walkoffs or walls might help with grab releases, they can be used for chaingrabs on Bowser (loldedede). The floating section can be dangerous if characters with multiple jumps attack from below. Otherwise, the stage is okay. Differing blast zone-position might be awkward at times. Definitely not worth for counterpicking, but not awful to play on either, so don't waste your ban on it.
Week #13: Frigate Orpheon
Frigate's small size prevents camping characters from, well, camping you. Since it has a high ceiling, Bowser can live almost forever vertically, but horizontally, it might look worse - first part of the stage has no ledge to grab, and Bowser's vertical recovery is not particularly stellar. Other than that, watching out for the flip and staying below the platform are kinda mandatory. It's a good stage to take campers to if Brinstar is not available, otherwise, stay away from it.
Week #14: Jungle Japes
Many people loathe this stage because of the river and the klaptrap, but it's not that bad, actually. Characters with camping powers will utterly abuse you on it, so never take them there. However, lightweights like Kirby or vertical killers like Luigi, as well as characters with poor vertical or diagonal recovery can be taken here. The stage has the highest ceiling in the game, thus preventing from star KOs, and the river and klaptrap can screw up said worse recoveries. However, Bowser's recovery is one of those, so watch out for the river yourself.
Week #15: Pictochat
The stage in its original stage plays fairly similar to Final Destination. Some walls ease grab releasing (but also make chaingrabbing worse for Bowser, heh), a lot of the hazards can be very dangerous but also beneficial to some degree. Overall, not a bad stage for Bowser, but not a particularly good one either.
Week #16 & 17: Pirate Ship
This stage sucks for Bowser. The layout screw up grab releases. The platforms don't really help at all. The cannonballs can be dangerous due to Bowser's immense size, but you should be able to get around them. Watch out for the catapult, though. Due to the stage transforming now and then, some useful things might come up, for instance when it falls after the tornado, enabling you to survive a Bowsercide. The stage is rare to show up, but it's still a possible threat for Bowser, so keep out.
Week #18: Pokémon Stadium 2
Summary Later
Week #19: Rainbow Cruise
Summary Later
Week #20: Distant Planet - Current Discussion
