I used to be able to handle DDDs ok but I think they might not have been as representative of a d3 main as I thought. How do I wrestle stage control from him? D3 seems to have a lot that goes against Bowser - better zoning materials, way less punishable Aerials and smashes, better recovery, etc. How should I approach strong DDD's?
D3 in the Bowser match up has the zoning advantage (f-tilt) , his gravity lends him a slightly easier time landing too- these are the only advantages and they are slight ones. Bowser, on the other hand is much faster, significantly better air speed, a better grab range/combo game, heavy armors, intangible hitboxes, and most importantly, a plethora of
reliable kill options, something D3
does not have.
Truthfully, I know D3 better than I do Bowser, but here's what I think a Bowser can do in the neutral:
- Jab > Jab is going to be your best friend here- both have arm intagibility and come out on frames 7-9 and 9-11 respectively (D3's f-tilt comes out on frame 12-21, an FAF of 49, and isn't intangible) meaning that it will either beat out f-tilt, or clash if properly spaced. Moreover, Jab is an excellent tool to deflect Gordo's (don't be afraid to knock these back as often as it is safe to do so, as he needs at least 64 frames before he's able to react. )
-Speed of running, air, and frames is superior to D3's and is what has to be used in order to overcome D3's superior range. A D3 player with skill knows how selective they must be when doing a simple input as
moving, let alone attacking, because of just how bad his endlag is, Bowser suffers from this too, but nowhere as badly. I find that, with Bowser's superior speed, good spacing with movement options like extended dash-dancing/ perfect pivots are going to be what allows you to weave out D3's hitboxes and in for a punish on his slow end-frames. Especially good is a grounded u-special out of powershield- which is comes out at the same time as D3's fastest ground option (D-tilt), and will likely be unable to DI out owing to his weight, size, and fall-speed.
-
Pivot Grab; the range on this move is what's going to let you overcome D3's zoning. D3's slow frames means he is in shield
a lot and will want to shieldgrab you at every opportunity (it's his best option, next to d-tilt). If you run up to him, and he shields, you have two options: 1.) pivot grab in front of him 2.) If he stays in shield, then a grounded d-special will probably get you the shield break, which you will want to follow up with a forward smash. That being said, you generally want to kill D3's off the side, since his weight+fall speed makes him
the hardest character to kill off the top. Bowser's U-throw into u-air will not kill him until around ~115 (check out this thread for stage details etc.
https://smashboards.com/threads/uth...tination-up-to-date-as-of-patch-1-1-5.427228/) nor do you want to fight D3 at high-percents, where his KBG becomes terrifying. Actually, Bowsers F-throw is the strongest in the game, and it as well as B-throw and F-special will kill D3 off the side at ~120 and are sorely underutilized options.
Hope this helps. Like I said, I know D3 better than Bowser, so if you have questions about him I might have more insight.
