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Q&A [Q&A + FAQ] Clown Car 101 - Bowser Jr and The Koopalings

Splooshi Splashy

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Side 1 doesn't have any invincibility frames, but it DOES have super armor on the Clown Car itself, albeit a rather inconsistent amount of it. It may just be patch placebo, but it seems like Side 1 has more vertical range on its super armor. The most consistent projectiles I've been able to Side 1 through are reflected/enemy Mechakoopas, Trip Saplings, and Banana Peels. If you're looking for a Side B with consistent super armor from frame 1, you'll want Side 3, Grounding Dash. I'd personally run it against folks like Yoshi, Sheik, and Duck Hunt.

There are two major types of hits that can happen to Jr post Up B. Strong hits like Smashes, most aerials, and sweetspotted attacks will allow Jr to get back the Car, provided said Jr player presses R (or the airdodge button) after taking the strong hit. Weak hits like Jab 1, some aerials (Duck Hunt's NAir when sourspotted, for example), and sourspotted will not generate enough force for the R button trick to work. What seperates the strong hits from the weak hits is the amount of knockback said hit causes. The stronger the knockback, the more likely it is for the R button trick to work. The amount of percent Jr has on also seems to affect this, with more moves allowing Jr his Car back the more percent Jr has on.
 

-Grimm-

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bjr is a very weird character. I got a couple questions:

Does the side B have invincibility frames/super armour?

How does getting the cart back when using up B off-stage work exactly? Sometimes I see bjr get it back after getting hit, sometimes I don't. So what makes it 'respawn' ?
The side B does have some initial frames of armor when it first starts. I can't say the exact amount of frames, but it's brief. Can come in handy if you're doing quick side-b's and jumping instantly (for sake of mindgames, similar to shielding sonic's spindash startup).
 

pikazz

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the Super Armor on SideB is only at the bottom of his clowncart, let say that "bananas" and Jr mecha koopa are in perfect high for the super armor, but stuff like Falcos Laser is too high up!

also, his super armor is bigger if you "land and you going that landing like you hit a road" increases the super armor but only for that animation
 

divade

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Landing cart I think gives you a better chance of eating red and green fireballs. Idk what else. What about dropped bombs? Anyone know?
 

-Grimm-

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Landing cart I think gives you a better chance of eating red and green fireballs. Idk what else. What about dropped bombs? Anyone know?
As long as you have the brief frames of either the landing armor or the jumping armor, you don't take any of the knockback from moves. So that includes bombs :)
 

ArikadoSD

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Was the matchup against Sheik explained/simplified anywhere in these boards? I couldn't find anything so I thought I'd ask here.
 

-Grimm-

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Was the matchup against Sheik explained/simplified anywhere in these boards? I couldn't find anything so I thought I'd ask here.
This thread is more for clown car techniques than MU discussion, but there's a MU discussion thread that's tagged on these boards. I'm a regular on that thread, and we have yet to talk about Bjr vs. Sheik over there. If you want to start a discussion however, feel free to start the conversation!
 

Boney

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Is there a way to catch the Mecha koopas after they start walking? I guess air dodging right near them but I usually just pass them over.
 

eagle_master

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Is there a way to catch the Mecha koopas after they start walking? I guess air dodging right near them but I usually just pass them over.
Like any item, you can also use the attack button, dash attack and aerial attack
 
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Boney

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Like any item, you can also use the attack button, dash attack and aerial attack
Right, I was trying to jab it earlier, but kept hitting it instead of picking it up. Guess I just need practice with that.
 

-Grimm-

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Is there a way to catch the Mecha koopas after they start walking? I guess air dodging right near them but I usually just pass them over.
If you're struggling to catch up to it or grab it in general, there's two really easy ways to catch it.

Typically, when I'm trying to set up a mechakoopa (specifically, to grab it), I either do a full hop/double jump for the down b, or stand a bit away from the edge of the stage and do down-b towards the edge. The first one makes the mechakoopa bounce a few times so you can quickly drop down, run over, and dash attack to pick it up. The second one makes the mechakoopa walk right back towards you, so you can just press A and pick it up right away.

Though if you're asking in terms of playing against a Bowser Jr. and trying to pick up their mechakoopas, dash attack is the safest method to grab it - they have a weird hitbox, which makes them difficult to pick up with a jab.
 

Weruop

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Just realized something pretty cool while labbing that Im not sure who knows about. It involves picking up a mechakoopa with an immediate jump -> zair catch and then using cart dash quickly enough to stay grounded.

I could see a possible application being that we could run up to a mechakoopa and be able to quickly transition into grabbing it and rushing in at the opponent with it. Could provide a useful way of closing distance on an opponent while quickly getting the mechakoopa in hand. Could also be nice as a mixup and easy to set up on slower characters. Collectively i think it could help our overall ground mobility
Also is a bit easier to pull off with L as Grab too

(Update: )
Another cool thing this can be used for is quickly grabbing low-flying items enemies might throw at you including Megaman's razor blade and PacMans fruit
 
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flieskiller

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How to know/decide what direction Junior's hammer will swing after using his up-b? I can't see to find a pattern if he attacks from left->right or right->left, and it's kinda important to know to not miss that attack.
 

-Grimm-

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How to know/decide what direction Junior's hammer will swing after using his up-b? I can't see to find a pattern if he attacks from left->right or right->left, and it's kinda important to know to not miss that attack.
If you're facing to the right, hammer swing will start from the left, and vice versa.
 

BoxedOccaBerrys

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I have some questions about Bow-Jow.

I know his main combo is side-b to down-air, what sort of follow-ups does this combo have?
What sort of things can you do with the mechakoopa?
What are his kill moves?
How good are his tilts?
who are his best and worst match-ups?
 

aircaves

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I have some questions about Bow-Jow.

I know his main combo is side-b to down-air, what sort of follow-ups does this combo have?
What sort of things can you do with the mechakoopa?
What are his kill moves?
How good are his tilts?
who are his best and worst match-ups?
At low percents you can get a SH fair if you are fast enough out of side b dair. This is not guaranteed but it is possible, I've also been able to autocancel it into up tilt but that doesn't happen often because of DI.

the mechakoopa (MK) is a very useful stage control option, it is useful for approaching with because it can take hits from projectiles. if you are in the right spacing it is very easy to follow up with an aerial after they get hit. Also the MK causes a reaction from an opponent so punishing the reaction is possible. Having it walk near the ledge while someone is on it limits their ledge options to jump or wait, and waiting will get rid of invincibility frames. grabbing the MK is also extremely useful for pressuring your opponent. Basically the MK is one of the most useful tools Bowser Jr. has but it can be picked up and reflected to use against you so be wary of that.

kill moves include:
Smash attacks (all three but you will mostly see Fsmash and UpSmash)
Bair (One of his safest kill moves
Fair(near the edge of the stage, more used for gimping)
Upair ( if not staled and in the air)
side b spinout (very laggy so not recommended)
Up B 1 (car explosion) (amazingly useful while edge guarding)
Up B 2 (Hammer Swing) (can be comboed from side b)
neutral B (You will almost NEVER see this one used though)
back throw (near the edge of the stage)

His tilts are surprisingly useful,

down tilt comes out frame 6 or frame 3 (I forget which) and is a great get off me move that can lead into a grab at 0% on mid to heavy weights

F tilt is also good to get people away because it's fast, ranged, and low cooldown

up tilt is by far the best because it comboes great at low percents, I can usually do uptilt->uptilt->Upsmash or uptilt->uptilt->SH->Up air->Upair->jump->upair at 0-10% but it still has follow ups at later percents

Best matchup is debateable but from what I'm aware of, DK and Ganon are in bowser jr's favor pretty well because of less mobility and no way to deal with MK aside from picking it up or dodging.

worst: Megaman (because lemons), Mario (because fireballs and cape), or falco (reflector and lasor)

hope this helps :D
 
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-Grimm-

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I have some questions about Bow-Jow.

I know his main combo is side-b to down-air, what sort of follow-ups does this combo have?
What sort of things can you do with the mechakoopa?
What are his kill moves?
How good are his tilts?
who are his best and worst match-ups?
Side-b dair gives you a guaranteed SH fair as long as you hit them with enough of the move (I think getting 3 of the multihits), and it doesn't even require a DI read. If you land the dair on the left side of their body, they will fly off to the right, and vice versa, so it's an easy follow up.

After the SH fair, assuming you do it as an IASA fair, you can land holding jab and get either a jab combo or, if they shield, you can do a lot of shield damage with it.
 

Reila

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Any tips for dealing with projectile heavy characters (and others who can shut down Jr's approach with ease)?
 

Dayzin

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Not sure where to ask this but how do I prevent myself from super jumping after doing side B to up B? Am I jumping too late therefore footstooling my opponent or is there something else I'm doing wrong?
 

divade

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Hmm, well tap jump off would probably help, I can't recall if buffering it would make it more or less likely.
 

Dayzin

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I play with tap off and it still happens, played today and I think it only happened once but I would like to know how to cut it out completely
 

-Grimm-

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Not sure where to ask this but how do I prevent myself from super jumping after doing side B to up B? Am I jumping too late therefore footstooling my opponent or is there something else I'm doing wrong?
By super jumping do you mean footstooling? Just make sure to practice jumping out of kart right in front of them instead of in the middle of their body, and don't mash jump to cancel kart. As long as you're just using a single input (avoid holding up on control stick before doing the jump as well), it should be fine.

By the way just so you know, even if you have tap jump off, tapping up on the control stick during a kart dash makes you jump. Maybe that's the issue?
 

Dayzin

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By super jumping do you mean footstooling? Just make sure to practice jumping out of kart right in front of them instead of in the middle of their body, and don't mash jump to cancel kart. As long as you're just using a single input (avoid holding up on control stick before doing the jump as well), it should be fine.

By the way just so you know, even if you have tap jump off, tapping up on the control stick during a kart dash makes you jump. Maybe that's the issue?
Ya I think it is a footstool but the animation for it doesn't happen.
I think it might be happening due to mashing and doing the jump to late. I played today and it didn't happen at all since i try to up B as soon as i hit the character. Only thing now is sometimes I spin out instead of getting the up B but that's probably due to not putting in the up command at the same time.
Thanks for the tips!
 

Ridel

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Any tips for dealing with projectile heavy characters (and others who can shut down Jr's approach with ease)?
I play a good Mega Man often and I beat him pretty constantly so I think I have a good grasp on how t play the MU. What I do play a sort of mech+keep away game. It basically forces them to destroy the mechs with there projectile or come in. The mechs make pretty good meat shields as they can bock any projectile in the game, but you probably already knew that. Also I know it sound stupid but use canon sometimes. Aerial canon shots plus grounded mechs basically forces some sort of committal option and most zoners have niche or bad OOS options. Don't bother using kart dash unless you find an opening or you use it for mind games. I actually highly recommend Battlefield when fighting zoners as giving them straight shots is worse then us losing full mech stage control. Zoners also have a tendency to have very linear recoveries and since Bj's got a pretty nasty gimping/ledge-guarding game it's safe to say you can destroy them off stage, or with ledge-guard set-ups.

Overall though we outright lose to heavy zoners. Mega Man, Duck Hunt, Pac-Man, and Villager are pretty terrible to deal with you might as well chose someone else if you want to have a less infuriating time. Not to mention they have the easiest time hitting our weak hitbox.
 
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Ridel

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Guys I think canon got it's start-up and endlag slightly reduce it feels a little fast. Needs more testing. B-air also seems to have like 1 or 2 frames of landing lag reduced.
 

divade

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Guys I think canon got it's start-up and endlag slightly reduce it feels a little fast. Needs more testing. B-air also seems to have like 1 or 2 frames of landing lag reduced.
Bair Would've been in the data dump, it was not.
 

Ridel

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Bair Would've been in the data dump, it was not.
Tbh the data dump is pretty ****ty this time around. Like Pit's arrows got a 3 frame reduction according to some sources in the Pit thread but was never listed.
 

divade

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Tbh the data dump is pretty ****ty this time around. Like Pit's arrows got a 3 frame reduction according to some sources in the Pit thread but was never listed.
Projectiles aren't easily found I've heard, but arieals should've been accurate, I trust the miners community.
 

Ridel

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How do I make the mechakoopa bounce instead of exploding when I throw it down?
You have t grab it before it starts moving. The way I do it is to full hop then drop the mech at the apex of your jump then quickly grab it. If you do it right the mech should bounce off the ground.
 

Mr.PersonSir

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You have t grab it before it starts moving. The way I do it is to full hop then drop the mech at the apex of your jump then quickly grab it. If you do it right the mech should bounce off the ground.
Thanks!
 

Snailtopus

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I know that damage changes based on whether or not an attack hits Bowser Jr or the Klown Kart, but is there any effect on knockback or is it always the same?
 

YSS

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Has anyone done labbing on Jr's almighty Side-B to Up-B Hammer combo percentages? If so, where can I find them? If not, I may have work to do.
 

Abyssal Lagiacrus

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Has anyone done labbing on Jr's almighty Side-B to Up-B Hammer combo percentages? If so, where can I find them? If not, I may have work to do.
I've done a little bit, I've had success in the 80-100 range with most characters
 

Ridel

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Has anyone done labbing on Jr's almighty Side-B to Up-B Hammer combo percentages? If so, where can I find them? If not, I may have work to do.
I mean for the most part you can determine it quite easily after you land one kart dash follow-up at low percents. I find it less straining then memorizing a bunch of percents, it also keeps my mind off using it too much so I don't waste the kill opportunity.
 

YSS

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Cloud's disjoints can keep us at bay and if we try to set up with the mechakoopa he can just charge Limit Break in the interim. If I had to give a strategy, float just a little bit out of his range with things like fair or bair and put down the mechakoopa whenever you throw him off balance (i.e. less likely to charge.) Get back on the ground as quickly as possible and try to bait him into something unsafe like his DA or dair so that you can shield and punish. If you get him off the stage, gimp him into absolute oblivion with thrown mechakoopas and Abandon Ship's explosive.
 

Ridel

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Keep in mind that blade beam can one shot mechs so if the Cloud player is aware of the MU he will most likely dispatch it with blade beam rather then try to continue charging limit. With this you can use mechs as a pseudo shield and use it to kart dash in and punish.
 
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