Questions About Bowser's Moveset

[MK26]

Hi, I'm MK26. I'm relatively new to the boards, as I only joined a few months ago, but I've lurked since the Japanese Brawl release. I main Kirby, and usually am on the Tactical Boards, but recently I got interested in Bowser. I started playing with him, and I just have a few questions about his moveset, among other things.

1) Which of Bowser's throws are the most useful (whether for damage, follow-ups, knockback etc.)? Should I stick with grab release-->jab/tilts instead?

2) From what I have observed, Bowser's f-air is a multi-purpose move, his u-air and b-air are killers, and n-air/d-air are all but useless. Is this assumption correct?

3) I am used to playing more aerially based characters (Kirby, Shiek, ROB etc.). Should a Bowser generally be more ground based, or is an even mix more effective?

4) Is Bowser's u-tilt a kill move or a damage racker?

5) If you catch someone in the Koopa Klaw when they are at 0%, is it possible to combo into another Klaw, or is this escapable by DI?

6) What are Bowser's worst matchups? My brother's Olimar (Side-B spam ftl) wreaks havok on my Bowser, and I want to know if there are any other characters that I should try to avoid.

7) Does Bowser have a universal counterpick (one stage that he's good at, no matter the opponent)? Do any of you find that Rainbow Cruise is a good place to play as when Bowser?

8) I think Bowser might have an infinite grab (aerial release) chain on Meta Knight when against a wall. Can anybody verify this for me? And can Bowser really regrab MK on both a jump break and a ground break, or is it escapable?

 

[~ Gheb ~]

Answers in red

Hi, I'm MK26. I'm relatively new to the boards, as I only joined a few months ago, but I've lurked since the Japanese Brawl release. I main Kirby, and usually am on the Tactical Boards, but recently I got interested in Bowser. I started playing with him, and I just have a few questions about his moveset, among other things.

1) Which of Bowser's throws are the most useful (whether for damage, follow-ups, knockback etc.)? Should I stick with grab release-->jab/tilts instead?

Release grabs vs Wario only iirc. Otherwise...i dunno. I think bthrow is decent...

2) From what I have observed, Bowser's f-air is a multi-purpose move, his u-air and b-air are killers, and n-air/d-air are all but useless. Is this assumption correct?

Bair isn't that good, really. Uair is a killer but dair and nair are kinda meh...fair is his best aerial, the others are situational

3) I am used to playing more aerially based characters (Kirby, Shiek, ROB etc.). Should a Bowser generally be more ground based, or is an even mix more effective?

I find booza to be more effective when mixed. SH Fire Breath us a decent approach and his specials can all be used in the air. His tilts are good, use them a lot on the ground

4) Is Bowser's u-tilt a kill move or a damage racker?

It kills at high percentages, otherwise it's a dmg racker...

5) If you catch someone in the Koopa Klaw when they are at 0%, is it possible to combo into another Klaw, or is this escapable by DI?

It's actually a grab

6) What are Bowser's worst matchups? My brother's Olimar (Side-B spam ftl) wreaks havok on my Bowser, and I want to know if there are any other characters that I should try to avoid.

Olimar, Spacies, DDD and Marth imo

7) Does Bowser have a universal counterpick (one stage that he's good at, no matter the opponent)? Do any of you find that Rainbow Cruise is a good place to play as when Bowser?

8) I think Bowser might have an infinite grab (aerial release) chain on Meta Knight when against a wall. Can anybody verify this for me? And can Bowser really regrab MK on both a jump break and a ground break, or is it escapable?

I don't know. I'm not familiar with wall stuff...

10chars

 

[BurtonEarny]

Hi, I'm MK26. I'm relatively new to the boards, as I only joined a few months ago, but I've lurked since the Japanese Brawl release. I main Kirby, and usually am on the Tactical Boards, but recently I got interested in Bowser. I started playing with him, and I just have a few questions about his moveset, among other things.

1) Which of Bowser's throws are the most useful (whether for damage, follow-ups, knockback etc.)? Should I stick with grab release-->jab/tilts instead?

2) From what I have observed, Bowser's f-air is a multi-purpose move, his u-air and b-air are killers, and n-air/d-air are all but useless. Is this assumption correct?

3) I am used to playing more aerially based characters (Kirby, Shiek, ROB etc.). Should a Bowser generally be more ground based, or is an even mix more effective?

4) Is Bowser's u-tilt a kill move or a damage racker?

5) If you catch someone in the Koopa Klaw when they are at 0%, is it possible to combo into another Klaw, or is this escapable by DI?

6) What are Bowser's worst matchups? My brother's Olimar (Side-B spam ftl) wreaks havok on my Bowser, and I want to know if there are any other characters that I should try to avoid.

7) Does Bowser have a universal counterpick (one stage that he's good at, no matter the opponent)? Do any of you find that Rainbow Cruise is a good place to play as when Bowser?

8) I think Bowser might have an infinite grab (aerial release) chain on Meta Knight when against a wall. Can anybody verify this for me? And can Bowser really regrab MK on both a jump break and a ground break, or is it escapable?

1)Grab release has already been mentioned. Up throw will rarely give an uair opportunity. Dthrow is good for trying to follow up with something... I use it unless I'm close to the edge then I use the appropriate throw to get them off the edge to try to edge guard.

2) Bair and fair are good. Up air is a kill move, but hard to hit. Almost never use dair, and use nair RARELY.

3) bowser likes to short hop arials, either that or use tilts as his main approaches. If you are in defense, mostly jab and upb out of shield.

4) This move is whatever you need it to be... its strong enought to kill at high percents, but combos well at very low percents.

5) not sure, but I believe it is esapable

6) Olimar is all but unbeatable... read the matchup disscusion thread, learn yourself a thing or two

7) battlefield and smashville are both great for him

8) its not infinite, oh edit didnt see the "wall" part... idk ill test it tonight and let you know tommrrow

 

[MrEh]

1. Bowser has next to no combo ability with his throws. If you're going for raw damage, then the down throw deals the most raw damage. As for grab releases, you could always Jab, Ftilt, Dtilt, or even use your Fire Breath if you were feeling daring. On one memorable occasion, I was able to Jab Metanight once, and then Bowser Bomb him. It's almost never going to work, but it was pretty funny.


2. It's safe to say that the Dair is useless. The only time I would ever consider using it is if I was feeling really messed up and I wanted to spike someone with it. That's only goin gto work like 0.01% of the time, and you're probably going ot die in the attempt. However, if you do manage to spike someone with it, then you're allowed to die, since you just pulled off one of the most amzing things in the game.

But realistically, yeah...it's useless.


3. Stay on the ground for the most part. Bowser plays a very defensive game with his tilts and jabs, and you're going to be shielding a lot as well. His air game isn't all that bad, it actually supplements his ground game pretty well. Retreating short hops combined with Fairs and Fire Breath makes a pretty beefy defense.


4. Use it as both. It does decent damage, and it kills. To put in in perspective, it'll kill Metaknight at like 90-something damage. Also remember that the hitbox extends on top of Bowser and behind Bowser. It does not extend in front of him.


5. They can DI out. The only way you'll catch them again is if they push toward you. That's very unlikely.


6. Bowser has a lot of bad matchups. Mr. Game and Watch, Falco, Diddy Kong, and King Dedede are probably the worst though. Olimar is a tough matchup as well. As aways, watch out for rampant Snakes and Metaknights as well.


7. Bowser loves stages with platforms. Battlefield, Yoshi's Island, Smashville, etc. If you need a counterpick, then you could choose something like Norfair to piss people off. As for Rainbow Cruise, I would only play that stage against Diddy, who dislikes that stage.


8. I think wall infinites are banned in tournaments though.

 

[Conclusively]

As for Rainbow Cruise, I would only play that stage against Diddy, who dislikes that stage.

Good against Snake too. Forces him onto his cypher, then you just grab, and watch him either damage himself, or die.

 

[eyestrain92]

1) Which of Bowser's throws are the most useful (whether for damage, follow-ups, knockback etc.)? Should I stick with grab release-->jab/tilts instead?

Just use variety to avoid staling everything up. If your opponent thinks you're just going to release him, then you follow up with a SHFair... You get the idea, it's useful to be unpredictable, no, necessary as Bowser.

2) From what I have observed, Bowser's f-air is a multi-purpose move, his u-air and b-air are killers, and n-air/d-air are all but useless. Is this assumption correct?

Bair is more like, "Oh hey, you're behind me but I can't turn around in mid-air fast enough, I'll just use this instead and hope to god I can get up fast enough!" Nair is useful when in mid-air, another character is practically inside your character model, and I have to say it IS useful for the fact it's probably his fastest aerial. It's just poorly ranged. A tiny oval in the shape of his body. SHDairs are the best use of his Dair, and pretty much only thrown out to avoid becoming predictable.

3) I am used to playing more aerially based characters (Kirby, Shiek, ROB etc.). Should a Bowser generally be more ground based, or is an even mix more effective?

Bowser is so vulnerable when people are below him. That's Bowser's dangerous spot-below him. Stay underneath them or in their danger zones, and avoid letting them get under you. Stay on the ground and SH your aerials.

4) Is Bowser's u-tilt a kill move or a damage racker?

If they're not in killing percentage, it's free damage. If they're not, it's a kill.

5) If you catch someone in the Koopa Klaw when they are at 0%, is it possible to combo into another Klaw, or is this escapable by DI?

With an inexperienced person, or one in panic, or an overly-aggressive one.

6) What are Bowser's worst matchups? My brother's Olimar (Side-B spam ftl) wreaks havok on my Bowser, and I want to know if there are any other characters that I should try to avoid.

Personally I don't think G&W is as bad as Falco. Falco can 0-43% you through a chain grab to spike, which may also kill you. D3 is annoying, having incredible recovery, strange projectiles, disjointed hitboxes, multiple jumps and power. You'd better be better. Diddy is horrible on flat stages. Never play a Diddy on FD. MK is ok if the opponent isn't good. Otherwise, you'll have to fight HARD to win. Donkey Kong isn't too bad, I actual argue that he and Bowser are on equal footing. Or at least Mario Bros. relation, one being a gimper, the other being an aerial monster.

7) Does Bowser have a universal counterpick (one stage that he's good at, no matter the opponent)? Do any of you find that Rainbow Cruise is a good place to play as when Bowser?

Rainbow Cruise and Norfair balance Bowser's weaknesses out. Diddy can't bannanaspam and Snake and the space animals can't really camp there. Pick either whenever you can. Rainbow Cruise has always been an absurdly useful Bowser stage. Learn it well, and soon you'll realize people can't abuse what they usually abuse to win there.

8) I think Bowser might have an infinite grab (aerial release) chain on Meta Knight when against a wall. Can anybody verify this for me? And can Bowser really regrab MK on both a jump break and a ground break, or is it escapable?

Wall chains are banned. As for a CG on MK normally, what the hell have I been missing. Look for that.