There hasn't been a whole lot of consensus on Bowser vs Zelda in this thread, but the posts on the subject have usually judged the matchup to be pretty even, possibly in Bowser's favor. I'm guessing the Zelda board is pretty sure they've got Bowser beat and badly. If any Zeldas reading this have reasons for this that they would like to post, I think the different perspective would improve the discussion on Bowser vs Zelda a lot. Otherwise I don't think we're going to get any further with this one.
Last time I analyzed this one, I judged it to be in Zelda's favor. I've revised my thinking a little, and would retract that. I think I have a pretty decent understanding of the fundamental issues, but I don't have the experience against good Zeldas to make a definitive judgement.
I hate Zelda's lightning kick. It's not exactly difficult to pull one on Bowser so Bowser never wants to be in the air during this matchup unless he is below her.
As far as the matchup in general goes, there are really two deciding factors IMHO: the first is Zelda's aforementioned aerial dominance and her cheap a$s Din spam
. I think Bowser's ground game > Zelda's (more range and power plus Zelda's way lighter), so Bowser's performance in this matchup revolves around his ability to keep Zelda on the ground and at mid range.
I will confess I haven't played any great Zeldas but Din spam seems somewhat manageable with a shield run shield run approach. The only problem is that Bowser has to be very careful after blocking the last Din's fire after closing the distance. If bowser stays on the ground, aerial combat only becomes a problem when Zelda uses sh aerials to approach or knocks him up (I'm sorry that was terrible). Bowser has options to manage sh aerials from Zelda, especially since they aren't very fast or unpredictable (will she bair or fair? does it matter?). Shield grab, jab combo, and fortress out of shield are pretty easy responses. Getting back to the ground when Zelda sends him flying is obviously crucial. It's not obscenely difficult with air dodging and bowser bombing ledge grab, but it is extremely dangerous.
I don't feel confident in my ability to discuss edgeguarding in this matchup, so I won't take that into consideration in this analysis. It could have a big impact, though, so if anyone has any thoughts...
Stage selection makes a really big difference for Bowser even on typically neutral maps: FD makes Din spam even more annoying than usual and Battlefield encourages a lot more aerial combat than Bowser wants. Smashville is perfect for Bowser because it lacks the size and platforms of FD and Battlefield.
Like I said, I don't have enough experience to say how hard it is for Bowser to keep those two factors under control, but if I had to guess I would say this matchup is even or in Zelda's favor. On the other hand, I'm guessing she still has the winning combo of downb -> ****
I haven't played any Sheiks with Bowser so I'm just assuming.
As far as the thread in general goes, discussing whether Olimar or G&W ***** Bowser the hardest is not going to make either matchup any easier. Discussing why they **** Bowser and how said rapage could be minimized just might. I would start it off but I don't know enough about either.
