Which stages should Bowser go to?

[meebius]

In most cases, whoever I'm playing against usually bans

1.) Yoshi's Story
2.) Green Hill Zone
3.) WarioWare

for the counterpick

So, I was wondering which stages I should go to?

 

[Pluttergub]

Fountain of dreams is fantastic for Bowser due to the extremely close side blastzones and small stage size. Also, you can flame cancel on the low platforms to cover most of center stage.

In certain matchups like Marth and Roy, I like going to Dreamland since Marth and Roy have lackluster, linear recoveries whereas Bowser can often recover high against them. The platforms also give Bowser some much-needed mobility and provide a different approach option against a dashdancing Marth/Roy.

In general, I counterpick stages that have a 3-platform layout since, at least with my playstyle, they greatly benefit Bowser.

 

[Frost | Odds]

I like Battlefield in most matchups, because the blast zones are relatively close, perfect wavelands are easy and useful, and the platform layout allows some additional tricks.

Lylat is a great pick against characters whose recoveries will get messed up by the ledges, and the platform layout is actually pretty good for Bowser because of how small the platforms are - you can knock shielding opponents off of the platforms with a uair pretty much every time for free followups.

Like Plutter said, FoD is solid in most matchups and Dreamland can be conditionally good.

Bowser doesn't need a specific stage to perform, really, but I strongly recommend that if your opponent plays a character with a strong dash dance game, you avoid wide, flat stages with few (or awkwardly placed) platforms like Final Dest., PS2, etc

 

[Kerfuffle]

I don't really see any BAD stages of Bowser (MU dependent of course). If they ban all the small stages, sometimes i'll even go to dreamland. Live forever and you kill early enough that it doesn't really screw things up too much. Besides warioware though, my favorite is battlefield. Just personal preference though

 

[REInstalleD]

The things I like with bowser are big blast zones (because bowser can live forever and has a pretty good edge guard game meaning they hopefully will not), small stage (because bowser sucks at approaching and can be easily camped out and baited in, etc. and giving them less room to do this is good), and plat forms (because bowser needs all the movement/combo breaking help he can get).

*Side Note: I don't like Norfair because the plats can disrupt my down b recovery by covering up the ledge.

Unfortunately, it's hard to come across a stage that has all three: small stage, large blast, and plats because most small stages have smaller blast zones. So it's normally just a matchup thing.

Fro example: Marth with his chain grabs can basically carry you to the edge and f-smash for low percent (for bowser) kills, so I prioritize large side blast zones in that matchup. Falco can be gimped easily but really benefits from lasers, so I prioritize small stages and platforms in that matchup.

Thoughts?

 

[meebius]

After playing around with stages, Fountain of Dreams has proved to be an excellent alternative if said 3 stages were banned. Namely, for the relatively small horizontal blast zones and the cramped stage size. However, the lack of reliable platforms that are consistently there inhibit Bowser's platform movement, which he really needs.

I agree with Odds_ and will generally avoid flat, wide stages because it's easy to get overwhelmed by good dash dance game. Small stages help with not getting grabbed into oblivion (with Bowser at least). The fear of the 50% stage covering ledge attack also makes me more inclined to go to small stages.

In my personal opinion, I actually like Norfair purely for the lack of stage knowledge (and because it looks like you're fighting inside Bowser's castle ^^). Norfair has surprisingly larger than normal blast zones that allow Bowser to live longer than he normally does. The platforms give him a better neutral game but since they're kind of high up relative to the base of the stage, it leaves you vulnerable to punishes if you get caught on the way down. There is also a lack of down b to ledge if the platforms transition into blocking the ledge, but due to lack of some stage knowledge I can take some games off of people.

After considering multiple opinions, Battlefield seems to be the best neutral stage for Bowser. Both vertical and horizontal blast zones are somewhat small, like Odds_ said, the 3 platform format greatly improves Bowser's options and movement, perfect wavelands seem to be easier on BF than some other stages, and down b to ledge isn't interrupted by platforms like they are on other stages.

 

[Christopher Rodriguez]

Without really getting into it, FOD is definitely a top pick. I don't agree with Lylat because of its random nature and spaced out platforms make characters with greater mobility put Bowser to shame. Dreamland is good against people who get gimped outright, who can't take advantage of having more room to recover offstage (falcon/ganon) as well as marth I suppose. Smashville is an amazing give or take. Having the moving platform to spice up your ledge get-up options is great, but a lot of top characters run game on that stage, and plenty of people have experience on the stage individually.

Go FOD always, or on the off chance that they forget to ban the stages on OP, go there.
Bowser is a character that is affected very much so by the stage. He plays the stage so, so much. He is outright king of most of the stages in terms of versatility towards movement/layout, though FD is horrible for him and Green Hill could be better. Take this all how you want. I credit a lot of wins towards my counterpicking

 

[Zigludo]

I go FD vs spacies and Falcon

you'll miss the platforms in the neutral game, but taking each stock with either 1 or 2 wins in neutral is pretty ridiculous

 

[Daxter]

Final Destination gives me all sorts of problems as Bowser, as does Smashville. I seem to do better on Fountain of Dreams (as everybody else is saying) and arguably Dreamland and WarioWare. Battlefield isn't quite as cracked up as I thought it would be for the big lizard, but maybe that's just me?

 

[Zigludo]

FD is awful vs anyone who's not a fastfaller. Against fastfallers it's super cheesy and your game won't last more than 2 minutes, but I'm no longer 100% convinced that it's always in your favor.

I have no idea how you could possibly enjoy Dreamland as Bowser, lol. I hate that stage. Too big.

 

[meebius]

FD is terrible against anyone that has even the smallest combo game. Bowser is too big and needs platforms to move around to not get hit, FD limits all of his movement options and leaves him vulnerable to getting overwhelmed by speed. If you can't go to Dreamland or Battlefield as a neutral, Smashville is a decent compromise that allows you access to a platform sometimes, but so many people have experience with that stage that it is questionable.

The thing with Dreamland is that with good DI, Bowser can live up to absurd percentages and it gives him a lot of space to move around. Also, platforms of course.

Battlefield and Bowser is a beautiful combination lol. I feel that the best stage for Bowser in a given scenario depends heavily on the matchup.

 

[Mr. Bones]

I actually like Norfair because our Down-B cancel still allows us to perform movement tricks on the sometimes-higher platforms.

But yeah, as far as what everyone said, I think that covers our good stages. I always ban Skyworld, FD, and Yoshi's Island (or Distant Planet, depending on MU). I'm comfortable with everything else.

 

[Crulex Crystallite]

As said above, platform stages, small blast zones and the smaller the stage, the better honestly. Nothing is scarier than a Bowser matchup where you can't escape.

Wario Ware is my personal best stage due to how low the platforms hang. It's pretty easy to utilt, nair and fair your way to victory.