58 Bowser Jr.

First appearance :
Super Mario Sunshine (2002 - GameCube)

Bowser Jr. is a swiss army knife character, who possesses very diversified tools that are useful for different matchups. It is especially true thanks to his excellent combos, his quite violent aerial moves and his many projectiles, allowing him to create devastating setups.

Characteristics

 

Strengths

  • Great defensive arsenal
  • Aerial attacks
  • Versatile
  • Great combo game
 

Weaknesses

  • Beaten a bit everywhere
  • Weak against jugglers
  • Exploitable Up B
  • Slow projectiles

Matchups

Favourable

  • icône de donkey-kong
  • icône de ridley
  • icône de king-k-rool
Combo food
  • icône de rondoudou
  • icône de felinferno
  • icône de terry
Slow and with no disjoints
  • icône de captain-falcon
  • icône de ganondorf
  • icône de little-mac
Bad recovery

Unfavourable

  • icône de link
  • icône de mega-man
  • icône de snake
Projectiles' zoner
  • icône de sheik
  • icône de palutena
  • icône de shulk
Better in the air
  • icône de villageois
  • icône de link-enfant
  • icône de marie
Small and projectiles  

Stages

Favourable

  • Platforms to combo
  • Needs space for his setups

Unfavourable

  • Side B bothered by the slopes
  • Impossible to 2 frame with the F Smash
 

Skills

Pro Tips

Features

coup spécial de Bowser Jr. coup spécial de Bowser Jr.

One of Bowser Jr’s main particularities, of course, is his alternate skins. More than a different costume, you end up with another character when you choose another color than Bowser Jr’s one. In fact, you can control Bowser Jr or another koopaling ! Another funny property of the character is that if you hit his car instead of his body, he will lose less % than if you touched him on his body.

Best moves

  • UP AIR

    Up Air goes out quickly, and is safe, which makes of it a great combo tool since it can be followed by another Up Air until very high % or by a grab. It is very useful for catching an opponent that comes from the top, and for maintaining him on disadvantage, or even for killing him. To sum up, an excellent combo and juggling tool.

  • FORWARD AIR

    It comes out quite fast, stays active for a while while hitting in a special angle in front of Bowser jr. It is naturally a great spacing tool, that can help to block any aerial approach while staying safe. An attack that can even kill, so a move is quite important against opponents that like to jump.

  • JAB

    This is also a move to remember, since it is a great way to hit the opponent quickly, in order to see how he will react. However, what makes Bowser.Jr’s jab interesting is its ability to kill at 100% near the ledge. A great tool in general.

  • FORWARD SMASH

    It is a multi-hit disjointed Smash attack that stays active for a long time, making it threatening for 2 framing your enemy, for example. A great smash in order to quickly take a stock, and which has just a few ending lag, that makes this move pretty safe.

  • SIDE B

    It is truly a unique and very versatile tool, that starts combos and can kill while drifting. It is also useful for getting back on stage, or to approach and to pursue escaping opponents. A crucial tool in Bowser Jr.’s gameplay.

  • DOWN B

    You let a projectile live its life, a Mecha Koopa, you can let whatever it wants, or you can directly throw it at your opponent. A very useful move for creating traps and applying a constant pressure on the ground, in order to limit the opponent’s options. A great combo tool, or even a killing tool, that allows you to reverse a situation that were badly engaged, and to put your opponent at a disadvantage.

    • Contextual Options

    Quick Moves

    Safe on Shield

    OOS Options

    Jab

    Down Tilt

    Up Air

    Up Air

    Neutral Air

    Back Air

    Up Smash

    Up Air

    Neutral Air

     

    Before leaving

    Last tips

    Anti Mario

    Bowser Jr. isn’t a character made for aggression, since most of his moves aren’t that fast, which makes of him an easy character to punish. You can definitely see it offstage, where most players will want to attack after using an Up B. It is really dangerous and stupid, especially at low %. In front of a character that can shoot projectiles while recovering, it is just the best way to quickly die.

    Junior is not that mobile

    Beware not to spam the Side B attack. We’ve seen it before, it is a great tool that has multiple uses, but this won’t be a great move against all characters. Also, the Car can be countered if the opponent knows this move as well. It explains why, you must know how to vary its utilisation and its timing, in order not to always use it in the same way. However, it remains an excellent tool that needs to be learned because of its numerous uses.

    Mecha Bowser

    Finally, be careful with your projectiles, and avoid using them when you are too close to your opponent. These are useful set up tools in order to control the stage, but they are slow, and aren’t interesting in terms of pure projectiles. You will then have to learn how to play with them and not simply throwing them at your opponent. Furthermore, in some cases, they aren’t needed, and pulling out a Mecha-Koopa, being a slow move, it can prevent you from benefitting from your advantage phase.

    In a nutshell

    Bowser Jr.’s goal is to be the most unpredictable he can, and to block many options as possible in order to bring his enemy to a juggle situation, where Bowser Jr. is a real threat. Beyond that, the character allows you to perform some stylish phases, thanks to the liberty of gameplay in his control. In fact, it allows you to find what kind of gameplay you like the most in Smash, since the character has many playstyles. Long story short, if you like setting traps while being surprising thanks to your adaptability, Bowser Jr is certainly a character that could interest you, although it will require some training in order to master him.

    Going furhter

    For more informations and to progress faster

    Thanking ...

    Arthas / Magnet Alpha / Ryuto / Torynk