Bowser (Super Smash Flash 2)

Bowser is a veteran starter character in Super Smash Flash 2. He was originally shown during the initial planning phases of the game, going through several different design iterations before finally resurging after being revealed at the end of the second McLeodGaming Direct. Bowser's sprite design, moveset and voice clips come directly from Super Smash Bros. Brawl. His color and dash animation come from Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U.

Bowser is currently ranked 29th on the current tier list. Bowser's moves have great range and strength, with all of his moves either dealing large amounts of damage, KOing his opponents early or generally putting his opponents in a disadvantageous position, most notably his up special Whirling Fortress, which can easily break shields. Bowser also possesses an incredibly strong grab game: he possesses a combo throw in the form of his up throw and his forward throw, which can KO opponents at high percents. His down throw can situationally chain grab and lead into damaging follow-ups and his back throw can be used to position foes offstage and set up for an edgeguard. In addition to this, he possesses Flying Slam - a powerful command grab which can be used to equalize stocks via a sacrificial KO, and a hitbox which can set up for good combos. Finally, Bowser has extremely powerful edgeguarding tools, with his forward air, back air and Fire Breath being especially powerful for edgeguarding and Bowser Bomb being able to powerfully punish opponents who do not sweetspot the ledge.

However, Bowser suffers from terrible mobility, as he has the second worst dash speed in the game, and a poor initial dash which gives him no reward for using the foxtrot or dash-boost techniques. This, alongside his mediocre frame data, gives him a poor attack as his grab range is short and Fire Breath is not a reliable projectile. Furthermore, his disadvantage state is terrible - his combo breakers are not particularly reliable, and his landing options are generally poor, leaving him vulnerable to characters with good juggling ability. Adding to that, his status as a heavyweight makes him easy combo fodder. Finally, his offstage game is one of the worst, as his only reliable recovery, Whirling Fortress, does not gain much vertical distance, and does not guard break very easily, meaning Bowser is very easily gimped.

While Bowser does have certain top players who use him, such as Gax and Miracle--7, Bowser's representation is not particularly spectacular due to the nerfs in patch 1.0.3 and the advent of being a much more powerful character in the Metagame. Bowser's representation mostly revolves around him being used as a counterpick character for specific matchups.

Notable players

 * Gax
 * Miracle--7

Tier placement history
Bowser has been ranked 18 of B+ on the first Beta tier list due to taking down stocks easy from his brute strength, combo throw, and a decent kit. However, in 1.0.3.2, Bowser has been significantly dropped, due to his matchups being less powerful, and some nerfs like his running speed.

Trivia

 * Steven stated that Bowser,, and were his hardest character projects and that Bowser is his proudest accomplishment.
 * In v0.9b, there exists several files relating to Bowser. He has an unused announcer's call, two different variations of a character select portrait (one in the pre-v0.9 style), palette data, and is referenced numerous times in the character code. This is shared with.