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duckapus · 6 months

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WarioWare(and Waluigi because It's My House) Headcanons

Because I can't stop making it That Deep.

Yoshi's Island DS is canon, specifically the bit of the ending where Baby Wario never actually gets delivered to his parents because he was more interested in stealing Baby Bowser's treasure. Due to that, he grew up in an orphanage after somebody found him on his raft full of gold.

Never actually got adopted because people can be shits and didn't want the weird-looking greedy superpowered fat kid who ate garlic like it was candy, but he's not particularly fussed about it. As far as he's concerned he had a great childhood.

That said it did result in him knowing a lot of other orphans who were significantly and understandably less content with their situations, which is why he's seemingly so drawn to kids with complicated home lives.

He's known Jimmy, 5-Volt and Waluigi (Walter at the time, he picked up "Waluigi" later in life) since they were kids. He met Jimmy their very first day of Kindergarten and never looked back, met Walter in third grade by protecting him from some bullies, and that same summer hired 5-Volt to help him and the guys with their lemonade stand, because He Has Always Been Like This.

Walter had an older sister named Gloria who was just as into science as their dad, and who often ended up supervising/getting dragged into him and his friends' antics

No idea who their mom might've been. Honestly given what Crygor's like he could have made them in his lab a 'la the Membrane family and I wouldn't be surprised.

Waluigi's actually just as ridiculously super-smart as the rest of his family, he just isn't interested in science at all. This, along with several other issues, drove a wedge between him and Crygor early on that slowly got worse as he grew up. He actually moved out and cut off most forms of communication as soon as he graduated high school because they could barely handle being in the same room without arguing by that point.

They didn't talk to each-other at all for a few years after that, until the horrible day they both got calls informing them Gloria and her husband had been in a car accident.

Baby Penny ended up staying with Crygor partly due to Walter's living situation not being entirely stable at the time, and they decided to at least try to relearn how to be around each-other so they could both be part of Penny's life (and because the whole thing had been a wake-up call for Crygor to how badly he'd messed up with Walter and he wanted at least some form of relationship with the kid he still had left)

Also, the Waluigi name and slightly exaggerated personality were mostly a Bit he did for shits and giggles at the first Mushroom Kingdom Tennis Tournament, but he ended up liking the nickname and the audience ate up the act, so he kept going with it afterwards. Crygor and Jimmy's parents are the only ones who still call him Walter in casual conversations anymore, which he doesn't mind since he still likes his real name even if he usually prefers Waluigi.

5-Volt's been dealing with her inexplicable demonic powers her whole life. Her parents have always been really worried about it and convinced it's some kind of horrible curse, meanwhile there's little 5-Volt happy as a clam because she's always got a Player Two.

The shadow thing is...sort-of her spirit but also sort-of its own entity? It's weird and she has trouble explaining it because this is just how it's always been for her.

Also, she does have some anger issues and violent tendencies that are made worse by the whole demonic transformation thing, but being friends with Wario for most of your life gives you a lot of practice at self-restraint

As she got older, she became more aware of how her parents felt about her abilities, their attempts to "cure" her of them, and how they seemed to grow more and more convinced that they were a danger to her and those around her.

This came to a head when they found out she was pregnant with 9-Volt and didn't react well, at which point she decided she was sick of them treating her like both an invalid and a monster and cut them out of her life.

Wario, the Crygors and the Thangs were actually there with her and her husband(who I need to come up with at some point) when 9-Volt was born, which I feel has to have been one of the wildest ways for Wario to meet one of his future employees.

No notes on Jimmy's childhood. We have met his parents and they're freaking awesome.

Since he obviously doesn't remember the events of Yoshi's Island DS since he was a literal baby at the time, the first time Wario met Mario actually was Super Mario Land 2, though he's obviously heard of the guy beforehand. After that and a few other encounters he ended up invited to a Kart racing tournament and that was that.

The first time he met Ashley and Red was during an adventure in his "living in a castle in the woods" era. They were going after the same cursed artifact (Ashley to keep it out of the wrong hands and Wario because in his words "Cursed treasure's the best kind! nothing like a little danger to get the blood pumping"). They probably would've ended that adventure as rivals or even enemies, but the artifact turned out to be a "sentient and wants to kill you with lasers" kind of cursed and Wario took a nasty hit for her and smashed the thing.

At some point he decided that living alone in a huge castle full of treasure with only a pet chicken for company sucked, actually, and packed up to move back to his old hometown, Diamond City.

That's actually how he met Dribble and Spitz. He'd taken a Warp Pipe to the city instead of his car or bike when he was looking at houses for sale because he'd forgotten how big the place was, so after spending half the day pounding pavement with no luck he hailed a cab and got theirs. He wasn't having any more luck than before thanks to his high standards(because his previous house was a freaking castle, sue him) and comically small budget (Wario is Wario, after all), but the company was good and there was far less walking so he was far less miserable than before.

He did end up picking a house that day...because the cab broke down in front of a miserable little abandoned shack on a hill at the edge of town and he basically went "Fuck it! I guess I live here now!"

Mona knew about Wario and was his biggest fan before she met him, seeing as even back than he was sort of a celebrity, but they didn't actually meet until a few weeks after he moved into town, when he and Orbulon, both disheveled and covered in soot and scorch marks from a first encounter they have never and will never elaborate on, walked into the Gelateria and placed the two worst ice-cream orders known to man, which I will not actually come up with for the sake of our stomachs. She was the only one in the room not horrified or even phased by these proceedings, and the three have been friends ever since.

He met Kat and Ana through 9-Volt, who became friends with them during recess their first day of school.

Most of the crew that he met after Mega Microgame$ were just introduced to him through his other friends(or we've outright seen it happen like with Lulu), but Young Cricket and Master Mantis he actually met while helping Mario with one of his own off-screen adventures.

Wario's actually pretty rich thanks to his treasure hunting, his fame, and the fact that he literally owns a Gold Mine and a Ski Resort! All the references to him allegedly being broke all the time are mostly just part of the skits for the games, like the ones for everyone else's levels. That said, his house really is as messed up as it looks, but that's just because he's stingy and a slob.

18-Volt really is the same age as 9-Volt. His unusual size is partially because he's originally from New Donk City.

Wario does, in fact, still have his pet chicken. I have not thought of a name for her

(Edit: I have been informed by @plushietoon that the chicken is canonically named Hen. Which is adorable and hilariously on-brand for Wario)

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msbowser · 9 months

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Ranking All Giant Bowser Battles

Hello, everyone! And welcome to Bowser Day! A day to celebrate our beloved Koopa King and everything about him!

For a few years now, I have been wanting to do something for this day. However, life kept getting in the way and I had too many games to play. But this year is the year I finally get to write about this topic.

If anyone knows me well, I am very passionate about all the different types of giant battles with Bowser over the games. It’s always a highlight for a game when I see Bowser go giant for the final battle in a new game. A very unpopular opinion I know, but I can’t help but love seeing our Koopa King all tall and imposing. I also love non-giant fights, but the giant battles are always such a joy to me. I pretty much love all of them (some more than others). So, for my contribution to this day, I will be ranking every single Giant Bowser fight from my least favorite to my absolute favorite.

While this is my own personal list and my opinions (and trust me some of my opinions are weird), I did try to keep this objective as I possibly could. And I’m ranking these fights in three vital areas. First is gameplay: how the fight played out, how were the mechanics utilized, how much enjoyment did I have during the fight (rather by punching Bowser in the face or running and screaming in terror from trying to avoid getting hit). The second criteria is music, which is self explanatory, as most of these fights have unique music, so how I liked the music track. And last criteria and most important to me, the scale of the fight. Scale refers to, of course, the size difference between Bowser and our heroes. The bigger the difference, the better. But scale also refers to the scale of battle from a story perspective. How important is the fight for our heroes to win, how high are the stakes? Is this just an obstacle in the way of the player or is there something more?

And as I am talking about battles against Giant Bowser, I will not talk about the giant fights from Inside Story (never know, might be its own list one day).

As such with a list like this one, there will plenty of spoilers.

As such, to give an example about how this ranking is going to go down, I will start by talking about our honorable mentions. These two fights are phenomenal in their own right. However, for both fights, Bowser is slightly bigger, but I wouldn’t really call it a “Giant” boss fight. But I still wanted to talk about these two fights and the amazing aspects about each of them.

Honorable Mention 1: Shiny RoboBowser (Mario and Luigi Paper Jam)

What’s better than one Bowser? Two Bowsers, fused together! For as much Paper Jam is a okay game, it’s finale was something unexpected. The fight between the two Bowsers prior showed off their cooperation between each other and even showed off their subtle differences. What I wasn’t expecting was Paper Bowser to turn into a paper covered armor for Bowser! It is such an out there concept that fits so well. The fight can be brutal if you are not prepared for it, though Battle Cards can let you cheese it. And since the armor is paper, any fire move like the Toad Trail do critical damage. And as the fight progresses, the armor starts breaking down, leaving Bowser vulnerable, though he can heal it up. The music is great to listen to as well, with it sounding the most Kingdom Hearty to me (yes, I know Yoko Shimomura compose the music). All in all, the fight is very decent, with the problem that Bowser is barely bigger here. Still double Bowser fusion, very cool.

Honorable Mention 2: Dreamy Bowser (Mario and Luigi Dream Team)

This is probably one of my favorite Bowser battles overall. The music for this fight, “Adventure’s End”, gives “In the Final” from Bowser’s Inside Story a run for its money in my opinion. I love the pianos and drums in the theme. And while Bowser isn’t too big here, he has reached divinity! He has the power of the Dream Stone, making any wish come true! And while I know this has happened before (in a different dimension though), I say this time around was even better and somewhat better executed. The fight is pretty fun, from Bowser summoning dream minions, duplicating, and even taking one of the bros in his hands (points for the bigness there). But again, it’s only a slightly bigger Bowser and not truly a “giant” fight.

Now we can start the actual list. I will go from my least favorite fights to my absolute favorites. The Giant Bowser fights I’m covering and why the two honorable mentions didn’t count is due to all these upcoming fights being listed under the page for Giant Bowser on the Super Mario Wiki, along with Baby Bowser’s page.

As I am covering all fights, there will be some fights on here that I unfortunately have not played. For those games, I will still be grading on the same criteria, but I may have to infer mostly on the gameplay aspect.

As such, let’s finally begin the list!

Number 20: Bowser (New Super Mario Bros DS)

Okay I lied, this is the only fight on the list I highly dislike. The only positive I can say about this fight is the music is alright, not the best, but fine. Plus Junior is there to help his Papa. There is the attention to detail that Junior had Dry Bowser’s bones to revive his Papa in the large caldron he had. As for negatives, oh boy! First of all, while it is unique to see Bowser being revived from a cauldron, he’s barely bigger! And this fight is super easy! It’s the almost the same routine as the normal Bowser fights. The face that because you can hold an item to bring with you, like a Mega Mushroom, makes this fight more of a joke. Hell, Mario or Luigi with a Mega Mushroom is bigger than Bowser! On the bright side, this was the first final boss of the New Super Mario Bros series, and the fights go up from there.

Number 19: Bowser (Paper Mario 64)

Out of all the fights on this list, this one hurt the most to rank this low. It comes down to Bowser only being slightly taller than before. Gameplay wise, in comparison to the previous Bowser fight, in this game he has a bit more attack, one more point of defense, and for the first phase of the fight, the Star Beam doesn’t work. Its only after Peach and Twink defeat Kammy that the new improved Peach Beam can neutralize Bowser’s invincibility. Bowser becoming slightly bigger doesn’t really add much to this fight, hence the low placement. Regardless, this fight is a great finale for this game after all the build up, and it is also pretty challenging. Not to mention the music is also very catchy. And this is the first time Bowser has achieved something in the way of divinity, though I prefer Dream Team for that. I love this fight to death, but unfortunately it doesn’t work as a Giant Bowser fight for me.

Number 18: Black Paint Bowser (Paper Mario Color Splash)

This fight is interesting to talk about. Once again, we have a slightly taller Bowser than before, so take off points for that. And the attacks he does are fine, with spinning his shell, using a hammer or breathing fire (that final breath he uses can do 120 damage unguarded, ouch.) The music is pretty good with the piano once again and the guitar, the ending portion of the song giving me major Pokemon Scarlet and Violet vibes. But what makes me really enjoy this fight was the story. Poor Bowser in this game, trying to make his shell all pretty and rainbowy, only then to accidentally create black paint that possesses him! Before this phase of the final boss, Mario is able to knock off some of the paint off for Bowser to regain awareness for a second but he got violently possessed again. And then at the end, once Huey absorbs all the Black Paint, Mario just beats up Bowser while he has no color left. My boy did not deserve that! Overall, this fight is pretty cool and challenging, but could use more. Now if only they tackle this concept again with Bowser being possessed by Black Paint, but made him 10x bigger and scary. Wouldn’t that be something?

Number 17: Bowser (Super Mario Sunshine)

Ah yes, the hot tub battle. Now I will give this battle credit where credit is due. For starters, I find the music for this battle criminally underrated. I love the piano and bongos. This theme is very calm compared to other tracks, with it fitting Sunshine’s vibe. I do like the cooperation between Bowser and Junior, however, this battle is generally pretty easy. The objective being for Mario to Jet Nozzle all five sections of the tub to make it crumble to the ground, while Bowser tries to breath fire to cut your approach to each section. And, for how easy this fight is (except if you clip through the floor because heaven forbid this game has many glitches), the fact you have to get through Corona Mountain to get here is frustrating. Also there’s the fact of why is Bowser giant? There is literally no explanation for it whatsoever, though I assume it’s because of that last Shine Sprite, or the green tub water.

Number 16: Bowser (Paper Mario Sticker Star)

The pretty shiny Giant Bowser that is made of card board is rather ridiculous. While I am a Sticker Star apologist, the Giant Bowser fight is again alright. I like the “ding!” noises that play when Mario is flung by Bowser’s swipes, or the fact those swipes could leave you with the Crumple status, which is a nice touch. I also like the music again, with the trumpets and guitar. However, this fight is once again very easy, especially after Kersti sacrificed herself so Mario could counteract the Royal Sticker. There is also the fact that Bowser does not talk in this game and is made of cardboard. The main reason it’s low is I prefer the non Giant Bowser fight before. It’s more challenging, like a puzzle to figure out in each section and I love the music way more.

Number 15: Giant Baby Bowser (Yoshi’s Crafted World)

Here we have the first boss on this list that I don’t have much to say, as it is of a game I haven’t played. So I will give my general thoughts of what I have seen. The music is not my favorite from all the Yoshi’s Island games, but it’s not a bad track. I love the armor and crown he wears on his head, and the fact the armor has a counter on it. And that counter is important since Yoshi puts in hammers on the two sides of the arena, and ground pounds to wack Bowser, depleting his life points. The fight seems fun, but this is about as low I can put it from not having played the game.

Number 14: Giant Baby Bowser and Giant Bowser (Yoshi’s New Island)

We have a double feature here with battles between both a Giant Baby Bowser and Adult Bowser. As New Island could be seen as a reboot to the series, the final boss would be both the previous ones in the series. The issue with that is both battles are very watered down versions of those previous battles. The battles are very similar to each other with Adult Bowser’s fight being a bit more difficult due to Kamek assisting him. Both music tracks are decent, with me leaning more towards Adult Bowser’s. I prefer Adult….King Bowser’s previous fight than his giant, as it uses the Metal Eggdozers to knock him off the platform he’s on. There is absolute no explanation why King Bowser is in the past, unlike the last time he showed up.

Number 13: Bowser (New Super Mario Bros 2)

The coin Mario game of course has the classic Giant Bowser finale, except the Koopalings are the ones to make Bowser giant. This is a chase sequence instead of a battle, like the Wii version, where you are running vertical instead of horizontal. As such, this is a very similar finale to the Wii's version. The music is the same between both versions. The major thing I like about this fight is the closeness of Bowser to the player, where I can totally smooch his cheek, I mean, feel the intensity and pressure of the fight. And at the time of this game, it was the first time you can fight a Giant Dry Bowser. Dry Bowser is faster than normal Bowser and more obstacles are in the way as well.

Number 12: Giant Dry Bowser (Mario Party 10)

Okay, I didn't plan for both of the Giant Dry Bowser fights to be side by side, that was just a coincidence. Honestly, Dry Bowser wasn't who I was expecting for Mario Party 10's final battle, but it is refreshing to see. Since this is continuation of the previous phase, you and the rest of players are shooting down Dry Bowser in your tanks. Dry Bowser will continuously shoot fire at the players, including a flame storm, and even throwing bones, keeping the player on their toes the whole fight. Compared to his last outing as a giant, Dry Bowser had a much better fight here. The music is also very good, with it having a high energy beat that pars with the action of this fight.

Number 11: Giant Baby Bowser (Yoshi's Wooly World)

Words cannot describe how much I adore this fight. In my opinion, this is the best Giant Baby Bowser fight in the series, barring one. First of all because of the wool aesthetic of this game, Bowser looks so cute! I wish to give him a soft hug, like my Yarn Yoshi amiibo. Second, I love the high energy of this fight, with Yoshi having to hit all the Wonder Wool from Bowser's control. The stage of the fight changes and morphs as the fight progresses, with platforms being replaced and cannons being available to try to hit behind Bowser. The music isi one of my favorites in this game, keeping the high energy feel. So, if I say so many positive things about this fight, why isn't it higher? Well, while I have played Wooly World, I have not gotten the chance to beat it yet. But when I do, you know this fight will drastically go up the list.

Number 10: Bowser (Mario Party 5)

If you don't count the Paper Mario final boss, this is the second Giant Bowser in the series, and what a unique one it is. After making Bowser fall through the floor Super Mario Bros 3 style, you face him in another arena. From there he drinks something, a potion most likely and starts growing in size, where he then proceeds to get stuck. During the fight, he will throw dark magic orbs, then breath fire, and finally do a shockwave, in that order. The way the damage is when he breaths fire, some of the orbs will become light and then the orbs can be thrown at him. The music is also pretty good, with the trumpets and drums adding to the beat of the track. This battle highlights more of Bowser's powers with his magic, something not shown very often.

Number 9: Giant Bowser (Mario Party 9)

Okay, Mario Party 9 being number 9 is once again at random. Now why did I place this battle above Mario Party 5's fight? While I believe 5 has the better fight in gamplay and music, I just like the fun of this fight. I like the dice throwing and random aspect of this fight. It's a mixture of fun along with some seriousness, with how the background of fight is and the music. The main reason this fight is so high is because of the scale of it. Before the fight even starts with Bowser, Bowser will react by welcoming the group for making it this far before challenging them to try to defeat him, so that he would release the Mini Stars. From there he laughs, saying "Witness my true power!" and then proceeds to grow giant by his own willpower! Excuse me, you mean to tell me that you can grow to be giant at any time, and instead you have Kamek use his magic on you?! To this day, I am still in shock and amazement that happened. During the battle, once you reach halfway, Bowser gets angry and grows yet again! So, scale really boosts this fight in favor for this high of a spot, but I cannot justify it going higher.

Number 8: Giant Bowser (New Super Mario Bros U)

This is better of the two Giant Bowser fights (not chases) in the New Super Mario bros series. I like how this fight actually takes place at Peach's Castle instead of Bowser's. The music has the guitars athat fit this theme and is an original track instead of being reused. What I enjoy about this fight is actually the danger it presents. When Bowser got into his shell and started chasing me the first time, I was actually scared. The shell was so large and imposing and chasing after me, and with him even jumping to catch up. The fight is also unique in the way that you need to use Junior's Clown Car to fly up to Bowser and slam the machine down on him. It's an intense fight which I am surprised that more people don’t mention.

Number 7: Giant Bowser (Super Princess Peach)

Now let’s talk about a Giant Bowser fight where you don’t play as the bros or Yoshi. This is another unique fight with Bowser. Similar to the battle from Mario Party 5, the goal is to hit Bowser’s eyes to do damage to him, with Bob-ombs. Bowser will throw spikes balls, hammers, and breath fire at Peach, with the attacks getting harder to dodge with every hit. During the last hit, Bowser will use the Calm vibe from the Vibe Scepter to heal, but this can stopped by continuously hitting the barrier or using the Rage vibe. The music has a nice tune to it. I also enjoy this fight because it’s Princess Peach fighting Bowser, with Bowser seeing her as an equal to him and uses his full power to go giant. However, I still prefer the previous battle with him in the game, with Bowser using the other vibes in that fight. All and all, this is solid fight and I hope we can see something similar or wholly unique when we get the new Princess Peach game.

Number 6: Giant Bowser (Yoshi’s Island DS)

Originally, I was not planning to rate this fight this high on the list. This fight is not the hardest, though it gets hectic real fast on the last few hits since Bowser could combo you with his fire and the rocks. Yes, I have died to this boss before, it can happen. This time I do have something interesting to say about the music for this fight. While in the English/European version we can hear a loop of the song, the Japanese version gets an extended version of the track with its own section. I also adore the sprites for this game, and Bowser looks nice in this battle. There is a reason why this fight is so high up here. When I was originally making the criteria for this list, the Scale criteria was only about just size difference. After listening to a remix of this final boss track from a Youtuber named Baconator2558 (Listen to the video, its very good) and looking at the art piece that accompanies the music, I realized this fight has way more to it than you might think. The reason Bowser is in the past is to look for the 7 Star Children, (babies that have "an extraordinary amount of power") because he wants to take them and use their power to conquer the universe. By the end of the game, Bowser battles against Yoshi for daring to stop his plan and rescue the other children taken. After Bowser is defeated, Kamek uses his magic to make Bowser giant to fight the group. When you think about the circumstances, this fight is way more serious and dangerous. Think about it. At the castle at the time, 6 out of the 7 of the Star Children were all in one place, where Bowser can easily take them. You have all these babies and Yoshi's fighting against this force of nature that none of them are prepared for at this point in time. There is the important detail that if you remember that Baby Bowser is one of the Star Children, then these Yoshis are fighting one of those children, fully grown up, and wanting to destroy them. The whole concept of the Star Children makes me wish that this concept would be used in a future game or movie, as I find it one of the most important pieces of Mario lore.

Number 5: Bowser (New Super Mario Bros Wii)

This is the best of best of the New Super Mario Bros Final Battles and the best chase sequence. When this game came out, I don't think anyone was expecting a battle like this. After an easy battle, Kamek uses his magic to make Bowser giant and Bowser in his fury starts chasing the players down. I love the attention to detail here, from Bowser's more fiery eyes, eyebrows and hair, to the echo in his roars. And this fight is extremely terrifying, as Bowser won't stop his chase, breaking walls with his fire, claw swiping and creating waves of lava. It comes to a fever pitch when you reach the box with the Propeller Mushroom and the chase starts going faster and faster and more hectic. In the background, you hear this music full of beautiful bells chiming and a vocal choir. Truly a specular finale.

Number 4: Giant Baby Bowser (Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island)

The OG Giant Bowser fight is not only the first game release wise but also first in the Mario timeline. This is the fight that set the standard for all Giant fights following it and what a "huge" inspiration to follow. This fight is not only difficult but incredibly intimidating. This fight has the unique mechanic of trying to hit Bowser in the background, which takes a bit of time to get used to but the player doesn't have a lot of time to adjust to the timing as Bowser will keep coming toward the player. As the fight progresses, the platforms get narrower and narrower, making the margin of error even less. This battle also has one of the most recognizable and loved final boss tracks in the Mario series. The reason it did not make the top 3 is because I have not played this game at all, but I had to give all the props for the original Giant Bowser fight in the series.

Number 3: Giant Bowser (Super Mario Galaxy 2)

Out of all the fights on this list, this one I know will be the most controversial. But damn it! I'll defend these battles and this game until the day I die. God, I love Bowser so much in this game. The fact that in the prologue of the game you see a Giant Bowser terrorizing Toad Town, causing mayhem and destruction (it's so freaking hot). All three times you face Bowser in this game, he's all giant and stuff, boasting about his power and how he is going to squash Mario/Luigi like a bug. Then you fight him and he's larger than the planetoid you're on! He attacks you by trying to punch you (using dark magic later on), sending meteors to hit and later when you get a few hits in, he starts to chase you with his fire breath. And then you have his final battle! After making him fall into a black hole and spit up the Grand Star, Mario/Luigi go to retrieve the Grand Star when all of sudden, Bowser comes back, already giant again, eats the Grand Star and grows even larger than before! Then the fight proceeds as both Mario/Luigi and Bowser float in space until one of them loses. What I love about this fight in particular is just doing the dumbest stuff, ground pounding the meteors as fast as they come and just float there in space with Bowser as he gets closer (let me kiss this man!). Is this part of the fight easy beyond belief? Yes. But do I still love this fight to death? Hell Yes! Regardless of your opinions of these fights, everyone can agree that they have one of the best soundtracks in the series accompanying them.

Number 2: Fury Bowser (Super Mario 3D World: Bowser's Fury)

Now this is what I call a proper Kaiju fight! This is easily the most terrifying Bowser has ever been and probably ever will be. They took the concept of Bowser being Black Paint possessed from Color Splash, made him as terrifying as Giga Bowser in Smash, made him bigger and proceed to have him go all Godzilla on Mario and hunt him down. Nothing is scarier than having Fury Bowser spawn when you are trying to get Cat Shines and not stopping until you are dead. The fights with Fury Bowser are always a joy, as Bowser fights this huge Super Saiyan Cat Mario. The fact that you are larger than all the areas you explore is amazing to think about. The fight with Bowser can go several ways; throw the Danger Mines at him, wait till he tries to slam down on you, hit him while he spins sideways towards you (or watch him get stuck trying to chase you) or just try to claw him to death. Once he is finally defeated and he's not fully done, as you have to chase a normal Giant Bowser and stop him from taking the Giga Bells. The music that plays when he shows up or fights are all amazing. These fights would probably be number one, if number one was not so personal to me.

Number One: Giant Bowser (Mario and Luigi: Dream Team)

This fight…this fight. This one is not only my favorite Giant Bowser fight in the series, but also my favorite boss fight of all time. This fight means the world to me.

Let’s start before the fight even starts and this is probably my favorite part. When Mario and Dreamy Luigi have caught up to Bowser in his dream, Bowser is already there and preparing for them. He was ordering his minions to deliver meat for him to eat, which makes him grow larger.

After his minions unfortunately tell Bowser there is no more meat, Bowser becomes furious. He starts to inhale more stuff that is around to become larger, before leaping over the edge in search for more meat, a leap that could be fatal. After Mario and Luigi believe they can return out of the dream, a Giant Bowser attacks them, proving that he not only survived, but grew more giant because of it. After seeing the Giant Bowser, Dreamy Luigi, who when facing giant enemies prior to this got terrified, was confident and ready to face Bowser, which reflects on Luigi in real life. As Luigi grows giant and he and Mario prepare to fight, Bowser says one of my favorite lines in the games, “Transforming into a giant... I invented that, pal! No way some green stache gets to bite MY style!”

And then the fight begins! Throughout the entire fight, Luigi and Bowser are fighting on a long stretch of land, that Luigi has to continuously move through to avoid falling into lava. To do this, Luigi has to hammer Bowser vertically to keep moving forward (though you can hammer Bowser horizontally into the lava one time and it’s hilarious). Throughout the fight, Bowser will try to lift Luigi into the lava and even tries to ram him into it (Bowser’s face when Luigi side steps out of the way is both hilarious and adorable.) There are parts of the land that have unstable metal grates, that if Bowser is on one and Luigi jumps on it, Bowser will be sent into the lava and further the fight along.

At the end of each of the paths, one of Bowser’s fortresses will be stationed, with Bowser commanding his army to attack Luigi in various ways. The attacks are a Magikoopa magic blast, those annoying Spear Guys trying to poke Luigi’s legs, multiple airships firing cannons and finally Shy Guys trying to give Bowser meat to heal from, but Luigi can stop that with a well-timed hammer attack. After all that fails, Bowser leaps on the fortress and tries to body slam Luigi, and if he fails, Luigi tosses him into the lava, Super Mario 64 style.

When Bowser comes back, he notices that the land is starting to run out, but he sees another stretch of land for them to continue their fight. As the fight continues, Bowser now adds fire breath to his attacks, with Luigi having to jump onto an airship to avoid the breath. The battle continues as it did before with another dead end at the end of the path. Bowser notices an arena in the distance, goading Luigi to fight him there. At the arena, both Luigi and Bowser engage in a Beyblade style battle until one of them goes all the way down in health. Ultimately, Bowser loses all his health and Mario and Luigi deal the last blow, ending the battle with Bowser.

……Or did they? Kamek comes over to his fallen King’s aid, wishing to use the remaining of his power to help Bowser. And there, an amazing revelation is revealed that was never known before; an already Giant Bowser could be made even more giant. The newly super enlarged Bowser rises, becoming too powerful for normal attacks to affect him, with Luigi having to counterattack out his moves. Both Mario and Luigi must use a super charged Star to defeat Bowser. As the star hits, Bowser is finally defeated.

This fight is absolute perfection in my eyes. This battle is an extremely high point in Luigi’s character, in him only not being scared of Bowser but even feeling confident in facing him one on one. This reflects in Bowser’s mannerisms during the fight. Bowser has always wanted to crush only Mario, a major reason he sought to become giant for this fight. Bowser never really considered Luigi to be a threat to him, but you can see in this fight that his mind is being changed. If you think about it lore wise, what was stopping Bowser from plucking the tiny Mario off and dealing with him right there? The answer is because Luigi was finally showing bravery to stand toe to toe with Bowser and I think Bowser started to respect him. The battle is extremely even, neither one of the fighters having a clear victory over the other until the end. And by the end of the game, Bowser finally calls Luigi by name, as I believe this fight set the catalyst for that respect. I also see this fight in a different light. The previous game in the series, Bowser’s Inside Story, introduced the giant battles into the series, with the player controlling a Giant Bowser. Dream Team brought back the mechanic with Luigi being the giant the player controls. So, it’s only naturally that the last giant battle in the game will be against the giant character the player controlled last time. This fight could be seen as a passing of the torch battle, with Bowser giving it his best against a worthy opponent, seeing if Luigi can take his place as the giant of the series. As such, I feel this is one of Bowser’s best performances in a battle, with it showing not only his brawn, but also highlighting his military tactics with commanding his armies in formations and strategies.

But, that’s not what makes me adore this fight as much as I do. No, what I adore to death is the attention to detail. Bowser telling Luigi at the start that he was the one to invent becoming a giant for a battle, to again referring to that passing of the torch command of Bowser saying his “Showtime” line like he did in the previous game. Plus, all the ways he grew are various references to other games. When he eats meat is a reference to Paper Mario The Thousand Year Door. After Bowser leaps to what seems to be his doom is a reference to Inside Story, where the reason why Bowser became giant in the first place is to survive from a near fatal blow, with his body sending a magically charge adrenaline shot through his body. And at the end of the fight, there’s tried and true Kamek, using his magic to make Bowser giant like he did in the Yoshi’s Island games. All we were missing was Bowser growing by willpower like he did in Party 9.

This battle is a love letter to all the Giant Bowser fights prior to it. It celebrates all those different battles and what made them great and then mixes it’s own identity to make it stand out. Is it number one in gameplay? No. Is it number one in music? No. Ironically the only thing I complain about is that this fight should have had its own music track. Is it number one in scale? Hah, not even close!

So despite it not having high points in any of the criteria I set, this fight is number one for how much it means to me personally and it is the peak of all fights in video games. I made this list to not only celebrate Bowser but give more attention to these fights in the fandom and hoped to give them more attention that they deserved. (And to my brethren in the g/t community some good food to look into).

As we moved forwards toward Super Mario Bros Wonder, I hope we can see even more amazing Giant Bowser boss fights in the future. (And from that ESRB leak, that might be case.) I am beyond excited to see what new Giant Bowser fight we will see in the future.

Thank you so much for reading this list and sticking to end. I really appreciate it. I hope you learn something new and might even try some of these fights yourself. Thank you again and have a happy Bowser Day!

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