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|           %%%%%%%%%% - Super Smash Brothers Melee - %%%%%%%%%%              |
|                  ----------Bowser Experts FAQ----------                     |
|                                                                             |
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o------------------------------o
| Information by: Decadent One |
| Formatting by : me frog      |
o------------------------------o--------------------------o
                              | Version 1.0 | Gamecube   |
                              +-------------+------------+
                              | Last update: April 26, 04|
               %--------------o--------------------------o-------------%
               | Rated T for TEEN | E-mail: [email protected] |
               | Character FAQ    | E-mail: [email protected]      |
               %-------------------------------------------------------%

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|                                                                             |
|              %%%%%%%%%% -  Table of Contents - %%%%%%%%%%                   |
|                                                                             |
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+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Ch.#| Name of Chapter/Sub-Section |Search| Description                    |%%%|
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|----| VERSION HISTORY             | VER. | Updates to the game            |100|
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|(01)| INTRODUCTION                | INTR | Our intros to SSBM             |100|
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|(02)| BACKGROUND                  | BACK | Background about Bowser        |100|
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|(03)| GLOSSARY                    | GLOSS|Terms of different moves in SSBM|100|
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|(04)| BOWSER IN SSBM              | BOW01| Bowser's fighting style        |100|
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|(05)| BOWSER'S ATTRIBUTES         | BOW02| Bowser's different statistics  |100|
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|(06)| BOWSER IN THREE EASY STEPS  | BOW03| Bowser's most important tech.  |100|
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|(07)| BOWSER'S GOLDEN RULE        | BOW04|What to remember most about Bow.|100|
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|(08)| MOVES                       | BOW05| Bowser's different attack types|100|
| -- | Ground Moves                |GROUND| Bowser's ground attacks        |100|
| -- | Aerial Moves                |AERIAL| Bowser's aerial attacks        |100|
| -- | Special Moves               |SPECIL| Bowser's special attacks       |100|
| -- | Grabs and Throws            | GRABS| Different grabs/throws possible|100|
| -- | Edge Moves                  | EDGES| Bowser on the edge             |100|
| -- | Rising Moves                | RISE | Bowser's rising moves          |100|
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|(09)| THE TRICKS OF THE TRADE     | BOW06| Surviving in bad situations    |100|
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|(10)| MOVEMENT                    | BOW07| How Bowser maneuvers           |100|
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|(11)| RACKIN' UP DAMAGE           | BOW08| Damaging your enemies heavily  |100|
| -- | Combos                      |COMBOS| Attacking with good combos     |100|
| -- | Set Ups                     |SETUPS| How to know your enemy around  |100|
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|(12)| COUP DE GRACE?              | BOW09| How to easily KO an opponent   |100|
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|(13)| SHUFFLED FARES?             | BOW10| Quick, powerful combos         |100|
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|(14)| LOW-ALTITUDE JUGGLES        | BOW11| Juggling the enemy             |100|
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|(15)| SHELL-SHIFTING              | BOW12| Maneuver with Whirling Fortress|100|
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|(16)| BREAKING COMBOS             | BOW13| Good Bowser combos             |100|
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|(17)| LANDING THE FORWARD SMASH   | BOW14| Bowser's key KO move           |100|
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|(18)|HOW DO I STOP SHIELDGRABBERS?| BOW15| Stopping shielders who grab you|100|
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|(19)| STAGGER TACTICS             | BOW16| Fooling other players          |100|
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|(20)| EDGE GUARDING               | BOW17| Prevent an enemy from recovery |100|
| -- | Can Bowser... Spike?        | SPIKE| Aiming at low angles           |100|
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|(21)| HELP ME I'M FALLING         | BOW18| Returning to a platform        |100|
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|(22)| NASTY TRICKS                | BOW19| Sneaky things to do with Bowser|100|
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|(23)| ITEM USE                    | BOW20| Using the different items      |100|
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|(24)| BOWSER VS...                | BOW21| Fighting other characters      |100|
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|(25)| THE VENUE                   | BOW22| All of the different stages    |100|
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|(26)| LEGAL INFO                  | LEGAL| Legal information              |100|
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|(27)| CONTACT                     |CONTAC| Our contact information        |100|
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|(28)| CREDITS/CLOSING             | CRCL | Credits and wrap-up to this FAQ|100|
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

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|                                                                             |
|              %%%%%%%%%% -  Version History - %%%%%%%%%%                     |
|                                                                             |
*****=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=*****

Version 1.0 (04/26/04) - Technically the first version of the FAQ. Yes it's been in
development for a while but this is the first time all format and crap got added.
EVERYTHING in this FAQ has been completed. Don't expect an update from me (me frog)
for a while. Decadent One might update the FAQ though.

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|                                                                             |
|                %%%%%%%%%% -  Introductions - %%%%%%%%%%           INTR      |
|                                                                             |
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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                       Decadent One's Intro
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I've been playing SSBM almost religiously since it's release, and have travelled
great distances to compete in high-level tournament play. This guide is the result
of many, many discussions with various parties on Bowser. I've always played as
Bowser in SSBM, and I use him in any other game possible. However, when I came to
GameFAQs and Smashboards looking for help and advice on using Bowser, and using him
well, I was generally confronted with 'use Shiek', or 'he can't be used well, he's
crap'. No matter how hard I looked, no useful information was forthcoming. The few
tips I was given tended to be either incredibly basic or plain wrong. I persevered,
and even brought my own tactics and techniques to the table.

Although many disregarded my words, there were those who were interested. After a
while, Bowser help requests were being directed towards me, and after many topics
the effort of repeating the same words got to me. So, I decided to turn my hand
towards writing an FAQ, and this is the result.

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                          me frog's Intro
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Greetings mortal! I am me frog, superior being and ruler of everyone. Yeah, I wish.
Anyway, you might've noticed that my introduction is second. Now, knowing everyone,
you people will exclaim, "WHAT? Why isn't his intro first! He is obviously a god and
he deserves to have the first intro!" You WEREN'T saying that? Well then you
little... okay, anyway, I had nothing to do with the information in this guide. I
had written a FAQ for Bowser in SSBM but it's gone now and this is in it's place.
Why is it gone? 'CAUSE IT FREAKING SUCKED! "me frog has a sucky FAQ? IT'S NOT
POSSIBLE!" 'Course it's possible are you on crack or something? Anyway, I'm just the
formatter for this FAQ. For anyone who has seen my other FAQs, you might've noticed
this is a totally new format.

Correcto, and it's staying exclusive to this FAQ. I thought if I was gonna reformat
an entire guide, it should at least be different than my usual crap. Anyway, how did
I get to formatting this guide? Well, I noticed that people petitioned on having the
SSBM character FAQs removed on the "Site Suggestions" board. I step in and volunteer
to reformat any guide and get it posted. BAM! The topic instantly hits 500 posts
with every person (every post was a different user) saying, "We love you me frog,
PLEASE DO THIS! IT'D BE GODLY!" Well, actually, no... that's sorta NOT how it
happened. I actually had to suffer through arguing, pointless debate, ridicule,
critisizing, insanity, stupidity, and stubborness before we actually got to the
point where I would reformat any SSBM FAQ that was sent to me.

So I don't really have anything else to say. That was some awesome story wasn't it?
I know you're thinking, "This guy has a **** sense of humor..." Yeah, I realize that
I throw in pathetic attempts at comedy in my FAQs but what are you gonna do about
it? That's what I thought.

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|                 %%%%%%%%%% -  Background - %%%%%%%%%%             BACK      |
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Right, before I get started, some background info for clarification. Bowser first
appeared in the NES/Famicom game Super Mario Bros, as everybody knows. While known
as Bowser over here in the west, he's known simply as Koopa over in Japan. However,
just like Dr. Robotnik/Eggman, neither name is 'wrong'. His given name is Bowser,
where Koopa is his family name. So his full name and title would be 'King Bowser
Koopa', which follows on with his children, 'Iggy Koopa', 'Lemmy Koopa' (Shigeru
Miyamoto is reprtedly a huge fan of western rock, hence these names, and also
'Reznor'). Also, there seems to be some confusion as to what exactly Bowser 'is'.
Firstly, he's NOT a dinosaur. That was a myth propagated by the film.

Quite simply, he's a Koopa. Koopas are based on the Japanese fairy tales regarding
'Kappa', which are turtle-demons with talent for black magic. Which is more-or-less
what Bowser is. Also, just Like Peach, Bowser bears virtually no resemblance,
whether visually or in personality, to his counterpart in the Mario cartoons. So
it's best to just ignore them as far as Bowser is concerned.

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|                  %%%%%%%%%% -  Glossary - %%%%%%%%%%             GLOSS      |
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In case you're not 'up' on all the odd terms and ackronyms in SSBM, here's a brief
list of those that pertain to Bowser....

Aerials - A button moves used while off the ground. Occasionally abbriviated as AFA
(air-forward A) or fair (forward air). So, ADA is aerial down A, and nair is neutral
aerial.

Bowser Train - A wavesmash method.

Camping - Staying in one spot, and either waiting for the enemy to come to you, or
shooting them. Originally coined from the first-person shooter Doom.

CC - Crouch Cancelling. Hold down to crouch while being struck to greatly reduce
knockback from certain moves. Also used to stop a characters movement, allowing a
quick change of direction.

Chain-throwing - Throwing a target, grabbing them again before they recover, then
throwing them again. Bowser's not too good at this, but he's a prime target for it.

Comboes - Combination attacks. Attacking an opponent repeatedly in a manner that
does not give them enough time to defend themselves.

Dashdancing - Repeatedly slamming left and right on the control stick to repeat the
opening dash animation on the spot. This allows quick moevement in either direction,
without the opening dash animation giving away your movement to the enemy.

DI - Directional Influence. While prone and airborne, use the control stick to
influence the direction your character flies in. Used to escape comboes and chain-
throws.

Edge-guarding - Waiting at the edge of the arena as an enemy recovers, and knocking
them back out again. Bowser is excellent at this.
Edge-hogging - Grabbing the edge so that a recovering opponent cannot do the same,
and falls off the bottom.

Fast-falling - Holding down while airborne in order to increase the speed of the
fall.

Foxtrotting - Repeatedly slamming the control stick forwards so that you repeatedly
use the opening dash animation rather than going into a dash. Some characters move
faster while doing this, but it makes little real difference with Bowser.

JC - Jump Cancelling This is cancelling the lag after certain actions by jumping.
Dashing and shielding are both good examples of actions which benefit from JC.

Lag - Time spent recovering after performing certain actions. The Bowser Bomb has
huge lag afterwards.

Launch - Propelling an opponent into the air from the ground, generally in order to
perform juggles or aerial strikes. Originally coined from Darkstalkers/Vampire.

Lcancelling - Tapping L (or R) as fthe character lands after performing an aerial A
button move. This reduces lag by speeding up the recovery animation. Particularly
useful with Bowser's back aerial and Link's down aerial.

Low-Altitude Juggles - Repeatedly striking the enemy into the air, but not high
enough to allow recovery.

Meteor Cancel - Using your double jump or up+B move to halt the downward motion
caused by Meteor Smashes. Bowser is excellent at this.

Meteor Smash - A move that send recovering opponents down of the bottom. Can be
Meteor-cancelled.

Opener - Any move used to start a combo or set up. Coined from Killer Instinct.

Power Shielding - Tapping L/R to bring up the shield at the exact point of impact,
completely negating the attack and reflecting projectile attacks. Cannot be broken.

Priority - Normally, when two attacks collide, they cancel each other out. However,
some attacks are so powerful that they carry on through the enemy's attack and
strike them. These attacks are said to have a higher priority. Bowser's shell-based
attacks in particular have amazingly high priority. Cartian attacks have what's
known as a 'disjointed hit-box'. This means that the attack is capable of striking
the enemy, but cannot itself be struck. This is generally because the attack is not
part of the attacker's body. This means that these attacks can strike through others
regardless of priority. Examples include Marth's tippers and the blast on Bowser's
forward smash. The term priority was coined from Darkstalkers/Vampire.

Rising Moves - Moves performed while the character is prone. They differ depending
on whether they are face down or face up. They are always accompanied by a brief
flash of invulnerability. Coined from Tekken.

Reverse Bowser Train - A wavesmash counter method.

Set-ups - Attacking the enemy in such a manner that it allows an opening for
another, often harder to land, move to be used. Though not a combo, and thus
escapable, set ups often allow highre damage moves to be used.

Shell-shifting - Bowser's use of the Whirling Fortress (up+B) to move quickly,
instead of dodging.

Shield-grabbing - Grabbing an attacking target while shielding. Hold L/R, block an
incoming attack, then press A to grab. Simple. The beauty of this is that it allows
a quick dodge by tapping a direction.

Shine/Shine Combo - Fox/Falco's Reflector, in particular using them as close combat
weapons.

Short-hopping - Tapping the jump button lightly to perform a much lower jump than
normal. This reduces time spent airborne and thus makes the attack faster.
Originally coined in Street Fighter.

Spamming - Using a certain technique or move frequently or repeatedly. Originally
coined in Street Fighter.

Spike/Intercept - While the target is recovering, hitting them with a downward-
striking move that sends them off the bottom. A good example is Mario's forward
aerial, demonstrated in the 'How to Play' in the game's menu. Bowser has no obvious
spike moves.

Stagger Tactics - Using the slow speed of certain moves to your advantage, generally
by faking out the enemy's defences.

Sweet Spot - Striking with a certain part of the attack in order to inflict greater
damage and knockback. For instance, hitting with the centre of Roy's blade, or the
middle of Mewtwo's tail.

Teching - Tapping L/R as you are hurled into a solid surface, in order to quickly
spring back to your feet. Can be done off walls and ceilings, too. The term was
originally coined in Street Fighter.

Tilt - Also known as 'power attacks'. Tilt the pad slightly in any direction while
on the ground, then press A. Tapping the pad quickly all the way results in Smash
Attacks instead.

Tipper - Using the very tip of certain moves to inflict increased damage and
knockback. Marth's sword and Mewtwo's psychic blasts are tippers.

Wavedancing - Wavedashing back and forth. Like dashdancing, this allows quick
movement in either direction without your movements being revealed to your opponent.

Wavedashing - Air dodging into the ground at an angle in order to slide forward
quickly. Generally done immediately after jumping. Often abbreviated as WD.

Waveshielding - Holding down the L/R button as you wavedash, so that you slide
forward while  shielding. Often used to shield-grab, or advance on attacking
opponents.

Wavesmashing - Wavedashing while smash-attacking. Use the Cstick to smash, as use of
the Control Stick will stop the wavedash.

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|                                                                             |
|              %%%%%%%%%% -  Bowser in SSBM - %%%%%%%%%%           BOW01      |
|                                                                             |
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In SSBM, Bowser doesn't seem too fearful compared to his status as Nintendo's top
bad guy. This is due to a few factors. First off, he's not using his full arsenal
here. In the games, he's never relied solely on his immense physical capabilities.
He's a potent black-magician. In SMB, he turned the Mushroom People into bricks and
horse-hair plants. He's also shown various talents such as teleportation, levitation
and homing-fireballs, as well as his cloned 'Koopalings'. He's also the creator of a
large array of weapons, including his Koopa Clown Car, Mechakoopas, and the flying
Doomships of SMB3. He's shown himself to be adept in the use of various weapons,
like thrown hammers and spiked balls.

As the Lord of the Koopas, he's a master of every discipline his subordinates show.
However, in SSBM he utilises none of these things. As well as making him over-
complicated, the inclusion of so many abilities would serve to make him unbalanced.
In addition, his very status of top bad-guy has been a factor in his diminished
abilities. As such an individual, it's only right that he's unmatched in his areas
of speciality. In Bowser's case, it's his power and mass. However, unless he's
weakened in some way, he's just better. So, his other capabilities were reduced, and
his weaknesses exaggerated. Unfortunately, there's a fine line between under-powered
and broken. If it was even slightly easier to bring his phenomenal power to bear, or
if he had less lag on his moves, he may quickly become too good.

Mewtwo, and his immense psychic capabilities, suffer from the same problem, again
because of his status as major bad-guy. Ganondorf side-stepped this problem by being
a 'clone', and although his speed and agility are rock-bottom, his A button moves
weren't affected by this speed reduction, leaving Ganon laughing at his two rivals.
All this leaves Bowser to be regarded as bottom tier by many. However, while he may
have exaggerated weaknesses, he also has exaggerated strengths........

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|                                                                             |
|             %%%%%%%%%% - Bowser's Attributes - %%%%%%%%%%        BOW02      |
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There are many misconceptions about Bowser's statistics, so let's clarify these
first. Obviously, his strength is immense. His strikes cause high damage, and hurl
the target back with incredible force. He can KO well on low damage, and racks up
high damage very quickly. Then there's his weight. He's heavy. Very heavy. He needs
to be on relatively high damage to be sent flying easily, and can always rely on
needing less damage to KO than his opponent. His priority's good, too. His shell-
based strikes in particular have a high chance of going straight through just about
anything short of fire and explosions. He can even cancel out Marth's tipper
attacks. So, as you can see, where he's good, he's excellent.

But where he's bad...... The first thing anybody ever says to rag on Bowser, is
about his speed. This is generally wrong. His movement speed is actually very good.
And his attack speed is generally no worse than many characters. The likes of his
forward smash may be slow, but he also has very fast attacks, like his up-tilt and
the Whirling Fortress. So, overall, his speed is more-or-less average. It's the lag
AFTER attacks that gives him problems. After most attacks, Bowser is left quite
open, and can't follow up easily, meaning combo-ing with him is difficult at best.
This is far and away Bowser's biggest problem, and the one that should be reduced as
much as possible when playing as Bowser. But it's not his only failing.

His grab range is appaling. It's also very slow, to the point where shield-grabbing
is relatively easily escaped. And if you do grab the enemy? His throws are average.
Average damage, average force. Which is a bad thing; average just isn't good enough
for Bowser. Then there's his dodge. It's slow, has lag afterwards, and doesn't go
very far. Dodging can actually leave him more vulnerable than not dodging at all.
Combined with his high traction, this makes for a poor wavedash. The rest of his
stats are generally good for some things and bad for others. His size is definetely
a factor in his game. On one hand, it gives his attacks a wider range. He can attack
fairly indiscriminately, without as much need for precise aim as many characters.

The enemy must move away completely to evade his full-body attacks. His size also
tricks unassuming targets into thinking his range is poor. His reach may be small
compared to his size, especially compared to DK's massive reach, but he still
outranges most targets. However, the knife cuts both ways. His size allows him to
strike targets with ease, but also makes him an easy target. Strikes that would
otherwise miss smaller targets and render a gap in comboes will strike home against
Bowser. Projectile attacks are also easy to land home against him, and spikes don't
need as much precision as normal. Lastly, there's his recovery. The 'Fortress allows
excellent horizontal recovery, but poor vertical recovery. Overall, Bowser is a
character of extremes, and must endeavor to ram his strengths home while keeping his
weaknesses out of the equation.

This means Bowser should keep the match on his terms, which is easier said than
done....

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|                                                                             |
|         %%%%%%%%%% -  Bowser in Three Easy Steps... - %%%%%%%%%%   BOW03    |
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To highlight Bowser's most important techniques (and for all those lazy sods who
can't be bothered to read the rest), here's the Bowser Player's mantra...

1- Lcancelling. A barrage of Lcancelled, shorthopped forward aerials is one of
Bowser's most effective strategies. Besides, it reduces lag, and that can only be a
good thing.

2- Low-Altitude Juggles. Launching the enemy, then striking them again while they
travel up, and can't yet recover. Their only option is to DI, but the area covered
by Bowser's strikes is too great to allow escape. Fox and Falco are particularly
vulnerable to this.

3- Shell Shifting. Use the Whirling Fortress in lue of dodging. It's faster, less
vulnerable, and has less lag afterwards. It can allow Bowser to shift around
quickly, break comboes, launch targets, cancel incoming strikes, and a second
'Fortress can be performed afterwards with reduced lag!

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|                                                                             |
|             %%%%%%%%%% - Bowser's Golden Rule - %%%%%%%%%%      BOW04       |
|                                                                             |
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HIT HIM BACK. The biggest mistake new Bowser players make is to play defensively.
This doesn't work. Bowser just isn't good at it. He'll spend too much time dodging
ineffectually, and he'll lose. If the enemy attacks you, attack him back. If he gets
a few hits in, hit him right back. Make sure that you always get a few licks in, and
use Bowser's biggest advantage - attrition. The combination of his power and weight
means that trading hits is ALWAYS a good idea. Look at him. Does he look subtle to
you? Defence by offence. Bowser's priority will allow him to cancel many incoming
hits, and his weight means little knockback. Bowser's power will almost always put
him ahead on damage, and his weight means that even equal damage will mean he's
winning.

Hell, most characters will need double damage to be on the same footing. Bowser
always needs less damage to KO than his opponent.

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|                  %%%%%%%%%% - Moves - %%%%%%%%%%                 BOW05      |
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Before any strategies, it's a good idea to understand how each of his moves work,
and where they are best used.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                          Ground Moves                              GROUND
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Neutral A, A - Fast and functional. The reach may not be great, but it's primary
purpose should be to get in quick and knock the opponent back a bit. It can set the
enemy up nicely for a forward tilt or a forward aerial.

Dash A - Very Good. Fast, strong, good reach and good priority. It knocks back
exceptionally well, and sets up nicely for further attacks. Bowser may fall down
after doing it, but the lag is deceptively short. It's the sheer speed of the lunge
that makes this move good, and as always, a 'Fortress can be performed almost
immediately afterwards to remove lag and reposition!

Forward Tilt A - A quick straight punch. This move is fast, and does decent damage.
It's best function, however, is it's knockback. It sends the enemy back a great
distance, especially on high damage, and sends them out straight. It can be used to
give Bowser breathing room, or as an edge-guarding move. Used to rebound a target
off a wall, it sets up nicely for smashes. It can be quickly utilised after many
moves, and is one of Bowser's best options in a pinch.

Down Tilt A - Good reach, but few other advantages. It causes relatively little
damage, and has little knockback. It's also near useless as a setup move.
However, it hits low, which allows it to attack people who are hanging from the
ledge. Against certain opponents, it can be used to repeatedly knock back targets
who are aiming to grab the ledge. However, this requires good timing, and Bowser
often has better alternatives.

Up Tilt A - Fast, and powerful. A staple of low altitude juggles. At low damage, it
allows Bowser to strike the enemy into the air several times quickly, until finished
with a smash. At high damage, it proves an excellent KO move on as little as 80%
damage, dependant on stage and opponent. It's only real weakness is it's short
range, but Bowser can wavedash into it, or perform it quickly after an Lcancelled
forward aerial.

Smash Hits - Performed by slamming the stick all the way, rather than tilting it
slightly. It is also possible to perform smash hits with the C Stick, although not
in any of the 1 player modes. However since smash hits cannot be charged with the C
stick, it's best for Bowser to use the normal method.

Forward Smash A - Insanely powerful. Insane knockback. Insane priority.
Unfortunately, it's slow and has little reach. However, it's power is too great to
ignore, so learning to hit with this move is important. First of all, you don't have
to be too precise. It hits a wide area around Bowser, including below and above him
(it can strike targets hanging off the edge), and it's impact actually lasts about
half a second. This is because there is actually a blast that occurs after the
initial lunge. This blasy cannot generally be seen, but since it is a disjointed
hit-box, it will pierce any move. If anything, strike early and let the enemy travel
into it.

It is an excellent edge-guarding move, and done this way, you may even be able to
fully charge it! Otherwise, you'll need a set-up, or use mind-games.

Down Smash A - Good duration, high power, multiple hits, and a powerful knockback
strike at the end. Quite slow to wind up, but little lag afterwards. Again, use set-
ups or mind games to hit. Also useable as an edge-guarder to targets seeking to grab
the edge. Bowser is relatively safe while performing this move, and any enemies
nearby will be dragged in. It requires a bit of practice to land the devastating
final hit every time, however. The wind up for this move looks very similar to the
wind up for his forward smash, so it can be used to fake out, as it's quicker and
hits all around. It's also impossible for the enemy to dodge past Bowser while he's
using this, due to this moves duration and area of effect.

At lower damage, it is also possible to hit with this move repeatdly while next to a
wall. Under the fin of the Great Fox in Corneria is a good place.

Up Smash A - Bowser's fastest smash, and probably best. It hits once on the way up,
and will strike again as Bowser lands, hitting those who dodge or block the initial
hit. It hits primarily upwards, but strikes to both sides as well, making it a good
edge-guarder against those recovering from high places, and is also excellent for
low-altitude juggles. Timed right, only Kirby's Stone can pierce it from above.

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                          Aerial Moves                              AERIAL
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Neutral Aerial A - Fast and safe, with good priority and decent knockback. Low
range, however, hampers it. Lcancelled, it has virtually no lag on landing. Useful
if Bowser is being knocked about at close quarters while airborne, as it's quick
enough to pierce most attacks, and knocks the enemy back a good distance even at low
damage, allowing Bowser to recover. A particularly annoying tactic is to short hop
it at the edge as the enemy tries to recover.

Forward Aerial A - Bowser's best aerial. It's strong, excellent knockback, good
reach, and comes off fast. Lcancelling, again, removes almost all lag, and allows
more attacks quickly. It strikes in front and above, and works well to repel
opponents attempting to recover. There are very few situations where short-hopped,
Lcancelled foraward aerials will not be of use.

Backward Aerial A - Good reach, good speed, good priority, good power, good
knockback. Horrible lag. This is probably the most notable move to Lcancel. Even
Lcancelled, it's lag can render Bowser vulnerable. It's best used at great height,
where Bowser has time to flip round completely so as to land on his feet. Can be
quite useful in many situations, but Bowser's vulnerability after performing it
means you'll have to choose your time well. It should also be noted that this move
has a sweet spot. Aim to have the enemy hit by the very tip of Bowser's shell at the
point where he thrusts out backwards. If done properly, the enemy will recieve much
greater knockback, and without the same high trajectory of the forward aerial.

Note that it's also possible to hit an opponent who is not behind Bowser, by making
contact at the point where Bowser thrusts backwards. Hits done in this way are
almost always sweet-spot hits, but lack the priority and protection of the shell
itself.

Down Aerial A - Not a great deal of damage, and low reach. However, it knocks the
enemy away on impact with the ground, and Lcancelling allows Bowser to react very
quickly. It's also relatively safe, and won't leave Bowser as vulnerable as the
Bowser Bomb will.

Up Aerial A - Similar to the forward smash in that it's very powerful, and a great
KO move, but slow. It has so much wind up that it takes practice to short hop while
using it. It also alters the way Bowser moves while airborne, meaning it requires
practice to hit with at all. Again, though, it's just too powerful to ignore. It has
enough priority and power to completely negate just about any move coming down onto
it. It's best used as a finisher to a series of low-altitude juggles, when it can't
be dodged.

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                         Special Moves                              SPECIL
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Neutral B - Fire Breath - Bowser's trademark move, and sadly, his worst special. It
inflicts a painfully small amount of damage, is slow to perform, and has a lot of
lag afterwards. It's main uses are novelty, disruption, and mine-clearing. Torching
the enemy can sometimes put them off their rythym, but requires good mind-games to
prove effective. Mine-clearing is much more fun. As well as the obvious (Bob-ombs,
Proximity mines), it can also be used to set off the powerful bombs on Green Greens,
which most opponents don't expect. It's also slightly quicker while airborne. One
useful trait, however, is that it will stop many attacks. The few attacks that will
go through it include Samus' Charge Beam, Mewtwo's Shadow Ball, Fox/Falco's Blaster
and Kirby's Stone.

Forward B - Koopa Klaw - Multiple uses, and a cool sound effect. The powerful slash
itself is a good KO move, with nearly unassailable priority. However, it's slow, and
Bowser lags after it. The grab is much more useful. Best performed during short-
hopping (a nasty surprise for shield grabbers), and can even be used to grab while
either (or both) characters are airborne. The bites on B button do more damage than
other strikes while grabbing. It only has two throws, but both are good. The forward
has set knockback, so works well to set up a juggle or forward aerial. The back has
incredible force, and makes an excellent KO move, almost as good as Mewtwo's back
throw. Try short-hopping OVER a target, or using the back throw to bounce them off a
wall into an up or down smash. Nasty.

Down B - Bowser Bomb - This move represents Bowser well. It's powerful, has huge
knockback and excellent priority, but is slow to hit and is highly vulnerable
afterwards. However, it does have it's uses. If Bowser uses it and falls past the
edge, he'll grab on, removing all lag. Because of the moves huge power and priority,
it's an excellent edge-guarding technique. Also, if used during high airborne
combat, Bowser won't be left vulnerable near the enemy, it can't be blocked, only
air-dodged (which leaves the enemy vulnerable as they fall), and it's huge knockback
has high chance of KO'ing if it connects at such high altitudes.

Up B - Whirling Fortress - Never actually used by Bowser prior to SSBM, it was first
used by his eldest son Ludwig Von Koopa way back in SMW. Whatever the source, it is
undoubtedly Bowser's greatest move, and definetely a contender for best move in the
game. It is fast to perform, multiple hits, high impact, high damage, highly
maneuverable, high priority, and little lag. It is incredibly versatile - it's used
to recover, inflict damage (up to 40% in one go!), KO, launch for juggles, dodge,
block attacks, break comboes, move quickly, and it makes a really cool noise!
Mastering all the applications of this move is key to mastering Bowser. It can be
used immediately following many of Bowser's moves, which reduces lag, meaning it
will often repel attackers who mistakenly believe Bowser to be helpless after
attacking.

Bowser should use it to skid away from trouble, before diving straight back in with
a short-hopped, Lcancelled forward aerial, or something else appropriately nasty.
This move can be used to get Bowser out of almost any trouble, and inflicts high
damage in the process! On addition, holding down to fast fall while it descends
allows Bowser to pass through platforms, unlike other recovery moves like Link's
Spin Attack. One import difference to bear in mind is that it knocks opponents away
while grounded, and drags them in while airborne.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                         Grabs and Throws                              GRABS
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Grab - Slow, and short-reached. Nine times out of ten, the 'Klaw is better. Grab by
pushing Z, or press A while shielding. Push A to headbutt and a direction to throw.

Headbutt - Press A while grabbing opponent. Exactly the same as every other
character's grab strike. And therefore too average to be noteworthy to Bowser.
Biting is stronger.

Forward Throw - Low damage, very low knockback. Good only for positioning the enemy.

Back Throw - Low damage, but better knockback. Unfortunately, still inferior to the
'Klaw's back throw.

Down Throw - Decent Damage, but pretty much no knockback. Possible to use it for a
set-up, though. Funny as hell, particularly for the way the enemy waves their hands
about in desperation.....

Up Throw - The best of the four. Good damage, and a good set-up move. It's even
possible to chain throw Fox and Falco with this, by grabbing them again as they
fall.

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                          Edge Moves                                EDGES
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Roll Over Edge - Excellent. Fast, invincible, and excellent knockback. It even
pushes the enemy away then retreats quickly to allow Bowser room. Brilliant to
punish edge-guarders. Performed by presing A or B while Bowser is hanging on the
ledge and under 100% damage.

Slap Over the Edge - Good power and knockback, but not as much reach as the roll.
Performed by presing A or B while Bowser is hanging on the ledge and on 100% damage
or more. Usually a forward aerial is superior.

Dodge Over Edge - As with Bowser's other dodges, a bit rubbish, especially when
there are violent alternatives. Performed by presing L/R while Bowser is hanging on
the ledge.

Jump Over Edge - Slow and vulnerable, Bowser acn't even attack duriong this
effectively. It's always better to either Roll or forward aerial over the edge.
Performed by pressing Y/X while Bowser is hanging on the ledge.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                         Rising Moves                               RISE
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Donkey Kick - Done by attacking while Bowser is prone and face-down. Excellent
reach, power and knockback, and invincible to boot.

Giant Slap - Done by attacking while Bowser is prone and face-up. Not quite as long
reached as the donkey kick, but good nevertheless. With moves like this, it's often
worth NOT teching.......

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                         Utility Moves                              UTILTY
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Blocking Attacks - Good. Bowser's shield lasts a relatively long time, and can
easily withstand even powerful hits. Obviously, don't abuse it, or it'll break, but
it's generally a better alternative to dodging. Shield by simply holding L or R.

Power Shielding - Shield at the exact point of impact. The biggest problem with
Bowser's power shield is his own size. Unless you've rarely used his shield, the
power shield will come out at reduced size, and won't necessarily cover his whole
body. This means that even if your timing's spot-on, the hit may still get through.
You could tilt the shield towards the attack, but doing this well during power
shielding, in addition to timing it right, is exceptionally difficult. So reflecting
projectile attacks isn't generally an option for Bowser. Becoming proficient at it,
though, makes for an exceptionally nasty surprise. A much better use for Power
Shielding, is up close. Power shield an enemy's initial attack, and they'll lag from
their blocked attack, but Bowser recovers instantly.

This trick works with every character, but is particularly useful to Bowser, as it
allows him to bypass an opponent's speed advantage up close. Don't try it to stop
comboes, though, as Bowser has better alternatives.
Dodging - Press left or right while shielding. As said before, a bit crap. Slow and
short, it'll rarely leave Bowser in a beneficial position. It's almost always better
to use something else. At close quarters, use the 'Fortress, and at larger ranges,
just move out of the way or block.

Sidestep/Spot Dodge - Press down while shielding. Awful. It's slow to pull off, and
lags afterwards. The enemy will likely just launch another attack after the first is
dodged, and Bowser can't react quickly enough after spot-dodging to stop them. Also,
don't use it dodge large projectiles, like Shadow Balls or Charge Beams. Bowser's so
wide, it'll probably still be travelling through him when he stops dodging. Best not
to use this move.........

Air Dodging - Press L or R in the air. Add a direction for a mobile dodge. Not
particularly bad, but Bowser is generally better off taking the hit then coming in
afterwards for a forwad aerial. However, there are moves that the air-dodge is good
for - projectiles and many forward aerials. Warp Stars, too. Just don't air-dodge
too high, as Bowser's vulnerable 'till he touches down.

Crouch Cancelling - Good and bad. Crouching while being struck renders Bowser near
immovable. Even high knockback attacks at high damage might not shift him.
Unfortunately, his attack options are limited while doing it. His down tilt is too
slow to strike through most combos, and won't achieve much anyway. A better
alternative is to crouch cancel a combo, then quickly 'Fortress through their
attacks. Either get good enough at this that it can be done quickly enough, or use
the Cstick to remain crouched while you rev up. This is an excellent tactic against
characters who use many tilt combos, like Shiek and Link.

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|           %%%%%%%%%% - The Tricks of the Trade - %%%%%%%%%%      BOW06      |
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Now that all of Bowser's moves have been covered, on to what exactly to do with
them. What follows is a break-down of the various situations that arise in SSBM, and
how Bowser copes with 'em. Of course, being SSBM, these are not set in stone. They
will not guarantee victory, nor will they work every time. SSBM is an incredibly
open game, and there are ways through everything. But that goes for your opponent's
strategies, too. No character or method is invincible, and you should never NEED to
switch characters specifically to deal with something. If you're a real Bowser fan,
then you'll realise he doesn't give up, no matter how many times he's defeated by
Mario, Luigi, or pure happenstance. Learn what you did wrong, or what your opponent
did right, and find a way round it.

And don't abuse your best tactics. The more you do, the more chances you're giving
away for your opponent to test your defences and render your best methods void. Also
remember that just 'cos your rival knows a way through some methods, doesn't mean
everyone does. Don't forget strategies just because the guy you play every day has
seen it so many times he can counter it in his sleep, as your next tournament
opponent may have never seen it before........

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Moving around well is pivotal to all smashers except the most dedicated campers.
Bowser's movement is a mixed bag. On one hand, he dashes quite quickly, but on the
other, his jump is slow to leave the ground. Just remember to pay attention to your
position in comparison to your enemy, and always lead with your fists flying. While
dashing, Bowser covers ground quickly, but loses many attack options (although the
Whirling Fortress, as always, comes off instantly). There is a remedy, however, in
CC. While dashing, crouch. Bowser stops INSTANTLY. No skid, no lag. This can be used
for many purposes. After the crouch, slam the other direction and he changes
direction instantly, and doesn't become vulnerable.

He can also grab and attack to his full ability after doing this. How about dashing
into an up tilt? Or even a down smash? All possible, and more than that, viable.
Then there's foxtrotting and dashdancing. Foxtrotting isn't really useful to Bowser,
as his speed doesn't really increase. Dashdancing, however, remains useful. By
dashing back and forth on the spot, Bowser conceals his intended direction. He can
quickly choose which direction to move in, and the enemy won't be able to watch for
the starting animation of his dash to give him away. He can also JC from a
dashdance, allowing a quick swipe on approaching opponents. Wavedashing is another
good movement technique. By air-dodging at an angle into the ground, Bowser slides
forward quickly.

It should be noted, however, that the timing to wavedash is different for Bowser
than for anyone else. Due to Bowser's longer jump animation, there has to be a
slight delay between pushing jump and dodging, to allow him to actually leave the
ground first. While many characters use wavedashing to move quickly, Bowser cannot,
due to it's slower starting speed. Instead, Bowser uses it to approach the enemy for
certain approaches. Wavedashing into an opponent while shielding is an excellent way
to close the distance without being hit away. From this 'waveshield', Bowser can
shield grab, or use the 'Fortress. An especially good trick is to JC out of the
shield and immediately 'Fortress. Done properly, the enemy will be dragged up too,
and recieve collosal damage.

The tilts can also be used while wavedashing, alleviating the up tilt's poor reach,
allowing an alternate opener for Low-Altitude Juggles. Also, remember that Bowser
can JC out of the wavedash at any time, which can work effectively as part of mind-
games. A good defensive tactic is to wavedash backwards. This allows Bowser to move
backwards while still facing the enemy, and even allowing him to strike while doing
so! The forward tilt is particularly useful. Also useful are the Bowser Train
wavesmash methods, which are covered in the Dirty Tricks section. Also worth noting
is jumping. In SSBM, jumping can be achieved by either slamming the Control Stick
up, or by pushing the Y or X button. Using the buttons rather than the stick to jump
is definetely superior, as it allows much more precise control. It also allows
better distance on jumps, by pushing Y/X and holding the stick all the way forward,
which is impossible if used to jump.

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Not only is Bowser unparallelled for damage-dealing, but he doesn't even need to
attain high damage! A basic combo can take your opponent to the stage where they can
be KO'd without fuss. Bowser's combos tend to be short and simple, but they do the
job. However, set-ups are much more useful. Set ups differ from combos in that
they're escapable. The hits do not come immediately after the last. Rather, the idea
is to put the enemy in a position where they can be struck again, often with moves
that you simply cannot combo into. Bowser excels at set ups, as many of his hits
force the enemy off their feet, and his impact easily allows him to rebound targets
off walls and floors. Another bonus is that Bowser doesn't have to specifically
attempt a set up, as many of his methods lead to them.

Combos, counters and throws can all lead into a string of attacks where the enemy
has to concentrate on defending himself.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                              Combos                              COMBOS
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Combos aren't really Bowser's forte, as many of moves are unusable due to either
slow speed, lag afterwards, or even excessive knockback. This generally means that
most of Bowser's combos are only two moves long. In general, use knockback moves at
the end to allow set ups. The forward tilt is excellent for this, as it's fast
enough to link easily and hurls the enemy straight back rather than upwards. The up
tilt is also an excellent combo finisher, as it sets up well for low-altitude
juggles. Use faster moves as openers, such as his neutral A,A, or his up tilt at
lower damage. As you see, Bowser's combos are somewhat limited and rather
simplistic. Luckily, set ups really are his speciality.....

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                              Setups                              SETUPS
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The idea here is to take your opponent of their feet, forcing some sort of recovery.
This gives the initiative to Bowser, who should follow up with another strike. Since
the enemy must react to your attacks, he will not be able to fight back as
effectively as otherwise. There are pretty much three set up situations; knocked to
the ground, bounced off a wall, and hurled into the air.
When knocked to the ground, the enemy has 2 options. Either tech, or not. Due to the
force and speed of their impact, teching may not be an option. Get ready to attack
again, with either another set up, or possibly even a high impact KO move which
would normally be difficult to strike with, like the forward smash. If they tech,
make sure they tech straight into it.

No character can react immediately after teching, so they will be completely
defenceless. Perfect. If they don't tech, then attack at the appropriate moment. As
they bounce, there is a certain point when they will be invincible. However, with a
bit of practice, it should be easily avoided. Just strike them again, and again, and
again. Keep them in motion, and don't let them do anything other than struggle for
their own footing. If they land prone, then they may be able to attack while
invincible. However, they can't do this immediately, which gives you a window to
attack first. Bowser's dash A is good for this, as it covers distance fast, and will
set up for aerial strikes. However, due to the scope of Bowser's attacks, most set
ups will still be viable.

If they get time to pull off a rising move, don't just rush in. They're invincible
while performing this, and attack all around. However, unlike Bowser, most
characters can't defend against airborne assaults with these moves. Jump in with an
aerial (forward can set up again), and time it so that you strike just after they
cease to be invincible, but haven't regained control. Bouncing people off walls is
brilliant. Not only does it rack up damage, but it's very difficult to escape if
done properly, and is immensely enjoyable. Let's face it; it's this kind of pure
violence and power that people play as Bowser for. But first of all, you need a
wall. Corneria and Peach's Castle are the best options for this. Options for
actually bouncing the target are thankfully much larger!

Forward aerial, forward tilt, back throw, and the Koopa Klaw's back throw are all
excellent choices. Once bounced off the wall, the target won't be able to react
properly, as they'll be stunned by their forced collision. However, watch out for
players good enough to tech off the wall at such short notice. This becomes more
likely the more times you ricochet them, so after 3 or 4 bounces, it might be a good
idea to launch or KO. If they DO manage to tech, close quickly to attack while
they're not ready. Another good option while next to a wall, aprticularly the one in
Corneria, is repeatedly using the down smash. The enemy should have problems
escaping, as the wall means that they aren't spun sround quite so wide, so they stay
close longer.

Just keep smashing downwards, and once enough damage has been inflicted, a forward
smash should be easy to insert! Try smashing away from the wall, as this is likely
where the enemy will attempt to DI to! Incidently, once your opponent realises how
much damage Bowser's capable of doing in such a situation, they will be hesitant
about getting in between Bowser and a wall. Rightly so. But you'll just need to
ignore their wishes (and best interests), and position them yourself. This is one of
the few situations where Bowser's throws can be useful. Simply shield grab (or even
wavedash to grab), and put them where you like. Alternatively, short hop to Koopa
Klaw, and hurl them backwards. The latter is probably the better option, as the
force is so much greater, they won't just be able to jump away afterwards.

Another good method (and fake out, for that matter), is to jump over them, and
strike their back as you descend. Use either Bowser's back aerial (rememeber to
Lcancel), or else, jump backwards and use the forward aerial instead. Incidently, a
really nasty set up is to Koopa Klaw, back throw off a wall, then have them bounce
straight into a down smash or up smash. You should even have time to charge them a
bit, and with practice a Forward smash can be landed (point away from the wall, and
let loose as they pass through you). On Corneria, it's almost a guaranteed KO!!
Lastly, we have 'hurled into the air'. This is generally achieved via the up throw,
the Koopa Klaw's forward throw, and the up tilt.

It also occurs frequently against recoveries from a higher position, but I'll cover
edge-guarding later. The up tilt can be slotted in from combos and set ups, and also
wavedashed into if you feel the need. It's also fast enough to fit in after a
blocked forward aerial, even before shield grabs. Once the enemy is airborne, their
damage will affect their altitude, and therefore what an appropriate follow up
should be. If they're barely leaving the ground, then just up tilt 'till you've got
a bit more height. Alternatively, jump up too, and 'Fortress as you ascend the
moment you touch them. They'll be dragged up, too, and could take as much as 40%
damage! Once they're higher, it really depends on what you want to do with them.

If you want to rack up high damage, use low-altitude juggles, or the 'Fortress
trick. If you're near an edge, use a forward aerial to knock them out and move to
edge-guarding. If they're at high damage, use an upwards move to KO; smash, tilt or
aerial, depending on the situation. It's also worth noting that it's possible to
Forward Smash here and have your opponent fall into it. The key is in mix ups.

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|                                                                             |
|              %%%%%%%%%% - Coup De Grace? - %%%%%%%%%%           BOW09       |
|                                                                             |
*****=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=*****

Ah, yes, French for 'cut the grass'. Bad puns aside, KO'ing shouldn't be a problem
for Bowser. In fact, you probably won't need to specifically change your approach
due to the fact that Bowser can KO with a wide variety of moves. He KO's at such low
damage that a KO is almost always on the cards. Simply aim for a finishing strike
anytime you can land it. If they're high and prone, up aerial. Anytime possible,
land the forward smash. Get them off the edge whenever possible and they're often
utterly screwed.Remember, Bowser can often get them to an appropriately high amount
of damage with his finishing strike anyway.......

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|                                                                             |
|              %%%%%%%%%% - Shuffled Fares? - %%%%%%%%%%          BOW10       |
|                                                                             |
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One of Bowser's best tactics is to use a barrage of shuffled fairs. That's 'short-
hopped, fast-falling, l-cancel'd forward air-attacks' to you and me. Although to be
honest, fast falling isn't really necessary with Bowser. Anyway, tap jump lightly,
holding forward, tap A to attack, then tap L/R as you land to take away lag. This is
quite fast, very powerful, has virtually no lag, and has great reach and priority.
Most people don't seem to realise just how far away this move hits from, and it'll
go through just about anything put in it's way. Good for gaining ground and pushing
the enemy back. It'll KO, too. If the enemy blocks or spot dodges, a quick up tilt
or 'Fortress will punish them. If they dodge away, a forward tilt (in either
direction) works well, or simply 'Fortress into them.

Also worth noting is that the early animation of this move strikes above Bowser. If
the enemy is likely to go for an aerial as well, then tap A as soon as you leave the
ground, allowing Bowser to pre-emptively strike targets in higher positions. This is
especially useful against characters with long-reaching aerials, such as Marth and
Roy.

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|                                                                             |
|             %%%%%%%%%% - Low-Altitude Juggles - %%%%%%%%%%      BOW11       |
|                                                                             |
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A method of striking the enemy into the air repeatedly without giving the enemy a
chance to fight back. When struck into the air, the enemy cannot recovery 'till they
lose momentum. This means that you can strike them again before they reach that
point and they can't dodge. As long as you keep the enemy low enough that you can
always reach them in time, their only option is to DI. However, due to the area
covered by Bowser's strikes, DI'ing won't take them far enough away. Good. The moves
used for low-altitude juggles are the 'Fortress, up tilt, up smash, and up aerial.
Strike repeatedly to put them to an appropriate amount of damage, or until they're
about to go high enough to escape, then finish it with an up aerial, or a slightly
charged up smash.

At the lowest heights, use the point blank 'Fortress (it causes a smash hit
initially) or up tilts to start off. The initial 'Fortress can be from many sources
- combos, counters, or even shell shifting. Slide into the target, 'Fortress again
for height, up tilt or up smash a couple of times, then a short-hopped up aerial to
finish. If the up aerial doesn't finish them, go up after them with another. If they
air dodge, they're utterly prone. Fast fall down, and start again, or be waiting
with a forward smash. If they move away normally, they're probably more concerned
with getting back on solid ground than offence. Fast fall down with them, then veer
in and forward or back aerial to set up or push them off the edge.

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|                                                                             |
|               %%%%%%%%%% - Shell Shifting - %%%%%%%%%%          BOW12       |
|                                                                             |
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Shell shifting is using the Whirling Fortress to move about. Simply tap up+B, then
push either way to slide about. It allows Bowser to move about quickly, and with
less vulnerability than dashing or jumping. Any enemy that gets in your way will
simply be mowed down, taking damage. Useful to spin away from the enemy, then
immediately retaliate. Dive back in again with a shuffled fare, um, shfflc'd fair.
If the 'Fortress bounces them, then 'Fortress under them again. At lower damage, you
can spin through them several times before they're bouncing high enough to get away.
You can also spin backwards off the stage in order to grab the edge, like any other
character wavedashing. Just remember not to get carried away - the only move that
can be done immediately after a 'Fortress is another 'Fortress, so make sure you
spin to an appropriate position.

However, the 'Fortress can be utilised quickly after pretty much any move, including
the forward smash, so spinning away is always an option. It's also possible to rev
up, dash in to strike, then retreat with the same 'Fortress. Just make sure to hit
with the very tip of the spin, to avoid shield grabbers. Just remember to stay
mobile while shifting. Spinning on the spot is better done with the down smash, as
it's near invincible.

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|                                                                             |
|              %%%%%%%%%% - Breaking Combos - %%%%%%%%%%          BOW13       |
|                                                                             |
*****=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=*****

The 'Fortress is one of Bowser's fastest moves. It also hits all around
indiscrimanately, and has excellent power and priority. This means it's his best bet
for escaping danger. And that includes comboes. If you're getting pummeled up close
by a fast attacker, break out with the 'Fortress. Not only does it have a very high
chance of escape, but it'll inflict severe damage on your opponent. It can also be
done from CC'ing. After the initial spin, a second spin can offer a tad more
breathing room and be used to shell shift back. Alternatively, DI into an
appropriate spot during the combo, to allow better positioning for the move to burst
through. Bowser can easily afford to take a little extra damage if it puts him in a
favourable position.

As the enemy is reeling from the counter attack, it'll give Bowser room and time to
launch his own attack. Your opponent will soon become wary after finding that combo
attempts often result in him taking higher damage than you, and ending up on the
recieving end of an assault. Of course, if they persist in attempting comboes, by
all means keep punishing them for it........ One problem is opponents who have fast,
high priority strikes, like Marth and Link. You'll often find that their attacks are
hitting just as fast as the 'Fortress, and they are just as high priority. This will
result in the two attacks clashing off one another, and staggering both parties.
Since the 'Fortress was cancelled, you can't just spin away.

Your best option is to attack back. Another 'Fortress could work, but an up tilt
could be better at close range, and you're probably holding up anyway. Shielding
could also work, as could DI'ing or jumping back out. These will give you time and
space to attack anew. The best option, however, is to CC into another 'Fortress,
timed to go just after their strike, so they can't cancel your counter again. This
method also works if you just can't get the 'Fortress in in-time, as the enemy's
strikes won't cancel it done this way. Remember too, that the 'Fortress can be done
quickly after almost any missed attack, and this is often the time Bowser's opponent
will choose to attack. If you miss, and are in danger of retaliation, spin away.

The enemy will likely be repelled by the spin, and this method will soon deter these
approaches. Also, if you become airborne, aim to connect with the enemy when the
spin starts, in order to drag them up inflicting massive damage. As you end the
spin, fast fall down again and end with a forward tilt, or even a smash. The same
techniques can be applied to chain throw comboes, depending on the attacker. DI'ing
occasionally works, as can a quick neutral aerial. However, sometimes you just won't
be able to escape a chain throw until you reach a ceratin damage potential,
depending on how good your opponent is and what character is used. Just make sure
you really nail 'em when it's over to make up for it.

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|                                                                             |
|         %%%%%%%%%% - Landing the Forward Smash - %%%%%%%%%%      BOW14      |
|                                                                             |
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The forward headbutt is Bowser's most potent KO move. It also happens to be his
hardest move to successfully land. However, there are a few factes of this move that
remain unknown to the average smasher. Namely, immediately after the initial lunge,
there is a massive blast. This blast extends across Bowser's entire body, and also
about punch distance in front of his head! The blast also works to give the smash a
duration of about half a second. The blast is also a disjointed hit box, which means
it's priority is utterly unstoppable. The easiest way to land it is to set up for
it. Edge guarding should also prove easy. But there are other ways. It's possible to
land the smash as a stand alone hit.

Even against good players. Obviously, if they open themselves by screwing up -
shield breaks, missed Rest, or even just long wind ups at the wrong time. But it's
also useable as long as you use it's range and priority to full. When Bowser winds
up, he leans right back. Normally, he's leaning forward. This means that he can use
the move's wind up to dodge attacks. Generally, the best range for this tactic is
about 2-3 steps. Likewise, the move doesn't have anywhere near the lag people say it
has. It's quite fast enough to strike an incoming attacker, and has such high
priority that almost no moves can pierce it. Throw it into the mix every so often.
You might get struck and have it cancelled, but it WILL hit on occasion.

And the pay-off is definitely worth it! If you miss, and the enemy comes in for an
attack, use the 'Fortress to repel them and spin away quickly.

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|                                                                             |
|        %%%%%%%%%% - How Do I Stop Shield Grabbers? - %%%%%%%%%%   BOW15     |
|                                                                             |
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What do you do when you leap in to forward aerial your opponent, only to be blocked
and grabbed? Simple. Bowser has a nasty trick that people don't expect, largely
because no other character can do it! Bowser can grab from the air using the Koop
Klaw, and this move can't be shield grabbed! Short hop in, as if forward aerial'ing,
and Koopa Klaw once close instead. Bite 'em a few times for good measure, then
throw. DO NOT spam this, as the enemy will catch on. As long as you're mixing it up
between forward aerials and Koopa Klaws, the enemy will have to be on edge, and
that's a portion of his brain that's distracted.
Another good method is to use the utmost reach of the forward aerial. Most
characters don't have a grab that can reach past the tip of Bowser's swing.

After landing (hopefully just out of grab reach), press the attack. Try wavedashing
into your own grab, or an up tilt. Alternatively, launch yourself again, and forward
aerial on the way up, striking the target as you leap over them. With good timing,
you can Koopa Klaw backwards once you've cleared them to snatch them up and start
some REAL punishment with set ups. If the enemy attempts to dodge past you, use a
down smash. As they dodge, you can even charge it a tad. Unleash it as the dodge
ends, and they'll be utterly unable to avoid getting struck and dragged in.

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|                                                                             |
|               %%%%%%%%%% - Stagger Tactics - %%%%%%%%%%         BOW16       |
|                                                                             |
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This section is on how to live up to people's expectations of a slow Bowser, and
benefit from doing so. Matches between skilled players is often lightning fast, with
moves being dodged and reflected in the blink of an eye. Strikes that would
otherwise decimate the intended victim are anticipated and dodged fluidly and
efficiently. So what do they do when some idiot deliberately attacks at a slower
pace, causing their well-timed dodges and counters to miss the move and leave them
open? They get confused, and lose their rhythym, that's what.
By simply attacking slightly late, many defences are completely negated. The spot-
dodge quickly becomes useless when stagger tactics are used, as the strike comes in
after the dodge has been completed.

Marth and Roy's Counter is similarly affected. Another method of staggering a strike
is to charge smash hits. Simply hold the button when you attack, let them perform
whatever defence they wish, then release. The forward and down smashes work
particularly well from this. Of course, don't spam stagger tactics, as the enemy
will simply time his defences according to the new timing. Mixing up lightning fast
forward aerials with slightly delayed Koopa Klaws will allow any defence to be
pierced, and your opponent will have no definite defence. Done well, this is
incredibly unnerving, as defence suddenly becomes MUCH harder. Combined with
'Klawing through shield grabs, and Lcancelling to tilts and the 'Fortress, there is
no defence that Bowser cannot make a mockery of.

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|                                                                             |
|                %%%%%%%%%% - Edge Guarding - %%%%%%%%%%          BOW17       |
|                                                                             |
*****=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=*****

Once the enemy goes off the edge, they're in a lot of trouble. Their options are now
severely limited, as there's only so much they can do and still be able to recover.
Depending on the character, they can't maneuvre well, they can't attack well, they
can't air dodge, and they can't block. All they can do is try to get past Bowser to
safety. Who, I might add, still has full access to his entire repetoire. How to go
about finishing them off is dependant on the target, how high they are, and how far
out they are. If they're recovering at a roughly even level to the stage, then
you've got the most options. The forward smash is an excellent edge-guarder.  It has
enough power to drive them completely off the screen, or at least too far out to
recover.

It also has such high priority that it'll go through any recovery move. Just let it
loose slightly earlier, and let the enemy fly into it. Since it hit's beneath
Bowser's position as well, it'll eliminate recoveries aimed at grabbing the edge.
Just remember to get them BEFORE they grab the egde, as they will be briefly
invulnerable as they grab on. Incidently, edge guarding is probably the only time
you'll ever be able to land a fully charged forward smash, so make the most of it.
If they try to just clear Bowser, use an Up Smash, or hop backwards and forward
aerial. If they're not far enough out to give time to smash, use the forward tilt.
Hell, use the forward tilt sometimes anyway. It knocks the target straight out away
from the stage without gaining much height (good against Peach, who will maintain
any height given).

If the target is lower than the stage, the forward smash is generally still
effective. If the enemy is seeking to come up past the stage's lip, use a charged
down smash, and unleash it early. It'll repel the enemy almost straight down. This
is utterly evil against Fox and Falco, who often have no choice other than to blast
past the lip. They even give you plenty of time to charge it fully. How considerate!
The down tilt can be useful, but is awkward to time and doesn't have the sheer kick
of other moves. Of course, if they're far out and only just gonna make it to the
edge, edge hog them. That is, drop out onto the edge yourself so they can't do the
same. Either short hop, wavedash or 'Fortress backwards off the edge.

Against most characters, you can just get there early. However, watch for those
that'll be attacking as they rise, like Mario and Marth. In these cases, drop off
JUST BEFORE they grab the edge, making the most of the brief moment of
invincibility. If they're coming in high, either go for an up aerial or up smash. If
they're gonna clear you by a large distance (very likely in the case of Jigglypuff),
move back and aim to use the forward aerial to bat them back out. The forward aerial
deserves special consideration when edge-guarding. It can be used to repeatedly
smash the enemy out, and it's range and power stop attacks getting through. Don't be
afraid to bound out, strike them, then double jump back.

A forward aerial done off the edge is often enough to push the enemy out to the
point where they can no longer muster the distance needed to recover. This also
avoids their up+B recovery move, as they need to keep it 'till they are within
distance of the stage. DO NOT use this tactic against Falco if he's level with the
stage. He'll Phantasm forward, recovering and spiking you into the depths. So just
smash him out from the safe confines of the stage. If he's gonna phantasm (Fox too,
for that matter), use the forward tilt, or a short hopped neutral aerial. Also,
remember to use the overhead swing of the forward aerial to push them out again if
they're recovring high. This allows Bowser to send a target that's above him off the
edge again.

The Bowser Bomb is also useful here. Face away from the edge, and hop backwards to
the Bomb. You're aiming to JUST miss the edge, so that Bowser plummets and grabs the
edge as he goes by. The force of this coming down is utterly unstoppable to recovery
moves, and will inflict huge damage and knockback. The only problem is that if you
miss the edge, or the enemy gets to it first, you're dead. You cannot recover in any
way. Screw up and die. Special consideration also goes to the Fire Breath as an
edge-guarder. I've been told loads of times to use this, as it's a 'great' edge-
guarding move. This is crap. It is an appalling edge-guarder. Not only will it's
constant stream of hits allow the enemy to repeatedly utilise their up+B, but it
will give them the perfect opportunity to do so while Bowser lags after the fire has
been stopped or finished.

Compared to his other edge-guarding options, it's not really that appealing, is it?
On an extra note, never throw weak items to edge-guard. The likes of Mr. Saturn, and
Link's Bombs will only serve to give the enemy another up+B. If the enemy DOES make
it to the edge, get back. Whether they use an edge-borne attack, or something nasty
like dropping off, jumping up and attacking quickly, it'd be best not to stand in
the way. Also, if they dodge or jump, they may get straight past you. As they grab
the edge, jump backward (not short hop, get some height), but at the peak of your
jump, get ready to judge their position and come down on them with a forward aerial
ready to send them back out again.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                      Can Bowser... Spike?                          SPIKE
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Strictly speaking, no he can't. But he does have a few methods of  aiming the enemy
down at such a low angle that recovery is pretty much screwed.  Striking with the
forward aerial from above, so that Bowser's main mass is above the enemy, will
result in a low trajectory. The neutral aerial can also hurl the enemy down, if used
on its descent and from above. It's best to short hop just above the edge and strike
from slightly above and to-the-side, to strike down at an angle. Very good to repel
opponents who are using their double jump to recover. Simply short hop a tad early
and come down onto them each time they try to recover. Also worth noting is Bowser's
forward smash. This move sends the enemy out directly away from the centre of the
blast, which is pretty much on his head.

This is why the move usually has such a high trajectory normally - Bowser's head is
low at the point of impact. This is also why it will occasionally result in the
enemy flying backwards rather than forward when hit.Aim to hit them as they come up
into it, and they'll fly staright back down. Likewise, opponent's who are CC'ing are
in for a nasty surprise, as the resulting trajectory is horribly low! CC may
sometimes reduce the knockback, but this move has knockback to spare.

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|                                                                             |
|              %%%%%%%%%% - Help Me I'm Falling - %%%%%%%%%%      BOW18       |
|                                                                             |
*****=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=*****

So, you've been sent off the edge yourself, and the enemy doesn't want to let you
come back. Damn unsporting. He's got two options - edge-guarding, and spiking. If
you're high, use the 'Fortress's huge distance to clear them. If you're level, then
it might be a good idea to drop low and aim for the edge. Grab it, then quickly roll
over. Some opponent's may aim to use an aerial move, either to hurl you out again
(Shiek, Bowser!), or to spike you (Mario, Yoshi). Against these, wait 'till you're
close enough to make them leap out, then fast fall down under their attack and
quickly get to the edge before they can back to you. If you're close enough, it
might be safer to airdodge to the edge, maybe even through the attacker to drop down
to the edge.

Once Bowser is on the edge, he can attack over it. However, while his Rolling move
is excellent, his Slap move is not. Once Bowser's on 100% damage or greater, he'll
no longer be able to use the Roll. The Slap actually ceases to be invincible before
he actually strkes his opponent, so he can be hit out of it! Not good. So here's a
better alternative. As Bowser hangs on the edge, drop off, double jump up and use
the forward aerial over the edge. This is done by tapping down slightly, then
immediately pushing forward, jump and A together. With practice, it's even possible
to land an up or down aerial, as well as a sweet-spot hit from the back aerial.
Spikes can sometimes prove a problem. They're generally done so low that dropping
lower may leave Bowser too far down to recover.

However, most characters only spike VERY close to the edge, or on the edge itself,
due to low recovery afterwards. In such circumstances, it may be worth air-dodging
to the edge. Falcon is another matter. He spikes quickly and efficiently, with no
recovery problems. He's also quite capable of spiking quite some distance out, even
off screen! There's very little you can do about this, other than trying your best
to move out of the way. Best to get him off before he does it to you...... Also
worth noting is Ganondorf. Normally, Bowser can 'Fortress through spikes as soon as
the enemy has missed, or else just cancel it with the initial strike. Not so against
Ganondorf. He spikes if you touch any part of his body, and with huge priority.

Even the 'Fortress cannot get through it. Although Bowser DOES have moves that
outrank it, he can't use any of them in this situation. Just like Falcon, it's a
much better idea to edge-guard him before he edge-guards you. Luckily, just like
Falcon, Ganondorf is easily edge-guarded.

*****=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=*****
|                                                                             |
|                %%%%%%%%%% - Nasty Tricks - %%%%%%%%%%           BOW19       |
|                                                                             |
*****=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=*****

Being a bad guy, Bowser has a few dirty tricks available to him. Under tounament
settings, Stock matches are used. This means that if you can get a life ahead of the
enemy, then you're free to use suicide attacks to take both of you out! For
instance, grabbing the enemy with the Koopa Klaw while above a gap and letting you
both fall. Only attempt this when the enemy is on mid to high damage, to stop them
breaking out of the hold. Well worth doing when you're on high damage youreslf and
likely to be KO'd soon anyway, but I can't recommend this tactic if you're healthy.
A modification of this is a reverse-spike trick. Jump over the enemy while they are
standing by the edge, and snatch them up with the 'Klaw as you fall past them.

Remember that the 'Klaw moves forward slightly, so compensate. Forward Throw as you
fall past the underside of the lip. The enemy will be propelled upwards by the move,
ricochet off the underside of the stage, and fall off the screen, leaving Bowser to
recover. This is unbeleievably hard to do, although easiest to practice on Dreamland
64, due to the wind blowing you out, reducing the chance of Bowser pushing onto the
ledge during the move. Once you're proficient with it,  Battlefield is the best
stage to attempt this risky move, as it has a nice, thin, overhanging lip. Then
there's explosions, taking attrition to it's ultimate level. Don't be afraid to get
hit by a blast if it'll ensure the enemy gets hit, too.

Bowser's weight mean that he can better afford damage than his opponent. 40% damage,
or whatever the blast inflicts, is a whole lot less to Bowser than anyone else. On
Green Greens, set off the bombs at every opportunity, either by flaming them (slow
but safe), or even by colliding bodily with the blast. If fighting on the side
platforms, just strike out at the bombs. The blast will blow the enemy further out
than you, and might even KO. You can even use edge-moves and 'get up' moves to
detonate them, and you won't be harmed at all! Likewise,try grabbing the enemy and
holding them near an Electrode, or some other explosive source. At low damage,
Bowser can easily survive such attacks, but few opponent can say the same.

Another pair of dirty tricks are the Bowser Train and Reverse Bowser Train. The
Bowser Train is simply performing a forward smash while wavedashing towards the
enemy. This allows Bowser immense reach with the move, and is excellent for
advancing on the enemy. Since any directional movement will generally halt the
wavedash, the smash should be performed by pushing the C Stick forwards. Note that
since this requires great personal dexterity, the Bowser Train is not for the
beginning Bowser player! This should probably be one of the last techniques
mastered. An impressively useful variant is the Reverse Bowser Train. This is
performed by smashing forward while wavedashing backwards. Like the Bowser Train,
this can be exceptionally difficult to pull off successfully, so should be mastered
after most other things.

However, it's use is well worth the effort. As Bowser smashes, he rears back, as
said earlier, allowing him to evade attacks. Combined with wavedashing back, Bowser
moves out of the way completely, before suddenly striking forward. Best used as an
opponent attacks, Bowser will dodge, then immediately retaliate while the enemy is
still in the process of missing. Any follow-ups they may attempt will simply be
squashed by the forward smash's immense power. Even Marth and DK's immense reach can
be foiled by this trick.

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|                                                                             |
|                   %%%%%%%%%% - Item Use - %%%%%%%%%%            BOW20       |
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Regardless of the fact that items are switched off in many tournaments, and many
people whine endlessly about them being 'too random', items are an integral part of
SSBM. Banning items because of being random would be like banning G&W because he
might get a one-hit KO with Judgement, or banning Peach because she might get a Bob-
bomb. The truth is, items require no less skill to weild effectively than the
characters themselves, and it's only the really unbalancing items that should be
turned off tournaments. Anyway, Bowser's quite good with items. He's big, so can
reach items easily (remember that you can press Z to grab  items while airborne,
whether falling or thrown). He also hurls items with tremendous force, meaning high
damage, high speed, and excellent distance.

Generally, it's best to pick up items while jumping, as it's faster. Due to Bowser's
huge size, he excels at bouncing a weapon off the enemy repeatedly at close
quarters, as whichever way it bounces back, Bowser should be in reach to grab it.
Just remember to use Z to catch it while jumping and then throw again quickly.
Starmen, Heart Containers, Maxim Tomatoes, Cloaking Devices, Party Balls, Bob-ombs,
Proximity Mines, Super Mushrooms and Poison Mushrooms are generally switched off in
Competition, and their applications are simple enough, although it's worth
remembering a few things. Bob-ombs and mines can be detonated safely while near the
enemy with Fire Breath. Super Mushroom's allow Bowser to hit from a great distance
with a suped-up Forward Smash.

Food is food, and should be picked up at every opportunity. Due to Bowser's size, he
can often scoff an entire Party Ball's worth of food without needing to move around!
Capsule's make good projectiles, due to their relatively high chance of explosion.
Just beware Shell Shifting over them! A safe way to open them is to simply short hop
and throw them down, and tap Z to catch the item as it flies out. Crates make decent
weapons, as Bowser's strength allow him to throw them a good distance. However, he's
oddly slow to pick them up, and can't move very fast while carrying them. Barrels
are much better. Quicker to pick up, and they roll. Bowser's strength gives them a
lot of momentum, and they travel at a good speed. Same goes for Barrel Cannons.

Pokeballs are easy, just set 'em off in a good position. DO NOT throw them at
characters with reflectors (Fox, Falco, Mario, Dr Mario, Zelda, etc), as they will
gain master-status of the released Pokemon. And don't forgot to attack while your
minion is active. The enemy will have a much harder time defending against both of
you. Use air dodging to avoid enemy attacks that are large in scope, and NEVER, EVER
go near a Koffing with Mewtwo nearby. He can KO any character from zero damage with
one of these. Hanging off the edge can help to avoid certain attacks, such as
Blastoise's Hydro Pump. Get up high if trailed by a Starmie, so that when it fires
Swift it will cease miving, and Bowser will fall back to the ground without the
shots getting in the way.

For most attacks, full evasion is the best option, other than the ritual killing of
Chansey. And if Togepi let's loose with Nightshade (the screen goes black), don't
jump around to much. The Hammer is best left for the enemy to pick up. If the head
comes off, you're screwed, as you loose all recovery while using it. However, this
goes for the enemy, too. Knock them over the edge while they're singing it, and
they'll just fall off. Good tricks for hitting through the hammer include the Bowser
Bomb, and edge-hogging to a roll. Timed well, the forward aerial will outrange most
hammers (depending on who's swinging it. Mewtwo probably has the longest reach), and
the Forward Smash can even outprioritise the Hammer!

The Homerun Bat is an excellent weapon, although often banned in tournaments. As
many others, Mewtwo is particularly lethal with it, due to excellent range, and his
Diasble move. If this connects, you're utterly helpless to avoid the intsant KO that
follows! If Bowser gets it, it is better as a projectile than a melee weapon, due to
Bowser's small swing. However, when smashed, it also hits behind Bowser with the
backswing. Try deliberately swinging in the wrong direction, and watch the enemy
rush up to your 'exposed' back, only to be KO'd by the backswing! Of course, if you
can land Bowser's Forward Smash well, landing a homerun shouldn't be too hard....
The Beam Sword may be a good melee weapon to many characters, but it just isn't as
strong as Bowser's own moves.

It makes a good projectile, though. Same goes for the Fan, Lip's Stick and Star Rod,
although the extended range can be novel...... Another good point is that Bowser
doesn't fall down during his Dash A while weilding these (and the Bat), so it allows
quick Dash to Strike comboes. Mr Saturn is a distraction, nothing more. Pelt him at
your opponent and attack immediately, hoping that even a brief hit from the little
guy allows an opening. He also takes a fair chunk out of shields, and has been known
to steal items from people, so watch out..... Nothing more annoying than attempting
to throw an item, only to spot Mr Saturn making off with your Beamsword. The Ray Gun
is arguably the most annoying weapon in the game.

Awkward to fight back against, especially if your opponet is a good shot. Try Power
Shielding a shot to stun the enemy long enough to close. If you get it, spam it, of
course. Just remember to jump every so often. The Super Scope is excellent. Use the
rapid fire function, as it traps the enemy and racks up damage until it runs out, so
get ready to follow up. The charge shots should never be used against Fox, Mario,
and others with reflectors. Quite good at edge guarding, though, although Mario is
quite capable of caping it back and still recovering, even while off-screen. The
Flipper is another annoyance. Put it over the edge to repel recoveries, or try
sucking people through it with Fire Breath. The Metal Box is brilliant for Bowser,
as it stops him being struck out of the wind up for his moves.

He can Forward Smash with ease with this. To stop opponents using it (including
Bowser himself), use grabs. These will stop the enemy's actions regardless of their
weight.

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|                %%%%%%%%%% - Bowser Vs... - %%%%%%%%%%           BOW21       |
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As Bowser is such an extreme character, he won't have to tailor his approach to
different opponents greatly, as he'll always be bigger and stronger than them.
However, different opponets come with different strategies, which bear keeping in
mind.

Mario/Dr Mario - Mario is such a well balanced opponent that all the above
strategies will apply. He can use almost any type of approach well, so he may change
his tactics mid-battle. His Super Cape shouldn't be too much trouble. As long as
you're holding a direction, it won't affect the 'Fortress, and it won't affect many
of Bowser's moves due to hitting all around anyway. Be particualarly careful of his
backwards throw. It's power allowed Mario to defeat Bowser in SM64, and is an
excellent KO move here. His Coin Punch's speed, angle and priority make him an
awkward target to edge-guard, so time you strikes to perfection. Remember that the
forward smash can be set off early to allow opponents to fly into it.

Dr Mario is nearly identical to fight, other than his lack of a wall jump, meaning
he's less likely to recover from pits.

Luigi - In the hands of an average player, Luigi tends to be a bit slow moving to
put up much resistance. In the hands of a veteran Luigi, he becomes lightning fast,
wavedashing around faster than many characters can dash. Luckily, he's still fairly
dependant on his air game, where he's not as fast a target. In the air, watch out
for his neutral and forward aerials, which are fast and powerful. Like Mario, his
back throw is superb. Unlike Mario, his forward B leaves him very vulnerable. He's
remarkably easy to edge-guard due to this move. If he's recovering low or level, use
a forward aerial. If he's coming from beneath you (very likely, given his recovery
method), use a down smash. If he's high, wait 'till he uses the Green Missile, and
simply finish him with an upward aerial.

There is no reason he should be able to avoid it.

Peach - Very dangerous. She's fast to move, very fast to strike, and has bizarrely
high power and priority. Although dangerous in the air, she can be outranged by many
of Bowser's strikes. On the ground, don't CC, or she'll punish you with her down
smash. She's exceptional difficult to edge-guard, due to her float ability. However,
she's not too fast while doing this, so landing the final hit shouldn't be too hard.
And she can only stay out there for so long. A common trick for her is to close,
fast fall beneath you, and Parasol up through you. If she drops suddenly, jump
backwards, and aim a forward aerial. Conveniently, she's not a great edge-guarder
herself, and shouldn't pose and special problems.

If you're coming in low, she'll probably try a down smash. Grab the ledge quickly,
and then immediately roll over to go straight through her attack.

Yoshi - On the stage, his fast and powerful attacks can be annoying, as are his
grabs. However, his special moves are poor, and he'll be cautious in the air, for
fear of being knocked off the edge without his double jump. He's the easiest
character for Bowser to edge-guard, as most of Bowser's edge-guarding tactics will
pierce his normally-resistant jump.

DK - DK should pose no problems for Bowser. He beats you in reach, but loses on
power, weight and priority. His attacks aren't as wide as Bowser's, and he's got few
defences against opponents coming in from slightly above. He has a similar tactic to
Bowser's short hopped forward aerial with his back aerial, but Bowser's forward
aerial will win on reach and priority. His Spinning Kong has good priority, so
you'll need to let the forward aerial off early. He's also remarkebly easy to garb
with a short hopped Koopa Klaw.

Bowser - If you're a good Bowser player, you'll know his weaknesses as well as his
strengths. here's your chance to exploit them.

Link - Link's reach and priority are excellent, and may cause some problems. Use the
extreme range of the forward aerial here. His Hookshot can grab you as you shell
shift towards him, but cannot grab an airborne opponent. Short hopping is a good
approach. If he ever misses with the Hookshot, he's a prime target for a forward
smash. His projectiles shouldn't cause too many problems,as they can be batted away
with strikes, or simply blocked without fuss. Between the Hookshot and his Spin
Attack, he's got good recovery, but there's an easy weakness. Move back and allow
him to Spin over the edge, then strike him as he descends.

Young Link - Young Link is much easier for Bowser to cope with, due to vastly
decreased power, reach and priority. His Hookshot also has a smaller reach. His
downward aerial is much more potent, though, so be careful of an airborne assault.

Zelda - Zelda has few good moves. Her ace-in-the-hole is her Lightning Kick (forward
or back aerial), and Bowser's an easy target for this. However, her special moves
are awful, her recovery is easily exploitable, and she's pretty much screwed if you
can keep her above you.

Shiek - She may be the best character in SSBM, but Shiek doesn't present any
additional probelms to Bowser. In fact, his CC to 'Fortress proves rather effective.
She's still tough, but Bowser has fewer problems against her than many characters.
Her Needle Storm is a real pain,as it inflicts large damage and is very hard to
avoid, due to it's speed. Just try your hardest to keep her at arms reach, and keep
using set ups. Her general edge-guarding method is her forward aerial. Fast fall
under this as you close, and spin up through her. Luckily, Shiek's recovery is
rather poor, and easily exploitable. At distance, she may switch to Zelda and
attempt Farore's Wind, but this doesn't make her any less of a target.

In fact, she'll have less maneuverability after the move. If this happens, make sure
to press the advantage and don't let her switch back until you KO her.

Ganondorf - One of Bowser's toughest opponents, due to being just as strong and
heavy as he is. Ganondorf also has faster attacks, with greater reach. Nasty. CC
works well, as this stops short hopped up aerials striking Bowser, and reduces
Ganondorf's incredible knockback. It's also a good idea to be wary for short hopped
down aerials, as these are strong enough to launch even Bowser off the top of the
stage! However, Ganondorf has few ways out of comboes and set ups, so keep him off
his feet. He's also easy to edge-guard and edge-hog, due to the low priority of his
Dark Dive. His edge-guarding skills are good though, and he's got a spike. Item use
is excellent, as he's very slow to move, and Bowser can outpace him easily.

Captain Falcon - A very dangerous opponent, due to his ease of hitting Bowser with
his forward aerial. His speed, however, is exploitable. He can often fly straight
into a move before he realises he was in danger. Like Ganondorf, stick to using the
reach and priority of the forward aerial, and floor him often. He's slightly harder
to edge-guard than Ganondorf, but still nothing special. However, it's much harder
to recover against him, due to his agility and his down aerial. There's little you
can do about this, so it's best to pummel him as quickly as possible to avoid
needing to recover often.

Samus Aran - Samus' missile spamming can be difficult to counter. Her Charge Beam
has immense power, but can be cancelled by many of Bowser's strikes, including his
forward aerial and forward smash, and also the initial hit of the 'Fortress. This is
risky, however, and simply blocking is often a better idea. Her missiles are a
greater problem. Since they explode on impact, they will pierce any of Bowser's
moves. Conveniently, Samus has few good defences against attacks from above, so this
is the best option. Although Samus is reasonably strong, her combo ability isn't
great, so Bowser shouldn't have too many problems against her at close quarters. Her
grapple beam can't be followed up quite as well as Link's Hookshot, and she's just
as vulnerable after missing.

Her lack of speed and poor aerial game also work in Bowser's advantage. Only her
neutral aerial is particularly good. However, her recovery can be awkward. Her bomb-
jumping and grapple beam allow her to recover from vast distance, at a low altitude,
which makes intercepting her difficult. However, during bomb-jumping she is
relatively vulnerable, so a quick forward aerial can be useful. Just watch out for
her spike.

Fox - There are those who regard Bowser as a counter to Fox, and there's a fair bit
of evidence to support this. Fox is very easily edgeguarded, he's very vulnerable to
Bowser's low-altitude juggles, and his comboes can be broken by Bowser, leaving Fox
on high damage. Even the Shine Combo can be broken, unless it's done absolutely
flawlessly, which is incredibly unlikely. Attrition works easily against Fox, and
he's easily KO'd on little damage. The shine spike is annoying, but Bowser can avoid
it with a bit of foresight.

Falco - Much harder to deal with than Fox. His Blaster can keep you back, and his
attacks are more likely to floor you. If he does so, don't tech.
Instead, use Bowser's 'get up' moves. Against the Blaster, power shielding one of
his shots back at him to stun works well as a surprise. However, don't try it
repeatedly. If your opponent sees you trying, he'll just mix up timings and you'll
suffer. Falco also has an excellent spike, which is difficult to avoid. The best
approach is to air dodge to the edge, and then roll over. Luckily, he's even easier
to edge-guard than Fox. Like Fox, he's vulnerable to low-altitude juggles, and will
take massive damage from the down smash.

Kirby - Kirby shouldn't be too much trouble, due to his lack of reach and knockback.
He simply can't brawl with Bowser. He has few good edge-guarding techniques, and
he's easily edge-guarded due to his lack of speed and agility in the air. All he can
steal with Swallow is Fire Breath, and he's welcome to it. His Stone move is
invincible to strikes, but he's vulnerable when turning back. If he drops down from
above, block it, then down smash.

Ness - Just get stuck in against Ness. He doesn't cope well in a brawl. Watch  out
for his bat (forward smash), as it's strong and has good knockback, but pales in
comparison to Bowser's forward smash. His Yo-yo is poor, and his special moves are
generally feeble. Don't use Fire Breath in case he absorbs it with Psi Magnet. His
short hopped forward aerial can be annoying, but can be easily stopped by a forward
tilt. His recovery is poor normally, and he can't use his PK Thunder to get out of
holes, but if he manages to strike himself well, he's very dangerous. If he's
attempting it, simply leap out and into the PK Thunder iteslf. You may take a minor
hit, but he'll fall off the bottom. Just make sure you don't brush Ness with the
'Fortress on your own recovery, as he'll then be able to recover.

When recovering against Ness, don't come in level, or you'll just be batted out. Aim
for the edge, or over his head.

Ice Climbers - Individually, no problem. As a pair, a lot tougher. Using high
priority attacks requires much better timing, as at any point, there's
likely to be two attacks coming your way rather than one. The Koopa Klaw to grab is
much harder, as the Ice Climber that is not grabbed will simply strike you, forcing
you to let go. If you do get one in your claws, dispense with the biting and
immediately throw. The back throw works to seperate the two, while the forward will
strike both of them. Watch out for their grab tactics in particular. Your best bet
is often to break quickly then DI away. Luckily, the immense knockback of Bowser's
strikes works well here, as it can seperate them easily.

Once reeling, go for the second (CPU controlled) Ice Climber, and eliminate it
quickly before the other can intervene. This shouldn't be too hard, as the second
Climber has no real sense of self-preservation. They won't block or dodge well, and
they won't evade edge-guarding. This means that it's easier to defeat the second one
and then take apart the lone Climber than it is to take on both of them. Edge-
guarding is easy enough; just knock one or the other too far away from the other to
use Belay.

Pikachu/Pichu - Pikachu's main problem is his lack of range, so make the most of
this by playing keep away with the forward aerial, and using the forward smash as it
attempts to close. Pikachu's electricity-based attacks can occasionaly pierce
Bowser's attacks, but this relies on Pikachu bypassing Bowser's range. Pikachu is
highly vulnerable while using Skull Bash or Thunder, as these moves have wind up and
lag. Pikachu is a poor edge-guarder, but it's downward-tipping tail moves can be
difficult to overcome. Luckily, the 'Fortress out-prioritises these moves. Simply go
for the edge to avoid Thunder as an edge-guarder. When edge-guarding Pikachu, either
hit early enough to catch Quick Attack as it passes through you; or, much easier,
wait back a bit and get ready to up smash as it finishes the move and is vulnerable.

Pichu is a slightly harder target due to it's small size, but it's glaring
weaknesses make it an easy victim.

Jigglypuff - Jigglypuff may be able to KO Bowser in two hits with Rest, but Bowser
also has a really easy time KO'ing Jigglypuff. She's almost solely aerial based, so
make sure to keep her away with forward aerials. The 'Wall of Pain' (spamming
backward aerials) can be annoying, but Bowser's reach and priority should win
through if timed well. Edge-guarding Jigglypuff should largely consist of forward
aerials. Just try to keep knocking her out; as she uses her multiple jumps, she
slows, and loses agility. Once she's ran out of steam, she's an easy target.
Overall, it's best to keep her at range, to avoid the 'joys' of Rest and Pound.
Concentrate on landing hits, as she's easily killed at very low damage.

Mewtwo - Like Luigi, Mewtwo is easily beaten when used by most players, but becomes
much more dangerous in the hands of those that favour him. His fast, long-reaching
dodges make him elusive, and his Teleport allows him to get out of line-of-fire
quickly. His grab range is huge, and his throws are exceptionally powerful. He
wields items better than most of the cast, and can leave you stunned with Disable
and Confusion. On the other hand, he's a large target, and his smashes have little
knockback. Forward aerials are risky against him - he has arguably the best shield-
grabbing abilities in the game. The Koopa Klaw still works well, and Mewtwo's
upwards attacks are weak. Extreme close-quarters is the best place to fight him, as
he doesn't react quickly.

He's exceptionally difficult to edge-guard, due to his immense double jump and the
ability to Teleport away from attacks. Like Pikachu and Zelda, it's usually best to
strike him after recovering, when he's vulnerable. He's not a great edge-guarder, as
his spike is short-reached and needs very precise aim, and knocking away with back
aerials requires the enemy to be in a certain position. Many Mewtwo players will
attempt to fight near the screen's edges if possible, where they can KO easily from
a shield-grab. Jump over  Mewtwo, and Koopa Klaw him from behind, and immediately
throw backwards yourself. This is a risky method, though, as Mewtwo can KO from 0%
damage easily, completely negating Bowser's weight advantage.

Marth - Marth doesn't use a wide variety of tactics, or complicated techniques.
Instead, he relies on having a wall of pure stats on his side. He's almost as strong
as Bowser, with just as much knockback and priority. He's also fast, agile, and has
an incredibly long reach, with a wide arc. He'll aim to keep you at a distance, and
he's very good at it. Try to use the range of the forward aerial, and jump over him
to the 'Klaw. His grabs can cause problems, as they're fast, and have a much longer
range than they appear to. He's capable of chain-throwing as well. However, the fact
remains that he's got little variety, so he's predictable. Use mind games to open
him up. If he camps, either use items or just flame him.

He'll soon move. Counter is irritating, but the Koopa Klaw still goes through it on
a grab. In addition, Bowser's wind up works well against it. Just wait slightly
longer than normal to strike, and Marth's counter will have worn off by the time
Bowser's hit strikes (Marth will only counter during the period he's flashing
white). He's easily edge-guarded, as his recovery is poor. However, his edge-
guarding rivals Bowser's! He'll either down tilt you repeatedly when low, or just
use his forward smash. Like Falcon, it's best to do it to him before he does it to
you.

Roy - Like Marth, with none of the power or knockback. He's also lighter and slower,
with a poor air game and few comboes. If you can beat                        Marth,
Roy shouldn't be a problem.

Mr Game & Watch - G&W has few strengths. He's not particularly strong, he's not
particularly fast. His reach is average, and his throws are poor. His specials are
arguably the worst in the game. His recovery is easily edge-guarded, and he's not a
great edge-guarder himself. His most useful moves are his neutral aerial (parachute)
and his down tilt (manhole cover), but Bowser has better. There really isn't
anything G&W is likely to do that sets him apart in any way.

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|                  %%%%%%%%%% - The Venue - %%%%%%%%%%            BOW22       |
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The stage fought in can sometimes make as much of difference to the fight as the
participants themselves. Certain levels work in Bowser's favour, others do not.
Recovery is always an issue. Bowser has fairly good recovery, so playing on a stage
with either small holes (Mushroom Kingdom), or no holes at all (Onett) will not
allow Bowser to make the most of this trait. On the other hand, it means characters
with good spikes (Falco and Falcon) won't be able to bring these strengths to bear
easily either. Stages with close edges (Yoshi's Island) allow Bowser's knockback to
KO all the easier, but also reduce Bowser's weight advantage. Stages with low
ceilings (Green Greens) are good for Bowser, as his attacks generally have a high
trajectory.

Beware of Jungle Japes, as this stage has an amazingly high ceiling! Scrolling
stages (Rainbow Ride) are generally quite good for Bowser, as he's got good
mobility, and it often brings the fight closer to the edge. On Big Blue, Falcon and
Fox's immense speed can often lead to them hurling themselves off the edge before
they've realised what's happened. Against opponents with good firepower (Samus,
Falco), stages with intervening obstacles (Venom) work well to reduce their ranged
game. Small stages (Battlefield) often favour Bowser, as a single forward aerial can
reach the enemy wherever they are. Stages with walls (Corneria) also work well, as
Bowser can set up excellently using a wall. Flatzone seems like a good stage for
Bowser initially, but it generally isn't.

Bowser's weight can be completely negated here, and the falling items will score
numerous hits on his gigantic form, leaving him stunned. Green Greens is arguably
Bowser's best stage, due to low ceiling, close side, numerous obstacles, explosives,
and a ready supply of throwing items from the tree. Yoshi's Island is good, too.
Jungle Japes is generally a bad stage for Bowser, as it's ceiling is very high, and
there's no cover to evade projectiles. Ganondorf often favours similar stages to
Bowser, as his knockback can also be brought to bear here. However, Bowser can gain
an advantage on stages that punish Ganondorf's poor mobility, such as Big Blue and
Pokefloats. Conversely, playing Peach, Mewtwo and Jigglypuff on stages without large
holes (Subcon) can prove beneficial, as their excellent recovery isn't as important.

In tournament play, the following stages are generally banned:

Fourside - If Peach gets a life ahead, she can drop down a hole and repeatedly Peach
Bomber off the wall, staying there until the timer runs out. Many opponents have no
way of getting her out without falling off themselves.

Yoshi's Island 64 - Missile spamming characters like Fox and Falco can stay on the
left cloud and fire, leaving many characters who go to them unable to fight back
without putting themselves in incredible danger of falling.

Great Bay - Due to the solid central platform, Fox can repeatedly shoot the enemy
with his Blaster, while staying away by running round the platform. Only Falcon is
capable of keeping up with Fox, and Fox never has to try to get past his opponent as
long as he keeps the platform in between. Mewtwo can also KO unbelievably easily by
shield guarding under the right-hand edge of the central platform.

Hyrule Temple - Fox can, again, just laser-spam the enemy until 300%+ damage, while
running away in a manner where only Falcon can catch him.
Also, many people believe Final Destination to be the fairest stage, which is wrong.
Since there are no obstacles or platforms, the stage gives an
unobstructed firing line to missile spammers like Samus and Falco. Pokemon Stadium
is probably the fairest place to stage a fight. Picking this stage should ensure
that the enemy doesn't gain any advantage due to the stage.

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|WAY too many people take my FAQs without my permission. I have grown to     |
|trust only these four sites, who haven't actually stolen any type of work   |
|from people. Even if you want my FAQ, sorry but thanks to some certain      |
|sites,only these six are allowed to host it.                                |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

NOTE: This is my (me frog's) regular legal notice for all of my FAQs. However,
Quester.com and Freewebs.com/thebowserzone have been placed here under a request
from Decadent One. They are not usually on my list and they are allowed to host only
this FAQ.

Note that if you DO steal this FAQ, you will regret it. Seriously regret it.
Stealing someone's work without asking is something that FAQ writers get really
pissed off at. Stealing someone's work and crediting someone else for it is
PLAGIARISM! That is a SERIOUS violation and I assure you, you'll pay dearly if
you plagiarize any of our work.

*****=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=*****
|                                                                             |
|               %%%%%%%%%% - Contact Info - %%%%%%%%%%            BOW04       |
|                                                                             |
*****=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=*****

Well, Decadent One only wanted his e-mail listed: [email protected]

Of cousre, me, being the bastard that I am, has a whole list of rules for you to
follow. Please read these before contacting me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AIM Contact rules
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My AIM: me frog 12345

PLEASE don't start whole conversations with me. Chances are, if I'm on, I'm
usually talking to somebody else, and I don't want to stop to have a conversation
with somebody that I don't know. Just ask the question, you'll definitely get a
response, and then that's it.

Note that I don't know the answer to everything. If you ask a question that I'm
unsure about, I'll simply tell you that I don't know the answer and that'll be the
end of it. Kthnxbye.

Also, if you IM me asking something about the FAQ, I'll simply say, "Look in the
FAQ" and then won't say anything else. I really don't like having to stop other
conversations for a few moments to answer some question that's obviously already
typed.

If you don't get an answer in a minute, don't flip. I might be away for just a
couple of minutes, or I might be talking to a bunch of other people at once. I'll
usually answer within ten minutes of your question, so just keep the text box open
while you do something else and you'll get a response. If you have no patience and
keep posting, "What's the answer?" a dozen times, I simply won't answer you. If it
gets too far, I might even block you, though I rarely do that to people who ask me
questions.

Don't pop up later and start chatting with me. I personally don't like it when I
start to get into conversations where I don't know you. If it happens constantly,
I'll simply block you. Note that you don't have to worry about warnings; I'll
never warn someone, I'll just block him or her completely.

Well, that should be it then. Now on to e-mail...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
E-mail contact rules
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My e-mail address is [email protected]. There are a few things that
you can e-mail me about, and few things that you can't. First the
things that are okay.

Praise mail. I used to be against this, but now I realize how rare praise really
is. Just don't send me things like, "Yer faq is kewl, lol!!!"

Suggestions for the FAQ. Something like, "Why don't you add such and
such in your FAQ. NOT "Why don't you totally re-do your FAQ because it
sucks!" That is just plain rude and annoying. If you don't like my
FAQ, tell me things to make it better!

The things that you CAN'T e-mail me about are...

Spam. This is the NUMBER 0NE thing that you must not send. I get at least twenty
spam e-mails a day and I don't need yours it doesn't help. Please don't send any.

Asking permission to use this FAQ. No, you can't, so don't bother. Only four
sites, which I have listed at the top of the guide, can use this FAQ.

Hate mail. No I don't appreciate it if you send me an e-mail saying, "Your FAQ is
the biggest piece of **** ever created! It sucks!" That just
fills up my inbox and it really annoys me.

Spelling/Grammar mistakes. I used to get about ten e-mails a day
saying, "You spelled these two words wrong." or something like, "You
used inappropriate grammar in this chapter." Please people! I can find
those on my own!

And that wraps up the contact. Once again my e-mail is:
[email protected]

*****=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=*****
|                                                                             |
|              %%%%%%%%%% - Credits/Closing - %%%%%%%%%%          BOW04       |
|                                                                             |
*****=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=*****

/*****************************************************************************\
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Decadent One would like to thank...~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
\*****************************************************************************/

Me Frog, for making this FAQ intelligable.
Qwester, for hosting it and playing the part of my kid.
TiersAreReal, for hosting it on a great site - visit it here -
freewebs.com/thebowserzone.
Helsing, for providing a great foil in my Bowser discussions.
The_Doug, for introducing me to the wonderful world of tournament-level play. I
learned more playing you than I had in the previous year.
Drunkensideabeef, for being an excellent, if fickle, sparring partner.
Warrior of Zarona, for kicking up a fuss about the current state of affairs.
AllAlone05 and  ssbmon396 for managing my fan club.
XiF and Homeless Hobo for managing my anti-fan club.
Pictish Freak, for combining with my power to form Team Bottom Tier Forever.
MistyIRC for 'biggin me up'. Whatever that means.
And anyone else who's ever aided in any of my discussions on Bowser, which formed
much of the inspiration for this guide.

NO THANKS
Capcom, for making Vampire Saviour/Darkstalkers 3, without which this guide would've
been finished a lot sooner. SOUL FIST!!!!!!!!!

______                   _            _     _____
|  _  \                 | |          | |   |  _  |
| | | |___  ___ __ _  __| | ___ _ __ | |_  | | | |_ __   ___
| | | / _ \/ __/ _` |/ _` |/ _ \ '_ \| __| | | | | '_ \ / _ \
| |/ /  __/ (_| (_| | (_| |  __/ | | | |_  \ \_/ / | | |  __/
|___/ \___|\___\__,_|\__,_|\___|_| |_|\__|  \___/|_| |_|\___|

Err... Decadent doesn't have a contribution page that I'm currently aware of. Ah
well.

/*****************************************************************************\
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~me frog would like to thank...~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
\*****************************************************************************/

First off, my good friends over at the FAQ Contributors board: SinirothX, Gbness,
Yami Shuryou, Brian Sulphur, Psycho Penguin, Starfighter76, Jason Howell, ZoopSoul,
peach freak, Matt, and Bijan Salari.

CJayC - your site teh PWNS OMGWTFLOL! No really, thanks for having such a great site

Decadent One - He supplied all the info to this FAQ. I'm just the lame loser
formatter :(

uh... no one else yet >_<

                   __
                  / _|
_ __ ___    ___  | |_  _ __   ___    __ _
| '_ ` _ \  / _ \ |  _|| '__| / _ \  / _` |
| | | | | ||  __/ | |  | |   | (_) || (_| |
|_| |_| |_| \___| |_|  |_|    \___/  \__, |
                                     __/ |
                                    |___/

You can check out all of my other work at:

http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/recognition/11408.html

This FAQ is copyright 2004 Decadenet One and Colin Scully

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