Bowser

Bowser
'Mario/Yoshi series character
File:Bowser in his Modern Appearance.jpg Bowser, king of the Koopas, as he appears in New Super Mario Bros.
First game	Super Mario Bros. (1985)
Created by	Shigeru Miyamoto

Bowser, also known as King Koopa, is a video game character and the primary antagonist of Nintendo's Mario series. In Japan, he is called Koopa (クッパ, Kuppa).

Bowser is Mario's archnemesis. He is the leader and most powerful of the turtle-like Koopa race. Although Bowser has joined forces with Mario in a few games, he is considered an antagonist due to his ambition to kidnap Princess Peach and conquer the Mushroom Kingdom.

Creation and conception

Bowser was the creation of Nintendo designer/producer, Shigeru Miyamoto.

Since his creation, Bowser has appeared in every major Mario game except for the US version of Super Mario Bros. 2.

It is unclear as to where Bowser's name came from. However, Ancestry.com states that the surname Bowser originated from Norway, more specifically from the term of address "beu sire" which meant "fine sir" and was used both in a straightforward sense and ironically.

Characteristics

Bowser is said to be "King of the Koopas," the race of sinister turtle-like creatures that co-exist with the Mushroom people that inhabit the Mario universe. In many games, particularly the RPG series, Bowser is presented as being considerably more villainous than the other members of his "koopa troop," who are mostly just followers.

Bowser is perhaps most famous for his repeated kidnappings of Princess Peach. The reason for these kidnappings is often part of his plan to take over the Mushroom Kingdom and because it is shown that Bowser has a crush on Princess Peach.

Bowser's appearance has been tweaked several times throughout the series, but most of basic overall look has been consistent. He looks something like a cross between a turtle and a dragon. He is bipedal, with large claws on his hands and feet. He is noticeably larger than all the other characters. He is mostly yellow with a green shell. Several large spikes are located both on his tail and on his shell. He sports a tuft of red hair on top of his head. Although his abilities vary from game to game, he is able to breathe fire in most of them.

Early on, Bowser was solely created as a main villain. However, as video game technology improved and games started becoming in-depth, a personality began to show, namely in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars and Super Mario 64. Bowser was depicted as being driven on defeating Mario, but also as being a bit of an oaf. For all his bluster and ambition, he seems unable to come up with anything more complex than kidnapping the Princess and waiting for Mario. He also appears to be blindly confident in his own chances of victory. In Super Mario Sunshine, Bowser is shown as having a bit of a soft side towards Bowser Jr.

Family

So-far, Bowser is shown to have eight children. Seven of them, the so-called Koopalings, debuted in Super Mario Bros. 3 (on the NES), where they function as bosses at the end of every one of the game's worlds. Each Koopaling has his or her own airship where the player has to get through to battle the koopa. The seven kids reappeared in Super Mario World (on the SNES), again functioning as bosses, but having castles instead of airships. Super Mario Sunshine featured an eighth child: Bowser Jr., who uses a cross between a brush and a wand to disguise himself as a dark form of Mario (called "Shadow Mario"), and to pollute Isle Delfino, where the game takes place, with graffiti. When Mario and Princess Peach arrive at the isle, Bowser Jr. also kidnaps Peach. Later in the game, it is revealed that Bowser made Bowser Jr. believe that Peach is his mother, in order to have him 'return' her.

Appearances

Video games

File:Bowser (smb1).png

Bowser's very first appearance - as the final boss - in Super Mario Bros. (1985).

Bowser's first appearance was in Super Mario Bros as the main villain who kidnaps Princess Peach and as the boss of all eight worlds. He reappears in Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels under the same role. He also appears in Super Mario Bros. 3, and along with the seven Koopalings, he kidnaps Peach again and causes havok within various kingdoms. The eight reappear again in Super Mario World, where they kidnap Peach while she and Mario are on vacation on Yoshi's Island.

Bowser makes his first 3D appearance in Super Mario 64 where he invades Peach's castle and seals much of it with the magic of the stolen Power Stars. He returns in Super Mario Sunshine, in which he has his son, Bowser Jr., kidnap Peach. Bowser himself eventually appears in the final boss batle of the game, which takes place in a large tub. In Super Mario Galaxy, Bowser kidnaps Peach and takes her to the center of the universe to recreate it. In New Super Mario Bros., Bowser is the first boss of the game, and after being beaten, he falls into lava and becomes a Dry Bones-esque skeleton called Dry Bowser. He is eventually restored and acts as the final boss.

Bowser makes various appearances in the Mario RPGs. In Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, he joins up with Mario in order to regain his castle, which is stolen by the main villain, Smithy. He plays minor antagonistic and supporting roles in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga and its sequel, Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time. He is the main villain of the original Paper Mario, a minor antagonist in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, and a playable character within Super Paper Mario.

Bowser also appears in various spin-off titles such as Mario Is Missing!, Yoshi Topsy-Turvy and Super Princess Peach as the main antagonist. He appears as a playable character in the Mario Kart series and various Mario Sport titles, such as Mario Golf and Mario Tennis. Bowser also appears as the main villain in many the Mario Party games. He plays an active role in their story modes and antagonizes the characters during gameplay. Bowser is a selectable character within Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. He is a large character that uses his heavy body, fire breathing, and claws. The games also feature a different form not seen in any Mario series game called "Giga Bowser", in which he grows much larger, longer horns, and darker skin and shell. He is also a playable character in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games. He is high on power, but has very low speed and skill.

Bowser appears as a child in various games. Known as Baby Bowser, he antagonizes the Baby Mario brothers and various members of the Yoshi species. He first appears in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island where Kamek predicts the brothers will become problems in the future, so he attempts to kidnap them. In the sequel, Yoshi's Island DS, Baby Bowser joins with Mario and a group of Yoshi in order to regain his castle from his future self that travels back in time. He is also an antagonist along with his future self in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, and steals the Super Happy Tree from a group of Yoshi in Yoshi's Story.

His first appearance as a playable character was in Super Mario Kart. After this, he has appeared in many spin-off games, such as the Mario Golf, Mario Tennis, Mario Hoops 3-on-3, Mario Superstar Baseball, Super Mario Sluggers, Super Smash Bros. Melee, and Brawl.

In th early 3D Mario games, Bowser is voiced by Isaac Marshall. Marshall continued to provide his voice until Luigi's Mansion in 2001, where he was then replaced by Scott Burns. However, voice clips done by Marshall were used in some later games for Bowser's roar.

Other media

Bowser's first appearance in any Mario media outside of the games came in the obscure Mario anime movie, Super Mario Bros.: Peach-Hime Kyushutsu Dai Sakusen! in which Bowser is voiced by Akiko Wada. He then appeared in the Super Mario Bros. 3 OVA films. His first American appearances were as the antagonist in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, and Super Mario World, in which he is voiced by Harvey Atkin.

Bowser also appears as the regular antagonist in the Mario comics published as part of the Nintendo Comics System, and other pieces of writing. He is the villain of the Super Mario Bros. movie, where he is played by Dennis Hopper and acts as the tyrannical ruler of the parallel-universe city of Dinohattan. Bowser has been portrayed by Christopher Hewett in the 1989 Ice Capades and the King Koopa's Kool Kartoons during the same year.

Reception

Due largely to the success of the Mario franchise, Bowser has become one of the most iconic and easily recognizable video game villains of all time. He frequently appears in lists for greatest video game villains. IGN placed him at #10 (out of 10), Gamepro placed him at #9 (out of 47), and MMOABC placed him at #4 (out of 10, with 4 additional honorable mentions).