Brawl Stars

• Play 22 brawls.
• Have Luigi join your party in The Subspace Emissary.
• Clear Classic mode without continuing.

Bowser is advertised as the game's biggest and heaviest character, and he fits the bill nicely on both counts. Unfortunately, he has the single worst flaw a character can have; he is quite slow. Still, Bowser has a combination of solid reach, great power, and surprisingly decent mobility that make him a decent if flawed character. He doesn't really rise above the problems heavy characters tend to have, but he puts up a decent showing.

Bowser's ground game has great power all around so he will mostly be looking for speed and safety in his attack selection. His forward tilt is a good attack to look to for a starter; it has huge range and is fairly quick so he can feel confident in general throwing it out. His up tilt pops them up nicely and has the added bonus of hitting behind Bowser as well as above him; it's a great move to throw out with your back turned. His down tilt still has a good deal of power for how quick it is, but it will be difficult to land hits with it. All three of his smashes are beastly. His up smash is only useful as an answer to opponents coming straight down on him or on a platform above him, but the damage makes it worth it. His down smash is a wonderful way to punish opponents for rolling about you rapidly or otherwise staying in your face and playing evasively; it racks up really huge damage. His forward smash is the only one you should be reserved about; it isn't particularly more powerful than his other smashes, and while the way he recoils his head is very useful, it's slower and more punishable than his other smashes. If Bowser needs to get an opponent away from himself quickly, his jab combo is really his only option.

Bowser's aerial game will mostly revolve around his quick forward aerial, but his others still have use. His up aerial does massive damage if he can connect with it, but that's easier said than done. His back aerial is generally very easy to hit with and pretty powerful, but it's a very unsafe move due to the absurdly long landing lag. The best way to use it is to either use it really high in the air where it will recover before landing or to hit the edge after using it. His neutral and down aerials are just not very good and should only be used in obscure circumstances where they seem like they can hit where other things cannot.

Bowser's grab game is easily forgotten because he has a special move that is basically a better grab, but he still has a few things he can do with them. His general best bet is his back throw to try to get the opponent over the ledge, but if the opponent is very hurt, his up throw will be more beneficial. His down throw seems appealing, but he is so slow after it that he really can't follow it up with anything. He may very well want to mostly use Whirling Fortress out of his shield; it's a solid option for him.

Bowser's specials are split half and half between great and terrible. Let's start with terrible. His Fire Breath really isn't very good. The fire dies down relatively quickly, it is difficult to connect, and the damage is all around poor. The main use for this will be to use it near the ledge angled downward to force the opponent to take many hits from it before they can make it back. His Bowser Bomb is also pretty poor; it's incredibly unsafe upon landing so he can only plausibly use it if he's going to hit the ledge. Of course, in that context, it is handy.

His Whirling Fortress is a wonderful move. It's not only useful for recovery; it really shines when used on the ground. Bowser can slide along the ground at a good and dangerous pace while using this move; it helps him out for approaches and generally scoring quick damage, two things that would be quite difficult for him otherwise. The fact that as an up special he can use it directly out of a shield only makes it sweeter. Of course, most players are simply enamored with his Flying Slam and with good reason. Bowser does a quick grab motion and then slams the opponent down. Bowser and his opponent both can direct where they land, and being at higher percentage causes either side to have a lesser influence. This is a very safe and quick move, it is an aerial grab, and it is a wonderful suicide attack should you choose to use it that way. Just be smart about suicide; only do it when you are gaining an advantage by dying at a higher percentage or are up in stock. Also, if this move doesn't hit the opponent and finishes its animation in midair right above the ground, Bowser gets his second jump back. He can exploit this to effectively gain an extra jump.