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Giga Bowser is Bowser's Final Smash in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Overview[]

When the move is used, Bowser turns into Giga Bowser from Super Smash Bros. Melee, gaining immense strength. While in this form, he is immune to knockback, but can still receive Hitstun and damage, which may leave Bowser severely weakened and open to KOs after the Final Smash. The transformation lasts about 10 seconds. He gains no new abilities while as Giga Bowser, though his existing abilities become more powerful, and most gain elemental side effects. In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, he can launch a single punch that deals massive damage and knockback. If it goes over a certain limit, it can cause a one-hit Screen KO; thus, the move can also be called "Giga Bowser Punch".

Changes from Melee to Brawl[]

Giga Bowser has been buffed overall due to being invincible and a Final Smash. Here are the changes:

  • Giga Bowser is no longer available as a CPU boss character. Transforming into Giga Bowser with a Smash Ball is the only way Giga Bowser can be used or fought without hacking.
  • All of Bowser's new moves (such as the Flying Slam and Crawling) are also available for Giga Bowser.
  • Fire Breath weakens over time, unlike in Melee.
  • More attacks have visual side effects.
  • Immunity to knockback. Giga Bowser essentially has super armor for his entire presence. He is still affected by Freeze frames, thus powerful multi-hit attacks can hinder Giga Bowser's movement. A prime example of this is using a Smart Bomb on Giga Bowser; this can sometimes will hold him off long enough for him to revert to Bowser.
  • Oddly enough, Giga Bowser nerfed in his Smash attacks, but buffed in his Special Moves.

Origin[]

Bowser becoming larger is a staple of the Mario series. The transformation is different from game to game. In Super Mario Galaxy 2, he used the Grand Star to keep his giant form for almost the whole game. In some games, he doesn't necessarily go giant, but he gets bigger in between boss fights for unknown reasons. In the second Paper Mario, he gets bigger by eating meat similar to Mario's mushrooms. When playable, he becomes larger after eating a mushroom just like everyone else. Though his size is very inconsistent, this is explained in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story. It's revealed that when he is in life-threatening danger, his body releases huge amounts of adrenaline that causes him to grow in size.

The design Giga Bowser takes on Smash Bros., however, is an original design exclusive to the Smash Bros. series.

Moveset[]

Giga Bowser's Moveset (Details)
  Move Description Segment Damage Angle Hit Frames BKB KBG WBKB WBKBS Type
Neutral Double Claw Two quick claw swipes; the least notable of Giga Bowser's attacks. Hit 1 7% 83 8 11 0 0 20 100 TypelessSlash
Hit 2 9% * 25 27 20 110 0 0
F-Tilt Backhand Knuckle Punches while leaning forwards; has a 50% trip chance, and takes out half the opponent's shield. The different angles have different attributes: angling up does the most damage and knockback but does no shield damage and cannot trip, while angling down is guaranteed to make the opponent trip. Angled Up 20% * 12 16 28 100 0 0 TypelessDarkness
Angled Side 17% 28 80
Angled Down 18%
U-Tilt Vertical Claw Giga Bowser swats the air above him. Can trip. Hand 15% 80 7 12 30 100 0 0 TypelessDarkness
Elbow 14%
Arm 13%
Upper Body 12%
Lower Body 11%
D-Tilt Claw Trip Does two low claw swipes. The first one is not only a Meteor Smash, but it buries grounded opponents. Hit 1 9% 270 14 18 10 80 0 0 TypelessDarkness
Hit 2 15% * 27 31 50
Dash Dashing Headbutt A running headbutt. The second hit can bury. Hit 1 (clean) 15% 80 11 14 100 30 0 0 Typeless
Hit 1 (late) 13% 15 18 70
Hit 2 9% 74 26 30 40 80
Up-Smash Shell Slam Pounces on all fours and jumps straight up, hitting with the electric spikes on his shell. When he lands, he creates a shockwave that damages enemies farther away. This attack has a massive hitbox and is very effective for setting up a fatal uair. Hit 1 Body 26% 90 17 22 30 60 0 0 TypelessElectric
Head 24%
Hit 2 12% 74 32 33 60 Typeless
D-Smash Shell Blender Retracts into his shell and spins, creating a swirling blizzard that freezes foes. Has limited suction. Hits 1-7 Edges 3% 150 15-16, 18-19, 21-22, 24-25, 27-28, 30-31, 33-34 40 50 0 0 TypelessFreezing
Body 190
Hit 8 13% 90 36 30 130
F-Smash Horn Lunge Rears back and then performs a very strong headbutt, causing his head to explode. Interestingly, Giga Bowser's f-smash is weaker than Bowser's. Head 28% * 29 41 5 60 0 0 TypelessExplosive
Body 24%
Nair Shell Spin Giga Bowser spins around inside his shell. 15% * 6 28 20 80 0 0 TypelessElectric
Fair Air Claw Swats forward rather quickly. Has great horizontal reach. 15% * 8 11 50 80 0 0 TypelessDarkness
Bair Shell Bulge Giga Bowser thrusts his shell out behind him. 17% 24 10 14 25 80 0 0 TypelessElectric
Uair Upper Headbutt Swings his head upward. Has huge vertical knockback, this is arguably Giga Bowser's best finisher. This attack is further complimented by its large hitbox and Giga Bowser's high jumping height. 20% 85 22 26 60 80 0 0 TypelessSlash
Dair Inverted Spin Retracts into his shell and spins himself into the ground. If the attack is not autocancelled, the impact causes a shockwave that launches the target upwards with very high knockback. Hits 1-9 3% 80 14-15, 17-18, 20-21, 23-24, 26-27, 29-30, 32-33, 35-36, 38-39 0 0 10 100 TypelessElectric
Landing 10% 1 2 60 130 0 0 TypelessDarkness
Pummel Headbutt Does an explosive headbutt. 6% 80 11 12 0 0 30 100 TypelessThrowingExplosive
F-Throw Big Heave Giga Bowser flings the opponent using his head. 12% 45 36 60 50 0 0 Throwing
B-Throw Big Hurl Turns around and chucks the foe away. 12% 45 19 60 50 0 0 Throwing
U-Throw Spike Slice Giga Bowser tosses the foe upwards, retreats into his shell, and spins, damaging the foe with his spikes. Hits 1-8 2% 0 17-20, 21-24, 25-28, 29-32, 33-36, 37-40, 41-44, 45-48 0 100 0 0 TypelessThrowingElectric
Throw 10% 70 49 60 110 Throwing
D-Throw Flatten Giga Bowser performs a body slam on his opponent. Any other opponents who are nearby when Giga Bowser attacks will be buried. Hit 1 20% 0 45 46 0 90 0 0 TypelessThrowing
Throw 1% 50 46 75 20 Throwing
Edge (<100%) Quick Spin Quickly spins onto the stage and then retreats back a bit. 16% * 8 35 0 0 90 100 TypelessDarkness
Edge (100%+) Slow Swipe Slowly climbs onto stage and does a quick claw jab. 16% 130 46 50 0 0 90 100 TypelessDarkness
Neutral Special Fire Breath Giga Bowser takes a short breath and lets loose with a stream of fire. Unfortunately, it seems that a good portion of the flames miss by shooting to the side of the playing field. Near 2%  
Far 1%
Side Special Flying Slam Giga Bowser snatches the opponent and done a massive flying suplex. Unlike Bowser's, opponents not close enough to grab do not get slashed. Throw 22% 60   80 50      
Up Special Whirling Fortress Giga Bowser gets into his shell and helicopters around. One of the best out-of-shield moves in the game. Hit 1 (ground) 11% 80 6 7 70 80 0 0 SpinSlash
Hit 2 (ground) 5% 90 8, 12, 16, 20 39 80 50
Hit 3 (ground) 3% 70 24, 28, 32, 36 50
Hit 1 (air) 10% 80 6 7 80 60 0 0
Hit 2 (air) 3% 84 8-11, 12-15, 16-19, 20-23, 24-27 50 20
Hit 3 (air) 2% 28-31, 32-35, 36-39, 40-43, 44-47
Down Special Bowser Bomb Giga Bowser leaps into the air and plummets downwards. Ground hop 4% 85 11 0 0 110 100 Head
Drop (from ground) 23% 76 38   45 75 0 0 Body
Drop (from air) 32  
Landing 18% 1 2 60 72

Special Movements[]

Taunts

  • Up: Roars (same as Super Smash Bros. Melee)
  • Side: Bites in front of himself five times and wheezes while doing so.
  • Down: Dances precariously on one foot.

Trophy description[]

RSBE01-231

The Giga Bowser Trophy

Bowser, transformed into the terrible and brutal form first seen in Super Smash Bros. Melee. While in this form, he's invulnerable--he doesn't get stunned and cannot be budged. His appearance is so fierce, it's as if he doesn't even belong in the Smash Bros. universe. He cannot maintain this form for long, so dealing out damage efficiently is key.

Playable by Hacking[]

GBowserHack

Hacked Giga Bowser defeating Tabuu during Boss Battles Mode.

Giga Bowser can be selected like a normal character by hacking. His icon always shows him as normal Bowser. He plays similarly to the Final Smash version but stays transformed for the entire match, even after being KO'd. He is able to be used in modes that disable the ability to use Final Smashes, such as Boss Battles and the Subspace Emissary. Other interesting oddities include:

  • The ability to break Smash Balls and enter standby. Attempting to use a final smash like this will either freeze Giga Bowser for the rest of the match or put him in a permanent (until KO'd) fall, which causes floating on solid ground. Unless Giga Bowser is KO'd, the freeze prevents other Smash Balls from appearing. Other similarly hacked characters also experience this.
  • Inability to be defeated in a Stamina Match. When played like this, he is unable to turn back into Bowser to be KO'd, so his HP will never drop below one.
  • When a match is over, Giga Bowser will appear on the Results screen instead of regular Bowser. His win animation is just his idle animation, and his losing has him in the "Blind" (T Pose) position. Both also keep him at his huge size.
  • Similarly to how he is unable to pick up items or jump on springs, Giga Bowser is also unable to enter doors in The Subspace Emissary, nor the Rest Area Portal in All-Star Mode and Boss Battles Mode. Due to this, it is only possible to complete four Subspace Emissary levels as him, those being Midair Stadium, The Ruined Hall, Battleship Halberd Bridge, and The Canyon, as these levels have no doors. This can be circumvented by playing in Co-op mode, and having the other player enter the doors for him.
  • Giga Bowser can be on the stage while any other Final Smash is being used at the same time. He can be hit by all of them. Negative Zone and Peach Blossom have no effects beside damage on him. All three Landmasters can Star KO Giga Bowser by hovering above the blast line while he is on top of them. Both Triforce Slashes, and the Blue Falcon can be executed but will trap him in the T-pose position afterwards due to not having certain animations. While being attacked normally breaks other characters out this T-pose trap, only Cook Kirby, Galaxia Darkness, and Great Aether are capable of freeing Giga Bowser from the trap, as these three are the only moves in the game capable of breaking through Giga Bowser's Super Armor. Cook Kirby breaks through the resistance upon sucking Giga Bowser into the pot, and again upon dropping Giga out of the pot. Galaxia Darkness breaks through Giga Bowser's flinch resistance upon the hit (Which also causes the minimum amount of knockback to Giga). Great Aether breaks through at the start, but freezes him again and subsequently breaks him out numerous times, before fully freeing him at the end. All other Final Smashes simply deal damage to Giga Bowser.

Other oddities and glitches[]

  • In Brawl and Smash 4, when not played as a hack --in Stamina mode-- Giga Bowser (along with Wario-Man, Giga Mac, Mega Charizard X, and Mega Lucario) he does not die if reduced to zero HP. This causes the Undead Glitch.
  • Giga Bowser's shield cannot be broken by any means. He can still be damaged when the shield is too small, but it will not break or be canceled. The shield does not return to full strength after the transformation finishes. Also of note is that Giga Bowser cannot be grabbed or inhaled, which also includes special moves having to do with grabbing such as Falcon Dive. Strangely, the unbreakable shield is exclusive to Giga Bowser, as Wario-Man's shield breaks normally.
  • Since hitstun causes characters to be KO'd off the top blast line, it is possible to KO Giga Bowser if he is attacked while above the line.
  • Giga Bowser is not recognized as a target by stage elements such as the Ultimate Chimera or the Bulborb; he will be ignored and not bitten by the two. In fact, Giga Bowser can jump up through the Bulborb's ceiling.
  • Giga Bowser's large size can cause teleportation due to grabbing edges in enclosed areas, such as in Jungle Japes. The teleportation happens because Giga Bowser grabs the edge of the higher platforms, which causes him to land on the middle platform due to his large size.

Also, if you done a custom stage with blocks and one platform shaped like a box, when Giga Bowser gets in the middle of the box and jumps and does it, he can freeze for 1 minute and the freezing will stop and return to his usual Bowser size.

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • If Giga Bowser dies, it counts as a self-destruct.
  • Giga Bowser cannot swim, pick up items, or use a spring. He can use the Starman item and lightning bolts, however, and can also have Bunny Hood, Superspicy Curry, Franklin Badge, and flower effects and be either giant or tiny depending on the size you chose in the Special Brawl mode. The flower effect can also be applied during a normal match by hitting Giga Bowser with any moves that cause the effect. Giga Bowser is also unaffected by Pitfalls, Metal boxes, both Mushrooms, Lightning Bolts. All other damaging items simply deal damage to Giga Bowser.
  • Giga Bowser is one of only three characters who can use Darkness attacks, the other ones being Ganondorf and Crazy Hand. This is not to be confused with poison emitted from Olimar's white Pikmin.
  • Giga Bowser is the only Final Smash move that can be KO'd (provided that you gave normal Bowser a high damage percentage first).
  • Within the game's files, Bowser's sound effect file actually contains duplicates of his voice clips and sound effects. These are no different from the normal sounds, but are placed in a filter during gameplay to create Giga Bowser's deeper voice. The voice can also be pitched higher or lower in Special Brawl matches involving size changes. Both Giga Bowser's voice clips and sound effects can be played in the game's Sound Test, being placed together with Bowser's sounds.
  • The fact that Giga Bowser has a results screen animation when using an infinite Giga Bowser hack is odd, considering Wario-Man and other characters playable in this fashion, do not have them and thus freeze the game upon a match ending unless their animation files are hacked. Also of note is how this Giga Bowser never turns back into Bowser when KO'd, while Wario Man always turns back into Wario upon being KO'd. This suggests Giga Bowser was supposed to remain a boss in Brawl, and Bowser was supposed to have a non transformation Final Smash.
  • In Brawl, both Giga Bowser and Wario-Man have no alternate costumes.
  • If one tries to Bowsercide as Giga Bowser, he will always die at the same time as his opponent, and if they both have one life, this results in a Sudden Death. If Bowsercide is used to end a sudden death match in a tie, Port priority will decide the winner.
  • The length of time spent as Giga Bowser is not correctly affected by Training Mode's speed change. For example, setting the Training Mode speed to 1/4 will only give Giga Bowser enough time for one or two attacks before reverting. This also applies to Wario Man. This was fixed in 3DS/Wii U.
  • In Brawl, when Bowser uses his Final Smash (Giga Bowser), he is the only Final Smash that can be damaged, although he cannot be knocked back even though characters are invincible when they unleash their Final Smashes.
  • When playing a Stamina match, if Giga Bowser's HP is reduced to zero, he will immediately revert to Bowser, and will still be alive with 0 HP. Bowser can still take one more hit and he will be KO'd.
  • In Brawl, unlike most transformation-type Final Smashes, Giga Bowser will not flash to indicate that time is running out before he reverts to Bowser. This was fixed in the next game.

External links[]

Bowser's Special Moves
Melee Brawl 3DS/Wii U Ultimate
Standard Special Fire Breath
Side Special Koopa Klaw Flying Slam
Up Special Whirling Fortress
Down Special Bowser Bomb
Final Smash โ€” Giga Bowser Giga Bowser Punch
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