Bowser Jr.

Bowser Jr.
Mario character
First game Super Mario Sunshine (2002)
Voiced by Dolores Rogers (2002–2007)
Caety Sagoian (2007–present)

Bowser Jr. (known as Koopa Jr. (Japanese: クッパJr., Hepburn: Kuppa Junia) in Japan, or sometimes simply Junior, is a video game character who appears in Nintendo's Mario franchise as an antagonist. As his name implies, he is the son of the series' primary antagonist, Bowser. Since his debut in Super Mario Sunshine, Bowser Jr. has been a recurring character in the Mario series, and has been made playable in several spin-offs, such as Mario Superstar Baseball, Mario Strikers Charged, and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. He wants to do nothing more than his father's will (kidnap Princess Peach and defeat Mario).

Design and characteristics

Bowser Jr. is a yellow-skinned Koopa similar to his father with the same yellow and tan skin complexion, as well as a light green head and a tuft of orange-red hair. He has one small tooth in his mouth and a large snout, as well as small circular eyes that are beady and black in color. His shell is lined with a green encasing with small white spikes. By contrast, Junior typically wears a white mask, described in Super Smash Bros. Brawl to be a bib, that's decorated with drawn-on fangs and worn like a mask (however it is absent in Mario Strikers Charged, and he wore a blue mask with Mario's mustache in Super Mario Sunshine).This bib is also often worn over his stomach. Bowser Jr. also has two metal wristbands, while Bowser wears four that are all spiked.

Like his father, Bowser Jr. can breathe fire and is physically powerful in spite of his small frame. His exact size varies from game to game; though in general he gradually gets taller, from being the smallest in Super Mario Sunshine to being larger than Peach in Super Mario Galaxy. According to Mario Kart Wii, Bowser Jr. inherited his father's bad attitude, evident in his motto ("Grin and bear it. When that don't work, grin and crush it."). He is also bratty and spoiled yet revealed to be lonely, and wants to help his dad and "play hero", as said by Bowser in Mario Party: Island Tour.

Bowser Jr. was voiced by Dolores Rogers from 2002 to 2007. Then, Caety Sagoian took over the voice acting role for him since Mario Strikers Charged.[1]

Appearances

Bowser Jr. in his "Shadow Mario" form as a doppelgänger of Mario in Super Mario Sunshine

Although "Baby Bowser", the infant version of Bowser whose design bears a strong resemblance to Bowser Jr., had previously appeared in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Yoshi's Story, and the Mario Party series, Bowser Jr. himself first appeared in Super Mario Sunshine, where he disrupted Mario's vacation with Princess Peach by painting the island of Isle Delfino with goop and then kidnapping her by framing Mario,[2] after his father tricked him into thinking that Princess Peach was his mother which he had to protect.[3] Eventually he found out that Peach was not really his mother,[4] but still wanted to get revenge on Mario.[5] Bowser Jr. later appeared in New Super Mario Bros., in a role similar to Boom Boom from Super Mario Bros. 3, as the boss of every tower, the midpoint in each of the game's worlds as well as in the final battle with his father. Jr. appears in Super Mario Galaxy, aiding his father in battle,[6] as well as having three worlds of his own. Alongside the Koopalings, Bowser Jr. re-appeared in New Super Mario Bros. sequel, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, appearing on an airship.[7][8] He also appears in Super Mario Galaxy 2, in the same way as in the original Galaxy. Bowser Jr. also appears in New Super Mario Bros. U alongside his dad, the Koopalings, and Boom Boom.

Bowser Jr. is a staple character in the various Mario spin-off games. Bowser Jr. appears in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, Mario Kart Wii and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe[9][10][11] and also appears in the Mario sports games. He also appears as a mini-boss in Mario Party 9 and is also the host of his very own space, where he challenges two players to play a minigame with him.[12] He is also a playable character in Mario Party: Island Tour. He also appears in every entry of the Mario & Sonic series as a member of Team Mario, beginning with Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games.[13][14] Bowser Jr. made his RPG debut in Paper Mario: Sticker Star (as Paper Bowser Jr.) as one of the bosses. He also appeared in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team as a bonus boss in the Battle Ring. Bowser Jr. meets his paper counterpart, Paper Bowser Jr., in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam. Bowser Jr. appears as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, fighting from atop his Junior Clown Car with Shadow Mario as his Final Smash. Each of his alternate costumes replaces him with one of the Koopalings.[15]

Bowser Jr. appears in Super Mario Maker not just as a boss that Mario can fight in all game styles, but also as a Mystery Mushroom costume in the Super Mario Bros. style.

Reception

Bowser Jr. ranked sixth on GameDaily's list of the top 10 Nintendo characters that deserve their own games list.[16] They also listed him as the 18th best Mario enemy, calling him a "chip off the ol' block" from Bowser.[17] In a satirical article written by Kotaku writer Chi Lee, Bowser Jr. was compared to North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un, and compared the relationship of North Korea and South Korea with the fictional Mushroom Kingdom and Koopa Kingdom.[18] Kotaku also listed Bowser as one of the worst fathers in video gaming, due to allowing Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings to run around with pirate ships and "zappy wands".[19] GameSpy complained that Bowser Jr. was a "dopey successor" to the Koopalings which they liked more, and said that they have "far more charm" when compared to Bowser Jr.[20] 1UP.com listed Fawful as a character they would want more in the Mario Kart series than Bowser Jr. and Waluigi, saying "Unfortunately, rather than exploring the true depth of the series and offering characters like Mario & Luigi's Fawful, we get Bowser Jr. and Waluigi. Yeah, great."[21] Australia's Official Nintendo Magazine listed Bowser Jr. as one of the characters they want in Super Smash Bros. 4, as he would be a "fantastic inclusion".[22]

References

  1. ↑ Mario Strikers Charged staff roll
  2. ↑ McLaughin, Rus. "IGN Presents: The History of Super Mario Bros.". IGN. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  3. ↑ Nintendo EAD (2002-06-19). Super Mario Sunshine. Nintendo Gamecube. Nintendo. Level/area: Isle Delfino. Bowser Jr.: Leave my Mama alone, you bad man! I won't let you take Mama Peach away! / Peach: Mama? Mama Peach? I'm your... Mama? / Bowser Jr.: Yeah, Papa told me all about it. He told me my Mama got kidnapped by a bad man named Mario... / Peach: So, you're Bowser's son... / Bowser Jr.: So I came here to rescue her!
  4. ↑ Nintendo EAD (2002-06-19). Super Mario Sunshine. Nintendo Gamecube. Nintendo. Level/area: Isle Delfino. Bowser Jr.:I know, she's not really my Mama.
  5. ↑ Nintendo EAD (2002-06-19). Super Mario Sunshine. Nintendo Gamecube. Nintendo. Level/area: Isle Delfino. Bowser Jr.:Someday, when I'm bigger, I wanna fight that Mario again!
  6. ↑ Nintendo EAD (2007). Super Mario Galaxy. Nintendo Wii. Nintendo. Level/area: Bowser's Galaxy Reactor (The Fate of the Universe).
  7. ↑ "Walkthrough: World 4-Air Ship Bowser Jr". IGN. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  8. ↑ Totilo, Stephen. "New Super Mario Bros. Wii Preview: All The Modes, Chaos". Kotaku. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
  9. ↑ Nintendo EAD (2003). Mario Kart: Double Dash!!. Nintendo Gamecube. Nintendo. Level/area: N/A. He may be smaller than his dad, but Bowser Jr. is just as mean and just as destructive. When he hurls Bowser's shell, he can cause some serious pain.
  10. ↑ Nintendo EAD (2008). Mario Kart Wii. Nintendo Wii. Nintendo.
  11. ↑ Nintendo EAD (2017). Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Nintendo Switch. Nintendo.
  12. ↑ Claiborn, Samuel. "How Mario Party 9 Kicked My Ass". IGN. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  13. ↑ Robinson, Martin. "GC 2009: Bowser Jr. Goes to Winter Olympics". Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  14. ↑ "Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic GamesTM". Archived from the original on 29 July 2012. Retrieved 9 September 2016. Description: Bowser Jr. is the son of Bowser, but don't let that fool you. With the good balancing and the inherited hidden strength from his father, he's aiming for first place in these Olympic Games.
  15. ↑ http://kotaku.com/people-are-starting-to-unlock-secret-smash-bros-charact-1633365911
  16. ↑ "Top 10 Nintendo Characters That Deserve Their Own Games - Page 5". GameDaily. Archived from the original on October 19, 2008. Retrieved 2009-08-07.
  17. ↑ Chris Buffa (October 3, 2008). "Gallery and Images". GameDaily. Archived from the original on 2008-10-22. Retrieved 2010-08-05.
  18. ↑ Lee, Chi. "Real Life Bowser Jr Trolls South Korea". Kotaku Australia. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  19. ↑ Glasser, Aj. "Father Knows Best: Best And Worst Fathers In Video Games". Kotaku. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  20. ↑ "GameSpy: GameSpy's Favorite Videogame Bosses". GameSpy. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
  21. ↑ Parish, Jeremy. "Fan Service Face-Off - Mario Kart vs. Super Smash Bros.". 1UP.com. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  22. ↑ "THE NEXT SMASH HIT". Official Nintendo Magazine. Nintendo (48): 53–56. 2012. ISSN 1836-4276.
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