Gigantic Bowser
- This article is about Bowser's giant transformation while Powered up with Power Stars. For information about other uses, see here.
| Gigantic Bowser | |
|---|---|
| |
| Applies to | Bowser |
| Item needed | Power Stars, Shine Sprites, etc. |
| Power(s) given | Increased size |
| First appearance | Super Mario Sunshine (2002) |
| Latest appearance | Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury (2021) |
Gigantic Bowser is a form Bowser takes on after taking the power and energy from a powerful item (eg. Power Stars, Shine Sprites, Royal Stickers, etc.). In this form, his attacks are far stronger, he is more durable, and is capable of hailing meteors. He is also more aggressive in this form as well.
History
Super Mario series
Super Mario Sunshine
- “Mario! How dare you disturb my family vacation?!”
- —Gigantic Bowser, Super Mario Sunshine
Gigantic Bowser appears as the final boss of Super Mario Sunshine alongside Bowser Jr. Gigantic Bowser is first seen sitting in an enormous hot tub full of green water with Bowser Jr. and Princess Peach. Mario appears and is shocked to see Bowser so much larger than normal. Bowser then roars at Mario for ruining his "family vacation" and the battle begins.
Gigantic Bowser attacks by breathing streams of purple fire and shaking the hot tub to splash slime at Mario. Bowser Jr. assists by shooting Bullet Bills from his ship. To defeat them, Mario must use F.L.U.D.D.'s rocket nozzle to ground pound all five points of the star-shaped tub. Each time he does so, the point will fall apart and Mario must use the debris to make it back up to the tub's rim. After all five points are hit, the tub flips over, dumping everyone in it out.
Bowser is later seen returned to normal size sitting on top of the upside-down tub next to Bowser Jr. Guiltily, he starts to tell him that he lied about Peach being Junior's mother, but discovers that his son already knows. Junior then tells his father that he wants to fight Mario again one day, which improves Bowser's mood. He comments that the royal Koopa line is still strong, but suggests that they both rest a bit.
Super Mario Galaxy 2
- “I'm HUUUUGE! Even scarier up close, huh?”
- —Gigantic Bowser, Super Mario Galaxy 2
Gigantic Bowser appears as the main antagonist of Super Mario Galaxy 2, in which he grows by means of eating Grand Stars. At the beginning of the game, he terrorizes Toad Town and kidnaps Princess Peach, taunts Mario by saying that he will have Peach bake him a huge cake, then flies into space to create his own galaxy at the center of the universe.
Gigantic Bowser is fought three times throughout the game. The first fight takes place in Bowser's Lava Lair, in the mission Bowser's Big Lava Power Party. Bowser is seen sitting on a large throne before he pulls Mario to a planetoid to fight. In battle, Gigantic Bowser will attempt to punch Mario, with the spot his fist will land marked by a light. Each time he punches, his fist will get temporarily stuck in the planet. He will also summon meteorites to smash into the planetoid. To defeat him, Mario must wait or Bowser to punch, causing any meteorites to rise and glow yellow. Mario can then jump onto one and ground pound it at Gigantic Bowser. After this is done twice, Bowser will get angry. The battle continues as before, but Gigantic Bowser now uses a new attack, breathing fire around the planet. After he is hit twice more, for a total of four hits, Gigantic Bowser coughs up a Grand Star and shrinks down to normal size. Bowser allows a few moments to taunt Mario before teleporting away.
The second fight is in Bowser's Gravity Gauntlet in the mission Breaking into Bowser's Castle. At first, Bowser is nowhere to be seen, but surprises Mario and starts the battle. The fight is mostly the same, but there are new effects to each of Gigantic Bowser's attacks. His punches and meteor strikes create purple shockwaves, while his fire leaves a trail of flame. He is defeated in the same manner as before, once again shrinking and leaving behind a Grand Star.
The final battle is in Bowser's Galaxy Generator in the mission Bowser's Fortified Fortress. Bowser tells Mario his plan to create a new galaxy using pieces of the existing one and ruling it with Peach as his empress. He then fights Mario again. The battle is the same as the last, but Bowser's fist now releases six lasers that shoot across the planet. After he is hit four times with meteorites, he spits out his Grand Star and falls into the depths of the generator. However, just as Mario is about to collect the star, Bowser reappears, enlarged once again, and eats the Grand Star, becoming even larger than before. He then warps Mario into a planet-less area with a black hole in the background. The only thing for Mario to stand on is several meteorites. Bowser will fly closer and closer to Mario, punching him when he is close enough. Mario must launch meteorites at him when he is out of his shell. After four hits, Bowser laments his defeat and the fact that he never got to try a huge cake, before being sucked into the black hole.
During the credits, Bowser is found unconscious, much tinier than usual. Mario can attack him to make him angry, but Bowser can do nothing to Mario.
Paper Mario: Sticker Star
| Paper Mario: Sticker Star Enemy | |
| Bowser | |
| |
| Max HP | 500 |
| Attack | 10 |
| Defense | Any damage is reduced to 1 |
| Location(s) | Bowser's Sky Castle |
| Moves | Second Battle: Slam(10), Swat(10), Fire Breath(15, destroy some stickers), Multi-slam(4+4+4+8) |
| Effective Sticker | Kersti |
Gigantic Bowser (known in-game simply as Bowser) appears as a final boss once again in Paper Mario: Sticker Star. After being defeated in Bowser's Sky Castle, Bowser plummets off the edge of a cliff, but reemerges as a giant, cardboard version of himself. In this state, he attacks by slamming one of his hands onto Mario, slamming both hands multiple times, or by swatting him. The former two attacks deal 10 damage, the latter deals 4 damage three times followed 8 damage, for a total of 20, and all three attacks and can induce the Crumpled status effect.
Bowser's Royal Sticker prevents him being harmed by Jump attacks or being hurt very much at all. To counter this, Mario's partner Kersti turns herself into a sticker for Mario's use. She causes the battle spinner to always match three images (of her face), healing 20 HP, allowing Mario to use five stickers per turn, and making him shiny, allowing him to deal a normal amount of damage to Gigantic Bowser.
When Gigantic Bowser has taken enough damage, he attempts to attack, but his arm falls off. At this point he attacks by breathing fire, dealing 15 damage and possibly burning some of Mario's stickers, and ground pounding to cause rocks to fall, dealing 10 damage.
After his HP is depleted, Gigantic Bowser returns to normal and loses his Royal Sticker.
Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury
Gigantic Bowser returns in Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury, as the final boss in the Bowser's Fury mode. After Fury Bowser is defeated for the last time, he will expel the black paint before glowing and then be engulfed in a bigger explosion. However, Bowser rises out of the water - still gigantic and full of rage, as he uses his roar to trap all three of the Giga Bells in a large crystal.
During the fight, Mario must ride Plessie and zoom around Lake Lapcat, by using the crystal to hit Bowser's belly, while avoiding his breath and fireballs (which were retained from his Fury form).
Once Gigantic Bowser loses all his HP, the crystal that contains the Giga Bells is destroyed after it knocks Bowser clean out. Mario and Plessie then use all three of the bells to dwarf Gigantic Bowser's size and send him knocking into the sky and explode into fireworks, turning the entire Lake Lapcat back to normal. He then lands on the ground, back to normal size and self.
In this form, Gigantic Bowser is shown to have his normal form's proportions and is slightly smaller than his Fury form. In addition, his eyes glow white.
