Red Arremer
Smash Legend
Secondary Character Choices for Bowser
Yus. ;3
So yea. As we all know, Bowser is a character who tends to have tons of 40:60 matchups. However, he does have several very horrible matchups (Dedede comes to mind *coff*). Although we aren't yet completely done with the MU-discussions, I think it wouldn't hurt if we started to discuss which characters a Bowser main additionally to the turtle could play to cover the Koopa King's weaker matchups.
Considered will be the secondary character's Match Ups in general and their covering of Bowser's bad MUs, as well as how they play in comparison with Bowser. Perhaps the learning curve will be considered too. And anything else you could think of.
When a discussion is done, I will write up a summary and put it here into the OP.
Discussion Summaries
Week #1: Meta Knight
Week #1: Meta Knight
Matchups: Wins against Dedede, is evenish with Diddy and Ice Climbers.
Learning Curve: Lower
Playstyle: Very different from Bowser's (offensive, main KO method is gimping)
Notes: Many people will know the Meta Knight matchup, so keep in mind that while you might not know the matchup you'll play, your opponent most likely already will know thei rmatchup with Meta Knight.
Overall Rating: 3/5
Week #1 (Part 2): Solid Snake
Matchups: Wins against Diddy and Ice Climbers, loses against King Dedede.
Learning Curve: High
Playstyle: Differences and similarities in playstyle (camping but has great grabs and tilts)
Note: Great character to use, and has only a slight disadvantage to Dedede, but you might consider finding someone else for the penguin.
Overall Rating: 4/5
Week #2: Captain Olimar
Matchups: Wins or goes even with Dedede, Ice Climbers and Diddy.
Learning Curve: Medium to High
Playstyle: Similar to Bowser's (long range, grab shenanigans, mediocre offstage - difference is camping)
Notes: Light weight and very mediocre recovery will make him play quite different from Bowser although his general playstyle is very similar.
Overall Rating: 5/5
Week #3: Falco
Matchups: Wins against Dedede and Diddy, loses badly against Ice Climbers
Learning Curve: Medium
Playstyle: Rather different from Bowser's (highly offensive when not camping)
Notes: Falco's a great character to use and not extremely hard to learn, but because of the fact he loses to the Ice Climbers, you should only play him if you feel comfortable using him.
Overall Rating: 3/5
Week #4: King Dedede
Matchups: Ditto against Dedede, loses against Diddy and Ice Climbers.
Learning Curve: Low
Playstyle: Similar to Bowser's (Grabbing, slow but powerful, heavyweight)
Notes: If you feel good using him, a solid choice, but he loses against all of Bowser's bad matchups just as bad except for himself, so he's not a good choice to cover those.
Overall Rating: 2/5
Week #5: Mr. Game and Watch
Matchups: Wins against Dedede and Ice Climbers, loses against Diddy
Learning Curve: Low
Playstyle: Rather different from Bowser, but easy to get into
Notes: A very solid choice for a secondary to cover all matchups but Diddy.
Overall Rating: 4/5
Week #6: Marth
Wins against Diddy and Ice Climbers, loses against Dedede
Learning Curve: Medium (due to spacing/tipping)
Playstyle: Very different from Bowser's
Notes: Loses only slightly against Dedede, so he can be a very good choice if you feel comfy with him.
Overall Rating: 4/5
Week #7: Jigglypuff
Matchups: Wins or is even with Dedede, Ice Climbers and Diddy
Learning Curve: High
Playstyle: Complete opposite of Bowser's
Notes: Might be a good choice if you know what you're doing, otherwise very hard to master.
Overall Rating: 5/5
Week #8: Diddy Kong
Wins against Dedede, goes even with himself and Ice Climbers
Learning Curve: High to Very High (Due to bananas)
Playstyle: Completely different from Bowser
Notes: Diddy is clearly one of the best characters in the game, but is extremely hard to master. You should have the feeling that he's the "right" choice for you to play as, otherwise you will not find yourself happy with him.
Overall Rating: 3/5
Week #9: Wario
Matchups: Wins against Diddy and Ice Climbers, loses against Dedede.
Learning Curve: High
Playstyle: Direct opposite of Bowser
Notes: He only loses slightly to Dedede. If you're not comfortable with aircamping (aka running away like a little girl), Wario is definitely not the right choice for you.
Overall Rating: 4/5
Week #10: R.O.B.
Matchups: Wins or goes even with Diddy and Ice Climbers, loses against Dedede
Learning Curve: Low to Medium
Playstyle: Similar to Bowser's (R.O.B. relies more on camping than on punishment like Bowser, but both play defensively)
Notes: Pew pew.
Overall Rating: 3/5
Week #11: Lucario
Matchups: Wins or goes even against Diddy and Ice Climbers, loses against Dedede
Learning Curve: Medium
Playstyle: Similarities to Bowser (punishment factors)
Notes: MrEh says: "He shoots blue stuff. Sounds good to me."
Overall Rating: 3/5
Week #12: Pikachu
Matchups: Wins against Dedede, even with Ice Climbers and Diddy
Learning Curve: Medium to High
Playstyle: Few similarities to Bowser (punishment, great KO options, grabs), but mainly different from Bowser
Notes: Pikachu can be good even without the tons of technical stuff, but with them, he's a great secondary.
Overall Rating: 4/5
Week #13: Ice Climbers
Matchups: Wins against Dedede, even with Diddy, ditto with Ice Climbers
Learning Curve: Very High
Playstyle: Very different playstyle to Bowser, only similarity would be grabs.
Notes: The Ice Climbers are, on paper, an extremely great secondary for Bowser, as they hardcounter Dedede and go even with the other 2 hardest matchups, however, you'll need to invest a tremendous amount of time to learn them and their incredibly technical gameplay with chaingrabs and desynching and whatnot.
Overall Rating: 4/5
Week #14: Kirby
Matchups: He goes even with Dedede and Diddy, loses to the Ice Climbers
Learning Curve: Low
Playstyle: Very different from Bowser
Notes: Probably one of the worst choices for a secondary, but if you like to play as him, you might be able to use him against Dedede or Diddy, although it's not heavily recommended to specifically use Kirby.
Overall Rating: 2/5
Week #15: Toon Link
Matchups: Wins against Ice Climbers, is even with Diddy, loses against Dedede
Learning Curve: Medium to High
Playstyle: Rather different to Bowser
Notes: Toon Link is a great choice, as he only loses slightly against Dedede. He's rather easy to pick up, but offers enough depth to be a great secondary.
Overall Rating: 3/5
Week #15: Zero Suit Samus
Matchups: Wins against Dedede and Ice Climbers, loses against Diddy
Learning Curve: High to Very High
Playstyle: Plays entirely different, even the punishment is completely different
Notes: A great character, but hardly worth the trouble of learning. Zero Suit Samus requires a LOT of time and training to become decent with, yet alone good enough to win as a secondary. She also loses against Diddy, doing only slightly better against him than Bowser himself.
Overall Rating: 3/5
Week #16: Pit
Matchups: Wins against Diddy and Ice Climbers, even with Dedede
Learning Curve: Medium I guess?
Playstyle: Some similarities, some differences
Notes: I have absolutely no idea about Pit, sorry. Going by the posts made in here and the matchups on paper, though, he seems to be a rather good choice for a secondary. I'll give him a 4 because I don't know about him.
Overall Rating: 4/5
Week #16: Donkey Kong
Matchups: Even with Diddy, loses against Dedede and Ice Climbers
Learning Curve: Medium
Playstyle: Very similar to Bowser (Melee-ranged character, big and heavy, good range, some quick and abusable moves among more sluggish and powerful ones)
Notes: Donkey Kong is absolutely worthless for Bowser. He loses even worse against Dedede than Bowser does, and also doesn't do well at all against the Ice Climbers. He only does okay against Diddy, and that's also only even. Overall, probably one of, if not the worst choices for a secondary for Bowser.
Overall Rating: 1/5
Week #17: Peach
Matchups: Wins against Ice Climbers, even with Dedede and Diddy
Learning Curve: Medium to High
Playstyle: Different to Bowser, only punishing and poor vertical recovery are the same
Notes: Peach can be a very technical and difficult character to learn, but she's definitely worth a look. She has no disadvantage against Bowser's hard matchups, making her a solid secondary.
Overall Rating: 4/5
Week #17: Luigi
Matchups: Wins against Diddy, loses against Ice Climbers and Dedede
Learning Curve: Medium
Playstyle: Very different to Bowser
Notes: Luigi does rather decently against Diddy, but that's all he has going for him. He's not insanely difficult to learn, but he plays very different from Bowser and loses against the grapplers, as well. Therefore, unless you really want to play him, Luigi is a bad choice for a secondary.
Overall Rating: 1/5
Week #18: Fox
Matchups: Even with Dedede, loses against Diddy and Ice Climbers
Learning Curve: High
Playstyle: Absolute opposite of Bowser
Notes: Fox is in the same boat as Luigi, as he loses just as bad against Diddy and the Ice Climbers as Bowser does. Additionally, he's incredibly easy to counterpick (Sheik, Pikachu), so unless you really want to play Fox, just avoid him as a secondary.
Overall Rating: 1/5
Week #18: Wolf
Matchups: Even with Diddy and Ice Climbers, loses against Dedede
Learning Curve: High
Playstyle: Rather different to Bowser, however, some similarities (good defense, some abusable moves)
Notes: Wolf gets eaten by Dedede just as bad as Bowser does. However, against the other two bad matchups he does do decently well. Wolf is a character who's hard to master, especially with his awkward recovery. Otherwise, definitely worth a look.
Overall Rating: 3/5
Week #19: Sheik, Zelda, Sheilda
:shiek: +
:shiek: +
Summary coming later
Week #20: Sonic - Current Discussion
Week #20: Pokemon Trainer - Current Discussion
Week #20: Pokemon Trainer - Current Discussion