Bowser Jr. is a video game character who appears in Nintendo's Mario franchise as an antagonist. He is the son of the series' main 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 and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He shares his father's desire to kidnap Princess Peach and defeat Mario. Bowser Jr. is generally not considered one of the Koopalings.
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 Top-ponytail of orange-red hair held by a black tie. 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. Junior typically wears a white bandana, decorated with drawn-on fangs and worn like a mask. This bandana 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 Princess Peach in Super Mario Galaxy. According to Mario Kart Wii, Bowser Jr. inherited his father's temper and bad attitude, evident in his motto. 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 '. Bowser Jr. is not to be confused with "Baby Bowser", the infant version of Bowser as appears in '. 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.
Appearances
"Baby Bowser", the infant version of Bowser whose design bears a strong resemblance to Bowser Jr., had previously appeared in ', 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, after his father tricked him into thinking that Princess Peach was his mother whom he had to protect. Eventually he found out that Peach was not really his mother, but still wanted to get revenge on Mario. 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. Bowser Jr. appears in Super Mario Galaxy, aiding his father in battle, as well as having three worlds of his own. Alongside the Koopalings, Bowser Jr. re-appeared in the New Super Mario Bros. sequel, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, appearing on an airship. 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, New Super Luigi U and New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe 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 Wii and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and also appears in the Mario sports games. He also appears as a mini-boss in Mario Party 9 and is the host of his own board space, where he challenges two players to play a minigame with him. He is also a playable character in '. 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. Bowser Jr. made his RPG debut in ' as one of the bosses. He also appeared in ' as a bonus boss in the Battle Ring. Bowser Jr. meets his paper counterpart, Paper Bowser Jr., in '. He also appeared in as a playable character in Bowser Jr.'s Journey, a side story of his adventure with the Koopalings. Bowser Jr. appears as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, 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. 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. Bowser Jr. appears along with his father in an official animated presentation video that promotes the Nintendo SwitchParental Controls app.
Reception
Since Bowser Jr.'s introduction in Super Mario Sunshine, reception to the character has been positive. He ranked sixth on GameDaily's list of the top 10 Nintendo characters that deserve their own games. They also listed him as the 18th best Mario enemy, calling him a "chip off the ol' block" from Bowser. 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. 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". 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. 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 & Luigis Fawful, we get Bowser Jr. and Waluigi. Yeah, great." 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".
