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The Nintendo Direct, even in September 2022, revealed several new games that Nintendo Switch players are looking forward to, and it’s no surprise that the super mario franchise will have a new game in the coming months. Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope maybe a Mario game with a twist, but it has the same well-known characters from the franchise, such as Princess Peach and of course Bowser.


Whether or not Bowser is the main villain of a super mario game, he always has an important place in the hearts of fans. He is angry, irrational, funny and full of hatred for Mario, while still being a surprisingly good father. This is why fans love him and what is summed up by the various memes about him.

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Bowser is coming for your girl

although early Mario games saw Donkey Kong kidnap Princess Peach, King Koopa took over the role in such an unforgettable way that it’s hard to imagine Mario’s story otherwise. Bowser has devised so many evil plans to get away by taking control of Peach and the Mushroom Kingdom that he will forever retain the title of Mr. Stealyourgirl has secured.

Titles like Super Mario Odyssey make it clear that Bowser would like to make Peach his wife, despite everyone knowing Mario has loved her for generations. Ultimately, however, Princess Peach shows that she is more focused on herself than on Mario and Bowser’s rivalry.

Bowser is complex

Bowser’s morality seems to fluctuate from game to game. Sometimes he wants nothing more than to cause trouble. In other games, he wants to stop another villain so he doesn’t get overshadowed as the Big Bad of Mushroom Kingdom.

This, in addition to Bowser’s surprising role as Bowser Jr’s father, is part of what makes him such a fun character. He’s the villain that nobody ever really hates.

Bowser’s plans are interesting

There’s no question that kidnapping a princess (over and over) is pretty bad, but it’s easy to forgive Bowser, as his plans are often endearingly lacking in logic. He never seems to understand that running a kingdom is a lot harder than simply marrying the princess and that Mario will always show up to save the day.

His schemes are more complicated in some games than in others, but they are always ridiculous in the end. In Super Mario GalaxyIn fact, a favorite video game for many, it swallowed almost the entire universe, including himself, in a black hole. Not the best plan, Bowser.

Bowser has definitely changed

Long-term franchises such as Mario shows gamers how their favorite characters change along with the advancements in technology. Bowser may have started out as an 8-bit snapping turtle, but since then, tiles have been like Bowser’s Fury have done his design really well.

Mario games aren’t known for their realistic style, but it’s hard to deny that Bower’s gigantic form is quite awe-inspiring. Sure, no version is better than the other, but it’s still fun to see how Bowser has changed.

Bowser’s hair, though?

Bowser may be a big scary turtle-dinosaur combo, but that doesn’t mean he can’t clean up well enough if he wants to. Even on an ordinary day, his flame-like red mohawk is iconic, especially since he has the bushy brows to match.

However, Super Mario Odyssey saw Bowser getting ready for his (attempted) wedding to Princess Peach, and it’s sweet to see that he took the time to comb out his locks into a rambunctious combover. It must have taken a lot of quality hair products to achieve the look.

Bowser at his cruelest

Bowser appears in numerous video games. Sometimes he is the main villain and sometimes he is on Mario’s side. However, there are other times when he’s just there to give gamers a hard time, and that’s by far when he’s most awkward.

Across the Mario party games, players will come face to face with Bowser when they land in place on the game board. When this happens, the bad guy will do everything from moving players around the board to taking their valuable stars. At that point, he’s the worst villain gamers can imagine.

Don’t plan with Dr Bowser

Even if Bowser isn’t the bad guy, it’s hard to consider him trustworthy. Some titles, like the upcoming Mario + Rabid’s Sparks of Hope, sees Bowser helping Mario and his friends defeat another villain, while other games like the dr. Mario series adds Bowser as a playable character.

Mario Kart fans know that this version of Bowser is an unlockable option in some games, and while it’s a lot of fun to watch, it’s hard to imagine Bowser ever becoming a very good medical professional.

Not every Bowser is created equal

It’s always fun in a video game when a boss NPC becomes a playable character at some point in the gameplay. Of course, when this happens, players are often disappointed to see that the powerful and hard-to-beat boss is nowhere near the skills they had in their big battle.

This is the case for Bowser, who has been made a playable character several times in the franchise. It would certainly be helpful if Bowser could be as powerful as some of his strongest forms, but usually players can use the most basic version of his character.

Bowser is the ultimate Karen

Every bad guy has his motivation for being this bad, and for Bowser, his reasoning mostly comes out of jealousy. He hates being belittled, and when he sees Mario receiving all the love and adoration from the people of Mushroom Kingdom, his blood really boils.

This often causes him to cause a scene and make irrational decisions steeped in his own hatred. This is no different from the people in the real world called “Karens” who are notorious for causing trouble with innocent service workers – something Bowser would no doubt support.

He’s not perfect, but Bowser is a good dad

Bowser may have done some bad things over the years, but every… Mario fan knows that the bad guy has a lot of good in him. For example, Bowser may encourage his son to continue the family tradition of being a villain, but he also makes it clear that he really cares about Bowser Jr.

This can be seen at the end of Super Mario Sunshine, a GameCube game that still stands today, when Bowser sheds a tear to see his son maturely accept that Princess Peach isn’t really his mother. He proudly declares that the royal Koopa lineage is strong, showing that his slightly misguided approach to parenting comes from a place of love.

UP NEXT: 10 Super Mario Memes That Perfectly Summarize Yoshi As A Character