When it comes to gaming’s greatest rivalries, there’s none more iconic than the one between Mario and Bowser. The Koopa King first appeared back in 1985 in Super Mario Bros. and has been here ever since. Without his pesky penchant for pilfering Princess Peach, the Super Mario series as we know it probably wouldn’t exist.
The games may have recycled that whole basic plot more times than Pokémon has its own, but really, what does it matter? We don’t come to Super Mario games expecting plot twists, curveballs, and cliff-hangers do we? We want a series of fun levels to triple-jump through, all culminating in an epic battle with Bowser. Over the course of the games, though, some of these battles have been far better than others.
10 BEST: Super Mario Galaxy
Sometimes, it isn’t the boss fight itself that’s so memorable. It’s everything that’s happening around it. In 2007’s Super Mario Galaxy, Bowser has set his sights on a goal far loftier than simply taking over the Mushroom Kingdom and/or running away with Peach.
On arriving at the final encounter, Mario is greeted by a shocking tableau: Bowser creating a galaxy all his own in the center of the universe. From there, his goal is to expand his influence and rule an empire of Palpatine proportions. Needless to say, Mario has mixed feelings about that plan, and a battle ensues. The boss fight itself is quite creative too, utilizing all of Galaxy’s trippy camera angles and planet-encircling tricks as the combatants hop from planetoid to planetoid. Visually, it’s an impressive showing from the Wii.
9 WORST: Super Mario Bros.
This was the green mean machine’s first appearance, after all, and he hadn’t quite mastered the nuances of fighting legendary heroes yet. This fight was a bit of a joke back in the day, however, and has gone on to become such a meme that Nintendo themselves have made jokes about it (the creation of Dry Bowser, for instance).
We all know how this battle works: Bowser launches fireballs at Mario from the far end of a bridge with a huge, obvious button on the other side. At the right moment, Mario ducks under his nemesis, hits the button and the bridge disappears, sending Bowser into the abyss. It couldn’t possibly be any more anti-climactic.
8 BEST: Super Mario 64
That’s right, friends. We’re getting serious now. Long-time Mario fans will have fond memories of 1996’s Super Mario 64, the portly plumber’s first-ever three-dimensional adventure. Back in the mid-nineties, the game was nothing less than a revelation.
As a result, then, you’d expect that the game’s Bowser boss battles would take things to a new level too, which they certainly did. The key concept this time around is getting physical (Olivia Newton-John style) with the villain. Having distracted him, Mario nabs his tail, spins him around and releases at the right moment, sending him careening into the bombs conveniently placed around the arena.
7 WORST: Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels
For those who complain that Super Mario games are too easy, a quick dose of Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels can be the perfect remedy. This Japanese release is a sequel to Super Mario Bros., considered too difficult to launch in the West. It’s a super similar title, with the addition of more fiendish enemy placement and poison mushrooms that harm Mario.
In terms of the Bowser boss, there’s only one major difference its counterpart in the original game: the player actually had to earn it this time around. With hazards on the screen, far more fireballs from Bowser and a tough movement pattern to predict, it’s the same old battle with a heaping helping of frustration piled on top.
6 BEST: Super Mario 3D World
Even the most hardened Super Mario fan would have to admit that Nintendo has been really milking the formula of late. What with New Super Mario Bros., it sometimes feels that there isn’t too much that can be done with the format that’s really new. Sometimes, though, they still prove their worth in style.
The final boss battle of Super Mario 3D World is actually a thrilling little stage in its own right, seeing Mario battle to ascend to the top of a tower. Bowser assails him from all angles, as do lots of difficult little platforming challenges. It’s a platforming masterclass, and the hilarious addition of Meowser to the mix just tops it all off perfectly.
5 WORST: New Super Mario Bros.
Speaking of New Super Mario Bros., this offshoot series was intended as a sort of reboot of the original games. As a result, it has all kinds of common elements, updating them for a new generation of Nintendo fans.
What does this mean? It means another retread of the infamous bridge battle, that’s what it means. In New Super Mario Bros., the pesky Bowser Jr. joins his father for the match, but this simply means you have an annoying, spiny, moving obstacle to deal with. Nothing particularly inspiring. The most interesting part of this match is that the youngster revives his Dry father in a cauldron before the battle.
4 BEST: Super Mario Bros. 3
By the third installment of the main Super Mario Bros. series, Bowser seemed to have understood that standing on a precarious bridge with his back to the button that spells his doom wasn’t the best battle tactic. The boss battle in this game was much better for it, too.
With the enclosed arena and the emphasis on carefully watching the boss’s movements, this fight is a lot like a Robot Master encounter in the Mega Man series. Bowser has a new ground pound move in his arsenal, and your goal is to lead him to use it on the blocks below until he breaks through them and falls to his defeat.
3 WORST: Super Mario Sunshine
Super Mario Sunshine was one of the most interesting entries in the series. It was a Super Mario title through and through, but it also completely messed with some of the fans’ expectations about the series. The tropical setting gave most of the levels a very similar feel, and the addition of the F.L.U.D.D. was a huge change that wasn’t exactly embraced by all.
It was a huge success and one of the highlights of the GameCube’s library, but it was a bit of a black sheep nonetheless. Bowser wasn’t even really the villain this time around: Shadow Mario’s dastardly deeds were actually perpetrated by Bowser Jr, making the Koopa King himself a little superfluous. The final battle is against the father and son duo, seeing Mario Rocket Nozzle-ing the right spot on their gigantic hot tub to take them down.
2 BEST: Super Mario Odyssey
Next up, we have Mario’s most recent showdown with Bowser: the final boss battle of Super Mario Odyssey. As fans will know, the whole game revolved around the wedding Bowser was coercing Peach into. The game’s ending was probably the most dramatic in the series to date.
In the bout, Bowser does what he does best in the 3D installments: leaping around setting off shockwaves, blasting out fiery projectiles and such. As is the game’s gimmick, there’s his hat to contend with too. Pummelling the villain with those mechanical boxing gloves is super satisfying, but the best is yet to come. After the match, the player controls Bowser himself, in a tough platforming segment to escape the collapsing landscape.
1 WORST: Super Mario World
Yes, Bowser’s iconic clown car is one of the silliest and most beloved things about the character. Further, Super Mario World is one of the greatest Mario titles of all time. These two elements didn’t mesh very well.
It was certainly a different approach to a Bowser boss battle, but he seemed to simply sway back and forth in the air, like some kind of malevolent grandfather clock pendulum with an attitude problem. The wind-up toys were a new approach too, but overall, a lot of the traditional elements of Bowser encounters were missing here.