Bowser Statue

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Bowser Statue
The Bowser's statue capture icon.
Artwork from Super Mario Odyssey
First appearance Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988)
Latest appearance Super Mario Party Jamboree (2024)
Comparable
Notable members

Bowser Statues[1] (sometimes formatted as Bowser statues), also known as Stone Bowsers,[2] are statues that first appear in Super Mario Bros. 3. They normally appear as stone busts of Bowser with gaping mouths and are generally indestructible. They mainly act as inanimate objects, usually for decorative purposes in levels — for instance, merely appearing as background objects in Mario Kart: Super Circuit and New Super Mario Bros. Wii — but sometimes fire projectiles at Mario.

History[edit]

Super Mario series[edit]

Super Mario Bros. 3[edit]

In Super Mario Bros. 3, Bowser Statues solely appear in Bowser's Castle. Some are harmless, but others shoot out a diagonal laser when Mario approaches. They cannot be defeated. Both the original Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World variants of the Bowser Statue appear in Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3. They are found in the World-e level Bowser's Last Stand; the former can be found in the first room of the level, while the latter in the penultimate room before the Bowser fight, in both gray and gold colorations.

Super Mario World[edit]

Bowser Statue

Gray Bowser Statues[3] later appear in Super Mario World. They are hunched over compared to the more upright ones in the previous game. These statues shoot fireballs in a straight line in lieu of the laser beams. Gold Bowser Statues,[3] also known as Miniature Bowsers,[4] also make an appearance. Unlike the Gray Bowser Statues, Gold Bowser Statues cannot be stood upon. They jump periodically and damage Mario and Luigi when touched but do not shoot fire. They can be lured into the lava or be defeated by Caped Mario's Body Press, which reveals a glitchy sprite. Cape Mario's Body Press can also defeat the gray statue's fireballs, which shows a glitched sprite too.

New Super Mario Bros.[edit]

In New Super Mario Bros.' main game, Bowser Statues merely appear as a decoration for corridors leading to fights against Bowser. However, in the minigame Danger, Bob-omb! Danger!, the mechanical Bowser Statue from Mario Kart: Double Dash!! is the primary obstacle. It moves around, shooting fire in an attempt to light a Bob-omb Buddy. Using the stylus, the player must help the Bob-omb Buddy escape from the fire. Likely due to it being a sprite instead of a model, the mechanical Bowser has a more stony appearance than in Double Dash!!

Super Mario Galaxy[edit]

Mario near Bomb Boos in the Ghostly Galaxy
Bowser Statues in the Ghostly Galaxy

In Super Mario Galaxy, they appear in the Ghostly Galaxy and Bowser's Galaxy Reactor as inanimate objects (although destroying them brings out an item or helps a player proceed through a level). In the Ghostly Galaxy, there are a few in the mission Beware of Bouldergeist. In this mission, a Bowser Statue covers the fireplace with a Launch Star inside. In Bowser's Galaxy Reactor, one makes an appearance on the Starting Planet, and several make an appearance inside the Tower Planet. When these are destroyed by a Bullet Bill, they release one coin each.

Super Mario Galaxy 2[edit]

Bowser Statues in the Bowser's Lava Lair
Bowser Statues creating a line of electricity in Super Mario Galaxy 2.

The Bowser statues appear in Super Mario Galaxy 2 in Bowser's Lava Lair and Bowser's Galaxy Generator. The ones in Bowser's Lava Lair can rotate to face Mario, and create a damaging beam of electricity that Mario must jump over. The one in Bowser's Galaxy Generator is found on the Galaxy Generator Door Planet, and though considerably larger than the previous ones, serves for decorative purposes. They also appear in other galaxies but, as in the previous game, are inanimate. Bowser Jr. statues also appear in the Boo Moon Galaxy and Bowser Jr.'s Fearsome Fleet but merely act as decoration. Unlike the stone Bowser statues, the Bowser Jr. statues are metallic.

New Super Mario Bros. 2[edit]

Bowser Statue

Heads of Bowser statues, referred to as Bowser sculptures,[5] appear in New Super Mario Bros. 2. They can be found on walls breathing large fireballs that fly horizontally to the left. They appear in World 6-5 and World Star-7 as well as in the giant Bowser and Dry Bowser battles. The ones in the third part of both battles breathe purple fireballs which fly straight at Mario, similar to Ludwig von Koopa's blue magic blasts during his first battle in New Super Mario Bros. Wii but less pursuant.

Super Mario 3D World / Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury[edit]

Bowser Statues appear in Super Mario 3D World and its Nintendo Switch port, blocking new levels until the player has a certain amount of Green Stars to break them. For castles, gates are used. They block the following levels, and the following number of Green Stars are needed to unlock them:

Super Mario Maker / Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS[edit]

Bowser Statues also make a minor appearance in Super Mario Maker and Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS. If the player sets the course to castle-themed and puts many ground blocks across the level, Bowser Statues will eventually start appearing as foreground decorations. As such, they are harmless and cannot be interacted with. A Bowser Jr. statue also may appear.

Super Mario Odyssey[edit]

In Super Mario Odyssey various golden Bowser statues are seen in Bowser's Kingdom. Two of them appear in the area that Topper and Hariet are battled, with one being destroyed for each defeated. They have clothes based on the Japanese gods Raijin and Fūjin, the gods of thunder and wind, respectively.

Heads of golden Bowser statues can be found in some parts of the Kingdom as well. Cappy can be spun on both of their horns for coins. Two large heads appear facing inward on a large arch towards the end of the poison-filled area at the top, and do nothing. Four large heads appear on the giant arch before the RoboBrood arena, where they let out flame every few seconds. However, since they are in the corners and are facing outwards, getting damaged by them requires jumping off the structure. A much larger head appears on the front of the same arch, and has a Power Moon in the nose that can be obtained by Ground Pounding on it.

Stone Bowser statues appear in the Underground Moon Caverns of the Moon Kingdom. One Bowser statue near the beginning of the caverns can be captured and moved in order to reveal a hole underneath it with a Power Moon.

Super Mario Maker 2[edit]

Bowser Statues reprise their role as harmless foreground decorations in Super Mario Maker 2. In the version 3.0.0 update of the game, Bowser Statues use a retouched version of their Super Mario World sprite in the Volcano theme of the World Maker mode.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder[edit]

Giant Bowser Statues reappear in Super Mario Bros. Wonder, appearing in both a gray and golden variety like in Super Mario World. The gold variant first appears in Secrets of Shova Mansion, where a Shova pushes it during the level's Wonder Effect, while the gray variant appears in The Final Battle! Bowser's Rage Stage, where it blocks the player's path, but is destroyed by a stampede of Bulrushes.

The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3[edit]

Two Bowser Statues in The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 episode "Do the Koopa".

In The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, Bowser Statues designed after King Koopa appear in "Do the Koopa", guarding Dark Land and the Temple of Gloom. They fire lasers from their mouths; two of the statues remove the heroes' raccoon power-up.

Super Mario World television series[edit]

A Bowser Statue in the Super Mario World television series episode "Mama Luigi".

Bowser Statues, though never named, appear occasionally in the Super Mario World animated series. Bowser Statues first appear in the episode "Send in the Clown", where one attacks Mario by shooting a fireball at him while he is traveling through Neon Castle. Later in the episode, Mario accidentally stumbles upon another Bowser Statue, which proceeds to spit a fireball at him; Mario manages to narrowly avoid this fireball, which hits his Koopa Football Player pursuers. In a later episode, entitled "Mama Luigi", two Bowser Statues are shown to act as guards to the entrance of Neon Castle; additionally, a Bowser Statue is also found in the basement of Neon Castle. This Bowser Statue is eventually shut-down by Yoshi, who eats one of its spat fireballs and blasts the Bowser Statue with flames.

Mario's Time Machine[edit]

Bowser Statues from Mario's Time Machine (NES)
Both in-game and properly-assembled versions of Bowser Statues in Mario's Time Machine

In the NES release of Mario's Time Machine, Bowser Statues appear in Bowser's Museum, where they use Bowser's graphics from Super Mario Bros. 3, and as such are the same size as him. However, two of their 8-by-8 tiles (the right hand and lower jaw) appear to have been switched by mistake.

Mario Kart series[edit]

Mario Kart 64[edit]

In the Mario Kart series, Bowser Statues first appear in Mario Kart 64 in Bowser's Castle. Here they are brown and just stand in place shooting fire that cannot hit the racers. One large one appears in the first courtyard, and some smaller ones without arms appear in a later hall with horizontally-sliding Thwomps.

Mario Kart: Double Dash!![edit]

In Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, a single Bowser Statue, also called the Mechanical Bowser,[6] appears towards the end of Bowser's Castle. It slides horizontally along a rail next to a hairpin turn along the top of a castle wall where the track is, shooting large fireballs. These fireballs move at high speed at a single height and can prove dangerous to racers racing both towards and away from the titanic statue, particularly those attempting to perform the shortcut skipping over the hairpin, where spinning out may result in failing to make the jump and falling. It moves in a very jerky, mechanical manner. The statue moves considerably slower when playing Bowser's Castle in a splitscreen race.

Mario Kart Wii[edit]

A Mecha Bowser from Mario Kart Wii
Mecha Bowser in Mario Kart Wii

In Mario Kart Wii, another lone Bowser Statue, this time alternatively known as Mecha Bowser[7] or Bowser (Mechanical),[8] appears in the new iteration of Bowser's Castle. Its model and textures resemble the one from Double Dash! with a few touch-ups such as a more sophisticated jaw,[9] though its movement is far more fluid and organic. It overlooks the end of a long stretch in the center of the track, halfway through the course, now seemingly coming out of the lava. As racers drive towards it, it launches large fireballs that bounce along the middle of the track until they explode, acting as a hazard that adds a major risk factor to taking the middle—and fastest—route through the room. The racers then drive past Mecha Bowser on either side of it, as the track splits into two when it reaches the stone Koopa.

The Bowser Statues from Mario Kart 64 reappear in their original course, now using a nearly-unchanged version of the Double Dash!! model, albeit shaded brown.[9] The one in the courtyard can now hit racers with its fire.

Mario Kart 8 / Mario Kart 8 Deluxe[edit]

Bowser Statues in Bowser's Castle in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Laser Statues in Bowser's Castle
See also: Bowser Monument

Bowser Statues that shoot lasers from Super Mario Bros. 3 appear in Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe called Laser Statues.[10] The course also features a giant Bowser Statue resembling Mecha Bowser called the Bowser Monument. Both are again featured in Bowser's Castle.

Mario Party series[edit]

Non-living Bowser Statues also appear in the Mario Party 2 and Mario Party 8 minigames Destruction Duet and Punch-a-Bunch, respectively, where the objectives are to destroy them. In Mario Party 6, several immobile Bowser Statues appear in the Bowser minigame Dizzy Rotisserie; if a character does not complete this minigame in time, these Bowser Statues will spring to life and fill the arena with fire, roasting any characters that did not make it to the finish. This minigame returns in Mario Party: The Top 100. Also in Mario Party 6, a golden one appears as one of the events in Seer Terror, where it squashes the player. A Golden Bowser Statue is one of the items that can be sold in Bowser's Shop (Bowser City) in Mario Party 7, in which Bowser forces the player to buy it for 30 coins, with Koopa Kid getting rid of it afterwards. Bowser Statues also appear in Super Mario Party Jamboree.

Super Princess Peach[edit]

Bowser Statue in Super Princess Peach.
Bowser Statue in Super Princess Peach.

Bowser Statues also appear in Super Princess Peach as inanimate objects, where they decorate the course where the initial fight with Bowser takes place. They only appear in that battle, where they can be crushed by Bowser's misused charge attack, resulting in a crystal for Peach to collect.

Mario & Luigi series[edit]

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story[edit]

Bowser Statues reappear in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, as well as its remake, appearing as decorations in Bowser's Castle, though they've been remodeled by Fawful after he took it over, having his trademark glasses instead of Bowser's usual face.

Mario & Luigi: Dream Team[edit]

In Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, Bowser Statues appear in Neo Bowser Castle. Here, they have hinged mouths that open to shoot fire when the bros. approach. Some of them close for just long enough to get past with the Side Drill, but others constantly stay active. To get around these, the bros. must perform a Spin Jump. Others move up and down as well, and depending on the floor can be passed with a Side Drill or Ball Hop.

Mario Tennis Aces[edit]

A single Bowser Statue appears a boss in Mario Tennis Aces, fought at Bowser's Castle in the mission Battle the Treasure Guardian!. In battle, the Bowser Statue deploys a forcefield around itself, and launches sets of three fireballs at Mario which must be knocked back; if a fireball is not lobbed back, it becomes a stage hazard. The Bowser Statue will then fire a laser beam that sets the ground ablaze, finishing by firing a giant purple fireball which can be knocked back to deal lots of damage. The Bowser Statue will repeat this process until it is out of health, in which Mario must avoid the oncoming meteors to perform a Zone Shot at the statue's mouth. The statue will then repeatedly shoot streams of fire at Mario, then repeat its ball-serving mechanics, except it will more evenly space out the fireballs it shoots. After Mario fires a Zone Shot at it a second time, it will shoot streams of fire again, except perform a sweeping motion with them. It will then repeat the same ball-serving mechanics it used in the second phase.

After Mario performs the third and final Zone Shot at the Bowser Statue, the Power Stone in its mouth will seemingly disintegrate, and a corrupted Wario and Waluigi take the Power Stone.

Mario Golf: Super Rush[edit]

In Mario Golf: Super Rush, Bowser Statues appear as objects at certain holes in Bowser Highlands, including a giant one at hole 9.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie[edit]

Bowser Statues appear in The Super Mario Bros. Movie as decorations in Bowser's Castle.

Profiles and statistics[edit]

Perfect Ban Mario Character Daijiten[edit]

クッパ石像 (JP) / Bowser Statue (EN)
A Bowser Statue from Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World.
Original text (Japanese) Translation
種族しゅぞく 岩石族 Tribe Rock clan
性格せいかく がまんづよい Disposition Very patient
登場とうじょうゲーム 3、ワールド Game appearances 3, World
石像でもクッパは怖いぞ

クッパの姿をかたどつた、どんなことをしても壊れないじょうぶな石像。3ではビームを、ワールドでは火炎を発射するものがいる。また、ワールドでは動く石像もあるので怖い。[11]

Even stone statues of Bowser scare the crap out of me

In 3, there is a stone statue that shoots beams, and in World, there is a stone statue that shoots flames. In World, there are also moving stone statues, which are scary.

Mario Kart Wii[edit]

  • Mario Kart Wii game guide: "This massive mechanical monster throws out a molten cannonball that stops and spins you out. Dodge it to remain on course!"

Gallery[edit]

For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Bowser Statue.

Additional names[edit]

Internal names[edit]

Game File Name Meaning

Super Mario Galaxy 2 SystemData/ObjNameTable.arc/ObjNameTable.tbl クッパ彫像 (Kuppa Chōzō) Bowser Statue
New Super Mario Bros. 2 romfs/Model/Map_obj/koopa_head.bcres koopa_head Bowser Head

Names in other languages[edit]

Language Name Meaning Notes
Japanese クッパ石像せきぞう[11][12]
Kuppa sekizō
Bowser stone statue Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, and New Super Mario Bros. 2
クッパ像[?]
Kuppa zō
Bowser statue Super Mario Odyssey
Chinese (simplified) 酷霸王雕像[13]
Kùbàwáng Diāoxiàng
Bowser Statue New Super Mario Bros.
酷霸王的石像[?]
Kùbàwáng de Shíxiàng
Bowser's Stone Statue Super Mario Odyssey
酷霸王的大石像[?]
Kùbàwáng de Dà Shíxiàng
Bowser's Big Stone Statue Mario Tennis Aces
酷霸王石像[14]
Kùbàwáng Shíxiàng
Bowser Stone Statue Super Nintendo World
French Statue de Bowser[15][16] Statue of Bowser
German Bowser-Statue[17] Bowser Statue
Bowser-Statue (Gold)[?] Bowser Statue (Gold)
Bowser in Gold[17] Bowser in Gold
Italian Statua di Bowser[?] Bowser's Statue
Russian Статуя Боузера[?]
Statuya Bouzera
Statue of Bowser
Spanish Estatua de Bowser[?] Statue of Bowser

References[edit]

  1. ^ August 1991. Nintendo Mario Mania Player's Guide. Nintendo of America (American English). Page 114.
  2. ^ "MARIOTM AND YOSHITM VS STONE BOWSERTM BUILDING SETTM" – K'Nex.
  3. ^ a b August 1991. Nintendo Mario Mania Player's Guide. Nintendo of America (American English). Page 52.
  4. ^ August 1991. Nintendo Mario Mania Player's Guide. Nintendo of America (American English). Page 147.
  5. ^ von Esmarch, Nick (2012). New Super Mario Bros. 2 PRIMA Official Game Guide. Prima Games (American English). ISBN 978-0-307-89552-3. Page 169 and 229.
  6. ^ Hodgson, David S. J. (November 25, 2003). Mario Kart: Double Dash!! Prima's Official Strategy Guide. Prima Games (American English). ISBN 0-7615-4424-0. Page 130.
  7. ^ Hodgson, David S. J. (April 27, 2008). Mario Kart Wii Premiere Edition. Prima Games (American English). ISBN 0-7615-5970-1. Page 92.
  8. ^ Hodgson, David S. J. (April 27, 2008). Mario Kart Wii Premiere Edition. Prima Games (American English). ISBN 0-7615-5970-1. Page 33.
  9. ^ a b Collage of Bowser Statue models and textures from Mario Kart: Double Dash!! and Mario Kart Wii, collected from [noclip.website]
  10. ^ "'Laser Statues: While not active during Lap 1, the last two laps activate Bowser statues that fire lasers onto the track." – Musa, Alexander (May 30, 2014). Mario Kart 8 PRIMA Official Game Guide. Prima Games (American English). ISBN 978-0-804-16328-6. Page 130.
  11. ^ a b 1994. 「パーフェクト版 マリオキャラクター大事典」 (Perfect Ban Mario Character Daijiten). Shogakukan (Japanese). Page 69.
  12. ^ Sakai, Kazuya (Ambit), kikai, Akinori Sao, Junko Fukuda, Kunio Takayama, and Ko Nakahara (Shogakukan), editors. (October 19, 2015). 『スーパーマリオブラザーズ百科: 任天堂公式ガイドブック』. Tokyo: Shogakukan (Japanese). ISBN 978-4-09-106569-8. Page 41, 60, and 200.
  13. ^ New 超级马力欧兄弟. iQue (Simplified Chinese). Retrieved June 27, 2024. (Archived August 9, 2009, 18:55:56 UTC via Wayback Machine.)
  14. ^ March 26, 2021. 日本环球影城. Weibo (Simplified Chinese). Retrieved July 27, 2021.
  15. ^ OcariKnights (July 13, 2018). [LP] Mario Tennis Aces #07 : Volcan grondant. YouTube (French). Retrieved September 7, 2024.
  16. ^ Polo (July 17, 2018). COMBAT ULTIME ENTRE MARIO ET BOWSER ! | Mario Tennis Aces #9. YouTube (Canadian French). Retrieved September 7, 2024.
  17. ^ a b Menold, Marcus, Claude M. Moyse, and Andreas G. Kämmerer, editors (1993). Der offizielle Nintendo Spieleberater "Super Mario World". Großostheim: Nintendo of Europe GmbH (German). Page 20.