Editing Dry Bowser

{{character infobox

|species=Skeletal [[Koopa (Bowser's species)|Koopa]]

|latest_appearance=''[[Minecraft|Minecraft: Bedrock Edition]]''<br>(The Wild Update) (2022)

|latest_portrayal=[[Kenneth W. James|Kenny James]] (2008-present)

{{quote|[[Bowser|I]] feel...dry. How does my skeleton look?|Dry Bowser|[[Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey]]}}

'''Dry Bowser''' is the undead and skeletal version of [[Bowser]]. He is closely associated with [[Dry Bones]], despite not being one, and shares several traits with them, like an immunity to [[fireball]]s. Dry Bowser first appears in ''[[New Super Mario Bros.]]'', where he ascends as a result of [[Mario]] defeating Bowser by dropping him into [[lava]], and has since made some later appearances, usually as a separate character from Bowser. Even later appearances in the [[Super Mario (series)|''Super Mario'' series]] treat Dry Bowser as a separate character, like in ''[[Super Mario 3D Land]]'' and ''[[New Super Mario Bros. 2]]''.

[[File:NSMB-Dry.png|frame|left]]

In ''[[New Super Mario Bros.]]'', Bowser becomes Dry Bowser when he falls into lava after being defeated in [[World 1 (New Super Mario Bros.)|World 1]]. He later appears as the boss of {{world link|8|castlen|World 8-Castle}}; here, Dry Bowser appears in a room at the end, where he drops in from the ceiling and falls apart, before reassembling and beginning to fight Mario. To defeat Dry Bowser, Mario must dodge his attacks, which includes breathing small flames and throwing his own bones. Mario can wait for Dry Bowser to make a high [[jump]] and then run under him, or precisely jump over him. Then Mario can hit the [[skull switch]], destroying the bridge and throwing him into a very deep pit; when he finally hits the ground, his whole body falls apart. Like Dry Bones, Dry Bowser is fireproof, so [[Fire Mario]]'s fireballs do not have any effect against him. If Mario (or Luigi) has a Mega Mushroom as his backup item, then the player can use this item to simply jump on Dry Bowser, who then quickly crumbles in defeat. Dry Bowser is also vulnerable to three [[shell dash]] hits, just like his living self. In the final battle, Bowser Jr. tosses the disassembled Dry Bowser into a cauldron, which causes Bowser to revert to his original form, albeit larger and able to breathe blue fire, a trait that Dry Bowser has in later games.

There is an oversight where if the player uses [[Warp Cannon]] to [[World 5 (New Super Mario Bros.)|World 5]], Bowser's demise will appear unexplained, as he is never seen falling into the lava before appearing in his Dry Bowser form in the first World 8 castle.

[[File:SM3DL Asset Sprite Dry Bowser.png|thumb|Dry Bowser's appearance in ''Super Mario 3D Land'', also the basis of his design in ''New Super Mario Bros. 2'']]

Dry Bowser reappears in ''[[New Super Mario Bros. 2]]'' as the castle boss of [[World Star (New Super Mario Bros. 2)|World Star]], the final special world which is unlocked after beating Bowser himself with at least 90 [[Star Coin]]s. He behaves the same as his other counterpart in World 6 and becomes '''[[Giant Bowser|Big Dry Bowser]]''',<ref>{{cite|author=von Esmarch, Nick|title=''New Super Mario Bros. 2'' PRIMA Official Game Guide|page=229|language=en-us|date=2012|publisher=Prima Games|isbn=978-0-307-89552-3}}</ref> which marks the first time Dry Bowser becomes a larger size (excluding the use of a [[Mega Mushroom]] in ''Mario Kart Wii''). The only difference in the two boss battles is that Dry Bowser is faster than Bowser, can toss bones instead of sledgehammers at Mario, can spew blue [[Fireball]]s instead of orange ones, is immune to fireballs, and the platforms are smaller. Unlike the original battle, neither Princess Peach nor her cage appear.

Dry Bowser's [[emblem]] is also used as the icon for the [[Impossible Pack]], a downloadable course pack for [[Coin Rush]] mode, though he does not appear in any of its levels.

Dry Bowser is a playable character in ''[[Mario Kart Wii]]'', the first game where Dry Bowser is a character separate from Bowser. He is a large-sized driver along with his living counterpart. Dry Bowser features a good off-road rating (tied with [[Toadette]]) and mini-turbo boost (tied with [[Wario]], [[Koopa Troopa]], and [[Dry Bones]]), which makes vehicles like the [[Flame Flyer]] and [[Phantom (bike)|Phantom]] perform a bit better off the track along with getting a slightly better mini-turbo boost after a drift. He can be unlocked by beating all of the Wii New Grand Prix cups on 150cc with at least a 1 star ranking for each or by racing 4,350 races. He is the Time Trial ghost of [[Grumble Volcano]] and [[Bowser Castle 3 (GBA)|GBA Bowser Castle 3]].

Dry Bowser was the only CPU opponent in the [[List of tournaments in Mario Kart Wii#March 2009 Tournament 2|second tournament of March 2009]], where he attacked the player by firing [[fireball]]s at them throughout the race in {{classic|N64|Bowser's Castle}}. This competition has since been repeated twice.

====''Mario Kart Arcade GP DX''====

Dry Bowser is an alternate costume for Bowser in ''[[Mario Kart Arcade GP DX]]'', making him a heavyweight character, and he uses the same voice clips as Bowser.

Dry Bowser returns to the ''Mario Kart'' series as a downloadable playable character in ''[[Mario Kart 8]]'' as part of the game's second DLC pack, [[Animal Crossing x Mario Kart 8|''Animal Crossing'' × ''Mario Kart 8'']], released in April 2015, which also includes [[Villager]] and [[Isabelle]] from the ''Animal Crossing'' series, eight new courses, and four new vehicle customization options. Dry Bowser is also the only downloadable character in this title who is not a newcomer to the series, as he is playable in ''Mario Kart Wii''. Dry Bowser is a heavyweight character with a large body frame, and his stats are identical to those of [[Bowser]], [[Wario]], [[Morton]], and heavy [[Mii]]s. The [[Bone Rattler]] serves as Dry Bowser's signature vehicle. Likewise, [[Bone-Dry Dunes]] has a part of his head on the cliff face over the cave, and advertisements in both [[Twisted Mansion]] and {{classic link|Wii|Grumble Volcano}} for "Undead Motors" use his emblem.

As with every other playable character in ''Mario Kart 8'', Dry Bowser reappears in the [[Nintendo Switch]] port ''[[Mario Kart 8 Deluxe]]'' as a playable character. He is available from the start, and now shares statistics with Wario, heavy Miis, and [[Funky Kong]]. Dry Bowser is one of the fastest characters in the game and is very heavy, but his other statistics are among the lowest in the game. The Dry Bowser Mii Racing Suit also appears as part of the ''[[Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – Booster Course Pass|Booster Course Pass]]'' DLC.

Dry Bowser reappears as a playable character in ''[[Mario Kart Tour]]'', where he is available as a High-End character. Dry Bowser's [[Special Item (Mario Kart series)|Special Item]] is the [[Bowser's Shell]], shared with his living counterpart, [[Bowser Jr.]], and the Bowser and Dry Bowser [[Mii#Mario Kart Tour|Mii Racing Suits]]. Dry Bowser's [[Dry Bowser Cup|self-titled cup]] first appears as the penultimate cup in the [[New York Tour]]. The [[Cooking Tour]] introduces a golden variant of him named '''Dry Bowser (Gold)''', who is classified as a High-End character and has the [[Bob-omb Cannon]] as his special item. He is one of two gold drivers to not have the [[Coin Box]] as his special skill, the other being [[Shy Guy|Shy Guy (Gold)]].

[[File:M&SOWG Dry Bowser.png|thumb|upright=1.4|Dry Bowser and three [[Dry Bones]], in the Wii version of ''Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games''.]]

In the [[Mario & Sonic (series)|''Mario & Sonic'' series]], Dry Bowser most commonly has the role of being a rival. In the [[Wii]] version of ''[[Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (Wii)|Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games]]'', Dry Bowser is the last rival of Festival Mode, where he challenges the player to the [[Ice Hockey (Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games for Wii)|Ice Hockey]] event, serving as the captain and goalkeeper of a team of three [[Dry Bones]]. In the [[Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (Nintendo DS)|Nintendo DS version]], Dry Bowser is seen working for Bowser and [[Dr. Eggman]], who are trying to kidnap the [[snow spirits]] in the [[Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (Nintendo DS)#Adventure Tours story|Adventure Tours]] mode. He appears as the boss of the [[Supersonic Downhill]] event (where he is found at the end of [[Sparkleton]], keeping [[Pola]] hostage in a cage), as well as in the [[Curling Bowling]] event, where he is encountered just before the player reaches Bowser and Dr. Eggman in [[Blizland]], where he is keeping [[Frosty]] in a cage. Dry Bowser returns as a rival in the London Party Mode of the Wii version of ''[[Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games (Wii)|Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games]]'', where he is faced in the [[Dream Long Jump (Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games)|Dream Long Jump]] [[Event]]. In the [[Nintendo 3DS]] version of ''[[Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games (Nintendo 3DS)|Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games]]'', Dry Bowser appears in the Story Mode, though only in [[Foggy Foes]], where he and a Dry Bones appear protecting the [[Fog machine]] in the [[Main Stadium]]. After being confronted by [[Toad]] and [[Omochao]], Dry Bowser and Dry Bones challenge Mario and [[Luigi]] to [[Sailing - 470 (Pair)]]. After being defeated in the event, Mario and Luigi destroy the fog machine and Dry Bones and Dry Bowser leave before they can be questioned. Dry Bowser appears as a boss in the Legends Showdown mode of ''[[Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games]]''. As all of the playable characters are about to claim the Legend Trophy, he ambushes them along with [[Eggman Nega]] and [[Rouge|Rouge the Bat]]. The player must then face all three of them in the [[Winter Sports Champion Race]] event.

Various purchasable items of Dry Bowser have appeared in the ''Mario & Sonic'' series. In the Wii versions of both ''Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games'' and ''Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games'', there is a purchasable [[Mii]] outfit of Dry Bowser. Additionally, the latter game has a [[:File:MSL2012 Sticker Rival Dry Bowser.png|sticker]] of Dry Bowser that can be unlocked by winning against him in London Party mode. In the [[Nintendo 3DS]] [[Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games (Nintendo 3DS)|version]], a [[List of badges in Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games (Nintendo 3DS)|badge]] of Dry Bowser can be obtained from the badge machine.

Dry Bowser made his first playable appearance in the ''Mario & Sonic'' series in ''[[Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games]]''. In both the [[Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games (Nintendo 3DS)|Nintendo 3DS version]] and [[Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games (Wii U)|Wii U version]], Dry Bowser participates only in the [[Javelin Throw]] event; during this appearance, Dry Bowser briefly mentions he has discarded everything unnecessary for the power of a heavyweight and the speed of a lightweight.

Dry Bowser appears as an unlockable playable character in ''[[Mario Tennis Open]]''. He is unlocked after the third difficulty level of [[Ink Showdown]], Inksplosion, is completed. He is one of two Defense-type characters in the game, the other being [[Waluigi]].

Dry Bowser appears in ''[[Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash]]'' as an unlockable playable character. Like in ''Mario Tennis Open'', he and [[Waluigi]] are the only Defense-type players in the game. His [[emblem]] is used in the "Ultra Drink" advertisements seen around the stadium. He can be unlocked either by playing 10 simple matches in classic tennis mode, or by purchasing him from the rewards menu for 5000 [[coin]]s. Additionally, a permanently [[Mega Mario|Mega]] Dry Bowser appears as the 30th opponent of the Knockout Challenge mode. If the player is playing as Bowser in the mode, Dry Bowser will also appear as the 15th opponent. If the player is playing as Dry Bowser, Bowser will oppose him in both instances.

Dry Bowser reappears in ''[[Mario Tennis Aces]]'' as the game's final playable character to be released. He was initially unlocked by participating in the July 2019 tournament, and has been available for all players since August 1, 2019. Like his previous appearances in the ''Mario Tennis'' series, he is a Defense-type character. Uniquely, his racket does not take damage when he fails to block a [[Zone Shot]]; however, it will still break if he fails to block a [[Special Shot (Mario Tennis Aces)|Special Shot]].<ref>{{cite|url=en-americas-support.nintendo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/29137/p/897|title=How to Update Mario Tennis Aces|publisher=Nintendo of America|accessdate=June 20, 2024|language=en-us}}</ref> He shares his animations with Bowser, albeit with blue fire instead of red fire; this includes his [[Trick Shot]]s and Special Shot. However, his sideways Trick Shot (Shell Spin) is unique in that it always functions like a slice with maximum charge. Dry Bowser's emblem also appears on "Ultra Drink" advertisements in [[Marina Stadium]].

{{quote|Y-you just knocked over Dry Bowser like he was nothing!|Bowser|Mario Party: Island Tour}}

Dry Bowser made two appearances in the [[Mario Party (series)|''Mario Party'' series]]. In ''[[Mario Party: Island Tour]]'', Dry Bowser is the fifth boss fought in [[Bowser's Tower]], on the twenty-fifth floor, in his minigame [[Dry Bowser's Brain Bonk]]. In the American English localization, Bowser refers to Dry Bowser as "a close family friend" at one point. Additionally, ''Mario Party: Island Tour'' reuses Dry Bowser's voice clips from ''[[Super Mario 3D Land]]''. Dry Bowser makes his second ''Mario Party'' appearance in ''[[Mario Party 10]]'', where during Bowser's boss battle minigame, [[Bowser's Tank Terror]], when his HP reaches halfway, Bowser falls in the lava and turns into Dry Bowser. He also grows huge in this state, making it the second time Dry Bowser becomes a larger size, after ''New Super Mario Bros. 2''.

[[File:DryBowser-PDSMBE.jpg|thumb|Dry Bowser in ''Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition'']]

Dry Bowser also appears as an extra boss in ''[[Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition]]''. He serves as the boss of {{world link|sp8|bowserp|World 8-Bowser's Castle (Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition)#★World 8-Bowser's Castle}}, and his main attribute is Dark, while his sub-attribute is Fire. When fought as an enemy, Dry Bowser's main attack is "Bowser Claw", which takes away 12500 HP (the attack will always come out first in battle). Dry Bowser can also perform "Bowser Smash", which reduces the current HP down to 1%; "Bowser Blast", which takes away 8750 HP and causes blindness for the entire Orb field; and "Super Heal" to fully heal himself.

Dry Bowser cannot be rematched after the player completes ★World 8; after Dry Bowser joins the player, a [[Boom Boom]] replaces him as the boss of {{world|sp8|bowser4}}.

Dry Bowser also serves as the boss of Fixed Challenge Course 5 in [[Score Attack]]. In that course, however, he attacks every two turns, and does not perform a [[First Strike]].

[[File:M&L Paper Jam Dry Bowser.png|thumb|left|Dry Bowser, as he appears in ''Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam''.]]

Dry Bowser first appears in the [[Mario & Luigi (series)|''Mario & Luigi'' series]] as a secret boss in ''[[Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam]]''. Much like [[Bowser X]] and [[Bowser Jr.]] in the [[Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story|previous]] [[Mario & Luigi: Dream Team|games]], he is fought at the end of the boss medley in the [[Battle Ring (Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam)|Battle Ring]] and is level 48 when encountered, and he is the strongest boss in the game. His attacks involve throwing bones at Mario and Luigi, throwing his head off and spewing blue flames at Paper Mario, and inhaling the brothers to regain health, which can be prevented by hammering spike balls that appear during the attack. Dry Bones and Bob-ombs may appear during this attack, which if the former is struck will end the attack immediately, and the latter exploding and damaging the Mario Bros. if struck. He also has an attack where he summons [[Thwomp]]s to crush the bros. before spewing a torrent of flames. If all three Thwomps are countered, they take the brunt of the flames, causing them to take turns jumping on Dry Bowser as they hop off, leaving him vulnerable to critical damage from any attack. Occasionally, he summons a pair of [[Koopalings]] ([[Roy]] and [[Wendy]], or [[Larry]] and [[Ludwig]]) from portals to assist him, all of whom are at level 46 except for Roy, who is level 45. When he summons the Koopalings, they behave like they do in their previous battles with two exceptions: Wendy does not attack Roy if she is hit by his boulder toss attack, and Ludwig and Larry do not use [[Battle Card (Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam)|Battle Cards]]. Both Dry Bowser and the summoned Koopaling pair must be defeated in order to end the battle. Dry Bowser is notably unique in that he has a special animation for both entering battle and being defeated.

Dry Bowser's only other ''Mario & Luigi'' appearance is briefly during the ending of ''[[Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey|Bowser Jr.'s Journey]]'', where Bowser, after ingesting too much of the [[Skeletone Formula:D]] that Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings retrieved, ends up transforming into this form. He appears as a 3D model instead of a sprite.

[[File:Card ProSoccer Gear DryBowser Ball.png|thumb|upright=1.4|A digital card of the Dry Bowser ball for soccer in ''[[Mario Sports Superstars]]''.]]

Dry Bowser appears as a Legend-rank, Shield-type [[Spirit (Super Smash Bros. Ultimate)|spirit]] in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]''. The spirit uses his artwork from ''Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games''. His spirit battle is against a gray Bowser on the Battlefield version of the Reset Bomb Forest stage with a lava floor hazard.

Dry Bowser appears as a playable character under the name '''Dr. Dry Bowser''' in ''[[Dr. Mario World]]'' via a game update from December 26, 2019. Unlike other playable characters, Dr. Dry Bowser cannot be obtained from staffing, but is instead mainly available through limited-time character packs or referrals. He can also be unlocked by clearing the special stage of [[World 10 (Dr. Mario World)|World 10]].

 

 

Dry Bowser gains the fire resistant nature of Dry Bones, higher [[jump]]s, the ability to throw bones, and as Big Dry Bowser in ''[[New Super Mario Bros. 2]]'', raise [[lava]] by roaring loudly. In addition to these new traits, he also retains his typical abilities, including his signature [[Fire Breath]]. However, unlike his living counterpart, Dry Bowser's [[fireball]]s can sometimes be colored light blue.

Dry Bowser's voice is comprised of grunts, yells, and roars, as opposed to the Dry Bones' clacking sounds. The lone exception to this is ''New Super Mario Bros.'', which uses Bowser's stock roar sound effects. Dry Bowser's roar is significantly different from Bowser's, and his voice clips sound more menacing due to the bones of his body rattling and his voice having a booming quality when he roars; this is especially evident in ''Mario Kart Wii''. Games like the ''Mario & Sonic'' series give Dry Bowser text-based dialogue.

{{main|List of Dry Bowser profiles and statistics}}

==List of appearances ==

{| class="wikitable sortable" width=100%

!width=20%|Original release date

!width=20%|System/format

|Unlockable playable character

|Unlockable playable character

|Downloadable playable character

|Downloadable playable character

|Unlockable playable character

|Secret boss

|Unlockable playable character

|Unlockable playable character

|Playable character

|Non-playable character

|Playable character

|Unlockable playable character

|iOS, iPadOS, Android

|Unlockable playable character (requires update)

|iOS, iPadOS, Android

|Jpn=骨クッパ

|JpnC=<ref>{{cite|url=i.imgur.com/efNjnLD.jpg|title=''New Super Mario Bros.'' Shogakukan book}}{{page needed}}</ref><br>ほねクッパ

|JpnR=Hone Kuppa

|JpnM=Bone Bowser

|ChiS=枯骨酷霸王

|ChiSR=Kūgǔ Kùbàwáng

|ChiSM=Dry Bone Bowser

|ChiT=枯骨庫巴

|ChiTR=Kūgǔ Kùbā

|ChiTM=Dry Bone Bowser

|FreA=Bowser Skelet

|Ger=Knochen-Bowser

|PorAM=Portmanteau of ''Bowser'' and ''osso'' ("bone")

|SpaA=Bowsitos

|SpaAM=Portmanteau of ''Bowser'' and ''Huesitos'', Dry Bones' Spanish name

|SpaA2=Dry Bowser

|SpaA2N=''Mario Kart Wii''

|SpaE=Bowsitos

|SpaEM=Portmanteau of ''Bowser'' and ''Huesitos'', Dry Bones' Spanish name

 

===Dry Bowser (Gold)===

|ChiS=枯骨酷霸王 (金色)

|ChiSR=Kūgǔ Kùbàwáng (Jīnsè)

|ChiSM=Dry Bowser (Gold)

|ChiT=枯骨庫巴 (金色)

|ChiTR=Kūgǔ Kùbā (Jīnsè)

|ChiTM=Dry Bowser (Gold)

[[File:MarioStrikers Bowser shocked.png|thumb|Bowser's skeleton in ''Mario Strikers Charged'' bears little resemblance to Dry Bowser]]

 

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