Impostor Bowser
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The False Bowsers first appeared in Super Mario Bros.. Mario had to fight seven of them (one in each castle) before he could reach Bowser's Castle and fight the real one. Hitting a false Bowser with fireballs would reveal that they were really just common enemies disguised as their king with a spell (presumably put on them by Bowser). These enemies are a light gray (some mainly so they could be displayed against the black background), however. The enemies and their attributes are:
- World 1: Goomba - fire
- World 2: Green Koopa Troopa - fire
- World 3: Buzzy Beetle - fire
- World 4: Spiny - fire
- World 5: Lakitu - fire
- World 6: Blooper - hammer
- World 7: Hammer Brother - hammer
- World 8 (Lost Levels): Bowser - hammer and fire
Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels additional worlds:
- World 9: Bowser - hammer and fire (FDS) / Bowser - hammer (SNES)
- World A: Goomba - fire (FDS) / Red Koopa Troopa - hammer (SNES)
- World B: Koopa Troopa - fire (FDS) / Green Cheep-Cheep - hammer (SNES)
- World C: Buzzy Beetle - fire (FDS) / Bullet Bill - hammer (SNES)
- World D: Spiny - fire (FDS) / Bowser - hammer (SNES)
In Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, False Bowsers also appear in Worlds 8-4, 9-3, and D-4, along with the real Bowser. Unlike the other False Bowsers, these Bowsers have more of a mint-green body with a brown muzzle instead of the normal color. This type of Bowser is a magical copy of the real one; it also breathes fire and throws hammers in all levels encountered except in World D-4, where it is a Spiny which breathes fire, just like the one at the end of the level.
In Super Mario All-Stars, they also lack their alternate coloration and look identical to Bowser. Because of this and the fact that this Bowser is the only Bowser that appears in World 9, players unaware of the original version of the game have mistaken them for the real Bowser. However, one means of distinguishing them from the real Bowser is the music that plays; the real Bowser's music is different. On a side note, all the False Bowsers in Worlds 9-D only throw hammers in the Super Mario All-Stars remake. Strangely, the real Bowser in World D-4 also only uses hammers, unlike in World 8-4, where he uses hammers and spits fire.
In Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3, a False Bowser appears as a boss in the e-world level "Classic World 1-4", where it plays a similar role to that played in Super Mario Bros., though it looks identical to the game's real Bowser. It is revealed that the False Bowser is a Goomba after being defeated.
A False Bowser makes a cameo appearance in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. It is seen in a special area inside Bowser's Castle which is a side-scrolling level imitating a Super Mario Bros. level. The False Bowser appears at the end of that level. The Bowser appears to be made of cardboard and Mario must run underneath him and hit the Ax to make him fall.
Although not discretely noted, Bowser??? in Paper Mario and the Bowser decoy in Luigi's Mansion used by King Boo may be classified as False Bowsers.
In the upcoming Nintendo 3DS game Super Mario 3D Land, False Bowsers are set to appear. They have raccoon tails like Raccoon Mario (and, interestingly enough, also like Raccoon Koopa from The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3), and they attack in a similar way as in Super Mario Bros., breathing several fireballs from a far place and jumping, except not in a two-dimensional stage, since the game is a 3D platformer Mario game.
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