Shrowser
- “Mmm... I can feel a power burning in my belly! What in the world did you feed me?”
- —Shrowser, Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
Shrowser[1] is the final boss fought in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time. Bowser takes this form after ingesting a purple mushroom that turned out to be the form of the dormant Elder Princess Shroob; she ends up possessing him, and Mario, Luigi, Baby Mario, and Baby Luigi fight them both in the present Peach's Castle.
While Bowser is possessed, he retains his normal appearance and personality, although with multiple signs of the Elder Princess Shroob's influence; he flashes purple, has purple eyes, and has an afterimage effect and purple clouds around him. The music during the Shrowser battle is the same one used during the earlier battle against Bowser and Baby Bowser.
Shrowser is the only boss in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time that can only be defeated with counterattacks. He is also one of the few bosses in the Mario & Luigi series with this condition; the others include Ludwig von Koopa from Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions and Thunder Sass from Mario & Luigi: Dream Team. Because the brothers cannot attack during the fight, Shrowser cannot be targeted, and the name normally never appears in-game; however, it actually appears as a string in the ROM that is translated in some releases of the game.[2]
In Super Mario-kun volume 37, Baby Bowser is possessed by the Elder Princess Shroob instead, in the very last chapter of the Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time arc. Unaware of what happened, he goes to Peach's Castle and find the shroom-ified Elder Princess Shroob and eats her, becoming possessed by her. Shrowser then meets with Baby Mario and Baby Luigi and attacks them. The babies are unable to attack Shrowser, but Baby Mario talks to Baby Bowser, telling him to not succumb to the Princess' control or he, as his rival, will never have the satisfaction of beating him. Moved by his words, Baby Bowser fights to expel the princess from his body, ending up defecating her and breaking free from her control, much to her humiliation.
Battle
As the battle starts, a purple aura emits from Shrowser and takes the form of the Elder Princess Shroob on the top screen. Shrowser then states that the Mario Bros. and their baby selves cannot perform any actions, such as attacking or using items. In order to defeat Shrowser, the quartet must jump over or hammer back several of the fiery projectiles that he continually spews at them; Bowser himself deflects any and all counterattacks away, causing them to hit the Elder Princess Shroob's spectral form instead. While Shrowser has a regular set of stats and targets like most other enemies and bosses, much of it is unused due to the battle's programming and the win condition established at the beginning;[2] instead, the Mario Bros. and their baby counterparts must deplete the Elder Princess Shroob's health meter, which is represented by Shroob-like mushrooms on the top screen.
Shrowser's attacks can be countered by looking at the Elder Princess Shroob and her movement patterns. If she points with her right arm, Shrowser attacks Mario and Baby Mario; if she points with the left arm, Shrowser attacks Luigi and Baby Luigi. Depleting the Elder Princess Shroob's health meter requires jumping over the equivalent of 20 fireballs or more, hammering back the equivalent of 10 fire orbs or more, or some combination of the two. The Bros. and Baby Bros. must survive the entire round of counterattacks as well; even if the health meter is depleted, if they are all KOed before that turn of attacks ends, it still counts as a Game Over. Once successfully defeated, the Elder Princess Shroob finally disappears, causing Bowser to faint.
Statistics
| Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time enemy | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shrowser | ||||||||
|
HP | 4960 | POW | 180 (170) | Defense | 140 | ||
| Experience | 0 | Coins | 0 | Speed | 64 | |||
| Location(s) | Peach's Castle | Role | Boss | Item drop | None – 0% None – 0% | |||
| Level | 100 | Battled by | Everyone | |||||
| Notice: Stats in parentheses are from the Japanese and European versions (if they differ from the original American release). | ||||||||
Quotes
- "Hmm...I can feel a power burning in my belly! What in the world did you feed me?"
- "Gwa ha ha ha! Aw, who cares what it was? I've been reborn!"
- "Mario! Green 'Stache! And you brats, too! NO MERCY FOR YOU!" (When engaging Mario and Luigi in battle)
- "Hey! Listen here! From now on, you guys have NO chance to attack! I'll flatten you guys with an attack barrage! Enjoy! Bwa ha ha!"
- "Bwa ha ha! Sorry! No attacking!" (when blocking counterattack)
- "You can't dodge 'em all!"
- "Grrrrrr! Pesky bugs!"
- "Hungh?! WARGH! WHAT?!"
Gallery
Shrowser still sprite
Shrowser in Super Mario-kun
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ゲドクッパ[?] Gedokuppa |
Portmanteau of「ゲドンコ」(Gedonko, Shroob) and「クッパ」(Kuppa, Bowser) | |
| French | Xhowser[?] | Portmanteau of Xhampi ("Shroobs") and "Bowser" | |
| German | Shrowser[?] | - | |
| Italian | Shrowser[?] | - | |
| Spanish (NOE) | Shrowser[?] | - |
References
- ^ Hoffman, Chris (November 18, 2005). Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time Player's Guide. Nintendo of America (American English). ISBN 1-59812-006-9. Page 96.
- ^ a b https://youtu.be/Yl28eQHFYn0[dead link]
| Bowser forms | |
|---|---|
| Main | Big Dry Bowser • Black Bowser • Blockhead Bowser • Bowcien • Bowletta • Castle Bowser • Dreamy Bowser • Dry Bowser • Fury Bowser • Giant Bowser • Giga Bowser • Molten Bowser • Mega Baby Bowser • Mega Bowser • MegaDragonBowser • Meowser • Metal Bowser • Shiny RoboBowser • Shrowser |
| Other | Alarm Koopa • Black Hole Bowser • Bowser Sphinx • Bowser the Brash • Capt. Bowser • Dark Hammer Slam Bowser • Hammer Slam Bowser • Heat Cannon (Mega Strike ability) • King Koopa's alter egos • Megaton Koopa Hō • Mushroom • President Koopa • Rookie • Scarecrow • Shroob mushroom • Tail Bowser • Wizard Bowser |
| Bowser's family |
|---|
| Forms and counterparts |
| Alarm Koopa • Baby Bowser (Mega Baby Bowser) • Black Bowser • Blockhead Bowser • Bowcien • Bowser • Bowletta • Castle Bowser • Dreamy Bowser • Dry Bowser • Fury Bowser • Giant Bowser • Giga Bowser • Golf Daiō • King Koopa's alter egos • King Tetris • Koopa 3 • Magma Bowser • MegaDragonBowser • Meowser • Paper Bowser • President Koopa • Qix Daiō • Shiny RoboBowser • Shrowser • Torino Daiō |
| Current in-game relatives |
| Dry Bowser • Bowser Jr. • Paper Bowser Jr. |
| Former in-game relatives |
| Bowser's Brother • Koopa Kid • Koopalings (Larry Koopa · Morton Koopa Jr. · Wendy O. Koopa · Iggy Koopa · Roy Koopa · Lemmy Koopa · Ludwig von Koopa) |
| Miscellaneous relatives |
| Bowser's cousin • Bowser's father • Bowser's mother • Bowser's sister • Enma Daiō • King Koopa's great-great grandkoop • Poopa La Koopa |
| Pets |
| Mechawiggler • Pookie • Ratso |
| President Koopa's relatives |
| Iggy • Spike |
| Shroobs | |
|---|---|
| Characters | Commander Shroob • Elder Princess Shroob • Elder Shrooboid • Junior Shrooboid • Princess Shroob • Shrooboid Brat • Shrowser • Sunnycide |
| Species | Blazing Shroob • Dr. Shroob • Guardian Shroob • Intern Shroob • RC Shroober • Shroid • Shroob • Shrooba Diver • Shroob saucer • Shrooblet • Shroobsworth • Support Shroob |
| Relatives | Egg (Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time) • Kyankyan • Shroob mushroom • Shroob Rex • Shroob-omb • Spiny Shroopa • Swiggler • Tashrooba • Yoob |
