Dry Bowser

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“Ggggrah! You shouldn'ta said that! Nobody makes fun of Dry Bowser! Nobody!”
Dry Bowser, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (Nintendo DS)

Dry Bowser (also known as Bowser Bones and Skeletal Bowser) is an undead, skeletal version of Bowser, debuting in New Super Mario Bros. Dry Bowser was accidentally created in New Super Mario Bros.'s first castle, when a short fight between Bowser and Mario ended with Bowser being dropped into a pit filled with lava. Unlike previous occasions, the lava reduced the once-mighty king to a skeleton, leaving his son, Bowser Jr., temporarily in command of the Koopa Troop. Dry Bowser is then fought in the first castle in World 8.

Since appearing as an unlockable driver in Mario Kart Wii, Dry Bowser has made recurrent appearances as a separate character from Bowser, notably in the Mario & Sonic series. Dry Bowser has a different roar from Bowser, as his bones rattle when he roars. This can especially be heard in the Wii version of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games when the player faces him in Ice Hockey.

History

Super Mario series

New Super Mario Bros.

Fire Mario throwing Fireballs at Dry Bowser in World 8-Castle.
Mario fighting Dry Bowser in New Super Mario Bros.
File:World 1 Dry Bowser NSMB.PNG
Dry Bowser, as seen in World 1 in New Super Mario Bros.

In New Super Mario Bros., Bowser becomes Dry Bowser when he falls into lava after being defeated in World 1. He later appears as the boss of World 8's castle. He drops in from the ceiling and falls apart, but reassembles and is ready to fight.

To defeat Dry Bowser, Mario must dodge his attacks, which include breathing small flames and throwing his own bones, and wait for him to make a high jump. Mario must then run under Dry Bowser and 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. 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.

At the final battle of the game, Bowser Jr. is present with the disassembled Dry Bowser. He tosses his father's skeleton into a cauldron, which causes Bowser to revert to his original form, albeit larger.

If the player uses the Warp Cannon that leads to World 5 found in World 1 before taking on the castle, 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.

Super Mario 3D Land

Dry Bowser
Dry Bowser in Super Mario 3D Land.

Dry Bowser returns in Super Mario 3D Land as the boss in the castle stages of the Special Worlds. His battle tactics are similar to a Bowser Impostor, but they have several subtle differences. For example, he breathes blue fireballs at Mario while approaching him as opposed to the Bowser Impostors' method of breathing fireballs while stationary. He also attempts to hit the hero with his skeleton tail and slam the ground (creating shockwaves). Once Mario hits the switch, the bridge collapses, sending Dry Bowser into the lava. Dry Bowser is fought in the castles of Special 1, Special 5, and Special 8, in the same worlds as his normal world counterparts.

New Super Mario Bros. 2

Dry Bowser Battle
Dry Bowser in New Super Mario Bros. 2.
Big Dry Bowser in New Super Mario Bros. 2
Mario fights Dry Bowser in World Star.

Dry Bowser reappears in New Super Mario Bros. 2 as the castle boss of the World Star, the final special world which is unlocked after beating the final boss. He behaves the same as his other counterpart in World 6, which marks the first time Dry Bowser becomes a larger size (excluding using a Mega Mushroom in Mario Kart Wii). The only difference in the two boss battles is that he is faster than Bowser and the platforms are smaller. Unlike the original battle, Peach's cage is nowhere to be seen.[1] His eyes turn blue before he shoots his blue fireballs, and this is the only game where this happens.

Dry Bowser's face is used as the icon for the Impossible Pack, a downloadable course pack for Coin Rush mode, despite not appearing in any of its levels.

Mario Kart series

Mario Kart Wii

Dry Bowser makes his first playable appearance in Mario Kart Wii. Due to his size more than his weight, he is a large-sized driver along with his living counterpart, Bowser. He can be unlocked by beating all the Wii New Grand Prix cups on 150cc with at least 1 star ranking. He is the Time Trial ghost of Grumble Volcano and GBA Bowser Castle 3.

Dry Bowser was the only CPU opponent in the second tournament of March 2009, where he attacked the player by firing fireballs at them throughout the race in the Mario Kart 64 version of Bowser's Castle. This competition has since been repeated twice.

Dry Bowser features a good off-road (tied with Toadette) and mini-turbo (tied with Wario, Koopa Troopa, and Dry Bones) bonus, which makes vehicles like the Flame Flyer and Phantom perform a bit better off the track, along with getting a slightly better mini-turbo after a drift.

Mario Kart 8

File:MK8-dlc-DryBowser.jpg
Dry Bowser in Mario Kart 8.

Dry Bowser is a downloadable playable character in Mario Kart 8, in the Animal Crossing x Mario Kart 8 pack: the second of two DLC packs (appearing alongside Villager and Isabelle from the Animal Crossing series, who are also playable as part of this DLC pack, as well as eight new courses and four new vehicle customization options). The pack was released on April 23, 2015.

Dry Bowser is a heavyweight character with a large body frame, and his stats are identical to that of Bowser, Wario, Morton, and the large Mii. 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 an advertisement in both Twisted Mansion and Wii Grumble Volcano for "Undead Motors" uses his emblem.

Mario Kart Arcade GP DX

Dry Bowser appears in Mario Kart Arcade GP DX as an alternate costume for Bowser, making him a heavyweight character.[2]

Mario & Sonic series

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games

Dry Bowser
Dry Bowser's appearance in the DS version of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games.
File:Dry Bowser - Dry Bones - Winter Games.jpg
Dry Bowser and three Dry Bones, in the Wii version of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games.

Dry Bowser makes his second spin-off appearance in the Wii version of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games. He appears as the last rival character in the Festival Mode. Here he challenges the player to the Ice Hockey event, where he is the captain of a team of three Dry Bones while he participates as his team's goalkeeper. Once the player's team manages to beat him, he angrily chases his own team, likely blaming them for the loss. However, if the player loses, Dry Bowser and his team will do a victory dance and laugh evilly. There is also a purchasable Dry Bowser costume that the Miis can wear.

In the DS version of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, Dry Bowser is seen working for Bowser and Dr. Eggman, who are trying to kidnap the Snow Spirits in the Adventure Tours mode. He appears as the boss of the Super Sonic 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.

Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games

Dry Bowser returns as a rival in the London Party Mode of the Wii version of Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games. He is faced in the Dream Long Jump event. After the player beats him, they receive a Sticker. Also, the music that plays when playing against him is the same as in the previous title. The player can once again unlock a Dry Bowser suit for their Miis.

In the 3DS version's story mode, Dry Bowser appears at the beginning of the story for the second part of the Mario story. He and a Dry Bones challenge Mario and Luigi in the Sailing - 470 event.

Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games

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 the Bat. The player must then face all three of them in the Winter Sports Champion Race event.

Mario Tennis Open

Dry Bowser in Mario Tennis Open
Dry Bowser, as seen in Mario Tennis Open

Dry Bowser appears this time as a unlockable playable character in Mario Tennis Open. Dry Bowser, along with Waluigi, are the only Defense-type players in the game. He can be unlocked after the third difficulty level of Ink Showdown, Inksplosion, is completed.

Mario Party series

Mario Party: Island Tour

In the game Mario Party: Island Tour, making his first appearance in the Mario Party series, Dry Bowser acts as the fifth boss to be fought in Bowser's Tower, on the twenty-fifth floor, with his minigame Dry Bowser's Brain Bonk. He reuses his voice clips from Super Mario 3D Land.

Mario Party 10

Dry Bowser MP10.png

Dry Bowser makes a return in Mario Party 10. During Bowser's boss battle minigame, Bowser's Tank Terror, when his HP reaches halfway, he 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.

General information

Physical description

Dry Bowser is simply Bowser's skeletal form, though there are some significant changes in not only color but also in shape. The most noticeable feature is his nose, which has morphed into a beak-like shape. His chest and stomach are now just five ribs and are hollow inside. Dry Bowser's shell is a charcoal gray with dark red spike-rings and scarlet spaces between its plates, as opposed to his counterpart's standard green, red, and black. His horns are longer and more curved, and his eye sockets are more triangular with thick bone where Bowser's eyebrows used to be. Like Dry Bones, Dry Bowser's eyes are black holes with glowing yellow pupils. The once black and shiny collars around his neck and arms have been scorched and turned a dull, very dark red, and his hair has been taken up in a ponytail similar to the hairstyle of Bowser Jr.

Abilities

As an undead version of Bowser, Dry Bowser has largely the same abilities, while also possessing the near-indestructible nature of other Dry Bones, although Dry Bowser's fire breath is blue, as opposed to Bowser's orange fireballs. Dry Bowser also has the ability to throw bones at his foes and stomp on them with a high jump. Dry Bowser is also notable for his large roar that can raise lava in New Super Mario Bros. 2 just like his living counterpart.

List of appearances by date

Title Description Original Release Date System/Format
New Super Mario Bros. Boss North America:
May 15, 2006
Nintendo DS
Mario Kart Wii Unlockable Playable Character Japan:
April 10, 2008
Wii
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games Boss North America:
October 13, 2009
Nintendo DS
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games Rival North America:
October 13, 2009
Wii
Super Mario 3D Land Boss Japan:
November 3, 2011
Nintendo 3DS
Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games Rival North America:
November 15, 2011
Wii
Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games Boss Australia:
February 9, 2012
Nintendo 3DS
Mario Tennis Open Unlockable Playable Character North America:
May 20, 2012
Nintendo 3DS
New Super Mario Bros. 2 Boss Japan:
July 28, 2012
Nintendo 3DS
Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games Rival Europe:
November 9, 2013
Wii U
Mario Party: Island Tour Boss North America:
November 22, 2013
Nintendo 3DS
Mario Kart Arcade GP DX Downloadable playable character Japan:
July 25, 2013
Arcade
Mario Party 10 Boss Japan:
March 12, 2015
Wii U
Animal Crossing × Mario Kart 8 (Mario Kart 8 DLC) Downloadable Playable Character Worldwide:
April 23, 2015
Wii U
Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition Boss Japan:
April 29, 2015
Nintendo 3DS

Official profiles and statistics

Mario Kart Wii

File:RosterDryBowser.PNG
Dry Bowser's complete vehicle roster.
  • Size: Large
  • Actual Bonuses
    • Off-Road: +6
    • Mini-Turbo: +6
  • Website Stats:
    • Acceleration: 1/3
    • Top Speed: 3/3
    • Off-Road: 1/3
  • Bios
    • Site: "If the King of the Koopas wasn't scary enough already, his appearance as a surly skeleton should have the other drivers shaken in their seats!"
    • Prima Guide: "After a little dip in lava, Dry Bowser, King of the Dry Bones, returns invincible! Fortunately though, he's driving the same karts and bikes as everyone else!"
    • Card: "Is this the result of Bowser taking a lava bath? Dry Bowser knows how to turn on the boost juice with effective Mini-Turbos and excellent Off Road handling. Unlock him if you're on a tight track & like to go fast!"

Mario Tennis Open

  • Type: Defense
  • Site Bio: He's a little slow, but Dry Bowser can cover a wide range with his big body. His specialty is powerful strokes and Drop Shots.
  • Bio 2: Though he is rather slow, Dry Bowser's huge body enables him to cover a large part of the court. He is capable of both powerful drives and delicate dropshots.

Names in other languages

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Gallery

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Trivia

References

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