Bowser is a recurring antagonist in the Paper Mario series and main villain of the Mario series. The mighty turtle king and leader of the Koopa Troop, Bowser seeks to rule the Mushroom Kingdom alongside Princess Peach and defeat the Mario Bros. for good. In the Paper Mario series, Bowser similarly reprises his role as a villain, but on occasions becomes a key protagonist. He is a secondary antagonist in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. In Super Paper Mario, he becomes one of the playable Four Heroes. In Paper Mario: Sticker Star and Paper Mario: Color Splash, Bowser returns as the villain, being under the control of the Royal Sticker in Sticker Star and possessed by Black Paint in Color Splash. In Paper Mario: The Origami King, Bowser is once again a hero just like in Super Paper Mario where he now aids Mario in rescuing his followers from King Olly.
History[]
Paper Mario[]
In the first Paper Mario game, Bowser serves as the main antagonist of that game, and gets fought at the end of Peach's Castle, he serves as the second/final boss of Chapter 8, and is overall the fifteenth/final boss of Paper Mario.
Introduction[]
Bowser first appears in Star Haven. Using his Koopa Clown Car, he breaks into the temple containing the Star Spirits, captures them, and steals the Star Rod.
Bowser is next seen alongside Kammy Koopa in Peach's Castle. When Mario meets Peach in the second floor hallway, Bowser uses his own castle to lift Peach's into the sky. He intrudes on the conversation between Mario and Peach. As Bowser reveals that he lifted the castle into the sky, Mario prepares to fight him. Mario gains the upperhand, and Bowser quickly reveals his secret weapon: the Star Rod. Using its power, Bowser increases his defense, making him "invincible." He defeats Mario, knocking him out of the castle.
Prologue[]
Bowser appears near the end of the prologue, after Kammy Koopa reports that the Goomba King was defeated by Mario. After questioning Kammy Koopa to ensure that Mario cannot beat him, Bowser asks if the closest Star Spirit's guardians, the Koopa Bros, are strong enough to defeat Mario. The Koopa Bros. themselves appear, reassuring Bowser that they will not fail him. They show him their special attack, and Bowser awes in amazement. After realizing that the Star Spirit was not being guarded while the Koopa Bros. were speaking with him in Peach's Castle, Bowser angrily demands that they return to their posts.
Chapter 1[]
Bowser is next seen during the chapter 1 Peach interlude. After Peach and Twink investigate his diary, he enters the room unexpectedly. Worried that someone would read his open diary, he came to hide it, but instead found the princess reading it. Confused and angered as to how the princess got in to his room, Bowser calls the Koopatrol guards outside to take back to her room.
Chapter 2[]
Bowser makes a short appearance at the beginning of the chapter 2 Peach interlude, where he checks up on the princess and tries to flatter her. He also mentions that "The Invincible Tubba Blubba" was protecting the next Star Spirit, and that he is invincible. Kammy Koopa then enters the room, and reports to Bowser that the Star Spirit Tubba Blubba was guarding had escaped. Much to Bowser's suprise and annoyance. Bowser and Kammy then leave the room to discuss it in private.
Chapter 3[]
During the third chapter interlude, Peach and Twink once again use the secret passge as they did in previous chapters, but accidentally walk in on Bowser and Kammy discussing the questionable defeat of the supposedly "invincible" Tubba Blubba. After revealing that the next Star Spirit was in Shy Guy's Toy Box, Bowser turns around, to find Princess Peach listening behind him. Initially startled, he quickly takes this opportunity to force Peach to tell him what Mario hates most. The player selects one of three options three times, and can choose to trick Bowser by having him send out a useful item instead of an enemy.
Chapter 5[]
Near the end of the chapter 5 interlude, Bowser walks in on the 64th Trivia Quiz-Off immediately after Peach is given her prize. He asks to join in, but is told that the show has just ended. While he converses with the host, Peach attempts to sneak out of the room, but is caught by Bowser and captured.
Chapter 7[]
During the chapter 7 interlude, Bowser checks up on the princess again. After attempting to start up a "friendly conversation," Peach warns Bowser that Mario will soon come to defeat him. In response, Bowser reminds Peach that he is invincible with the power of the Star Rod, and demands that she get over Mario. Kammy Koopa then enters the room and reminds Bowser that because Mario has freed all the Star Spirits, there is a possibility that he can be defeated. Due to this, Bowser prepares an ambush to stop Mario from reaching him. He also ties up Peach, and takes her with him to the top of her castle, and later on swipes Twink away with his claw when the later attempts to save Peach.
Chapter 8[]
At the end of chapter 8, Bowser encounters Mario in the same hallway of Peach's Castle seen during the intro. This time, he is in his Koopa Clown Car, along with a tied up Peach. He fights Mario, and utilizes the Star Rod to make himself "invincible." However, by using the power of the Star Spirits, Mario attacks Bowser with a Star Beam. This nullifies the buffs of the Star Rod, and Bowser loses the fight.
This wouldn't be the end however, as Bowser flees to the top of the castle. Bowser is chased by Mario all the up to a large floating arena. Bowser isolates the platform and prepares to fight Mario a second time. Using Kammy Koopas magic, Bowser is able to increase in size, making him more powerful and even gaining light blue colored flame-like aroma behind him. After some time, Twink manages to free Peach, and she fights Kammy Koopa. Bowser grows too powerful for even the Star Beam, and Peach quickly comes up with a solution after defeating Kammy. Using her wishing power, she upgrades the Star Beam into the Peach Beam, which completely nullifies Bowsers Star Rod power. After a long fight, Bowser is defeated by Mario. After waking up some time later, Bowser is told by Kammy Koopa that the electrical power he has been channeling is unstable and would soon blow up both the arena he is standing on as well as his castle. Before they could escape, both the arena and Bowser's castle blow up and both Bowser and Kammy are send flying out of the arena, while Peach's Castle is protected from the blast by the Star Spirits. Bowser is not seen again until the credits.
Epilogue[]
Bowser appears in his Clown Car during the credits parade along with Kammy Koopa and some of his Koopa Troopa, angered/annoyed that not only did he lose to Mario and lost the Star Rode, but his castle is also destroyed. During the match between Kammy and Jr. Troopa, Bowser is hit by the magic blasts as Kammy and Jr. Troopa attempt to fight each other, which angers Bowser as he breaths fire on them.
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door[]
Chapter 1[]
Bowser's first appearance in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is during the chapter 1 interlude. He is seen inside his castle's throne room as Kammy Koopa gives him an update on Mario's whereabouts. Initially uninterested, Bowser begins to scold Kammy; but when he hears about the Crystal Stars, his interests are quickly piqued. Immediately after, a status report from a Hammer Bro reveals that Princess Peach was abducted. Angry that it wasn't him who abducted her, Bowser prepares to retrieve her himself. With the intel that Mario was last seen in Petalburg, Bowser and Kammy head there first.
Chapter 2[]
During the Bowser interlude of chapter 2, Bowser first starts out on the trail to Petalburg. He is now playable with in a segment similar to the original Super Mario Bros. This time, however, Bowser can breath fire and bash through the majority of obstacles in front of him. After the segment ends, he and Kammy arrive in Petalburg. Due to his frightening appearance, the villagers of Petalburg hide in their houses as Bowser explores the town. He then finds what appears to be Princess Peach in one of the windows. Bowser proclaims his victory, but realizes that the princess remains silent. A Koopa then timidly reveals that "Princess Peach" is actually his Princess poster. Bowser then embarassingly realizes that he was talking to a poster.
Chapter 3[]
Bowser's first encounter with Mario in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is during chapter 3. After Mario beats the Magikoopa Masters, Bowser forces his way into the Glitz Pit. Grubba allows Bowser to become a new contender, and a fight begins. After being defeated by/defeating Mario, Bowser isn't seen again until the next interlude. This time, he and Kammy have headed off to Boggly Woods in search of the Crystal Star there. Unknown to them, Mario has already obtained it. The two encounter a group of Punis lead by the Puni Elder, who begins to argue with Kammy Koopa. After contemplating the argument in his head, Kammy asks for Bowser to butt in. Bowser snaps out of his thoughts, and demands that the Puni Elder tell him where the Crystal Star is. He tells them that Mario has already taken it, and Bowser angrily swears that he will finish Mario off if he ever finds him again.
Chapter 4[]
Similar to chapter 2's interlude, chapter 4's starts out with a 2D platforming segment. Bowser has crashed his Koopa Clown Car, and is now traveling via the sea floor. After reaching Rogueport on foot, Kammy meets up with Bowser. During that time, she reveals that she went to Glitzville and brags the various amenities she enjoyed while there. Bowser, visibly annoyed, breaths fire onto Kammy and demands that she get back to work.
Chapter 5[]
During chapter 5's interlude, Bowser is now in Twilight Town. Upset by the eeriness of the place, Bowser asks why they are there. Kammy responds with rumors of treasure, so Bowser begins to ask around. He gets nowhere up until meeting Lord Crump, who begins rambling about retrieving Crystal Stars and crushing Mario. Bowser and Kammy interrogate him, and he responds with insults, as well as demanding that they hand over all their intel on the Crystal Stars. Things begin to escalate once Crump summons his X-Naut army, but it does not threaten Kammy and Bowser. They instead counteract it by summoning the Koopa Clan. As a last resort, Crump uses his Superbombbomb to destroy the Koopa army. However, it doesn't go off until Bowser incidentally uses a flame attack on it, presumably defeating both armies in the process.
Chapter 6[]
Chapter 6's interlude begins with Bowser and Kammy in Rogueport. Kammy reveals that some Magikoopa scouts have found a Crystal Star in an underground chamber within Glitzville, a place Bowser recalls to have fought Mario in. He quickly begins heading over to claim the star. This begins another 2D platforming segment, this time in an area similar to Super Mario Bros. level 1-4. After the segment, the two end up in Rawk Hawk's hidden room. They find the phoney Gold Crystal Star on the wall, and immediately believe it to be the real thing. However, Rawk Hawk himself enters the room, catching the two trying to steal it. He dive-kicks Bowser, but is instead dodged and stomped on. In turn, the stomp knocked Kammy into the Gold Star, shattering it. Surprised, both Bowser and Kammy freak out, but Rawk Hawk quickly reveals it was a fake. Demanding to know where the real one was, Rawk Hawk tells the two that it was given to the "Gonzales," who Bowser assumes is yet another contender who must "flatten" in the search for Crystal Stars.
Chapter 7 []
During the chapter 7 interlude, Bowser has now discovered that the Garnet Crystal Star is hidden within Poshley Sanctum. He finds it on a podium with the sanctum, and proudly proclaims that he has obtained one Crystal Star. The excitement is short lived, however, as Pennington enters the room and declares the two Koopas as thieves. Bowser responds by calling himself one of three names (Koopa Koot, The Shadow Thief, A Remorseless King of Evil). Regardless of the choice picked, Pennington reveals that the star is a phoney meant to protect against thieves, and tells
Bowser that he gave the real Garnet Star to "Luigi." Though Pennington merely mistakes Mario's name for Luigi's, Bowser is left believing that even Luigi has managed to obtain a Crystal Star before him. Even angrier with the Mario Bros, Bowser begins stomping. But before the scene ends, a paragoomba enters the sanctum and reports to Bowser that Mario has retrieved all 7 Crystal Stars and headed for the Thousand-Year Door. Initially confused, Bowser asks what the door is. When Kammy tells him that there is treasure behind it, he furiously heads off to ambush Mario and take the treasures for himself.
Chapter 8[]
After Grodus's defeat at the hands of Mario and co. in the Palace of Shadow, Bowser comes crashing through the ceiling with Kammy Koopa not far behind. After getting back up, Bowser sees both Mario and Peach in the room. Confused, he prepares to fight Mario yet again, but this time with Kammy Koopa at his side. Bowser and Kammy are then defeated and left unconcious. If the room is left and re-entered, the two disappear. They are not seen again for the rest of the story.
Credits[]
Though not a physical appearance, Bowser appears as a shadow during the credits along with the rest of the cast. Some past gameplay featuring him is also occasionally shown in the background.
Super Paper Mario[]
In Super Paper Mario, Bowser becomes a playable/main character. He role throughout the story is becoming one of the Four Heroes prophesized within the Light Prognosticus.
Introduction[]
Bowser is seen alongside Peach, Nastasia and Count Bleck during the introduction. He excitedly explains to Peach that they getting married under the arrangements of Count Bleck. When Peach refuses to accept the proposal, Bowser watches in horror as Peach is mind controlled into submission. He then continues to stand in surprise as Chaos Heart begins to erupt from the pedastal in front of him.
Prologue[]
During the prologue (which takes place before the introduction), Bowser is preparing a plan to kidnap Princess Peach. After a pep talk to his minions, Bowser notices two unfamiliar faces among the crowd, and splits them from the rest of the troop. After realizing that they are Mario and Luigi and questioning how they got in, Luigi demands to know where Peach is. Confused, Bowser tells that he had not yet begun his attack. But before the three could react, Peach appears before them in a magical cage alongside Count Bleck. After a portion of Bleck's monologue, Bowser demands that he release the princess. Bleck does not listen and continues his monologue. After Mario is knocked out by Bleck's magic, Bowser prepares to use his army against Bleck. Instead, Bleck sucks everyone but Mario into the Void, including Bowser.
Chapter 3[]
Bowser is not seen again until chapter 3-1, in which he is leading a small group of his remaining unhypnotised minions. After his fortress was blown up by Boomer, Bowser comes into contact with Mario and Peach. Angry that Mario destroyed his fortress, Bowser fights him. After being defeated, he is convinced by Peach to join them in fighting Bleck.
Chapter 7[]
Bowser remains a playable character up until being split up from the rest of the heroes by Dimentio at the beginning of chapter 7. He is found by some D-Men during chapter 7-2, the Underwhere Road, but they consider him to be a "beast" of the Underwhere, and lock him in a room. Mario and Luigi tell the D-Men that they will "tame the beast," and go in to meet up with Bowser. Bowser demands to know where Peach is, but Tippi tells him that they do not know. Not believing her, Bowser fights the Mario Bros. After being defeated yet again, Tippi explains the entire situation to Bowser, and he angrily asks why they didn't immediately tell him that Peach was lost. He rejoins the party after this point.
Chapter 8[]
Near the end of chapter 8-1, Bowser faces against O'Chunks alone. After defeating O'Chunks, the ceiling collapses. O'Chunks holds it up, telling the four heroes that they earned their right to pass, but Bowser stays and helps him keep it up. He tells the remaining three to go, sacrificing himself alongside O'Chunks.
This would not be the end for Bowser however, as he and the other heroes survived the faulty traps that were intended to lead to their deaths. He regroups with Mario at the end of 8-4, and assists him in fighting Bleck. Bowser remains a playable character for the rest of the story. He survives the ordeal alongside the rest of Bleck's minions, the Pixls, and the three other heroes.
Paper Mario: Sticker Star[]
Bowser first appears during the beginning of the game, crashing the annual Sticker Fest along with his Koopa Troop. Trying to touch the Sticker Comet as a harmless prank, his antics cause the Royal Stickers to burst from the Comet and onto the heads of six unwitting people - one of them being himself. The power of the Royal Sticker causes him to become both shiny and monstrous, and he ravages the Sticker Fest before leaving with Princess Peach and causing more mayhem around the five worlds.
Bowser isn't seen again during the main adventure until Mario and Kersti reach his Sky Castle using the power of the other Royal Stickers. There, the two find Princess Peach taped to a wall before Bowser himself comes crashing down. The wall with Princess Peach is pushed away to reveal a long hallway behind him, and he then battles Mario.
At the end of the long hallway, where a platform with the taped-up Princess Peach lies, Bowser is knocked off of the platform, and is seemingly defeated. However, the Royal Sticker he still wears enlarges him to monstrous size, and Mario must battle him again.
After his second defeat, Bowser is free from the Royal Sticker, but is exhausted, and is found lying face down on the ground, the only signs of his safety being the occasional twitch. Mario and Peach hold another Sticker Fest to celebrate afterwards, and Bowser appears again to crash it, but is stopped this time by Kersti, laughing along with the others.
Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam[]
Paper Mario: Color Splash[]
In Paper Mario: Color Splash, Bowser is once again the main villain - however, much like Sticker Star, he is once again possessed by a mysterious force, this time being the Black Paint, which he unwittingly causes by trying to mix paint into a rainbow color to cover his shell with. Once again, the Black Paint takes over his body and causes him to do its bidding, though with much more cunning than his possession from the Royal Sticker. Planning to spread the "gift of black paint" to not just Port Prisma, but the world, "Black Bowser" kidnaps Princess Peach, hoping to use her special pink paint for an unknown reason, and enlists his army to start slurping paint from the land to use for making black-paint bombs, one of which he launches towards Sunglow Ridge as a test. The bomb is successful, and coats the area in black paint before it is cleaned up.
While Peach is brought to Bowser's Castle, she sends Holo-Peaches to Mario, keeping tabs on Bowser's unusual behavior and obsession over the black paint. Before she can tell Mario his true plan, though, Bowser finds out about the Holo-Peaches and drains her of color before hanging her on a picture frame.
Mario and Huey use the power of the Big Paint Stars to create a path to his castle. After defeating Roy and using the explosions of Big Bob-ombs to destroy his bomb factory, the duo confront Bowser himself. Denying Huey's offer to wash the black paint off, Bowser battles Mario. Mario manages to knock enough Black Paint off of him to bring him back to his senses, but the Paint once again takes over, causing him to grow to a large size. With Huey's help, Mario again removes the Black Paint from Bowser, returning him to his senses and causing him to fly off, presumably retreating to his airship along with the Koopalings. He and the Koopalings appear on their airship during the ending, leaving Port Prisma for good, but not before getting hit by a stray firework.
Paper Mario: The Origami King[]
Appearance and Personality[]
In Paper Mario games, Bowser is portrayed as a proud, funny and somewhat dimwitted character who is usually is regarded as a minor threat by others, a clear contrast to his threatening demeanor in the mainline Mario series. When possessed in Sticker Star and Color Splash, though, Bowser is made much more threatening and monstrous. However, his silly, non-threatening personality still shows when he is returned to his senses. In Paper Mario: The Origami King, Bowser is a humorous character as usual, getting folded into a square shape before Mario even finds him. He's still brash and reckless as ever, but he helps Mario wherever he can and he's shown to have a deep care for his son, to the point where seeing him threatened angers Bowser enough to let him breathe powerful fire even in square form.
In Battle[]
Paper Mario[]
Attacks[]
- Nail Attack: Bowser walks up to Mario and slashes him with his claws. This attack deals 1 damage normally and 3 damage while Bowser is powered up in the first battle; 6 damage normally and 12 damage while Bowser is powered up in the second battle; and 8 damage normally and 16 damage while Bowser is powered up in the final battle. Additionally, in all battles but the first, this attack has a large chance to poison Mario for three turns if it isn't blocked.
- Power Up: Bowser holds up the Star Rod and uses it to power himself up. While Bowser is powered up, he glows, the attack power of his damaging attacks is boosted, he becomes immune to all status effects, and his defense increases, to 1 in the first battle, 4 in the second battle, and to the point of being invulnerable to damage in the final battle. During the second battle, this powered-up state can be nullified with Star Beam, while in the final battle, it can only be nullified with Peach Beam.
- Fire Attack: Bowser breathes fire, which deals 10 damage in the first and, normally, final battles; 8 damage normally in the second battle and 16 damage while Bowser is powered up; and 20 damage in the final battle while Bowser is boosted.
- Stamp Attack: Bowser walks up to Mario and jumps on him, dealing 6 damage normally and 12 damage if Bowser is powered up in the second battle, and 8 damage normally and 16 damage if Bowser is powered up in the final battle. In both battles, not blocking this attack will cause one of Mario's Jump, Hammer and Items menu to be removed for three to four rounds.
- Shockwave Attack: Bowser holds up the Star Rod, and releases a shockwave, which deals 4 damage in the second battle and 6 damage in the final battle to Mario, and 3 damage to his partner, also nullifying either's positive status effects if it hits them, regardless of blocking.
- Heal: Bowser uses the Star Rod to heal 20 HP in the second battle and 30 HP in the final battle.
- Lightning Attack: Bowser holds up the Star Rod, and several lightning bolts strike Mario at once, dealing 10 damage normally and 20 damage while Bowser is powered up.
Behavior[]
The first battle against Bowser is entirely scripted. Bowser will use Nail Attack in the first two turns, Power Up then Nail Attack in the third turn, Nail Attack in the fourth turn, and Fire Attack in the fifth turn.
The second battle is far more complex. Bowser is scripted to always use Power Up on the second turn. After that, Bowser has a 20% chance of using Power Up two turns after last using it, 30% of doing so three turns after last using it, and 100% afterwards. Bowser has a 50% chance to use Heal if the percentage of HP he has left is 30% less than the percentage of HP Mario has left, though he cannot use Heal more than once, and using Heal will override using Power Up past the second turn. Bowser will use Shockwave Attack on the first opportunity he gets beginning on the fourth turn. Afterwards, Bowser cannot use Shockwave Attack if he has used it in the last two turns, and he will use it on the first opportunity he gets if it has been more than five turns since he has last done so. If it has been 3 to 5 turns since he has used Shockwave Attack, Bowser has a 20% chance of using Shockwave Attack, though this cance increases to 75% if Mario has charged his jump or hammer attack. If he is not to use Power Up, Heal, or Shockwave Attack, Bowser has a 25% chance of using Stamp Attack, and a further 33.3% chance of using Nail Attack, though he cannot use either of these attacks two turns in a row. If none of the other attacks are to be used, Bowser uses Fire Attack.
Strategy[]
The battle against Bowser is one of the hardest bosses in the game, but with enough practice, it's manageable. Mario should have the Feeling Fine Badge, which allows Mario to avoid getting the Poison status should he miss his block against Bowser's Nail Attack. Should Bowser use his Star Rod to become invincible, Mario must use the Star Beam/Peach Beam to remove it. Mario should also equip D-Down Pound and D-Down Jump Badges, both of which are super useful in the second/final fight against Bowser due to his high defense, as well as equip Attack Boosting Badges. As for Partners that the Player(s) should have, the best one to use is Watt, as her Electro Dash can pierce Bowser's defense and (if Ultra Rank) deal high damage.
Gameplay[]
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door[]
As a playable character, Bowser plays like a more buffed version of the classic 2D Mario. He can breath flames and smash most ordinary obstacles in his path. Bowser also grows larger after eating meat that is hidden within blocks.
Super Paper Mario[]
In Super Paper Mario, Bowser is the brute of the group. He does the most base damage, and is the largest in size. Like in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Bowser can breath flames onto enemies. For all this power, Bowser gives up defense, as he is the most vulnerable of the four heroes.
Paper Mario: The Origami King[]
Folded Bowser acts as a partner in the Origami Castle. In battle, he helps by breathing fire at foes in a line, for 50 damage - however, it is fire-based, so the damage may vary against certain enemies. He has a small chance of breathing a puff of smoke instead, which does nothing. After he is unfolded, he will still follow Mario, but he no longer helps against standard enemies, instead playing a role in the upcoming boss fight.
Tattle information[]
Paper Mario[]
"It's the Evil King Bowser!"
First fight: "Finally, after all this time! He has a huge arsenal of attacks, from blowing clouds of fire to jumping on us. Fire Attack: 8, Stamp Attack/Nail Attack: 6 I'm sure he has other attacks that I don't know. Boy, does he look nasty! He's strong enough as it is, but I'm sure he can use that Star Rod to increase his power until he's nearly invincible. Princess Peach needs us! Let's take him, Mario!"
Second fight: "Uh... I think he got bigger. That's not a good sign... He has a huge arsenal of attacks, from blowing clouds of fire to jumping on us. Fire Attack: 10, Stamp Attack/Nail Attack: 8 I'm sure he has other attacks that I don't know. Kammy Koopa's mysterious device has somehow beefed up his power even more. That's hardly fair! You should use that Star Beam whenever he uses the Star Rod to increase his power. Oh, you already knew that?"
Final fight: "No more messing around! He has a huge arsenal of attacks, from blowing clouds of fire to jumping on us. Fire Attack: 10, Stamp Attack/Nail Attack: 8 I'm sure he has other attacks that I don't know. When he increases his power with the Star Rod, our attacks will be totally useless. When that happens, you must use our ultimate weapon, the Peach Beam! It has the power of everyone's wishes! This is our time, Mario! Let's take this chump! We're coming, Princess!"
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door[]
Glitzville: "Mario's fated enemy. Bowser the Koopa King is a foe to be feared. His typical turf is NOT Glitzville."
Palace of Shadow: "Mario's sworn enemy. He's a big galoot who's come to swipe Princess Peach and the Crystal Stars."
Super Paper Mario[]
The Bitlands and The Underwhere Road: "Mario's mean-spirited rival needs no introduction. He's not too happy about having to help out Mario."
Trivia[]
- Paper Mario was the first game in the series to show Bowser having a crush on Peach.
- The Thousand-Year-Door, Super Paper Mario and Paper Mario: The Origami King are the only games in the series to not show Bowser being the main antagonist
- Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year-Door is so far the only game in the series where Bowser is not involved in the final boss, as he was the final boss in the first Paper Mario game, Sticker Star and Color Splash, he was playable during the final boss of Super Paper Mario, and he helps out in phase 2 of the final boss of The Origami King
- Paper Mario: Sticker Star is the only game in the series where Bowser has a non-speaking role.
- Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam erroneously show Paper Bowser's spikes on his shell having no red rims at the bottom, despite that not being the case for his in-game model