Bowser is widely known as the main villain in the popular series of games from the Mario universe. He was first seen in 1985 as the stage boss in every world of Super Mario Bros., which was the best-selling game ever for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). Today, Bowser continues to torment Mario and his pals, and is still often the main villain in the main line titles. Here are six fun facts about Mario’s arch rival Bowser.
6 Amazing Bowser Facts
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- Bowser is named after a Korean dish. (source) In Japanese, Bowser’s full name is translated to “The Great Demon King Koopa.” To add, “Koopa,” which is also “Kuppa” in Japanese, is the name of a Korean dish that is soup-like dish with rice.
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- The 1991 release of Super Mario World on the SNES marked the debut of Bowser’s iconic Clown Car. (source) Today, Bowser’s clown car is part of current games like Super Mario Maker 2, the game’s within the New Super Mario Bros. series, and even in best-selling titles like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate for the Nintendo Switch. It was in 1991 however, on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), where Bowser is riding in the classic Clown Car, as part of the game’s final boss battle.
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- Super Mario Kart was the first game where gamers could play as Bowser. (source) In 1992, Super Mario Kart for the SNES presented a whole new experience to gamers, and the classic racing game would set the standard for racing games going forward. One of the most unique parts about the game was that players could choose to race as characters they normally couldn’t select in video games, which included Bowser.
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- In 2013, Guinness World Records ranked Bowser as the top video game villain ever. (source) Bowser first appeared in the original Super Mario Bros. game for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1985, as has been seen as the main villain is nearly every main line title in the series.
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- Aside from appearing in countless Nintendo titles, Bowser can also be seen in Wreck-It Ralph. (source) Released in 2012, Wreck-It Ralph was Disney’s 52nd animated feature film, and Bowser has a cameo role in the film, where he can be seen as a participant in a video game villains support meeting.
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- Bowser is the only Mario villain to appear in all 5 games in the “Mario & Luigi” series. (source) Having first debuted on in the 2003 release of “Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga” on the Gameboy Advance, Bowser is the only villain who can say he appeared in all five games within the series.
Bowser is one of the top video game villains of all-time, and with good reason. Who are some of your favorite enemies to battle in video games? Let us know in the comments below!
