Ever since Echo Fighters were announced at e3 along with Ultimate itself, there has been one character I wanted to be an echo ever since. Dry Bowser from the Mario series. I think his design is awesome, and there’s a lot of potential he has for future appearances, but Nintendo just doesn’t do anything with him. He’s usually relegated to spinoff fodder, and it’s a real waste in my opinion. I’ve heard Dry Bowser doesn’t have much to offer in terms of differences to normal Bowser, but I think that’s simply wrong. So here I will spill my thoughts on a potential Dry Bowser fighter could be.

Dry Bowser would have different properties than normal Bowser. Since he’s made of bones, he’s overall faster than normal Bowser, but since he doesn’t have much muscle, he’s lighter and doesn’t hit quite as hard. He’s still very heavy and hits really hard, but it’s not normal Bowsers living to 180+% and killing at 40%.

Additionally, Bowsers tough guy mechanic will also have some alterations. While Dry Bowser wouldn’t be able to tank weak hits in general at lower percents like normal Bowser, Dry Bowser won’t take any knockback from fire projectiles PERIOD. Doesn’t matter if you’re at 10% or 200%, you aren’t getting launched. Hero’s Neutral Special? Get outta here. Flamethrower/Fire Breath? Good way to get punished. Physical attacks with fire properties will still knock you back though, so Dry Bowser can’t just invalidate characters like Charizard or Roy. It’s overall more situational than Tough Guy and in some matchups it doesn’t do anything at all, but when it does come into play it is something you have to watch out for. Anyways, let’s get on with the moveset.

Entrance animation:

Dry Bowsers skeleton falls down before he reassembles. Referencing his boss fight in New Super Mario Brothers.

Jab:

Same as Bowsers.

Dash Attack:

Same as Bowsers.

Forward Tilt:

A claw swipe similar to his forward aerial. Based off the claw swipe he does in his boss fight in New Super Mario Brothers 2.

Down Tilt:

Same as Bowsers.

Up Tilt:

Same as Bowsers.

Up Air:

Same as Bowsers.

Neutral Air:

Bowsers old neutral aerial from Brawl/Melee. It doesn’t have as much range as normal Bowsers neutral aerial, but it does launch foes farther and does a good amount of damage.

Forward Air:

Same as Bowsers.

Back Air:

Bowsers old back air from Melee/Brawl. The Shell part has armor on it, so Dry Bowser can’t be launched if an attack hits his shell during the move. To compensate for this however, the move has considerably more end/landing lag compared to normal Bowsers back air.

Down Air:

Same as Bowsers.

Forward Smash:

A slightly buffed version of Bowsers headbutt forward smash from Melee/Brawl. It still does around 30% and is easily Dry Bowsers most powerful move, and it does a great deal of damage to shields. To compensate for this the move has more starting lag compared to normal Bowsers forward smash, along with less range.

Down Smash:

Dry Bowser swings his tail around, like in his boss fights in Super Mario 3D Land. It’s very similar to Pikachu/Pichus Down Smashes, but it’s a single spin that does loads of damage, and not multiple spins.

Up Smash:

Same as Bowsers.

Neutral Special: Fire Ball

Dry Bowser shoots a large ball of blue fire forwards, and it travels pretty far. It also has the ability to be aimed straight upwards by holding up right after pressing the special button. This is based off Bowsers Fire Shot Custom Move from Smash 4, though this time the move will deal considerably more damage in exchange for lot being able to trap opponents in a constant stream of fire to rack up 40+%. (Seriously, Flame Breath in Ultimate is actually ridiculous).

Down Special:

Same as Bowsers.

Side Special: Bone Throw.

Referencing one of his attacks from New Super Mario Brothers, Dry Bowser quickly throws bones right in front of him. They don’t do a whole lot of damage, but can be good at keeping opponents at bay. This is based of Mr Game and Watch’s Short Order Chef Custom Move from Smash 4.

Up Special: Koopa Leap.

Dry Bowser jumps and spins around in his shell, before landing and causing small shockwaves to appear where he landed. This attack is based of a similar attack Dry Bowser does in Super Mario 3D Land, and is functionally identical to King Dedede’s Up Special.

Grab:

Same as Bowsers.

Pummel:

Same as Bowsers.

Forward Throw:

Same as Bowsers.

Back Throw:

Same as Bowsers.

Up Throw:

Same as Bowsers.

Down Throw:

Same as Bowsers.

Final Smash:

Same as Bowsers, except it’s Dry Bowsers giant form from New Super Mario Brothers 2. When the punch is done, Dry Bowsers eyes turn blue, just like in NSMB2.

Taunt 1:

Dry Bowser takes in a deep breath before letting out a mighty roar. This references Dry Bowsers appearance in the Chaos Castle minigame from Mario Party 10.

Taunt 2:

Dry Bowser strikes a pose, referencing his select animation from Mario Kart Wii.

Taunt 3:

Dry Bowsers head spins around.

Victory Theme:

Same as Bowsers.

Victory Animation 1:

Dry Bowser thrusts one of his fists up in the air, then he thrusts up the other, then breathes fire everywhere. The first part of the animation is based off Dry Bowsers winning animation from Mario Tennis Ultra Smash.

Victory Animation 2:

The camera shows Dry Bowsers tail, before he turns around and breaths fire, then strikes a pose. This is referencing Dry Bowsers intro animation from Mario Tennis Aces.

Victory Animation 3:

The camera shows Dry Bowsers fallen apart skeleton, before the eyes suddenly light up.

Alternate Costumes:

1-Default

2-The Bones turn a pale yellow, while the shell turns green. (Referencing the Dull Bones enemy, a subspecies of Dry Bones, from the Paper Mario series.)

3-The eyes turn blue, the bones turn pink, and the shell turns red. (Referencing the Red Bones, a subspecies of Dry Bones, from Paper Mario and the Thousand Year Door)

4-The eyes turn red, the bones turn a light blue, and the shell turns purple. (Referencing Dark Bones, a subspecies of Dry Bones, from Paper Mario the Thousand Year Door.)

5-The Bones turn light purple, and the shell turns dark purple. (Referencing the sprite of the Elite Dry Bones enemy from Mario and Luigi Super Star Saga.)

6-The Bones turn a dark grey, while the shell stays the same. (Referencing the Dark Bones character from Mario Super Sluggers.)

7-The Bones turn red, and the shell turns dark blue. (Referencing Dry Bones colors when put on Mario’s team in Mario Strikers Charged.)

8-The Bones turn dark green and the shell turns light green. (Referencing Dry Bones colors when put on Luigi’s team in Mario Strikers Charged)

9-The Bones turn orange and the shell turns turquoise. (Referencing Dry Bones colors when put on Daisy’s team in Mario Strikers Charged.)

10-The Bones turn yellow and the shell turns dark green. (Referencing Dry Bones colors when put on Donkey Kongs team in Mario Strikers Charged)

11-The Bones turn brown and the shell turns orange. (Referencing Dry Bones colors when put on Bowsers team in Mario Strikers Charged)