Fire Breath

Fire Breath (クッパブレス, Kuppaburesu.  Koopa Breath ) is Bowser's Neutral Special Move in Super Smash Bros. Melee, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. Bowser continuously exhales a stream of fire in front of him, which gradually decreases in length over time. Bowser Jr. and all the Koopalings have the move fire breath, but it can not damage opponents, they use Fire Breath in their up taunt.

Overview
In Brawl, the flames can also be angled up and down, and they will never completely recede, as they did in Melee, where Bowser would eventually begin to exhale smoke instead.

The move's long duration is useful for staving off opponents and preventing their return to the stage. Unfortunately, an opponent using DI can escape the flames fairly easily in most directions. The fire will flow off of floors and walls, and can actually split in two directions, if the angle is perpendicular.

This special attack is shared by Giga Bowser, both in his boss appearance in Melee and in his playable appearance in Brawl. There is no time limit to how long the attack can be held in his Melee incarnation.

This move is also similar to Charizard's Flamethrower in both appearance and function. However, Flamethrower cancels out Fire Breath.

Fire Shot
Fire Shot is one of Bowser's Neutral Special Moves that can be used through customization. Bowser spits out a fireball, the power won't change even if the attack is used in rapid succession.

Strengths:


 * Angle can be changed


 * Power will not decrease


 * Good for zoning


 * Can rack up damage quickly


 * Greater range

Weaknesses:


 * Slower rate of fire


 * More ending lag

The Fire Shot is a move that increases the range of the regular Fire Breath by firing out large fireball projectiles at a steady rate when the button is held. The move is optimal for zoning an opponent since it can easily be spammed by holding down the button, though opponents that manage to break through the barrage of fireballs can easily punish Bowser because the move has higher ending lag than the ordinary Fire Breath. It also starts up slower and has a slower rate of fire since it is not a continuous stream of fire, but makes up for this with the increased size of the fireballs and the ability to angle the projectile up and down while firing it. Angling it up can easily deal with opponents approaching from the air a greater distance away, but is not as effective at close range. Angling it downwards will have the fireballs go on a downwards path a short distance in front of Bowser and then ricochet off of the platform in front of him and go upwards, which can be an effective method since the close range fireballs will deter any nearby opponents and the farther away projectiles can deal with aerial enemies. The move can easily rack up damage quickly and because of the projectile size they can be difficult to dodge; the move is also excellent for shield pressure. The power of the move will not decrease as it is used, making it even better for zoning or spamming.

Fire Roar
Fire Roar is one of Bowser's Neutral Special Moves that can be used via customization. It's more powerful than Fire Breath, but it runs out quickly and takes longer to recharge.

Strengths:


 * Greater range initially


 * Deals more damage


 * Even at low power it can be used for edge-guarding

Weaknesses:


 * Loses power very quickly


 * Takes longer for power to come back

The Fire Roar trades at range and power for small window of use. It quickly runs out of power and takes a while to regain this power. At full power it has great range and attack power and this range can be used for edge-guarding. When it has run low on power it has abysmally poor range and attack power but can still be used for edge-guarding. Using the move on the edge of the stage can knock recovering opponents a short distance back so that Bowser can knock them away even farther with an aerial attack.

Origin
Bowser's ability to breathe fire has been demonstrated in many games he has appeared in, including his debut in Super Mario Bros., where he would shoot fireballs at Mario, but it was not until Super Mario 64 that he could breathe continuous streams of fire.