Post by mrbowser on Sept 22, 2015 9:06:34 GMT -5
Well out of boredom I decided to analyze the evolution of Bowser's character over the years, based on my own perceptions of course.
In the early days there was nothing to Bowser as a character beyond the typical evil overlord who wanted to capture Peach and take over her kingdom. This was pretty much a constant from SMB to SMW. There was really only the SLIGHTEST hint of any kind of personality, I mean what kind of evil overlord begins their letters with ''yo?''
SMRPG then came along and gave Bowser the personality of a sentimental doofus whose more interested in his reputation as a villain than actually being one. However this didn't keep which brings us to SM64 which while back to typical evil overlord, did introduce a trait that would become recurring elements to his character. That being his penchant for evil laughterusually of the Gwa ha ha or Bwa ha ha variety.
Following that we have the Mario Party series where he is portrayed as a trickster who derives pleasure from screwing over Mario co and stealing their money. This portrayal would be pretty consistent for the MP series all the way up to modern day.
Next we have Paper Mario, which gave us more a more fleshed out personality where the reason he does what he does beyond just a basic lust for power is due to being in love with Peach and an intense hatred for Mario. It also really put forward the idea that he wasn't very bright.
But next I think brings us to a very different and more radical shift in Bowser's character that carried him from the early 2000s till about the year 2007. A shift that would basically turn him into a comedy villain that nobody, even within the context of their own universe, took seriously.
It all started with Sunshine and the introduction of his son Bowser jr. Here he was portrayed as an almost sitcom like father with jr and the worst thing the 2 accomplished in this game was ruining Mario's vacation, which is quite the step down from the would-be conqueror he was previously. It also marked the debut of Scott Burns who gave Bowser this really derpy voice that just sounded awful.
After that we had the M&L series and the continuing Paper Mario series which both pretty much followed sunshine's example. Portraying him as an egotistical ham who was obsessed with kidnapping Peach, often showing more interest in having her in his possession than her kingdom or the rest of the world. Instead the kingdom/world threatening situations would fall to other antagonists who were generally shown as more dangerous and threatening than he was. These situations often led him to joining with Mario against the other villains as they often threatened him as well.
Following all that we come to galaxy and all his subsequent appearances to date which pretty much gave us modern Bowser as we know him. This involved a new voice from the much better Kenny James, and a merger of sorts with his old generic evil overlord self and his peach obsessed egotistical hammy self. This resulted in Bowser as we know him today. A hammy egotistical jerk who is obsessed with Peach but hasn't lost site of his goal to rule the mushroom kingdom/world/universe. This is probably best represented with Dream Team where he actually gets the one up over the other antagonist where as before it would have gone the other way around.
So yeah thats how I always saw things. Feel free to add your own 2 cents.
In the early days there was nothing to Bowser as a character beyond the typical evil overlord who wanted to capture Peach and take over her kingdom. This was pretty much a constant from SMB to SMW. There was really only the SLIGHTEST hint of any kind of personality, I mean what kind of evil overlord begins their letters with ''yo?''
SMRPG then came along and gave Bowser the personality of a sentimental doofus whose more interested in his reputation as a villain than actually being one. However this didn't keep which brings us to SM64 which while back to typical evil overlord, did introduce a trait that would become recurring elements to his character. That being his penchant for evil laughterusually of the Gwa ha ha or Bwa ha ha variety.
Following that we have the Mario Party series where he is portrayed as a trickster who derives pleasure from screwing over Mario co and stealing their money. This portrayal would be pretty consistent for the MP series all the way up to modern day.
Next we have Paper Mario, which gave us more a more fleshed out personality where the reason he does what he does beyond just a basic lust for power is due to being in love with Peach and an intense hatred for Mario. It also really put forward the idea that he wasn't very bright.
But next I think brings us to a very different and more radical shift in Bowser's character that carried him from the early 2000s till about the year 2007. A shift that would basically turn him into a comedy villain that nobody, even within the context of their own universe, took seriously.
It all started with Sunshine and the introduction of his son Bowser jr. Here he was portrayed as an almost sitcom like father with jr and the worst thing the 2 accomplished in this game was ruining Mario's vacation, which is quite the step down from the would-be conqueror he was previously. It also marked the debut of Scott Burns who gave Bowser this really derpy voice that just sounded awful.
After that we had the M&L series and the continuing Paper Mario series which both pretty much followed sunshine's example. Portraying him as an egotistical ham who was obsessed with kidnapping Peach, often showing more interest in having her in his possession than her kingdom or the rest of the world. Instead the kingdom/world threatening situations would fall to other antagonists who were generally shown as more dangerous and threatening than he was. These situations often led him to joining with Mario against the other villains as they often threatened him as well.
Following all that we come to galaxy and all his subsequent appearances to date which pretty much gave us modern Bowser as we know him. This involved a new voice from the much better Kenny James, and a merger of sorts with his old generic evil overlord self and his peach obsessed egotistical hammy self. This resulted in Bowser as we know him today. A hammy egotistical jerk who is obsessed with Peach but hasn't lost site of his goal to rule the mushroom kingdom/world/universe. This is probably best represented with Dream Team where he actually gets the one up over the other antagonist where as before it would have gone the other way around.
So yeah thats how I always saw things. Feel free to add your own 2 cents.
