This guest Dream Smasher was created by @Hamada_520 and @NintenZ on Twitter.
Due to Super Mario being one of Nintendo’s most iconic franchises, it has maintained a strong presence in every Smash Bros. installment since its debut on the Nintendo 64. However, Smash has rarely represented Mario’s side series games in the character roster itself. It generally sticks to characters who are major players in the main series Super Mario games, whether it be 2D or 3D. While Dr. Mario is the exception, he began as a clone and doesn’t represent his home game outside of the his Neutral Special anyway. Even though the roster mainly sticks to main series characters due to them generally being the most important parts of their respective franchises, there is one figure in the Super Mario series who has a major role in many side games while still occasionally appearing in the main series as well. That character is the ruler of spirits and Luigi’s arch-nemesis: King Boo.
Who Is King Boo?
 By TheRealHeroOfWinds |
King Boo is a major villain in the Super Mario series, playing parts that range from a simple boss battle to a primary antagonist. Debuting in Luigi’s Mansion, this ghoulish monarch was responsible for the kidnapping of Mario, prompting Luigi to head to the titular mansion and save his brother. Despite being beaten and imprisoned by Luigi by the end of the game, King Boo eventually freed himself and immediately began another scheme; this time, to destroy the Dark Moon and exact his revenge upon Luigi.
Importance to Nintendo/Series
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King Boo has established himself as one of the Super Mario series’ primary antagonists due to his complex schemes and impact on Mario and Luigi’s adventures, putting him in stark contrast with Bowser and his more up-front way of doing things. Generally, King Boo serves as the Bowser to Luigi’s Mario, making him an integral part of the series as a result. His role as the Boos’ leader makes him the representative of an iconic Super Mario enemy as well. As well as his role in the Luigi’s Mansion series, King Boo has also made appearances as a boss in Super Mario Sunshine and Super Mario 64 DS, where he is an ally of Bowser who’s attempting to get in the Mario brothers’ way. In between these events, King Boo has also appeared in Mario Kart, Mario Party, and various Mario sports games, cementing him as a series mainstay.
While King Boo hasn’t had a substantial impact on Nintendo as a whole, he is still one of the biggest characters in the Luigi’s Mansion series and a recurring antagonist in the Super Mario series. Being the only character to debut in Luigi’s Mansion and go on to appear in a mainline Super Mario game, King Boo has become very recognizable to many people, including those who haven’t even played a Luigi’s Mansion game. King Boo has recently been on the rise in terms of relevance as well. Appearing in the original reveal trailer for the Nintendo Switch, he was seen being played as in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and was viewers’ first sign that this port of the Wii U game would come with additional content. He also made a brief appearance in Mario Tennis Aces’ recent update as a bonus mini-game. Finally, with the Luigi’s Mansion series receiving much more attention with an upcoming third installment for the Switch and a remake of the original for the 3DS, King Boo is bound to stay in the minds of Nintendo fans for a long time.
Colors and Design
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For hisLuigi’s Mansion appearance, he would get palettes based on the three flagship Ghosts from the first Luigi’s Mansion game: Gold Ghost, Purple Puncher, and Blue Twirler. The alternate King Boo, however, would have palettes based on other Boos from the main Mario games, including Red Boo from Sunshine, Bomb Boo from Galaxy, and a bright blue color based on the Boos’ design from the Super Mario Bros. theme in Super Mario Maker.King Boo has had two primary designs over the years. His most recognizable one comes from 64 DS and the multiplayer games, resembling a big Boo wearing a crown. His more distinct design hails from the Luigi’s Mansion games, where he bears a more menacing appearance by taking on a ghostly purple and being partially cloaked in shadow. This design would be his primary appearance in Smash, as it sets him apart from other Boos and lets him represent the games where he’s most prominent. However, his more recognizable appearance would be an alternate costume, with each design getting four palettes.
 By @MLFoxwell |
How Will He Play?
Now, let’s have a look at some stats:
- Can they crawl: No
- Can they wall jump: No
- How many jumps would they have: 2
- Are there any exclusive abilities they have*: No
- Weight Class: E+
- Height Class: B+
- Speed Class: D
- Are they mirrored when they face left: Yes
*Like Peach’s float
King Boo would be an odd character to play as. Being a very light character who’d be fairly easy to hit due to his large size, King Boo would be all about staying out of his opponents’ reach and harassing them with disjoints that, while not too powerful on their own, affected opponents with various inflictions such as the stun and flower effects. To make up for King Boo’s low defenses and tall frame, his dodges and rolls would last slightly longer than those of other fighters. When King Boo’s dodges and rolls are at their most stale, they will still last longer than other fighters’ stale dodges, as Ultimate’s changes to the dodges and rolls wouldn’t apply to a ghost like King Boo as much. As a character who’d have difficulty fighting opponents head-on, it would be the King Boo player’s job to plan out their course of action and torment opponents while staying out of harm’s way.
Boxing Ring Title: “The Master of Illusions”
Series Icon:
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Stock Icon
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Kirby Hat
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| Move Type | Description | ||
| Entrance Animation: |
A painting of King Boo would be floating in his place before it disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving King Boo to take its place and attempt to scare the player with a quick “Boo!’ to the camera. |
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| Stance: | King Boo would float in place with his tongue outstretched. | ||
| Idle Animation #1: | King Boo’s crown would fall to the side as he quickly noticed and adjusted it with both of his hands. | ||
| Idle Animation #2: | King Boo would stretch his mouth out with his two hands and give a mocking grin. | ||
| Walking: | King Boo would casually float forward with his hands behind him. | ||
| Running: | King Boo would float forward very frantically while flailing his arms back and forth. | ||
| Jumping: | King Boo would simply hop upward with his arms outstretched. | ||
| Crouching: |
King Boo would sink into the ground, taking on the appearance of a Stretch Boo. |
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| Shielding: |
King Boo would close his eyes and cover his face with his hands as a blush formed across his face, resembling his minions’ way of protecting themselves when someone is facing them. |
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| Jab: | King Boo would lick in front of him twice before viciously whipping his tongue forward. | ||
| Forward Tilt: | King Boo would thrust his hand forward as a small burst of ghostly fire appeared in front if it. | ||
| Down Tilt: | King Boo would spin in place with his tongue stretched out, lightly damaging anyone in front or behind him. | ||
| Up Tilt: | King Boo’s crown would float upwards, spinning in place and damaging anyone it came into contact with. | ||
| Dash Attack: | King Boo would dash forward and submerge himself in the ground. He would then briefly pop up and cause horizontal damage while resembling a Stretch Boo. Afterwards, he would come out of the ground and return to normal. | ||
| Side Smash: |
Similarly to Gengar’s Counter Attack in Pokkén Tournament, King Boo would hide his face with his hands before roaring forward to deal damage. However, similarly to Zero Suit Samus’ Down Smash, this attack would stun opponents instead of launching them. |
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| Up Smash: | A blank painting with a ghostly aura would appear above King Boo as he spun it with both of his hands. If fully charged, fiery wisps would also erupt out of the spinning painting, damaging anyone nearby. | ||
| Down Smash: | King Boo would lick the ground in front of him before doing the same to the ground behind him. The saliva from his tongue would have a minor windbox, similarly to Palutena’s Down Smash. | ||
| Neutral Air: |
King Boo would go inside of a spinning painting as he maniacally laughed from the inside. |
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| Down Air: | King Boo would charge downwards at an angle, briefly phasing into the ground once he reached it. However, if King Boo collided with another fighter in the air, he would bounce off of them as they were launched downwards instead. | ||
| Forward Air: | King Boo would simply whip his tongue in front of him. As well as its large hitbox, the move would also have an even larger windbox that pushed opponents forward. | ||
| Back Air: | King Boo would turn around and slam his tongue downwards. | ||
| Up Air: | King Boo would swing his tongue upwards in a semi-circular arc. While this attack would have a wide range, it wouldn’t launch opponents very far. | ||
| Grab: |
A Boo would appear in front of King Boo and grab the opponent. |
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| Pummel: | King Boo would lick his opponent as his minion laughed. | ||
| Forward Throw: | King Boo would quickly laugh to himself and backhand his opponent forward as his Boo subject disappeared. | ||
| Up Throw: | King Boo would levitate his opponent upwards as he spun them in place, all while his subject laughed alongside its king as it disappeared. | ||
| Down Throw: | King Boo would slam his opponents to the ground with his tongue as the Boo disappeared. | ||
| Back Throw: | The Boo would carry the opponent around King Boo before disappearing, leaving King Boo to headbutt his opponent with his crown. | ||
| Neutral Special: Cursed Fireball |
Functioning similarly to King K. Rool’s Blunderbuss, King Boo would fire a ball of ghostly blue fire from his mouth, which he’d then be able to inhale and fire again with extra speed. However, while this attack wouldn’t launch opponents as far as the Blunderbuss, those hit by the fireball would have a chance to gain the flower effect, damaging them until the effect wore off. |
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| Neutral Special Custom #1: Red Fireball | King Boo’s fireballs would be colored red and launch opponents much farther, but they would never inflict the flower effect. | ||
| Neutral Special Custom #2: Cursed Fire Breath | King Boo would breathe blue fire similarly to Bowser’s Fire Breath and Charizard’s Flamethrower, with the stream of fire being able to occasionally apply the flower effect. | ||
| Side Special: Bomb Boo |
King Boo would send out a Bomb Boo to charge forward and explode after either coming into contact with something or after staying out for too long. |
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| Side Special Custom #1: Dangerous Bomb Boo | The Bomb Boo sent out would be much larger and more powerful, but it wouldn’t move | ||
| Side Special Custom #2: Boo Swarm |
Instead of sending out a Bomb Boo, King Boo would send a group of three Boos forward, who would swarm the opponent and hold them in place while damaging them. |
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| Up Special: Disappear |
King Boo would disappear before reappearing a set distance in whatever direction the player input. Upon reappearing, he would also be covered in a pink aura that blew opponents away. |
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| Up Special Custom #1: Fiery Disappear | Instead of reappearing in a pink aura, King Boo would reappear with a blast of ghostly fire, launching anyone nearby. | ||
| Up Special Custom #2: Electrical Disappear | Upon reappearing, King Boo would be bathed in purple electricity that stunned any nearby opponents. | ||
| Down Special: Possession |
This move, functioning like a combination of a counter and a command grab, would have King Boo giving a demented grin as he braced himself for impact. If anyone hit him during this animation, he would go inside their body and attack them from the inside. After this, King Boo would be able to throw his opponent up, down, left, or right. |
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| Down Special Custom #1: Explosive Possession | When King Boo entered his opponent, he would explode from the inside in a blast of ghostly fire, launching the opponent and slightly damaging himself. | ||
| Down Special Custom #2: Spooky Counter | Instead of possessing his opponents, King Boo would blast them with a stream of blue fire, launching them very far and applying the flower effect. | ||
| Final Smash: Paranormal Assault |
King Boo would form a blank painting over his head and slam it on the ground in front of him. Anyone caught in the painting would be sent to the Paranormal Dimension, where they would be swarmed by an army of ghosts from across the Luigi’s Mansion series. The attack would end with a beam of electricity fired by King Boo from his crown, shattering the screen and launching his opponents.
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| Up Taunt: |
Purple electricity would begin to charge up from King Boo’s crown, resulting in it overheating and lightly shocking him. |
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| Side Taunt: | King Boo would look both ways before forming a wisp of ghostly energy in his hands. He would then look at it attentively for a moment before extinguishing it. | ||
| Down Taunt: |
King Boo would bounce on the floor a couple of times while giving his signature laugh. |
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| Victory Animation #1: |
King Boo’s silhouette would quickly move across the screen as the camera frantically tried to locate him. Upon turning around, King Boo would suddenly appear, causing the camera to fall back in fright. |
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| Victory Animation #2: |
Multiple Boos of varying size would be gathering around King Boo as he gave his signature laugh. |
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| Victory Animation #3: |
The titular Dark Moon would be floating in midair as it was shattered by a beam of electricity. The camera would then turn to see that King Boo was the one who destroyed it. |
King Boo’s victory fanfare would be a remixed version of the main theme of Luigi’s Mansion. Since Rosalina has her own unique fanfare to represent her game of origin, King Boo would likely follow suit and use a theme representing his own home game.
While the Super Mario franchise has no shortage of representation in Smash, the Luigi’s Mansion series will only continue to rise in relevance. King Boo will also continue to rise in popularity due to his significance to his home series, and ever growing list of appearances in other Mario games. While an argument could be made that King Boo would fit better as a boss, he has far too much potential as a playable character for that opportunity to be passed up. After all, Smash could always use more villains…
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Good article but for me I would rather have king boo as a playable character in like a Mario Warriors game.
Minor nitpick: the “King Boo” in Super Mario Sunshine is, confusingly enough, a completely different entity. The recurring King Boo’s Japanese name is “King Teresa”, while the one in Sunshine is “Boss Teresa”. Nice article, though!
Well, I’ve heard the whole thing behind Sunshine’s King Boo being a separate entity. While that’s a bit annoying, someone named King Boo’s appearing in a mainline Mario game nonetheless. We were originally going to have a Special move based on this incarnation, but found both the Sunshine Boo and the attack itself to be way too distant from what we were trying to do.