Whirling Fortress

Whirling Fortress is a move that can only be used by Bowser and Giga Bowser in the Super Smash Bros. series. Bowser and Giga Bowser can activate this move whenever a player presses Up and simultaneously. Bowser (or Giga Bowser) conceals himself inside his shell and spins around with it in the air. If it hits any of the other players, they take a relatively large amount of damage, depending on how long they are in contact with the spinning shell. The attack can also be used on the ground, instead of just in the air. If used in the air, it will put Bowser and Giga Bowser into a helpless state after it finishes.

In Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Whirling Fortress only delivers up to two hits when it's used on the ground, but it delivers up to 11 hits when used in the air. In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U, while Giga Bowser's Whirling Fortress remained unchanged, Bowser's Whirling Fortress can deliver up to 8 weak hits on the ground, with the final hit delivering the most knockback, making the attack more effective to use as an out-of-shield attack, and safer to use against shields.

Whirling Fortress received two custom variants in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U: Flying Fortress and Sliding Fortress. Giga Bowser cannot perform these and will retain his default move if one is chosen.
 * Flying Fortress doubles the vertical distance of the move, but offers less horizontal distance. Also, while the in-game description states that it doesn't deal any damage, it can actually deal minor damage to opponents.
 * Sliding Fortress greatly increases the horizontal distance of the move, enabling it to travel the entire length of the Battlefield stage. However, the attack takes longer to start up, and it only delivers a single hit on opponents with reduced knockback, making it less effective to use as an out-of-shield attack.

Trivia

 * Whirling Fortress is similar to the attack Ludwig von Koopa performs in Super Mario World after being attacked. Bowser uses a similar move as his Special Shot in Mario Power Tennis, known as the Spinning Shell Dash. Bowser also uses a similar move in Mario Sports Mix, in Super Paper Mario in one of his Stylish move animations, in New Super Mario Bros. U, in Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle as MegaDragonBowser during the final phase of the final boss fight, and in Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope for his dash and spinning animation.
 * Prior to Melee, the only instance of Bowser performing a similar move was the NES version of Mario's Time Machine.

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