Baby Bowser

"Ahh...nothing quite like good cookies and some evil milk."

- Baby Bowser

Baby Bowser (called Prince Bowser by his minions) is a recurring villain in the Yoshi series. He was designed to be the infant self of Bowser. Although not related to him, Kamek is mainly responsible for his child rearing. Baby Bowser looks similar to his adult form's child, Bowser Jr.. The only difference between the two is that Bowser Jr. has a painting on his bib, while Baby Bowser's is blank, or doesn't have one at all.

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island / Super Mario Advance 3: Yoshi's Island
Baby Bowser is the final boss of Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. However, he doesn't seem to be too involved with Kamek's plans at capturing the Baby Mario Brothers. Baby Bowser appears in his castle when Kamek demands that Yoshi hand over Baby Mario at the end of the level. However, Baby Bowser awakes and complains that Kamek "woke" him, making him literally smash Kamek so he's as flat as paper and then he kicks him away. He then notices Yoshi and immediately wants to ride a "green donkey". Baby Bowser tries to kick Baby Mario off Yoshi's back and ride Yoshi himself. He also sends out shockwaves by ground pound. Yoshi gives him a taste of his own medicine by hitting the spoiled prince with his shockwaves. After three hits, Baby Bowser is beaten, and then Kamek shows up and uses his magic on him. Most of the castle is then destroyed as Baby Bowser grows to a gigantic size and rises up in the background. He begins the final battle by sending debris tumbling down to destroy the ground Yoshi's standing on. Baby Bowser then starts spitting enormous fireballs at Yoshi. During the battle, Yoshi eventually notices a Baron von Zeppelin carrying a Giant Yoshi Egg. Yoshi grabs the egg and, with precise aiming, throws it at Baby Bowser's head, sending him farther back.

Yoshi has to continue to throw eggs at Baby Bowser because if he gets too close, he will make the entire platform collapse, instantly defeating Yoshi. Once Yoshi attacks Baby Bowser enough times, he sends more debris plummeting down, crumbling even more of the floor. Yoshi has to throw a few more eggs at Baby Bowser until he can't take it anymore and finally decides to just charge. After enough hits, he is defeated, knocked out, and returns to his normal state. Kamek flies off with Baby Bowser, but not before he vows revenge. Yoshi then sprints up to the Stork and Baby Luigi, freeing them both, and handing Baby Mario to the stork as well.

It's possible to defeat Baby Bowser even when the platform is gone. If done, he falls down, and Yoshi falls, landing on a platform where Baby Luigi and the Stork are. Yoshi will notice Kamek, who flies off. Then the rest will be back to normal.

Yoshi's Story
Baby Bowser gets his revenge in Yoshi's Story when he steals the Super Happy Tree, the source of all the happiness throughout Yoshi's Island. To make matters worse, he turns the entire island into a pop-up book. It's up to a bunch of Baby Yoshis to stop him. After some venturing, the Baby Yoshis uncover Baby Bowser in his castle and one of them duels him to reclaim the Super Happy Tree. Baby Yoshi has to hit Baby Bowser with Bob-ombs while the prince is riding his "pet" and knock him off. The battle is then on the ground where Baby Bowser shoots fireballs, throws bombs, and sends shock-waves; Yoshi has to hit him a few more times to beat him. After being beaten, Bowser surrenders, and allows the baby Yoshis to have the Super Happy Tree back, rationalizing that the fruit tasted horrible to him anyway, before being carried out by his Toadies while sobbing.

Yoshi Touch & Go
Baby Bowser makes a cameo in Yoshi Touch & Go as one of the selectable high score icons. He also appears when Yoshi gets a Game Over with over 3000 yards on the Challenge Mode, laughing with Kamek.

Yoshi's Island DS
During the events of Yoshi's Island DS, Baby Bowser is at his castle when his future self shows up to kidnap the Star Children and gain control of the universe. Baby Bowser is ironically abducted by the future Kamek and brought to Bowser's Castle. When he realizes what's going on, he insults his grown-up self and his plan, calling him an "old geezer". Enraged and oblivious to the fact that his younger self is one of the Star Children, the Koopa King kicks Baby Bowser out of the castle.

As Baby Bowser plummets, he swears revenge and once he lands, he yells into the sky in a futile attempt to remind his older self that they're one and the same. Baby Bowser then notices Baby Mario and tells him he sees Baby Luigi in Bowser's Castle. Baby Bowser then realizes that he has just landed on Yoshi and is stoked to get a ride from him. Baby Bowser is then playable for the remainder of World 4; as the Nintendo Power Player's Guide puts it, he shows up to "kick some major enemy butt, of course!" While carrying him, Yoshi can't swallow enemies, as this move is replaced with the young Koopa's ability to breathe fireballs; this defeats enemies and melts ice cubes. Once Big Guy the Stilted is defeated, Baby Bowser leaves Yoshi's group in an attempt to hitch a ride from the future Kamek as he flies off to report to the adult Bowser. However, Baby Bowser loses his grip and falls off of Kamek's broomstick.

Baby Bowser later rejoins Yoshi's group, along with Baby Wario, when they reach Bowser's Castle. He eventually betrays them and attacks Yoshi and the babies, believing they're after his treasure. The fight goes much like the previous one, but faster. Yoshi beats the little prince and Kamek takes him away, leaving the group to the future Bowser, who is angry at what Yoshi did to his younger self. He is then eventually defeated. At the end of the game, Baby Bowser falls off Kamek's broom and lands on a barge carrying his treasure, now claimed by Baby Wario; an argument between the two young misers inevitably ensues.

Super Smash Bros. Melee
Baby Bowser didn't physically appear in Super Smash Bros. Melee, but he cameos as a trophy. The player can get a trophy of Baby Bowser by doing anything in the game.

Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
Baby Bowser's first and only appearance in the Mario & Luigi series is in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, where he is a major antagonist. He first appears at the beginning of the game, in an attempt to kidnap Baby Peach. Luckily, Baby Mario and Baby Luigi show up in the nick of time to play with Baby Peach. After Baby Mario defeats him however, the Shroobs attack Princess Peach's Castle. Fortunately, everyone manages to escape on Baby Bowser's Koopa Cruiser. On the way to his castle, Baby Bowser picks the Mario and Luigi from the future to get Baby Peach to stop crying. On the Koopa Cruiser, he receives a transmission from Princess Shroob at Shroob Castle. She tells the crew something in the Shroobs' language and shoots down the Koopa Cruiser with a Shroob missile.

Baby Bowser is flung away from the Koopa Cruiser on the impact, into his castle. Eventually, he realizes that the Mario Bros. have stolen the Cobalt Star Shard from his castle and tracked the Bros. down at the Vim Factory, where he swipes both his Cobalt Star Shard and the one the Bros. have just snatched from Swiggler.

Baby Bowser then flees to the peak of Yoshi's Island with his caretaker, Kamek, where he orders Kamek to snatch the Yoshi Cookies from the Yoshis. When the Mario Bros. catch up to Baby Bowser at the peak, he scarfs down all the Yoshi Cookies, but starts choking. Baby Bowser then leaves to the other side of the peak after Kamek had given him some "evil" milk. After the Mario Bros. defeat Kamek, they corner him at the other side of the peak. Without thinking his plans through, Baby Bowser eats the Cobalt Star Shards. Soon after, he and the Mario Bros. are eaten by Yoob.

Inside Yoob, Baby Bowser, along with the Yoshis already eaten, are put inside a Yoshi Egg. When the Mario Bros. confront Sunnycide, a monster within Yoob, he throws the egg Baby Bowser is in at Luigi, breaking it open. After the Mario Bros. defeat Sunnycide, Baby Bowser and all of the swallowed Yoshis escape Yoob.

Back on Yoshi's Island, Baby Bowser informs the Yoshis that he saved them from Yoob. Having believed him, the Yoshis give him the rest of their Yoshi Cookies when the Mario Bros. and Toadbert show up and tell the Yoshis that he is lying. Baby Bowser then eats all of the Yoshi Cookies and gets sick. He vomits the Cobalt Star Shards, which, seemingly with a mind of their own, hit him and fling him off of Yoshi's Island.

Later on, Baby Bowser heads off to Thwomp Volcano to build a new castle, where he meets his future self, Bowser. After a minor argument, Baby Bowser and Bowser team up, not knowing the other ones identity, against the Mario Bros.. They end up being beaten after the battle and flung into the sky by a Thwomp, where Bowser ends up in a Time Hole and Baby Bowser ends up on top of the Shroob Mothership.

Baby Bowser shows up again after the Bros. have defeated Princess Shroob and, despite being warned, he put the Cobalt Star Shards together and completed the Cobalt Star, releasing Elder Princess Shroob. Baby Bowser is then turned into a Shroob Mushroom. Baby Luigi's tears later turn him back to his normal state. Baby Bowser shows up at the end of the game going home and complaining about losing the Cobalt Star.

Physical Appearance
Baby Bowser shares many physical qualities with his adult counterpart, Bowser. They both have red hair and black cuffs on their arms. Baby Bowser has cuffs on his neck in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Yoshi's Story, and in Yoshi's Island DS. In these appearances, Baby Bowser appears with spiked cuffs, while in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, his cuffs appear with no spikes. Like Bowser, Baby Bowser has two red eyebrows, a green shell with spikes, and two small nostrils on his nose. Baby Bowser also has claws on his hands and his feet. Unlike Bowser, Baby Bowser either has no horns or his horns are small and stubby, much like Bowser Jr.'s, depending on the game.

Personality
A spoiled child, Baby Bowser frequently throws tantrums in hopes that his minions, Kamek and the Koopa Troop will give him what he wants. He is greedy and also very gluttonous, as shown in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, where he eats a huge pile of Yoshi Cookies and the Cobalt Star. Toadbert calls him a "Little Piggie". He even insulted his future self in Yoshi's Island DS.

Powers and abilities
Even as a child, Baby Bowser demonstrated some of his adult self's traits, such as breathing fire and possessing a surprising amount of strength, being able to redirect his adult self's heavy shell with a hammer swing in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time. Unlike Bowser, he seems to be more active and has a bigger appetite.

Instruction Booklet Baby Abilities Information
''With his fiery breath, Baby Bowser can defeat enemies and melt ice. Breathe fire by pressing. Keep in mind that Yoshi can't make eggs with Baby Bowser on his back, but he can still pick them up and throw them.''
 * Special Ability: Breathing Fire

Trivia

 * Baby Bowser looks and sounds as Bowser Jr. in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, although his bandanna is different, as it is blank.
 * Baby Bowser was referred to as "King Bowser" in the English version of Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. Subsequent games replaced his title with "Prince Bowser".
 * In Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Baby Bowser is the only boss who must be defeated before Kamek casts a spell on him.
 * He and Baby Wario are the only babies that do not appear in Mario Super Sluggers.
 * In Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, after one of the crew members states that a transmission is received from Princess Shroob, Baby Bowser asks them to show it in the crew member's voice.