Dry Bowser

Dry Bowser (also known as Bowser Bones and Skeletal Bowser) is an undead, skeletal version of Bowser, debuting in New Super Mario Bros. Dry Bowser was accidentally created in New Super Mario Bros.'s first castle, when a short fight between Bowser and Mario ended with Bowser being dropped into a pit filled with lava. Unlike previous occasions, the lava reduced the once-mighty king to a skeleton, leaving his son, Bowser Jr., temporarily in command of the Koopa Troop. He is then fought in the first castle in World 8.

Dry Bowser makes an appearance as a unlockable driver in Mario Kart Wii, classified as a Large-sized character. He also appears as a separate character from Bowser in the latest Mario & Sonic games. Dry Bowser has an extremely horrifying howl combined with the rattling of bones from his entire body. This can specially be heard in the Wii version of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games when the player faces him in Ice Hockey.

New Super Mario Bros.
In New Super Mario Bros., Bowser becomes Dry Bowser when he falls into Lava and burns up.

To defeat Dry Bowser, Mario must dodge his attacks, which include breathing small flames and throwing his own bones, and wait for him to make a high jump. Mario must then run under Dry Bowser and hit the Skull Switch, destroying the bridge and throwing him into a very deep pit; when he finally hits the ground, his whole body falls apart. An experienced player, however, may be able to jump over Bowser at the very start of the fight to reach the switch, after which Bowser "runs" after Mario to stop him. If Mario is in Shell Mario form, he can defeat him by performing the Shell Dash against him three times. As Mega Mario, one stomp is enough. A very simple way is to at least have a Super Mushroom then run straight through him and hit the switch. This battle is very similar to the battles against Bowser in Worlds 6-8 of Super Mario Bros.; however, in that game he threw hammers instead of bones. He is also immune to fireballs.

Quite humorously, when Dry Bowser drops from the ceiling like the original Bowser, his body breaks apart, but soon fixes itself with a much more ominous-sounding tune than a regular Dry Bones'.

At the final battle of the game, the remains of Dry Bowser were thrown in a cauldron (the contents of which were unknown, but they were most certainly magical) which turns Dry Bowser back into his original form, except much larger, as if he had used a Mega Mushroom.

Super Mario 3D Land
Dry Bowser returns in Super Mario 3D Land as the boss on the castle stages of the Special Worlds. His battle tactics are similar to False Bowser, but they have several subtle differences. For example, he breathes blue fireballs at Mario while approaching him as opposed to the False Bowsers' method of breathing fireballs while stationary. He also attempts to hit the plumber with his skeleton tail and slam the ground (creating shockwaves). Once Mario hits the switch, the bridge collapses, sending Dry Bowser into the lava.

New Super Mario Bros. 2
Dry Bowser reappears in New Super Mario Bros. 2 as the castle boss of the World Star, the final special world which is unlocked after beating the final boss. He behaves the same as his other counterpart in World 6, which marks the first time Dry Bowser becomes a larger size (excluding using a Mega Mushroom in Mario Kart Wii). The only difference in the two boss battles is that he is faster than Bowser and the platforms are smaller. Unlike the original battle, Peach's cage is nowhere to be seen.

Mario Kart Wii
Now depicted as an independent character that exists separate of the living Bowser, Dry Bowser makes his first playable appearance in Mario Kart Wii. He is a large-sized driver along with his living counterpart, Bowser. However, it seems more reasonable that Dry Bowser would be a lower weight class, as he lacks all matter other than bones. It is likely that his size qualifies him to be in that class, seeing that weight doesn't always matter when it comes to the large karts (for example, Waluigi and Rosalina also look as if they should be in a lower weight class, but are too tall to fit in the medium size karts). He has a more terrifying roar than Bowser in this game, mixed in with several bone rattling sounds, which make up his sound effects throughout the game. He can be unlocked by beating all the Wii cups on 150cc with at least 1 star ranking.

Dry Bowser was the only CPU opponent in the second Competition of March 2009, where he attacked the player by firing fireballs at them throughout the race in the Mario Kart 64 version of Bowser's Castle.

Dry Bowser features a good off-road (tied with Toadette) and mini-turbo (tied with Wario, Koopa Troopa, and Dry Bones) bonus, which makes vehicles like the Flame Flyer and Phantom perform a bit better off the track, along with getting a slightly better mini-turbo after a drift.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games
Dry Bowser makes his second spin-off appearance in the game, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games. He appears as the last rival character in the Festival Mode for the Wii version and in the Adventure Tour for the Nintendo DS. The player meets Dry Bowser in the event of Ice Hockey, where he is the captain of a team of three Dry Bones while he participates as well in the event as the team's goalkeeper. Once the player's team manages to beat him, he chases his team, since he thinks that it is their fault that they have lost. There is a Dry Bowser costume that Miis can purchase in the store. Dry Bowser works for Bowser and Eggman trying to kidnap the Snow Spirits in the Adventure Tour in the DS version as the Boss of Super Sonic Downhill and again in Curling Bowling just as the player reaches Bowser and Dr. Eggman.

Although this is the second Mario spin-off to feature both Bowser and Dry Bowser, only Bowser is a playable character in this game, unlike in Mario Kart Wii where they are both playable.

It is possible in the Wii version to face Dry Bowser in Ice Hockey as Bowser whilst in the DS version they appear to be allies.

Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games
Dry Bowser returns as a rival in the London Party Mode of Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games. He is faced in the Dream Long Jump event. After the player beats him, they receive a Sticker. Also, the music that plays when playing against him is the same as the previous title. The player can also unlock a Dry Bowser suit for the Miis.

In the 3DS version's story mode, Dry Bowser appears at the beginning of the story for the second part of the Mario story. He and a Dry Bones challenge Mario and Luigi in the Sailing - 470 event. After their defeat, only Dry Bones is seen in the ending. Dry Bowser was somehow left out of the ending.

Mario Tennis Open
Dry Bowser appears as a playable character in Mario Tennis Open. Unlike his living counterpart, however, Dry Bowser is classified as a Defense-type player. He can be unlocked after the third difficulty level of Ink Showdown, Inksplosion, is completed.

Personality
Dry Bowser's personality is similar to his living counterpart, Bowser. He is a cruel and ruthless villain, and his roar is even more terrifying than the living Bowser's.

Physical Description
Dry Bowser is simply Bowser's skeletal form, though there are some significant changes in not only color but also in shape. The most noticeable feature is his nose, which has morphed into a beak-like shape. Dry Bowser's shell is a charcoal gray with dark red ridges, as opposed to his counterpart's standard green. His horns are longer and more curved and his eye sockets are more triangular with thick bone where Bowser's eyebrows used to be. Like Dry Bones, Dry Bowser's eyes are small glowing pupils. The once black and shiny collars around his neck and arms have been scorched and turned a dull dark red, and his hair has been taken up in a ponytail similar to the hairstyle of Bowser Jr.

Powers and abilities
As an undead version of Bowser, Dry Bowser has largely the same abilities, most notably his fire breath, while also possessing the near-indestructible nature of other Dry Bones. Dry Bowser also has the ability to throw bones at his foes and stomp on them with a high jump. Dry Bowser is also notable for his large howl that can raise lava in New Super Mario Bros. 2.

Mario Kart Wii

 * Size: Large
 * Stats:
 * Acceleration:*/***
 * Top Speed:***/***
 * Off-Road:*/***
 * Site Bio: "If the King of the Koopas wasn't scary enough already, his appearance as a surly skeleton should have the other drivers shaken in their seats!."
 * Prima Guide Bio: ''After a little dip in lava, Dry Bowser, King of the Dry Bones, returns invincible! Fortunately though, he's driving the same karts and bikes as everyone else!"
 * Mario Kart Wii Card Bio:' "Is this the result of Bowser taking a lava bath? Dry Bowser knows how to turn on the boost juice with effective Mini-Turbos and excellent Off Road handling. Unlock him if you're on a tight track & like to go fast!"
 * Actual Bonuses
 * Off-Road: +6
 * Mini-Turbo: +6

Mario Tennis Open

 * Type: Defense
 * Site Bio: He's a little slow, but Dry Bowser can cover a wide range with his big body. His specialty is powerful strokes and Drop Shots.
 * Bio 2: ''Though he is rather slow, Dry Bowser's huge body enables him to cover a large part of the court. He is capable of both powerful drives and delicate dropshots.

Trivia

 * Bowser has previously been seen falling in lava in Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels without showing his apparent demise. In Super Mario 64 and New Super Mario Bros. Wii, however, Bowser wasn't affected when falling in lava. Additionally, in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, Bowser comments that he loves the smell of lava in his castle.
 * In New Super Mario Bros., if the player uses the Warp Cannon that leads to World 5 found in World 1 before taking on the castle, Bowser's demise will be unexplained as he was never seen falling into the lava and yet he still is in his Dry Bowser form in the first World 8 castle.