The question of Mario's age bubbled back up to the surface with the release of The Super Mario Bros. Movie earlier this year, but one topic that has never caused quite as much of a stir is for how long Bowser has been around.
On the one hand, the King of the Koopas appeared as a baby alongside Mario in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, so we wouldn't bat an eyelid to discover that the pair were the same age (around the mid-20s mark); that being said, he has always appeared to be that bit older, right?
Well, it turns out that the latter just be true (thanks, Automaton). The Twitter account of obscure Mario content, @MarioBrothBlog, has pointed out that in a recent Nintendo of America "How-To" video that details the process of setting up a Nintendo account, the tutorial is conducted by a 'Bowser' who inputs his birthday as 5th February 1989 — positioning him at the age of 34.
Now, sure, this could be any old 'Bowser' (the current NoA president demonstrates just how common of a name it is), but the tutorial goes on to show the account setting up a family group with someone called 'Mario', and even making a child account for one 'Bowser Jr' (who's birthday is on 3rd March 2010, FYI) — so yep, it certainly looks like this is the Bowser that we're talking about here.
Of course, being born in 1989 does mean that the King of the Koopas' is younger than his first game appearance in 1985's Super Mario Bros., but let's not pretend that Nintendo timelines have a habit of lining up *cries in Zelda*.
So there you have it, Bowser is moving his way into his mid-30s (though we, flatteringly, wouldn't put him a day over 27) while Bowser Jr will be deep in a time of personal growth at the ripe old age of 13. We have added the instructional video down below for you to see the birthdays for yourself — and set a reminder to buy a card for next year...
Would you agree that Bowser is 34? Have you always imagined him younger or older? Let us know in the comments.
[source twitter.com, via automaton-media.com]
Comments 24
I'm 38 years old, 4 years older than Bowser.
Bowser is at least 60 years old imo.
Maybe the current bowser is the Bowser jr. from the earlier Super Mario games. And the original Bowser is his father.
So "Baby" Bowser was actually 8?
Also 13 seems way too old for Junior.
@sanderev I like that logic so much (especially considering the Kong family tree), but would that mean the Bowser Jr seen in Mario Sunshine in 2002, was born in 1989? Again, he seems younger than 13 to me…
But I thought Bowser Jr wasn't his child as if you play Mario and Luigi : Partners in Time on the DS he is actually just a young version of Bowser himself.
@gaga64 Just trying to find any logic to it.
I have the same birthday as Bowser Jr. As an adult, it’s hard to imagine that there are children born after 2010.
Oh god, I'm older than Bowser, an evil dinosaur king. That's like being older than Smaug.
Maybe the Bowser in question here is Doug? Maybe he is younger than he looks!
Bowser Jr. needs to be a teen in the next game
It's a fair guess to say Koopas probably age different than humans. Maybe "baby" bowser back in SMW2 was already 7 years old (though still a baby for koopas) while Mario and Luigi were newborns.
Of course, this is all speculation on Bowser's age based on setting up an online account. Maybe as an evil king he lied his age to sound younger? Think about the statistics, Bowser!
As a geriatric millennial, Bowser has done well to get on the housing market.
Quite a flex to own so many ginormous floating castles when many in his age bracket are struggling to rent a single bedroom apartment.
…It’s probably because he doesn’t eat avocado toast.
I've always seen Bowser's age in relation to Peach's as a sort "old (ugly) man wanting to marry a young (beautiful) woman" situation.
If that doesn't make any sense I'm sorry, it sounded better in my head.
A very neat, but unnecessary fact for my appreciation of Bowser!
He's a dragon; he's probably a couple hundred years old.
I mean in Yoshi's Island Bowser could talk, so I always assumed he was a bit older than Mario. Where Mario was literally a toddler.
Hey we would of graduated the same year, also who did Bowser do the horizontal monster mash with to make baby B?
@Bunkerneath That's Baby Bowser not Bowser Jr.
So seeing how he is a turtle dragon how many years does his species live for? I'm guessing at least a few hundred years.
@ParadoxFawkes
He probably Piccolo pukes them out
Nintendo's gonna change the game canonicity of Mario characters again in a few years, this won't stick. It does line up nicely with the 2023 Movie canon though.
In my head canon, Bowser's still the single father of 8 kids and is more or less the same age as all the other main Mario characters based on the events of Yoshi's Island. I pin them all in their late 30s.
Removed - unconstructive feedback
Heha, doesn't surprise me too much that Bowser Jr. Is a teen. They are Koopas. So their age and growth will be different from humans. Hell, they could grow up to be in their 100s and look 40 or something.
@Axecon It's already confirmed that the Koopaling aren't not his biological children. Nintendo themselves reconned it. If anything, they are Bowser's adopted children. Who are probably older then we thought.
I always assumed the Koopaling were one year apart. Ludwig is the oldest and Larry is the youngest.
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