BowserQuest (franchise)

BowserQuest is a spin-off of the Super Mario series that was born in 1988. It stars Bowser, the main antagonist of Super Mario Bros. 1 and 2 in his own adventures to save the Koopa Kingdom from threats that he overlooked back when Lord Vengeance manipulated him as well as new ones that threathen to take over. The mainline games focus on platforming with minor beat-em-up elements.

The concept began in 1985 after Super Mario Bros. was released. On September 12, 1985, Shigeru Miyamoto was watching kaiju films and seeing Godzilla in action inspired him to make a new villain to replace Bowser. However, after a meeting with Iwata, there was a decision to make a sequel wherein Bowser is no longer evil. This led to development of The Legend Of the Warp Zone alongside the first BowserQuest, with the same teams working on both games.

What sets this apart from other Mario spinoffs:
The most obvious ones are that it stars Bowser instead of Mario. However, there are more differences.

Gameplay:

 * The main games use a health bar instead of losing powerups when damage is taken.
 * Bowser has 2 main attacks, which is punching and breathing fire.
 * Although Bowser can ground pound and stomp on enemies, he can't perform the long jump, wall jump, or backflip due to his size and weight.

Recurring Characters:

 * Tuttorio-An angel who initially accompanies Bowser in the first game to help in defeating the new threat. He/She (depending on the localization) eventually becomes a shopkeeper in later games.
 * Nise A. Zure-Introduced in the second game, he's Bowser long-lost brother who is smart and sports a mechanical hand built by Morton Koopa the 2nd. The hand has the power to turn into special weapons. His moveset is similar to brother's, except his punch is replaced with a slash due to the mechanical hand changing to a sword and breathing fire is changed to charging up before shooting due to the hand changing to a cannon.
 * Volcanard Vast-Introduced in the secind game, he's a scientist whose specialty is volcanoes. He was betrayed by being mutated to be half-man, half-volcano (and by that, he has a volcano on his head). His specialty is using rock and fire powers. His power is shooting rocks that ignite a trail of fire upon landing on a surface. The rocks shoot upwards, allowing him to attack airborne enemies.
 * Pyronica Doragon-Introduced in the second game, she's a tomboyish dragon girl skilled in martial arts combat. Her skills allow her attacks to be faster, allowing better dodging and piercing through armor. She can also fly for a short while.
 * The Koopalings-Introduced in SMB3 IOTL, their role is to assist the team in their quests by providing a long-range attack whenever a player character attacks. Larry allows rapid fire, Roy deals more knockback, Lemmy allows the attacks to double as platforms, Wendy can reflect attacks, Iggy can stun, Morton can break through tough objects, and Ludwig can fire spread shots. In the first game, their role is to be saved by Bowser due to them transformed into statues.
 * Morton Koopa the 2nd and Glenda G. Koopa-Parents of the Koopalings as well as the designers of Nise A. Zure's mechanical hand, their job is keeping track of companions to be saved.
 * Kamek-In the second game, it was revealed that before the events of SMB1 and 2, Lord Vengeance took him and Nise A. Zure hostage. Ever since said game, the power he provides is homing magic shots.
 * Bowser Jr.-Bowser's son, his moveset is similar to his father's, except his power is less, meaning he can't ground pound and take out enemies in 1 strike. However, punching is changed to attacking with the Magic Paintbrush from Super Mario Sunshine, which now poisons an enemy. The more paint on an enemy, the more potent the poison is, shortening the life of the painted enemy. His small size allows him to access places no one else can get to.

Mainline (Platformer + Beat-Em-Up)

 * 1) BowserQuest (ANVAS, 1988) - After SMB2, Bowser sees that the Dump People have taken over the Koopa Kingdom when Lord Vengeance was manipulating him. Tuttorio joins him in freeing his kingdom.
 * 2) BowserQuest 2: Way of the Koopa Warrior (SANVAS, 1990) - Bowser teams up with Nise A. Zure, Volcanard Vast, and Pyronica Doragon to stop the Warpass Gang from taking over the Koopa Kingdom by saving 8 realms. Takes place before Super Mario World.
 * 3) BowserQuest 3: Beyond Light and Dark (Super CD, 1994) - During the events of Super Mario Legacy, the team gets back together when day and night shift randomly around the world.
 * 4) BowserQuest: The 64 Tasks (Nintendo Ultra-64, 1997) - The crew are tasked 64 tasks by a mysterious foe to prevent destruction of the Koopa Kingdom.
 * 5) BowserQuest GB (Game Boy/Game Boy Color, 1997) - ?
 * 6) BowserQuest: Year of the Dragon (Nintendo Ultra-64, 2000) - ?
 * 7) BowserQuest Advance (Super Game Boy, 2001) - ?
 * 8) BowserQuest: The 128 Tasks (Nintendo Vortex, 2002) - ?
 * 9) BowserQuest: Royal Rampage (Nintendo Vortex, 2003) - After the events of Super Mario Sunshine, Bowser, Bowser Jr., Nise A. Zure, Volcanard, and Pyronica team up with Bowsette of the Dragon Empire to save the Regal Kingdom from being taken over by one of the greatest enemies of both Mario and the Mushroom Kingdom.
 * 10) BowserQuest Double Screened! (Nintendo DS, 2004) - The crew returns to the castle, only to mysteriously vanish after entering. Now Bowser Jr. has to save his father and his friends from the mysterious force behind this. (SM64DS IOTL)
 * 11) BowserQuest: An Intergalactic Side Story (Nintendo Super DS, 2008) - During Super Mario Galaxy, Bowser's own castle was carried by a dark figure with a cloak hiding their body. Before he and the crew fell, Kamek and Bowser Jr. saved them with some of their airships. Now they must get the castle back for it harbors a relic that could spell doom for many.
 * 12) BowserQuest: Another Intergalactic Side Story (Nintendo Super DS, 2009) - ?
 * 13) BowserQuest: Back to the Basics (Nintendo Revolution, 2011) - A throwback to the previous 2D BowserQuest installments with the SMW sprite style (a la the NSMB replacements). ?
 * 14) BowserQuest in High-Class 3D! (Nintendo 3DS, 2012) - ?
 * 15) BowserQuest U-Nigh-Ted (Nintendo U-Zone, 2013) - A sequel to BowserQuest: Back to the Basics. ?
 * 16) BowserQuest: Let's Get Regally Dangerous! (Nintendo 3DS/Nintendo U-Zone, 2015) - ?
 * 17) BowserQuest: Red Hot Odyssey (Nintendo Switch, 2018) - During the events of Super Mario Odyssey, Bowser noticed different kingdoms with treasures being invaded. Now he and the crew must put a stop to the invaders and bring back peace.

Sideline

 * 1) BowserQuest: Lights, Camera, Fire! (Super Nintendo DS, 2008) - ?

RPG

 * 1) BowserQuest RPG: Rise of the Power Gauntlet (Game Boy, 1993) - ?
 * 2) BowserQuest RPG 2: The Tale of the Two Towers (Game Boy Color, 1996) - ?
 * 3) BowserQuest RPG 3: Time-Travel Terror (Super Game Boy, 2004) - ?

Spin-Offs

 * 1) BowserQuest: Bowser's Revenge (Arcade/Super CD, 1993/1994) - A beat 'em up spin-off ?
 * 2) BowserQuest: The Fighting Edition (Arcade/Nintendo Ultra-64, 1996) - ?
 * 3) BowserQuest: Lights, Camera, Fire! (Nintendo Revolution, 2007)
 * 4) BowserQuest Racerz (Super Nintendo DS, 2007) - ?

Remakes

 * 1) Super BowserQuest (SANAVS, 1992) - A 16-Bit remake of BowserQuest on the ANAVS.