*Note: The following is just my opinion, and it should not be taken as fact, nor does it mean that my opinion is more valid than anyone elses' opinions. If you disagree with me, that's perfectly fine. If you agree, cool. With that out of the way, let's begin, shall we?*
So in most Mario titles, you face Bowser throughout the game, or you face him once in the final showdown. Whatever the case may be, Bowser is usually the main villain in any Mario game (with a few exceptions). However, I believe that Bowser's best appearance as a villain has got to be Super Mario Odyssey, but before I explain why, I need to explain his roles in other 3D Mario titles (Namely the Super Mario series, which could be considered the main series games).
In Super Mario 64, Bowser has a constant presence within your adventure. His minions are present throughout the 15 worlds in the game, and he has stolen the Power Stars that you, as Mario, have to reclaim in your quest to save the Princess. However, he's not really.. around. You face him 3 times, but that's... kind of it. You know where he is at all times and he's just sort of there for you to face in order to progress to a new location in the castle. In his final battle, his texture is made into a dark rainbow, as a means of showing he's much stronger (also shown by the fact you have to throw him into 3 bombs instead of the 1 you've done in the previous two encounters with him).
In Super Mario Sunshine, Bowser isn't even around until the very end. Instead, Bowser Jr. takes center stage as the main antagonist of the game (although you could argue that Bowser is since he lied to Bowser Jr. and orchestrated the events of the whole game. However, as revealed, Bowser Jr. was aware that Peach wasn't his real mother, but he had no problems with facing Mario and expressed his desire to face Mario again one day). So I guess you could argue that Bowser has a constant presence as well, but he's honestly less involved than his own son is.
Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2 sort of have a similar feel to Mario 64, in which Bowser is again a constant presence, and you fight him 3 times, with the final battle being the most climactic of the bunch. However, Bowser and Bowser Jr. are more involved with stopping Mario, as every hub area features a Bowser or Bowser Jr. fight within them, as the father-son duo alternate between hindering Mario's progress. Despite that, Bowser and Bowser Jr. are just, well, there.
In Super Mario 3D Land/World, Bowser is just, well, lying in wait for Mario. You don't even actually face Bowser until World 8 and all you get are postcards to show you what's going on, which is still limited. To be fair, you do face him 3 times in the Special Worlds as Dry Bowser, but it's still not very intimidating, to be honest (I haven't actually played 3D World as I don't have a Wii U but from what I know, you face him in a few worlds, and face him in the final main world as, I think, Meowser, or something like that).
Finally, we reach Super Mario Odyssey. In this game, Bowser is always actively one step ahead of you, and he impedes your progress at every possible turn, whether it's by his hand or by way of his henchmen, the Broodals. Even in the beginning of the game, we see Mario and Bowser having a showdown and Bowser swiftly defeating Mario. In every kingdom Mario goes to, Bowser manages to snatch the wedding item he's come for, and Mario is always too late. Even when you finally catch up to him en route to New Donk City, and face Bowser in the Cloud Kingdom, Bowser, after being defeated, quickly recovers and bombards Mario and the Odyssey with cannon fire, swiftly sending them to the Lost Kingdom to recover while Bowser continues to make his move. Later, Mario is again stopped by Bowser en route to Bowser's Kingdom, by means of the Ruined Dragon, crashing them in the Ruined Kingdom to recover and collect more Power Moons while Bowser heads to his castle and prepares for Mario's eventual return. Finally, after chasing Bowser to the Moon and reaching the Wedding Hall, you can see that Bowser is literally moments from achieving his desire, nearly forcing the Binding Band on Peach - and he probably would have succeeded if Mario never showed up - but you finally stop him after one final battle, after which you possess Bowser to save yourself, himself, and Peach from the collapsing ruins of the Moon.
I love the feeling of Bowser being one step ahead of you. It gives me some vibes of the original Pokémon games, where your Rival was always ahead of you, no matter how fast and how hard you worked to surpass him. Until the very end, Bowser is always a step ahead of you, and your triumphs, while necessary and helpful to the people of each kingdom, don't mean anything as Bowser is still way ahead of you and is, essentially, thwarting YOU at every turn, even if you're doing the same to Bowser himself. It makes defeating him, after all the struggle and effort, so much more satisfying in the end.
Have a nice day!~
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