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The fighting game series Super Smash Bros. from Nintendo, launched in 1999, features an assortment of video game characters from 40 different franchises. There are 89 playable characters across the series, mostly sourced from Nintendo franchises but with a number of third-party ones as well. There are also other non-player characters that take the form of enemies, bosses, and power-ups.
Playable characters
editEach game in the series has a number of playable characters, referred to as "fighters", that are taken primarily from Nintendo franchises. There are 89 total fighters across the series.[1] Starting with Super Smash Bros. Brawl, characters from non-Nintendo franchises began to make playable appearances,[2] Each character has multiple alternate costumes, some, such as Villager, having both male and female costumes.[3] Each game has multiple unlockable characters that can only be used if certain conditions are fulfilled.[4][5][6][7]
All games have featured fighters that largely share their moves and abilities with another fighter on the roster, but with minor differences in their presentation and gameplay. In Super Smash Bros. Melee, all of these characters, known as "model swap characters" according to the Japanese website,[8] were unlockable, but were distinguished from other unlockable characters in that their portrait was added next to the character they were based on instead of filling in one of the placeholder slots at the bottom of the select screen. In Ultimate, several of these characters were officially labeled as "Echo Fighters". They have an option either to be displayed next to or within the character portrait from which they are based on.
- Notes
- ^ Bowser Jr.'s alternate costumes change the character's name and appearance to be one of the Koopalings: Larry, Roy, Wendy, Iggy, Morton, Lemmy, or Ludwig.
- ^ a b c d e f Both male and female variants are playable.
- ^ a b c In Brawl and Ultimate, Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard are listed together under the name "Pokémon Trainer" on the character select screen. The Pokémon Trainer appears in the background while the player takes direct control of one of the Pokémon, and can switch between them during the battle. In 3DS/Wii U, only Charizard is available as a standalone character.
- ^ a b c d e f g In Ultimate, this character is classified as an Echo Fighter.
- ^ a b c d e f In Melee, this character is considered a model swap character.
- ^ a b There are slight name variations between NTSC and PAL versions. The NTSC characters "Duck Hunt" and "Mii Swordfighter" are referred to in PAL versions as "Duck Hunt Duo" and "Mii Sword Fighter."
- ^ Despite the name referring to a single character, the Hero represents four different protagonists from the Dragon Quest series. His default appearance is the Luminary/Eleven from Dragon Quest XI, with Erdrick/Arusu from Dragon Quest III, Solo from Dragon Quest IV, and Eight from Dragon Quest VIII appearing as alternate costumes.
- ^ a b c In 3DS/Wii U, Mii Brawler, Mii Swordfighter, and Mii Gunner are under one character slot labeled simply as "Mii". In Ultimate, they were separated into their own individual slots. However, stacking Echo Fighters also stacks the three Mii Fighters as they were in 3DS/Wii U.
- ^ a b Pyra and Mythra share a slot on the character select screen; players can freely switch between the two during battle.
- ^ In 3DS/Wii U and Ultimate, half of Olimar's alternate costumes change his name and appearance to Alph, a character from Pikmin 3.
- ^ a b In Brawl, Zero Suit Samus is an alternate form of Samus not displayed on the character select screen; players can switch back and forth between the two by using a specific attack. The two were separated and became independent characters beginning in 3DS/Wii U.
- ^ a b In Melee and Brawl, Sheik is an alternate form of Zelda not displayed on the character select screen; players can switch back and forth between the two by using a specific attack. The two were separated and became independent characters beginning in 3DS/Wii U.
- ^ Steve's alternate costumes change the character's name and appearance to Alex, a Zombie or an Enderman.
Roster development
editOriginally designed as a prototype using only original characters, a prototype was later developed featuring Mario, Donkey Kong, Samus, and Fox.[9] Another idea considered was to make the roster entirely made up by Kirby characters or dogs. He found Pokémon characters the hardest to get permission for due to how their image is "tightly supervised." Sakurai remarked that part of his aim when creating the game was to ensure that the characters were handled appropriately. According to Sakurai, some people within Nintendo were concerned about the optics of the game, particularly the idea of Mario attacking Pikachu.[10]
Each Super Smash Bros. game features multiple characters who were considered for inclusion as a playable character. Some of these characters were added in later entries after being decided against, such as Pac-Man and Villager.[citation needed]
Competitive use
editSakurai remarked that it was difficult to balance Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 64 due to certain characters being better in four-player matches and other being better in one-on-one matches. He also stated that he heard from tournament players that Kirby and Ness were too strong. He agreed about Ness, and one of Ness' attacks was nerfed in overseas versions to make it weaker.[10]
Non-playable characters
editIn addition to the roster of playable fighters, several non-playable characters, some original and some from other games, including summonable characters like Pokémon species and bosses like Master Hand, an original Super Smash Bros. creation.
References
edit- ^ Reynolds, Matthew (October 5, 2021). "Super Smash Bros Ultimate character unlock guide and Smash Bros character list". Eurogamer. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
- ^ Jasper, Gavin (March 7, 2019). "Super Smash Bros. Characters Ranked". Den of Geek. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
- ^ Nunneley-Jackson, Stephany (November 20, 2018). "Here's a look at all the costumes for each character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate". VG247. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
- ^ Mejia, Ozzie (November 20, 2014). "Challenger Approaching: A Super Smash Bros. timeline". Shack News. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
- ^ Casamassina, Matt (March 4, 2008). "Super Smash Bros. Brawl Review". IGN. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
- ^ Lab, Jesse (February 28, 2024). "Collecting Every Smash Amiibo Was a Nightmare – And I Don't Regret It". The Escapist. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
- ^ Kuchera, Ben (December 6, 2018). "Smash Bros. Ultimate fans are finding coping strategies for its character unlock system". Polygon. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
- ^ "速報スマブラ拳!! : ピチュー". Archived from the original on 2021-05-23. Retrieved 2021-06-14.
- ^ "The Man Who Made Mario Fight". Hobby Consoles (202): 22. 2008.
- ^ a b "Super Smash Bros. – 1999 Developer Interview". Nice Games. 1999. Retrieved October 20, 2024.