Assist Trophy
| Assist Trophy | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Artwork fromSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate | |||
| First appearance | Super Smash Bros. Brawl (2008) | ||
| Latest appearance | Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2018) | ||
| Effect | Summons a random character or group of characters to assist the user. Cannot be used in the air, automatically used when grounded. | ||
| |||
- “Assist Trophies allow you to enjoy even more characters who couldn't quite make it as playable fighters. You may even see some that only the most dedicated fans will recognize, so you'll have to look forward to them.”
- —Masahiro Sakurai,Smash Bros. DOJO!!
Assist Trophies (alternatively formatted asassist trophies) areitems in games of theSuper Smash Bros. series fromSuper Smash Bros. Brawl onward. They are capsules on top of a trophy base with a indistinct and obscured figure inside, echoing the series'trophies. When a characterpicks up an Assist Trophy, if/once they are on the ground, they stop to raise it high and open it automatically. A random computer-controlled character or group of characters is within the trophy, who cannot be determined through looking at the item, and once an Assist Trophy is opened, they will temporarily assist the player who used the item in one of a variety of ways. Most characters attack the opponents of the user, but some characters are more esoteric in how they help the player. Once the duration has ended, most characters warp off thestage. but some leave through other means. The character or characters who appear from Assist Trophies are also called Assist Trophies.[1]
The mechanics of Assist Trophies are loosely similar toPoké Balls, but where Poké Balls only summon Pokémon who are not playable in the game, Assist Trophies can summon any non-Pokémon character or group of characters who are not playable in the game. As such, Assist Trophies are used by the game's developers to add characters to the game who did not get included as playable characters. Assist Trophy characters can have additional roles in the game, such as appearing as enemies or stage hazards.
The characters that can appear from an Assist Trophy change from game to game. Since characters that can appear from Assist Trophies definitionally cannot be playable characters,[2] a character who appears from Assist Trophies in one game becoming playable in later games means they do not appear from Assist Trophies in those games.
While fighters inSuper Smash Bros. games mostly adhere to a single style of being three-dimensional models with a large amount of detail, Assist Trophies are allowed to break this convention. Some of them are based specifically on older depictions of characters, like howAndross's appearance is specifically based on his design in theSuper Nintendo Entertainment System gameStar Fox, or howLakitu &Spinies use the characters' sprites from theNintendo Entertainment System gameSuper Mario Bros.
Players must be on the ground to open an Assist Trophy. This is relevant because characters can grab items in the air, or get launched before they get the chance to open the Assist Trophy,
A concept similar to Assist Trophies was considered forSuper Smash Bros. Melee, but the idea was scrapped due to development circumstances.[3]
History[edit]
Super Smash Bros. Brawl[edit]
Assist Trophies debut inSuper Smash Bros. Brawl. The capsule is blue and very opaque in this game. Some characters have to be unlocked before they can appear from Assist Trophies. Just about every Assist Trophy in the game is invincible, meaning opponents' only counterplay is to evade them. Unlike Poké Balls, only one Assist Trophy can appear at a time. This applies to any combination of the item and character(s) that appear from the item. All Assist Trophies have a corresponding collectable trophy in the game.
Four Assist Trophies in the game are from theSuper Mario franchise:Waluigi,Lakitu &Spinies,Kat & Ana, andHammer Bro. Hammer Bro is in the game both as an Assist Trophy and as an enemy inAdventure Mode: The Subspace Emissary. Lakitu & Spinies use the characters' sprites fromSuper Mario Bros., and are one of the few Assist Trophies who can be damaged and KO'd.
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS /Super Smash Bros. for Wii U[edit]
InSuper Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS andSuper Smash Bros. for Wii U, Assist Trophies return with a new design where the trophy base has a rainbow band, the capsule is a deeper but more transparent blue, and there is a glow from within the capsule that shifts between colors. The figure inside is depicted in silhouette, with more cartoony proportions and an eye color that matches the glow. The figure may blink. All Assist Trophies are available from the start. Unlike the previous game, many Assist Trophies that act from the same plane as the fighters are not invincible, reacting to damage and being launched just as the playable characters do. They can even be KO'd, though to no benefit other than removing the Assist Trophy from play early. Assist Trophies who act from different planes, such asAndross from the background andNintendog from the foreground, remain completely untouchable. The character who summoned an Assist Trophy cannot damage it themselves. Color TV-Game 15 is the first Assist Trophy to be a character that represents a video game rather than being conventional character. All Assist Trophies have a corresponding collectable trophy in the game.
Every Assist Trophy from theSuper Mario franchise inSuper Smash Bros. Brawl returns in this game. There are two additions:Ashley andChain Chomp. Hammer Bro and Chain Chomp appear as enemies in theSuper Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS-exclusive mode Smash Run, while Chain Chomp is an item in theSuper Smash Bros. for Wii U-exclusive mode Smash Tour. Lakitu and Spinies also appear in Smash Run but entirely separately from their appearance as an Assist Trophy, as evidenced by the characters using three-dimensional models matching their contemporary depictions and there being a Lakitu trophy and a Spiny trophy using those models fully separate from the Lakitu & Spinies trophy.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[edit]
InSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate, Assist Trophies receive a minor redesign. The entire capsule shifts colors instead of just having a glow inside, and the eyes of the figure do not match this color. Assist Trophies have heavy mechanical alterations in this game. First, two Assist Trophies are allowed to appear at the same time. However, some kinds of Assist Trophies are not allowed to spawn if certain other Assist Trophies are present as either a capsule or a character. The primary conflict is that Assist Trophies that conflict in this way both manipulate same dimension of the camera. For instance, bothThwomp and Flies & Hand cause the camera to zoom out to accommodate their effects, and thus if one is on the stage the other cannot spawn. Second, KOing an Assist Trophy grants the player a point in Time battles. They emit smoke and a yellow aura then their damage is high enough that they can be KO'd. However, when this happens to an Assist Trophy its the summoner gains the ability to damage and KO the Assist Trophy, enabling that player to KO the Assist Trophy first to prevent opponents from gaining the point. Most of the newly introduced Assist Trophies move as normal characters do, emphasizing the point scoring mechanic and surrounding changes. Several Assist Trophies who were unable to be defeated in the prior pair of games can be defeated in this game.Rathalos is the first Assist Trophy to also be a boss in the game. Every Assist Trophy in the game except Color TV-Game 15 has a correspondingspirit.
Some Assist Trophy characters are unable to spawn on certain stages, possibly due to elements of said stages. For instance, theMoon does not appear as an Assist Trophy inGreat Bay possibly due to the character already being in the background of the stage. In another case, Alucard cannot appear inWii Fit Studio, which may be because the stage has a mirror across its background that displays a reflection of every character in front of it and Alucard canonically does not have a reflection. These restrictions apply in Training mode as well, in which Assist Trophy characters that cannot spawn on a stage will not be in the menu for selecting a specific Assist Trophy character.
Assist Trophies are a major fixture of the game'sspirit battles, with many of them having Assist Trophy characters appear automatically without the use of an Assist Trophy item to help the computer controlled puppet fighter defeat the player. Depending on the spirit battle, these assist trophies can either respawn a certain amount of time after leaving the stage or being KO'd, or only spawn once. If the spirit battle is for a spirit of a character who is also an Assist Trophy, the spirit battle usually has the Assist Trophy version of the character appear in this way.
All Assist Trophies from theSuper Mario franchise from the prior two games return except for Lakitu & Spinies and Kat & Ana.Klaptrap, Thwomp, and Flies & Hand are characters from theSuper Mario franchise who are added as Assist Trophies. The last of these is a representation of theGnat Attack mode, in a similar vein to Color TV-Game 15 being a representation of a video game. Every listed character, including Lakitu & Spinies and Kat & Ana, is additionally present as a spirit. However, Lakitu & Spinies is renamed "Lakitu & Spiny" and reflect modern appearances of the characters instead of using sprites fromSuper Mario Bros., and Kat & Ana are specifically a master spirit.
List of Assist Trophy characters[edit]
- "Lakitu & Spinies" redirects here. For the characters that the group consists of, seeLakitu andSpiny.
This section only lists Assist Trophy characters representing theSuper Mario franchise. A complete list is located onList of Assist Trophy characters.
Shaded cells indicate the Assist Trophy can be defeated.
| Image | Name | Brawl | for 3DS /Wii U | Ultimate | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Ashley |  |  | | Ashley creates a purple cloud when summoned, which causes opponents caught in it to move slower and take continuous damage, healing items to inflict damage, and other random effects. |
 | Chain Chomp | | | | Chain Chomp attacks players by lunging at them, akin to its mainstreamSuper Mario appearances. |
 | Flies & Hand | | | | The flies and the hand holding the flyswatter from theGnat Attack minigame present inMario Paint. When summoned, the Hand will move about the screen, attempting to swat the flies buzzing about at random. While the flies cannot harm the fighters, the flyswatter can. |
 | Hammer Bro | | | | A Hammer Bro appears on the stage and throwshammers at opponents. It canjump up and throw them in midair and it can also throw hammers while on the ground. |
 | Kat & Ana | | | | Kat and Ana swiftly move across the stage together, slicing any players in their way. |
 | Klaptrap | | | | As the Klaptrap walks along the stage, if an opponent is caught in its path, it latches onto them and bites them repeatedly. |
 | Lakitu &Spinies | | | | Lakitu, appearing in its 8-bitSuper Mario Bros. form, tosses Spinies, who are also in 8-bit form, onto the ground, which damage players on contact. |
 | Thwomp | | | | When summoned, the Thwomp stays high up on the screen and comes crashing down on top of any character that passes underneath it. |
 | Waluigi | | | | Waluigi chases after a selected foe, kicks them onto the ground and finally, he does one final power kick or hits the player with his racket. |
Trophy information[edit]
These are the trophies of the Assist Trophy itself and Assist Trophy characters associated with theSuper Mario franchise.
Super Smash Bros. Brawl[edit]
| Image | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
 | Assist Trophy | A capsule that contains characters who will help you out in battle. You won't know who's in the capsule until you open it. It may be someone everyone knows or someone who's a bit of a mystery. The majority of these characters are invulnerable, so attacking them is not an option. You know what that means, right? RUN! |
 | Hammer Bro | A character who throws a seemingly endless stream of hammers. Hammer Bros. have also been known to jump every so often. Since they throw their hammers in a high arc, if you manage to get in close, the hammers can't hit you. Unlike Koopas and Buzzy Beetles, Hammer Bros. don't reduce to their shells when jumped on. As the name suggests, most Hammer Bros. are found in pairs. |
 | Kat & Ana | Twin female ninjas who attend Diamond City Kindergarten. Kat, the older of the two, has pink hair, while the younger Ana has orange hair. Both of the girls are still very young, but they're also very respectful and address their superiors as budding ninjas should. Kat and Ana have a soft spot for living things. Kat loves cats, and Ana is attracted to flowers. |
 | Lakitu & Spinies | A particularly stubborn breed of Koopa. Lakitus chase Mario aboard clouds and attack by throwing Spiny Eggs down from above. More recently, Lakitus have taken over the role of cameramen, filming with cameras that they dangle from long rods. Spinies are Koopa creatures with tough, spiked shells. Jumping onto them has noeffect, but fireballs can dispatch them. |
 | Waluigi | A twig-thin man who sees himself as Luigi's ultimate rival. He spent a long time working silently in the shadow of the Mario Bros. before finally becoming strong enough to compete with them in Mario Tennis. Since then, he's had many brilliant game appearances. While the nature of his relationship to Wario is a mystery, the pair have hatched some devious schemes together. |
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U[edit]
| Image | Name | American English Description | British English Description |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Assist Trophy | This strange capsule contains a guest character who will aid you in your battle. Who will emerge? Grab it to find out! Maybe it'll be a famous character from a popular game, or perhaps a goofy sidekick here to prove his or her worth. Too bad you can't choose who shows up or control them... | A mystery capsule containing a guest character who'll stand by you in battle. You won't know who's in it till you open it! It could be almost anyone from all sorts of games – a famed warrior or a slightly loopy sidekick! Whoever it is, you can't control them, so you'll just have to trust them. |
 | Ashley | This young witch-in-training lives in a haunted mansion in Diamond City. She's shy and quick to anger, but secretly she wants more friends. When she appears on the battlefield, she will summon a damaging zone of darkness around her. The zone causes a variety of effects, none of them good. | Who's the girl next door living in the haunted mansion? You'd better learn her name, 'cause she's Aa-ashley! This little witch loves cursing people, but also wants more friends. Talk about wanting to have your cake and eat it, too... In battle, she conjures a zone of darkness that both damages and shrinks other fighters! |
 | Chain Chomp | This beast frequently appears in the Super Mario series, and it is definitely equal parts bark and bite. No surprise it's often chained to something. In Smash Bros., it's connected to a stump in the ground and will lash out at anyone who gets close. Don't even bother trying to teach it manners. | An iron ball with a face, complete with shiny white teeth, that shows up fairly often in the Mario series. They're impossible to tame, so they're almost always chained to a post, and this game's no exception. Seriously, don't go anywhere near them unless you want to end up a Chomp's dinner. |
 | Hammer Bro | These elite trooper turtles usually appeared in pairs in Super Mario Bros., wearing helmets and chucking hammers at Mario. When summoned, they'll advance on the nearest opponent and lob hammers in a graceful arc. Sometimes they'll throw in a jump to mix things up. | Hammer Bros. usually appear in pairs in Super Mario Bros. games. With helmets on heads and hammers in hand, Bowser's elite troops never leg it when Mario shows up. In this game, they appear solo, flinging hammers at the nearest target. They can also jump and throw, so stay sharp! |
 | Kat & Ana | These ninja twin sisters of the Iga Clan attend Diamond City Kindergarten. The high-tech katanas they carry, made by Dr. Crygor, are like an extension of their own bodies. They strike at incredible speed with devastating attacks. By the way, Kat is the one with pink hair. | Telling these twin sisters apart is easy: Kat's hair is pink; Ana's is orange. They both go to Diamond City Kindergarten, love nature, and train as ninjas with the Iga clan. In this game, they deliver an impressive joint cross-slash attack with the gigantic high-tech swords Dr. Crygor made them. |
 | Lakitu & Spinies | Flying over the battlefield in a cloud, this member of Bowser's forces persistently chases after Mario. He takes a break from throwing Spiny Eggs to do some racing in Mario Kart 7. When summoned, he'll appear as a sprite and toss Spiny Eggs at those fighting below him. | One of Bowser's minions. This cloud-riding turtle and general nuisance to Mario made his debut as a playable character in Mario Kart 7. In this game, you can summon a pixellated Lakitu who'll throw Spiny Eggs that will turn into Spinies – beasties with red, spiky shells – when they hit the ground. |
 | Waluigi | A crooked mustache and a long, red nose—Waluigi has "villain" written all over him. He considers himself Luigi's rival. He's cunning and quick. When summoned into battle, he'll rush the nearest fighters and stomp them into the ground—then thwack them with his foot or tennis racket! | Long, red nose? Handlebar moustache? Bendy body? Yep, this lanky schemer is Luigi's rival, Waluigi. In this game, he'll dash over to the nearest fighter and stomp on them to bury them in the ground. Then he'll finish them off with a big kick or a whack with his tennis racket. Ouch! |
Gallery[edit]
This gallery shows each of theSuper Mario characters. For a complete gallery, seethis page.
Artwork[edit]
Super Smash Bros. Brawl[edit]
Hammer Bro
Kat & Ana
Lakitu & Spinies
Waluigi
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[edit]
Ashley
Chain Chomp
Flies & Hand
Hammer Bro
Klaptrap
Thwomp
Waluigi
Screenshots[edit]
Super Smash Bros. Brawl[edit]
Hammer Bro
Kat & Ana
Lakitu
Waluigi
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U[edit]
Ashley
Chain Chomp
Hammer Bro
Waluigi
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | アシストフィギュア[?] Ashisuto Figyua | Assist Figure | |
| Chinese | 輔助模型(Traditional) 辅助模型(Simplified)[?] Fǔzhù móxíng | Assist Model | |
| Dutch | Hulptrofeeën[?] | Help Trophy | |
| French | Trophée aide[?] | Help Trophy | |
| German | Helfertrophäe[?] | Helper trophy | |
| Italian | Trofeo assistente[?] | Assist trophy | item |
| Assistente[?] | Assistant | summoned character | |
| Korean | 어시스트 피규어[?] Eosiseuteu Figyueo | Assist Figure | |
| Portuguese | Ajudante[?] | Assistant | |
| Russian | Трофей-помощник[?] Trofey-pomoshchnik | Helper trophy | |
| Spanish(Latin American) | Trofeo ayudante[?] | Helper Trophy | Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS /Wii U |
| Trofeo de asistencia[?] | Super Smash Bros. Brawl, manual only | ||
| Spanish(European) | Ayudante[?] | Assistant |
Notes[edit]
- In the April 2014 Nintendo Direct focused onSuper Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS /Wii U, the Waluigi Assist Trophy is used with theWario series icon, instead of theSuper Mario franchise icon. This is odd, since Waluigi has never appeared in anyWario series games. This was later changed, as seen on hisSuper Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS trophy.
References[edit]
- ^"Like the name says, this Assist Trophy is from the game Metroid. It’s an artificial life-form that absorbs all kinds of energy." –Masahiro Sakurai (6 Feb. 2008).Assist Trophies.Nintendo. Retrieved 14 Aug. 2025.
- ^"The fact that he’s an Assist Trophy means he won’t be appearing as a playable character, but..." –Masahiro Sakurai (14 Dec. 2007).Waluigi.Nintendo. Retrieved 14 Aug. 2025.
- ^The Definitive Unused Fighter List in Smash - Source Translations. Source Gaming (January 31, 2016). Retrieved January 31, 2016.
