Fighter
Afighter, also known as aplayable character or simplycharacter, is a character (or in some cases, multiple characters simultaneously) in theSuper Smash Bros. series roster that can be controlled by players inVersus Mode and other modes. These characters are located on thecharacter selection screen and can be used without a cheat device (e.g.Action Replay). Playable characters can further be divided intostarter,unlockable, anddownloadable, which distinguishes whether characters can be played right away, whether they need to be unlocked, or whether they need to be downloaded.
List of fighters[edit]
This is a list of the fighters in theSuper Smash Bros. series.
The following does not include somebosses who can be playable on occasion, such as in theWorld of Light.
For characters who were considered or intended to be fighters, seeUnused content (SSB),Unused content (SSBM),Unused content (SSBB),Unused content (SSB4), andUnused content (SSBU).
| Key | Starter | Unlockable | Unlockable in , Starter in | Downloadable | Customizable[1] | Transformation[2] |
|---|
Notes[edit]
- ^Mii Fighters are automatically unlocked upon creation in the Mii Fighter menu, or, inUltimate, upon unlocking them in World of Light.
- ^Some characters are accessible through others' movesets. Transformation characters share a slot on thecharacter selection screen, but in most situations players can start the match as whichever form they wish. InUltimate, transformation characters may appear independently as enemies in single-player modes.
- ^Bowser Jr.'s alternate costumes also allow players to control any of theKoopalings instead.
- ^abcdefghThis fighter's alternate costumes have male and female variants. Only the default gender's stock icon is shown on the table.
- ^abIs aPoké Ball Pokémon.
- ^abcdefgPokémon Trainer's moveset allows the player to switch betweenSquirtle,Ivysaur, andCharizard using their shared down special,Pokémon Change.
- ^abAppears inRobin'sFinal Smash.
- ^abcIs anAssist Trophy.
- ^Half of Hero's costumes represent 4 different protagonists from across the franchise: Luminary, Erdrick, Solo, and Eight. Luminary is the default, and only his stock icon is shown on the table.
- ^abPyra and Mythra can transform into each other using their shared down special,Swap.
- ^abInSmash 4 andUltimate, half of Olimar's costumes allow players to controlAlph instead.
- ^abIs astage hazard.
- ^abR.O.B.'s default appearance inSmash 4 andUltimate changes depending on the language the game is set to. His Famicom design is his default appearance in Japanese, Chinese, and Korean languages, while all other languages use his NES design.
- ^Is aboss.
- ^Is astage hazard inSuper Smash Bros. for Wii U.
- ^abSamus can transform into Zero Suit Samus by rapidly using the up and down taunts or by using herFinal Smash. Zero Suit Samus can transform into Samus with her ownFinal Smash (but not through taunting). They were split into separate characters starting inSmash 4.
- ^abcdBoth Zelda and Sheik canTransform into each other using their down special. They have new special moves starting inSmash 4, thus they can no longer transform.
- ^Alex,Zombie, andEnderman appear as alternate costumes.
- ^abPokémon Trainer is not counted because he isn't controlled by the player and he lacks afighter number inUltimate. Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard are counted instead.
Newcomers and veterans[edit]
Anewcomer is a character who appears as playable for the first time in the series in a given game. Aveteran is the opposite: a character who has been playable in a previous game. For example, Diddy Kong is a newcomer inBrawl, as he did not appear as playable in any previous games, but is a veteran in all subsequent games. Note that the definition of newcomers is distinct from that of "unlockable" or "secret" characters, which are playable characters who must be unlocked by completing certain tasks;Melee,Brawl, andSmash 4 all had starter veterans, starter newcomers, unlockable veterans, and unlockable newcomers.Ultimate is the first game in which all newcomers to the base game are unlockable; however, most veterans are also unlockable.
The term newcomer was originally used to describe the unlockable characters in the originalSuper Smash Bros. by thedata deletionmenu. It was later used in the first trailer forSuper Smash Bros. Brawl, in which new characters were introduced with the title "Newcomer" atop their name. The word newcomer was later used on theSmash Bros. DOJO!! site to classify characters who made their debut inBrawl and are starters in there, in addition to third party charactersSnake andSonic. This use of the term has become the community-preferred usage for other games in the series.
"Perfect-attendance crew"[edit]
Less commonly, the term "veteran" can also denote the "eight regulars" or "perfect-attendance fighters", which are the eightstarter characters in the originalSuper Smash Bros. which have been in all subsequent games of the series. The "perfect attendance" part of the term is a reference to the fact that these eight fighters have always been available from the start of every game without needing to be unlocked. The terms originated in the description for the 10thBrawl event matchAll-Star Battle Regulars, reading:"The Smash Bros. perfect-attendance crew! Fight the eight regulars in order!" A popular, unofficial term referring to this group is "The Original 8" (Mario,Donkey Kong,Link,Samus,Yoshi,Kirby,Fox, andPikachu), which may also be called "The Original 12" if including the four unlockable characters (Luigi,Ness,Captain Falcon, andJigglypuff), who have likewise appeared in every game in the series. The 29thBrawl event matchAll-Star Semifinal Regulars states:"Four hidden characters from the past game! They're secret perfect attendees."Super Smash Bros. for Wii U is the only installment where all the "Original 12" are starter characters.Super Smash Bros. Ultimate refers to the concept of the perfect-attendance crew by making the only starter characters the aforementioned "Original 8".
Trivia[edit]
- Pokémon is the only universe to have multiple fighters cut throughout the series, being Mewtwo, Pichu, and Pokémon Trainer's Squirtle and Ivysaur.
- However, it is also the only universe to have newcomers in all games.
- Metal Gear andIce Climber are the only universes to have the entirety of their characters cut from a game, with Snake and the Ice Climbers respectively being cut fromSmash 4.
- Pichu and Young Link are the only fighters to have been absent from multiple consecutive installments, and therefore having the longest absence of playable installments in the series.
- Ice Climbers are the only characters to have been a fighter in multiple games before being cut.
- Lucas is the only fighter to have been a starter character, unlockable character, and downloadable character in separate games. Lucas is also the only playable character who has never appeared in a non-Smash game released outside Japan.
- Roy is the only playable character to debut inSuper Smash Bros. before appearing in any other game. His inclusion inMelee was intended to promoteFire Emblem: The Binding Blade, his debut in his home series, which was released shortly afterMelee in Japan. According toMasahiro Sakurai,The Binding Blade was originally scheduled for release beforeMelee.[1]
- Charizard,Little Mac,Ridley,Dark Samus,Isabelle,Chrom, andPiranha Plant are the only characters to have been made fully playable after major non-playable appearances, excluding characters that are playable via items such asMetal Mario. These includePoké Ball Pokémon,Bosses,Assist Trophies,stage hazards, or part of another character's moveset. Of these characters, Chrom and Piranha Plant are the only ones to retain their non-playable roles even after becoming playable.
- Charizard is the only character who was part of a transformation character, became a standalone fighter, and then returned to being part of a transformation character.
- Inversely, Samus is the only character who was initially a standalone character before being able to transform into Zero Suit Samus, before the two were split in their next appearances.
- Captain Falcon (inSmash 64), theMii Fighters in both of their appearances, andPac-Man (inUltimate) are the only fighters to use head icons that don't portray their faces.
- Prior toUltimate, the only unlockable characters whose playable status was not kept a secret in official sources prior to release wereSnake andSonic inBrawl, andLucina inSmash 4.
See also[edit]
- Mii Costume
- Starter character
- Unlockable character
- Non-playable character
- Background character
- Character legality
References[edit]
| Playable characters | |
|---|---|
| Super Smash Bros. | Captain Falcon ·Donkey Kong ·Fox ·Jigglypuff ·Kirby ·Link ·Luigi ·Mario ·Ness ·Pikachu ·Samus ·Yoshi |
| New inMelee | Bowser ·Dr. Mario ·Falco ·Ganondorf ·Ice Climbers ·Marth ·Mewtwo ·Mr. Game & Watch ·Peach ·Pichu ·Roy ·Sheik ·Young Link ·Zelda |
| New inBrawl | Diddy Kong ·Ike ·King Dedede ·Lucario ·Lucas ·Meta Knight ·Olimar (Pikmin) ·Pit ·Pokémon Trainer (Squirtle ·Ivysaur ·Charizard) ·R.O.B. ·Snake ·Sonic ·Toon Link ·Wario ·Wolf ·Zero Suit Samus |
| New inSmash 4 | (Alph) ·Bayonetta ·Bowser Jr. (Koopalings) ·Cloud ·Corrin ·Dark Pit ·Duck Hunt ·Greninja ·Little Mac ·Lucina ·Mega Man ·Mii Brawler ·Mii Gunner ·Mii Swordfighter ·Pac-Man ·Palutena ·Robin ·Rosalina &Luma ·Ryu ·Shulk ·Villager ·Wii Fit Trainer |
| New inUltimate | Banjo &Kazooie ·Byleth ·Chrom ·Daisy ·Dark Samus ·Hero ·Incineroar ·Inkling ·Isabelle ·Joker ·Kazuya ·Ken ·King K. Rool ·Min Min ·Mythra ·Piranha Plant ·Pyra ·Richter ·Ridley ·Sephiroth ·Simon ·Sora ·Steve (Alex,Zombie,Enderman) ·Terry |
| Fighters inSuper Smash Bros. | |
|---|---|
| Fighters | Captain Falcon ·Donkey Kong ·Fox ·Jigglypuff ·Kirby ·Link ·Luigi ·Mario ·Ness ·Pikachu ·Samus ·Yoshi |
