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.
Each 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, and starting in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, certain characters received alternate costumes that would represent alternate gendered variants or different characters entirely. At the start of each game, some of the fighters will be locked from play. To unlock a hidden fighter, players need to clear certain conditions and defeat that fighter in a match.
In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate , players can make their own Mii Fighters that can be customized with three different fighting styles (Brawler, Swordfighter and Gunner) and costume pieces unlocked through gameplay or purchased as downloadable content. Several of these costumes are based on characters and franchises not otherwise represented, such as Sans from Undertale , [2] [3] Altaïr from Assassin's Creed , [4] Cuphead from Cuphead , [5] Vault Boy from Fallout , [6] Travis Touchdown from No More Heroes , [7] Dragonborn from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim , [8] Dante from Devil May Cry , Shantae from Shantae , [9] and Doom Slayer from Doom . [10]
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, [11] 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.
In addition to the roster of playable fighters, several non-playable characters appear as summonable items via "Assist Trophies" or Poké Balls, background stage hazards, enemies, collectibles, or bosses in the single-player modes. While some were specifically created for use in the Super Smash Bros. series, most come from established game franchises like the playable characters.
Certain items in the Super Smash Bros. series can be used to temporarily summon other characters into battle. The first of these, the Poké Ball, was introduced in the original Super Smash Bros. game. It can be thrown to temporarily call forth a random Pokémon, which will perform one of its signature abilities to attack opponents or affect the battle in other ways. Each Super Smash Bros. game has had a different set of Pokémon that can appear from Poké Balls, though some such as Snorlax and Goldeen have appeared in multiple entries.
Another item, the Assist Trophy, was added in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and functions similarly to the Poké Ball. Players who pick up an Assist Trophy will summon a random character from one of various gaming franchises, causing them to interfere with opponents. Available characters vary between games, and range from supporting members of already represented franchises, such as Super Mario's Waluigi and Star Fox's Andross, to less-known characters like the Sheriff, Dr. Kawashima from Brain Age , and Isaac from Golden Sun . [12] Some Assist Trophies, including Little Mac, Dark Samus and Isabelle, have gone on to appear as playable fighters in later installments. There have also been Assist Trophies based on third-party characters, such as Bomberman and Shovel Knight.
Throughout the Super Smash Bros. series, most single-player modes have included several non-playable boss characters. Some of these bosses were created specifically for the Super Smash Bros. franchise.
Master Hand is a glove-like being that appears in all games to date, serving as the final boss of Classic Mode [13] and, in Super Smash Bros. Melee , the 50th Event Match "Final Destination Match". In Melee, Master Hand is playable via a system glitch. [14] He is also playable in Ultimate's Adventure Mode if certain requirements are met. Super Smash Bros. Melee introduced a left-hand counterpart to Master Hand named Crazy Hand, which appears alongside him in all subsequent games under certain conditions. Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U features a new form, Master Core, a shapeshifting mass of black particles that emerge from Master Hand and Crazy Hand after their defeat. Master Hand and Crazy Hand have gone on to make cameo appearances outside of the Super Smash Bros. series, most notably appearing as bosses in Kirby & the Amazing Mirror . [15]
Super Smash Bros. Melee introduced Giga Bowser, a larger and more monstrous version of Bowser that could be fought in the 51st Event Match, "The Showdown", and as a secret final opponent in the game's Adventure Mode under certain conditions. Giga Bowser uses the same abilities as Bowser, but is much stronger and has additional effects on his attacks, such as explosions and elemental damage. Giga Bowser later became Bowser's Final Smash in all subsequent games beginning with Super Smash Bros. Brawl, with players able to control him for the duration of the Final Smash.
Tabuu is the final villain of Super Smash Bros. Brawl's story mode, The Subspace Emissary. He is a humanoid apparition composed of pure energy, with a single eye-shaped object located where a person's stomach would be. He can conjure several weapons for use in battle, including a rapier and large chakram; change his size at will, and teleport. Towards the end of The Subspace Emissary, it is revealed that Tabuu is the entity that controlled Master Hand and the true antagonist behind the events of the story. [16]
The Subspace Emissary also features other boss characters, [17] like Petey Piranha, Ridley, Meta Ridley, Porky, and Rayquaza. Ridley eventually became playable in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, with Meta Ridley as an alternate costume for him, while Petey Piranha became DLC character Piranha Plant's Final Smash. Three original bosses are also featured: Tabuu, the giant cyborg Galleom, and the twin-bodied robot Duon. [18]
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate introduces Galeem, a seraphic menace who serves as the main villain of World of Light. Known as the "lord of light" and "the ultimate enemy", Galeem destroys the Smash Bros. world, robs all the fighters except Kirby of their physical forms, and plans on creating a new world to the point of creating an army of puppet fighters powered by enslaved spirits. Galeem is opposed by Dharkon, a one-eyed creature with many tentacles. Described as the "embodiment of chaos and darkness", Dharkon seeks to defeat Galeem and consume the world in darkness. Galeem and Dharkon are aided by a swarm of Master Hand and Crazy Hand puppets respectively. The mode also features bosses Giga Bowser, Galleom, Ganon, Marx, Rathalos, and Dracula, who also appear as final opponents for different characters in the game's Classic Mode.
Other boss characters from represented franchises may appear as hazards on certain stages and attack the fighters in the middle of a battle, such as the Yellow Devil from Mega Man and Metal Face from Xenoblade Chronicles .
In each of the games, there is a group of generic enemy characters based on other fighters fought in large groups in the games' single-player campaigns and "Multi-Man Smash" minigames. In the Japanese versions of the games, these characters are called the "Mysterious Small Fry Enemy Corps" (謎のザコ敵軍団). In the English localized versions of the games, they are given names that describe their physical form. These include the Fighting Polygon Team in the original game, the Fighting Wire Frames in Melee, the Fighting Alloy Team in Brawl [19] and the Fighting Mii Team in for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U and Ultimate. Along with Melee's Adventure Mode came the inclusion of minor, generic enemies, such as Goombas from the Super Mario series and Octoroks from The Legend of Zelda series. [20] This trend continues into Super Smash Bros. Brawl , which also includes an assortment of original characters to serve as non-playable generic enemies led by the Subspace Army. Many generic enemies from various games appear as part of the "Smash Run" mode in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.
The Subspace Army are the antagonists of Super Smash Bros. Brawl , appearing in The Subspace Emissary and led by the Ancient Minister, later revealed to be R.O.B. forced to do Tabuu's bidding. Their goal is to pull the entire world into Subspace piece by piece using devices called Subspace Bombs. [21] [22] The Sandbag appears in every game's "Home-Run Contest" minigame beginning with Super Smash Bros. Melee. The object is to do as much damage as possible to Sandbag in ten seconds, then strike it with either a Home-Run Bat or a fighting move to launch it as far as possible to get the best distance. [23] Sandbag also appears randomly as an item that drops other items when hit in various other modes in all games from Brawl onward. [24]
Each installment has an in-game announcer who calls out the fighters' names before and after matches, as well as other gameplay elements. The announcer's voice is also used in many of the promotional materials for the games. The role has been taken on by Jeff Manning in the original game, Dean Harrington in Melee, Pat Cashman in Brawl, and Xander Mobus in for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U and Ultimate. [25] The announcer's voice actor traditionally voices Master Hand and Crazy Hand as well. [26] [27] Other characters appear in non-interactive forms that do not affect gameplay, such as collectible trophies depicting their likeness or as spectators watching a battle on specific stages.
Waluigi is a fictional character in the Mario franchise. He plays the role of Luigi's arch-rival and accompanies Wario in spin-offs from the main Mario series, often for the sake of causing mischief and problems. He was created by Camelot employee Fumihide Aoki and is voiced by Charles Martinet, who described Waluigi as someone who has a lot of self-pity and would "cheat to win".
Star Fox is an arcade style rail shooter and third person action-adventure video game series created by Shigeru Miyamoto, produced and published by Nintendo. The games follow the Star Fox combat team of anthropomorphic animals, led by chief protagonist Fox McCloud. Gameplay involves many adventures around the Lylat planetary system in the futuristic Arwing fighter aircraft, in other vehicles, and on foot. The original Star Fox (1993) is a forward-scrolling 3D rail shooter, but later games add more directional freedom.
Falco Lombardi is a fictional anthropomorphic bird from the Star Fox series of video games. He was created by Shigeru Miyamoto and designed by Takaya Imamura. Falco acts as the wingman and best friend of the titular Fox McCloud for the majority of the series.
Roy is a fictional character from Nintendo's Fire Emblem video game series. He first appears in the 2001 crossover fighting game Super Smash Bros. Melee as a representative character from the Fire Emblem series along with Marth. He is the lead character of Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade. Within the story, Roy is the son of Eliwood, and heir presumptive of Pherae, who eventually becomes a major military leader. Roy's inclusion in Melee has been noted by video game publications for its role in increasing brand awareness for the Fire Emblem series as a whole outside of its native Japan, which encouraged Nintendo to localize the series for international distribution. Roy continues to make recurring appearances in subsequent Fire Emblem media, such as a manga series and spinoff video games.
Balloon Fight is an action video game developed by Nintendo and HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo. The original arcade version was released for the Nintendo VS. System internationally as Vs. Balloon Fight, while its Nintendo Entertainment System counterpart was released in Japan in 1985 and internationally in 1986.
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Ridley, also known by his aliases Geoform 187 and The Cunning God of Death, is a fictional supervillain and one of the main antagonists of the Metroid series. A very evil and aggressive draconic extraterrestrial hailing from the planet Zebes, he became Samus Aran's archnemesis after murdering the latter's parents as he led a Space Pirate raid on her homeworld. Though having been destroyed numerous times by Samus, he is always resurrected, due in equal part to Space Pirate engineering and his natural regenerative ability, which allows him to swiftly recover from what would otherwise be fatal wounds as long as he is able to consume enough biomatter from his fallen adversaries.
Bowser Jr. is a fictional character who appears in Nintendo's Mario franchise as an antagonist. He is the son of the series' main antagonist, Bowser. Since his debut in Super Mario Sunshine in 2002, Bowser Jr. has been a recurring character in the Mario series and has been made playable in several spin-offs, such as Mario Superstar Baseball, Mario Strikers Charged, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate among many others. He often helps his father to kidnap Princess Peach and defeat Mario, but in the end wants nothing more than to impress his father. Bowser Jr.'s defining traits are his striking resemblance to his father, his energetic and driven personality, his expertise in mechanics and technology, his heavy uses of his Junior Clown Car and Magic Paintbrush, and the bib-like bandana he wears.
Lucario is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. Created by Ken Sugimori, Lucario first appeared as a central character in the film Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew, then a cameo in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team and Red Rescue Team, and later appeared in the video games Pokémon Diamond and Pearl and subsequent sequels, also appearing in various merchandise, spin-off titles and animated and printed adaptations of the franchise. Lucario is voiced by Daisuke Namikawa, Daisuke Sakaguchi, Rikako Aikawa and Kiyotaka Furushima in Japanese, and Bill Rogers and Sean Schemmel in English.
Super Smash Bros. is a crossover fighting game series published by Nintendo. The series was created by Masahiro Sakurai, who has directed every game in the series. The series is known for its unique gameplay objective which differs from that of traditional fighters, in that the aim is to increase damage counters and knock opponents off the stage instead of depleting life bars.
Meta Knight is a fictional character and antihero in Nintendo's Kirby video game series created by Masahiro Sakurai and developed by HAL Laboratory. He first appeared in the 1993 video game Kirby's Adventure as a nameless character, remaining unnamed until the game Kirby's Avalanche. The character also appears in several Kirby comic books, in the 2001 anime series, and as a playable character in the Super Smash Bros. series.
The Mysterious Murasame Castle is an action-adventure video game developed by Nintendo and Human Entertainment and published by Nintendo for the Family Computer Disk System. It was released exclusively in Japan on April 14, 1986. The game was one of the early games released for the system, and the second original game after The Legend of Zelda. The game was released outside Japan for the first time on the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console in Europe and Australia in May 2014 and in North America in August 2014.
A Mii is a customizable avatar used on several Nintendo video game consoles and mobile apps. The name Mii is a portmanteau of “Wii” and “me”, referring to them typically being avatars of the players. Miis were first introduced on the Wii console in 2006 and later appeared on the 3DS, the Wii U, the Switch, and various apps for smart devices such as Miitomo. Miis can be created using different body, facial and clothing features, and can then be used as characters within games on the consoles, either as an avatar of a specific player or in some games portrayed as characters with their own personalities. Miis can be shared and transferred between consoles, either manually or automatically with other users over the internet and local wireless communications.
Super Smash Bros. Brawl is a 2008 crossover fighting video game developed by Sora Ltd. and Game Arts, and published by Nintendo for the Wii. The third installment in the Super Smash Bros. series, it was announced at a pre-E3 2005 press conference by Nintendo president Satoru Iwata. Masahiro Sakurai, director of the previous two games in the series, assumed the role of director at Iwata's request. Game development began in October 2005 with a creative team that included members from several Nintendo and third-party development teams. After delays due to development problems, the game was released worldwide in 2008.
Toad, known in Japan as Kinopio, is a fictional character who primarily appears in Nintendo's Mario franchise. A humanoid with a mushroom-like head, Toad was created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, and is portrayed as a citizen of the Mushroom Kingdom and is one of Princess Peach's most loyal attendants, constantly working on her behalf. Toad is usually seen as a non-player character who provides assistance to Mario and his friends in most games, but there are times when Toad takes center stage and appears as a protagonist, as seen in Super Mario Bros. 2, Wario's Woods and Super Mario 3D World.
Pit is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Kid Icarus series. Debuting in Kid Icarus for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1986, Pit would later appear in Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters for the Game Boy in 1991, and Kid Icarus: Uprising for the Nintendo 3DS in 2012.
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U are two 2014 crossover platform fighter video games developed by Bandai Namco Studios and Sora Ltd. and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U video game consoles. It is the fourth installment in the Super Smash Bros. series, succeeding Super Smash Bros. Brawl. The Nintendo 3DS version was released in Japan on September 13, 2014, and in North America, Europe, and Australia the following month. The Wii U version was released in North America, Europe, and Australia in November 2014 and in Japan the following month.
King Dedede is a fictional character in Nintendo's Kirby video game series created by Masahiro Sakurai and developed by HAL Laboratory. Dedede first appeared in the 1992 video game Kirby's Dream Land as the main antagonist, but gradually became an antihero of the series. He has returned for all other games of the series except Kirby & the Amazing Mirror (2004) and Kirby and the Rainbow Curse (2015). He has also appeared in several Kirby comic books, the 2001 anime series Kirby: Right Back at Ya! and the Super Smash Bros. video game series.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is a 2018 crossover fighting game developed by Bandai Namco Studios and Sora Ltd. and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It is the fifth installment in the Super Smash Bros. series, succeeding Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U (2014). The game follows the series' traditional style of gameplay: controlling one of the various characters, players must use differing attacks to weaken their opponents and knock them out of an arena. It features a wide variety of game modes, including a campaign for single-player and multiplayer versus modes. Ultimate features 89 playable fighters, including all characters from previous Super Smash Bros. games alongside newcomers. The roster ranges from Nintendo mascots to characters from third-party franchises.
Ness is a fictional character in the Mother role-playing video games published by Nintendo, created by Japanese video game designer Shigesato Itoi. His first appearance was in the 1994 Super NES game EarthBound, the second entry from the series, in which he serves as the game's main protagonist and playable character. He also appears as a playable fighter in the Super Smash Bros. series of fighting games where he is voiced by Makiko Ohmoto.
