How did you choose your main?

[Radical Bones]

I mainly play as characters that feel right. Obviously I try out characters I'm a fan of first, but if they don't work for me, I don't force it. Was really excited for Jr., but he doesn't work for me.

Usually hate Yoshi, but can't seem to lose as him. So now I love him.

Plus, Falco is a badass with an easy to pick up game.

 

[Khao]

I main characters I enjoy playing as.

For the longest time, I mained Link, but I switched to Toon Link when Brawl came out because Link didn't feel "right" any more.

For Smash 4 I tried to find someone new because maining the same character every game gets kinda old, and though I'd still put Link in my top 5 favorite characters, I now main completely different characters than I did before.

The very first day I got the game, I tried out every single character at least twice. On the third go through "play as every character!", I skipped the ones I didn't enjoy too much, same for every following run.

Eventually, my list of characters kept getting smaller and smaller until I ended up with the three I play as the most right now (Marth, Mega Man, and Pit). I just naturally kept coming back to them the most because they're the most fun to play as to me.

 

[raymundoTheGod]

I've been called MonkeyFist in school so I pick Diddy. I'm not that big or else I would pick Donkey Kong. I even have a red tank top and red hat to match.

 

[Dendros]

I did not choose Ganondorf, he chose me. He took the light and ignorance inside of me and gave me darkness and enlightenment. My dark and terrible lord will use me as he wishes. Together, we will take over the world

Very True!

The character picks the player. not the other way around. Wise words

 

[MasterOfKnees]

Huge Kirby fan and Meta Knight is my favorite character in the franchise, so now that he isn't horribly broken anymore it's a no-brainer.

Jigglypuff has always been one of my favorite Pokémon, I lost my **** when I first found out she was in Melee.

Metroid is my favorite video game franchise, so Samus.

The only characters I chose entirely based on movesets are Ike and Captain Falcon. Since then I've played both of their games, and it has helped me love at least Ike a ton more, Falcon doesn't have much characterization in F-Zero though. I basically just enjoy playing as characters I love in their own franchises that much more, sure there are some characters I love in their franchises that I don't enjoy playing as because of their movesets (Kirby comes to mind), but in the end Smash Bros simply becomes that much more enjoyable when you're a huge Nintendo fan.

 

[LunarWingCloud]

As for all my secondaries Sonic is because I loved Sonic growing up and he was my favorite newcomer in Brawl. Toon Link because I liked Young Link in Melee because of OoT and he was a natural replacement. Dark Pit was a joke because everyone on NeoGAF was hating on him so I was like "maining him". Project M made me like Pit also. Rosalina because I used her exclusively as soon as I unlocked her in Mario Kart Wii and she is my only pick in every Mario Kart she is in. Everyone else I just use because I like them or think they're cool. Tries Diddy and Sheik, they aren't for me. Lucario is wonky for me. Ness I never could get the hang of using.

Tl;dr I never use a character purely because they're good. In most games I'm blessed by the fact that most of my favorites tend to actually be good.

 

[Reila]

I haven't yet I am playing Villager because I like Animal Crossing, but I am not sure if I would call her a main.

 

[Nomein]

Wanted Pac-Man in the game. Saw Pac-Man was in the game. Promised to main him. Smash 3DS came out and I liked and mained him.

It usually comes down to a combination of a character I like and a character I find that I play best with. I usually experiment with every character to get a feel for them and figure out who I like. Also my main can very well change over the years. I used to main Falco in Melee, but over time fell out with him and found myself preferring Ganondorf (a character I despised back in the day).

 

[Ultrashroomz]

Froakie was my starter in Pokémon Y, and Greninja for some reason sounds like a very cool name.

Main character of the best video game ever.

 

[Flaxr XIII]

Mains:
/: Pit was my main in Brawl and while he's drastically different here, it was all for the better. I alternate between the two to spite the haters.
: For Waifu.
: Tried him on an absolute whim and he really clicked with me. Not sure why though...

Secondaries:
: My favorite from the 5 available in the 3DS demo back then. I've been using him a bit less recently so he's been demoted from Main to Secondary.
Red yuuuuuum: The closest I'll get to having Anna in the game. has a cool Kirito costume too I guess.
: For Waifu (again. Nothing wrong with that, right?...). Though I'm still trying to get used to her.
: A major Sonic fan and I'm impressed on how better he feels after I hated him in Brawl.
: Secondary Awakening Waifu.
: As a sword fanatic, I can't stop gushing over how awesome the Monado is. Still trying to get used to him.
: Peachy. That is all.
: Project M main and she feels alright here. Greatly improved now that is out of the picture. (Well, Zelda's picture at least.)

 

[Mikey Da Bawse]

I picked Pikachu because it's always been one of my favorite Pokemon. (4th favorite to be exact)
The high paced playstyle makes it a whole lot more enjoyable too.

 

[Croph]

Sometimes there are various factors, but for the most part I main characters whose playstyle I'm fond of and just "clicks" with me. And a character with those things usually ends up being very fun for me. I don't put serious time in learning the ins and outs of a character otherwise.

I wouldn't stress too much if you cannot initially find a main/secondaries/whatever. It took me years after I got Brawl to settle with Lucas (and Toon Link as a secondary). I know during those times I was kinda reluctant to try out certain characters, which is why I hesitated to get to know Lucas at first. Hopefully for you it won't take that long, but perhaps you just need more time experimenting with the characters you're currently interested in. I do recommend trying everyone out a little and perhaps watch tourney matches of them (could help inspire you to pick up some characters).

How many mains you want is up to you -- sometimes it comes down to preference and skill of the player. Nothing wrong if you want to main multiple characters (but I personally wouldn't call them "mains", since technically it's more than one character). For the competitive field, however, I will say that there is a better chance to maximize your potential by narrowing characters down, and focus your time and energy on very few (like 1 main, then once mastered perhaps find a secondary that could help cover certain MUs).

: Currently enjoy learning and playing as him. Hoping Shulk will be a potential main.

: I've spent some time trying to learn Robin, but I'm not really sure of I'll stick with him. The more I play as Robin, the more "meh" I feel (I don't think he's a bad character, don't get me wrong. I guess I'm just becoming less interested in him, kinda hard to explain). We'll see anyway.

 

[Dinotard]

Sometimes there are various factors, but for the most part I main characters whose playstyle I'm fond of and just "clicks" with me. And a character with those things usually ends up being very fun for me. I don't put serious time in learning the ins and outs of a character otherwise.

I wouldn't stress too much if you cannot initially find a main/secondaries/whatever. It took me years after I got Brawl to settle with Lucas (and Toon Link as a secondary). I know during those times I was kinda reluctant to try out certain characters, which is why I hesitated to get to know Lucas at first. Hopefully for you it won't take that long, but perhaps you just need more time experimenting with the characters you're currently interested in. I do recommend trying everyone out a little and perhaps watch tourney matches of them (could help inspire you to pick up some characters).

How many mains you want is up to you -- sometimes it comes down to preference and skill of the player. Nothing wrong if you want to main multiple characters (but I personally wouldn't call them "mains", since technically it's more than one character). For the competitive field, however, I will say that there is a better chance to maximize your potential by narrowing characters down, and focus your time and energy on very few (like 1 main, then once mastered perhaps find a secondary that could help cover certain MUs).

: Currently enjoy learning and playing as him. Hoping Shulk will be a potential main.

: I've spent some time trying to learn Robin, but I'm not really sure of I'll stick with him. The more I play as Robin, the more "meh" I feel (I don't think he's a bad character, don't get me wrong. I guess I'm just becoming less interested in him, kinda hard to explain). We'll see anyway.

After Some playing with the Characters I like, I think i might just stick with Ike:, granted I need to learn how to use him properly I've been getting wrecked online a lot but I'm trying to learn from my mistakes.

I know exactly how you feel about Robin He was my first choice in smash 4 on 3ds and Now I just feel kinda meh about him.

 

[LiamMail]

I believe everyone has more than 1 main in smash 4, I have 4 mains() and I'm also good with other characters()

 

[WECsoul]

I've always chosen my mains based on the sympathy I have for a character because this is the base for enjoying to play a character. Since Brawl I've started choosing at least some of my secondaries based on my "skills" with them but my Main will always be chosen because of sympathy

 

[Dinotard]

I think I've finally come to a decision
I want to main Ike so I've been trying to Learn him first.
I'm starting to like toon link too, I prefer him over regular link. I kinda lost my interest in Robin, Shulk seems pretty interesting to me and I think I might try him out for a little while as well.

Now that I've chosen a main I should try to learn all I can from just one character at a time right?

 

[Croph]

After Some playing with the Characters I like, I think i might just stick with Ike:, granted I need to learn how to use him properly I've been getting wrecked online a lot but I'm trying to learn from my mistakes.

I know exactly how you feel about Robin He was my first choice in smash 4 on 3ds and Now I just feel kinda meh about him.

Yeah, getting a lot of experience with a character is good, but learning from your mistakes is even better.

I'm glad I'm not the only one that feels that way with Robin haha. There's some interesting things going for him, but I think it's time to branch out and experiment with others that I may be more interested in.

 

[Kenith]

I main the character I have the most fun with, the one I play the best with, and the one I like the most.

In Melee, I played a lot of Roy, and it was fun, but eventually I realized that Roy was...well, not that great.
So I swapped to Marth, and thus he became my main in Melee (and secondary in Brawl)

Of course, in Smash 4 I've moved to Lucina because she's way cooler than Marth (and kind of like Roy)

 

[Dinotard]

Yeah, getting a lot of experience with a character is good, but learning from your mistakes is even better.

I'm glad I'm not the only one that feels that way with Robin haha. There's some interesting things going for him, but I think it's time to branch out and experiment with others that I may be more interested in.

Yeah it's going to be a long and grueling process, It's pretty easy getting discouraged but I never ragequit. I used to be so concerned about my W/L ratio over actually learning and having fun playing that It kinda just made playing FG a bad experience.

I'm learning now and I know I'm losing a lot, I haven't even bothered checking my ratio. but I just have a long road ahead of me.

 

[Dracul_G_Belmont]

Peach main here funny thing is I never even picked her once in melee or brawl. So I'm not even sure why I gravitated towards her this time but I love the way she plays and her f-air sound effect on hit and power make me happy

 

[Gamer807]

All of the characters I use are characters from games that I LOVE, and it just so happens that all of them fit my style of being aggressive and also like to play a defensive game (not camping)

 

[KingofEvil]

Use a random number generator XD

Really though I can't wait for Mewtwo to come out, I'll probably switch to him then. Even if he's completely revamped from Melee. For me it all comes down to what I like, and I have a bigger history with Mewtwo and the GB/GBC games than just about anything else in SSB.

 

[ShadowLBlue]

I try characters if I liked them in their games but that alone won't make me main them if I don't enjoy playing with/suck playing as them. And unlike the previous games, I actually have like 12 characters I rotate playing as and am at least decent with, plus a handful more I use occasionally just because their fun.

Not relevant to Smash 4 but in Brawl I ended up making Toon Link my main main after seeing how useful he was for on the higher levels of Boss Rush mode.

 

[Nintykid]

and Because Kirby is what got me into gaming (Kirby's Nightmare in Dreamland was the first game I officially beaten back in the day) and the Mii Gunner because of her* alternative specials give her some unpredictability.

Secondaries: (loved playing as this character in Brawl),(wasn't with the Killager hype),(learning),(Year of Luigi FTW),(Useless in the main games expect 3D World/SMB2, but not in smash)

* = Even though all the Mii's are different gender in smash bros 4, the Mii Gunner's character art from the official website, the Classic and All-Star trophies always depicted her as female, so I refer to the Gunner as a female. I'm weird like that.

 

[Alby]

I chose my main by declaring the following:

I'll main whoever I get with this random

And when I randomed Falcon, a new man was born.

 

[Zanestat]

Because defense is the best offense.

 

[Altea77]

In Melee, I picked Marth because he looked cool, and then I ended up loving his playstyle. I've been maining him ever since.

 

[Ferblantier]

Back when I was a wee kid playing Melee at my friend's house, I used Kirby because Kirbycide and Stone are literally unbeatable strategies when you're playing against another kid. When I got Brawl, my first Smash game of my very own, I chose Meta Knight, because I thought he was the best character. When I looked up tiers for the first time, it turned out I was right. Since I didn't want people to think I was a scrub, I experimented with every character-and I didn't choose my new main. The Falcon chose me.

 

[Morbi]

In each and every fighting game, I must not only enjoy my main as a character of their own franchise, but they must be reasonably fun. It does not hurt if said character is viable in the competitive meta-game either.

In Smash 64, I alternated between Link, Luigi, Fox, and Jigglypuff as those were my favorite characters at the time. The only Nintendo franchises I had ever heard of were Legend of Zelda, Mario, Star Fox, and Pokemon. Star Fox 64, Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time, and Star Fox 64 were pretty much the only games I played outside of Smash. I loved Pokemon Red and Pokemon Gold, my versions of the titles just as much. Later, my mother's boyfriend bought us Stadium 2 as a surprise gift. Their play-styles worked for me as well. I never did play Smash 64 at a high level, however. So these were decisions based on franchise loyalty over all else.

In Melee, I maintained those four characters and added Ganondorf, Zelda, and Mewtwo in addition to the clone army (every clone in the game). They might not have been "mains" per se. At this moment, I was much better at Smash and I played more seriously with a play to win and have fun attitude. I was proud to main the Triforce. I just used Jigglypuff for fun when I felt like playing more defensively and Mewtwo when I was solely intending to try something different. These choices were based on fun above all else.

In terms of the clone army; slowly, but surely, I began to stop using Fox or Luigi as much. Instead, I dabbled into Falco and Dr. Mario respectively. I outright discontinued Roy as my sister began to main him and Pichu was more of a joke character (albeit, I maintain that he is better than Pikachu).

Brawl changed everything. Most of my mains were already low-tier, but Brawl ensured that each and everyone of them was either removed or bottom with the exception of "Young Link." I hated Brawl Link and decided to drop Link for Toon Link. It was hard after using Link for most of my matches. I still used Ganondorf and Zelda for novelty purposes. Jigglypuff was not so bad, I adamantly believe that her tier placement is incorrect. That being said, after a couple of years I gave up on her until the announcement of Smash 4 where I went back to Brawl and picked her up in anticipation for Smash 4. Lucario was my main at the beginning of the game's life-cycle (first 2 or 3 years) when I was learning. He was a great character to learn the game, so that is why I chose him.

At this stage in Smash, I started became more aware of competitive Smash and wanted a viable character. I started to like Marth's play-style from Melee and Brawl, so I decided to pick him up and Falco was much more manageable for someone with little tech-skill such as myself. These mains were based on viability above all else.

In Smash 4, I made note of my past decisions and mind-set to establish that I would consider a combination of attributes before deciding a main. I also declared to myself that I would not main characters out of habit unless I thought that they were worthy. I let a lot of nostalgia dictate my mains in (early) Brawl and viability in (late) Brawl and overall it was not enjoyable because of that. So everything had to be taken into consideration.

I played through the entire cast three times. Ganondorf, my previous all time favorite is not fun in Smash 4. So I decided to drop him. I will still use him for fun, of course. But I cannot main him any longer. Robin and Lucina were great characters in Awakening and I love them, but they are not my style. Marth is superior (and more fun) than Lucina in almost every way, and Robin is unfortunately not my style. Marth was my main in Brawl, but I am not fond of his character, so I am going to pass on him too. Dr. Mario has my favor, but his horrible recovery attenuates my enjoyment of playing him... so I cannot main him either.

That leaves the characters that I am interested in: Falco, Jigglypuff, Little Mac, Ness, and Yoshi. Ness was my main in Project M as he was such a step up from previous version and I actually had a lot of fun. So I am going to continue using him. Yoshi was always one of my least favorite characters, but he has an unprecedented amount of "flow." Little Mac is a "for fun" type of character given the nature of his move-set. But nevertheless, he is my favorite newcomer. Falco and Jigglypuff have history with me, they are great fun, and they have decent tools.

Those are the characters I am most interested in; however, anything can change. I decided to keep Falco as an assured main to work at as a lot of people underestimate him. Jigglypuff, again, for a more defensive play-style. Ness and Yoshi are top ten viable and fun. It is hard to beat that.

Tl;dr: It depends. Personally, I prefer the air.

 

[KRBAY]

I started with , 'cause he's awesome, and I love playing him, then looked at others in the roster I was familiar with, like ...

But I think you should go through the roster and find who you can easily play/win with, and hone your abilities with that character. Or, pick someone you are familiar with and play them.

 

[FalKoopa]

I play Luigi and ROB as I like them as characters and want to get better at using them. I also tend to play Villager a lot because his moveset just clicks with me.

Yeah, basically it comes down to liking the character or liking the moveset.

 

[LRodC]

I main characters if I like them outside of Smash and like their playstyle. Don't care what the tiers say about them. I used Snake (R.I.P.) and Captain Falcon in Brawl. Didn't care if the former was high tier and the latter bottom tier. Following tiers is not fun to me.

I currently use Captain Falcon, Mega Man, and Ganondorf the most in Smash 4. Regardless of what any tier list says, I'll still use them. Call me a casual if you want, but I enjoy the game a lot more when I utilize the huge character roster it has and choose mains that I enjoy. That's why I really dislike when a few select characters overpower the metagame and is all you see at tournaments. Not exciting. I'm looking at you, Fox, Meta Knight and Diddy.

 

[Mr.Seven]

When it comes to me... I dunno, the character has to "click" with me. Like, I had no plans to main the Wii Fit Trainer, but then s/he became my best character.

I literally had no plans to main him, but he became my best character. Something about the playstyle, I guess.

The ability to change his attributes on the fly really appeals to me. I've always liked a synergist character.

A very aggressive, speedy playstyle that requires a lot of technique. Also, those shotgun-sounding punches. Eargasmic.

Fast, aggressive, and a ninja frog with a counter.

Plenty of tools and pretty technical.

The risk/reward style that Lucario has is what caused me to main him back in Brawl.

With him, you gotta think ahead, and plan your moves against your opponent's playstyle. Just like a true tactician.

Never thought I would use the brawler much, but his specials and smashes are just an thing of beauty.

The only powerhouse I ever used. I like his style when I really feel like giving no sympathy.

 

[GanonDuck]

Usually i always decide who im going to main before the game is released, tho there are some stereotypes i usually go for gameplay wise like the big grappler and power characters. In smash 4 the two characters i play the most are Bowser and Wario and for different reasons.

My first game ever was Warioland: Super mario land 3. I adore the warioland series so it was quite a no brainer that i was going to main him when i saw him revealed in brawl, despite the more focus on warioware then warioland. Now i've always liked Bowser aswell and really wanted to main him when melee came out, but i just couldnt get much success with him. In brawl all my time got dedicated to Wario so i sort of forgot about the character. When smash 4 finally came along and i saw gameplay videos of Bowser he really, really reminded me of a typical big grappler character that i play in other fighting games. And the entire playstyle just clicked well with me when i realised he not only got a pivot grab that is similar to zangief magical grab you out of thin air SPD, but he also got a command grab that works as a kill move in this game.

I guess i play Bowser more then Wario in the wiiu version and i think its mostly because Bowser feels like the first true big grappler character in smash, with all the pros and cons that comes with that type of character.

 

[Rajikaru]

Both characters I, for all intents and purposes, "mained" in Brawl. Mained is in quotes because I didn't know how to play and usually played either 4 ways with Poke balls and assist trophies against level 9 CPUs or with my friends in 4-ways online. I also played Lucas (RIP) and Sonic (don't like him much anymore). The main idea behind picking him in Brawl and before Sm4sh came out was because they're cool and nobody usually picks them. Of course, I've grown to love both characters as themselves and plan to go to a regional tournament and prove how powerful the fat bird guy and zrrt-blat-tron really are.

All I play occasionally, because I like experimenting offline with every character and decided that I really like how these guys all play. They're not really my mains like Robo Buddy 3rd Edition and Dedeman but Marth and Shulk are getting there, and Wario is already close to there. Also Mii Brawler has legit terrifying combos.

My "mains" in the Sm4sh demo, I know them all intricately and would probably main them if I didn't have Fancy Penguin and Roboman.

Because Olimar/Alph is/are basically the best character(s) ever, especially because you can gimp yourself by playing with no pikmin. I played no pikmin against a level 9 ZSS 3 stock 8 min and it went until Sudden Death. (I lost)

 

[wizardto1]

When I first played Brawl, I tried to find the character that I love playing and am good at.
It was originally but I was having so much fun with that I decided to main him. I was originally not very good with but he appealed to me and I got very good with him.

It was basically the same thing in this game: find the character I love playing and am good at. Which is why I main the characters in my signature. They are just so fun to play as. But what stands out from the group are and/. They are just an absolute blast to play. It helps that Greninja is my favorite Pokemon and Awakening is one of my favorite games.

Though I'm getting surprisingly good with and(ironically all on the light team in the current conquest).

 

[TheShadowStorm]

Melee, it was the game my brother and I played to death together, I was always Player 2, so I decided to play Luigi for humor's sake. Then, I realized, "Hey, this character's got some unique stuff about him, I'll play him more, no matter what." I learned I was good with recovering, in general. It sounds ridiculous, but coming back with Mewtwo or Luigi at 150-200% is kinda what always motivated me to play more mobile, but fun "clicking" characters to me.

 

[C-SAF]

Picking mains in smash4 is easy. Find the character that feels the best and like the most, then forget about him and main Diddy Kong.

20XX in smash4 is going to be planet of the apes.

 

[Eisal]

I started off with and but overtime those became pretty uninteresting to play. Slow, but really, really strong attacks. It felt like I only had to smash the enemy three times and it was over.

So, I looked for something strange, and difficult to play, so became my new main, and still is. I really like to play her, it's really fun and I learn a lot about the game doing it.

 

[Thecombosetups]

When I played brawl I was a fan of so he became my first main, then after awhile then I got the hang of and . Then after awhile my use to be secondary became a 4th main for me
When I start playing Smash 4 I really want to main , then and came into the mix and also became my mains