The Best/Worst Incarnations of Each Character

[The_Bookworm]

This thread is literally what the title says. It will function similarly to my best/worst custom move threads, so stay tuned and don't be afraid to share your opinion (ties are welcome).

 

[The_Bookworm]

For SSB64 Veterans:

Mario:
1:
2/3:
4:
Lets face it, SSB4 Mario is undeniably the best incarnation, being a top character, as opposed to being a mid or low tier character in his previous incarnations. It was hard to decide if his 64 or Melee incarnation is better, since he received a mix of buffs and nerfs in transition, so I made it a tie. Brawl Mario is easily the worst, as he was nerfed pretty hard from Melee, which places him at the lowest tier in the game.

Luigi:
1:
2:
3:
4:
Choosing the best incarnation between Melee and SSB4 was tough, but choose SSB4, thanks to recent innovations from Elegant. SSB4 Luigi has overall stronger results than SSBM Luigi, but has glaring matchup issues (that made him drop off a little recently). SSBM Luigi has better representation, but he is no top 8 character, so he isn't as significant. SSBB Luigi is a below average character, and 64 Luigi is one of the worst characters in the game, if not THE worst.

Donkey Kong:
1:
2:
3/4:
SSBB DK is overall an average character, with him improving more in SSB4 (he received obvious buffs in the transition aka "Ding Dong", but also received some nerfs). SSBM and 64 DK are below average characters the their metagames, but they tied due to being ranked similarly, while receiving a mix of buffs and nerfs.

Yoshi:
1:
2:
3:
4:
64 Yoshi has the most commanding results than the other incarnations, while going very well with 64's mechanics. Brawl Yoshi doesn't fit very well in Brawl's shield orianted metagame, and is seen with less results than the others. Between Melee and SSB4 Yoshi, I picked SSBM, as he is heavily boosted by AmSa, while Yoshi's results ranges from average to slightly below average in SSB4's metagame, as his perceived potential was failed to be proven.

Link:
1:
2:
3/4:
At first, it was between SSB4 and SSBM. However, thanks to T's advancements in SSB4 Link's metagame, combined with SSBM Link slightly declining in interest, made him rose above. SSBB and 64 Link are very similar: sluggish frame data and an abysmal recovery. They are ranked very similarly in the low/bottom tiers.

Samus:
1:
2:
3:
4:
Melee is straight up her best incarnation. No questions asked. SSB4 Samus is showing slightly better metagame advancements than 64 Samus (plus being ranked proportionally higher), but both are generally average to below average characters. SSBB Samus would've worked well with Brawl's mechanics, if it wasn't for her abysmal KO power and struggle to zone as efficiently as Melee.

Fox:
1:
2:
3:
4:
SSBM Fox: blip blip blip blip blip blip blip blip blip blip blip blip blip blip blip blip blip blip blip blip blip blip blip blip blip blip blip blip blip blip blip blip.
The order is pretty much obvious overall.

Captain Falcon:
1/2:
3:
4:
C Falcon is pretty much as the same metagame progression in both 64 and Melee, while receiving a mix of both buffs and nerfs in the transition. SSB4 Falcon is a top 20 character in the game, but is not as strong as the above mentioned incarnations. Brawl Falcon................ we don't talk about him.

Kirby:
1:
2:
3:
4:
The order is, again, obvious why. Despite SSB4 Kirby getting buffs via game updates, they fail to compensate for the large nerfs he got from Brawl to SSB4, which puts him SSB4's low tier, as opposed to being a solid mid tier character in Brawl.

Ness:
1:
2:
3:
4:
He has generally mixed views in SSB4 (which I could rant about, but this is not the thread to do so), but his good results and strengths make this the best incarnation by a large margin. SSBB Ness is generally below average, but both 64 and Melee Ness... ouch. 64 Ness is a slightly better terrible than Melee Ness.

Pikachu:
1:
2:
3:
4:
It is of no surprise that 64 Pikachu is the best incarnation. I gave Brawl Pika the upper hand, due to him possessing more consistant results and views (as well as being higher ranked). SSB4 Pikachu, despite being high tier like Brawl Pika, did lost a lot of things that made Brawl Pika formidable (QAC, thunderspiking, and chaingrabbing, as well as the nerf to edgeguarding), while his new strengths is good but not as impressive. Melee Pikachu is formidable as well, but is boosted by only one player, and his standing is slightly worse than his SSBB and SSB4 incarnations.

Jigglypuff:
1:
2:
3:
4:
The order of this is of no surprise. Puff received a mix of buffs and nerfs from SSBB to SSB4, but 4 Puff is overall worse than it already is in Brawl. It does enjoy a better character balance in SSB4 though.

Feel free to express your opinion. When Smash Switch is released, then I will view it's viability in regard to the other incarnations as well.

 

[The_Bookworm]

[Merged with the first comment]

 

[Skeeter Mania]

Honestly, between Brawl and Smash 4 for Jigglypuff, that one's really debatable. Couldn't you just leave them both tied?

 

[The_Bookworm]

Honestly, between Brawl and Smash 4 for Jigglypuff, that one's really debatable. Couldn't you just leave them both tied?

I thought of that, but Brawl Puff is technically a better character despite the Rest power buff in SSB4. Jigglypuff is also higher ranked in Brawl. However, the better character balance in SSB4 is what allowed SSB4 Puff to obtain slightly better results and representation, so it is somewhat debatable.

 

[MercuryPenny]

between rage, edgehogging disappearing, fair losing its kill power, bair losing its spacing power and becoming unreasonably slow, losing dacus as a burst movement option and pound becoming worse for recovery, it's hard to say what smash 4 puff has over brawl puff.

like, rest kills earlier? she might have a very slightly less horrible matchup chart? the only thing i can think of that would actually mean anything is having proper setups into rest, which are still few and far between.

 

[The_Bookworm]

Melee Veterans:

Peach
1:
2:
3:
Melee Peach being the best incarnation is of no surprise. Peach, despite receiving some nerfs from Brawl to SSB4, is noticeably better in SSB4, but not as good as Melee by a long shot.

Bowser:
1:
2:
3:
No matter what, SSB4 Bowser fares better than his other two mediocre incarnations. Bowser was buffed from Melee to Brawl, but was still pretty bad.

Dr. Mario:
1:
2:
Dr. Mario was straight up nerfed from Melee. No long explanations needed.

Zelda:
1/2:
3:
Zelda is a bad character in every Smash Bros game she appears in so far. The reason why she is ranked as the second worse character in SSB4, is because the Miis are not included in the current tier list. If included, she would be ranked similarly to the current views of Melee Zelda. She was overall nerfed from SSBM to SSBB, hence why SSBB Zelda is ranked below the two.

Sheik:
1/2:
3:
SSBM and SSB4 Sheik plays differently with eachother. SSBM Sheik enjoys having dominating matchups and good strengths, but doesn't enjoy having even stronger characters above her. SSB4 Sheik is ranked proportionally higher, but it is thanks to a more forgiving balance of SSB4. SSBB Sheik is straight up inferior to the other two incarnations.

Ganondorf:
1:
2:
3:
Melee Ganon reigns supreme by a large margin. SSB4 Ganon is noticeably better than his terrible Brawl incarnation, although his weaknesses not being properly addressed prevents him from leaving the lowest tier.

Young Link / Toon Link:
1:
2:
3:
Young Link is a below average character in Melee, while Toon Link is above average in both Brawl and SSB4. Toon Link was overall slightly nerfed from Brawl to SSB4.

Falco:
1:
2:
3:
This order is of no surprise. Brawl Falco, despite the nerfs, remains a top tiered threat. However, SSB4 Falco..... and he says Fox was off his game....

Mewtwo:
1:
2:
Mewtwo is straight up better in SSB4. No questions asked.

Ice Climbers:
1:
2:
IC's, despite already being a tournament thread in SSBM, improved even further in SSBB... in a rather infamous way.

Marth:
1/2:
3:
Similar to Sheik, Marth is ranked proportionally higher in Melee due to more (note: in quantity) prominent / broken characters existing in Brawl than in Melee. Marth received a mix of buffs and nerfs from SSBM to SSBB. SSB4 Marth, despite remaining a strong character, is noticeably worse than in the other two incarnations.

Roy:
1:
2:
Roy has overall improved from Melee to SSB4, receiving a mix of buffs and nerfs with the buffs outweighing the nerfs.

Mr. Game & Watch:
1:
2:
3:
Brawl Game & Watch is the strongest by a noticeable margin, with him going along well with Brawl's physics. SSB4 G&W is more prominent with his splashes of results, while his weaknesses (although glaring) not as large as Melee G&W by a noticeable margin.

Pichu doesn't count, as it appeared in this game only.

 

[Skeeter Mania]

Melee Veterans:

Peach
1:
2:
3:

Bowser:
1:
2:
3:

Dr. Mario:
1:
2:

Zelda:
1/2:
3:

Sheik:
1/2:
3:

Ganondorf:
1:
2:
3:

Young Link / Toon Link:
1:
2:
3:

Falco:
1:
2:
3:

Mewtwo:
1:
2:

Ice Climbers:
1:
2:

Marth:
1/2:
3:

Roy:
1:
2:

Mr. Game & Watch:
1:
2:
3:

Pichu doesn't count, as it appeared in this game only. Followup coming soon.

Suggestions:

1. Melee Marth should definitely be on top (3rd out of 26 is a smaller percentage than 5th out of 37 (38 if Sheilda is counted)), and players even argue him for second best.
2. May be debatable, but I suppose it wouldn't be out of reach to say that the Melee G&W and Sm4sh G&W could possibly be tied (some players may put him as high as 16th).
3. If anything, considering current placings, Sm4sh Zelda should be tied with Brawl Zelda, both being second to last on the respective tier lists. Actually, considering popular opinion with Melee Zelda (very much around bottom 5, possibly bottom 3), they could all be tied.

 

[The_Bookworm]

Suggestions:

1. Melee Marth should definitely be on top (3rd out of 26 is a smaller percentage than 5th out of 37 (38 if Sheilda is counted)), and players even argue him for second best.
2. May be debatable, but I suppose it wouldn't be out of reach to say that the Melee G&W and Sm4sh G&W could possibly be tied (some players may put him as high as 16th).
3. If anything, considering current placings, Sm4sh Zelda should be tied with Brawl Zelda, both being second to last on the respective tier lists. Actually, considering popular opinion with Melee Zelda (very much around bottom 5, possibly bottom 3), they could all be tied.

I may put the Melee Marth over Brawl Marth, but he received a mix of buffs and nerfs in the transition. A reason why Melee Marth is proportionally higher is becuase there are more prominent/broken characters in Brawl that surpass Marth. Even then, the gap between the two are small.
Melee G&W is not so good at all, despite increased results from Qerb. SSB4 G&W is more prominent with his splahes in results, while not suffering from Melee G&W's significant weaknesses. (He does have some of Melee G&W's weaknesses, but it is not as glaring).
The main reason why Zelda is the second to worst character in SSB4 is because the Miis are nonexistent in the current tier list. If Miis are accounted, her placement is similar to the perceived views on Melee Zelda, while Brawl Zelda was overall nerfed from Melee Zelda. (Hope that wasn't too confusing).

 

[Crystanium]

The way I'll do this is based on percentages. I will be rounding to whole numbers. Also, if a character is at the same or similar rank, and if that character is doing better even with more characters to his or her predecessors, then that makes him or her much better.


4th out of 38 in SSBB. This puts Diddy Kong at 89%. He's 3rd out of 55 in Sm4sh, putting him ≈95% Sm4sh > SSBB


10th out of 26 in SSBM. This places Samus at ≈62%. She's currently 37th out of 55 in Sm4sh, or ≈33%. Sm4sh < SSBM


4th out of 26 in SSBM. Sheik is ≈85% in SSBM. In Sm4sh, she's 4th out of 55. Obviously, if a character can maintain or go higher with a larger pool, that makes Sheik's incarnation in Sm4sh way better. For those curious, Sheik's Sm4sh incarnation is ≈93%. Sm4sh > SSBM

 

[The_Bookworm]

I decided to merge the explanations with the actual list. Explanations for Melee veterans are edited in the list soon.

The way I'll do this is based on percentages. I will be rounding to whole numbers. Also, if a character is at the same or similar rank, and if that character is doing better even with more characters to his or her predecessors, then that makes him or her much better.


4th out of 38 in SSBB. This puts Diddy Kong at 89%. He's 3rd out of 55 in Sm4sh, putting him ≈95% Sm4sh > SSBB


10th out of 26 in SSBM. This places Samus at ≈62%. She's currently 37th out of 55 in Sm4sh, or ≈33%. Sm4sh < SSBM


4th out of 26 in SSBM. Sheik is ≈85% in SSBM. In Sm4sh, she's 4th out of 55. Obviously, if a character can maintain or go higher with a larger pool, that makes Sheik's incarnation in Sm4sh way better. For those curious, Sheik's Sm4sh incarnation is ≈93%. Sm4sh > SSBM

For both Sheik and Diddy, their SSB4 incarnations are only ranked proportionally higher due to the top tiers being less powerful than Melee/Brawl's. Diddy received a mix of buffs (such as recovery improvements) and nerfs (such as the Banana Peel nerf) in the transition. Sheik is played differently in both incarnations, with SSB4 Sheik being stronger in relative to the cast in SSB4 than in SSBM, while SSBM Sheik has more wild strengths and matchup spread (which includes a near unloseable matchup against Bowser).

For Samus.... it was obvious that her SSBM incarnation is better.

 

[Crystanium]

For both Sheik and Diddy, their SSB4 incarnations are only ranked proportionally higher due to the top tiers being less powerful than Melee/Brawl's.

How are top tiers less powerful in Sm4sh than in SSBM? (Let's pretend SSBB never happened.)

 

[The_Bookworm]

How are top tiers less powerful in Sm4sh than in SSBM? (Let's pretend SSBB never happened.)

SSB4's top tiers are less dominant than Melee's, and they don't completely shut down the rest of the cast like Melee/Brawl's top tiers do. While SSB4's top tiers does have a few broken options (like Fox's fair footstool and Bayo's Witch Time for example), it is not as powerful as Melee's top tier's options like chaingrabbing, shine-ing, and powerful stage control (such as Marth's disjoints, spacies' lasers, and needles that have hurtboxes).

 

[A Scrub]

Cloud:

1)
2)

 

[Crystanium]

SSB4's top tiers are less dominant than Melee's, and they don't completely shut down the rest of the cast like Melee/Brawl's top tiers do. While SSB4's top tiers does have a few broken options (like Fox's fair footstool and Bayo's Witch Time for example), it is not as powerful as Melee's top tier's options like chaingrabbing, shine-ing, and powerful stage control (such as Marth's disjoints, spacies' lasers, and needles that have hurtboxes).

Are they less dominant, or are Sm4sh characters more viable because Nintendo was involved in patching up things? The rage mechanic may also play a part in why characters tend to perform better. Also, it appears you end up focusing on advanced techniques.

 

[Guido65]

How are top tiers less powerful in Sm4sh than in SSBM? (Let's pretend SSBB never happened.)

Less lopsided mus vs weaker characters(destroys most mid tiers and worse ultra hard).

 

[The_Bookworm]

Are they less dominant, or are Sm4sh characters more viable because Nintendo was involved in patching up things? The rage mechanic may also play a part in why characters tend to perform better. Also, it appears you end up focusing on advanced techniques.

Advanced tech is what makes a lot of character's strengths in Melee powerful, which is a leading contribution to the large skill gap in Melee. Rage in SSB4 aids characters, but they are not always there when you need it, (and it can backfire on you by messing up certain combos); the metagame doesn't revolve around utilizing rage the best like the advance tech in Melee does. It does help characters (like DK and Bowser), but not as much.

 

[Mario & Sonic Guy]

Smash 3DS / Wii U sure was friendly to Fox in that his recovery is considerably better than it was in Melee and Brawl. Of course, it also helps knowing that even though 3DS / Wii U Fox has the fastest falling speed of any standard fighter in those two games, he falls slower than Melee Sheik.