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You suddenly become tasked with being the director of Smash 5 coming out in Feb 2016...

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WertQuadNine

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Yoshi's egg
The ultimate thread for creating the next smash game! Create a roster, stages, new modes, menus, and pretty much everything! You can get as indept to list items, assist trophies, alts, etc. or you could simply post a roster. The release date for the game is February 1st 2016, so take upcoming games into account! You can always come back and edit your post with whatever you want, but please only post your ideas once.

Do note that I believe a new smash game coming out in only a couple months would be silly, and this is just for fun.
Mine (If Interested): LINK
 
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ATH_

Smash Ace
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This is actually something I've been working on in my spare time, as in the future as a programmer I plan to work with my girlfriend to create a Super Smash Flash-esque game! It's still in it's early stages, as it IS being planned like 10 years in advance, but I have a neat roster and set of stages already.
If this thread gets love I'll definitely be posting a huge one, take this as a reserved spot. ;P

Super Smash Bros. 64
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dream Land

Changes:
  • Tree Moved to the center of the stage
Hazards Button Turned Off:
  • Tree no longer blows into a direction.
Thoughts:
Have to have this stage in as a returning stage, as it's widely considered a classic and weird to NOT have in a Smash game. While the tree is not really an issue and more of something that makes the stage unique in competitive play, I felt that having the option to remove it would be the right way to go. Even though the stagelist meta would evolve to accepting the tree over not having it most likely.


Congo Jungle (Kongo Jungle)

Changes:
  • Moving Platforms have less Vertical Range
  • The center-point of where the Platforms move around is lowered toward the base stage
  • Both larger platforms are lowered toward the stage
Hazards Button Turned Off:
  • Barrel Removed from below the stage
Thoughts:
I think this stage deserved a bit of a makeover, then maybe more people would appreciate it. The moving Platforms have always been a bit of an issue in both kinds of play, since they go very high upwards and not that close to the stage. So I've lowered their center-point so that they would reach closer to the stage and feel more like an option, while also decreasing their overall vertical range so you can't get insanely early kills. The larger platforms are also moves closer to the stage for similar reasons, they don't feel like much of an option and more out of the way if anything. The movements are not by very much, just to make clear, so characters who were better on this stage because of the height are still better, it's lowered just enough to be in range for characters without having to use their Up Special. Barrel removed when Hazards are turned off for obvious reasons. Gives a solid option for competitive play and casual play with the barrel fun.

Yes I'm stilling adding a lot more to this list, at least 3 stages from each past Smash game. I'll work on updating this when I have more time. ^^

 
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ErenJager

Smash Champion
Joined
Feb 16, 2014
Messages
2,792
Location
Namek
New Game Modes:

New Stock = New Character
Online Stock Matches
Break The Targets
Board The Platforms
Melee/ N64 style classic mode were it feels like your invading that character universe.
 

ATH_

Smash Ace
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Good Fire Emblem Characters to consider:
Marth, Roy, Ike, Robin, Lucina, Chrom, Lon'qu.

I'm still playing through Fire Emblem: Awakening and these are currently the 7 I like a lot for Smash.
 

Random765

Smash Cadet
Joined
Nov 18, 2014
Messages
32
Make it competetive as possible. Faster fall speeds, plenty of hitstun, wavedashing and things of that nature, and intricate combo options.

Casual people will still play it with their friends, and hardcore crowds will overanalyze it and play it 10 years from now. WIN WIN.

Also, is it too much to ask to add Toad? Who wouldnt want to play as a goddamn talking mushroom. Come on now.
 
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Pit_Icarus

Smash Apprentice
Joined
Sep 17, 2014
Messages
189
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In your 2 and 4 keys
  • Get a trailer out showing gameplay of the original 8 veterans, along with Pit, Mega Man, Sonic, And Pac-Man
  • Insert Issac
  • Show off newcomer Simon Belmont
  • Watch the internet go up in flames
  • Mess with the player's heads by adding Karate Joe instead of Chorus Kids
  • Insert a Primid because whynot
  • ???
  • Bathe in money
 

Drakester234

Smash Rookie
Joined
Feb 15, 2015
Messages
11
Location
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
All I would do is change the physics to Melee physics then add 10 more characters, one of them being Ridley.

All joking aside, I'd speed it up just a little bit, add a sequel to Subspace Emissary, more game modes like All-Star Versus; bring back Target Smash and Board the Platforms etc,.

http://imgur.com/BSzELtu

I think this is a pretty realistic roster. I did take some liberties because I know Captain Rainbow will probably not get in :(. The blank space is another Pokemon character (couldn't find an icon for one). Wii Fit icons are franchises that haven't been made yet and blue is starter, red is unlockable yadayadayada. I'd add some stages too. Maybe some items.
 
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energonkid

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^ Four wii fit trainers. Purely BRILLIANT!!! I think a sequel to su space would be pretty cool though.
 
D

Deleted member 269706

Guest
I'd love to create a Smash Bros X Fire Emblem game where the entire roster is made up of Fire Emblem characters.

Characters
Instead of different characters, there would be different classes (Fighter, Pirate, Myrmidon, Assassin, Pegasus Knight, Mage, Druid, Dread Fighter, etc.) and each "skin" would be a different character from the Fire Emblem franchise. So if you chose a Swordmaster Class for example, it could be Navarre, Joshua, Guy, Lon'qu, and so on (as long as they are a myrmidon or swordmaster canonically). Just like in the Fire Emblem series, each class would have their own unique traits. Pegasus knights, Wyvern riders, and other fliers would be multi-jump units (like Pit, Kirby, Jigglypuff and others), but be lighter because of that. Characters could wield a variety of weapons however. For example, a warrior could set up his inventory with an axe for power, and a bow for range.

Weapons & Items
Once a character was selected, each player would choose up to 5 items (maybe only 3, haven't completely thought it through) to go into battle with. Items would include weapons, tomes, staves, and other miscellaneous items seen throughout the games (such as a dracoshield for more defense, or an elixir to heal yourself). Like in Fire Emblem, a heavier weapon would deal more damage, but cause the fighter to be slower. Different weapons would have different traits. Marth's rapier would have a tipper like effect (where the tip does more knockback & damage), whereas the Killing Edge would randomly decide when to deal higher amounts of damage. Maybe a brave lance would leave an opponent in stun for follow-up options. The Devil Axe would be extraordinarily powerful, but deal damage to its user.

Stages
Stages would just be notable locations seen in the games. There would be terrain however, which could affect units. Water, forts, forested areas, pillars, stairs, and so on would all play their respective roles in the franchise. For those who don't know, standing in a forested area in Fire Emblem decreases the chance that your unit will be struck, so in this Smash rendition, being in a forested area may regenerate your shield faster. On the other hand, being in water or snow may slow down the unit, or cause more hitstun when hit, or landing lag when coming down.

I would love to see how people would utilize the massive amounts of customization in an already very strategic game. I would keep the game fast paced, and go back to the melee era where it wasn't as rewarding to play so defensively (always shielding and rolling...). I would want the game to be as technical as possible, so there would be a number of ATs implemented into the game.

That being said this is all completely theoretical, I have no intentions of creating it, I'm sure there are many holes in this idea, so please don't bash.
 

Drakester234

Smash Rookie
Joined
Feb 15, 2015
Messages
11
Location
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
I'd love to create a Smash Bros X Fire Emblem game where the entire roster is made up of Fire Emblem characters.

Characters
Instead of different characters, there would be different classes (Fighter, Pirate, Myrmidon, Assassin, Pegasus Knight, Mage, Druid, Dread Fighter, etc.) and each "skin" would be a different character from the Fire Emblem franchise. So if you chose a Swordmaster Class for example, it could be Navarre, Joshua, Guy, Lon'qu, and so on (as long as they are a myrmidon or swordmaster canonically). Just like in the Fire Emblem series, each class would have their own unique traits. Pegasus knights, Wyvern riders, and other fliers would be multi-jump units (like Pit, Kirby, Jigglypuff and others), but be lighter because of that. Characters could wield a variety of weapons however. For example, a warrior could set up his inventory with an axe for power, and a bow for range.

Weapons & Items
Once a character was selected, each player would choose up to 5 items (maybe only 3, haven't completely thought it through) to go into battle with. Items would include weapons, tomes, staves, and other miscellaneous items seen throughout the games (such as a dracoshield for more defense, or an elixir to heal yourself). Like in Fire Emblem, a heavier weapon would deal more damage, but cause the fighter to be slower. Different weapons would have different traits. Marth's rapier would have a tipper like effect (where the tip does more knockback & damage), whereas the Killing Edge would randomly decide when to deal higher amounts of damage. Maybe a brave lance would leave an opponent in stun for follow-up options. The Devil Axe would be extraordinarily powerful, but deal damage to its user.

Stages
Stages would just be notable locations seen in the games. There would be terrain however, which could affect units. Water, forts, forested areas, pillars, stairs, and so on would all play their respective roles in the franchise. For those who don't know, standing in a forested area in Fire Emblem decreases the chance that your unit will be struck, so in this Smash rendition, being in a forested area may regenerate your shield faster. On the other hand, being in water or snow may slow down the unit, or cause more hitstun when hit, or landing lag when coming down.

I would love to see how people would utilize the massive amounts of customization in an already very strategic game. I would keep the game fast paced, and go back to the melee era where it wasn't as rewarding to play so defensively (always shielding and rolling...). I would want the game to be as technical as possible, so there would be a number of ATs implemented into the game.

That being said this is all completely theoretical, I have no intentions of creating it, I'm sure there are many holes in this idea, so please don't bash.
I love this idea. Love love love, but are you suggesting that this should take over Smash?
 
D

Deleted member 269706

Guest
I love this idea. Love love love, but are you suggesting that this should take over Smash?
Hey thanks for the comment! And no, of course not, I would want it to be it's own stand alone game. Or maybe even a branch off of smash. Like, Smash would be the father series, and it would have several bastardizations. Similar to how Mario has his own line of games, and then a series of different games branching out of it (Mario Kart, Mario Party, Mario Golf, etc.).
 
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Mazdamaxsti

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not brawl
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New Characters: Litleo (TOO CUTE OMFG), and thats all I can think of.

Returning Characters: Wolf, Lucas, Pichu

Make it faster, but make items REALLY fun so its half and half. Return the ledge mechanic, and make combos better.
 

RADSheikah

Smash Apprentice
Joined
Mar 24, 2014
Messages
195
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Mordor
I imagine this as a smaller scale game for the eShop with a slightly smaller cast but still with some new fighters.

Roster:
:4mario::4luigi::4bowser::4peach:(Toad):4link::4zelda::4ganondorf:(Vaati):4gaw:
:4samus:(Sylux):4pit::4palutena::yoshi2::4fox::wolf::4marth::4robinm:(FE14 Lord)
:4pikachu::197: (Goodra) :mewtwopm::4lucario::4ness::lucas::4dk::4diddy:(Dixie)
:4falcon::4kirby::4metaknight::4wario:(Ashley):4shulk::popo::4littlemac::4olimar:(Inkling)
:4megaman::4sonic::4pacman:(Shovel Knight)

Stage List:
Battlefield
Final Destination
Bob-omb battlefield
Death Mountain
Flat Zone Z
Bottleship
Underworld Palace
Bandit Valley
Arwing Battle
Dragon's Skull
Dragonspiral Tower
New Pork City 2
Gangplank Galleon
Falcon Flyer
Rainbow Curse
Wario Land
Fallen Arm
NES Remix
Boxing Ring 2
PNF-404
Splatoon
Robot Museum
Angel Island
Pac-World
Tower of Fate

Modes:
Smash Battles
Classic Mode
Multi-Man Allstar (think multi-man Smash+All Star mode
Story Mode

Revamped Characters/Newcomers
:4ganondorf: is no longer a clone! (rejoicing). He uses his sword for his neutral Special and his balls of Magic for his Side Special. His up-Special is a variation of his hover from PM. He is now more magic focused.

:4megaman:'s Victory theme is changed to the first phrase of the MM3 Weapon get theme. He also has revamped specials such as changing the Metal Blade to the Wheel Cutter from MM10. His down Special is now the Solar Flare also from MM10.

(Shovel Knight) has a moveset based around using his Shovel and the relics from the game. His Final Smash is he blows into the warhorn summoning the Trouple King.

(Toad) is given a moveset that takes insparation from Captain Toad, New Super Mario Bros, and Mario Kart. His Final Smash is the Double Cherry and Pickaxe power-up.

(Vaati) has a moveset based around his wind powers. However he uses power from the bosses from Four Swords as well as a power similar to the Four Sword. His Final Smash is "Vaati's Wrath"

(Sylux) is a "Luigi-fied" Samus. He has different tilts but has somewhat similar Specials. With the Shock Coil Replacing the Charge Shot and the Lockjaw replacingthe Morph Ball. His Final Smash is a revamped version of :4zss:'s

Not enough info on (FE 14 Lord) yet

:197: is a fast and nimble dark type. Using Moves like Shadow ball and Confuse Ray as his Side and Standard Special. It's Final Smash is an advanced Dark Pulse.

(Goodra) Is a Tanky Dragon Type. It uses moves such as Dragon Tail and Outrage. Dragon Tail funtioning as it's down Special, Down Smash, and Down Air. It's Final Smash is Draco Meteor.

(Dixie) functions like Diddy but different. Instead of the Peanut Popgun and Rocket Barrel Pack she uses her hair to flip up items and other fighters. She also uses her Hair as a recovery. Her Final Smash is a variation of :4dk:'s where she uses her guitar only it isn't time based. (And she has a variation of the "Hoo Hah")

(Ashley) is a magic character. Her jab combo is her shooting sparks from her wand. She uses al sorts of potions and brew in her attacks as well. Her Final Smash is a large scale version of her move as an AT with some elements of the negative zone.

(Inkling) is a bit of a tactical character. The Inkling uses the ink to help it in battle. The ink only lasts so long on the stage (15 seconds) but makes it's moves more powerful like it's "Squid dash" The Inklings Final Smash is the Giant Ink explosion that covers the whole stage with Ink.





Tis all I got so far, will add more.
 
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Dark Dude

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DudeSean
I'd love to create a Smash Bros X Fire Emblem game where the entire roster is made up of Fire Emblem characters.
I've had an idea similar to this. Giving Smash Bros. it's own franchise specific spin-offs. Like, keep Smash going at one game in the main series per console, but then also have other side Smash games with just Mario or just Zelda characters. Because a lot of Nintendo's franchises have enough characters to make their own fighting game with and it would just be insane to put all of them into one game. Plus, I don't think one game could handle every potential character from every Nintendo game, so this would be the only solution to have more characters get to be playable. Especially obscure or less popular characters.
 
Joined
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Messages
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I'd go for a soft reset. 40-ish characters, at least 10 of them being new, with substantial updates to the returning characters. Prioritize new gameplay experiences over "All-Star for the sake of having All-Star" and that sort of thing. Inkling would be playable for sure. Improvements to online would probably require new hardware altogether so not much could be done for a hypothetical 2016 game.

To me, "SSB4 + some stuff" would be a boring sequel, and there needs to be some kind of shakeup.

Those are my suggestions for a new Smash Bros. whether it came out in ten months or in ten years. :>
 

SneakyLink

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Cut everyone except Mario and Link.
Add lots of explosions for every move (yes, even boomerangs go boom. And explosions can happen at pure random)
Game crashes due to explosions.

Profit, at the cost of broken consoles.
 
D

Deleted member

Guest
Better idea:
Add this Goku instead:

(Yes, it's a Nintendo character)
Watch as the masses cry out "WRONG GOKU!!!"
Don't forget to laugh.
Add both Gokus. Make Yuyuki Goku starter, and make Dragon Ball Goku insanely hard to unlock. Also, the roster would use preexisting artwork, so when someone unlocks (finally) Goku, everyone would think it's fake.
 

MarioMeteor

Smash Hero
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You are a genius. Best thread idea yet.
First of all, give the game a ****ing name. Super Smash Bros. Clash. Multi-Man Clash, Special Clash, 8-Player Clash. There, doesn't that work better than Wii U/3DS?
I think the physics are fine how they are. Maybe make it the SLIGHTEST bit faster. Not Melee fast. In terms of universal changes, I'd make it so shield traction no longer pushes you off edges, and the C-Stick can no longer perform jabs, neutral airs, or charge smash attacks. You can also no longer have your grab outprioritized.
Roster: Toad, Goomba (as a joke character. Fights using baseball bat, wings, and Koopa shells), Vaati, Geno, Rundas, Isaac, Bandanna Dee, Wigglytuff (as a joke semi-clone of Jigglypuff), Dr. Luigi, (Don't look at me like that) Lucas, Wolf, Kamek, Proto Man, Doc Louis, Lyn, Squirtle and Ivysaur join as newcomers. Lucina and Toon Link are cut. Ganondorf, Dr. Mario, and Dark Pit are all Luigified. Ganondorf gains a Swordsman form and a Mage form via a custom special. Dr. Mario fights using more electricity and hitting with his stethoscope. Dr. Mario also becomes its own series, represented by the two Doctors, a stage inside Dr. Mario's lab, and obviously some trophies. Their victory themes are the ending part of Chill. Dark Pit fights using his Dark Pit Staff and Silver Bow in conjunction. His Final Smash is the Lighting Chariot. Toad is an accumulation of all the abilities different Toads have shown. He has Cap. Toad as an alt. Geno represents Mario but is still considered a third party character. It's obvious what his victory theme would be. Goomba is a joke character and is the Goomba from the Baseball games. He uses his bat for most attacks. Vaati fights using wind magic and things of that nature. Rundas is the proper rep that Metroid needs. He shares maybe like 2 or 3 moves with Samus but is otherwise a completely unique character with his ice abilities. Bandanna Dee is pretty straightforward. So is Isaac and Lyn. Wigglytuff is this games Pichu/Dr Mario. Slower, stronger Jigglypuff with a few similar moves. Proto Man fights using Special Weapons from 3, 5, 9, and 10, since those are his most prominent appearences. Final Smash is the Big Bang Strike from & Bass. Doc Louis is like the Wolf to Little Mac's Fox. But he's not just "slower, stronger Mac". Kamek uses the typical powers shown by Magikoopas, and represents the Yoshi series since he is the main antagonist. Lucas, Wolf, Squirtle, and Ivysaur all return.
Stages:
Bowser's Castle
Bob-omb Battlefield
Another Dimension (Kirby)
Some new Boxing Ring.
Dr. Mario's Lab
Pokémon Stadium 3
Wily Castle Tour
Forest Maze
I'll think of some more later.
Music:
Closing Battle (Super Paper Mario)
Macho Grubba Battle
Buoy Base Galaxy
Bowser's Castle Medley
Chill
Bowser Battle Medley
Nemesis King Bowser (Galaxy)
Almighty King Bowser (Galaxy 2)
C-R-O-W-N-E-D.
The World to Win
Dirty & Beauty
Hyrule Warriors Medley
Twilight Princess Medley
Majora's Mask Medley
Ganondorf Battle (OoT)
Puppet Zelda
Piston Honda (Punch-Out!!)
Major Circuit Title Bout
Mr. Sandman
Metal Man Stage
Top Man Stage
Dr. Wily's Castle Medley (2-4)
Dr. Wily's Castle Medley (5-6)
Dr. Wily's Castle Medley (9-10)
X vs. Zero
Pharaoh Man Stage
Gravity Man Stage
Proto Man's Castle
Thunder Tornado
Something from 10. Abandoned Memory, maybe?
Fresh out of ideas, so I'll edit later.
 

Munomario777

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February 2016? Lolnope.

There are 89 characters total (not counting transformations and Mii variations). The design principles for this game -- titled Super Smash Bros. V -- are as follows.
  • Create the ultimate Smash Bros. experience. Take what's loved about the past games, along with tons of new content, and mix it all together to make the definitive Smash Bros. title.
  • Create a game with appeal to casual players, competitive players, and fans of the series represented alike.
  • Make the game accessible to enter, but deep to dig into, with advanced play, techniques, and strategies carefully constructed for tight matches. It's like a new interpretation of what made Melee great.
  • Keep what's loved, and throw out what's not. Very little content is cut, and if it is, it's for the better (the CD item, for example, is removed in lieu of all music being available from the get-go, and some clones are cut to give more attention to unique fighters).
  • Buffs, new attacks, and cool visual flair all around! whoo
  • Encourage exciting gameplay to both watch and perform. Offstage edgeguarding is more powerful thanks to the return of spikes and other tweaks, aggressive play is encouraged due to a weakened defensive game and strengthened offensive one, and long, impressive combos are more abundant and more rewarding. The focus is less on advanced techniques, and more on how moves are used, spacing, positioning, mobility, mindgames, et cetera.
  • Fan service aplenty! Cool visual touches, references, and other nods are abundant here.
Now, before I get into character details, here are some things that'll give some important context:

GAMEPLAY TWEAKS

  • The game uses Smash 4 as a base, with new content, engine tweaks, etc. built upon this foundation. That way more focus can be placed on the content and tweaks itself, rather than reinventing the wheel.
  • Fast-falls have been given a speed increase, but regular falling is unchanged -- it's the best of both worlds in terms of Smash 4 vs. Melee speed.
  • Rolling has more of a vulnerability period when used repeatedly, although single rolls are unchanged, and shields can be pushed off of ledges again. Spot dodges are mostly unchanged, but air dodges are reverted to their Melee form sans wavedashing. However, air dodges can be used without affecting momentum like in Brawl and Smash 4 by not holding a direction. Neither will put the user into helpless, and Melee airdodges vary in length based on the character. Air dodges cannot be used out of a tumbling state, and you get only one air dodge per airtime -- they're not regained when you're hit.
  • Wavedashing in its traditional sense has been removed, but wavelanding is still present! In other words, wavedashes can be used, but only if the character is already falling. This allows for new landing options as well as opening up combo opportunities, while avoiding a game centered around the technically-demanding wavedash technique. (If you try to perform a traditional wavedash, the slide will not occur.) If you use an air dodge, you can't waveland (since that requires an air dodge), so use it wisely! Fighters with pseudo-wavedashes (e.g. shellshifting and Hydro Pump into the ground) have an advantage, since it's possible to pseudo-wavedash from a standing position.
  • Perfect pivoting has a more lenient timing window.
  • L-canceling has been decidedly excluded. However, landing lag on many aerial attacks has been cut down drastically, replicating the fast-paced action that l-canceling brought to the table. On that note, attacks have been sped up in general.
  • All characters can wall jump, and can do so on the same wall again following a midair jump. Some characters are better at it than others (Bowser and Ganon are terrible at it), and others still can wall cling. Some even have the ability to scale walls whilst clinging, such as Knuckles.
  • For more agile fighters, wall jumps have been reworked. Pressing straight away from the wall will cause them to leap sideways, with no upwards momentum. A diagonal up input acts the same as a Smash 4 wall jump, whereas a diagonally down input has your fighter begin to run straight down the wall. Then pressing away from the wall or pressing jump causes them to leap downwards! These new options aren't very useful on traditional stages, but on stages with walls, they give select fighters more options.
  • Crawling is now a universal ability shared by all fighters, but like wall jumping, some fighters' crawls are faster or lower to the ground than others, and a few have special attacks just for crawling.
  • Ground momentum carries over to the air when you jump or run off of a ledge, but not completely -- some speed is lost due to the jump squat animation.
  • Swimming has been removed, although fighters will fall a bit more slowly in water.
  • Recovery moves, when used from the ground, don't cause a helpless state; the move can even be used again in midair after using it from the ground. This also goes for things like Sonic's spring, which has a "semi-helpless" state attached (but now, not from the ground).
  • Team characters (like the ICs) are re-added, and transformations also make a return.
  • Zairs can be aimed up, down, or backwards by holding a direction and then pressing the grab button. If you aim a midair tether, it won't grab the ledge. Even aiming it forward will suffice.
  • Footstools are now techable, as is tripping.
  • After a bounce following a meteor smash into the ground, you can't act until you exit hitstun.
  • Taunt canceling makes a return, specifically taunt ledge canceling, and it's usable by all fighters.
  • Many other grounded attacks can be ledge canceled during a waveland slide, ending the animation if a fighter slides off of the platform. However, it's still rather slow, since wavelanding requires a fighter to already be falling. But, it can still be used for combos and setups!
  • Dash-based techniques like dash dancing and moonwalking have been reverted to their Melee form, making them much more useful (or actually possible, in the case of moonwalking).
  • DACUSing from Brawl is back, including the sliding DACUS and Gatling combo.
  • Character-specific tricks and techniques are aplenty, with each character having at least one, and they are mentioned in the enclosed instruction book. The game is balanced towards both casual play and competitive play.
  • The timer has been moved to the bottom-center of the screen.
  • Hitstun has been slightly increased overall, allowing for more combo opportunities.
  • Ice-based attacks have extra hitstun in the form of an animation where the receiving character is coated in ice. This won't increase the knockback of attacks, just the hitstun. This only applies to fighters' moves -- some items like the Freezie, or stage elements retain the old freezing effect.
  • As a neat aesthetic touch, upon finishing a lengthy combo -- say, five hits -- with a killing move, characters will let out one of a few "combo catchphrases," or something else if that isn't applicable. For example, Mario exclaims, "Here we goooooooo!", Sonic says, "Hey, I'll play with you some other time!", Ganon unleashes his signature evil laugh as lightning strikes -- or rather, the thunder thereof -- are heard in the background, and when Little Mac pulls this off, Doc Louis cheers him on. And of course, Captain Falcon lets out his signature "Hyes!". It's a nice, stylish way to wrap up a stock or match.
  • Final Smashes are now activated by pressing A + B at the same time without holding a direction, so you can now use Neutral Special moves while you have a Final Smash ready. There's also a Final Smash meter, similar to the Super move gauges in traditional fighting games. It appears above the character's portrait, and fills up when you land hits, depletes when you get hit, and the amount filled up increases with damage dealt by a move. Gaining energy happens twice as quickly as losing it -- for example, landing X attack gains 1 energy, and getting hit by that same attack loses 0.5 energy. The damage of a move directly correlates to the amount of the meter filled, and getting KO'd will drain half of your current charge -- so if you were only halfway there, now you're at 1/4. This option is quite favorable for competitive play, as it eliminates the randomness of the Smash Ball and rewards skill. Final Smashes now tend to be a single powerful attack, e.g. the Mario Finale, Triforce Slash, et cetera, and any that aren't won't interrupt the battle, i.e. no invincible/super armored characters. Some are great for ending combos, whereas others are good for deadly edgeguarding, etc. The style of the Final Smash compliments the character's playstyle. Also, with a full meter, fighters have some sort of passive buff and often a change in visuals -- this changes from fighter to fighter.
  • Custom moves have been removed, in favor of having a more focused and consistent normal roster. Miis keep custom moves, equipment, and such, and are the only fighters to have this feature. You can now customize a Mii's moves and equipment from the character selection screen, to gear up for any battle!
  • Inputs such as the grab button and the c-stick are no longer proxies for button combinations, i.e. shield + attack for grabbing. Instead, they are now their own commands, which eliminates misfires and other such drawbacks. The c-stick, of course, can still be used for aerial attacks, and fighters like Robin -- whose aerials change depending on whether or not the move is inputted like a smash attack -- can use the non-smashed versions by gently moving the stick, or by not moving it all the way. Tilts can also be executed this way.
  • Invincibility during throw animations has been removed.
  • Controls are more customizable. Don't want to input smashes with the control stick + attack button? Disable it. Want to map your up taunt to the A button? Sure, why not? You can pretty much do anything here.
  • Everyone has their own new victory theme (or at the very least, different remixes of the same theme), rather than characters from the same series sharing a fanfare. All of them are brand-new remixes, too, and many have a looping bit after the initial fanfare (like Cloud's). Many of the themes that were more "orchestrated" before in Brawl and Smash 4 have been tweaked to be more similar to the original series.
Now for an overview of each newcomer:
  • Captain Toad has awful mobility, ground speed, jumps, and air speed, but can get around the arena by "building" structures. By "building," I mean "having a Treasure-Tracker-Slash-3D-World-Wii-U-Gamepad-Interaction-Hand make stuff for him." "Building" just sounds a lot catchier. Anyway, Captain Toad doesn't expect it (but the player does ofc), but he works around it and uses the structures to the best of his ability. It's kinda like :4duckhunt:, where you control the duo and the zapper person -- here, you control Captain Toad and the gamepad person. He also has some "accidental" attacks, but really they're done by the gamepad glove. This represents how Captain Toad doesn't control his surroundings, but can make use of them non-accidentally nonetheless.
    • His jumps are terrible, his ground speed is below-average, he can barely move at all in midair, he falls like a rock, but his backpack gives him a heavy weight stat for such a small size, and he has good traction.
    • Neutral Special is the Super Pickaxe, a slow but powerful move that can also destroy structures.
    • Side Special is the Minecart, where the hand picks up the Captain and drops him in a minecart (which appears in a puff of smoke and confetti), and then pushes the cart forwards. Stood on like a platform, and thus great for approaching with various attacks. The minecart itself doesn't deal damage, and only one can be out at a time. This is an example of how Captain Toad makes use of "accidental" things -- the minecart just "appears," but he can make use of it by attacking from the newfound high ground!
    • Up Special is the Propeller Platform. Created above him on the ground or below him in the air, and only one can be out at once. Using the move again causes the propeller to spin, making the platform ascend. This has a limit, and otherwise, the platform slowly descends, more quickly so if it falls far enough below the stage. It goes away upon touching the ground, and can't be used again after Captain Toad jumps off, until he lands on solid ground.
    • Down Special is the Turnip Cannon, which consistently fires turnips that can damage both foes and Captain Toad himself. The rate of fire is one per second, there can be one cannon out at a time, and it can be aimed. The cannon can be made on either of the aforementioned structures, allowing for a variety of options. If the cannon's platform is destroyed, it'll fall.
    • Jab is a rapid coin sprout pluck.
    • Multiple standards involve swinging the backpack, and up tilt and up aerial have a Potted Piranha Plant come out of his backpack, pulled by the gamepad glove.
    • Down Tilt has him pluck out a Brick Block from the ground. Cannons can be placed on top of them, minecarts will bounce off of them and change direction but break the block in the process like a Koopa shell from the Mario series, and the blocks can be destroyed by attacks. They also deal a potent meteor smash if dropped off of a ledge. Of course, the attack can also deal damage to foes when he's plucking the block out.
    • Forward Smash has him pluck a turnip and throw it, and it grows in size with charge.
    • Up Smash is a clear pipe cannon aimed upwards (the gamepad hand picks him up as it appears below him, then drops him in). Captain Toad is fired up into the skies, and nearby foes are launched up with him -- follow up with an aerial attack!
    • Down Smash is the backpack spin easter egg from Treasure Tracker.
    • Grab has the hand pull out a clear pipe from the ground to trap opponents (in the air, it's a grappling hook that aids recovery and can hit foes from afar). Pummel has Fuzzies come through the pipe to damage opponents, up and back throws have the pipe turn into a cannon (good KO throws), down throw slams the pipe against the ground after it extends (combo starter), and forward throw is a Piranha Plant (get-off-me/edgeguard setup).
    • Final Smash is the Starshroom. The Toad Brigade members dangle below it, with the bottom one wielding a souped-up turnip cannon. But these turnips are explode-y turnips. Cool, eh?
    • Captain Toadette appears as an alt, as well as alts for the four other Toad Brigade members. The victory theme and animation are straight from Treasure Tracker's "stage clear" animation, and when entering a match, the Captain comes through a clear warp pipe and says, "Time for adventure!"
  • Kamek is the first new Yoshi's Island rep other than Yoshi himself. He's always riding his broom (giving him good mobility both on the ground and in midair), and uses his wand for his standard attacks as a weapon. He's very lightweight.
    • His neutral special move is called Spell. Kamek waves his wand, firing one of those jumbles of shapes from the Mario games. If it hits a fighter, it'll deal three hits of damage -- one for each shape. This will lock the foe in place for a moment. If it hits a projectile, item, etc, it'll turn it into a Shy Guy -- much like how Kamek's shots in the Mario games turn blocks into enemies. The Shy Guy will attack foes who draw near, and can be knocked around by either fighter like a weaker version of Pac-Man's hydrant. In midair, the magic is fired diagonally downward. It'll create a Shy Guy upon hitting a wall/floor, so it's not only effective against projectile users. (This also applies to the grounded version.)
    • Side Special is Bubble Shot. Kamek fires a large bubble forwards from his wand (like the one Baby Mario goes into), which travels very slowly and pops when attacked. If a foe touches it without attacking it, they're trapped in the bubble until they can wiggle out. This is an excellent trap, and allows Kamek to land a follow-up attack. However, a foe can attack the bubble to pop it.
    • Up Special is Warp, which does what it says on the tin. However, it won't leave Kamek in a helpless state, meaning it can be used to extend aerial combos.
    • Down Special is Duplicate. Kamek waves his wand as a puff of smoke envelops him, and then when it dissipates, there are two Kameks! Only one is the "real" Kamek, however; you can choose which one that is by holding a direction on the control stick before the puff of smoke goes away. The real Kamek acts just like normal. The clone will go away after getting hit, and won't block projectiles or cause freeze frames to the attacker. The clone mirrors Kamek's every move, and its attacks do indeed have hitboxes attached. It also doesn't obey collision, so it can go inside of surfaces or stand in midair if Kamek moves in a certain way. The clone looks identical to Kamek, which makes it tricky for foes to deal with.
    • Toadies come in and keep the foe in place for the grab -- they're the guys who would come and take Baby Mario away in Yoshi's Island.
    • The Final Smash has Kamek summon a Shy Guy (if one is already onstage from the Neutral Special, it'll get this effect instead) and using his magic, make it grow immensely in size! It'll then jump up and slam down on the nearest foe before shrinking to a normal size. This mirrors how in Yoshi's Island, Kamek would often make normal enemies grow into bosses.
    • Kamek's yarn form from Yoshi's Woolly World appears as an alt, and his props -- like the broomstick, wand, projectiles, Shy Guys, etc. -- change too. Kamek's victory theme is a remixed excerpt from his theme in Yoshi's Island, and he enters the battle in a puff of smoke.
  • Paper Mario uses moves that include hammer swings, a paper plane recovery move, the dashing spin from PM64, a sticker-themed wall cling, and Timed Hits -- press the button at the right time during certain attacks to deal more damage. He's very lightweight, though, being made of paper and all, so his best battle plan is to use his various partners and their ranged abilities (which make up a decent chunk of his moveset) to keep his foe at a distance. He also has Paper Luigi as an alternate costume, and this is his victory theme. As for a Final Smash, it's "Papercraft Mario" from Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam.
  • Cranky Kong comes as a "modern" DK rep, drawing inspiration from Tropical Freeze and his abilities there, plus his shop items from Returns.
    • Neutral Special is the Dentures. Cranky tosses some artificial teeth forwards at high speeds, like he does in Tropical Freeze. It's a faster version of Mario's fireball, but deals less damage and only mere flinching. It's good for harassing foes from a distance.
    • Side Special is the Barrel Roll. Cranky pulls out a barrel and pushes it forwards as it rolls along the ground, acting as a projectile to damage foes. Hold the button to instead ride the barrel (with a similar animation to rolling as DK with a partner Kong on top in the newer DKC titles), similarly to the Villager's Lloid Rocket.
    • Up Special is Extra Life Balloon. Cranky grabs onto a red balloon from DKCR and DKC:TF, which act as extra lives in those games. Here they serve a similar purpose, saving Cranky from getting knocked offstage. Unlike the Villager, Cranky can't control his ascent speed, instead acting like a slower-rising version of the DHD's recovery move. The balloon can be popped, but Cranky can also pop it manually to deal damage to nearby foes without entering a helpless state (although the helpless state will occur if an opponent pops the balloon).
    • Down Special is Squawks the Parrot. He'll fly forwards (at a downwards angle if used in midair) and peck foes from a distance, knocking the opponent towards Cranky. While Cranky can't move until the bird either returns or hits something, he can use it to start a chain of attacks from afar.
    • Cranky's standard attacks utilize his cane. One of them is the down aerial, his signature pogo bounce from Tropical Freeze! Tap the button (or flick the c-stick) for a single downward thrust that gains Cranky more height and spikes opponents, but is harder to land. Hold it instead for a long-lasting bounce that isn't as powerful, but is easier to hit with. This is a great recovery option with an opponent nearby -- try luring a foe over with a vulnerable balloon recovery, popping the balloon, jumping, and pogoing the foe's head for a spike and extra recovery! Just make sure you're close to the ledge, since you can't use the balloon again after popping it manually (unless you're hit).
    • Final Smash is the Kong POW from Tropical Freeze. When you collect 100 bananas in that game, you can use a partner-specific super attack. Cranky's turns all onscreen enemies into Banana Coins. In Smash, he'll perform the Kong POW, and Banana Coins will rain down from the skies to deal damage to foes.
    • Cranky Kong's victory theme is the "stage clear" theme from Tropical Freeze.
  • King K. Rool uses the abilities from his different outfits throughout the DK series, but has his king appearance (with the others as alts). He has projectiles with odd trajectories, which can be tricky to dodge. His movement abilities are also surprisingly good for his size, except for his lacking midair jumps.
    • His neutral special move is a shot from his Blunderbuss, which releases a puff of smoke. Any foes within that smoke will take extra damage and knockback from attacks, but so will K. Rool himself. Only one can be active at a time; it'll disappear after five seconds or so. The move can be charged to propel the cloud forwards a distance before it stops.
    • For the side special move, K. Rool throws his crown forwards as it spins like a boomerang. Unlike Link and Toon Link's boomerangs, the crown won't follow K. Rool as it boomerangs back, and can't be aimed. It's a lot more consistent to hit foes with on the return trip thanks to its fixed trajectory. Of course, he can't throw his crown unless it's on his head, i.e. not flying through the air. He can catch it like the Links with their boomerangs, but he also gets it back once it hits a surface or goes offscreen.
    • Up Special is his propeller pack from DKC3. It's slow-to-rise like DK's recovery move, but has good horizontal movement and can damage foes higher up thanks to the propeller itself. It won't rise when used on the ground. At the beginning of the move, a small robotic pod is left behind, and at the end, a bolt of electricity appears between it and K. Rool, knocking the foe towards him! While this is a neat way to deal damage, it'll also cause the pack to explode, damaging foes for a powerful hit and putting K. Rool into helpless -- the bolt hits the foe into the blast! However, if you miss, the helpless state (or ending lag for the grounded version) is very punishable. By the way, the helpless animation has him fall down covered in black soot, as if he got blown up in a cartoon.
    • Down Special is Canonball Fall. K. Rool shouts up into the skies, causing a cannonball to fall from the top blast zone a short distance in front of him. Upon landing, it'll bounce off and then in front of the stage, like in the original games. He can act before the ball appears, so it's a delayed but powerful option. It has minimal lag, but is very telegraphed. It's a decently powerful finisher, and can be comboed into by other attacks. The move can be charged for a bigger, more powerful cannonball, at the cost of K. Rool being wide open during the charge. Bigger cannonballs also have more delay before falling, which may help with combos and setups.
    • K. Rool's attacks tend to be rather slow to end, but very powerful. They're safe on hit for the most part thanks to high knockback, and have decent shield pushback.
    • Forward Smash is a cannonball fired out of his Blunderbuss, which bounces along the ground in high arcs. It can be tricky to dodge and has good knockback, but K. Rool suffers a lot of recoil (not recoil damage) and endlag, so it's punishable if he misses. Only one can be out at once, too. You can control the speed and angle (when fired) of the cannonball by charging and aiming the move respectively -- these two variables allow K. Rool to mix things up and confuse his opponent as to where exactly it'll go.
    • Up Smash is a leaping belly flop attack, which allows him to dodge attacks (he leaps during the charge) and deals a lot of damage and knockback, but has ending lag.
    • Down Smash has him throw out two orbs from the up special to either side, and when the charge is released, a bolt will connect them. Charging increases the range instead of the damage, and it'll stun foes for a moment to allow for a follow-up (but since there's some ending lag, it may be best to plan ahead with one of his projectiles).
    • K. Rool's Final Smash is the Blast-O-Matic, a giant doomsday laser device. It appears at the edge of the screen behind K. Rool, and fires a giant laser. K. Rool can control the laser by using the Final Smash input again, turning it on and off. It only has a limited amount of firing time, so he'll have to get tricky to make the best of it!
    • K. Rool has a variety of projectiles and traps that he can use to confuse his foes and combo. He's got a lot of convoluted yet effective combos and setups he can use, and can trick and confuse foes easily with his projectiles' odd behavior, and the many ways he can combine them. There is, however, some risk to this reward, since he can't use a lot of his projectiles again if they're in play (so he can't use any of the moves he used in his combo/setup again, a decent punishment), and he has a general problem with ending lag.
  • Toon Zelda and Tetra are a sort of semi-clone of Zelda and Sheik, using a Hyrule Warriors-esque aesthetic like the other Zelda characters, although they do maintain the signature "toon" style.
    • They can be swapped between just like the non-toon version, but it's way faster, with practically no lag at all as a toon-style explosion surrounds her.
    • Toon Zelda is Zelda's Toon Link in more ways than one -- she's smaller, lighter, faster, more agile, and focuses more on quick ranged play.
      • Toon Zelda possesses long-range magic attacks and some standard attacks that are similar to Zelda. Light Arrows with a powerful stun effect but a long charge time are her Neutral Special, and since normal Zelda has Transform back, Phantom Slash is moved to Toon Zelda's Side Special, with less power but more speed and range.
      • Up Special utilizes the Wind Waker baton, where Toon Zelda uses it to propel herself upwards with a gust of wind that can also affect opponents or teammates. This can be angled like Pit's recovery, and doesn't cause a helpless state. It's also great for moving quickly across the ground when angled sideways. Toon Zelda can even double jump after using the move, allowing her to edgeguard with the windbox and still recover afterwards. After using the move, Toon Zelda can turn into Tetra and use her grappling hook tether recovery to grab the ledge, but cannot use either character's Up Special.
      • Dodging animations utilize the ghost form from Spirit Tracks.
      • She'll use Light Arrows to attack from afar while using her agility to create that distance, and when she gets an opening with the Light Arrows' heavy hitstun, Tetra can go to work.
    • Whereas Toon Zelda's mobility is often used for zoning and waiting for/creating an opening, Tetra's quickness is used for rush-downs, approaching, and deadly combos that only work well when Toon Zelda creates openings for her (her combo starters tend to have lag).
      • Tetra uses a pistol, a cutlass, a grappling hook, a pirate cannon recovery move, et cetera, and focuses on deadly close-up combos. Combo starters leave her wide open if missed, so it's best to wait for an opening or create one yourself.
    • The duo's Final Smash has the Helmaroc King (the giant bird from Wind Waker) try to kidnap her, but Toon Zelda/Tetra dodges out of the way in time, so nearby fighters are kidnapped instead. The bird flies up and offscreen, but upon realizing that he got the wrong person, he throws them back onto the ground with great force, having a similar effect to Ike's Great Aether and other similar Final Smashes.
    • These two have a unique alternate costume system; they can each have a different costume (see Zelda). Some of Tetra's have her put her bandanna over her mouth, whereas others turn her into a "Toon Sheik." Toon Zelda, on the other hand, gets an outfit resembling Aryll from The Wind Waker. Their victory theme is a remixed excerpt from Zelda's Lullaby.
  • Tri Force Heroes (yes, we officially have five Links in one game, and four Zelda newcomers; Zelda kinda deserves it after Smash 4 though) are similar to my MYM entry; you control them all at once, and can switch which one you're controlling. They all add to your damage counter, but you can switch during actions to perform unique strategies. For example, Blue has an aimable bow, just like Toon Link's. You can switch to another Link during the charge, and then "tell" him to shoot it whenever you want. A strategy here would be to knock foes into the arrow's line of sight and then have Blue shoot the opponent, creating a combo. There's a bunch of other cool stuff like that; more details in that link. (Not an actual Link, the character, but the URL I attached earlier in this bullet point. Anyway.) Oh, and the Dopple dolls from TFH's single-player mode appear as an alt.
  • Tingle is Tingle. 'Nuff said.
  • Lana from Hyrule Warriors uses her spell book for a unique type of sorcery. She's also extremely quick and agile, able to leap across the battlefield with ease and outpace many opponents; she's perhaps the quickest and nimblest Zelda character. She's a very lightweight character, but some of her other attributes help her keep foes away.
    • Neutral Special is Spell Block. Lana holds out her spell book in front of her, creating a transparent, light blue cube (color changes with alternate costumes) that's about as tall as she is. It'll act as a soft platform from above, and have similar collision to fighters when walked into from the sides, except it cannot be pushed, and can be wall-jumped off of. It helps give Lana some high ground to perform attacks, but only three can be in play at a time. Use the move while standing on top of a Spell Block, and Lana will cause it to "roll" forwards, moving one cube space forwards and damaging fighters. It won't act as a solid object during this time -- only a hitbox -- and Lana can jump off after initiating the action, although that takes a moment (but once she's got it going, it's quick to continue rolling the block). Spell Blocks will fall due to gravity, so they're ineffective for recovering.
    • Side Special is Magic Orb. Lana shoots a light blue orb of magic out of her spell book, acting as a projectile. If it hits a Spell Block, it'll bounce right off, at a 45-degree, upwards angle, good for hitting foes or comboing with some forethought. Subsequent, non-horizontal bounces just bounce like you'd expect. The move can also be charged, and a charged orb will cause Spell Blocks to shatter instead of bouncing off, dealing damage and potentially causing a chain reaction if enough Spell Blocks are nearby. In midair, the Magic Orb is fired at a 45 degree, downwards angle, and it can still be charged. It can bounce off of blocks with normal physics (unlike the grounded version's first bounce), and both can only bounce off of Spell Blocks -- they disappear upon touching anything else.
    • Up Special is Page Whirlwind. Lana opens her spell book and spins around with it as pages fly out, surrounding her in a mini-tornado as she rises upwards. A good recovery that deals damage to opponents and has good movement both horizontally and vertically (moreso the former), but leaves Lana in helpless. On the ground, she won't rise up or be left in helpless; it's a good combo/approach tool thanks to low ending lag on the ground.
    • Down Special is Block Magnet. Lana spreads her limbs outwards, facing the camera, her arms stretched to either side. If you normally input the move, Lana will "pull" her Spell Blocks horizontally towards her, dealing damage to foes and dragging them in close for a follow-up attack; the blocks disappear upon contact with Lana or another block. Smash input the move to have Lana repel the blocks instead, dealing damage and giving her some room to breathe. Both versions have some start-up lag.
    • Lana's standard attacks are a combination of light-blue magic, book pages, and the Deku Spear weapon she can wield in Hyrule Warriors. They're all nice, long-ranged attacks with disjointed hitboxes (the pages and magic are even transcendent, so they can't get canceled out by other attacks), but lack somewhat in damage output. (Lana also has a few standard kicks, which are her quickest moves.)
    • Up smash is the Deku Seedling. Lana plants a seedling into the ground (the animation is a bit quicker than you'd expect) and when the charge is released, a tree pops out of the ground to damage fighters. If Lana is on top of a Spell Block, the tree comes out of the ground instead of the block, so Lana can land follow-up attacks more easily.
    • Lana's Final Smash is the Summoning Gate. Lana holds her spell book up in the air as a Summoning Gate appears in front of her. Then, out comes... a giant Cucco?! It'll attack fighters, as if they had attacked it, dealing a lot of damage. Don't mess with the Cucco!
  • Excite Biker fights entirely using his motorcycle, along with a unique "cooldown" mechanic. Using attacks heats him up while riding around cools him down, with a penalty if you overheat. Overheating also powers up attacks, however, making for a risk-reward element. By the way, Mach Rider appears as an alternate costume.
  • Ridley is, unsurprisingly, the biggest fighter in the game. He's a unique heavyweight in that he's very fast and effective in midair, but rather clumsy and slow on the ground (although still just as powerful). He's got five midair jumps, so he's very good at staying in the air, as well as recovering. His attacks have excellent reach (for obvious reasons) as well as good damage output and decent midair combo ability, but his attacks are rather slow, leaving him open if he misses.
    • Neutral Special is a red plasma beam that can be aimed, and charged for more damage and distance. It's not very spammable -- it has to charge to be effective at a distance -- but it can be good for one-off long-ranged attacks.
    • Ridley's side special move is a command grab, similar to Bowser's, but he'll instead drag the foe along the ground (preceded by a Flame Choke-style dive down if in midair, with a forwards angle), not stopping until he either reaches a ledge or, on walk-off stages, gets close to the blast zone. The foe is then knocked upwards and forwards a bit, and Ridley recoils back and up -- the foe is prime for an aerial follow-up. Bring a foe close to the blast zone, and make them panic!
    • For an up special recovery, Ridley performs a short upwards spiral like Charizard's Fly move. It's not very good on its own, but Ridley's multiple jumps make up for it.
    • Ridley's down special move has him fly forwards along the ground, dragging his tail through the ground (again, after a dive if in midair), and he can let go of the button to stop. It has some startup lag, but allows him to attack from up high and safely hit grounded foes -- the tail is disjointed, and cannot be damaged. When the move ends, Ridley is in the air, perfect for following up on the upwards-angled knockback.
    • As for standard attacks, they often involve either his tail, claws, or in some cases his wings. His attacks tend to be rather slow, but excel in reach. His size, though, also makes him a bigger target.
    • Ridley's Final Smash is his Meta Ridley form, where all his attacks are powered up (he can still be damaged, although he takes less knockback).
  • Hawlucha is similar to my MYM entry.
  • Plusle and Minun are somewhat similar to my MYM entry; they're a semi-clone of Pikachu, having multiple hitboxes for moves thanks to their duo nature. Plusle deals more knockback, and is good for finishing foes off, whereas Minun excels in damage and hitstun, great for comboing. They're separate entities, but are harder to knock apart (opposites attract), and they join together for attacks. If they're apart, they'll "Quick Attack" back together before attacking, which adds startup lag.
  • Slippy fights using miniature versions of the Star Fox vehicles, about the same size as the vehicles from Diddy Kong Racing. He also makes use of the transforming vehicles and such from Star Fox Zero, spending most of the match in a miniature Arwing.
    • Neutral Special is the Twin Laser. The Arwing fires two green lasers next to each other, which act like Falco's. They can be charged by holding the button. They'll stun the opponent twice (charged ones deal knockback), but deal less damage.
    • Side Special is the Barrel Roll. Slippy performs an aileron roll, but it's called a Barrel Roll to keep with tradition. It's a multi-hit move that propels Slippy forwards -- he won't fall during it in midair -- and it'll also deflect projectiles like a powershield. It lets Slippy power through attacks to approach, and is a decent combo tool too, but can't be used again in midair.
    • Up Special is Crash Land. Slippy's Arwing explodes ("I'm hit!") and is knocked up into the air, with a singed, black look as it spirals through the air. It sends him a good distance upwards, but upon hitting the ground, he'll crash in yet another explosion, making for some heavy landing lag before returning to normal. Of course, he's left helpless by the attack. Both explosions actually deal some decent damage and knockback, but the landing can be shielded and punished easily.
    • Down Special is the Smart Bomb. The Arwing drops one from the bottom of its hull, as two doors open. It'll explode with a small radius (compared to the Smart Bomb item), hitting opponents multiple times and dealing good damage. The catch? Slippy can get hit by it too! He'll have to be careful -- although, this can be used as a last-ditch recovery option.
    • Standard attacks will often have the Arwing use its "chicken walker" legs from Star Fox Zero.
    • Smash attacks have the Arwing turn into a mini-Landmaster and attack.
  • Blood Falcon is a semi-clone of Captain Falcon. He's got more power in his attacks, but they all cause him to "boost" in the direction of the input, making him harder to control. This mirrors how in the F-Zero games, his vehicle has more boost power, but less grip ability. Most of the moves' animations are similar to the Captain's, but the "boosting" aspect gives them different properties and uses. The good thing is he can traverse the stage quickly while attacking, but the downside to the "boosting" is that his attacks have more endlag, and come right towards an opponent so they can punish more easily. He's also harder to control. As for specials, he's got the Falcon Dash Punch, Wind-Up Raptor Boost, Falcon Strike, and Wizard's Dropkick customs (the FDP also has Smash 64 speed). His victory theme is the same as Captain Falcon's from Melee (except, of course, with a new remix).
  • Bandana Dee fights using his signature spear, giving him impressive range for such a small stature. The tip can launch foes far away, while the shaft itself deals weak knockback towards him to combo. He can also use this to pull foes out of the air, as he's generally more effective on the ground.
    • Neutral Special is Spear Throw, where he throws his spear in an arc as another one appears in his hand. Charge to throw multiple spears.
    • Side Special has his spear grow a parasol-like metal dish that replaces the spearhead, in reference to the Parasol Waddle Dees from the Kirby games. On the ground, he holds it in front of him and charges forwards, as it blocks attacks. In midair, it functions as a pseudo-glide similar to the Parasol ability from Kirby.
    • Up Special is Spear Copter, where he twirls the spear to ascend like a helicopter.
    • Down Special is the Parasol Guard, which has Bandana Dee hold the parasol in front of him like a shield to block attacks from the front. He can poke his spear forwards during this, but the poke has lag, so the foe can shield grab him easily.
    • Jab has him spin his spear.
    • Forward Tilt, Up Tilt, and Down Tilt are spear pokes.
    • Dash Attack is a pole vault with the spear. Knocks opponents up into the air and sends Dee up with them, good for starting combos.
    • Forward Smash is a long-ranged spear poke, reaching over 2 Waddle Dees to the side.
    • Up Smash is a spear spin above him.
    • Down Smash is the Miniton Punch, a mini version of Down Special that causes a smaller shockwave but is quicker and easier to execute -- just hold the button like any other smash attack.
    • Nair is a spear spin like Pit's.
    • Fair and Uair are similar to their tilt counterparts.
    • Bair is a thrust backwards with the spear, hitting with the non-pointy end. Good knockback but slow to start up.
    • Dair is a stall-then-fall with the spear held below him called the Moon Drop .
    • Final Smash is the Megaton Punch, where correct timing leads to a devastating, long-ranged blow!
    • Bandana Dee's victory theme is based on the one from Kirby's Return to Dreamland.
  • Porky from the Mother series fights using a backpack that resembles his mech.
  • Alph is a clone of Olimar, and uses Rock and Winged Pikmin instead of Olimar's five colors. Rock Pikmin act like the Purple ones, and Winged Pikmin lower opponents' gravity for the Rock Pikmin to deliver their high damage and knockback attacks for a kill. Alph's playstyle is rather different, and for differences from Olimar, see Olimar's character overview.
  • Viridi from Kid Icarus: Uprising fights using plants, nature (being the goddess thereof), and her staff. She has a few similarities to Palutena -- her staff, floating around like a goddess, etc -- but for the most part, her moveset is very different. She plays a powerful keep-away game, with ranged attacks and traps to control where foes go -- being a goddess, of course, she's naturally proficient at controlling mortals.
    • Viridi has great mobility, with a dashing speed matching that of Palutena's, and great jump height, air speed, and traction. However, she's very lightweight and floaty, shown by how she floats across the battlefield when dashing much like Palutena does.
    • Neutral Special is Pew Pew. A Pew Pew (a cannon-like plant minion, part of Viridi's Forces of Nature) sprouts out of the ground, and stays there. Press the button again, and it'll fire a nut-like projectile that travels rather slowly, but deals a good amount of damage. The Pew Pew can be destroyed by sustaining enough damage, and you can't make another Pew Pew until your current one is dispatched.
    • Side Special is Bumpety Bomb. They're those guys in Smash Run who look like bombs, with skulls on the front and wheels. Anyway, it'll light its fuse and then start rolling forwards at a brisk pace. It won't deal any damage normally -- acting like a walking fighter collision-wise -- but after its fuse depletes, KER-PLOW! It explodes, dealing a lot of damage. You need to space it right to land the explosion. Only one Bumpety Bomb can be in play at a time.
    • Up Special is Nutski. Viridi grabs onto one as it flies upwards, for a Snake-style recovery. On the ground, she'll instead release it up into the air, and it'll damage foes on contact. You can have it go a bit left or right at the beginning.
    • Down Special is Leaf Trap. Viridi creates a large, green, platform-sized leaf on the ground beneath her feet. It'll remain stationary, and if a foe steps on it, they'll be poisoned -- that is, they take constant damage while on the leaf. Viridi can hold the Down Special input after placing a leaf to have a gust of wind lift it upwards, and it'll now act as a soft platform. You can spawn a Pew Pew on the leaf and make it rise up to aim your shots, or have it rise right as a Bumpety Bomb goes over it to mix things up. Lifting a foe up is also an opportune time to hit them with a Nutski! To make a new leaf, simply tap the button rather than holding it. In midair, Viridi creates the leaf below her feet as usual, but this time she rides it as it slowly floats downwards; she stands on it with her arms crossed, head held upwards, and eyes closed, being superior to these puny mortals. She can move it left and right, and pressing B causes a gust of wind to blow the leaf upwards -- this can only be done once. While Viridi cannot attack whilst riding the leaf, she can jump off, although she won't be able to use the move again until she lands. The leaf will then fall straight down at a decent pace -- due to the force of Viridi's jump -- and act as a platform. If it lands, it'll act just like a normal grounded Leaf Trap, although you can't blow it upwards until it's landed.
    • Viridi's standard attacks utilize her staff, for long-ranged blows. Her staff attacks, uniquely, plant flowers on foes' heads like a Lip's Stick, so Viridi benefits from staying away from foes and letting the flowers do their work. However, her attacks aren't especially quick, so she has some trouble escaping from pressure. The flower effect won't refresh if you hit the foe again, and won't apply at all if the move is stale, so Viridi gains some benefit from spacing out her attacks (time-wise).
    • Up Smash is a giant tree that grows near-instantly, a lot like Palutena's up smash. It acts as a solid wall, though, blocking projectiles and even most fighters' approaches, at the cost of dealing less damage.
    • Forward Smash is a thorny vine that comes out of the ground, at a distance. It can also go below ledges.
    • Down Smash is a rosebush that forms around Viridi. Has excellent range, but a hefty cooldown.
    • Final Smash is the Reset Bomb. It comes in from the background, and when it hits the stage, the entire screen flashes white, as all foes onscreen are given the flower effect, and those near the bomb itself are damaged. For about ten seconds afterwards, the stage is overrun with plant life, which powers up Viridi's attacks. Flower status effects and the Leaf Trap deal more damage per second, staff attacks have more range, and all attacks are powered up and quicker. After ten seconds or so, the plants shrivel up, ending the Final Smash.
  • Henry Fleming from Codename: S.T.E.A.M. fights using a unique "steam" mechanic. Next to his portrait during battle, there's a steampunk-esque gauge that fills up with steam. It'll replenish over time, but using special moves and smash attacks will deplete some of the steam gauge, becoming far less potent without any steam left. Henry's standard attacks also become more powerful depending on how much steam is left. Resource management is key when playing as Henry, as you'll need to save your charge for when it's needed -- whether that be recovering, KOing, or what have you.
    • Neutral Special is the Eagle Rifle. It can be charged by holding the button, and upon release, it'll fire a steam-propelled bullet. Charging the move increases the bullet's speed and damage, but also uses up more steam (the charge time is rather quick). At full charge, it'll eat up all your steam, but deal lots of damage and knockback. If you miss, Henry will be significantly weakened for some time. Alternatively, a simple "tap" fires a quick, weak shot that uses up little steam -- you can rapid fire these, just like how the weapon fired three shots in the original game. With no steam left, it's simply a windbox that pushes foes away with a bit of steam.
    • Side Special is Steam Train. A train whistle blows as Henry dashes forwards at high speeds, dealing a good amount of damage and knockback that's perfect for comboing. Henry can land a lot of powerful follow-ups with this attack, and it's an excellent mobility tool that can be jump canceled at any time. It uses up a bit of steam, but not too much -- it can't be used excessively, though.
    • Up Special is the Rocket Pack. Henry soars up into the air as steam shoots out of the bottom of his steam tank backpack and it sprouts mechanical eagle wings. You can hold the button to fly farther, at the cost of more and more steam. Without any steam, the wings just flap a bit, gaining a tiny bit of height but not much of a recovery. The move has a hitbox that grows in power the longer it's gone on, and Henry will accelerate in a similar manner over time. If you're knocked too far offstage, you'll lose a lot of steam.
    • Down Special is Overwatch. Henry flips a switch on his Eagle Rifle, causing a "hissssss" sound to be heard. Then, suddenly, half of your current steam reserves have vanished! Don't worry, though -- it's not gone, it's just somewhere else. Use the move again, and Henry will perform an Overwatch attack. In the original game, you could set aside a certain amount of steam, and save it for an attack during the enemy's turn. In Smash, you can set it aside for a powerful, super-quick attack at the cost of losing steam. When you use the Overwatch attack, Henry will leap forwards at a mostly horizontal angle, having super armor for the duration of the attack, and let out a big, powerful burst of steam from his Eagle Rifle, the recoil sending him backwards. The steam takes the form of a projectile that can go a fair distance, and has strength dependent on the amount of steam you saved up earlier (it's extremely powerful at its maximum charge). The leap has a hitbox that will always combo into the steam projectile.
    • Henry's standard attacks mostly consist of attacks with the Eagle Rifle. He uses it as a melee weapon, using its size to deliver powerful swings. These attacks increase in power and speed the more steam you have, thanks to small steam vents on the rifle propelling it through the swing more quickly. His jab combo, like Cloud's, has him kick twice before following up with a rifle swing. Quite a few of his attacks have him shoot steam from it instead, dealing long-range damage.
    • Forward Smash is the Steam Crossbow. It can be aimed, and shoots a quick, long-range projectile. It'll use some steam, and although it's more energy-efficient than the Eagle Rifle shots, it also deals less damage. But its aiming capabilities help for hitting foes. Without any steam to propel the bolt, it'll simply fall to the ground.
    • Up Smash is the Bomb Lobber. Henry places his Eagle Rifle on the floor, aiming upwards -- much like Shulk's up smash -- and it fires a "steam bomb" upwards. Charging the move packs more steam into the mechanical sphere, and when it hits a foe, it'll explode into a burst of steam with good upwards knockback that can KO. It also has great upwards reach, but of course, uses steam. Without any steam, it'll simply let out a puff of smoke upwards.
    • Down Smash is Sentry. Henry holds his Eagle Rifle up in the air, facing downwards, and it releases a Sentry turret. The turret will face in the same direction as Henry when he uses the move, and when a foe gets in its sights, it'll fire a steam projectile. The more charge -- and steam -- you put in, the more damage it'll dish out. The turret can be destroyed, though, and has a bit of a delay before firing. This move is like a ranged version of Snake's down smash.
    • Henry's Final Smash is the Eagle Strike. He flips another switch on his Eagle Rifle, this time summoning a giant, golden, metal eagle (a good deal larger than in the image) to come down from the skies right in front of him! On impact with the ground or an opponent, it'll explode into a massive blast of steam, damaging nearby foes. Aside from the initial, more powerful strike, the lingering steam will deal constant damage to foes before it disappears -- Henry also uses this opportunity to fill his reserves to max with the steam cloud.
  • Saki Amamiya from Sin & Punishment has been promoted from Assist Trophy to playable fighter. He's very agile and quick on his feet, and his weapon serves either as a gun or a beam blade weapon.
    • Neutral Special has him fire his gun twice in a row with a single button press (you can press a second time to fire four times total, but after that the move must end). The move is very similar to his Assist Trophy appearance. Starts up pretty quickly, but has some endlag; good for zoning. In midair, it's a single shot fired diagonally downward (or a total of two with a double-tap). It's a bit faster to end in midair, so it can be used to combo.
    • Side Special is a quick dash forward with his weapon's blade extended, as he lunges forward to strike with it. It's a great mobility tool, and knocks foes upward and forward to combo.
    • Up Special is an upward slash like Marth's recovery move.
    • Down Special has him spin his blade around as long as you hold the button, similarly to Pit's side special from Brawl. It reflects projectiles and hits foes multiple times. In the original Sin & Punishment, all of his blade attacks reflected projectiles, but for Smash, this'll do.
    • All of Saki's standard attacks have a mechanic pretty much identical to Bayonetta's Bullet Arts; during an attack, press and hold the button to fire invisible, non-flinching bullets in the direction of your attack. This is due to the fact that Saki's weapon is both a blade and a gun. You can also hold the A button during sspec, uspec, and dspec to fire bullets mid-move.
  • Andy from Advance Wars fights by creating troops and military vehicles to pressure and attack foes. The summons are similar in size and appearance to those in the Assist Trophy.
    • Andy has poor mobility and is a bit lighter than average.
    • Neutral Special is Infantry. Press the button to summon a foot soldier, who walks forwards and shoots in front of him. Hold the button in to summon a Mech, a solider with a more powerful missile launcher, who is slower but more durable and stronger. Up to five can be out at once, and upon being KO'd (by taking a certain amount of damage), they lie down on the ground for a couple seconds before disappearing. During this time, they still count towards the cap, so he can't keep spamming them.
    • Side Special is Recon, which creates a troop on a motorcycle that is much faster than the Infantry units, but gets knocked off of his bike and killed by any flinching attack, and can only deal ramming damage. Smash input the move to have the Recon unit go faster, making it a better long-range projectile but eliminating many follow-ups Andy could otherwise get (he can't keep up with the unit). Has the same "lying down" property as the Infantry units, with a cap of two Recons at a time.
    • Up Special is Airlift. Andy summons and grabs onto a military helicopter above him, and he can fly around similarly to Snake's recovery move. The blades will deal damage, and the move causes a helpless state. Attacking the helicopter without hitting Andy causes the helicopter to break to pieces, which doesn't cause Andy to enter helpless, but does prevent him from summoning another helicopter until the pieces disappear by hitting the ground or a blast zone. They fall quite a bit faster than Andy himself, so this isn't necessarily a death sentence. On the ground, Andy doesn't grab on, and the helicopter flies up and shoots down at the ground at opponents below. However, doing this keeps Andy from recovering until the helicopter flies away five seconds later, due to the cap of one helicopter at a time.
    • Down Special is Tank. Andy, with a rather lengthy animation, summons a tank, which fires off an explosive round that moves slowly but deals great damage. It'll then advance (wars) a small distance, and then repeat the cycle. The round's slow speed makes it tricky to hit opponents with, but using another attack to hit opponents into the round can prove quite effective. Only one can be out at once, and while the tank is much more durable than other units, it breaks into pieces if destroyed, and the pieces don't disappear for three seconds.
    • Standards and aerials have Andy use his wrench for some rather weak, short-range, but quick attacks.
    • Smash attacks involve Andy creating turrets and such, which disappear after the attack.
    • Final Smash is an airstrike, which causes a powerful missile to fall down from the skies.
    • Alts include other commanding officers from the Advance/Nintendo Wars series, such as Sami and Max.
  • Isaac from Golden Sun fights using Psynergy, essentially magic attacks and such.
    • Has a defense-oriented, zone-y/camp-y playstyle, able to keep foes at a distance with his multiple ranged attacks.
    • Isaac has slightly below-average mobility, but has a good weight stat.
    • Neutral Special is Ragnarok, where a giant psynergy sword appears above Isaac and, when the move's charge is released, stabs down at the ground (or air) in front of him at an angle a bit more horizontal than 45 degrees. Has a huge hitbox and is pretty powerful, but is also slow both to start and to end. The move is pretty similar to Roy's Flare Blade, but with a completely different attack and less speed.
    • Side Special is Move, which travels forwards at a very slow pace (slower than in Brawl). It acts like Palutena's Reflect barrier, except it won't reflect things. It'll block attacks though, and can keep fighters away. Isaac can't use the move again until the hand disappears, five seconds later. This is excellent for playing keep-away, and perhaps setting up for some of his slower attacks.
    • Up Special is Stone Spire (in-spired by Quake). Tap the button to cause a single spire of rock to emerge out of the ground below Isaac, lifting him up one SBB. Hold the button to charge the move, which both doubles the height of the main spire and creates shockwaves to either side, with rubble coming up off of the ground to damage opponents. The charge lasts for up to a second, and the move is great for getting the upper ground on opponents. The spire will disappear either after five seconds or when the move is used again, and can be pushed by Psynergy Hand's Move technique or pushed lower into the ground with the hand's Pound. In midair, the move has no charge, and creates a spire right under Isaac's feet for him to stand on, emerging from the bottomless pit or the platform below. It disappears after two seconds, and while Isaac gets his double jump back, he won't be able to use the move again until he lands on solid ground or gets hit. The spire acts similar to Kragg's up special move from Rivals of Aether, all things considered.
    • Down Special is Rockfall. Hold the button to charge, and when the charge is released, boulders will fall down from the skies. More charge = more boulders, and at no charge, the boulder is 5 SBB away from Isaac. Additional boulders then move closer to Isaac, covering a wider range.
    • Standards and aerials use Isaac's sword, which is fast with good range, but lacks in damage and knockback. It can, however, combo -- either into other sword attacks, or Isaac's ranged moves.
    • Forward Smash is Helm Splitter. Isaac, after charging, rushes forwards and attacks with his sword. It's powerful, and while it's not very good up-close, it's very effective in combination with a ranged move.
    • Up Smash is Growth, where Isaac causes spiny plants to grow out of the ground and hit above him. They'll hide Isaac entirely, and while he's not protected from attacks, the plants will linger for about a second after the attack ends, concealing Isaac's next move.
    • Down Smash is Quake, where Isaac creates two small earthquakes to either side of himself. Has great range, and knocks opponents upwards for an aerial combo.
    • Grab involves the Move hand, and is a ranged grab like the P:M version -- but it can also come closer to Isaac if a foe is too close. The hand also executes the throws, with Isaac mirroring them with his own hand as if commanding the Move hand.
    • Up Throw is an upwards toss. If jump is pressed during the animation, Isaac will jump towards the foe, able to use an aerial attack, special, et cetera.
    • Forward Throw is a simple toss forwards that Isaac can act out of immediately -- following up with a ranged attack is effective.
    • Down Throw is Pound -- the hand forms a fist, and slams down on the foe. Isaac can act right when the foe gets hit in order to use a follow-up, and in midair, it's a meteor smash.
    • Back Throw has the hand toss the foe backwards at Isaac, who can then use a follow-up attack.
    • Final Smash is Gaia, where rocks come out from the ground and rise up at high speeds, dealing immense knockback. Like PK Starstorm from Brawl, but reversed.
  • Lip from Panel De Pon fights using puzzle game-like elements.
    • Her neutral special move is Panel Toss. Charge the move, and like Pac-Man's Bonus Fruit, you'll cycle between different panels. The panels are indeed a similar size to Pac's fruit. They each have varying effects, and when thrown (again like the bonus fruit), they can hit foes. Upon hitting the ground, a panel will become translucent, standing upright just like in Panel De Pon. Other panels can go on top of these panels (and will indeed stop upon hitting their sides), but fighters cannot touch these panels. If three or more of the same color panel touch, the panels will "explode," damaging fighters and/or having an effect specific to that panel. Once a panel is thrown, it goes to the back of the line when charging the move, encouraging a varied palette of colors.
    • Side Special is Panel Swap. A dotted line square appears around Lip, and another one in front of her. If anything enters the one in front, Lip and the object will swap places, not affecting momentum. This could be a panel, item, projectile, even another fighter! If the button is held, the square around Lip doesn't appear; instead, a smaller square appears in front of her. This version of the move only works for panels; hold a direction, and another square appears in that direction next to the first square. Release, and any panels in those two spots are swapped.
    • Up Special is Rainbow Leap. Lip leaps up a great distance with her arms outstretched, leaving a rainbow trail. Deals no damage, but Lip can act afterwards. If Lip jumps through some of her own panels, each unique color encountered will cause the move to deal more damage.
    • Down Special is Garbage Block. One drops down in front of Lip, dealing damage. It's semi-solid much like Pac's hydrant. It'll also destroy panels that it falls on -- since only so many panels can be in play at once, this is good for getting rid of failed strategies. To compensate, however, the move has some lag to it, and only one garbage block can exist at a time. The garbage block can be destroyed by attacks, but a chained panel explosion destroys it instantly.
  • Inkling is similar to my MYM entry; lays down ink and uses it to go super fast, cancel ending lag, enhance attacks, et cetera. There are, however, some changes from that moveset:
    • Overcharged smashes have been removed, but the smashes are powered up when used in ink.
    • The Final Smash is the Inkstrike: pretty much the overcharged up smash, but it doesn't need ink on the ground.
    • The victory theme is pretty much this, but also with the looping bit from Splatoon.
  • Octoling is a semi-clone of Inkling, naturally. No, I'm not biased towards Splatoon! What could you possibly be talking about?
    • They're a more aggressive version of the Inkling. Whereas the Inkling focuses on claiming turf and maintaining it, the Octoling's shorter-lasting ink is more of a short-term tool, laid down for an immediate purpose. The Octoling might, for example, have a move that quickly lays down a trail of ink, which helps for approaching but disappears quickly, so it must be placed down again to approach again. They have a more aggressive playstyle, and are stronger but less agile -- both in and out of octopus form. Squid lag canceling (a technique of the Inkling's where ending lag can be canceled into a squid dive in claimed territory) is still present, now under the name of octopus lag canceling, and is used almost exclusively for combos. The ranged game isn't nearly as good as the Inkling's, so up close fighting is a focus.
    • Neutral Special is the Octoshot. It functions much like a Falco laser, with similar lag and speed. The projectile creates ink as it travels (unless used in midair), and causes flinching. Great for setting up approaches, but is punishable unless used at a distance, and isn't too good for camping either.
    • Side Special is the Octobrush, which is faster than the Inkling's Splat Roller but leaves a thinner (less durable) trail of ink. It knocks opponents upwards instead of dragging them along and dealing multiple hits, great for comboing, although it lacks the Splat Roller's meteor smash when the button is tapped in favor of the rapid swings.
    • Up Special is the Super Jump, which is similar to the Inkling's except it deals damage but travels less distance and can't be canceled into an aerial.
    • Down Special is the Splat Bomb, which functions much like the Inkling's. It can't be detonated at will though, in exchange for more power. Comboing into it is, ergo, trickier but more rewarding.
    • Other attacks inklude martial arts, the turrets from Octotroopers, and the Ink Mine as well as attacks with the Octobrush.
    • The Octoling's Final Smash is the Octostrike, a clone of the Inkling's Final Smash. It comes from the skies, however, instead of launching from the user's back. This is their victory theme.
  • Takamaru uses his AT attacks as well as others from his game, and is a long-ranged swordfighter, with an emphasis on projectile play. Many of his projectiles knock opponents closer to him, allowing him to strike with one of his powerful sword attacks. His victory theme is a remix of the stage clear theme from his game.
  • Qbby from BoxBoy! uses his ability to create boxes to his advantage, with a unique ability to reshape the battlefield. He's about the size of a crate, by the way, and there's a special visual effect on him so that fighters appear "in front" of him. (sample video, for animations etc)
    • Qbby has a good weight stat, but poor mobility and jumps, so he has a poor recovery in terms of his midair jump.
    • Neutral Special has him create boxes, just like in his game, with a similar animation and sound effect (the extension of the boxes also damages foes). Unlike in BoxBoy!, they can be created in midair. They're the same size as he is, with the same visual effect mentioned above. They'll block projectiles and hitboxes (but can be destroyed), and can be stood on as soft platforms as well as stopping fighters to an extent, but they can be dashed through, rolled behind, etc -- they're similar collision-wise to Pac-Man's hydrant, but can be wall-jumped on. They act similarly to the boxes in the original game for the most part in terms of physics and gravity. There can be up to five, and they'll be attached to Qbby when they're initially created. He can throw the structure with the A button, dealing a bit of damage, or drop it where it is with the shield button or a crouch input. He can also retract them back into himself with the B button -- this can be used to recover, like in the original game (especially since Qbby's descent is slowed whilst forming boxes). This is a good move to control space, block off foes, and edgeguard. Making a new formation of boxes causes the current set to disappear; they'll also go away after five seconds or so.
    • Side Special has him "turn on his back" (aka retracting his legs, moving his eyes, and extending his legs back on his old "front") and extend his legs forwards a great distance, before "turning" back to normal. This move can push blocks around quickly and efficiently while Qbby himself stays put, a good tool to have. It can also deal damage from a distance, albeit with lag.
    • Up Special has him extend his legs for a second, rising into the air about two Qbby heights, before retracting them, ending up in midair. He can use grounded attacks and move around a bit before his legs retract, giving him some nice vertical reach -- he can also use this move to dodge and counter a foe's attacks. In midair, he extends his legs downwards, giving him a similar boost upward, although it's not nearly as good as the recovery he can get with his boxes. It doesn't cause helpless, so he can use this and then his boxes to recover.
    • Qbby's down special move, Boxplosion, will destroy all blocks on the screen in an explosion, dealing damage to foes but also Qbby himself -- there's a delay, but it's a good way to mess with your opponent, and hit them when they least expect it.
    • Qbby's standard attacks are a combination of kicks with his stubby legs (which he'll often extend like in side and up special), and small boxes extending from his body to simulate punches. His dair is a stall-then-fall, mimicking the Thwomps (in shape, he's more similar to the Mario 64 version). His smashes have him double his size in a given direction, mimicking his friend Rectangle from the game.
    • His Final Smash has him create a big box out of nine smaller ones, and throw it up into the air as it comes crashing down like a Snorlax -- just like when a new world is unlocked in the game.
    • Qbby's alts include the costumes from BoxBoy! -- like the rapper getup -- as well as a costume based on "Square Girl" (she was never actually given a name, so that's the best we've got). He of course also has eight palette swaps just like other fighters -- his boxes share this color, or in the case of the other alts, the costume.
  • Chibi-Robo is very small -- even smaller and lighter than Olimar -- and fights with "small" things that are scaled up like he is.
    • He's pretty dang fast and agile due to his light weight, and his small stature allows him to evade many attacks. He gets KO'd easily, however.
    • Neutral Special is the Zip Lash, from the game of the same name. He swings his cord around in one hand like a lasso -- in midair, the helicopter-like spin gives him about a second-long hover -- and when the charge is released, Chibi-Robo throws it in whichever direction the control stick is held in. The distance of the cord is increased with charge, but the damage is not. It'll damage opponents of course, and the cord can bounce off of surfaces like R.O.B.'s beam. It can also plow straight through opponents. If the button is held after being released, the plug will stick to surfaces instead of bouncing off of them, and Chibi-Robo will be pulled straight to where it sticks, unable to act but dealing damage to opponents he hits. This is great for recovery, as well as positioning. If it sticks into a ceiling or wall, he'll dangle from it for a second before the plug falls out. If it hits an opponent while the button is held, it'll pull them towards Chibi-Robo if he's grounded, or vice-versa if he's in midair. The opponent and Chibi-Robo can still act during this, unlike when Chibi-Robo is being pulled to a surface.
    • Side Special is the Toothbrush, which he sweeps forwards with like a broom as long as the button is held. Drags opponents along, and while Chibi-Robo is slower when using it, it acts as a good approach tool, and can get opponents closer to the ledge for a kill.
    • Up Special is the Chibi-Copter, which provides little vertical recovery but allows Chibi-Robo to enter a "slow falling" state like Peach's parasol. Causes a helpless state afterwards and can't be brought out again like the parasol, but the blades can deal damage.
    • Down Special is Plug In. Chibi-Robo plugs his cord into the ground, charging up energy. Above Chibi-Robo's head is a battery symbol, which fills up as he stays plugged in, tethered to the ground. It takes about three seconds of being plugged in to fill up, and Chibi-Robo will have his plug pulled out of the ground if he's knocked back with enough force. Chibi-Robo has a limited attack pool during this -- his cord attacks are replaced with weak punches and kicks, although they can still be used to keep the foe away with some skill -- but in return, completing the charge gives Chibi-Robo a ten-second buff to all his cord attacks! The buff is signified by his plug prongs sparking with electricity, and during the buff, his cord-based attacks deal 1.5x the damage and more knockback. Chibi-Robo can abort the charge by inputting the move again, allowing him to bait and fake-out opponents. Using the move successfully (staying plugged in for three seconds) while he's already got a charge will reset the timer, and the excess energy is released as Chibi-Robo surges with damaging electricity. In midair, rather than plugging into... the air I guess, he'll throw his cord downwards, acting like a downwards neutral special. By the way, you can plug into a surface straight away from a Zip Lash if you hold the button all the way through. Anyway, the aerial version of this move is a good, quick landing option, and you can choose whether or not to come down to the ground, and whether or not to stay plugged in upon arriving.
    • Many moves have him use his cord -- Chibi-Robo fits the archetype of a whip user, but with added electric effects at the tip. Jab has him swing it around like the Zip Lash's charging animation, ftilt is the other swing from Zip Lash (good range but a bit slower than jab), utilt is an upwards swing, dtilt is a downwards cord sweep, nair is like ZSS's, fair and bair are simple vertical cord swings (with arcs similar to Marth and Shulk's fairs), uair has him throw the cord upwards for a shocking multi-hit, and dair is a downwards spike with the cord as it's tossed downwards with great force. With a Plug In buff, many of these briefly paralyze the foe, and his attacks are quick enough to capitalize on this for comboing purposes.
    • Forward Smash is the clippers from Chibi-Robo: Park Patrol. Has good range and is quick enough, and also deals good damage.
    • Up Smash has a random piece of trash or candy come out of Chibi Robo's opening top. The apperance may vary, but the move remains the same functionally.
    • Down Smash has Chibi-Robo swing his cord around the ground, much like Shulk's down smash.
    • Grab has Chibi-Robo put opponents in his head as the lid on top opens, and the throws have him toss them out as varying objects (with varying effects) come out to hit them.
  • Wonder-Red from The Wonderful 101 fills a similar role to Bayonetta in Smash 4: a combo-heavy fighter that flies all over the stage. He's also adopted a bit of her moveset, and even taken over as the new Platinum rep!
    • Wonder-Red's attacks are in general great for combos, and like Bayonetta, he has multiple jab combos in moves like ftilt, fair, and so on. However, many of his combos are slow to start up, again like Bayonetta.
    • His attacks consist of punches, kicks, and Unite Morphs: brightly colored weapons that are made up of tiny citizens. They're not quite as big as in the original game, but they're still rather large, powerful, and slow to start up. They're quick to end though, and they're among his best combo starters due to their range and coverage.
    • Neutral Special is the green Unite Gun. It's a giant handgun, and while it's slow to start, it ends quickly. It fires a large projectile (although normal-sized compared to the gun) that can be used to extend combos, but isn't too great as a zoning/camping tool.
    • Side Special is Unite Sword Thrust: Wonder-Red creates a large, blue sword Unite Morph and thrusts it forwards. It's very similar to Bayonetta's side special move, but with more starting lag and more reach thanks to the sword.
    • Up Special is the Unite Rocket, which has Wonder-Red create a rocket ship Unite Morph around himself to ascend. It normally leaves Wonder-Red in helpless, but if it connects with an opponent, its distance is reduced to that of Bayonetta's recovery move, but he can use the move again (after using a midair jump) and combo without a helpless state.
    • Down Special is Unite Guts. Wonder-Red forms a gelatin-dessert-like, red Unite Morph around himself. If a foe attacks the shield, they'll get "stuck" in the gelatinous goodness, being slowed to a crawl not unlike Bayonetta's Witch Time. Wonder-Red will then leap heroically out of the gelatin before the attack hits him -- the moment it hits the gelatin -- free to use an attack on the foe, potentially starting a combo. Unlike Bayonetta's move, this is based on the foe's location rather than a set duration. The more hits you land on an opponent inside the gelatin, the less their speed is reduced. Once the foe exits the gelatin (or after two seconds), it disappears. Like Bayonetta's move, its effectiveness is decreased the more it's used. Unlike hers, however, it can slow down other opponents, items, etc that enter the gelatin too, not just the one who originally attacked it. The move has sizable ending lag, but little starting lag like a proper counter, and can be grabbed through. The gelatin will bounce back projectiles, even after an opponent has been trapped.
    • Wonder-Red's smash attacks all use his signature Unite Morph, the red Unite Hand. These aren't that quick to start up, but they cover a large area like Bayonetta's smashes, and are excellent combo finishers.
    • Wonder-Red's standard attacks consist of punches, kicks, and other Unite Morphs, the latter being a bit slower to start, but more effective both in terms of damage and for comboing. Regardless, Wonder-Red is a master of flashy combos, much like Bayonetta.
    • The Final Smash is Unlimited Form. Wonder-Red strikes the pendant on his chest with his fist, pressing it like a button. He then begins to glow a golden hue as a mechanical covering obscures his face, signifying that he's entered Unlimited Form! His attacks are now super-quick as are his movement stats, enabling Wonder-Red to land insane combos during this transformation! Damage output on attacks is also increased, and his KO moves have more knockback (his comboing attacks don't, for obvious reasons). However, it only lasts a short while. Time freezes during the transformation sequence, so Wonder-Red can use the Final Smash to extend one of his already-lengthy combos.
    • Wonder-Red's alternate costumes consist of the other Wonderful Ones, and his victory theme is pulled straight from TW101.
  • Chorus Kids work as a team, relying on both rhythmic inputs and positioning the three members to get the job done. One move will reposition the three to be separate from one another, and different timings equal different spacing for different uses. They can then knock foes back and forth, requiring impeccable timing to keep combos going. The recovery has them jump off of each other, and timing your jumps just right, at the peak of the previous jump, is key.
  • Knuckles is similar to my MYM entry; he's fast, powerful, but somewhat easy to avoid. His victory theme is based on the stage clear theme from Sonic & Knuckles.
  • Bomberman uses, well, bombs.
    • Neutral Special has him throw a bomb forwards. It can be charged to make the bomb bigger and more powerful, and when thrown, it travels in an arc and stays wherever it lands. Bigger bombs travel less distance. Multiple bombs can be in play at a time.
    • Down Special has Bomberman press a button on his remote to detonate all active bombs. Smash input the move to instead detonate them in the order that they were placed, allowing for some bomb-to-bomb combos. (Bombos?)
    • Side Special is Bomb Kick. Bomberman simply kicks forwards with one foot to deal a decent amount of damage, and this attack can also push bombs around to reposition them.
    • Up Special has Bomberman ignite a bomb, throw it downwards, and have the explosion propel him upwards. The bomb doesn't count towards the limit for ones from Neutral Special, and deals good damage (only to opponents).
    • Standards and aerials include headbutts, kicks, and punches. Headbutt attacks are potent because of their large coverage and high priority, but are rather slow. Kicks are quick, but don't deal much damage. Punches have his fists explode like bombs for great damage output, but lack in coverage and range.
    • Smashes have Bomberman ignite bombs and thrust them in the necessary direction, which explode instantly and don't count towards the cap.
  • Lloyd makes an appearance from Tales of Symphonia. He has two swords: the blue ice blade called the Vorpal Sword in his right hand, and the red fire sword known as the Flamberge in his left.
    • Neutral Special is the Demon Fang, a small, weak, quick projectile that travels across the ground when fired. Two can be fired in quick succession by pressing the button twice for a Double Demon Fang; this is possible thanks to Lloyd's two swords.
    • Side Special is the Sonic Thrust. Lloyd thrusts his Vorpal Sword forwards as he moves horizontally. It covers a good distance, and slows his descent in midair. It also knocks foes upwards.
    • Up Special is Tiger Blade. Lloyd leaps into the air and slashes his Vorpal Sword to hit foes in front of him. The move causes a helpless state, but deals good damage and travels a fair distance upwards. Lloyd can also move sideways quite a bit during the slash.
    • Down Special is Grave Blade. Lloyd slams his Vorpal Sword onto the ground in front of him to create a shockwave that extends quite far across the platform, to hit distant foes. In midair, it's a stall-then-fall, with the "stall" taking the form of a slashing somersault that chains into the "fall" when it connects with a foe. It acts kind of like Ike and Kirby's recovery moves in that regard, knocking foes forwards upon landing to lead into the shockwave.
    • Lloyd has a unique mechanic known as "Linked Artes." Essentially, Lloyd can on-hit cancel his special moves into any other attack, including another (but not the same) special. Cancel into a special, and you can potentially keep the chain going! You can't cancel any other attack though. This can be used to cancel a Tiger Blade into another action, for example, which not only nets you a combo, but also a helpless-less recovery! Note that the next move's startup lag is still present, so you need to chose your attacks wisely.
    • Lloyd's standard attacks and aerials make use of his two swords. He'll often either swing them in two different places to cover a wide area -- which helps when using one out of a special since you don't need to be as accurate -- or concentrate both blades into a single, powerful attack.
    • Forward Smash is Beast, which creates an image of a bear's face as he slashes forwards. It's surprisingly quick to start up, so you may be able to land it via Linked Artes, but it's laggy to end if you miss.
    • Final Smash is the Falcon's Crest. Lloyd leaps into the air and holds his swords behind his head as they fuse into the Eternal Sword, and then slams them downwards in a powerful slash, dealing massive damage to any foes. The attack is rather telegraphed, but you can use it during the ending lag of any attack using a modified version of Linked Artes to combo into it more easily. (Note that this is the only attack that can be used out of ending lag like this.)
  • Banjo and Kazooie play much like this moveset, but since customs are omitted, the customs in that set are moved to other inputs. Neutral customs are now based on charge, S2 is the default side special move, and U2 is the default recovery option.
Veterans are also shaken up quite a bit as well:

:substitute:General Stuff
  • Slow, big heavyweights are buffed overall, as you'll see below.
  • Miscellaneous balancing, of course. These may or may not be noted in individual sections, depending on whether or not I feel like it. Rather than nerfing top-tiers, most balancing is done by buffing fighters that didn't perform very well in the previous game.
  • Full alternate costumes aplenty! Each character has at least one, whether it be Luigi's Mr. L alt or Bowser's Dry Bowser appearance! Alts also have the full eight colors in addition to the character's eight regular colors, so Little Mac is no longer the exception. That means sixteen colors total for each character -- in the case of multiple alts, the eight extra colors are split up between them. As for fighters like the Villager and the Inkling, who have alts for male and female versions, the eight extra slots are instead used to continue that pattern and provide more redesigns/recolors (unless otherwise stated). Alts may now have different animations, props, etc. By the by, a lot of alts are inspired by Project: M, because those guys are just awesome at making alts.
:4mario:Red Luigi
  • Doc relegated to an alt, with Mario gaining his strengths like in P:M.
  • Fireballs are now significantly faster to fire, so they can be used to extend combos or to zone more effectively. However, only two can exist at a time.
  • When using the Cape, holding the button causes Mario to enter a gliding state reminiscent of the one from Super Mario World, at the cost of being put into helpless afterwards. The glide attack has Mario spin around briefly before entering helpless. The Aerial Cape Extension technique from Brawl -- also known as the Cape Glide -- is brought back, increasing Mario's movement and edgeguarding options.
  • F.L.U.D.D. wets the ground when used, decreasing traction. Using it in midair activates the Hover Nozzle, which acts like a Peach float.
  • Super Jump Punch can be canceled into a wall jump like in Melee. Also, upon landing all eight hits, the classic 1-UP jingle is heard, just like how defeating eight enemies in a row in the Mario games gives the player an extra life. Getting all of the hits in also drastically increases the knockback, making this a potent KO move.
  • Dash attack changed to the slide and dive from Super Mario 64 and Sunshine, complete with the little jump up that serves as a second hit. Use this move while on wet ground (sprayed by F.L.U.D.D.) to slide at super high speeds along the wet ground, just like in Sunshine, dealing damage the whole way through. Wet ground can be used by any character even if they didn't create it, and while some select characters have unique interactions like Mario's slide dive, any character can extend their wavelanding by sliding along the slippery ground.
  • Fair has significantly decreased ending lag if the spike hitbox connects, allowing Mario to follow up on a floor bounce when above the stage.
  • Mario's dair has been changed to the Stomp. Mario brings his legs up and bends them in the knees, as if crouching in midair. Land on an opponent during this state, which lingers on for a moment, and Mario will thrust his legs downwards, bouncing off of the foe like in his own games. In midair, the foe is spiked, and on the ground, they're knocked upwards ripe for an aerial follow-up. This is one of Mario's best tools for comboing onstage and KOing offstage, and will be used rather often like in the Mario games; it deals good damage to boot. However, it lacks a hitbox until it lands on a foe (kind of like a command grab), so it can't beat out any other attacks -- it won't clash either, you'll always get out-prioritized. Try using a fireball or other attack to keep a foe from countering your stomp.
  • With a full Final Smash meter, Mario surges with fire energy, giving fire effects and added damage to his attacks. His Final Smash itself, the Mario Finale, is also more powerful.
  • Other alts besides Dr. Mario are based on various power-ups throughout the series, plus a Super Mario Maker costume. Mario's new victory theme is from Super Mario World (the stage clear theme), as are a lot of his sound effects and some animations. The looping bit after the initial victory fanfare, by the way, is part of the title theme from SMW. Dr. Mario has a different victory theme, based on his games.
:4luigi:Green Mario
  • Luigi's sweetspot on his Super Jump Punch is easier to land, with a larger hitbox.
  • The Luigi Cyclone can gain more height with mashing, like in Brawl (this was nerfed in Smash 4).
  • Luigi can slide sideways during the back throw, representing his slipperiness and allowing for earlier KOs by sliding towards the blast zone.
  • Luigi can now wall jump, although he can't use it out of Up Special like Mario can.
  • The return of wavelanding gives Luigi an advantage again, allowing him to approach and combo more effectively.
  • Luigi's new side taunt has him talking and moving his hands, complete with the voice clips from the Mario & Luigi series.
  • Unlike most fighters, Luigi doesn't retain momentum when jumping from a dash. This measure has been taken to retain his "weird" feel.
  • With a full Final Smash meter, Luigi surges with electrical power in reference to the Mario & Luigi series. His attacks have a tiny bit of stun to them, giving them more combo potential -- his fireballs are also the Thunderhand ability from M&L. Fittingly enough, his Poltergust Final Smash surges more with electricity to highlight its power.
  • There's a Mr. L alt from Super Paper Mario, plus Dr. Luigi. The latter uses L-shaped capsules from the Dr. Luigi game for Neutral Special. Luigi's victory theme is an excerpt of the Luigi's Mansion theme, but Dr. Luigi shares his with Dr. Mario's, and Mr. L's is a remixed excerpt from his theme in Super Paper Mario.
:4peach:imjustPeachy
  • Neutral Special is more powerful; rather than spitting out spores, Toadsworth -- Toad's replacement due to Captain Toad being a fighter -- smacks foes with his cane.
  • Hover can now be used in segments -- you can stop and start hovering as many times as you want, although there is a delay between consecutive hovers, and the maximum total hover time remains unchanged. Special moves can also be used while hovering, and Peach can choose between double jumping and floating; hold the button to float, tap to double jump. Finally, float canceling is back from Melee, and is granted to all fighters with similar hovers, whether they be special move hovers or unique mechanics like Peach's.
  • The hover lends itself nicely to wavelanding, as it -- and all other hover states -- count as "falling," allowing Peach to waveland right out of a float!
  • Final Smash changed to the Peach Beam from Paper Mario 64. With a full meter, she has a bright aura around her, increasing her air speed, air acceleration, and float length -- in other words, she can zip around the stage with ease, which helps with combos and such.
  • Daisy is an alternate costume, complete with a "Hi I'm Daisy!" taunt and flower magic. Peach and Daisy's sports outfits also appear as alts. Peach's victory theme is still the fanfare from the original game, but the loop after that is the theme that plays when she's saved in most of the Mario games.
:4bowser:Booser
  • Neutral Special changed to a concentrated fire projectile. The new move is similar to Bowser's fireball attacks from classic boss fights, particularly those in the Galaxy titles. It hits multiple times, keeping foes in place so that Bowser can come in with a heavy blow.
  • The Koopa Klaw from Melee is back, but with a brand-new down throw, and Brawl's Flying Slam as the upwards throw.
  • The grounded Down Special can be canceled into a jump at the peak of the leap upwards, allowing Bowser to chase opponents upwards with ease.
  • Passive armor is still present, and is now stronger when delivering an attack -- the slower the attack, the stronger the armor.
  • Dair has much less lag on all fronts, allowing Bowser to land more easily.
  • Lag on all aerials is reduced, and they autocancel from a short hop too.
  • Quite a bit faster overall, but still rather slow.
  • Bowser's new Final Smash is a giant punch based on his attack from Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, complete with "SHOWTIIIIME!". While his meter is full, he'll surge with intense flames, powering his attacks up even further than usual.
  • Dry Bowser, Dark Bowser, and Meowser appear as alts. After his victory theme, the looping bit is the World Bowser theme from 3D World.
:rosalina:Rosaluma
  • Holding the B button with Luma separated allows you to move Luma around independently of Rosalina, and he simply floats through the air. He can't attack during this free movement, and Rosalina stays put, controlling him with her wand. It's much like PK Thunder in this regard; Rosalina is kept in place, closing her eyes, concentrating, and moving her wand, with her descent speed slowed down. You'll only want to move Luma around when there's a break in the fight, as it leaves you open to attack.
  • Luma will stay put after you manually move him until you move him again or call him back, allowing for more effective, reliable positioning. He'll also stay put if Rosalina is knocked away from him while they're together, opening up opportunities for revenge! Rosalina can still call Luma back after this, of course.
  • Star Bits changed to resemble the old custom move, Shooting Star Bit. In other words, it's now a long-range projectile similar to Falco's laser.
  • Launch Star has a different aesthetic: the Luma will transform into the Launch Star as Rosalina is launched out of it, and then the Luma reappears by her side when she exits the helpless state (so the Luma can't be attacked as Rosalina floats to the stage in helpless). It'll have a different look depending on the color of Luma chosen. More importantly, though, this means that Rosalina's recovery is greatly hindered without Luma. By herself, an up special input simply has her float upwards a bit, which is slow and covers mediocre distance. Rosalina can now save a tumbling Luma with Launch Star, though, unless the Luma's health points have been depleted.
  • Gravitational Pull can now pull opponents in with a long-ranged windbox. While it won't deal damage, this is great for gimping, edgeguarding, etc.
  • Nair changed to the spin attack from Galaxy, which Rosalina uses in 3D World. It has less coverage than the old nair, only hitting in front and behind, but is much quicker, and if the move connects, it sends Rosalina upwards a bit, aiding with recovery. It also knocks opponents diagonally upwards, making it a great combo move when combined with the "hop" and some aerial momentum. It also has good range. Luma's nair is also a spin, which can hit foes more easily than his old nair.
  • Rosalina's traction is reduced greatly. While this does give her less control on the ground, it also means that she has a long-ranged waveland.
  • When Rosalina's Final Smash meter is full, she becomes surrounded by swirling celestial energy, which gives her attacks more reach (particularly the ones where she makes tiny galaxies).
  • The color of your Luma changes with your palette swap rather than randomly, to avoid confusion. The the "star" on Rosalina's wand, as well as her crown, also match the Luma's color. Clicking on Luma allows you to change Luma's color independently of Rosalina's, and her crown and wand will change to match.
  • Rosalina has her sports outfit, from games like Mario Kart and Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash, as an alt. Luma, on the other hand, has a lot more color variations to choose from, many of them taking inspiration from the Lumas in the Galaxy games. After Rosalina's victory fanfare, Galaxy's main theme will play on a loop during the results screen.
:4yoshi:T. Yoshisaur Munchakoopas
  • The grounded Down Special can be jump canceled at the peak of the jump.
  • Egg Roll provides a horizontal boost in midair, and can be ended quickly by jumping.
  • The grab involving Yoshi's tongue can be used as a midair attack, but won't knock foes away like most zairs do. Instead, it "licks" foes towards Yoshi, allowing for combo opportunities. If it hits, there's barely any endlag, but if you miss, it's rather punishable. The addition of a tether recovery also gives him a boost when getting back to the ledge.
  • Back Throw changed to a souped-up Egg Lay, reminiscent of one of the customs in SSB4: Yoshi lays the opponent as an egg and fires them backwards at high speeds, dealing great knockback and having a unique hitstun animation in the form of the egg. It functions the same as normal hitstun, though, and not like the eggs from Neutral Special. It's purely an aesthetic touch.
  • Double jump canceling is back, and optional like in P:M.
  • Yoshi's Final Smash has been changed to the giant egg from Yoshi's New Island. With a full meter, Yoshi gains the wings from eating a blue shell in Super Mario World, making him floatier, giving him multiple midair jumps, and even more aerial speed and control.
  • Yarn alt from Woolly World, complete with yarn balls taking the place of eggs, propeller double jump, mallet Yoshi Bomb, etc. After the victory fanfare, this will play on loop.
:4bowserjr:Baby Bowser
  • Bowser Jr. can have two Mechakoopas on-stage at a time.
  • Abandon Ship can be used in the middle of attacks -- the Clown Car will continue the attack before exploding. Use the hammer to do a pseudo-Wombo Combo with the Clown Car! You can also control the uspec' height by holding/releasing the special button, which helps when doing this sort of thing. Also, he'll now get his Clown Car back when hit with even a weak attack.
  • His grab is quicker, and his throws have more utility.
  • With a full Final Smash meter, he'll transform into Shadow Mario, which not only makes his body invulnerable but also gives him a paint effect on many attacks, dealing a bit of additional damage over time to those he hits.
  • Boom Boom joins the Koopalings as Bowser Jr.'s eighth full alternate costume. Bowser Jr.'s victory theme has been changed to an excerpt of his theme from Super Mario Galaxy, with the classic airship theme as the loop afterward.
:4drmario:PhD in Pain
  • Relegated to a Mario alt, as aforementioned. F.L.U.D.D. is reskinned to a syringe, squirting medicine.
:4wario2:Wah.
  • The overalls outfit is the default one.
  • As such, Wario Land influences are aplenty. Wario's new side special move is the Shoulder Bash. It has light armor that grows as the move goes on, and a jump continues the attack in midair! It won't cause a helpless state either, so it can be used for recovery thanks to a slightly reduced falling speed and increased horizontal speed during the attack.
  • Corkscrew can move as much horizontally as it can vertically, allowing Wario to extend combos more easily, as well as aiding recovery.
  • Wario's down smash is a ground pound punch, which creates a shockwave, and his down aerial is a ground pound that can be canceled on hit into another aerial.
  • Throws changed to resemble Wario World, as well as some Wario Land 4 influence for Forward Throw, and a Shake It!! reference for the pummel.
  • With a full Final Smash meter, Wario will turn into Wario-Man. While not quite as broken as before, Wario-Man still has the ability to attack in rather quick succession along with a bit more mobility (most other effects are no longer present). The Final Smash itself is essentially the end of Brawl's reveal trailer.
:4gaw:Mr. Game & Watching You In Your Sleep
:popo:Ice Chaingrabbers

  • Ice Shot moved to Down Special, replacing Blizzard, and Neutral Special is in turn filled by a "swap" move. Simply put, it swaps the leader Ice Climber from Nana to Popo or vice-versa, with their positions remaining unchanged. Percentages, etc are unaffected. This leads to some vicious, technically demanding combos and techniques, especially since you can switch during attack animations.
  • Duo mechanics tweaked in accordance to the above change. The partner IC can now add to the duo's damage counter if attacked, but if a single hitbox connects with both Climbers, it'll only count once. There's also a bit more of a delay before the partner attacks. So, if you're quick enough, you can input an attack and immediately switch leaders, with the one you just switched to free to use another attack! It's like desynching from previous games, but easier to use, more intuitive, and more powerful. Desynching in its original form is removed, for obvious reasons.
  • The duo's infamous chaingrabs have been removed, as per SSB4's anti-chaingrab measure. However, to compensate, the climbers' throw animations are slowed down greatly. This gives the Climbers player more time to swap leaders and prepare a follow-up attack. While they can't chaingrab anymore, the Ice Climbers won't be letting anyone off easy!
  • Belay is turned into a poor tether recovery when used solo, as the leader tosses the rope upwards a very short distance in hope of connecting with a ledge. Deals no damage, and retains the little "hop." The rope is thrown at the apex of the hop, adding a bit of range to Sopo's recovery.
  • The partner can now recover when separated from the leader. The tweaks to Belay mentioned above aid further in this, although they won't use aerials to protect themselves while recovering. That's what swapping is for, I guess.
  • When both Climbers grab the ledge, the leader grabs the edge itself, and the partner dangles from the leader's feet.
  • With a full Final Smash meter, they'll have a chilly aura of snow around them, which gives their attacks ice properties. Normally it's only the usual hitstun-increasing effect, but powerful attacks have the freeze effect present in past games. Either way, it's good for comboing. The Final Smash itself is a big snowball that rolls across the stage to deal damage, getting bigger, faster, and stronger too! as it rolls.
  • Alts will no longer change the lead IC, although you can click their face on the CSS in order to choose which one you start with -- which is purely cosmetic, by the by. Both Climbers control exactly the same. The partner's attacks are no longer weakened, and the leader can spike with Forward Aerial. Anyway, you can change Popo and Nana's colors individually too; clicking once on a Climber makes them the starting leader, but subsequent clicks change that Climber's color independently of the other. Pressing X or Y to change colors will change Nana's to "match" Popo's, and even with desynched colors, the Climbers' gloves will still be the same color.
:4dk:Dankey Kang
  • He's bigger, faster, and stronger too!
  • Giant Punch no longer causes a helpless state in midair.
  • Spinning Kong moved to Side Special, with the midair version now matching the grounded version (and without an ascent, only a slowed fall).
  • The new up special move is a Barrel Cannon, an aimable recovery move that has startup but travels a respectable distance and is pretty dang powerful.
  • Dash Attack is now much like the move from the DKC games -- it gains DK momentum, transitions cleanly into a dash or second dash attack, can be jump canceled, goes over ledges, and stuff like that. Great for approaching, as jumping retains the momentum. This is a crucial move for DK, as it allows him to move more quickly than he ever could before.
  • Fair gives a small upwards boost if the spike connects.
  • Final Smash changed to a single concentrated shockwave from the bongos, which requires button mashing instead of rhythmic timing, much like the end of boss fights in DKCR and DKCTF. With a full meter, he'll glow with a golden aura, increasing his attack strength.
  • DK has his boxing gloves as an alt from Punch-Out!! Wii. Funky Kong is also a costume option.
:4diddy:Hoo-Hah Kong
  • Diddy's Monkey Flip grab throw can now send opponents in any of the four directions.
  • Like Donkey Kong's, the dash attack can now go off of ledges and be canceled into a jump, even in midair (DK's can do this too).
  • The Final Smash has been changed to Rambi. He'll ram into foes as Diddy rides on top, and you can control where he goes for a bit. With a full meter, his Rocketbarrel pack is always equipped, giving him more speed on the ground and in the air but making it a bit harder to stop or turn around.
  • Dixie Kong appears as an alt, with different props and animations for actions like Neutral Special, Up Special, double jump, et cetera. Diddy Kong's victory theme has been changed to the DKC2 stage clear jingle.
:4link:Zelda
  • Now based on the Hyrule Warriors incarnation as far as visual design.
  • Link is a bit faster in general.
  • Bow can be aimed up and down in 360 degrees of motion, and the Quickdraw technique from Brawl makes a return.
  • Gale Boomerang can be aimed in a greater variety of angles. Additionally, pressing the button right before it comes back will cause Link not to catch the boomerang, allowing him to use the windbox for unique strategies.
  • Spin Attack can slide forwards along the ground, and grants more forwards movement in midair.
  • Down Special while holding a bomb activates bomb bowling from Skyward Sword. The bomb rolls along the ground, exploding on contact to knock foes upwards, and when it stops, it won't explode on contact, instead acting as a timebomb. This allows for traps and such, and the moveset is tweaked to work around this.
  • Side taunt has a "Hey, listen!" sound effect, and holding the button has Navi "lock on" to the nearest opponent, like z-targeting in OoT; it's purely aesthetic.
  • Final Smash changed to the Great Spin Attack, his special move from Hyrule Warriors. Link rushes forwards the distance of an entire stage while spinning and attacking; it's great for attacking from a distance, and while it's not too hard to dodge, it's very powerful and drags foes along for a KO near the blast line. The Triforce of Courage appears above Link's head during the startup, reminiscent of his old Final Smash. With a full meter, Link has a golden aura around him, buffing his attack power.
  • Features a few other adult Links as alts, such as Fierce Deity Link, the Ocarina Link, Twilight Princess, a full village alt from Skyward Sword, etc, all with different weapons. This "different incarnations for alts" theme appears for most of the other Zelda characters as well. "Linkle," the (as of this writing) unused female Link from Hyrule Warriors' art book, appears as an alt as well, and while she plays the same, Linkle features new voice clips and uses her signature crossbow instead of Link's regular bow. Link's victory theme is a remixed version of his Melee victory theme.
:4zelda::4sheik:Link and Ninja Link
  • Merged once again into their former Melee/Brawl form, with a Down Special Transform. As such, Bouncing Fish is now remapped to Sheik's Side Special, with Burst Grenade moved to Neutral Special. Needles and Phantom Slash are gone, although Toon Zelda adopts the latter.
  • Like Link, these two are now based on their Hyrule Warriors design.
  • Transform is quite a bit faster, encouraging frequent swapping between the two. Momentum is also maintained, so dashing as Sheik and transforming has Zelda slide a short distance along the ground, sort of like a wavedash.
  • Din's Fire no longer causes a helpless state, nor does Burst Grenade. The former also now has transcendent priority.
  • Zelda can now move horizontally after using Teleport. It can also be used to combo when used from the ground, since it doesn't cause helpless.
  • Zelda uses her rapier from Hyrule Warriors in quite a few attacks for some added reach, but Sheik's harp from that game is relegated to a new side taunt. Sheik does make use of the knives from Hyrule Warriors to give her attacks a bit of extra reach, though.
  • Sheik's dair has less lag upon landing, making it a good combo tool.
  • Sheik has a zair in the form of the chain from Brawl and Melee. It doesn't work exactly the same, but is good for zoning (to help replace needles), comboing, and recovering.
  • Zelda serves as the zoner of the two, whereas Sheik works best up-close. Zelda's attacks have increased range thanks to and her new rapier from Hyrule Warriors, and Sheik's needles being removed makes this all the more prevalent. Switching between the two throughout the match is now rather crucial to playing as Zelda.
  • With a full Final Smash meter, Zelda has an aura around her with a similar appearance to her magic attacks, giving them added reach. Sheik on the other hand gains better traction, increased fastfall speed, and better air speed and mobility with a golden aura.
  • Other Zeldas from throughout the series appear as alternate costumes (plus a costume based on Ganon's puppet thing from TP), with Sheik designs to match. For some of them, such as the Skyward Sword incarnation, Sheik resembles Impa's design since she didn't appear in the original games.
  • Clicking on Zelda or Sheik on the CSS selects that as the starting form, but subsequent clicks change that character's palette swap independently of the other. Pressing X or Y to change palettes will change both at once, with Sheik's changing to match Zelda's. Even with desynched alts, Sheik's and Zelda's hair colors will still match.
:4ganondorf:Ganon (the "dorf" is stupid lol)
  • Complete revamp.
  • With a full Final Smash meter, his aura of darkness gives his attacks even more power.
:4tlink:Buttlet
  • Decloned a bit more, with more Wind Waker stuff being added.
  • Hold the button during an aerial Spin Attack to use the Deku Leaf to glide down, much like Peach's parasol. Toon Link can throw bombs from the leaf if he's already holding one, but is unable to perform other actions.
  • Bow can now be aimed in 360 degrees of motion, making it more useful. He also has Young Link's fire arrows, as well as the Quickdraw from Brawl.
  • Down Special while holding a bomb places it on the ground, acting as a timebomb. Sometimes when pulling out a bomb, Toon Link will instead pull out a pig from Wind Waker. It acts just like a bomb, dealing the same amount of damage, but it won't explode. It can thus be reused, unlike a bomb, and can be held without backfiring. It'll wander around too, like a Mr. Saturn.
  • Dash Attack changed to a roll along the ground. It's quick and can be used repeatedly (he can keep dashing after using the move), giving Toon Link a boost in speed, and it has very low ending lag. It also knocks foes forwards and upwards, allowing Toon Link to follow up on the attack with, say, an up smash. He'll perform a small hop upon reaching the ledge.
  • New Forward Smash is the Skull Hammer from Wind Waker, which has two variations depending on the charge. Low charge is the spinning version, and charge it halfway or more for the slower but stronger overhead swing.
  • Dair now retains sideways momentum, and bounces off of foes it hits.
  • Toon Link's shield is now the Mirror Shield, which reflects projectiles but only activates while crouching. It can be angled with crawl inputs.
  • New entrance animation involves Toon Link hopping out of his boat before it leaves the screen in a cyclone.
  • Side taunt moved to down taunt, and the new side taunt has Toon Link look through his telescope. Up Taunt has a windbox that pushes fighters away from Toon Link, which is perfect for disrespectful edgeguards.
  • Resembles the Hyrule Warriors appearance like all other Zelda characters, but since that's really similar to the current Smash design anyway, it's not really a big change.
  • Final Smash is now the Ballad of Gales. Toon Link pulls out the Wind Waker and plays a song, specifically the Ballad of Gales. This causes a large cyclone to be created and then travel forwards at high speeds, not unlike the Ore Club item. If it hits an opponent, they're dragged along and spun around for a second, dealing some damage before being shot up into the air for a KO. It's similar to Link's, but a projectile instead of the user rushing out himself. With a full Final Smash meter, he has gusts of wind surrounding him, increasing his movement speeds as well as adding slight wind effects to attacks.
  • Toon Link has a color swap based on the original Zelda for NES, plus the Minish Cap as an option. Full-costume alts include the Outset Island getup, complete with non-Master Sword and standard wooden shield (although the functions of both are unchanged), and the engineer appearance from Spirit Tracks with its own sword and shield too. Both also have their fair share of palette swaps. The victory theme is a remixed, more upbeat version of 0:15 to 0:20 in this video.
:4littlemac:Big Mac
  • Power Meter mechanic removed, to avoid redundancy with the Final Smash meter. When the Final Smash meter is enabled, Little Mac's has the same appearance as the Power Meter did in Smash 4. The KO Punch is moved to the Final Smash, replacing Giga Mac, and is a guaranteed OHKO this time around.
  • Taunts are more likely to trigger Doc Louis's voice clips.
  • Little Mac doesn't have any special effect for when his Final Smash meter is full, but the KO Punch more than makes up for it.
  • The eight alternate costume slots are now split evenly between the wireframe and hooded Little Macs, with four alternate colorations for each. Eight normal Macs, four hooded, and four wireframes.
:4duckhunt:Duck Hunt Duo
  • Rather than having randomized heights, the shots on Forward Smash can be angled for different heights, meaning that the attack is much more consistent.
  • Also, BUFFS.
:4samus:Samoose
  • Samus's Screw Attack functions like in the Metroid games, giving Samus multiple smaller hops upwards with each press of the button (but with a limited amount of hops, of course). She'll stay in the spinning electric state for some time after each jump, dealing prolonged damage to foes she hits. She can also cancel the move into another attack after reaching the hop's climax, serving as an excellent combo tool.
  • After using Down Special to place a bomb, press the button again while holding the control stick to either side to perform the boost ball technique. Samus will fly quickly in morph ball to the side, dealing damage as well -- it mirrors the super wavedash from Melee, although not quite as ridiculous. It can be acted out of very quickly however, and the angle at which the boost ball itself knocks the opponent is great for a follow-up attack. You'll even be able to knock the foe into the bomb you just dropped! Or perhaps use this to come flying into close range for a KO.
  • Samus's nair is back to the Melee version.
  • Charge Shot can be charged in midair, finally. The uncharged version now takes the form of a quick beam projectile from games like Super Metroid rather than a slow energy ball, although the charged version is still the same as before. The beam version can be aimed during the startup, and bounces off of surfaces. It stuns foes for a minute amount of time, keeping them in place for a follow-up, although it doesn't deal much damage on its own.
  • The quicker uncharged Charge Shot, along with the return of Missile canceling, gives Samus a much stronger zoning game, as she can shoot multiple projectiles more quickly and effectively than before.
  • Samus can crawl using her morph ball, complete with boost ball crawl attack and sped-up, non-morph-ball dodge rolls. Her crawl is very quick compared to other crawls, and is in fact an excellent mobility tool thanks to its ability to go right underneath many attacks.
  • Samus has full alts based on her other suits, beyond simple palette swaps. Dark Samus also appears here, and Samus is back to her Brawl design, based on Metroid Prime and Super Metroid. Samus' victory theme is a mixture of her Smash 64 and Melee ones.
:4zss:Zero Suit Samoose
  • Plasma Whip sends the opponent towards Samus. While this eliminates one of her killing options, it also helps with comboing.
:4pikachu:Pika Pika!
  • Thunder Jolt now gets stronger and larger the further it travels, and has a stun effect near the end. The move is also quicker to execute.
  • Skull Bash can be acted out of much sooner when uncharged.
  • Quick Attack, like other recovery moves, doesn't leave Pikachu helpless when used from the ground. However, the grounded version of the move lacks the second half (although you can use the move again immediately after for what's effectively a three-stage Quick Attack, but this leaves Pikachu in freefall). Quick Attack canceling is back, and like its Brawl incarnation, it can be performed on any surface. It's an excellent and versatile mobility tool. Unlike in Brawl, though, QAC lock infinites are no longer possible thanks to SSB4's three-hit jab lock cap, which SSBV retains. Quick Attack ledge canceling is also brought back from Smash 4, yet another movement option that Quick Attack brings to the table.
  • Thunder can go through all soft/semi-soft/super-soft platforms, but not solid ones.
  • Bair changed to an attack involving Pikachu's tail. It extends its tail backwards as it surges with electricity, and this move has a similar function to Pikachu's bair from Smash 64. It lingers on for a brief moment, being a good high-percent KO move early on, and a late hit is great for extending chains of attacks.
  • With a full Final Smash meter, Pikachu surges with electricity, allowing his attacks to reach out-of-range foes as the electricity jumps to their body like a bolt of lightning to the ground. Volt Tackle, Pikachu's Final Smash, now homes in on the nearest opponent, hits the foe, and then ends, stunning nearby foes. It's a single attack that hits the nearest opponent and stuns them for a long time, allowing for a follow-up such as a charged smash attack.
  • Pichu and Raichu appear as alts, as does Pikachu Libre from Pokken Tournament.
  • All Pokemon victory themes: *click*
:pt:It's Super Effective!
  • The Pokemon Trainer has been reworked quite a bit. Stamina is no more, so you're free to keep using whichever 'Mon you want. In addition, before respawning after a KO -- the animation for which now has the Trainer tell the KO'd Pokemon to "get back" and get inside its Pokeball, by the by -- you can press B to cycle through the three to choose which one you respawn as, and no presses will have you come back as the same one you died with.
  • If you only like one of the three starters, you can stick with it as long as you want thanks to the removal of stamina and changed respawn mechanics. However, each 'mon is a bit underpowered by itself, to offset the trio aspect. If all three are mastered, you'll have a fighter for any situation!
  • While you still can't swap Pokemon in midair, each has gained a new down special move in midair.
  • Similarly to Zelda and the Icies, you can click the characters' faces on the CSS to select which one you start as, and subsequent presses change their colors individually. That color changing part also includes the Trainer, who's now sporting alts based on trainers from throughout the series, male and female. Build your own custom Pokemon team! (The Pokemon, by the way, have their shiny colors and different outfits -- like Pikachu and Jigglypuff -- available as alts.)
  • Squirtle stuff:
    • Squirtle is the speedster of the trio, relying on up-close gameplay and brutal, quick combos to offset its low weight and attack power.
    • Shellshifting -- Squirtle's staple technique from Brawl involving its dash turnaround animation -- is changed up a bit. It now has a hitbox that launches foes in whatever direction Squirtle is moving (or rather, the direction in which it will be moving post-shellshift), which helps lead into a lot of attacks. Attacks can still be used straight out of a shellshift, at any point during the animation after Squirtle turns around. Squirtle also has light armor during the shellshift, allowing it to retreat a bit more safely than other fighters. Finally, the shellshift gives Squirtle the longest perfect pivot in the game by far, cementing his place as a speedster character.
    • Water Gun has a few new uses. Firstly, it acts as a multi-hit move, hitting repeatedly similarly to Squirtle's up special. Like Mario's F.L.U.D.D., it and all of Squirtle's water attacks will also "wet" the ground it sprays for a few seconds, allowing Squirtle to slide along it by shellshifting. Shellshifting on top of wet ground will cause it to slide after the animation similarly to a wavedash, replacing the hydroplane technique from Brawl. With this, Squirtle can slide across 3/4 of Final Destination, much longer than a normal waveland!
    • Withdraw now plows straight through projectiles, and Squirtle can also jump during the move, although it will not leave its shell. If the move connects in midair, Squirtle can cancel it into an aerial attack, aiding its combo game.
    • Waterfall is renamed to "Surf," because that name actually makes sense, and is reskinned to look more like an actual wave for Squirtle to "surf" on. Squirtle can use its midair jump to jump off of the wave without entering a helpless state, allowing for multiple follow-up opportunities and aiding recovery.
    • Squirtle has a new down special move in midair, called Rain Dance. Squirtle performs a front flip and extends both arms downwards as a rain cloud appears below him, and begins to pour, creating a platform-wide rainstorm. This will make anyone in the cloud fall faster, gaining both falling speed and gravity, which can enhance combos. It'll also wet the ground, of course. This is an excellent tool for Squirtle's combos, but opponents can use it too. The cloud will disappear after a few seconds, and doesn't act as an actual platform. The rain also keeps the ground wet, meaning that a Shellshift sends Squirtle flying across the stage!
    • With a full Final Smash meter, Squirtle is coated in water, leaving it wherever it goes -- this helps, since Squirtle has setups that benefit from the ground being wet. This also increases the power of Squirtle's attacks a bit.
  • Ivysaur stuff:
    • Ivysaur is the zoner, with long-ranged attacks that are great for keeping foes at bay. However, its weight is lower than in Brawl, which combined with its lackluster recovery, forces it to keep opponents at bay to survive.
    • Bullet Seed can be angled to the left or right like Pit's bow from Brawl/Smash 4 with the control stick. This increases its effective range, allows Ivysaur to chase opponents to some extent if they escape, and follow up the move with a variety of other attacks. However, it can't be held as long to compensate.
    • Razor Leaf is aimed manually rather than randomly, and is faster to use.
    • Vine Whip, when used in midair (and not as a tether recovery), pulls Ivysaur towards foes it hits, both aiding recovery (especially since it can use the move again afterwards) and extending combos.
    • Ivysaur's new midair down special is Seed Bomb. Ivysaur flips upside down and launches the seed bomb out of its bulb, and while it's rather slow to fire, it will stun foes with stun spores, and foes who are close to the seed also take heavy knockback after the fact. It gives Ivysaur a bit of height from the recoil, good for recovering.
    • Uair and dair propel Ivysaur down or up more respectively, aiding in recovery, follow-ups, landing, etc.
    • With a full Final Smash meter, its plant parts grow visibly in size as they surge with green energy, giving more range to this distance-fighter's attacks.
  • Charizard stuff:
    • Charizard is the heavy hitter, a heavyweight that also has a solid recovery and great air speed (which has been improved quite a bit this time around). Its slowness in attacking is its downfall, though.
    • Flamethrower doesn't shrink over time, but instead loses its ability to cause foes to flinch if it's low on charge (signified by less intense flames). It's also much quicker to start and to end, so it's good for tacking on some quick extra damage.
    • Flare Blitz no longer deals recoil damage to Charizard if it doesn't connect with an opponent. Charizard also suffers less lag upon hitting an opponent, since it can now tech the tumble.
    • Hold the button after using Fly to enter a gliding state.
    • Rock Smash is now only usable in midair, since on the ground, it'll instead use Pokemon Change. It now involves a dive downwards with the rock held below Charizard, still with super armor and heavy damage but with lag on landing.
    • Fair changed back to the Brawl version. It deals more damage than before, and sends Charizard backwards at a decent speed, so that it can retreat while attacking.
    • With a full Final Smash meter, Charizard undergoes a Mega Evolution into Mega Charizard X, increasing its attack power with its blue flames.
:4lucario:Comeback King
  • Lucario's aura mechanic has been reworked entirely. Rather than a comeback mechanic, aura is now represented in the form of a unique effect caused by Lucario's attacks. Whenever it connects with an attack, the same blue glow appears on an opponent, lasting as long as they're in hitstun. During that time, Lucario can attack again to hit the aura-ed foe from anywhere on the screen! This long-distance attack won't add more aura to the foe, however. It's similar to one of Mewtwo's bugged "custom moves" from SSB4. This allows it to perform a unique breed of combos, and even though the loss of the old aura mechanic leaves its attacks rather weak, it can make up for this by hitting foes another time to KO or combo. The moveset is of course tweaked a bit to reflect this.
  • Force Palm's grab works with the new aura mechanics, unlike the regular grab.
  • Extreme Speed no longer has absurd amounts of landing lag.
  • Double Team is now a warp in a set direction, about two platforms away. On the ground, it'll go left or right (defaulting to whichever direction Lucario is facing), and in midair, it can go at any downward angle that goes down at least 45 degrees (defaulting to straight down). This attack is great for comboing, especially since it can go straight to the opponent if they have an aura effect. Lucario creates an illusory copy of itself at the place from which it warped, which appears similar to Lucario itself -- this may confuse opponents. The warp has low lag, but the clone sticks around for a moment after the move ends, and Lucario cannot use the move again until it goes away -- it'll disappear when attacked by a foe, too.
  • Like Charizard, Lucario will Mega Evolve when its Final Smash meter is full -- this results in a boost in attack power, as well as powering up special moves in a similar fashion to how aura did in Smash 4. It's not as powerful as the Final Smash used to be, though. The Final Smash itself is an Aura Bomb -- a super-powered, giant Aura Sphere. It's thrown straight forward, and moves slowly so you can combo into it. Perhaps Lucario's new aura mechanic may come in handy?
:4jigglypuff:Jiggs
  • Jigglypuff's crouch has her deflate and flatten entirely, so it's possible to dodge almost any attack and punish with a Rest! Her hurtbox isn't completely nonexistent, though, so she can still be hit. This is one of Jigglypuff's best attributes on the ground.
  • Jigglypuff's short hop has been restored to its former height, so Jigglypuff can once again perform two aerials in a short hop.
  • Rollout has been replaced with Disarming Voice, a Fairy-type projectile made of sound that travels rather quickly. It can keep opponents occupied for Jigglypuff to float in and do what she does best. It also bypasses shields and other defensive techniques, even super armor.
  • Sing has seen some rather large changes. If Jigglypuff successfully puts a foe to sleep on the ground, it can cancel the animation to follow up with an attack more easily. In midair, this new Sing cancel isn't present, but the move now puts midair foes into a helpless state. As an edgeguard, of course, it's very risky, especially since the foe can't be put into helpless while they have a hitbox out (start and endlag are fair game though; this also goes for sleeping).
  • Rest has been restored to its Melee power, and Rest combos have been restored to their former glory. Rest also heals Jigglypuff when used.
  • Jigglypuff has adopted a form of "Wectoring", a glitch in early versions of Smash 4 that enabled Wario to fly across the screen at high speeds after getting knocked back by an attack. It's an incredible tool for getting around in the air and returning to the stage, but is counterbalanced by Jigglypuff's extremely low weight.
  • Jigglypuff's aerial attacks have increased range and disjoint. Also, thanks to changes in airdodge mechanics (only one airdodge per airtime), Jigglypuff's wall of pain and other such techniques are more effective.
  • Jiggs' smash attacks have their Brawl power restored.
  • When Jigglypuff's Final Smash meter is full, it uses Puff Up to double its size and thus increase its range. It's a bit heavier, but also has a bigger hurtbox. The Final Smash itself has it deflate forcefully, like the old Final Smash (although its quicker startup and more consistent hitbox make it easier to land).
:4mewtwo:Mewtwo
  • Mewtwo's weight is increased to normal levels, aiding his ability to survive greatly.
  • Mewtwo's tail is much longer, increasing the reach of many attacks, and much of it is disjointed. In addition, the very tip of the tail knocks opponents towards Mewtwo, great for comboing and throwing opponents off.
  • Now has a float similar to the P:M version, with a "crossed arms" pose similar to that used in his helpless state. The float can be used in place of its midair jump by holding the button, although a midair jump and a hover cannot be used in succession without landing first.
  • Teleport can be used effectively for positioning due to decreased ending and landing lag; it can be acted out of almost instantly, and won't cause a helpless state. It's now a great tool for comboing and lots of other stuff.
  • Double jump canceling is back, and optional like in P:M.
  • When Mewtwo's meter is full, it'll Mega Evolve into Mega Mewtwo X, increasing its weight and attack power, and the Final Smash itself is Mega Mewtwo Y using Psyshock, like in Smash 4.
  • Mewtwo has its armored form as an alternate costume.
:4greninja:Not Mewtwo
  • Shadow Sneak has less lag on many fronts, so it can be used to combo into other attacks. Standard and aerial attacks can be used while charging the move in order to combo into the reappearing hit. It's now a useful combo extender, for chasing opponents when they're knocked out of reach, and it also works decently for recovery now. What's more, it's an amazing approach tool, great for sneaking up on opponents.
  • Substitute has been reworked. It's no longer a counter, instead having Greninja throw the doll forwards. While it won't deal any damage, it will block attacks and cause the attacker to suffer the ending lag of their move, as well as freeze frames, functioning similarly to the prop created by the move in Smash 4. This gives Greninja an opportunity to strike. It's also good for dealing with projectiles.
  • Greninja's Hydro Pump has gained techniques similar to Pikachu's QAC/QALC. Unlike Quick Attack, the full distance of this move can be used from the ground.
  • Like Mario and Squirtle, Greninja can now "wet" the ground by using water attacks. The effect is temporary, lasting only a few seconds, but it allows Greninja to slide great distances with a waveland or Hydro Pump to zip across the stage like, well, a ninja.
  • With a full meter, Mewtwo has water energy pulsating around him, which constantly covers the ground in water like Squirtle's as well as powering up water-based attacks.
  • Greninja has an alternate costume that dresses him up in actual ninja garb, which goes rather nicely with his name, sneaky tactics, and speed.
:4fox:Fox McCloud
  • Fox can jump out of his Reflector, like in Melee. It also deals a meteor smash, albeit a weak one, to midair opponents.
  • With a full Final Smash meter, Fox gains Fox Illusion afterimages, and his dash speed is increased by a considerable amount as well as making it deal damage. His Final Smash is still a Landmaster, but it can be attacked to reduce the duration of the Final Smash.
:4falco:Falco Lombardi
  • Falco's Reflector sends projectiles at a higher speed without multiplying damage. Like Fox's, it can also deal a meteor smash to airborne opponents, but since the hitbox leaves Falco's body, it's more useful and long-ranged. A miss is much laggier, however, and he can't jump out of Reflector like Fox can. The meteor smash also isn't as powerful as Fox's. It'll trip grounded opponents 100% of the time, by the way, for guaranteed followups -- to avoid infinites, it won't "re-trip" foes already sitting on their rear ends.
  • Falco Phantasm is much quicker to start and end, and possesses weak armor on startup, allowing Falco to get out of many situations quickly. However, it deals no damage to opponents.
  • Blaster has been sped up quite a bit.
  • Falco with a full meter has afterimages like Fox, but this increases his aerial mobility and jump height instead of dashing speed. His Final Smash has him jump up into the air as an Arwing flies in from behind him, covering the whole screen in one quick, powerful, but dodgeable attack.
:wolf:Wolf I-Don't-Know-His-Last-Name
  • Wolf can jump out of his Reflector, and while it lacks a speed multiplier, it amplifies projectiles' power more than the other two. It also has a bigger hitbox at the start of the move, and one at the end too (barring a jump cancel).
  • Like Fox and Falco's side specials since SSB4, Wolf Flash no longer causes a helpless state.
  • Wolf with a full meter has an aura of purple fire energy, like in his up special move, giving his attacks more hitstun and shield damage to combo and to pressure shields. His Final Smash is like Falco's, but his Wolfen instead comes from the background and is more powerful.
  • Wolf's victory theme has been changed to the opening of his theme, "Star Wolf."
:4kirby:Eight-Inch Genocide Machine
  • Kirby's air speed has been noticeably improved, aiding recovery, approaches, combos, and lots of other cool stuff.
  • Kirby has improved range on his attacks -- his kicks have their Brawl range back.
  • Inhale is quicker to start and end. Kirby can also inhale any item or projectile; press down/special to swallow the item and heal yourself for half the damage it would have dealt, or press the attack button to spit it out as a star that's as powerful as the thing you inhaled. Non-damaging things have a minimum star damage of 5%, and healing items follow the same rules as before when swallowed. This works as a great anti-camping measure.
  • Using Hammer without any charge is as fast and powerful as it was in Brawl, increasing its utility greatly. If Kirby lands before performing the second hit in midair, the animation will be canceled, and the first hit will keep the foe in place for a follow-up attack. Finally, using the move right after a jump gives Kirby a small extra post upwards, like the Hammer Bash custom from Smash 4.
  • Final Cutter can be used like before, but if used on the ground, it can be canceled at the peak of the ascent into an aerial attack, which is great for comboing since the ascent has very low knockback. Alternatively, it can go sideways just like in P:M for the Cutter Dash, and doesn't cause a helpless state even in midair -- although Cutter cannot be used again in midair. Both are great for comboing, and these additions give Kirby much more versatility.
  • Stone is faster to transform. Also, since Lip is playable, the Panel De Pon variation is gone.
  • Kirby has a new dash attack in the form of the slide attack from his home series. He'll slide along the ground and kick similarly to Mario. Upon hitting a foe, he'll bounce backwards into the air a bit, as the foe is dealt a good amount of knockback. It's a good spacing tool to make distance between Kirby and the opponent, and can also KO foes at higher damage levels.
  • Kirby's aerial combo game has been significantly improved, thanks to a quicker midair Hammer, more combo-friendly aerials, increased air speed, and higher midair jumps.
  • Forward and back throws can go off of ledges again, but rather than suiciding, Kirby will instead knock the opponent horizontally towards the ledge for a potential stage spike, albeit a weak one. It won't finish off a foe until higher percents, but can be used to begin an offstage combo.
  • With a full Final Smash meter, Kirby goes Hypernova -- that is, he turns rainbow-colored. This only affects his Inhale, which is now way bigger and packs more suction power, can be ended with little lag, and is excellent for chaining into the Ultra Sword!
  • Kirby has a yarn alt from Epic Yarn, and his victory theme is in the style of Smash 64's version. If a team of multiple Kirbys wins a battle, they'll perform the signature victory dance from the series (where Kirby creates two copies of himself just to do a funky dance), along with an extended victory theme.
:4dedede:D3
  • Side Special has been reverted to the Waddle Dee Toss, with Gordos and Waddle Doos having been removed for consistency's sake. Dedede can jump on top of a Waddle Dee and "footstool" it to ride it. They'll also roam around and attack foes, and Dedede can now launch them as projectiles by attacking them. How cruel!
  • Jet Hammer is replaced with the Waddle Dance. Hold the button, and Dedede starts dancing, much like his old Brawl Final Smash -- he has super armor for the duration of the move. The beat is similar as well: "one, two, three-four-five!" Holding a direction on the control stick causes Dedede to point in that direction while dancing, giving a command to this Waddle Dees on each sound of the beat. When the dance ends, they'll repeat what he said in that order and with the same beat. Strings of commands can be up to five orders long, but you can do fewer by releasing the special button early. This move cannot be used until your minions have finished their tasks.
    • Hold sideways to make the Waddle Dees move in that direction, about 2/3 a Battlefield platform's width. In midair, this comes with a bit of upwards momentum in an arc.
    • Hold up to tell them to jump up the height of a grounded Kirby jump. They'll perform the action after this while still in midair, even jumping again.
    • Hold down to tell them to perform a forwards jump in an arc that'll deal damage; it's much like their attack in the original games. In midair, this is instead a downwards dive that'll damage foes and send them downwards.
    • Hold the stick in a neutral direction to have your Waddle Dees swing a parasol to deal damage to foes in front of them, like the ones used by some Waddle Dees in the Kirby series.
  • Your minions won't move while you're dancing, leaving them open to be attacked if not used carefully. Longer command chains are more risky, but can yield more powerful results. You can also use Inhale to reposition them, or use them as ammo for your star projectiles.
  • Dedede's range and power nerfs that he got in Smash 4 have been undone for the most part.
  • When his Final Smash meter is full, rather than getting a buff himself, the Waddle Dees are turned into Waddle Doos! Not only do they gain a more powerful beam attack instead of a parasol, but they also have some light launch resistance, more attack power in general, and they'll even help out during the Final Smash by firing beams to tack on extra damage!
  • Masked Dedede appears as an alt, and Dedede's victory theme is reminiscent of Kirby's from Melee.
:4metaknight:Metagame-Killer Knight
  • Side Special changed to a tornado projectile, resembling those from his boss fights. It knocks opponents up into the air, making it good for follow-up attacks.
  • Dimensional Cape's attack can be canceled into any other attack at any point during the animation after the strike connects, and the non-attacking version can be followed up with an attack too. He'll be put into helpless after canceling the endlag into one aerial attack if it wasn't used from the ground, though.
  • Down aerial changed to the stall-then-fall from older versions of P:M. Can be angled left or right, and resembles his fights from the Kirby games. Good for extending combos, thanks to low landing lag.
  • With a full meter, he becomes surrounded in dark energy, his bright eyes showing through the darkness. This gives him brief moments of invulnerability as he attacks, as well as more distance on his rolls and Dimensional Cape.
  • Galacta Knight appears as an alternate costume, and there's also an option to play as Meta Knight without his mask on.
:4olimar:Pikman and Olimin
  • Pikmin limit raised from three to five, and the fixed plucking order from SSB4 is retained. This means that it's easy to have one of each Pikmin type, and of course, buffs Olimar greatly.
  • Pikmin grow in effectiveness by budding and growing flowers; the base leaf form is weaker than SSB4, but the flower ones are very strong.
  • Smash input Side Special for Pikmin Charge, which has all of your Pikmin charge forwards and attack foes. They'll each deal damage, and the foe is tripped if two or more Pikmin are used. Great for follow-ups, although this requires some careful planning to take full advantage of. Try throwing out all your Pikmin except for two, using Pikmin Charge, pulling out a Purple, and landing a KO move!
  • Up Special changed to the Ionium Jet, which is a single upwards (or diagonal) boost from a jetpack. It leaves Olimar in helpless, but deals damage and can be canceled into any aerial attack other than the zair. It's similar to Olimar's recovery move in P:M.
  • Has a new zair in the form of the Pikmin Chain, essentially his Up Special from Brawl but forwards (or backwards or up or down thanks to the new zair aiming mechanic) instead of diagonal. It's quicker to get back to the ledge than the Ionium Jet, and gives Olimar a significant range increase the more Pikmin he has. It's also an excellent spacing tool of course.
  • Pikmin can be called back even while flying through the air. The forward smash can now send Pikmin off the ledge, so this is a welcome change.
  • Alph, Olimar's new semi-clone, focuses more on power, with Rock and Winged Pikmin allowing him to KO rather early. However, he lacks Olimar's five Pikmin limit -- retaining the max of three from SSB4 instead -- leading to different strategies overall. Alph does have Pikmin Charge, though, and his recovery move is the old, Brawl-style Pikmin Chain -- although he also has Olimar's new zair, and Pikmin Chain no longer causes a helpless state. Winged Pikmin can carry Alph through the air during Pikmin Chain (even if they're not in the lead), which aids recovery greatly, and this feature isn't shared with the zair.
  • With a full Final Smash meter, both Olimar and Alph have their Pikmin limits raised by three.
  • Olimar's alternate costume is Louie, whereas Alph gets Brittany and Charlie from Pikmin 3. He has a new victory theme based on the "End of Day" theme from Pikmin, and Alph uses the Pikmin 3 version.
:4villager:Killager
  • Balloon Trip's balloons grow over time; the longer the move is used, the easier it is to pop them and gimp the Villager. This also gives a nice visual indicator for when they'll pop. Pressing the attack button pops them manually, which deals damage to foes; the power increases with bigger balloons.
  • Villager has a new up aerial: he casts his fishing rod upward, and if he hits a foe, he'll reel 'em in, dealing a decently powerful meteor smash -- it can be chained into another aerial. It has excellent vertical reach, but doesn't reach sideways at all.
  • As for dair, its randomness has been removed: instead, the amount of turnips will recharge over time, so if you use the move sparingly, you'll get more turnips and thus more power (plus a spike with all three). Kinda like how you have to be smart with the turnip markets... kinda? Eh, I dunno. Less RNG, more strategy, yay.
  • With a full Final Smash meter, Villager's tools are now the golden variations, dealing more damage.
:4falcon:Captain Fabulous
  • Raptor Boost no longer causes a helpless state, and if used while grounded, Captain Falcon doesn't fall to the ground upon whiffing.
  • Falcon Kick restores the midair jump.
  • Knee Smash is easier to land, like in Melee.
  • With a full Final Smash meter, he's covered in flames for more attack power. Also, his Final Smash is no longer a cutscene. Instead, the Blue Falcon comes in from the side of the screen - behind Falcon - at high speeds. It'll knock foes into the air as the Captain leaps over it. The car itself deals okay damage with set, non-KOing knockback, but land the move close enough to Falcon, and the mighty Falcon Punch he uses while leaping will connect! The punch deals massive damage and knockback, but you have to hit close enough to Falcon.
  • Captain Rainbow appears as an alt, complete with different move aesthetics and voice clips.
:4marth:Merth
  • Strengths of Marth's Melee, Brawl, and Smash 4 variations combined into one character. Nerfs are undone, and buffs are retained. Marth is now his former Ken-comboing, Fair-chaining, long-ranged, legendary self.
  • Shield Breaker sends Marth forwards, like the Dashing Assault custom from Smash 4. Marth's descent is also slowed down while charging the move, and while dashing forwards. The move even has less ending lag at low charges, making Shield Breaker a great mobility tool.
  • Dancing Blade's hits chain together more easily, and each strike moves Marth forwards a bit in midair. Marth can also turn around during the move, performing some slashes backwards and some forwards. In midair, it stops Marth's descent and gives him a boost forward with each hit, so the hits can chain together and be used for recovery. Alternatively, Marth can use a tilt of aerial in place of a Dancing Blade hit, and then cancel that attack into another tilt/jab/aerial as many times as he could use Dancing Blade! (DB -> up to three tilts, DB twice -> up to two tilts, etc.) This is amazing for extending combos.
  • With a full Final Smash meter, Marth's sword begins to surge with blue energy, powering up his attacks.
  • Lucina has been relegated to an alt, with a new variation based on her Marth disguise. Her combo catchphrases are pulled straight from Awakening; they're the critical hit quotes. Marth's, on the other hand, uses the effects from his Final Smash (this applies to all the FE characters who don't appear in Awakening or Fates and thus lack critical hit quotes).
:4myfriends:We Like...
  • Eruption meteor smashes at the tip, making it a deadly edgeguard.
  • Quick Draw has less ending lag on the ground, increasing its approaching utility.
  • Ike has a new down special move: he slams his sword into the ground to create a shockwave, his ranged attack from the Fire Emblem series. It only affects grounded opponents and is a bit slow to recover from after using the move (it has endlag), but it deals quite a bit of damage and is good for hitting a foe after they've been knocked out of reach. In midair, it's a downward sword attack that can meteor smash opponents. The move also has super armor on startup.
  • With a full Final Smash meter, Ike gains a blue aura with a similar appearance to Eruption, which gives him a movement speed buff.
  • Ike's new victory theme is a remixed excerpt from his theme in Radiant Dawn.
:4robinm:Holy Gender Neutral Name, Batman!
  • When his Final Smash meter is filled up, Robin's tomes are all refreshed, and he also has a golden aura that gives his sword attacks more range.
  • Robin's new victory theme is a remixed excerpt from Awakening's main theme. The combo catchphrases are the critical hit quotes from Awakening.
  • When Robin blocks an attack, he has a special quote: "Predictable!"
:4lucina:Merth, Without A Tipper
  • Relegated to a Marth alt, as aforementioned.
:4feroy:Our Boy
  • A fully-charged Flare Blade creates a wave of fire across the ground -- like how the Sword of Seals possessed ranged capabilities in the original game.
  • Double Edge Dance shares the same changes as Marth's Dancing Blade.
  • Down smash is now a single, quick spin along the ground.
  • Roy's down aerial is reverted to the Melee version, being similar to Marth's in animation and sideways reach but having the SSB4 version's strengths too.
  • With a full Final Smash meter, Roy's sword is ablaze with flames, increasing attack power -- both the visuals and the damage buff are more intense at the hilt.
  • Roy has a new remix of his victory theme, based on the SSBM version.
:4corrinf:Robin 2.0
  • Corrin now has an increased dash speed.
  • When you're pinned into the ground, you can manually cancel the move by pressing down or shield.
  • With a full Final Smash meter, Corrin becomes surrounded by water magic, adding extra hitboxes and range to her attacks.
  • The female version of Corrin is now the default, and the victory theme is now a remixed excerpt of the FE: Fates theme that was remixed in SSB4. (The Light Shines Beyond, was it?) As for combo catchphrases, they're pulled straight from Fates, like Lucina's and Robin's are from Awakening.
:4ness:Back Throw
  • PK Flash has been reworked significantly. Hold the button to influence its direction with the control stick like before, but when you let go, it won't explode. It'll instead keep going on the path you set, exploding automatically when it hits a surface. Once it reaches its "limit" of how far it could travel in past games, it'll start to look more chaotic and unstable. From then on, it'll explode on contact with a foe. Press the button with the flash deployed to explode it on demand, but it's rather laggy, and it's also weaker if you explode it manually.
  • PK Fire, when used in midair, will create the flame pillar when hitting the ground, not just an opponent. This can be great for setting traps and the like, and combined with the new PK Flash, makes Ness a trap-oriented character. If Ness lands during PK Fire's startup lag, he'll create the pillar right where he is with little lag. Speaking of lag, PK Fire has a bit less lag in general.
  • Ness can jump out of PSI Magnet, and it has much less lag on both ends even when it isn't jump canceled.
  • PK Thunder has much less ending lag when the projectile hits an opponent, allowing Ness to follow up on this versatile, long-ranged option more effectively. In midair, though, it'll still cause a helpless state.
  • With a full Final Smash meter, Ness becomes surrounded with PSI energy, boosting the power and range of his attacks. PK Starstorm lasts a shorter time and can't be aimed, hitting only near Ness, but deals more damage.
  • Nair changed to a multi-hit with PSI effects. It deals more damage as a result, and while the animation lasts just as long, the hitboxes are out for longer. It's now similar to Zelda's nair.
  • Down aerial changed to the Smash 64 version, which is much quicker to start up.
  • Double jump canceling is back, and optional like in P:M.
  • Pajamas Ness appears as an alt, as does Ninten. His victory theme resembles its Smash 64 version. His "combo catchphrase" is the "SMAAAASH!!" graphic and SFX from EarthBound.
:4lucas:Subspace Protagonist
  • Neutral Special has been changed to Offense Up. It's a storable charge move that takes some time to charge up, and when it's fully charged, his hands begin to glow. Lucas's PSI attacks are now powered up greatly in terms of damage, and non-PSI moves gain the PSI effect, increasing their damage. This allows Lucas to deal more damage when comboing and KO more easily, but whiffing an attack causes it to have much more endlag, and getting hit with a decently strong attack caused Lucas to lose the buff. In short, Lucas's attacks are stronger but much more punishable, making this a risky but rewarding maneuver. Lucas must also play more aggressively with this buff active, as using attacks without landing them increases the ending lag. The buff will wear off after thirty seconds, and using the move again during this time has no effect.
  • PK Fire reskinned to PK Freeze, like in P:M. It also has less ending lag. Being an ice attack, it deals more hitstun than normal, allowing Lucas to follow up on the attack more effectively. Unlike in P:M, the reskin simply turns the bolt projectile a light blue, and the fire effect on hit into the hexagonal effect from the old PK Freeze.
  • PK Thunder 2 can be steered mid-travel, somewhat similarly to Lucario's recovery move. If used from the ground, it can also be canceled into an aerial on hit before the final, stronger hit. What's cool about this is, Lucas can PKT2 into an opponent on the ground, curve upwards, and rather than PKT2's knockback, he can KO them with another aerial, or start a combo at lower percentages. Another change to PK Thunder: while moving the bolt around, pressing B causes it to disappear and the move to end, allowing Lucas to follow up on this more easily. It will, however, still leave him in helpless in midair.
  • Like Ness, Lucas can jump out of PSI Magnet, and it's a good tool for mixing up movement options.
  • With a full Final Smash meter, Lucas is surrounded by PSI energy, boosting the range of his attacks as well as his movement capabilities. PK Starstorm is changed; it now comes from the side of the screen behind Lucas rather than the skies, and is a concentrated beam attack sort of like Samus's.
  • Double jump canceling is back, and optional like in P:M.
  • Lucas has his P:M alternate costume, and shares his combo catchphrase with Ness. "SMAAAASH!!"
:4shulk:Monando Boy
  • Monado Art Lag Canceling -- a technique where you time a Monado Art so that it activates right as you're landing from an aerial, and cancels the landing lag -- now works on all types of ending lag. It's tricky to pull off, but it's been made a tad more lenient. It can even cancel taunt animations for extra style points.
  • Back Slash has less ending lag if it connects from behind; Shulk can even land a follow-up attack with the Speed art, chasing the reduced knockback with added speed. Also, it has increased distance like the Back Slash Charge custom.
  • Vision's second form -- activated by holding the control stick in a certain direction -- can be used in midair. Also, with the Speed art equipped, the second form is changed to resemble the Dash Vision custom (the part of that custom where you don't hold the control stick), allowing for follow-ups and combos as well as a recovery boost.
  • Air Slash's second hit sends Shulk forward quite a bit more, with the first hit's knockback adjusted to compensate.
  • Back, up, and down aerials linger more to match the animation; they're much easier to hit with, although they deal the most damage at the start.
  • Shulk has greatly improved frame data -- the speed of his attacks -- from Smash 4, helping with one of his biggest flaws.
  • With a full Final Smash meter, Shulk glows with blue energy, as if he's using Vision, boosting the buffs from his Monado Arts.
  • Alma from Xenoblade Chronicles X serves as an alternate costume. As a bit of visual humor, another of Shulk's alts gives him a beret, a black swirly mustache, an artist's smock, and replaces his Monado with a paintbrush with color-changing paint (it changes with the Art he selects) on the end that splashes out when normally, the Monado's lightsaber blade extends. (Get it? Monado Arts?)
:4pit:Pit (sry no pun :()
  • Bow can be aimed in 360 degrees of motion during the charge.
  • Power of Flight can be aimed in any direction, like Fox's recovery move.
  • With a full Final Smash meter, Pit dons the Three Sacred Treasures, boosting the effectiveness of various attacks with the Arrow of Light, protecting him some with the Mirror Shield, and giving him more effective midair jumps with the Wings of Pegasus.
  • Pit's post-victory theme loop is an instrumental remix of his "Victory Song." It sounds a lot more grand and victorious than the original, of course.
:4palutena:Goddess of Light
  • As customs are removed, Palutena's specials are now Heavenly Light, Super Speed, Jump Glide, and Lightweight.
  • The rest of Palutena's moveset is adjusted to fit these special moves, with a fast, hit-and-run style and a focus on zoning as well.
  • Some of the other custom moves are incorporated as non-special moves, as are some of the Powers from Uprising that didn't appear in Smash 4.
  • With a full Final Smash meter, Palutena becomes surrounded by a divine light aura, giving her an increase in attack power.
  • Palutena has a new victory theme, and the looping part after it is an excerpt from the Skyworld theme.
:4darkpit:Original the Character
  • Decloned. Yaaaaay!
  • Faster and more agressive than Pit, wielding a pair of claws that increase his movement and attack speeds like in Uprising. The claws are used for many standards, and they're much quicker and combo-oriented but have less reach and deal less damage. Dark Pit also weighs less due to the lightweight claw weapons.
  • Dark Pit has a new ability called the Power of Flight: hold the jump button to cause his wings to glow and move around in midair freely, in any direction, while able to perform attacks. However, he only has one midair jump (which has a normal height), and the flight only lasts for two seconds. It's very quick, though. This ability represents Dark Pit's unlimited Power of Flight from Kid Icarus: Uprising, and as such, it has similar aesthetics to Pit's recovery move, but with a purple glow.
  • The new Side Special has Dark Pit leap forwards not unlike Little Mac's Jolt Haymaker (but without reduced distance in midair), flapping his wings once during the startup to propel himself forwards. It won't cause a helpless state, and pressing the button again causes Dark Pit to attack with his claw weapons. This strike is quick, and great for starting a combo.
  • Up Special is similar to Pit's from P:M, except it has Dark Pit use one of his Orbitars from Down Special. The other Orbitar appears below Dark Pit, meteor smashing opponents.
  • On that note, Down Special deals damage but doesn't reflect projectiles, only blocking them.
  • Neutral Special is the Dark Pit Staff, which shoots a quick, powerful projectile that can't be aimed much and has quite a bit of startup lag. A more powerful but slower version of his current Neutral Special, basically. You can use it at the end of a combo with good aim and timing.
:4sonic:Sanic
  • Many of Sonic's attacks are sped up. Sonic's dash is also even faster now, from a 3.5 to a 4 (like in Project: M).
  • Homing Attack is much faster to start up, and more accurate, at the cost of KO power. Sonic will strike a pose at the end -- if a foe blocks the attack, the stunt will leave Sonic vulnerable. If Sonic hits his target successfully, however, he can cancel the stunt into an attack -- this is an excellent combo tool. If Sonic misses completely, the attack has ending lag. Sonic can also use the Homing Attack multiple times in midair, unlike in SSB4, but if you miss, you'll have to wait until you land again. If the button is pressed during the startup (or if Sonic fails to target anything), he'll fly at a forwards, slightly-down angle, with greatly reduced ending lag on whiff but no homing capabilities.
  • Side Special is now Sonic's sole Spin Dash, a combination of the old side special move and Spin Charge -- Sonic's old down special from SSB4 and Brawl. It's lost the "hop," has the traveling speed of the old Spin Charge, and keeps the favorable traits of the Spin Dash from SSB4. Also, if you jump during the charge, you can release the Spin Dash before touching the ground, and the move now has a hitbox whilst charging (the hitbox during the dash itself is more consistent as well). Sonic's staple technique, the spinshot, is easier to perform, with a more lenient timing window. Pressing the attack button during a Spin Dash no longer causes Sonic to jump -- instead, he'll perform a sliding attack, similarly to the P:M version -- complete with ledge cancel.
  • The Spin Dash has lost the ability to turn around mid-dash, but gained the ability to use any special move -- including another Spin Dash, even in the opposite direction -- out of a Spin Dash jump or midair Spin Dash. This is a great tool for mobility and confusing opponents, and also eliminates the danger of self-destructing offstage. However, to help compensate, the Spin Dash is easier to interrupt and out-prioritize with an attack. Finally, the "BSBS" mechanic (it's an acronym for something, and it's not what you'd think), a bug-slash-mechanic that prevented Sonic from double jumping following a Spin Dash in certain situations, has been fixed.
  • Spring Jump can be angled 90 or 45 degrees to either side, leading to improved recovery, combo game, and mobility -- Sonic can move even more quickly on the ground using a spring, but he can't act as soon as he can out of a dash. The projectile will also keep bouncing off of platforms for a few seconds, acting as a trap with a lingering hitbox. It'll only hit foes once before disappearing, however. If you angle the move in midair, it can travel great distances as a fast, bouncing projectile -- since it sends Sonic a distance away without the ability to use a jump or special for recovery, however, it's only good for retreating from one side of the stage to another. Otherwise, Sonic is likely to self-destruct, although he can save himself with a directional air dodge. By the way, Sonic can perform a directional air dodge after a Spring Jump to extend his recovery ever so slightly, or to waveland.
  • Sonic has a new down special move: the Bounce Bracelet. He'll curl up into a ball and rise up a bit (when used on the ground, the jump is about as high as a normal jump, and can damage foes), before rocketing down to damage opponents. The downwards attack can't be canceled, but Sonic will -- like the name suggests -- bounce off of anything he hits: opponents, shields, projectiles, the ground, anything! He can attack soon afterwards too, and since it'll knock foes it hits upwards into the air (or deal a meteor smash if they're in midair), it's an excellent combo starter. Sonic won't be able to use the move again until he lands, though, and the move's startup lag makes it rather telegraphed. If you land on a slope, you'll bounce off at an angle, which can surprise a foe. Sonic also retains any sideways momentum he had before using the move, which is nice. It's an excellent landing option and combo tool -- just be careful not to self-destruct!
  • Down smash changed to the Sonic Flare breakdance attack from Sonic Battle. It hits three times and sends foes upwards.
  • Up smash is a backflip kick, with his feet in a blur as if he's running. If used from a dash, Sonic will keep running during the charge -- the animation is him running in place, like the Super Peel-Out from Sonic CD.
  • Nair is the Insta-Shield, which has good range, deals extra damage to shields, and packs a disjointed, transcendent hitbox.
  • Fair is changed to the Sonic Eagle, like in P:M. It's a great combo extender and finisher, and has good range and little lag for spacing purposes.
  • Dair is shorter in duration, allowing Sonic to act sooner with downwards momentum. If Sonic already has downwards momentum from a previous dair, he can initiate another one and skip the stall.
  • All normal grounded attacks have reduced damage and knockback, allowing them to combo more effectively.
  • Side taunt has the line from Brawl. "You're too slow!"
  • With a full Final Smash meter, Sonic turns into Super Sonic! It doesn't function the same as in past games -- instead, it's a passive buff, where he's even faster, has higher jumps, and does some damage on contact at high speeds. The Final Smash itself is the Super Sonic Boost, which is essentially a super-powered Homing Attack that goes towards the nearest opponent and deals massive damage but can be dodged.
  • Classic and Metal Sonic appear as alternate costumes, complete with unique animations, props, sound effects, and Super forms (for the Final Smash). Sonic himself -- and these alts -- also have full recolors this time around, rather than different shades of blue. Sonic's victory theme has a new remix, in the style of Sonic Generations' stage clear theme -- complete with the looping "S Rank" jingle afterwards.
:4megaman:Lemon Lemon Lemon
  • Metal Blade, when shot diagonally into the ground, rolls along the ground, tripping opponents. This adds some follow-up potential to Mega Man's ranged game, and the blade will fall off of ledges. It'll disappear after traveling a certain distance or hitting a wall. Mega Man can also have up to two Metal Blades out at a time.
  • Leaf Shield has less lag when created. Mega Man can also use any other attack while shielded, with only Down Special throwing the shield.
  • Rush Coil changed to Rush Jet, where Mega Man stands on top of Rush as he enters jet mode and flies through the air, constantly moving forwards but able to be manually moved up or down. He moves horizontally much faster than he does vertically, and Mega Man can use any attack during this, but is prevented from walking off of Rush. He can jump off, not restoring his midair jump, and Rush disappears after about two seconds or when Mega Man jumps off. On the ground, this is a good mobility tool, but since Rush always moves forwards, the movement is rather predictable, and it has quite a bit of startup lag. You can jump off or change the altitude to mix up your options, though.
  • Mega Man's slide (down tilt) can be used from a dash, and has less ending lag. It can also ledge cancel, and has super armor on startup.
  • With a full Final Smash, Mega Man uses the Super Adapter to fuse with Rush, giving him more midair jumps and increased attack power. The Final Smash itself is now a giant beam using his and Rush's power combined.
  • Since Mega Man has a new Final Smash, you can now play as X, EXE, Volnutt, and Star Force Mega Man as alternate costumes (albeit with classic Mega Man's proportions). Proto Man also appears as an alt, and the looping part after his victory theme is Mega Man 2's title theme.
:4pacman:Pakku-Man
  • With a full Final Smash meter, Pac-Man turns into his classic pie form, able to "eat" foes while dashing and move around for a few seconds at a time in midair. He can still use his normal moveset if he wants to, as inputting an attack has him briefly turn back into his normal form. The Final Smash itself has him turn giant briefly to chomp across the screen, similar to his current SSB4 Final Smash but as a single attack.
:4ryu:Can I Make A Lame Pun For This Bit? SURE-YOU-CAN!!!
  • "True" command inputs for moves can be used even during the ending lag of moves; if you're quick enough, you can use Hadoken, Tatsumaki, or Shoryuken before Ryu recovers from lag! This takes some skill, and has a somewhat limited range of options, but adds a lot to Ryu's combo game if you manage to pull it off. This can only be done if you land the attack, though.
  • Ryu's attacks also have their ending lag reduced if you land the attack, so you can combo into other moves more easily besides true specials.
  • With a full Final Smash meter, Ryu has the same appearance as he does in the Street Fighter series with his Super Meter full. He doesn't gain any passive buffs, but in return he has two Final Smashes like in SSB4.
:4cloud:A Cloud of Strife Looming Over the Fanbase
  • Cloud's Limit system has been fused with the Final Smash meter. He's the only fighter that can charge it manually, and that can use it for his other moves; but in return, his actual Final Smash isn't as strong. Also, he only gets one Limit Break special move per Final Smash Meter (he can still Omnislash afterward).
  • With a fully charged Limit Break/Final Smash meter, Cloud's falling speed is unaffected -- it's his fastfall that's increased in speed, which helps when recovering. The other passive buffs from SSB4 are also retained.
  • Climhazzard can sweetspot the ledge even without a Limit charge. It also has more horizontal distance, making it a much more effective recovery move.
  • Cloud's down throw is now much better for comboing, launching the foe upwards a bit at a slight forwards angle.
:snake:Snake? Snake?! SNAAAAAAAAKE!!!
:4mii:Mii and Yuu

  • New class in the form of the Mage. Focuses on magic-based attacks, and has a hover.
  • Mii costumes can be used on any class, rather than being locked to one in particular. Weapons (swords, arm cannons, etc.) are now a separate piece of equipment, rather than being locked to certain costumes, and are obviously class-specific. All of this is also available from the start, without unlocking it.
  • The icon on the character selection screen is now the Mii of whichever profile you're playing on -- so the image at the top of this post would have been taken using Iwata's (may he rest in peace) system.
MODES
  • New character per stock is an available Special Smash mode (like the ending of Smash Tour), with customizable character amounts in stock, time, and coin battles.
  • Also added to Special Smash is "combo-cancel mode," which acts much like Turbo Mode in Project: M.
  • Eight player smash is merged into the standard smash mode, activated automatically whenever a fifth controller is brought in. Eight player mode now supports all stages as well as custom stages. Special Smash too. Basically anything you could do in the regular Smash mode.
  • Special Smash is no longer its own mode, now accessed through the rules menu as a third page of rules. This means that it's also available online when playing with friends!
  • Adventure mode returns from Melee; the stages are platforming oriented, and you use a different character for each stage, with the stages making use of that character's abilities and teaching you how to use them. You use all of the characters throughout the course of the mode, and this doesn't have much of a "story" to it, unlike the SSE. There are some cutscenes, but they're mostly simple and serve to transition to the next stage.
  • Target Test is back, with one unique to each character like in Melee. Same with Board the Platforms.
  • Stage Builder has another layer behind the stage for drawing backgrounds (basically for stuff like Hyrule Castle's tower with the platforms on it). All foreground textures and backdrops from the actual stages can be used, and mixed together if one so wishes. All of the gimmicks from Brawl's stage builder make a return as well, such as ice blocks, falling platforms, and conveyor belts, plus new ones. The weight limit is much more generous, collision when two textures meet is drastically improved (they now combine into one collision body to prevent clipping and such), grabbable ledges and spawn points can be placed manually, and the grid can be made smaller with another press of the X button for fine details. If you don't have a Wii U Gamepad (assuming that the NX isn't packed with a tablet controller), you can use a tablet or other smart device to draw stages with an app and send them to the game, or build them real-time as if it were a Gamepad -- this lets you test them as you draw.
  • Training mode improved. Frame-by-frame advancement, hitbox display toggle, on-the-fly character changing, customizable settings spanning both normal and Special Smash, the ability to make the CPU do something on a loop ala Street Fighter, and improved UI in general -- for example, holding a shoulder button lets you scroll through things like damage and items faster. There's also a brand-new stage only available in training mode, which looks like the online waiting room stage but has platforms. You can configure the platforms in the training mode menu to function identically to any basic, tournament-legal stage; the main platform even gains walls, slopes, etc. to match the original stage.
STAGES
  • The stage selection screen layout for custom stages can be customized, so you can organize them however you want. Pressing the random button in the custom stage selection screen will choose only custom stages, and you can enable/disable them like you would Omega stages. Omega and custom stages can be included in the main random stage select, and only the ones you've enabled will appear. You can also set certain stages in the random stage select to have or not have hazards when chosen by the randomizer. Oh right, the hazard toggle!
  • Thanks to both a brand-new hazard toggle and stage layouts in general, stages now tend to be more competitive-friendly. The hazard toggle disables randomized, damaging, or otherwise disruptive elements, such as bosses, fireballs, water, and other elements that can KO fighters. For stages without hazards, other changes are made by the toggle, such as transformations, travelling elements, et cetera. This can be toggled from the options or the stage select screen, much like how custom moves were toggled in Smash 4. Pressing X will now cycle between regular, Omega, and hazards-off versions of stages, or "Alpha" versions as they're called.
  • Any music can be used on any stage, whether it be from another stage or from an SD card.
  • Past stages have redone visuals, and many have new omega forms. Unless otherwise stated, they also have the same music selection.
  • If Omega stages are selected, the stage preview screenshot to the left of the screen changes to reflect this. Same with the hazard toggle.
  • Super Smash Bros.
    • Battlefield has an unchanged layout, and its theming is a mixture between the Smash 3DS and Wii U versions. The alpha form of the stage is a remastered version of Melee's Battlefield.
      • Music:
      • [REMIX] Battlefield Series Medley
      • Battlefield (SSB4)
      • Battlefield (Brawl)
      • Battlefield Ver. 2 (Brawl)
      • Battlefield (Melee)
      • Battlefield (Super Smash Bros.)
      • Credits (Super Smash Bros.) Ver. 2 (SSB4 mix)
      • Trophy Rush (SSB4)
      • Multi-Man Smash (SSB4)
      • Multi-Man Melee 2 (Melee)
      • Menu (Melee) (Brawl mix)
      • Boss Battle (Melee)
    • Final Destination has the same layout as before, but the visual design of the platform is changed to resemble an asteroid flying through space with technological structures making up the top where the fighters stand. Master and Crazy Hand are also seen battling each other in the background. Two battles for the price of one! If hazards are enabled, they'll occasionally go into the foreground, let out a couple of attacks at each other (and at fighters!), and then go back to the background.
      • Music:
      • [REMIX] Main Theme (SSB4)
      • [REMIX] Final Destination Series Medley
      • Final Destination (SSB4)
      • Final Destination Ver. 2 (SSB4)
      • Final Destination (Brawl)
      • Final Destination (Melee)
      • Master Hand Battle (Super Smash Bros.)
      • Master Hand (SSB4)
      • Master Core (SSB4)
      • Master Fortress First/Second Wave Mix (SSB4)
      • Menu (Melee) Ver. 2 (SSB4 mix)
      • Opening Theme (Melee) (Brawl mix)
      • Multi Man Melee (Melee)
      • Credits (Super Smash Bros.) (Brawl mix)
      • Target Test (Melee)
      • Boss Battle Song 2 (Brawl)
    • Metal Cavern returns from Smash 64 with the same layout, but a new background aesthetic resembling the Hazy Maze Cave from Super Mario 64.
      • Music:
      • [REMIX] Meta Crystal (Super Smash Bros.)
      • Metal Battle (Melee)
      • [REMIX] Hazy Maze Cave (Super Mario 64)
  • Super Mario Bros.
    • Bowser's Castle is as shown in the link (except with a visual design matching the background, and less drastic elevation changes), and has hazards too. The Podoboos occasionally come up out of the pit to harm fighters. The Thwomp, meanwhile, takes out the bridge and top platform, and slowly sinks into the lava, acting as a platform. Once it sinks, the lava is exposed until the bridge and platform reappear -- watch your step! The hazards can be disabled, of course, for a rather competitively-viable counterpick.
      • Music:
      • [REMIX] Castle (Super Mario World)
      • [REMIX] Castle (New Super Mario Bros. U)
      • [REMIX] Koopa's Road/Final Battle (Super Mario 64)
      • [REMIX] The Grand Finale (Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story)
      • [REMIX] Baby Bowser Battle (Yoshi's Island)
      • Fortress Boss (Super Mario World) (SSB4 mix)
      • Castle/Boss Fortress (Super Mario World/Super Mario Bros. 3) (Brawl mix)
      • Bowser's Castle (Mario Kart 8)
      • Bowser's Galaxy Reactor (Super Mario Galaxy)
      • The Final Battle (Super Mario Galaxy 2)
      • Bowser's Galaxy Generator (Super Mario Galaxy 2) (Mario & Sonic Olympics mix)
      • World Bowser (Super Mario 3D World)
      • The Great Tower Showdown 2 (Super Mario 3D World)
      • Final Bowser Level (Super Mario 3D World)
      • GBA Bowser Castle 1 (Mario Kart 7)
      • Lava / Volcano Theme (Super Mario 3D World)
    • Comet Observatory from Super Mario Galaxy travels to different areas Delfino-style, inkluding the observatory domes, the Gateway, and the map area. This stage is competitive-friendly, and the layouts are a bit more... normal than Delfino's or Skyloft's. Fewer walkoffs, no water, et cetera. The omega version takes place at the "front" of the observatory, on the bridge to nowhere near the map area; this also appears as a "stop" in the regular version. As a neat touch, the observatory will "tour" different galaxies, and they'll appear in the background when you land at certain stops. So, for example, when you land at the Garden dome, you'll see a galaxy from that dome in the background instead of the star-filled space you usually see, such as Good Egg or Honeyhive Galaxy. Additionally, Starship Mario, the Toad Brigade's ship, etc can be seen flying around, and Star Bits rain down from the sky. This stage is competitively-viable.
      • Music:
      • [REMIX] Gusty Garden Galaxy / Egg Planet (Super Mario Galaxy)
      • [REMIX] Starship Mario (Super Mario Galaxy 2)
      • [REMIX] Another Story (Super Mario Galaxy 2)
      • [REMIX] Puzzle Plank Galaxy (Super Mario Galaxy 2)
      • [REMIX] Buoy Base Galaxy (Super Mario Galaxy)
      • Rosalina in the Observatory/Luma's Theme (Super Mario Galaxy) (SSB4 mix)
      • Gusty Garden Galaxy (Super Mario Galaxy)
      • Egg Planet (Super Mario Galaxy)
      • Main Theme (Super Mario Galaxy 2)
      • Purple Comet (Super Mario Galaxy)
    • Airship Armada from Super Mario Bros. 3 has different airships and clown cars fly in as platforms, with cannons, burners, and such as hazards. It's a slow autoscroller just like in the original game. The omega version takes place on one of the airships' "sail beams," with other airships flying in the background.
      • Music:
      • [REMIX] Airship Theme Mix (Super Mario Maker)
      • Bowser's Big Bullet Brigade (Super Mario 3D World)
      • The Bullet Bill Express (Super Mario 3D World)
      • Bowser Jr.'s Airship Armada (Super Mario Galaxy)
      • Bowser Jr.'s Boomsday Machine (Super Mario Galaxy 2)
    • 3D World is the successor to 3D Land from the 3DS version of Smash. It starts off in Super Bell Hill, the first stage from the game, as a scrolling stage. Then the fighters must hop aboard Plessie and ride him through the game's first stage featuring him (World 1-4). Plessie jumps off the waterfall and lands in a circus stage, where the fighters must then hop off and navigate the tilting platforms and such in another autoscroller. Finally, the fight moves to the Great Bowser Express, with World Bowser in the background; this is a stationary arena at the front of the train. Eventually, the train falls off of the end of the tracks and crash lands into Super Bell Hill, and the cycle repeats itself. The omega form takes place on a flat platform that transitions between the four settings in puffs of smoke and confetti, 3D World-style.
      • Music:
      • [REMIX] Super Mario 3D World Medley (this will change the song to fit the dynamic scenery)
      • [REMIX] Super Mario World Medley (again, changes to fit the stage changes)
      • Athletic (Super Mario 3D World)
      • Credits Theme (Super Mario 3D World)
      • Overworld 2 (Super Mario 3D World)
      • Hisstocrat Battle (Super Mario 3D World)
      • Super Block Land (Super Mario 3D World)
    • Dr. Mario is similar to the "leaked" SSB4 stage where the game is played in the background and the pills fall in the foregroun (the viruses are absent). Having hazards disabled flattens the pills into falling drop-through platforms.
      • Music: Pretty much the same as in the "leak."
    • Mount Wario from Mario Kart 8 is a travelling stage in the vein of Mario Circuit. It starts at the helicopter starting line and stops at major setpieces before ending at the stadium and looping, and karts race on the track like in Mario Circuit. It's competitive friendly with the kart hazards turned off. The omega version takes place at the stadium at the end of the stage.
      • Music:
      • Mount Wario (Mario Kart 8) (changes dynamically to fit the section of the track, like in Mario Kart 8; edited to fit the different pacing of Smash)
      • Mario Kart Stadium (Mario Kart 8)
      • Credits Theme (Mario Kart 8)
      • Dolphin Shoals (Mario Kart 8)
      • Sherbet Land (Mario Kart 8)
      • Cloudtop Cruise (Mario Kart 8) (SSB4 mix)
      • Dragon Driftway (Mario Kart 8)
      • Super Bell Subway (Mario Kart 8)
      • Cheese Land (Mario Kart 8)
      • Baby Park (Mario Kart 8)
    • Plucky Pass Beginnings from Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is as described in the link. It's a competitive-friendly counterpick (due to the wall) with hazards turned off, which disables the platform rising and stage rotating and also removes the brick blocks and pluckable sprouts. The omega version rotates the stage 90 degrees, the battle taking place on the raised area to the left.
      • Music:
      • [REMIX] Main Theme (Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker)
      • [REMIX] Treasure Tracker Medley (CT: Treasure Tracker)
      • Plucky Pass Beginnings (CT: Treasure Tracker)
    • Battle Stage from Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door takes place where the battles did in that game. It features a cardboard backdrop based on Super Mario Bros. 3, with hanging wooden platforms from the ceiling serving as drop-throughs -- that game was a stage show after all! The audience also gets involved; the better a player does, the more of the audience begins rooting for them, represented by their clothing/shells/whatever changing to their color; this will cause them to throw that player helpful items, sorta like the Isabelle AT. With hazards off, the audience won't get involved.
      • Music:
      • [REMIX] Battle Theme (Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door)
      • [REMIX] Battle Theme (Paper Mario)
      • [REMIX] Title Theme (Super Paper Mario)
      • Title Theme (Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door)
      • Brobot Battle (Super Paper Mario)
      • Lineland (Super Paper Mario)
      • Rogueport (Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door) (Smash 3DS mix)
      • Battle Theme (Paper Mario: Sticker Star)
      • Happy Adventure, Delightful Adventure (Super Mario RPG)
      • Armed Boss (Super Mario RPG)
      • Forest Maze (Super Mario RPG)
    • Pi'illo Island from Mario & Luigi: Dream Team is a touring stage, taking place on the "Zeeppelin" blimp that you'd ride to the island at the beginning of the game. (The top blast zone keeps fighters from hitting the blimp itself, so there's no ceiling.) There are two platforms to either side, right above the ledges, going above the bottom blast zone (like Smashville's platform all the way to the side). It'll tour the various areas from the game, and if hazards are enabled, it'll touch down and land, changing the arena before taking off again. It's competitive-friendly -- even with hazards enabled. The landing areas are no more intrusive than, say, Delfino's.
      • [REMIX] Pi'illo Island Medley (Mario & Luigi: Dream Team) (changes the music upon landing at an area)
      • [REMIX] Tough Guy Alert! (Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story)
      • [REMIX] Wakeport (Mario & Luigi: Dream Team)
      • [REMIX] Battle Theme / Boss Battle Theme (Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga)
      • Try, Try Again (Mario & Luigi: Dream Team) (Smash 4 mix)
      • Boss Battle (Mario & Luigi: Dream Team)
      • Battle Theme (Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga)
      • Battle Theme (Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story)
      • Battle Theme (Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam)
      • Boss Battle Theme (Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam)
    • Luigi's Mansion from Brawl returns. With hazards off, all the platforms are drop-through, and the columns are no longer destructible.
    • Mushroom Kingdom U from Smash Wii U returns. With hazards off, Nabbit, the water geysers, ice spikes, and transformations are disabled -- the stage stays in the static Acorn Plains setting (you can pick the other ones with certain button combinations on the SSS).
      • Added music tracks:
      • [REMIX] Credits Theme (Super Mario World)
      • [REMIX] Staff Roll (New Super Mario Bros. Wii)
      • [REMIX] Ground Theme (Super Mario World)
    • Mario Circuit from Smash Wii U is back, and the karts are toggled with the hazard switch.
  • Yoshi's Island
    • Yoshi's House from Super Mario World is like the link shows. The moving platform is made to resemble smoke coming out of the chimney. The stage's omega form takes place below the house, where you'd actually go in Super Mario World.
    • Woolly World from Yoshi's Woolly World has the same look as the omega form in SSB4, and a moving cloud platform identical to Smashville's (essentially replacing that stage). Every so often, the stage will "unravel," revealing the wire frame below. The yarn then comes back, changing the aesthetic to resemble a different part of the game. This won't interrupt gameplay, instead being similar to the season changes from Brawl's Yoshi's Island stage.
    • Yoshi's Island from Brawl is back.
  • Wario
    • Wario's Castle from the Wario Land series takes place on top of said castle, and has WarioWare's platform layout. It's competitive-friendly thanks to a lack of microgames.
    • Gamer from Smash Wii U is back. The hazard toggle gets rid of the mom, and has a set layout.
  • The Mysterious Murasame Castle
    • Murasame Castle takes place on a Japanese-style palace, and is competitive-friendly. The ends of the main platform and the lone drop-through in the middle are bent upwards (divided roughly into thirds), giving them a bit of a "bowl" shape.
  • Game & Watch
    • Flat Zone from Melee is back. The omega form takes place on top of the Game & Watch system itself, and the stage and fighters aren't flattened.
  • Ice Climber
    • Summit from Brawl is back. With hazards turned off, it won't move, and the vegetables aren't present.
  • Donkey Kong
    • Donkey Kong Island is a traveling stage, based on Donkey Kong Country Returns and Tropical Freeze. The platform will fly around the island and land occasionally, in locations based on both games. Occasionally, mid-battle, the Snowmads' horn will be blown, and the stage will be frozen over for a completely different aesthetic (and a few slippery areas)! A while later, the snow will thaw away.
    • Sunset Shore from DKCR is as shown in the link (except with a proper ledge to the left), and is competitive-friendly. Fighters have a unique silhouette look here.
    • Gangplank Galleon from the DKC series takes place on one of K. Rool's pirate ships, with cannonballs firing at you from the background.
    • Kongo Jungle from Melee is back, and the hazard toggle controls the enemies leaping out of the waterfall as well as the rock. With hazards off, it's a decently viable competitive stage.
    • Jungle Japes from Melee is back. You can turn off the water and Klaptraps with the hazard toggle -- this also brings the stairs bridging the platforms into the foreground, so it's one big platform.
  • The Legend of Zelda
    • Kokiri Forest from Ocarina of Time takes place on top of the little bridge; the layout is tweaked so that the lake with the rocks in it is directly below the bridge, which is a breakable drop-through. The perspective is similar to this image (the bridge platform is the one in the center of the image). The omega form lifts the bridge up higher, and flattens it.
    • Dungeon has typical dungeon things like chests, switches, etc., and has a sealed ceiling and walls, so the only way out is via the bottomless pit. There's a switch in the center that can be attacked (with a cooldown in between hits), and it'll move the moving platform and toggle the waterfall.
    • Forsaken Fortress from Wind Waker takes place at the top of the fortress, near Ganon's little wooden house thing, and the Helmaroc King appears as a stage hazard -- the battle takes place in the arena where he's fought. It's competitive-friendly with hazards off. The stage lacks platforms, but does have walls on either side (they lack the original game's spikes). These can help extend combos in unique ways.
    • Windfall Island from Wind Waker takes place on top of buildings and on the windmill-slash-ferris-wheel. The omega version scales it up immensely, and takes place on one of the windmill platforms as it rotates around.
    • A Link Between Worlds from the game of the same name has half in the light world, half in the dark, with a thin sliver of the "dark rift" look from ALBW (like the cracks used to cross dimensions) in between. It takes place on Hyrule/Lorule Castle, with this platform layout (except with stationary platforms). It's fairly viable for competitive play.
    • Temple from Melee is back.
    • Great Bay from Melee appears as a returning stage.
    • Pirate Ship from Brawl is back, and the various islands from the game now appear in the background. With hazards off, it lackstransitions (aside from rain), bombs, the catapult, and all that stuff -- it's fairly viable for competitive play. Also, the very front of the ship is now solid.
    • Gerudo Valley from Smash 3DS makes an appearance, and hazards can be disabled to get rid of Koume and Kotake, as well as rendering the bridge unbreakable.
    • Spirit Train from Smash 3DS makes an appearance as a returning stage. With hazards off, the train will not switch cars, and the bomb train isn't present. The new omega form has the train riding on a bridge high in the sky, with a flat platform on top. The bridge has a gap in the middle, so fighters can fall.
    • Skyloft from Smash Wii U returns.
  • Duck Hunt
    • Duck Hunt from Smash Wii U is back. With hazards off, the ducks, dog, and randomly-appearing patches of grass aren't present.
  • Excitebike
    • Excitebike Arena from Mario Kart 8 features randomly-arranged terrain like in that game, and Shy Guys on dirt bikes occasionally drive through the stage. Hazards being disabled gives the stage a fixed layout, with a hill on the left and a suspended platform on the right, and there are no walkoffs with hazards off. The hazard toggle also moves the Shy Guys to the background, right behind the fighters -- the two back lanes still go to the edge of the screen, but fighters don't interact with them.
  • Metroid
    • Planet Zebes from Super Metroid incorporates Samus's gunship, and is based on the landing area from Super Metroid. The omega version takes place on Samus's gunship with extra platforms built on top to make the arena flat, flying over the planet.
    • Tallon Overworld from Metroid Prime has stunning aesthetics, as well as a competitive-friendly layout -- it's near-identical to Lylat Cruise from SSB4, but with walls that go all the way down and no tilting.
    • Brinstar from Melee makes a return. With hazards disabled, the stage cannot be broken, and the acid is removed. Also, the stage's underside is now completely solid.
    • Brinstar Depths from Melee is back, now with grabbable ledges! With hazards disabled, it won't rotate.
    • Pyrosphere from Smash Wii U is back, sans Ridley. Occasionally, lava comes in from either side to damage fighters; this and the other hazards can be turned off.
  • Pokemon
    • Route 1 from Gen 1 takes a side-on view of the route, with the left side of the stage being the Pallet Town side. A very wide walk-off stage with trees and varying elevations.
    • Distortion World from Pokemon Platinum takes place in an alternate dimension, where the laws of physics are... questionable at best. There are platforms on every side of the arena, and they all look like they should be ground -- they're just rotated 90 degrees, the "tops" facing the center. They extend to the edges of the screen, so you can't go to the other side of them. Every so often, the stage will suddenly rotate 90 degrees, changing which surfaces act as the floor/ceiling/walls! Each is shaped differently, of course. Additionally, there are "trees" which occasionally pop out of one of the surfaces, acting as either a wall (like the stick in Garden of Hope) or a drop-through platform.
    • Saffron City from Smash 64 returns, but the Pokemon that come out of the door have been removed. It has a redone aesthetic much like P:M's version.
    • Pokemon Stadium from Melee makes a return, with updated graphics. With hazards off, the stage stays in the "neutral" form.
    • Spear Pillar from Brawl makes a return, and the Legendaries are toggleable.
    • Prism Tower is back from Smash 3DS.
    • Kalos Pokemon League from Smash Wii U makes a return, and its platforms have been moved to match Pokemon Stadium's neutral form. With hazards off, the transitions don't affect gameplay; the platforms don't move, hazards don't appear, et cetera. In tournaments, this stage's hazards-off version would be treated the same as Pokemon Stadium's hazards-off version, like Battlefield and Miiverse or FD and omegas are in SSB4.
  • Mother
    • Onett from Melee makes a return, and the cars can be disabled.
    • Fourside from Melee is back.
    • Magicant from the 3DS game makes a return, sans Flying Man.
  • F-Zero
    • Big Blue from Mario Kart 8 takes place on a platform that flies along the track, and is a combination of Port Town Aero Dive and the SSB4 Mario Circuit stage. Shy Guys race along the track, all driving the Blue Falcon kart. With hazards disabled, the platform never lands. As for the platform itself, it has the same layout as Yoshi's Story from Melee, sans Randall.
    • Port Town Aero Dive is back from Brawl, and the traveling platform has grabbable ledges.
  • Star Fox
    • Corneria II from Star Fox Zero takes place on the buildings, road-like above-ground structures, and such, with a fierce battle happening in the background. It's a very large stage, and if hazards are enabled, the battling forces occasionally hit fighters.
    • Corneria from Melee is back, and the lasers can be toggled.
    • Orbital Gate Assault from Smash Wii U is back, with hazards being toggleable.
  • Kirby
    • Rainbow Curse from the game of the same name has a clay art style, taking place in the first world of the game, and Elline constantly draws lines for platforms. The layout is competitive-friendly, as it's just a flat platform with differently-shaped drop-throughs being drawn.
    • Dream Land from Smash 64 is back. The wind can be turned off.
    • Fountain of Dreams from Melee makes a return.
    • The Great Cave Offensive from Smash Wii U is back.
  • Kid Icarus
    • Pandora's Labyrinth from Uprising has the stage platform, after entering through a rift in spacetime, zoom through the labyrinth as abstract shapes intersect the fighting plane and become either drop-through platforms or damaging -- but very telegraphed -- hazards. Some paths are simply illusion walls that serve as fake pathways; upon reaching them, the stage turns around and goes down a different path. The stage is competitive-friendly with or without hazards enabled (disabling them gets rid of the damaging ones), and the omega version simply doesn't run into any hazards or platforms.
    • Skyworld from Brawl makes a return. The hazard toggle changes the platforms to be like P:M's version of the stage.
    • Palutena's Temple from Smash Wii U is back.
  • Pikmin
    • Formidable Oak from Pikmin 3 takes place in the arena at the bottom, with the game's final boss attacking fighters. The omega version takes place on a piece of tree bark upheld by the boss itself, giving it a nice view of the surrounding area.
    • Garden of Hope from the Wii U game makes a return, with the crab being toggleable.
  • Fire Emblem
    • Castle Siege from Brawl is back. The hazard toggle controls the transitions; if disabled, the stage stays in the first phase.
    • Coliseum from Smash Wii U is back. The hazard toggle removes the platforms.
  • Advance Wars
  • Dillon's Rolling Western
  • Splatoon
    • Inkopolis Plaza is shown in the Inkling's moveset, l-inked in the newcomer overviews, and is competitive-friendly.
  • BoxBoy
  • Animal Crossing
    • Town & City from Smash Wii U is back.
    • Tortimer Island returns from the 3DS game.
  • Punch Out!!
    • Boxing Ring from Smash 4 is back.
  • Rhythm Heaven
    • Rhythm Concert is a stage based entirely around music, taking place on a concert stage. Each song is pulled from the games, and everything -- from the dynamic platforms to the bouncing background -- moves to the beat. Mastering the rhythm is key to victory on this stage. There's a screen with the game being played in the background, another one with equalizers below the stage, steel girders, speakers, and stuff like that as decoration. With hazards off, the platforms move at a regular pace regardless of the music -- the "steady beat," if you will.
  • Wii Fit
    • Wii Fit Studio from Smash Wii U is back.
  • Chibi-Robo
    • Sanderson Household takes place in the living room, with the fighters shrunken down to Chibi-Robo's size.
  • Xenoblade Chronicles
    • New Los Angeles is from Xenoblade X makes an appearance, with a layout identical to Halberd's flying portion -- it's competitive-friendly.
    • Gaur Plain from Smash 4 is back. Metal Face can be turned off if you so wish.
  • The Wonderful 101
    • Blossom City takes place on the train from the beginning of the game, and Unite Morphs hold up platforms.
  • Codename: S.T.E.A.M.
    • London takes place on a copper, metallic, pipe-ish arena, and steam pipes blow out steam to blow fighters around, and also to keep platforms off the ground; it's competitive-friendly.
  • Sonic the Hedgehog
    • City Escape from Sonic Generations takes place on the truck as it rampages through the city, and the platform tilts quite a bit since the truck has a side-on view and the city streets are as sloped as San Francisco. The truck's saw blades and rocket boosters act as hazards, and platforms are present in the form of G.U.N. crates, scaffolding, and such. With hazards off, the stage won't tilt, and the rockets/saws won't appear, making it viable for competitive matches. The Omega form shifts the perspective ninety degrees, with the camera now facing the front of the truck. The music selection consists of the classic and modern remixes of each track from Generations, as well as a remix of both of City Escape's.
    • Sky Sanctuary from Sonic & Knuckles is a very large stage, stretching vertically rather than horizontally. It has its updated visual design from Sonic Generations, with the Death Egg looming in the background.
    • Windy Hill Zone from Smash Wii U makes a return. With hazards off, the springs, windmill structure, and curved gravity aren't present (the stage is also straightened out to account for this), making for a fairly competitively-viable stage.
  • Mega Man
    • Air Man Arena from Mega Man 2 takes place in the sky, with platforms including, but not limited to, those floating head things. The stage lacks a large main platform, making the small ones treacherous to navigate.
    • Wily Castle from Smash Wii U returns, and the Yellow Devil can be removed to make it fun to play competitive-friendly. Even when hazards are on, he won't reappear after being defeated.
  • Pac-Man
    • Pac-Maze looks like this. Its platforms are close together, creating a maze-like feel. Also, the ghosts will travel between the foreground and background via the tunnels leading to the bottom of the screen. Power Pellets appear like in the 3DS version of the stage, but don't do anything, and are just for aesthetics.
  • Rayman
    • Music Level Medley from Rayman Legends mixes together all of the music levels from the game. The platform is in front of them, and Rayman Legends characters like Globox can be seen running through the stages in the background, in time with the music. As for the stage itself, it consists of one main platform and a sole, Battlefield-platform-sized platform above the middle of the stage -- this simple layout makes it viable for competitive play.
  • Bomberman
    • Bomb Factory takes place on a Bomberman maze turned on its side, with the entire arena closed off from the blast zones except for eight holes, two on each side. Bombs will occasionally drop down from the top two after a warning, and the stage is set up so that there's a path for them to drop down into the bottom holes. They explode on impact, and deal immense damage and knockback.
  • Tales of Symphonia
    • Tower of Salvation is pretty much the same as in SSF2.
  • Banjo-Kazooie
    • Spiral Mountain has many platforms along the side of the mountain (matching the spiral path), and fighters can go on the surrounding ground as well.
  • Street Fighter
    • Street Fight is a flat street in a town with spectators watching in the background, awnings etc serving as platforms, and buildings to either side, so the only way to KO is up; Ryu shines here thanks to his Shoryuken, and the stage is ideal for stamina battles.
    • Suzaku Castle returns from Smash 4.
  • Final Fantasy
    • Midgar is back from Smash 4, and the summons can be turned off with the hazard toggle for a competitive-friendly alternative to Battlefield. It has an expanded music selection, drawing not only from FFVII but also the entire series.
  • Metal Gear Solid
    • Shadow Moses Island returns from Brawl, and with hazards disabled, the walls and the ground beyond them aren't present.
  • Miscellaneous
    • Nintendo Land takes place on top of the tower with Miis touring the park below, and elements from the different minigames appear and can be interacted with. You can battle on either the "head" of the tower or the ring around it, both acting as platforms. Both will rotate around slowly for a view of the entire park.
    • NES Remix travels through many different NES games and (re)mixes them together. The omega form is on the NES console itself, and the normal version of the stage is seen on a CRT TV in the background.
    • R.O.B. is as shown in the link (minus the moving platforms). An NES playing Gyromite and Stack-Up on an old CRT TV is visible in the background. The omega form moves the arms so that they're touching the head, extending the platform.
    • Tetris has tetrominoes slowly fall from above, and they're the only solid ground; there's no ground or walls to the sides, so you have to jump on the tetrominoes as they come in and jump off as they fall down, sort of like Pokefloats.
    • Pushmo Park has sections of the stage that are pushed in and out of the foreground, changing the battlefield; some are solid, others are drop-through.
    • Balloon Fight from Smash 3DS is back. With hazards off, the fish is gone, and the stage's wrapping property is removed, replaced by a pit to either side. The hazards-off version also has a fixed layout.
    • Find Mii is back from Smash 3DS; turn hazards off, and the boss and caged Mii are gone.
    • Pilotwings from Smash Wii U is back; the hazard toggle keeps the planes from tilting, and also from going too close to the island -- now, it won't damage fighters.
    • Wrecking Crew from Smash Wii U is back. The bombs, ladders, and barrels are removed with the hazard toggle, so it's now a stationary, set layout.
    • Wuhu Island from the Wii U game makes a return.
    • The final stage is The Credits. Unlocked by beating any single-player mode, it's basically the game's credits. It takes the form of a flat platform, with the credits themselves acting as slowly falling platforms. It's actually tournament-viable! The music of course consists of the credits themes from countless titles, from Mario to Zelda to Final Fantasy to of course Smash itself.
ASSIST TROPHIES
  • All past ATs return, except for those who have been promoted to playable character or appear in another role.
  • Impa from Hyrule Warriors uses her giant sword and her fire naginata to attack opponents in big, flashy, Hyrule Warriors-style combos.
  • The Sprixie Princesses from Super Mario 3D World use their fairy plumbing tools to attack opponents after you free them from their bottle. This is done by throwing it at an opponent -- the bottle is automatically picked up when the AT is used.
  • Boos from Luigi's Mansion (and the Mario series in general) do what they do in Mario, advancing towards anyone who's looking away from them. They're pretty fast here, though, so fighters are encouraged to look away from the AT summoner if the summoner plays it right. This isn't often ideal for the target.
  • Tom Nook from Animal Crossing throws bags of money on opponents' heads, representing debt and being clearly labeled as such. This will either A) immobilize them while on the ground, or B) meteor smash them in midair.
  • Adam Malkovich from Metroid: Other M doesn't authorize opponents to use randomly chosen moves. If they're sent offstage, he'll block up special moves -- yikes!
  • Glass Joe from Punch-Out!! tries to punch opponents, but nothing happens. He's essentially the Goldeen of ATs. On that note, Goldeen is replaced with Magikarp in a Pokeball.
ITEMS
  • The Ice Flower is like the Fire Flower, but with an ice effect (think the ICs' Blizzard move).
  • The Watermelon from Yoshi's Island can be eaten in order to shoot seeds rapid-fire.
  • A Flying Disc from Wii Sports Resort / Nintendogs is thrown in an arc similar to DHD's side special move.
  • The 3DS' Stylus is a battering item -- true to the original, it extends to great lengths for attacks.
  • The Power Glove gives you super-charged punching attacks, with an electric effect.
  • Speed Shoes from Sonic come in a classic monitor box, which must be attacked to use. When it is, the user is sped up, like when the speed is turned up in training mode. Lasts for ten seconds, and the music speeds up like in the classic games.
  • Rings, also from Sonic, will protect whoever obtains it from the next attack (taking no damage and reduced knockback). It'll then fly out, so they or anyone else can grab it again! It can only be grabbed a certain amount of times though.
TRAILERS
  • Reveal Trailer (E3 20-whatever)
    • Starts with the iconic flaming Smash Bros. symbol. It opens up, but the flames don't go away. Instead, we're treated to a foreshadowing: in a somewhat similar style to the opening of Ocarina of Time, the Original Twelve are standing opposite to three silhouettes. In the middle, the silhouette of Ganon's redesign, and to either side, the silhouettes can just barely be made out as Ridley and King K. Rool. This foreshadows to another trailer, which will come in a year's time...
    • We hear Ganon's evil laugh as the camera zooms in on Link's eye, showing a reflection of the three figures, and then the segment ends.
    • We hear the ever-recognizable sound of a charging smash attack, as it goes on for two whole seconds. Suddenly, the pitch-black screen is SMASHED apart by Mario's fireball side smash, and we're brought right into the new version of Battlefield! The original twelve, Pit, Bowser, and Villager are seen fighting on Battlefield, Bowser's Castle, Sunset Shore, Kokiri Forest, and Kartton, showing off their new moves and game mechanics like the Final Smash meter. For a split second, a lone banjo appears in the background of one of the stages.
    • After a minute or so of this, we see Mario on Delfino Plaza, still in gameplay, showing off his new F.L.U.D.D. nozzles. We see him washing off orange goop, seeming to be a new part of the stage. But then, cutting back to CGI, we see something moving through the goop. A humanoid figure emerges, shakes off the ink, and turns around to face the camera...
    • INKLING Claims Its Turf! Gameplay of the Inkling on the aforementioned stages as well as Inkopolis Plaza is shown, demonstrating the ink mechanics and other attacks. The alternate costumes are also shown off. Then, right as a terrified Luigi is cornered by the Inkling, and all hope seems lost, a disembodied, transparent, Mario-ish glove picks Luigi up as a minecart comes in from behind him, running the Inkling over. In the minecart is none other than...
    • CAPTAIN TOAD Ventures Into Battle! Gameplay shows off his focus on structures, the gamepad hand, his terrible mobility, and his cowardly nature and personality. Plucky Pass Beginnings, his home stage, is also featured.
    • The trailer ends by cutting back to the opening shot, as the twelve leap at the silhouettes and vice-versa, bullet time kicks in while they're in midair, and the logo of the new game flies onscreen, letter by letter as the announcer exclaims: Super Smash Bros. V!!! But then...
    • The logo fades away as wee see the fighters in deep space, on a large asteroid -- which is surrounded by others. They all look up at a distant asteroid, as a shadowy figure stands on top, silhouetted by the sun. The first eight notes of the classic N64 title's main theme can be heard being played by an electric guitar, building up to the reveal of...
    • BANJO AND KAZOOIE Join The Battle! The rest of the Banjo-Kazooie opening theme plays (up to 0:07 in this video) as they jump off of the asteroid and their splash screen appears. The music stops when the splash screen comes up, and then gameplay of their stage, multiple jumps, Kazooie pecking with her beak, and such. Then, however, they get KO'd, and it cuts back to CGI.
    • They then find one of Bottles' molehills from their game, and pop out having learned some new abilities. These abilites are then shown off in CGI and then in gameplay, and the trailer finally ends with the duo performing a taunt, complete with Banjo's signature "Gyah-ha!"
    • Later at the show, a brief presentation is shown explaining the new gameplay mechanics, in addition to a demonstration match between Mario and Banjo-Kazooie. Another match between Kirby and the Inkling is shown as well, inkluding the Kirby hat. (The hat, by the way, allows Kirby to simulate the Inkling's squid form with his squishy crouch, swimming through ink and the like with ease.)
MISCELLANEOUS
  • The "Tips" feature now has an archive of all tips, sorted by category, character, et cetera. It's a veritable treasure trove of information!
  • An official tournament ruleset is created, and adjusted based on fan response. This ruleset is used for Nintendo-hosted tournaments, and other tourneys as well. (Even For Glory gets in on the deal, no more FD-only matches.) Nothing like a unified metagame! In addition to the "default" button in the rules screen, there is also now a "tournament" preset, which sets everything according to the official ruleset. The ruleset is updated on online servers that the game accesses, so the ruleset will update without needing a patch. If the servers cannot be reached, the latest patch is instead used.
  • A cheat code exists which unlocks all the fighters, stages, and music tracks, but can only be found in a secret place on the official website (or eventually SWF, ofc). This is nice for tournaments, as well as anyone who just doesn't want to bother unlocking all these CDs. Things like trophies are still unlocks no matter what.
  • Balance patches are based on community response. Cool stuff is left intact, but broken stuff is removed. Most balance tweaks come in the form of buffs, unless there's something that's super broken or glitchy.
  • The return of the Smash Bros. DOJO!! proper, featuring written-out character, stage, etc overviews, Pics of the Day, and the updated style of the Smash 4 site. Techniques, etc are also talked about here.
I'll jot down ideas here as they come to me. If you've got any suggestions, why not, well, suggest 'em?
 
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MarioMeteor

Smash Hero
Joined
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Messages
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Location
New Orleans
NNID
BGenius23
3DS FC
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View attachment 39396
Key: Smash 4 character Character that skipped Smash 4 Newcomer Newcomer (clone/semi-clone)
There are 25 newcomers total. Here are some notes:
  • Ganondorf's moveset is moved to Black Shadow, and Ganondorf is given a new Zelda-esque moveset
  • Plusle and Minun are like two Pichus, with some tweaks
  • Dark Samus is a semi-clone of Samus, sharing some moves but also having its own Phazon attacks
  • Dixie Kong is a semi-clone of Diddy Kong, sharing some moves but also having her own attacks
  • Captain Toad can't jump, but can still perform aerials and has a Propeller Block recovery that doesn't leave him in helpless
  • King K. Rool uses all his outfits from the various DKC games
  • Masked Link uses the Masks from Majora's Mask
  • Impa is a mixture of Zelda and Sheik
  • Waddle Dee has a spear copter and other spear-based attacks
  • Ridley is big and has unique attacks; clumsy on the ground, but great in the air; opposite of Little Mac
  • Greninja is now a Trainer Pokemon, along with the other Gen 6 starters
  • Dillon has a lot of spin-type attacks; as a side note, Sonic has some more unique attacks such as the Light Speed Dash and the Boost
  • Takamaru has his AT attacks as well as others from his game
  • Krystal has the staff attacks Fox had when using her staff
  • Lyn is quick and relies on combos to get her damage dealt
  • Alph is a clone of Olimar; only uses Rock Pikmin
  • Inkling is similar to my MYM entry
  • Wonder Red uses all of the weapons from TW101, but on a smaller scale
  • Magnus uses his AT moves along with others from KI:U
  • Rayman uses his attacks from Legends for his standards and has elements from the older games, as well as Peach-esque helicopter hair
  • Maxwell writes many different objects to fight with and can apply adjectives to both himself and opponents
You made that yourself?
 

Drakester234

Smash Rookie
Joined
Feb 15, 2015
Messages
11
Location
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
View attachment 39396
Key: Smash 4 character Character that skipped Smash 4 Newcomer Newcomer (clone/semi-clone)
There are 25 newcomers total. Here are some notes:
  • Ganondorf's moveset is moved to Black Shadow, and Ganondorf is given a new Zelda-esque moveset
  • Plusle and Minun are like two Pichus, with some tweaks
  • Dark Samus is a semi-clone of Samus, sharing some moves but also having its own Phazon attacks
  • Dixie Kong is a semi-clone of Diddy Kong, sharing some moves but also having her own attacks
  • Captain Toad can't jump, but can still perform aerials and has a Propeller Block recovery that doesn't leave him in helpless
  • King K. Rool uses all his outfits from the various DKC games
  • Masked Link uses the Masks from Majora's Mask
  • Impa is a mixture of Zelda and Sheik
  • Waddle Dee has a spear copter and other spear-based attacks
  • Ridley is big and has unique attacks; clumsy on the ground, but great in the air; opposite of Little Mac
  • Greninja is now a Trainer Pokemon, along with the other Gen 6 starters
  • Dillon has a lot of spin-type attacks; as a side note, Sonic has some more unique attacks such as the Light Speed Dash and the Boost
  • Takamaru has his AT attacks as well as others from his game
  • Krystal has the staff attacks Fox had when using her staff
  • Lyn is quick and relies on combos to get her damage dealt
  • Alph is a clone of Olimar; only uses Rock Pikmin
  • Inkling is similar to my MYM entry
  • Wonder Red uses all of the weapons from TW101, but on a smaller scale
  • Magnus uses his AT moves along with others from KI:U
  • Rayman uses his attacks from Legends for his standards and has elements from the older games, as well as Peach-esque helicopter hair
  • Maxwell writes many different objects to fight with and can apply adjectives to both himself and opponents
I really want this to be real. Only thing I would change is Captain Toad not being able to jump. Maybe instead of him wearing his backpack, he can take it out for aerials or something. I think it would be too difficult for kids only having a Propeller Block to get him into the air IMO.
 

Munomario777

Smash Master
Joined
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Messages
3,253
Location
Charleston, South Carolina
3DS FC
0387-9596-4480
Switch FC
SW-8229-3157-8114
I really want this to be real. Only thing I would change is Captain Toad not being able to jump. Maybe instead of him wearing his backpack, he can take it out for aerials or something. I think it would be too difficult for kids only having a Propeller Block to get him into the air IMO.
I'm actually working on an entry for Captain Toad over at Make Your Move 16, and I think I've found a way to make it work. It should be up later today, and I'll link to it in the roster post when it's finished. :)

EDIT: It's finished; check the original roster post! :)
 
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YoshiandToad

Smash Hero
Joined
Dec 24, 2001
Messages
7,110
Location
Still up Peach's dress.
Superunironicrosterextrodainaire.png


The Roster. Newcomers in red.

Newcomers:
Line 1: Mario bias. Screw the naysayers, Toad's seriously overdue. Captain Toad(and alt Toadette) is ready to fight with his backpack full of goodies and a weight alteration gimmick. Waluigi is a Wario rep despite never appearing in a Wario game, because Sakurai's logic remains. Paper Mario to finish off, and Daisy becomes a legit alt for Peach and all Mario fans win. Except Geno fans. And Doc fans.

Line 2: Zelda bias. Adding Impa for a real Sheikah member, and Tingle and Vaati to expand the Toon universe so Toon Link isn't such a depressed loner, and the former doubles to annoy the west. Dark Pit is cut and made into an alt for Pit, and Medusa gets in instead. Has petrification stun and summons underworld minions to fight.

Line 3: Gen 1 bias. Meowth and Blastoise. The latter is one of the more popular Pokemon on the planet(usually lagging behind only Zard and Mewtwo) and the former is the anime representative we should of got. A mech and trap fighter.
Ridley is also added to finally appease the west.

Line 4: Mostly Western influence. Dixie Kong and K. Rool are no brainers, and Rayman is a worthy third party. Wolf returns due to popularity an Slippy is included as a Dan Hibiki to Fox's Ryu, Falco's Ken and Wolf's Akuma.

Line 5: Single rep series increase. Falcon, Ness and Mac aren't so lonely as we gain Samurai Goroh(More swords), Lucas returns and Porky comes in as a mech user(see Crusade) and Doc gets hands on with Mac's training. Bomberman rounds out the third parties. Whilst not from a series with only one previous playable character; Bandana Dee joins the rest of the Kirby crew so we can put it to bed.

Line 6. New Series only. Golden Sun is kind of overdue, so come on in Isaac. Inkling has a ton of fun moveset potential, and Dillon is probably still the best eShop character out there(sorry Shovel Knight).


Notes: First video would include the original 8 + Wario fighting one another, when they're suddenly stopped in their tracks by a familiar noise.
"KOO LIM PAH!" They turn to face the dreaded opponent. Link reels back in fear.

TINGLE JOINS THE BATTLE
Gameplay footage of Tingle using bombs, balloons and explosions, before cutting back to CG footage as a stray fireball pops his balloon. He falls to the ground, and a sack of rupees drops into Wario's hand.
Wario laughs greedily, placing a foot on Tingle's head smooshing him into the ground, before the rupee sack is grabbed by a potted pirahna plant. Wario looks over in disbelief, as the rupees are thrown into the backpack of a familiar face. Captain Toad smiles holding the potted piranha plant.

CAPTAIN TOAD JOINS THE BATTLE.
Gameplay footage of the potted piranha plant, the weight alteration gimmick, minecarts and pickaxes. CGI footage of Captain Toad riding the minecart with DK who grins happily. The minecart comes to an abrupt halt, causing Captain Toad and DK to jolt forward. A scaly foot is preventing it from rolling forward.

KING K. ROOL JOINS THE BATTLE
King K. Rool footage rolls of him using his blunderbust and his various outfits.
King K. Rool looms forward, his bloodshot eye becoming the Smash Bros. logo.


May add more later. This is kinda fun.
 

Ragna22

Smash Ace
Joined
Apr 9, 2014
Messages
904
I'd keep the roster we have now but add Simon Belmont, Krystal, Chrom, bring back Wolf, and I'd do some tweaks to the Zelda characters, specifically, Link would be be the SS incarnation with an alternate costume based on Zelda U's Link, Zelda would be in her Twilight Princess design, Sheik would be OOT and Ganondorf would be in his Hyrule Warriors design, that way we're representing a bunch of other Zelda games.

One stage I'd add is a Tetris stage, this stage would play off of the Great Cave Offensive's danger zone rule, the zones would be on a random block that falls, and the longer the fight goes on, the faster the blocks drop. That may sound like the worst stage ever...it is but that's what I'd want.

And finally there's only one game mode I'd add and it's Project M's All-Star mode, or as I like to call it, King of Fighters mode, or in this case it'd be called King of Smashers and I'd even make it so you can change the order of your characters via a sub menu in the chqracter select screen, maybe even do something similar to Capcom vs. SNK 2 where you can make one team member stronger at the cost of taking away some of the power of your other members.
 

Greda

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Apr 14, 2014
Messages
366
Slower than Brawl with tripping x10 and rated M featuring Bayonetta being SSS Tier.
 

MajorMajora

Smash Ace
Joined
Jul 15, 2014
Messages
709
True All-Star: If you beat All-Star fast enough, you unlock this. You face off against final smashes of fighters: Giga Bowser, Giga Mac, Fierce Deity Link, etc., as well as all of the killable assist trophies in the same style as Kirby's mini boss rush parts of the Arena.

Oh, and FD link is his new final smash. Toon Link can keep Triforce slash.
 

ATH_

Smash Ace
Joined
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Messages
757
Location
California
3DS FC
0963-0267-2548
Switch FC
6592-1642-9705
Smash 4's Engine with a bit more speed with Fastfalling, Jumping, other things, and generally less landing lag on more moves.
Have Melee's air dodge to allow Wave Dashing.
Add in certain techniques from Melee such as L-Cancelling.

Make sure there are a large amount of competitively viable stages and just as many casual stages. Tender the game towards both audiences giving them the options.
Have a Hazards Off button.

Include many past stages with several tweaks, I'll probably edit my original post with all the stuff I have planned including this junk.
 
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