It's that time of console generation where the next entry in Super Smash Brothers is right around the corner. With the full character roster leaked from the Japanese release, a demo in some parts of the wild, and less than three weeks until the release of Smash 3DS, the excitement couldn't be at a higher level for me. What better way to get everyone more excited about the new Smash than by talking about my favorite parts of previous games?
Today's Top 10 is all about the characters I love to play as the most. Characters are the most important part of Smash, and what people argue about the most. These are the characters I hope to play as when I throw my choice on the Random selection, the characters I've come to know over my years of Smash, and the characters I was glad to see return/bummed to see them gone. These are my favorite characters in Smash.
10. Luigi
Luigi is one of the weirder characters in Smash. While some might have thought him to be a Mario clone, he has many notable differences that make him a fun character to play as. With a different side-b, down-b (in Brawl and Smash 4), and different a attacks, he's a different character when you get down deep into his game. But what makes Luigi one of my favorite characters is his taunt- the "Weegee kick" that can kill players hanging off of ledges. It's so ridiculous, risky, and rare that it's worth using the taunt 100 times just for one kick to kill your opponent at a crucial moment. His Final Smash, Negative Zone, is also worth mentioning, as it is one of the most bizarre smashes in the game.
9. Ike
Because I fight for my friends.
One of the slower characters on this list, Ike makes up for his lack of speed with a lot of power. His smashes can kill at very low percents, with his side smash being able to kill around 50%. Given that the rest of his moves deal out a lot of damage, it's easy to kill other players easily when playing as Ike. That said, his recovery move (Aether) is a very hit and miss move, with him either surviving or dying far away from the edge. His specials aren't the most useful, but his regular smashes more than make up for this specials. His weight is a good thing, as he can shrug off most attacks that will send other combatants flying off into a KO. His Final Smash, Great Aether, is one of the most flashy attacks in the game, gives lots of damage, and has a ton of knockback.
8. Dr. Mario
While this clone might seem like a costume change, the good Dr. Mario feels a lot different than Mario. Mario is the most average character in Smash, with average power, speed, and moves, Dr. Mario shakes things up a little. Dr. Mario has a tiny decrease in speed for a small raise in power, and it makes a large difference surprisingly. Dr. Mario shares all of the same moves as Mario, with the exception of a cosmetic change of his standard special move from a fireball to a pill. I can't quite put my finger on why I enjoy playing as Dr. Mario so much more than Mario. His smashes seem to have more power than Mario's, but I'm not sure.
7. Lucario
So much better than Mewtwo.
Many people, myself not included, were bitter about the inclusion of Lucario over Mewtwo in Brawl. While I can understand some being bitter about Mewtwo not being in Brawl, I thought Lucario to be a much better version of Mewtwo in multiple ways. Lucario is a very unique Smash fighter, as he has the unique ability of having his power grow throughout the match. The more Lucario takes damage, the stronger most of his attacks get. His standard special, Aura Sphere, doubles it's diameter when Lucario is at a higher percentage. Add that in with a great recovery, strong smashes, and you have yourself a very solid fighter. He's lower on the list because his Final Smash is rather lackluster, being very easy to avoid on almost every single stage.
6. Snake
Snake's inclusion in Brawl wasn't that big of a deal to me at the time, mainly because I didn't know who he was or what series he came from. It's only now, looking back at the reveal, that I can really appreciate his inclusion in the game, even though I still haven't played a Metal Gear game. Snake plays different than any other character in the game, mainly using explosives as his weapon of choice. Snake can plant land mines in the ground to execute a sneak attack with, attack others from afar with his rocket launcher, and can plant and explode explosives at will. With his recovery ability, incredibly strong smash attacks, and an amazing Final Smash, he's a solid character. But my favorite part about him is his taunt. I just love pulling a cardboard box over myself after killing my rival. It's one of my favorite taunts in the game.
5. Captain Falcon
SHOW ME YOUR MOVES!
While I haven't been playing Captain Falcon for very long, I enjoy the combination of speed and power that he has. I'm more familiar with his toned-down Brawl version, but even in Brawl Captain Falcon is a fun character to play as. Most obviously, there are his "Falcon Punch" and "Falcon Kick" moves that are famous everywhere. Especially in his Falcon Punch, these moves are a big risk-reward gamble. If you hit, you deal massive damage and send your opponent flying across the stage, but you get the satisfaction of finally connecting a Falcon Punch. Especially in Melee, Falcon has a great aerial game, due to his famous "Knee of Justice," a move that becomes more powerful the closer it is to Captain Falcon's knee. His Final Smash is also really satisfying, and able to kill multiple enemies at low percents, if you can get close to the other players.
4. Link
I know that many people do not think highly of Link's state in Smash Bros. Often times, he's not the best character, with many other characters surpassing him in speed with the same amount of power. I will not deny that that is true. Often times, he feels sluggish, but he is still one of the most powerful and versatile characters in the game. Given that he has the arsenal of every single Zelda game at his disposal, Link has a lot of ways that he can approach battle. His arrows reach far and deal nice chip damage, his bombs are surprisingly good range attacks, and his Gale Boomerang allows you to pull in other characters while you charge up a good smash attack. His Final Smash is incredibly flashy, and gives a great deal of knockback to whomever is caught in this Triforce smash.
3. Lucas
I've been playing as Lucas since he was first introduced in Brawl's Subspace Emissary, one of my favorite parts of that game. I'll be honest in the fact that I have never enjoyed playing as Ness in any Smash game. His yo-yo just didn't fit my style of play, it always felt off and not powerful enough. But something about Lucas just fit with me. While he looks like a clone of Ness at first glance, Lucas is a lot different due to a moveset that focuses more on his Psi moves. PK Pulse is replaced with PK Freeze, a move that has a lot of range and can freeze your opponent, giving you the opportunity to get a great smash in. His up special has the projectile PK Thunder used again, except that it can hit an enemy multiple times, instead of dissipating once it hits an opponent. My favorite move of his by far is his up smash, a slow but INCREDIBLY powerful move that can kill at incredibly low percents. His Final Smash, like Ness's, is PK Starstorm. Again, Lucas outclasses Ness again, with a Starstorm that has a lot more comets falling from the sky, increasing the chance you have of knocking an opponent off the stage.
2. Toon Link
Toon Link is an amazingly diverse character character. With speed, range, ability to block some projectiles, and quite a bit of power, he's an easy choice for my second favorite character. One of his more valuable skills is that he's fairly easy to learn how to play as for someone new to Smash Bros. His Final Smash is fairly easy to execute, and causes lots of damage to whoever gets caught by the Triforce. His greatest strength is being well rounded, as he seems to be a perfectly balanced character. He's a much better version of Link, whom I have already declared my affections for in this blog.
1. Wolf
Wolf is unpredictable. Even after playing as him for over two years, my friends can never remember that he has a lot more range and moves a lot faster than most people think. His side smash is one of the farthest reaching in the game, his up special can go in any direction and adds a small kick to the end of it, his down special can be used as a counter, and his up smash is an amazing kill move. Throw in the Landmaster, the most unfair Final Smash in the game, and you have a K.O. machine. While Some might prefer Fox for his speed, Falco for him being the middle man, Wolf has enough speed in attacking and movement, with a dodge speed above many other characters. He has a lot of power in almost all of his attacks, with his smash attacks attacking hard, fast, and far.
Since Smash is a game that fits a variety of playstyles, you most likely don't agree with all of my choices, or have your own favorite characters to play with. Share in the comment section below, and until next time,
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