Characters Who Changed Super Smash Bros Forever

It’s truly impressive just how many iconic characters developer Masahiro Sakurai was able to add to the roster of the Super Smash Bros. games. However, while most of these fighters seemed like suitable fits, there were some who ended up drastically changing the course of the series, mostly for good, but sometimes for worse, too, making them rather infamous in the eyes of many fans.

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With that being said, though, considering how incredible of a game Super Smash Bros. Ultimate truly is, the role these characters played in molding Smash into what it would eventually become definitely shouldn’t be ignored. Therefore, it’s time to reflect on the fighters who ended up changing the Super Smash Bros. series forever, to understand how exactly they made such a big impact when they were announced and eventually released.

6

Steve

Steve’s Bizarre Fighting Style Forced Everyone Else To Adapt

• First Introduced: Super Smash Bros Ultimate

Undoubtedly one of the most controversial characters to ever be introduced to Super Smash Bros, Minecraft Steve caused a lot of problems when he was eventually released into the wild. Because Sakurai aims to keep his characters as faithful to their original iteration as possible, it means that, in the middle of an intense battle, Steve can craft and even build around the stage in any way he can imagine, just like his original game.

The reason this was such a game-changer is because of how unorthodox his fighting style is, to the point that it essentially forces every other player to adapt their playstyle to have any chance of countering him. In many ways, it feels as though Steve is playing an entirely different game to everyone else, and he would have a huge impact on the competitive side of Smash Ultimate, resulting in many players using characters they never would have even thought of, just in an attempt to beat Steve.

5

Mii Fighter

Anyone Can Join The Fight

• First Introduced: Super Smash Bros Wii-U & 3DS

It honestly was a little bizarre that Mii Fighters were not already in a Smash game back on the Nintendo Wii, but they were finally announced during a Nintendo conference for Super Smash Bros. on the Wii U and 3DS. This was an especially important announcement because, up to this point, only known video game characters were able to make it onto the roster, whereas now, literally anybody could join in.

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Mii Fighters would go on to become some of the most popular characters in Smash Ultimate, which makes sense since they allow players to live out their dreams of jumping into an intense match of Smash for themselves. It also drastically improved the accessibility of the game, appealing to gamers who may otherwise have been interested in Smash at all.

4

Bayonetta

A Character Too Strong For Her Own Good, Who Made It Clear That Balancing Was Necessary

• First Introduced: Super Smash Bros Wii-U & 3DS

The Wii U and 3DS versions of Super Smash Bros saw a steady release of DLC characters who were all very well received, and while Cloud did admittedly feel a bit too powerful at first, the fact that he was in the game at all largely overshadowed this. The exception to this trend, however, was Bayonetta, who would be so absurdly overpowered that she would be banned from numerous tournaments and was even booed by audiences during the finals of Evo 2018.

Clearly, Sakurai took note of this, as he would begin an extensive campaign of buffing and nerfing characters in the lead up to Smash Ultimate, including Bayonetta. Additionally, while Smash has always been a casual fighting game, the negative reception garnered from Bayonetta’s abilities made it clear to Nintendo that the game was still viewed from a competitive perspective by many fans. Since Bayonetta’s release, it seems as though Sakurai has dedicated much more time to creating a balanced landscape across the roster, and this is primarily thanks to the Umbra Witch herself.

3

Fox

Fox Proved Just How Quick And Exciting Melee Can Truly Be

• First Introduced: Super Smash Bros 64

Despite being made as a casual fighting game, it wouldn’t take long before players came to realize that Super Smash Bros. Melee could be played at a professional level, but the character who really made this a reality was Fox. Compared to the rest of the roster, Fox possesses incredible speed and mobility, resulting in him single-handedly changing the way many people viewed the moment-to-moment gameplay.

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Smash Melee was already fast, but Fox took this to a whole new level, and this would ultimately be what encouraged Sakurai to tinker with the pace of the gameplay in future installments. While there are obviously many popular characters in Melee who are used at a professional level, Fox is the one many credit for not only showing the true potential of Melee as a game, but also for setting the basis of how fast a Smash game can be played.

2

Pichu

The First Full Clone Character Who Opened The Floodgates For Others

• First Introduced: Super Smash Bros 64

While it can be easy to brush Luigi off as little more than a joke character, when looking back in hindsight, Mario’s timid and naive brother is actually extremely influential. Luigi was technically the first clone character in the franchise who plays largely similar to Mario, albeit with a slightly different dash attack and down tilt ability. However, it was clear that Luigi was essentially designed as a quirky reskin of his brother, which would kick off a trend that lasts all the way up to the most recent entry in the franchise.

Since his introduction, there have been a plethora of clone characters who have also taken the move sets of other fighters on the roster, including the likes of Daisy, Dark Samus, and Dark Pit. While Luigi may not be an echo fighter in the same sense as some of the other characters, the fact that he was still designed to be a clone is a concept that would carry throughout Smash for many years after.

1

Snake

Snake’s Introduction Proved That Anyone Can Make It In

• First Introduced: Super Smash Bros Brawl

While it was obviously a huge moment seeing Solid Snake revealed as a member of the Super Smash Bros. Brawl roster, there is a deeper reason why so many people were ecstatic upon seeing him pop out from his cardboard box. Snake was officially the first third-party character to feature in a Smash game, so the fact Kojima gave the go-ahead for him to be included made players realize that the floodgates had truly been opened for anyone to step in, no matter what franchise they hailed from.

It goes without saying that there would eventually be an entire catalog of third-party fighters that would make it into Smash, with Sonic being the first to enter not long after Snake’s debut. Considering how protective Nintendo is known to be of its first-party franchises, introducing a character who hails from Konami was definitely a big risk, but when looking at the staggering number of iconic characters who would end up joining the future installments, it was certainly one that paid off in the end.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Systems

9/10

Released

December 7, 2018

ESRB

E for Everyone: Cartoon Violence, Comic Mischief, Suggestive Themes

Publisher(s)

Nintendo

Engine

Proprietary Engine