Lucas (SSBB)

Lucas in Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Universe	EarthBound
Availability	Starter
Final Smash	PK Starstorm
Tier	E (30)

Lucas (リュカ, Lucas) is a playable character and newcomer in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, becoming the second installment in EarthBound characters. He is the main character of Mother 3, the Japan-only sequel to EarthBound. Lucas' special moves are similar to Ness', but his physical attacks are almost all completely different. He relies on his PSI powers far more than Ness, using them for all but his forward smash, up aerial, down tilt, and standard combo attacks.

Lucas uses Duster's Rope Snake from Mother 3 to perform a tether recovery. The Rope Snake is also a taunt, where Lucas looks at the snake and argues with it. Lucas also utilizes Duster's Rope Snake for his grabs, giving him a ranged grab, much like Link, Toon Link, Samus, and Olimar. Like Ness, all of his special moves, as well as his Final Smash, derive from in-game attacks that are instead learned by another character, in his case, Kumatora, not Lucas himself.

Lucas currently ranks 30th on the tier list at the very bottom of Lower-Mid tier and the lowest rank of the newcomers. Lucas possesses above average speed and mobility, as well as very powerful smash attacks with fast start-up (forward smash) or very large disjointed hitboxes (up and down smashes), a great and versatile recovery with several options, fast attacks, and multiple attacks that can setup additional blows effectively. However, Lucas possesses a subpar aerial game with some problematic aerial moves (such as B-air) or aerials that are just inferior compared to what other characters possess, a lack of KO moves outside his smash attacks (limiting his versatility in being able to finish off an opponent), and a rather poor grab game, possessing a low reaching tether grab (relative to his peers like Olimar) and lacking any effective setup throws outside of low percents. His most major flaw though, which is often cited as the reason for his low tier placement, is the 10 additional frames of lag he suffers when grab released on the ground, similar to his semi-clone, Ness. This makes him vulnerable to grab release followups from nearly every character, as well as a 0-death grab release and an infinite grab release from Marth and Donkey Kong respectively. Overall, Lucas has generally poor matchups (with four especially terrible due to serious grab release issues from Marth, Snake, and Donkey Kong, giving him several hard counters, while being even with the lower-tiered Bowser due to the aforementioned problem), and poor tournament results.

Attributes

Lucas is a character with some slow but strong attacks that have large hitboxes, and average dashing speed. His aerials are generally quick and disjointed (most notably F-air and D-air), and his back and down aerials can meteor smash opponents. Note that both of his two aerial meteor smashes are hard to hit with in the fact that they can only meteor smash an enemy downwards at a certain point of the attack (the tip of his foot for his back aerial, 4th and final kick for his down aerial, which is easier to land but weaker).

His smashes are very strong: His up smash can be charged for massive damage and vertical knockback, as well as having a gigantic hitbox, his forward smash is a strong and reasonably quick smash attack that also reflects projectiles (like Ness' forward smash), and his down smash is very strong and can hit three times, but has a bit of startup lag. Two of his smash attacks (up smash and down smash) tend to have enough ending lag to be easily punished in most situations, leaving him using only his forward smash for easy on-stage kills, which becomes too predictable for KO use. However, his down-smash is among the highest damaging in the game, alongside Ice Climbers, but all three hits would only typically connect if the opponent has some form of knockback resistance or is on the platform in Smashville and if an opponent is vulnerable, up smash makes a very easy and quick KO.

Two of his special moves can be “controlled”, PK Freeze and PK Thunder. This means that these attacks both leave Lucas very vulnerable because he cannot move or attack when controlling these projectiles, except for using the projectiles themselves to defend him. PK Thunder is Lucas’ main recovery move. If it hits Lucas, it will shoot him in an angle depending on the part of Lucas's body which it hits, and will deal a large amount of damage if most or all of its hits connect. It also deals reasonable knockback, but is a bad approach. PK Thunder normally goes through enemies and objects, but it can still be interrupted by certain attacks (hurting PK Thunder Recovery). PK Freeze can be controlled from side to side and can freeze opponents and do a good amount of damage if "charged", but the vertical nature of its knockback limits its use. His side special, PK Fire, is a single hit move that pushes Lucas back a little, making it great for Wavebouncing. It can also be used to Zap Jump, which gives Lucas’s recovery a substantial boost. His down special, PSI Magnet, can absorb energy based projectiles, such as Ray Gun bullets, Fire Breath and even Pikachu's Thunder, and if it used right after PK Fire, can push him back even further (a technique called the Magnet Pull), giving him a great horizontal recovery. His grab range is great and is far longer than many characters' range since it is a tether, but it is quite laggy if missed, however his Pivot Grab is much less laggier. His throws are also powerful with good KO potential (relative to other throws), most notably Down Throw (though Up Throw KOes soon after and comes out faster, and Back Throw can be dangerous if the opponent is too slow to react). In addition, his second jump is the 3rd highest in the game, falling a little shy of Ness who is also exceeded by Yoshi. As stated above, the jump can be significantly lengthened by performing a PK Fire 1 frame after a midair jump has been inputted.

Lucas is known for having a good lock setup; if a grounded opponent is hit with the last two hits of Down Aerial, it becomes incredibly hard to tech the last hit, allowing for a quick Down tilt lock, and then a finisher, which is almost always an immediate Forward smash, the most common, or a charged Up smash, both are guaranteed if performed right but the Forward smash is easier and has almost no risk of failure. This adds to Lucas' limited KO possibilities.

Overall, Lucas benefits from a high double-jump, powerful and quick Forward smash, high damaging and powerful up and down smashes, long range grabs and strong throws, the best pummel (damage-wise), a good recovery move in PK Thunder 2, which when used correctly, gives good recovery distance and a very versatile angle of recovery, and advanced techniques such as Magnet Pull, Zap Jump, Z-Air Jump, Wave zap and Thundersliding. However, being a victim of 0-death grab releasing by Marth is a major flaw in his game (not to mention Donkey Kong's infinite). He, like Ness, suffers from 10 additional frames of lag when he escapes from grabs, enough to be dash re-grabbed by many characters (although the timing is strict) or open for certain attacks (some, but not many, characters can easily followup with a strong attack, especially Marth, Donkey Kong, and Wario, among others.) He is fairly floaty, and his smash attacks are slow. However he has a hard to gimp recovery, since his PK Thunder can travel through opponents, requires less space, and he has many more options, including Zap Jump, Magnet Pull, and Z-air or Z-air jump (done by buffering a jump after an aerial's lag time, then air dodging as soon as possible and using Zair immediately after).

Moveset

Ground attacks

Normal

• Neutral attack - Kicks with his right leg twice, then does a spinkick with his left. Very fast, as the hitbox comes out on the second frame. Three hits doing 3%, 3%, then 4% for a max of 10%. All hits have surprising disjointed reach.
• Dash attack - Lucas slides forward, shooting PSI energy out of his hands. Has unusally high startup lag for a dash attack (17-22 frames), but decent range. 12% normally, 10% if hit at the tip.
• Forward tilt - Lucas does a back hand and creates a shock of PSI. Can be aimed up or down slightly. If aimed down, it can trip foes. Does 11% normally, 9% if the opponent is a bit behind Lucas. Has a few IASA frames. Hits on frame 6-10.
• Up tilt - Lucas does a one-handed stand flipkick charged with PSI. Can chain into itself at lower damage percentages. Two hits of 3%, then 8% for a max of 11%. Hits on frame 4-18.
• Down tilt - Lucas crouches and spins with his leg out. The tip of this attack trips. This can be used multiple times in a row, like Ness' Strong Down, then be chained into a fast attack. Is surprisingly disjointed, with the hitbox extending to half a character length past Lucas. Only the disjointed hitbox trips, with a high trip rate. It semi-spikes opponents, but due to its extremely low knockback, it is only noticeable at extremely high percentages. Does 6%. Start-up of 3-5 frames. This can lock opponents.

Smash attacks

• Forward smash - Lucas swings his stick. Like Ness' Forward Smash, it is a reflector, but is faster (14-17 frames) yet weaker (only when compared with Ness' Fsmash sweetspot). Regardless, it still has good knockback and is a potent finisher due to less angled knockback and very high knockback scaling. 15% uncharged, 21% fully charged.
• Up smash - Lucas releases a burst of PSI that erupts above his head, but also hits to the sides and damages any breakable floors Lucas may be standing on. It has slow start-up (hits on frame 28-53, a little more than Down Smash) and leaves horrid lag (47 frames) afterwards rendering it very easily punished. It is however compensated by its extremely large knockback and range, it is the second strongest up smash in the game (only Ivysaur's up smash is stronger). At the same time, its range is wide enough to hit two character lengths to the side of him, and able to hit foes on the very top platform of Battlefield from the bottom. When fully charged, it can KO at 48%. Two hits of 2% (does not connect if opponent is far away), then 19% for a max of 21% uncharged, 27% for a max of 29% fully charged.
• Down smash - Lucas points at the ground in front of him, "shooting" three bursts of PSI energy at his feet. Though each hit is progressively weaker, their hitboxes gradually grow. It is unlikely that two of the hits will connect on the same enemy. Great for edgeguarding. The third hit has a chance of tripping foes at low %. Has minimal protection from behind, thus leaving Lucas very vulnerable. Three hits of 17%, 14%, then 11% uncharged, 23%, 20%, then 15% fully charged, for a total of 58%. If this move was used while he is on a destructible platform, the destruction of the platform would cause him to be in the air and the attack ends without lag. It is very possible to hit with more than one hit if Lucas is on a moving platform, like the one on Smashville or if the opponent has a slow motion effect on themself. First hit on frame 20-22, second hit on frame 29-31 and final hit on frame 33-35. Note that this down smash, along with Zero Suit Samus's, are the only ones in the game that only hit one side of the character.

Other attacks

• Ledge attack - Lucas flips onto the stage, then does a sweep kick. 8%.
• 100% ledge attack - Lucas slowly climbs up with his fist drawn back, then delivers a powerful punch. 10%.
• Floor attack - Lucas gets up and spins on one hand while sticking a leg out. 6%.
• Trip attack - Lucas gets up on his hands and kicks backwards, then thrusts his legs between his arms in a kick forward. 5%.

Aerial attacks

• Neutral aerial - Lucas spins in a gyro pattern with PSI energy around him with the last hit having decent knockback. Lucas' fastest aerial (start-up of 5 frames and very low cooldown). If used in a short hop without the last hit connecting, he can set up a lock at early percentages by footstooling his opponent and immediately using Zair or PSI Magnet to cancel his vertical momentum while facing the same direction as his opponent. Seven hits of 2%, then a hit of 3% for a total of 17% damage. This move is well known for diminishing shields and being quite safe on a shield when applied properly.
• Forward aerial - Lucas kicks his foot forward with PSI. Hits on frame 9-16. Can be auto-canceled. Does 12% normally, 10% if the enemy is a bit behind Lucas, 8% if the enemy is hit with the final frames of the move.
• Back aerial - Lucas thrusts his feet behind him and hooks them downwards with a stream of small PSI. Knocks backwards, if one hits with the tip of his foot or the final hexagon during the attack's animation, it is a decent meteor smash. Regular, non-meteor smash, knockback is extremely low. 10% if sourspotted, 7% during last frames, 12% if sweetspotted. Hitbox out on frame 15 until frame 21.
• Up aerial - Moves upwards a little and does a headbutt, decent knockback. Has quite a bit of ending lag. 13% damage. Hits on frame 5-10.
• Down aerial - Lucas thrusts his feet downwards and creates several quick-flashing PSI energy. A four-hit attack. The fourth hit can meteor smash weakly and can also set up a lock using his down tilt, followed by a smash attack, if the opponent does not tech the meteor smash. The meteor smash hitbox of the fourth hit can be avoided if the Control Stick is held up while a player is being hit by the first three hits. The attack does not link very properly, due to the first three hits having vertical knockback. However, due to the Sandbag's high falling speed and weight, all four hits usually connect. If followed by a fast fall, it can be done again, so it can rack up a lot of damage in the Home-Run Contest. Up to 20% damage if all hits connect. Although it has the fastest start-up (4 frames) of his aerials, it possesses considerable ending lag if it is not autocanceled.
• Grab aerial - Lucas thrusts his Rope Snake forward. No damage; for recovery purposes only. It can eliminate all landing lag when used in short hops. If he footstools his opponent and immediately use this move to autocancel while facing the same direction as his opponent, he can set up a lock at early percentages.

Grabs and throws

All of his throws can KO at high percent.

• Grab - Pulls out his Rope Snake which extends and grabs the opponent. Long range and less laggy than other tether grabs, especially his pivot grab.
• Pummel - Headbutts the foe. One of the fastest pummels in the game. When done in the correct rhythm, it deals 9% per second, the best pummel in the game. Does 3% each hit.
• Forward throw - Psychokinetically tosses opponent ahead. Can KO at high percent if used near the ledge. 10% damage.
• Back throw - Psychokinetically blasts opponent back. Very high KO potential. One of the strongest back throws in the game. 10% damage.
• Up throw - Psychokinetically tosses opponent straight up. Can KO at high percent. 10% damage.
• Down throw - Psychokinetically slams opponent down, and stomps on the opponent. 7% damage. High vertical knockback. This is Lucas' strongest throw and it is the strongest down throw in the game. Combines with Up tilt until early % (around 11-20).

Special moves

Lucas's special moves

Neutral special	PK Freeze
Side special	PK Fire
Up special	PK Thunder
Down special	PSI Magnet
Final Smash	PK Starstorm

Taunts

• Up taunt - Lucas trips, shakes his head, and gets back up.
• Down taunt - Lucas creates PSI sparks with his fingers, moving his arms in a sideways motion.
• Side taunt - Duster's Rope Snake taps him on the shoulder and has a brief conversation with Lucas, as Lucas shrugs towards it.

Victory poses

• Is found kneeling on the ground holding his stick, before turning to face the camera with a "hm?"
• Swishes PSI hexagons in the air with his finger.
• Pulls one of the Seven Needles out of the ground.

Idle poses

• Tap the edge of both of his shoes' edge to the ground.
• Cowardly shaking his fist hand in front of his body.

Cheer

Lucas' NTSC and PAL cheer

Lu cas!

Brawl manual description

A youth with pronounced psychic powers. His PK-based attacks hit hard.

In competitive play

Matchups

Super Smash Bros. Brawl Character Matchups

Avg.

Notable players

See also: Category:Lucas professionals (SSBB)

•  FAE
•  Mekos
•  Pink Fresh
•  Taiheita

Tier placement and history

Lucas' 10 extra frames of lag while being grab released, and the extensive chain grabbing it allowed, was discovered very early on in Brawl competitive play. As a result, Lucas perpetually floundered between 27th-30th on the tier list in the low tiers, with minimal tournament results and a small playerbase, since the very beginning of Brawl. Lucas had a few dedicated and highly notable players however, most significantly Mekos, who managed to get unusually high tournament placings with a percieved low tier character; the pinnacle of such being Mekos placing 9th at SKTAR, which was only the second time (after San at Apex 2010) that a player would place in the top ten at a national using a percieved low tier character (and this would be the last time in Brawl that a low tier player would place that high at a national).

The propensity of the aforementioned Lucas players to place significantly higher than their low tier brethren and the best players of some higher ranked characters, as well as occasionally taking sets off of big name players using high tier characters, led to many players believing Lucas was underrated and not the low tier he was always ranked as. While the BBR would finally formally move Lucas out of the low tier in their latest tier list after having ranked him a low tier for five years, they didn't actually increase his placing and he remains only one spot removed out of their low tier at his perpetual 30th ranking. The Japanese however rank Lucas a bit higher on their tier list, ranking 24th there in their middle tiers.

Role in The Subspace Emissary

Lucas in the Subspace Emissary

Lucas is seen walking alone in an abandoned zoo, until several Primids show up. Then, suddenly, the gigantic Porky Statue appears and chases after Lucas. Lucas runs from it, until he gets caught in a snag and is about to be crushed when Ness comes to his rescue by attacking the statue with a PK Thunder. Ness blows up the Porky Statue with his PK Flash, which reveals Porky Minch himself (based on his Mother 3 appearance). Ness and Lucas defeat him, but no sooner do they do so when Wario shows up and attempts to shoot Ness with his Dark Cannon. Ness dodges each time, so Wario eventually aims at Lucas and shoots. Ness pushes Lucas out of the way and gets turned into a trophy himself. Terrified, Lucas runs away as Wario cackles in the rain.

Later on, Lucas runs into the Pokémon Trainer as more Primids show up. After they are defeated, the Pokémon Trainer leaves, but Lucas decides to join him after remembering what happened to Ness. Lucas and the Trainer encounter and defeat Wario in the desert wastelands outside of an abandoned temple, but Lucas gets depressed when Ness is still nowhere to be seen. Along the way, the Pokémon Trainer catches Ivysaur and Charizard. After Charizard is caught, Galleom falls into the ruins, having been knocked down there by Marth, Meta Knight, and Ike. A battle ensues between Lucas, the Pokémon Trainer, and Galleom.

After the battle, Galleom grabs Lucas and the Pokémon Trainer, jumping high into the sky and out of the ruins. Galleom then attempts to detonate a Subspace Bomb as a last-ditch effort. Lucas, finally gaining his courage, uses PK Thunder to sever Galleom's arm, causing the two to plummet to the ground. Just before they hit the bottom, Meta Knight grabs the two and takes them to Marth and Ike. When there, Lucas shakes hands with the Trainer as a sign of their friendship.

Lucas and the other heroes confront the Subspace Gunship, and then journey into subspace to battle Tabuu. Lucas is defeated by Tabuu's Off Wave, but later revived by Ness and his companions. He accompanies the heroes into the Great Maze, and can be used to defeat Tabuu at the final battle.

Playable appearances

After The Ruined Hall is completed, Lucas, the Pokemon Trainer, Marth and Ike make brief cameo appearances in The Glacial Peak, The Canyon & The Subspace Bomb Factory (Part II)

• The Ruined Zoo
• Path to the Ruins
• The Ruins
• The Ruined Hall
• Entrance to Subspace
• The Great Maze (if rescued in Subspace (Part I)

Exclusive stickers

Lucas can use any sticker that has a PK attack bonus, similar to Ness, which covers all but his forward smash, down tilt and up aerial. He can also use ice, fire, and electric attack bonuses for his special moves, though Indirect Attack would likely be more effective as using three stickers separately would be inefficient. Lucas's physical attacks are mainly composed of Leg attacks, though his forward tilt is Arm, up aerial is Head and forward smash is Weapon.

Alternate costumes

Trophy

Lucas's trophy is obtained by clearing Classic Mode with Lucas.

Lucas's trophy in Brawl

Description

The younger of twin brothers living in Tazmily Village in the Nowhere Islands. He's a kind boy who can communicate with animals, but he's shy and never really got over the tragedy that struck his mother. He fights a warped dictatorship, hunts the Seven Needles, and crosses swords with his missing brother, Claus. In the end, the young boy with psychic PSI powers grows up.

: Mother 3 (Japan Only)

Trivia

• Ironically, while Lucas' game (Mother 3) was released only in Japan, his in-game voice in Brawl speaks with an American accent, whereas Ness, whose game (EarthBound) was released in North America and takes place in a stand-in for America, speaks using a Japanese accent.
• Oddly, when the Rope Snake is used against a ledge at 1/4 speed, it jerks around while it clings to the ledge and while Lucas is being pulled up. At other speeds, it only jerks around while Lucas is being pulled up (it is unnoticeable at normal speed and 1.5 speed).
  • Also, when Lucas uses the Rope Snake when standing on a ramp or angled platform, Lucas's hair will flatten out.
• Lucas never uses his hands directly to attack, except for his ledge attack (if his damage is more than 100%).
• Lucas's second costume makes him look like Claus, his older twin brother.
• Lucas, Diddy Kong, Fox, Samus, and Pikachu are the only characters in the Subspace Emissary to fight more than 2 bosses (excluding boss re-creations in the Great Maze). Lucas can be chosen to fight Porky Minch at The Ruined Zoo, Galleom at The Ruined Hall, and Tabuu in the final battle at Tabuu's Residence.

External links

• Lucas' page at Smash Bros. DOJO!!
• Lucas' Advance Techniques
• List of Lucas' Advance Techniques
• Lucas' hitbox size of each of his moves