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[[File:UltimateAnnouncerGO!.jpg|thumb|In the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series, all matches officially start when the Announcer says "GO!"]]
[[File:UltimateAnnouncerGO!.jpg|thumb|In the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series, all matches officially start when the Announcer says "GO!"]]
The '''announcer''' ({{ja|ナレーション|Narēshon}}, ''Narration''), called '''narration''' in-game until ''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]'', is an unseen character whose voice is heard in all games of the [[Super Smash Bros. (series)|''Super Smash Bros.'' series]], exclaiming what has happened in the game. The voice is often heard in menus when selecting [[mode]]s and [[fighter]]s, as well as within a match to announce its start and end and other events like a player losing all of their [[stock]]s or [[Share stock|sharing stock]]. It also announces the winner on the [[Victory pose|victory screen]]. The only move in the series to involve the announcer in any way is [[Konga Beat]], [[Donkey Kong]]'s [[Final Smash]] in ''Brawl'' and ''Smash 4'', with the announcer saying "Ready? Go!" upon its activation. All of the announcer's voice clips can be heard in the [[sound test]].
The '''announcer''' ({{ja|ナレーション|Narēshon}}, ''Narration''), called '''Narration''' in-game until ''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]'', is an unseen character that has appeared in all the games of the series, existing to (often but not always) exclaim what is happening in the game or what has happened. Though they have no direct effect on gameplay, the voice does act as an auditory signal for multiple events in the games, both within matches and the various menus (such as saying "Ready? Go!" upon the activation of [[Konga Beat]], [[Donkey Kong]]'s former [[Final Smash]] in ''Brawl'' and ''Smash 4'', which is the only attack in all of the series to involve the Announcer in any way). All of the announcer's voice clips can be heard in the [[sound test]].


The announcer has been voiced by 14 actors to varying degrees, for each game in the series as well as for different regions and [[language]]s. The English voice actor is considered to be the "primary" one in each game and is used by default in [[NTSC]] versions, as well as in Japanese, albeit with some minor differences in his lines, including character names. The English voice actor for the announcer has also always voiced [[Master Hand]] and [[Crazy Hand]].
The identity of the announcer (real or plot-based alias) has never been revealed within any of the games, and his specific role in the series beyond mechanical has never been clarified, if there is one. The voice actor for the announcer has also always voiced [[Master Hand]] and [[Crazy Hand]], but the relationship between the three has never been elaborated on.
 
The announcer has been voiced by 14 actors to varying degrees, for each game in the series as well as for different regions and [[language]]s. The English voice actor is considered to be the "primary" one in each game and is used by default in [[NTSC]] versions, which means he is also used in Japan, albeit with some minor differences in his lines, including character names.


==Announcers==
==Announcers==
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===''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]''===
===''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]''===
Dean Harrington is the main announcer in ''Melee''. He takes on a different inflection than Manning; Harrington yells more similarly to an emcee at a boxing match, with his phrasing often lasting for long periods of time, as well as a generally more intense voice than Manning's. Like Manning, Harrington's voice has an echo filter applied to it; other filters applied to his voice, however, cause Harrington's voice to have a more muffled tone compared to the other announcers. With the introduction of [[Crazy Hand]] in the series, Harrington also began a trend where the announcer also voices Crazy Hand.
Dean Harrington is the second announcer in the series. He takes on a different inflection than Manning; Harrington yells more similarly to an emcee at a boxing match, with his phrasing often lasting for long periods of time, as well as a generally more intense voice than Manning's. Like Manning, Harrington's voice has an echo filter applied to it; other filters applied to his voice, however, cause Harrington's voice to have a more muffled tone compared to the other announcers. With the introduction of [[Crazy Hand]] in the series, Harrington also began a trend where the announcer also voices Crazy Hand.


{{SSBM|Jigglypuff}} has different German and French announcer calls to match its regional names ("Pummeluff" in German, "Rondoudou" in French). Both come from ''{{s|bulbapedia|Pokémon Stadium 2}}'' and were originally done by Kai Taschner (German)<ref>''Pokémon Stadium 2'' credits (German version, under "Stadium Announcer")</ref> and Jean-Claude Donda (French).<ref>''Pokémon Stadium 2'' credits (French version, under "Commentaires")</ref> Both clips are lower in quality compared to the others, but have the same echo filter applied to them.
In the PAL version, when choosing {{SSBM|Jigglypuff}}, a different announcer will say the character's name when the game is set to German or French (the names being "Pummeluff" and "Rondoudou", respectively). The French version is a repurposed voice clip from ''{{s|bulbapedia|Pokémon Stadium 2}}'', thus using the voice of Jean-Claude Donda, the French announcer of said game. The identity of the German announcer is, however, unknown. Unlike the English and Japanese versions, the French and German narration voice clips are very low in quality.


===''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]''===
===''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]''===
{{s|wikipedia|Pat Cashman}} is the main announcer in ''Brawl''. He ended Harrington's emcee style, and in general, his voice is considerably calmer in sound, more akin to Manning. Cashman's voice is not modified to the extent of Manning's or Harrington's, leading to cleaner sound quality from him; Cashman also has a deeper voice than either of his two predecessors. Cashman's voice also features more personality from the announcer, such as his quizzical inflection when the player selects {{SSBB|Luigi}} as a playable character.
{{s|wikipedia|Pat Cashman}} is the third announcer in the series. He ended Harrington's emcee style, and in general, his voice is considerably calmer in sound, more akin to Manning. Cashman's voice is not modified to the extent of Manning's or Harrington's, leading to cleaner sound quality from him; Cashman also has a deeper voice than either of his two predecessors. Cashman's voice also features more personality from the announcer, such as his quizzical inflection when the player selects {{SSBB|Luigi}} as a playable character.


Outside of Cashman's voice, five other individuals voice the announcer in ''Brawl'', for the game's PAL and Korean releases. Achim Barrestein provides the German announcer, Carlos Lobo provides the Spanish announcer, Jean-Louis Faure provides the French announcer, Luigi Fantino provides the Italian announcer, and Choi Han provides the Korean announcer.
Outside of Cashman's voice, five other individuals voice the announcer in ''Brawl'', for the game's PAL and Korean releases. Achim Barrestein provides the German announcer, Carlos Lobo the Spanish announcer, Jean-Louis Faure provides the French announcer, Luigi Fantino provides the Italian announcer, and Choi Han provides the Korean announcer.


Cashman was the oldest announcer, being 58 when he recorded his lines for the game.
Cashman was the oldest announcer, being 58 when he recorded his lines for the game.


===''[[Super Smash Bros. 4]]'' / ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]'' ===
===''[[Super Smash Bros. 4]]'' / ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]'' ===
{{s|wikipedia|Xander Mobus}} is the main announcer in ''Smash 4'' and ''Ultimate''. He acts and sounds similarly to Pat Cashman in ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl'', with his voice being deeper than those of Manning and Harrington, as well as having few filters applied to his voice. Compared to Cashman, however, Mobus's announcer is less relaxed and reserved, though he still does not act as intense as Harrington. Some of Mobus's portrayals also bear similarities with Cashman's, such as a sinister tone when selecting {{SSB4|Bowser}} and {{SSB4|Ganondorf}}.
{{s|wikipedia|Xander Mobus}} is the fourth  announcer in the series. He acts and sounds similarly to Pat Cashman in ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl'', with his voice being deeper than those of Manning and Harrington, as well as having few filters applied to his voice. Compared to Cashman, however, Mobus's announcer is less relaxed and reserved, though he still does not act as intense as Harrington. Some of Mobus's portrayals also bear similarities with Cashman's, such as a sinister tone when selecting {{SSB4|Bowser}} and {{SSB4|Ganondorf}}.


Mobus also provided his voice in the [[Nintendo Direct#Super Smash Bros. for Wii U: 50-Fact Extravaganza|50-Fact Extravaganza presentation for Nintendo Direct]], explicitly introducing himself as "the announcer" and proceeding to narrate the video. He also portrayed the announcer in an [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLu7e8RZoYc overview trailer] for ''Ultimate'' in a similar manner to his performance in the 50-Fact Extravaganza. In this particular video, his voice is deeper than usual and has more of a "growl" when stressing key phrases.
Mobus also provided his voice in the [[Nintendo Direct#Super Smash Bros. for Wii U: 50-Fact Extravaganza|50-Fact Extravaganza presentation for Nintendo Direct]], explicitly introducing himself as "the announcer" and proceeding to narrate the video; he also voices the announcer in a few commercials for the games.


Outside of Mobus's voice, four other announcers voice the announcer in the PAL release of ''Smash 4'', all of whom were retained from ''Brawl'': Achim Barrenstein (German), Carlos Lobo (Spanish), Jean-Louis Faure (French), and Luigi Fantino (Italian). However, they act slightly different than in ''Brawl'': Faure and Lobo's voices are more audible and energetic, Barrenstein plays more powerfully, and Fantino plays more playfully. The Dutch, Portuguese, Korean, and Russian localizations use the English announcer.
Outside of Mobus's voice, four other announcers voice the announcer in the PAL release of ''Smash 4'', all of whom were retained from ''Brawl'': Achim Barrenstein (German), Carlos Lobo (Spanish), Jean-Louis Faure (French), and Luigi Fantino (Italian). However, they act slightly different than in ''Brawl'': Faure and Lobo's voices are more audible and energetic, Barrenstein plays more powerfully, and Fantino plays more playfully. The Dutch, Portuguese, Korean, and Russian localizations use the English announcer.


The Spanish and French announcers also provide voices for the Latin American and Canadian localizations respectively, with subtle differences similar to the ones seen in the English and Japanese versions; for example, [[Rosalina & Luma (SSB4)|Rosalina]] is called "Estela" and "Harmonie" in the respective PAL versions but retains her English name in the NTSC versions. The French announcer also tends to pronounce several character names such as {{SSB4|Bowser}} and {{SSB4|Toon Link}} in a closer way to English, while others such as {{SSB4|Jigglypuff}} and {{SSB4|Corrin}} retain the pronunciation in Parisian French. Meanwhile, the Spanish announcer also differs pronunciations in some way; examples include the differences of intonation for {{SSB4|King Dedede}}, and merged pronunciation of the C's and Z's with S's, such as {{SSB4|Zelda}} pronounced as "'''S'''elda".  
The Spanish and French announcers also provide voices for the Latin American and Canadian localizations respectively, with subtle differences similar to the ones seen in the English and Japanese versions; for example, [[Rosalina & Luma (SSB4)|Rosalina]] is called "Estela" and "Harmonie" in the respective PAL versions but retains her English name in the NTSC versions. The French announcer also tends to pronounce several character names such as {{SSB4|Bowser}} and {{SSB4|Toon Link}} in a closer way to English, while others such as {{SSB4|Jigglypuff}} and {{SSB4|Corrin}} retain the pronunciation in Parisian French. Meanwhile, the Spanish announcer also differs pronunciations in some way; examples include the differences of intonation for {{SSB4|King Dedede}}, and merged pronunciation of the C's and Z's with S's, such as {{SSB4|Zelda}} pronounced as "'''S'''elda".  
Mobus was by far the youngest of the ''Smash Bros.'' announcers, recording his lines for ''SSB4'' at the age of 21, and recording his lines for ''Ultimate'' at 25; the previous three announcers were in their 50s at the time of their respective games' release.


In a series first, Mobus reprises his role as the English and Japanese announcer in ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'' (as well as the voice for both {{SSBU|Master Hand}} and {{SSBU|Crazy Hand}}); he also provides voice clips specific to the Korean language option, while the Chinese options reuse his Japanese voice clips.
In a series first, Mobus reprises his role as the English and Japanese announcer in ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'' (as well as the voice for both {{SSBU|Master Hand}} and {{SSBU|Crazy Hand}}); he also provides voice clips specific to the Korean language option, while the Chinese options reuse his Japanese voice clips.


Some lines are also re-recorded between ''SSB4'' and ''Ultimate'': for example, "Computer player" has more emphasis on "-puter play-" in ''Ultimate'' than in ''SSB4'', and both "Victory" and "[[Tourney]]" are spoken in a drastically energetic tone in ''Ultimate'', compared to the ''SSB4'' versions being spoken in a reserved tone (similar to the latter's ''Brawl'' counterpart). Other lines, however, were reused, such as the names of the playable characters returning from the previous game.
Some lines are also re-recorded between ''SSB4'' and ''Ultimate'': for example, "Computer player" has more emphasis on "-puter play-" in ''Ultimate'' than in ''SSB4'', and both "Victory" and "[[Tourney]]" are spoken in a drastically energetic tone in ''Ultimate'', compared to the ''SSB4'' versions being spoken in a reserved tone (similar to the latter's ''Brawl'' counterpart). Other lines however were reused, such as the names of the playable characters from the previous game.


Additionally, the previous foreign language announcers retain their roles in ''Ultimate'' from ''Brawl'' and ''SSB4'' along with two new, unknown announcers for the Dutch and Russian language options. The Dutch announcer's portrayal somewhat resembles Pat Cashman's voice in ''Brawl'', with more relaxed voice clips similar to the French version. Meanwhile, the Russian announcer's voice is deeper and plays slower than those of the rest of the announcers.
Mobus would portray the Announcer in an [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLu7e8RZoYc overview trailer] for ''Ultimate'' in a similar manner to his performance in the 50-Fact Extravaganza. In this particular video, his voice is deeper than usual and has more of a "growl" when stressing key phrases.
 
Additionally, the previous foreign language announcers retain their roles from ''Brawl'' and ''SSB4'' along with two new, unknown announcers for the Dutch and Russian language options. The Dutch announcer's portrayal somewhat resembles Pat Cashman's voice in ''Brawl'', with more relaxed voice clips similar to the French version. Meanwhile, the Russian announcer's voice is deeper and plays slower than those of the rest of the announcers.


Unlike the previous two announcers, Crazy Hand uses a radically different voice from Master Hand and the announcer, somewhat akin to {{h2|Koopalings|Iggy Koopa}}'s voice clips from the same games.
Unlike the previous two announcers, Crazy Hand uses a radically different voice from Master Hand and the announcer, somewhat akin to {{h2|Koopalings|Iggy Koopa}}'s voice clips from the same games.


In another series first, ''Ultimate'' is the first game in the series to feature an alternate voice for the announcer in the same language, with {{SSBU|Kazuya}} having the ''Tekken 7'' announcer announce his victory on his victory screen instead, voiced by Josh Keller.
In another series first, ''Ultimate'' is the first game in the series to feature an alternate voice for the announcer during a character's win screen, with {{SSBU|Kazuya}} having the ''Tekken 7'' announcer announce his victory instead, voiced by Josh Keller.
 
Mobus was by far the youngest of the ''Smash Bros.'' announcers, recording his lines for ''SSB4'' at the age of 21, and recording his lines for ''Ultimate'' at 25; by comparison, Manning was 43 in 1999, Harrington was 53 in 2001, and Cashman was 58 in 2008.


==Gallery==
==Gallery==
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*In spite of ''Brawl'' using a Korean announcer, ''Ultimate'' uses the English announcer and translates certain names into Korean (such as the {{SSBU|Ice Climbers}} being called "Eol'eum Tagi", the duo's Korean name from ''Brawl'', and {{SSBU|Rosalina & Luma}} having a new announcer call, which refers the former with her English name and the latter as "Chiko", its Japanese name), while using the Japanese translations (such as {{SSBU|Robin}} still being called Reflet) for others.
*In spite of ''Brawl'' using a Korean announcer, ''Ultimate'' uses the English announcer and translates certain names into Korean (such as the {{SSBU|Ice Climbers}} being called "Eol'eum Tagi", the duo's Korean name from ''Brawl'', and {{SSBU|Rosalina & Luma}} having a new announcer call, which refers the former with her English name and the latter as "Chiko", its Japanese name), while using the Japanese translations (such as {{SSBU|Robin}} still being called Reflet) for others.
**''Ultimate''{{'}}s Korean version also mixes English and Japanese announcer clips to accommodate for the language's pronunciation; for instance, {{SSBU|King Dedede}}, {{SSBU|Simon}} and {{SSBU|Richter}} use English pronunciations, while {{SSBU|Lucina}} and {{SSBU|King K. Rool}} use Japanese. Oddly, {{SSBU|R.O.B.}}'s announcer call also uses his Japanese name ("Robot"), despite his English name being displayed in the Korean version.
**''Ultimate''{{'}}s Korean version also mixes English and Japanese announcer clips to accommodate for the language's pronunciation; for instance, {{SSBU|King Dedede}}, {{SSBU|Simon}} and {{SSBU|Richter}} use English pronunciations, while {{SSBU|Lucina}} and {{SSBU|King K. Rool}} use Japanese. Oddly, {{SSBU|R.O.B.}}'s announcer call also uses his Japanese name ("Robot"), despite his English name being displayed in the Korean version.
*In ''Smash 4'', some lines in the German version, such as "Perfect" and "Replay Channel", sound [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7JB_TT2xO4&t=16m54s unusually different] compared to other lines.
*In ''Smash 4'', some lines in the German version, such as "Perfect" and "Replay Channel", sound [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7JB_TT2xO4&t=16m54s unusually different] compared to other lines.
*Oddly, the NTSC French version of ''Smash 4'' and ''Ultimate'' features several minor inconsistencies on the pronunciation of character names. For example, "[[Ice Climbers]]", "[[Roy]]", "[[Toon Link|Link Cartoon]]", "[[Robin|Daraen]]", "[[Koopalings#Larry Koopa|Larry]]", "[[Koopalings#Roy Koopa|Roy]]", "[[Koopalings#Morton Koopa Jr.|Morton]]" and "[[Ryu]]" are pronounced with an "R" which is more akin to the English R, while most other characters (even "[[Rosalina]] & [[Luma]]", with the former referred to as "Harmonie" in the PAL version) are pronounced with a typical "{{s|wikipedia|guttural R}}" in Parisian French, which is prominently used in the PAL version.
*Oddly, the NTSC French version of ''Smash 4'' and ''Ultimate'' features several minor inconsistencies on the pronunciation of character names. For example, "[[Ice Climbers]]", "[[Roy]]", "[[Toon Link|Link Cartoon]]", "[[Robin|Daraen]]", "[[Koopalings#Larry Koopa|Larry]]", "[[Koopalings#Roy Koopa|Roy]]", "[[Koopalings#Morton Koopa Jr.|Morton]]" and "[[Ryu]]" are pronounced with an "R" which is more akin to the English R, while most other characters (even "[[Rosalina]] & [[Luma]]", with the former referred to as "Harmonie" in the PAL version) are pronounced with a typical "{{s|wikipedia|guttural R}}" in Parisian French, which is prominently used in the PAL version.
**[[Corrin]] is a rare case in that they have different pronunciations between regions in the French translation of ''Smash 4'', but use the same pronunciation as ''Smash 4''{{'}}s PAL version in ''Ultimate'' for both regions, albeit re-recorded.
**[[Corrin]] is a rare case in that they have different pronunciations between regions in the French translation of ''Smash 4'', but use the same pronunciation as ''Smash 4''{{'}}s PAL version in ''Ultimate'' for both regions, albeit re-recorded.
*[https://youtu.be/sen_43HXOd4?t=1060 Xander Mobus stated] that despite being the announcer, he was always made unaware of both ''Smash 4'' and ''Ultimate''{{'}}s launch rosters or DLC until their release, since in order to prevents leaks, he records for multiple red herrings and random character names in order to obscure who is being included, such as naming titles, random characters that would never be considered, and non-video game characters. Whether or not this is true for other language announcers or before ''Smash 4'' is unknown.
*[https://youtu.be/sen_43HXOd4?t=1060 Xander Mobus stated] that despite being the announcer, he is unaware of both ''Smash 4'' and ''Ultimate''{{'}}s launch rosters or DLC until their release since in order to prevents leaks, he records for multiple red herrings and random character names in order to obscure who is being included, such as naming titles, random characters that would never be considered, and non-video game characters. Whether or not this is true for other language announcers or before ''Smash 4'' is unknown.
**When recording for {{SSB4|Duck Hunt}} in ''Smash 4'', he was conditioned to believe he was reading it as the title of the NES game and assumed it was fake. He also believed that when recording for [[Snake]], that he was reading it as the animal rather than the character.
**When recording for {{SSB4|Duck Hunt}} in ''Smash 4'', he was conditioned to believe he was reading it as the title of the NES game and assumed it was fake. He also believed that when recording for [[Snake]], that he was reading it as the animal rather than the character.
**[https://twitter.com/XanderMobusVO/status/664984767591411712 He also stated] he did not know Cloud would be in ''Smash 4'' until his announcement.
**[https://twitter.com/XanderMobusVO/status/664984767591411712 He also stated] he did not know Cloud would be in ''Smash 4'' until his announcement.
*Oddly, in ''Ultimate'', {{SSBU|Dark Samus}} and {{SSBU|Byleth}}'s announcer calls are slightly louder in the Japanese version, despite otherwise being the same.
*Oddly, in ''Ultimate'', {{SSBU|Dark Samus}} and {{SSBU|Byleth}}'s announcer calls are slightly louder in the Japanese version, despite otherwise being the same.
*Jean-Louis Faure, the French announcer from ''Brawl'' to ''Ultimate'', is the first announcer in the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series in any language to pass away, on March 27, 2022.<ref>https://www.malcolm-france.com/actualites/articles/jean-louis-faure-la-voix-francaise-de-bryan-cranston-sest-eteinte/</ref>
*Jean-Louis Faure, the French announcer from ''Brawl'' to ''Ultimate'', is the first announcer in the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series in any language to pass away, on March 27, 2022.<ref>https://www.malcolm-france.com/actualites/articles/jean-louis-faure-la-voix-francaise-de-bryan-cranston-sest-eteinte/</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}


==See also==
==See also==

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