List of SSBB tier lists (NTSC)

The Smash Back Room tier list has changed many times since its inception. Previous versions of the list are as follows. In later tier lists, characters are broadly ranked by their tier, and further ranked by the order in which characters are listed within the tier list. Earlier tier lists use numerical rankings, and characters with the same numerical value are listed alphabetically.

First tier list (September 1, 2008)

Super Smash Bros. Brawl Tier List #1
					Top
					1		2		3		4		5		6
	High
	7		8		9		10		11		12		13		14		15		16
	Middle
	17		18		19		20		21		22		23		24		25		26
Low
27		28		29		30		31		32		33		34		35		36		37

While many players wanted to have a tier list within a month or two of Brawl's release, the SBR decided to wait before making the first tier list. The idea was that making a tier list too early would result in it quickly becoming outdated, forcing the SBR to make a second one on short notice. Players' predictions of the tier list changed dramatically between the game's release and September. The most noticeable fluctuation was the placing of Snake, who was first considered about mid-tier, then skyrocketed to the perceived #1 spot above Meta Knight, this opinion being backed up by tournaments where Snake took almost all the top spots (in one case, the top 5 placings were all Snake). It wasn't until Mew2King began dominating with Meta Knight that players started believing that Meta Knight was a superior character, a belief that is widespread and undisputed today.

Second tier list (January 5, 2009)

Super Smash Bros. Brawl Tier List #2
SS	S	A					B				C
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10-11		12	13	14	15
15.00	13.91	13.03	12.94	12.50	12.09	11.94	11.47	11.38	10.94		10.34	10.16	10.06	9.59
		D					E
		16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26
		8.88	8.47	8.44	8.16	7.91	7.41	7.03	6.91	6.66	6.44	5.91
		F							G
		27	28-29		30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37
		4.56	4.50		4.41	4.16	3.94	3.66	2.28	2.03	1.88	1.63

By this time, no player doubted Meta Knight's placing in the old tier list. In many players' opinions, Meta Knight wasn't just better than every other character, but better by a noticeable gap; this is why he is SS tier, above Snake in S tier. He was considered so good that it sparked a debate on whether he should be banned or not. After many heated discussions, the SBR (Smash Back Room) decided by vote that Meta Knight should be left alone and no one should be banned. It was too early to be making drastic rule changes.

Snake was also elevated above other characters to a similar degree, though not to the point of being considered banned. This resulted in both of these characters having their own tiers. Diddy Kong also received a huge bump up the tier list after NinjaLink successfully beat Mew2King by using Diddy's bananas to a level not seen before.

By this time, the tournament scene was heating up and top/high tier characters dominated the metagame. As a result, empirical data on low tiers is sparse; the low tier placings are volatile and move a lot. Notably, Olimar also got a huge bump to be tied to Lucario at 10th, as well as Zero Suit Samus bumping up to 16th as well. Both would hit high tier in later years. This tier list also has Lucas and Ness tied for 28th and 29th. Also notable, Falco, Luigi, Sonic, and Mario rose two places, R.O.B. fell three places and King Dedede, Mr. Game & Watch and Yoshi all fall one position, with Yoshi now being in the bottom 5.

Third tier list (June 4, 2009)

Super Smash Bros. Brawl Tier List #3
S						A
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13
	B					C
	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24
D				E					F
25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37

This is the first tier list to not have Captain Falcon last on the list; instead, Ganondorf is last because of his terrible frame data, recovery, neutral game and lack of mobility.

In this list, Wario and Sonic made a large jump. Wario's change is due to the newly-found usefulness of his great air mobility, coupled with great recovery and heavy weight, making him a very defensive character that is hard to KO.

Throughout the previous two tier lists, most top-level players perceived Sonic as a bad character; however, dedicated mains showcased his excellent mobility and frame data while simultaneously placing well at high-level tournaments. In this tier list, their efforts were finally recognized. Donkey Kong fell four slots, R.O.B. fell three, and Lucario fell three to four, while the Ice Climbers rose four.