Isabelle is a moderately short and floaty lightweight with slow overall mobility. As a semi-clone of her fellow Animal Crossing fighter Villager, she is similar to him in many aspects. However, Isabelle is also lighter and floatier, has faster grounded and aerial mobility, and cannot wall jump. Moreover, Isabelle also has multiple attacks that are unique to her (such as all three of her smash attacks), while even the moves she shares with Villager have different animations and mechanics.
Isabelle's grounded moves have their utility mainly due to their range and low startup, as all of her standard grounded moves have less than 10 frames of startup barring her grab. Neutral attack is Isabelle's fastest grounded move, and while it is a weak single-hit move, it can be used to combo into her smash attacks at high percentages, and can also be used to jab lock opponents reliably; forward tilt is useful for spacing thanks to its decent knockback and range, while also serving as a situational KOing move at higher percents near the ledge; up tilt can be used for combos and juggles thanks to its relatively fast speed and low knockback; down tilt possesses decent range, while the sweetspot close to her is a respectably powerful KOing option at high percents; and dash attack is a projectile that can be used off of platforms against opponents on the ground or on lower platforms, and it can also be used near the ledge for edgeguarding or potentially as a 2 frame punish. Her smash attacks also have some utility as well: forward smash is her strongest grounded KOing option if sweetspotted; up smash hits twice and is her best vertical kill move while also comboing into up aerial at low percents; and down smash is a semi-spike that can be used for KOing near the ledge, edgeguarding, and 2 frame punishes.
Isabelle's aerials autocancel in a short hop and each one has a distinct perk. Neutral aerial is Isabelle's fastest aerial and her best out of shield option, and it is a sex kick that can be used to combo into Isabelle's other moves or break out of combos. Forward and back aerials have her fire slingshot projectiles that are useful for approaching, spacing and edgeguarding; back aerial has slower startup but less ending lag than forward aerial, and is stronger as well. Finally, up and down aerials have her always swing two turnips as opposed to also one or three like Villager, making them more consistent overall; up aerial is a good follow-up from up tilt, is useful for juggling, and the clean hit can even act as a situational KOing move near the upper blast line, while down aerial's clean hit is capable of meteor smashing if sweetspotted, while otherwise launching opponents on the Sakurai angle, enabling it to be used for edgeguarding. The inability to tech grounded meteor smashes also gives sweetspotted clean down aerial limited combo potential at higher percents as well. Combined with her ability to maintain offstage presence due to her floaty nature, Isabelle's mix of fast and ranged aerials make edgeguarding one of the focal points of her strengths.
Her grab game also has some utility. Isabelle uses a net as part of her tether grab, which has a longer range than normal grabs, but more startup and ending lag as a result; however, Isabelle does not have a grab aerial in spite of her long-ranged grab. Isabelle can also use her grab to pocket items as well. Down throw can be used to initiate aerial combos, forward throw can setup edgeguards by throwing opponents off the stage, and back throw is a potent kill throw, being among the top ten of back throws in terms of kill power Up throw deals decent damage, but its lack of utility aside from that makes it Isabelle's least useful throw.
Isabelle sports versatile special moves. Her neutral special, Pocket, allows her to steal an opponent's projectile and send it back at them, helping to discourage projectile camping against her. Her down special, Lloid Trap, has her planting Lloid into the ground. Lloid Trap will active whenever an opponent walks over Lloid or can be activated manually, making it useful for surprising opponents, though it also takes notable time to plant and leaves her vulnerable, not being active until frame 51. However, despite this flaw, Lloid establishes another notable strength Isabelle possesses, ledge trapping; when planted in the correct position, Lloid alone can cover rolling and jumping get up's while Isabelle herself can attempt to cover other get-up options, allowing her to have an easier time maintaining advantage. In addition, Lloid has other forms of utility; it can combo into up aerial if Isabelle is close enough, making it a kill confirm at higher percents. Lloid also has the niche application known as "Glyroid"; when manually detonating Lloid during her initial dash, Isabelle will quickly slide a short distance, allowing it to be used as a movement mix-up for approaching. Her side special, Fishing Rod, is a command grab that allows her to grab and throw opponents from distances farther than her grab can, and it also functions as a tether recovery and an edgeguarding tool, as the fact that it can hang offstage allows her to catch opponents with slower recoveries. Her up special, Balloon Trip, provides incredibly long vertical and horizontal distance, though it travels a slightly shorter distance than Villager's version. This, in addition to her Fishing Rod's great horizontal distance, gives Isabelle an outstanding recovery.
However, Isabelle is not without her flaws, the most notable of which being her disadvantage state; due to her floatiness and light weight, Isabelle struggles at getting back to the ground quickly and is therefore quite vulnerable to juggling and early KO's, all while the fact that her aerials provide little coverage below her and that she has no way to mix up her already floaty movement outside of B-reversing Pocket further accentuate this problem.
Many of her special moves have major flaws. While her Fishing Rod is a versatile command grab with a very good range, it is flawed in many ways. Unlike all other grabs in the game, it is unusually capable of being shielded and suffers from a lot of ending lag, making it very punishable. Lloid Trap is also very flawed; planting Lloid leaves her vulnerable and takes 51 frames to be active, it disappears after only 10 seconds and can easily be destroyed due to it only having 8% of HP, and in some cases the resulting explosion will damage Isabelle herself and some characters can even run through it without getting affected. While Isabelle's recovery is very long-distanced, she has no way to defend herself while using Balloon Trip, due to the move lacking a hitbox, and popping the balloons will render her helpless, meaning that despite her recovery being fairly good on paper, it can easily be edgeguarded in practice. Finally, Isabelle loses some of Villager's most important tools for zoning in the neutral game, namely Lloid Rocket and Timber, making her noticeably worse at zoning than her counterpart.
Overall, Isabelle is a more well-rounded character than Villager, having inferior zoning and camping ability, but better mobility and a more reliable set of standard attacks in comparison. However, her special attacks have notable flaws and she has inferior endurance due to her lighter weight and slower falling speed. Because of this, she is often seen as an inferior counterpart to Villager. This has resulted in a negative competitive reception, as many top professional players view her not only as an inferior counterpart to Villager (who by himself has rather mixed competitive reception and poor tournament representation), but also potentially as one of the worst characters in the game. Her tournament representation reflects this, as it is very poor in all regions, and her most significant results are either from the very early days of Ultimate's meta, or her being used as a secondary or pocket to other characters. However, due to her low popularity in tournaments, it is debatable whether Isabelle is actually a poor character, or her representation is poor simply because of dedicated mains. As such, her true standing in the meta remains to be seen.
Isabelle has received a mix of buffs and nerfs via game updates, but has been buffed overall. Update 1.1.0 decreased the landing lag of her up and down aerials, whereas update 1.2.0 granted Dream Town Hall invulnerability in order to prevent opponents from canceling it at its very last second. Update 2.0.0 fixed some infamous glitches, such as the infinite Assist Trophy glitch and Slingshot Crash, and enabled Isabelle's neutral aerial to auto-cancel earlier. Update 3.0.0 nerfed her forward and back aerials' shield damage as part of the general nerf to projectiles. More notably, this same update modified Fishing Rod in two ways: its hook gained the ability to catch an opponent while it is idle, thus granting it a guaranteed set-up for a 2 frame punish, but at the cost of having significantly less active frames. However, update 3.1.0 undid these changes to Fishing Rod.
In update 4.0.0, Isabelle received a number of worthwhile buffs. She travels farther when rolling, which compliments her defensive playstyle. Isabelle's neutral attack, which was near-universally viewed by players as one the worst moves of any kind in the game, received a number of changes that noticeably improve its utility. Her up smash and Fishing Rod's up throw became stronger KOing options, thanks to their increased knockback scaling. Lastly, Fishing Rod and Lloid Trap had their lag decreased; in particular, Lloid Trap's decreased start-up lag enables it to function much better against most opponents that dash over it.
Following update 7.0.0's buff to Fishing Rod's tether range, update 8.0.0 granted Isabelle a number of worthwhile of buffs, similarly to update 4.0.0. Her up tilt, dash attack, up smash and down aerial each had their lag decreased by varying amounts, with up tilt in particular becoming much more effective for combos as a result. In addition, Isabelle's up aerial received more base knockback, and her pummel's hitbox was enlarged in order to improve its consistency.
Isabelle's rolls travel a longer distance (2.25u → 2.85u).
Neutral attack deals less knockback (21 base/38 scaling → 14/30), has a lower SDI multiplier (1× → 0.5×) and deals more hitstun (8 frames → 14), allowing it to chain into itself more reliably and making it safer to use.
Up smash's second hit has more knockback scaling (111 → 116).
Fishing Rod has less startup lag (frame 25 → 21) and can be reeled in faster (frame 50 → 46).
Fishing Rod's up throw has more knockback scaling (62 → 66).
Lloid Trap has less startup lag once activated (frame 11 → 9). This means most characters can no longer run over it without getting hit.
The rehit interval was increased to compensate (8 frames → 9), which can result in fewer hits occurring when catching opponents partway through the attack.
Adjusted variables related to Fishing Rod's ledge tether range (14, 10, -3, -10 → 20, 25, -3, -10), in order to improve its reliability as a tether recovery.
Swings a toy hammer downward. This move is a single-hit jab with very low knockback. At low percent, the move can hit multiple times due to its speed and low ending lag. Can lock. At high percents, it can combo into tilts, down smash, or Pocket.
Uproots some weeds. Compared to Villager's, this move's sweetspot deals slightly more damage, while the sourspot deals considerably lower damage. It also has marginally less ending lag than Villager's, but a shorter hitbox duration.
Trips while holding a ceramic pot. Like Villager's, the pot itself is a projectile that will either break or bounce off the ground after hitting it. The hitbox on the pot disappears after bouncing off the ground. When used near a ledge, it will fall off and continue to have a hitbox. Compared to Villager's, the pot does not travel as far, but the move has faster startup and less ending lag.
Fires a party popper forward. Strong, but has noticeable ending lag (27 frames) and poor range despite being disjointed. Somewhat fast startup at frame 14 and has two hitboxes: a small hitbox close to Isabelle and a bigger one farther away from her. It is her most reliable KO option, but the clean hit only lasts 2 frames, and its late hit fails to KO at reasonable percents.
Blows her whistle, causing a do-not-enter sign to spring up from the ground in front of her. It has 2 hits that connect into each other. Can combo into up aerial at low percents.
Splashes a bucket of water in front of herself and then behind herself. Similar to Inkling's Slosher, but considerably faster and has less range. Sends opponents at a very low angle.
Swings a pair of white turnips downward. Like her up aerial, she will always swing two turnips, making it more consistent than Villager's. The clean hit will meteor smash opponents if sweetspotted, whereas any other part of the turnips will launch opponents horizontally.
Swings a net downward. Like Villager's, using it on an item will cause her to pocket it. Compared to Villager, her dash grab has 1 less frame of startup. Notably, all four of Villager's throws were altered somewhat in his transition to Ultimate, whereas Isabelle's throws retain the properties of Villager's throws from SSB4.
Pockets projectiles and items, similar to Villager. After pocketing a projectile, using the neutral special input will produce and use the projectile. Using neutral special with a pocketed item will put the item in Isabelle's hand.
Casts out a fishing rod. The distance is cast depends on whether or not it was inputted while flicking the stick. It can be left out for about 5 seconds before Isabelle will automatically begin to slowly reel it in. Pressing the special or attack button will automatically reel it in completely at any time. It will also reel in automatically if an item is grabbed. When an opponent is captured by the fishing rod, she reels them in and can throw the opponent in one of 4 directions. The forward, back and up variants can kill at high percents, while the down variant can combo until high percents. Much like a thrown item, the damage output for the throws is directly proportional to how fast the bobber is moving at the time of capturing the opponent. The fishing rod can also be used as a tether recovery and can also grab items. Unlike normal grabs, it cannot grab opponents through shields, even when reeled in. Another unique quirk is that it is unable to grab through moves that reflect or counter, and is even blocked by passive shields.
Sits on a swing with two bunny-shaped balloons. Nearly identical to Villager's variant, and grants a lot of distance, though it travels a slightly shorter distance than Villager's. Pressing or holding the special button will cause Isabelle to rise. Pressing the attack button will cancel the move while propelling her slightly upwards. If canceled with the attack button, the next use will only have one balloon until landing on stage.
Plants Lloid the Gyroid into the ground. When someone steps over him, or when the down special is inputted again, Lloid propels himself vertically, dragging the opponent with him. If nothing happens for 10 seconds, the trap will disappear. After taking 8%, not counting the 1v1 multiplier, he will explode, which will damage Isabelle if she is near the explosion.
When activated, Tom Nook, Timmy and Tommy appear and build a Town Hall, trapping opponents that get caught in their construction zone. Once the Town Hall is completed, Isabelle, Tom, Timmy and Tommy celebrate briefly before it explodes, causing high damage and knockback. While similar to Villager's Dream Home, it deals more damage and has both higher knockback and a faster final hit.
Up taunt: Isabelle waves her hand while looking toward the screen. Based on the "Greetings" emote.
Side taunt: Isabelle claps her hands while facing the screen. Based on the "Delight" emote.
Down taunt: Isabelle dances, waving her arms in an inward circular motion while stepping in place. She then jumps up, and lands facing the screen with her arms spread out. Based on the "Complete" emote in Happy Home Designer.
When Isabelle was first revealed, there was a glimmer of hope for the character due to her similar neutral and campy patient playstyle with Villager. On release, she was considered to be generally effective, as she shared some abilities from Villager: her slingshot was considered a good option for zoning and/or approaching and edgeguarding, and her Pocket prevented camping from other zoners. Her unique tools were also considered: Lloid Trap functioned as an effective tool for stage control, and could also force reactions from her opponent or set up an aerial combo, while Fishing Rod became rather notorious for dealing with recoveries and being rather difficult to deal with, especially at lower skill levels.
However, Isabelle's representation quickly dropped after the first few months, with players considering her not as good of a character as initially imagined. In addition to sharing the same weaknesses as Villager, Isabelle has additional flaws that hinder her (such as her infamously short smash attacks), while her camping game does not benefit as much to Ultimate's engine.
As a result of these factors, Isabelle has not made a significant impact in tournaments and has little representation throughout Ultimate's current metagame. This is also exacerbated by the fact that she is outshined by her original counterpart, Villager, who is also struggling in the meta with limited representation, despite being considered a better character than her. Due to Villager's stronger presence and Isabelle’s weaknesses, numerous professionals view her as one of the worst characters in the game. On the other hand, a few other players believes the character is underrated and has potential due to her strong camping game and effective ledge tools. Furthermore, dedicated players such as Nery, kept, and Lv.1 use her as either a solo main or a secondary and have placed well at both a regional and national level. Finally, update 4.0.0. gave her several buffs to her moveset, including her neutral attack's "Wobbelle" technique, which traps the opponent at ledge with a jab until kill percent. As of now, her true tournament viability and tier placement in the meta is questionable.
Isabelle's opponents are composed of nearly every female challenger that appears in the base game. The only base roster female characters absent are Dark Samus and Spiky-eared Pichu.
Although Isabelle does not appear in the World of Light opening cutscene, she was vaporized and later imprisoned alongside the rest of the fighters (sans Kirby) when Galeem unleashed his beams of light.
She can be found near a small town on a secluded road, that requires the spirit of Kapp'n (Wild World) to be driven through a tunnel to reach. Freeing her unlocks a path to the town.
Isabelle's fighter spirit can be obtained by completing Classic Mode. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 500 coins. Unlocking Isabelle in World of Light allows the player to preview the spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As a fighter spirit, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and is purely aesthetic. Each fighter spirit has an alternate version that replaces it with the fighter's artwork in Ultimate.
•Defeat the main fighter to win •Hostile assist trophies will appear when the enemy's at high damage •The enemy favors side specials •Only certain Pokémon will emerge from Poké Balls (Goldeen)
Isabelle is the fourth character to be announced in Ultimate that was previously featured as a Mii costume in Super Smash Bros. 4, the others being Inkling, Chrom, and King K. Rool. Additionally, she uses a party popper in her forward smash, which is used in the Mii Gunner outfit based on her instead of an arm cannon.
Isabelle is also the third character to become playable after previously appearing as an Assist Trophy, after Little Mac and Dark Samus.
The Nintendo Direct that revealed Isabelle as a playable fighter was supposed to air on September 6th, 2018. However, an earthquake struck Hokkaidō, Japan that day. Its aftermath prompted Nintendo to postpone the Direct—and by extension, news of Isabelle's inclusion in Ultimate—by one week, out of respect for those affected by the tremor. This makes Isabelle the only playable character in the series' history whose reveal was explicitly delayed for any given reason.
Isabelle's reveal trailer initially appeared to be a reveal trailer for a new Nintendo Switch installment of the Animal Crossing series and was followed by an actual teaser trailer confirming such a title (later named Animal Crossing: New Horizons) for 2019.
Tom Nook is even seen watching Isabelle's own trailer on his computer, before telling the audience he has to get back to work, in order to prepare for the upcoming game, which can be considered its own mini teaser for New Horizons as in that game, Tom Nook is the primary helper at the beginning instead of Isabelle as in Animal Crossing: New Leaf.
At one point, Isabelle wishes that the mayor "wasn't so busy with the campsite and Smash." 'The campsite' refers to Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, which was released in October 2017.
This is the second time an upcoming Nintendo game has been teased through a character reveal trailer, the first being Luigi's Mansion 3, which was teased by Luigi's new Poltergust in Simon and Richter's reveal trailer.
In her reveal trailer, Isabelle opens a letter inviting her to join Smash Bros. that is enclosed in an envelope with a wax seal in the shape of the Super Smash Bros. logo. This is a callback to Villager's reveal in the first trailer for Super Smash Bros. 4, and the only other use of the Smash Invite letter literally being recieved by physical post (the other being Villager's reveal).
There was an error on Isabelle's page on the Smash Bros. Ultimate site where her Animal Crossing symbol is the same color as Villager's (a dark green), instead of chartreuse, her background color.
Strangely, Isabelle's reveal trailer shows that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was then still Rating Pending, even though the rating had already been revealed to be rated E10+ at the time. Whether this was an error on Nintendo's part or ESRB's part is unknown, though European trailers kept the PEGI 12 rating.
In a Famitsu column, Sakurai noted that because Isabelle and Villager have significantly different proportions and personalities, it was not possible for Isabelle to be Villager's Echo Fighter, and therefore she was developed as a unique character[1], although she still shares many moves with Villager. This makes Isabelle the only clone so far whose reasoning for not being labeled as an Echo Fighter has been explicitly confirmed.
Isabelle is the only character in the base roster whose official confirmation was not part of a Super Smash Bros.-centered Nintendo Direct. Instead, she was revealed as part of a general Nintendo Direct.
Isabelle is one of four characters with a grab that can be blocked, the other three are Joker, Terry and Byleth.
She is only non-DLC character to have this.
Notably, all of these characters debuted in Ultimate.
Similar to Wario's Chomp, characters trapped in Isabelle's grab appear to have the upper half of their models removed, presumably so that even large characters can fit inside the net. This also happens with Villager.
Up and down aerials have less landing lag (12 frames → 9).
Fixed item collided with two 
Slingshot attacks (forward and back aerials) deal less shield damage.
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