Mewtwo (SSB4)

Mewtwo in Super Smash Bros. 4
Universe	Pokémon
Other playable appearances	in Melee in Ultimate
Availability	Downloadable
Final Smash	Psystrike
Tier	A (10)

“	Mewtwo Strikes Back!	”
—Introduction Tagline

Mewtwo (ミュウツー, Mewtwo) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4. Its return to the series (erroneously calling it a "new fighter") was announced during the Super Smash Bros. for Wii U 50-Fact Extravaganza on October 23rd, 2014. Mewtwo is the first downloadable character in Super Smash Bros. history, and was made available on April 28th, 2015. However, it was made available at no cost as early as April 15th, 2015 for players who registered both Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U on Club Nintendo by March 31st, 2015.

Rather than retaining Masachika Ichimura as its voice actor from Melee, Mewtwo is now voiced by Keiji Fujiwara, who imitates some of the former's voice clips from Melee.

Mewtwo is ranked 10th out of 54 on the tier list, placing it in the A tier. This is a huge improvement from its low-tier placement in Melee, where it was ranked 20th out of 26, and its best placement in the series to date, as well as the only game where it isn’t a low tier. Mewtwo boasts excellent mobility, featuring above-average air, walking and dashing speeds. Mewtwo also possesses a flexible combo game: its neutral attack is a very reliable jab cancel, even at high percentages, while its down tilt and fast falling up aerial both possess a variety of follow-ups at low to high percentages. In addition, Mewtwo features a strong set of throws, with its forward throw being tied for the most damaging throw of its kind in the game, whereas its back and up throws are viable KOing options. Alongside the latter, Mewtwo also boasts a respectable number of other strong moves that possess considerable power, including its smash attacks, forward aerial, and fully charged Shadow Ball. Finally, its airdodge causes it to disappear completely and is the fastest one in the game, making it quite spammable.

However, Mewtwo also has several notable weaknesses. The biggest weakness is its fragility, as Mewtwo's tall stature and very light weight makes it easier to KO compared to most of the cast. This, in turn, is compounded by Mewtwo's slightly below-average frame data and slow double jump, which forces it to rely on its neutral aerial, forward aerial, or Teleport to escape pressure more often than not.

After initially being a poorly perceived character upon its release, game updates significantly improved Mewtwo's viability over time. This has been reflected by players such as Abadango, Rich Brown, and WaDi consistently achieving high placings in competitive play, whose successes have helped Mewtwo achieve top-tier status since the game's second tier list.

Attributes

Mewtwo is a character whose majority of attributes are unusually polarizing, with only its falling speed and gravity being average. It is tall, yet is the second lightest character in the game, being surpassed only by Jigglypuff. By extension, Mewtwo's hurtbox has a deceptive size: although it is larger than in Melee, its model's adjusted z-axis position has resulted in its hurtbox ending approximately at its digits, ankles, and the base of its tail. As a result, the majority of Mewtwo's tail now lacks hurtboxes, unlike in Melee, which makes all but the base of its tail immune to opposing hitboxes. However, its hurtbox will still extend slightly when it attacks, whereas its digits, ankles, and the base of its tail will leave their z-axis positions when it is in hitstun or while tumbling.

Regarding grounded mobility, Mewtwo's walking speed is tied with Charizard's for the fifteenth fastest in the game, whereas its dashing speed is the seventh fastest in the game. However, its traction is also tied with Charizard's for the second lowest in the game. This polarization is also apparent with Mewtwo's aerial mobility: its air speed is the third fastest in the game, yet it has slow air acceleration, while its double jump is the highest in the game, yet accelerates slowly at its beginning. As a result of these attributes, landing and approaching safely can be difficult. Unlike in Melee, Mewtwo is capable of wall jumping.

Mewtwo's air game is highly potent. Its air dodge makes it disappear briefly and is the fastest one in the game, thanks to it concluding after 28 frames. Mewtwo's aerial moves boast impressive power thanks to their respectable damage outputs and very high knockback scaling, yet are also useful for partaking in combos. Neutral aerial's hitbox has a long duration, which allows it to punish air dodges or start combos upon landing as the opponent is being hit. Forward aerial is Mewtwo's fastest aerial, thanks to it hitting on frame 6. When coupled with its power and range, it can either combo into itself at low percentages or KO outright at high percentages.

Back aerial has a very large range, which enables it to edge-guard reliably, yet also combo into itself at low percentages or KO outright at high percentages. Up aerial, like back aerial, has a very large range, which enables it to partake in combos or juggles. Its base hitbox's high knockback scaling also makes it KO reliably near the upper blast line. Lastly, down aerial is a very powerful meteor smash when sweetspotted, yet is also strong enough to KO on-stage opponents quite reliably. Due to it hitting on frame 15, however, it is Mewtwo's slowest aerial, and has the highest amount of landing lag out of its aerials.

Despite having been toned down since Melee, Mewtwo's grab game is among the most potent in SSB4. When all of its Shadow Balls hit, forward throw is tied with Ganondorf and maximum Aura Lucario's forward throws as the most damaging throws of their kind in the game; this makes it useful for both damage racking and refreshing its stale moves. Up and back throws are among the strongest throws in the game, making them viable KOing options. Down throw lacks true combo potential, but has mindgame potential, thanks to it launching opponents just out of counterattacking range. However, Mewtwo's overall grab range and pummel are both merely average. Regardless, the potency of its grab game supplements its air game, as it can allow Mewtwo to inflict a considerable amount of damage with just a few moves.

In comparison to its air and grab games, Mewtwo's ground game is a mixed bag. While generally powerful, all but a few of its grounded moves suffer from noticeable ending lag, which makes them risky when they are whiffed, shielded, or dodged. Its neutral attack is very useful: it can easily jab cancel and even out-prioritize many moves, which in turn enables Mewtwo to better utilize its grab game and quickly initiate combos when followed up with up tilt, down tilt, or Disable. Down tilt, in particular, is a very effective move: its long range, launching angles, and minimal overall lag make it very useful for starting combos and decent for spacing or shield stabbing. Up tilt can combo into Mewtwo's aerial moves and potentially itself on many characters, even at high percentages, so long as it hits them with its near hitboxes.

Forward tilt has a good range, very high knockback scaling, and can be angled, all of which make it decent for spacing. However, its very low base knockback makes it unable to KO at reasonable percentages. Although it is punishable, dash attack's respectable range has increased even further, thanks to its hitboxes being re-positioned outward, and its newfound disjointed hitbox. Lastly, Mewtwo's smash attacks have above-average strength and distinct perks: forward smash has the longest range; up smash hits multiple times and is a useful anti-air option; and down smash has the lowest amount of ending lag.

Mewtwo's special moves are powerful, yet risky, much like its ground game. Shadow Ball has impressive utility regardless of its charge: it is useful for zoning or stopping approaches when uncharged, whereas it is one of the strongest and fastest projectiles in the game when fully charged. Teleport grants considerable horizontal momentum and renders Mewtwo invulnerable for a split second, which makes it a safe recovery overall. Confusion, which was notorious in Melee for being virtually useless, has been buffed considerably. In addition to functioning as a long-ranged command grab that can bypass disjointed hitboxes, it now functions as a proper reflector, which improves Mewtwo's neutral game by allowing it to counteract opposing projectiles. Confusion's utility also extends to Mewtwo's recovery, as it now grants a slight vertical and average horizontal boost during its first use in midair, and can completely reverse both its aerial momentum and direction. Lastly, Disable is a risky set-up option, but it can guarantee openings for combos and KOs if it connects, which is further supplemented by its stun duration having been increased since Melee.

Despite Mewtwo's strengths, it has a few notable and fairly exploitable weaknesses. The most apparent of these is its frailty; Mewtwo's very light weight makes it very easy to KO, while its tall frame, average falling speed, and average gravity collectively make it easier to combo and juggle compared to other characters of its size and weight. Furthermore, Mewtwo lacks an effective aerial attack that can interrupt combos, whereas an attempt to Teleport out of combos can lead to it being punished because of its ending lag, momentum, and start-up lag having been increased since Melee.

The majority of Mewtwo's moveset also possesses some restrictions despite their advantages. Despite its aforementioned hurtbox properties, Mewtwo's tail-based attacks are still susceptible to being countered, owing to the base of its tail being a part of its hurtbox. Fully charged Shadow Ball has recoil when used in the air, which can cause an inadvertent self-destruct while off-stage. Disable is punishable if it whiffs and can be reflected because of its status as a projectile, the latter of which can easily lead to a fatal turnabout against Mewtwo at high percentages.

Aside from forward aerial and fully charged Shadow Ball, the rest of Mewtwo's KOing options can be difficult to land. Up and back throw can be risky to attempt because of its aforementioned average grab range. Forward and down smash have slow start-up lag, whereas up smash has minimal horizontal range below its blast of dark energy. Despite their speed and accuracy, forward aerial and Shadow Ball's KO potentials can be hindered via staleness because of their frequent usage in Mewtwo's combos and neutral game, respectively. Lastly, its frame data is slightly below-average, which makes its attacks even more prone to punishment if they are not spaced well. As a result, Mewtwo can pressure effectively, yet is also vulnerable to pressure. It is also at a distinct disadvantage in a custom moveset environment, as it lacks custom moves because of its status as a DLC character.

Regarding playstyle, Mewtwo's is an odd combination of styles: it fits the archetype of a glass cannon, yet typically relies on bait and punish tactics and defensive maneuvers to keep opponents from performing rushdowns and capitalizing on its very tall frame and extremely light weight. This does not mean Mewtwo is forced to rely on turtling, however, as its outstanding mobility, excellent air game, and overall powerful moveset make it a force to be reckoned with. As such, Mewtwo is a "high-risk, high-reward" character with a fairly high learning curve, as it has to capitalize on reads more often than not because of its frailty and susceptibility to pressure.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. Melee

Mewtwo has been drastically buffed in its transition from Melee to Smash 4, especially owing to the handful of buffs it has received within the game updates. One of its most useful buffs were to its mobility; its walking, dashing, and air speeds are much faster, its jump and double jump are higher, it can now wall jump, and its techs' now-traditional animations make it less susceptible to tech-chasing. Mewtwo's air dodge has also improved: in addition to making it disappear, it is now the fastest in the game, while the removal of directional air dodges now enables it to retain Mewtwo's aerial momentum (although it also removes Mewtwo's ability to wavedash). Mewtwo's model also underwent very subtle, yet beneficial tweaks: its larger size increased the range of its tail-based attacks, while its model's re-positioning within the z-axis has resulted in its hurtbox having a deceptive size.

Mewtwo's moveset has been adjusted to be more consistent and practical. Confusion, in particular, has drastically improved: it now functions as a traditional reflector, has considerably less ending lag, and now grants recovery distance on its first aerial use; these changes give it high utility as a landing option against projectiles, recovery extender, combo starter, and counter against shields. While Shadow Ball has lost its charging hitbox, its travel pattern is less erratic, which makes it more accurate, and thus improves its zoning potential. When coupled with its having a much larger hitbox when fully charged, it is now one of Mewtwo's most reliable KOing options. Disable's stun duration has increased, while its hitbox has been extended and adjusted to reliably connect against even smaller fighters, while also being intangible, all of which improves its set-up potential. Its aerials have also generally improved, as they now have considerably less landing lag, are more consistent, and possess more utility. Its smash attacks have been similarly strengthened with larger hitboxes, improving their effectiveness. The improvements to Mewtwo's moveset also allow it to make better use of its Teleport-oriented mindgames.

However, Mewtwo has also received significant nerfs. Its infamous frailty was further exacerbated, thanks to its larger size and much lighter weight. Although still useful, Teleport's higher overall lag makes it less safe as an escape and mix-up option, whereas its added momentum can potentially lead to accidental self-destructs. The improved practicality of Mewtwo's moveset is also slightly offset by its overall nerfed frame data, which is especially evident regarding its tail-based attacks. Despite being much more mobile, Mewtwo's approach is hindered by the weakening of dash-dancing and the removal of both wavedashing and moonwalking. Lastly, Mewtwo's grab game has been toned down: its pummel deals less damage, its back and up throws' KO potentials were considerably worsened because of their lowered knockback, and its down throw is now dependent on reads because of its increased ending lag and the removal of chain grabbing.

Overall, Mewtwo has been re-balanced to be a more practical, consistent, and traditional glass cannon that can rack up damage and KO much more easily. However, these traits come at the cost of it being even riskier and requiring even more precision because of its worsened endurance. Thanks to its buffs, Mewtwo has become drastically more successful and viable than in Melee.

Aesthetics

• Mewtwo's design has changed. Unlike its Melee self, it has a smaller head, which is now mesaticephalic instead of dolichocephalic. It also has a narrower jawline, significantly larger digit pads, slightly more pronounced pinnae, and a slightly thicker tail. Mewtwo's eye color is also slightly subdued now. Lastly, the aesthetic used in SSB4 has resulted in Mewtwo having a sleeker design, and the purple portion of its skin being slightly more vibrant. Altogether, these changes make Mewtwo appear virtually identical to its appearance in Pokédex 3D Pro.
• Mewtwo's green alternate costume from the previous game has been slightly updated. It is now aquamarine instead of green. Mewtwo has also received four new alternate costumes.
• Mewtwo is slightly more expressive, as its irises now shrink when attacked instead of simply turning yellow.
• Mewtwo has been updated with universal features introduced in Brawl.
  • Mewtwo now has an on-screen appearance and two new taunts. Its taunt from Melee remains as its up taunt.
  • Mewtwo uses various voice clips for any move between its neutral infinite, its forward and up tilt attacks, its dash attack, and any aerial attack, and now uses specific clips for all three of of its smash attacks; using the same one for both forward and down smashes and a unique one for its up smash.
• Mewtwo is overall less vocal as the rate at which it speaks when attacking has been significantly lowered. It also no longer vocalizes when using battering items.
  • Mewtwo vocalizes upon waking up from sleep status when not suffering from any knockback, similar to many newcomers such as Wii Fit Trainer and Palutena.
• Mewtwo's chest now always faces the screen, regardless of whether it's facing left or right, mirroring its animations.

Attributes

• Mewtwo is slightly taller. This improves its range, but makes its hurtbox slightly larger.
• Due to Mewtwo's model having an adjusted z-axis position, its hurtbox ends approximately at its digits, ankles, and the base of its tail. However, its hurtbox will still extend slightly when it attacks, whereas its digits, ankles, and the base of its tail will leave their z-axis positions when it is in hitstun or while tumbling.
• Mewtwo is significantly lighter (85 → 74), going from being tied for the 16th heaviest in Melee to the standalone 2nd lightest in SSB4, significantly hindering its endurance.
• Mewtwo walks faster (1.0 → 1.2).
• Mewtwo dashes drastically faster (1.4 → 2.05), going from one of the slowest dashing speeds in Melee to one of the fastest in SSB4.
• Mewtwo's air speed is faster (1.2 → 1.25).
• Unlike most characters returning from Melee, Mewtwo's falling speed was left unchanged. This means that it falls significantly faster relative to the cast, going from being tied for the 4th slowest in the game to around average.
• Mewtwo's fast falling speed is also faster thanks to the universal changes to fast falling (2.3 → 2.4). This further improves its aerial mobility and leaves it less susceptible to juggling. When coupled with the updated air dodge mechanics, this also improves Mewtwo's landing options.
• Short hop, jump, and double jump are slightly higher. This enables its forward, back, and up aerials to auto-cancel with a short hop in spite of their later auto-cancel windows, and improves its aerial mobility. Mewtwo can also now wall jump, improving its recovery.
• Mewtwo's soft landing is twice as fast (4 frames → 2).
• Mewtwo's crouch is lower.
• Walk and dash's animation has slightly changed. Mewtwo now hovers while facing the foreground at an angle instead of being parallel to the ground.
• The sound effects for Mewtwo's double jump and tail-based attacks are lower-pitched.
• Mewtwo's tech animations have been altered to be more traditional, making Mewtwo less susceptible to tech-chasing.
• Mewtwo's air dodge has less startup (frame 4 → 2) and much less ending lag (FAF 40 → 29), now being the fastest air dodge in the game.
• Mewtwo's air dodge has a shorter intangibility duration (frames 4-29 → 2-24).
• Mewtwo's spot dodge has much less ending lag (FAF 38 → 25), going from one of the slowest spot dodges to one of the fastest.
• Mewtwo's spot dodge has a shorter intangibility duration (frames 2-21 → 2-14).
• Mewtwo's rolls have less ending lag (FAF 38 → 30).
• Mewtwo's rolls have a shorter intangibility duration (frames 4-21 (forward), 4-19 (back) → 4-14 (both)).
• Mewtwo's item swing animations have changed. Dash swings also consist of one hit instead of multiple hits.
• The removal of double jump canceling both helps and hinders Mewtwo. It improves its recovery, as it can now use aerials or its air dodge while retaining its momentum, but hinders its combo game.
• The weakening of dash-dancing and the removal of wavedashing and moonwalking significantly hinder Mewtwo's approach.
• The removal of glide tossing hinders Mewtwo's approach while holding items.
  • However, Mewtwo can now super glide toss with its super glide toss, covering a large distance.

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack:
  • Neutral attack deals less damage (6% → 4% (hit 1), 2% → 1% (loop hits)) and the first hit can no longer lock opponents due to changes to jab resets.
  • Neutral attack's first hit has decreased start-up (frame 8 → 6) and ending lag (FAF 30 → 25). It also has altered knockback (20 (set)/100 (scaling) → (50/20) (base)/(20/60) (scaling)). Altogether, these changes significantly improve its jab canceling potential. Neutral infinite has received a finisher, an upward swipe, and has decreased ending lag (FAF 52 → 36). These changes improve its safety.
• Forward tilt:
  • Mid and far forward tilt deal more damage (8% (mid)/5% (far) → 9%/8%) and have increased base knockback (10 (mid)/0 (far) → 20 (both)).
  • Forward tilt has increased start-up lag with a shorter duration (frames 6-8 → 10-11), and more ending lag (FAF 29 → 36).
• Up tilt:
  • Up tilt deals less damage (10%/8%/6%/5% (clean/late) → 6%/5%/4.5%/4.5% (clean)/5%/4%/3% (late)), and only the clean sweetspot and clean sourspot had their knockback fully compensated (0 (base)/115 (scaling) → 70/114 (clean), 0/80 → 50/50 (sour)). These changes improve its combo potential but hinder its KO potential.
  • Up tilt has increased start-up with a shorter duration (frames 6-12 → 8-13) and more ending lag (FAF 28 → 30).
• Down tilt:
  • Down tilt deals less damage (9% (near)/8% (mid)/5% (far) → 5%/4.5%/4%), and its knockback was not fully compensated (40 (base)/80 (scaling) (all) → 60/82 (near), 65/84 (mid), 60/70 (far)). Its angles have also been altered (80° → 80°/70°/60°). Altogether, these changes improve the near hits' combo potential but hinder the far hits' combo potential.
  • Down tilt has increased start-up lag with a shorter duration (frames 5-7 → 6-7), and more ending lag (FAF 20 → 21).
• Dash attack:
  • Sweetspotted dash attack deals 1% more damage (9% → 10%).
  • Dash attack has increased knockback (80 (base)/60 (scaling) (clean), 40/60 (late) → 80/70 (both)). It has also received a disjointed hitbox near Mewtwo's hand.
  • Dash attack's animation has slightly changed. Mewtwo now performs a dark-energy-infused palm thrust with one hand, instead of both. This new animation repositions its torso hitbox around Mewtwo's arms, but shortens its lingering hitbox's duration (frames 12-29 → 12-20).
• Forward smash:
  • Sweetspotted forward smash deals less damage (20% → 19%).
  • Sourspotted forward smash deals more damage (12% → 16%).
  • Forward smash has increased knockback scaling (75 (sweetspot)/80 (sourspot) → 85/90), improving its KO potential. Additionally, it has a larger hitbox (2u → 3u) and a longer duration (frames 19-20 → 19-21). Lastly, its sweetspot is easier to land than its sourspot.
  • Forward smash has slightly increased start-up lag (frame 18 → 19) and slightly decreased range.
• Up smash:
  • Up smash's first hit has increased set knockback (40/18/18/8 → 90). Its second through sixth hits also have larger hitboxes. In addition, the weakening of SDI makes this move much harder to escape from. It also has decreased ending lag (FAF 70 → 69) and deals more damage due to changes to stale move negation (14% → 16%).
  • Up smash's first hit has a slightly smaller hitbox.
  • Up smash's last hit has altered knockback (40 (base)/118 (scaling) → 60/107). It also has a slightly increased horizontal range, but a slightly decreased vertical range.
• Down smash:
  • Down smash has increased knockback scaling (103 → 118), significantly improving its KO potential. It also has a slightly increased range against aerial opponents, thanks to its aerial foes-only hitbox being slightly larger (8.59 → 8.7).
  • Down smash's angle has been altered (361° → 55°). The larger hitbox now makes the same large burn sfx as the smaller one, whereas in Melee, it made a medium burn sound upon hitting someone.
  • Down smash's hitbox that hits both grounded and aerial opponents has had its hitbox significantly reduced in size (6.25 → 4), reducing its range against grounded opponents.
  • Down smash has slightly increased start-up (frame 20 → 21) and ending lag (FAF 38 → 44).

Aerial attacks

• All aerials have decreased landing lag (26/13 frames → 13 (neutral), 25/12 frames → 14 (forward), 28/14 frames → 17 (back), 20/10 frames → 13 (up), 28/14 frames → 18 (down)). Due to the removal of L-canceling, however, they are not fully compensated, except for neutral aerial.
• All aerials except down aerial auto-cancels later (frame 37 → 46 (neutral), frame 35 → 36 (forward), frame 30 → 38 (back), frame 33 → 36 (up)).
• However, due to Mewtwo's higher jumps, all aerials except for neutral aerial can autocancel in a short hop.
• Neutral aerial:
  • Neutral aerial's first eight hits have increased set knockback (20/20/40/40 → 22/22/46/46); their angles have been altered (160°/160°/110°/110° → 185°/185°/110°/110°); and they have been re-positioned from Mewtwo's torso to its hands and feet. Its last hit also has a larger hitbox. Altogether, these changes make its hits connect better.
  • Neutral aerial's last hit inflicts significantly more knockback overall (60 (base)/70 (scaling) → 40/110), now being able to KO at Sudden Death percentages (instead of at around 450% in Melee).
  • Neutral aerial's first eight hits now deal consistent damage (1%/2% → 1%), and its landing hitbox has been removed.
  • Neutral aerial has increased start-up (frame 5 → 7) and ending lag (FAF 42 → 46).
  • Neutral aerial's visual effects have changed. The electricity now flashes green, yellow, blue, cyan, and violet at varying intervals, instead of flashing mauve and cyan interchangeably.
  • Neutral aerial's animation is more refined, with Mewtwo facing the screen instead of to the side, and the final hit has Mewtwo flex its body to indicate the hitbox change.
  • The weakening of SDI makes neutral aerial significantly more difficult to escape from.
• Forward aerial:
  • Forward aerial deals 1% less damage (14% → 13%), hindering its KO potential.
  • Forward aerial has increased starting (frame 5 → 6) ending lag (FAF 36 → 38).
  • Forward aerial's angle has been altered (84° → 50°). This grants it combo potential into itself and improves its spacing potential, but removes its juggling potential.
  • Forward aerial's animation has slightly changed. Mewtwo now swipes forward while lunging, instead of shifting its body in unison with the swipe. This new animation widens its hitbox and re-positions its hitbox farther along Mewtwo's arm.
• Back aerial:
  • Back aerial has a larger x-axis offset (5.1u → 5.5u), improving its horizontal range. It also deals knockback (0 (base)/100 (scaling) → 20/90).
  • Back aerial has increased start-up (frame 12 → 13 (back)) and ending lag (FAF 32 → 40).
• Up aerial:
  • Near up aerial deals 1% more damage (10% → 11%) and has a longer duration (frames 10-13 → 10-14). Up aerial also deals more knockback (0 (base)/100 (scaling) → 40/97), improving the near hit's KO potential.
  • Mid and far up aerials deal less damage (11% (mid)/14% (far) → 10%/9%). and have increased start-up lag (frame 9 → 10).
  • Up aerial has increased ending lag (FAF 35 → 40).
  • Up aerial's sweetspot has been re-positioned from the tip of Mewtwo's tail to its base.
• Down aerial:
  • Aerial sweetspotted down aerial deals 1% less damage (16% → 15%).
  • Down aerial's sourspot is no longer a meteor smash (270° → 70°) and has increased knockback (10 (base)/100 (scaling) → 20/97). This improves its KO potential but hinders its edgeguarding potential.
  • Down aerial has decreased start-up (frame 18 → 15) and ending lag (FAF 47 → 46). It also auto-cancels earlier (frame 45 → 42). When coupled with Mewtwo's higher jump, these changes allow it to auto-cancel with a short hop.
  • Down aerial's animation has slightly changed. Mewtwo now stomps in a more pronounced motion while its foot is infused with dark energy. This new animation results in its hitboxes being more disjointed from Mewtwo's foot, improving its range.
  • The removal of meteor canceling significantly improves aerial sweetspotted down aerial's reliability.

Throws/other attacks

• Standing and dash grabs have increased ending lag (FAF 31 → 36 (standing), FAF 41 → 43 (dash)). Dash grab also has increased start-up lag (frame 8 → 9).
• Pummel:
  • Pummel deals 1% less damage (3% → 2%).
  • Pummel is faster (24 frames → 18).
• Forward throw:
  • Forward throw's Shadow Balls are larger, but have decreased ranges.
• Back throw:
  • Back throw deals 1% less damage (11% → 10%) and has decreased knockback scaling (80 → 75), hindering its KO potential.
  • Back throw's animation has slightly changed. Mewtwo now looks away while throwing the opponent, instead of looking at them.
• Up throw:
  • Up throw has decreased knockback (100 (base)/70 (scaling) → 72/65), significantly hindering its KO potential. Despite this, it has even less combo potential due to the universally decreased falling speeds combined with its increased ending lag, slightly hindering its safety at low percentages.
• Down throw:
  • Down throw deals 2% less damage (11% → 9%). When coupled with the removal of chain grabbing, this significantly hinders its damage-racking potential.
  • Down throw has an altered angle (69° → 74°).
  • Down throw's animation has slightly changed. Mewtwo now somersaults to strike with its tail, instead of spinning its entire body to do so. This new animation transitions slightly faster, but increases its ending lag.
• Floor attack:
  • Floor attacks now have a normal effect, instead of an electric effect.
  • Edge get-up and edge attack's animations have changed. They are now more standardized, making them significantly faster.
  • Due to the introduction of tripping in Brawl, Mewtwo has received a floor attack after tripping, a darkness-infused swipe on both sides.

Special moves

• Shadow Ball:
  • Fully charged Shadow Ball has decreased knockback (50 (base)/70 (scaling) → 30/67), hindering its KO potential. Shadow Ball's charge time has also increased, and it no longer has a hitbox while charging.
  • Fully charged Shadow Ball has a larger hitbox and increased range.
  • Grab now charge-cancels Shadow Ball, instead of immediately using it. Mewtwo also no longer endures lag when it uses its shield to charge-cancel.
  • Shadow Ball's movement pattern is significantly less erratic. This improves its accuracy, but makes it more predictable.
  • Fully charged Shadow Ball causes significantly less recoil. This improves its safety while off-stage, but hinders its utility as a situational recovery option.
  • Shadow Ball's visual effects have slightly changed. Saving a fully charged Shadow Ball now results in dark energy emanating from both of Mewtwo's hands, instead of one.
  • Shadow Ball no longer produces a fiery explosion upon contact with a surface.
  • The 19% damage increase to shields, and the increase to shieldstun significantly improve fully charged Shadow Ball's shield pressuring potential.
  • Mewtwo now only speaks when releasing a Shadow Ball after storing it in full charge rather than just releasing it.
• Confusion:
  • Due to consisting of nine small hitboxes instead of one large hitbox, Confusion deals ≈0.9505% less damage (10% → ≈9.0495%).
  • Confusion now functions like a traditional reflector, as it changes reflected projectiles to Mewtwo's ownership and has a damage multiplier (1.4×). It also has decreased ending lag (FAF 56 → 45). Altogether, these changes significantly improve its utility.
  • Aerial Confusion now grants a slight vertical boost after its first use, granting it recovery potential.
  • Confusion's visual effects have changed. It now appears as a violet translucent ripple, instead of a white sparkle. Compared to the previous animation, it is almost identical to the animation Confusion used in Generations V and VI.
  • Due to reflectors no longer cause the user to stun when they break, the Soul Breaker glitch is no longer possible to perform.
  • Mewtwo now stops falling when trapping an opponent, preventing opponents from being pulled through thin, hard platforms.
  • Mewtwo is now silent when using Confusion.
• Teleport:
  • Teleport grants a small amount of forward and/or backward momentum, but it plays out its momentum-based ending lag even if Mewtwo reappears on the