User:ThunderBrine/Opinions

My Opinions on current Smash Bros. characters (and how I want them to change in the next Smash entry)

I will be providing insight on each character through their concepts, persona, and movesets, if they have any to begin with. Then I will talk about their Smash Bros implementation. If I feel an animation or move is inadequate, I will give a suggestion for a replacement.

Disclaimer: I may have some controversial opinions about certain fundamental aspects of the Smash Bros series. If I feel that a character is too shallow, I may suggest some odd ideas.

I would like it if the next game implements more basic button combinations or basic attacks. I would like to see more concepts such as shield Specials, like Inkling’s Ink Recharge, or Steve’s Crafting Table. I would like to see a small expansion on grounded moves, such as smash throws, more floor getup moves like Shield, Jump, or Grab, and more edge getup moves like Shield and Grab. More aerial moves like shields, grabs, throws, smash attacks, etc.

Disclaimer: I am generally of the opinion that games, and characters by extension, are only limited by how many buttons/button combinations are on a controller. More buttons, more ways to express mechanics. I don’t think this will come up too much, but it’s just a fair warning when talking about controls specifically. When discussing changes, they will have to be within the possibility of current controller conventions.

We must keep in mind that Smash Bros’ combat was built upon the simple system introduced in the Kirby series, specifically the system introduced in Kirby Super Star that was later expanded on in later games. If it’s good and simple enough for Kirby, especially in those later entries, it’s most likely good enough for Smash Bros.

First-Party Characters

Franchise #1. Mii

Character #1. Mii Fighter

Concept, Creation, and Development

The Miis first debuted and were first playable on 2006-November 19th with the release of the Wii.

The Miis are characters that act as avatars, and thus are easily very appealing in the way that the player finds themselves appealing. Avatar characters are self-indulgent by nature of existence, and thus introducing them to a series is how newcomers who haven’t heard of many characters have a way of defaulting to something they know: themselves.

The Mii Fighters act as a basic introduction to fighting game fundamentals, and are quite possibly the easiest characters to play as to introduce the player, aside from Mario and Kirby.

As of Super Smash Brothers Ultimate, Miis are the only characters with custom moves, meaning that a newcomer could quite simply change the moveset if they find the current one unappealing, leading to an even easier introduction.

Mii Fighters generally have moves that are similar to other fighters, in order to create somewhat basic, adaptable movesets.

Defining Characteristics and Persona

Miis have no individual personalities themselves. They exist as conduits to interact with the world around them.

Abilities

Because Miis act as avatars, aka interchangeable placeholders for any and all characters to exist, they are usually placed in any environment and perform any and all actions the medium requires.

They can be pro athletes in one setting, regular citizens in another, and RPG characters in others. They have no single defining moveset or ability list.

Moveset (Brawler)

Mii Brawler has had 16 distinct Specials across the entirety of his career, which hilariously only spans two games.

Mii Brawler represents melee combat, which is described as having your hitboxes overlap with your hurtboxes, as you are generally attacking with your physical body. Because of this, most brawler characters have terrible range and are compensated with multiple forms of general physical enhancement, such as fast ground speed, fast air speed, and higher jump height, for example, in order to close gaps.

As a stereotypical brawler, Mii Brawler fulfills the niche quite well. They serve as a good basis for learning what other brawler characters expand on, like Captain Falcon, Donkey Kong, Little Mac, etc; they even mix in a projectile to touch on characters like Fox, Sheik, or Bayonetta.

Total Special Move List
(Restructured to include Shield Specials)

Neutral Special Move	Shot Put	Exploding Side Kick	Flashing Mach Punch
Sideward Special Move	Onslaught	Burning Dropkick	Headache Maker
Upward Special Move	Soaring Axe Kick	Helicopter Kick	Piston Punch	Thrust Uppercut
Downward Special Move	Head-On Assault	Foot Flurry	Feint Jump
Shield Special Move	Ultimate Uppercut	Suplex	Counter Throw
Final Smash	Omega Blitz
Discarded/Redesignated Moves	N/A

Moveset (Gunner)

Mii Gunner only has 13 distinct moves across the two games.

Mii Gunner is the complete opposite of Mii Brawler. They represent long-ranged combat, which is described as having your hitboxes not overlap with your hurtboxes and being incredibly disjointed from each other. When a projectile is fired from its source, it is then considered a disconnected/disjointed object, and usually the gap between the source and the object increases as time goes on. This creates a playstyle called the “zoner”, which generally revolves around overwhelming the target with multiple disconnected hitboxes while leaving your hurtbox completely safe at a distance.

As a stereotypical zoner, Mii Gunner fulfills the niche quite well. They serve as a good basis for learning what other zoner characters expand on, like Samus, Mega Man, Link, etc.

Total Special Move List
(Restructured to include Shield Specials)

Neutral Special Move	Charge Blast	Laser Blaze	Grenade Launch
Sideward Special Move	Gunner Missile	Stealth Burst
Upward Special Move	Arm Rocket	Lunar Launch	Cannon Uppercut	Cannon Jump Kick
Downward Special Move	Bomb Drop	Flame Pillar
Shield Special Move	Absorbing Vortex	Echo Reflector
Final Smash	Full Blast
Discarded/Redesignated Moves	N/A

Moveset (Swordfighter)

Mii Swordfighter has 13 distinct moves across the two games.

Mii Swordfighter represents weapon-based melee combat, which is described as having your hitboxes not overlap with your hurtboxes, but still awfully close to them; because of the hitboxes and hurtboxes' disjointed nature, the attacks that come from this type of character usually revolve around making sure that you attack successfully without putting your body at risk, AKA it teaches the fundamentals of spacing. In fighting game spaces, all fighters that use melee weapons are called “sword fighters”, generally alluding to the disjointed nature between the hurtbox of the character's body and the hitbox of the weapon. With this definition, anything can be a sword: a parasol, a spear, a staff, a hammer, etc. Many swordfighters tend to fight mid-range, weaving in and out of close quarters trying to make the most of what they have.

As a stereotypical swordfighter, Mii Swordfighter fulfills the niche, but not quite to the standard of Brawler and Gunner. They make heavy use of multiple projectiles and burst options, and don’t really lean into the fundamentals of swordfighting in a fighting game. We could reorganize the specials as I did here, but reorganizing them doesn’t really change Swordfighter’s issues. The transition from playing him to playing Marth (and co.), Ike, Link, Pit, Meta Knight, Cloud, Sephiroth, etc. is a bigger jump than the other two Miis.

If I have any desires for Mii Swordfighter specifically, I would say to get a wall jump, and perhaps focus on spacing like Marth and Sephiroth do.

Total Special Move List
(Restructured to include Shield Specials)

Neutral Special Move	Gale Strike	Shuriken of Light	Chakram
Sideward Special Move	Airborne Assault	Slash Launcher	Gale Stab	Power Thrust
Upward Special Move	Stone Scabbard	Skyward Slash Dash	Hero's Spin
Downward Special Move	Blurring Blade
Shield Special Move	Blade Counter	Reversal Slash
Final Smash	Final Edge
Discarded/Redesignated Moves	N/A

Aesthetics

Due to their status as customizable avatars, they are capable of being given any concept that exist, and making it work. They are plain, and thus, that makes them versatile.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Franchise #2. Super Mario

When it comes to my knowledge of the Mario franchise, I won’t say I’m proficient, and I may be lacking in certain contextual instances, so I apologize if any information is incorrect.

Character #1. Mario

Concept, Creation, and Development

Mario "Jumpman" Mario first debuted and was first playable on 1981-July 9 with the release of “Donkey Kong” for the Arcade.

Mario’s creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, conceived the concept of a love triangle and decided to make a game based on Popeye. This was abandoned due to technical reasons, so he decided to come up with a new idea using his own characters.

The characters of Popeye, Olive Oyl, and Bluto became the foundation of Mario, Pauline, and Donkey Kong the First (AKA Cranky Kong).

While Mario was initially described as a carpenter, Mario Bros. subsequently changed his occupation to a plumber because "the scenario dictates his role." Miyamoto stated that he wanted to create a hero resembling an "ordinary odd-job man"; he did not like the idea of a perfect hero, preferring the idea of "ordinary citizens doing something really good for society," and would be "embarrassed" for making a perfect hero. While Mario is often described as gifted or superhuman in his later appearances, he often carries a sense of humility akin to an ordinary man.

Miyamoto stated, "I like the idea of a middle-aged ordinary man doing something nice for other people". The detail about him being middle-aged would eventually be edited so that Mario would be a young adult instead.

Mario perfectly encapsulates the popular figure of speech "Jack of all trades, master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one”.

Defining Characteristics and Persona

In lore, Mario is considered a Star Child, one of seven children who carry an extraordinary amount of power and potential. He shares this title with Luigi, Donkey Kong, Peach, Wario, Bowser, and Yoshi.

When in a good mood (like when he encounters a friend), Mario is known for being kind, cheerful, playful, encouraging, courageous, headstrong, eager, and even cocky.

When in a bad mood (like when he encounters Donkey Kong, Bowser, or another threat), he can come off as recklessly assertive, bold, sassy, brutish/combative, dismissive, and scornfully contemptuous.

In competitive scenes, Mario generally shows good sportsmanship, even complimenting his opponents; However, he still occasionally gets visibly frustrated, such as when he sheds a tear, stomps his foot, or throws a small fit.

Abilities

Because Mario is a character that has existed for 30+ years, his repertoire has expanded to the point where including a reference to everything would be an impossibility, but I’ll try to include as much as possible.

When he was a child riding on Yoshi, he granted Yoshi super speed and revealed hidden blocks. He’s usually the fastest of all the babies in spin-off games as well, but sometimes he ties with his brother for that title.

In his adulthood, he’s usually portrayed as a stocky man with strong legs, giving him strong punches and kicks, and a powerful jump. Usually, he can jump to a height six times higher than him, but sometimes it's higher.

Back when Mario was a carpenter working with Foreman Spike and stopping DK, he started gaining a strong association with hammers.

His most iconic power-ups are also the only power-ups that existed when he debuted in a platformer: the Super Mushroom (doubles his height and power), the Fire Flower (shoots fireballs), and the Super Star (invincibility). Despite the normalization/trivialization/ubiquitination of these power-ups over the years, Mario has always had a special connection to the element of fire.

Mario has a lot of power-ups associated with flight. His most famous being the Super Feather and the Super Leaf.

Moveset

Mario’s moveset has been overall very simple. His moveset has basically just been the stuff that is commonly seen in the Mario platformers. Things like jumping, fireballs, maybe some spinning, etc. Interestingly, his old special, Mario Tornado, was relocated to his Downward Aerial.

Concerning old and already established content…

I think Mario’s moveset does necessitate small changes, but I wouldn’t know where to start. Let me start with his downward aerial, Mario Tornado; we could probably make it so it gives upward momentum—thus granting him lift—as a reference to the Star Spin Jump from Mario Galaxy. This has precedent in the fact that Corrin’s Backward Aerial provides forward momentum. We could probably give it a reflector hitbox as another reference to Super Mario Galaxy, but it also serves as a reference to the reflective properties of the spin when wielding the Cape in Super Mario World. However, that may be too many effects, and it could probably be made into a Special Move again.

Speaking of Cape, I would probably make it a Shield Special, given its defensive nature. But I do wonder if Cape is even an iconic Mario move anymore outside of Smash Bros. Raccoon/Tanooki Mario also has the same reflective properties in many games, and the Super Leaf has made more appearances than the Super Feather. Mario wacking a projectile with his tail would fulfill the same role, while feeling more… enduring to Mario’s legacy, as opposed to outdated. I have wondered about the Cape being turned into an Upward Special, simply for the fact that Cape Mario flies, but then I often wonder if I want to keep the Super Jump Punch as another move. Perhaps as an Upward Aerial Smash Attack.

The elephant in the room is FLUDD. FLUDD is an invention from Professor Elvin Gadd that debuted in Super Mario Sunshine, and hasn’t made many appearances since. There have been certain hazards in the series that may serve as references to FLUDD, like the Fire Shooters and Zap Nozzles from Super Mario Galaxy 2, if that’s worth anything. If FLUDD is staying, I would like FLUDD to have some off-stage benefit; when onstage, FLUDD would use the Squirt Nozzle like normal, but if Mario was in the air, he would use the Rocket Nozzle, to act as a recovery option. However, if this recovery sends Mario into a helpless state, then it would be pointless, as you wouldn’t be able to utilize the Rocket Nozzle and the Upward Special together.

Otherwise, FLUDD is just another single-use gameplay mechanic that doesn’t amount to much in the series, like Cappy from Super Mario Odyssey, and that’s not really reflective of the man who’s gone on so many adventures, yet has to represent the powers that don’t just embody himself, but also the entire franchise. However, this is not a hard rule; it’s just a preference. I would probably like to see FLUDD again if Elvin Gadd became a fighter.

When looking through Mario’s custom moves from Smash 4, I did not find anything interesting to act as a replacement for anything in Mario’s current moveset.

Concerning new content…

I feel that Mario should have a hammer attack introduced into his moveset. Perhaps they could be his Aerial Smash Attacks, or perhaps even his Grounded Smash Attacks.

It also feels weird how the Ground Pound (also known as the Butt Stomp) is not a standard move across the whole Mario cast. I can see it being a Downward Aerial Smash Attack.

In Super Mario Bros. Wonder, Mario officially got access to wall jumps that ascend vertically, as opposed to just rebounding off the wall. I think it would be cool if Mario got both types of Wall Jumps in Smash Bros. If he wanted to ascend, he would tilt the joystick up after getting close to a wall, and if he wanted to rebound, he would tilt the joystick away from the wall after getting close to a wall.

Total Special Move List
(Restructured to include Shield Specials)

Neutral Special Move	Fireball / Megavitamins
Sideward Special Move	Mario Tornado / Dr. Tornado
Upward Special Move	Super Jump Punch
Downward Special Move	F.L.U.D.D.
Shield Special Move	Cape / Super Sheet
Final Smash	Mario Finale / Doctor Finale
Discarded/Redesignated Moves	N/A

Aesthetics

In my opinion, I think when it comes to colors, a number between 8-12 is perfectly serviceable. Anything more feels like excess. We have the six primary colors (Yellow, Cyan, Magenta, Red, Green, Blue) and the 6 secondary colors when you mix any of the primaries together.

Over the years, Mario has acquired a fairly decent collection of alternate colors and some decent animations.

Now, the elephant in the room is the fact that yellow and white both have multiple costumes, and this produced a small debate. The debate concerned the fact that having a new model as a costume is better as opposed to just another texture recolor. However, the palettes in question were costumes that were regarded highly for many years. Personally, I am of the opinion that Builder Mario (and by extension the Mario Maker series) has done more for the Mario series, and that it’s ok to replace the Wario costume with it, even if Wario is a highly regarded character; I am also of the opinion that Super Mario Odyssey, while great, didn’t really contribute enough to the Mario series, especially 3D platformers specifically, to warrant the replacement of the Fire Mario costume with the Wedding Suit Costume. Again, personally, I’m ok with 12 skins, but other characters may experience some culling.

If I were to add costumes to Mario, the other outfits in Super Mario Odyssey or perhaps the outfits in Mario Kart Tour could also be appropriate.

Onto animations, the animations are fine. Concerning the idle animations, the most amount of idle animations a character has had before is four, thanks to Princess Peach. If they wanted to add another, I would be fine with Mario’s animation from the Mario and Luigi RPG series, where he rolls his shoulder and swings his arm when he's in combat. Concerning the taunt animations, given there are four taunt buttons, I would like for them to add the Super Mushroom animation back if we did not have to use multiple buttons to perform the same taunt; Otherwise, I think I would replace the hat swing.

Red	Introduced in Super Smash Brothers. In Super Smash Brothers, it was based on his appearance in Super Mario 64. In Super Smash Brothers Melee, it was based on his appearance in Super Mario 64, but he has a tanner skin complexion, darker overalls, and darker shoes. In Super Smash Brothers Brawl, it was based on his current appearance in Luigi's Mansion onwards, but with a more realistic design. In Super Smash Brothers 4, it was based on his appearance in Super Mario 3D Land. In Super Smash Brothers Ultimate , it was based on his appearance in Super Mario Odyssey.
Yellow	Introduced in Super Smash Brothers. In Super Smash Brothers, it was based on the classic outfit of Wario, Mario's "self-proclaimed rival", although the "M" on his cap and the buttons are yellow instead of blue and white, respectively. In Super Smash Brothers Melee and Super Smash Brothers Brawl , it was based on Wario's classic outfit, but with proper coloration. In Super Smash Brothers 4, it was based on Wario's classic outfit, although the "M" on his cap is green instead of blue.
Brown	Introduced in Super Smash Brothers. In Super Smash Brothers, it was based on Foreman Spike from Wrecking Crew.
Blue	Introduced in Super Smash Brothers. In Super Smash Brothers, it was based on his appearance in promotional artwork for Mario Bros., with the colors of the overalls and shirt swapped. The blue shirt and red overalls also resemble Mario's sprite in Super Mario All-Stars.
Green	Introduced in Super Smash Brothers. In Super Smash Brothers. to Super Smash Brothers Brawl, it resembles his appearance on the Japanese boxart for Wrecking Crew. In Super Smash Brothers 4, it resembles Luigi's appearance from promotional artwork for the arcade version of Mario Bros., with the colors of the overalls and shirt swapped. It also resembles Jinbe from Mole Mania, another game developed by Shigeru Miyamoto.
Black	Introduced in Super Smash Brothers Melee. In Super Smash Brothers Melee, it was based on Foreman Spike from Wrecking Crew. Unlike his Brown coloration, his hat and overalls are a much darker brown and are more desaturated, and the shirt is white instead of tan, making it resemble the Hammer Suit’s sprite in Super Mario Bros. 3. In Super Smash Brothers Brawl onwards, the palette has become more monochromatic since its debut in the original Super Smash Brothers
White	Introduced in Super Smash Brothers Brawl. In Super Smash Brothers Brawl onwards, it was based on Fire Mario.
Cyan	Introduced in Super Smash Brothers 4. In Super Smash Brothers 4, it was based on his appearance on the Japanese (resale version) and European covers of the NES version of Mario Bros.
Striped	Introduced in Super Smash Brothers 4. In Super Smash Brothers 4 onwards, it was based on his appearances from Family Computer Golf: U.S. Course and NES Open Tournament Golf.
Purple	Introduced in Super Smash Brothers 4. In Super Smash Brothers 4, it resembles Waluigi. It also resembles Mario's appearance with the L and W Emblems equipped in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. In Super Smash Brothers Ultimate, it resembles Mario's "Waluigi" outfit in Super Mario Odyssey.
Builder: Yellow	Introduced in Super Smash Brothers Ultimate. In Super Smash Brothers Ultimate, it was based on Builder Mario from Super Mario Maker. Replaces his Yellow costume from the previous games, which was based on Wario.
Wedding: White	Introduced in Super Smash Brothers Ultimate. In Super Smash Brothers Ultimate, it was based on Wedding Mario from Super Mario Odyssey. Replaces his White costume from the previous games, which was based on Fire Mario.
{{{c13}}}	{{{desc13}}}
{{{c14}}}	{{{desc14}}}
{{{c15}}}	{{{desc15}}}
{{{c16}}}	{{{desc16}}}

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Dr. Mario

I generally do not hold any respect for Doctor Mario as a character in Smash Bros, and he is usually the first on my chopping block. Even if he was one of my main characters in Smash 4.

Firstly, he’s a glorified costume and not his own individual. Unless Nintendo comes out with new lore saying how there's a new Mario brother or cousin who has the last name of Mario and became a doctor, he will always be derivative of Mario Mario and even Luigi Mario to some extent. As a derivative, he is in a much more egregious position than other clone characters that are in, including Peach and Daisy, simply because his characterization is non-existent and should not exist.

Hypothetically, if Melee was released, and decided to clone Peach to make Daisy instead of making Doctor Mario, and Daisy was the one to not be in Brawl, and then came back with Peach’s Melee moveset, that would be infinitely more tolerable than the reality we currently live in. And because Daisy would have been made in Melee and not Ultimate, we probably would have had another Echo character in the roster created during Ultimate’s development. Whichever potential Echo you could think of would probably have more worth than Doctor Mario. There’s probably one forming in your mind right now.

Now that that tangent is over, in any case, the only unique moves Doctor Mario has to his name, currently, are his Downward Aerial and his Backward Throw. I can easily see those moves being put on Mario’s moveset. Doc’s Downward Aerial could be Mario’s Downward Aerial Smash Attack, and his Backward Throw could be his Backward Aerial Strong Attack.

This is a perfect opportunity to talk about my control differences. You know how tilting the joystick and then pressing the attack button results in a Strong Attack, while doing those motions simultaneously results in a Smash Attack? I would like to see Tilts and Smashes applied to Grabs and Aerials. I think having those distinctions will help in giving more character throws and attacks explicitly for combos, as well as throws and attacks explicitly for knockouts.

White	Introduced in Super Smash Brothers Melee. In Super Smash Brothers Melee, it was based on his original design in prior to Dr. Mario 64, except he wears black jeans instead of his normal white pants, and the headband is brown instead of white or black. In Super Smash Brothers Ultimate, it was based on his appearance in Dr. Mario 64, but with navy jeans instead of white trousers.
Red	Introduced in Super Smash Brothers Melee. In Super Smash Brothers Melee, it resembles the color scheme of Fever, the red virus from the Dr. Mario series. Due to its light coloration, it resembles the color of the scrubs worn by Nurse Toadstool. In Super Smash Brothers 4, this costume takes on a more neutral coloration, resulting in a more overt red.
Blue	Introduced in Super Smash Brothers Melee. In Super Smash Brothers Melee, it resembles the color scheme of Chill, the blue virus from the Dr. Mario series.
Green	Introduced in Super Smash Brothers Melee. In Super Smash Brothers Melee, it resembles his appearance in Dr. Mario for the original Game Boy. It also resembles the Green Virus from Dr. Mario Game.
Black	Introduced in Super Smash Brothers Melee. In Super Smash Brothers Melee, it is referred to as the "Unlicensed Doctor" on the Melee website. Also invokes the coats worn by earlier doctors before the shift to white coats.
Yellow	Introduced in Super Smash Brothers 4. In Super Smash Brothers 4, it resembles the color scheme of Weird, the yellow virus from the Dr. Mario series.
Purple	Introduced in Super Smash Brothers 4.
Pink	Introduced in Super Smash Brothers 4. In Super Smash Brothers 4, it resembles the color of the scrubs worn by Nurse Toadstool.
{{{c9}}}	{{{desc9}}}
{{{c10}}}	{{{desc10}}}
{{{c11}}}	{{{desc11}}}
{{{c12}}}	{{{desc12}}}
{{{c13}}}	{{{desc13}}}
{{{c14}}}	{{{desc14}}}
{{{c15}}}	{{{desc15}}}
{{{c16}}}	{{{desc16}}}

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Character #2. Luigi

Concept, Creation, and Development

Luigi Mario first debuted and was first playable on 1983-March 14 with the release of “Mario Bros.” for the Game & Watch.

Luigi was conceived when the concept of multiplayer play became a topic of importance. Because of limited technology, multiplayer could only be expressed as multiple identical player characters, as opposed to distinct characters. Nintendo leaned into this, stating that the duplicate Mario character that appeared when playing Mario Bros was a character named Luigi and he was Mario’s twin brother. This has some amusing implications for other characters, but this is not about them, this is Luigi.

In many ways, Luigi encapsulates all of the greatness of Mario, but is regarded as less spectacular.

Defining Characteristics and Persona

In lore, Luigi is another star child, destined for great things. However, while he matches many aspects of his older twin brother, he’s usually always the understudy.

Luigi is portrayed as a cautious, clumsy, self-conscious, and timid person who is especially afraid of ghosts, but like his brother Mario, he is kind-hearted and heroic. He becomes easily startled and hates dangerous situations, but overcomes his fears and acts like a hero when necessary. Luigi is sensitive and can be emotional, as he cries easily when he is particularly upset or scared. In most moments, Luigi is portrayed as a silly buffoon who comes up with wacky ideas to solve problems.

He is often portrayed as Mario’s weaker link, in some ways. He is sometimes captured by Bowser or other threats, and when both brothers are captured, it is usually Luigi who is imprisoned under less security compared to his brother. If his brother is captured solely, Luigi meekly and cowardly tries to save him, instead of assertively rushing to his aid. He is often shown to have an inferiority complex compared to his brother. He is constantly overlooked by members of the Mushroom Kingdom, is not often remembered by the Koopa Kingdom, and pretty much doesn’t exist in other kingdoms like the Beanbean Kingdom, while Mario seems to have an established fanbase everywhere. When he goes on his own adventures, he performs rather pathetically, and his stories are heavily embellished by him using flowery exaggerations, with people who were there alongside Luigi quickly correcting his lies.

Abilities

Ever since his debut, Luigi has pretty much always been a carbon copy of his brother. Luigi has consistently shared occupations with Mario, which include working with Foreman Spike as a wrecking crewman with a hammer, being a plumber, and defending Princess Peach from Bowser. Any tool or skill in Mario’s toolkit and moveset can and has been given to Luigi as well. Over the years, there have been some attempts to separate the two, but mileage tends to vary.

As a child, he usually tends to have the same characteristics as his brother: he’s very speedy, and sometimes he’s even faster because he’s naturally skittish and prone to flee; When running, he boasts a higher top speed, but poorer acceleration than his brother. Throughout his childhood and adulthood, because he’s very wary, he’s usually very defensive in combat, as opposed to Mario’s aggressive nature. Luigi usually has a better jump than Mario, able to jump nine times his height instead of six, and his Scuttle slows his descent.

Whereas Mario has always had a connection to the element of fire, Luigi has been quite wishy-washy over the years. In the beginning, he used fire like his brother (with it sometimes being green-colored). A lot of times, Luigi is associated with electricity; In the Mario and Luigi RPG series, he has the Thunderhand, and in the Paper Mario series, he once had the nickname “The Green Thunder”; In the sports games, he uses lightning and plasma to empower his strikes. He’s also been associated with air and wind; other sports titles usually see him using whirlwinds to empower his athleticism. More recently, Luigi has been portrayed as being the opposite of Mario more and more, meaning he now uses the element of ice and cold. In some installments, some of Mario’s powers are given to Luigi to use. In Super Mario 64 DS, Luigi is described as wispy, and the Power Flower manifests his wispy personality into a power called Vanish Luigi.

Moveset

Luigi’s moveset suffers from the same problems as Mario. Luigi has been around so long, relying on the same simple tools that Mario uses, that he doesn’t really have a niche to fill.

The only focus Luigi has had in his series was in:

1. a singular title that was a variation of another entry in his home platformer series.
2. a singular title in a series he shares with his brother that places emphasis on their combined strength as opposed to their individual merits
3. a series that places emphasis on a singular disposable gadget instead of introducing more power-ups or abilities unique to Luigi.

Concerning old and already established content…

Just like with Mario, his existing move Super Jump Punch could be made into an Upward Aerial Smash Attack. But again, that brings into question what could replace the moveslot. I humorously think that Luigi’s Green Missile could be repurposed as an Upward Special, simply because the animation would be Luigi squatting down and launching upward almost like a Crouching High Jump from “Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic: Super Mario Bros. Edition”, or the Super Jump from Super Paper Mario. Otherwise, I would be fine with any number of flying power-ups. I’m partial to the Super Acorn personally, simply because it was the main flying power-up in New Super Luigi U.

When looking through Luigi’s custom moves from Smash 4, the only one I found appealing enough to replace his base moveset was the Iceball.

Concerning new content…

Again, it feels weird how the Ground Pound is not a standard move across the whole Mario cast as a Downward Aerial Smash Attack.

Personally, I feel conflicted about adding the Poltergust as a Special into his moveset, because it would just be parroting Mario by introducing another invention created by Professor Elvin. But if we don’t add it, it would be like eliminating an entire series worth of material, but that series itself doesn’t really add that much individual material as is, just the vacuum. It feels like we have been trying to get Luigi de-cloned since Melee, and introducing these aspects would be an act of regression in a certain way.

If we were to bring the Poltergust into the moveset, it could function like King K. Rool’s Blunderbuss or Kirby’s and Dedede’s Inhale, where it could reflect projectiles, but I get the feeling that people would be upset at seeing a move being cloned and repeated across the roster. We have precedent for this, but I’ll get to the precedent much later on a different character. Luigi’s Poltergust could also blow air out and also blow elements as well, so we could potentially have a move that shoots out wind like Gust Bellows, fire like Bowser/Charizard, water like Squirtle/Mario, and ice like Ice Climbers. That sounds like a lot…

I don’t have many ideas that would make a good Shield Special that would play off of Luigi’s defensive play, counteroffensive play, or supportive play. I could see Luigi Logic becoming a good idea; Luigi Logic was a mechanic in "Mario and Luigi: Brothership" which made Luigi use the environment to his advantage in battles. Super Smash Brothers doesn’t have any environmental play at the moment where a move’s effect will change if they are on a different stage, unless you’re counting Steve, whose moves are usually normalized when playing a competitively viable stage or if you’re playing with no hazards anyway. The closest thing I can think of is Luigi digging up a random item from the ground like Peach’s Vegetable depending on the stage, which could be good, depending on what we do with Peach. After all, Luigi was also playable in “Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic: Super Mario Bros. Edition”.

I think I would also like to see Polterpup. Polterpup is Luigi’s only confirmed pet, and in the Luigi’s Mansion series, he functions as a revive; when Luigi falls, Polterpup will heal all of his health if certain parameters are met, which was usually Luigi being in possession of a specific item; the item in question was a powerful item, gameplay-wise. One could interpret this in Smash Bros as Luigi sacrificing his item to heal a certain amount of health. A move of such passive nature would be fitting, as in the Mario and Luigi games, Luigi is characterized by his tank-like stat spread. However, this is a dangerous move, as it could be used in the future to justify a character having a 1-UP or an S-Flag or the equivalent of such items in their movesets. However, if Polterpup is not given a self-supportive role, he could be an offensively supportive role, using his mischievous nature to either damage the foe or inflict them with effects like curse or stun.

I would like to use his electricity abilities, but they haven’t been used in a long while, and since then electricity has been more synonymous with another character: Wario.

I think one change I would like to see is Luigi getting a wall jump. The wall jump debuted in Super Mario 64 and was given to Mario to navigate three-dimensional spaces in a more unique and potentially easier way. Yet when the game got a remake on the DS and introduced Luigi, Wario, and Yoshi to the game, they all couldn’t wall jump, and only Mario was given the ability. The decision to not give those characters access to the wall jump was foolish at the time, and personally I’m happy that it didn’t become a defining character trait of Luigi or any of the other characters.

Total Special Move List
(Restructured to include Shield Specials)

Neutral Special Move	Fireball
Sideward Special Move	Luigi Cyclone
Upward Special Move	Super Jump Punch	Green Missile
Downward Special Move	???
Shield Special Move	???
Final Smash	Poltergust G-00
Discarded/Redesignated Moves	N/A

Aesthetics

Luigi has acquired a fairly decent collection of alternate colors. Luigi is actually one character that hasn’t removed or changed any alternate costumes at all. He has kept the same costumes and has steadily gained more over the years.

Luigi also has a lot of color diversity, so his costumes aren’t exactly begging to be removed. I think that the only skin that I would like to see Luigi try out would be a Mr. L skin from Super Paper Mario to represent the color Black, and perhaps Luigi’s Golf outfit to mirror Mario. Also, the outfits in Mario Kart Tour could also be appropriate.

Now the animations… I think they're fine. Luigi’s character revolves around being a quirky, unorthodox, awkward, pathetic, crybaby loser who’s always down on his luck in comparison to Mario. I think the animations that he already has do well to encompass those weird quirks.

Classic: Green	Introduced in Super Smash Brothers. In Super Smash Brothers, it is based on his appearance in Super Mario World. In Super Smash Brothers Melee, it is based on his appearance in Mario Kart 64. In Super Smash Brothers Brawl, it is based on his current appearance in Luigi's Mansion onwards, but with a more realistic appearance. In Super Smash Brothers Ultimate, it is based on his appearance in Super Mario Odyssey without a bowtie.
Classic: White	Introduced in Super Smash Brothers. In Super Smash Brothers, it is based on his in-game sprite from the original Super Mario Bros. In Super Smash Brothers Brawl onward, it resembles Fire Luigi.
Classic: Pink	Introduced in Super Smash Brothers. In Super Smash Brothers, the original Super Smash Brothers. website referred to this costume as "Strawberry Luigi". It resembles his appearance in Wrecking Crew.
Classic: Cyan	Introduced in Super Smash Brothers. In Super Smash Brothers, it resembles Mario's