Project M

The logo for Project M.

Project M is a hack for Super Smash Bros. Brawl designed to make the gameplay more closely resemble that of Super Smash Bros. Melee. The development team is partly descended from the original developers for Brawl+, now known as the PMBR, or Project M Backroom. It has members from over ten countries, though as of now, only an NTSC version has been released.

Project M has been featured as a prominent event at several national tournaments, such as GENESIS 2, the Zenith series, and is on the game lineup for Apex 2014.

Universal changes

The actual version of Project M has two versions: Full Set and Wi-Fi. The former has Stock Control and Input Assistance as new features, which allow newer players to use advanced techniques better and have a stock advantage over experienced ones. However, Replays and online play won't work properly; the latter can glitch since it still detects players with unmodded Brawl games, causing the game to freeze. A similar thing happens to replays; if a Project M replay is viewed on the regular Brawl, it may cause malfunctions when beggining a match, possibly because of the stage replacement. The Wi-Fi version allows these two things to work properly, though it doesn't contain the new battle features, likely because Stock Control would have caused potential griefing within online matches.

Both versions alter the original Brawl gameplay to be more resemblant to that of Melee, along with other changes to make the game more competitive in general, while keeping other Brawl beneficial techniques such as crawl, wall cling or DACUS. These changes include:

• Default match type is 4 stock with an 8-minute timer.
• The following mechanics have been altered to match their Melee forms:
  • Air dodging applies a directional boost and causes helplessness, implementing wavedash techniques. Like in Brawl, however, they instantly grab nearby items during the first frames.
  • L-canceling halves landing lag when a shield button is pressed 7 frames before landing, and characters will flash white if performed correctly.
  • Dash dancing's timing has been reverted, and characters can shield during one.
  • Crouching cancels dashes.
  • Crouch canceling reduces knockback.
  • Consecutive jabbing is removed.
  • Hitting the C-Stick down while crouching uses a down smash (in Brawl it uses a down tilt).
  • Double jump canceling reimplemented; its usage varies slightly between characters.
  • The abilities to edge tech and edge cancel attacks have been implemented.
  • Jumps can be cancelled with grabs.
  • Powershielding can reflect projectiles during the first 2 frames.
  • Shieldstun formula reverted.
  • Edges cannot be auto-sweetspotted, so they cannot be grabbed neither from the back, nor during recovery attacks. Some moves like Raptor Boost or Bowser Bomb still use this feature, though.
  • Window for teching reverted.
  • Amount of freeze frames reduced.
  • More forwards momentum is conserved when jumping.
  • Altered camera that behaves similarly to in Melee's Camera Mode, as well as being capable of zooming out indefinitely, and rotating around the entire stage.
  • Hitstun canceling has been removed.
  • Random tripping has been removed.
  • Grab aerials cause helplessness if they miss a ledge, but can be used after an air dodge with the shield + attack combination, like in Melee. They still act as tether recoveries, though they won't restore a character's midair jumps if they drop from the ledge. They are now also more efficient since they ignore edge-hoggers; characters will still grab the ledge without affecting them, and when pulled up they perform an automatic jump get-up.
  • Characters now grunt instantly when hit by a strong attack, while in Brawl, they did a second afterwards. There are also medium-damage and high-damage groans as well, with most characters using unused voice samples from the Sound Test.
  • If an already-struck character gets hit by something else, the new knockback either replaces the old knockback (if the gap between the attacks was 10 frames or less) or has its direction and power combined with the old knockback (after 10 frames). (In Brawl, whether to replace the old knockback is based on the relative power of the two attacks, and no merging is performed.)
  • Brawl's random input delay is fixed.
  • Meteor smash angle reverted, therefore implementing spikes.
  • When dash-grabbing a foe, forward momentum is completely negated.
  • Grab physics reverted: characters can grab opponents behind them, though they cannot be grabbed by the lower legs or arms.
  • Locking is removed: characters hit when lying on the floor will instantly get up after bouncing.
• Footstool jumping is done with a taunt input.
• Tripping can be teched.
• A glide toss can be done in the air.
• Smash 64's taunt canceling returns.
• Gliding is no longer usable with a jump button: a special move must be used instead to do so.
• Stages such as Dream Land, Hyrule Castle and Fountain of Dreams replace stages such as Bridge of Eldin and 75m.
• For the Full Set version, players can now turn on Input Assistance which implements a 3 frame buffer window to help newer players master advanced techniques, replacing the "Damage Gauge" option. Wi-Fi version instead has a different Buffer option that replaces handicaps, from 1 to 30, with these numbers being the respective amount of buffer frames.
• Stock Control added (Full Set version), replacing handicaps. Players can now control the amount of stocks each player starts with before battle, from 1 to 30 stocks for each individual character. A Crew mode has been added in which the game keeps track of stocks retained after battles.
• Stage selection menu modified to include built-in stage striking control.
• Super Armor has been removed. Standardized knockback resistance system categorizes armor as Light, Medium, or Heavy. Some characters feature color overlays to indicate such armor, with more opaque overlays generally indicating stronger armor.
• Special Brawl's "Curry Mode" is being replaced by "Turbo Mode," in which all moves can cancel into any other move or action on hit or on shield.
• Timers and Starmen are removed and replaced with ordinary stickers, even for Training mode. In 3.0, Superspicy Curry will be replaced with an item that activates "Turbo Mode" on the spot. Other items remain unchanged, though.

Character changes

Melee veterans

Melee veterans should be assumed to have been reverted to their Melee moveset and properties and have been changed from there. This includes special and normal moves, properties such as gravity, weight, run-speed, air mobility but does not include sound effects, textures, or vertexes. However, some characters, due to having poor attributes and movesets in Melee (such as Ness, Kirby or Zelda), had some elements recycled from Brawl and Smash 64 or have been given entirely new buffs.

Bowser

Bowser's alternate costume in Project M.

Seeing as how he was bottom tier in the former, Bowser was heavily buffed overall from Melee to Project M.

• Significantly larger, allowing him more reach in his attacks.
• Slightly heavier.
• Bowser gains an armor mechanic, where many moves and animations now have some sort of launch resistance: for example, his crouch, crawl, and charging up smash have weak damage-based resistance, while his dash attack, smashes, neutral air, Koopa Klaw, and Bowser Bomb have strong knockback-based resistance (shown by a red flash).
• Many of Bowser's attacks, most notably his forward smash, up smash, back air, forward air, up air, forward throw, back throw, and down throw, do much more damage, shield damage, and knockback than either one of his past incarnations.
• Flame cancel implemented from Melee, allowing Bowser lagless Fire Breath startup.
• Regains the Koopa Klaw move from Melee, allowing Bowser another set of powerful grabs and more utility than his Flying Slam.
• Fortress Hogging is made possible again, allowing Bowser to quickly and efficiently grab the ledge to edgeguard opponents.
• Bowser Bomb's fall is stronger and deals 24% damage. It also grabs ledges from both sides, and can be canceled with a jump before the max leap height when used from the ground, letting Bowser follow up combos or even KO them outright after using a move that knocked his foe airborne.
• Larger size increases Bowser's hurtbox, making him more vulnerable to projectiles and combos.
• Bowser Bomb no longer has a hitbox during its jump.
• The second hit of down tilt is now optional; it is activated by pressing the attack button a second time.
• Pummel now involves biting opponents, like with Koopa Klaw in Melee.

In terms of cosmetics, Bowser now has just one idle pose, where he roars slightly while leaning his head backwards. The former second idle pose is now used as his new down taunt, where he emits a roar reminiscent of that from Melee. He has a new costume based off of his "Dry Bowser" appearance from the New Super Mario Bros. series.

Captain Falcon

Captain Falcon was slightly buffed from Melee to Project M due to some Brawl-based retained changes which increased his options.

• Retains ability to grab foes on the ledge with Falcon Dive, like in Brawl.
• Aerial Raptor Boost now spikes foes and propels Captain Falcon with forward momentum if it lands, and can now grab the ledge. When used towards an edge from the ground, Captain Falcon now goes into the ending animation instead of instantly becoming helpless, allowing to grab the edge and come back to the stage.
• Falcon Punch can be turned around up to 4 times.
• Up and down taunts have switched positions. When using down taunt, he now also speaks a silent "Yes!"
• Pressing the up taunt button when a sweetspotted Knee Smash connects results in Falcon exclaiming "YESZ!"

Donkey Kong

• Dash attack has been changed. It is now a roll similar to that of the Donkey Kong Country series. It acts much like the original one, but has light armor and can roll off edges and platforms similar to Kirby's Melee dash attack. Can be jumped out of in midair. Overall has more utility than the old dash attack.
• Neutral aerial is now an effective approach option; it was given more range and slight invincibility on his arms during part of the attack.
• Forward aerial comes out faster and has more KO potential.
• Down aerial's ending lag has been shortened.
• Back throw's knockback has increased.
• Hand Slap now has much wider grounded hitboxes that ground-bounce the opponent and only slaps the ground twice per button press (making it optionally much shorter); it functions well for shield pressure and tech-chasing.

Falco

Falco was reverted to become a clone of Fox again, rather than a semi-clone (as he was in Brawl). However, he was very slightly nerfed from Melee due to a few of his options being weakened.

• Ability to DACUS, Gatling Combo, and RAR retained from Brawl.
• Blaster shots decay in damage based on distance.
• Reflector no longer has intangibility on the first frame of activation.
• Has Brawl's running animation.
• Jab has its Brawl animation.

Fox

Fox's alternate costume in Project M.

Fox was slightly nerfed from Melee due to a few of his options being weakened.

• Reflector can be cancelled even after reflecting a projectile, which prevents a shine lock from characters with fast projectiles such as another Fox or Falco.
• Blaster shots decay in damage based on distance.
• Can no longer perform the waveshine infinite.
• Reflector no longer has intangibility on the first frame of activation.

In terms of cosmetics, Fox now has an alternate costume based off both his appearance in Melee as well as earlier Star Fox designs of him.

Ganondorf

Ganondorf was buffed from Melee to Project M.

• Midair jumping height increased.
• Forward and down tilts are those of Brawl, but the former can now be angled and both possess less ending lag.
• Dash attack has its speed from Melee, but uses Brawl damage and knockback values, being much stronger.
• New up tilt: Ganondorf lifts his foot, then brings down an electric stomp of high reach. Lasts for about 60 frames, and hits twice, much like Captain Falcon's u-tilt in Smash 64, with the second hit having strong power and knockback. Foot lift deals 8% damage, then the stomp does 22%, for a total of 30% (3% more than the Brawl up tilt).
• Forward air retains its sourspot from Brawl, but it was decreased in size and now has the strength of his Melee f-air, with the sweetspot having slightly better knockback.
• Can now DACUS.
• Down smash's hits now link better.
• Warlock Punch keeps Brawl format, and it can also be turned around a maximum of five times.
• Retains Flame Choke from Brawl. Grounded version does 12% damage (3% more), while aerial version still sweetspots ledges and can pull off sacrificial KOs (though the latter is situational due to him now possessing better edge-guarding tactics).
• If Flame Choke is used off an edge, Ganondorf will go into the ending animation of the attack instead of instantly becoming helpless, so he can grab it and come back to he stage.
• Dark Dive not only has got its Melee power for grabbing attack, but it keeps animation and uppercut from Brawl, as well as being able to grab edgehogging characters for powerful stage spikes and possesing a large edge sweetspot, making recovery safer.
• Wizard's Foot has its sourspots removed for both grounded and aerial versions. They also have less ending lag.
• Up throw has less base knockback so it can follow-up better. It also uses its Brawl animation.
• Down throw's knockback scaling weakened for increased chaingrab potential.
• New up tilt has decreased knockback scaling and can no longer drag opponents towards Ganondorf.
• Forward smash is no longer a horizontal finisher, giving fastfallers a better resistance against it.
• Aerial Flame Choke now sends foes away from Ganondorf upon landing, making it harder to combo into other moves.
• Lack of Gerudo Dragon leaves Ganondorf with less combo finishing options.
• Grounded Flame Choke can now be teched, acting more as a tech-chaser.
• Forward tilt uses a slightly different animation: Ganondorf no longer drops his leg after the kick, but instead retreats it to himself quicker, having less lag.
• Sweetspot of forward air has a darkness effect. Dark Dive now also makes Ganondorf briefly flash purple during the uppercut portion.
• Back air posseses an electric effect. Both it and neutral attack now also use a different "punch" SFX similar to that of his side taunt.

Ice Climbers

• Retain a nerfed version of Brawl's desynching.
• Partner is controllable when grabbing an opponent, enabling Brawl chaingrabs to be performed to some degree.
• Can no longer wobble.
• Freeze glitch has been removed.

Jigglypuff

Jigglypuff has remained relatively unchanged from Melee to Project M, although it has gained a few additional options from mechanics retained from Brawl.

• Dash attack remains cancellable from Brawl, allowing Jigglypuff to DACUS and improving its mobility.
• Down aerial hits faster.
• Sing puts enemies with low percentages to sleep for longer than it did in Melee and Brawl, increasing its utility.
• Neutral attack and up aerial now use the Fan sound effect.

Kirby

• Can now aim Final Cutter horizontally, and can also be canceled with a jump or air dodge after a hit, extending recovery and combo options. The vertical version is otherwise the same.
• Dash attack from Melee has returned, with more versatility, less ending lag and can be canceled with a jump after dropping off an edge, possesing more combo ability.
• Neutral air initiates faster.
• Back air has more range at Kirby's front, like the Smash 64 version.

Link

Link's alternate costume in Project M.

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Link has been heavily buffed from Melee to Project M.

• Link's dashing speed has been sped up by a small bit.
• Most of Link's normal attacks have slight speed and power increases. For example, Link's dash attack and down smash both have earlier IASA frames so that they can be acted out of sooner and are generally safer to use on shielding opponents.
• Link's forward tilt has been sped up to match Young Link's version, making it more useful than before.
• The up smash has been sped up as well so that the three slashes can link together better.
• The aerial version of Spin Attack gains more horizontal momentum than in Melee. The attack also can no longer be charged when on the ground, instead having its Melee power.
• Link can now bomb jump consistently for recovery. By inputting a glide toss while airborne, Link can toss the bomb up the right distance to Spin Attack into it, allowing Link to Spin Attack again.
• Gale Boomerang replaced with a regular Boomerang, designed with a light-blue trail to feel like its Smash 64 incarnation. Like in Melee, it is stronger if thrown close to opponents. It also has a better angle. Deals damage from 13% to 7%, with the comeback dealing 5%.
• Link's Hero's Bow has had its charge speed increased by 33%, its knockback increased, and its knockback angle changed to send at a much more horizontal angle, but it retains its Brawl trajectory.

In terms of aesthetics, Link now has an alternate costume that is based off of his appearance in earlier titles, such as Melee and Ocarina of Time.

Luigi

Luigi's alternate costume in Project M.

• He now has two helplessness animations: one for air dodging, and the other for Super Jump Punch, taken from Melee and Brawl respectively. The latter has better air speed, allowing Luigi to recover efficiently with the move like in Brawl.
• Dash attack uses Melee trajectories, but hits faster and seven times (as opposed to six) like in Brawl, being better at racking up damage (also because of the different staleness).
• Down tilt does 15% damage (6% more than before) and acts like a Mr. Saturn, dealing zero knockback with high hitstun and the "Pwaaah" sound effect.
• Fireball travels faster and can be followed up quicker.
• Green Missile misfire mechanics changed. One in six uses of the attack is guaranteed to be a misfire: if five uses are passed normally, then the next will always be a misfire. If the attack will misfire, Luigi flashes green before it goes off; continuing to charge the move past this flash will disable the misfire and cause it to occur the next time the move is used instead. This allows Luigi to control when a misfire is used.
• Luigi Cyclone acts like in Melee, but when the special button is mashed, it gives better height - between that of Melee and Brawl -, sometimes being capable of KOing off the top like in Smash 64.
• Keeps horizontal momentum when grabbing opponents, making throws KO more easily when combined with wavedashing.
• Forward air emits a Fan sound effect and uses a slash effect, like the forward smash.
• Down smash has Melee trajectory, but uses Brawl animation.
• Green Missile displays additional green flames coming from Luigi's back.

Luigi now has an alternate costume based off of the appearance of Mr. L in Super Paper Mario.

Mario

Mario's alternate costume in Project M, based upon Dr. Mario's appearance in Melee.

• Fireball has less ending lag.
• Super Jump Punch can be cancelled by a wall jump any time it is touching the wall, but only the first Super Jump Punch. Until Mario lands again, Super Jump Punch must touch the wall for the whole duration of the move.
• Mario Tornado creates more vertical distance. As a cosmetic change, it also has star graphics, as a reference to Super Mario Galaxy.
• Mario is a slight mix of himself and Melee's Dr. Mario; up smash, back aerial, and the beginning of forward aerial have Dr. Mario-like properties, and his Fireball has a trajectory more like Megavitamins. Mario's down taunt was also changed to Dr. Mario's taunt from Melee.

Dr. Mario appears as Mario's alternate costume. Players may switch between Mario and Dr. Mario costumes, similarly to Wario's alternate costume sets for his Wario Land and WarioWare appearances. There is no difference in gameplay, although sound effects and aesthetics will change.

Marth

Marth was very slightly buffed from Melee to Project M, but otherwise remains almost the same character.

• Dash attack can now be cancelled, allowing Marth to DACUS and improving his mobility.
• Down aerial has less ending lag.
• Dancing Blade's speed altered to be between that of Melee and Brawl, possesing overall more utility.

In terms of cosmetics, Marth now has a purple costume as opposed to a light blue one (from Brawl). He once again uses his default costume when fighting on the blue team.

Mewtwo

Mewtwo's appearance in Project M (left)
and its alternate costume (right)

Mewtwo was buffed from Melee to Project M.

• General play changes, including decreased aerial lag, stronger attacks, faster dash speed, and an increase in weight.
• Mewtwo's tail is now significantly longer, greatly increasing the range of any attacks that utilize its tail, such as its up tilt, down tilt, and forward tilt.
• Confusion's effect is larger and sends victims into a tumbling state. Projectiles reflected by Confusion now inflict damage to the original user, further improving Confusion's utility.
• Shadow Ball is stronger, and even its uncharged effects pack a punch.
• Teleport no longer puts Mewtwo into a helpless state, and acting out of it is possible with anything but an air dodge.
• Mewtwo can now hover in a similar manner to Peach's float. While Mewtwo can float in any direction, its float duration is shorter and can only be done after a single jump, and Mewtwo will lose its midair jump.
• Forward throw has been changed to a throw where Mewtwo condenses the enemy in a Shadow Ball and throws them ahead.

Armoured Mewtwo appears as Mewtwo's alternate costume. It is based upon the armour donned by Mewtwo in Mewtwo Strikes Back.

Mr. Game & Watch

Mr. Game & Watch was significantly buffed from Melee to PM.

• Forward tilt can now be interrupted as quickly as the hitbox diminishes.
• Forward smash is more powerful. The flame sourspot now also links with the attack's sweetspot, dealing more damage, while it has no knockback for the first hit to KO reliably.
• All aerials can now be L-cancelled.
• Back aerial's hitboxes link better each into other, and the last hit is better at KOing.
• Up aerial has drastically less ending lag, and it now consists of a single hit that can be used rapidly for juggling.
• Down aerial's landing hitbox now spike-bounces.
• His Chef attack cancels on landing, similar to Falco's lasers. It can also toss bigger foods, which deal 15% damage with a flame effect.
• Judge retains its start-up unchanged, but all variations are significantly more powerful: for instance, #2 stuns foes, #3 causes flowering, #5 hits more fluidly and deals higher damage, and #7 heals additional damage. Numbers now also show one or two lights above them, indicating the next uses in which Mr. Game & Watch cannot get the same number.
• Although Fire still lacks the parachute, Mr. Game & Watch doesn't fall helpless and can act with any action afterwards (except an air dodge), like in Brawl.
• Oil Panic has less ending lag after catching a projectile, and will usually OHKO when it is full. It can also now be used as an attack despite the amount of oil in the bucket.
• Down throw retains its Brawl format, so Mr. Game and Watch can still perform deadly tech-chases.
• Grab release glitch from Brawl has not been removed. Unlike in Brawl, he regains his midair jump, but he still cannot use his up special. This technique can be deadly if his opponent ground releases him at the ledge, which he will be unable to make it back to the stage.

Ness

• Ness can double jump cancel again, though it is now optional; just pressing and then releasing the jump button when attacking will cause him to DJC, while holding the jump button causes him to perform a rising aerial, just like characters who cannot use this technique. Special moves will always DJC.
• Midair jump speed increased.
• Up aerial and the sweetspot of back aerial were given more KO power.
• Down aerial reverted to Smash 64 speed, which almost removes its startup lag entirely.
• Up smash is much faster and deals better damage and knockback, being more reliable at juggling and KOing.
• Down smash also deals better damage and knockback, serving as a powerful on-stage edge-guarding tool.
• Both up and down smashes can now be held even when near an edge.
• PK Fire's flame effect activates even on shields, and it has Brawl power. It also keeps forward momentum when used on mid-air.
• PK Thunder 2 travels much farther and keeps its hitbox throughout the move.
• Ness can jump out of PSI Magnet, similar to with Reflector. When absorbing a projectile, he can also cancel the move to go into the ending animation afterwards, preventing rapid-fire projectiles such as Fox's Blaster from trapping him into the move indefinitely.
• PSI Magnet can now deal damage consecutively; it has a center hitbox that inflicts 4% damage with diagonal knockback, and others at the "outlines" that deal 2% with no knockback and can turn idle foes around.
• Yoyo glitch no longer exists.
• Down tilt now has a more vertical angle, removing its infinite capacities.
• PK Flash has a smaller range, but it moves faster and farther.
• Forward smash's sourspot produces the "wooden bat" SFX from Brawl, while sweetspot displays a ping sound like in Melee and Smash 64.
• Revamped on-screen appearance: the vortex of Teleport now appears as well, similar to in Melee's opening.
• Ness now has a secret taunt: he poses at the screen and a "photo" flash is displayed, based on the iconic Fuzzy Pickles moments in his origin game, Earthbound.

Peach

• Neutral attack links better.
• Retains up tilt from Brawl, which posseses more range and power than her previous, situational up tilt from Melee.
• Peach Bomber has Brawl range and trajectory, being overall better at KOing horizontally and having more utility.
• Vegetables reverted to bouncing off shields instead of vanishing.
• Sweetspots of down tilt and up smash now use a Fan SFX.
• Forward smash always follows the pattern of "tennis racket, golf club, frying pan", with the first of a match being random.
• Peach Bomber reverted to using an explosive effect, though if a taunt input is held, it will use Brawl's heart animation. When used by Shadown Queen Peach, it instead has a darkness effect.
• Up throw now uses a heart animation.

Shadow Queen (from Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door) appears as Peach's alternate costume. It replaces the heart effects in some of her attacks with darkness effects.

Pikachu

Pikachu was buffed from Melee to Project M overall, due to the new options that give it additional leverage against top-tiered characters.

• Last hit of forward aerial retains its Brawl power, and the hits now also link better.
• Back aerial is now its Smash 64 kick, which has combo potential and KO/edgeguarding strengths that its previous back aerial did not.
• Down smash's hits now link better each into other.
• Grab range from Melee increased.
• Retains wall jump from Brawl, allowing for a slightly better situational recovery on stages such as Yoshi's Story. Also retains crawl.
• Retains QAC from Brawl, greatly improving Pikachu's approach and defensive options, especially with the new physics. QAC also allows some new options, such as wavelanding out of a QAC.

In terms of cosmetics, Pikachu has received an additional costume where it wears its blue party hat costume from Melee and 64.

Roy

Roy's appearance in Project M.

• Improved base moveset, with extra damage or knockback adjustments tacked on.
• Up tilt now covers a larger, half-circle area above Roy.
• General improvements to his retained aerials, most significantly a much larger and powerful flaming sweetspot on his previously useless down aerial. For his changed aerials, his new neutral aerial has much more range and a flame effect, while his back aerial is now a powerful finisher, both now having a slightly different animation.
• Double-Edge Dance's utility has improved significantly, with the move now linking much more fluidly, and the fourth strike serving varieties of purposes. A backwards fourth strike has also been added to the repertoire, being a powerful finishing move against opponents who attempt to reposition themselves behind Roy.
• Roy's dash attack is cancellable, which allows him to DACUS; this further improves his mobility.
• Roy's down smash is now a spinning sword sweep with less ending lag and better knockback, having more utility than his previous one. It also has a flame effect.
• Flare Blade is more powerful.
• Roy's grab range has been significantly increased.
• Forward tilt is now a long-ranged stab.

Samus

• Rolling is significantly faster, and uses a conventional side-step animation.
• Can now crawl, with a similar animation to her old roll.
• Can now swap between flame and ice beam types with side taunt; effects down tilt, forward smash, forward aerial and up smash. Taunt cancelling this will still result in a beam switch.
• Retains the super wavedash. The window of time allowed to perform the technique has been increased from one frame to two frames.
• Charge Shot can now be charged while airborne.
• Forward smash now has a flame effect, akin to Super Smash Bros. 4.

Sheik

• Retains crawl and wall cling from Brawl.
• Chain Jacket glitch from Brawl has not been removed.
• Brawl mechanics have blessed the Chain with the drag maneuver, which allows the hitboxes to refresh very quickly when the chain is maneuvered with a repeated 2323_2121 motion with the chain flat along the ground. This can deal a great amount of damage in very little time, especially if the opponent dare attempts to crouch cancel their way out of it.
• Down throw's animation happens much faster.
• Vanish has stronger knockback and damage, being even stronger than in Brawl.
• Needles can no longer block disproportionaly stronger projectiles, but can still be hit out of the air, done by removing the Needles' hurtboxes and allowing the hitboxes to clang.
• Unlike in Melee, the Chain's hitboxes are unable to clank out projectiles. The electric tipper hit also cannot hit aerial targets, so the effective range is reduced somewhat against opponents in the air.
• Down throw has been altered to have an angle between her PAL d-throw and her NTSC d-throw. This makes it easier to DI out of the move's trajectory, depriving Sheik of guaranteed follow-ups that she had in the NTSC version of Melee.

Yoshi

• Can now jump out of shield like all other characters, greatly expanding Yoshi's defensive options.
• Forward air now hits earlier.
• Egg Roll has significantly less ending lag.
• Down throw has less ending lag, giving it deadlier juggling follow-ups.
• Up tilt reverted to its incarnation from Smash 64.

Zelda

• Neutral aerial's multiple hits link into each other much better (an improvement that is also seen on the rest of her moveset) and the hitboxes are larger.
• Zelda's Lightning Kicks have two sweetspots: a larger Melee sized one that is weaker than in Melee but still deals good knockback and damage, and Brawl sized sweetspots that are extremely powerful. They deal 18% and 22% damage, respectively. They also have an electric flub sourspot (15%) and a body hitbox sourspot (8%), so the move is still effective at either damaging or KOing no matter where it hits.
• Up aerial has an early hitbox at the base of her fingertips which deals 3% electric damage and links into her up air sweetspot. The explosion also deals 18% if it hits at the center (3% more).
• Down aerial has also been made to sweetspot on grounded opponents in addition to aerial opponents. On grounded foes, sweetspot deals 18% (4% more than in Brawl) damage while sourspot produces 8% (2% more), while on aerial foes they deal 20% and 9% respectively.
• Nayru's Love is land cancelable after the attack frames end, and while the ground version has no such cancel, it posseses improved invulnerability.
• Farore's Wind can air dodge to interrupt teleporting from the ground, giving Zelda the ability to waveland or pseudo-wavedash any time during the duration of the move. The disappearing hitbox also has its Melee power.
• Can act out of Transform sooner, like Sheik.
• Pummel now does 4% damage (1% more) per use, racking up damage better.
• Up throw can now be used to chaingrab opponents.
• Down throw is stronger, dealing 16% damage (6% more).
• Up air has a sourspot at the bottom that deals 12% damage (3% less).
• Up throw has weaker damage (9%) and knockback.
• Din's Fire functions significantly differently. Upon releasing a fireball, instead of quickly exploding it stops and hangs in the air for several seconds before exploding. Touching a suspended fireball does 8% damage. Using the move again resets the timer on fireballs that already exist (up to three can exist at once). In addition to these changes, the control of fireballs is massively increased to the point where fireballs can almost loop in circles. After the fireballs are suspended for too long, they explode (like the original attack), possesing wide hitboxes that deal 12% damage each with strong knockback.
• Sidestep has a magic effect.
• Down taunt now emits the "Puzzle Solved" jingle.

Brawl Newcomers

Players should assume that most of the Brawl newcomers' gravity and speed have been changed to reflect the playstyle of Melee.

Charizard

Charizard has been noticeably buffed from Brawl to PM, while also receiving many new moves and changes.

• Up tilt has better knockback.
• Up aerial now has a sweetspot at Charizard's teeth, dealing 12% damage with a slash effect and having better KO potential.
• New up throw: Seismic Toss from the Pokémon anime, where it flies with its opponent upwards and then slams down, creating a huge explosion. Deals 15% damage with very powerful knockback.
• Pokémon Change has been replaced with a different version of Fly. It causes Charizard to crouch and then leap into the air higher than any jump. The move can be charged to fly higher. When used in the air, Charizard instantly glides, and can use a glide attack afterwards.
• Glide attack is stronger, dealing consecutive hits that sum up to 17% damage, with strong knockback and a flame effect.
• Down smash is now a meteor smash, allowing Charizard to follow up better into other attacks when used on grounded opponents.
• Gliding can no longer be performed by holding the jump button; Charizard must use its down special to do so.
• Neutral attack is now a single swing of its wing, dealing 7% damage. It also has a sweetspot at the tip of the wing that deals 9% damage.
• Forward tilt is now a powerful bite that can be angled and deals 12% damage if sweetspotted, with its old forward tilt being moved to its down tilt.
• Forward aerial has been replaced with a flaming claw move akin to Mewtwo's forward aerial, with deals 17% damage with powerful diagonal knockback. It lasts longer than Mewtwo's f-air, but has a sourspot that deals 15% damage.
• Down throw is now a meteor smash that knockes foes down on the floor, akin to Fox and Falco's down throws. It can be teched instantly, though, but still acts as a tech-chaser.
• Rock Smash has been replaced with a new move called Heat Wave, using a similar animation to its old forward aerial. It provides backwards momentum when used in the air. Like the Brawl forward aerial, it is stronger up close, and the middle hits produce no knockback. It hits consecutively and can deal up to 25% damage if close enough to the foe.
• Fly now has an actual flame effect, and is renamed as the Fire Spin.
• Charizard now has more significant alternate costumes, including a grey one similar to its Shiny coloration, and a Blue Team one that makes it resemble a Golbat.
• New on-screen appearance: Charizard comes flying from above and quickly lands stomping the ground.
• "Pokémon Trainer petting" victory pose is replaced with another one, where Charizard lazily yawns and takes a nap on the floor in a burly manner; reminiscent of Ash's Charizard in the Pokémon anime, who tended to cease fighting and take naps on serious battles, disobeying all orders (which can also happen in the actual Pokémon games).

Like Squirtle and Ivysaur, Charizard is now a separate character from the Pokémon Trainer. Notably, when breaking a Smash Ball, Charizard gets nothing and the ball just vanishes. This also applies for Squirtle and Ivysaur.

Ike

Ike has experienced many buffs in general, in accordance with Project M's goal of creating a balanced cast of characters.

• The general amount of landing lag Ike experiences has been reduced.
• All Ike's tilts have been sped up, notably his up tilt. Forward tilt now can also be angled.
• Dash attack deals higher damage and has a more vertical trajectory.
• Both shield stun and shield damage have been greatly improved.
• Second hit of down smash is now activated by another button press, but it is now a linking attack akin to Toon Link's d-smash from Brawl, dealing more damage and being better at KOing backwards.
• A fully charged Eruption now acts much like Roy's Flare Blade: it does 50% damage with OHKO potential, plus a semi-spike trajectory.
• Quick Draw now goes through an opponent by default and Ike will only attack upon a special button press, while holding the attack button will make him auto-attack like in Brawl.
• Ike can now jump or wall jump out of a Quick Draw. He can only jump out of a Quick Draw begun from the ground, but he can wall jump out of it as long as he meets the normal wall jumping requirements. He can only wall jump twice before landing.
• Ike is no longer put into a helpless state if he connects with Quick Draw in midair.
• Quick Draw can no longer be held indefinitely, but Ike can now charge it past the "ding" point: a fully charged one makes Ike flash red and becomes a very quick flaming dash that covers most stages entirely. While he does small damage with no knockback to enemies he passes through, hitting with a non-auto attack will cause 50% damage, paralyze foes and make the screen flash red, and afterwards they will be OHKOed off the top.
• The gaps in the hitbox of Aether have been filled, allowing Aether to flow and combo better than before. In addition, the amount of horizontal distance Ike can travel with Aether has been increased, improving his recovery.
• Counter starts quicker and can be jump-canceled eighteen frames after (and only if) Ike counters an attack.
• The super armor on the startup of Aether has been reduced to light armor.
• Eruption and Great Aether now have blue flame effects rather than red.

Ivysaur

Ivysaur was buffed greatly from Brawl to PM.

• Its neutral attack and all of its tilts and throws were significantly buffed; they are more powerful and combo better than they did in Brawl.
• Neutral attack now hits just twice, and down tilt now hits just once.
• Bulb attacks (up smash, up aerial, and down aerial) now have a sweetspot that flowers the opponent and slightly heals Ivysaur. The two aerials are also stronger and apply more vertical force to Ivysaur. The aerials heal 5% to Ivysaur, while the up smash heals 8%.
• Pummel also heals 1% to Ivysaur for use, though without flowering.
• New neutral special: Synthesis and SolarBeam. Holding the special button slowly heals 1% to Ivysaur and builds up charge. Once the charge is full, using the move fires a powerful energy beam diagonally upwards, dealing 25% damage with strong knockback, and serving as a powerful edge-guarding attack. It can also be charged by connecting with Ivysaur's bulb attack sweetspots and pummel. The powerful energy beam can be absorbed by PSI Magnet or Oil Panic, but it cannot be reflected by various reflecting attacks.
• The non-smash thrown Razor Leaf can now hit multiple targets. The smash thrown version is a single, quicker hit. It also hits consecutively.
• Vine Whip's sweetspot is stronger, dealing 17% damage with the ping effect.
• Down special is now Seed Bomb, which sends a powerful projectile vertically similar to Snake's up smash, dealing 10% damage. It releases Stun Spores upon hitting the ground, which stun opponents in range. The move can also be angled to the left or right slightly.

King Dedede

King Dedede gained both buffs and nerfs from Brawl to PM, but was slightly nerfed overall.

• Neutral attack combo now links properly, with the infinite hitting significantly faster.
• Forward and up smashes have larger range, and the tip of the forward smash meteor smashes characters who are holding onto ledges.
• Forward aerial is now a full hammer sweep from below. It covers a longer range and does more damage then the previous forward aerial.
• Jet Hammer applies a momentum boost on swinging based on the level of charge. Dedede also gains light armor while charging. The hammer also comes out slightly more quickly.
• Has three midair jumps, rather than four.
• Forward smash has slightly slower startup.
• Up aerial now is just a single hit of 12% damage, instead of multiple hits of up to 19% damage.
• Down smash now sends opponents behind Dedede.
• Forward and back throws have been slightly balanced each other on damage.
• Down throw sends opponents at a more downward angle towards the floor, removing chain throws, but allowing for deadly tech chases.
• Super Dedede Jump no longer has super armor on the move, but has a hitbox during the initial jump and has medium armor throughout the rising portion. Cancelling the move will negate his momentum.

Lucario

Lucario is effectively a completely different character in PM than it is in Brawl. Its previous main attribute, that of aura increasing its damage output when it's at high percentages, has been completely removed and replaced with a system that mimics behaviour of traditional fighting games.

Firstly, Lucario has command of a type of interruptibility termed a "magic series". There are two lists of attack types: "neutral/dash, tilt, smash, special" and "aerial, special". If Lucario hits a foe or a shield with an attack, it can immediately interrupt the attack's ending lag with any attack that's next in the list. The string can begin at any point and can skip over items in the middle, but cannot go backwards or link into itself. For example, connecting with a neutral attack allows Lucario to instantly use a tilt, smash attack, or special attack, while hitting with a smash will allow any special attack. This allows Lucario to string together up to 4 attacks extremely quickly.

Secondly, every attack landed by Lucario gives it "aura points", equal to 1.2x the damage dealt (if a shield is it, 0.6x is earned instead). Upon accumulating 50 aura points in one stock, Lucario earns an "aura charge" that it can spend to amplify the power of a special move. Lucario can hold 2 charges (which takes just over 83% damage to build up), but loses all its points and charges if it is KO'd.

With these two mechanics put together, Lucario's goal is to put together long combos to rack up damage and finish the opponent with a powered-up special move.

• Aura mechanics revamped as described above.
• Up smash is now a leaping uppercut with repeating hitboxes leading to a strong final hit. It deals up to 19% damage, and can be jump canceled on hit and turned around during start-up. It has overall much more utility than the Brawl up smash.
• Neutral aerial is now a spinning hurricane kick with longer range that does higher damage (15%) and lingers after a strong initial hit.
• Each special move has a "super" version, utilized by having an aura charge ready and pressing both "attack" and "special attack".
• Aura Sphere moves slower the more charged it is and has fewer charge levels.
• Force Palm can be used in a series and meteor smashes aerially-grabbed opponents. The super version of the move also spikes.
• ExtremeSpeed deals slight damage and knockback with repeating hitboxes (up to 13%).
• Double Team is no longer a counter. It is now a short dash which grants invincibility. While in the air, Lucario will dash diagonally downwards. It can be canceled by any normal attack at the cost of one aura charge.

Lucas

Lucas was heavily buffed from Brawl to Project M in his offensive game but slightly nerfed in his defensive game, as he now has much more options to combo, but less options to recover.

• Lucas can now double jump cancel with the same mechanics as Ness, making his combo game deadlier.
• Lucas has gained a long wavedash thanks to Project M's new physics, greatly bolstering his approach and positioning.
• Dash attack is much faster and is now cancelable, giving Lucas a very fast and long-ranged DACUS.
• Zair now has a hitbox, dealing 8% damage. It is also generally better for recovering, as it can be used after an air dodge and ignores edge-hoggers thanks to Project M's tether management mechanics.
• Up tilt is now a flash kick in an arc-like fashion, which has more range and utility than his previous up tilt, and is a fantastic lead-up into combos or a down aerial. Deals 10% damage, but has a sourspot at Lucas's legs that does 8% instead.
• Forward aerial deals slightly more damage, from 12% to 13% on the sweetspot.
• Back aerial is slightly easier to sweetspot and spikes, making it a more reliable offstage finisher and edgeguarding option.
• Up aerial was given more juggling potential.
• Down aerial now only hits three times, but it no longer changes Lucas's momentum, is much faster, has a strong downwards trajectory on the third hit, and links into subsequent hits more fluidly. This makes it have more utility in combos, either as a starter or finisher.
• Down smash has much less starting and ending lag; its second hit is now optional, performed by pressing the attack button again. This allows Lucas to either get a quick smash attack in with a single hit, or punish crouch cancelers and pressure shields with a double hit, while before Lucas was forced to stay in place for a long time due to the attack's long duration.
• PK Freeze is replaced with a new special move called "Offense Up". When the special button is held, Lucas begins to channel psychic power, complete with a weak wind effect. After a few seconds, Lucas' hands glow with power and the next smash attack that he performs deals greater damage, shield damage, and knockback. A partial charge cannot be held - it must be completed all at once. While Offense Up is charged, Lucas can also press the special button to produce an explosion-like attack around himself, dealing 10% damage. Hitting with a smash attack, or the burst explosion, will allow Lucas to keep the charge, whereas missing will deplete the charge. This new addition over the generally competitively non-viable PK Freeze is considered a buff as it can allow stronger Lucas players to gain many quick and efficient KOs.
• PK Fire (now shown as PK Freeze) has slightly decreased damage, but contains more hitlag and less knockback, and cancels upon landing, giving Lucas better follow-ups.
• PSI Magnet is now jump-cancelable, and it can now deal 2% damage consecutively. Its release hitbox now sends up and over Lucas' head, improving its combo potential, but reducing its edgeguarding capabilities.
• Standing grab animation sped up slightly.
• All throws were sped up. Down throw also sends enemies at a more favorable angle for follow-ups, while in Brawl it sent them diagonally away from Lucas.
• Double jump travels slightly less distance, and can no longer Zap Jump.
• Down tilt can no longer infinite.
• Up aerial now deals just 9% damage, no longer being a reliable KO move.
• Up smash has a slightly faster startup, but drastically less range and power.
• PK Thunder is now noticeably shorter, and PK Thunder 2 only deals at most 33% damage. PK Thunder 2 no longer reliably links into itself, reducing its KO potential greatly.
• Lucas now uses PSI instead of kicking for his jab, which links better for combos, but is in itself a poorer move as he only attacks twice; both attacks contain sourspots on his arms. Both hits deal 3% damage.
• Down tilt has more ending lag and deals 6% damage, but is a meteor smash and has stronger knockback, acting much like Zelda's d-tilt.
• Up throw now uses freezing graphics instead of PSI graphics.
• When using Lucas's up taunt, holding the input will actually make him trip, allowing situational mindgames.

Meta Knight

Meta Knight's new down aerial.

Meta Knight has received both buffs and nerfs, but was heavily nerfed overall, with many of his undesirable and overwhelming traits removed, but some newer, fairer options given.

• Last hit of neutral attack has stronger knockback.
• Last hit of forward aerial is faster, which allows much easier wall of pain combos under Project M's physics.
• Back aerial is now a single swipe that deals 14% damage and has high KO potential, making it a more potent edgeguarding tool than his previous back aerial.
• Glide attack does 13% damage (1% more than before).
• Down throw sends opponents on a more horizontal angle, allowing easier tech-chases from it.
• Drill Rush, being made into a more combo-orientated move, has more utility in combos.
• When using Dimensional Cape, flicking the C-stick before teleporting will perform a quick slash, dealing 14% damage. The original hit now also deals 16% damage.
• The new physics, as well as the re-introduction of wavedashing and L-canceling, increase the pace of many characters' playstyles, allowing most of the cast to overcome Meta Knight's speed and mobility, which was dominating in Brawl.
• Has four midair jumps, rather than five.
• Gliding is no longer possible by simply holding the jump button; Shuttle Loop must be used to perform it.
• Neutral attack can no longer be held.
• Down tilt's interruptibility frames occur slower.
• Neutral aerial's sourspot can no longer link with the sweetspot.
• Last hit of forward aerial has weaker knockback.
• Up smash links worse than in Brawl, due to it being slower and the reduced amount of freeze frames.
• Down throw kicks less times and deals 8% damage (3% less than before).
• Mach Tornado's acceleration, deceleration and duration decreased.
• Last hit of Drill Rush has weaker knockback.
• Shuttle Loop has a smaller range.
• Can no longer perform the Infinite Dimensional Cape.
• Sword trails are blue, rather than white/yellow.
• Down aerial has changed into a semi-meteor attack where Meta Knight falls while thrusting his sword downward, nearly identical in animation to a similar attack in Kirby's Return to Dream Land. While Meta Knight is falling, the attack hits consecutively downwards with weak knockback, dealing 1% damage per hit and 6% upon landing with vertical and powerful base knockback. He cannot grab ledges with it, but can move slightly left or right before or while using it. It has much less offstage utility than his previous down aerial, but is a good combo starter on-stage.
• Shuttle Loop is now more of a vertical finisher, and at low percentages it can link into the glide attack.

Olimar

• White Pikmin explode after a few hits.
• White Pikmin leave flowers on victim's head.
• In general, Pikmin have more health, increasing their overall durability..
• Pikmin Pluck can be used to stall in midair.
• Olimar performs a short hop at the start of Pikmin Chain. The height gained from the hop increases the fewer Pikmin Olimar has.
• Pikmin strengths are dependent on the flowers on their head; bud and flower Pikmin are more powerful.
• New forward smash.
• Can only carry 4 Pikmin at a time, instead of 6.

Pit

• Palutena's Arrow is a powerful, versatile combo option up close. It can be used to juggle enemies off-stage, leading to a Wall of Pain.
• Pit can perform any aerial attack, as well as his normal glide attack (mapped to Z) during a glide. He can also choose to jump, if he has any jumps remaining.
• Palutena's Arrow decays as it travels, thus discouraging over-reliance on them and encouraging close range combat.
• Pit can not glide from a double jump, as in Brawl. He must use his Side-B to glide.
• Pit's Side-B, Angel Ring, has been replaced with a re-imagined Wings of Icarus, in the form of a command glide. It can only be used once per airtime.
• Pit's Up-B, Wings of Icarus, has been replaced with a shield bash. It covers much less distance, but can act as a powerful finisher.

R.O.B.

R.O.B.'s alternate costume in Project M.

• Down aerial is more mobile and has more flexibility.
• The time required to fully charge Robo Beam has been shortened.
• Gyro now shoots out with significantly less velocity, greatly enhances its uses for stage control, and also allowing R.O.B. to pick it up quicker.
• Gyro shooting out with significantly less velocity hinders its ability to be used at long range, and making it much less effective at camping.
• Has a helpless animation for his air dodge, in which he falls looking down while flicking his arms slowly.
• Up aerial is an eyeblast, similar to his forward smash, that arcs quickly over his head, dealing 15% damage with an electric effect.
• Robo Burner and aerial Arm Rotors have been replaced with Robo-Booster. R.O.B. can quickly boost himself sideways or upwards. He can boost three times before he must land, and landing replenishes all his boosts instantly. Grabbing the edge will only give him one boost back if he has run out. R.O.B.'s grounded Arm Rotor is similar to its Brawl incarnation, but moves him forward more quickly, and always aims diagonally downwards instead of having a changeable angle.

In terms of cosmetics, R.O.B. now has an alternate costume designed to look like a fusion of the Robotic Operating Buddy and the Virtual Boy.

Snake

Snake generally received multiple buffs, nerfs, and general changes from Brawl to PM.

• Can drag grabbed enemies sideways by using the left and right taunt buttons.
• Down smash's mines can now KO at lower percentages, can be planted quicker, and have a larger detection radius.
• Forward and back throw have very little knockback growth, so it is easier to throw opponents into mines and C4s.
• Grenades now explode quicker.
• Nikita now always deals 18% damage, regardless of its speed.
• Snake can stick C4 to players on the ground, and it has more KO potential. In addition, it can be planted much quicker and with no distinctive sound effect, while the detonation animation can be cancelled.
• Cypher now emits electricity when used, and causes opponents to take 6% damage flinch when in close radius.
• Significantly lighter; he is now only slightly heavier than Captain Falcon and Link.
• Only one grenade can be out at a time.
• Cypher gains less vertical distance.
• Snake cannot detonate a C4 that is far from him.
• Up tilt has been replaced with an uppercut that deals 12% damage and combos well at low percentages, similar to Captain Falcon's up smash from Smash 64.
• Has a different attack while crawling as opposed to just crouching: he will stab using a knife instead of using a spin kick. This deals 5% damage with low knockback, but can set up combos.
• Forward smash has been replaced with a knife combo, slashing twice. It has low knockback and deals up to 16% damage when fully charged.
• Down aerial's last stomp is now a meteor smash.
• C4 no longer transfers between players, and doesn't disappear unless Snake dies or sets it off.
• His blue costume is more noticeable as a Blue Team costume.
• Up taunt has been changed to a taunt where Snake briefly smokes, taking 1% damage when he does so. In build prior to 3.0, Snake would instead touch his beard saying either "Tasty!" or "Not Even Close!"
• Side taunt now has Snake speak into his codec, saying, "Colonel, mission accomplished." Similar to one of Snake's victory poses.

Sonic

Sonic's up taunt from Project M Demo 2.6.

• The new physics and the re-introduction of wavedashing gives Sonic much more options, improving his already outstanding mobility and allowing some moves to flow much better into each other.
• General move power for retained moves increased, most notably on his forward smash and up smash.
• Up smash has much less ending lag and only has two hitboxes; the first is weak, while the second is much stronger and produces more knockback.
• Down smash has changed to his "break-dance" move reminiscent of the Heavy Attack from Sonic Battle. It can deal up to 21% damage.
• New neutral aerial has a larger hitbox.
• New forward aerial, a front-flip kick, has much more utility and can meteor smash opponents at the sweetspot.
• Up aerial links better, and the sweetspot at the tips of his shoes can yield early KOs.
• Down aerial is much faster.
• Homing Attack now fires straight at the opponent. Sonic also strikes a pose after a successful hit. Pressing A during the duration of the Homing Attack lets Sonic use the Blast Attack, which is faster and has less ending lag, but has less range and does not track the opponent.
• Up tilt is now a foot uppercut with a single hitbox, instead of a double high kick.
• New side special is a fast-starting spin attack with a variable height jump attached. Pressing the attack button turns the attack into a sliding kick and holding B allows Sonic to spin further. It also cancels upon falling off a ledge.
• Down special is still his Spin Charge, but has gained most of the nuances the original Spin Dash had while retaining all of its own properties.
• Up taunt now features a horizontal spin and finger wag.

In terms of cosmetics, Sonic has received completely new costumes, which make his team colors more obvious.

Squirtle

Squirtle has been buffed noticeably from Brawl to PM.

• Shellshifting has been retained and Squirtle now has even more follow up options, most notably a long jump canceled grab.
• Pivot now has a hitbox that deals 3% damage and weakly launches enemies away with high base knockback, leading better into shellshift techniques, most notably the Hydroplane for a KO.
• All attacks involving Squirtle's shell have heavy armor. The stronger the attack, the heavier the armor.
• Neutral aerial now posseses gimping potential, having a better knockback scaling and a semi-spike angle.
• Down aerial is better at damaging, and on grounded opponents it acts as a locking meteor smash akin to Jigglypuff's down air.
• Forward smash has its knockback increased.
• First hit of up smash is now on Squirtle's jump, with the pumps hitting just once. This allows the first hit to link better with the second.
• Down smash hits consecutively and deals more damage, with the first hits meteoring the foe.
• Water Gun now deals consecutive damage and can clash with other projectiles. It can deal up to 6% damage if not charged, and 14% if fully charged.
• Withdraw is now immune to projectiles and can change directions. When hitting an opponent, it also makes Squirtle bounce and then cancels, leading better into aerials.
• Waterfall is now stronger and can reliably KO.
• Pokémon Change has been replaced by a new move called Bubble, which trips ground opponents and can gimp aerial ones. It has three hits of 3% damage each. Like Water Gun, Bubble can be reflected, or absorbed by PSI Magnet or Oil Panic.
• Keeps momentum upon grabbing opponents, which when combined with shellshifting causes throws to KO more easily, especially down throw.
• Down throw is stronger in terms of damage, dealing 14% with a water effect. It also keeps its powerful knockback from Brawl.
• Water Gun can now be absorbed.
• Down tilt now hits just twice.
• Neutral aerial now features a vertical shell spin rather than horizontal.
• Withdraw can be canceled into a fast damaging jump called Aqua Jet by using the attack button, dealing damage from 12% to 9%, though Squirtle falls helpless after this.
• New on-screen appearance: Squirtle comes on using Withdraw.
• More significant palette swaps, including a yellow one that gives it the color scheme of a Koopa Troopa, and a Green Team one that makes it more resemblant to a real-life turtle. Squirtle now uses its default costume for the Blue Team.
• Pokémon Trainer victory pose replaced: Squirtle squirts water in an arc and then poses whilst wearing black sunglasses, reminiscent of the Squirtle Squad from the Pokémon anime.

Toon Link

Toon Link's alternate costume in Project M.

Most of Toon Link's attacks have been altered to be a mix between those of Young Link and Smash 64 Link, as well as getting some of his own changes on attacks and aesthetics. These include:

• Forward tilt is slightly faster.
• Dash attack is now a fast stab forward akin to Link's in Smash 64, but with better initial dashing speed. It deals 10% damage with a semi-spike trajectory, being better at KOing and approaching than his old dash attack.
• Forward smash has better range and covers a larger area above Toon Link.
• Up smash is now a two-slice move, with a strong initial hit that can KO the opponent that is quickly followed by a second cut that is better for comboing that also provides him additional coverage and damages shields.
• Down smash is no longer a linking attack, instead acting like a weaker version of Link's, but has a semi-spike angle that can still yield deadly KOs at high percents.
• Arrows from Hero's Bow are set on fire, like Young Link's. After shot, they also stick in the ground for a few seconds to damage enemies, dealing 3% with no knockback.
• Boomerang has a better angle.
• Grounded Spin Attack is better at damaging, possesing more hits that deal up to 25% if fully charged, similar to Young Link's. It can also be moved sideways depending on charge level, being a more powerful trapping move similar to Mario Tornado.
• Aerial Spin Attack gives a single hit of 16% damage, serving as a strong KO move.
• Bombs hit up to four times each, dealing up to 10% damage.
• Improved tether recovery properties make his zair more effective for recovery.
• New side taunt that acts like Young Link's. If Toon Link is not interrupted during the drinking portion, it also heals 5%.
• Neutral air no longer covers Toon Link's back.
• Down air is harder to meteor with.
• New forward smash has slower start-up.
• Forward and down smashes no longer have hits that link one into another, dealing less damage.
• Aerial Spin Attack gives less distance.
• Third hit of jab is now an upwards slice.
• Down tilt is now a crouching stab reminiscent of the shield-stab from Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, and can meteor if a character is hit with the tip of the sword. It deals 8% damage and displays a magic effect at the tip.
• Neutral aerial changed to a sex kick like that of Link. It behaves much like Young Link's, dealing 12% damage (if sweetspotted).
• Down aerial is no longer a stall-then-fall, and does higher damage if it hits late (17% compared to 14%). At the hilt of the sword, it also has powerful flaming hitboxes that meteor smash opponents; one at the center of the hilt that does 22%, and others at the sides that deal 16%.
• Forward smash changed to a jumping slash downwards, similar to that of Link in Smash 64. It deals up to 21% damage if fully charged, and is a powerful launcher, but is weaker at the tip of the sword.
• Grounded Spin Attack can fall-off edges when moving: Toon Link will enter edge slipping when this happens.

In terms of cosmetics, Toon Link now has an alternate costume based on his outset clothing from The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.

Wario

• Forward tilt can be delayed for about 30 frames by holding the attack button. Depending on this, it deals damage from 11% to 14%. It remains angle-able as well.
• Forward aerial is stronger, dealing 11% damage (4% more).
• Back aerial also deals more damage (16% compared to 10%).
• Down aerial replaced with a ground pound which launches Wario downwards and meteor smashes opponents. If it connects, Wario will bounce off his opponent, allowing for safer recoveries if used offstage. Deals 14% damage, and has more beneficial uses than his previous down aerial (then an unefficient drill).
• Hitboxes of up smash now link better thanks to Project M's physics.
• New down smash: Wario punches the ground to create an earthquake similar to Charizard's down smash, and inspired by Wario Land: Shake It!. It deals about 24% damage (if charged), with set knockback and a meteor smash angle. It has generally more utility than his previously-unviable down smash, having less ending lag and setting up combos better.
• Dash grab looks like the new side special (explained below) for increased mindgames. Wario can also go a further distance by holding the grab button.
• Chomp can now be used to throw enemies backwards after biting them. When performing the move in the air it keeps momentum.
• Corkscrew has more control going left and right when flying up. It also hits more times and faster, dealing a total of 18% damage.
• Can move sideways whilst using back throw (now his original forward throw).
• Neutral combo inflicts less knockback and damage (9% compared to 12%).
• Up aerial now not only has a sourspot, but even the sweetspot deals less damage (14% as opposed to 17%).
• Forward smash no longer has launch resistance, and posseses higher ending lag.
• Chomp hold duration reduced. It now also bites just once before throwing, dealing 13% damage total.
• Back throw deals less damage (9%, compared to 12% of Brawl's f-throw).
• Default costume is now plumber's outfit as opposed to biker's outfit.
• New walking and dashing animations.
• Back aerial has been replaced with a back punch, similar to his forward tilt.
• Forward smash is now a front kick, with a lot of ending lag as Wario attempts to regain balance.
• Pummel has the coin effect.
• Forward throw is replaced with a simple single-handed throw that is similar to the throws from Wario Land 4. Deals 7% damage.
• Old forward throw is now his back throw.
• Wario Bike has been completely replaced with a Wario Land-style Shoulder Bash. The Shoulder Bash makes Wario dash forward similar to his old forward smash, dealing more damage as he travels. Wario can jump while dashing to continue the attack in the air or crouch to cancel the attack and slide forwards. The move renders Wario helpless if initiated in the air and causes him to bounce off walls he hits (for reduced height each time). Depending on dash speed, deals damage from 11% to 20%.
• Farting victory pose replaced with posing from Wario Land 4.

Wolf

File:PMWolfAlt.jpg

Wolf's alternate costume in Project M.

• The new physics and re-introduction of wavedashing give Wolf many more options, including his own shine combos unique from that of Fox's or Falco's.
• Wolf Flash has been slightly changed so that if Wolf hits a foe with the end of the animation, he won't fall helpless, allowing him to then use another recovery move to get back on stage.
• Reflector sends opponents at a diagonally upward trajectory, allowing for potentially deadly juggling combos. It can now be cancelled even after reflecting a projectile, which prevents a shine lock from characters with fast projectiles.
• Reflector no longer has intangibility.
• Dash attack has a new claw swipe animation, but functions similarly to its Brawl counterpart.
• Wolf's Blaster has been changed. Projectiles are slower than before, but do more damage and are larger. The endlag of the blaster can be canceled by an air dodge, allowing Wolf to waveland out of it.
• Fire Wolf is now is a single-hit aerial dash attack that will send foes flying in the direction which he is traveling. It will not cause enemies to tumble.

Wolf has an alternate costume based on his classic appearance.

Zero Suit Samus

• Her short hop is shorter, helping with movement, aerial approaches, and combos.
• Her forward smash is stronger and is a good KO option after a down smash. Hitting foes behind her sends them up over her.
• Can now dash cancel her Paralyzer.
• Plasma Whip now sends foes diagonally towards her, making it easier to start combos with the move.
• New down aerial is a stomp that sends foes and herself on an upwards trajectory to start combos, rather than being a stall-then-fall.
• Flip Jump has a new somersaulting animation. Pressing the attack button no longer creates a meteor smashing sex kick but instead results in her down aerial from Brawl. Pressing or holding the special button near aerial foes results in a footstool jump.
• Opponents can now mash out of down smash while paralyzed.

Stages

• Battlefield
• Big Blue
• Brinstar
• Castle Siege (skips second stage)
• Dracula's Castle (replaces Luigi's Mansion)
• Corneria
• Dreamland 64 (replaces Green Greens, as well as its theme with Smash 64's Dream Land theme.)
• Final Destination (with custom model and background resembling that of Melee's version)
• Flat Zone 2
• Fountain of Dreams (replaces Mario Bros., as well as its theme with Fountain of Dream's.)
• Fourside (replaces New Pork City, and replaces "Porky's Theme" with Fourside's.)
• Frigate Orpheon
• Green Hill Zone (Made into a neutral stage with 1 rotating platform. The Green Hill Zone of Brawl can be seen in the background.)
• Halberd
• Hyrule Castle (No tornado hazards; replaces Bridge of Eldin. Also replaces "The Hidden Village" theme with Hyrule Castle's.)
• Jungle Japes
• Kongo Jungle (Replaces 75 m. Also replaces "25 BGM" theme with Kongo Jungle's.)
• Lylat Cruise
• Mario Circuit
• Metal Cavern (Remade Meta Crystal, replaces Mushroomy Kingdom. Also replaces "Ground Theme (Super Mario Bros.)" theme with Meta Crystal music from Smash 64.)
• Norfair (different layout with no hazards)
• Onett
• Pictochat
• Pirate Ship
• Pokémon Stadium 2 (no stage transformations)
• Pokémon Stadium
• Rainbow Cruise
• Rumble Falls (made into a neutral stage with a bridge and 3 platforms)
• Saffron City (No Pokémon; replaces Spear Pillar, as well as "Victory Road" theme with Saffron City's.)
• Shadow Moses Island
• Skyloft (replaces Hanenbow, using "Hyrule Field Theme")
• Skyworld (without breakable platforms)
• Smashville
• SSE Jungle (the final stage in The Lake, replaces Distant Planet, revamped in 3.0 to resemble Distant Planet.)
• Summit
• Temple
• Temple M (removed in favor of Skyloft)
• Warioware (without microgames)
• Yoshi's Island (SSBB)
• Yoshi's Story (replaces Yoshi's Island (SSBM), as well as "Super Mario Bros. 3" theme with Yoshi's Story's.)

Turbo Mode

As of version 3.0, the Curry effect is replaced with a new one - Turbo. In Turbo mode, players are able to cancel any successful attack, upon hit or shield, into any other action except the same attack. However, certain moves, such as Farore's Wind, consist of multiple actions and can be cancelled into themselves. Turbo Mode has been compared to the Marvel vs. Capcom series, because it enables skilled players to to perform extensive combos.

Turbo mode can be selected from the Special Brawl menu, or temporarily granted by the Superspicy Curry item.

Notable Turbo-related resources:

The official Turbo Mode blog post.

Melee Impossible, the original inspiration for Turbo Mode.

The official Turbo Tuesdays playlist, beginning with the April Fools video that revealed Turbo mode.

Release history

Demo 1.0

Logo of Demo 1.0

Released February 8, 2011

• 14 characters available
  • Captain Falcon
  • Falco
  • Fox
  • Ganondorf
  • Jigglypuff
  • Link
  • Lucas
  • Mario
  • Marth
  • Mr. Game & Watch
  • Sheik
  • Snake
  • Sonic
  • Zelda

Demo 2.0

Logo of Demo 2.0

Released April 17, 2012

• Added 15 characters
  • Bowser
  • Charizard
  • Donkey Kong
  • Ike
  • King Dedede (shown as "Dedede" on the character selection screen)
  • Lucario
  • Luigi
  • Ness
  • Peach
  • Pikachu
  • Pit
  • R.O.B.
  • Toon Link
  • Wario
  • Wolf

Demo 2.1

Logo of Demo 2.1

Released May 23, 2012

• Major bug fixes

Demo 2.5

Logo of Demo 2.5

Released December 29, 2012

• Added 4 characters
  • Diddy Kong
  • Ivysaur
  • Squirtle
  • Zero Suit Samus
• Ledge Teching implemented
• Melee Knockback Stacking implemented
• Input Assistance implemented
• Stock Control implemented
• New aesthetic changes which include new palette swaps and new menu designs.

Demo 2.5b

Released January 6, 2013

• Various Minor Bug Fixes

Demo 2.6

Logo of Demo 2.6

Released July 17, 2013

• Added 1 character
  • Meta Knight

The PMBR announced Project M 2.6 along with their new website design.

Demo 2.6b

Logo of Demo 2.6b

Released August 15, 2013

• Various Bug Fixes

Demo 3.0

Logo of Demo 3.0

Release: December 9, 2013

• Added 7 characters
  • Ice Climbers
  • Kirby
  • Olimar
  • Samus
  • Yoshi
  • Mewtwo
  • Roy
• Turbo mode added.
• Princess Peach's Castle added, Norfair revamped, Distant Planet revamped. Another stage that seems to resemble a Project M Online Practice Stage has been confirmed too.
• 8 alternate costumes for several characters added, including Dr. Mario.

An April Fools' video announced that 3.0 would contain a universal gameplay change where all moves can cancel into any other move or action on hit or on shield. While the change being universal was a joke, it will be available for play as "Turbo Mode" in Special Brawl, replacing the "Curry" option. Project M 3.0 will mark the first version to contain the entire Brawl roster, along with Roy and Mewtwo. 3.0 will also feature Dr. Mario as an alternate skin for Mario, akin to Wario's biker and plumber skins. Other confirmed skins are Melee Fox, Shadow Queen Peach, OoT Link, Dry Bowser, Party Hat Pikachu, armored Mewtwo, Mr. L, Virtual Boy R.O.B., and Outset Toon Link.

Downloading instructions

Project M can be downloaded here and only requires a SD card, non-PAL Wii, and Brawl disc.

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Developers

• Project Leaders: Shanus, SHeLL, Magus, Strong Bad, jiang, Shadic, haloedhero, Yeroc

• Magus: Magus
• Playtesters: Historically, the PMBR has had playtesters such as Hungrybox, Mango, Lucky, KirbyKaze, Amsah, and many more. The current playtester team consists of Gimpyfish62, TheReflexWonder, Fuzzyness, Professor Pro, Fly Amanita, and Jolteon, among many, many others.
• Graphics/Menu Design: FireBall Stars, ds22
• Animation: haloedhero, SiLeNtDo0m
• Stage Design: Mewtwo2000, Shadic, Vanguard, SOJ

Applications to the Project M Backroom can be made at the application subforum.

External Links

• Official website
• Project M demo download
• The Project M forum