Announcer

File:Announcer Go SSBB.jpg

In all four games, all matches officially start when the announcer says "GO!"

An announcer (also known as the narrator) is a voice that plays the role of a referee in the game. Different voice actors fill this role in different games in the Super Smash Bros. series.

Actors and comparisons

Jeff Manning (Smash 64)

Manning's performance as the announcer foreshadowed a majority of the trends that would be followed by the three later incarnations of the announcer. His style is set apart through being the most "intense" of the announcers, being most prone to screaming lines rather than simply yelling. His voice also has the most processing done to it, having significant metallic reverb and a modulation effect.

Dean Harrington (Melee)

Harrington continues Manning's style of voice, often yelling in a form similar to that of an emcee at a wrestling or boxing match. Harrington's voice, however, generally isn't as over-the-top as Manning's, with more refined enunciation and the yells never reaching full-on screaming. It is also less processed, losing the modulation, though it gains a slight muffled tone.

Pat Cashman (Brawl)

Cashman's announcer ends the emcee style, and in general, his voice is considerably calmer in sound. Cashman's voice is much deeper than either of his two predecessors, with similar intonation to a cartoon narrator, using booming declarations instead of enthusiastic shouts. His voice processing has also been significantly toned down, using only a simple echo.

Xander Mobus (Smash 4)

Mobus' announcer voice is nearly identical to Cashman's, being similarly deep and using the same processing effects. However, he speaks more enthusiastically, similar to Manning and Harrington. Mobus' announcer is also significantly more verbose than his predecessors, having a much larger amount of lines and a significant role in his game's promotional materials.

Gallery

• 

  Jeff Manning
  SSB64

• 

  Dean Harrington
  Melee

• 

  Pat Cashman
  Brawl

• 

  Xander Mobus
  Smash 4

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  The announcer counting down to the start of the match in every game except for Melee.

• 

  The announcer signalling the start of Sudden Death when a match ends in a first-place tie.

• Stock Battles (Game!).jpg

  When the announcer says "GAME!" in all four games, that signals the end of a stock match.

Quotes

• "GAME!" (All)
• "Survival!" (All)
• "Versus" (All)
• "New record!" (All)
• "Sudden Death!" (All)
• "New record!" (All)
• "5, 4, 3, 2, 1... TIME!" (All)
• "3, 2, 1... GO!" (Smash 64, Brawl, Smash 4)
• "Ready... GO!" (Melee, Brawl, Smash 4)
• "Home-Run Contest!" (Melee, Brawl, Smash 4)
• "Free-for-all!" (Brawl, Smash 4)
• "Spectate!" (Brawl, Smash 4)
• "Trophy Rush!" (Smash 4)
• "Target Blast!" (Smash 4)
• "Crazy Orders!" (Smash 4)
• "Master Orders!" (Smash 4)
• "Smash Run!" (Smash 3DS)
• "Smash Tour!" (Smash Wii U)
• "8-Player Smash!" (Smash Wii U)

Trivia

• In the PAL versions of Super Smash Bros. and Brawl (though strangely, not Melee), the announcer speaks whichever language the game is set to.
  • The only difference in narration in the PAL version of Melee when not set to English is when selecting Jigglypuff. Two different announcers will say "Pummeluff" or "Rondoudou" when the game is set to German or French, respectively.
  • In Super Smash Bros. 4, this is also true of the French, German, Spanish and Italian localizations; the Dutch, Portuguese and Russian localizations retain the English announcer.
• In the PAL version of Super Smash Bros., the French announcer is voiced by J.M. Delhausse and the German announcer is voiced by Frank Wölfel.
• In the NTSC version of Super Smash Bros. 4, Juan Carlos López provided the voice as the Spanish announcer.
• In all games on the series, Master Hand has been voiced by the same person as the announcer; following his debut in Melee, Crazy Hand has also been voiced by the same actor. This has lead to the common fan theory that it is actually Master Hand himself narrating, fitting with the in-game concept of Master Hand being the creator and organizer of the Smash universe.
• The quote "Ready? Go!" is also used upon the activation of Donkey Kong's Final Smash, Konga Beat, making it the only attack in all the series to involve the Announcer in some way.
  • This voice clip is reused for Smash 4, making the only game in the series so far to feature more than one announcer. As such, Pat Cashman's name is listed in the game's credits.
• Brawl contains unused, empty announcer files for what appears to be the announcer shouting the title's name, as was the case in the original and Melee. In the final game, there isn't any voice clip for this. Another unused file is heard during the countdown to the end of the match starting at ten seconds, rather than five. Smash 4's announcer has also stated that he had recorded a title shout, but it did not make it for some reason.
• Brawl's announcer, Pat Cashman, was previously the announcer on the children's show Bill Nye the Science Guy.
• Xander Mobus, the announcer of Super Smash Bros. 4, is also the narrator of the Super Smash Bros. for Wii U 50-Fact Extravaganza, which showcased more than 50 new features the Wii U version has to offer including 8-Player Smash matches, as well as the spokesperson for the commercials for both versions. He also sang a rendition of the Pokémon Main Theme and did a video of Did You Know Gaming? that consists of various facts about the Super Smash Bros. series.