| Assist Trophy | |
|---|---|
 The Assist Trophy as it appears in Super Smash Bros. 4 | |
| Universe | Super Smash Bros. |
| Appears in | Brawl SSB4 Ultimate |
| Item class | Summoning |
| “ | Spawns a character to help you. | ” |
| —Brawl manual description | ||
The Assist Trophy (アシストフィギュア, Assist Figure) is an item introduced in Super Smash Bros. Brawl that, when grabbed, summons a random Nintendo or third-party character to quickly aid the holder. Assist Trophies work nearly identically to Poké Balls. However, no Pokémon come out of them, and once an Assist Trophy is grabbed, it is automatically activated, assuming the holder is standing on the ground, and not in a jump, attack, or hitstun. Some Assist Trophies must be unlocked in order to be used, such as Isaac from Golden Sun. Unlike the Poké Ball, this item can be eaten by those such as Kirby and King Dedede's Inhale and Munchlax.
The majority of Assist Trophies in Brawl are undamageable, with only Starfy and Lakitu being able to be interrupted or otherwise hit or even KO'd. In Super Smash Bros. 4, however, some Assist Trophies can be attacked, potentially interrupting their attacks or otherwise manipulating how they perform and even being able to KO them (this can be seen by their ending animations coming earlier than normal, them having their own death animation, or simply teleporting away). However, there is no reward for KOing an Assist Trophy. In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, more than one Assist Trophy can be on the stage at once. A larger number of Assist Trophies are also made able to be KO'd, which grants the player who KO'd them one point.
List of Assist Trophies
In Super Smash Bros. Brawl
There are 27 Assist Trophies in Super Smash Bros Brawl.
| Image | Assist Trophy | Relative frequency | Description | Universe | Unlock criteria |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Andross | 30 | Andross (as he appears in the original Star Fox) appears in the background and shoots tiles at the players. |  Star Fox |
|
 |
Barbara | 30 | Barbara strums on her guitar, creating damaging soundwaves, similar to Konga Beat, but with less range and duration. | Jam with the Band | Obtain 25 songs |
 |
Devil | 30 | Devil moves the stage boundaries, causing the blast lines to move as well, leading to the possibility of easier KOs. | Devil World | |
 |
Dr. Wright | 30 | Doctor Wright summons buildings to rise up out of the ground. This damages opponents who are standing in the area of the building, and produces great vertical knockback. Occasionally makes a massive skyscraper. | SimCity | |
 |
Excitebikes | 30 | Excitebike racers ride around the stage, causing damage to those they collide with. Some of them, if on a stage with an edge, will go back and forth until their time runs out. | Excite | |
 |
Gray Fox | 30 | Frank Jaeger, the Gray Fox, runs around slashing opponents. Also reflects stray projectiles. |  Metal Gear |
Unlocked with Snake |
 |
Hammer Bro. | 30 | Hammer Bro throws hammers at opponents. |  Mario |
|
 |
Helirin | 12 | Helirin floats around the stage while rotating, acting as a wall. | Kururin | |
 |
Infantry and Tanks | 30 | The Nintendo Wars infantrymen and tank sprites roam across the stage shooting at players. When spawning, they follow the direction of the summoner. | Nintendo Wars | Play 300 Brawls |
 |
Isaac | 24 | Isaac pushes opponents off the stage by using a skill called Move, represented by giant magic hands. Its fixed knockback makes it easy to get trapped in. | Golden Sun | Play 200 Brawls |
 |
Jeff | 24 | Jeff Andonuts shoots 5 homing rockets from his Multi Bottle Rocket 5 invention (4 small & 1 large) at his opponents. |  EarthBound |
|
 |
Jill | 24 | Jill attacks opponents with her drill. | Drill Dozer | |
 |
Kat & Ana | 30 | Kat and Ana fly in different directions slashing at anybody in front of them, but always cross in the same spot. |  Wario |
|
 |
Knuckle Joe | 30 | Knuckle Joe delivers a series of Vulcan Jabs to his opponents and finishes with either a Smash Punch or an uppercut attack named Rising Break. |  Kirby |
|
 |
Lakitu and Spinies | 30 | Lakitu drops Spinies onto the field. The Spinies will meteor smash when falling from Lakitu. Upon landing, the Spinies walk around giving damage to opponents. Lakitu can be knocked off the screen or killed. | Mario |
|
 |
Little Mac | 30 | Little Mac runs and jumps around, attacking with powerful jabs and uppercuts. |  Punch-Out!! |
|
 |
Lyn | 30 | The screen darkens, as Lyn focuses and then, having teleported, she delivers a single, powerful strike focused on the nearest opponent, similar to Galaxia Darkness in animation and knockback. |  Fire Emblem |
|
 |
Metroid | 30 | A Metroid latches onto players and gives them damage. Can be attacked and shaken off, but prevents the victim from using recovery moves. However, if done right, the character can spam recovery moves indefinitely until the Metroid disappears. |  Metroid |
|
 |
Mr. Resetti | 18 | Mr. Resetti gives speeches about different topics. If attacked, he causes an explosion. |  Animal Crossing |
|
 |
Nintendog | 18 | A "Nintendog" (Labrador Retriever) blocks the screen. |  Nintendogs |
|
 |
Ray MK III | 30 | Ray MK III flies around the stage shooting missiles and green energy bullets. | Custom Robo | Play 100 Brawls |
 |
Saki Amamiya | 30 | Saki Amamiya slashes and fires with his Canon Gun. | Sin and Punishment | |
 |
Samurai Goroh | 30 | Samurai Goroh slashes his swords while chasing opponents. |  F-Zero |
|
 |
Shadow the Hedgehog | 30 | Uses his "Chaos Control" ability to slow down the flow of time for around 7 seconds, affecting everyone except the summoner. Functions similarly to the Timer Item though with shorter duration, and without the risk of it backfiring. |  Sonic |
Unlocked with Sonic |
 |
Starfy | 40 | Starfy spins, hurting players. Can be knocked off stage. | Starfy | |
 |
Tingle | 30 | Tingle randomly summons a variety of strange effects. It also takes longer for more Assist Trophies to spawn after his appearance than any other character.
|
 The Legend of Zelda |
|
 |
Waluigi | 30 | Waluigi repeatedly stomps players into the ground. This onslaught is followed by either a strong kick or a strike from his tennis racquet. | Mario |
In addition to the above characters, scrapped Assist Trophy data for Ridley was found when hacking Super Smash Bros. Brawl. In the final game, he was a boss in The Subspace Emissary.
In Super Smash Bros. 4
Assist Trophies return in Super Smash Bros. 4 with a more iridescent design and a softer "popping" sound upon use, instead of the glass-shattering sound effect it had in Brawl. There are 39 Assist Trophies total, with 21 new trophies & 18 returning from Brawl. Both the 3DS and Wii U versions include exactly the same Assist Trophies and unlike in Brawl, there are no unlockable Assist Trophies.
| Image | Assist Trophy | Relative frequency | Description | Universe |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Andross | 30 | Spits out projectiles at players. | Star Fox
|
 |
Ashley | 32 | Conjures a cloud which causes various adverse effects. | Wario
|
 |
Chain Chomp | 32 | Jumps at and bites players while chained to a stake. | Mario
|
 |
Color TV-Game 15 | 38 | Two paddles on the sides of the stage bounce a ball back and forth, with the ball damaging players. | Color TV-Game |
 |
Dark Samus | 38 | Rapidly shoots gunfire and creates blasts of Phazon; can be KO'd if she takes enough damage. | Metroid
|
 |
Devil | 30 | Devil moves the stage boundaries, causing the blast lines to move as well, leading to the possibility of easier KOs. | Devil World |
 |
Dillon | 32 | Performs rolling attacks, such as a quick charge; he can be KO'd if he takes enough damage. | Dillon's Rolling Western |
 |
Dr. Kawashima | 38 | Flings numbers onto the stage that can be attacked to knock them around. When they add up to 10 or more, they cause an explosion, with a sum of exactly 10 causing an explosion like a Smart Bomb. | Brain Age |
 |
Dr. Wright | 30 | Dr. Wright summons buildings from within the ground. Anyone other than the summoner who touches these buildings will receive damage. | SimCity |
 |
Elec Man | 38 | Moves around freely and attacks characters with electric projectiles; he can be KO'd if he takes enough damage. |  Mega Man
|
 |
Ghirahim | 38 | Fights with a sword and throwing knives. He will teleport back onstage if he goes over the edge, but he can be KO'd if he takes enough damage. | The Legend of Zelda
|
 |
Ghosts | 38 | Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Clyde make their way around the stage, moving as if in a maze while damaging and pushing opponents around. |  Pac-Man
|
 |
Hammer Bro. | 24 | Throws hammers at opponents. It can be KO'd if it takes enough damage (with the same animation as when enemies die in Super Mario Bros.) | Mario
|
 |
Infantry and Tanks | 24 | Infantrymen and tank sprites roam across the stage, shooting at players. When spawning, they follow the direction of the summoner. | Nintendo Wars |
 |
Isabelle | 38 | Throws fruit to heal the player who summoned her. Fruit will heal the summoner on contact; if it misses, anyone can eat the fruit off the ground. | Animal Crossing
|
 |
Jeff | 30 | Shoots rockets from his Multi Bottle Rocket 5 at his opponents. | EarthBound
|
 |
Kat & Ana | 30 | Kat and Ana fly in different directions, slashing at anybody in front of them, while crossing in the same spot. | Wario
|
 |
Knuckle Joe | 30 | Like in Brawl, delivers a series of Vulcan Jabs to his opponents and finishes with either a Smash Punch or an uppercut attack named Rising Break. He can be KO'd if he takes enough damage. | Kirby
|
 |
Lakitu and Spinies | 24 | A Lakitu appears on a cloud and hurls Spinies from above. The Spinies are capable of meteor smashing. Lakitu and Spinies are faster than they were in Brawl. Lakitu can be KO'd if it takes enough damage. | Mario
|
 |
Lyn | 30 | After a moment, appears next to an opponent and attacks with a single, strong sword swipe. She can be KO'd if she takes enough damage. | Fire Emblem
|
 |
Magnus | 32 | Leaps around and swings the Magnus Club. He flinches if he's attacked and can be KO'd if he takes enough damage. |  Kid Icarus
|
 |
Metroid | 30 | Latches onto players and hits them repeatedly. Can be attacked and shaken off temporarily. It can be KO'd if it takes enough damage. | Metroid
|
 |
Midna | 38 | Grabs opponents and throws them, while dealing darkness damage. She can be KO'd if she takes enough damage. | The Legend of Zelda
|
 |
Mother Brain | 38 | She uses her signature laser attack when summoned, and is guarded by Rinka enemies. She can be KO'd if she takes enough damage. | Metroid
|
 |
Nightmare | 32 | Causes the screen to become dark temporarily. | Kirby
|
 |
Nintendog | 30 | A French bulldog blocks the screen. | Nintendogs
|
 |
Phosphora | 38 | Flies around quickly and shoots lightning bolts. She can be attacked, which will cause her to flinch, and she can be KO'd if she takes enough damage. | Kid Icarus
|
 |
Riki | 38 | He uses several different arts from Xenoblade, including Happy Happy, Freezinate, and Yoink. |  Xenoblade
|
 |
Sablé Prince | 32 | Sablé Prince releases a cloud of dust, trapping an opponent, before he attacks as a frog or snake. He can be KO'd if he takes enough damage. | Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru |
 |
Saki Amamiya | 30 | Moves around on his own accord and slashes players, and can also shoot a stream of gunfire. He can be KO'd if he takes enough damage. | Sin and Punishment |
 |
Samurai Goroh | 30 | Samurai Goroh slashes his swords while chasing opponents. He can be KO'd if he takes enough damage. | F-Zero
|
 |
Shadow the Hedgehog | 30 | Uses his "Chaos Control" ability to slow down the flow of time, affecting everyone except the summoner. Functions similarly to the Timer item, though with shorter duration (lasting around 7 seconds), and without the risk of it backfiring. | Sonic
|
 |
Sheriff | 32 | Sheriff walks around in the air, shooting at opponents with his pistol. He can be KO'd (complete with his original death animation) if he takes enough damage. | Sheriff |
 |
Skull Kid | 32 | Uses one of three disruptions: flipping the screen upside-down (similarly to Palkia), reversing the directional inputs of players, or making all fighters invisible. | The Legend of Zelda
|
 |
Starfy | 24 | Wanders around and spin attacks opponents. He can be KO'd if he takes enough damage. | Starfy |
 |
Starman | 32 | Starman moves side-to-side across the stage, shooting lightning bolts out of its head at opponents. It can be KO'd (complete with the "SMAAASH!" effect from Earthbound) if it takes enough damage. | EarthBound
|
 |
Takamaru | 38 | Throws his pinwheel knife rooks at opponents and slashes them several times with his katana. He can be KO'd if he takes enough damage. | The Mysterious Murasame Castle |
 |
Tingle | 24 | Seems to be similar to Brawl, in which he summons one of a variety of strange effects. | The Legend of Zelda
|
 |
Waluigi | 30 | Waluigi repeatedly stomps players into the ground. This onslaught is followed by either a strong kick or a strike from his tennis racket. He can be KO'd if he takes enough damage. | Mario
|
In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
For the first time in the series, multiple assist trophies can appear at once. Players are rewarded points in Timed Matches when KOing a defeatable assist trophy. Occasionally, opposing assist trophies may fight each other. The item itself reuses the rainbow dome from SSB4. The following assist trophies have been confirmed to appear with a final number of 50+ teased.
| Image | Assist Trophy | Relative frequency | Description | Universe | Defeatable |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andross | Spits out projectiles at players. | Star Fox |
| ||
| Arcade Bunny | Operates a giant claw machine in order to grab opponents. | Nintendo Badge Arcade |
| ||
.png) |
Bomberman | Drop bombs which create an cross shaped explosion similar to an X Bomb. | Bomberman | 
| |
 |
Burrowing Snagret | Emerges from the ground and wildly pecks at opponents, then hides underground before reappearing at another location. |  Pikmin |
| |
| Color TV-Game 15 | Two paddles on the sides of the stage bounce a ball back and forth, with the ball damaging players. | Color TV-Game |
| ||
| Dr. Kawashima | Flings numbers onto the stage that can be attacked to knock them around. When they add up to 10 or more, they cause an explosion, with a sum of exactly 10 causing an explosion like a Smart Bomb. | Brain Age |
| ||
| Dr. Wright | Dr. Wright summons buildings from within the ground. Anyone other than the summoner who touches these buildings will receive damage. | SimCity | 
| ||
| Ghirahim | Fights with a sword and throwing knives. He will teleport back onstage if he goes over the edge. | The Legend of Zelda |
| ||
| Ghosts | Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Clyde make their way around the stage, moving as if in a maze while damaging and pushing opponents around. | Pac-Man |
| ||
| Hammer Bro. | Throws hammers at opponents. | Mario |
| ||
| Jeff | Shoots rockets from his Multi Bottle Rocket 5 at his opponents. | EarthBound |
| ||
| Knuckle Joe | Like in Brawl and SSB4, delivers a series of Vulcan Jabs to his opponents and finishes with either a Smash Punch or an uppercut attack named Rising Break. | Kirby |
| ||
| Knuckles the Echidna | Burrows underground before emerging with a rising uppercut. Can strike using a homing attack similar to Sonic's. | Sonic the Hedgehog |
| ||
| Krystal | Wanders around the stage and attacks opponents with her staff. Can deal freezing damage. | Star Fox |
| ||
| Lyn | After a moment, appears next to an opponent and attacks with a single, strong sword swipe. | Fire Emblem |
| ||
| Metroid | Latches onto players and hits them repeatedly. Can be attacked and shaken off temporarily. | Metroid |
| ||
| Midna | Grabs opponents and throws them, while dealing darkness damage. | The Legend of Zelda |
| ||
| Mother Brain | She uses her signature laser attack when summoned, and is guarded by Rinka enemies. | Metroid |
| ||
| Nintendog | A toy poodle blocks the screen. | Nintendogs |
| ||
| Riki | He uses several different arts from Xenoblade, including Happy Happy, Freezinate, and Yoink. | Xenoblade |
| ||
| Rodin | Attacks with giant arms similar to Bayonetta's Wicked Weaves. Generates random items and tosses them at the summoner. |  Bayonetta |
| ||
| Samurai Goroh | Samurai Goroh slashes his swords while chasing opponents. | F-Zero |
| ||
| Sheriff | Sheriff walks around in the air, shooting at opponents with his pistol. | Sheriff |
| ||
 |
Squid Sisters | They perform a concert and, as the camera zooms in on them, the blast lines are brought closer, so that whoever is left outside the camera will be KOed. |  Splatoon |
| |
| Starfy | Wanders around and spin attacks opponents. | The Legendary Starfy |
| ||
| Starman | Moves side-to-side across the stage, shooting lightning bolts out of its head at opponents. If defeated, the "SMAAASH!" effect from Earthbound is seen. | EarthBound |
| ||
| Sukapon | Moves around with his arms raised, launching heads at opponents or grabbing and tossing them. | Joy Mech Fight |
| ||
| Takamaru | Throws his pinwheel knife rooks at opponents and slashes them several times with his katana. | The Mysterious Murasame Castle |
| ||
| Waluigi | Waluigi repeatedly stomps players into the ground. This onslaught is followed by either a strong kick or a strike from his tennis racket. | Mario |
|
Trophy descriptions
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
File:Assist Trophy Trophy.jpg
The Assist Trophy trophy in Brawl.
A capsule that contains characters who will help you out in battle. You won't know who's in the capsule until you open it. It may be someone everyone knows or someone who's a bit of a mystery. The majority of these characters are invulnerable, so attacking them is not an option. You know what that means, right? RUN!
Super Smash Bros. 4
Assist Trophy trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.
Assist Trophy trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.
This strange capsule contains a guest character who will aid you in your battle. Who will emerge? Grab it to find out! Maybe it'll be a famous character from a popular game, or perhaps a goofy sidekick here to prove his or her worth. Too bad you can't choose who shows up or control them...
A mystery capsule containing a guest character who'll stand by you in battle. You won't know who's in it till you open it! It could be almost anyone from all sorts of games - a famed warrior or a slightly loopy sidekick! Whoever it is, you can't control them, so you'll just have to trust them.
: Super Smash Bros. Brawl (03/2008)
: Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
Trivia
- Hammer Bro. is the only Assist Trophy character to appear as an enemy in the Subspace Emissary.
- It is also one of the five Assist Trophies to appear as an enemy in Smash Run, along with Starman, Lakitu and Spinies (Albeit, using their 3D designs), Chain Chomp, and Metroid.
- In Brawl's Classic Mode, if the character who summoned an Assist Trophy is KO'd, the Assist Trophy goes away. However, this does not happen in All-Star Mode.
- In the GameCube preview issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly, the Super Smash Bros. Melee article comments that Nintendo originally tried to implement Assist Trophies in Melee. The only trophy concept they gave details on was one that would release the ducks from Duck Hunt to fly around the stage and interfere with the fighters.[citation needed]
- In the Smash Direct for SSB4, Waluigi was shown as a Wario series Assist Trophy, despite never appearing in a Wario game. By the game's release, he is corrected to represent the Mario series, like in Brawl.
- Sometimes in SSB4, the silhouette figure within the Assist Trophy capsule will blink its eyes.
- Attendants at the 2007 Whobby Game Festival who played a demo of Brawl claimed to have seen Assist Trophies of Duster from Mother 3, Muddy Mole from Mole Mania, and Rosalina, but the veracity of the claims was never proven, and there is no evidence in the final game that these characters were ever planned.
- Similarly, attendants of E3 and players of the Smashfest event claimed to have seen Chunky Kong as an Assist Trophy in Super Smash Bros. 4, although he was not seen in any following public demos, and is absent in the 3DS and Wii U version of the game.
- In Brawl, the Mario universe is the only universe to have more than one Assist Trophy.
- In Super Smash Bros. 4, it is tied with The Legend of Zelda for the most Assist Trophies, with four.
- Jill, Prince Sablé, Ray MK III, Magnus, and Phosphora are the only Assist Trophy characters that have appeared in only one game outside of their Smash appearances.
- The Donkey Kong, Yoshi, and Pokémon series are the only three franchises with playable characters in every installment to lack Assist Trophies.
- Because the Pokémon series uses Poké Balls instead, the Donkey Kong and Yoshi series are the only two of these three to lack any assist characters whatsoever.
- Little Mac is the only Assist Trophy in the series to make the cut as a playable character in a later installment.
- The Sonic the Hedgehog series is the only third-party series to contain more than one Assist trophy throughout the series, as Shadow the Hedgehog appears in Brawl and Smash 4 while Knuckles the Echidna appears in Ultimate.
References
Gallery
Assist Trophy item from Brawl
Kirby, about to release an Assist Trophy character
A collection of all Assist Trophies from Brawl, as well as an Assist Trophy capsule
Mario next to an Assist Trophy in SSB4
The "Assist Trophy" trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
| Items in Super Smash Bros. Brawl | |
|---|---|
| Normal | Assist Trophy · Banana Peel · Beam Sword · Blast Box · Bob-omb · Bumper · Bunny Hood · Cracker Launcher · Deku Nut · Dragoon · Fan · Fire Flower · Food · Franklin Badge · Freezie · Golden Hammer · Gooey Bomb · Green Shell · Hammer · Heart Container · Home-Run Bat · Hothead · Lightning Bolt · Lip's Stick · Maxim Tomato · Metal Box · Motion-Sensor Bomb · Mr. Saturn · Pitfall · Poison Mushroom · Poké Ball · Ray Gun · Screw Attack · Smart Bomb · Smash Ball · Smoke Ball · Soccer Ball · Spring · Star Rod · Starman · Super Mushroom · Super Scope · Superspicy Curry · Team Healer · Timer · Unira · Warp Star |
| Containers | Barrel · Capsule · Crate · Party Ball · Sandbag · Rolling Crates |
| The Subspace Emissary |
Key · Stock Ball · Trophy Stand |
| Collectibles | CD · Coins · Sticker · Trophy |
| Other | Smash Coins and Bills |
