Fighter number

Not to be confused with the Sakurai angle.

The Sakurai numbers are a method of identifying and sorting characters that appear in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (which happens to be every character that had appeared in the series up to that point).

Definition

As explained by Masahiro Sakurai, the numbers order characters based on "the order in which they joined" the series. This results in the order being somewhat unintuitive, especially given that its logic differs wildly in the earlier games. Here is the list of how newcomers from each game are ordered.

• SSB: The starter characters are ordered by their placement on the character selection screen. The unlockable characters are similar, though they are sorted column-first rather than row-first as the starters are.
• Melee: The starter characters are ordered by their first appearance in Melee's E3 2001 reveal, not counting Zelda's hand during the Triforce sequence. The unlockable characters are ordered by how many Vs. Mode matches are required to unlock them.
• Brawl: The characters first revealed in Brawl's original trailer are ordered first, followed by the remaining newcomers in the order revealed on the official website.
• SSB4 and Ultimate: The order is equal to that in which the newcomers were revealed.

Echo Fighters share number with their "parent" in addition to a superscript epsilon (^ε), regardless of which game they joined in.

Order

Sakurai Number	Character
01	Mario
02	Donkey Kong
03	Link
04	Samus
4.504ε	Dark Samus
05	Yoshi
06	Kirby
07	Fox
08	Pikachu
09	Luigi
10	Ness
11	Captain Falcon
12	Jigglypuff
13	Peach
13.513ε	Daisy
14	Bowser
15	Ice Climbers
16	Sheik
17	Zelda
18	Dr. Mario
19	Pichu
20	Falco
21	Marth
21.521ε	Lucina
22	Young Link
23	Ganondorf
24	Mewtwo
25	Roy
25.525ε	Chrom
26	Mr. Game & Watch
27	Meta Knight
28	Pit
28.528ε	Dark Pit
29	Zero Suit Samus
30	Wario
31	Snake
32	Ike
32.933-35	Pokémon Trainer
33	Squirtle
34	Ivysaur
35	Charizard
36	Diddy Kong
37	Lucas
38	Sonic
39	King Dedede
40	Olimar
41	Lucario
42	R.O.B.
43	Toon Link
44	Wolf
45	Villager
46	Mega Man
47	Wii Fit Trainer
48	Rosalina
49	Little Mac
50	Greninja
50.951-53	Mii Fighter
51	Mii Brawler
52	Mii Swordfighter
53	Mii Gunner
54	Palutena
55	Pac-Man
56	Robin
57	Shulk
58	Bowser Jr.
59	Duck Hunt
60	Ryu
60.560ε	Ken
61	Cloud
62	Corrin
63	Bayonetta
64	Inkling
65	Ridley
66	Simon
66.566ε	Richter
67	King K. Rool
68	Isabelle
69	Incineroar
70	Piranha Plant

Usage

The Sakurai numbers are used to order characters on Ultimate's selection screen and promotional material. Otherwise, they have no practical application; they aren't used for any other in-game purpose, and their relatively arbitrary nature makes them unsuitable for ordering characters for informational purposes (such as on the SmashWiki). Indeed, many players agree that using this order makes it more difficult to find any particular character for selection, compared to the previous games' series-based sorting.

A similar system is used for ordering stages on Ultimate's selection screen.

It is possible to use similar rules to construct Sakurai numbers for other games in the series. However, because Echo Fighters (a.k.a. clones) must share number with their parent by these rules, and the clone status of some characters has changed between games (for example, Dr. Mario in Melee would be 01^ε), many characters would not keep the same number across the series as a whole. As a result, the system is generally not portable across games.