List of NTSC tier lists (disambiguation)
The Smash Back Room tier list has changed many times since its inception. Previous versions of the list are as follows. In later tier lists, characters are broadly ranked by their tier, and further ranked by the order in which characters are listed within the tier list. For instance, Falco is ranked above Samus in the fourth Melee tier list. Earlier tier lists use numerical rankings, and characters with the same numerical value are listed alphabetically.
Super Smash Bros.
For the purposes of low tier tournaments, those characters in tiers B and C are classed as "low tier" characters.
First Tier List
The first list was created by the Super Smash Bros. community on GameFAQs, unlike the tiers lists of other games, which were created on Smashboards by the Smash Back Room.
| S | A | B | C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pikachu | Fox | Mario | Luigi |
| Kirby | Captain Falcon | Yoshi | Samus |
| Ness | Jigglypuff | Donkey Kong | Link |
Second Tier List
The second smash 64 tier list was created by the n64 community on Smashboards unlike the first one which was created by members of Gamefaqs.
| S | A | B | C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pikachu | Kirby | Yoshi | Luigi |
| Fox | Captain Falcon | Donkey Kong | Link |
| Mario | Jigglypuff | Samus | |
| Ness |
General Reasons for Tier List Movement
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| Character | Movement | Reason |
| Pikachu | ▬ | Recovery can be used to escape combos and to go off of stage to hit people, only sound recovery, best approach, high priority, best character on Dreamland and 2nd best on Hyrule, 0 bad matchups and a few even, can use grabs in combos, can tap a vs a shield into a grab, top people use Pikachu (See Isai. |
| Fox | ▲ 2 | Best projectile, great approach, Can combo from virtually any move to any other move, best character on Hyrule, difference between Pikachu and Fox is Fox's bad offstage game and since Fox is easy to combo due to being a fast faller, down air can be DI'd out of. |
| Kirby | ▼ 1 | Due to Fox gaining ground, predictable but the best character in the game at gimping, has possibly the best move of any smash game (Up tilt), incredibly good down air, very basic but high damage combos, doesn't need to approach due to high priority, incredibly good shield priority, too light, great matchups. |
| Captain Falcon | ▲ 1 | Spacing and easiest 0 to deaths, best overall aerial (up air), doesn't have a projectile or a reasonable way to defend vs projectiles or high priority moves, Fox and Kirby are bad matchups, great throw, fast faller so easy to combo. |
| Mario | ▲ 2 | Up smash is incredibly strong, Good up air, good recovery and projectile, slightly diffcult to combo, overall good but doesn't have anything actually broken about him unlike characters above, down air can be DI'd out of. |
| Yoshi | ▲ 2 | can DJC, good shield, worst throw, incredibly good up tilt, bad Kirby, Pikachu, and Fox matchup, down air can be DI'd out of, overall the most solid low tier due to bad matchups vs the top tiers but good matchups vs anyone below him, has difficulty approaching projectiles, good recovery vs characters with low priority aerial moves. |
| Donkey Kong | ▲ 2 | Very good grab, slightly predictable, great matchup vs Jigglypuff, high priority, overall good recovery, down b and up air platform cancel combos, moves are too slow, GREAT low tier matchups |
| Jigglypuff | ▼ 2 | Too many exploitable matchups, a "glass cannon" (due to excessively low weight, queen of the combos, good overall recovery, down air can be DI'd out of. |
| Ness | ▼ 6 | Due to recovery/spacing issues, great up tilt and DJC's, bad projectiles. |
| Luigi | ▬ | Good matchups, good up b for killing and recovery, short hop is among the worst, has difficulty approaching high priority aerial moves, down air can be DI'd out of . |
| Link | ▲ 1 | Great projectile use but possibly the worst recovery in all of smash bros, good up tilt, too easy to set up for combos, a single grab usually leads to death regardless of matchup |
| Samus | ▼ 1 | Bad approach and short hop, low combos, good spacing and good back air, has problems vs projectiles and high priority aerials, one or 2 even matchups (Jigglypuff and possibly Ness) |
Melee
First tier list (October 8, 2002)
- 4.9: Sheik
- 4.8: Falco, Fox
- 4.4: Marth
- 4.1: Mario
- 4.0: Zelda, Samus, Luigi
- 3.9: Peach
- 3.8: Dr. Mario
- 3.5: Ice Climbers, Ganondorf
- 3.4: Pikachu, Link
- 3.2: Captain Falcon, Young Link
- 3.1: Jigglypuff, Ness
- 2.9: Yoshi, Donkey Kong
- 2.8: Roy
- 2.1: Kirby
- 1.8: Mr. Game & Watch
- 1.6: Pichu, Bowser
- 1.3: Mewtwo
Though this was the first tier list, Smash World Forums was rife with discussion about tiers long before the Melee Back Room released its "MBR Tier Averages." The term "F/F/S" (short for "Falco, Fox and Sheik") was popular as a quick reference to Melee's top tier. Members on Smashboards, perhaps in backlash against novice sentiment towards Roy and Link, generally disdained those characters, and generally favored the game's fastest characters.
Members on Smashboards largely contested this tier list's placement of Mewtwo, which they felt to be too low. Many Smashboarders considered Mewtwo a low or even middle tier character and were bothered that it, despite its great recovery and powerful throws, was placed at the bottom of bottom tier, where most people believed Bowser belonged.
Second tier list (December 19, 2002)
For the second tier list, the Melee Back Room not only averaged the votes for every character to determine a tier list, but also calculated the mode of characters' placements.
Mean
- 2.2: Sheik
- 2.3: Fox
- 3.9: Falco
- 4.4: Peach
- 4.7: Marth
- 8.5: Mario
- 8.8: Dr. Mario
- 9.6: Samus
- 10.0: Luigi
- 11.0: Ganondorf and Jigglypuff
- 13.0: Captain Falcon and Ice Climbers
- 15.0: Zelda, Ness and Link
- 16.0: Pikachu
- 17.0: Yoshi and Young Link
- 20.0: Roy and Donkey Kong
- 21.0: Mr. Game and Watch, Kirby and Bowser
- 23.0: Mewtwo
- 24.0: Pichu
Mode
- 1: Sheik
- 2: Fox
- 3: Falco
- 4: Peach
- 5: Marth, Zelda
- 6: Samus
- 7: Ganondorf
- 9: Dr. Mario
- 10: Jigglypuff, Mario
- 11: C.Falcon
- 12: Luigi
- 13: Ice Climbers
- 14: Link
- 15: Young Link
- 16: Ness
- 18: Yoshi
- 20: Pikachu
- 22: Bowser
- 23: Donkey Kong, Roy
- 24: Kirby, Mewtwo
- 25: Pichu
- 26: Mr. Game and Watch
Third tier list (June 23, 2003)
- Sheik
- Fox
- Falco
- Marth
- Peach
- Mario
- Dr. Mario
- Luigi
- Samus
- Jigglypuff
- Captain Falcon
- Ganondorf
- Ice Climbers
- Yoshi
- Ness
- Pikachu
- Roy
- Link
- Young Link
- Zelda
- Donkey Kong
- Mr. Game & Watch
- Kirby
- Mewtwo
- Pichu
- Bowser
This tier list was released soon after Ken Hoang won Tournament Go 4. Before Ken, Marth strategy largely encompassed rolling and C-stick smashing symptomatic of low-level play today, but Ken introduced to the community the uses of dash-dancing, chain throwing and aerial attacks, all techniques that largely improved Marth's metagame and moved him to top tier for years to come.
This is the first tier list that officially ranks characters into tiers.
Fourth tier list (July 1, 2003)
- Sheik
- Fox
- Marth
- Peach
- Falco
- Samus
- Mario
- Dr. Mario
- Jigglypuff
- Ganondorf
- Captain Falcon
- Luigi
- Pikachu
- Yoshi
- Ice Climbers
- Zelda
- Ness
- Link
- Young Link
- Roy
- Donkey Kong
- Mr. Game & Watch
- Kirby
- Mewtwo
- Pichu
- Bowser
Fifth tier list (September 29, 2003)
- Sheik
- Marth
- Fox
- Peach
- Falco
- Samus
- Captain Falcon
- Ganondorf
- Mario
- Dr. Mario
- Jigglypuff
- Luigi
- Yoshi
- Link
- Roy
- Pikachu
- Young Link
- Ice Climbers
- Zelda
- Ness
- Kirby
- Donkey Kong
- Mewtwo
- Mr. Game & Watch
- Pichu
- Bowser
April Fools Sixth tier list (March 31, 2004)
- Sheik
- Jigglypuff
- Fox
- Captain Falcon
- Falco
- Link
- Marth
- Roy
- Peach
- Luigi
- Ice Climbers
- Ganondorf
- Samus
- Mewtwo
- Ness
- Mario
- Dr. Mario
- Young Link
- Kirby
- Pikachu
- Mr. Game & Watch
- Donkey Kong
- Zelda
- Pichu
- Bowser
This tier list doubled as an April Fools joke and a lesson to the community to not blindly swallow the Melee Back Room tier list as the truth. Though most people suspected this tier list was a hoax, it set a precedent to criticizing the tier list that had not existed before.
To "defend" this hoax during the two tumultuous days it was the official tier list, Melee Back Room members argued that Marth was too slow to remain in the top two tiers, that Link had untapped aerial prowess, and that Jigglypuff, through speed and the Wall of Pain, ruled the air to the point of domination.
The Melee Back Room forgot to include Yoshi in this tier list; once people realized he was missing, the MBR placed him in middle tier, between Ness and Mario.
Sixth tier list (April 2, 2004)
- Sheik
- Fox
- Marth
- Falco
- Peach
- Captain Falcon
- Samus
- Jigglypuff
- Ganondorf
- Mario
- Dr. Mario
- Luigi
- Link
- Pikachu
- Ice Climbers
- Roy
- Zelda
- Young Link
- Yoshi
- Ness
- Donkey Kong
- Kirby
- Mr. Game & Watch
- Mewtwo
- Bowser
- Pichu
Seventh tier list (March 19, 2005)
- Sheik
- Fox
- Marth
- Peach
- Falco
- Captain Falcon
- Samus
- Jigglypuff
- Dr. Mario
- Ganondorf
- Mario
- Ice Climbers
- Luigi
- Link
- Roy
- Donkey Kong
- Pikachu
- Zelda
- Ness
- Young Link
- Yoshi
- Kirby
- Mr. Game & Watch
- Bowser
- Mewtwo
- Pichu
Eighth tier list (July 8, 2006)
- Fox
- Falco
- Sheik
- Marth
- Peach
- Captain Falcon
- Ice Climbers
- Samus
- Dr. Mario
- Jigglypuff
- Mario
- Ganondorf
- Link
- Luigi
- Donkey Kong
- Roy
- Young Link
- Pikachu
- Yoshi
- Zelda
- Mr. Game & Watch
- Ness
- Bowser
- Kirby
- Pichu
- Mewtwo
The names of these tiers were originally called God Tier, Top Tier, High Tier, Middle Tier, and Low Tier; these names were changed to the ones shown above on July 10th, two days after the tier list was released.
This tier list marks the first time Sheik was not in top tier, and contains the biggest bottom tier of any tier list thus far. The balance of the tier list was a point of contention amongst many Smashers, who felt that it was too bottom-heavy and that the lower tiers should themselves be split, or the high tiers merged (particularly the top two).
Ninth tier list (October 14, 2008)
This is the current and final tier list. For the first time since June 2003, the Smash Back Room published each character's numerical scores.
- 8.4: Peach
- 8.0: Captain Falcon
- 8.0: Jigglypuff
- 7.9: Ice Climbers
- 4.7: Link
- 4.3: Pikachu
- 4.2: Young Link
- 3.6: Roy
- 3.0: Zelda
- 3.0: Mr. Game & Watch
Brawl
First Tier List (September 1, 2008)
| Top Tier | High Tier | Middle Tier | Low Tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meta Knight | Marth | Toon Link | Lucas |
| Snake | Wario | Olimar | Ness |
| King Dedede | Lucario | Fox | Mario |
| Mr. Game and Watch | Donkey Kong | Zelda | Pokemon Trainer |
| Falco | Diddy Kong | Zero Suit Samus | Samus |
| R.O.B. | Pikachu | Bowser | Yoshi |
| Ice Climbers | Luigi | Sonic | |
| Kirby | Peach | Jigglypuff | |
| Pit | Ike | Ganondorf | |
| Wolf | Sheik | Link | |
| Captain Falcon |
While many players wanted to have a tier list a month or 2 after Brawl's release, the SBR decided (and with good reason) to wait at least a couple of months before making the first tier list. The idea was that making a tier list too early would result in it becoming quickly outdated, forcing the SBR to make a second one. The SBR made the correct decision. Players' perception of the tier list changed dramatically between the game's release and September. The most noticeable fluctuation was Snake's placing, who was first about mid tier, then sky rocketed to the #1 spot above Metaknight. Snake was considered the best character in the game for quite a while, this opinion being backed up by tournaments where Snake took almost all the top spots (in one case, the top 5 placings were all Snake). It wasn't until around when Mew2king started dominating with Metaknight that players realized Metaknight was better.
Second Tier List (January 5, 2009)
| SS Tier | S Tier | A Tier | B Tier | C Tier | D Tier | E Tier | F Tier | G Tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1. Meta Knight (15.00) |
2. Snake (13.91) |
3. Falco (13.03) |
8. Wario (11.47) |
12. Pikachu (10.34) |
16. Zero Suit Samus (8.88) |
21. Luigi (7.41) |
27. Mario (4.56) |
34. Link (2.28) |
By this time no player doubted Metaknight's placing in the old tier list. In many players' opinions, Metaknight wasn't just better than every other character, but better by a noticeable gap. Metaknight was considered so good that it caused a huge debate on whether Metaknight should be allowed in tournaments. After many heated discussions, the SBR decided by vote that Metaknight should be left alone and no one should be banned.
Snake was also elevated above other characters to a similar degree, though not to the point of being considered banned. This resulted in both of these characters having their own tier list.
Diddy Kong received a huge bump up the tier list after NinjaLink successfully beat Mew2king by abusing Diddy's bananas to a level not seen before. Because landing on a banana leaves your character open to any hit or grab, Diddy is able to control the stage by placing and moving bananas around as needed.
Third Tier List (June 4, 2009)
| S-Tier | A-Tier | B-Tier | C-Tier | D-Tier | E-Tier | F-Tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meta Knight | Marth | Lucario | Peach | Bowser | Lucas | Jigglypuff |
| Snake | Mr. Game & Watch | Zero Suit Samus | Luigi | Zelda | Mario | Captain Falcon |
| Wario | Pikachu | Toon Link | Fox | Pokemon Trainer | Ness | Link |
| Falco | Olimar | Pit | Wolf | Ike | Yoshi | Ganondorf |
| Diddy Kong | Ice Climbers | Donkey Kong | Sonic | Samus | ||
| King Dedede | R.O.B. | Sheik | ||||
| Kirby |
The first tier list to not have Captain Falcon last on the list. Instead, Ganondorf is last because of his slow attacks, bad recovery, and lack of mobility. In this list, Wario and Sonic made a large jump. Wario's change is due to the newly found usefulness of his great air mobility, coupled with great recovery and heavy weight, making him a very defensive character that is hard to KO. While most of the community perceived Sonic as a bad character, dedicated mains continued to defy the tier list of Jan 1, 2009 by placing high in tourneys. In this tier list, their efforts were finally recognized.
