Luigi (SSBB)

Luigi in Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Universe	Mario
Other playable appearances	in SSB in Melee in SSB4 in Ultimate
Availability	Unlockable
Final Smash	Negative Zone
Tier	E (28)

Luigi (ルイージ, Luigi) is an unlockable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, who also appeared as an unlockable character in the previous two games, Super Smash Bros. and Super Smash Bros. Melee. He was announced on the Smash Bros. DOJO!! website on February 18th, 2008.

Unlike his voice clips in the previous two games, which was just higher-pitched versions of Mario's, Charles Martinet provides entirely new, lower-pitched voice than Mario, consistent with his most other portrayals for Luigi.

Luigi is currently ranked 28th on the current Brawl tier list, on the top of the lower-mid tier, placing him three places above his older brother Mario. This is a moderate drop from his Melee tier, where he was 13th out of 26. He is best known for his fast, yet powerful attacks, possessing several potential finishers, some of which can reliably KO under 100%, including, but not limited to, his forward smash and Fire Jump Punch. His attacks also flow well together, making for a lot of effective set-up moves and combos. However, Luigi himself is slow moving and has poor mobility, adding to the fact that he is floaty, a slow dasher, and slow in the air as well, which makes approaching opponents difficult. These problems are further worsened by the general reach of his attacks being among the worst in Brawl, his signature lack of traction which causes him to be pushed back considerably while shielding and limiting out of shield punishing options, and his only projectile being too slow and short-ranged to effectively camp most characters. He is also crippled by the removal of wavedashing more than most other veterans, as his low traction greatly exacerbates his approach and makes his general maneuverability difficult to handle, giving him more negative points than positive. This results in him having mostly poor matchups, especially against characters with disjointed hitboxes and strong camping abilities, like Meta Knight. This, combined with his general lack of representation in tournaments, results in him having below average tournament results.

How to unlock

Complete one of the following:

• Play 22 VS. matches.
• Beat Classic Mode with no continues.
• Have Luigi join the player's party in the Subspace Emissary (Subspace (Part I)).

With the exception of the third method, Luigi must then be defeated on Luigi's Mansion.

Attributes

Luigi is a surprisingly strong middleweight with very quick attack speed (almost no slow attacks), yet slow mobility and short range. While many consider Luigi a clone or semi-clone of Mario, there are some important differences between them. Like Mario, his Fireballs are spammable and help his approach, but Luigi’s travel less distance and are not affected by gravity, which can be good or bad depending on the situation. Luigi has the second highest initial jump in the game (second only to Falco's), which helps his air game. Luigi is also a good juggler due to his very fast up tilt, neutral aerial, and up aerial. Luigi's neutral aerial is a powerful sex kick and can often KO at high damage percentages on most characters. He is able to use his down throw to set up his juggles on many characters when they are at low percentages, but Luigi himself is a candidate for King Dedede's infinite chaingrab without a wall (Luigi is the only character that can be infinited by King Dedede without a wall but cannot be chain grabbed by the normal way), a major issue as King Dedede is a very common character in tournament-level play and has a huge grab range. Luigi has the ability to crawl, which can help him dodge certain projectiles. His smashes, like most of his attacks, are considered fast and unusually strong, especially his forward smash. His specials are also considered to be good overall and great for recovery. If one keeps pressing the special attack button during Luigi Cyclone while moving upward (as the movement is momentum based), Luigi will rise up, greatly aiding his recovery. His side special, the Green Missile, can be used for horizontal recovery to make up for the lack of horizontal recovery from his Super Jump Punch. However, the Green Missile requires charging and can be stopped with projectiles normally, but if he gets a misfire (which happens 12.5% of the time), it is an extremely powerful attack. A green missile misfire can be good in some situations because it has more power and covers more distance than normally, but it can also be bad because it can cause Luigi to self-destruct. His Super Jump Punch is unique in the fact that if sweetspotted, it will become the Fire Jump Punch, a much stronger version that deals fire damage and can KO at very low percentages (about 50%). However, if Luigi's Super Jump Punch does not sweetspot, it only does 1% with almost no knockback and is very punishable unless he grabs a ledge.

Luigi's main problems revolve around his unusual mobility and his poor reach. Luigi has slow falling speed (although this also has its advantages, such as preventing certain chain grabs and Kirby's throw combos, as well as aiding his overall aerial game), the second-slowest lateral air speed, slow dash speed, and the lowest traction (but low traction also has advantages, such as preventing Diddy Kong's banana follow-ups), all of which make approaching with Luigi a chore. His moves are quick, but short-ranged, so characters that can keep Luigi away with their speed and range (like Marth and Lucario) fare well.

Overall, Luigi is a character who tends to run hot and cold. If he is able to get within close distance of an opponent so that he can land his blows, he is extremely dangerous. But his abysmal approach and his poor reach leave him at a clear disadvantage if opponents can time their attacks to keep him out of range. He operates well on both the ground and in the air, but Luigi's issues with range and his overall shaky defensive game make him tough to deploy successfully.

Luigi's taunt is also unique in the sense that it can hit opponents and deal 2% of damage, but if it is used when the opponent is on the ledge or in the air, it is a meteor smash.

Changes from Melee to Brawl

In the transition from Melee to Brawl, Luigi has received a mix of buffs and nerfs, with the buffs being greater overall, as many of his attacks been made more powerful or faster, along with a significantly improved recovery. However, Luigi's loss of wavedashing has harmed him drastically, especially with the stronger defensive play of Brawl (and the defensive nature of Brawl also makes his poor traction much more of a liability, as the inability to punish out of shield with it is a more significant problem in Brawl). The introduction of hitstun canceling is also detrimental as it significantly limits Luigi's combo game. As such, despite the overall buffs, Luigi is a much less effective character than he was in Melee.

Aesthetics

• Luigi has been graphically updated, with significantly higher quality textures on his overalls and a more triangular, rather than a more rounder head shape, to better match his recent appearances in the Mario games. His overalls, shirt, and hat are also a lighter shade of blue and green, respectively.
• His overalls have been changed back to purple in dark areas, and the pants legs are rolled up to the ankles.
• Luigi's white costumes has been altered. His gloves are now white instead of golden in previous games, while his skin is now fair instead of tanned. These changes make Luigi resemble Fire Luigi. Luigi also gains two new alternate costumes: an orange costume, and a purple costumes, the latter being based on Waluigi.

Attributes

• Luigi walks slightly slower (1.1 → 1.08).
• Luigi is lighter (100 → 97).
• Luigi falls slower (1.6 → 1.22).
• Luigi's gravity is lower (0.069 → 0.065) although relative to the cast, it has gone from the 3rd lowest out of 26 characters to the 7th lowest out of 39.
• Luigi's traction is lower (0.025 → 0.022).
• Luigi's air speed has been slightly improved (0.68 → 0.7332), going from the lowest in Melee to the 2nd lowest in Brawl.
• Luigi's additional air acceleration is higher (0.025 → 0.075), increasing the total amount (0.04 → 0.075) despite his base air acceleration being removed (0.015 → 0).
• Jumpsquat is slower (4 → 5 frames).
• The loss of wavedashing has adversely affected Luigi far more than any other character. It greatly limits Luigi's ability to approach, which combined with his poor mobility and terrible reach causes him to perform significantly less effectively overall in Brawl's more defensive environment. Because of this, his traction now does more harm than good.
• Luigi now has the ability to crawl, allowing him to move while shrinking his hurtbox.

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack:
  • Neutral attack's first and second hits have different angles (83°/85° → 90°/65°/50° (hit 1), 70°/60° (hit 2)), with the latter's set knockback also being altered (20 → 15/20). Coupled with DI in Brawl no longer having any effect if an attack doesn't cause tumbling, this allows the move to connect all hits more reliably and improves the first hit's jab canceling potential. The third hit also has more knockback (10 (base)/100 (scaling) → 50/80), improving its safety on hit at low percents.
  • The third hit has more ending lag (FAF 23 → 31).
• Forward tilt:
  • Forward tilt has a longer duration (frames 4-8 → 5-10).
  • It has more startup (frame 4 → 5) and ending lag (FAF 32 → 33).
• Up tilt:
  • Up tilt is more reliable as a KO move due to the generally slower falling speeds of the cast.
  • It has a shorter duration (frames 4-12 → 5-10) and more ending lag (FAF 30 → 31). The introduction of hitstun canceling also removes all of its combo potential except into itself at low percents.
• Down tilt:
  • Down tilt has a longer duration (frames 5-7 → 5-8), and its angles (80° → 361° (aerial only)/270°) and knockback (10 (base)/80 (scaling) → 30/50) have been altered, turning it into a meteor smash. It has also received a trip chance of 35%. These changes grant it edgeguarding potential and much more effective combos, drastically improving its utility.
• Dash attack:
  • Dash attack's first six hits have less knockback (2 (base)/100 (scaling) → 1/80), and with the addition of hitlag multipliers in Brawl, deals no hitlag due to their very low multiplier (1× → 0.3×), making them impossible to SDI. Both of these changes allow the move to connect more reliably. Lastly, it has received a seventh hit on frames 48-50 that deals higher base knockback (2 → 50), making the move much less punishable on hit.
  • Its first six hits deal less damage (2% → 1%), decreasing the move's total amount (11.1% → 8%). It also has more ending lag (FAF 59 → 76).
  • The seventh hit has a new animation where Luigi punches forward with both fists.
• Forward smash:
  • [Forward smash deals more damage (14% (up)/13% (non-angled)/12% (down) → 15%/14%/13%), improving its KO potential. It also has drastically less ending lag when angled up (FAF 42 → 29), giving it the fastest duration of all forward smashes in the game.
• Up smash:
  • Up smash has a longer duration (frames 9-11 → 9-13). Like Mario's, it also has more range, due to its animation being altered to have Luigi hop forward for the headbutt more akin to its animation in the original Super Smash Bros.. Lastly, the introduction of the DACUS improves its approach potential especially when charged.
  • It deals less damage with a sourspot on Luigi's body (17% → 15%/12%), drastically hindering its KO potential. Luigi also no longer slides when performing a running up smash without charging it.
• Down smash:
  • Down smash has a new animation, where Luigi lies down sideways on the ground during the charging animation, and sweeps with both legs in a sideways spin instead of a flare kick like with Mario's version. This gives Luigi a lower profile upon charging it, and makes him cover both sides quicker upon attacking.
  • Both front and back hits launch at lower angles (90° → 120° (front)/70° (back)), and has gained a sourspot at Luigi's legs that takes priority over the sweetspot and deals less damage (17% → 16%). This hinders their KO potential.

Aerial attacks

• All aerials have decreased landing lag (15/7 frames → 10 (neutral), 25/12 frames → 22 (forward), 15/7 frames → 12 (back), 15/7 frames → 12 (up), 18/9 frames → 12 (down)). Due to the removal of L-canceling, however, their landing lag is not fully compensated.
• Due to his reduced falling speed, Luigi can now perform all of his aerials twice in a short hop, and do three aerials in a short hop by doing two forward aerials into either an up or neutral aerial.
• Neutral aerial:
  • Neutral aerial deals less damage (15% (clean)/8% (late) → 14%/6%), though it can still KO opponents reliably at around 120% when clean. The hitstun changes also remove its combo potential beyond low percents.
• Forward aerial:
  • Forward aerial has less ending lag (FAF 33 → 24), which along with its weaker knockback improves its combo potential at low percents.
  • It deals less damage (12% → 10%) and knockback (43 (base)/100 (scaling) → 30/80), no longer being able to KO until around 200% outside of edgeguarding. It also autocancels later (frame 20 → 21).
• Back aerial:
  • Back aerial's clean hit deals more damage (11% → 12%), improving its KO potential. The late hit also enables it to lock opponents for longer due to its reduced knockback.
  • It has a shorter duration with a late hit (frames 6-17 → 6-10 (clean)/11-16 (late)), which deals less damage (11% → 8%), significantly reducing the move's power on its later frames. It also has more ending lag (FAF 29 → 37) and autocancels much later (frame 19 → 33).
  • Back aerial has a new animation like with Mario, where Luigi dropkicks behind himself in the same fashion as the previous animation, only with his arms waving out even more (making it akin to the animation of his forward aerial from the original Super Smash Bros.).
• Up aerial:
  • Up aerial has received a late hit that extends its duration (frames 5-7 → 5-7 (clean)/8-11 (late)), giving it more range behind Luigi. This late hit is also weaker than the clean hit due to dealing less damage (13% → 7%), improving the move's combo potential at low to mid percents.
  • It autocancels later (frame 16 → 19).
• Down aerial:
  • Down aerial deals less damage (16% → 11%), significantly reducing its knockback to the point opponents have to be around 150% for it to KO effectively.

Throws/other attacks

• Grabs:
  • Standing grab has less startup (frame 7 → 6), and both it and dash grab have less ending lag (FAF 31 → 30 (standing), frame 41 → 40 (dash)).
  • Dash grab has more startup (frame 11 → 12).
• Forward throw:
  • Forward throw deals more damage (8% → 9%)..
  • Like Mario's, forward throw can now chain grab at low percents due to the DI changes in Brawl.
• Back throw:
  • Back throw deals more damage (10% → 12%), making it now as powerful as Mario's in Melee.
• Up throw:
  • Up throw deals more damage (7% → 8%)..
  • Up throw can no longer combo or chaingrab due to the hitstun changes.
• Down throw:
  • Down throw can no longer combo or chaingrab due to the hitstun changes, and deals less damage (7% → 6%).
  • Down throw's angle has been altered (110° → 80°).
• Floor attack:
  • Front floor attack no longer has a hitbox with set knockback.
• Edge attack:
  • Both edge attacks have increased set knockback (90 → 110).
• Down taunt:
  • Luigi's returning taunt (now his down taunt) deals more damage (1% → 2%) with drastically more set knockback (100 → 180), making it strong enough to one-hit KO opponents offstage if they fail to meteor cancel.
  • Down taunt's angle has been altered (280° → 270°). It now also uses the ping sound effect.

Special moves

• Fireball:
  • Fireball has less ending lag (FAF 47 → 41).
  • It travels slightly less distance and has a shorter duration (50 frames → 48).
  • It has a revamped sound effect.
• Green Missile:
  • Green Missile can now be held indefinitely. Luigi can also grab ledges out of it, and charge it more safely when recovering due to his slower falling speed.
  • Using the move partially charged near a wall causes Luigi's head to get stuck inside for a brief moment and having to pull himself free, increasing his vulnerability.
  • It travels a shorter distance when misfired. This makes it harder to self-destruct with, but hinders its recovery potential.
  • It no longer has Luigi fully close his eyes upon misfiring, instead having him keep the same expression as with the normal Green Missile.
• Super Jump Punch:
  • Super Jump Punch allows for much more horizontal movement after it is executed, improving Luigi's recovery. It can also KO earlier when sweetspotted due to the generally slower falling speeds of the cast.
  • It has more startup (frame 5 → 6) and landing lag (40 frames → 45).
  • The ending animation has been changed with Luigi falling upside-down as opposed to falling on his back like his brother. Additionally, when falling to a ground, Luigi buries his head and gets himself out.
• Luigi Cyclone:
  • Luigi Cyclone hits five times instead of two, with its first four hits having different angles (90° → 160°/20°/90°), and less knockback on the ground (50 (base)/80 (scaling) → 20/60), allowing it to connect all hits more reliably. It also moves faster horizontally, improving Luigi's approach with it. Lastly, mashing the special move button to recover with the move is much more effective, as each button press offers more vertical distance, especially when it is used at the apex of a jump, and rising with it no longer requires it to be used on the ground first.
  • Its damage outputs have been altered (8%/9% (hit 1, grounded/aerial)/12% (hit 2) → 2% (hits 1-4)/4% (hit 5)), decreasing its total damage as a result (18.92%/19.92% → 12%), and significantly hindering its KO potential despite the last hit's knockback being slightly compensated (50 (base)/80 (scaling) → 60/115). The move also has more startup (frame 6 → 7).
  • Luigi no longer says "Yahoo!" when using Luigi Cyclone, instead grunting when performing the last hit.
• Negative Zone:
  • Luigi has a Final Smash, Negative Zone. Luigi dances, creating a large, greenish-tint void that inverts both the environment an characters that enter it (including Luigi himself). Character inside the void receive the following negative status effects: flowering, dizziness, sleep, take more knockback, and forced taunting.)

Moveset

For a visual representation of Luigi's attack hitboxes, see this page.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			3%	Performs a one-two combo and then turns, performing a hip thrust. The first hit is extremely quick and can be jab canceled, most notably into a Fire Jump Punch.
			2%
			5%
Forward tilt			10%	Luigi performs a reverse roundhouse kick. This move can be angled. KOs at 185% at the center of Final Destination when angled up.
Up tilt			9%	Luigi swipes over his head with his fist. It is great for juggling and it can KO at 129%.
Down tilt			9%	Luigi does a tripping kick for minimal damage. Acts as a meteor smash, but the largest hitbox (Luigi's foot) only does this to grounded opponents. The other two (smaller) hitboxes (the leg portion) are much more difficult to connect with. Very weak knockback, not KOing until around 500%.
Dash attack			1% (hits 1-6), 2% (hit 7)	Luigi flails his fists as he slows to a stop. The last hit has more knockback than Melee.
Forward smash	↗		15%	Luigi does a spearhand stab that KO at medium percentages. To be exact, it KOs at 80% when uncharged and 50% when fully charged. Very fast, but has poor range and, if shielded, it is easy to punish - however, the attack does 5 extra shield damage. It is notable for its extremely high knockback scaling, being the forward smash with the third highest knockback scaling in the game. This, along with its diagonal trajectory, makes momentum canceling not very effective on it. Can be angled; angling up gives it much earlier interruptibility, making it a great move.
	→		14%
	↘		13%
Up smash			15% (head), 12% (body)	Luigi does an upwards headbutt similar to Mario's up smash, but with higher knockback and sending foes on a more diagonal trajectory behind him. Can slide if dashes and few frames after charge it, which slides slower than Mario, but slides farther. Luigi's head is intangible while the hitboxes are active. The sweetspot KOs at 106% uncharged, and as early as 68% when fully charged.
Down smash			16% (feet), 17% (legs)	Luigi does a twisting breakdancing sweepkick with decent vertical knockback that pulls victim behind him if sweetspotted (the first hit). KOs at 122% when uncharged and 69% when fully charged with the legs.
Neutral aerial			14% (clean), 6% (late)	Luigi does a sex kick that has great vertical knockback. Hits on frame 3, allowing to be an excellent combo breaker due to its almost instantaneous start-up which can break some chain throws, like Falco and Pikachu's chain throws. Unusually for a sex kick, it has purely vertical knockback. It is Luigi's most powerful aerial, capable of KOing at 118% from the ground, and it is one of the strongest sex kicks in the game.
Forward aerial			10%	Luigi performs a quick knifehand chop that has below average horizontal knockback and can be used in succession due to it having low start up and very little ending lag. This is Luigi's fastest aerial, duration-wise. However, this attack cannot KO until opponent is at around 150%, unless edgeguarding.
Back aerial			12% (clean), 8% (late)	Luigi performs a backwards dropkick similar to Mario's, and with similar knockback. Similar to his forward aerial in the original Super Smash Bros. KOs at 113% at the ledge and 153% from the center of Final Destination.
Up aerial			13% (clean), 7% (late)	Luigi does a flip kick that is great for juggling due to its speed and vertical knockback. Like his other aerials, it has almost no start-up and ending lag. It has more vertical knockback than Mario's up aerial and can KO vertically at 171% from the ground and horizontally at 143% from the ledge.
Down aerial			11%	Luigi does a quick downwards corkscrew dropkick. It usually has average horizontal knockback, but one of the hitboxes is a meteor smash - it's rather difficult to hit with this part of the attack. The hitbox's largest portion is just off of Luigi's right hip/below his right elbow. If hit with the wrong hitbox, this attack cannot KO until the opponent is at around 150%, unless edgeguarding.
Grab			—	Luigi's grab range is short.
Pummel			3%	Luigi headbutts the opponent. A slow pummel.
Forward throw			9%	Luigi spins once with his victim and throws them forward. Below average knockback scaling for a throw, KOing at 166% at the ledge, and lacking KO power from further away.
Back throw			12% (throw), 8% (collateral)	Luigi spins three times and throws the target behind him, reminiscent of Mario throwing Bowser in Super Mario 64. This is one of the strongest throws in the game, being capable of KOing Mario as early as 71% at the ledge, potentially being stronger than Ness, and at 157% from the center of Final Destination. But being such a slow throw causes it to be very easy to DI however.
Up throw			8%	Luigi tosses the enemy upward. It can KO at around 188%.
Down throw			6%	Luigi slams his opponent onto the ground.
Floor attack (front)			6%	Gets up then kicks behind him, then in front of him.
Floor attack (back)			6%	Gets up then punches behind him, then in front of him.
Floor attack (trip)			5%	Kicks behind him, then in front of him while getting up.
Edge attack (fast)			8% (legs), 6% (body)	Flips over the edge, kicking the opponent during the flip.
Edge attack (slow)			10%	Slowly gets up and kicks.
Neutral special		Fireball	6%	Fires a small, weak projectile. The fireball isn't affected by gravity.
Side special		Green Missile	5%-26% (normal), 25% (misfire)	Charges up and shoots forward like a missile. This move has a 12.5% chance of misfiring, which has greater damage, knockback, and always go a set (but far) distance no matter the charge. KOs at 377% when uncharged and 70% when fully charged, while a misfire can KO at 53%.
Up special		Super Jump Punch	25% (clean ground), 20% (clean air), 1% (late)	Soars upwards, hitting enemies a bit. If the target is in the perfect spot, it becomes a Fire Jump Punch, which can KO at 50%, although the aerial version is much weaker, not KOing until 84%. Otherwise, it deals pitiful damage and next to no knockback. The Fire Jump Punch can also be set up with the first hit of his neutral attack.
Down special		Luigi Cyclone	2% (loop hits), 4% (last hit)	Luigi performs a series of spinning backfists and discus spinning clotheslines, trapping and dealing damage to the opponent before sending them flying with a backfist body stretch. Can be mashed to gain height, and carries Luigi's double jump momentum to enable easier rise.
Final Smash		Negative Zone	0%	Luigi dances, and a large, greenish-tint void surrounds him. Inside the void, the colors of the environment, characters inside the void and Luigi himself become inverted. Can cause various negative status effects if the opponents is caught in the void, these being: flowering, dizziness, sleep, greater launch distance (which makes a lot of Luigi's moves, such as his Fire Jump Punch, effective finishers even at low and mid percentages), and forced taunting.

On-screen appearance

• A green pipe appears, Luigi leaps out with his hands on his head and hesitantly says "Let's-a go!"

Taunts

• Up taunt: Does a variety of humorous poses very quickly in a set order: Faces the screen with one hand on his waist, the other giving the peace symbol, referencing his animation in Luigi's Mansion where he would find a key. Next he turns to the right slightly, pointing his hands that direction. Then, he places his right hand just below his nose, as if he is thinking, similar to his artwork for Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time. Then he turns away from the screen, crouching, as if he's sad. Finally, he faces the screen once more, with both hands on his face, giving a frightened look, reminiscent to the box art of the Nintendo GameCube game Luigi's Mansion. The switch between each expression is so fast, it can't be seen unless the game speed is slowed down a bit. He also makes a sound during each expression: Hoh! Hah! Hee! Hey! Hoo! The last pose is his trophy pose in the Subspace Emissary.
• Side taunt: Stands straight up with hands on hips, falls forward stiff on the floor, then seems to balance himself back up again (similar to his victory pose in Melee and Brawl). He says something that resembles "Pow pow".
• Down taunt: Kicks at the ground while uttering a bashful "Hm." The kick delivers a hitbox that produces a strong meteor smash on airborne opponents and weaker knockback on grounded opponents, dealing set knockback. It is the meteor smash with the highest base knockback in Brawl, strong enough to OHKO an airborne opponent above a pit, but with pitiful reach, it can typically only be landed on opponents hanging on an edge. Landing the attack is farther complicated by its slow start-up lag. It resembles the action Luigi would perform when he misses in the minigames of Mario Party 2. Deals 2%.

Up taunt	Side taunt	Down taunt

Idle pose

• Rubs the back of his head sheepishly.
• Pulls on his nose, stretching it and snapping it back.

Crowd cheer

	English	Japanese
Cheer
Description	Lu-i-gi!	Lu-i-gi!
Pitch	Male	Male

Wii Remote selection sound

• Luigi says "Hii-yah!".

Luigi's selection sound

Victory poses

A cover of the "Level Completed" music from Super Mario Bros.

• Up: Turns around and makes gun motions with his fingers, saying "Bang, bang."
• Left: Falls to the ground twice, stiff as a board. His nose twitches occasionally. Similar to his side taunt.
• Right: Childishly swings his arms at the air (like his dash attack, but he stands still) and gasps twice with exhaustion. (This is a reference to what he did when chosen in Super Smash Bros.)

Up	Left	Right

In competitive play

Matchups

Super Smash Bros. Brawl Character Matchups

Avg.

Beyond low tier, Luigi has a poor matchup spread. He counters 2 characters, soft counters 5, and has 3 even matchups. On the other side of the coin, Luigi is soft countered by 18 characters, countered by 7 characters, and hard countered by 1 character, Meta Knight.

Notable players

See also: Category:Luigi professionals (SSBB)

•  Big Lou- Highest placing Luigi player during Brawl’s lifespan and had the most earnings as Luigi.
•  Boss
•  Jbandrew
•  J.Miller
•  Mr. ConCon
•  YoshQ
•  zhao guang

Tier placement and history

From the beginning of Brawl’s competitive lifetime, the introduction of hitstun cancelling, Luigi’s loss of wavedashing, as well as the inability to punish out of shield were quickly noticed. Combined with his poor range, this has culminated to subpar tournament results, and a small player base. As a result, Luigi was placed 23rd in Brawl’s first tier list, with him hovering around 21st and 20th on the second through fifth versions. As the meta went on, Luigi’s flaws and unimpressive matchups were only further exploited on. Because of this, he dropped to 25th and 29th on the sixth and seventh tier lists respectively, and currently sits on 28th in the eighth tier list. While Luigi managed to secure some noteworthy results throughout the metagame, he wasn’t a very popular character in tournaments, thanks to the hurtful changes of Brawl’s mechanics.

Role in The Subspace Emissary

Luigi in the Subspace Emissary

Luigi first appears in a green meadow, where he pretends to threaten and attack on-coming Waddle Dees. They are harmless, and make no move to attack him, but he is frightened by them, nonetheless. Then, out of nowhere, he is attacked from behind by King Dedede, who slams Luigi with his mallet, sending him flying into the air. After he comes back down, he becomes a trophy (making him the only character to become a trophy in the same cut scene in which he is introduced). Luigi's trophy in Subspace Emissary is different from his collectible trophy. Instead of adjusting his hat, Luigi holds his hands to his face making a surprised expression, which is the last of the poses from his up taunt. This distinction is unique to Luigi. King Dedede places him on the road as bait for Wario, who is coming down the road. Wario takes the bait, and Dedede manages to steal Peach/Zelda, Ness, and Luigi's trophy along with Wario's Cargo.

Dedede places a special badge on Luigi, Ness, and Peach/Zelda, though Peach/Zelda's badge is knocked off when Bowser flies off with the princess in his Koopa Clown Car and is later swallowed by Kirby. King Dedede's castle, along with the trophies of Luigi, Ness, and King Dedede are sucked into Subspace when the Ancient Minister and two R.O.B. units detonate a Subspace Bomb at the castle. Luigi is not seen again until much later in the story when Tabuu turns everyone into trophies, and the badges manage to revive him and Ness, revealing what they were for. The two then decide to turn King Dedede back to life in return, and the unlikely trio set off to help out Mario, Donkey Kong, Samus, Fox, Pikachu, Captain Falcon, Marth, Mr. Game & Watch, Falco, Pit, Olimar, Lucas, Diddy Kong, the Pokémon Trainer and Ike. Luigi, along with Ness, then watched as Dedede fought Bowser, and later helped him convince Wario to join them. After they turned everyone back to normal, they all fought Tabuu, with help from Sonic and restored the World Of Trophies to normal (except the Isle Of The Ancients that couldn't return due to the massive number of Subspace Bombs going off at once).

Playable appearances

Luigi was ambushed and turned into a trophy by King Dedede during the epilogue of The Battlefield Fortress, and when he was taken into King Dedede's castle, a Subspace Bomb exploded in front the castle and he was brought into Subspace in Trophy Form.

• Subspace (Part I)
• The Great Maze

Using stickers

Since Luigi's primary attacks are kicks and punches, Arm and Leg stickers have the widest effect. Using a Head sticker will only affect Luigi's up smash and Green Missile (since pummels cannot be used against most enemies), while a Fire one will affect his Fireball, the Green Missile, and the Fire Jump Punch. The Luigi Cyclone is considered a Spin attack, but seeing as it's his only Spin attack, there is minimal benefit to using a Spin sticker. Similarly, the final hit of Luigi's neutral attack is a Body attack, so applying a Body sticker will have only limited benefits.

In Event Matches

Solo Events

• Event 19: Wario Bros.: The player controls Wario and must defeat Mario and Luigi on the Mario Bros. stage.
• Event 29: All-Star Semifinal Regulars: Luigi is one of the opponents fought in this event. All opponents are characters that were unlockable from the original Super Smash Bros. game.

Co-op Events

• Co-Op Event 6: Unwanted Suitors: Zelda and Zero Suit Samus must defeat an invisible Luigi and Captain Falcon on Port Town Aero Dive.
• Co-Op Event 8: ALL MINE!: Wario and Bowser must collect 2,000 coins together in Skyworld while fighting against Mario and Luigi.
• Co-Op Event 9: Those Who Wait in Onett: Lucas and Ness must defeat Luigi and Yoshi on Onett.
• Co-Op Event 11: The Great Remodeling Battle: Luigi and Peach must fight Marth and Ike and collect 300 coins without destroying any of the breakable pillars in Luigi's Mansion.
• Co-Op Event 21: The True All-Star Battle: Two players select a character and take on the entire roster on Battlefield.

Trophies

Luigi's main and Final Smash trophies can be obtained by clearing Classic Mode and All-Star mode respectively with Luigi.

Luigi

Mario's younger twin brother. He's shy and quiet and overshadowed by his sibling, but he's actually quite talented. His jumping ability surpasses Mario's, and his all- around skills let him overcome any problem. He's a bit cowardly and really afraid of ghosts. Even so, in Luigi's Mansion, he was charged with cleaning up a whole house full of spirits.

: Mario Bros

: Luigi's Mansion

Negative Zone

Luigi's Final Smash. As exotic music plays, he performs a dance befitting a sorcerous incantation. A barrier envelops him, negatively impacting all in his area. Random effects include getting launched, sleeping, moving in slow motion, tripping, fainting, and losing attack power. This technique is a reflection of the dark side he embraced in his brother's shadow.

: Super Smash Bros. Brawl

• 

  Classic Mode trophy

• 

  Negative Zone trophy

Alternate costumes

Trivia

• Luigi is one of only three characters in Brawl able to perform three aerials in one short hop. He is the only one that can string any two of his aerials in a single short hop.
• The sparsity of Luigi's crowd chant (which sounds like only two or three people are cheering) and the announcer's tone of voice when announcing him (implying surprise) both contribute to the running joke in the Super Mario series that Luigi is rarely mentioned or remembered as well as his older brother.
  • The fact that Luigi is consistently considered number two to Mario is also referenced in Super Smash Bros. Brawl; Luigi may be unlocked after 22 Brawls, and his sound effects are the 22nd to be listed in the Sound Test.
• In the Home-Run Contest, Luigi's forward smash is notable for being able to send the Sandbag farther than the Warlock Punch at extreme percentages (above 250%). This is not because it produces stronger knockback at this percentage (as it has lower base knockback and knockback scaling than the Warlock Punch), but because its extremely high knockback scaling combined with its much more vertical trajectory allows it to send the Sandbag farther at these percentages.
  • Despite this, Ganondorf still holds the solo world record at 10,499 feet (3200.1 meters). Luigi is in second place at 9,637.14 feet (2937.4 meters), as seen in this video [1].
• Like Zelda, Luigi's trophy in the SSE's cutscenes is different from that of his actual trophy; the reason for this difference is unknown, though some data on the disc shows that Luigi was intended to have a trophy with a similar pose.
• Luigi and Snake are the only characters in Brawl to have a taunt that can damage a player.
• Luigi's AI has a reputation of being the best AI of any character in the game (though Pikachu's is also debatable for this title). As such, "level nine Luigi" is often joked about in the Smash community as an unbeatable character, and occasionally players who lack a partner will enter doubles tournaments with a level nine CPU Luigi if the TO allows it. Level nine Luigi is also the CPU partner of choice in Melee too, though Melee Luigi's AI does not have the same reputation. The AI's success with Luigi can be attributed to the fact that the AI's extremely fast reactions is its best trait, while Luigi, with his very fast and very powerful attacks, and who is also heavily reliant on perfect-shielding, is perhaps the character who benefits from such fast reactions the most.
• This is the first time Luigi is given his own voice in a Super Smash Bros. game. In the past two games, his voice was simply a higher-pitched variation of Mario's voice, and in Melee, his Green Missile sound effects were taken from Pikachu's Skull Bash.
• Whenever Luigi throws an item downwards while in midair, his model becomes disfigured until the animation is finished. This is due to copying Mario's animation to Luigi; however, unlike the other copied moves (such as his up smash and neutral aerial), Luigi's bones weren't adjusted properly, therefore leading to a disfigured state.

External links

• DOJO!! page
• Luigi Character Guide on SmashBoards
• Luigi's Moves - History Behind Super Smash Bros. Brawl, by CrappyCaptureDevice