Wolf (SSBU)

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Wolf in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Universe	Star Fox
Other playable appearance	in Brawl
Availability	Unlockable
Final Smash	Team Star Wolf

“	The leader of the Star Wolf mercenary team makes his grand return after 10 years! He puts his sharp claws to good use in wild attacks, and his Final Smash is an all-out attack by Team Star Wolf! If Fox or Falco is in the battle, you may hear a unique line of dialog.	”
—Super Smash Blog, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Official Site

Wolf (ウルフ, Wolf) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He was confirmed playable on June 12th, 2018. Wolf is classified as fighter #44.

Kōsuke Takaguchi, Japanese voice actor from Star Fox 64 3D, Star Fox Zero, reprises his role with new voice clips, replacing Mahito Ōba from Brawl while Mike West, who voices Fox in both Super Smash Bros. 4 and Ultimate, replaces Jay Ward.

Attributes

Wolf's attributes and moveset give him a versatile gameplan, somewhere in the middle ground between Fox's pressure-focused playstyle and Falco's punish-oriented gameplay. This is reflected in his attributes, which include a slow dash speed (though his initial dash is quite fast), above average walk speed, and a high falling speed and gravity characteristic of the Star Fox characters. Unlike the other space animals, however, Wolf has among the highest air speeds in the game, and is also significantly heavier than them. Though his special moveset and vertical mobility are derived from his brethren, the similarities end there, with Wolf being the most unique of the trio.

Wolf's Blaster is the centerpiece of his neutral game. With the lasers causing hitstun and having a high duration, they grant him the ability to disrupt opponents' approaches, even when their grounded mobility is superior to his own, and its unique close-range hitbox on the bayonet give it some utility in close combat, dealing substantial damage if it connects. An opponent will likely resort to jumping over the projectiles, at which point they are open to Wolf's fast aerial attacks, which are comprised of a disjointed forward aerial that can combo into itself and his other aerials, a fast neutral aerial that is quite strong at the sweetspot while having a lingering hitbox, a back aerial whose moderate start-up is offset by its high power, and an up aerial well-suited to juggling. While he can apply pressure from a distance, Wolf is not wanting for close-range options either. Jab and down-tilt are decent pokes, forward smash has deceptively low ending lag, and his neutral, forward, and back aerials are quite fast and difficult to punish even if blocked, while his standing grab is tied for the fastest in the game. Further augmenting his strong neutral game are his dash attack and reflector, the former of which is useful for punishing aerial approaches and KO'ing at very high percents, while the latter ensures he has priority over opposing camping.

Once Wolf has won the neutral exchange, he has several options to rack up damage. Forward aerial can combo into itself and other aerials, and into a grab at very low percentages, from which up throw can lead into another forward or up aerial until mid-percentages. Should an opponent air dodge in an attempt to escape pressure, Wolf's aerial mobility allows him to chase them down and punish them, usually with a back aerial or up tilt after landing. Once his foe is at high percentages, he can threaten them with an outright KO by spacing his safe back aerial and forward smash, or force them offstage with his neutral aerial, forward tilt or throws, after which he may attempt punishing their recovery with another aerial, or cover their ledge options with a down smash. At very high percentages, his fast grab becomes threatening as well, with his back throw KO'ing effectively at the ledge.

Wolf is not free of weaknesses. Though he is not short of finishers, he frequently has difficulty landing them, as he lacks methods to reliably set-up into them, often leading to him throwing out back aerials and forward smashes to seal the stock, while his up smash has high ending lag and his back throw requires rage and stage positioning to KO at reasonable percentages. However, by far Wolf's greatest downfall is his endurance: as with the other space animals, his physics render him highly susceptible to combos, and his heavier weight over them does little to help his survivability, as his recovery possibly ranks among the worst in the cast. His up special, Fire Wolf, is linear and offers poor vertical recovery, making meteor smashes deadly against him even at lower percentages, and his main method of recovery, Wolf Flash, is also linear, though it does offer fair horizontal distance along with a dangerous spiking hitbox. Further worsening the issue, unlike Fox and Falco, both of his recovery options cause helplessness, restricting him to one option offstage and leaving him with a much shorter recovery distance overall.

Overall, Wolf's combination of an excellent projectile and good frame data allow him to switch playstyles on a whim, while his combos and aerial mobility ensure he can keep up the pressure on his opponent even after winning the neutral game. However, a Wolf player must be ready to play the long game, as it is not unusual for his foe to live for very long, and a single mistake could see Wolf sustaining heavy damage from combos before finding himself offstage, where often times one more hit is all that is needed to seal his fate.

How to unlock

Complete one of the following:

• Play VS. matches, with Wolf being the 51st character to be unlocked.
• Clear Classic Mode with Fox or any character in his unlock tree, being the eighth character unlocked after Bowser Jr..
• Have Wolf join the player's party in World of Light.

With the exception of the third method, Wolf must then be defeated on Lylat Cruise.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Wolf has been buffed considerably in his transition from Brawl. He is much more nimble than in his previous appearance, sporting a significantly improved mobility with slightly faster dash and air speeds, and a much faster fast fall speed. Coupled with his superior mobility is the buffs to his Blaster, already an effective projectile in his previous appearance, and his new dash attack, both of which improve his neutral game. His aerial attacks have also been improved: his new neutral aerial gives Wolf an effective, all-purpose aerial, his forward aerial can now be followed up from due to its notably reduced ending and landing lag, and his back and up aerials have deceptively increased power (most notably the former). Wolf's grab game also received some noteworthy buffs, now having a strong throw in his back throw and decent combo starters in his up and down throws. Finally, his Fire Wolf and Wolf Flash are far stronger, giving him two more powerful, if risky, KO options; the latter in particular has received the ability to change its trajectory up or down, slightly improving his horizontal recovery.

Wolf also benefits a lot overall from the changes to gameplay mechanics. The new airdodge mechanics, as well as the changes to hitstun canceling, make him better at comboing and juggling his opponents for a longer period of time, which pair well with his improved mobility. The changes to momentum canceling allow his moves to KO earlier and overall put his survivbility more in line with the cast. Lastly, the removal of chain grabbing and meteor canceling also significantly improve his survivability, while the latter change make his down aerial and Wolf Flash more effective at KOing.

Even so, Wolf has received a few notable nerfs as well. A couple of his moves have received increased lag, most notably his forward and down smash attacks, and his renowned back aerial from Brawl, in exchange for more power; the latter two are particularly noteworthy due to their previous speed and already decent power. His vertical recovery has also got a hit, as Fire Wolf travels a much shorter distance, making him more dependant on Wolf Flash to recover and slightly more susceptible to meteor smashes than in Brawl. Lastly, his lower weight worsens his survivability, especially his horizontal one (which is also hindered by the changes to momentum canceling), while he remains an easy combo target due to the changes to hitstun canceling. In the end, however, Wolf's nerfs are overall offset by the buffs he has received, which now allows him to fare better than he did in Brawl.

Aesthetics

• Wolf's bust is based on his appearance in Star Fox Zero. He now sports a traditional eye patch, and his eye is red instead of purple. His fur is also more detailed and fluffier.
• Wolf's design is mostly original to Ultimate. His jacket is now purple with heliotrope accents and has a more traditional appearance: it has a collar, buttons, a zipper, and a belt; it also appears to have more depth, and his necklace and choker have been replaced with a hopbush bandana (also wears one on his left leg). His gloves match his jacket and are wrapped around in bands. Wolf's boots are less metallic and instead have metallic detailing protruding from his heels and toe boxes; he also now wears shin guards that possess similar metallic details, and his knee pads are asymmetrical. The spikes on his shoulder pads and knee pad are significantly more protruding and they are old gold. Lastly, Wolf no longer carries his Reflector on his person.
• Like many other characters, Wolf is now more expressive.
• The majority of Wolf's animations are more fluid and polished, and none are visibly borrowed from other characters unlike Brawl. Many of his attacks also sport purple claw trails.
• Dash and crouch's animations have also changed. Wolf no longer limps when he dashes, and he now kneels akin to the other spacies instead of laying on all four limbs when crouching. However, he transitions to his crouching animation from Brawl when holding a small item.
• Wolf now has a new side taunt, a beckoning gesture with one finger while asking, "Are you scared?" This replaces his taunt from Brawl, in which he kicked the air three times and said "What's the matter, scared?".
• Wolf's crowd cheer now only has the audience howling, instead of going "Wooolf! - *howl*".
• Wolf now says "You're good, but I'm better." during his claw-swiping victory pose, one of his famous lines from Star Fox 64. This will replace the line from Brawl, "I will be the one to... take you down!".
• Wolf's victory poses where he reaches for the sky is now a bit different. He now turns around and extends his right arm, keeping his left arm closer to his face as the camera zooms in. In addition, he says "Weaklings! The lot of you!" instead of "Weaklings! The bunch of you!".
• Wolf's tumbling animation no longer seems to detach his left arm from his elbow.

Attributes

• Wolf now stands in an upright, much less awkward posture, similar to Yoshi and Bowser in their transitions from Brawl. This translates to his moveset, be it through a tweaked animation or a completely new move. However, he will revert to his posture and idle poses from Brawl while holding a small item.
  • Wolf's new upright posture makes him harder to hit horizontally, but easier to hit vertically.
• The changes to hitstun canceling both help and hinder Wolf: they allow him to combo his opponents much better than in Brawl, though it makes him more susceptible to combos due to his fast falling speed.
• The changes to momentum canceling both help and hinder Wolf: it makes his stronger moves more likely to KO and renders his vertical endurance more in-line with the rest of the cast, but also worsens his horizontal endurance.
• The changes to air dodge mechanics help Wolf overall, as it allows him to juggle his opponents more easily than in Brawl when coupled with the changes to hitstun canceling. They also give Wolf an effective way to mix up his recovery and landing options, the latter due to his fast falling speed.
• The removal of meteor canceling benefits Wolf far more than any other character, as he is now equally as vulnerable to meteor smashes as the rest of the cast instead of having a significantly longer meteor cancel delay, while making his meteor smashes much more effective.
• The removal of chain grabbing significantly improves Wolf's survivability against certain characters, as he is no longer vulnerable to them. While it also slightly hinders Wolf's damage racking game as he could chain grab with his down throw in Brawl, this is counterbalanced due to his improved damage output.
• Like all characters, Wolf's jumpsquat animation now takes three frames to complete (down from five).
• Wolf is significantly lighter (102 → 92). This significantly hinders his endurance, while not making him much less susceptible to combos from other characters due to the changes to hitstun cancelling.
• Wolf walks slower (1.3 → 1.208).
• Wolf dashes faster (1.4 → 1.54).
• Wolf's air speed is faster (1.222 → 1.281).
• Wolf's fast fall speed is much more in line with the rest of the roster (1.9 → 2.88), being far more useful than before.

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack:
  • Neutral attack has a much cleaner look overall. The ending hit is now a third claw swipe, instead of a dashing bite.
  • The second and third hits of neutral attack have less startup lag (frame 5 → 4).
  • Neutral attack deals slightly less damage (9% → 8%).
  • All hits have a shorter duration (2 frames → 1). Due to this, the third hit can now whiff at high percents.
• Forward tilt:
  • Forward tilt retains two hitboxes and high freeze frames. It also has an updated animation where he forcefully brings his claws together.
  • Forward tilt has more ending lag (frame 33 → 35).
• Up tilt:
  • Up tilt has a new ending animation where Wolf flicks his nose with his thumb while smirking.
• Dash attack:
  • Dash attack is now a short ranged kick instead of a backflip. It has more horizontal range but less vertical.
  • Dash attack deals more damage (9% → 11%).
  • Dash attack no longer halts Wolf's forward momentum, and boosts him forward a good distance.
  • Dash attack is now a great burst option that can KO at reasonable percents.
  • Dash attack has a longer duration (2 frames → 8).
• Forward smash:
  • Forward smash is now a forceful, standing palm strike that deals one hit. The new animation has doubled startup lag (frame 10 → 20), and Wolf does not lunge forward, decreasing its reach.
  • Forward smash deals more knockback and has less ending lag (frame 46 → 42).
• Up smash:
  • Up smash has an altered animation, now performing a breakdance-style rotation before the kick, and no longer crosses his legs during the second hit. The hits are also now clearly highlighted by trails.
  • The second hit of up smash has a longer duration (3 frames → 4).
  • Up smash has more ending lag (frame 44 → 48).
  • The removal of DACUS significantly hinders up smash's approach potential.
• Down smash:
  • Down smash has an altered animation. Wolf now swipes both sides with one hand.
  • Down smash deals more damage (14% → 16% (hit 1), 13% → 14% (hit 2)).
  • Down smash is significantly more laggy, having more startup (frame 8 → 14 (hit 1), frame 14 → 21 (hit 2)) and ending lag (frame 35 → 44).

Aerial attacks

• Neutral aerial:
  • Neutral aerial is now a sex kick similar to Fox's.
  • Neutral aerial now has more range.
  • Neutral aerial has slightly less landing lag (10 frames → 9 frames).
  • Neutral aerial deals more damage overall (8% → 12% (clean), 1%/3% → 8% (late hit)).
  • The clean hit of neutral aerial makes it a strong finisher at high percentages, while the late hit allows it to be followed up with another attack,such as an aerial or dash attack.
  • Neutral aerial has more startup lag and a shorter duration (frames 4-34 → 7-26).
• Forward aerial:
  • Forward aerial has an altered animation.
  • Forward aerial has less ending (frame 52 → 41) and landing lag (30 frames → 10). When combined with the changes to hitstun canceling, this allows it to combo into a multitude of moves beyond low percents, including another forward air, other aerials, Wolf Flash and into grab.
  • Forward aerial deals less damage (11% → 9%).
• Back aerial:
  • Back aerial has an altered animation, closely resembling Ridley's back aerial.
  • Back aerial's sweetspot deals more damage (13% → 15%).
  • Back aerial has much more startup (frame 6 → 13), ending (frame 30 → 45) and landing lag (9 frames → 16). It also has a shorter duration (4 frames → 3).
• Up aerial:
  • Up aerial is much stronger and the changes to hitstun canceling improve its combo potential beyond low percents.
  • Up aerial has slightly increased landing lag (9 frames → 10).
• Down aerial:
  • Down aerial has a slightly altered animation, where Wolf swipes downwards instead of plunging his fists down.
  • Down aerial has less ending lag (frame 60 → 54). The removal of meteor canceling also improves its reliability and allows for follow ups when used on grounded opponents beyond lower percents.

Throws/other attacks

• Grabs:
  • Dash grab has less startup lag (frame 11 → 8).
  • All grabs have more ending lag (frame 30 → 37 (standing), frame 40 → 45 (dash), frame 35 → 40 (pivot).
• Forward throw:
  • Forward throw has a new animation: Wolf now slashes downward. It now also has a slash effect.
  • Forward throw deals more damage (7% → 9%.)
• Back throw:
  • Back throw has a new animation: Wolf now slashes upward.
  • Back throw has increased damage (7% → 11%) and knockback, making it a viable kill option at high percents.
• Up throw:
  • Up throw has a new animation. Wolf now jumps and slashes the opponent with one claw, instead of two like in Brawl. The animation is also cleaner overall.
  • Up throw can now be followed up with different aerials atlow percentages due to the changes to hitstun canceling.
• Down throw:
  • Wolf has a new down throw. Wolf now grabs the opponent by the head, jumps while spinning around once, and chokeslams them into the ground.
  • Wolf can now follow up after down throw with different aerials.
  • Down throw deals less damage overall (12% → 8.5%).
  • Wolf can no longer chain grab with his down throw. Additionally, its new angle hinders its tech chasing and edgeguarding potential.
• Wolf has a new edge attack, an inward slash.

Special Moves

• Blaster:
  • Wolf has an altered animation for firing lasers from his blaster, which is significantly faster to fire than the old version.
  • Both the melee hitbox (4% → 7%) and the lasers from the blaster deal more damage (5%/6% → 6%/7%/8%).
  • The lasers now have an increased duration (frames 16-48 → 16-50).
  • The melee hitbox has more startup lag (frame 10 → 15). Blaster also has more ending lag (frame 45 → 50).
  • The lasers fired from Wolf's Blaster are now colored purple instead of green. The blaster itself has a new design and updated sound effects.
• Wolf Flash:
  • Wolf Flash has been given updated visual effects: its trail now features three long, red slash-marks. Another shorter, identical trail also appears in front of Wolf, which indicates the sweetspot.
  • Wolf Flash can now be angled by inputting up or down on the control stick, increasing recovery options. [3][4]
  • Wolf Flash's sweetspot is much stronger and benefits from the removal of meteor canceling. Wolf now also has various ways to combo into Wolf Flash due to the changes to hitstun canceling, allowing for risky, yet deadly KO confirms.
  • Scarring is harder to perform, as Wolf no longer hugs the ledge as much when using the move, which can result in a self-destruct.
• Fire Wolf:
  • Fire Wolf has an altered animation, now being enveloped in purple aura. [5]
  • Fire Wolf goes a much longer distance vertically than it does when angled.
  • Fire Wolf goes a much shorter distance than before, making it a worse vertical recovery.
  • Fire Wolf has less startup lag (frame 23 → 18).
  • Fire Wolf's final hit deals far more knockback, and all of its hits connect properly.
• Reflector:
  • Reflector has an altered animation.
  • Reflector deals slightly more damage (3% → 4%).
  • Reflector has less startup lag and a longer duration (frames 8-9 → 7-9).
  • Reflector has more ending lag (frame 27 → 32).
  • Reflector now sends diagonally up and away instead of forward and down. This potentially allows it to be followed up with aerials, but weakens its gimping potential. [6]
• Final Smash:
  • Wolf has a new Final Smash, Team Star Wolf, replacing the Landmaster from Brawl. It functions similarly to Team Star Fox, Fox's and Falco's new Final Smash. Upon activating, Wolf yells, "Wolf Pack!" If the Wolfens successfully catch their target, Wolf yells, "Grahaha! The hunt is on, boys!" with it captioned on screen during the cinematic. The target is then fired at with the Wolfen's lasers, and then launched with an explosion at the end.
  • If Team Star Wolf is used against Fox, or Falco, Wolf will say, "I've got you now, Star Fox!"
  • Team Star Wolf is much easier to avoid compared to Landmaster and is overall less versatile.
  • Team Star Wolf can potentially deal more damage compared to Landmaster, and the single hit has increased KO power, making it more consistent.

Classic Mode: Reunited Roster

Wolf fights fighters who are veterans that didn't appear in Super Smash Bros. 4.

Round	Opponent	Stage	Music	Notes
1	Ice Climbers	Summit	Ice Climber (Melee)
2	Young Link	Great Bay	Overworld Theme - The Legend of Zelda (Melee)
3	Pichu	Pokémon Stadium	Pokémon Gold / Pokémon Silver Medley
4	Squirtle	Pokémon Stadium 2	Pokémon Gym/Evolution - Pokémon Red / Pokémon Blue	Squirtle's Pokémon Trainer is absent.
5	Ivysaur	Spear Pillar	Battle (Dialga/Palkia) / Spear Pillar	Ivysaur's Pokémon Trainer is absent.
6	Snake	Shadow Moses Island	Theme of Tara
Bonus Stage
Final	Galleom	?	Boss Battle - Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Role in World of Light

Although Wolf does not appear in the World of Light opening cutscene, he was vaporized and later imprisoned alongside the rest of the fighters (except for Kirby) when Galeem unleashed his beams of light.

Wolf was one of the many fighters that fell under Dharkon's control upon Galeem's first defeat. He is unlocked in the Mysterious Dimension of the World of Dark. The player must defeat the Andross spirit (which is the answer to a given question) to reveal a path leading to a wrecked airplane. His unlock battle is on the plane's tail (just to the left of the Krystal spirit).

Alternate costumes

Gallery

• 

  Wolf's amiibo.

• 

  Wolf's fighter card.

• 

  Wolf taunting on Corneria.

• 

  Posing with his Blaster in Skyloft.

• 

  Taunting on Skyworld.

• 

  Wolf attacking Duck Hunt with his neutral attack on Spear Pillar.

• 

  Wolf crouching near the Nintendog on The Great Cave Offensive.

• 

  Grabbing Fox on Skyworld.

• 

  Wolf, Lucario and Fox sleeping around Chrom with Super Leaf equipped on Living Room.

• 

  Firing his Blaster on Corneria.

Character Showcase Video

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Trivia

• There are a few inconsistencies between Wolf's official render and his in-game model. The soles of his boots are blue in his official render while they are red in his in-game model, the straps behind his right shin guard is white instead of black, and his jacket and gloves are dark purple instead of light purple.
  • Oddly, in his showcase video, the inconsistencies only appear in the final part of the video, when he attacks Fox.
  • Additionally, the inconsistencies are used for his model in the first five screenshots of his character page on the Smash Bros. Ultimate official website.
  • They also appear in Mewtwo's character showcase video.
• The visual effects for all of Wolf's claw-based attacks displays three slashes despite Wolf using four fingers to strike.
• If Wolf wins a match with Fox present, there's a chance he will say, "Playtime's over, Star Fox!" in one of his victory animations, just like he did in Brawl. However, this line is not present in the Sound Test.
• Wolf is the only playable Star Fox character whose Fighter Spirit does not use artwork from Star Fox Zero.