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[Dtoid community member Dreamweaver shares his top 10 favorite Smash characters! Read his list then share with your favorites in the comments. Does anyone actually read this part? I’m so alone. So utterly alone. Want to see your own stuff appear on the front page? Go write something! –Occams Electric Toothbrush]
Another console generation has started, so that means another Super Smash Bros. has arrived! I’ve been playing Smash Bros. since the series first dropped on the Nintendo 64, and I always anticipate every release! While my excitement might’ve dwindled a bit due to Super Smash Bros. Brawl being available on the Wii, as well as the slower pace and huge levels, this new entry reminds me of how much I love playing these games! As tribute to Super Smash Bros. for Wii U being the awesome game that it is, I’m hyped enough to make a couple of lists, starting with this!
Everytime a new iteration is announced, people are always trying to think of their dream roster, you know characters that they wanna see in the game. As a fighting game, it’s to be expected, as we all want to see our favorites… but sometimes we don’t always get who we want. However, to not look too much into who isn’t there, we’re going to take a look at who is, hence my top 10 list of my favorite playable characters to ever appear in these games!
As it is the case with any of my lists, the rankings on this list is made with what I believe to be my top 10 characters at the moment. That means it’s subject to change, so just because I claim one thing, doesn’t mean its position won’t be usurped later down the line. Furthermore, these characters are selected by who I like to play as as well as who they are. Now, without further delay, here’s who I say are simply… smashing.
10 – Zero Suit Samus (Metroid) – Super Smash Bros. Brawl and 4
Whip it. Whip it good.
Okay, okay, so she does fits several fetishes of mine like the skin tight body suit and the beauty mark off the side of her face. And yes, maybe the whip makes me more submissive than I would be willing to get into at the moment (but feel free to bring that up anytime!). However, Zero Suit Samus is rather fun to play with, and I don’t mean in bed! What I like about controlling her is her agility: she moves fast, attacks quickly, and feels much more mobile than a lot of the other characters. Plus, although this was a major complaint before, I kinda like that Zero Suit Samus is her own character slot.
This means I don’t have to avoid the Smash Ball, as that would only make her to slip on the suit (adding more clothes to a woman is not what I’m about!), but she gets her own Final Smash as well! While it’s cool for Samus to shoot a Hyper Beam so powerful that her armor gets destroyed, it does ruin playing as strictly Samus when you’re forced to deal with a second moveset, and vice-versa for Zero Suit Samus. She is also one of my go-to characters when it comes to fighting for Glory, so that’s a nice extra push to the top spot!
9 – Mewtwo (Pokemon Red/ Blue) – Super Smash Brother Melee and 4 (DLC)
His head’s a lot bigger than I remember.
As a fan of the original Pokemon Red/ Blue games and generation, I have such a soft spot for the original 151. I fondly remember playing it constantly whenever I was home with free time, which is quite often for a grade student, and I would think about it a lot. So, it should be of no surprise that I would dig being able to play as one of the original cast… especially the toughest badass of them all! I mean, do you recall that Mewtwo is the last Legendary to get in the game, hidden away in Unknown Dungeon until after defeating the Elite Four? How about being the last boss in Pokemon Stadium, who’s bold enough to challenge you in a 1v6 fight? And what fan didn’t catch the original Pokemon movie in theatres and saw first hand what the prototype could do!?
Because of that, I couldn’t wait to unlock him. Sure, he had some tedious requirements (20 hours in VS. or 700 VS. matches), but man did it feel like it was worth it to fight as the white humanoid with purple accents (fuck Frieza)! He may not have been the best character to actually fight as, but I always felt like something’s going down whenever he gets selected, and I love twirling enemies around or slamming a shadow ball in their face! Plus, he’s somewhat back by popular demand, as he is set to appear as DLC in the newest entry of the series, and there’s evidence that he was original meant to appear in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
8 – Shulk (Xenoblade Chronicles) – Super Smash Bros. 4
Are you feeling it?
I never played Xenoblade Chronicles. Although I would’ve wanted a game like that in the early years that the Wii came out, by the time this dropped, I was already well passed playing on the console. However, controlling Shulk in the new Smash game definitely feels fun! One thing that I kinda dig about his neutral special “Monado Arts” is that he can change some of his attributes to suit the situation, like faster movements or stronger knockback for his attacks! It does have the drawback for also debuffing certain stats when used, but it’s still nice to be able to change his attributes on the fly! Plus, his Final Smash is also pretty dope (that’s a separate list though)!
His sword is the best part of playing as him though: stabbing with the sword is pretty damaging enough, but when the laser part of it extends outward, it really does some damage! The best part of it though, other than looking frickin’ awesome, is that sometimes the opponent won’t expect the extension, and either gets hit, or are too afraid to attempt a counterattack immediately. He also has the best counter, as he takes advantage of the “Visions” mechanic of his game to sense what the enemy is about to do, and retaliates with this cool, blue aura. It’s pretty radical, and it makes countering a lot more fun than it should be (even with the diminishing returns)!
7 – Sheik (The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time) – Super Smash Bros. Melee, Brawl and 4
If only we can swivel the camera all the way around…
Another character that I’m happy got their own character slot (because who the hell wants to play as Zelda?) is Sheik! While I have never got to the adult segment of Ocarina of Time because I suck as a gamer, I was always a fan of the ninja since first lying eyes on Sheik in Melee but that might be because I like ninjas in general. When Hyrule Warriors came out on the Wii U, Sheik was one of the first characters I’ve been dying to use. I mean, Midna was obvious the one that I specifically rushed to unlock because I’m all about that bass… but Sheik’s appearance still made playing as her in the newest Smash Bros. all the more sweeter!
Anyway, I like Sheik for the same reasons as I do Zero Suit Samus, so you’re probably asking: why is Sheik higher on the list than Zero Suit Samus when she’s clearly not as hot as her? Well… it’s because she has a pretty cool moveset! Her neutral Special involves her stacking needles in her hands until she throws them at her enemies, and it looks especially badass when you do it in the air! Her Up Special is her doing that stereotypical ninja teleport, but with the added touch of a damaging explosion! And she also had a chain that allows her to latch on the side of a stage for a somewhat useless yet still badass recovery!
6 – Pokemon Trainer (Pokemon Red/ Blue) – Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Would’ve loved for that “V for Victory” thing Ash always does.
As you recall earlier, I am a sucker for the original 151… so imagine my surprise that not only [i]one[/i] Pokemon is entering the ring for Brawl, but three! Introducing the Pokemon Trainer, this character doesn’t fight his own battles: he gets his Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard to do it for him! Utilizing the light, medium, and heavy class of characters, no matter which type of fighters you prefer, the Pokemon Trainer’s got them all! Which he is unforunately cut from the newest game, along Ivysaur and my favorite starter Squirtle, playing as him in Brawl was really cool because you effectively have three different move sets!
Truthfully, I didn’t really like playing as either Ivysaur or Charizard and wanted to stick with Squirtle, but the idea behind the character is still pretty novel! Transforming characters was a pretty interesting mechanic that Melee introduced, so the Pokemon Trainer was the one-up that Brawl had to do, and it’s really awesome that he is the only character to have this feature! Here’s hoping he makes it to the new Smash Bros!
5 – Little Mac (Punch-Out!) – Super Smash Bros. 4
Mama said “knock you out.”
They really rolled out the red carpet for Little Mac, in my opinion: he gets his own, heavily stylized trailer, he gets a badass promotional artwork involving an arcade cabinet showing his fight against Donkey Kong, and he gets a pretty cool victory screen with Doc Louis right besides him! As if that isn’t enough, he also has his wireframe appearance from the original game as well as his pink hoodie! Little Mac’s air game might have been the thing that really holds him back on being placed higher on the list because it’s hard to stay in the fight in stock matches when being knocked back is practically the same as dying…
But damn, is he fun to play as! He’s quick, being the 3rd fastest fighter in the game, and he hits pretty damn hard as well! Speaking of, the absolute best part of picking him is his special unique mechanic involving the Power Meter. See, whenever he dishes or takes damage, the meter builds up, and when it’s full, a “K.O.” symbol will appear. This means that his neutral Special, which is an armored, charge-up haymaker, turns into an uppercut that could potentially one-hit kill! I tell you, there’s almost nothing better in this game than sending someone flying with it (love the Homerun Bat!), and the camera close-up adds icing to the cake!
4 – Snake (Metal Gear Solid) – Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Yet still not the weirdest thing he’ve seen.
I’m a huge fan of crossovers, as evident by some of my recap blogs and my excitement for every new Smash Bros. So, imagine how hyped I was when I heard Solid Snake, a third-party character, is coming to brawl in Brawl! Solid Snake may not be as cool as Naked Snake/ Big Boss, but it’s still great to have him in! He’s a pretty solid fighter in his own right, maybe a little too slow and heavy for my taste, but it’s pretty funny to shoot a rocket at his feet or plant mines somewhere only to remember once you stepped on it. He gets his own sweet-looking level based on Shadow Moses, with a rendition of “Snake Eater”, but that’s not the best part…
No, the best part is having his character reprised by David Hayter! As a fan of the gruffy voiced man, I welcomed hearing Hayter’s gravely tone once more, but he isn’t alone either! Some of the supporting cast of the original Metal Gear Solid, such as “Otacon’s” Christopher Randolph and Mei Ling’s Kim Mai Guest return to provide Codec conversations! Codec conversations are a nice Easter Egg nod to the series, and having a unique set of dialogue for every fighter was a small, but very well appreciated, touch! Snake may not be in the new one, but Pit and Palutena carries the vocal Easter Egg torch, even though I think Little Mac/ Doc Louis should’ve gotten one too.
Mega Man (Mega Man) – Super Smash Bros. 
Getting wily in here…
As far as I know, and as far as I’m concerned, the original Mega Man is the first videogame I’ve played. The Blue Bomber made quite the impression on me when I was younger, as the idea of shooting robots as a robot was much cooler than jumping on turtles as a fat plumber. So, announcing Mega Man to enter the ring made me even more giddy than hearing about Snake’s inclusion to Brawl because it hits me in the nostalgia. See, I didn’t get into the Metal Gear Solid series until after I played Snake Eater well after release, but Mega Man was a part of my childhood as I would play it quite often.
Admittedly, he’s not entirely a great character to pick when fighting for reals, as I have trouble knocking people out when they’re expecting it. However, the amount of nods to his past, from the colorful schemes right down to the actual animations, is well worth playing as him! Seriously, seeing him walk to the right and shooting his Mega Buster pellets is like playing an HD remake of his original game, and summoning Rush to jump or doing his slide just makes me wish for a new game (yeah, that’ll happen). Also, he has one of the best Final Smashes, as he summons other versions of himself, my favorite being Megaman.exe, to help the little guy out (expect this to rank high on another list)!
2 – Palutena (Kid Icarus) – Super Smash Bros. 4
Heavenly…
Who didn’t think Palutena wouldn’t have made it high on my list? I already listed goddessed as one of my top 10 fetishes, and I totally called dibs on her a little while back! I might’ve said her body is pretty damn nice, but I really love her character, and you can see examples of her playful personality in the aforementioned voiced conversations with Pit (even though it is he who initiates it)! However, I am disappointed that she was not being reprised by one of my favorite videogame voice actress Ali Hillis; instead, it’s the admirable-but-still-not-Ali-Hillis, Brandy Kopp. However, that tidbit aside, much of her character is left intact, and I always grin whenever someone knocks her out and her body hits the screen because that face she makes is so funny!
I really love playing as Palutena because she’s really highly defensive in her moves: by default, she has a reflective shield that returns projectiles, and a counter that’s pretty quick to activate, so as long as you can read your opponent can you always strike back. I especially love her Up Smash attack, as she uses a beam of light shooting upwards to smack enemies away from approaching, and a well-timed use of it can steal some kills flying over your head as well! Her neutral Special is also great at harassing, which is fairly suiting considering how much she teases Pit! Overall, Palutena is my go-to character for battles, whether it’s 1v1 For Glory or free-for-all 8 player Smash.
1 – Ice Climbers (Ice Climbers) – Super Smash Bros. Melee and Brawl
Eskimo kiss!
Full disclosure: I always associated Popo and Nana as a brother-sister incest couple. Sure, Sakurai said that he wanted them to be lovers, and Nintendo’s stance on it is that it’s up to player imagination, but my headcanon still counts! Whatever the case, I absolutely adore the cute couple, as they are oozing with charm and personality! Seriously, seeing them jump up and down in victory puts a smile on my face, seeing their high-fives warms my heart, and seeing them cry in defeat makes me want to do better!
When Melee first came out, everyone questioned why they were in, myself included as I hated their videogame. However, getting to play with them a bit, their attacks hit pretty hard, and I realized how much I liked having Nana as a partner because it added a different dynamic to fights. Popo, or Nana if you chose to switch them, are useless without the other. You need to do a little bit of escorting to ensure not only can you attack with your full potential, but also to have your partner watch your back: whenever you use their Down Special attack, Popo freezes one side whilst Nana freezes the other, giving you extra protection. And don’t even try to use their Up Special air recovery move without the other as it will not end well.
It’s also kind of cool to be the only characters that fights alongside one another because you know that you aren’t alone. Yes, you can have a partner should you decide to play Team Smash, but whether it’s free-for-all or single-player Adventure Mode, Nana or Popo will be there with you.
And that’s my list! I’m sure you guys have your own list of Smasher, so comment down below what the ranking would be, or feel free to make your own blog!
