Character Crisis

I play competitive Super Smash Bros Ultimate and I’m suffering from a Character Crisis. When I first picked up the game in 2018 I was told to choose one fighter, and main them, learning the game through their perspective. For the last four years I have played primarily one character, Princess Daisy, and I have learned a lot. But Smash Bros Ultimate is one of the biggest fighting games of all time with 86 unique playable characters. Could I be missing out on someone?

For as long as it takes I intend on maining each character in the game, learning the game through their eyes, and then testing those skills at my weekly local. If you’d like to join me on this journey, you can subscribe on YouTube or sign up for email notifications on my blog. When it’s time to move onto a new character I’ll post a poll on my Twitter to decide who’s next. Welcome to Character Crisis.

Mario

Everyone knows Mario! The plucky plumber who’s saved Princess Peach a dozen times is here to smash. This famous all-rounder was the perfect character to start this series with. If I’m going to go through a Character Crisis it only makes sense that I give the face of gaming a chance to become my main.

Donkey Kong

Arcade cabinet antagonist turned into beloved Nintendo icon, Donkey Kong has always been a fan-favorite in Smash. Many would consider DK to be a bad character in Smash, but his strengths far outshine his weaknesses. Will Donkey Kong solve my Character Crisis only two characters in?

Kazuya

Kazuya Mishima, who hails from Tekken has now brought his fury to Smash. As one of the last fighters introduced in the game he quickly became one of the most controversial. His ability to zero to death the entire cast is unmatched and many despise playing against him for how frequently he can be invincible during his moves. For the most deadly character in all of Smash’s history, my Character Crisis taught me that Kazuya has many flaws that may not be apparent at first.

Link

Link the Champion lost to time is here to Smash. As the lead character in one of Nintendo’s flagship franchises, Link plays a unique role as both a zoner and a sword wielder. Smash Ultimate is the first game in the series history that had many people considering Link as a high tier for the first time ever. Is that still true after two waves of DLC have completely changed the competitive landscape of the game?

Steve

Steve is getting banned in competitive Smash! If I want a chance to learn why many consider him to be the strongest character in the game this is my only chance. After maining the character my opinions on Steve have changed a lot. Playing him as part of my Character Crisis taught me that even the best character in the game has weaknesses that can be exploited.

Incineroar

For the longest time Incineroar was widely regarded as a mediocre character, but after Skyjay’s historic run at Collision 2023 everyone’s opinion has changed. But many are still unsure of Incineroar’s viability in the competitive landscape of Super Smash Bros Ultimate. Is Incineroar good enough, or is Skyjay just built different? TuesdayTastic tries out Incineroar for themselves and comes to learn how good Incineroar is actually.

Roy and Chrom

Roy and his echo fighter Chrom share a lot of similarities, with only two things separating them as characters. Despite this, their history throughout competitive Super Smash Bros Ultimate has been tumultuous as one character has always been placed higher than the other. TuesdayTastic tries their hand at maining both of these characters and realizes that their similarities matter much more than their differences.

Duck Hunt Duo

Duck Hunt may be one of the least popular characters in Super Smash Bros Ultimate. A widely forgotten about mid-tier, many players, even professionals, are unfamiliar with what this character is capable of. I decided to give this character a chance when no one else would and I learned that this character has a lot more going on for him than I would have expected from a mid-tier.

Olimar

Olimar the space farer from Hocotate is here to Smash! This strange character is someone who I ended up struggling to learn how to play as. Olimar has a very unique kit and playstyle that forced me to confront my bad habits. But even though I struggled as him I’m glad I gave him a chance as part of my Character Crisis.

Marth

Marth the hero king of Smash fights for the Crown! Marth has had a long history throughout all of Smash’s history but his latest venture in Ultimate has proven to be his worst so far. However, I believe that Marth is much better than people think. After playing as Marth for my Character Crisis I learned that it’s a lot easier to space with him compared to when I first tried to main him at the start of Ultimate.

R.O.B.

ROB aka the Robotic Operating Buddy is an indisputed top tier these days. However, at the beginning of Ultimate’s release ROB was considered nothing more than a bad mid-tier. However, as players began to learn this character it quickly became apparent that ROB was here to stay. Yet despite receiving zero changes throughout Ultimate’s lifespan ROB has had only a few breakout successes at top level. What about ROB makes it difficult for top level players to succeed with the character?

Mii Brawler

Mii Brawler is a terrifying high tier to fight but this wasn’t always the case. Mii Brawler for the longest time was ignored by the smash community but once players began to dive into this characters deep toolkit they realized that there’s a lot going for this character. I expected Mii Brawler to be a simple character to pick up for this series but I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Ridley

Ridley has been one of the most heavily requested characters for Super Smash Bros since as far back as Brawl. But after he was added to the game the competitive community largely forgot about him as he was unceremoniously placed in mid-tier. However, as part of my Character Crisis I gave Ridley a chance and realized there’s a lot more to this character than at first glance.

Meta Knight

Meta Knight used to be the undisputed best character in Smash Bros history. But with his latest iteration in Smash Bros Ultimate many players have forgotten what makes Meta Knight such a fearsome opponent. With each Smash game that Meta Knight has graced his position on the tier list has only gotten worse. But after playing as him for my Character Crisis I have learned that it isn’t Meta Knight that is holding him back from being incredible.

Shulk

Shulk is often referred to as the Mr. Potential of Smash Bros. A character with nearly unlimited depth all thanks to the Monado’s power. Shulk, however, is almost nowhere to be seen in competitive Ultimate. This is in large part due to how many people believe that he is too complicated for them to learn. But after giving Shulk a chance during my Character Crisis I learned that Shulk is not as hard as people think.

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