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 my first few years of competing I only mained Princess Daisy. 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. I think I’ll learn a lot from this series and I hope to pass along the knowledge of each character I play with you. If you’d like to join me on this journey, you can subscribe on YouTube or sign up for email notifications on my blog. Welcome to my 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.
Dr. Mario
Dr. Mario is widely considered to be one of the worst characters in Super Smash Bros Ultimate. His terrible recovery and slow speed makes it easy for opponents to gain the upper hand. But after learning how to play Dr. Mario, I realized that Dr. Mario just might be my soul main.
Hero
Hero is one of the most random characters in the history of Smash! Competitive Smash players are infamous for trying to reduce variance as much as possible within their games. Learning how to play Hero taught me that I needed to maximize my RNG instead. Hero has a lot of tricks that will help you turn the randomness in your favor.
Zero Suit Samus
Does Zero Suit Samus actually suck? Marss, the best Zero Suit Samus player in the world has been telling us for years now that ZSS SUX. I didn’t believe him at first. How could this character who has won a supermajor, has the best mobility in the game, and an amazing matchup spread suck? However, after I learned how to play Zero Suit Samus I realized that Marss may actually be right.
Jigglypuff
Jigglypuff is one of the most dangerous characters in all of Smash Bros. But this comes at the cost of playing one of the most fragile characters in the series. Jigglypuff’s polarizing playstyle helped me to develop a key aspect in my gameplay known as a flowchart, a skill which is useful in any fighting game.
Luigi
Luigi is infamous for his 0-KO combo. If he lands a single grab you should be dead. However, after talking with my local Luigi main he told me to NOT focus on the Luigi 0-KO. But I couldn’t resist. Did it make me a better Luigi player and should you learn it as well?
Ike
WE LIKE IKE!!! Or at least I thought I did until I started playing as him. Ike is widely considered to be one of the worst characters in Super Smash Bros Ultimate and I hated him because of it. Ike frustrated me at first and I struggled to do well with him. But will I be able to break through this barrier before I enter my local tournament?
Piranha Plant
Piranha Plant is widely regarded as one of the worst characters in the game. And a secret of mine is that Piranha Plant was almost my first main in Smash Ultimate. Even though my Patrons chose one of the worst characters in the game for me to main at my first Supermajor tournament Genesis X, I wanted to show the world that this little low-tier was actually one of my best characters! While I was there I also got to talk to some of the best Piranha Plant players in the world…
Cloud
Cloud Strife is one of the most iconic figures in all of gaming. When he was first added to Super Smash Bros everyone lost their minds. Cloud then went on to dominate the competitive scene proving that he is one of the strongest characters in Smash Bros history. When it was my turn to pick up this top tier I thought that surely it couldn’t be too difficult. Cloud is so easy many players have him as a pocket. But I could NOT get Cloud to work for me. Why Am I WORSE With a Top Tier? Will I be able to get it together in time for my final tournament with Cloud?
Diddy Kong
Diddy Kong is maybe one of the hypest characters in all of Smash Bros. His intricate movement, complicated tech skill, and deep combo game all come together to make one of the strongest characters in the game. Do I even have a chance at learning Diddy Kong in seven days? At first I thought it would be a breeze. But the more I played Diddy Kong the more frustrated I became. Diddy Kong was not going to be as free as I thought.
Mii Swordfighter
Mii Swordfighter is widely considered to be one of the worst characters in the game. This oft-forgotten character is the result of nobody liking Mii’s, and Swordfighter being considered the worst one. Nobody wants to take the time to make a moveset for a character that is bottom 10 in the game. Except, that’s what I had to do. Mii Swordfighter was my LEAST played character going into this and I just held the common opinion of them. However, as I learned more about this character the more I began to realize how good Mii Swordfighter actually is.
Byleth
When Byleth first came out in Smash Ultimate they were widely considered to be one of the worst DLC inclusions. Not only were they unwanted because they were another Fire Emblem character, but Byleth played to the archetype of having big, slow, and hard hitting moves, historically one of competitive Smashes worst playstyles. But it wasn’t until MKLeo, the best player in the world, decided to give this supposed low tier a chance. And he proved everyone wrong. When I decided to give this character a chance at becoming my main I didn’t know what to expect. But the lesson I learned may surprise you.
Fox
It’s finally time for me to main Fox McCloud one of the strongest Smash characters of all-time. But I didn’t want to main Fox in just one game. Supernova is one of the largest Smash Bros tournaments of all-time and features all five Smash Bros games there, from the N64 to the Nintendo Switch. So I spent an entire month preparing for Supernova by learning how to play every Smash Bros game as the best Smash character of all-time. I have played Smash Bros for my entire life but preparing for this tournament was the hardest thing I have ever done in my Smash career. But choosing Fox as my character for every game ended up being the best choice I could have made. Having the same fundamental gameplan in every game meant I could focus on just learning how to play each game.
Wario
Wario is a character that I have never really explored in Smash until now. But after playing him for this series I quickly fell in love with the fat italian! Wario’s unique combination of being a heavyweight with amazing mobility meant that I got to play to my strengths. However, Wario was also a very technical character and it took me a long time to learn all the different things I needed to do to main Wario. I was having so much fun playing him but could I learn this complicated character in only one week?
Pyra and Mythra
Pyra and Mythra are some of the strongest characters in Super Smash Bros Ultimate. Or so I’ve been told. My hot take is that the Aegis aren’t actually as good as people say they are. So I had to find out for myself as part of my Character Crisis if Pyra and Mythra were actually top tier.
Only On Tuesdays 