Super Smash Bros. Melee - 18 to 22 / Characters

This page lists the unlockable fighters from Super Smash Bros. Melee that require less or equal to 500 VS. matches to unlock.

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18 – Dr. Mario

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/drmariossbu.png

The Prescriber /
Fists Full of Medicine

^{3DS/Wii U}

^Melee

Voiced by: Charles Martinet

Home Series: Super Mario Bros.

Debut: Dr. Mario [NES/Game Boy], 1990

Creator: Nintendo

Publisher: Nintendo

Playable in: Melee, 3DS/Wii U, Ultimate

Mario as he appears in his most famous puzzle game title. When dealing with pesky viruses that cause a Fever or Chills, he dons a doctor's outfit and combats them using corresponding red, blue, and yellow pills.

In Super Smash Bros., this alter ego of the famous plumber first appeared as a direct Moveset Clone of Mario due to time constraints. However, he appears as a more distinct character in 3DS/Wii U onward, utilizing Mario's Melee moveset but taking advantage of his medical degree and knowledge to throw out stronger attacks at the cost of slower speed and slightly worse versatility. Notably, Dr. Mario is the first Smash Bros. veteran cut from a previous installment to return in a later one.

Special Moves^{Click to show}

Abnormal Ammo: Pills.
Adaptation Dye-Job: While many of the Dr. Mario games has him wearing white pants that matches his lab coat, his appearances in the Smash Bros. games has him wearing black jeans.
Adaptational Personality Change: In the Dr. Mario games, his personality wasn't all that different aside from just Mario wearing a doctor's coat, as he still looked peppy, optimistic, and overall happy given that it seems that he enjoys being a doctor as well as curing patients for their benefit. But in a similar vein to Mario in Smash Bros. he displays more of a serious, focused, and rather composed demeanor especially in 3DS/Wii U. However, he's not completely serious business as he can still show some blissful expressions such as in one of his victory poses where the doc is tossing his Megavitamins and pulls out 2 more as he's seen smiling afterwards.
Alternate Self: Dr. Mario being an imprisoned fighter alongside normal Mario in World of Light, with both having separate Fighter Battles taking place in different parts of the map, makes him this so far what little story is concerned. It's unknown whether this has any story significance or is simply a case of Gameplay and Story Segregation, as none of the Alternate Self characters appear in cutscenes with their alter-egos.
Armor-Piercing Attack: His Forward Smash seems to have this trait in Ultimate, as it has the possibility to actually shatter any character's shield the moment where it's at its smallest and weakest point.
Art Evolution: Melee gave his classic design black pants to help him stand out, and 3DS/Wii U gives him the shirt and tie he's had since Dr. Mario 64.
The Artifact: Dr. Mario remains his own unique character in Ultimate due to Divergent Character Evolution making him play differently enough from regular Mario that he couldn't be considered an Echo Fighter. Had he been introduced in Ultimate and not in Melee before being reintroduced in 4, it's highly unlikely he would've been anything but an Echo, or even just an alternate skin like Builder or Wedding Mario, for that matter.
Back-Alley Doctor: His black outfit is officially known as the "Unlicensed Doctor".
Badass Longcoat: Comes with the profession.
Battle Intro: A wall of Megavitamins shaped like the playzone from Dr. Mario are present in front of the doctor, before disappearing and revealing him holding his head.
Blow You Away: His secondary customized side special, Breezy Sheet, knocks away foes with a strong turbulent force of wind from a swoop of his sheet.
The Bus Came Back: Surprisingly enough, the good doctor returns in 3DS/Wii U, becoming the first veteran to do so after being absent from a previous version. He's also the only 3DS/Wii U character to return in the base game, as all the other returning veterans came back as Downloadable Content.
Combat Medic: Just because he's a doctor doesn't mean he'll give any check-ups whatsoever. It's downplayed in one of the images on Ultimate's official website, where he's shown with a Fairy Bottle in his hand rushing to Link's aid. And in the "Everybody is Here" banner art, he can also be seen checking Mr. Game and Watch's heart with his stethoscope, with Game and Watch looking a little surprised by the doc's kindness in doing so.
The Comically Serious: Has shades of this to him. He shares in Mario's more serious demeanor, but where Mario can still be found cracking a smile and having a good time, Doctor Mario usually keeps an air of seriousness and intrigue about him with his body language often mimicking that of a soap opera doctor locked into stern determination...which in itself is hilarious considering it's still Mario at the end of the day.
Deadly Doctor: It's a fighting game after all. Palutena believes Dr. Mario's power comes from his knowledge of anatomy, allowing him to hit his opponent's weak points, explaining why the Doc can deal more damage than regular Mario.
Decomposite Character: He's Mario as a doctor.
Demoted to Extra: Was demoted to a sticker and two songs in Brawl, one of which was just a carry-over from Melee.
Divergent Character Evolution: Oddly, by not changing much moveset-wise. He retains his original moveset in 3DS/Wii U (though his Super Jump Punch have been retooled into a powerful single-hit move like Luigi's) while Mario had his revamped in Brawl, making what was previously one of the closest clones into a semi-clone. In terms of deeper mechanics, Mario is made combo-heavy while retaining his middling weight and speed, while Dr. Mario is made into a Mighty Glacier with slower movement but stronger attacks. And while he shares his custom special moves with Mario and Luigi (except in name for some), some are altered to make use of Dr. Mario's properties (the custom Megavitamins use their properties, and none of the custom sheets allows him to stall in the air). He diverges slightly further in Ultimate, where he receives a new back throw and down air as well as an altered animation for his side-B. This lack of change makes him distinct enough to not be an Echo Fighter.
Dressed to Heal: Otherwise, he wouldn't look like much of a doctor, would he? Of course, he's not healing anyone and has no such ability to do so.
Force and Finesse: The Doc trades in much of regular Mario's mobility and combo ability for more raw attack power. Downplayed in Melee, where he gets the power boost with much less tradeoff, only losing the ability to wall jump and travel distance on some of his specials and actually gaining more air speed.
Gameplay and Story Segregation: His trophy despriction in Melee says that he's slower than Mario because of his lack of exercise. But in Melee , Doc isn't actually any slower than Mario at all.
Genius Bruiser: He's Mario with a doctorate's degree and his attacks are more powerful. In fact, the reason why he hits harder is because doctors are knowledgeable of human anatomy and know where the weaker joints are located.
Glass Cannon: While he's a definite Mighty Glacier in terms of strength-speed balance, Doc lacks the weight and defensive skills other glaciers have, which, coupled with his pathetic recovery, means he won't last long in a battle of attrition.
Goomba Stomp: His down-air as of Ultimate. Ironically, despite this move essentially being Mario and Luigi's Signature Move in canon, both of them retain their respective down-airs as of Brawl, while Dr. Mario, who can never use the Goomba Stomp in his spinoff series, gets it instead.
Having a Blast: Ol' One-Two, which is identical to Mario's second custom up special, involves Dr. Mario rising himself into the air along with his opponent, which ends with his uppercut creating a powerful explosion from his fist.
Home Stage:
- Melee: Mushroom Kingdom and Mushroom Kingdom II, though the former is more used in single-player modes. His unlock fight also happens in Princess Peach's Castle.
- 3DS/Wii U: All stages from his series.^note
- Ultimate: 3D Land in Ultimate's website, his fight in World of Light though takes place in Mario Bros., and his normal unlock fight takes place in New Donk City Hall.
Idle Animation:
- He performs a neck roll.
- He pounds his fist into his open palm.
Informed Flaw: According to his Smash trophies in Melee, Dr. Mario is meant to be a stronger, slower version of Mario. While he's certainly more powerful than Mario, the programmers forgot to implement him being slower, so he's actually just as fast, with his air speed actually being faster. Essentially, Dr. Mario is a more powerful version of Mario with a stronger projectile and few drawbacks. This was remedied from 3DS/Wii U onwards, which properly makes him a stronger, slower version of Mario.
Irony: Doc uses all-curing medicine to hurt people.
Jack of All Stats: Barely different from Mario in Melee, though much stronger.
Labcoat of Science and Medicine: But of course. His trophy description give his wearing it as the explanation to why he's slower than the Mario in overalls.
Leitmotif: Dr. Mario, a remix of the Fever theme from said game, used for every game since his debut.
Limit Break: His is the same as Mario's, except for the fact that he launches two giant pixelated pills instead of giant fireballs. It's a little stronger.
Megaton Punch: After he has brought back in Smash 4, his Super Jump Punch was fully reworked that's rather similar to Luigi's Up Special, since his version of the attack launches opponents in a diagonal direction along with possessing much stronger knockback, except that he has less vertical distance in the air and his punch doesn't cause an explosion whenever it's used.
Meteor Move: In Ultimate, his downward aerial attack becomes a potent stomp that propels struck fighters downwards.
Mighty Glacier: Dr. Mario is intended to be a stronger, slower version of Mario. While this was an Informed Flaw in Melee, in that he's stronger than Mario yet is just as fast due to the programmers forgetting to make him slower, 3DS/Wii U onwards properly implements this into his character design.
Moveset Clone: Of Mario obviously, sharing just about everything, though some of his attacks had different properties like his Megavitamins having a stronger bounce and hitstun, his neutral aerial becoming stronger the longer it's out, and his forward smash using electricity instead of fire. He's less of one in 3DS/Wii U, due to him keeping his old down aerial and his down special and his up special being changed in function from a multi-hit move to a single-hit power move, and Mario having replaced his old down aerial with his old down special and gaining a new one. His differences - especially his speed and power - by the point of Ultimate are enough that he's not considered an Echo fighter.
Nerf: 3DS/Wii U decreases his ground speed. Many of his Specials also deal less damage, with Megavitamins and Super Sheet having smaller hitboxes on top of that.
Not So Above It All: Although he's more stern than Mario is with the body language to match, he still can't help but let his flair shine through occasionally by doing things like popping his Megavitamins off of his shoulder like baseballs as a taunt.
Perpetual Frowner: Much like Mario, he seems to constantly have a frowning expression in 3DS/Wii U. It's one thing he seems to keep in Ultimate while Mario gets a few moments where he's smiling.
Punny Name: All of his moves have medical-themed names.
Secret Character:
- In Melee: Beat Classic Mode or Adventure Mode with Mario without continuing, or fight in 100 VS. Battles.
- In 3DS: Beat Classic Mode on Intensity 4.0 or higher as Mario or play 60 matches in Smash.
- In Wii U: Clear a Master Order on Hard difficulty or play 50 matches in Smash.
- In Ultimate: Have a Cumulative Wait Time of 10 hours and 20 minutes, beat Classic Mode with Mario or anyone in his unlock tree seven times, or find and defeat him in World of Light.
Shock and Awe: His forward smash discharges electricity instead of fire.
- The Shocking Sheet is capable of dealing electrical damage but has none of the Attack Reflector properties to send back any projectiles to the sender.
Shotoclone: By virtue of being a clone of Mario, as he possesses a projectile attack, an uppercut attack, and a spin attack, just like Mario, but does not utilize the traditional commands used to perform these moves. In 3DS/Wii U, he retains his spin attack as a down special while Mario's had been changed to an aerial attack.
Shoryuken: Shares the Super Jump Punch with Mario. It's virtually identical in Melee, but in 3DS/Wii U, it is revamped to be a hybrid of Mario and Luigi's versions, being equally effective as an Anti-Air attack, combo finisher, and KO move.
Skill Gate Characters: Particularly in 3DS/Wii U, Dr. Mario has reasonably strong attacks as well as good finishers in his Super Jump Punch and Forward Aerial. However, his lack of combo ability makes him less-than-ideal at higher levels of play, being surpassed by Mario in that regard.
Super Special Move: Since he's a Moveset Clone of Mario, his Final Smash is practically a strengthened version of his Neutral Special as he launches an array of 2 enlarged spiraling pills at his enemies.
Unskilled, but Strong: Doc has less finesse than regular Mario, having shorter combos, less speed, and a Back Throw that's just him yeeting his opponent over his head (as opposed to Mario's Giant Swing, which utilizes centrifugal force to generate power). That said, he's the physically stronger of the two. Somewhat played with however in that the reason he's so much stronger is because his knowledge of anatomy allows him to more effectively strike weak points and his lack of finesse comes mostly from wearing stiff business attire and a bulky labcoat rather than his more practical plumbing gear.
Use Your Head: Both his pummel and Up Smash function the same as Mario's, delivering head thwacks into his enemies.
Wall Jump: Gains the ability to do so in 3DS/Wii U.
White Gloves: They make more sense here, as sanitary handwear is fitting for a doctor. Of course, they still resemble Mario's traditional Mickey Mouse-like gloves rather than any of the sort used by actual medical professionals.

19 – Pichu

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pichussbu.png

Shockingly Adorable

^{Spiky-Eared Pichu}

^Melee

Voiced by: Satomi Koorogi

Home Series: Pokémon

Debut: Pokémon Gold and Silver [Game Boy Color], 1999

Spiky-Eared Pichu: Pokémon: Arceus and the Jewel of Life, 2009 (official debut), Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver [DS], 2009 (first game apprerance)

Creator: Game Freak

Publisher: Nintendo

Playable in: Melee, Ultimate

"Pichu!"

The Tiny Mouse Pokémon, and the pre-evolved form of Pikachu. Discovered in the Johto region, it has the same properties as its older counterpart, but has little control over its abilities.

Back in Melee, Pichu was a deliberate Joke Character, being even lighter than Jigglypuff with weak attacks. Pichu's lack of control also factors into its fighting, meaning that its electrical attacks will cause a small amount of recoil damage to itself; however, being so small, it's also fleet-footed and difficult to catch.

With its return in Ultimate, Pichu has been retooled into a legitimate Glass Cannon - while even more of its attacks do recoil damage to itself than its Melee incarnation, most of its attacks hit even harder than Pikachu's. Due to Pichu's smaller proportions and different animations, it's not considered an Echo Fighter of Pikachu. It also comes with an alternate costume based on the event-exclusive Spiky-Eared Pichu from Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver.

Special Moves^{Click to show}

See Pokémon: Generation I - Bulbasaur to Parasect for more information on the character in their origin series.

Adaptational Wimp: Somewhat. In the Pokémon games, though Pichu may not be near as strong as the evolved Pikachu and Raichu, it doesn't actually take damage from its own electrical attacks. The Power Incontinence is based more on its Pokédex entries where it's described as being unable to store its electricity, as well as the anime special, Pikachu and Pichu, where we actually see the Pichu Bros. getting exhausted from using their electricity.
- Ultimate reverses this and makes it an Adaptational Badass. While it's still damaged by its own attacks, it's much faster and more nimble than a full grown Pikachu, and its attacks are more potent. It also helps that its unique moves have insane KO power for its weight. In the Pokémon games, an adult Pikachu would have far higher abilities in every category.
Ambidextrous Sprite: A deliberate example, since the game uses 3D models - Pichu always faces towards the camera in Ultimate.
Ambiguous Gender: Unlike its evolved forms, Pichu have no Secondary Sexual Characteristics to make them stand out as male or female. It could be male due to being the baby form of the default male Pikachu. However, the Spiky-Eared Pichu that appears as one of its costumes is always female.
Art Evolution: In Melee, its face was constantly in "open-mouth smile" mode all the time, whereas in Ultimate, not only are its features more defined, but it has far more facial expressions than it did originally.
The Artifact: Its fall speed in Ultimate is the same as in Melee even though every other Melee veteran has had their fall speed slowed down in later games.
- Like Pikachu, Pichu could learn Skull Bash from a Technical Machine in Generation II (the most recent generation at the time of Pichu's introduction in Melee), but the move has been unavailable as a TM since then. Despite this, Pichu retains Skull Bash as its side special in Ultimate, released during the tail end of the Pokémon franchise's Generation VII.
Badass Adorable: Much cuter than Pikachu, but can dish out almost as much pain.
Balance Buff: While it was a Joke Character in Melee, its Ultimate incarnation is an insanely powerful Glass Cannon that, while it still damages itself, has tons of speed, great Neutral, tons of power, great kill options in both a spike & Thunder, and one of the best, most stylish combo games this side of Ryu or Bayonetta.
Battle Intro: Pops out of a Poké Ball, fists in the air with excitement.
Black Bead Eyes: Just like Pikachu.
The Bus Came Back:
- Returns in Ultimate after previously appearing only in Melee.
- After almost a decade since her last appearance in HeartGold and SoulSilver^note, Spiky-Eared Pichu appears as one of the alts in Ultimate.
Canon Immigrant: The Spiky-Eared Pichu appears as an alt in Ultimate, having originated from the anime movie Pokémon: Arceus and the Jewel of Life before she was added to HeartGold and SoulSilver through an event.
Cast from Hit Points: Many of its electrical attacks deal damage to itself.
Charged Attack: Skull Bash, same as Pikachu. It takes longer to charge up, but travels further and deals more damage.
Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Cut from Brawl and 3DS/Wii U. In fact, analysis of Brawl's data files showed that while the other cut characters were considered, Pichu didn't even get as far as the chopping block. However, it appears as a trophy in both Brawl and 3DS, and returns as a playable fighter in Ultimate.
Death or Glory Attack: Its Skull Bash is much better than Pikachu's. It has insane knockback and does at least 40%. However, this only applies when fully charged, which takes longer than Pikachu's, and it can easily send the poor guy flying over the edge. At least it doesn't hurt the little tyke much when using it, even at max charge. It's also a microcosm of its character as a whole; if it makes a mistake, it's probably boned, but you're going to have a rough time until then.
Difficult, but Awesome: Pichu in Ultimate is an extremely fast and mobile rushdown character whose gameplay style can best be described as a razor's edge dance that involves rapidly darting in and out of the danger zone, then destroying a target with one flashy, powerful combo after another, but its extreme fragility (even after its weight buff, it's still extremely easy to KO), self-damage, and poor range all begat dire consequences should it mess up. Bad Pichu may get a few good hits in, but will flub every attempt at a combo and get KOed with ease. Good Pichu will keep the opponents on their toes and will have some crowd-pleasing moments, but will eventually make a serious mistake that costs them a stock. Great Pichu will simply not get hit because the opponent will be too busy trying to avoid creating an opening, and will always manage to pry open an opponent anyways and bust out a combo that will end with the opponent rocketing off the stage.
Flanderization: Believe it or not, over half of Pichu's moves in Melee didn't hurt itself. In Ultimate, this is no longer the case. This is actually more of a case of Competitive Balance, since Pichu's attack power and mobility have been increased across the board, and its synergy with rage is an essential part of its "death or glory" playstyle.
Foreshadowing: Pichu appears in Melee's opening next to Pikachu.
Fragile Speedster: Boasts one of the fastest movement and attacking speeds in Melee, and is also difficult to hit thanks to its teeny-tiny size. However, not only is it light enough to get knocked around, most of its specials actually hurt it along with its opponents. The idea is to keep from taking damage as much as you can while letting Pichu's lightning-fast movements do all the work.
Glass Cannon:
- An extreme example. Its Skull Bash does a monstrous 40% and enormous knockback at full charge. Unfortunately, it's still the lightest character in all of Smash and damages itself with several of its attacks.
- Retooled as a whole from a Joke Character into this in the transition to Ultimate. It now boasts a number of moves with more damage and/or launch power than Pikachu's equivalents. The "Glass" aspect is also now slightly less pronounced compared to its Melee incarnation, as Pichu's electric attacks cause less recoil damage on average (though it now has more moves that do so), its Agility recovery move now covers a greater distance, and its weight has been increased (though it is still the lightest character in the game by a fair margin).
Hoist by His Own Petard: Its own electricity hurts it.
Home Stage:
- Melee: Pokémon Stadium and Fourside, though the latter is more used in single player modes.
- Ultimate: Prism Tower in Ultimate's website and his World of Light fight, its normal unlock fight though takes place in Pokémon Stadium 2.
Idle Animation:
- It looks behind itself and wags its tail.
- It turns from side to side while twitching its ears with a curious expression.
Joke Character: In Melee, it's even lighter than Jigglypuff and takes damage from its own attacks. Its trophies outright admit that it's the weakest character in the game, and that it's best used as a handicap for skilled players playing against less-skilled opponents. Pichu stops being this in Ultimate, though Pichu is still the lightest in the game.
Keet: Pichu always has a huge smile on its face. Especially in Melee, where it keeps smiling even when it's hurt.
Kiai: Pichu's version of Volt Tackle has it let out a surprisingly mighty scream.
Leitmotif: The Battle Theme medley from Pokemon Gold and Silver, used for both Melee and Ultimate.
Lethal Joke Character: Ascended to this status in Ultimate thanks to Balance Buffs. General improvements to its entire kit make it a Glass Cannon that has an amazing combo game, strong neutral, and intense speed. In addition, despite many of its moves being Cast from Hit Points, it can now directly benefit from Rage as a result.
Loophole Abuse: Its down special, Thunder, only damages Pichu if it makes contact. If this move is only used when it is safe, it maintains all the utility of Pikachu's version of the move (attacking from above while below platforms, attacking from behind when jumping horizontally, etc.), in exchange for only losing a small amount of damage.
Mini-Me: Being a pre-evolved form, he's this to the playable Pikachu.
Mon: The Tiny Mouse Pokémon.
Moveset Clone: One of Pikachu. It shares just about everything, except for using its head for some moves where Pikachu would use its tail. However, Pichu hits harder and faster than Pikachu and many moves have altered functionality, making it different enough to not be considered an Echo Fighter in Ultimate.
Palette Swap: Two of its new costumes in Ultimate are the bandanas for Teams Aqua and Skull. A third one is the female Spiky-Eared Pichu from Arceus and the Jewel of Life and HeartGold and SoulSilver. It also has one where it wears the Focus Band from the games, which allows the holder to endure a single fatal attack (though it's just a cosmetic difference here).
Pokémon Speak: It's a given.
Power Incontinence: Though Pichu has the same abilities as Pikachu, it can't properly store its electricity due to being younger and more inexperienced. This factors into its gameplay.
Ridiculously Cute Critter: Made to be a more marketable version of Pikachu.
Secret Character:
- In Melee: Clear Event Match 37: "Legendary Pokemon" or fight in 200 VS. Battles.
- In Ultimate: Have a Cumulative Wait Time of 5 hours and 40 minutes, beat Classic Mode with Pikachu or anyone in his unlock tree seven times, or find and defeat it in World of Light.
Self-Damaging Attack Backfire: It deals damage to itself with its electrical attacks, regardless of whether they hit an opponent or not, due to its inexperience.
Sleep Cute: [1]◊ The tiny yellow zapper is shown right in front of Zelda's lap cuddling and snoozing away.
Shock and Awe: While Pichu has impressive electric powers, it lacks self-control and damages itself while using them.
Trying Not to Cry: Whenever Pichu shocks itself, it's expression will change to one where it has tears in it's eyes from the pain. That doesn't stop Pichu from continuing to kick ass through the pain, however.
Unskilled, but Strong: It's depicted as this in Ultimate. On one hand, its skills with its electrical abilities are such that it damages itself when it brings the thunder. On the other hand, in a lot of ways, its electrical abilities are much more potent than Pikachu's.
Unstable Powered Child: It's the baby of the Pikachu line, and suffers Power Incontinence over its electricity in its body. This is manifested during gameplay as it damaging itself slightly when it uses its electricity, since canon Pichu is said to occasionally shock itself.
Your Size May Vary: Like Pikachu, an average Pichu is relatively small in the video games, measuring up to only one foot and thus has to be scaled up.

20 – Falco

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/falco_ssbu_1.png

Proud Space Ace

^{3DS/Wii U}

^Brawl

^Melee

Voiced by: Hisao Egawa (Japanese), Ben Cullum (English cutscenes in Melee), Dex Manley (in English Brawl), Mark Lund (English, 3DS/Wii U, Ultimate'), Kosuke Takaguchi (Japanese, Ultimate)

Home Series: Star Fox

Debut: Star Fox [SNES], 1993

Creator: Nintendo, Argonaut Software

Publisher: Nintendo

Playable in: Melee, Brawl, 3DS/Wii U, Ultimate

"Hands off my prey!"

Falco Lombardi is the Ace Pilot of the Star Fox mercenaries and Fox's somewhat arrogant wingman and trusted ally. He was originally the co-leader of the Hot Rodders with Katt Monroe before joining the team, and constantly flaunts his skills in combat. Though Falco is rather abrasive and full of himself, he can still be relied on when it counts.

He joins the battlefield with the same gadgets Slippy designed for Fox, with his piloting skills translating into a fighter who excels in aerial attacks. Falco also serves as somewhat of a middle ground between the Star Fox characters, having slower speed than Fox but a good deal more power to make up for it, though he still prefers to keep to the skies.

Special Moves^{Click to show}

See Star Fox Team for more information on the character in his origin series.

Adaptational Badass: Like Fox, all that was seen of him was his piloting skills (and even in games where he was playable on foot, he mainly fought with guns). In the Super Smash Bros. series, he's capable of fighting hand-to-hand in combination with the same personal tech that Fox uses.
Art Evolution: In Melee, his appearance was based off of Star Fox 64. Beginning in Brawl, it's an original costume but stays much more faithful to his Star Fox Command design than Fox's does in comparison. As of Ultimate his jacket is based on Star Fox Zero but otherwise keeps his Assault and Command head shape. The best way to differentiate this is the beak shape.
Attack Reflector: In Melee, he had one that worked like Fox's, but also launched the foe vertically allowing for combos. He tosses it forward in Brawl, allowing him to reflect projectiles from farther away at the expense of not being able to hold it like in Melee.
Badass Armfold: One of his victory poses has him crossing his arms before loftily dismissing his opponent. His artwork in Brawl also has him in this pose.
Badass Normal: He has no super powers, relative to being a man bird, but does have advanced technology.
Barrier Warrior: Just like Fox, his Reflector produces a damaging spark of electricity when it's activated. From Brawl onwards, he takes it further by kicking it out and returning it to him like a boomerang.
Battle Boomerang: His Reflector functions as this starting in Brawl.
Battle Intro: Much like Fox, he flies in and ejects from his Arwing, but Falco decides to show off by flying upside-down instead.
Big Damn Heroes: In The Subspace Emissary, his introduction has him appearing from his Arwing and destroying Bowser's Dark Cannon, which had been plaguing Fox and Diddy Kong for several levels.
Bird People: He's a pheasant-like humanoid.
Brooklyn Rage: The English voice acting in Brawl gives him shades of this.
Color-Coded for Your Convenience: In Melee the lasers from his Blaster were red. In Brawl onwards, his own lasers are colored blue to make them different from Fox's.
Cool Starship: His Arwing.
Death or Glory Attack: His down aerial, particularly in Melee. A combination of its long duration and Falco's fast falling speed and poor recovery usually means that using his down-air off-stage will result in him KOing himself. However, as a powerful spike, it basically guarantees a KO on the opponent should it hit. Taken up higher in 3DS/Wii U, where the increased startup and landing lag makes it a lot harder to hit, and it's noticeably weaker too.
Divergent Character Evolution: In Brawl, he and Fox become more separated in gameplay and animation. In SSB4, Falco's back air is also changed along with an animation change to his up air, but those have no effect on his clone status as those moves were already decloned in Brawl. In Ultimate, he's not listed as an Echo fighter.
Eye Color Change: Eyes were blue in Melee and Brawl. In 3DS/Wii U, and Ultimate his eyes are currently green.
Flash Step: His side special, Falco Phantasm.
Foil: As of Ultimate, he serves as a foil to Luigi.
- Similarities: Both Glass Cannon characters are Moveset Clones of Mario and Fox, both who were part of the original eight starting roster fighters from Super Smash Bros (64). Both characters have since been subjected to Divergent Character Evolution since their debut games.
- Differences: The differences between Falco and Luigi lie in that fact that Falco's moveset is more similar to Fox than Luigi's moveset is to Mario. This makes sense given that both Fox and Falco hail from the same Shoot 'Em Up franchise, and that Fox and Falco rarely have games showing their actual hand to hand combat skills. Meanwhile, Luigi's moveset post Brawl are inspired from the Luigi's Mansion series, a spin-off set of games with Luigi as the main character. Additionally, the relationship between Fox and Falco are more akin to Red Oni, Blue Oni Bash Brothers whereas Mario and Luigi are a Sensitive Guy and Manly Man Sibling Team.
Fragile Speedster: Falco's attacks are among the fastest in both Melee and Brawl (save for his running speed in the latter), though he doesn't sustain hits very well (except for vertical KO hits in Melee, where his vertical endurance was among the best). In the case of Melee, he both falls faster than Fox AND has the fastest fast-falling speed along with Falcon and the single best no fast fall speed. It's gotten less faster as of Brawl, however, with Fox falling faster than him now.
Gangsta Style: Fires his blaster this way, unlike Fox.
Glacier Waif: While Falco shares the same body type as Fox, he usually comes off as slower in general, probably to offset his slightly stronger moves. He's still just as light and gravity-affected as Fox is though.
Glass Cannon: Falco possesses some very fast and powerful moves (with his forward smash being one of his strongest finishers in Melee and is his parallel answer to Fox's up smash), but his light weight and generally below-average recovery ability keep him from living very long. And like Fox, his fast falling speed gives him a good vertical endurance but gives him vulnerability to edgeguards and juggles.
- By the time of 3DS/Wii U however, Falco is a much harder-hitter than Fox in comparison, but has a bit less agility and a worse neutral game.
Gratuitous English: Just like Fox, Falco says "Mission comprete!" during his victory poses in Melee, voiced by Hisao Egawa.
Home Stage:
- Melee: Corneria and Venom, though the latter is more used in single-player modes. His unlock fight also takes place in Battlefield.
- Brawl: Lylat Cruise.
- 3DS/Wii U: All stages from his series.^note
- Ultimate: Venom in Ultimate's website, his fight in World of Light though takes place in Lylat Cruise, and his normal unlock fight takes place in Corneria.
Idle Animation:
- He turns to the side and brings his arm in front of him.
- He turns to the side and waves his hand in front of his face.
In a Single Bound: Falco has the highest jumps of any character in Smash, even higher than Luigi.
"Just Frame" Bonus: In Melee, the very first frame on his Reflector will damage foes and launch them at a useful angle. Unlike Fox's, Falco's Reflector launches foes vertically in Melee, and the angle is useful for leading into his downward aerial attack.
Leitmotif:
- In Melee, it's Venom, a remix of the Star Fox 64 theme.
- In Brawl, Area 6 plays during his big entrance in Subspace and as his unlock theme.
- In Ultimate, it's another rendition of the Star Fox 64 theme, originating from Brawl.
Limit Break:
- He summons the Landmaster in Brawl and 3DS/Wii U. It differs from Fox's by being able to "fly" much more manageably than his.
- In Ultimate, he ditches the Landmaster in favor of the Arwing, to blast his enemies with his teammates.
Meteor Move: His side special and down aerial will meteor smash targets (only the airborne version for the former). In Melee, his down aerial is not recognized as a meteor smash by the game due to a technicality with the launch angle, so the knockback cannot be cancelled (thus making it a very infamous spike).
Moveset Clone: Shares his Specials with Fox, a Final Smash, and several regular attacks. His blaster was different (slower firing, but causes flinching) and his attacks got more variations in Brawl (such as kicking his reflector instead of holding it and using a few Razor Wings). In 3DS/Wii U, his custom specials barring one are all different from Fox along with several other of his moves being more different. Also setting them apart, Falco is stronger in both KO and combo potential, but loses speed.
Nerf:
- In Brawl, his combos are removed (as well as combos in general), his dashing speed is slower, his vertical endurance isn't quite as great, and his forward smash has been replaced with one that is slower and overall weaker.
- In 3DS/Wii U, his blaster fires much more slowly on the ground with the inability to lag cancel it, and his down aerial gained a lot of startup frames and landing lag (and is very hard to auto-cancel). His back aerial also no longer lasts as long on active frames.
Non-Indicative Name: Despite his name, he's actually a pheasant, not a falcon.
Rapid-Fire Fisticuffs: Shared the Hyakuretsu Kyaku with Fox in Melee, but gained a spinning wing attack in Brawl.
Razor Wings: Melee gives Falco razor tail feathers. Brawl extends this property to his arms/wings to go with some of his differentiated animations from Fox.
Red Oni, Blue Oni: Falco is rough, tenacious, and a bit of a rogue unlike Fox who's more focused and likes to get the job done. Their idle animations themselves display their personalities to a tea if you look at them separately.
Screw This, I'm Outta Here: In the intro to World of Light, he unsuccessfully tries to fly off in his Arwing upon seeing Galeem's laser rapidly overtaking the other fighters.
Secret Character: You have to unlock him in Melee, Brawl, 3DS/Wii U, and Ultimate. Much like Mr. Game and Watch, he's unlockable in every game he's appeared in. He becomes playable after the following conditions are met:
- For Melee: Beat 100-Man Melee or fight in 300 VS. Battles.
- For Brawl: Have him join you in The Subspace Emissary by clearing "The Swamp", beat 100-Man Brawl, or fight in 50 brawls.
- For 3DS: Beat Classic Mode on any difficulty without continues or play 20 matches in Smash.
- For Wii U: Beat Classic Mode on any difficulty or play 10 matches in Smash.
- For Ultimate: Have a Cumulative Wait Time of 5 hours and 20 minutes, beat Classic Mode with Fox or anyone in his unlock tree four times, or find and defeat him in World of Light.
Slow Laser: His neutral special move. It fires slower than Fox's but causes targets to flinch to compensate (and also fires faster in the air, making it akin to the original one Fox had in 64); often subject to auto-cancelling via short hops just for Falco to control approaches prior to Smash 4.
Technician vs. Performer: He's the Performer to Fox's Technician, as he fires his blaster Gangsta Style, has more expressive Idle Animations, and uses his Reflector as a boomerang.
Throwing Your Shield Always Works: His Reflector, from Brawl onward.
Voice Grunting: In Melee, Falco speaks in the Japanese version, but his dialogue is replaced with generic grunting and Gratuitous English in the English version.
Wall Jump: He can jump off walls, just like Fox.

21 – Marth

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/marthssbu.png

The Legendary Hero-King

^{3DS/Wii U}

^Brawl

^Melee

Voiced by: Hikaru Midorikawa (Japanese), Yuri Lowenthal (English, Ultimate)

Home Series: Fire Emblem

Debut: Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light [Famicom], 1990

Creator: Intelligent Systems

Publisher: Nintendo

Playable in: Melee, Brawl, 3DS/Wii U, Ultimate

"Keep your eyes open!"

The prince of Altea, and the hero of the original Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light, its sequel, and the remakes thereof. After losing his father to the Shadow Dragon Medeus with his sister captured, his kingdom conquered and himself forced into exile, Marth took it upon himself to join up with the rebellion army, as well find the sacred sword Falchion and the titular Fire Emblem to face Medeus and his ally, the Evil Sorcerer Gharnef. Four years later, Marth would go to investigate uncharacteristic despotic moves done by his longtime friend and their connection to Medeus.

He was brought into the game by popular demand from the Japanese fanbase, but was a complete surprise for the Western base. Up until 3DS/Wii U, he only spoke Japanese to reflect his games being largely Japan-only titles, but is given an English voice in Ultimate to reflect the international release of games that he has either starred in or had a major role in.

Marth has certainly made his name in Smash Bros, likely due to his fast and tactical moveset. Styled after the Strategy RPG series he hails from, his style of play is directly linked to paying attention to his opponents and striking when the time is right. He's a fast attacker with a lot of options for defending himself; his Falchion does a lot more damage when the tip connects compared to when the rest of the blade does, and he's the first character in all of Smash to come with a counter move. It's still possible to hit him at the fight time by reading his movements, but landing a hit on a smart enough Marth player can be troublesome.

Special Moves^{Click to show}

See Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light - Playable Characters for more information on the character in his origin series.

Armor-Piercing Attack: Shield Breaker, his neutral special move, is a slow charged attack that deals extreme damage to shields with ease, and will always shatter shields when fully charged. The lone exception to this is Shulk's shield when his Shield Monado Art is active, and even then, if the shield is any less than fully charged, it will still shatter. Characters with broken shields are briefly stunned and left wide open for punishment. At high percentages, this is deadly. His Final Smash, Critical Hit, also counts. It smashes through enemy defenses and sends them flying in all but the most extreme circumstances, virtually ignoring their weight and defenses.
Art Evolution: In Melee and Brawl, his design was an original embellished update of his costume from Mystery of the Emblem. Starting in 3DS/Wii U, his design matches his official redesign from the New Mystery remake, with elements of the Brawl design. His hair was also previously portrayed as a uniform fringe, making him look extremely effeminate when coupled with his tiara-style crown. As of Ultimate, his hair is more parted and spiked to match recent appearances, making him less androgynous in the process.
Badass Normal: Marth fights with simple sword strikes, no flashy powers or elemental effects involved, customizations aside. While Fox roused the group at the start of World of Light, Sakurai noted that Marth's experience leading armies is why he immediately assessed the enemy's numbers for the group. For Marth to be at the vanguard of the entire roster as just a normal human swordsman is no small feat. He also matches Meta Knight's swift sword maneuvers in the Subspace Emissary when they first meet.
Back-to-Back Badasses: With Meta Knight in Subspace Emissary after the Subspace Army interrupts their fight.
Battle Intro: Warps in with warp magic, then pulls out his sword.
Bilingual Bonus: Before Ultimate, Marth's Japanese was kept un-dubbed in the international releases of the series.
Blue Oni: To Ike's Red in Subspace Emissary with Meta Knight as the mediator between them. Also reflected in their cape colors despite them both being Primary Color Champions. Also to Roy's red in terms of Smash characterization, mostly because Sakurai didn't know Roy would end up with a pretty similar personality to Marth.
Blocking Stops All Damage: Counter negates any single attack's damage (except Final Smashes) by parrying it with his sword, even energy blasts or explosions.
Breakout Character: Interestingly, in development, Marth and his fellow Fire Emblem fighter Roy were almost cut from the non-Japanese versions of Melee, under the belief that Western players would not recognize or appreciate them, as there had never been a Fire Emblem game released outside of Japan. Playtesters convinced the developers to leave them in due to their unique designs and movesets that appealed to players anyway regardless of whether their origins were known. In doing so, the two of them gained such renown that their popularity was a direct factor in Nintendo's decision to localize future Fire Emblem titles, leading to an explosive worldwide growth of popularity for the series.
Canon Welding: This specific incarnation of Marth is playable in Fire Emblem Fates by summoning him via his amiibo, just like how the Smash Bros. universe itself allegedly works. Of note is the fact that this was his second-ever appearance with his English voice, making it an Inconsistent Dub at the time but becoming consistent as of Ultimate.
Charged Attack: Shield Breaker, dealing more damage and knockback the longer it's charged. It's Marth's strongest non-Final Smash attack when fully charged, and will destroy any shield except for Shulk's at full charge with the Shield Monado Art active.
Chick Magnet: Made into a Brick Joke. The 3DS/Wii U website has a screenshot of him brushing hair out of his face with Peach in the background, staring at him with a heart above her head. Beat All-Star mode with him and the picture in the credits is of him doing the same thing but with Zelda in the background, who's gasping in awe. The Palutena's Guidance for him also has Viridi remark he's handsome.
Combos: His side-special attack (Dancing Blade) is a 4-part combo attack. The first two swipes are easy enough to do and are fairly weak, but the second two hits require timing and can be angled up, down, or to the side. As of Ultimate, each slash has been made lightning-fast, allowing the move to combo into itself much more easily.
Cool Sword: He wields the Falchion, an unbreakable sword that was forged from the fang of a legendary dragon for the purpose of killing other dragons with ease. It's this dragon-killing prowess that is the reason why Marth is the only human character in the base game whose boss battle in Classic Mode in Ultimate is Rathalos.
Counter-Attack: The aptly-named Counter, and the basis of the various counterattack moves several other characters adopt. Activating Counter will force Marth to strike a pose. If an enemy strikes Marth during this period, he'll take no damage and reflect the attack back unto the opponent. In its original incarnation in Melee, the counter swipe did a flat 7% regardless of which attack was being countered; this was buffed in Brawl and later games to deal slightly more damage and knockback than the original attack, making it much more effective against moves like smash attacks or a Falcon Punch. However, missing the counter window will leave Marth vulnerable to attack, and grab attacks cannot be countered. Worthy of note is that, barring Final Smashes, Counter will protect Marth against any single-hit attack, no matter how strong.
Close-Range Combatant: No ranged abilities, just a sword. However, he still fights best at a slight distance, as his sword deals the most damage when striking with the tip, and his reach is still a bit farther than some players expect.
Damn You, Muscle Memory!: Shield Breaker is designed to exploit this, as most players' immediate response to seeing a slow charged attack is to shield. Doing so against Shield Breaker will wind up with their shield shattered, leaving them stunned.
Difficult, but Awesome: While he can fight fine without doing so, hitting opponents with the very tip of his sword makes his attacks hurt all the more. Mastering the spacing required to make Marth deal maximum damage is incredibly tricky but highly rewarding, as he ends up able to deal more damage and knockback quicker than almost every other swordfighter in the game.
The Dragon Slayer: In his home series, Marth's sword Falchion deals extreme damage to dragons, and is itself forged from the fang of the leader of the divine dragons. This makes him the most effective at killing the dragon Medeus, and Marth's triumph over Medeus cements his status as a legend even thousands of years later. This is referenced by his Classic Mode route in Ultimate, in which he has to defeat every single draconic fighter in the game, culminating in a battle where he must slay Rathalos, a draconic boss. Despite the common association between knights and dragons, Marth is also the only sword fighter to face Rathalos as his Classic Mode boss... or, at least, he was until Hero came along.
Force and Finesse: The Finesse to Ike's Force so the two Fire Emblem fighters (both Lightning Bruisers in their own series) can be differentiated. Where Marth is quick and powerful when spaced properly, Ike is big, slow, and hits hard regardless of where he connects. This is also reflected in Marth's Pretty Boy status and princely armor vs. Ike's burly appearance and tattered mercenary armor.
Grandfather Clause: Despite Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon being released in the US, Marth still speaks in Japanese in For 3DS/Wii U as he always has. He finally upgrades to an English voice actor in Ultimate, as later Fire Emblem international releases finally gave him one.
Gratuitous Japanese: Considering that some of his other Fire Emblem compatriots from the old titles speak English, Marth's continued use of Japanese seems a little odd by the time the fourth and fifth installments of the series were released. Ultimate finally averts this, giving him his English voice actor from Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. onward.
- Notably in Melee, most of the other characters use their Japanese voices but any and all Japanese speech is removed. Marth and Roy are the only exceptions to this rule.
Heroic Lineage: As his trophy mentions, he is an indirect descendant of the legendary hero, Anri.
Home Stage:
- Melee: Due to a lack of stages from his series, he receives Fountain of Dreams in his unlock fight and All-Star Mode, Great Bay when fought as an opponent in Classic Mode and Temple during his All-Star Match event.
- Brawl: Castle Siege.
- 3DS/Wii U: All stages from his series.^note
- Ultimate: Coliseum in Ultimate's website, his fight in World of Light though takes place in Final Destination, and his normal unlock fight takes place in Castle Siege.
Idle Animation:
- He puts his hand to his chest and takes a silent breath.
- He brushes his hair out of his face.
Implausible Fencing Powers: Counter can parry (but not deflect) any projectile, no matter if it's a bullet, arrow, missile, or energy blast. This also applies to any close-quarters strike as well, except for Final Smashes. He also effortlessly keeps up with Meta Knight when attacked in Subspace Emissary.
Leitmotif: The main Fire Emblem theme, as in his home series.
- In Melee, it's Fire Emblem, a medley of the recruitment theme and main Fire Emblem theme.
- In Brawl, a new version with Latin lyrics that also plays during his Subspace introduction and his Ultimate character trailer.
Let's You and Him Fight: Is about to fight with Meta Knight in the Subspace Emissary before the Subspace Army interrupts them.
Lightning Bruiser: He's got range, power, speed, and good defensive abilities. As long as you aim with the tip, he's one of the most powerful and quickest swordfighters in the game.
Limit Break: Critical Hit, the most powerful single strike attack in the entire franchise, involving Marth dashing at somebody and hitting them with a Critical Hit from his home series, dealing 60% damage, and enormous knockback.^note Very nearly always a One-Hit KO (the foe will only survive by being in an enclosed space), at the cost of possibly flinging him off the screen into a Self-destruct if he misses and the player doesn't cancel by pressing the B button again.
Marth Debuted in "Smash Bros.": The Trope Namer. Fans of Marth should know that he was created for the Fire Emblem series, but said series, before Super Smash Bros. Melee, was never released outside of Japan, which would confuse Western player as to who Marth or his franchise is.
Meteor Move: His down aerial (if the tip hits) and the third hit of a down-input Dancing Blade (if the tip doesn't hit) will Meteor Smash opponents. The latter no longer applies in 3DS/Wii U.
Mythology Gag:
- Most weapon wielding characters will face towards the screen when facing right and turn their back toward the screen when facing left. Marth (and his three derivatives) are invert this, matching up with how Marth and his allies would always face the left side of the screen when fighting in the earlier games.
- With no Fire Emblem stages in Melee, both Marth's unlock battle and All-Star Mode Battle take place on the Fountain of Dreams, representing the Dragon's Table, another sacred site that houses an ancient evil^note and is the location of their final battle.
Nerf:
- While his sword is larger in Brawl (except for with his forward smash), the tip of his sword is more difficult to land with most attacks due to the non-tipped hitbox getting priority if both hit at the same time, and his dashing and walking speed are reduced.
- In 3DS/Wii U, a number of his moves deal less damage, and due to knockback changes on his grabs, he has fewer follow-up actions for combos, and while his sword is even bigger than in Brawl (except for his forward smash and Shield Breaker), the rest of the cast got more significant range increases in general, further hitting his range. Additionally, all of Marth's previously great aerials took a severe hit in damage and recovery time, making it much more difficult for Marth to space his moves safely. Although the hitbox sizes for his tipper attacks were slightly reduced, his tipper hitbox (or his down aerial Meteor Smash) now always take priority over the non-tipped one if they both overlap when you hit someone, like in Melee.
One-Hit KO: His Final Smash, except under the most extraordinary circumstances. Even at zero damage, it will typically send whoever it hits flying clear off the stage regardless of their size or weight.
Palette Swap: He's always had a white alt that bears resemblance to Leif. Starting in Brawl he has a darker blue alt that more closely resembles his appearance in Mystery of the Emblem, and then in 3DS/Wii U introduced a lighter blue one based on his original look from Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light.
Pretty Boy: One of the prettiest as far as Smash is concerned. While Link is no stranger to this trope either, Marth stands out far more, to Bishōnen levels.
Red Baron: By Lucina and Robin's time, he is known as the Hero-King. He's referred to as such in their debut trailer, and in Lucina's quote after defeating him in a match.
Royals Who Actually Do Something: He's a prince, and a great warrior while he's at it.
Saved for the Sequel: He was originally planned to be added to the roster of the original game, but technical difficulties & time constraints kept him from being implemented. He instead made his debut in Melee.
Secret Character:
- In Melee: Beat Classic Mode with all 14 default characters, use all default characters in VS. Mode, or fight in 400 VS. Battles.
- In Brawl: Have him join you in The Subspace Emissary by clearing "The Battlefield Fortress", fight in 10 brawls, or beat Classic Mode on any difficulty.
- In Ultimate: Have a Cumulative Wait Time of 1 hour and 10 minutes, beat Classic Mode with Yoshi or anyone in his unlock tree twice, or find and defeat him in World of Light.
Spear Counterpart: Reframed as such to Lucina as of 3DS/Wii U and Ultimate.
Suddenly Voiced in English: In Ultimate, courtesy of Yuri Lowenthal, where until then he had only spoken Japanese in previous Smash entries.
Sword Lines: Employed in the Brawl and 3DS/Wii U depiction of his Dancing Blade attack. The trail of Marth's Falchion blade in motion changes in color depending on the input from the Control Stick/Directional Pad when the attack is used, with red being neutral/forward/side, blue being up, and green being down.
Warrior Prince: The prince of Altea is no stranger to the battlefield.
Weak, but Skilled: His playstyle: his attacks, while fast, are normally weak unless he hits with the tip of his sword. Skilled Marth players know how to take advantage of this for either combos or KO power.
The Wise Prince: He is said to be by Mei Ling, and is probably the wisest of his initial team in The Subspace Emissary. Sakurai also notes that his experience leading armies is why he is the first to assess the enemy numbers in World of Light.
You Don't Look Like You: His design in Melee and Brawl has some pretty substantial differences from his Fire Emblem designs from both before and after; the most obvious difference is his hairstyle. Marth received a redesign in Shadow Dragon, but this design and the Brawl model were concurrent projects. They were completed at the same time, meaning that the former could not be used in the latter. In the fourth game, his design is new, but draws heavily from his New Mystery design (though Falchion would continue to use it's 90s design). Also, in none of the Smash games does Marth actually carry the Fire Emblem (a sacred shield with orbs embedded in it).

22 – Young Link

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/younglinkssbu.png

Master of the Ocarina

^Melee

Voiced by: Fujiko Takimoto

Home Series: The Legend of Zelda

Debut: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time [N64], 1998 ^note

Creator: Nintendo

Publisher: Nintendo

Playable in: Melee, Ultimate

Link as a child. As his trophy notes, he is the original portrayal of Link.^note Melee and Ultimate specifically use the child version of the Hero of Time who defeated Ganondorf in Ocarina of Time, and who stopped the moon from crashing into Termina in Majora's Mask.

Young Link is a swift character that uses a mix of weapons from his appearance in his games, much like the adult Link he was a clone of. Due to Link having a completely different play style over the years, and Toon Link being a semi-clone, Young Link isn't counted as an Echo Fighter as he's hardly changed from how he was in Melee. He plays more like how Link used to back in those days, except he also uses Fire Arrows instead of the regular kind. This in turn makes Young Link a much faster opponent that's great at keeping distance and overwhelming the opposition with swift projectiles.

Special Moves^{Click to show}

See The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask character pages for more information on the character in his origin series.

The Ace: At least, among the different incarnations of Hylia's chosen hero. He's the Hero of Time for a reason, after all, and his demeanor during victory animations reflects that with confident poses and facial expressions.
Adaptational Badass: While he needed the Master Sword to defeat Ganon in his home game, here he can beat Ganon just as easily as anyone else in the roster with just his Kokiri Sword and Deku Shield.
- The Deku Shield can also withstand fire attacks without burning up here.
Alternate Self: Averted in Melee, where he was the younger self of the main Link. Played straight in Ultimate, due to Breath of the Wild Link taking over as the main Link, as well as Toon Link also being present.
Annoying Arrows: Just like Link's, the difference is mostly in appearance and that his do less damage and knock back but they have a burning effect. However, come Ultimate, this is Averted since his arrows deal decent damage and knock their target upwards, allowing Young Link to juggle his opponents.
Arrows on Fire: Young Link's neutral special move, the Fire Bow, has him using the Fire Arrows from Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask with his bow. In Ultimate, the move is tweaked so that they only set alight when they're fully-charged.
Badass Adorable: He's just a kid, and yet he's managed to save the world twice. While Ganondorf was defeated by his adult self, this version saved Termina from a Colony Drop that would have destroyed everything, as well as fighting off the demon responsible for its fall. And of course, his badassery translates into him being a formidable fighter.
Battle Intro: Descends from a column of light, almost identically to Link's battle intro from the first game, calling back to how they exited dungeons in Ocarina of Time.
Bow and Sword in Accord: Despite being a child, this Link can wield a bow just as well as his adult counterpart. He doesn't have much of an archer as the latter, though.
The Bus Came Back: Returns in Ultimate after previously appearing only in Melee. Interestingly, he and Toon Link (his supposed replacement in Brawl onwards) are not Echo Fighters despite their close similarity in terms of fighting style.
The Cameo: Navi the fairy from Ocarina of Time appears in one of his new taunts from Ultimate.
Charged Attack: His Bow, just like Link, as well as his Spin Attack as of Ultimate.
Combos: In Ultimate, his intended main advantage over the other Links is having more combo potential.
Composite Character: He's based on his appearance from Ocarina of Time, complete with the Kokiri Sword and wooden Deku Shield, but can use the bow and arrow and hookshot from said game, both items that he was only capable of using in Majora's Mask — albeit heavily aesthetically-altered. His Leitmotif in his Ultimate trailer is also Termina Fields, suggesting he's being used to represent both games.
Cool Sword: His Kokiri Sword, straight from Ocarina of Time.
Demoted to Extra: Doesn't appear in any form in Brawl other than as a Sticker and in the Ocarina of Time demo included. Toon Link was generally considered to have replaced him from Brawl onward, until his return to the series in Ultimate.
Depending on the Writer: Is Young Link’s first appearance the original game or Ocarina of Time? Melee goes with the former while Ultimate mostly goes with the latter except for Pac-Man’s Classic Mode.
Divergent Character Evolution: In Ultimate, similarly to Dr. Mario, he's more different than his parent-clone in that he hasn't changed much from his Melee incarnation. This has the effect of giving Link two "lighter" clones alongside Toon Link. In fact, the "main" Link is the one who differs more from the past three games.
Foreshadowing: His playable appearance in Melee showed several moments from Ocarina of Time in its opening, most of which being before he pulled the Master Sword and turned seven years older. This subtly hints at his appearance.
Fragile Speedster: He has fast movement speed, and can unleash attacks faster than both Toon Link and regular Link, though he is rather light.
Heroic Mime: Like pretty much every Link.
Home Stage:
- Melee: Great Bay and Temple, though the former is more used in single-player modes. He also has Jungle Japes in All-Star Mode.
- Ultimate: Great Bay in Ultimate's website and his unlock fight, his fight in World of Light though takes place in Temple.
Humans by Any Other Name: Apart from the Pointy Ears, Hylians are virtually indistinguishable from real-life humans.
Idle Animation:
- He pauses to look around.
- He taps his boots on the ground, one after the other.
Junior Counterpart: To the older Link.
"Just Frame" Bonus: In Melee, his downward aerial attack has a very small hitbox on the hilt that flips the usual attack's angle into a flaming Meteor Move. Unlike most examples, the hitbox isn't brief; it's just much easier to hit with the hilt at the start of the move.
Kid Hero: He is the Hero of Time, just younger.
Legacy Character: One of many Links to take up the mantle.
Leitmotif:
- In Melee, Saria's Song, which plays as his unique credits theme, and All-Star theme.
- In Ultimate, Termina Field, which plays in his character trailer.
Limit Break: Triforce Slash in Ultimate, which he inherits from the adult Link from Brawl and 3DS/Wii U.
Meteor Move: His down aerial — if you hit with the sword's hilt, which sets them on fire — and down tilt will Meteor Smash targets. Averted in Ultimate, though.
Mini-Me: To the adult Link in Melee, as he wears the same tunic and has the same moveset. Justified as they're the same person, just with a seven year age difference.
- Downplayed in Ultimate as not only is it a different Link, they also dress very differently (not counting alternate outfits). Still, their similarities in appearance and moveset, as well as their status as a Legacy Character, is enough to count.
Moveset Clone: Of Link - but with differences such as fire arrows and shorter range. That said, in his appearance in Ultimate, he's a moveset clone of Melee Link, while Link and Toon Link have both changed in intervening installments, in addition to Young Link's unique stats rendering him a different enough character to not be an Echo Fighter.
Mundane Made Awesome: His Melee ending takes his taunt, which is just him drinking a bottle of Lon Lon Milk, and makes it the coolest thing ever.
My Future Self and Me: Adult Link in Melee is actually the same character as this Link, just older. One of the events in Melee is about Adult Link and Young Link fighting each other, with the player controlling Young Link.
Seven Years: It's Young Link versus Link! How can you fight yourself?!
Mythology Gag: Young Link in Ultimate has the same character introduction animation as Link does in 64.
Palette Swap: Same as Link in Melee. He gains a Dark Link costume in Ultimate.
Pintsized Powerhouse: Less powerful than Link, but that often works in his favor, as he can hit follow up moves Link would probably whiff on thanks to his higher speed.
Proper Tights with a Skirt: A male version. It's hard to see but when he's wearing his cyan tunic, his legs aren't bare and are covered in tights, making him resemble the default outfit of Link.
Secret Character:
- In Melee: Beat Classic Mode with 10 characters — including Zelda/Sheik and Link — on any difficulty, or fight in 500 VS. Battles.
- In Ultimate: Have a Cumulative Wait Time of 1 hour and 20 minutes, beat Classic Mode with Link or anyone in his unlock tree six times, or find and defeat him in World of Light.
Trademark Favorite Food: His taunt, where he drinks Lon Lon Milk. His ending montage in Melee consists of nothing but him drinking milk. This continues into Ultimate, where even the Inkling girl wants in on it, and he can also be seen taking a swig with Simon Belmont.
Wall of Weapons: Other than his Kokiri Sword and Deku Shield, Young Link's tools are all the same as his other incarnation(s) — including the Boomerang, Bombs, Bow, and Hookshot. Interestingly, he was only able to fully use the latter two in his Majora's Mask appearance.
Wall Jump: Unlike his adult counterpart, Young Link is capable of wall-jumping thanks to his greater agility. His Target Test arena starts him off in a deep well, with wall-jumping the only way out to complete the course.

Characters / Super Smash Bros. Melee - 18 to 22

Voiced by: Charles Martinet

Voiced by: Satomi Koorogi

Voiced by: Hisao Egawa (Japanese), Ben Cullum (English cutscenes in Melee), Dex Manley (in English Brawl), Mark Lund (English, 3DS/Wii U, Ultimate'), Kosuke Takaguchi (Japanese, Ultimate)

Voiced by: Hikaru Midorikawa (Japanese), Yuri Lowenthal (English, Ultimate)

Voiced by: Fujiko Takimoto

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Characters / Super Smash Bros. Melee - 18 to 22

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Voiced by: Charles Martinet

Voiced by: Satomi Koorogi

Voiced by: Hisao Egawa (Japanese), Ben Cullum (English cutscenes in Melee), Dex Manley (in English Brawl), Mark Lund (English, 3DS/Wii U, Ultimate'), Kosuke Takaguchi (Japanese, Ultimate)

Voiced by: Hikaru Midorikawa (Japanese), Yuri Lowenthal (English, Ultimate)

Voiced by: Fujiko Takimoto

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