The Super Smash Bros. series has many Mechanically Unusual Fighters. For the most part, there is a consistent fighter moveset template: everyone has at least two jumps, a basic attack combo, three different tilt and smash attacks, five aerial moves to cover every direction, a grab with a pummel and throws for every direction, four special moves, and a Final Smash. Beyond that, characters can vary wildly in what their moves allow them to accomplish, and even some of the basic rules have been broken, diversifying the roster and helping each fighter represent the gimmicks and even game mechanics of their home series.
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Notably Unusual Fighters
- Super Smash Bros. 64: Kirby's Inhale move lets him take an opponent's power, replacing his Inhale with the opponent's neutral special; he can drop the ability by taunting. In later games, this can lend him other characters' mechanically unusual powers as well, such as Robin's limited Thunder tome (Kirby loses the ability once the tome expires), the Inkling's limited ink (Kirby loses this ability as well when the ink runs out, and he cannot refill it at any point), and Shulk's Monado Arts. If Kirby copies Olimar's power, he gains a unique move where he pulls out a Pikmin and instantly throws it, since Olimar's neutral special is just for gaining more Pikmin. If Kirby copies Ryu, Ken, or Terry, he can perform their neutral specials with command inputs (↓↘→+B) and, in Ryu's case, also copies the input-only Shakunetsu Hadouken (←↙↓↘→+B). This all means that Kirby and his kit is continually updated and worked on whenever new characters are introduced to the series, which you don't really see with other characters.
- Super Smash Bros. Melee:
- Zelda was the first multi-form fighter in the series. Using her down special switches her from Zelda, who is slow and uses magical spells, to Sheik, who is fast and fights close-ranged. She always starts as Zelda, but can turn into Sheik at the start of a match by holding down certain buttons. This persisted in Brawl, but was dropped in 3DS/Wii U onwardsnote , which split the characters into two different slots and gave them their own down specials.
- The Ice Climbers are a Puppet Fighter dual character. The player controls one of the Ice Climbers with the second following behind them, and they perform attacks in tandem. They only lose a stock if the player-controlled Ice Climber dies, but losing the AI-controlled one makes many of their moves much weaker and ruins their recovery.
- Super Smash Bros. Brawl:
- Samus, originally a standard fighter, received an alternate form in this game but cannot switch to it at will. Using her Final Smash breaks her Varia Suit and leaves her in the Zero Suit, who is faster and has more close-ranged attacks, just like Sheik. Using Zero Suit Samus' Final Smash will regenerate the Varia Suit. Also like Sheik, holding down buttons before a match starts will turn the player into Zero Suit Samus without needing a Final Smash. Just like Zelda/Sheik, 3DS/Wii U and Ultimate turned Samus into two separate characters and removed the transformation mechanic.
- The Pokémon Trainer is a step above Zelda and Samus as a three-form fighter; they can switch between Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard at will with their down special. All three Pokémon tire out if used for too long at a time, greatly weakening the strength of their attacks, encouraging continuous switching. Each Pokémon has basic Elemental Rock-Paper-Scissors weaknesses and resistances as well. The fourth game replaced the Trainer with just Charizard, but brought them back in Ultimate with the same mechanics minus the tiredness and element systems, making them the only multi-form fighter on the roster at launch.
- Olimar/Alph is The Minion Master whose majority of attacks are tied to his Pikmin; he has very few moves that deal damage when he's by himself. He can pull one of five types out of the ground with his neutral special, and can have up to six following him at once (three in 3DS/Wii U and Ultimate). Pikmin die if an opponent manages to hit them, so Olimar needs to recover them with his whistle if they get too far away. In later games, his recovery, Winged Pikmin, gets more effective when Olimar has fewer Pikmin.
- All of Meta Knight's special moves double as recovery moves. Each one is so potent on their own — especially on top of his multiple jumps — that they render him helpless when completed, preventing players from chaining them together. A lesser unusual aspect is that most of his attacks are small, quick hits in rapid succession rather than standard strikes — as the Tips put it, he "doesn't do standard attacks".
- Solid Snake has attacks with unusual timing to them, including an up special with extremely high recovery which makes him very vulnerable. His Grenades are projectiles that deal Scratch Damage if they hit his opponents, as their timed explosions are what causes any real damage, and his Remote Missiles are manually controlled. Originally in Brawl, he had a very unconventional down smash, involving him planting a landmine that would either explode after a set amount of time or when someone got too close to it. As of Ultimate, his down smash was changed.
- Lucario grows stronger as he takes damage, increasing both his damage output and the size of his special moves' effects, making him a character all about managing risk and taking advantage of bad situations. While 3DS/Wii U extended the increased knockback effect to every fighter through the new Rage mechanic, Lucario remains the only one whose moves deal more damage and behave differently because of it.
- Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U:
- Rosalina and Luma are a simplified Puppet Fighter in comparison to the Ice Climbers, as Luma can only use standard attacks and Rosalina's side special. In exchange, Rosalina can manipulate where the Luma is by firing it out and calling it back with her neutral special. Furthermore, Luma is automatically KOed after taking a certain amount of damage, meaning that it doesn't even need to be launched off the screen to be removed from the fight. However, if Luma does get KOed, another one will appear after some time has passed.
- Mega Man has several basic attacks replaced with projectiles in order to mimic the run-and-gun playstyle of his original games. And while all other characters that perform their standard attacks will stay in place or travel a short, fixed distance, this doesn't apply for Mega Man. He can walk forward while doing so. In turn, this means he doesn't have a proper forward tilt attack.
- Wii Fit Trainer has a Status Buff move that increases their attack power, a special move, Sun Salutation, that will slightly decrease their percentage when fully charged, and an up smash that also functions as a dodge but is otherwise mostly normal.
- Little Mac is a boxer, and so his power meter and focus on ground combat make him closer to a traditional fighting game character. While charging his forward smash, not tilting the directional stick, tilting upward, or tilting downward can cause him to perform up to 3 different smashes, which consists of a straight punch (not tilting), uppercut (upward), and body blow (downward). Other characters, like Mario and Ganondorf* will only change the angle of their forward smash diagonally thanks to the tilting mechanic.
- Robin's home game has Breakable Weapons, so their Levin Sword and large variety of tomes have limited uses before they have to recharge. Robin is also the only character to have "Smash" Air attacks. The Smash versions use the Levin Sword (and consume its uses) while the standard ones use Robin's Bronze Sword. Their standard attack can be very limited if used carelessly, because of the Breakable Weapons mechanic. 2 slashes with the Bronze Sword is the beginning of their standard attack, then it can end with a small explosion from the Arcfire tome or a multi-hit combo with the Elwind tome, depending on how the attack button was pressed. If both tomes ran out of power, all Robin can do are the 2 slashes. Also, multi-hit combos for every other character can be performed indefinitely, but keeping up Robin's Elwind combo will eventually drain the tome's power and he/she will automatically toss it aside.
- The customizable specials for most characters are just slightly modified versions of their normal moveset, but Palutena and the Mii Fighters have entirely distinct special options (for example, Palutena's recovery can be a teleport, a gliding-descent jump, or an explosion boost), with the caveat that they are restricted to their base special set in online play just like everyone else. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate scrapped customizable specials for the base roster, turning Palutena into a normal fighter, but Mii Fighters still have their customization intact and any sets can be used in online play.
- Shulk has a Stance System composed of five sets of different combinations of buffs and debuffs. Once he selects a Monado Art, he can cancel it or let it run out naturally, but has to wait for a cooldown before he can select it again either way.
- Bowser Jr. (and by extension, the Koopalings) has higher defense on the Clown Car than his body, making him the only character with "sweetspot" hurtboxes. On using his up special, he loses the car entirely and gains a new aerial move until the car respawns.
- Duck Hunt's attacks don't always have to come from the duck and dog themselves, but also from the unseen hunter. The tin can may be used as a landmine, anti-air, anti-ledge, or as a suicide bomb. The clay pigeon does most of its damage when hit by the zapper, so deflecting or countering it is no big deal compared to other projectiles. And the Wild Gunmen can be used as both a projectile barrier and to punish charge-up moves (the opponent must either release the move early and waste it, get hit by the gunmen and waste it, roll out of the way to keep their charge (assuming that the move actually allows it) and risk either getting hit by the gunmen or being hit by a follow-up attack or shield to keep their charge and risk getting grabbed).
- Ryu's (and later Ken's) specials can be used with their inputs from Street Fighter, which results in stronger versions. In addition, his Final Smash changes depending on his distance to an opponent (Shinku Hadoken at a distance, Shin Shoryuken up close), referencing his Ultra Combo Double from Ultra Street Fighter IV. He also has weak and strong attacks depending on how long the attack button is held and can even Lag Cancel into Combos, which no other character in Smash can do. Even his Jump Physics are uniquely abnormal, being relatively stiff with little ability to change direction in midair. In essence, Ryu, the archetype for the Fighting Game character, plays exactly like a traditional fighting game character transplanted into a Mascot Platform Fighter. He becomes unusual by not being unusual! Ultimate further brings him closer to his roots by making him face his opponent when he has one foe remaining (teammates counted if Team Attack is on) — a trait later shared with fellow fighting game characters Ken, Terry, and Kazuya.
- Cloud Strife has his Limit gauge, which fills either through dealing or taking damage. When it maxes out, his next special move will be enhanced for better damage, speed or maneuverability. He can also manually fill it as his down-B; if it's full, down-B performs Finishing Touch instead.
- Bayonetta has a large focus on combos involving her special moves, and she also carries over the "Bullet Arts" mechanics from her home series, where she can fire bullets with no knockback if the player holds down the attack button after some attacks. Depending on when her opponent attacks her while dodging, Bayonetta will perform Bat Within, where she'll receive less damage, while avoid flinching and knockback. It isn't advised to initially double jump, then use her up special for a third jump for recovery, as it doesn't cover enough air. You'd actually need to use her up special first, then jump, then you can use her up special again. Bayonetta's forward aerial and forward tilt attacks both consist of 3 consecutive attacks, each attack happening on input as opposed to being automatic. Lastly, her up aerial and neutral aerial attacks will be extended if you hold down the attack button, which is coupled with the aforementioned "Bullet Arts" mechanic.
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate:
- Inkling's attacks cover opponents in ink, which acts a status effect that makes them take more damage until the ink fades away. The drawback is that, just like in their home series, Inkling doesn't have Bottomless Magazines; if they run out of ink, their attacks are either disabled or heavily weakened until they submerge in ink to refill, which requires the unique combination of holding the special button while shielding.
- King K. Rool has a unique form of super armor involving his belly, reducing damage to the area by half. It is essentially as a second shield with its own durability that comes in effect during certain attacks. Like a shield, it can be cracked, and K. Rool will be dazed.
- Incineroar is the only character in the game who has a move that has a different effect depending on the timing of a second press. When it successfully connects Alolan Whip, the player is prompted to press B again. If pressed too early, it performs a body back throw, a moderate damaging move that knocks the opponent upward. If pressed too late or no button is pressed, the attack fails and both Incineroar and the opponent take minor damage. If pressed at the right time, a lariat is landed that deals massive damage and knockback. There are also quirks, like Incineroar shrugging when the opponent is "disabled" (e.g. slowed down, knocked away, stunned, etc.) while under the Alolan Whip animation.
- Joker is a Magikarp Power character, having average attacks and specials until he summons his Persona, Arsène, who buffs his strength with its support and adjusts his specials (such as changing his recovery from a tether to a high-jump). Arsène is summoned when Joker's Rebellion Gauge fills up over time, and the process speeds up as Joker takes damage, falls behind in damage/stock lead, or uses his Rebel's Guard special to block attacks. Arsène only sticks around until the Rebellion Gauge empties, and Joker will need to refill the meter afterwards to resummon him.
- The Hero from Dragon Quest has a lot of Japanese RPG mechanics to fit with his home franchise. All of his smash attacks have a small chance to deal a Critical Hit, doubling their knockback and damage. Similar to Robin's limited tomes, he has to manage a Mana Meter for his specials, with all of them except down special having multiple levels of charge that increase in effectiveness and MP cost. With his down special, Command Selection, the Hero pulls up a menu with four randomly selected spells he can use. The spells are powerful, but often expensive, and the menu doesn't pause the game, leaving Hero vulnerable if the player doesn't think fast and choose quickly. And there's no guarantee any of the four spells will be helpful to the player in their situation; they can close and re-open the menu by tapping shield to re-roll, but again, it's time the enemy has to exploit. The spells themselves have a very wide range of effects, many of them unique or only available to a few other fighters; most notably, the Hero is the only fighter that can instantly KO characters without a Final Smash, and he can do it in multiple ways (Whack/Thwack rises in KO chance as the opponent's percentage increases, Metal Slash instakills any metallicized character, and Kamikazee KOs Hero himself). If you're feeling really lucky, you can roll the dice with Hocus Pocus, which can duplicate the effects of any of Hero's other spells and a number of items, both positive and negative. He also has a shield to block attacks from the front just like the Links.
- Banjo and Kazooie are unique among characters with limited ammunition in that the Golden Feathers they use for their side special are not restored until they lose a stock.
- Terry Bogard also comes from a fighting game series much like Ryu and Ken. As a result, he has similar mechanics to them, including having traditional Fighting Game special move inputs for certain attacks and always facing his opponent in 1-on-1 matches. Power Wave has two different levels depending on how long the button is pressed, Rising Tackle has three, while Burning Knuckle, Crack Shoot, and Power Dunk have four due to being affected by motions and timing. Also, he's the only character with two side specials (Burning Knuckle pressing forward, and Crack Shoot pressing backwards) and he gets access to two Super Special Moves, Power Geyser and Buster Wolf, when his status is critical (100% damage in normal modes, 1/3 health in Stamina Mode). Terry can also perform an uppercut after spot dodging, which can work as a counterattack. Many of these are inspired directly by system mechanics present in both Fatal Fury and The King of Fighters.
- Min Min controls just like a character from ARMS does. Both of her arms are controllable, with the left one activated by her standard attack and the right arm by her neutral special. Her arm punches act more like fast single projectiles than melee attacks (meaning counters block them without returning damage) and can be curved upward and downward. Instead of having side tilts/special/aerials, she can move left and right while an arm is out, and like Robin, her smash attack input can be used in the air. While her left arm is always a Dragon arm, her down special shifts her right arm between the Ramram (fast and shoots out a boomerang projectile), the Megawatt (slow but powerful), and the Dragon (can shoot out a laser). Her grab has a longer range than most fighters, and if she lands it on someone, her left arm temporarily turns dragonic and becomes stronger. Her moveset is rounded out with close-range attacks are kicks, one of which (her up smash) can reflect projectiles. Lastly, her up special is a high jump on the ground and an angled tether punch in the air.
- Steve (and his alternate palettes Alex/Zombie/Enderman) is unusual to the point even Sakurai himself thought his inclusion an act of sorcery. He boils down to a resource-based fighter: he needs to mine materials out of the ground to replace his tools at a moveable crafting table with stronger ones when they break, to place breakable blocks in the air, and to fuel some of his moves (iron to create anvils and pistons, redstone to create a powder trail and switch for detonating TNT, etc.). He can only carry so many materials at once aside from gold and diamond, and the ones he gathers depend on the terrain he's near; meaning that different stages provide different amounts of materials (except on Omega/Battlefield stages, which provide them in a set order). As a trade-off, terrain with stronger materials get mined slower. His crafting table can also be called to his position with shield + special, making him the second character after Inklings to have a shield + special ability.
- Sephiroth, somewhat similarly to Lucario, has sort of a Comeback Mechanic in which, with high enough damage percentage (which varies based on how many remaining stocks he has compared to his opponents' remaining stocks), his one wing will extend from his back. This offers a number of gameplay benefits, ranging from faster movement speed to all around increased damage and knockback. It does not, however, stay once it has activated. Knocking out an opponent is generally enough for the game to no longer consider Sephiroth in significant danger.
- Pyra & Mythra are two characters tied to the same tag mechanics of Zelda and Sheik during the days of Melee and Brawl. Pyra is much slower in her attacks and movement, but is in turn much harder-hitting whereas Mythra is faster in both attacks and movement, making her the combo-oriented character. Unlike other tag characters, Pyra and Mythra have a very similar moveset, with their only differences being their specials. Thus players can ease in both characters a lot easier, and opponents don't have to drastically change their tactics when they change. In addition, Mythra's dodges have a very similar effect to Bayonetta's Bat Within in which, when rolling or spot dodging at the right time, you reduce the damage (rather than eliminating it) and gain a small slowdown to start a counter attack.
- Kazuya is a fighting game character that is far different than Ryu, Ken, and Terry, but is no less unusual due to his source material, as Tekken mechanics vastly differ from those seen in Street Fighter or Fatal Fury. On top of the autoturn mechanics, Kazuya has Tekken-style diagonal tilt attacks on top of his Specials, giving him double the input directions of any fighter on the roster. Furthermore, he possesses Tekken's version of Rage, which boosts his attack power and allows him to spend it once per stock on a Rage Drive that deals more damage and knockback. Meanwhile, he can also use a Shoryuken input to crouch dash, or to use the famed Wind God Fist and its Electric counterpart. Not enough moves for you? Try to Side Taunt to do a quick 4 hit combo to really get into your opponent's head.
- Sora isn't quite as strange as the rest of Fighter Pack 2, but he's still unique. Sora's specialty lies in aerial attacks; as such, he's one of the lightest characters in the entire game, surpassing even Isabelle, his jumps are very high and floaty, and he can perform combo attacks in mid-air. His side special, Sonic Blade, sends him surging forward in three consecutive directions, which is behavior more like that of an up special (specifically, Pikachu's or Greninja's), and can either lock onto nearby opponents or be operated manually by the player. Finally, while most fighters with a counter special attack let the attack go uninterrupted and in some cases reflect projectiles, Sora's Counter staggers the enemy and sends any projectiles he's hit by directly behind him.
Minor Unique Mechanics
- Link in Melee and beyond automatically blocks anything that hits his Hylian Shield, which he always holds out in front of him. Unlike the shield mechanic everyone else uses to block, this has no durability and can block any discrete projectile, so long as he's standing still or crouching. Brawl added to his idle animation to make him occasionally scratch his head with his shield-arm so players couldn't just turtle up behind it. His Moveset Clones also have this ability, as does Hero in Ultimate.
- Where most characters' up specials function as a third jump, Yoshi's and Jigglypuff's do not, with enhanced regular jumping ability to compensate. Ness and Lucas are similar in that their up special is a remote control projectile that you have to hit yourself with to get an aerial boost. Yoshi, in addition, lacks an ordinary shield, instead covering himself in an eggshell that never shrinks, but prevents him from jumping while shielding. Yoshi, however, gained a proper triple jump in Brawl, and the ability to jump out of shield in 3DS/Wii U.
- The majority of moves within the SSB series are consistent in how they work (or at least have been consistent since 3DS/Wii U). Their range, trajectory, damage, and other attributes are never affected by RNG. As referenced previously, the Hero's smash attacks and down special commands (in addition to the Hocus Pocus spell's unpredictable outcome) make him rely on RNG far more than any other character in the series to date. Prior to his appearance, other characters also relied on RNG, but to a lesser extent:
- Luigi's Green Missile is a flying headbutt that varies in strength and horizontal distance depending on how long it's been charged. Regardless if it's been charged or not, there's a small chance that it will misfire, causing an explosion that makes Luigi fly farther and faster, not to mention causing more damage and knockback.
- Peach's Vegetable makes her pluck out one of many types of turnips with different facial expressions. The rarer the expression, the more damage and knockback it deals. She can even pluck a Mr. Saturn or Bob-omb*, but these are also very rare. As Peach's Echo Fighter in Ultimate, the same applies for Daisy.
- Mr. Game & Watch's Judge gives him access to 9 attacks with different attributes. Each attack is represented by numbers 1-9 and the number you'll get is random. The exact mechanics vary between games as to how often a number would appear if it's already been rolled.
- Olimar's Pikmin Pluck lets him pluck a type of Pikmin from the ground. In Brawl, the Pikmin that came out was random, but certain types had a high chance depending on the terrain Olimar pull it out of. Averted in 3DS/Wii U and Ultimate, since Pikmin types will always come out in a set order.
- Also in Brawl, Snake's up smash makes him pull out a mortar. The trajectory of the shell that flies out is a bit random, as its horizontal movement will cause it to fall behind Snake or in front of him. This was changed for his appearance in Ultimate, where the shell will always fall in front of Snake.
- Villager's up and down aerials will make them randomly pull out one, two, or three turnips. The strength varies depending on the amount of turnips the Villager pulls out.
- Some characters' basic attacks and universal maneuvers (e.g. standard attacks, smash attacks, throws, shields, etc.) stand out more than others, because of their unique properties. Several have been mentioned above, but here are some others:
- Donkey Kong's forward throw allows him to carry the opponent on his back, which allows him to jump and walk while doing so. From Melee onwards, this also allows him to use various "Cargo throws" by pressing different directions after he starts carrying them, giving him an entire second set of throws at his disposal.
- The forward smashes of Ness and Lucas can reflect projectiles.
- There are several characters that can perform multi-hit combos during their standard attacks. First, they'll usually initiate with 1 or 2 attacks, then perform said combo. However, Meta Knight performs one right off the bat. One of the Hints in-game even states that he "doesn't do 'standard attacks'".
- Corrin is normal for the most part, but has one minor, yet odd mechanic. Standing directly in front of them while they charge a forward smash will cause the opponent to receive weak, multi-hit damage, courtesy of their sword Yato. Ness' spinning yo-yo while charging his up and down smashes does the same thing in every game but the original and 3DS/Wii U.
- Down smashes are low attacks where characters either swiftly attack one side, then the next (e.g. Luigi, Captain Falcon, and Cloud) or attack both sides simultaneously (e.g. Mr. Game & Watch, Fox, and Wii Fit Trainer), which helps defensively. However, Zero Suit Samus, Robin*, Mewtwo, Lucas, Ryu, Ken, Bayonetta, Terry, and Sephiroth have one-sided down smashes, attacking only in front of themselves. As mentioned in his entry further above, Snake's landmine down smash was very unusual, but it was changed in Ultimate, specifically to the type that Luigi, Falcon, and Cloud performs.
- When a Shield breaks, all characters will fly up a few feet, fall back down, then become dizzy for a certain amount of time... except for Jigglypuff, who has the unfortunate distinction of flying off at breakneck speed — so fast that, if there's not an obstacle above to stop her, she's guaranteed to fly past the top blast line for an instant KO (and if there is an obstacle, she'll actually "cling" to it for several seconds before falling down and becoming dizzy).
- As mentioned in his entry further above, Terry can perform an attack out of his spot dodge animation, which works as a counterattack. He's the only character that can perform this maneuver in Ultimate.
- Some gameplay mechanics aren't universal and can only be performed by certain characters. These include wall jumps (e.g. Mario, Fox, and Greninja), wall clinging (e.g. Squirtle, Diddy, and Bayonetta), crawling (e.g. Bowser, Snake, and Inkling), tether grabs (e.g. Samus, Luiginote , and Pac-Man), and tether recoveries (e.g. Young Link, Lucas, and Isabelle). There are some characters that can perform more than one of these mechanics.
- To expand on tether users, even they don't share the same abilities. Tether grabbers like Yoshi, Villager, and Pac-Man can't tether recover. Likewise, tether recovery is possible with the Ice Climbers and Ivysaur, but they can't tether grab. Only a few characters can do both, such as Samus, Young Link, and Toon Link. Depending on the character, their tether will either be a grab or a special move. However, the Belmonts are the only characters that can tether recover with their up, front, and back aerial moves, thanks to their whips.
- There are quite a few characters with counters, allowing them to instantly counter-attack if struck. Peach's counter, however, is mapped to her neutral special instead of her down special, which can make for a Damn You, Muscle Memory! situation. Corrin's counter launches the opponent directly up and can hit from behind as well as in front. Shulk has two variations of his counter depending on if he's in the air and if the player is holding forward. Bayonetta's counter doesn't cause a counter attack, but makes the opponent significantly slower on top of negating damage. Incineroar's counter only negates knockback, not damage (though it does reduce the damage taken), and the counterattack itself is very weak; however, in return, the next attack he makes will become much more powerful, unless he waits too long or gets hit too much (or gets grabbed and thrown). Finally, Joker's Rebel's Guard is really unconventional, charging up his Rebellion Gauge instead of counterattacking; while it only negates most of the damage taken while active, it can also be held through attacks, making it less risky to throw up.
- Speaking of counters, most defensive moves serve as either a counter or reflector, but not both. Not so for K. Rool, Joker with Arsène, or Palutena in Ultimate, all of whom get down specials that act as both depending on what type of attack they're defending against.
- Most Final Smashes take the form of a single attack that hits within a certain range and deals massive damage and knockback to anyone caught within it, taking place either on the arena or in a short cutscene. There are plenty that work much differently, though:
- "Transformation" Final Smashes take many forms, but typically grant the fighter a superpowered version of their original moveset (Bowser's Giga Bowser, Wario's Wario-Man) or a new form that is completely controllable (the Star Fox cast's Landmaster, Mr. Game and Watch's Octopus). By Ultimate, most of these were replaced with standard Final Smashes or (for ones like Octopus and Pikachu's Volt Tackle) were made nearly automatic with limited if any player control.
- Snake has to use a crosshair to target opponents; in Brawl, he manually fires, while in Ultimate, he just has to pass it over opponents so they get targeted by homing missiles. Giga Bowser also does this in Ultimate to punch the stage, but can only pull off one strong hit.
- Luigi's Negative Zone, only present in Brawl, creates a sphere around him that slows and weakens any fighters caught within it alongside random status effects, but can't KO fighters by itself (it can still damage them if it randomly places a flower on their head).
- Peach and Daisy's Blossom moves put everyone but them to sleep and spawn strong healing items. They increase percentage on everyone when used, but Peach/Daisy still has to KO them with her normal moves before they wake up.
- Jigglypuff's Puff Up only deals a little bit of damage, instead getting KOs by pushing opponents offstage with her size and knockback-inducing shout.
- Sephiroth's Supernova is a typical group-hit attack, but compensates for its lower damage by inflicting a random status effect on anyone caught in it, just like Negative Zone.
