The

fighting game A fighting game, also known as a versus fighting game, is a genre of video game that involves combat between two or more players. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as blocking, grappling, counter-attacking, and chaining atta ...

series ''

Super Smash Bros. ''Super Smash Bros.'' is a crossover fighting game series published by Nintendo. The series was created by Masahiro Sakurai, who has directed every game in the series. The series is known for its unique gameplay objective which differs from ...

'' from Nintendo, launched in 1999, features an assortment of video game characters from 40 different franchises. There are 89 playable characters across the series, mostly sourced from Nintendo franchises but with a number of third-party ones as well. There are also other

non-player character A non-player character (NPC), or non-playable character, is any character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster ...

s that take the form of enemies, bosses, and

power-up In video games, a power-up is an object that adds temporary benefits or extra abilities to the player character as a game mechanic. This is in contrast to an item, which may or may not have a permanent benefit that can be used at any time chos ...

Playable characters

Each game in the series has a number of playable characters, referred to as "fighters", that are taken primarily from Nintendo franchises. There are 89 total fighters across the series. Starting with ''

Super Smash Bros. Brawl ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl'' is a 2008 crossover fighting video game developed by Sora Ltd. and published by Nintendo for the Wii. The third installment in the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series, it was announced at a pre-E3 2005 press conference ...

'', characters from non-Nintendo franchises began to make playable appearances, and starting in ''Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS'' and ''Wii U'', certain characters received alternate costumes that would represent alternate gendered variants or different characters entirely. At the start of each game, some of the fighters will be locked from play. To unlock a hidden fighter, players need to clear certain conditions and defeat that fighter in a match. In ''Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS'' and ''Wii U'' and ''

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'' is a 2018 crossover fighting video game developed by Bandai Namco Studios and Sora Ltd. and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It is the fifth installment in the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series, succeeding ...

'', players can make their own

Mii A Mii ( ) is a customizable avatar used on several Nintendo video game consoles and mobile apps. Miis were first introduced on the Wii console in 2006 and later appeared on the 3DS, Wii U, the Switch, and various apps for smart devices. Miis ca ...

Fighters that can be customized with three different fighting styles (Brawler, and Gunner) and costume pieces unlocked through gameplay or purchased as downloadable content. Several of these costumes are based on characters and franchises not otherwise represented, such as Sans from ''

Undertale ''Undertale'' is a 2015 2D computer graphics, 2D role-playing video game created by American indie developer Toby Fox. The player controls a child who has fallen into the Underground: a large, secluded region under the surface of the Earth, s ...

'', Altaïr from ''

Assassin's Creed ''Assassin's Creed'' is an open-world, action-adventure, and stealth game franchise published by Ubisoft and developed mainly by its studio Ubisoft Montreal using the game engine Anvil and its more advanced derivatives. Created by Patric ...

'', Cuphead from '' the eponymous game'',

Vault Boy Vault Boy is the mascot of the ''Fallout'' media franchise. Created by staff at Interplay Entertainment, the original owners of the ''Fallout'' intellectual property (IP), Vault Boy was introduced in 1997's ''Fallout'' as an advertising charac ...

from ''

Fallout Nuclear fallout is the residual radioactive material propelled into the upper atmosphere following a nuclear blast, so called because it "falls out" of the sky after the explosion and the shock wave has passed. It commonly refers to the radioa ...

'',

Travis Touchdown is a fictional character and the main antihero of the video game franchise ''No More Heroes''. 27 years old in the original game, he is both an otaku and a professional assassin, wielding a Beam Katana. He was created by Goichi Suda, and voiced ...

from ''

No More Heroes No More Heroes may refer to: Music * ''No More Heroes'' (album), a 1977 album by The Stranglers ** "No More Heroes" (The Stranglers song), the title track * "No More Heroes", a song by Westlife from the album ''Where We Are'' Video games * ...

'', Dragonborn from '' The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim'',

Dante Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His '' Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: ...

from ''

Devil May Cry is a series of action-adventure games created by Hideki Kamiya. It is primarily developed and published by Capcom. The series centers on the demon hunter Dante and his efforts to thwart various demon invasions of Earth. Its gameplay consists ...

'',

Shantae ''Shantae'' is a series of platform games developed by WayForward. The eponymous heroine of the series, a half-genie, was created by Erin Bozon, while the games were created from this character by her husband Matt Bozon. The series consists of ...

from '' the eponymous series'', and

Doom Slayer The Doomguy (also spelt Doom Guy, as well as referred to as the Doom Marine, Doom Slayer or just the Slayer in ''Doom'' (2016) and ''Doom Eternal'') is a fictional character and the protagonist of the ''Doom'' video game franchise of first-person ...

from ''

Doom Doom is another name for damnation. Doom may also refer to: People * Doom (professional wrestling), the tag team of Ron Simmons and Butch Reed * Daniel Doom (born 1934), Belgian cyclist * Debbie Doom (born 1963), American softball pitcher * ...

''. All games have featured fighters that largely share their moves and abilities with another fighter on the roster, but with minor differences in their presentation and gameplay. In ''

Super Smash Bros. Melee ''Super Smash Bros. Melee'' is a 2001 crossover fighting video game developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. It is the second installment in the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series. It features characters from Nintendo ...

'', all of these characters, known as "model swap characters" according to the Japanese website, were unlockable, but were distinguished from other unlockable characters in that their portrait was added next to the character they were based on instead of filling in one of the placeholder slots at the bottom of the select screen. In ''Ultimate'', several of these characters were officially labeled as "Echo Fighters". They have an option either to be displayed next to or within the character portrait from which they are based on. ;;Notes

Non-playable characters

In addition to the roster of playable fighters, several

non-playable characters A non-player character (NPC), or non-playable character, is any character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster o ...

appear as summonable items via "Assist Trophies" or

Poké Ball Poke ( Hawaiian for "to slice" or "cut crosswise into pieces"; sometimes anglicised as 'poké' to aid pronunciation) is diced raw fish served either as an appetizer or a main course and is one of the popular dishes in Hawaii. Traditional form ...

s, background stage hazards, enemies, collectibles, or bosses in the single-player modes. While some were specifically created for use in the ''

'' series, most come from established game franchises like the playable characters.

Summonable

Certain

items Item may refer to: Organizations * '' Instituto del Tercer Mundo'' (ITeM), the Third World Institute * ITEM club, an economic forecasting group based in the United Kingdom Newspapers * '' The Item'', an American independent, morning newspap ...

in the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series can be used to temporarily summon other characters into battle. The first of these, the

, was introduced in the original ''Super Smash Bros.'' game. It can be thrown to temporarily call forth a random

Pokémon (an abbreviation for in Japan) is a Japanese media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, founded by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures (company), Creatures, the owners of the trademark and copyright of the franchise. In terms of ...

, which will perform one of its signature abilities to attack opponents or affect the battle in other ways. Each ''Super Smash Bros.'' game has had a different set of Pokémon that can appear from Poké Balls, though some such as

Snorlax Snorlax (), known in Japan as , is a Pokémon species, a type of ''Pocket Monster'', in Nintendo and Game Freak's ''Pokémon'' franchise. Created by Ken Sugimori, Snorlax first appeared in the Game Boy video game ''Pokémon Red'' and ''Blue' ...

and Goldeen have appeared in multiple entries. Another item, the Assist Trophy, was added in ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl'' and functions similarly to the Poké Ball. Players who pick up an Assist Trophy will summon a random character from one of various gaming franchises, causing them to interfere with opponents. Available characters vary between games, and range from supporting members of already represented franchises, such as ''Super Mario''

Waluigi is a fictional character in the ''Mario'' franchise. He plays the role of Luigi's arch-rival and accompanies Wario in spin-offs from the main ''Mario'' series, often for the sake of causing mischief and problems. He was created by Camelot em ...

and ''Star Fox''

Andross '' Star Fox'' is a series of spaceship shooter games published by Nintendo. The main protagonist and player character of the series is Fox McCloud, the leader of a team of anthropomorphic animals in the Lylat planetary system called Star Fox. Ga ...

, to less-known characters like the Sheriff,

Dr. Kawashima is a Japanese neuroscientist known for his appearances in the ''Brain Age'' series of video games for the Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo Switch.

from ''

Brain Age ''Brain Age'', known as ''Dr Kawashima's Brain Training'' in PAL regions, is a series of video games developed and published by Nintendo, based on the work of Ryuta Kawashima. Video games The ''Brain Age'' games, known as ''Brain Training'' in ...

'', and Isaac from ''

Golden Sun is a series of fantasy role-playing video games developed by Camelot Software Planning and published by Nintendo. ''Golden Sun'' follows the story of a group of magically-attuned "adepts" who are charged with preventing the potentially destru ...

''. Some Assist Trophies, including

Little Mac is a fictional boxer and the main protagonist in Nintendo's ''Punch-Out!!'' series of video games. He first appeared in the Nintendo Entertainment System game ''Punch-Out!!''. He is the smallest and youngest of all the boxers in the games, be ...

Dark Samus is a series of nonlinear science fiction action games published by Nintendo, featuring both side-scrolling and first-person shooter elements. The player character and protagonist of the series is Samus Aran, a spacefaring bounty hunter that batt ...

and

Isabelle Isabel is a female name of Spanish origin. Isabelle is a name that is similar, but it is of French origin. It originates as the medieval Spanish form of ''Elisabeth'' (ultimately Hebrew '' Elisheva''), Arising in the 12th century, it became popul ...

, have gone on to appear as playable fighters in later installments. There have also been Assist Trophies based on third-party characters, such as

Bomberman is a video game franchise originally developed by Hudson Soft and currently owned by Konami. The original game, also known as ''Bakudan Otoko'' (''爆弾男''), was released in Japan in July 1983 and has since spawned multiple sequels and ...

and

Shovel Knight ''Shovel Knight'' is a platform video game developed and published by Yacht Club Games. Development was crowdfunded and the game was released for Nintendo 3DS, Wii U, and Windows in June 2014. It was ported to OS X and Linux in September 2014, P ...

Bosses

Throughout the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series, most single-player modes have included several non-playable

boss Boss may refer to: Occupations * Supervisor, often referred to as boss * Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier * Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization * Fire boss, a p ...

characters. Some of these bosses were created specifically for the ''Super Smash Bros.'' franchise. Master Hand is a glove-like being that appears in all games to date, serving as the final

of Classic Mode and, in ''

'', the 50th Event Match "Final Destination Match". In ''Melee'', Master Hand is playable via a system glitch. He is also playable in ''Ultimate'' Adventure Mode if certain requirements are met. ''Super Smash Bros. Melee'' introduced a left-hand counterpart to Master Hand named Crazy Hand, which appears alongside him in all subsequent games under certain conditions. ''Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U'' features a new form, Master Core, a shapeshifting mass of black particles that emerge from Master Hand and Crazy Hand after their defeat. Master Hand and Crazy Hand have gone on to make cameo appearances outside of the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series, most notably appearing as bosses in ''

Kirby & the Amazing Mirror ''Kirby & The Amazing Mirror'' is a 2004 platform video game developed by HAL Laboratory, Flagship and Dimps and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance. The seventh mainline ''Kirby'' entry, the game is notable for being the only insta ...

''. ''Super Smash Bros. Melee'' introduced Giga Bowser, a larger and more monstrous version of

Bowser , or King Koopa, is a fictional character, the primary antagonist in Nintendo's ''Mario'' franchise, and the arch-nemesis of Mario. In Japan, the character bears the title of . Bowser is the leader of the turtle-like Koopa race. Despite the ...

that could be fought in the 51st Event Match, "The Showdown", and as a secret final opponent in the game's Adventure Mode under certain conditions. Giga Bowser uses the same abilities as Bowser, but is much stronger and has additional effects on his attacks, such as explosions and elemental damage. Giga Bowser later became Bowser's Final Smash in all subsequent games beginning with ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl'', with players able to control him for the duration of the Final Smash. Tabuu is the final villain of ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl'' story mode, ''The Subspace Emissary''. He is a humanoid

apparition Apparition may refer to: Supernatural * Apparitional experience, an anomalous, quasi-perceptual experience * A vision, something seen in a dream, trance, or religious ecstasy *Ghost, the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that can appea ...

composed of pure energy, with a single eye-shaped object located where a person's stomach would be. He can conjure several weapons for use in battle, including a rapier and large chakram; change his size at will, and teleport. Towards the end of ''The Subspace Emissary'', it is revealed that Tabuu is the entity that controlled Master Hand and the true antagonist behind the events of the story. ''The Subspace Emissary'' also features other boss characters, like

Petey Piranha The ''Mario'' franchise is a video game series by Nintendo. While Nintendo is usually the developer and publisher of games in the franchise, various series are developed by third-party companies, such as Hudson Soft and Intelligent Systems. ...

, Ridley, Meta Ridley,

Porky Porky may refer to: As a nickname * Frank Biscan (1920-1959), Major League Baseball pitcher * Gordon Brown (Canadian football) (born 1927), Canadian Football League retired player * Porky Chedwick, Pittsburgh radio disk jockey of the 1950s and 196 ...

, and Rayquaza. Ridley eventually became playable in ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'', with Meta Ridley as an alternate costume for him, while Petey Piranha became DLC character Piranha Plant's Final Smash. Three original bosses are also featured: Tabuu, the giant cyborg Galleom, and the twin-bodied robot Duon. ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'' introduces Galeem, a seraphic menace who serves as the main villain of ''World of Light''. Known as the "lord of light" and "the ultimate enemy", Galeem destroys the ''Smash Bros.'' world, robs all the fighters except Kirby of their physical forms, and plans on creating a new world to the point of creating an army of puppet fighters powered by enslaved spirits. Galeem is opposed by Dharkon, a one-eyed creature with many tentacles. Described as the "embodiment of chaos and darkness", Dharkon seeks to defeat Galeem and consume the world in darkness. Galeem and Dharkon are aided by a swarm of Master Hand and Crazy Hand puppets respectively. The mode also features bosses Giga Bowser, Galleom,

Ganon is a fictional character and the primary antagonist of Nintendo's ''The Legend of Zelda'' video game series and franchise, as well as the final boss in many ''Zelda'' titles. A massive and malevolent creature, he first appeared in the original ...

Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

, Rathalos, and

Dracula ''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taki ...

, who also appear as final opponents for different characters in the game's Classic Mode. Other boss characters from represented franchises may appear as hazards on certain stages and attack the fighters in the middle of a battle, such as the Yellow Devil from ''

Mega Man ''Mega Man'', known as in Japan, is a Japanese science fiction video game franchise created by Capcom, starring a series of robot characters each known by the moniker "Mega Man (character), Mega Man". Mega Man (video game), The original game w ...

'' and Metal Face from ''

Xenoblade Chronicles is a series of action role-playing games developed by Monolith Soft and published by Nintendo. It is a part of the '' Xeno'' metaseries created by Tetsuya Takahashi, but was formed after Nintendo's acquisition of Monolith Soft in 2007. The seri ...

''.

Other

In each of the games, there is a group of generic enemy characters based on other fighters fought in large groups in the games' single-player campaigns and "Multi-Man Smash" minigames. In the Japanese versions of the games, these characters are called the . In the English localized versions of the games, they are given names that describe their physical form. These include the Fighting Polygon Team in the original game, the Fighting Wire Frames in ''Melee'', the Fighting Alloy Team in ''Brawl'' and the Fighting Mii Team in ''for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U'' and ''Ultimate''. Along with ''Melee'' Adventure Mode came the inclusion of minor, generic enemies, such as

Goomba Goombas , known in Japan as , are a fictional mushroom-like species from Nintendo's Mario (franchise), ''Mario'' franchise. They first appeared in the Nintendo Entertainment System, NES video game ''Super Mario Bros.'' as the first enemy playe ...

s from the ''Super Mario'' series and

Octorok '' The Legend of Zelda'' is a video game franchise created by Japanese video game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is mainly developed and published by Nintendo. The universe of the ''Legend of Zelda'' series consists of a vari ...

s from ''

The Legend of Zelda ''The Legend of Zelda'' is an action-adventure game franchise created by the Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is primarily developed and published by Nintendo, although some portable installments and re-releas ...

'' series. This trend continues into ''

'', which also includes an assortment of original characters to serve as non-playable generic enemies led by the Subspace Army. Many generic enemies from various games appear as part of the "Smash Run" mode in ''Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS''. The Subspace Army are the antagonists of ''

'', appearing in ''The Subspace Emissary'' and led by the Ancient Minister, later revealed to be R.O.B. forced to do Tabuu's bidding. Their goal is to pull the entire world into Subspace piece by piece using devices called Subspace Bombs. The Sandbag appears in every game's "Home-Run Contest" minigame beginning with ''Super Smash Bros. Melee''. The object is to do as much damage as possible to Sandbag in ten seconds, then strike it with either a Home-Run Bat or a fighting move to launch it as far as possible to get the best distance. Sandbag also appears randomly as an item that drops other items when hit in various other modes in all games from ''Brawl'' onward. Each installment has an in-game

announcer An announcer is a voice artist who relays information to the audience of a broadcast media programme or live event. Television and other media Some announcers work in television production, radio or filmmaking, usually providing narrations, ...

who calls out the fighters' names before and after matches, as well as other gameplay elements. The announcer's voice is also used in many of the promotional materials for the games. The role has been taken on by

Jeff Manning Jeff Manning, also credited as Jeffrey Manning, is an American voice actor and narrator based in Japan. He is known primarily for his work on the North American English dub of '' Iron Chef'', as well as roles in several video games and voice-ov ...

in the original game, Dean Harrington in ''Melee'',

Pat Cashman Patrick Cashman (born September 16, 1950) is an American comedian and television and radio personality based in the Seattle metropolitan area. Early life and education Born and raised in Bend, Oregon. He has a younger brother named Mike Cash ...

in ''Brawl'', and

Xander Mobus Xander Mobus is an American voice actor. Career Mobus has worked in English-language dubs of anime and video games. In 2014, he voiced the announcer and the characters Master Hand and Crazy Hand in '' Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wi ...

in ''for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U'' and ''Ultimate''. The announcer's voice actor traditionally voices Master Hand and Crazy Hand as well. Other characters appear in non-interactive forms that do not affect gameplay, such as collectible trophies depicting their likeness or as spectators watching a battle on specific stages.

References

External links

* {{Super Smash Bros.

Nintendo protagonists Super Smash Bros. lists