The Best and Worst Characters in Super Smash Bros. Brawl for Wii

For those of you that haven't played, Super Smash Bros. Brawl (SSBB) is an action/fighting game between over 35 of your favorite video game characters, battling on over 20 unlock-able levels. It is an ideal game for you if you enjoy letting out some competitive rage against your friends and random people online. There are a few ways to play, but the ultimate objective is to rack up the most KO's (knock-outs). The Wii version of the game is the 3rd installment released and whereas the graphics are obviously superior to the N-64 game, this latest version has been criticized for having weaker, less effective characters. I think this is bologna. You simply need to know which characters are best to play with!

What makes a solid fighter in SSBB? An entire Hub could easily be written outlining the metrics I use for judging the characters. However, for the purposes of this Hub, I'll keep it short: an effective character is above all else, well-rounded. You need a combination of speed, strength, & defense. Not only do you want to land your move first, but you need to make sure that each move counts for a decent percentage of damage your opponent takes. These are some characters that can get you there:

Zelda: She hails from the Legend of Zelda games as Link's love interest, but in SSBB she's more of his angry ex-girlfriend ready to enact revenge. Her best moves include: projectile bombs (b) that can track opponents from any distance and explode upon release, a down-kick that flings opponents horizontally until they're too far from the map, and her final (up) smash move that uses her light arrow to trap opponents in an electric web before tossing them into oblivion.

Wolf: Sometimes I think Wolf is a fake character, because you can really only use 2 of his moves and just annoy your opponent with a series of consecutive hits until they quit out of frustration. But hey, if winning is your ultimate objective, why not pick the guy who can get you there most efficiently? Wolf's gun (b) is slower and has a shorter range than some of his fellow brawlers (Fox and Falco), but it stuns the opponent and is a great asset in combination moves. His other damage-accruing move is simply his forward push, which is not only incredibly fast and difficult to block, but also yields decent damage, particularly when exercised 4-5 consecutive times. His down kick is an instant kill once you've built up a high enough damage percentage (above 100%).

Pikachu: Pikachu, as annoying as his sounds and noises can get (every move is accompanied with him screaming part or all of his name), actually is one of the most effective characters in SSBB. His lightening move effectively can block any in-bound air attacks, strike the opponent and throw them far from the map, or just instantly kill. Pikachu has extremely good range, which is important in landing moves first without getting too close to your opponent and letting them hit you. If you can bear the noise (or just mute the game while playing which is generally advised), you'll rack up some KOs in no time.

Marth: No projectiles, no fire, no magic. Marth rolls the old fashioned way: speed & sword. Similar to Pikachu, Marth's moves generally have solid range, so as long as you're coordinated, you can strike your opponent from almost any angle. I will say that playing well with Marth requires more practice as he doesn't have any "cheap" moves to rely on as back-up. Playing well with Marth is all about timing & coordination --- 2 essential skills for this game!

I call these guys the weaklings because most of the time, they just can't get the job done. Of course, it is possible to win playing with them, but let's assume you're competing against the best. The funny thing is that most of them are fast characters, which clearly proves that speed isn't everything. There are a ton of extremely slow characters that perform well in the game due to incredibly strong moves that are just tougher to land -- it's the timing thing! Anyhow, here are the characters that maybe should have just stayed in their own video game:

Yoshi: Some people find Yoshi lovable, but to me, that is exactly the reason why I don't want to play with him while kicking someone's butt. It's not that Yoshi's moves are bad, they just have that "so what?" feel. For example, his projectile move is to toss eggs, but the eggs crack almost immediately after throwing them. If they do actually land, they have a negligible impact on damage. None of his other moves are particularly strong or difficult to block. In all fairness, Yoshi still may be your best bet out of the four worst characters.

Luigi: No where else does the inferior Mario Bro feel more inferior than in a fighting competition where his brother is also a contestant. Once again, it's not that Luigi is an awful character to play with, it's just that: why not play with Mario who is in every way, a step up? Mario throws fire balls. Luigi throws less effective green fire balls. Mario slides and trips his opponents (forward A), while Luigi flails his arms at them. Stepping out of Mario's shadow is a necessary prerequisite for Luigi to be considered a relevant video game character.

Sonic: Although I was a huge fan of the Sonic and Knuckles game for Sega back in the day, the Sonic in SSBB is just a spinning mess. Every move of his requires a fast spinning motion that generates almost no damage. It's frustrating to play with Sonic because it feels like you should have the upper hand since he's so fast, yet in the end you're just running around the map aimlessly.

Snake: Evidently, Snake hails from the game Metal Gear -- yet his gear in this game serves as a detriment when it takes 10 + seconds to set up each of his moves. Snake is the character that could probably lose to all of the rest because he is (a) slow, (b) slow at setting up, and (c) requires setting up. He can throw a lot of visible landmines which are not very helpful, as you can imagine. Maybe he would be interesting to play with if the game were Snake vs. Snake.