Wario
How to play
Hop on Wario’s trusty bike and crash your way to victory. Once your bike has been destroyed, it’s time to let those punches fly. Give your foe a toothy surprise with Chomp and use Corkscrew to spike airborne enemies or grab onto a nearby ledge.
Good for
Wario is good at scrapping it out in brawls. All of his ground attacks deal considerable damage and despite his heavyweight classification, he is surprisingly light on his toes. As a result, there are plenty of opportunities for aerial KO’s.
Weak at
Wario is another character who lacks any form of projectile ability, while his smash attacks lack range and have a very long windup.
Snake
How to play
Snake comes equipped with a deadly arsenal of ranged weapons that you can use to chunk enemy health and send them spiralling off the stage. Use the Remote Missile to stop your opponent from recovering and bait them into taking a blast from his C4.
Good for
Hideo Kojima’s super soldier uses his various explosives to hamper enemy movements and force them into battles they can’t possibly win.
Weak at
Snake’s projectiles can be easily intercepted by other ranged attacks and can be nullified by simply blocking or dodging. Snake Cypher is also one of the easiest recoveries to punish due to its familiar upwards flight path.
Ike
How to play
Playing Ike requires a good read on your opponent. His side smash attack is extremely powerful, but the long windup leaves him vulnerable to counters. Use the huge range on his sword to camp edges and deal colossal amounts of knockback damage.
Good for
Ike is good at dishing out massive amounts of damage in just a few hits. His KO potential is fantastic thanks to his strong tilts and game-winning smash attacks.
Weak at
Ike’s biggest weakness is his attack speed – in fact, Quick Draw is his only fast attack. As a result, mobile enemies who rely on their speedy neutrals can take advantage of his long windup animations, often forcing him out of the fight altogether.
Pokemon Trainer
How to play
Switch between Squirtle, Ivysaur and Charizard to constantly mix up your tactics and play mind-games with your foe. Use Squirtle's speed and aerial moves to juggle your opponent, then switch to Charizard to deal the final blow with his deadly side smash.
Good for
Pokemon Trainer is great at changing the flow of any battle thanks to each Pokemon’s unique playstyle. If you want a character that can deliver both speed, range, and heavy hitting attacks, then give this character a go.
Weak at
Pokemon Trainer’s main disadvantage is that each Pokemon suffers from an elemental weakness. For example, Ivysaur takes significantly more damage against foes with fire-based attacks.
Diddy Kong
How to play
Control the stage by using your Peanut Pop Gun to chip away at your opponent’s health and keep trip them up with a well-placed Banana Peel. Use Diddy’s excellent agility to run rings around slower targets and finish them off with a lethal smash attack.
Good for
Diddy Kong has a strong neutral game and can effortlessly combo into his smash attacks, granting him fantastic finishers. He excels at stage control and his decent range, damage and zoning potential make him incredibly frustrating to play against.
Weak at
Rocketbarrel Boost may seem like a great recovery tool, but its predictable flight path makes it easy to punish, while many of his specials leave him susceptible to counter combos.
Lucas
How to play
Lucas shares a similar moveset to Ness and his playstyle is pretty much the same. You want to focus on using PK Fire and PK Freeze to lockdown foes, then deliver an up grab or up tilt to send them flying into the air.
Good for
Lucas’ is great at keeping his opponent off the stage thanks to a strong combination of throws and aerial mobility.
Weak at
Lucas’ main weakness is also his poor recovery. PK Thunder does have the ability to launch Lucas to safety, but it can be interrupted by other attacks and character models.
Sonic
How to play
Sonic uses his superior speed to rush down his foes, delivering lightning fast attacks that can quickly rack up damage. Use Spin Dash to initiate the fight and link in other attacks to surprise your opponent and avoid taking hits.
Good for
Sega’s speedy blue hedgehog is great at dashing in and out of combat and can run rings around the game’s heavier characters.
Weak at
Sonic has trouble against projectile spam has very little counters to ranged attacks. His recovery from Spring Jump is also very predictable, so be aware of enemy edgeguarding.
King DeDeDe
How to play
Make a statement with King Dedede’s heavy-hitting hammer. Inhale your opponent to pull them in and then deliver a devastating side smash to send them flying off-screen. Once you knock them off the stage, use Goro Throw to stop their recovery.
Good for
King Dedede is one of the few heavyweight characters that actually has a decent recovery thanks to his multiple mid air jumps and Super Dedede Jump. As a result, he can play extremely aggressively without having to worry about falling to his death as soon as he takes a single step off the stage.
Weak at
While Dedede may defy the usual heavyweight characteristics, he does still suffer from low mobility and sluggish moveset.
Olimar
How to play
Command a small army of Pikmin and throw them into the fray. These colourful critters will stick to your foe and even slam them, allowing you to deal indirect damage. Use Pikmin Pluck to ensure you have a constant supply of fresh recruits and change their orders when you want to shake things up.
Good for
Olimar has great utility as his kit grants him huge amounts of damage outside of the conventional neutral, tilt, aerial, and smash attacks. His loyal Pikmin give him plenty of opportunities to whittle his foe down before going in for the KO.
Weak at
Olimar’s slow air speed and low mobility make him highly susceptible to juggling, but it’s his reliance on his colourful companions that poses a real problem. Without his trusty Pikmin to do his bidding, Olimar can quickly become an easy target.
Lucario
How to play
Use Aura Sphere to poke from afar and make sure to land it on offstage opponents to stop any recoveries. When in close combat make sure you mix in Double Team to counter any predictable smash attacks.
Good for
Lucario is a huge damage dealer and its attacks get even stronger when it receives damage. This buff gives Lucario many KO options throughout all stages of the game, making his Aura Sphere and smash attacks all the more deadly.
Weak at
This Pokemon may have a strong combo game thanks to the added damage from Aura Sphere, but you only gain this additional damage when certain conditions have been met. This can make early to mid-game KOs rather difficult to pull off.
