Only 1 In 100 Gamers Can Name All The Characters From Super Smash Bros.
- by Brandon_Z
- – on
- in The Geek Corner
The Super Smash Bros. series has been one of the premiere Nintendo franchises since it first premiered on the Nintendo 64 in 1999. Since then, it's become a showcase for everything the video game company has to offer. Characters from across all their different franchises have appeared in the series, giving fans the chance to play as many of their favorite characters and beat up on their friends. The stages, items, and collectables within the game also come from all across Nintendo, allowing Nintendo to reference its seemingly bottomless well of concepts and characters.
With the twentieth anniversary of the series coming next year and the upcoming release of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate later this year, it's a good time to look back at all the various characters who have been playable in these games over the years. While some of them have been among the biggest stars for the company, others have been lesser known with cult followings. Some of them are even among the most impressive deep cuts the franchise could make, with even massive Nintendo fans not knowing where some of these characters come from. Can you name all these characters who have (and will) appear in Super Smash Bros?
Who is this giant ape?
This giant ape character was first introduced in the arcade game that shared his name. As the years have gone on, the character has been defined by his abundant strength. He’s been a major player in Nintendo since the beginning, and has even become friendly with his former enemy/captor, Mario. He has a series of his own side scrolling platforms, that feature him and one of his ape allies teaming up to fight hordes of pirates and thieves on their island.
Who is this futuristic racer?
This character hails from the F-Zero series. One of the more underrated Nintendo properties, it’s a futuristic racing game that puts things like pod racing to shame. This character has gotten the most focus from anyone in the franchise, becoming a mainstay in Super Smash Bros. and even becoming something of a meme with one of his signature devastating moves. This character is also prone to just straight up screaming the names of his attacks as he throws them at people.
Who is this little boy?
This character first appeared in EarthBound, the sequel to the offbeat Super Nintendo RPG Mother. A young boy gifted with incredibly powerful psychic gifts, he set out with his friends to stop an evil alien influence from spreading further throughout the world. He also used an array of toys as tools, including a baseball bat and a yo-yo. While his series was a minor critical success, it failed to get much attention in the west until this character appeared as an unlockable fighter in the first Super Smash Bros.
Who is this bounty hunter?
This character showed up on the original Nintendo Entertainment System, and immediately made an impression. This space faring bounty hunter used her advanced robotic suit to take down pirates across the galaxy and just generally beat down on monsters. And at the end of the first game, it was revealed she was actually a woman, becoming one of the first female playable character in videogame history. She’s remained a critical favorite of Nintendo, with most of her games being highly regarded in the industry.
Who is this boxer?
First introduced in Punch-Out! for the original Nintendo Entertainment System, this character was a tiny but determined boxer. During his game series, he’s gone through the entire league of cartoonish boxers to become the champion of the world. He didn’t appear in the Super Smash Bros. series until the fourth game in the series, Super Smash Bros. Wii U. He’s a fast little bruiser, never trading out of his boxing gloves even fighting magic users and actual literal monsters. Not bad for a guy from New York.
Who is this Pokémon?
This Pokémon first appeared in the initial Super Smash Bros. This Pokémon is a cute, little pink monster that specializes in singing. Its voice can put characters to sleep if they hear it, in both the original Pokémon games and Super Smash Bros. Alongside Pikachu, she’s proven to be one of the most consistent Pokémon in the Super Smash Bros. series. The character can inflate to rise up in the air, and has proven to be a surprisingly powerful character in the fighting series.
Who is this angel leader?
This angelic character is the major force of good within the Kid Icarus videogame series. This character serves as the leader of the angelic force that fellow Smash Bros. character Pit fights for. This green haired goddess. She uses her magical abilities to empower Pit and his allies with the powers they needed to deal with the demonic forces that attacked their world. She’s one of the most powerful figures in her world, first appearing in Super Smash Bros. Wii U.
Who is this warrior?
This Fire Emblem character was introduced in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Unlike many of the other characters who came from Fire Embalm and brought their dueling skills into the fighting game series, Ike instead brings an absolutely massive sword to the brawl. He has some of the strongest attacks in Super Smash Bros., but lacks any real range. He first appeared in the Gamecube game Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, and stood out more as a brawler warrior than the more refined looks of characters like Marth and Roy.
Who is this flying swordsman?
This strange character first appeared in the Kirby franchise, almost as a counterpoint to the carefree Kirby. Due to his unknown intentions, he has served as both an ally and an enemy of Kirby over the years. Wielding a blade with some seriously shocking speed and a cape that can transform into a set of wings, he became notorious when he first appeared in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. The character was considered OP by some players during the height of Brawl, but that idea has tempered since.
Who is this villain?
This dragon turtle monster is the primary villain of the Super Mario series of games. This tyrannical king uses armies of Goombas and Koopa Troopers to attack the Mushroom Kingdom. He’s kidnapped Princess Peach constantly over the years, usually in an attempt to marry her. This character does get over his hatred for Mario every once in a while though, and spends plenty of time hanging out with Mario and his friends whenever they go go-karting or start playing tennis.
Who is this Fire Emblem character?
This duelist was the playable character in Fire Emblem Fates. Although they could be renamed whatever the player wanted to name them. They are known in the Super Smash Bros. series by a specific name, like Link. This character can also be played as either a man or a woman, making them unique among the various characters in the game. This duelist was originally just a DLC character in Super Smash Bros. Wii U, but will be featured from the start of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Who is this Princess?
This Princess has a surprisingly complicated history. She was first introduced in super Mario Land as a new Princess in a new setting who needed the help of Mario to escape the clutches of the evil alien Tatanga. This is one of her only appearances in the main Super Mario Bros. line of games, but she’s become a constant presence in the assorted Mario sports and party games. She’s often hinted to be in a romantic relationship with Luigi, the younger of the Mario brothers. The upcoming Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will be her first appearance in the series.
Who is this little boy?
Like his friends from EarthBound, this character is gifted with psychic abilities. He’s also a bit of a scardey cat, often running as fast as he can from his fears. But, as he proves in his own game and in the Super Smash Bros. Brawl storyline mode (seriously one of these games had a storyline mode and it is all kinds of bonkers), he always comes through in the end. While he was absent from Super Smash Bros. Wii U initially, he returned as DLC and will be in the next game.
Who is this duck and this dog?
This is the name for one of the newest Super Smash Bros. characters. Introduced in Super Smash Bros. Wii U, these two former enemies work together to fight amongst the various Nintendo characters. The two of them come from one of the oldest Nintendo games of all, which shares its name with this combo character. The fact that the two of them are willing to work together is just so cute, and we love that they’ll be in the next game too.
Who is this pilot?
This ace space craft pilot first appeared alongside his squadron commander Fox in Star Fox. This character is a cocky fighter pilot. His temper can get the better of him, but he always comes around to help save the day whenever the team needs to complete a mission. This even includes his time away from the team, when he returned to help save the day. This character has the same move set as Fox, but a bit slower with more stopping power.
Who is this evil king?
This character is the primary villain of the Legend of Zelda series of videogames. Thanks to his possession of the Triforce piece of Power, this bad guy has been able to reincarnate throughout time and space to always come back and threaten the land of Hyrule. But always standing in his way will be Link and Princess Zelda. He sometimes reverts into a powerful pig golem form, which is massive and can bring down almost anyone in a one on one fight.
Who is this spy?
This character is one of the few playable characters in Super Smash Bros. who wasn’t created in a Nintendo series. Instead, this super spy character is the star of the stealth/action series Metal Gear Solid. The series actually had its first few games (back when it was just Metal Gear) on the original Nintendo Entertainment System before defecting to Sony and the Playstation. This soldier is adept in almost all forms of fighting, and brings a distinctly real arsenal into the usually colorful battles of Super Smash Bros.
Who is this Pokémon?
One of the newer generation of Pokémon, this character is a ninja frog. It’s a water type fighting monster. It uses its massive frog tongue as a red scarf, giving it a more distinct ninja appearance. It has the ability to create shuriken made of water that it can use as dangerous weapons in battles. This Pokémon was elected as the most popular current Pokémon in a 2016 poll in Japan. It was introduced in Super Smash Bros. Wii U.
Who are these siblings?
When you choose this character, you’re actually two different people for the price of one. These two are brother and sister, and from the game that shares their name. Their whole mission was to climb to the top of the mountain, avoiding polar bears and falling icicles along the way. They mixed physical attacks with hammers and ice moves in the game. While they were absent from Super Smash Bros. Wii U, they will be returning for the brand new Super Smash Bros Ultimate.
Who is this king?
This character is the main ruler of Dream Land, the world that Kirby calls home. This giant penguin king runs into battle with a massive hammer that he can use to straight-up slam through buildings. While he’s usually the villain in the Kirby games, he has proven to be a surprisingly nice in other games. He even teams up with Kirby in the main games, alongside some of the fun minigames. Introduced in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, this bruiser can call upon his loyal subjects to bring down the pain as his Final Smash.
Who is this star of Fire Emblem?
This character was first introduced in Super Smash Bros. Melee. Literally! He first appeared in the Smash series before premiering in his own series proper, with the fighting game releasing four months before the Fire Emblem game starring him hit shelves. This young and heroic swordsman has fiery slashes that do incredible amounts of damage to his targets, and makes a good counterpoint to his fellow Fire Emblem characters. While he didn’t appear in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, he will be returning for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Who is this squid/human hybrid?
This character is one of the newest Nintendo mascots, with her first game (Splatoon) premiering on the Wii U. This futuristic squid/human hybrid uses brightly colored ink as her primary weapon in battle, essentially running around with a super soaker full of paint to hurt her opponents instead of using mystical blades or her fists. This will be her first appearance in the fighting game series, and she was the first new character revealed to appear in this version of the game.
Who is this bad guy?
This portly character is something of a rival to the Nintendo main franchise hero Mario. He’s the slovenly jerk to Mario’s quiet hero. While he’s been a villain in the past, he’s also proven to be a fairly popular (and incredibly greedy) protagonist in his own right over the years. He’s gotten his own series of platforming games, mini-game collections, and treasure hunting adventures. He appears alongside his best friend and rival to Luigi, Waluigi, in many of the Nintendo party/sport games.
Who is this space dragon?
This monstrous character has become one of the most recurring villains in the Metroid series of games. This space dragon is the leader of a band of marauding pirates that travel the galaxy and capture/steal anything they can get their hands on. This character has gone through a number of changes and appeared in various iterations over the years. He’s even being turned into a cyborg more than once to deal with the injuries he’s received from his battles with Samus Aran.
Who is this Pokémon?
This Pokémon was one of the three first starter options for people who played the original Pokémon. This water starter had two other evolutions it could go through, but this is the most iconic version of the character. While it was a limited character in previous Super Smash Bros. games, it’s gone on to become its own fighter in the series. This little blue turtle has a wide array of water based attacks, and has some of the best maneuverability of any character.
Who is this Final Fantasy hero?
This character didn’t first appear in a Nintendo game. First appearing in the Square Enix smash Playstation hit Final Fantasy 7, this character has become one of the most iconic characters in video game history. Wielding an almost comically massive blade, this character also melds magic abilities with his sword fighting prowess to become one of the most powerful people in his universe of games. He was a DLC character for Super Smash Bros. Wii U, and will return for the next entry in the series.
Who is this ninja?
An alternate personality of Princess Zelda, this character proves to be an incredibly skilled warrior. Zelda initially used this persona as an alternate identity to avoid the attention and machinations of Ganondorf during his rise to power in Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. It’s remained a useful disguise for the Princess ever since, letting her trade out her powerful magical abilities for some slick ninja-esque abilities to become a physical threat in battles too when magic just isn’t enough.
Who is this Princess?
This space faring magical princess serves as one of the most powerful characters within the Super Mario series. This character first appeared in Super Mario Galaxy as the big good of space, who decided to help Mario save the universe (and Princess Peach) from the clutches of Bowser. She comes to battle alongside her magical assistant the Lumas, her magical assistant who comes out to assist her and others when they go into their battles against the forces of evil all around the universe.
Who is this classic character?
Technically one of the very first Nintendo characters, this simple black and white character was the star of simple handheld games that share his name. He first appeared as a secret character in Super Smash Bros. Melee, moving on a 2D plane even while dealing with fully three-dimensional monsters. He’s one of the most random characters, with one of his most powerful moves dropping random amounts of damage and effect when he manages to land his little hammers against someone.
Who is this robotic character?
This character has one of the strangest histories of any Nintendo character, actually existing in the real world before ever actually showing up in a video game. First released in Japan in 1985 as a gaming accessory. Allowing gamers to interact with a physical thing while they tried to solve specific puzzle games – well, two games. His eventual appearance in the Super Smash Bros. series came as a huge surprise, because this robotic helper is considered a deep cut even by hardcore Nintendo fans.
Who is this astronaut?
This character accidently landed on an alien planet while trying to explore the galaxy. Landing on a world that was seemingly never before discovered, this little astronaut set about repairing his ship before he could be brought down by the world. This included recruiting some ingenious species of the world, specifically the color coded Pikmin, to help him put together the means to his escape. He brings the Pikmin with him when he goes head to head in Super Smash Bros. games.
Who is this young hero?
There are many different versions of this character who have appeared throughout the years, with the various incarnations showing up in different places and times. This particular version was first introduced in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, and had to transverse the seemingly endless ocean of his world to try and stop the machinations of Ganondorf from coming to fruition. He has a baton that lets him control the winds, and a talking boat because his game is amazing. He is usually referred to by the style of his design.
Who is this cowardly character?
The lesser known of the Mario Brothers. But that doesn’t make him any less entertaining. While his brother might be more action centric and heroic, this character is often crippled by his cowardice and his terrible luck. But that doesn’t mean he’s given up in his fights, even saving his brother from a collection of ghosts at one point. He’s been in every Super Smash Bros. game thus far, and is slated to appear in the next one as well.
Who is this soldier?
This character was the first Fire Emblem character to appear in the Super Smash Bros. series of games, first appearing in Super Smash Bros. Melee. A swordsman who used more precise attacks than other warriors like Link or Ike, this character makes up for his lack of range with some slick counter maneuvers and powerful strikes. His presence in the series helped bolster the appeal of his own series, and was a major part in bringing it to western culture.
Who is this fighter?
First introduced in Xenoblade Chronicles, this character is the methodical protagonist to his series. One of the only survivors of a mission to try and recover the mysterious Monado. After gaining control of it, he gains a variety of abilities and styles. He eventually becomes the wielder of the of the weapon when his home Colony 9 is attacked. This character was first introduced in the fourth incarnation of the Super Smash Bros. franchise and will be returning for the fifth entry of the series.