Nintendo lovers are all about the Super Smash Bros. Series. The famous Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, the latest release in the series, invites players back to fight with new characters and levels while still staying true to the game. This fighting game is a crossover that allows players to brawl with their favorite Nintendo characters.
They can unlock new characters and use new powers while either playing alone or with friends. It's a blast overall. There are a lot of characters in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. However, there are some fighters that pale in comparison to others.
Updated September 26, by Gerardo Molina: When Nintendo designs its characters for this game, it's unlikely that they plan on making some of them weak, clunky, or bad. In many cases, it's time and players' skills that raise some characters from the roster to crown them as the best, while classifying others in the bottom tier. While it would be unfair to say that certain characters are bad all-around, it's undeniable that a few of them perform worse than others when faced with most obstacles, either due to their size, speed, or even reach.
Sure, with enough practice, arguably any character from the roster can be turned into a killing machine, but there's a lot of grinding involved. More often than not, it's just easier to pick a character that feels good to play with from the beginning.
22 Jigglypuff
Lightweight And Thus Easier To K.O.
- Originally appeared in Pokemon Red and Blue
- Major Weaknesses: Easy to K.O., poor ground performance
While Jigglypuff is very cute, it's also quite lightweight, and it doesn't have the best defense, which makes it very prone to not only being knocked around rather easily, but also K.O.'d faster than others in the game's roster. When playing against more experienced players who know how to pressure their opponents and give them no breathing room, Jigglypuff represents a considerable disadvantage.
One of the few positive things that can be said about this character is that it has outstanding air mobility, allowing players to recover and return to the fighting arena without requiring advanced skills.
21 Ridley
Too Large And Slow
- Originally Appeared In EarthBound
- Major Weaknesses: Inferior to his counterpart, Lucas
One of the main disadvantages Ridley has is its size. With such gargantuan proportions, this character has a larger-than-normal hitbox, which makes it easier for other players to land hits. While Ridley's weight class is quite solid and can't get knocked around too much, it's still vulnerable to quick combos. Ridley also has one of the most predictable recovery moves and, unlike Jigglypuff and other lighter characters, he has a harder time returning to the battle arena.
All in all, while Ridley's bulky physique grants him more survivability in terms of not getting knocked around with every hit, his massive size makes him an easy target.
20 Byleth
Not Even Close To Being One Of The Best Swordfighters In The Game
- Originally Appeared In Fire Emblem: Three Houses
- Major Weaknesses: Boring and uninspired moveset
It might be easy to add Byleth to a list of the worst Smash characters given how many players hated their announcement as a playable character in Ultimate. The game is already plagued with swordfighters, and adding another one to the mix didn't exactly seem like the smartest move around.
It didn't help that Byleth's moveset is both painfully unmemorable and quite ineffective as well. There are way better swordfighters that players can opt for in the game instead, making Byleth a somewhat pointless addition to the Smash meta.
19 Sora
Too Floaty And Sometimes Hard To Control Because Of This
- Originally Appeared In Kingdom Hearts
- Major Weaknesses: Floaty movement, isn't really all that strong in any department
Kingdom Hearts getting its representation in Super Smash Bros. Was definitely a big moment for both series. However, there's no denying that Sora himself is a pretty average character who doesn't really excel at anything.
It doesn't help that controlling him isn't that great since the character feels pretty floaty in combat as well. All of this combines to make for a boring character who is frustrating to both control and fight against.
18 Pyra/Mythra
Bad Recovery Moves
- Originally Appeared In Xenoblade Chronicles 2
- Major Weaknesses: Abysmal recovery that overshadows all her good qualities
Xenoblade Chronicles is the flagship JRPG franchise on Nintendo consoles that has churned out hit after hit. The second game in the series had more of a mixed reception but still features some memorable characters, including the character of Mythra and her alternate personality, Pyra.
While these characters aren't the worst to control, their recovery is downright abysmal. A single well-placed hit that sends this character flying will definitely lead to an inexperienced player losing a valuable life.
17 Ness
It's Always Better To Choose Lucas
- Originally Appeared In EarthBound
- Major Weaknesses: Inferior to his counterpart, Lucas
Lucas and Ness might seem like echo fighters, but this couldn't be further from the truth. Sure, their moves might have the same names, but there are more than enough changes between both characters and how their moves work.
In general, Lucas is considered to be the stronger zoner and the better option to take of the two. As a result, Ness ends up being largely unpicked in most battles despite being pretty fast.
16 Min Min
Terrible At Close-range After Being Nerfed
- Originally Appeared In ARMS
- Major Weaknesses: Has become a poor close-range fighter after being nerfed
There was a time when Min Min was one of the most feared characters to battle against in Smash. However, a bunch of nerfs have been rolled out since then that have reduced Min Min's effectiveness as a fighter.
As a result, Min Min has now become a pretty unremarkable character who is nowhere near as good in close-quarters combat as she used to be. As a result, she has become a largely forgotten fighter in the massive roster of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
15 King K. Rool
Telegraphed Attacks And Slow Speed Overall
- Originally Appeared In Donkey Kong Country
- Major Weaknesses: Large size, slow attack/charge speed, telegraphed attacks
King K. Rool made waves when he was first announced back in 2018 alongside several other characters (partly because of Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong's eyes in the trailer). However, when players aren't able to string together his powerful moves, he can be easily overwhelmed by some of the other worst Super Smash Bros. Ultimate characters coming up.
King K. Rool's main weakness is his size and speed. His most powerful attacks take a long time to charge up, and most of his other attacks are very well-telegraphed so opponents know exactly what's coming. Add that to his large model size and slow movement speed and it becomes unlikely that this canonical version of King K. Rool would stand a chance against D.K.
14 The Three Mii Variants
A Fun Addition To The Game, But Underwhelming Compared To Other Characters
- Originally Appeared In Super Smash Bros 4
- Major Weaknesses: Unoriginality, lack of power compared to stronger counterparts
The Mii fighters of Ultimate are neat because they let players battle it out as whichever Miis they have saved to their Switch, including customized Miis resembling characters from franchises not yet fully represented in the series like Skyrim's Dragonborn or Undertale's Sans.
The main flaw of the Mii Swordfighter, Brawler, and Gunner is their lack of originality and their lack of power compared to normal characters. They all take inspiration from other Ultimate characters in some way, and aside from the custom look of each Mii, there's not much going for these characters that their inspirations don't do better.
13 Banjo and Kazooie
Large Hitbox Makes It Easy To Hit Them
- Originally Appeared In Banjo-Kazooie
- Major Weaknesses: Heavy character, low range, awful air recovery
Banjo and Kazooie were one of the most surprising announcements for characters added to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and fans of the series hoped that the seminal gaming icons would be well represented in the game. Unfortunately, they ended up being pretty sub-par.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: 18 Easy To Play Characters That Are Perfect For Beginners
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's huge roster can overwhelm newcomers to Nintendo's fighting franchise; luckily, some characters are made for beginners.
They have a larger hitbox than many characters in the game, making them an easy target. Additionally, some of Banjo and Kazooie's moves are hard to use effectively, such as their air recovery. They aren't first picked by most professional players, but players who have dedicated themselves to the duo have proven they aren't as bad as some make them out to be.