Wolf (Super Smash Bros. Brawl)


 * This article is about Wolf's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. For other uses, see Wolf O'Donnell.

Wolf (, Urufu) is an unlockable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, who, along with Fox and Falco, originates from the Star Fox universe. Wolf's appearance in the game was witnessed several months before its release, via a leak in Japan, and he was confirmed officially on March 31st, 2008, distinguishing him as the final officially confirmed character. His Japanese voice actor is Mahito Oba, and his English voice actor is Jay Ward. Wolf's move set is partially derived from Fox and Falco's, however, while his special moves are similar to theirs, his standard attacks are unique. He is also significantly heavier than Fox and Falco.

Wolf is currently ranked 22nd on the current tier list, the last position of D tier.

Unlocking Wolf

 * Complete Boss Battles with Fox or Falco, then defeat Wolf in a challenger match.
 * Participate in 450 brawls, then defeat Wolf in a challenger match.
 * After completing the Subspace Emissary, enter a secret room in The Ruins, then defeat Wolf in a challenger match. This also results in Wolf joining your party.

Attributes
Of the three Star Fox characters present in Brawl, Wolf's characteristics as a fighter are the most individual. Wolf is by far the heaviest space animal, but ranks only three places above Mario in terms of weight. Despite possessing a larger body frame than Fox and Falco, Wolf leans down while standing and moving along the ground, and has the shortest stance of the three. His dash speed is slow, barely outpacing his walk, but he has the third fastest fall speed, and fourth fastest horizontal air speed. While these attributes provide him with good aerial mobility, Wolf is vulnerable to chain-grabbing, juggling and certain locks due to his rapid falling pace. It should also be noted that fast falling does not accelerate Wolf's fall by a considerable amount, which hinders his ability to vertical momentum cancel in comparison to characters with quicker fast falls, such as Captain Falcon.

Most of Wolf's standard attacks start quickly and have decent range, and he has a DACUS that propels him a considerable distance along the ground. Many attacks have the potential to KO, such as b-air, f-smash and d-smash. The speed and range of his attacks allow him to punish effectively on the ground as well as in the air, and their solid damage dealing properties can build opponents' damage quickly. However, since many of his standard moves are used for damage racking, they may suffer move decay and cause difficulties when Wolf needs to KO. Many of Wolf's moves also have poor shield stun effects, which allow opponents to shield grab him easily if they block his hits. His d-air is a strong, albeit slow meteor smash that can be used to gimp opponents who have predictable recoveries, such as Link.

Wolf's special moves are variants of Fox and Falco's, with different animations and properties. His neutral special, Blaster, is a gun that fires projectile lasers, and its firing rate is slower than that of its counterparts. However, its lasers deal significant hitstun, the most damage, and have the most vertical range, and it serves as a melee weapon, delivering extra damage to foes if it contacts them. Wolf's down special, Reflector, is a versatile move that deflects projectiles and grants him invincibility frames, which may be used to avoid attacks, and escape chain-grabs if his opponent makes an error. The reflector can also damage foes, and delivers set knockback in a diagonal downward direction, which can gimp opponents with poor vertical recoveries.

While Wolf's air speed and recovery moves allow him to travel a considerable distance in order to recover, these moves are easily predicted, and the ledge sweet spot of his up special is one of the smallest in the game. As such, he is easily gimped, and his recovery is susceptible to edge-hogging. This, in combination with his vulnerability to chain-grabbing, poses a problem, since some chain-grabs can force him offstage. Side special, Wolf Flash, sends Wolf diagonally across and upward in a fast 'flash', and is used to recover horizontally. It has the potential to meteor smash if sweet spotted, which may be useful for guard breaking. Wolf Flash also has unusual characteristics that may be utilised to help Wolf recover. Up special, Fire Wolf, is a move that propels Wolf in a direction of the players' choosing. It has the least start up lag in comparison to Fox and Falco's counterpart moves, drags opponents along with it, and delivers knockback at the end, but has a very small ledge sweet spot.

Overall, Wolf is a balanced character who may face problems when matched against opponents that can exploit his weaknesses, but has strengths that earn him the position of a viable tournament contender.

Normal
Neutral Attack: A natural combo of three hits; Wolf slashes with one arm, then the other, and bites on the third hit, delivering knockback. The three hits deal 3%, 2% and 4% consecutively for a total of 9% damage.

The first hit moves Wolf no distance and is a consecutive jab - it will repeat itself continuously if A is held down. The second hit moves Wolf forward a very short distance, and the first and second hits may be jab canceled and immediately followed by a second jab, a grab or another attack. The third hit moves Wolf forward an even greater distance than the second, and has above average knockback and hitstun for a neutral attack, but is almost never strong enough to kill.

All three hits have substantially large hitboxes, and the second and third are often guaranteed if the first hit connects. The knockback delivered by the third hit is useful for pushing opponents to a safe distance without the risk of punishment, and it can catch opponents off guard if deliberately delayed. However, Wolf's jab is still susceptible to shield grabbing, and must be used with caution in the face of opponents with a dangerous grab game. Neutral combo can be followed up with f-air, RAR b-air, DACUS and f-smash at low to mid percents, and a short hopped Blaster at higher percents.

Dash attack: Performs a back flip out of a run that deals 9% damage. The back flip halts the forward momentum of the dash, but can be used to execute a DACUS. Knockback is relatively weak, and the trajectory of the opponent depends upon the part of Wolf's body that contacts them. Dash attack has a very small horizontal range and significant ending lag, and is thus susceptible to grabs if shielded, punishment if a player fails to connect with it, and can be difficult to combo out of.

Forward tilt: Leans forward with both arms together and swipes, separating his claws on impact. Forward tilt can be angled up or downward, and a clean hit deals 11% damage. The attack has a very long reach and consists of two hits: an early, inner hitbox that deals 4%, and a later, outer hitbox that deals 7%. The inner hitbox produces a large number of freeze frames if it connects with an opponent, and will freeze both Wolf and the opponent for a short time before the outer hitbox appears and knocks them away at a low upwards angle. These freeze frames will affect Wolf if he hits an opponent's shield with the first hitbox, but not his opponent. It is possible to connect with only the outer hitbox, which delivers knockback and does not produce the freezing effect.

Forward tilt has good range and can be a useful follow up after connecting with aerial attacks such as b-air and Reflect. If it hits an opponent's shield and they drop it during the freeze frames produced by the middle hitbox, the outer hitbox will punish them. Spamming f-tilt may be risky, however, as experienced opponents may punish it with a shield grab. F-tilt can be followed up with Blaster, and can kill at very high percents.

Down tilt: Performs a fast low kick from a crouching position, dealing 6% damage. At low percents, it trips opponents, and at higher percents, it knocks opponents into the air, with a horizontal trajectory similar to that of Mr. Game & Watch's d-tilt, but weaker. Tripping an opponent with down tilt can be followed up with a DACUS, and down tilt can lock opponents against walls at damages up to about 50%, higher if performed into an overhanging wall structure. Down tilt can also be used to edgeguard, most notably on stages with sloping edges such as Yoshi's Island (SSBB).

Up tilt: Kicks upward in front of his body, dealing 10% damage. There is a sweetspot at the tip of Wolf's boot that can KO at high percents.

Smash

 * Forward smash: Wolf stretches his arms in front of his body and thrusts forward, then twists his claws. This attack starts quickly and often strikes opponents twice, but delivers below average knockback. Wolf's forward smash is the longest ranging forward smash in the game, and moves Wolf a forward a considerable distance, but has noticeable cool-down time. Deals 15% damage uncharged and 21% fully charged.
 * Up smash: Performs an upward scissor kick. Its animation is very similar to Sonic's Up Aerial, but is performed on the ground. This move hits twice: the first hit usually pushes the opponent into the second. Wolf's Up Smash can be used in a DACUS. It has a small sweetspot on his body that deals the same damage as the main hitbox on his legs, but is much more powerful and sends opponents on a horizontal trajectory instead. Landing this sweetspot is very difficult though and is mostly luck based as it is landed most of the time when the opponent does a rolling dodge past the first hitbox and into Wolf's body. It is also sometimes landed during a DACUS. It is also interesting to note that this sweetspot KOs even quicker than Wolf's down smash (though the d-smash does have slightly higher knockback scaling). The first and second hits deal 6% and 12% respectively, a total of 18% damage uncharged, and 8% and 17%, a total of 25%, fully charged.
 * Down smash: Swipes his claws on both sides of his body, first in front and then behind. This attack is fast and has little cool-down lag, and is considered Wolf's best ground finisher. It is often considered the best d-smash in the game on par with Meta Knight's due to its great speed plus good reach and great knockback for a d-smash. When compared to Meta Knight's d-smash, it has slightly less reach and slightly more start-up, but Wolf's has even less ending lag and the first swipe of Wolf's d-smash is slightly stronger than the back slice of Meta Knight's d-smash. It is also interesting to note that both down smashes have the same amount of frames in their durations. Uncharged, the first hit, at Wolf's front, deals 14% damage, and the second hit, at Wolf's back, deals 13%. Fully charged, the first hit deals 19% and the second hit 18%. Note that Wolf has the strongest down smash of the three Star Fox characters in Brawl, while Fox possesses the strongest up smash, and Falco the strongest forward smash.

Other attacks
Wolf shares all his floor and ledge recovery animations with Fox and Falco.
 * Ledge attack (under 100%): Wolf quickly slides his body onstage, kicking forth with both legs, then retreating. Deals 8% damage.
 * Ledge attack (over 100%): Slowly lifts himself using his arms, then flips onto the stage and kicks with one foot, dealing 10%.
 * Floor attack: Rises and kicks on one side of his body, then the other. 6% damage.
 * Trip attack: Rises and sweeps a foot around his body. 6% damage.

Aerial Attacks

 * Neutral aerial: Wolf curls up and flips several times. If the attack connects of the first hit, it will hit once and deliver knockback. Otherwise, it will hit several times and deliver small amounts of hitstun. Deals 8% damage and delivers knockback if the first hit connects, otherwise it deals 1% per hit.
 * Forward aerial: Slashes with his left arm. This attack delivers good vertical knockback, but has considerable landing lag. It has a similar animation to Mewtwo's fair from Melee, but has more generous range. Deals 11% damage.
 * Back aerial: Kicks outward behind his body. The kick is extremely fast, delivers decent knockback, and can be used in a RAR, in a b-air "wall", or to edgeguard. Deals 13% damage.
 * Up aerial: Swipes in an arc above his head. This move can be used to juggle, though is not particularly useful for Ko-ing until high percents. and deals 12% damage.
 * Down aerial: Strikes both arms downward as if wielding an axe. This aerial has considerable startup and finishing lag, but delivers a decent meteor smash that deals 15% damage.

Grabs & Throws
Wolf's grab range is relatively short; most of the cast's grabs out-range his. While Fox and Falco possess similar throw techniques and animations, Wolf's are unique, and, unlike theirs, none of his involve the use of his blaster.
 * Pummel: Hits his opponent with his right knee. Extremely fast compared with other pummels, but only the first pummel refreshes other moves. Deals 1% damage per pummel.
 * Forward throw: Uppercuts his opponent forward. This throw can be used to chaingrab some characters, such as Fox, by dashing forward in time, or simply followed up with a dash attack. Deals 7%.
 * Back throw: Throws the opponent upward and claws them behind himself. The opponent's trajectory is diagonal and upward. Deals 7%.
 * Up throw: Throws the opponent up and slashes them with both claws. The knockback is usually too strong for Wolf to follow up from. Deals 7%.
 * Down throw: Throws the opponent on the ground, does a small jump and claws them. Considered Wolf's best throw, it sends the opponent diagonally downward, causing them to slide along the ground and off any nearby edges. It has semi-spike properties, and can be used as a DACUS setup. Deals 12%.

Taunts
Up: Leans his head back and howls.

Down: Kneels down, slaps one hand on the ground and snarls.

Side: Does three kicks whilst spinning on one foot, and says "What's the matter, scared?"

Smash Taunt: On the Lylat Cruise stage, Wolf can summon various Star Fox Conversations if the player presses his or her Down Taunt button for one frame.

Other features
Wiimote selection sound: Wolf says "Playtime's over." in a mocking voice.

On-screen appearance: Wolf ejects from a passing Wolfen.

Cheer: Crowd yells "Wolf!" repeatedly, as if howling.

Role in Subspace Emissary
Wolf does not play a major role, or influence the story of the Subspace Emissary, and is not even seen interacting with any other characters, but may join the player's party after Tabuu has been defeated. To encounter Wolf, the player must enter a particular Red Door in The Ruins stage, which will take them to Lylat Cruise after a brief cut-scene. In the cut-scene, Wolf is seen flying his Wolfen, jumping out, and landing on the cruise ship. Wolf strikes a pose, then rushes forward to attack. Although he is the only character present in the cut-scene, he appears to stare at his challenger. The player must then defeat him in a one-life stock battle, and if they win the match, Wolf joins the party. This will also unlock him if he has not yet been unlocked.

Trophy
Wolf's trophy is obtained by clearing Classic Mode as Wolf.

Description
''A pilot whose real name is Wolf O'Donnell. He leads a group of mercenaries called Star Wolf. He's crossed paths with Fox many times, and each acknowledges the other as a competent rival. Wolf's constant interference with Fox is a result of Wolf's history with Fox's dad, James. Wolf's long history of criminal enterprise as resulted in a large bounty on his head.''

Trivia

 * Wolf's attributes in Star Fox Assault multiplayer differ from Brawl. For example, he is actually the fastest character in the game, but does have a poor use in the Landmaster.
 * Wolf appears to run and walk with a slight limp, although it may merely be a self-styled fighting approach.
 * Wolf is the only one of the last three unlockable characters in Brawl not to appear in the Event Match: Visitors to Flat Zone. Instead, Peach takes his place.
 * Although considered by most people to be the last unlockable character, due to high difficulty in all three situations which lead toward unlocking him, he is not required to be unlocked last. This is also similar is unlocking Jigglypuff in Melee, as Jigglypuff wasn't required to be unlocked first.
 * Despite the fact that some tail-based stickers are applicable only to him, Wolf has no tail-based attacks, rendering these stickers useless if applied.