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 a hidden character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Wolf was confirmed in the months leading up to the release via a Japanese leak of the game. He appears to be somewhat similar to Fox and Falco, although he differs from them in several ways. He's considered the "heavy" of the three, being stronger, taller, and slower (although his attacks are actually fast). His normal attacks are unique whereas his special attacks are similar to Fox's, but very different in function.

Wolf was officially confirmed on March 31st, 2008, earning distinction as the last character to be officially confirmed. His Japanese voice actor is Mahito Oba and his English voice actor is Jay Ward. Wolf can be unlocked with one of the three following ways: After beating Adventure Mode, go back to "The Ruins", skip the first door you pass when riding the second elevator down (with the purple spikes). Instead enter the second door at the bottom and defeat him. You can also face Wolf after playing 450 brawls or defeating Boss Battles with Fox or Falco.

Wolf is ranked 22nd on the current tier list due to well rounded attacks and a great reflector, but having very poor accuracy in recovery and being a good candidate for chain grabs (but his reflector helps a bit) bars him from the higher tiers.

Attributes
Of the three Star Fox universe characters, Wolf feels the most unique. For one, although his body is larger than either Fox or Falco, he crouches down in a stationary position making him the shortest of the three space animals while he is on the ground. His fighting style is very fluid, mixing his claws and his legs into a rather graceful string of attacks. He is somewhat weighted (mid-heavy and the third-fastest faller), and his orientation is more of a terrestrial fighter. His attacks come out quickly and have high priority, and he can string them together into a long chain of slashes and lunges. His Blaster is slower but stronger than the others, stuns opponents and is a melee attack up close, dealing additional damage. His Wolf Flash moves slightly diagonally which meteor smashes at the end of the attack (the top point of the jump), which is useful for edge guarding and as an anti air attack. Fire Wolf has the least start up lag of the three space animals, carries the opponent with him, and has good knockback at the end. Wolf also has solid K.O. potential with most of his attacks, particularly his down smash, up smash, forward smash (at mid to high percents), f-air, and b-air, all of which come out quickly and have little lag. His d-air is also an excellent Meteor Smash. Wolf also possesses a reflector (down special), which has many uses. First off, it reflects projectiles (obviously) at double the speed and power. It comes out in 1 frame and can be held for as long as the player wishes. If held, it acts like a normal shield (besides protecting from attacks) in which it may break after constantly reflecting projectiles, although it will not break if simply held that can also be used for gimping. It also grants Wolf invincibility frames that allow him to avoid some attacks quickly or escape from chain grabs. The reflector may also damage anyone for 3% with set knockback.

Wolf is well-rounded, but a few problems are apparent: his recovery is one of the worst in the game (not one of the shortest in both horizontal and vertical but he has one of the smallest edge sweetspots in the game, and Fire Wolf/Wolf Flash have unusual properties, such as no momentum after the move ends), and his high falling speed and average jump do not make things any better (but Wolf has a very fast lateral air speed). Also, his dashing speed is surprisingly slow (only a little faster than his walking speed, although this can be made up by just staying in the air, as Wolf has good air speed and on the ground he has both a long smash-boost and a forward smash to move quickly). His K.O. potential is decent, though unusually low for a heavy character as a result of the quick decay on his K.O. attacks. It should also be noted that Wolf is highly susceptible to chain-throwing because of his falling speed and being mid-heavy (though his reflector can escape if not perfectly timed, since invincibility starts on frame 1), but his weight does make him rather difficult to K.O compared to his two other semi-clones.

What hurts is King Dedede chain grabbing Wolf until in the edge easily gimp Wolf's recovery. Having a such hard counter with a such common character in tournaments is a real problem.

Normal

 * Neutral Attack- Slashes with his claws the first two hits, then bites on the third hit, which has knockback. 9% damage if all 3 hits connect.
 * Dash attack- Does a gainer(Running back flip). Can DACUS Causes 9% damage (Note: This is one of the few dash attacks that negates players' inertia).
 * Forward Tilt- Double claw swipe. If connected properly, beginning has a stall animation and then pulls the claws apart. Can be aimed up or down. Causes 11% damage dispersed in two hits.
 * Down Tilt- Low right kick. Causes 6% damage.
 * Up Tilt- Quick right kick. Can KO. Deals 10% damage.

Smash

 * Forward Smash- Thrusts his arm forward, then quickly rotates his claws 180°. It has superb range, speed and strikes the opponent two times. Below average knockback. Gives a great distance with fast start-up Does 15% damage uncharged 21% damage fully charged.
 * Up Smash- Upward scissor kick. Looks like Sonic's Up Aerial. Hits the opponent twice and causes 18% damage uncharged and 25% damage fully charged. It can also be used as an DACUS.
 * Down Smash- Swipes claws on both sides. This move is one of Wolf's good finishers. Does 14% damage if the opponent is in front of Wolf and 13% if the opponent is behind Wolf. Fully charged it deals 19% damage in front 18% damage behind. It's the strongest down smash out of all 3 Star Fox characters, similar to how Fox has the strongest up smash of the three and Falco has the strongest forward smash of the three.

Aerial Attacks

 * Neutral Aerial- Spinning tail whip. If it hits right after the attack starts, it will deal 8% damage and knock them back. Otherwise it will constantly deal 1% damage.
 * Forward Aerial- Left claw swipe. Deals 11% damage and has good vertical knockback.
 * Back Aerial- Back kick. Extremely fast and good knockback, works well with RAR. Does 13% damage.
 * Up Aerial- Claw swipe from top to sides. Deals 12% damage. great for juggling.
 * Down Aerial- Double axe handle. A good meteor smashing move that causes 15% damage.

Grabs and Throws
Unlike Fox or Falco, none of his throws involve him using his Blaster.
 * Pummel- Right knee. Deals 1%, but is extremely quick. However only the first pummel refreshes other moves.
 * Forward Throw- Uppercuts the opponent forward. Can be used to chaingrab characters like Fox. 7%
 * Back Throw- Throws the opponent up and claws them backward. Knockback slightly vertical. 7%
 * Up Throw- Throws the opponent up and slashes them with both claws. 7%
 * Down Throw- Throws the opponent on the ground and claws them. Has Semi-spike properties. Good to set up a DACUS 12%

Taunts
Up: Leans backwards and howls.

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

Side: Does three kicks while saying, "What's the matter, scared?" in a taunting manner.

Smash Taunt: In Lylat Cruise, Wolf can do various Star Fox Conversations by pressing down on the Control Pad in one frame.

Role in Subspace Emissary
In the Subspace Emissary, Wolf doesn't play a major role and does not interact with other video game characters, but can join the player's party after beating Tabuu. The player must enter a special Red Door in The Ruins stage, which will take them to Lylat Cruise. The player sees Wolf flying his Wolfen. He then jumps off the Wolfen, and lands on the cruise. Wolf strikes a pose and then rushes at the player attacking him or her. The player must then defeat Wolf in a one-life stock battle. After defeat, he joins the party. (Although Wolf is never in a cutscene that shows both him and another character, he does seem to stare at the person who challenges him.)

Unlocking
There are 3 ways to unlock Wolf and they are:
 * Play 450 Brawls.
 * Clear Boss Battles as Fox or Falco.
 * Find a secret door in "The Ruins" in The Subspace Emissary

Costume Gallery

 * Wolf's eyepatch and armor are different colors for each costume.

Cheer

 * "Wolf! (wolf imitation) Wolf!"

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.
 * Out of all three Star Fox characters, Wolf is considered the heaviest, however, he ranks last in the heavyweight weight class. This is similar to the Pokemon characters in Melee, in which Mewtwo was the heaviest of the four characters but was still a lightweight character.
 * Wolf is the only one of the last 3 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 his fairly high difficulty in all three situations which lead toward unlocking him), he is not required to be unlocked last, because after completing Adventure Mode one can complete Boss Battles with Fox or Falco, or find the hidden door in The Ruins before finding the hidden doors in The Swamp or The Lake, which lead to Toon Link and Jigglypuff, or completing Classic and/or and event. This is also similar is unlocking Jigglypuff in Melee, as Jigglypuff wasn't required to be unlocked first.