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.

Attributes
Of the three Star Fox universe characters, Wolf feels the least similar. His fighting style is very fluid, mixing his claws and his legs into a rather graceful string of attacks. He is very weighted (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 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. Fire Wolf has little start up lag and has good knockback at the end. Wolf also has solid killing power 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, which has many uses. First off, it reflects projectiles (obviously) at double the speed. It comes out in 1 frame and can be held indefinitely. 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. It also grants Wolf invincibility frames that allow him to avoid Final Smashes and other attacks if activated at the right time. The reflector may also damage anyone for 3% with set knockback. It should also be noted that his down smash is the best of the Space animal, being strongest and quickest.

Wolf is well-rounded, but a few problems are apparent: his recovery is bad (he has one of the smallest edge sweetspots in the game, and Fire Wolf/Wolf Flash have unusual properties that make them sub-par), and his high gravity and average jump do not make things any better. 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). His killing power is decent, though unusually low for a heavy character as a result of the quick decay on his killing attacks. It should also be noted that Wolf is highly susceptible to chain-throwing because of his falling speed and being a heavy-weight.

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- Running back-flip kick. 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. 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. Does 15% damage uncharged 21% damage fully charged.
 * Up Smash- Upward scissor kick. Hits the opponent twice and causes 18% damage uncharged and 25% damage fully charged.
 * 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.

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 spiking move that causes 15% damage.

Grabs and Throws

 * Pummel- Right knee. Deals 1%, but is extremely quick.
 * Forward Throw- Uppercuts the opponent forward. 7%
 * Back Throw- Throws the opponent up and claws them backward. 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. 12%

Taunts
Up: Leans backwards and howls.

Side: Does a few kicks and says "What's the matter, scared?".

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

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 2 ways to unlock Wolf and they are:
 * Play 450 Brawls.
 * Clear Boss Battles as Fox or Falco.

An easy way to unlock Wolf (450 Brawl style) is to do the following:


 * Go into Special Brawl.
 * Choose "Stamina/HP" and "Flower" brawl and press OK.
 * Choose any character and set your opponent to 1 stamina/HP.
 * Go into options and set the stage selection to "Random".
 * Press OK and then start the brawl.

As soon as you start the brawl, the flower will take 1hp off your opponent, thus killing them without you moving. Do this method until you have to fight wolf.

Note: This method can also be used to unlock Toon Link.

Trivia

 * When Wolf appears in Subspace Emissary, the small tune which plays is the beginning of the N64 version of the Star Wolf Theme. However, SSBB uses the Star Fox: Assault version of Wolf, though the Star Fox: Assault version of his theme is unlockable.
 * 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 just like in Brawl.
 * Wolf appears to run and walk with a slight limp, although it may merely be a self-styled fighting approach.
 * Although his Up-B is called "Fire Wolf," there is no fire in his attack, which makes it very different from Fox and Falco's Up-B attacks, which have similar names. However, the name could suggest that the attack "fires" him in a direction, rather than being fire-based.
 * Although Wolf's recovery is considered bad, in some ways it is better than Fox or Falco's, such as the fact that it's executed faster than the Fire Fox and Fire Bird.