Luigi (Super Smash Bros. Brawl)


 * This page is about Luigi's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. For other uses, see Luigi.

Luigi (, Ruīji) is an unlockable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, who also unlockable in Super Smash Bros. Melee and the original Super Smash Bros; he is one of the Original 12. He is the brother of Mario, and the two originate from the Mario series, from which Princess Peach, Bowser, and Wario also originate. While his Melee voice is a higher pitched version of Mario's set of Melee voice clips, Luigi's voice in Brawl is lower pitched, and is made up of a separate, unique set of sound clips voiced by Charles Martinet. Luigi's Brawl moveset has no major differences to that of Melee, except that the final hit of his dash attack now deals some knockback.

Luigi is ranked 21st on the current tier list, the highest position of D tier.

How to Unlock
If the player does any of these things except for #3, the player will have to defeat him in a Brawl to unlock him.
 * Play 22 matches in VS Mode.
 * Beat Classic Mode with no continues.
 * Have Luigi join the player's party in the Subspace Emissary.

Attributes
Luigi is a surprisingly strong middleweight with very quick attack speed (almost no slow attacks), yet slow mobility and short range. While many consider Luigi a clone or semi-clone of Mario, there are some important differences between them. Like Mario, his Fireballs are spammable and help his approach, but Luigi’s travel less distance and are not affected by gravity, which can be good or bad depending on the situation. Luigi has the second highest initial jump in the game (second only to Falco's), which helps his air game. Luigi is also a good juggler due to his very fast u-tilt, nair, and uair. Luigi's neutral aerial is a powerful Sex Kick and can often kill at high percentages on most characters. He is able to use his down throw to set up his juggles on many characters when they are at low percentages, but Luigi himself is a candidate for King Dedede's infinite chaingrab without a wall (Luigi is the only character that can be infinited by King Dedede without a wall but can't be chain grabbed by the normal way), a major issue as King Dedede is a very common character in tournament-level play and has a massive grab. Luigi has the ability to crawl, which can help him dodge certain projectiles. His smashes, like most of his attacks, are considered fast and unusually strong, especially his f-smash. His specials are also considered good and great for recovery. If one keeps pressing the special attack button during Luigi Cyclone while moving upward (as the movement is momentum based), Luigi will rise up, greatly aiding his recovery. His Side Special, the Green Missile, can be used for horizontal recovery to make up for the lack of horizontal recovery from his Super Jump Punch. However, the Green Missile requires charging and can be stopped with projectiles normally, but if he gets a misfire (which happens 12.5% of the time), it's an extremely powerful attack. A green missile misfire can be good in some situations because it has more power and covers more distance than normally, but it can also be bad because it can cause Luigi to self-destruct. His Super Jump Punch is unique in the fact that if sweetspotted, it will become the Fire Jump Punch, a much stronger version that deals fire damage and can kill at very low percentages (about 50%). However, if Luigi's Super Jump Punch does not sweetspot, it only does 1% with almost no knockback and is very punishable unless he grabs a ledge.

Luigi's main problems revolve around his unusual mobility and his poor reach. Luigi has slow falling speed (although this also has its advantages, such as preventing certain chain grabs and Kirby's throw combos, as well as aiding his overall air game), the second-slowest lateral air speed, slow dash speed, and the lowest traction (but low traction also has advantages, such as preventing Diddy Kong's banana follow-ups), all of which make approaching with Luigi a chore. His moves are quick, but short-ranged, so characters that can keep Luigi away with their speed and range (like Marth and Lucario) fare well.

Overall, Luigi is a character who tends to run hot and cold. If he's able to get within close distance of an opponent so that he can land his blows, he's extremely dangerous. But his abysmal approach and his poor reach leave him at a clear disadvantage if opponents can time their attacks to keep him out of range. He operates well on both the ground and in the air, but Luigi's issues with range and his overall shaky defensive game make him tough to deploy successfully.

Luigi's taunt is also unique in the sense that it can hit opponents and deal 2% of damage, but if it is used when the opponent is on the ledge or in the air, it is a meteor smash.

Changes from Melee to Brawl
Luigi has been buffed from Melee to Brawl. His slow falling and air speed have been slightly increased. His traction has also been slightly improved. Luigi is also stronger overall in terms of knockback (especially his back throw and side smash). The final hit of his dash attack has slightly greater knockback, which makes it not as easily punished. Luigi's forward aerial and down aerial have much less knockback, but the former is even faster and the latter is easier to meteor smash with. Luigi's returning taunt (down taunt) has greater set knockback and deals 2% damage instead of 1%. Luigi is one of the few SSBB veterans who has gained the ability to crawl. His green missile can now be charged infinitely and its misfire travels less distance. Thus, it is harder to self-destruct with it. Luigi's Super Jump Punch moves much more horizontal and can be controled while rising. The Luigi Cyclone has more slippery controls, but it does more than two hits and travels faster on the ground. It's also easier to gain height with.

Luigi's purely cosmetic changes include new animations for his back aerial (similar to that of his forward aerial from Super Smash Bros.) and down smash. Luigi has been graphically updated. He has his own voice now as well, instead of a recycled Mario voice sped up (although his voice actor is the same as in Melee). Luigi also has new costumes (purple and orange).

Taunts
Up: Does a variety of humorous poses very quickly in a set order: Faces the screen with one hand on his waist, the other giving the peace symbol, next he turns to the right slightly, pointing his hands that direction. Then, he places his right hand just below his mustache, as if he is thinking. Then he turns away from the screen, crouching, as if he's sad, and finally, he faces the screen once more, with both hands on his face, giving a frightened look, reminiscent to the box art of the Nintendo Gamecube game Luigi's Mansion. The switch between each expression is so fast, it can't be seen unless the game speed is slowed down a bit. He also makes a sound during each expression: Hoh! Hah! Hee! Hey! Hoo! The last pose is his trophy pose in SSE.

Side: Stands straight up with hands on hips, falls forward stiff on the floor, then seems to balance himself back up again (similar to his victory pose in Melee and Brawl). He says something that resembles "Pow pow".

Down: Kicks at the ground. Luigi utters a bashful "Hm." A very powerful Meteor Smash, but can only be used as such on opponents hanging on an edge. The amount of damage it does could be a reference to how he's always in his brother's shadow. It should also be noted that this is the Meteor Smash with the highest base knockback in the game, being the strongest meteor at 0%.

Idle Animations

 * Rubs the back of his head sheepishly.
 * Pulls on his nose, stretching it and snapping it back.

Role in ''Subspace Emissary
Luigi first appears in a green meadow, where he pretends to threaten and attack on-coming Waddle Dees. They are harmless, and make no move to attack him, but he is frightened by them, nonetheless. Then, out of nowhere, he is attacked from behind by King Dedede, who slams Luigi with his mallet, sending him flying into the air. After he comes back down, he becomes a trophy (making him the only character to become a trophy in the same cut scene in which he is introduced). Luigi's trophy in Subspace Emissary is different from his collectible trophy. Instead of adjusting his hat, Luigi holds his hands to his face making a surprised expression, which is the last of the poses from his up taunt. This distinction is unique to Luigi. King Dedede places him on the road as bait for Wario, who is coming down the road. Wario takes the bait, and Dedede manages to steal Peach/Zelda, Ness, and Luigi's trophy along with Wario's Cargo.

Dedede places a special badge on Luigi, Ness, and Peach/Zelda, though Peach/Zelda's badge is knocked off when Bowser flies off with the princess in his Koopa Clown Car and is later swallowed by Kirby. Later, when Tabuu turns everyone into trophies, the badges turn Luigi and Ness back into living fighters. The badges had the power to bring trophies back to life. Luigi and Ness afterward turned King Dedede back to life. The unlikely trio set off to help out Mario, Donkey Kong, Samus, Fox, Link, Yoshi, Pikachu, Captain Falcon, Marth, Mr. Game & Watch, Falco, Pit, Olimar, Lucas, Diddy Kong, the Pokémon Trainer, Ike, Snake, Lucario and Meta Knight. Luigi, along with Ness, then watched as Dedede fought Bowser, and later helped him convince Wario to join them. After they turned everyone back to normal, they all fought Tabuu.

Using Stickers
Since Luigi's primary attacks are kicks and punches, Arm and Leg stickers have the widest effect. Using a Head sticker will only affect Luigi's up smash and Green Missile (since pummels cannot be used against most enemies), while a Fire one will affect his Fireball, the Green Missile, and the Fire Jump Punch. The Luigi Cyclone is considered a Spin attack, but it's his only Spin attack, so it does no good to use a Spin sticker. The final hit of Luigi's neutral attack is a Body attack, but it's also not a good idea to use a sticker on it.

Trophy description
''Mario's younger brother. He's shy and quiet and overshadowed by his sibling, but he's actually quite talented. His jumping ability surpasses Mario's, and his all- around skills let him overcome any problem. He's a bit cowardly and really afraid of ghosts. Even so, in Luigi's Mansion, he was charged with cleaning up a whole house full of spirits.''
 * Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo Entertainment System)


 * Luigi's Mansion (Nintendo Gamecube)

Trivia

 * Luigi is one of only three characters in Brawl able to perform three aerials in one short hop.
 * Luigi is the only character in Brawl that can string two of any of his aerials in a single short hop.
 * The sparsity of Luigi's crowd chant (which sounds like only two or three people are cheering) and the announcer's tone of voice when announcing him (implying surprise) both appear to contribute to the running joke in the Mario series in which no one can remember who Luigi is.
 * In the Home-run Contest, Luigi's forward smash is notable for being able to send the Sandbag farther than the Warlock Punch at extreme percentages (above 250%). This is not because it produces stronger knockback at this percentage (as it has lower base knockback and knockback scaling, thus it is never stronger than the Warlock Punch), but because its extremely high knockback scaling combined with its much more vertical trajectory allows it to send the Sandbag so far at these percentages.
 * Despite this, Ganondorf still holds the solo world record at 10,499 feet. Luigi is in second place at 8856.7 feet, as seen in this video.
 * Luigi, Bowser, Link, Toon Link, and Yoshi are the only characters to wear their default costumes in team battles, when they are on the green team.
 * The fact that Luigi is unlocked at 22 matches is a reference to the fact that he's always number 2 to Mario.