Luigi (Super Smash Bros. Melee)


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

Luigi (Japanese:, Ruīji) is an unlockable character in Super Smash Bros. Melee. Luigi's moveset is markedly similar to that of Mario, though his attacks often differ in knockback and trajectory.

Like in previous classic Nintendo games, Luigi is a floaty character with a high jump and low traction. As a result of his low traction, Luigi can lay claim to the longest wavedash in the game, which allows him to slide across the stage in lengthy bursts at speeds nearly as fast as Captain Falcon's dash. Luigi is also well-known for his powerful aerial attacks and the hit-or-miss nature of his Super Jump Punch and Green Missile. Luigi has some of the better combos in Melee and due to his floatiness and quick aerials, combos are usually small vs him as well.

He is ranked 14th on the tier list. Luigi suffers however from an overall bad recovery and loses to characters with more range, with the worst matchup being vs. Shiek. Due to Luigi's killing abilities, Luigi is seen often at the top of low tier tournaments, as the majority of the other low tiers don't have the range or speed to keep up with Luigi.

Unlocking Luigi
To unlock Luigi, the player must clear the first level of Adventure Mode with a 2 in the "seconds" digit of the clock. (Example: XX:X2XX). After this requirement is met, Luigi will replace Mario in the accompanying cut-scene and battle. The player must then defeat Luigi (and Peach) within one minute. After Adventure Mode is completed, the player will face a CPU Luigi challenger and must defeat him to unlock Luigi. Alternatively, playing 800 versus matches will also unlock Luigi.

Attributes
Luigi can be awkward to play as. This is because his movement is best on the ground (due to having the longest wavedash in the game), but his attacks are best in mid-air (due to them being fast and powerful, which allows for high damage combos). Luigi's recovery is normally long, but also slow and predictable (due to Luigi having slow air speed and falling speed). However, there is a 12.5% chance of the Green Missile misfiring. This can be good in some cases as it can increase Luigi's recovery distance and speed. However, it can also lead to a self-destruct. Luigi's high vertical jumping compliments vertical-trajectory ground attacks, but his slow falling speed slows his aerial game. However, one should note that slow falling does have advantages (like making combos less effective against him). Luigi's approach is exceedingly poor outside of wavedashing (a combination of having low traction, slow initial dash speed, no disjointed hitboxes, slow falling speed, and a rather poor projectile in general), which forces an over-reliance on that for approaching. Luigi's back throw has very good knockback and can be accompanied by edge-hogging on most stages for a quick Gimp kill. Although Mario and Dr. Mario's back throw are stronger, all 3 of them can take advantage of this in Mushroom: Kingdom and Mushroom: Kingdom II for an One-Hit KO.

Normal

 * Neutral A - Luigi's neutral A combo is a three-hit attack consisting of two jabs followed by a hip bump. Useful as a low-damage opener. Because the third strike of the combo knocks the opponent away with a medium amount of lag, many players elect to omit the third strike of the combo. Luigi can repeat the first strike of the Neutral A by L-canceling. The attack consists of two jabs, both doing 1-3% damage, and the last hit does 2-5%.
 * Dash Attack - 10% damage (if all hits connect). Luigi dashes forward and attacks his opponent with a flurry of punches. It hits five times and does moderate damage, but it's not very useful since the last hit leaves Luigi vulnerable for a grab or Smash Attack.
 * Strong Side - 5-10% damage. Luigi's Forward Tilt is a sideways kick with medium knockback. It is often used simply to push the opponent away, giving Luigi extra time to maneuver, though hard to follow up with an attack. Can be angled.
 * Strong Up - Luigi's Up Tilt is a swipe that arcs over Luigi's head. Its upward trajectory makes up tilt well suited for comboing, especially against fast-fallers. Hits at an upwards angle in the front and back of him. 4-9% damage.
 * Strong Down - Luigi crouches down and kicks low to the ground. It is a low-knockback attack and is laggy. Since this attack hugs the ground, it can be used to attack a sweet spotting enemy. 4-9% damage.

Smashes

 * Forward smash - Does a quick spearhand for 7-19% damage. Luigi winds up and launches his hand straight into his opponent, sending them at a forward and upward trajectory. Can be angled. Sometimes used to end combos. Additionally, charging a Forward Smash will cease Luigi momentum mid-wavedash, which can make him stop suddenly. Oddly enough, charging the attack towards the end of the wavedash will not cancel the dash, so if timed correctly it can be reserved as an approach move in certain situations.
 * Up smash - 9-23% damage. Identical to Mario and Dr. Mario's headbutt, but with an up-and-behind trajectory, ideal for setting up aerial combos with Luigi. The player can also buffer it in at the end of a wavedash which allows for an alternative vertical launcher to Luigi's common wavedash to down smash approach.
 * Down smash - 9-23% damage. Luigi kicks out twice in a break dancing motion, first in front and then behind. This attack has a purely upward trajectory and its vertical knockback provides for aerial combos against low-damage enemies and KO's against high-damage enemies.

Other attacks

 * Ledge attack - Gets up and somersaults. 8% damage.
 * 100% ledge attack - Slowly gets up and thrusts his foot forward. 10% damage.
 * Floor attack - Swirls around in a similar fashion to his down smash. 6% damage.

Aerial attacks

 * Neutral aerial - A Sex kick. 4-15% damage. Luigi's Aeutral Aerial has the same knockback properties of most sex kicks, and sends the opponent upwards. For this reason, Luigi's sex kick is a popular tool for juggling and comboing opponents.
 * Forward aerial - Does a quick karate chop. 6-12% damage. High horizontal knockback and is one of his primary KO'ing aerial attacks. It also has high knockback at low damage, good for wavelanding.
 * Back aerial - Kicks backwards. 6-11% damage. Good for damage racking and edge guarding.
 * Up aerial - Does a flip kick. 7-13% damage. Doesn't offer the same juggling properties from the ground as Mario's; however, it is often used against opponents above Luigi on platforms, or as a vertical launcher to set up an aerial finisher, like F-Air.
 * Down aerial - Twirls his feet under him. 8-16% damage. A valuable edgeguarding alternative to the back aerial. Can spike if he hits the opponent with his hip (in a similar fashion to Young Link's Down Aerial Spike). Luigi's Down Aerial is a Meteor Smash, and therefore can be Meteor canceled.

Grabs & Throws

 * Forward throw - 4-7% damage. This throw is relatively weak but can be used near the ledge to set up Luigi's enemy for an edge-guard.
 * Back throw - 5-10% damage. Luigi's strongest throw, it is used for throwing enemies off-stage and KOing.
 * Up throw - 4-7% damage. Luigi's up throw can chain grab fast-fallers at low damage. If a person DIs, Luigi can follow the opponent up with a wavedash.
 * Down throw - 3-7% damage. This throw sends the enemy upwards and slightly to the side, depending on the target's DI. Though it has low knockback, it does not stun the opponent long enough to combo or chain grab.

Taunt
Taunt - 1% damage. Luigi's taunt, a casual kick against the ground, is the only taunt in Melee that can damage the opponent. The taunt normally sends the enemy upwards with set knockback, but if Luigi connects with the bottom of his foot, the taunt can also serve as a spike and a Meteor Smash. Since it is slow and very weak, Luigi's taunt is rarely used in competitive play. This is one of the moves sometimes used just for laughs because it is very hard to hit somebody with it. Luigi professionals generally don't taunt as much when an opponent dies, preferring to use Down B in order to charge it.

Changes from SSB to Melee
Luigi has signifcantly nerfed (claimed to have the 3rd largest nerf).
 * Super Jump Punch has no horizontal distance and doesn't get as much vertical distance, making him rely on his Green Missile for horizontal recovery.
 * New Forward Smash.
 * New Neutral Combo (the third hit is a butt hit instead of a kick).
 * Front Aerial is now a chop rather than a spin kick.
 * Luigi Cyclone doesn't last as long, but strikes faster.
 * New Up Tilt.
 * New Down aerial. (Now only does one strong hit rather than multiple weak hits).
 * New Down tilt.

In Single-player
Luigi can appear in the adventure mode if the player finishes the first stage, Mushroom Kingdom Adventure, with the number "two" anywhere in the timer, a cut scene will occur which will show Luigi taking Mario's place in the upcoming battle. The player will then have to battle a team of Luigi and Peach. If you have unlocked Luigi, Metal Luigi will appear on the Battlefield stage alongside Metal Mario.

Luigi is featured in the following Event Matches:
 * Event 31: Mario Bros. Madness: The player's character battles a team of Mario and Luigi in a 2-minute unlimited-stock match in the Mushroom: Kingdom stage. Whoever gets the most KOs wins, much like in a standard time-match.
 * Event 35: Time for a Check-up: The player plays as Luigi as they battle a team of Dr. Mario and Peach on the Yoshi's Island: Yoshi's Story, with each character having 1 stock and the match timed for 3 minutes.
 * Event 38: Super Mario Bros. 2: In this match, the player's character must battle against Mario, Luigi, and Peach in an unlimited-time 2-stock match on Mushroom: Kingdom II. The odds may seem especially stacked against the player, but the opponent team is subject to friendly fire. The character selection and stage are a direct throwback to the original Super Mario Bros. 2, an NES sequel to Super Mario Bros.
 * Event 40: All-Star Match 4: Luigi is the second opponent the player must fight in this series of staged battles. Their character battles him on the Mushroom Kingdom II stage, and their character has 2 stocks while Luigi has one. With a timer of four minutes, the player must defeat him and the other four characters with the overall time and life they have: Marth, Jigglypuff, Mewtwo, and Mr. Game and Watch.
 * Event 42: Trouble King 2: The player plays as Luigi against a giant Bowser on the stage Poké Floats, with both players having 2 stock each.

Trophy Descriptions
In addition to the normal trophy about Luigi as a character, there are two trophies about him as a fighter, unlocked by completing the Adventure and All-Star modes respectively with Luigi on any difficulty:


 * Luigi
 * "Although Mario's younger brother has always played second fiddle, Luigi finally garnered the spotlight with his very own game, Luigi's Mansion. Things are looking up for the eternal understudy; he's even picked up his own rival in Waluigi. The day he's referred to as the "lean, mean, green machine" may not be too far off."


 * Luigi (Smash Red)
 * Luigi has worse traction than his brother, but he's a more powerful jumper. His Fireballs aren't affected by gravity, so they fly straight horizontally. The Green Missile is similar to Pikachu's Skull Bash, but there's a 12.5% chance of a spontaneous misfire. Luigi's taunting pose inflicts minor damage.
 * B: Fireball
 * Smash B: Green Missile


 * Luigi (Smash Blue)
 * Smack someone with Luigi's Super Jump Punch, and if the timing is just right, it will become a Fire Jump Punch of incredible strength. However, Luigi can only jump straight up when delivering this blow, and if his aim is a bit off, he'll only do a single point of damage. The Luigi Cyclone sucks foes in and twirls them about.
 * Up & B: Super Jump Punch
 * Down & B: Luigi Cyclone

 Luigi trophy (SSBM).jpg|Luigi character trophy Luigi smash trophy (SSBM).jpg|Smash Red Luigi smash 2 trophy (SSBM).jpg|Smash Blue

Trivia

 * Despite the appearance from the Super Smash Bros. Melee website, Luigi's appearance when chosen in the actual game is different.
 * A computer Luigi will always use his Green Missile move for a recovery and never uses his Super Jump Punch, even if there is a platform above him.
 * The reference unlocking of Luigi when the seconds mark reaches a 2 symbolizes the fact that Luigi always comes second to Mario.
 * Also, beating Luigi in the Adventure mode only gives the player 20 bonus points, the smallest bonus point increase in the game.
 * Luigi is no longer the only Melee character to have or had a tier of his own (the second PAL tier list), as of Dec 31.