- This article is about Luigi's appearance in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. For other uses, see Luigi.
Luigi (ルイージ Ruīji?) is starting character who represents the Mario universe in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. He was announced as a returning veteran during the Nintendo Direct on August 7th, 2013, as part of Nintendo's "Year of Luigi".
Luigi currently ranks 18th on the tier list, an incredible improvement from his 28th position in Brawl, and his best placement in the series to date. Luigi's moveset makes him difficult to punish due to fast attack speed, solid air game, favorable launching angles from the ground, and having fantastic combo potential. However, Luigi retains his slow mobility, low traction, and limited range in attacks.
Attributes[]
Strengths[]
- Can crawl.
- Has one of the highest jumps in the game.
- Fast attack speed.
- Excels at aerial combat due his fast attacks.
- High priority on many attacks.
- Powerful gimping that can kill at low percentages.
- Can break off many combos with Neutral Aerial, which is a powerful sex kick.
- Down Throw is excellent for setting up a huge number of follow-ups and combos.
- All Air Attacks can auto-cancel in short hops.
- Fireball is a quick, reliable option for spacing and jab-locking.
- Long distanced recovery options thanks to Green Missile and Luigi Cyclone.
- Possesses one of the strongest moves in the game in the form of Super Jump Punch, which can K.O. opponents as early as 60% if it connects with the sweetspot and does a lot of shield damage.
- Has two Meteor Smashes: Down Aerial and Down Taunt (when used on midair opponents).
Weaknesses[]
- Low mobility, being slower than Mario on both ground and in the air.
- Low range on many moves.
- Predictable and easy to gimp recovery.
- Both of his Meteor Smashes are hard to land due to the precise sweetspot and specific frames of his down aerial, and the small hitbox on his down taunt.
- Super Jump Punch's sweetspot requires Luigi to be very close to opponents, and can be easily punished if it misses.
Summary[]
Luigi is a Half-Grappler kind of character. A good part of his gameplay relies on his Down Throw combos, that, despite being nerfed in recent patches, it is still a force to be feared. His stats aren't as balanced as Mario's, but he is formidable at many things.
Luigi excels at stringing various attacks in the air, and also has very fast ground moves that can combo into each other, making him unstoppable once he starts attacking. Luigi boasts having high jumps and low falling speed, which, allied with his combo potential, makes him very capable of chasing opponents in the air vertically, although his air speed is quite slow, which hinders his ability on horizontal air combat.
His moveset is quite fast on both ground and air. His Tilts are fast and good combo starters, with Up Tilt combo'ing with itself and most notable Up Aerial, while Down Tilt can trip opponents, which can lead to tech chases. His Smash Attacks are fast and powerful in terms of knockback, although his Down Smash is weaker than Mario's. His Dash Attack can be easily punished, but can be useful as a surprise attack. All his Aerials are very fast and auto-cancel in short hops, with Neutral Aerial being a powerful Sex Kick, while Forward and Back Aerial are great at combo'ing with themselves and as gimping tools. Up Aerial is his main juggling move, while his Down Aerial has a powerful Meteor Smash sweetspot.
As for his Special Attacks, Fireball is a very versatile move to space opponents, and even for edgeguard and counter-edgeguard; Green Missile is mainly used for recovery, since can cover a massive horizontal distance when fully charged; if it "misfires", Luigi will deal massive knockback if it hits an opponent; his Super Jump Punch covers more vertical distance than Mario's, but little horizontally, however, it has an extremely powerful hitbox at the very beginning at the move, being a devastating attack that can kill opponents at early 60% to 70%; Luigi Cyclone is another great recovery move, but can also be used as a fast approach and even for KO'ing near the blast line, since its hits can frame trap opponents even after air dodges.
Luigi's trump card, however, lies in his powerful throws. While his grab range is the same as Mario, his grabs are faster and very efficient, with his Down Throw being notable for its low base knockback, allowing Luigi to pull guaranteed follow ups from it until mid-high percentages. Up Throw can also be a good combo starter at low percentages, and Back Throw is a powerful KO move when used near the ledges.
Luigi's flaws, however, lies in his low mobility, which can give him problems to approach, specially against faster characters like Sheik, Sonic and Zero Suit Samus. His lack of range also gives him problems against opponents with disjointed hitboxes, and low traction makes his out of shield options not as useful, since when shield-stunned, he tends to be pushed very far from opponents. Also, while having plenty of options for recovery, his low aerial speed makes him a very easy opponent to gimp.
Overall, Luigi has powerful tools that must be used sparingly, being careful when approaching. The player must be patient and use every opportunity to punish opponents with grabs and strings combos without giving the opponent a fighting chance.
Changes from Brawl[]
In the transition from Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Luigi has received a mix of buffs and nerfs, with the buffs being greater overall, as his comboing ability and neutral game have been noticeably improved along with being more agile overall. However, he did receive a few nerfs. His recovery was moderately nerfed due to aerial versions of Super Jump Punch and Luigi Cyclone gaining less height. Most of his moves had their power weakened along with dealing less damage.
Aesthetically, Luigi's design is brighter to match his appearance in Mario Kart 8 and Super Mario 3D World. He has also received new animations for some attacks to further increase the difference between him and Mario. Notably, he has more exaggerated expressions to reflect his scared nature.
Attributes[]
- Faster dash, walk, and air speed, slightly increased traction (though it's still the lowest in the game), higher gravity and faster falling speed.
- Lower short hop, and higher full and double jumps. Also, he has a new base jump animation, flailing his arms, similar to his jumping in Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario 3D World.
- Down Taunt causes higher fixed vertical knockback when used against opponents on the ground, enough to one hit KO at the opponents grabbing the ledge.
Ground Attacks[]
- Neutral Air combo has a slightly different animation, with the last hit being slightly larger and sending Luigi forward, increasing its range.
- Forward has slightly more range, but deal less damage and is shorter in terms of duration.
- Up Tilt has a higher arc, allowing Luigi to easily hit opponents behind him. It also deals lower knockback, and sends opponents at a more vertical range, being a very powerful combo tool.
- Down Tilt no longer sends opponents downwards at the ledge.
- Forward Smash has more range, has lower knockback growth. Additionally, all angled versions do the same damage and knockback.
- Down Smash Attack deals less damage and is slower, with less active frames. However, it deals more knockback.
- Up Smash Attack deals less damage.
- Dash Attack's hits traps opponents more efficiently, and deals more knockback.
- Floor Attack deals more damage
Air Attacks[]
- Neutral Aerial deals much less knockback as a Sex Kick. Its late hit also deals less damage, and no longer can be used twice in short hops. It no longer sends opponents in a pure vertical angle.
- Forward Aerial has increased range, with Luigi's hand growing larger. However, it deals less damage.
- Back Aerial deals more damage, however it has less active frames, and has increased ending lag, and no longer can be used twice in short hops.
- Down Aerial is faster and with a larger hitbox, however, it deals less damage and has higher ending lag. The Meteor Smash is also easier to land, but has less knockback growth.
Grabs and Throws[]
- Grab has less ending lag, and Dash Grab is faster. Luigi also grabs his opponent with one hand rather than using both.
- Pummel deals more damage, being one of the strongest pummels in the game.
- Back Throw deals less damage.
- Down Throw has a new animation where Luigi tosses the opponent on the ground and stomps with his rear, in a similar fashion to Peach and Wario's Down Throws. It also has less ending lag, less base knockback, but higher knockback scaling, being his most powerful combo throw.
Special Attacks[]
- Green Missile now auto-cancels when it charges past maximum, causing Luigi to pant tired with his hands over his knees, resulting in a slightly lag. Additionally, it also causes Luigi to comically bury his head at walls if used fully charged against one, stopping his momentum. It deals more damage normally, however the full charge deals much less damage. On the other hand, the misfire version deals much higher knockback and now envelops Luigi in flames, although the chance of misfiring being lower. Its hitbox is also larger and better positioned at his head.
- Super Jump Punch has much lower base knockback when sweetspotted. It also gains less vertical distance (unable to reach the top platform in Battlefield, unlike in Super Smash Bros. Brawl) and Luigi has less horizontal movement when descending. It also has more ending lag, however it deals more knockback when sweetspotted.
- Luigi Cyclone's hits link together better, and the last hit has more knockback. However, it gains less altitude, is much harder to rise without a jump due to requiring more button mashing, and deals less damage.
- New Final Smash, Poltergust 5000, replaces his old one, Negative Zone. Unlike his previous Final Smash, this one is more useful, where Luigi sucks in nearby opponents, dealing damage, and then shoots them out with powerful knockback.
Moveset[]
Ground Attacks[]
Normal[]
- Neutral Attack: Punches twice and finishes by thrusting his buttocks out. The first hit is extremely quick. Can jab lock by jab cancelling and also used for a Fire Jump Punch.
- Dash Attack: Luigi swings his arms, punching the opponent multiple times. 9%
- Side Tilt: Luigi does a side kick. Can be angled in different directions. 10%
- Up Tilt: Luigi does an upwards kittenswipe; great for juggling and it can KO at very high percentages. 9%
- Down Tilt: Luigi does a tripping kick. Can be used to weakly Meteor Smash opponents from the edge right underneath his foot. 9%
Smash Attacks[]
- Side Smash Attack: Luigi does a spearhand that can be tilted KOing at percentages as low as 75% when upward angled. Very fast, but has poor range and CPUs can shield easily. It is notable for its extremly high knockback scaling, being the forward smash with the third highest knockback scaling in the game when aimed upwards. This, along with its diagonal trajectory, makes momentum canceling not very effective on it. 15-22%
- Up Smash Attack: Luigi does an upwards headbutt similar to Mario's Up Smash, but higher knockback. 12-21%
- Down Smash Attack: Luigi does a twisting breakdancing sweepkick with decent vertical knockback that pulls victim behind him if sweetspotted. Unlike Mario, Luigi uses one leg to kick. 16-22%
Other attacks[]
- Ledge attack: Flips over the edge, kicking the opponent during the flip. 8%
- 100% Ledge attack: Slowly gets up and kicks. 10%
- Floor attack: Does a sweeperkick similar to his Down Smash. 6%
- Trip attack: Kicks behind him, then in front of him while getting up. 5% each kick
Air Attacks[]
- Neutral Aerial: Luigi does a sex kick. Unusual for a sex kick, it has pure vertical knockback. 14%
- Forward Aerial: Luigi does a quick karate chop that has below average horizontal knockback and can be used in succession due to it having low start up and very little ending lag. This is Luigi's fastest aerial, duration wise. 10%
- Back Aerial: Luigi does a backwards kick similar Mario's with similar knockback. Luigi's new B-air is similar to his Fair in the original Smash Bros. 12%
- Up Aerial: Luigi does a flip kick that is great for juggling due to its speed and vertical knockback. 13%
- Down Aerial: Luigi does a quick drill kick. Can meteor smash in parts of the hitbox. Meteor smash hitbox is easy to hit with after mastering. The meteor smash hitboxes are located closer to his ankles rather than his hips in the previous games. The meteor smash after a down throw at low percentages is a pseudo chain grab on some characters. If it hits in a non-meteor smash hitbox it instead has average horizontal knockback. 9%
Grabs and Throws[]
- Pummel: Luigi headbutts the opponent once. A slow pummel. 3%
- Forward Throw: Luigi spins once with his victim and throws them forward. 9%
- Back Throw: Luigi spins three times and throws the target behind him, reminiscent of Mario throwing Bowser in Super Mario 64. 12%
- Down Throw: Luigi butt slams his opponent on the ground. 6%
- Up Throw: Luigi tosses the enemy upward. 8%
Special Moves[]
Taunts[]
- Up: Strikes several poses in a row.
- Side: Falls over and uses his stomach as a balancing point for his body.
- Down: Kicks the ground softly as he watches his foot swing by. It is one of the few Taunts in the franchise that deal damage, and has set knockback. It is also a powerful Meteor Smash when used on midair opponents.
In competitive play[]
Since SSB4's release, Luigi's placement was a topic of debate, as his buffs were quickly acknowledged in his transition from Brawl and saw him perceived as a mid-tier character. Positive opinions on Luigi, however, saw a sudden rise from early to mid-2015, as players recognized his down throw's outstanding combo potential. In addition, he was noted for having an even matchup against Diddy Kong, then considered the best character in the game, thanks to multiple high-profile cases of a Luigi player defeating a noteworthy Diddy Kong player in tournaments. The most notable instance of this was Mr. ConCon achieving a bracket reset against ZeRo. Thanks to these traits, Luigi was perceived by the community as both a viable main and a top-tier character, despite having fairly limited usage at high-level play.
However, Luigi's perception underwent a noticeable drop after update 1.1.1 altered his down throw's knockback to the point of heavily altering its guaranteed KO set-ups, and brought about changes to shield mechanics that made it harder for him to punish out of shield. Despite this, Luigi's down throw has shown to actually possess better combo potential at low to medium percentages, which was notably demonstrated by Poke and Boss. When coupled with his impressive performances up to update 1.1.1, Luigi was ranked 16th on the first tier list, his best ranking in the series at the time.
Although Luigi's combo potential remained largely intact, many players nevertheless dropped him because of his combo game's newfound flaws. This, in turn, was further compounded by the release of the DLC characters Corrin and Bayonetta, two matchups considered unfavorable for him at the time. As a result, Luigi was ranked 29th on the second tier list, which saw him go from being the third highest ranked mid-tier character to the middle of the mid-tier. Although respectable, this placement was nevertheless a considerable downturn, as Luigi's tier drop was tied with Wario's for the second largest between the first and second tier lists.
Thanks to his consistently strong results in some regions, Luigi was ranked 26th on the third tier list. Incidentally, this placement is roughly similar to where he was viewed as being in accordance to popular opinion during the very early months of SSB4's lifespan. Luigi's tier status would then improve even further, thanks to Elegant placing 2nd at GameTyrant Expo 2017 and 5th at 2GG Championship. In addition to these results, Luigi has managed to consistently achieve respectable results at the regional and national level, thanks to the efforts of Mr. ConCon, Scot! and Ron. To reflect his renewed tournament success, Luigi was ranked 18th on the fourth and current tier list, about equal to his rank before the down throw nerf, with some players arguing that Luigi should be ranked even higher.
Other features[]
To be added
Trophy Description[]
Luigi (Nintendo 3DS)[]
Luigi recently celebrated his 30th anniversary with the Year of Luigi, but all that attention just made him even more shy and awkward. In Smash Bros., Luigi takes a lot of cues from his brother in fighting style, adding flair to moves like Super Jump Punch, His taunts, however, are truly unique.
Luigi (Wii U)[]
Luigi recently celebrated his 30th anniversary with the Year of Luigi, but all that attention just made him even more shy and awkward. In Smash Bros. (as in life), Luigi tends to follow his brother's lead, but he adds his own flair to moves like Super Jump Punch. His taunts, however, are 100% Weegee.
- Arcade - Mario Bros (1983)
- Nintendo 3DS - Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon (03/2013)
Luigi (Alt.)[]
Luigi may sulk when his down taunt is used, but his little dejected kick can actually hurt a nearby enemy fighter. It can even trigger a meteor smash! Notice an enemy leisurely hanging from the edge? Run over and pout on the edge—that foe will be the one with something to pout about!
Luigi + Poltergust[]
Luigi's trusty tool, the Poltergust 3000. This isn't your neighbor's boring, old vacuum—the Poltergust 3000 sucks up ghosts! It also can find them when they are hiding and can blow them around a room! Why doesn't every family own one of these, I wonder...
Tanooki Mario + Kitsune Luigi[]
If you find a Super Leaf, Mario transforms into Tanooki Mario! His newfound tail works as a weapon and as a propeller to slow his fall. His brother, Luigi, won't turn into a Tanooki, though—he becomes Kitsune Luigi. Wouldn't want to have trouble telling the two apart, would we?
Baby Luigi[]
Despite missing the trademark mustache, the big nose and the L on his cap should be dead giveaways that this is Luigi! When he appeared in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, Baby Luigi surprised the other racers with his Rattle Buggy driving skills. Adult Luigi probably still remembers those days of racing glory.
- SNES - Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
- Nintendo 3DS - Yoshi's New Island
Paper Luigi[]
Paper Luigi is Paper Mario's younger brother. He shows up from time to time during Paper Mario's quest for the Royal Stickers, but he doesn't stick around for long. Such a modest guy... I wonder what he's getting up to now!
Costume Gallery[]
Gallery[]
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- This is the first time Luigi is in the starting roster; up from Super Smash Bros. through Super Smash Bros. Brawl, he was unlockable.
- Luigi was the 2nd unveiled character, the 1st being Olimar.
- Despite Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U introducing the new anti-chaingrabbing mechanics, Luigi, along with Sheik, possesses a pseudo chain grab on some characters. It uses his down throw and down air spike.
- Luigi's Wii U trophy description makes a reference to the Weegee meme.
External links[]
- Luigi's page on the Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U website
- Luigi's Framedata at Kurogane Hammer
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