Olimar (Super Smash Bros. Brawl)

This article is about Captain Olimar's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. For other uses, see Captain Olimar and Pikmin (species).

Olimar
Universe	Pikmin
Also appears in	SSBB Super Smash Bros (Wii U and 3DS)
Availability	Starter
Tier	A (2)

Olimar, also known as Pikmin & Olimar (ピクミン＆オリマー Pikumin ando Orimā), is a playable character from the Pikmin series in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Olimar's fighter design in Brawl comprises Captain Olimar (the main character of Pikmin) and his band of polychromatic Pikmin, which come in the red, blue, yellow, purple and white varieties. Olimar is very weak without his Pikmin; his unceasingly loyal Pikmin perform his smash attacks, all but one of his aerial attacks, and all of his grabs/throws. They are also crucial to his recovery and ability to camp.

Each Pikmin has different effects for certain attacks. When Olimar plucks Pikmin, they will have a leaf on their head. After a small period of time, their leaf will change into a bud - which, given more time, will bloom. Bumpers do not affect Pikmin. In the original Pikmin games, Olimar is actually 4 centimeters tall (including antenna), so he had to have his size increased for Brawl. Aside from Mr. Game & Watch, Olimar is the only character in the game to have no voice at all. In the Pikmin games, however, he is shown to have a voice, with which he announces his name and grunts.

Olimar ranks 2nd on the current tier list. Many of his attacks are unpunishable alongside being high-powered and quick-hitting. He has great matchups and amazing camping game, although his recovery is easily gimped.

Pikmin types and effects

Red Pikmin

• Delivers the most damage with aerials and has the second highest knockback.
• Mediocre grab range, with weak throws.
• Travels straight when thrown.
• Deals fire damage.
• Immune to fire, including explosions.
• Drowns instantly.
• Down Air is a great meteor smash.
• More likely to appear from cloth floors.

Yellow Pikmin

• Slightly larger attack range (particularly on the up smash, both vertically and horizontally) in exchange for slightly weaker smashes and aerials.
• Second last grab range (though still 4th highest overall) but with good throws, tying with Purple's damage, though not knockback.
• Travels higher and slower than other Pikmin when thrown (arched trajectory).
• Deals electric damage.
• Immune to electric attacks.
• Down Air is a great meteor smash, but must be sweetspotted; otherwise, it will have more upward knockback.
• Up Smash has the highest range of all Pikmin.
• More likely to appear from metallic floors.

Blue Pikmin

• Has the highest attack range during Forward Smash.
• Bigger grab range than other Pikmin. Does more damage and knockback when used in throws; Back Throw is most notable for its high KO potential.
• Travels straight when thrown.
• More durable than average, with the 2nd highest health.
• Immune to water attacks.
• Can swim forever and does not drown (all other Pikmin will drown).
• Down Air is a decent meteor smash.
• Best Pikmin to use for the Pikmin Chain.
• More likely to appear from water-based floors (such as ice or clouds).

Purple Pikmin

• Delivers the greatest knockback, though not always the most damage.
• Smallest attack range and slowest attack speed, in both Smash Attacks and grabs.
• Small forward trajectory when throw; however slams into enemies instead of latching on when thrown, being capable of KOing enemies with very high percentages
• Slow and big, making it easier to hit.
• Deals Darkness damage.
• Most health of all Pikmin.
• Very powerful in Pikmin Chain if he's the last in the line.
• Capable of both knocking the opponent off the ledge and grabbing the ledge.
• Delivers great knockback on Down Throw and Up Throw (presumably due to weight of Purple Pikmin dropping onto foes).
• Excellent up throw capability.
• Good meteor smash.
• More likely to appear from certain metal or stone floors.

White Pikmin

• Pummel damage is twice as high as other Pikmin. Pikmin Throw damage is also higher.
• Flies very far when thrown.
• Faster than other Pikmin.
• Deals poison damage.
• Lowest health of all Pikmin; easily killed.
• Normal attacks and Smash Attacks do little damage and knockback, but are faster than other Pikmin.
• Good side smash combo at low percentages; Olimar can hit the opponent twice in a row with two white Pikmin Side Smashes due to their low knockback.
• Has slight meteor smash.

Red Pikmin

Yellow Pikmin

Blue Pikmin

Purple Pikmin

White Pikmin

Rock pikmin.jpg

Rock Pikmin

Winged Pikmin.png

Attributes

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Olimar is a unique and very versatile character. All but six of his attacks rely on Pikmin to perform, each with unique characteristics and suitability for each type of Pikmin. Thus, it is somewhat difficult to quantify the effectiveness of any particular class of Olimar's moves. Generally, the Pikmin do severe damage if not dealt with. They can block some moves (like Ike's Quick Draw, Ness' PK Thunder and Samus' Charge Shot), they can allow some of Olimar's attacks to continue even if he is hit, and they can combine to become a long tether. Moreover, if the Pikmin are ordered correctly, Olimar can have powerful throws (using Blue Pikmin), the longest grab range in the game (when using White or Blue Pikmin), great aerials (Red, Yellow, and Purple), and the ability to inflict incredible levels of damage with the Pikmin Throw.

Overall, Olimar has quick attacks that are difficult to punish, including his useful down aerial meteor smash, and he is the smallest character in the game (along with Squirtle), a trait somewhat obviated by his Pikmin Order's launch resistance should opponents be looking to KO him. He can also be very difficult to approach when wielding many Pikmin (which should be most of the time). Whenever he is hit into the air, his Pikmin fan out around him in a protective formation, becoming the target of the opponent's next attack. Finally, Olimar's three primary Pikmin (Red, Yellow and Blue) are each immune to certain types of attacks (fire, electricity, and water respectively), making them harder to kill in certain match-ups.

At his purest, Olimar is about damage. Aside from Purples, all of Olimar's Pikmin can be continuously thrown at the opponent, racking up damage with alarming celerity, while Olimar has three Pikmin-less moves capable of sucking in the opponent for more damage (his Up Tilt, Neutral Air and Down Tilt). Pikmin Throw is the most damaging projectile in the game (White Pikmin can do up to 54% damage each). Also note that Olimar's Forward Smash, Side special, and Grab have similar animations, making it difficult to tell what he is doing until it is too late. He can also continuously guard himself with long-lasting, long-reaching moves, which his opponents must try to avoid in their frantic quest to stop having Pikmin assault them.

Olimar is arguably the best shield-grabber in the game, with his grab range being fantastic on all Pikmin except the Purple ones; the range is good enough to make up for the slight lag of the grab as opponents are occasionally too far away to take advantage of the grab attempt (unless they've sidestepped). On the downside, Olimar gains no launch resistance while grabbing, making him a sitting duck in FFA. Olimar is excellent at popping the opponent into the air for aerial damage with his fast, deceptively ranged (in front) Up Smash, best performed with a Yellow Pikmin for max range. From there, he has a long-lasting up-air which serves as both a superb defense above him and an excellent way to harass opponents returning to the ground - and it cancels quickly enough to polish off another Up Air, an Up Smash, or a Pikmin Chain (for the last one, they should be more to the front of Olimar). Like Falco, even good players can count on a good Olimar taking the first 50% or so of a stock without a problem, especially if Down Tilt, Olimar's best setup move regardless of percent, hits.

Olimar's not bad at killing, either. Rarely can an opponent predict which Pikmin is coming next, or how, so surprise Purples and Reds on potent moves like Olimar's Forward Air, Back Air, Down Air, Up Air, Down Smash, Forward Smash, Up Smash, and Pikmin Chain can cause serious problems. His forward smash in particular is deadly due to its range, spamming capacity, power (especially when it's a Purple Pikmin), and how difficult it is to punish. Blue Pikmin-based back and forward throws, along with Purple Pikmin-based down and up throws, are also cause for concern due to their killing ability.

Though he has incredible strengths, he is not without his weaknesses. Olimar is completely dependent on Pikmin for his smashes, grabs, specials, and four of his five aerials - so if he has no Pikmin nearby, these moves have no hitboxes, leaving him in serious trouble. Also, Olimar loses all his Pikmin when he is KO'd, which is a problem, as it makes him predictable for the first few seconds of every stock (save for the first), because any remotely half-decent Olimar player will use Pikmin Pluck for his invincibility frames instead of attacking.

All Pikmin (excluding Blue ones) drown in water deep enough to swim in, which can make Olimar vulnerable when fighting on stages such as DK Island: Jungle Japes and Summit. He is also a very light and floaty character. His floatiness combines with a lack of high air speed to make him fairly easy to juggle - especially since his neutral air (his only non-Pikmin-based air attack) is not designed for defense.

Another significant weakness is his mobility; both in the air and on the ground, Olimar is fairly sluggish (especially for a tiny lightweight). Olimar players must also plan ahead to maximize the effectiveness of their Pikmin. They must learn what each Pikmin is capable of and must adapt to each one, particularly in the middle of a fight; an inattentive Olimar player can end up whiffing on a Purple Smash Attack or dealing minimal damage on a White air attack. This gives him an extremely high learning curve.

As significant as these problems stated above may be, they pale in comparison to Olimar's single greatest weakness: his abysmal recovery. More than anything else, this holds Olimar back. Although his double jump is decent, he relies on a tether recovery to save himself because of his poor air speed. While the tether increases in size depending on how many Pikmin are in Olimar's line, it is utterly useless against edge-hoggers and puts him into a helpless state. This can be circumvented by putting the Purple Pikmin in front to hit the edgehogging enemy and grab the ledge, but the Purple Pikmin must be last in the Pikmin line-up.

On the whole, Olimar is a superb character who has steadily risen through the ranks. His weaknesses are more than compensated for by his strengths, and he has unusually high strategic capability. With his high-powered, quick moves and infuriating Pikmin Throw, Olimar has scaled the ranks with aplomb.

Moveset

Olimar-Only Attacks

Normal

• Neutral Attack (jab) - Olimar headbutts twice, but hits three times. The antenna on his head deals slight damage, but not knockback. 15% damage (the last 10% is on the final hit, which connects with opponents in front of, above and behind Olimar, in that order).
• Dash Attack - Olimar does sort of a tripping cartwheel, similar to Diddy Kong's. 11% damage. Primarily vertical knockback. Can be followed up by most of his aerials and even Up Smash depending on the enemy's size, weight and percentage.
• Side Tilt - Olimar kicks both legs forward quick fastly, falling to the ground. 6% damage and decent knockback at higher percentages. Mainly a defensive maneuver.
• Up Tilt - Olimar jumps a little and spins in place, hitting multiple times. The last hit has significant knockback. Similar to his Neutral Aerial. 11% damage. Higher priority than his up smash. Has super-armor frames at the beginning.
• Down Tilt - Olimar does a headbutt, sliding along the ground and gains slight distance. 8% damage. Minimal knockback and decent speed, can be spammed at lower percentages or combo'ed well into Up Tilt or Up Smash early on, and is an excellent setup move at higher percentages. Helmet antenna will do 2% damage and knockback if it connects by itself.

Aerials

• Neutral Aerial - Olimar spins in place, hitting multiple times. The last hit has significant knockback. 12% damage. Excellent in certain short-hop combos. Can be followed up by a Up Aerial or another Neutral Aerial in low percentages.

Pikmin Attacks

All of the Following moves use the next Pikmin in line, and knockback and damage depend on the Pikmin's color. After use, the Pikmin goes to the back of the line. (This is assuming it survived; during the up and side smashes, the attacking Pikmin is vulnerable to attack, just as if Olimar had thrown it using his side special). Grabs work the same way. Generally, Olimar's aerial moves have higher priority if used earlier (Particularly his Up Aerial, which interrupts virtually everything if used early enough).

Smash Attacks

• Forward Smash - Olimar throws a Pikmin in front of him. It deals damage and knockback rather than latching on. A weak hit will occur if the Pikmin connects as it falls, making this move good for edge-guarding - but the Pikmin will die if thrown off the edge unless quickly called to Olimar's side via Pikmin Order.
  • Red Pikmin: 15% uncharged, 21% fully charged;
  • Blue Pikmin: 15% uncharged, 21% fully charged;
  • Yellow Pikmin: 13% uncharged, 18% fully charged;
  • White Pikmin: 9% uncharged, 12% fully charged;
  • Purple Pikmin: 18% uncharged, 25% fully charged.
• Up Smash - Olimar tosses a Pikmin a short distance into the air. It is Olimar's fastest smash, and it has surprising forward range.
  • Red Pikmin: 15% uncharged, 21% fully charged;
  • Blue Pikmin: 15% uncharged, 21% fully charged;
  • Yellow Pikmin: 14% uncharged, 19% fully charged;
  • White Pikmin: 9% uncharged, 12% fully charged;
  • Purple Pikmin: 16% uncharged, 22% fully charged.
• Down Smash - Olimar throws out Pikmin a short distance to either side (uses the next two in order). Has horizontal knockback, making it useful against heavyweights and/or characters with short horizontal recovery (i.e. Ganondorf or Marth).
  • Red Pikmin: 13% uncharged, 18% fully charged;
  • Blue Pikmin: 12% uncharged, 16% fully charged;
  • Yellow Pikmin: 11% uncharged, 15% fully charged;
  • White Pikmin: 6% uncharged, 8% fully charged
  • Purple Pikmin: 15% uncharged, 21% fully charged.

Aerials

• Forward Aerial - Olimar smacks a medium-short range with a Pikmin. Swings in an arc. At the end of the move, the Pikmin will be slightly behind Olimar, dealing a powerful blow to anything there.
  • Red: 15%; Blue: 13%; Yellow: 12%; White: 5%; Purple: 14%.
• Back Aerial - Similar to the forward aerial, only behind Olimar and more of a horizontal arc. Will deal a powerful blow to enemies close in front of Olimar in the first few frames.
  • Red: 13%; Blue: 13%; Yellow: 12%; White: 5%; Purple: 13%.
• Up Aerial - Olimar thrusts a Pikmin above his head (multi-hit, with the last hit having significant knockback). Very high priority. Ideal KO move when used with a Red Pikmin.
  • Red: 25%; Blue: 22%; Yellow: 16%; White: 9%; Purple: 22%.
• Down Aerial - Thrusts a Pikmin under himself. Short-ranged with some level of landing lag. The first few frames can cause a Meteor Smash, the strongest belonging to the Red Pikmin and the weakest belonging to the White Pikmin. The sweet spot for Meteor Smashing is diagonally below the Captain. Can Meteor Smash at low percents depending on weight of victim and recovery trajectory/length.
  • Red: 16%; Blue: 14%; Yellow: 12%; White: 8%; Purple: 14%.

Grabs & Throws

Olimar himself does no grabbing or throwing; instead, he has the next Pikmin in order dash forward and do the grabbing and throwing for him (these are all tether grabs). All the Pikmin except Purple clock in for the four longest grabs in the game, ranked Blue, White, Red (tied with Zero Suit Samus) and Yellow, with Purple coming in coming behind Samus and Link's tether grabs.

• Pummel - Pikmin attacks with headbutt. The Pikmin deal their respective damage per hit: 2% for Red, 2% for Blue, 2% for Yellow, 4-6% for White, and 2% for Purple.
• Forward Throw - Pikmin leaps into the air, latches onto the opponent, and then pushes itself off. With Blue Pikmin, it has very high damage and knockback for a throw.
  • Red: 6%; Blue: 13%; Yellow: 7%; White: 6%; Purple: 7%.
• Back Throw - Pikmin latches onto opponent and jumps backwards while slamming them into the ground. One of the strongest back throws in the game when performed by a blue Pikmin.
  • Red: 7%, Blue: 14%; Yellow: 9%; White: 7%; Purple: 9%.
• Up Throw - Pikmin leaps into the air (while holding opponent), turns the opponent upside-down, then slams them into the ground. With the Purple Pikmin, it is by far the strongest Up Throw in the game, being able to even star KO under 125%. It is overall the second strongest throw in the game (only Ness's back throw is stronger). Unlike Kirby's Up Throw, this cannot be used to kill both the opponent and the thrower (in this case, the Pikmin); if used next to the very edge, the Pikmin will seem to back up in the air slightly before coming down.
  • Red: 9%; Blue: 12%; Yellow: 11%; White: 6%; Purple: 11%.
• Down Throw - Pikmin slams opponent on ground, then leaps quite high to land on the victim. Can be used to chaingrab fastfallers and heavyweights, like King Dedede.
  • Red: 9%; Blue: 12%; Yellow: 8%; White: 6%; Purple: 8%.

Special Moves

Template:Pikmin & Olimar Special Moves

Taunts

Up: Jumps joyfully, similar to his animation in his games when he gains a new part for the Dolphin. Similar to the Ice Climbers' Up Taunt.
Side: Lays down on the ground as if he were asleep, then rolls over and gets up; likely based on the "nap" ability in Pikmin to return to the ship quickly. Similar to Pikachu's down taunt.
Down: Plants feet and spins his hips twice.

In competitive play

 

Super Smash Bros. Brawl Character Matchups

Avg.

Role in the Subspace Emissary

Olimar in the SSE

Captain Olimar's Pikmin are attacking a huge R.O.B. (even the Purple Pikmin are latched on to the Giant R.O.B., unlike in the game, where they slam the enemy); however, they are so weak they do no damage. The R.O.B. simply spins around, and all the Pikmin that were on him fly in all directions. Most of them die. Captain Olimar starts shivering in fear at the huge robot. A red Pikmin walks up to Olimar and taps him on the side. Olimar turns around and the red Pikmin points out the Blue Falcon speeding their way. Captain Falcon jumps out of the Blue Falcon and Falcon Punches the huge robot right in the face. The R.O.B. then falls back destroyed. Captain Falcon lands and slides to a stop, killing all of the Pikmin except the red one next to Olimar. Captain Falcon stands there, striking a pose, while Captain Olimar watches in shock. Despite this rocky start, Olimar and Captain Falcon decide to team up to fight the Subspace Army.

Upon reaching the edge of the Isle of Ancients, the pair witnesses Diddy Kong attacking some Primids and rescuing Donkey Kong. Captain Falcon and a reluctant Olimar then decide to join forces with the Kongs - and when the duo reaches the Kongs, the Primids return with backup. Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Captain Falcon, and Olimar manage to fight them off before they see off Falco Lombardi, who had helped Diddy in bringing him to the large Cargo that DK was held on.

The Cargo takes Olimar and his crew inside the Subspace Bomb Factory, and they begin to move through it. They eventually find the Ancient Minister, along with Pikachu and Samus Aran. A hologram of Ganondorf suddenly appears and commands the R.O.B.s in the room to detonate the Subspace Bombs in the room so he could create a large enough hole in space to fit a Subspace Gunship through. The Ancient Minister reveals himself to be the leader of the R.O.B.s and helps the other heroes defeat the Subspace underlings that Ganondorf sent out. Olimar, along with R.O.B. and the rest, escapes from the island before it is sucked into Subspace. All of the heroes then unite to take down the Subspace Gunship and enter Subspace. Olimar contributes by putting his ship, the Dolphin, at the heroes disposal. His excellent piloting allows him to avoid the huge ship's turrets until Kirby destroys it. Unfortunately, Olimar and the others were doomed to be turned into trophies by Tabuu.

However, hope comes in the form of King Dedede, who created some badges that revive trophies into the original fighter. Olimar and others are rescued by Dedede and his team consisting of Luigi, Ness,and Kirby going solo. With everyone revived, they are able to take down Tabuu and save the world.

Costume Gallery

Olimars different colors in SSBB

Trophy Description

Veteran spacefarers in the employ of Hocotate Freight. After crash- landing on an enigmatic planet, Olimar met the mysterious beings known as Pikmin. He enlisted their aid to find his spaceship parts and help him escape. Once home, he found his employer on the verge of bankruptcy. He was sent back to the Pikmin world with his partner, Louie, to repay the company debt.

Cheer

• "Pikmin! Olimar!"

Trivia

• In the Home-Run Contest, Olimar will only pick Purple Pikmin.
• As soon as Olimar's tether latches onto a ledge, Olimar will hold his arms out in a "T" (blind position), the position used by game producers while designing characters.
• If Olimar gets hit, his eyes pop out (a reference to Pikmin 2).
• When giant or tiny, Pikmin voices do not change pitch while being thrown or dying, although they do change when Olimar plucks them.
• Olimar holds the world record for Level 1 Target Smash (3.86 seconds).
• Olimar, Samus, R.O.B., and Mr. Game and Watch are the only characters that do not talk or make vocal noises in Brawl. However, it should be noted that the Pikmin do most vocal noises instead, especially noticable when dying from an opponent's attack or when Olimar dies.
• Olimar (only with the Blue Pikmin) is one of the four characters whose four throws all KO in Sudden Death.
• When Olimar loses in a Stamina match, his Pikmin do not die, but stand around Olimar.
• Olimar is tied with Sonic for highest increase in a tier list (Olimar rose to 10th from 18th from the 1st Tier List to the 2nd). He then rose to 2nd, under only Meta Knight, in the Smash World Forums Tier List Version 6 (as of April 2012).
• In the cutscene before Olimar and Captain Falcon jump onto the cargo ship, Olimar is shown with a few Pikmin. This is the last time Olimar is shown with any Pikmin besides the Red one.
  • Even though Captain Falcon only drags Olimar down to the Cargo Ship, the Red Pikmin from before is seen with Olimar. This is the last time any Pikmin are seen with Olimar in The SSE.
    • In SSE, in the first cutscene with Olimar, there are no White Pikmin on the Giant R.O.B. In fact, only two White Pikmin appear in cutscenes throughout the entire SSE.
• Olimar can perform a glitch with Pikmin Throw in the Great Maze. In the Halberd stage with the elevator, if he throws Pikmin down the hole after one destroys the blocks, they will be stuck in spinning mode and eventually die unless one hits the other bomb blocks.
• In the Subspace Emissary, Olimar's Pikmin count is reset to 3 every time he spawns. If his Pikmin can't go to him they will begin to blink white, then die.

External links

• Combo video by Magzillas
• Pikmin & Olimar's page at the Smash Bros. DOJO!!
• Olimar Character Guide at SWF