Smash Bros - Softonic English

Do you want to know which character from ‘Super Smash Bros’ you have to pick to win? Any character is valid, and we have evidence

A small kick in the face to Smash Bros experts who are certain about the characters that always win and those you should never pick. In the end, at a user level, what matters is how much fun you have, after all.

It’s one of the decisions that define you as a human being, almost as much as choosing between Squirtle, Charmander, and Bulbasaur: Who are you going to choose as the main character in ‘Super Smash Bros’? I’m sure you’re convinced that some are much stronger than others, that it’s easier to win with R.O.B than with Pikachu, and that sometimes the Nintendo game has its flaws. However, there’s a surprise: the team is quite balanced, even if you don’t believe it.

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Fifty-fifty

It has been confirmed by the game’s director himself, Masahiro Sakurai, in a video where he states that the 80 characters in ‘Super Smash Bros Ultimate’ are very well balanced. He doesn’t give names, however, based on online match data, the highest win ratio for any character is 51.43%, while the lowest is 47.18%. So, it’s not so much about the strength of the character you choose, but how you use them.

Or in other words, everyone has a chance to win and, according to him, “it would be difficult to get much closer to this opportunity”. A little kick in the face of Smash Bros experts who are clear about the characters that always win and the ones you should never pick. In the end, at a user level, what matters is what you enjoy, after all.

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10 best GameCube games

What games made the Nintendo GameCube legendary?

The early 2000s was a monumental turning point in video game history. Sony began the new millennium with the PlayStation 2, and Microsoft ended 2001 with the Xbox. These two systems were pillars in video game history.

However, we’re not here to talk about those two consoles. We are here to discuss the one that came out between these two, the Nintendo GameCube.

During this time, Nintendo was going through a weird era. Sure, they were definitely still doing well. The Nintendo 64 left a great legacy and the Game Boy Advance came out earlier that year and had phenomenal sales. Unfortunately, the Gamecube did not sell as well as the Xbox, and not nearly as well as the PlayStation 2.

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With that being said, that doesn’t mean the GameCube didn’t have great games. The GameCube had a rich library of games that set it up for success. The Xbox and PS2 just had a leg-up with revolutionary first-person shooters like Halo and regularly updating franchises like Ratchet and Clank and Jak and Daxter.

For this list, we looked for the games that still made the GameCube worth buying. They didn’t win the console war, but they did win over the fans.

Top 10 GameCube games

10. Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness

A lot of the reason why people buy Nintendo’s mobile consoles like the Nintendo DS and the Game Boy Advance is so that they can play Pokémon games. While fans wanted Pokémon games on Nintendo’s home consoles, we never expected them.

Not only did the GameCube get a Pokémon game, but it got the best home console Pokémon game ever made. Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness has some of the same mechanics as your typical Pokémon game, but it focuses more on the story rather than collecting mons and badges.

It’s also a much harder Pokémon game than what we were used to seeing. The final boss is so hard it just seems cruel. Also, rather than you getting the opportunity to hunt in the wild for whatever mons you want, you are at the mercy of using only the mons you snagged from other trainers.

If you’re a Pokémon fan, you can’t go wrong with this classic.

9. Soul Calibur 2

Soul Calibur 2 was on the PS2 and Xbox as well as the GameCube. However, what made it better on the GameCube was the inclusion of our favorite sword-wielding fairy boy, Link. Each game had its exclusive character depending on what console you played. Xbox got the comic book character Spawn, and the PS2 got Mishima from Tekken.

Both of those characters were fun, but they’re no Link.

Soul Calibur 2 is a tournament fighter game where the characters fight with swords, staffs, axes, nunchaku, and even magic. Sure, you can mash buttons and do fairly well, but the more experienced player plays the game like a chess match.

8. Mario Kart: Double Dash

If you were to ask the average Mario Kart fan which game in the series is their favorite, you probably wouldn’t hear anyone mention Mario Kart: Double Dash. However, the game is still a lot of fun.

Double Dash had a unique mechanic where you picked two characters instead of one. One character sits up front driving the kart while the other one sits in back throwing items at other drivers.

This made for some interesting decisions. Maybe you want to have a lighter character up front like Toad, and then throw a heavy character like Donkey Kong on the back to help balance it out.

This might not be our favorite Mario Kart game, but we can pop this one in any day of the week.

7. Sonic Adventure 2 Battle

First, let’s start this off right:

Ahh, if only Sonic’s transition to film went over as well as his transition to Nintendo.

After the demise of the Sega Dreamcast, Sonic the Hedgehog made his way over to the Nintendo GameCube. His stay had… mixed results. Sonic Heroes was a decent title, but the original Sonic Adventure had quite possibly the ugliest talking animation ever.

That said, the crown jewel was Sonic Adventure 2 Battle. The game was animated well for the time, and the gameplay had actual 3D platforming mechanics fitting for the blue hedgehog.

This was the first Sonic title to get the 3D formula right. It wasn’t buggy and game-breaking like future titles, and it was more polished and clean than its predecessor.

The game also introduced us to Shadow the Hedgehog who would go on to be a major anti-hero in the series. The game was divided into a hero and villain side where you could choose to play on the side of good or evil. Each side had three different types of levels. Sonic and Shadow had fast-paced 3D platforming levels. Knuckles and Rouge were treasure hunters in a race to collect all the pieces of the Master Emerald. Tails and Dr. Eggman drove their mechs through levels, shooting down everything in their paths.

One of the things that really makes this game stick out is the Chao Garden. Chao are blue fairy-like creatures that also look like onions.

In the game, you raise them from the moment they hatch. You feed them, train them, and take care of them. It definitely is not enough to merit its own game, but it’s definitely a fun break from the main game.

6. Super Mario Sunshine

Super Mario 64 for the Nintendo 64 set the course for every 3D platformer thereafter. The essence of the game is in its control. Mario feels like he can move wherever you want him to go. His limits are not set by the game, but by your own limitations as a gamer.

That game set such a high standard that Super Mario Sunshine, unfortunately, did not entirely meet. However, that doesn’t mean that this game isn’t fun.

Super Mario Sunshine is an absolute jam. The same feeling of control from Super Mario 64 is still present here. Also, this time Mario has a water hose/water-powered jetpack called FLUDD. This tool gives Mario a whole new dimension to how he can maneuver through the world.

You might be thinking, “Okay, so why isn’t this game as good as Super Mario 64?” Its shortcoming lies in its level designs. When you think of Mario 64, your mind jumps to Bomb-Omb Battlefield, Shifting Sands Land, or Wet-Dry World. Mario Sunshine just doesn’t have the same memorable worlds.

Mario Sunshine is a great game, but it is far from being a legend.

5. Metroid Prime

Nobody thought this game was going to work out as well as it did.

While Link and Mario had 3D incarnations on the Nintendo 64, our favorite bounty-hunting baddie Samus did not get a game. Our thought process was that we couldn’t get a Metroid game was because a 3D Metroid game wasn’t possible. Thank God we were wrong.

Metroid Prime didn’t have the online multiplayer of the Halo franchise, but it had the best alien-hunting campaign of its time. The labyrinth of the original Metroid games is back in a 3D environment that translated so well to the GameCube.

You get to use Samus’s power-ups like the Morph Ball and Grapple Beam to navigate the 3D environment. Eventually, you get to take down some of the most challenging bosses in video game history.

4. Resident Evil 4

The video game era of the early 2000s was defined by graphics.

Nobody thought that the GameCube had the same graphics capabilities of the Xbox or the PS2. People thought GameCube games had such cartoonish graphics because they couldn’t make characters look realistic. Resident Evil 4 was the game that shut them all up.

Resident Evil 4 is about an agent named Leon who is sent into essentially a cultist’s dystopia where he needs to find and rescue the president’s daughter. While there, Leon encounters humans infected with a parasite that takes over their mind and makes them stronger.

Throughout the game, the bosses get harder as your arsenal of guns gets larger. The game isn’t about bringing the biggest, baddest gun to the fight, but bringing the right equipment for the job. Plug in this game, and you’re in for arguably the best Resident Evil game in the entire franchise.

3. The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker

After the success of Ocarina of Time and Majora Mask, fans of the Zelda franchise were expecting another fantastic title just as dark as its predecessors. We were also expecting more realistic graphics. What we got wasn’t exactly dark:

So many fans wrote off “The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker” based on the graphics alone. Those fans missed out on an incredible game.

Wind Waker has some of the best sword-fighting mechanics in any video game. Link moves around like a Jedi, parrying blows while flipping through the air.

The story is also great. Link is on a journey to rescue his sister who was kidnapped by a giant albatross. From there, he gets roped into a mission by a talking boat to defeat the evil Ganondorf while unlocking secrets from Hyrule’s past.

Along the way, you meet a colorful cast of characters while you sail the high seas in one of the best adventures in the series.

2. The Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess feels like the Zelda game fans wanted for the GameCube. The game is dark and abysmal. Everywhere you go, you encounter characters who just seem to have zero joy left in them. However, once you get to know them, they inspire you, even more, to conquer evil and save the land of Hyrule.

Also, we finally got the graphics we wanted:

Speaking of characters, Twilight Princess introduced us to Midna who is, without a doubt, the best companion to journey alongside Link in any Zelda game. Midna is charismatic, sassy, and, most importantly, flawed. Throughout the game, we see the chinks in her armor as she lets her guard down more and more to the player. By the end, you care about her making it out alive more than Link.

The game was released as a launch title for the Nintendo Wii as well as one of the final titles for the GameCube. Although the game is pretty fun on the Wii, the GameCube was the console that not only deserved it but made it a legend.

1. Super Smash Bros. Melee

The more we thought about it, the more we realized that there simply is not another GameCube game worth of this spot.

Super Smash Bros Melee is not only the best Smash Bros. game and the best GameCube game, but it’s quite possibly the best platforming fighting game ever created.

Three Super Smash Bros. games have been released since Melee, and yet this is the one you still see at tournaments.

The fighting is fast-paced and fluid in a way that Nintendo hasn’t been able to capture since. When you plug this in, hours fly by without you noticing.

Melee showed truly what the GameCube could be. It showed that it could have you and three friends huddle on a cramped couch that smelled like Cheetos and stale Dr. Pepper, and you’d be fine with it.

Wrapping up

Yeah, Pikmin didn’t make the list. We’re sorry, there just wasn’t enough room. What games do you think should have made the list? Let us know in the comments below? As for us, we have to go 1v1 Fox only on Final Destination.

Here’s what competitive Smash Ultimate looks like so far

Catch up with tips, tricks, and strategies to win Super Smash Bros Ultimate.

The release of Super Smash Bros Ultimate last December brought thousands of new players to the competitive scene. The game builds on 2014’s Smash 4 with an expanded roster of characters and significant gameplay improvements, causing the game to become the quickest selling entry in the franchise.

Now, over three months after its release, Smash Ultimate is enjoying a thriving competitive scene. Here’s a quick look at how this early meta is developing.

Competitive Super Smash Bros. Ultimate in 2019

The top characters

Competitive Smash players can rest easy; so far, the game’s roster of characters is by far the most balanced in the series. The balance of past Smash games hasn’t exactly been stellar, but so far Smash Ultimate has no definitive best character. Tournament results are far more spread out throughout the cast (over 91% of characters have had at least decent tournament placings), which is extremely impressive given that the game features 74 playable characters.

There are a handful of characters who have had poor competitive results, however. Kirby, Little Mac, Bowser Jr., and Mr. Game & Watch, among a few others, struggle to keep up with the rest of the cast. While these characters have their dedicated mains, hopefully, the dev team will buff these characters to bring them in line.

While the meta is still young, there have been no characters or strategies that are overcentralizing or excessively powerful. In Smash Ultimate, characters are balanced to better use their entire movesets as opposed to overcentralizing special moves or guaranteed combos like in Smash 4, which gives Ultimate significantly more gameplay variety. Here are a few of the characters in Smash Ultimate that have gotten the most tournament success (and how to beat them):

Pichu

Don’t let its cuteness fool you: Pichu is one of the biggest threats in Smash Ultimate. Pichu being so good comes as a surprise to those who played them in Super Smash Bros Melee, as Pichu was designed to be the worst character in that game (though in practice, Kirby and Bowser are actually worse). After 17 years of training, the baby mouse came back with a vengeance in Smash Ultimate.

Pichu’s tiny body and incredibly fast ground and air speed allow it to dodge enemy attacks with ease. Its incredible special move, Thunder Jolt, allows it to zone out opponents and rack up damage. The projectile moves slowly enough for Pichu to chase after it and grab shielding opponents. Pichu’s moves all have shockingly quick startup and endlag, giving it one of the best combo games in the entire cast. Combined with an excellent and nearly uninterruptible recovery, a deadly edgeguarding game, and potent kill options, Pichu is a threat that every competitive player must prepare for. Pichu is basically a minmaxed version of Pikachu, and is, so far, the game’s deadliest glass cannon.

Pichu’s biggest weakness by far is its survivability. It damages itself whenever it uses an electric move, which, combined with its incredibly low weight, allow it to be KO’d by a light breeze. Put some distance between yourself and Pichu and play defensively. This will force Pichu to rack up damage on itself while allowing you to KO it with a single strong attack.

The best Pichu players in the world are currently VoiD, Nietono, Captain L, and Yetey.

Wolf

Returning from Brawl to take his revenge, Wolf is a force to be reckoned with in Smash Ultimate. One of the most versatile characters in the game, Wolf can successfully combo, kill, zone, and pressure. Unlike other all-around characters like Pit (who is decent at everything but great at nothing), Wolf excels in nearly every offensive department. Though his ground speed is slow, he surprisingly has an incredibly fast air speed, allowing him to quickly follow up on aerial combos and punishes.

Speaking of Wolf’s aerials, his forward aerial can both combo into itself and kill, similar to Mewtwo. Despite moderate startup lag, his back air is his most consistent killing move, possessing a powerful sweetspot in his foot. Up aerial can combo at a wide variety of percents and even kill while near the top of the screen.

On the ground, Wolf is even better. His neutral B, Blaster, is one of the best projectiles/neutral tools in the game. The projectile flies slowly, inflicts a lot of damage, and has transcendent priority (meaning that it will beat out all other attacks and cannot be interrupted, much like Fox’s/Falco’s Blaster). Blaster more than makes up for Wolf’s slow dash speed, as it forces opponents to either approach or jump (allowing them to fall victim to Wolf’s fantastic aerials). Wolf is a character that not only succeeds in all areas of offense, he excels. His versatility makes him an unpredictable opponent that skilled players will push to the moon.

Wolf isn’t a perfect character, however. Defensively, Wolf is severely lacking. Though he is a heavy character, his survivability is incredibly poor due to his abysmal recovery. Fire Wolf and Wolf Flash are both linear and predictable, and unlike Fox and Falco, both moves put him in a helpless state (when the character blinks and is unable to do anything but shift left or right). Additionally, his fast falling speed, tall frame, and high weight make him perfect combo food. When facing Wolf, close the gap on the ground as much as possible and don’t give him a chance to use his Blaster or fight in the air.

Wolf is currently the most commonly picked character in tournament play. The best Wolf players are currently Zackray, Tweek, VoiD, and MKLeo.

Peach/Daisy

Note: For all intents and purposes, Peach and Daisy play exactly the same. There are very, very minor differences to their size and certain animations but these have hardly any effect on gameplay. Therefore, Peach and Daisy are interchangeable characters.

Peach has never been bad in a Smash game, and Ultimate is no exception. Simply put, everything that was good about Peach in past games is now better. Her main strength is in her fantastic aerial game. Peach’s ability to float in mid-air gives her amazing horizontal aerial pressure, and floating removes the damage penalty that normally applies to short hop aerials. Though her mobility is still slow, it has been improved from Smash 4. Her air acceleration is the second highest in the game (tied with Wario), which allows her to chase down and punish opponents with her float.

Peach’s ground game has also improved. Her down tilt is an incredible combo starter that launches opponents into the air. Her Vegetable projectile is now plucked faster, flies faster through the air, and does more damage, which (combined with her float) gives Peach some of the best horizontal stage control in the game.

Peach’s biggest weakness is her survivability. Her tall frame makes her easy to juggle in the air (though her low weight and falling speed prevent her from getting comboed too hard). Additionally, her vertical recovery is weak, though horizontally she can recover from afar using Peach Bomber and her float. Peach is an unorthodox character, so fighting her can be difficult. Focus on staying below her and juggling her in the air. If your character has good projectiles, zone her out as much as possible. She’ll have a hard time avoiding fire due to her low mobility.

The best Peach players are currently Samsora, CaptainZack, Zinoto, and Meru.

The top players

While a good portion of the top players in Smash Ultimate came over from Smash 4, many Melee players and brand new players have also placed high in tournaments. Here are a few of the current top players:

MKLeo

After top player ZeRo’s retirement, MKLeo was widely considered the best Smash 4 player in the world. Things haven’t changed in Smash Ultimate; MKLeo is currently the best player in the world (at only 18 years old!). At Smash Ultimate’s first supermajor tournament, GENESIS 6, MKLeo had an insane comeback run through loser’s bracket, eventually double eliminating VoiD to win the tournament.

MKLeo is famous for his aggressive-yet-intelligent playstyle, focusing on pressuring the opponent into making a mistake and brutally punishing them. He is known for playing sword characters and in Smash Ultimate he prefers Ike, Cloud, and Lucina. He used Ike throughout GENESIS 6, which was a surprising move as Ike wasn’t seen as an especially dominant character at the time. MKLeo’s performance with Ike reinvigorated interest in the character, and he’s now seen as a high tier by most competitive players.

Tweek

From humble beginnings as Smash 4’s best Bowser Jr to becoming one of the best overall players in the world, Tweek has risen to become one of competitive Smash’s top stars. He has already placed first at numerous tournaments, including Glitch 6. Tweek and MKLeo frequently go toe to toe with MKLeo barely edging him out. In the past, MKLeo has called Tweek’s playstyle his least favorite to go up against due to how calculating, punish-heavy, and grab-focused it is.

Tweek has a variety of characters under his belt that he pulls out for various matchups. He is an incredible Wolf and Chrom player, in addition to being so far the best Wario and Donkey Kong player in the world. He even used Young Link frequently at Glitch 6, a character who he said he only played for three days prior. Though Young Link is a strong character, he is infrequently seen in tournaments, which Tweek used to catch his opponents off guard.

Here is the grand finals set of Glitch 6, which features both Tweek and MKLeo. The set is an amazing showcase of the current Smash Ultimate metagame.

How are you enjoying Smash Ultimate so far? Are you planning on competing? Let us know!