Like many fighting games, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has a cast of characters of varying difficulty.  While some characters are straightforward and easy to understand, others have unique mechanics or unwieldy controls which make them difficult to recommend to beginners.

It can be difficult for newcomers to learn the game's mechanics, such as how to control your character, perform a smash attack, or even return to the stage.  We’ve gathered a list of fifteen characters who possess the tools to help you learn the game at a fundamental level. 

Whether you’re looking for an all-rounder, a speedster, or a powerhouse, we hope this list will point you towards your very first fighter!

#1: Mario

As one might expect, Mario is a well-rounded brawler with easy-to-understand moves.  He possesses tools to deal with many situations.  As players grow more comfortable with him, they can begin to explore his strong combo game, making him a worthwhile time investment.

What’s great about Mario:

• Many of his moves, especially his aerials, are fairly snappy.  This allows him to get up in his opponent’s face and fight.
• He possesses a solid projectile in his neutral B fireball, as well as a projectile-counter in his side-B cape, both of which are useful in many matchups.
• His quick air speed and above-average run speed make him easy to maneuver.

Choose Mario if:

• You like playing the well-rounded “starter” character in other fighting games, like Ryu in Street Fighter.
• You enjoy fighting up close and personal.
• You want to overwhelm your opponent with juggling and aerial combos.

#2: Kirby

Kirby can air jump five times, which is great for newcomers who struggle with recovering to the stage.  Although he is a lightweight, some of his moves pack a surprising punch.  Of course, the most fun part about playing Kirby is wielding other characters’ powers with his neutral B.

What’s great about Kirby:

• Kirby’s five aerial jumps and up-B give him a forgiving aerial recovery, which is great for beginners when they find themselves off-stage.
• That same aerial recovery also allows Kirby to go off-stage to secure kills with his horizontally-launching side air attack and downward-launching down air attack.
• His aerial attacks possess good stopping power and can create a wall of attacks that batter the opponent off-stage.

Choose Kirby if:

• You are uncomfortable with recovering to the stage and would appreciatea safety net in this area as you learn the game.
• You like to spend time at the air, swinging at your opponent with aerial attacks.
• You love Kirby’s ability to suck up enemies and steal their powers.

#3: Wolf

Wolf is a solid ground-based fighter.  He possesses moves that are relatively safe to throw out, and can kill careless opponents at early percentages.  If you don’t mind trading some of Fox’s speed away for power, Wolf will prove to be a solid heavyweight puncher with the ability to take out any opponent.

What’s great about Wolf:

• His low jump height allows him to continuously throw out powerful aerial attacks without being countered.
• He possesses a slew of kill options, such as his back air and forward smash, both of which can be safe and block and thus make Wolf a potent threat at a high enough percentage.
• His neutral B blaster stops opponents, unlike Fox’s neutral B blaster, making it a powerful tool to throw at the opponent at midrange.

Choose Wolf if:

• You like ground-based characters that can capitalize on opening up your opponent.
• You want to play a Star Fox character, but find Fox to be a bit too fast to control, or find Falco a bit too strange to control given his low speed and high vertical jump.
• You don’t want to play a brittle character who can be KO’d from a few hits.

#4: Samus

Samus is a great character for beginners who want to play the long range game.  Her gameplan is simple and effective, revolving around charging up her neutral B charge shot and blasting the enemy away.  She also possesses good recovery and can mix up the timing of her recovery by stalling in the air with down-B.

What’s great about Samus:

• Samus’s neutral B, when fully charged, is a devastating attack that can hit from a massive horizontal distance.  When she has it charged, opponents have to respect that she can use it at any time.
• Her side B missiles also cover a lot of horizontal space and move at varying speeds, pushing her opponent to jump toward her.  Samus can then meet them in the air with an aerial attack.
• Samus’s possesses good recovery due to her floaty jumps, the vertical distance in her up-B, and even horizontal recovery in her unique tether grab.

Choose Samus if:

• You like to pepper the opponent with projectiles at long range.
• You like the idea of having your charge shot on hand as a dangerous wild card.
• You like to control space and force your opponent to play your game.

#5: Young Link

Of the three Link characters, Young Link is the most focused on speed and maneuverability.  He can overwhelm his enemies with a barrage of projectiles, then close the distance to follow-up with his quick aerial attacks.  If you want to play an offense-based Link character, Young Link’s agility will serve you well.

What’s great about Young Link:

• He is great at zoning due to how quickly he can move after firing off his projectiles, such as his neutral B bow and side B boomerang.
• He has a strong combo game, with the ability to follow up on stray hits from his projectiles.
• His aerial attacks are difficult to beat in the air.

Choose Young Link if:

• You want to be able to switch between playing offense and defense on a dime.
• You like playing as Link but don’t necessarily like how slow and heavy he is.
• You like playing as Toon Link but don’t necessarily like how floaty he is.

#6: Ike

Ike is a powerhouse with some dangerous and surprisingly fast attacks that can kill at early percentages.  As the heaviest sword character in the game, he can take quite a few hits while dishing out tremendous damage.  This makes him a good choice for beginners who want the satisfaction of dominating their opponent with a few good hits.

What’s great about Ike:

• His forward and backward air attacks are fast and relatively safe options that can kill opponents near the edge at lower percentages.
• He can juggle opponents with his sweeping neutral air attack, making him threatening on offense.
• His side-B and up-B are both solid tools to return to the stage.  His up-B in particular is difficult to stop, even with counter moves such as Marth’s down-B.

Choose Ike if:

• You want to play a slow and powerful sword character.
• The idea of swatting your opponent out of the sky with a crushing blow sounds appealing to you.
• You enjoy the comeback factor of being able to take out a stock in just a few good hits.

#7: Pit

Pit may be even more of an all-rounder character than Mario, sharing more in common with Link given his arsenal of close and far-range moves.  With Pit’s far-reaching arrows, a powerful roll-chasing option in side-B, a projectile-reflector in down-B, and a series of multi-hitting attacks, he can battle comfortably at many ranges.

What’s great about Pit:

• He can play at range with his arrows, or up close with his tilts and aerial attacks. 
• Due to his three jumps and the generous range on his up-B, Pit can edgeguard and recover to the stage more comfortably than many other characters.
• He can comfortably juggle opponents with long-lasting multi-hit aerial attacks, such as neutral air and forward air attack.

Choose Pit if:

• You want to be able to play offstage or recover more comfortably with three air jumps.
• You want to be able to fight at both close and far ranges.
• You want to play a straightforward character that doesn’t rely on too many tricks.

#8: Meta Knight

Meta Knight thrives in the air.  He showers the enemy with multi-hitting blade attacks that will catch anyone who isn’t blocking.  He is especially strong in multiplayer matches where his whirlwind moves can pick up multiple targets.

What’s great about Meta Knight:

• Because many of his moves are quick and multi-hitting, they have a high chance of catching any opponent who isn’t blocking.
• Because blocking is the only reliable way to deal with Meta Knight’s onslaught, his grab game becomes more effective, setting the opponent up for aerial juggles.
• His three midair jumps and high-reaching up-B allow him to safely continue his offense offstage.

Choose Meta Knight if:

• You enjoy offense-based, aerial gameplay.
• You have the guts to pursue your opponent off-stage to secure kills.
• You don’t want to give your opponent any room to breathe and want to bury them in a maelstrom of attacks.

#9: Bowser

Mario’s arch-enemy is, as you’d expect, a hefty juggernaut.  His smash attacks possess super armor, allowing him to absorb blows while his attack lets loose, making him a menace against opponents who carelessly attack him.  Bowser also breaks shields like no one’s business.  These aspects, along with his incredibly high kill power, make him a great beginner character for the heavy hitter archetype.

What’s great about Bowser:

• He has numerous moves that can kill an opponent at double-digit percentages.
• Super armor allows him to swing at enemies without fear of retaliation.
• Not only do many of his moves quickly demolish shields, his side-B is a great counter to shield-prone enemies, as it will snatch them up regardless.

Choose Bowser if:

• You want to destroy your opponent with your sheer, overwhelming power.
• You aren’t interested in combos and just want to hit your enemy with single, strong attacks.
• You like to bully your opponent into playing defensively, and then punish them for being overly defensive.

#10: Ganondorf

The King of Evil may be slow, but he only needs a few hits to take you out.  Even though he may consistently rank near the bottom of character tier lists, he’s still a great character for beginners, as he is very powerful and easy to understand.  Because his beefy moves are so satisfying to hit, he is a lot of fun to play.

What’s great about Ganondorf:

• He has a lot of moves with serious kill power, from the obvious (his Warlock Punch neutral B) to the basic (his forward and back air attacks).
• He racks up damage very quickly, and only needs a few hits to kill his opponent.
• His side-B is a grab that goes through shields and forces the opponent onto the ground, where they must guess correctly or risk being clobbered by Ganondorf’s follow-up attacks.

Choose Ganondorf if:

• Your focus is entirely on power and you don’t mind sacrificing any semblance of speed.
• Your mindset is to “squash” or “crush” your opponent with explosive moves.
• You like to bust out slow but extremely powerful moves constantly, getting giddy when you finally hit.  It doesn’t matter if you swing and miss -- it’s about the moment when you finally connect.

#11: Toon Link

Toon Link is the floatiest of the three Links, and is also the most defense-based.  With his bomb, boomerang, and arrows, Toon Link players can easily set up a wall of projectiles, then use his snappy aerial attacks to bat away opponents as they attempt to approach.

What’s great about Toon Link:

• His floatiness and lower speed makes him easy to control and maneuver.
• His gameplan is relatively simple and effective, revolving around boxing his opponent out with projectiles.
• His floatiness and solid up-B height both allow him to reliably recover to the stage.

Choose Toon Link if:

• You like zoning and projectile-based gameplay.
• You prefer spending time in the air as opposed to the ground.
• You want to play a Link character, but without Link’s heaviness or Young Link’s focus on speed.

#12: Bowser Jr.

If you enjoy a bit of zoning, consider trying out Bowser Jr.  Unlike pure zoning-based characters, Bowser Jr. is surprisingly hefty, with some powerful grabs and smash attacks up close that make him threatening at multiple ranges.

What’s great about Bowser Jr.:

• His side-B allows him to lay a wind-up toy which marches forward until it hits an enemy and explodes.  Bowser Jr. can follow the toy in to begin his offense, or maintain his range and force the opponent to try to avoid it, making it a versatile tool at mid and far ranges.
• His up-B gives him a generous vertical recovery.
• His side smash attack is long-lasting, multi-hitting, kills easily, and shreds through shields, making it a powerful and easy-to-use tool when up close.

Choose Bowser Jr. if:

• You like laying traps that force your opponent to switch up their game.
• You want to be able to play at a distance, but don’t want to be completely helpless up close.
• You like playing well-rounded characters who are a bit on the heftier side, allowing them to take some hits.

#13: Fox

Fox’s high speed can make him a bit more difficult to control than some of the other characters on this list, but he is a good entry point into the world of speedsters.  This is due to his toolkit of strong, straightforward moves, all of which have their uses.

What’s great about Fox:

• His moves hit hard, and he only needs a couple of hits to get the ball rolling in his favor. 
• Each of his moves is useful in some way, and easy to understand at first glance.
• Fox is relevant even at the highest levels of play, and will reward your time investment in him. He can go toe-to-toe with almost everyone in the cast.

Choose Fox if:

• You enjoy rushdown characters.
• You enjoy aerial combat and challenging opponents in the air.
• You don’t necessarily enjoy complicated moves and long combos, but still like to overwhelm your opponents with speed.

#14: Lucina

Lucina is a straightforward swordswoman who excels at all levels of play, including beginner-level play, due to her exceptional speed and attack power.  The range of her sword can be difficult to contest for melee characters, and with a few hits, she can easily send an opponent offstage.  If you enjoy clean, swift swordplay, give Lucina a whirl.

What’s great about Lucina:

• Many of her attacks consist of simple sword swings, which are both easy to understand and effective.
• Her high run speed allows her to maneuver quickly across the stage, making her easy to control.
• She is strong in low and high level play, and rewards time investment.  Those who are good at Super Smash Bros. in general will likely be strong at Lucina as well.

Choose Lucina if:

• You want to play a sword character with an emphasis on speed and offense.
• You like playing straightforward characters who grow directly with a player’s skill.
• You are interested in getting better at Super Smash Bros. in the long term and want to play a character who rewards your time investment in a clear way.

#15: Palutena

Like several of the other characters on this list, Palutena is well-rounded and versatile, but with a couple of unorthodox moves that may feel a bit strange to newcomers.  With that said, she is a great beginner character primarily because her normal moves are so useful -- a game plan revolving solely around her dash attack, grab, and neutral air attack will take you far.

What’s great about Palutena:

• Her long-lasting multi-hit neutral air attack is an all-purpose move that can challenge and juggle incoming opponents.
• Her neutral B and side B allow her to play a little bit of a long range game, particularly when the opponent is offstage.
• She possesses a bunch of moves that are fast, hard-hitting, and difficult to challenge, such as her dash attack, back air attack, and forward air attack.

Choose Palutena if:

• You want to focus on just a few key, powerful moves.
• You like aerial-based characters who can combo and juggle easily.
• You don’t mind a couple of having a couple of strange moves in your toolkit to bust out at unexpected times.

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