Editing Wolf (SSBB)

:''This article is about Wolf's appearance in [[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]].  For other uses, see [[Wolf O'Donnell]].''

 

|name         = Wolf

|image       = [[File:WolfSSBB.jpg|240px|Wolf O'Donnell]]

|universe    = ''[[Star Fox (universe)|Star Fox]]''

|games        = ''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl|SSBB]]''

|firstgame    = ''[[Star Fox 64]]'' (1997)

|tier         = D

|ranking     = 22

'''Wolf''' ({{ja|ウルフ}}, ''Urufu'') is an [[unlockable]] character in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]'', who, along with [[Fox (SSBB)|Fox]] and [[Falco (SSBB)|Falco]], originates from the [[Star Fox universe]]. Wolf's appearance in the game was witnessed several months before its release, via a leak in Japan, and he was confirmed officially on March 31st, 2008, distinguishing him as the final officially confirmed character. His Japanese voice actor is Mahito Oba, and his English voice actor is Jay Ward. Wolf's move set is partially derived from Fox and Falco's, however, while his special moves are similar to theirs, his standard attacks are unique. He is also significantly [[weight|heavier]] than Fox and Falco.

Wolf is currently ranked 22nd on the current [[Tier list#SSBB tier list|tier list]], the last position of D tier.

==Unlocking Wolf==

*Complete [[Boss Battles]] with [[Fox]] or [[Falco]], then defeat Wolf in a challenger match.

*Participate in 450 brawls, then defeat Wolf in a challenger match.

*After completing the [[Subspace Emissary]], enter a secret room in [[The Ruins]], then defeat Wolf in a challenger match. This also results in Wolf joining your party.

[[File:Wolf_and_fox.jpg|thumb|300px|Wolf's standing height in comparison to Fox's]]

Of the three ''Star Fox'' characters present in ''Brawl'', Wolf's characteristics as a fighter are the most individual. Wolf is by far the heaviest [[space animals|space animal]], but ranks only three places above [[Mario (SSBB)|Mario]] in terms of weight. Despite possessing a larger body frame than [[Fox (SSBB)|Fox]] and [[Falco (SSBB)|Falco]], Wolf leans down while standing and moving along the ground, and has the shortest stance of the three. His dash speed is slow, barely outpacing his walk, but he has the third fastest fall speed, and fourth fastest horizontal air speed. While these attributes provide him with good aerial mobility, Wolf is vulnerable to [[Chain-grab|chain throwing]], [[Juggle|juggling]], and certain [[lock|locks]] due to his heavy weight and rapid falling speed. It should also be noted that [[fast fall|fast falling]] does not accelerate Wolf's fall by a considerable amount, which hinders his ability to [[Momentum Canceling#Vertical momentum canceling|vertical momentum cancel]] in comparison to characters with quicker fast falls, such as [[Captain Falcon (SSBB)|Captain Falcon]]. However, his ability to momentum cancel horizontally, aided by his fast bair and his horizontally based midair jump, is one of the best in the game when compared to other characters' abilities to momentum cancel horizontally without DI.

Most of Wolf's standard attacks start quickly and have good reach, and he has a [[DACUS]] that propels him a considerable distance along the ground. Many of his attacks have the potential to [[KO]], such as bair, u-tilt, and his smashes. The speed and reach of his attacks allow him to punish effectively on the ground as well as in the air, and their solid damage dealing properties can build opponents' damage quickly. However, since many of his standard attacks are effective for racking up damage, they may suffer from [[Stale Move Negation]] if not used carefully, and cause problems when Wolf tries to KO. Many of Wolf's attacks also have poor shield stun effects, which allow opponents to [[shield grab]] him easily if they block his hits. His dair is a relatively weak meteor smash, but it starts quickly in comparison to other meteors, and has a large hitbox with no [[sourspot]].

Wolf's special moves are variants of Fox and Falco's, with different animations and properties. His neutral special, [[Blaster]], is a gun that fires [[projectile]] lasers, and its firing rate is slower than that of its counterparts. However, its lasers deal significant [[hitstun]], the most damage, and have the most vertical reach - no character is capable of ducking under these lasers on level ground. It also serves as a melee weapon, delivering extra damage to foes if the blaster itself contacts them. Wolf's down special, [[Reflector]], is a versatile move that deflects [[projectiles]] and grants him invincibility frames, which may be used to avoid attacks, and escape chain throws if his opponent makes an error. The reflector has very short reach, and delivers very weak set [[knockback]] and the least damage, but it can be used to gimp fast falling opponents with poor recoveries.

While Wolf's air speed and recovery moves allow him to travel a considerable distance in order to [[recover]], these moves are easily predicted, and his [[Sweet spot (ledge)|ledge sweet spot]] is one of the smallest in the game. As such, he is easily [[Gimp kill|gimped]], and his recovery is susceptible to [[edge-hogging]]. This, in combination with his vulnerability to chain throwing, poses a problem, since some chain throws, such as Dedede's d-throw chain throw, can force him offstage. Side special, [[Wolf Flash]], sends Wolf diagonally across and upward in a fast 'flash', and is used to recover horizontally. It has the potential to [[Meteor Smash|meteor smash]] if sweet spotted. Wolf Flash also has [[Wolf Flash#Wolf Flash and ledges|unusual characteristics]] that may be utilised to help Wolf recover. Up special, [[Fire Wolf]], is a move that propels Wolf in a direction of the players' choosing. It has the least start up lag in comparison to Fox and Falco's counterpart moves, drags opponents along with it, and delivers knockback at the end, but has a very small ledge sweet spot.

*'''[[Neutral Attack]]:''' A [[natural combo]] of three hits; Wolf slashes with one arm, then the other, and bites on the third hit, delivering [[knockback]]. The three hits deal 3%, 2% and 4% consecutively for a total of 9%. The first hit moves Wolf no distance and is a consecutive jab - it will repeat itself continuously if A is held down. The second hit moves Wolf forward a very short distance, and the first and second hits may be [[Jab Fake|jab canceled]] and immediately followed by a second jab, a grab or another attack. The third hit moves Wolf forward an even greater distance than the second, and has above average knockback and [[hitstun]] for a neutral attack, but is almost never strong enough to kill. All three hits have substantially large hitboxes, and the second and third are often guaranteed if the first hit connects. The knockback delivered by the third hit is useful for pushing opponents to a safe distance without the risk of punishment, and it can catch opponents off guard if deliberately delayed. However, Wolf's jab is still susceptible to [[shield grab]]bing, and must be used with caution in the face of opponents with a dangerous grab game. Neutral combo can be followed up with f-air, [[RAR]] b-air, [[DACUS]] and f-smash at low to mid percents, and a short hopped Blaster at higher percents.

*'''Dash attack:''' Performs a back flip out of a run. The back flip halts the forward momentum of the dash, but can be used to execute a DACUS. Knockback is relatively weak, and the trajectory of the opponent depends upon the part of Wolf's body that contacts them. Dash attack has a very small horizontal range and significant ending lag, and is thus susceptible to grabs if shielded, punishment if a player fails to connect with it, and it is difficult to followed up on upon landing. Does 9%.

[[File:Ftilt.gif‎ | right | The distinct hitboxes and freezing properties of Wolf's f-tilt]]

*'''Forward tilt:''' Leans forward with both arms together and swipes, separating his claws on impact. F-tilt can be angled up or downward, and a clean hit deals 11% damage. The attack has a good reach and consists of two hits: an early, inner hitbox that does 4%, and a later, outer hitbox that does 7%. The first hitbox produces a large number of [[freeze frame]]s if it connects with an opponent, and will freeze both Wolf and the opponent for a short time before the second hitbox appears and knocks them away at a low upwards angle. These freeze frames will affect Wolf if he hits an opponent's shield with the first hitbox, but not his opponent. It is possible to connect with only the second hitbox, which delivers knockback and does not produce the freezing effect. F-tilt has good reach and can be a useful follow up after connecting with aerial attacks such as bair and Reflect. If it hits an opponent's shield and they drop it during the freeze frames produced by the first hitbox, the second hitbox will punish them. Spamming the attack can be risky, however, as experienced opponents may punish it with a shield grab. F-tilt can be followed up with the Blaster, and can KO at very high percents.

*'''Down tilt:''' Performs a fast low kick from a crouching position. At low percents, it trips opponents, and at higher percents, it knocks opponents into the air, with a horizontal trajectory. Tripping an opponent with down tilt can be followed up with a f-smash or DACUS, and down tilt can [[lock]] opponents against walls at damages up to about 50%, higher if performed into an overhanging wall structure. Down tilt can also be used to [[edgeguard]], most notably on stages with sloping edges such as [[Yoshi's Island (SSBB)|Yoshi's Island]]. Does 6%.

*'''Up tilt:''' Kicks upward in front of his body, dealing 10% and knocking opponents vertically. There is a [[sweetspot]] at the tip of Wolf's boot, which delivers the most knockback, and there is a moderate amount of invisible reach in front of Wolf's leg when he performs the move. On certain stages, such as [[Battlefield (SSBB)|Battlefield]] and [[Halberd]], the sweetspot of u-tilt will connect with opponents who are standing on soft [[platform|platforms]] above Wolf. At low to mid percents, a [[fastfall|fastfalled]] u-air followed by an u-tilt is a true [[combo]]. The u-tilt is also a strong vertical finisher, capable of reliably KOing under 150%, making it effective as a surprise KO move should Wolf's other attacks be stale.

====Smash Attacks====

*'''Forward smash:''' Wolf stretches his arms in front of his body and thrusts forward, then twists his claws, dealing 15% uncharged and 21% fully charged. This attack is one of the longest reaching f-smash in the game; it has very low start-up lag and moves Wolf a forward a considerable distance, but it is one of the weakest f-smashes in the game, being the third weakest, and has noticeable ending lag. It has two hitboxes that often both strike opponents - the first delivers weak knockback and usually hits opponents into the second, which has stronger knockback. The first hitbox is a semi-spike that can trip the opponent without the second hitbox landing, leaving the opponent vulnerable to a d-smash in such situations. While it is the third weakest f-smash in the game, it still produces above average horizontal knockback, but KOs with it is rare due to it often being used and Stale Move Negation. Due to its long range and relatively high damage, f-smash is considered a very useful punishing move, especially upon landing opponents. Since it moves Wolf forward, a f-smash can sometimes be difficult for opponents to punish, but its ending lag leaves Wolf vulnerable if he misses or hits a shield.

*'''Up smash:''' Performs an upward scissor kick. Its animation is very similar to [[Sonic (SSBB)|Sonic]]'s Up Aerial, but is performed on the ground. This move hits twice: the first hit usually pushes the opponent into the second. Wolf's Up Smash can be used in a [[DACUS]]. It has slow start-up lag, but very low ending lag, which allows it to be easily followed up with a uair juggle or bair combo at low to mid percentages. The second hitbox deals above average vertical knocback but it is one of the weaker up smashes in the game, barely KOing under 150% when not stale. It has a small sweetspot on his body that deals the same damage as the main hitbox on his legs, but is much more powerful and sends opponents on a horizontal trajectory instead. Landing this sweetspot is very difficult though and is mostly luck based as it is landed most of the time when the opponent does a rolling dodge past the first hitbox and into Wolf's body. It is also sometimes landed during a DACUS. It is also interesting to note that this sweetspot KOs even quicker than Wolf's down smash (though the d-smash does have slightly higher knockback scaling). The first and second hits deal 6% and 12% respectively, a total of 18% uncharged, and 8% and 17%, a total of 25% fully charged.

*'''Down smash:''' Swipes his claws on both sides of his body, first in front and then behind. This attack is very low start-up lag and even less ending lag, along with powerful horizontal knockback, reliably KOing at around 125%. It is often considered Wolf's best finisher due to it being significantly stronger than the rest of his attacks (except for the very difficult to land sweetspot of the u-smash) and being even faster than his attacks that can KO. It is often considered the best d-smash in the game on par with Meta Knight's due to its great speed plus good reach and great knockback for a d-smash. When compared to Meta Knight's d-smash, it has slightly less reach and slightly more start-up, but Wolf's has even less ending lag and the first swipe of Wolf's d-smash is slightly stronger than the back slice of Meta Knight's d-smash. It is also interesting to note that both down smashes have the same amount of frames in their durations. Uncharged, the first hit, at Wolf's front, deals 14%, and the second hit, at Wolf's back, deals 13%. Fully charged, the first hitbox does 19% and the second hit does 18%. Note that Wolf has the strongest down smash of the three ''Star Fox'' characters in ''Brawl'', while [[Fox (SSBB)|Fox]] possesses the strongest [[up smash]], and [[Falco (SSBB)|Falco]] the strongest [[forward smash]].

====Other attacks====

*'''Ledge attack (over 100%):''' Slowly lifts himself using his arms, then flips onto the stage and kicks with one foot. Does 10%.

===Aerial Attacks===

*'''Neutral aerial:''' Wolf curls up and flips several times. If the attack connects on the first hit, it will hit once, deal 8% and deliver weak horizontal knockback. Otherwise, it will hit several times, dealing 1% per hit, and deliver small amounts of hitstun but no knockback. It is possible to [[lock]] by chaining strings of short hopped n-airs into opponents.

*'''Forward aerial:''' Slashes with his left arm; a similar animation to [[Mewtwo (SSBM)|Mewtwo's]] fair in ''[[Melee]]''. Wolf's fair has decent horizontal reach and delivers a moderately high amount of vertical knockback, but has considerable ending and landing lag. It is possible to [[L-canceling|autocancel]] in a short hop. Does 11%.

*'''Back aerial:''' Kicks outward behind his body. The bair is considered Wolf's best aerial, since it has almost no start-up or ending lag, large horizontal reach, and strong horizontal knockback. It can be used in a [[RAR]] and can be often followed up by an f-smash at low percentages. It is commonly used for edgeguarding, can be strung into a [[Wall of Pain]] at low percentages, can be used to stage spike opponents recovering from below, and poses little risk if used as a finisher at high percentages. Does 13% when sweetspotted, 11% when the middle hitbox connects, and 9% when sourspotted.

*'''Up aerial:''' Swipes in an arc above his head. It has little start-up lag and a moderate amount of ending lag, and has a wide hitbox that with low vertical reach. It has low vertical knockback, making it effective as a juggler, but ineffective for the purpose of KOing unless both Wolf and his opponent are near an upper [[blast line]]. Does 12%.

*'''Down aerial:''' Strikes both arms downward as if wielding an axe. It has a somewhat large amount of startup and ending lag, but is one of the fastest [[meteor smash]]es in the game. Its knockback is weak for a meteor smash, but it has a single meteor smash hitbox with no sourspot. Does 15%.

===Grabs & Throws===

Wolf's [[grab]] range is relatively short; most of the cast's grabs out reach his. While Fox and Falco possess similar throw techniques and animations, Wolf's are unique, and, unlike theirs, none of his involve the use of his blaster.

*'''Forward throw:''' Uppercuts his opponent forward. This throw can be used to pseudo chain throw some characters, such as [[Fox (SSBB)|Fox]], at very low percentages by buffering a dash forward. it may also be followed up with a f-smash, DACUS, or RAR bair. Does 7%.

*'''Back throw:''' Throws the opponent upward and claws them behind himself. The opponent's trajectory is diagonal and upward, causing it to be ineffective for knocking the opponent off the edge and its ending lag makes it difficult to follow up on. Does 7%.

*'''Up throw:''' Throws the opponent upward and slashes them with both claws. Its base knockback is too strong for Wolf to effectively follow up on. Does 7%.

*'''Down throw:''' Throws the opponent on the ground, does a small jump and claws them. Considered Wolf's best throw, it sends the opponent diagonally downward, causing them to slide along the ground and off any nearby edges. At very low percentages, it can pseudo chain throw or be followed up by a jab, d-tilt, or d-smash. At low to mid percentages, it can also be followed up by a f-smash, DACUS, or a Blaster. At high percentages, it is a powerful and deadly semi-spike on the edge, which puts characters in a very inconvenient position to recover from or even sends them far enough to where they are unable to recover. Does 12%.

===Special Moves===

{{Wolf Special Moves}}

===[[Taunt]]s===

'''Up:''' Leans his head back and howls.

'''Down:''' Kneels down, slaps one hand on the ground and snarls.

'''Side:''' Does three kicks whilst spinning on one foot, and says "What's the matter, scared?"

'''[[Smash Taunt]]:''' On the ''[[Lylat Cruise]]'' stage, Wolf can summon various [[Star Fox's Conversations|Star Fox Conversations]] if the player presses his or her Down Taunt button for one [[frame]].

==Matchups==

{{SSBBMatchupTable|wolf=yes}}

==Other features==

'''[[Wii Remote]] selection sound:''' Wolf says "Playtime's over." in a mocking voice.

'''[[On-screen appearance]]:''' Wolf ejects from a passing [[Wolfen]].

'''Cheer''': Crowd yells "Wo-olf! *howl*, Wo-olf! *howl*"; the second howl of a different pitch to the first.

*Leans forward and snarls, then stands up straight, crosses his arms, and laughs.

**If Wolf wins a match against Fox and performs the third victory pose, he says "Play time's over, Star Fox!"

==Role in ''Subspace Emissary''==

[[File:Wolf_Subspace_Emissary.jpg|thumb|300px|Wolf in the ''[[SSE]]'']]

Wolf does not play a major role, or influence the story of the [[Subspace Emissary]], and is not even seen interacting with any other characters, but may join the player's party after [[Tabuu]] has been defeated. To encounter Wolf, the player must enter a particular Red Door in [[The Ruins]] stage, which will take them to [[Lylat Cruise]] after a brief cut-scene. In the cut-scene, Wolf is seen flying his Wolfen, jumping out, and landing on the cruise ship. Wolf strikes a pose, then rushes forward to attack. Although he is the only character present in the cut-scene, he appears to stare at his challenger. The player must then defeat him in a one-life stock battle, and if they win the match, Wolf joins the party. This will also [[unlock]] him if he has not yet been unlocked.

==[[Palette swap (SSBB)#Wolf|Palette swap variations]]==

[[File:Alt-wolf.jpg|frame|center|Wolf's changeable clothing in SSBB]]

==Trophy==

Wolf's trophy is obtained by clearing [[Classic Mode]] as Wolf.

====Description====

''A pilot whose real name is Wolf O'Donnell. He leads a group of mercenaries called Star Wolf. He's crossed paths with Fox many times, and each acknowledges the other as a competent rival. Wolf's constant interference with Fox is a result of Wolf's history with Fox's dad, James. Wolf's long history of criminal enterprise has resulted in a large bounty on his head.''

*Wolf's attributes in ''Star Fox Assault'' multiplayer differ from Brawl. For example, he is actually the fastest character in the game, but does have a poor use in the Landmaster.

*Wolf appears to run and walk with a slight limp, although it may merely be a self-styled fighting approach.  

*Wolf is the only one of the last three unlockable characters in Brawl not to appear in the Event Match: Visitors to Flat Zone. Instead, [[Peach]] takes his place.

*Although considered by most people to be the last unlockable character, due to high difficulty in all three situations which lead toward unlocking him, he is not required to be unlocked last. This is similar to unlocking Jigglypuff in Melee, as Jigglypuff wasn't required to be unlocked first.

*[http://www.smashbros.com/en_us/characters/hidden12.html Wolf's page at Smash Bros. DOJO!!.]

*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJmXQ9u8wWc&feature=related Video of Wolf's attack hitboxes]

[[Category:Characters (SSBB)]]

[[Category:Star Fox universe]]