Olimar (PM)

Olimar in Project M and Project+
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Universe	Pikmin
Base game appearance	Brawl
Moveset inspiration	Olimar (SSBB)

Olimar is a playable character in the Brawl mod Project M. He comes with his Pikmin in tow and a stronger moveset for Project M. Despite the power buffs, Melee physics and higher lag in most of his attacks have put him in an unfavorable position for Project M.

Olimar ranks 39th out of 41 on the official tier list, at the bottom of the D tier. This is an extreme drop from his tier placement in Brawl, where he was ranked 3rd out of 38, and is the largest any Project M character's standing has fallen when compared to their Melee or Brawl tier list. In the official Project+ tier list, he ranks much higher, placing 33rd out of 42 characters.

Attributes

In Brawl, Olimar excelled at defensive gameplay, being able to camp effectively with his Pikmin. These capabilities have put Olimar 3rd on the Brawl tier list. As Project M focuses more on offensive gameplay than defensive gameplay, Olimar's moveset has been consequently altered.

Olimar's Pikmin in Project M are stronger and have more endurance than before. Also, the Pikmin now have a mechanic where their strength is dependent on the type of flower on their heads. Besides the buffs to the Pikmin, Olimar's ground game has been improved, possessing more powerful tilts, smash attacks, and throws. Olimar's aerial game also saw some positive adjustments, featuring two potential KO moves in his up and down aerials. Finally, Olimar's recovery, Pikmin Chain, which was unreliable and low-reaching in Brawl, has been replaced with the more useful Ionium Jet.

However, Olimar has many weaknesses in Project M. While he is heavier than he was in Brawl, Olimar is still fairly light, making him susceptible to KOs earlier than other characters.

Changes from Brawl to PM

While Olimar received some buffs, he has been heavily nerfed overall in the transition from Brawl to PM. The most notable nerf Olimar received was the reduction to the amount of Pikmin he can have at one time which has been reduced to 4 Pikmin instead of 6. This greatly reduced Olimar's camping potential especially since the rest of the cast have better offence and the reintroduction of Melee mechanics have also sped up the rest of the cast which makes it easier for them to play around Olimar's defence. Besides this, Olimar's defence is also worse as his higher weight and fall speed when combined with the changes to PM's mechanics make him much easier to combo. As well as these changes, his smash attacks are laggier, Pikmin Throw with white Pikmin is notably weaker and now causes the white Pikmin to self destruct and Pikmin Order no longer has armor further hindering his defence.

Olimar has received some buffs however. Olimar's endurance is overall much higher due to him being heavier and his recovery is much better. His air speed is much faster and his new up special: Ionium Jet is a more reliable and consistent for recovering. His Pikmin's endurance is also much higher as their HP has been greatly increased and the flowers on their heads now determines their strength making them even stronger than before.

Overall, Olimar's greater endurance and offence does not make up for his less effective defence resulting in him being a much less effective character than in Brawl.

Attributes

• Olimar dashes faster (1.4 → 1.61).
• Olimar's air speed is much faster (0.82 → 1.1).
• Olimar's traction is higher (0.06 → 0.075).
• He is significantly heavier (82 → 90), improving his endurance, but also making him susceptible to Fox's waveshine combos.
• Olimar falls faster (1.3 → 1.9).
• Olimar's gravity is higher (0.06 → 0.09).
• Pikmin health is effectively tripled (Reds: 9 → 30, Yellows: 9 → 30, Blues: 14 → 40, Whites: 4 → 14, Purples: 15 → 50), increasing their overall durability.
• Pikmin strengths are dependent on the flowers on their head; bud and flower Pikmin are more powerful. While Bud Pikmin power is equal to the Brawl Pikmin, Leaf Pikmin are weaker, and both do not possess any special effects for attacks, though Flower Pikmin are more powerful, which combined with their increased durability cause Pikmin to be overall more useful for attacks.
• White Flower Pikmin leave flowers on victims' heads for all their attacks, increasing their potential and do more pummel damage at blossom.
• Yellow Pikmin now have decreased startup and end lag on many of their attacks.
• Olimar now re-spawns with 2 Pikmin after losing a stock no longer forcing him to pluck out Pikmin after losing a stock.
• Olimar can only carry 4 Pikmin at a time, instead of 6 which limits his use of varied Pikmin and encourages Olimar players to focus more on their Pikmin's survivability within the new transformation mechanics.
• The introduction to the Melee physics inhibit Olimar and his metagame, along with indirectly buffing most of the cast, allowing their metagames to outshine that of Olimar, which was among the best in Brawl. As with Snake, Olimar does not benefit from these physics and the techniques that come with them other than L-canceling.

Ground Attacks

• Forward tilt does much more damage (6% → 10%) and is a much stronger KO move.
• Up tilt is now a single jumping headbutt, which delivers a single hit that can be used repeatedly for juggling. It also has less end lag (FAF 40 → 27).
• New up tilt deals less damage (11% → 8%) and has more startup lag (frame 6 → 7).
• Dash attack has less startup lag (frame 8 → 5) and end lag (FAF 35 → 31).
• Smash attacks have a different sound effect.
• Forward smash has more air time for Pikmin allowing for the hitboxes to be out for longer. Forward Smash now lasts until the Pikmin hit the ground.
• Forward smash has a different animation with more startup lag except for yellow based forward smash (frame 11 → 15) and ending lag (FAF 40 → 48 (RBPW), 44 (Y).
• Yellow based up smash has less startup lag (frame 8 → 7).
• Up Smash has less horizontal range and more ending lag (FAF 33 → 43 (RBPW), 42 (Y).
• Olimar's DACUS covers less distance hindering up smash's approach potential.
• Down smash has a different animation with more end lag (FAF 39 → 45).

Aerial Attacks

• Up and down aerials have less landing lag (30 frames → 20 (up), 25 (down)) which can be further reduced with L cancelling.
• Olimar can now only auto cancel forward aerial out of a short hop as opposed to all of his aerials. Forward aerial now requires perfect timing to be auto cancelled.
• Yellow based forward aerial has less startup lag (frame 7 → 4) and all versions of forward aerial have less end lag (FAF 43 → 34 (RBPW), 31 (Y).
• Yellow based back aerial has less startup lag (frame 10 → 6) and all versions of back aerial have less end lag (FAF 49 → 38 (RBPW), 34 (Y).
• Up aerial only hits once, inflicting a strong consistent damage, so it can be effectively used for juggling with weak Pikmin and as a KO move with strong ones. Yellow based up aerial also has less startup lag (frame 8 → 5).
• New up aerial however deals much less damage (24% → 13/15/17% (R), 16% → 9/10/11% (Y), 22% → 11/12/13% (B), 9% → 5/6/7% (W), 22% → 13/14/15% (P)). It also has more end lag except for yellow based up aerial (FAF 35 → 38).
• Down aerial is now a very strong meteor doing more damage (12% → 13/14/15% (Y), 14% → 15/17/19% (P), 8% → 9/10/11% (W). The late hit also deals more damage with the exception of white based down aerial (7% → 9% (R), 6% → 8% (YB), 6% → 11% (P). Lastly, it has much less end lag (FAF 52 → 37 (RBPW), 33 (Y).
• Down aerial has an increased startup (frame 9 → 16 (RBPW), 12 (Y)), comparable to that of Ness's down aerial in Brawl, no longer being a quick, reliable edgeguarding option. It also has a much shorter duration (frames 9-29 → 16-20 (RBPW), 12-16 (Y) and can no longer trip grounded opponents.
• Similar to Marth, Olimar turns around after using his back aerial.

Grabs and Throws

• All grabs have decreased startup lag (frame 11 → 9).
• Grabs have increased end lag (FAF 30 (standing), 40 (dash) → 44/54).
• Forward throw with Blue Pikmin does slightly more damage (13% → 12/14/16%).
• Up throw with Blue Pikmin has significantly more base knockback. The changes to Project M's physics also improve its combo potential beyond low percents. Red, yellow and blue based up throws also deal more damage (6% → 7% (R), 7% → 9% (Y), 12% → 12/14/16% (B).
• Purple based up throw deals less damage (11% → 9%) and deals less knockback hindering its KO potential and no longer making it the strongest up throw in the game.
• Pummel with flower White Pikmin does 7% in addition to poison damage.
• Grab range is reduced.

Special Moves

• Pikmin Pluck gives Olimar a short boost upwards every time it is used in midair, so it can be used repeatedly (but not unlimitedly) to recover in a manner similar to Pound.
• Pikmin Pluck has been slowed down (FAF 10 → 11).
• White based Pikmin Throw deals less damage (6% → 3/4/5%) and white Pikmin now sacrifice their-selves afterwards (although their new explosion produces a damaging hitbox). Olimar's reduced Pikmin count also hinders Pikmin throw's utility.
• Olimar has a new up special: Ionium Jet. This move propels Olimar upward diagonally on a jetpack, damaging enemies along the way, and unlike Pikmin Chain its effectiveness is not based on the number of Pikmin accompanying Olimar, making this new move a more reliable recovery. It also deals more damage (6/7/8% → 12%), and has less landing lag (32 frames → 30).
• Ionium Jet only ledge sweetspots at the end of the move, making it easy to intercept. It also has more startup lag (frame 12 → 21) and much less range compared to a full length Pikmin Chain making it significantly less useful for edgeguarding and is less reliable as an attack due to being a multi hit. He also can't cancel Ionium Jet's landing lag by landing at the right time unlike with Pikmin chain.
• Pikmin Order has been significantly sped up (FAF 21 → 11), so it can be used for about five times per second, allowing to call Pikmin back with little to no ending lag.
• Pikmin Order no longer has armor completely removing its defensive capabilities.

Revisions

3.01

• Back air animation cleaned up.
• Initial walk speed corrected.

3.5

• Moveset
  • Yellow and White Pikmin always have the same knockback as they did with flowers in 3.0.
  • Red and Blue Pikmin always have approximately the same knockback as they did with buds in 3.0.
  • Purple Pikmin have less extreme changes in knockback depending on whether they have a leaf, bud, or flower.
  • Yellow Pikmin animations are faster in all aerials.
  • White Pikmin deals less damage when latched onto opponent.
  • All Pikmin no longer deal shield damage.
  • All pikmin can swim regardless of color.
    • Their elemental immunities has been removed.
  • Olimar's antenna lights up reflecting the next Pikmin in line.
  • Olimar plucks 4 Pikmin during in entry animation.
    • He also spawns 2 Pikmin every time he respawns.
  • All of the Pikmin's health has been reduced.
  • Dash attack connects better.
  • Forward tilt has less knockback.
  • Down tilt has slightly more knockback.
  • Forward and up smash hitboxes come out quicker.
  • Up smash has more endlag.
  • Neutral aerial has slightly less range.

• Forward smash (Pikmin):
  • Blue, white, and purple Pikmin deal less damage.
  • Red, yellow, blue, and, white Pikmin deal slightly higher knockback.
  • Purple Pikmin deal less knockback.
  • Purple Pikmin now launches opponents at a more horizontal angle.

• Up smash (Pikmin):
  • All Pikmin deal less damage and knockback
  • Yellow Pikmin now launch opponents at the same angle regardless of timing.
  • Blue, white, and purple Pikmin's launching angle has been slightly altered.

• Down smash (Pikmin):
  • All Pikmin deals less knockback.
    • Angle of all Pikmin's attacks are slightly less horizontal.
  • White and purple Pikmin deal less damage.

• Forward aerial (Pikmin):
  • All Pikmin deal slightly less damage.

• Back aerial (Pikmin):
  • Red and purple Pikmin deal slightly more damage.
  • Yellow and blue Pikmin deal slightly less damage.
  • Knockback angle for both red and white Pikmin has been slightly altered.

• Up aerial (Pikmin):
  • All Pikmin excluding purple deal slightly less damage.

• Down aerial (Pikmin):
  • Yellow and purple Pikmin deal slightly more damage.
  • Blue and white Pikmin deal slightly less damage.

• Grabs (Pikmin):
  • Blue Pikmin goes slightly farther when attempting to grab.
  • Purple Pikmin travel less distance and have reduced grabbing time.
  • White Pikmin pummel deals less damage and no longer causes a flower effect.

• Forward Throw (Pikmin):
  • Red and blue Pikmin deal slightly more knockback.
  • Blue Pikmin deal slightly less damage.
  • Purple Pikmin deal slightly less knockback.

• Back Throw (Pikmin):
  • Red and blue Pikmin deal slightly more knockback.
  • Blue Pikmin deal slightly less damage.
  • Purple Pikmin deal slightly less knockback.

• Up Throw (Pikmin):
  • Red, yellow, and blue Pikmin deal slightly more knockback.
  • Red and purple Pikmin deal less damage.
  • Purple Pikmin deal slightly less knockback.

• Down Throw (Pikmin):
  • Red and blue Pikmin deal less damage.
  • Red, yellow, and blue Pikmin deal slightly more knockback.

v3.6

• Olimar has a new up special called Ionium Jet; said move acts as a jet pack, and grants Olimar height and horizontal distance. It also does not require Pikmin to recover.
  • This move damages players in early frames of the move, and a powerful hit in the final frames.
• Pikmin that are flowering gain more power.

Moveset

Up to date as of version 3.6.

	Name	Damage						Description
		Olimar	Red	Yellow	Blue	White	Purple
Neutral attack		3%, 2% (antenna)	—					Olimar headbutts twice. The first attack's hitbox goes as far as the antenna on his head.
		5%
Forward tilt		10%	—					Olimar kicks both legs forward, falling to the ground. Has decent knockback at higher percentages.
Up tilt		8%	—					Olimar hops and performs an upwards headbutt. Olimar's head is intangible when performing this attack.
Down tilt		6% (body), 2% (antenna)	—					Olimar slides head-first at the enemy, moving a small distance forward. Deals minimal knockback and combos well into other moves early on. The hitbox goes as far as the antenna on Olimar's head.
Dash attack		7% (clean), 4% (late)	—					Olimar does a cartwheel forward. Deals primarily vertical knockback and a good combo starter.
Forward smash		—	16%-20% (clean), 12% (mid), 9% (late)	13%-15% (clean), 9% (mid), 6% (late)	14%-16% (clean), 11% (mid), 6% (late)	9%-11% (clean), 6% (mid), 3% (late)	16%-18% (clean), 16% (mid), 13% (late)	A Pikmin leaps forwards with a spinning bodyslam. Damage and knockback of the move depends on which Pikmin is used, with the Red Pikmin dealing the most damage, the Purple Pikmin having the strongest knockback, and the White Pikmin being the weakest, both in damage and in knockback. A weak hit will occur if a Pikmin connects as it falls, making this move good for edgeguarding, but the Pikmin will die if thrown off the edge.
Up smash		—	14%-18% (clean), 10% (late)	11%-13% (clean), 10% (late)	12%-14% (clean), 9% (late)	7%-9% (clean), 5% (late)	14%-16% (clean), 10% (late)	A Pikmin rockets upwards into the air. Olimar's fastest smash attack and is great move for juggling. Possesses huge knockback when it's a purple Pikmin with a flower, being able to KO at 85% on heavyweights even without charging.
Down smash		—	14%-18% (clean), 10% (late)	11%-13% (clean), 8% (late)	12%-14% (clean), 9% (late)	7%-9% (clean), 4% (late)	14%-16% (clean), 10% (late)	Two Pikmin dashes out to simultaneously on either side. Deals no vertical knockback, making it useful against heavyweights and/or characters with short horizontal recovery. An enemy can actually hit both Pikmin if they are in between Olimar. If only one Pikmin is present when using this attack, it will attack in front of Olimar.
Neutral aerial		2% (hits 1-5)	—					Olimar spins in place, hitting multiple times. The last hit has moderate knockback and is a potential combo starter.
Forward aerial		—	13-17%	10-12%	12-14%	6-8%	13-15%	Olimar swings a Pikmin forward in a downward arc. Has decent vertical knockback. This move can be wavelanded from a short hop, but it is difficult to do consistently.
Back aerial		—	15-19%	12-14%	14-16%	8-10%	15-17%	Olimar swings a Pikmin behind in a upward arc. This move turns Olimar around in the air.
Up aerial		—	13-17% (clean), 7% (late)	9-11% (clean), 5% (late)	11-13% (clean), 6% (late)	5-7% (clean), 3% (late)	13-15% (clean), 8% (late)	Olimar lifts a Pikmin upwards over his head. An ideal KO move when used with a red or purple Pikmin. Long duration helps in pursuing air dodges.
Down aerial		—	15-19% (clean), 9% (late)	13-15% (clean), 8% (late)	14-16% (clean), 8% (late)	9-11% (clean), 4% (late)	15-17% (clean), 11% (late)	Olimar strikes downward with a Pikmin. The move itself is a spike, being strongest with the red Pikmin and weakest with the white Pikmin.
Grab		—						Olimar sends a Pikmin forth to grab an opponent.
Pummel		—	2%	2%	2%	2-6%	2%	Pikmin attacks with headbutt.
Forward throw		—	6%	7%	12-16%	6%	7%	The Pikmin releases the foe forwards. Strongest in terms of knockback with the blue Pikmin.
Back throw		—	7%	9%	12-16%	7%	9%	The Pikmin swings the foe backwards by slamming them onto the ground. Strongest in terms of knockback with the blue Pikmin, with purple Pikmin only being slightly weaker.
Up throw		—	7%	9%	12-16%	6%	10%	The Pikmin leaps into the air, turns the opponent upside-down, then slams them into the ground. With the blue pikmin, this move can Star KO even heavyweights at 130%, with the Purple Pikmin being slightly weaker than the blue Pikmin.
Down throw		—	1% (hit 1), 6% (throw)	1% (hit 1), 8% (throw)	1-5% (hit 1), 9% (throw)	1% (hit 1), 5% (throw)	1% (hit 1), 7% (throw)	The Pikmin slams the foe into the ground. This throw can be used to tech-chase fastfallers and heavyweights, and can combo into an aerial at higher percentages.
Floor attack (front)		6%	—					Gets up and headbutts both sides.
Floor attack (back)		6%	—					Gets up and punches both sides.
Floor attack (trip)		5%	—					Gets up and headbutts forward, and kicks backwards.
Edge attack (fast)		8%	—					Quickly climbs up and headbutts onto the stage.
Edge attack (slow)		10%	—					Gets up slowly and quickly sticks one foot out.
Neutral special	Pikmin Pluck	—						Olimar quickly pulls out a random Pikmin out of the ground. What type of terrain where this move is used has some influence on what type of Pikmin will be pulled out more often. Olimar can have up to four Pikmin following him, and trying to pluck another, will result in Olimar grabbing nothing and being vulnerable for a moment. Using the move in the air will make Olimar rise up a little, but it only once.
Side special	Pikmin Throw	—	2-4% (latched hits)	2-4% (latched hits)	2-4% (latched hits)	3-5% (latched hits), 6-8% (explosion)	10%	Olimar throws a Pikmin at an enemy, who will latch onto the enemy and will slowly rack up damage. Different Pikmin have different effects when thrown. If the target cannot be latched onto, or the Pikmin is Purple, it simply deals damage. The Pikmin can be reflected back at Olimar, in which case, they will stick to him instead. The player can simply use Pikmin Order to get them off and avoid taking damage.
Up special	Ionium Jet	10% (startup), 1% (hits 1-7), 5% (hit 8)	—					Olimar jets upwards diagonally, dealing damage while flying. If Olimar takes a hit while using this move, Olimar will lose his jump (even if he did not use his second jump before using Ionium Jet).
Down special	Pikmin Order	—						Olimar quickly blows his whistle, and a colored area surrounds him. Any Pikmin that are separated from Olimar will, after a split second, immediately fly to his side. This can be used to recall ones that have fallen behind or are pummeling an enemy, though Pikmin in the midst of some actions (such as travelling after being thrown) cannot be recalled. If there are no Pikmin separated from Olimar, the ones in Olimar's line will be organized by colour. If they are already in sorted order, the next colour of Pikmin will be sorted to the front, following the order of Red, Yellow, Blue, White, and Purple, with the previous front-runners being shifted to the back. As various Pikmin have different strengths, Olimar must do this to control his lineup to get the most out of it.
Final Smash	End of Day	10% (bury), 15% (ascent), 1-43% (Bulborbs), 10% (descent), 15%/20% (explosion)						Olimar takes off in the S.S. Dolphin, leaving his opponents alone for Red Bulborbs to attack them. Afterwards, the ship crash lands back onto the stage, hurting anyone in its path.

In competitive play

Notable tech

Labbing Discord Tech Post

Notable players

•  Bees - Ranked 6th in Massachusetts.
•  ~CP9~ - #42 on PMRank 2022.
•  Dotcom - Strong tristate player.
•  Guttey - Strong NY player.

Alternate costumes

Project M

In terms of cosmetics, Olimar now has a clearer blue team color, his black costume from Brawl now has darker skin rather than a darker helmet, he has a purple alt, and his blue color from Brawl now has blonde hair to further reference Louie.

Olimar's alternate costumes in PM.

Project+

Project + gives Olimar two costumes based on the bad ending of the first Pikmin game (one of which references Mushroom Pikmin, which are Pikmin that have been infected by the spores of a Puffstool), as well as an alternate costume based on real-world astronauts.

Olimar's alternate costumes in P+

Z-Secret Costume: The President

R-Secret Costume: Louie