Luigi (SSBM)

Luigi in Super Smash Bros. Melee
Luigi
Universe	Mario
Other playable appearances	in SSB in Brawl
Availability	Unlockable
Tier	D (14)

Luigi (Japanese: ルイージ, Ruīji) is an unlockable character in Super Smash Bros. Melee. Luigi's moveset is markedly similar to that of Mario, though his attacks often differ in knockback and trajectory.

Luigi ranks at 14th on the tier list, in the D tier, placing him in the dead centre, along with his older brother, Mario. Luigi is notable for having possibly one of the best air games in all of Melee, with very fast, very powerful and very low lag aerials and very high raw jumping power. With a projectile in tow and a very long wavedash due to his poor traction, Luigi also has some very good approach options; Luigi's wavedash alone is the longest in the game, easily taking him half the distance of Final Destination and traversing the area in a speed only slightly slower than Captain Falcon's dash. Luigi also has some very efficient killers, including a fast and powerful forward smash and a decently powered sex kick for his neutral air. Luigi's traction, however, acts as a double-edged sword; while it gives him an excellent wavedash, it also limits some of his approaches on the ground if he's not wavedashing. Additionally, Luigi's recovery is short and predictable, with very few options available to him.

Unlocking Luigi

To unlock Luigi, the player must clear the first level of Adventure Mode with a 2 in the "seconds" digit of the clock. (Example: XX:X2^XX). After this requirement is met, Luigi will replace Mario in the accompanying cut-scene and battle. The player must then defeat Luigi within one minute. After Adventure Mode is completed, the player will face a CPU Luigi challenger and must defeat him to unlock Luigi. Alternately, playing 800 versus matches will also unlock Luigi.

Attributes

Luigi can be awkward to play as. This is because his movement is best on the ground (due to having the longest wavedash in the game), but his attacks are best in midair (due to them being fast and powerful, which allows for high damage combos). Luigi's recovery is normally long, but also slow and predictable (due to Luigi having slow aerial and falling speeds). However, there is a 12.5% chance of the Green Missile misfiring. This can be good in some cases as it can increase Luigi's recovery distance and speed, but can also lead to a self-destruct. Luigi's high vertical jumping compliments vertical-trajectory ground attacks, but his slow falling speed slows his aerial game. However, one should note that slow falling does have advantages (like making combos less effective against him). Luigi's approach is exceedingly poor outside of wavedashing (a combination of having low traction, slow initial dash speed, no disjointed hitboxes, slow falling speed, and a rather poor projectile in general), which forces an over-reliance on that for approaching. Luigi's back throw has very good knockback and can be accompanied by Edge-hogging on most stages for a quick Gimp kill, although Mario and Dr. Mario's back throw are stronger.

Normal moves

Ground attacks

Normal

• Neutral attack - Luigi's neutral attack combo is a three-hit attack consisting of two jabs followed by a hip bump. Useful as a low-damage opener. Because the third strike of the combo knocks the opponent away with a medium amount of lag, many players elect to omit the third strike of the combo. Luigi can repeat the first strike of the neutral attack by L-canceling. The attack consists of two jabs, both doing 1-3% damage, and the last hit does 2-5%.
• Dash attack - 10% damage (if all hits connect). Luigi dashes forward and attacks his opponent with a flurry of punches. It hits five times and does moderate damage, but it's not very useful since the last hit leaves Luigi vulnerable for a grab or smash attack.
• Forward tilt - 5-10% damage. Luigi's forward tilt is a sideways kick with medium knockback. It is often used simply to push the opponent away, giving Luigi extra time to maneuver, though hard to follow up with an attack. Can be angled.
• Up tilt - Luigi's up tilt is a swipe that arcs over Luigi's head. Its upward trajectory makes up tilt well suited for comboing, especially against fast-fallers. Hits at an upwards angle in the front and back of him. 4-9% damage.
• Down tilt - Kneels down and kicks. = 4-9% damage. Luigi crouches down and kicks low to the ground. It is a low-knockback attack and is laggy. Since this attack hugs the ground, it can be used to attack a sweet spotting enemy.

Smashes

• Forward smash - Does a quick jab for 7-19% damage. Luigi winds up and launches his hand straight into his opponent, sending them at a forward and upward trajectory. Can be angled. Sometimes used to end combos. Additionally, charging a forward smash will cease Luigi momentum mid-wavedash, with can make him stop suddenly.
• Up smash - 9-23% damage. Identical to Mario and Dr. Mario's headbutt with an up-and-behind trajectory, ideal for setting up aerial combos with Luigi. The player can also buffer it in at the end of a wavedash which allows for an alternative vertical launcher to Luigi's common wavedash to down smash approach.
• Down smash - 9-23% damage. Luigi kicks out twice in a break dancing motion, first in front and then behind. This attack has an upward trajectory and its knockback provides for aerial combos against low-damage enemies and KO's against high-damage enemies.

Other attacks

• Ledge attack - Gets up and somersaults. 8% damage.
• 100% ledge attack - Slowly gets up and thrusts his foot forward. 10% damage.
• Floor attack - Swirls around in a similar fashion to his down smash. 6% damage.

Aerial attacks

• Neutral aerial - A Sex kick - 4-15% damage. Luigi's neutral aerial has the same knockback properties of most sex kicks, and sends the opponent upwards. For this reason, Luigi's sex kick is a popular tool for juggling and comboing opponents. Can KO at high percentage. One of the strongest sex kicks in the game.
• Forward aerial - Does a quick karate chop. 6-12% damage. High horizontal knockback and is one of his primary KO'ing aerial attacks. It also has high knockback at low damage, good for wavelanding.
• Back aerial - Kicks backwards. 6-11% damage. Good for damage racking and edge guarding.
• Up aerial - Does a flip kick. 7-13% damage. Doesn't offer the same juggling properties from the ground as Mario's; however, it is often used against opponents above Luigi on platforms, or as a vertical launcher to set up an aerial finisher like the chop.
• Down aerial - Twirls his feet under him. 8-16% damage. A valuable edgeguarding alternative to the back aerial. Can meteor smash if he hits the opponent with his hip (in a similar fashion to Young Link's down aerial spike). Luigi's down aerial is a meteor smash and therefore can be meteor canceled. If the wrong part of the attack hits, like the lower hitbox located at his legs, it results in considerable horizontal knockback, making it a great edgeguarding attack.

Grabs & throws

• Forward throw - 4-7% damage. This throw is relatively weak but can be used near the ledge to set up Luigi's enemy for an edge-guard.
• Back throw - 5-10% damage. Luigi's strongest throw, it is used for throwing enemies off-stage and KOing.
• Up throw - 4-7% damage. Luigi's up throw can chain grab fast-fallers at low damage. If a person DI's, Luigi can follow the opponent up with a wavedash.
• Down throw - 3-7% damage. This throw sends the enemy upwards and slightly to the side, depending on the target's DI. Though it has low knockback, it does not stun the opponent long enough to combo or chain grab.

Special moves

Luigi's special moves

Neutral special	Fire Ball	Fireball
Side special	—	Green Missile
Up special	Super Jump Punch
Down special	Luigi Cyclone

Taunt

• Taunt - 1% damage. Luigi's taunt, a casual kick against the ground, is the only taunt in Melee that can damage the opponent. The taunt normally sends the enemy upwards with set knockback, but if Luigi connects with the bottom of his foot, the taunt can also serve as a spike and a meteor smash. Since it is slow and very weak, Luigi's taunt is rarely used in competitive play. This is one of the moves sometimes used just for laughs because it is very hard to hit somebody with it. Luigi professionals generally don't taunt as much when an opponent dies, preferring to use the down special move in order to charge it.

Matchups

Super Smash Bros. Melee Character Matchups

Avg.

Changes from SSB to Melee

• Overalls changed from purple to navy blue.
• Super Jump Punch has no horizontal distance and doesn't get as much vertical distance, relying on his Green Missile for horizontal recovery.
• Forward Smash is a jab rather than a Mega Punch.
• New Neutral Combo (the third hit is a butt hit instead of a kick).
• Front Aerial is now a chop rather than a spin kick.
• Luigi Cyclone doesn't last as long, but strikes faster.
• New Up tilt.
• New Down aerial. (Now only does one strong hit rather than multiple weak hits).
• New Down tilt.

In single-player

Luigi can appear in the Adventure Mode if the player finishes the first stage, Mushroom Kingdom Adventure, with the number "two" anywhere in the timer, a cut scene will occur which will show Luigi taking Mario's place in the upcoming battle. The player will then have to battle a team of Luigi and Peach. If the player has unlocked Luigi, Metal Luigi will appear on the Battlefield stage alongside Metal Mario.

Luigi is featured in the following event matches:

• Event 31: Mario Bros. Madness: The player's character battles a team of Mario and Luigi in a 2-minute unlimited-stock match in the Mushroom: Kingdom stage. Whoever gets the most KOs wins, much like in a standard time-match.
• Event 35: Time for a Check-up: The player plays as Luigi as they battle a team of Dr. Mario and Peach on the Yoshi's Island: Yoshi's Story, with each character having 1 stock and the match timed for 3 minutes.
• Event 38: Super Mario Bros. 2: In this match, the player's character must battle against Mario, Luigi, and Peach in an unlimited-time 2-stock match on Mushroom: Kingdom II. The odds may seem especially stacked against the player, but the opponent team is subject to friendly fire. The character selection and stage are a direct throwback to the original Super Mario Bros. 2, an NES sequel to Super Mario Bros.
• Event 40: All-Star Match 4: Luigi is the second opponent the player must fight in this series of staged battles. Their character battles him on the Mushroom Kingdom II stage, and their character has 2 stocks while Luigi has one. With a timer of four minutes, the player must defeat him and the other four characters with the overall time and life they have: Marth, Jigglypuff, Mewtwo, and Mr. Game and Watch.
• Event 42: Trouble King 2: The player plays as Luigi against a giant Bowser on the stage Poké Floats, with both players having 2 stock each.

Trophy descriptions

In addition to the normal trophy about Luigi as a character, there are two trophies about him as a fighter, unlocked by completing the Adventure and All-Star Modes respectively with Luigi on any difficulty:

Luigi (Classic)

"Although Mario's younger brother has always played second fiddle, Luigi finally garnered the spotlight with his very own game, Luigi's Mansion. Things are looking up for the eternal understudy; he's even picked up his own rival in Waluigi. The day he's referred to as the "lean, mean, green machine" may not be too far off."

Luigi (Adventure)

Luigi has worse traction than his brother, but he's a more powerful jumper. His Fireballs aren't affected by gravity, so they fly straight horizontally. The Green Missile is similar to Pikachu's Skull Bash, but there's a 12.5% chance of a spontaneous misfire. Luigi's taunting pose inflicts minor damage.

• B: Fireball
• Smash B: Green Missile

Luigi (All-Star)

Smack someone with Luigi's Super Jump Punch, and if the timing is just right, it will become a Fire Jump Punch of incredible strength. However, Luigi can only jump straight up when delivering this blow, and if his aim is a bit off, he'll only do a single point of damage. The Luigi Cyclone sucks foes in and twirls them about.

• Up & B: Super Jump Punch
• Down & B: Luigi Cyclone

• 

  Classic

• 

  Adventure

• 

  All-Star

Costume Gallery

File:Alt-luigi2.jpg

Luigi's changeable clothing in SSBM

Trivia

• Luigi's appearance when chosen in the actual game differs from the official art shown on the Super Smash Bros. Melee website.
• The unlocking of Luigi when the seconds mark reaches a 2 references the fact that Luigi always plays second fiddle to Mario.
• Beating Luigi in the Adventure Mode only gives the player 20 bonus points, the smallest bonus point increase in the game.
• Luigi is the only SSB64 veteran not to appear in the Melee intro.
• At the time of SSB64, Luigi did not have an official voice, so he used a higher-pitched version of Mario's voice. This voice is retained for Melee, despite the fact that Luigi was given an official voice in Luigi's Mansion which came out before Melee.