Lucas (SSB4)

Lucas in Super Smash Bros. 4
Universe	EarthBound
Other playable appearance	in Brawl
Availability	Downloadable
Final Smash	PK Starstorm
Tier	C (32)

“	Lucas Comes Out of Nowhere!	”
—Introduction Tagline

Lucas (リュカ, Lucas) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4. Initially absent as a playable character, Lucas' return to the series was revealed during a Nintendo Direct on April 1st, 2015. He was then made available as downloadable content on June 14th, 2015, alongside Roy and Ryu. Lani Minella reprises her role as Lucas' voice actor, albeit via recycled voice clips from Brawl and with some of the clips slightly sped up.

Lucas is currently ranked 32nd out of 58 on the tier list, placing him in the C tier. This is a fairly noticeable improvement from his ranking in Brawl, where he was ranked 30th out of 38. Like his fellow EarthBound representative Ness, Lucas is no longer plagued by 10 extra grab release frames and early hitstun canceling, both of which were major detriments to his survivability and combo game, respectively. Aside from those gameplay changes, Lucas retains his fast attack speed, disjointed hitboxes, projectiles that can pressure or zone opponents, and an impressive combo game.

However, while the major issues resulting in Lucas' near bottom-tier placement in Brawl have been fixed, he was nerfed due to his overall damage output, knockback, and range all being reduced, as well as the loss of several of his more advanced techniques from Brawl. Lucas also retains slow ground mobility and a recovery that is occasionally susceptible to gimps and edgeguarding. However, subsequent game updates gave Lucas further buffs that have since allowed him average results mostly thanks to the efforts of Taiheita, who has many notable placings, such as 17th in singles and 1st in doubles with Lucas at Super Smash Con 2016, along with several high placings at Sumabato and Umebura tournaments.

Attributes

Lucas' attributes remain largely unchanged since Brawl. He is a middleweight that has a very slow walking speed, slightly below average dashing speed, average gravity, above average air speed, and below average falling speed. However, his air speed and fast falling speed have become faster since Brawl, both of which somewhat improve his aerial mobility. While Lucas' mobility speed is rather unimpressive, his attack speed compensates for it; notable examples include his neutral attack, which comes out on frame 2, and his down tilt, which comes out on frame 3 and is tied with Ness', Little Mac's, R.O.B.'s, and Meta Knight's down tilts for being the fastest down tilt in the game. As a result, Lucas' attacks are useful for damage racking and initiating combos, while several of his ground attacks are safe in many situations due to their minimal ending lag.

Despite his short stature and lack of a weapon outside of his forward smash, Lucas possesses good range courtesy of disjointed hitboxes. All of his smash attacks, nearly all of his aerial attacks and some of his ground attacks are disjointed, which can be further supplemented by his projectiles. In addition to their disjointed hitboxes, Lucas' smash attacks are among the strongest in the game. Like in Brawl, his up smash is among the strongest up smashes in the game while also possessing both a large disjointed hitbox and the ability to KO as low as 54% when fully charged. The first hit of his down smash is also one of the strongest in the game and is an intimidating edgeguarding option, while his forward smash has decent speed, good KO potential and can even reflect projectiles, especially when struck at its sweetspotted tip.

However, Lucas greatest strength is his grab game. Despite having the shortest-ranged tether grab in the game, his Rope Snake has the lowest amount of ending lag among all tether grabs and respectable range, while he also possesses arguably the strongest set of throws in the game. Lucas' up and back throws are among the most powerful of their kind in the game, making them two of his best KOing options. His forward throw is tied with Bowser's for the strongest of its kind, although it is significantly weaker as a KOing option in comparison to his up and back throws. His down throw benefits significantly from both its considerably reduced knockback and the changes to hitstun canceling, both of which have re-purposed it into a reliable combo starter that can be followed up with his neutral and forward aerials from 0% up until high percents (even up to the early 90% range for neutral aerial), while its combo into up aerial is a confirmed KO set-up until 100%. While these changes have removed his down throw's KO potential, this is completely mitigated due to his up and back throws' aforementioned power. Lastly, his pummel is tied with Ness', Kirby's and Fox's as the third fastest in the game, which makes it ideal for quick damage racking before a throw.

Lucas also boasts a strong zoning game that is essential to his success. PK Fire and grab aerial are both powerful spacing tools with their own specific uses, the latter being able to lead into a grab or forward tilt. Lucas' combo game is also very strong. His down tilt is a good combo starter, as it can combo into itself, neutral attack, and most importantly, his grab. His neutral and forward aerials can combo into themselves at low percents, while the former can also do so into other aerials (except for his back aerial) at low percents.

Like Ness, Lucas' special moveset boasts versatility in the form of PSI-based attacks, three of which are projectiles. PK Freeze can freeze his opponents, has very minimal ending lag and is viable, yet situational, as an edgeguarding option. While his PK Fire does not repeatedly hit opponents and potentially trap them like Ness' PK Fire, Lucas' deals decent knockback and can be used to give Lucas some space as it also provides a minimal amount of recoil, both on the ground and in the air. PK Thunder does not disappear like Ness' PK Thunder when it hits opponents, but instead hits them multiple times alongside boasting tighter control, while PK Thunder 2, grants Lucas farther distance. Lastly, PSI Magnet allows Lucas to deal with camping opponents that carry powerful, absorbable projectiles. However, its defensive utility also extends to Lucas' recovery, thanks to its ability to stall his descent. Unlike Ness', it also has offensive utility, thanks to it having a hitbox that deals semi-spike knockback.

However, Lucas does have his flaws. With his aforementioned sub-par mobility, fast characters such as Zero Suit Samus and Sonic can give Lucas a difficult time. Another problem is a predictable approach, reliance on his zoning tools (which can be overcome), and occasionally a lack of range in spite of his tether grab. Some of his moves require precision at times; his up aerial, whose hitbox is significantly smaller than it was in Brawl, can miss large opponents like Bowser. Another prominent example is his down smash, whose three hits are all mutually exclusive and thus gives opponents a perfect opportunity to punish Lucas if they manage to shield it. Lucas can also have problems scoring KOs despite his smash attacks' impressive strengths, as they mainly require effective reading and should be used wisely as a result. Although Lucas has a reliable tether recovery, his other method of recovery is also gimpable because of it having much slower priority than Ness, and it can be still be reflected or absorbed, most infamously by Rosalina & Luma. Like his fellow DLC characters, Lucas does not have any custom moves, which limits him in tournaments that allow character customization.

Altogether, Lucas' pros are on par with his cons, with the former being somewhat more prevalent. He has an excellent damage racking game along with some good approach options, though his approach in general is predictable and can be faulty at times. He can also have a hard time KOing opponents outside of edgeguarding, and he is not as effective when his zoning tools can be nullified. While Lucas' initial tournament representation was poor like most of his fellow DLC characters, it has improved over time after he received buffs in game updates, to the point that he currently has both average representation and results, both of which are fair improvements from how he fared in Brawl.

Changes from Brawl

Lucas received a mix of buffs and nerfs in the transition from Brawl to SSB4, but he was nerfed overall despite being the lowest ranked newcomer in Brawl. One of the most notable improvements he received was the removal of the 10 extra frames that were a part of his grab release animation, which was one of his most significant flaws. Lucas' recovery, outside of advanced techniques, has been improved, as both PK Thunder 2 and Rope Snake now cover more distance. Rope Snake has also received more utility as a zoning option due to it receiving a hitbox when used as a grab aerial. Lucas has also been indirectly buffed from the changes to hitstun canceling, which is most evident with the modifications to his down throw having resulted in it becoming one of his best combo starters.

However, the 10 extra frame grab release was not the only noticeable gameplay-related aspect that Lucas lost. He can no longer use the Zap Jump or the Magnet Pull exploits, which were his two most pivotal techniques in Brawl, although the aforementioned buffs to PK Thunder 2 and Rope Snake can compensate for this, at least in terms of recovery. In addition, many of his attacks have seen their knockback and ranges reduced, while some of them have had their ending lag increased. This is most notably seen in his forward and back aerials losing their ability to autocancel from a short hop (although the landing lag of both is minimal), his down aerial having increased start-up lag and no longer able to reliably set up for the infamous down tilt lock, and his up aerial having notably less range while also being static, all of which significantly hinders his already poor approach and landing options.

A number of Lucas' moves have seen their damage outputs reduced, though this is made up by his newfound combo game. He additionally has a slightly harder time KOing because of his forward smash and up smash having reduced knockback alongside the loss of his advanced techniques. Despite retaining his dashing speed from Brawl, he nonetheless dashes slower than a large portion of the cast due to a number of his fellow veterans having had their dashing speeds increased.

Overall, Lucas has not significantly improved since Brawl when compared to the rest of the cast. However, as of update 1.1.3, he is considered to be moderately better than how he was when he was initially released in SSB4, due to the buffs he received up to and including that update, and his current placement on the tier list is a further reflection of that.

Aesthetics

• Due to the vibrant aesthetics used in SSB4, Lucas' overall color scheme is more vibrant. Like Ness, Lucas has lost the colored hue in his eyes (blue in Lucas' case), he is slightly taller and thinner, has slightly rosy cheeks, a smaller and more proportionate head, his shoes are smaller, and each of his shirt's stripes are equally horizontal.
• Lucas is more expressive and, like Luigi, much less depressive overall. He now consistently smiles and he even scowls when performing some attacks.
• Lucas now has many animations that have been changed to match Ness', like his losing animation.
• PK-based attacks have updated visuals and sound effects.
• Side taunt's animation has slightly changed. Lucas now keeps his eyes open during it, rather than closing them.

Attributes

• Lucas' air speed is faster (1.05 → 1.1).
• Lucas' fast falling speed is faster (1.918 → 2.192), which makes him less susceptible to juggling.
• Lucas' jumpsquat is faster (5 frames → 4).
• The removal of the extra 10 frames of Lucas' grab release significantly improve his survivability.
• Zap Jump and Magnet Pull have been removed.
• The removal of Zap Jump and Magnet Pull significantly hinders Lucas' advanced technical options.

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack deals 1.5% less damage (10% → 8.5%).
• Neutral attack's first and second hits launch opponents at a higher trajectory, improving its jab canceling potential.
• Sweetspotted dash attack deals 1% more damage (12% → 13%) and deals horizontal knockback. The sweetspot is now located at the tip, improving its range.
• Sourspotted dash attack deals 1% less damage (10% → 9%) and decreased knockback.
• Dash attack has decreased start-up (frame 17 → 15) and ending lag (IASA frame 42 → 39).
• Up, down and sourspotted forward tilts deal less damage (11% → 9.5% (up), 6% → 3% (down), 9% → 7.5% (sourspotted forward)).
• Forward tilt has increased start-up (frame 6 → 7) and ending lag (IASA frame 23 → 26).
• Up tilt has decreased ending lag (IASA frame 40 → 37) and the late hit 2 deals more damage (4% → 5%).
• Down tilt's point-blank hitbox now deals weak vertical knockback, improving its combo potential.
• Down tilt has increased ending lag (IASA frame 14 → 16) and slightly decreased range. It also no longer trips opponents, with only its tipper hitbox locking in opponents.
• Forward smash has decreased base knockback (60 → 50) and has received a sourspot on all of its untippered hitboxes that deals 1% less damage, slightly hindering its KO potential.
• Forward smash now emits a unique sound effect, rather than a kick sound effect like it did in Brawl.
• Up smash has decreased knockback (50 (base)/85 (growth) → 48/77) and smaller hitboxes (14u/13u/12u/10u/10u → 12u/11u/10u/8u/6.5u), slightly hindering its KO potential. It can also no longer force edge-hanging opponents into its main hitbox.
• Down smash's first hit has increased base knockback (40 → 43), slightly improving its KO potential.
• Down smash has decreased range (10u/12u/14u → 8u/9.8u/12u) and mutually exclusive hits.

Aerial attacks

• Neutral, forward and down aerials deal less damage (17% → 12% (neutral), 12% → 11.5% (forward), 20% → 15.5% (down)).
• Neutral, forward and up aerials no longer autocancel from a short hop due to significantly tightened autocancel windows. This slightly hinders their approach and landing option potentials.
• Neutral aerial has decreased base knockback (70 → 40), decreased landing lag (18 frames → 13), its last hit connects reliably and it launches overhead opponents at 60°, improving its reliability and granting it combo potential.
• Neutral aerial has increased start-up (frame 5 → 7) and ending lag (IASA frame 40 → 45). Its SDI multiplier has also increased (1x → 2x).
• Forward aerial has a smaller hitbox (5.5u → 5u) and its late hit has decreased active frames (6 frames → 2).
• Forward aerial has decreased landing lag (15 frames → 12).
• Back aerial's non-meteor sweetspot deals 2% more damage (10% → 12%) and knockback.
• Up aerial has increased start-up lag (frame 5 → 7), decreased active frames (6 frames → 3) and a significantly smaller hitbox (7u → 5.2u) that is no longer attached to Lucas' head during its animation. This makes it static and misleading, hindering its range.
• Up aerial now launches opponents at 80°. This improves its KO potential, despite retaining its knockback from Brawl.
• Up aerial has an increased hitlag multiplier (1x → 1.1x), making its total hitlag length 10 frames long.
• Down aerial has decreased landing lag (28 frames → 24).
• Down aerial has increased start-up lag (frame 4 → 10), hindering its reliability against grounded small opponents. It also has decreased autocancel timings (frame 35 → 48), removing its set-up potential for a down tilt lock.
• Grab aerial has received a hitbox that deals damage (4% (clean), 2.8% (late)) and horizontal knockback, granting it spacing potential. It also has increased range as a tether recovery.

Throws/other attacks

• All grabs have decreased start-up lag (frame 13 → 12 (standing), frame 16 → 14 (dash), frame 15 → 12 (pivot)) and increased active frames (1 frame → 8).
• Standing and dash grabs have significantly decreased ending lag (IASA frame 70 → 45 (standing), IASA frame 80 → 55 (dash)).
• Pivot grab has increased ending lag (IASA frame 50 → 61).
• Pummel deals 1.8% less damage (3% → 1.2%), significantly hindering its damage racking potential.
• Pummel's duration has decreased (frame 12 → 9), making it tied for the third fastest pummel in the game.
• Up throw has increased knockback growth (65 → 69), improving its KO potential and making it the third strongest up throw in the game.
• Down throw deals 0.5% less damage (7% → 6.5%) and has significantly decreased knockback growth (100 → 51), removing its KO potential.
• The changes to hitstun canceling significantly improve down throw's combo potential.
• Down throw's animation has changed. Lucas now aesthetically buries opponents head first upon throwing them.
• Front and back floor attacks deal 1% more damage (6% → 7%).
• Edge attack now deals consistent damage (6%/8% → 7%).

Special moves

• Fully charged PK Freeze deals 3% more damage (19% → 22%) and travels farther.
• PK Freeze is slightly slower, takes longer to fully charge and now goes lower than Lucas' body, similarly to Ness' PK Flash. Because of this, PK Freeze no longer explodes when it touches the ground. Unlike PK Flash, using it right before it hits the ground does not count as being fully charged.
• PK Fire deals 1% more damage (8% → 9%).
• PK Thunder is larger and PK Thunder 2 can be used again after Lucas bounces off of a wall, significantly improving its safety. PK Thunder traps opponents better and is stronger, while PK Thunder 2 covers slightly more distance, improving its recovery potential.
• PK Thunder moves slightly faster. This improves its recovery potential, but hinders its situational mindgame potential.
• PK Thunder is now colored violet, rather than blue.
• PSI Magnet is significantly larger.
• PSI Magnet deals 1% less damage (9% → 8%), its healing multiplier has decreased (2.5x → 1.2x) and only the center of the orb deals damage, whereas the entire orb dealt damage in Brawl. Altogether, these changes hinder its utility. The magnet also now swirls healing projectiles for a moment, creating a slight delay before Lucas can actually be healed. PSI Magnet has also received a blind spot directly behind Lucas, hindering its safety.
• PSI Magnet's animation has slightly changed. Lucas now keeps both eyes open during it, rather than closing one.
• PK Starstorm now functions almost identically to Ness' version. It deals 6% less damage per hit (14% → 8%), but the falling stars are now fired in a line that can be aimed in a fanning motion from the top-center of the stage. While this gives it blind spots, it results in a more consistent damage output when the stars do hit. Unlike Ness' version, Lucas' version has a much thicker line of fire due to using a consistent width of three falling stars throughout, rather than a width of one and a half falling stars.
• PK Starstorm is now colored sky blue, rather than yellow. It also now has a flame effect, rather than an electric effect.
• PK Starstorm's animation has changed. Like Ness' version, Lucas now strikes the same pose during it.

Update history

Lucas has been buffed via game updates. Update 1.1.0 saw all of his grabs' ending lag decreased and as well as subtle range improvements to his forward and down tilts, though they still do not match up to his range in Brawl. The changes to shield mechanics in updates 1.1.0 and 1.1.1 have been a mixed bag for Lucas; the changes make his sourspotted moves less safe on shield, but his sweetspotted moves safer on shield. Lastly, update 1.1.3 gave Lucas a number of noticeable buffs: his standing grab, dash grab, and forward aerial all had their lag decreased, his neutral aerial's damage output was increased, and forward tilt's sweetspot had its size and duration increased. As a result of these buffs, Lucas is considered better than he was when he was initially released.

1.1.0

• Sourspotted forward aerial deals 1% more damage: 8% → 9%.
• Forward aerial's vertical displacement increased: 1 → 2.9.
• Forward aerial's sourspot hitbox size decreased: 3.8u → 3.3u.
• Forward tilt's sweetspot and sourspot hitbox sizes increased: 4u (sweetspot)/2u (sourspot) → 4.4u/2.2u.
• Forward tilt's horizontal displacement decreased: 1.6 → 0.
• Down tilt has been improved. Its displacement increased: 0 → 3.5, its horizontal displacement increased: 2.7 → 3 and its far hitbox's horizontal displacement increased: 7 → 7.2.
• Down tilt's knockback altered: 10 (base)/50 (growth) → 18/45.
• Down tilt's close and middle hitboxes angles' altered: 70° (close)/0° (middle) → 76°/40°.
• All grabs' ending lag decreased: 56 frames/66 frames/66 frames → 51/61/61.
• Grab's early and late grabboxes' sizes increased: 2.5u (early)/2.4u (late) → 3u/2.8u.
• PK Thunder's hitbox size increased: 3.5u → 3.8u.

1.1.3

• Forward tilt hitbox size: 4.4 → 4.7.
• Neutral air looping hits damage: 1% → 2%.
• Forward air landing lag: 15 frames → 12
• Standing grab and dash grab had their ending lag decreased by 5 frames: 50/60 → 45/55.
• All grabs have sped up animations.
• PSI Magnet heals half damage from absorbing teammates' projectiles.

Moveset

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			2.5%	A right-legged roundhouse kick, followed by a right-legged hook kick, followed by a left-legged reverse roundhouse kick. The last hit has slightly more range. Hits first on frame 2 and can combo into a dash attack at low to medium percents.
			2%
			4%
Forward tilt			11% (sweetspot), 7.5% (sourspot)	A palm thrust that emits a small blast of PSI energy from his hand. It can be angled and has a disjointed hitbox, although its sweetspot is located inside of the blast.
Up tilt			1.5% (hit 1), 8% (clean hit 2), 5% (late hit 2)	Telekinetically tilts himself upside down to perform a vertical thrust kick that emits a blast of PSI energy from his foot. It can combo into itself, a neutral aerial or an up aerial at low to medium percents.
Down tilt			3%	A legsweep. Although weak, it is fast and reliable for either racking up damage or chaining into itself, a neutral attack or a grab. Hits on frame 3, making it tied with Ness', Little Mac's, R.O.B.'s, and Meta Knight's down tilts for being the fastest down tilt in the game.
Dash attack			13% (sweetspot), 9% (sourspot)	A dashing palm thrust that emits a blast of PSI energy from his hand. Has noticeable start-up and deals more damage the farther the opponent is from Lucas.
Forward smash			14% (base), 15% (tip), 1.5x (reflected projectiles)	Swings a stick in front of himself. The stick's tip deals slightly more damage and knockback, while the move overall functions very similarly to Ness' forward smash, including the ability to reflect projectiles. Compared to Ness' version, it has less start-up and ending lag, but deals less damage, knockback and has a lower damage multiplier when reflecting projectiles.
Up smash			2% (hit 1), 19%, 18%, 16%, 14%, or 12% (clean to late hit 2)	Emits a large blast of PSI energy above his head. Despite in-game tips saying it is the most powerful up smash in the game and can attack opponents hanging on the edge, neither of these tips are true; it is only the fifth strongest up smash in the game, and completely whiffs most edge-hanging characters unless their head pokes above the edge. It is a "high-risk, high-reward" attack; it has an extreme amount of ending lag, which makes it very punishable if missed, but it is strong enough to KO at 80% when uncharged and at 54% when fully charged. It also has other positives, as it renders Lucas invincible on frames 1-4, grants intangibility to his head on frames 15-29 and has a very large hitbox, making it a good anti-air attack if used correctly. It appears to be based on PK Love, Lucas' signature PSI attack from Mother 3.
Down smash			17% (clean), 14% (mid), 11% (late)	Aims his arm diagonally downward and emits three consecutive blasts of PSI energy towards the ground while holding his hand in a finger gun gesture. With each blast, its range increases at the expense of damage and knockback. It is one of the strongest down smashes in the game when clean, as it is able to KO as low as 60% near the edge depending on the opponent's weight and DI. If it is timed well, it can also catch recovering opponents before they grab the edge. Has a bit of start-up lag, but low ending lag. Despite seemingly being composed of three distinct hits, it can only strike an opponent once due to how its lone hitbox is coded, making it somewhat unsafe on shield.
Neutral aerial			2% (hits 1-4), 4% (hit 5)	A cartwheel that emits a blast of PSI energy around his torso. Each hit has numerous freeze frames and it has good combo potential, despite being susceptible to SDI.
Forward aerial			11.5% (sweetspot), 9% (sourspot)	A flying kick that emits a blast of PSI energy from his foot. It is is fast and disjointed, making it a good off-stage option and one of Lucas' better spacing options. Its sweetspot deals the most knockback and can KO at high percents.
Back aerial			12% (sweetspot), 9% (sourspot), 7% (late)	A backflip kick that emits a trail of PSI energy from his foot. It can meteor smash at the tip of his foot and has disjointed reach, with its weakest hitbox being at the tip.
Up aerial			13%	An upward headbutt. Its hitbox has become smaller, static and misleading, but it deals reasonably high damage and knockback, making it a viable KOing option near the upper blast line.
Down aerial			3.5% (rapid hits 1-3), 5% (hit 4)	An alternating series of stomps, with each stomp emitting a small blast of PSI energy from his feet. Like his back aerial, it is disjointed and has a meteor smash hitbox below himself on the fourth and last hit. The move itself is also difficult to fully land on smaller grounded opponents, such as Pikachu and Kirby.
Grab aerial		Rope Snake	4% (clean), 2.8% (late)	Unfurls Duster's Rope Snake in front of himself. It can damage opponents and act as a tether recovery.
Grab		Rope Snake	—	Unfurls Duster's Rope Snake in front of himself. His standing grab is deceptively fast, although his pivot grab is very slow.
Pummel			1.2%	A headbutt. Tied with Ness', Kirby's and Fox's pummels as the third fastest pummel in the game. However, it is the least damaging pummel in the game.
Forward throw			10%	Telekinetically throws the opponent in front of himself. Tied with Bowser's forward throw as the strongest in the game, it KOs around 100%-160% near the edge, depending on the opponent's weight and DI.
Back throw			10%	Telekinetically throws the opponent behind himself. It is his strongest throw and the third strongest back throw in the game, being surpassed only by Ness' and Villager's, respectively. It can KO even super heavyweights at 158% near the edge without rage.
Up throw			10%	Telekinetically whirls the opponent around his head, then throws them directly overhead. The third strongest up throw in the game, being surpassed only by Mewtwo's and Charizard's, as it KOs around 120%-180% depending on the opponent's weight and DI.
Down throw			6.5%	Telekinetically slams the opponent into the ground head first. Lucas' primary combo throw, as it can be followed by either a very quick up tilt, neutral aerial, forward aerial, or up aerial depending on the opponent's weight and DI, with the up aerial combo being capable of KOing at high percents. Although the opponent appears buried, this is merely aesthetic.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			7%	Kicks around himself while getting up.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			7%	Kicks around himself while getting up.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	Kicks behind himself and then in front of himself while getting up.
Edge attack Edge getups			7%	Performs a low-angle kick while climbing up.
Neutral special	Default	PK Freeze	9%-22%	Emits a sky blue snowflake-shaped blast of PSI energy from his head that freezes opponents. The direction of the blast's path can be controlled, it can be made stronger by holding the special button and it can be concluded at a deceptively fast speed. However, it renders Lucas helpless if used in the air.
	Custom 1	N/A
	Custom 2	N/A
Side special	Default	PK Fire	3% (lightning), 6% (fire)	Thrusts both of his hands forward to release a yellow lightning bolt-shaped PSI projectile from his hands. Unlike Ness' PK Fire, Lucas' version results in a brief, fiery explosion of PSI energy that launches the opponent backward, rather than a long-lasting pillar of fiery PSI energy. It is further differentiated from Ness' version in that it flies straight ahead regardless of whether it is used on the ground or in the air, as well as causing a minimal amount of recoil both on the ground and in the air, making it more effective as a spacing tool than Ness' PK Fire.
	Custom 1	N/A
	Custom 2	N/A
Up special	Default	PK Thunder	2.5% (projectile head), 0.8% (projectile tail, rapid hits), 8% (PKT2 initial), 2% (PKT2 rapid hits 1-5), 1.5% (PKT2 rapid hits 6-10), 10% (PKT2 last)	Emits a violet, streaming electrical PSI projectile from his head. Like Ness' PK Thunder, it can be directed into Lucas to launch him at a high speed. Unlike Ness' version, it does not disappear after hitting an opponent and instead hits multiple times, giving it damage racking potential. This effect also applies PK Thunder 2, with Lucas hitting an opponent multiple times upon colliding with them.
	Custom 1	N/A
	Custom 2	N/A
Down special	Default	PSI Magnet	8% (ending), heals 1.2x the damage of absorbed projectiles	Thrusts his arm forward to emit a blue glowing orb of PSI energy around his outstretched hand. Any energy-based projectiles it absorbs will heal him, although it no longer absorbs energy projectiles that are launched directly at his back like it did in Brawl. Unlike Ness' PSI Magnet, Lucas' version can be used offensively, due to it dealing damage and semi-spike knockback to opponents inside of it when it dissipates.
	Custom 1	N/A
	Custom 2	N/A
Final Smash		PK Starstorm	8% (per hit)	Summons a shower of falling stars to repeatedly hit the opponent. The stars that descend in a column from the top-center of the stage and can be angled in a fanning motion throughout its duration.

On-screen appearance

• Rides in on a Mr. Saturn-style coffee table, then hops off. The table is based on the one that Lucas rides in order to reach Saturn Valley in Mother 3.

Taunts

• Up taunt: Trips, shakes his head, and gets back up.
• Side taunt: Duster's Rope Snake taps Lucas on the shoulder and has a brief conversation with him, as Lucas shrugs at it.
• Down taunt: Positions his right hand up to his forehead and grunts while channeling small blasts of PSI energy from his index and middle fingers, then swings his hand downward leaving behind a brief PSI energy trail.

Up taunt	Side taunt	Down taunt

Idle poses

• Taps the toes of his shoes on the ground.
• Shakes his fists in front of his face in a cowardly motion.

Crowd cheer

	English	Japanese
Cheer
Description	Lu-cas!	Ryuuu-ka!
Pitch	Female	Female

Victory poses

A flourished, sped-up remix of a portion of EarthBound Beginnings' theme song.

• With his back towards the screen, Lucas crouches while poking at something on the ground with a large stick before turning his head around towards the screen, saying "Huh?"
• Forcefully pulls one of the Seven Needles out of the ground, sending it flying off-screen while Lucas looks towards the screen. This animation is very similar to his up smash's animation.
• Bends down on one knee and waves his right arm in from himself while releasing blasts of PSI energy from his index and middle fingers.

In competitive play

Notable players

Active

•  Clade
•  Hakii
•  JeBB
•  K3H
•  Kodystri
•  Mekos
•  Taiheita

Inactive

•  Marss
•  NAKAT
•  Pink Fresh
•  SpaceDong

Tier placement and history

During his release, Lucas was considered to have improved from Brawl due to the changes to the game physics benefitting him. However, it would very soon become clear Lucas had lost more than what he lost in Brawl, and would go on to be considered among his previous game's placement. Following the buffs to his attacks, as well as decent tournament representation and results (the latter point being largely due to Taiheita), he would be ranked 36th in the first 4BR tier list, as a low-tier character. However, players would prove that Lucas's buffs had indeed benefitted him a lot and that he was now a capable character with reliable combo potential and KO power. Due to receiving a notable results from Taiheita in 17th place at Super Smash Con 2016, Lucas was bumped up in the second tier list to 33rd, officially putting him in the mid-tier.

He would then see a very slight rise to 32nd on the third and current tier list. While not having as much tournament representation as other mid-tiered characters, his results have been good enough to secure his current placement. However, some smashers still argue his placing is rather low, and that due to Ness' not so impressive strengths as they were initially perceived, he is now better than the former (though this is still very debatable).

Trophies

Lucas comes with matching character trophies, which are unlocked as usual. However, his alt. trophy will also be automatically granted upon booting up the version. His existing non-fighter trophy remains in the game, completely unchanged; both it and the Classic trophy are simply labeled as "Lucas" in-game.

Lucas (non-fighter)

Before adventuring, Lucas was a timid, cautious boy. His journey has made him a stronger person. Maybe he met someone to spend his life with... Hang on—we're moving way too fast! For now, remember that Lucas and Ness are favorites in the hearts of EarthBound fans.

Once upon a time, Lucas was a bit of a cry-baby. You might even say he was a wimp. But then, well...he had more than his fair share of rough times and toughened up a bit. Who knows what he's up to now? Whatever he's doing, his story - much like Ness's - lives on in the hearts of all Mother series fans.

: Mother 3

Lucas

The younger of the twin brothers from Nowhere makes his triumphant return to the game of Smash. Hailing from the Japan-only game Mother 3, Lucas's specialty is psychic projectile attacks. He can use these PSI attacks to do things like absorb enemy projectiles and deal supernatural damage!

Lucas, the younger of the twin brothers from Tazmily, comes originally from the Japan-only game, Mother 3, and now makes his triumphant return to Super Smash Bros.! Here he makes great use of his PSI powers with lots of projectile attacks, and can use his faster attacks on anybody who gets too close.

: Mother 3

Lucas (Alt.)

Lucas's up special PK Thunder can hit enemies multiple times, but if you hit yourself with it, you can then tackle and launch opponents! Lucas's up smash has the strongest launch power of any fighter's up smash. The range for this attack is wide, and it's strongest right after Lucas unleashes the attack.

Lucas's up special, PK Thunder, can either hit enemies multiple times, or hit Lucas himself to push him into a powerful charge attack. Meanwhile, his up smash attack is the most powerful launching move in the entire game, so make good use of it! It's a wide-range attack that is most effective right after Lucas unleashes it.

: Mother 3

PK Starstorm (Lucas)

You can adjust the direction of the shooting stars in this attack! Rain stars down on multiple fighters at once, or be mean and pick on a single fighter. The choice is yours! If a star connects, it will deal ongoing fire damage, making it hard for opponents to return to the stage.

Lucas uses his PSI powers to summon a stream of shooting stars, the angle of which you can control. It's good for attacking an entire group during a free-for-all...or if you want to make things tougher for a single person. Even if the attack only hits once, it deals ongoing fire damage, making it harder to get back to the stage.

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  Non-fighter (3DS)

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  Non-fighter (Wii U)

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  Classic (3DS)

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  Alt. (3DS)

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  Classic (Wii U)

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  Alt. (Wii U)

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  PK Starstorm

Alternate costumes

Reveal trailer

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Gallery

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  Lucas' splash art.

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  Lucas' amiibo.

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  Using his forward aerial.

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  Using PK Thunder against Falco.

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  Lucas' on-screen appearance.

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  Using his down taunt alongside Ness' down taunt.

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  Using PK Fire against Bowser alongside with Ness using PK Fire against Sonic.

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  One of Lucas' idle poses alongside Wii Fit Trainer and Villager.

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  Using PSI Magnet to heal himself.

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  All of Lucas' alternate costumes.

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  Lucas on Magicant with another Lucas wearing the Claus alternate costume.

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  Using his side taunt.

Trivia

• A few aspects regarding Lucas' status in SSB4 tied in to a number of significant dates for the EarthBound series:
  • He was confirmed in the same month that his origin game, Mother 3, was first released.
  • The announcement details for Lucas and update 1.0.8 were revealed on the same day as EarthBound's 20th anniversary.
  • The day he became available to purchase was the same day that EarthBound Beginnings was released internationally for the Wii U Virtual Console.
  • His amiibo's release date in Japan was the same day that Mother 3 was released on the Japanese Wii U Virtual Console.
• Lucas' dashing animation is similar to his running animation in Mother 3.
• Due to his non-fighter trophy using his character model from Brawl, Lucas is the only character who has both his Brawl and SSB4 character models in the same game.
• Lucas is the only starter character and Brawl newcomer to be available as downloadable content.
  • He is also the only DLC character with a tether grab.
• As Lucas' down throw technically does not bury opponents and instead forces them into a unique position, if the character being thrown flinches lightly, they will snap back to their original position. In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, the skirts of Peach's, Zelda's and Rosalina's dresses cannot keep up with the velocity change and will stay up. This technical oversight leads to odd results. However, this oversight does not occur in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.
• Lucas' amiibo description on the official amiibo website is a combination of his Classic Mode trophy descriptions from Brawl and SSB4.
  • Oddly, his amiibo description carried over his Brawl trophy's mistranslation of his home, Tazumili Village, rather than its correct translation, Tazmily Village.
• Lucas is the only veteran DLC character to have recycled voice clips.
  • He is also the only veteran DLC character to not have his voice actress in the DLC credits. His voice actress, however, was in the original credits before his return.
  • He is also the only DLC character to speak English in the Japanese version of the game, though Bayonetta can be technically included if her "A Witch With No Memories" alternate costume is counted.
• Oddly, Lucas' forward aerial has a hitbox that will load, but will then be deleted at the same time it appears. This hitbox deals 6% and has a punching sound effect on contact. However, it can be restored via modding.