Wolf (SSBB)

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

Wolf
Wolf O'Donnell
Universe	Star Fox
Appears in	SSBB
Availability	Unlockable
Tier	D (22)

Wolf (ウルフ, Urufu) is a hidden character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Wolf was confirmed in the months leading up to the release via a Japanese leak of the game. He appears to be somewhat similar to Fox and Falco, although he differs from them in several ways. He's considered the "heavy" of the three, being stronger, taller, and slower (although his attacks are actually fast). His normal attacks are unique whereas his special attacks are similar to Fox's, but very different in function.

Wolf was officially confirmed on March 31st, 2008, earning distinction as the last character to be officially confirmed. His Japanese voice actor is Mahito Oba and his English voice actor is Jay Ward. Wolf can be unlocked with one of the three following ways: After beating Adventure Mode, go back to "The Ruins", skip the first door you pass when riding the second elevator down (with the purple spikes). Instead enter the second door at the bottom and defeat him. You can also face Wolf after playing 450 brawls or defeating Boss Battles with Fox or Falco.

Wolf is ranked 22nd on the current tier list due to well rounded attacks and a great reflector, but having very poor accuracy in recovery and having extreme vulnerability to chain grabs (although his reflector helps a bit) bars him from the higher tiers.

How to Unlock

• Beat Boss Battles with Fox or Falco, then defeat Wolf.
• Participate in 450 brawls, then defeat Wolf.
• Have Wolf join you in the Subspace Emissary.

Attributes

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 animal, but the lightest of the cast classed as heavyweight. Despite possessing a larger body frame than Fox and Falco, Wolf leans down while standing and moving along the ground, and thus has the shortest stance of the three. His dash speed is slow, barely outpacing his walk, but he has the third fastest falling speed, and fourth fastest horizontal air speed. While these attributes provide him with good aerial mobility, Wolf is vulnerable to chain-grabbing, juggling and certain locks due to his rapid falling speed.

Most of Wolf's standard attacks start quickly, have high priority and decent range, and he has a DACUS that propels him a considerable distance along the ground. Many attacks have the potential to KO, such as b-air, f-smash and d-smash. The speed and range 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 moves are used for damage racking, they may suffer move decay and cause difficulties when Wolf needs to KO. His d-air is a strong, albeit slow meteor smash that can be used to gimp opponents who have predictable recoveries, such as Link.

Wolf's special moves are variants of Fox's and Falco's, with different animations and properties. His Neutral B, 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 range, and it serves as a melee weapon, delivering extra damage to foes if it contacts them. Wolf's Down B, Reflector, is a versatile move that deflects projectiles and grants him invincibility frames, which may be used to avoid attacks, and escape chain-grabs if his opponent makes an error. The reflector can also damage foes, and delivers set knockback in a diagonal downward direction, which can gimp opponents with poor vertical 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 ledge sweet spot is one of the smallest in the game. As such, he is easily gimped, and his recovery is susceptible to edge-hogging. This, in combination with his vulnerability to chain-grabbing, poses a problem, since some chain-grabs can force him offstage. Side B, 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, or deal forward or upward knockback if sweet spotted, which may be useful for guard breaking. Wolf Flash is also involved in scarring, an advanced recovery technique unique to Wolf. Up B, 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's and Falco's counterpart moves, drags opponents along with it, and delivers knockback at the end.

Overall, Wolf is a balanced character who may face problems when matched against opponents that can exploit his weaknesses, but has strengths that earn him the position of a viable tournament contender.

Moveset

Normal

• 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 first hit is steady, and the first and second hits may be cancelled into other attacks. The three hits deal 3%, 2% and 4% consecutively; a total of 9% damage.
• 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. Deals 9% damage.
• Forward Tilt- Leans forward with both arms together and swipes, separating his claws on impact. The attack has a great number of Freeze frames if it fully connects with an opponent or their shield, but it is possible to connect with only the outer of two hitboxes. Forward Tilt can be angled up or downward, and a clean hit deals 11% damage.
• Down Tilt- Performs a fast low kick that deals 6% damage, and trips opponents at low percentages.
• Up Tilt- Kicks upward in front of his body. There is a sweetspot at the tip of his boot that can KO at high percents. Deals 10% damage.

Smash

• Forward Smash- Wolf stretches his arms in front of his body and shoots forward, then twists his claws. This attack starts quickly, has excellent range, and often strikes opponents twice, but delivers below average knockback. Forward Smash moves Wolf a considerable distance forward along the ground, and has noticeable cool-down time. Deals 15% damage uncharged and 21% fully charged.
• Up Smash- Performs an upward scissor kick. Its animation can be likened to Sonic's Up Aerial. This move hits twice: the first hit pushes the opponent into the second. Wolf's Up Smash can be used in a DACUS. Deals 18% damage uncharged and 25% fully charged.
• Down Smash- Swipes his claws on either side of his body, first in front and then behind. This attack is fast and has little cool-down lag, and is considered a good finisher. The first hit, at Wolf's front, deals 14% damage, and the second hit, at Wolf's back, deals 13%. Fully charged, the first hit deals 19% and the second hit 18%. Note that Wolf has the strongest Down Smash of the three Star Fox characters in Brawl, while Fox possesses the strongest up smash, and Falco the strongest forward smash.

Aerial Attacks

• Neutral Aerial- Wolf curls up and flips several times. The attack can either connect once and deliver knockback, or hit several times and deliver small amounts of hitstun. Neutral air deals 8% damage and delivers knockback if it connects during its startup, otherwise it deals 1% per hit.
• Forward Aerial- Slashes with his left arm. This attack delivers good vertical knockback, but has considerable landing lag. Deals 11% damage.
• Back Aerial- Kicks outward behind his body. The kick is extremely fast, delivers decent knockback, and can be used in a RAR. Deals 13% damage.
• Up Aerial- Swipes in an arc above his head. This move is used to juggle and deals 12% damage.
• Down Aerial- Strikes both arms downward as if wielding an axe. This aerial has considerable startup and finishing lag, but delivers a decent meteor smash that deals 15% damage.

Grabs and Throws

Unlike Fox and Falco, Wolf does not use his Blaster in any throws.

• Pummel- Hits his opponent with his right knee. Extremely fast compared with other pummels, but only the first pummel refreshes other moves. Deals 1% damage.
• Forward Throw- Uppercuts his opponent forward. This throw can be used to chaingrab some characters, such as Fox, by dashing forward in time. Deals 7%.
• Back Throw- Throws the opponent upward and claws them behind himself. The opponent's trajectory is diagonal and upward. Deals 7%.
• Up Throw- Throws the opponent up and slashes them with both claws. Deals 7%.
• Down Throw- Throws the opponent on the ground, does a small jump and claws them. This throw sends the opponent diagonally downward, causing them to slide along the ground and off any nearby edges, thus, it has semi-spike properties. It can be used as a DACUS setup. Deals 12%.

Taunts

Up: Leans backwards and howls.

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

Side: Does three kicks while saying, "What's the matter, scared?" in a teasing manner.

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

Matchups

Super Smash Bros. Brawl Character Matchups

Avg.

Role in Subspace Emissary

File:Wolf Subspace Emissary.jpg

Wolf in the SSE

In the Subspace Emissary, Wolf doesn't play a major role and does not interact with other video game characters, but can join the player's party after beating Tabuu. The player must enter a special Red Door in The Ruins stage, which will take them to Lylat Cruise. The player sees Wolf flying his Wolfen. He then jumps off the Wolfen, and lands on the cruise. Wolf strikes a pose and then rushes at the player attacking him or her. The player must then defeat Wolf in a one-life stock battle. After defeat, he joins the party. (Although Wolf is never in a cutscene that shows both him and another character, he does seem to stare at the person who challenges him.)

Costume Gallery

File:Alt-wolf.jpg

Wolf's changeable clothing in SSBB

• Wolf's eyepatch and armor are different colors for each costume.

Cheer

• "Wolf! (howl) Wolf!"

Trivia

• 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.
• Out of all three Star Fox characters, Wolf is considered the heaviest, however, he ranks last in the heavyweight weight class. This is similar to the Pokemon characters in Melee, in which Mewtwo was the heaviest of the four characters but was still a lightweight character.
• Wolf is the only one of the last 3 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 his fairly high difficulty in all three situations which lead toward unlocking him), he is not required to be unlocked last, because after completing Adventure Mode one can complete Boss Battles with Fox or Falco, or find the hidden door in The Ruins before finding the hidden doors in The Swamp or The Lake, which lead to Toon Link and Jigglypuff, or completing Classic and/or and event. This is also similar is unlocking Jigglypuff in Melee, as Jigglypuff wasn't required to be unlocked first. (And could even be the last to be possibly unlocked in the original game).

External links

• Wolf's page at Smash Bros. DOJO!!.
• Can't let you do that, Starfox, a Wolf Back Room guide