Villager (SSB4)

Villager in Super Smash Bros. 4
Universe	Animal Crossing
Availability	Starter
Final Smash	Dream Home
Tier	B (11)

“	Villager Comes to Town!	”
—Introduction Tagline

Villager (むらびと, Villager) is a newcomer in Super Smash Bros. 4. Villager was revealed during E3 2013 on June 11th, 2013 during the first reveal trailer for Smash 4, and alongside other newcomers announced during E3 2013, Wii Fit Trainer and Mega Man. Similar to the Wii Fit Trainer, Robin, and Corrin, players are able to play as male and female versions of the Villager. There are four male and four female variations available. He was also among the first wave of amiibo figures that are compatible with SSB4.

Villager is currently ranked 11th out of 56 characters on the first official tier list, in the B tier. Villager is arguably the best "zoning" character in the game, able to outcamp opponents with his slingshot (forward and back aerials) and Lloid Rocket while countering opposing projectiles with Pocket and asserting large amounts of stage control with Timber. Additionally, he possesses an effective aerial moveset, a very reliable recovery, and a wealth of edgeguarding options, making him a terror offstage, as well as having very powerful KOing options for a middleweight. However, Villager lacks reliable KO setups despite his impressive power. He also has one of the slowest running speeds and a slow and rather punishable grab, limiting his ability to fight up close on the ground, and is quite vulnerable to reflectors due to his reliance on projectiles. Overall, though, Villager's stage control and edgeguarding options have allowed him to achieve very positive tournament results, especially in Japan (largely thanks to Ranai), and he is considered to be a viable high-tier character.

Attributes

Villager is an unorthodox character with several unique moves, including several standard attacks that are actually projectiles, similar to Mega Man.

Villager possesses a strong camping game. His forward and backward aerials are long-ranged slingshot attacks which, in combination with Lloid Rocket, are great for harrassing opponents from a distance. Opposing projectiles can either be Pocketed or blocked by a tree; Pocket can also be used to "steal" character-generated items such as R.O.B.'s Gyro, preventing them from being used as long as Villager keeps them and thus further weakening the opponent's ability to compete with him at range. One caveat, though, is that Villager is a character of below-average mobility, so once the opponent closes the gap it can be difficult for Villager to create space again. Despite this, Villager possesses three sex kicks out of his five aerial moves of which all have quick startups, giving him a relatively easy time creating space should an enemy approach to point blank range.

Should camping not be desirable, Villager's projectiles can also serve as good approach tools. In particular, launching Lloid Rocket and then running behind it is a strategy that limits the opponent's options and provides a chance to punish their reaction. Using his down aerial in a short hop is also a good approach option, as it is a disjointed attack with little lag.

Despite being a middleweight character, Villager possesses arguably the best recovery in the game thanks to Balloon Trip. This move allows him to fly a great distance at a respectable speed, and is surprisingly difficult to gimp; although the balloons can be popped to render Villager helpless, doing so requires two separate hits, and hitting Villager himself will allow him to simply use the move again. Lloid Rocket further bolsters Villager's recovery, as launching it stalls his descent while threatening edgeguarders. Alternatively, Villager can ride Lloid back to the stage, although this is punishable and can be reflected.

Villager is also a very potent edgeguarder, with a wealth of options to finish recovering foes. His forward smash allows him to drop a bowling ball from the ledge; this is a powerful attack that can be difficult for an opponent recovering low to avoid. If the opponent's recovery is slow enough or a tree is set up beforehand, Timber can also be used from the ledge for an even more devastating attack, or to reduce an opponent's options should they grab the ledge. Alternatively, Villager can jump offstage and pursue with an aerial attack; his down aerial is a powerful meteor smash should it produce three turnips, while a clean hit from his slingshot has enough knockback to be deadly near the blast line, and is generally the best choice against an opponent recovering high. Many of his aerials are sex kicks as well which, when combined with his extremely long-ranged recovery, allows him to gimp opponents pretty easily.

However, Villager's ability to set up edgeguards in the first place is hampered by his slow grab. Although his net has relatively long range, it is one of the laggiest grabs in the game, making it very punishable. As such, attempting to throw an opponent offstage is a risky prospect, and Villager's ability to shield-grab is quite limited, although he does have other good out of shield options, such as his neutral aerial.

Outside of edgeguarding, Villager has multiple powerful KO moves, but none of them are easy to land from a neutral situation. His forward smash, while powerful, is a laggy and short-ranged attack when used onstage. Lloid Rocket has KO power when ridden, but this is slow and predictable. Timber's axe requires a tree to be present and has considerable ending lag, while using the tree itself is slow and requires staying in one place. Villager's up aerial is a strong juggling move and can score KOs off the upper blast line, but only if luck permits. Pocketing and throwing back a sufficiently strong projectile makes for a deadly attack, generally enough to KO at mid percentages and even instantly shatter full shields, but this is matchup-dependent and will not be easily allowed by a smart opponent. Overall, if the opponent maintains control of center stage, Villager can have trouble finding KO opportunities.

Villager has a versatile selection of custom moves. Pocket Plus and Garden are less powerful than standard Pocket, but have advantages that make them more useful for some matchups. Pushy Lloid's size and multi-hit nature make it harder for opponents to get past. Extreme Balloon Trip has Villager fly slower, but the balloons explode when they burst, making it very risky for the opponent to attempt an edgeguard while giving Villager a vertical boost that compensates for the move's reduced speed. The most notable and rather infamous custom move however, is Timber Counter. Timber Counter allows Villager to place a tripping hazard which, unlike banana peels, cannot be removed by any opponent short of another Villager, allowing for strong stage control. By combining these custom moves, Villager can significantly enhance his already potent camping abilities, making him very difficult to approach. He does, however, give up some offensive ability in the process, and some players may prefer his more balanced default moveset.

Villager is considered a solid character in competitive play, with players such as Japan's Ranai and Australia's Villyness using him to take major tournaments, although his American representation is not as strong.

Update history

Villager has got a mix of buffs and nerfs in game updates but has been slightly nerfed overall. Since 1.0.6, no longer he can Pocket Sonic's Spring or Pac-Man's Trampoline, his recovery was noticeably nerfed in 1.0.8 and once again in 1.1.1. The same patch also made Extreme Balloon Trip, one of his best custom moves, less effective as a disruption tool. 1.1.3 slightly reduced his usefulness in team battles by having pocketed projectiles by teammates deal signifcantly less damage and knockback. However, 1.0.8 also brought some useful buffs to his grab game, most notably to his down throw, which allows him to combo his opponents better. He also benefits from the changes on the shield mechanics in recent updates, allowing him to break shields easier, most notably with a rising axe followed by a clean hit with three turnips with his down air.

1.0.6

• Villager can no longer pocket Sonic's spring.
• Villager can no longer pocket Pac-Man's trampoline.

1.0.8

• All grabs have less ending lag: 57/71/65 → 55/69/64.
• Down throw damage: 4.5% → 6%.
• Down throw's knockback growth is decreased: 105 → 80, making it better for follow-ups.
• Forward throw base knockback: 100 → 102
• Back throw base knockback: 15 → 18
• Consecutive uses of Balloon Trip now result in less distance.

1.1.1

• Extreme Balloon Trip hitbox sizes decreased: 6.5/14.5 → 4/11.5.
• Consecutive uses of Balloon Trip further reduced in distance.

1.1.3

• Pocketing and throwing a teammate's projectile now deals half damage.

Moveset

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			3%	Quickly punches with boxing gloves. Can be done rapidly by holding the button (and even more rapidly by mashing it), but has no finisher. Its speed and lack of a finisher gives it good use as a protection move to cover Villager's laggy attacks. References Punch-Out!! appearing in the original Animal Crossing as an obtainable NES game.
			3%
Forward tilt			9%	Swings an umbrella horizontally.
Up tilt			6% (hit 1), 5% (hit 2)	Waves a stick upwards in a circular motion. Hits twice, and the second hit decent vertical knockback.
Down tilt			13% (weed), 8% (shockwave)	Pulls a weed out of the ground, knocking foes upwards. Hits extremely hard for a tilt of its speed, being able to KO at high percentages. Has deceptively long range.
Dash attack			10% (clean), 6% (late)	Falls over and drops a potted sapling, which flies a short distance and shatters on the ground. Sometimes the pot bounces instead of breaking, but it does no damage afterwards. The pot deals less damage if it hits the opponent while it flies, but this gives the move a good range.
Forward smash			15% (early), 17% (clean)	Leans forwards and drops a bowling ball. Powerful knockback, enough to KO reliably around 95% (60% fully charged), though it has poor horizontal range and moderate startup and ending lag. Notably, the ball can fall off edges if the Villager stands behind one, making it great for edge-guarding if the opponent recovers low. The bowling ball does slightly more damage and knockback if it falls a certain distance before hitting opponents. However, as the bowling ball is considered a projectile, it can be reflected even at point blank.
Up smash			3% (hit 1 on grounded opponents), 1% (hits 2-5), 4% (hit 6)	Detonates a fountain firework, creating an explosion above himself. Hits six times for a total of 11% (15% fully charged). Has a fairly large hitbox and pulls opponents to the center of the blast, although opponents can often be knocked out of the entire move by any of the first few hits, especially at high percentages. It can KO at about 120%.
Down smash			6% (clean), 3% (farther opponents on the ground)	Takes out a shovel and digs in front, then behind. It can bury grounded opponents; opponents in the air instead have weak knockback inflicted to them. This is the only smash attack in the series that cannot KO when grounded, though it can still be deadly thanks to its followup potential. Up smash is an effective followup at high percentages, as its first hit will unbury the victim, circumventing the knockback reduction on buried characters. At lower damage the opponent will be freed very quickly, but may be hit by an aerial attack as they pop out of the ground.
Neutral aerial			9% (clean), 5% (late)	Does a cartwheel. Acts as a decently long sex kick that deals good knockback in the first frame. Has very fast startup (hits on frame 3), allowing Villager to use it as an extremely safe out-of-shield option, and the length of time its hitbox stays out gives Villager a lot of protection.
Forward aerial			7% (clean), 4% (mid), 2.5% (late)	Fires a slingshot pellet that travels slightly less than half the length of Final Destination. The pellet deals low knockback and deals even less knockback if hit in the final frames, similar to Mega Man's neutral air. The pellet deals moderate knockback at point blank range, which is deadly especially offstage.
Back aerial			9% (clean), 5% (mid), 3% (late)	Like the forward aerial, but aimed backwards. Slower, but deals slightly more knockback and damage compared to his forward aerial.
Up aerial			One: 8% (clean), 4% (late) Two: 10% (clean), 5% (late) Three: 13% (clean), 6% (late)	Randomly swings one, two or three turnips upward. Damage depends on number of turnips, and the attack acts as a sex kick. The varying number of turnips is a reference to the fluctuating price of turnips in Animal Crossing.
Down aerial			One: 8% (clean), 4% (late) Two: 10% (clean), 5% (late) Three: 13% (clean), 6% (late)	Randomly swings one, two or three turnips downwards. Same damage values as up aerial, and is also a sex kick which last for a while. A clean hit with three turnips is a meteor smash if the ends of the turnips hit the opponent. It can also heavily damage a shield when used after Timber's axe at the apex of a jump if three turnips get a clean hit in the opponents' shield. The varying number of turnips is a reference to the fluctuating price of turnips in Animal Crossing.
Grab			—	Traps opponents in a net with an overhead swing. Long range, but has considerable startup and is laggy if it misses. Pivot grabbing is a useful option for Villager, as it provides a very noticeable boost to the net's already good reach.
Pummel			3%	Yanks the net backwards to damage the opponent inside. Somewhat slow.
Forward throw			9%	Swings net overhead again, tossing the opponent out. Very low knockback growth.
Back throw			11%	Turns around swinging net horizontally. KOs reliably around 165%. One of the strongest back throws in the game, but its low base knockback makes it difficult to set up edgeguards at low percentages.
Up throw			10%	Flips net over and tosses opponent upwards. Good for juggling.
Down throw			6%	Turns net horizontally and slams it into the ground. Knocks opponent upwards. Can combo into aerials, but not very reliably. A good way to set up the use of a pocketed projectile.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			7%	Gets up then swings with a stick in front and then back of him.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			7%	Gets up then swings with a stick in front and then back of him.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	Does a low kick with both feet in ahead of himself, then does the same thing behind him.
Edge attack Edge getups			7%	Climbs the ledge while spinning, then kicks with his right leg.
Neutral special	Default	Pocket	1.9x damage (pocketed projectiles), 0.5x damage (pocketed teammate's projectiles)	Villager catches various projectiles and/or items, stowing them away; using the move again uses the stored attack, acting as a delayed reflector, with retrieved projectiles doing nearly twice the damage and knockback as before. The damage of pocketed projectiles are reset to their base damage values before the multiplier is applied. Grants Villager brief invincibility during the first few frames.
	Custom 1	Garden	10% (flower attack), 1x damage (pocketed projectiles)	Villager can only pocket items in front of him, but it can inflict the flower ailment if opponents are nearby. Pocketed projectiles deal the base damage.
	Custom 2	Pocket Plus	1.3x damage (pocketed projectiles)	Items are pocketed and retrieved faster; however, the amount of damage that they can deal isn't increased as much.
Side special	Default	Lloid Rocket	7% (early), 5% (late), 2.3x damage if riding the Lloid; 12% (ending explosion), 12% (explosion after hitting a wall)	A move with involves launching the Gyroid Lloid sideways. The Villager can choose to ride on him, which increases its damage. Using the move in this fashion leaves Villager helpless unless the rocket explodes from hitting a wall or opponent.
	Custom 1	Liftoff Lloid	5% (early), 8% (late), 2.4x damage if riding the Lloid; 14% (ending explosion), 12% (explosion after hitting a wall)	Lloid initially moves forward, but after a short period of time, it vertically flies upwards.
	Custom 2	Pushy Lloid	1.5% per hit, 1.2x damage if riding the Lloid; 6% (ending explosion), 5% (explosion after hitting a wall)	Lloid will hit opponents multiple times, pushing them before exploding.
Up special	Default	Balloon Trip	0%	Villager uses two balloons, both of a set color determined by the player's number, to fly Balloon Fight-style (as Balloon Fight appeared in the original Animal Crossing as an obtainable NES game). The move gives less distance if it is used consecutively in a short amount of time. The Villager's helpless animation after they are popped is the same as the Balloon Fighter's losing animation in Balloon Fight.
	Custom 1	Extreme Balloon Trip	9% (sweetspot) or 6% (sourspot) per balloon	At the cost of reduced vertical and horizontal distance, as well as lower speed, the Balloons explode when they finally burst. The balloons can be individually exploded at will, and when the second balloon is detonated, villager gains a significant vertical boost.
	Custom 2	Balloon High Jump	10% (clean), 6% (late)	Shoots the Villager straight up and a very high vertical distance, and the attack also inflicts damage during its ascent. However, horizontal distance traveled is significantly reduced.
Down special	Default	Timber	0% (sprout), 0% (water can), 13% (tree, when it grows), 25% (clean; tree), 15% (weak; tree), 8% (trunk), 3% (trunk as an item), 6% (axe)	A move of 3 different attacks in order, where Villager plants, waters, and chops down a tree, which hits opponents as it falls, even bouncing off near edges to lower areas. However, the tree can be destroyed by other characters, and is a fairly slow move to use altogether - using the move once only advances through one of the four stages (plant, water, first chop, second chop), so having it actually deal damage takes four total usages in the same location. The axe can be swung during the chop stages regardless of distance from the tree, as long as that Villager's grown tree currently exists on the map.
	Custom 1	Timber Counter	2% (Sprout), 0% (water can), 12% (tree, when it grows), 5% (counter), 12% (tree), 8% (trunk), 3% (trunk as an item), 6% (axe)	The sprout can trip opponents, and the tree itself inflicts some damage to opponents when it is hit. However, the tree itself does considerably less damage and knockback when it is cut down.
	Custom 2	Super Timber	0% (Sprout), 0% (water can), 20% (tree, when it grows), 27% (tree), 16% (axe)	Each stage of the attack takes longer to complete. However, the sprouting tree, the falling tree, and the axe are all more powerful. The watering can also produces a longer stream of water.
Final Smash		Dream Home	25% (House-building: 25 hits of 1%), 5% (before explosion), 15% (explosion), 10% (to other opponents during house-building)	Builds a house on an enemy before it explodes, dealing high knockback.

On-screen appearance

• Steps out of his house and shuts the door as it disappears.

Taunts

• Up taunt: Faces the camera and cheers three times in different directions.
• Side taunt: Does the Shrunk Funk Shuffle.
• Down taunt: Bends down and scrapes the ground with a stick.

Up taunt	Side taunt	Down taunt

Idle poses

• Puts his hand on his face while tapping his foot. This is the pose villagers do while accessing their inventory in the Animal Crossing games.
• Scratches the side of his head.

Crowd cheer

	English	Japanese
Cheer
Description	Vill - a -ger!	Mura-bito! Cho-cho!
Pitch	Group chant	Group chant

Victory poses

A short remix of the first phase of the original Animal Crossing games on the Nintendo 64 and GameCube.

• Digs up a fossil and then shows it off.
• Captures a horned dynastid and then shows it off.
• Does a short dance and then poses similar to the character artwork.

In competitive play

Official Custom Moveset Project

Character	Custom sets available
Villager	1122	1322	2322	1121	1321
	1312	3322	1332	2122	2121

Notable players

Active

•  Aarvark
•  BC
•  CaptAwesum
•  Cree
•  Jamnt0ast
•  kept
•  MJG
•  Ranai
•  Ryuk
•  Skillager
• SS
•  Villyness
•  Totakeke

Inactive

•  ADHD

Trophies

Villager

An energetic young man from a peaceful town in Animal Crossing, he is eager to make his Smash Bros. debut! His Balloon Trip recovery lets him fly like a character from Balloon Fight. The Villager sets out to answer that age-old question: If a tree falls on the battlefield and foes are beneath it, do they get launched?

This chipper chap came all the way from his quiet little village to do a bit of aerial sightseeing, take Lloid out for a spin, look after the trees and maybe do some bowling. If you're very lucky, he might even bring along Tom Nook and the Nooklings and throw everyone a party. Gosh, this all sounds like such fun!

: Animal Crossing (09/2002)

: Animal Crossing: New Leaf (06/2013)

Villager (Alt.)

Just a normal girl living a normal life in a normal town—her special moves, however, are anything but. She can pocket items, projectiles, and even beams, and then pull them out at a moment's notice. Her down special lets her plant a tree, water it, and chop it down. If she leaves the tree standing, she can use the axe against foes.

This girl's special moves are very special indeed. The standard one lets you pocket items, projectiles and even laser beams, then use them by pressing the button again. Her down special plants a tree, which you can water and finally chop down to hurt other fighters. Or you can leave the tree alone and attack with the axe. Up to you.

: Animal Crossing (09/2002)

: Animal Crossing: New Leaf (06/2013)

Dream Home /Housewarming Party

If you're wanting to buy a house in Animal Crossing, Tom Nook is always happy to help. And it looks like he's expanding his business to Smash Bros, too. If you activate the Villager's Final Smash, Nook will rush in and build a house for you right then and there! One small, very minor difference between this house and ones in the original game? This one explodes.

• 

  Classic (3DS)

• 

  Alt. (3DS)

• 

  Classic (Wii U)

• 

  Alt. (Wii U)

• 

  Dream Home/Housewarming Party

In Event Matches

Solo Events

• Bounty Hunter Clash: 2 Villagers appear as opponents after enough time passes.
• Jackpot Opportunity: The player controls Villager and must collect 1000 coins in a battle against 3 other Villagers.
• New Challengers 1: Villager is one of the seven opponents fought in this event alongside Wii Fit Trainer, Rosalina & Luma, Little Mac, Lucina, Bowser Jr., and Duck Hunt.
• Playing Tricks: The player controls Ness, and must bury two Villagers in Pitfalls at the same time.

Co-op Events

• The Ultimate Battle: Two players select a character and must defeat the entire roster.
• Visiting Onett: Ness and Villager must defeat Kirby, Meta Knight, Fox, Falco, Olimar, and Rosalina & Luma.

Alternate costumes

Gallery

• 

  His artwork from the Super Smash Bros. website

• 

  Villager's introduction picture.

• 

  Villager's amiibo.

• 

  Villager on the cover for the 3DS version.

• 

  Female Villager costume.

• 

  Forward aerial.

• 

  Villager on Town and City.

• 

  Timber.

• 

  Neutral aerial.

• 

  Dash attack.

• 

  Forward smash.

• 

  Up smash.

• 

  Balloon Trip.

• 

  Pocketing Samus's Missile.

• 

  Neutral attack.

• 

  Forward tilt.

• 

  Up tilt.

• 

  Down tilt.

• 

  With Mario, Mega Man and Wii Fit Trainer.

• 

  Down aerial with one turnip.

• 

  Down aerial with three turnips.

• 

  Villager and Wii Fit Trainer on the 3DS version of Battlefield.

• 

  Villager buries Mario and Bowser with down smash.

• 

  Villager buries Donkey Kong and uses a bowling ball to KO him.

• 

  Villager using a net to grab Link.

Trivia

Playable Villager's alternate costumes being worn by background-character Villagers in the Smashville stage.

• The Villager's playable appearance in Super Smash Bros. 4 features various alternate costumes that are worn by the Villagers who appear as background characters in Smashville.
• The Villager was considered as a character in the planning stages of Brawl, but dropped because "he wasn't suited for battle".
• The Villager was the first newcomer announced for Super Smash Bros. 4.
• The initial reveal for the Villager quickly became an internet phenomenon; due to his constant smile (reflecting on how the player character in Animal Crossing is emotionless most of the time) and variety of weapons associated with stereotypical serial killers, such as a shovel and axe, many smashers and outside observers joked that the Villager was actually a dangerous killer, earning him the nickname "Killager".
  • The Wii Fit Trainer was also given this treatment on her reveal, though this was much less widespread than the Villager's.
  • This meme was later referenced in Bayonetta's newcomer artwork, which depicts an axe-wielding Villager fighting on the dark side.
• The Villager is the only newcomer to be on both the Wii U and 3DS covers.
  • However, with the full group art on both versions, Pac-Man and Rosalina receive the same treatment.
• Villager and Bowser Jr. are the only characters who can use any of their costumes as an opponent in All-Star Mode.
• According to the Aliases on Boxing Ring, Villager is the mayor of Smashville, a reference to how, in Animal Crossing: New Leaf, the Villager is the mayor of their own city.

• When Villager ducks, one of his animations will make him grow an index finger.
• The Villager holds the record for the most amount of sex kicks in a moveset: three of his five aerials (neutral, up, and down aerials) have a lengthy lingering hitbox.
  • Additionally, he is the only fighter in the entire series to have a smash attack that can never KO under any circumstances when grounded: his down smash.
  • He also possesses a forward smash with the greatest (infinite, to be precise) vertical range in the form of his bowling ball.
• Villager, Pac-Man, and Duck Hunt are the only characters who have moves based on another series.
• Villager's fall animation copies the defeat animation of the protagonist of Balloon Fight and also has increased fall speed when helpless, further cementing the similarities.
• Until Bayonetta was added, Villager had the longest taunts of any fighter in the series.
  • However, Villager remains as the first-party character with the longest taunts.
• Villager never blinks during his clapping animation after losing a battle, although he does blink during normal gameplay.