Super Smash Bros. 4

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Olimar is ranked 30th out of 58 on the [[tier list]], placing him at the top of the E tier. This is a significant drop from his top-tier placement in ''Brawl'', where he was ranked 3rd out of 38. While Olimar's [[Pikmin (species)|Pikmin]] enable him to deal high damage and knockback and grant him a large grab range, his active Pikmin count has been halved from six to three, severely reducing the effectiveness of the [[camp]]ing strategies he relied on in ''Brawl''. Olimar's other weaknesses include his slow mobility, with his poor air physics making him easy to juggle, his light weight making him easy to KO, and his offense being hindered by slow attack speed and an over-reliance on Pikmin.
Olimar is ranked 30th out of 58 on the [[tier list]], placing him at the top of the E tier. This is a significant drop from his top-tier placement in ''Brawl'', where he was ranked 3rd out of 38. While Olimar's [[Pikmin (species)|Pikmin]] enable him to deal high damage and knockback and grant him a large grab range, his active Pikmin count has been halved from six to three, severely reducing the effectiveness of the [[camp]]ing strategies he relied on in ''Brawl''. Olimar's other weaknesses include his slow mobility, with his poor air physics making him easy to juggle, his light weight making him easy to KO, and his offense being hindered by slow attack speed and an over-reliance on Pikmin.


Despite retaining his flaws and gaining new ones, Olimar has nevertheless attained decent representation in competitive play and has fared better than other characters that were formerly well-renowned in ''Brawl'', such as {{SSB4|Falco}}, {{SSB4|Marth}} and {{SSB4|King Dedede}}.
Despite retaining his flaws and gaining new ones, Olimar has nevertheless attained decent representation in competitive play and has fared better than other characters that were formerly well-renowned in ''Brawl'', such as {{SSB4|Falco}} and {{SSB4|King Dedede}}.


==Attributes==
==Attributes==

Revision as of 19:19, August 22, 2016

This article is about Olimar's appearance in Super Smash Bros. 4 . For other uses, see Captain Olimar and Pikmin (species).
Olimar
in Super Smash Bros. 4
Olimar
PikminSymbol.svg
Universe Pikmin
Other playable appearance in Brawl


Availability Starter
Final Smash End of Day
Tier E (30)
Olimar (SSB4)

Olimar (ピクミン&オリマー, Pikmin & Olimar) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4. His return to the Super Smash Bros. series was announced on July 12th, 2013 on SSB4's official website, which made him the first character revealed after the initial E3 2013 reveal of SSB4 and occurred one day before the release date of Pikmin 3 in Japan.

Olimar is ranked 30th out of 58 on the tier list, placing him at the top of the E tier. This is a significant drop from his top-tier placement in Brawl, where he was ranked 3rd out of 38. While Olimar's Pikmin enable him to deal high damage and knockback and grant him a large grab range, his active Pikmin count has been halved from six to three, severely reducing the effectiveness of the camping strategies he relied on in Brawl. Olimar's other weaknesses include his slow mobility, with his poor air physics making him easy to juggle, his light weight making him easy to KO, and his offense being hindered by slow attack speed and an over-reliance on Pikmin.

Despite retaining his flaws and gaining new ones, Olimar has nevertheless attained decent representation in competitive play and has fared better than other characters that were formerly well-renowned in Brawl, such as Falco and King Dedede.

Attributes

Olimar's playstyle is almost identical to how it was in Brawl due to retaining a large portion of his moveset and animations, although some moves have been slightly modified. Much like in his home series, Olimar himself has extremely meager offensive prowess and must rely on instructing his multicolored Pikmin to remedy this glaring flaw. As a result, almost all of Olimar's moves involve Pikmin and thus they can end up being useful or useless depending on whether or not he has Pikmin. When he has Pikmin, Olimar gains arguably one of the most unique playstyles in the game due to Pikmin acting as both projectiles and separate characters, much like Rosalina & Luma. When used correctly, the Pikmin provide noticeable and effective benefits: they can easily rack up high amounts of damage in short periods of time, they grant Olimar a largely disjointed grab range due to Pikmin running out to grab opponents at any time, and Olimar can also camp opponents just as easily as halting their approaches. His special moves are also heavily dependent on Pikmin, but they are all beneficial nonetheless. Pikmin Throw enables Olimar to hinder approaches or, with purple Pikmin, even stop them outright. Pikmin Order reorganizes his Pikmin for the proper situation at hand and grants him launch resistance to help alleviate his light weight. Lastly, Winged Pikmin provides a long-distanced and maneuverable recovery that makes Olimar more difficult to KO than other lightweight characters. Alongside these advantages, he can befuddle many opponents with the multicolored Pikmin he possesses, with each having unique attributes.

With all things considered, Olimar has one of the most damaging fighting styles among the cast, as he is able to KO nearly all opponents in a short period when his Pikmin are utilized wisely. For example, Pikmin Throw allots him a large array of options for offense, as it can both zone and get opponents to KO percents quickly; when the thrown Pikmin are not shaken off, they can rack up 10%-30% in a matter of seconds, forcing opponents to carefully calculate their approach. He can also have up to three Pikmin at a time in his lineup, which, despite its aforementioned halving since Brawl, can be hard for an opponent to keep track of, especially with each color boasting unique attributes. He can also KO early with his relatively fast and very powerful smash attacks; some, such as up smash, are able to KO with purple Pikmin as early as about 60%. Also, with his largely disjointed grab range, he can disrupt the movements of both quick characters and roll spammers, also being having an excellent shield grab. His aerial game is also quite powerful, with some of his moves being able to easily juggle and KO at the upper blast line, although these are pitiful without Pikmin. The Pikmin also have other special abilities, such as being able to carry various items back to Olimar as they run back to him, and some types, like the yellow one, can block electrical attacks like PK Thunder and freeze opponents. However, this does act as a drawback; since Pikmin are now treated as projectiles, they can be reflected, sometimes hindering his ability against characters with moves of this sort.

However, Olimar does have noticeable flaws. One of Olimar's greatest weaknesses is that he struggles against fast characters, such as Captain Falcon and Sonic. As Olimar is a slower character, they can easily catch up and punish Olimar if he tries to retreat to pluck more Pikmin. They can also easily kill Olimar's Pikmin, especially Sonic, whose Spin Dash can kill off any attached Pikmin in one or two hits. As Olimar needs his Pikmin to have a respectable offensive presence, Olimar must play very safely against these characters. Olimar also has poor aerial physics, as his slow falling and air speeds make him easy to juggle and, when combined with his light weight, to KO. Not to mention all of his directional aerials have the crippling flaw of low priority, making it impossible to combat edgeguarders who are attacking with an aerial or up special. Another severe flaw he has is his over-reliance on Pikmin, much like in his home series. Without any Pikmin, Olimar's smash attacks, up, down, back, and forward aerials, grabs and side special will simply do nothing, which significantly harms his neutral game due to them being his most effective attacks. This also leaves Olimar with only a total of six attacks that deal damage: his neutral attack, tilt attacks, dash attack and neutral aerial, with his forward tilt being his only KOing option that does not use Pikmin. Due to this, it is crucial that Olimar has at least one Pikmin with him at all times.

Olimar benefits from his custom moves. Hardy Pikmin Pluck makes all types of Pikmin more durable, at the cost of them being plucked slower. Sticky Pikmin Throw has each Pikmin deal less damage and distance the Pikmin are thrown are reduced, but they stay on for much longer and hit faster. Combined with Hardy Pikmin Pluck, Sticky Pikmin Throw deals more damage overall. Tackle Pikmin Throw does not have the Pikmin latch on. Instead, they act like Purple Pikmin and slam into opponents, knocking them back. Mighty Winged Pikmin has reduced total travel distance, but the distance is not affected by the amount of Pikmin that Olimar is carrying. Order Tackle has all latched on Pikmin deal damage giving Olimar another way to deal damage.

Overall, Olimar still retains many of his considerable strengths in spite of their nerfs, and has even had some attributes buffed, mostly in damage. While his potential damage output was reduced, a smart player can overcome this, especially with the new mechanics for keeping track of Pikmin, making Olimar a much more reliable character for the player. Also, his recovery has been completely revamped for the better, which many agree has helped to alleviate his other changes. Early in the metagame, Olimar was thought to be one of the worst characters, yet dedicated mains such as Dabuz, ImHip, Angbad, Myran, and Logic have shown that, as in Brawl, he is still a very capable character who retains an extremely steep learning curve. This is comparable to the early days of Brawl's metagame; in the beginning, he was seen as a mid-tier character, yet eventually rose to be in the top three on that game's tier list.

Changes from Brawl

Olimar received a mix of buffs and nerfs in the transition from Brawl to SSB4, but was nerfed overall. The most glaring nerf was the limit of his Pikmin, which was halved from six to three. As a result, this hinders his general damage output and especially his potential damage output, as well as his strong camping abilities.

However, he also received slight buffs in some areas to compensate, such as his smash attacks using Purple Pikmin becoming even more potent. The most noticeable buff Olimar received was to his recovery, as Winged Pikmin largely outclasses Pikmin Chain. He additionally maintains most of the options he had in Brawl. However, these changes do not properly compensate his noticeable nerfs, which has led to him to be considered one of the characters to have been truly nerfed in the transition from Brawl, alongside Meta Knight, Marth, Falco, King Dedede, and Jigglypuff, though the former three have received noticeable buffs in game updates unlike Olimar. As a result, while his viability is still apparent, it is not at the degree that it was in Brawl.

Aesthetics

  • Change Olimar's design is now based on his appearance in Pikmin 3. This includes minor additions to his spacesuit, the most notable of which is a visible whistle as a part of his helmet. The Pikmin have been updated as well, with their proportions now being more in line with their appearances in Pikmin 3.
  • Change Pikmin appear to be slightly larger, while Olimar's size appears mostly unchanged.
  • Buff The Pikmin at the head of the line now has a player-colored arrowhead above it. This allows the player to better visualize which Pikmin will be used next.
  • Change All of Olimar's taunts are now accompanied by sound effects.

Attributes

  • Change Olimar is lighter (82 → 79).
  • Buff Olimar dashes faster (1.4 → 1.47).
  • Change Olimar falls faster (1.3 → 1.35).
  • Nerf Olimar's maximum Pikmin count has been halved (6 → 3).
  • Nerf Pikmin have flawed AI and sometimes fly out of line if the player moves Olimar too quickly, leaving Olimar with no Pikmin in tow to perform attacks. This sometimes prevents combos from being performed effectively. However, this is considerably less prevalent in the Super Smash Bros. for Wii U version, in which their flawed AI only occurs at edges.
  • Change Instead of being random and based on terrain, Pikmin are now plucked in a set cycle (Red → Yellow → Blue → White → Purple). While this means Olimar no longer has to depend on certain types of terrain to get certain Pikmin and all Pikmin are equally likely to appear, it also makes it less likely to have two or more of the same type at once.
  • Nerf Pikmin separated from Olimar die faster.
  • Buff Pikmin can now latch onto a Smash Ball.

Ground attacks

  • Nerf Olimar has a new neutral attack, the first two punches of the Rocket Fist upgrade in Pikmin 2. Compared to the previous neutral attack, it deals less damage (15% → 6%-8%).
  • Buff Olimar has a new forward tilt, the wind-up punch of the Rocket Fist upgrade in Pikmin 2. Compared to the previous forward tilt, it deals 5% more damage (6% → 11%), has less ending lag (37 frames → 36) and has KO potential.
  • Nerf Forward tilt has more start-up (frame 9 → 15) compared to the previous forward tilt.
  • Nerf Up tilt deals 3.4% less damage (11% → 7.6%).
  • Buff Down tilt has slightly stronger knockback.
  • Nerf Down tilt has lost its hitbox on Olimar's antenna, decreasing the move's overall damage potential by 2% (8% → 6%).
  • Buff White Pikmin-based smash attacks deal more damage (9% (clean)/6% (mid)/3% (late) → 11.6%/8%/4.8% (forward), 9% (clean near)/7% (clean far)/5% (late) → 10.4%/8%/8.8% (up), 6% (clean)/4% (late) → 8.8%/7.2% (down)).
  • Buff Clean Red, Yellow and Purple Pikmin-based forward smashes deal more damage (15% → 17.4% (R), 13% → 14.5% (Y), 18% → 20.3% (P)).
  • Nerf Clean Blue Pikmin-based forward smash deals 0.5% less damage (15% → 14.5%).
  • Buff Forward smash has increased horizontal range.
  • Nerf Forward smash has slightly decreased knockback.
  • Change Forward smash no longer makes Pikmin fly off the edge. While this helps conserve Pikmin, this removes its gimping potential.
  • Buff Clean near and late Red Pikmin-based up smash deals more damage (15%/12% → 15.6%/13.2%).
  • Nerf Clean near Yellow Pikmin-based up smash deals 1% less damage (14% → 13%).
  • Nerf Clean near and far Blue Pikmin-based up smash deals less damage (15%/13% → 13%/10%).
  • Nerf Clean far Red and Yellow Pikmin-based up smash deal 2% less damage (14% → 12%).
  • Buff Late Yellow Pikmin-based up smash deals 1% more damage (10% → 11%).
  • Buff Purple Pikmin-based up smash deals more damage (16% (clean near)/13% (clean far)/13% (late) → 18.2%/14%/15.4%).
  • Buff Up and down smashes are faster.
  • Nerf Up smash has decreased vertical range.
  • Buff Red and Purple Pikmin-based down smashes deal more damage (13% (clean)/10% (late) → 13.2%/10.8% (R), 15% (clean)/12% (late) → 15.4%/12.6% (P)).
  • Nerf Clean Blue Pikmin-based down smash deals 1% less damage (12% → 11%).

Aerial attacks

  • Nerf Neutral aerial deals 4% less damage (12% → 8%).
  • Nerf Red, Yellow, Blue and Purple Pikmin-based forward aerials deal less damage (15% → 10.2% (R), 12% → 8.5% (Y), 13% → 8.5% (B), 14% → 11.9% (P)).
  • Buff White Pikmin-based forward aerial deals 1.8% more damage (5% → 6.8%).
  • Buff Forward and back aerials are faster.
  • Nerf Up aerial deals less damage (24% → 10.8% (R), 16% → 9% (Y), 22% → 9% (B), 9% → 7.2% (W), 22% → 12.6% (P)).
  • Buff Up aerial's decreased hit count improves its juggling and KO potentials.
  • Nerf Sweetspotted Red, Yellow, Blue and Purple Pikmin-based down aerials deal less damage (16% → 10.8% (R), 12% → 9% (Y), 13% → 9% (B), 13% → 12.6% (P)).
  • Buff Down aerial is much faster.
  • Nerf Down aerial's sweetspot is harder to land.

Throws/other attacks

  • Buff White Pikmin-based throws deal more damage (6% → 7% (forward), 7% → 9% (back), 6% → 8% (up), 6% → 7.8% (down)).
  • Nerf Red and Blue Pikmin-based forward throws deal less damage (6% → 5.6% (R), 13% → 11.2% (B)).
  • Buff Red and Blue Pikmin-based back throws deal more damage (7% → 7.2% (R), 14% → 14.4% (B)).
  • Nerf Back throw has decreased knockback, even when using Blue Pikmin, hindering its KO potential.
  • Nerf Red, Yellow and Purple Pikmin-based up throws deal less damage (9% → 6.4% (R), 11% → 8% (YP)).
  • Buff Blue Pikmin-based up throw deals 0.8% more damage (12% → 12.8%).
  • Change Up throw has decreased knockback, especially when using Purple Pikmin. This improves its combo potential, but hinders its KO potential.
  • Nerf Red Pikmin-based down throw deals 2.4% less damage (9% → 6.6%).
  • Buff Blue and Purple Pikmin-based down throws deal more damage (12% → 12.2% (B), 8% → 8.4% (P)).
  • Nerf Edge attack deals less damage (8%/10% → 7%).
  • Change Olimar has a new edge attack, a punch from the Pikmin series.

Special moves

  • Change Pikmin Throw launches Pikmin much farther. This improves its zoning potential, but also makes the Pikmin more susceptible to being thrown off-stage.
  • Buff Olimar has a new up special, Winged Pikmin. Unlike Pikmin Chain, Winged Pikmin is a maneuverable, flight-based recovery that covers much more distance and allows Olimar to attack out of it, similarly to Pit's Wings of Icarus. This makes it much safer and much more versatile.
  • Nerf Compared to Pikmin Chain, Winged Pikmin is significantly less effective if Olimar has more Pikmin, which may require him to sacrifice them in order to prevent himself from being KO'd or self-destructing. Its overall effectiveness also worsens if it is used consecutively. The loss of Pikmin Chain also removes Olimar's only tether.
  • Nerf Pikmin Order grants less super armor frames (14 frames → 7).
  • Buff End of Day's explosion has a larger hitbox.
  • Nerf End of Day has decreased knockback.
  • Buff The Hocotate Ship's descent during End of Day can be aimed like a Warp Star, improving its accuracy.

Version exclusives

  • Change Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DSPikmin have more limited cosmetics, as their leaves do not turn into buds or flowers. Additionally, their idle animations are all synchronized.
  • Change Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DSOn rare occasions, two or three Pikmin may stand in the same spot in Olimar's lineup, leading to odd results. This can also make it difficult to tell which Pikmin will be used next.
  • Buff Super Smash Bros. for Wii UThrown Pikmin can carry items to Olimar.[1] Despite being exclusive to this version, his alt. trophy in the Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS version still makes mention of this feature.

Update history

Olimar has received a mix of buffs and nerfs from game updates, but was buffed overall. Update 1.0.4 made Pikmin Pluck unable to be edge-cancelled and decreased the amount of damage that Red, Yellow, and Blue Pikmin deal when they latch onto opponents. To compensate for this, White Pikmin deal more damage when latched on and the latch time for all Pikmin was increased. However, Olimar also significantly benefits from the changes to shield mechanics brought by updates 1.1.0 and 1.1.1, as latched Pikmin are better at damaging an opponent's shield, while the low ending lag on his smash attacks makes them even less punishable due to the increased shieldstun. As a result, Olimar is better than in the game's initial release, though he remains nerfed in comparison to his Brawl iteration.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS 1.0.4

  • Buff The Pikmin's safespot distance from Olimar has decreased (5 → 4), making them follow Olimar sooner.
    • Nerf However, there is also a shorter distance between the Pikmin's own safespots (5 → 4).
  • Buff All Pikmin except purple Pikmin run faster (40 → 60 (overall run speed), 2.4 (red/yellow/blue)/3 (white) → 3 (R/Y/B)/4 (W).
  • Buff Pikmin have increased follow distance (18 → 23) if they have to change direction.
  • Buff Pikmin follow the previous aerial velocity for a shorter period of time (15 frames → 8).
  • Buff Neutral, forward, and back aerials have less landing lag (17 frames → 15).
  • Nerf Pikmin Pluck can no longer be edge-canceled.
  • Nerf Red, Yellow and Blue Pikmin latched onto opponents deal less damage (1.3% → 1.1%).
  • Buff White Pikmin latched onto opponents deal more damage (2.6% → 3.7%).
  • Nerf Purple Pikmin throw deal less damage (6.5% → 6%).
  • Buff Pikmin Throw's additional latch time has been increased (200 frames → 300).


Super Smash Bros. 4 1.0.6

  • Bug fix Fixed a glitch where reflecting Order Tackle would give the Pikmin a permanent power boost.

Super Smash Bros. 4 1.0.8

  • Bug fix Fixed a glitch where Pikmin Order no longer reverses from edge grabs.

Moveset

  • All Pikmin-based moves and grabs use the next Pikmin in the line to perform the given attack, and the knockback and damage are dependent on the Pikmin type. That Pikmin then goes to the back of the line.
    R: Red Pikmin, Y: Yellow Pikmin, B: Blue Pikmin, W: White Pikmin, P: Purple Pikmin


  Name Damage Description
Neutral attack   3% (early, clean arm), 4% (clean fist) The first two alternating punches of the Rocket Fist ability from Pikmin 2. Its knockback and very quick speed enables it to act as pseudo-jab cancel at lower percents, which allows it to act as a set-up for a grab or start a tech-chase at higher percents. Performing it repeatedly will slightly move Olimar forward.
3% (arm), 4% (fist)
Forward tilt   11% The powerful, wind-up punch of the Rocket Fist ability from Pikmin 2. It has impressive KO potential, KOing Bowser at 130% near the edge of Final Destination. However, it is Olimar's only KOing option when he does not have any Pikmin and is his slowest attack, due to it coming out on frame 15.
Up tilt   0.6% (hits 1-6), 4% (hit 7) A jumping twirl. It has very minimal start-up, which makes it useful as an anti-pressure option and out of shield option.
Down tilt   6% A sliding, lunging headbutt. A useful combo starter due to its low knockback, as it can combo into itself, his up tilt, his smash attacks and his aerials depending on the opponent's DI.
Dash attack   7% (hit 1), 4% (hit 2) A cartwheel. It can combo into a string of up aerials from 0%-10%. Outside of this, its only other utility is being a mix-up and approach option, as it is unable to combo past extremely low percents or KO at a reasonable percent.
Forward smash   R:17.4% (clean), 12% (mid), 7.2% (late)
YB: 14.5% (clean), 10% (mid), 6% (late)
W: 11.6% (clean), 8% (mid), 4.8% (late)
P: 20.3% (clean), 14% (mid), 8.4% (late)
Points forward and commands a Pikmin to perform a leaping, twisting tackle. The second fastest forward smash in the game, due to it coming out on frame 11. Very powerful with purple Pikmin, as it KOs Bowser at 40% near the edge of Final Destination. Also has a slight chance to trip opponents.
Up smash   R: 15.6% (clean near), 12% (clean far), 13.2% (late)
YB: 13% (clean near), 10% (clean far), 11% (late)
W: 10.4% (clean near), 8% (clean far), 8.8% (late)
P: 18.2% (clean near), 14% (clean far), 15.4% (late)
Points upward and commands a Pikmin to perform a jumping, twisting headbutt. Very powerful with purple Pikmin, as it KOs King Dedede at 70%.
Down smash   R: 13.2% (clean), 10.8% (late)
YB: 11% (clean), 9% (late)
W: 8.8% (clean), 7.2% (late)
P: 15.4% (clean), 12.6% (late)
Crouches slightly, points to both of his sides and commands two Pikmin dash out to either side. If the opponent is close enough to Olimar, both Pikmin can hit the opponent, which can deal a maximum of 43% when performed with two Purple Pikmin. Very quick, has minimal ending lag and has a chance to trip opponents.
Neutral aerial   1.5% (hits 1-4), 2% (hit 5) A jumping twirl. It has impressive set-up potential at any percent, as it allows him to follow-up with his up and down tilts, smash attacks or a grab. However, this only occurs if its last hit does not connect, which can be done by having Olimar land before it concludes.
Forward aerial   10.2% (R), 8.5% (YB), 6.8% (W), 11.9% (P) Swings a Pikmin forward while holding its stem.
Back aerial   12.96% (R), 10.8% (YB), 8.64% (W), 15.12% (P) Swings a Pikmin backward while holding its stem.
Up aerial   10.8% (R), 9% (YB), 7.2% (W), 12.6% (P) Twirls a Pikmin upward while holding its stem. A viable KOing option, though it has a noticeable amount of landing lag.
Down aerial   10.8% (R), 9% (YB), 7.2% (W), 12.6% (P) Swings a Pikmin downward while holding its stem. Its sweetspot is near the stem of the Pikmin and meteor smashes opponents.
Grab   Sends a Pikmin forth to grab opponents. White Pikmin have the longest reach, while Purple Pikmin have the shortest.
Pummel   2% (RYBP), 4% (W) The Pikmin strikes the opponent with the top of its stem. When used with White Pikmin, its damage output is tied with Shulk's Buster-boosted pummel for the most damaging pummel in the game.
Forward throw   5.6% (R), 7% (YWP), 11.2% (B) The Pikmin shoves the opponent away. It has no utility outside of dealing damage.
Back throw   7.2% (R), 9% (YWP), 14.4% (B) The Pikmin swings the opponent backward. It deals the most damage out of all of Olimar's throws.
Up throw   6.4% (R), 8% (YWP), 12.8% (B) The Pikmin jumps up and then slams into the opponent head-first. It is one of the strongest up throws in the game when used with Blue Pikmin.
Down throw   1% (hit 1), 5.6% (throw) (R)
1% (hit 1), 7% (throw) (Y)
1% (hit 1), 11.2% (throw) (B)
0.8% (hit 1), 7% (throw) (W)
1.4% (hit 1), 7% (throw) (P)
The Pikmin slams the opponent into the ground. A very reliable combo starter, it can combo into his neutral aerial from 0% to low percents, his forward and back aerials from 0% to high percents, and his up aerial from low to high percents. One particularly noteworthy combo is a red Pikmin-based down throw followed by a purple Pikmin-based back aerial, which is a true combo that KOs reliably near the edge.
Forward roll
Back roll
Spot dodge
Air dodge
Techs
Floor attack (front)
Floor getups (front)
  7% Punches in front of himself and then behind himself while getting up.
Floor attack (back)
Floor getups (back)
  7% Headbutts in front of himself and then behind himself while getting up.
Floor attack (trip)
Floor getups (trip)
  5% Does a spin, hitting with his arms on front then tripping while hitting with his legs.
Edge attack
Edge getups
  7% Throws a punch while climbing up.
Neutral special Default Pikmin Pluck Plucks a Pikmin. It cannot be used in midair and has ending lag if it is attempted in midair or if no more Pikmin can be plucked.
Custom 1 Hardy Pikmin Pluck Pikmin take much longer to pluck, but have much more health and knockback resistance.
Custom 2 Explosive Pluck 8% (RYB), 5% (W), 10% (P) Plucking is slower and the Pikmin have less health, but each pluck causes an explosion.
Side special Default Pikmin Throw 7.8% (thrown R), 6.5% (thrown YB), 5.2% (thrown W), 6.5% (P), 1.1% (latched RYB), 3.7% (latched W) Throws a Pikmin, which latches onto opponents and damages them before falling off after a certain time or due to flinching. If the target cannot be latched onto, it simply deals damage. Purple Pikmin also simply tackle opponents due to their inability to latch onto anything.
Custom 1 Sticky Pikmin Throw 7.8% (thrown R), 6.5% (thrown YB), 5.2% (thrown W), 9.1% (P), 1% (latched RYB), 2% (latched W) Thrown Pikmin deal less damage per hit, but hit faster and remain latched on longer, dealing more damage overall. However, the distance Pikmin are thrown is considerably shorter.
Custom 2 Tackle Pikmin Throw 5% (RYB), 3% (W), 8% (P) All Pikmin act like Purple Pikmin and tackle opponents instead of latching onto them. Red, Yellow, Blue and White Pikmin deal less damage, but Purple Pikmin deal more damage.
Up special Default Winged Pikmin Two Winged Pikmin carry Olimar around, enabling him to recover. While being carried, Olimar can attack. Having more Pikmin or using the move consecutively decreases the Winged Pikmin's effectiveness, while attacking will render Olimar helpless.
Custom 1 Winged Pikmin Jump Functions like a traditional recovery by lacking the maneuverability in order to quickly lift Olimar upward a certain distance before falling. It also pushes close opponents away.
Custom 2 Mighty Winged Pikmin The distance traveled does not depend on Pikmin carried, but it follows a fixed distance regardless of the amount of Pikmin in tow.
Down special Default Pikmin Order Whistles to recall Pikmin, sort them and change which one is first in line. It also has utility in that it grants Olimar super armor, which can enable him to resist being launched.
Custom 1 Order Tackle 3% (RYB), 2% (W), 5% (P) Pikmin recalled deal damage, but it has some ending lag.
Custom 2 Dizzy Whistle 0.1% (hit 1), 1% (hit 2) Deals damage and reverses opponents in the whistle effect, but it is slightly slower than the default version and has a noticeable amount of start-up.
Final Smash End of Day 10% (launch), 10% (ascent), 15% (Bulborbs), 10% (descent), 12%/10% (explosion) Jumps into his Hocotate Ship and launches into space, causing all nearby opponents to be buried. While the ship has left the stage, Red Bulborbs viciously assault opponents, inflicting steady damage. The Hocotate Ship finally crashes back down to the ground, dealing a considerable amount of damage and knockback to anyone caught in the explosion.

On-screen appearance

  • Exits the Hocotate Ship, plucks three Pikmin and then the Hocotate Ship disappears in a puff of smoke.
OlimarOnScreenAppearanceSSB4.gif

Taunts

  • Up taunt: Joyfully jumps in place three times.
  • Side taunt: Lays down on the ground, rolls around as if basking in nature, and then gets up.
  • Down taunt: Swings his hips.
Up taunt Side taunt Down taunt
OlimarUpTauntSSB4.gif OlimarSideTauntSSB4.gif OlimarDownTauntSSB4.gif

Idle poses

  • Rubs his helmet with both hands.
  • Moves his arms back and forward in a basic limber exercise.
OlimarIdlePose1WiiU.jpg OlimarIdlePose2WiiU.jpg

Crowd cheer

Olimar English Japanese
Cheer
Description Olimar! Olimar! Olimar! Pik-min! Ol-i-mar!
Pitch Group chant Group chant
Alph English Japanese
Cheer
Description Alph! Alph! Alph! Pik-min! Al-ph!
Pitch Group chant Group chant

Victory poses

A remixed excerpt of Pikmin's title screen.
  • Plucks a White, Blue and Purple Pikmin. The White Pikmin and Blue Pikmin bounce off Olimar's head, and then the Purple Pikmin squashes him onto the ground. Olimar's eyes will comically bulge outward upon being squashed before his expression returns to normal, whereas Alph will comically wince upon being squashed before his expression returns to normal.
  • Performs a toe touching exercise while a Yellow Pikmin rests on the ground and a Red Pikmin looks around.
  • Sways in place while the Red, Yellow, and Blue Pikmin run around him in a circle.
OlimarPose1WiiU.gif OlimarPose2WiiU.gif OlimarPose3WiiU.gif

In competitive play

Official Custom Moveset Project

Character Custom sets available
Olimar (SSB4) Olimar 1112 1311 1312 1212 2112
2212 2211 2312 2131 3312

Notable players

Active

Inactive

Trophies

Olimar
Ntsc A veteran spaceship pilot for Hocotate Freight, Captain Olimar partners with Pikmin in Smash Bros. to help him in battle. Olimar is much stronger when he's got Pikmin with him, so keep them plucked and good to go. Pikmin abilities are based on their color—learn what each is best at!
Pal Captain Olimar, veteran Hocotate Freight astronaut, joins forces with Pikmin again in this game to take on the world. Olimar isn't much of an attacker without Pikmin by his side, so you should always keep some ready. Pikmin have different abilities depending on their colour, so learn how they work to use them effectively!
GameCube: Pikmin (12/2001)
GameCube: Pikmin 2 (08/2004)
Olimar (Alt.)
Ntsc Pikmin aren't just good for attacking, you know. For example, when you throw them, they can pick up items on their way back. Only items that aren't very heavy, though! Also, if there's someone charging or shooting at you, a well-timed Pikmin throw can stop them in their tracks!
Pal Pikmin aren't just good for attacking, you know. For example, when you throw them, they can pick up items on their way back. Only items that aren't very heavy, but still! Also, if there's someone charging or shooting at you, a well-timed Pikmin throw can stop them. Just don't forget to replace your Pikmin when they're gone!
GameCube: Pikmin (12/2001)
GameCube: Pikmin 2 (08/2004)
End of Day
Ntsc On the planet Olimar is investigating, the native creatures become extra violent at night, forcing him to retreat to orbit every evening. His Final Smash works the same way: night falls and Olimar takes to the sky, leaving his foes to the mercy of the wildlife below. Olimar returns when dawn breaks and you can adjust his less-than-safe landing!
Pal On the planet of the Pikmin, the native creatures get quite violent come nightfall, so Olimar retreats into orbit every evening. That's how his Final Smash works, too: Olimar takes off in his trusty Dolphin[sic], then in comes the beasties to take care of the other fighters. When Olimar returns, make sure he touches down, er...safely!

In Event Matches

Solo Events

Co-op Events

Alternate costumes

Instead of alternate color schemes, half of Olimar's alternate costumes consist of Alph, one of the three playable characters from Pikmin 3.

Olimar Palette (SSB4).png
Olimar (SSB4) Olimar (SSB4) Olimar (SSB4) Olimar (SSB4) Olimar (SSB4) Olimar (SSB4) Olimar (SSB4) Olimar (SSB4)

Gallery

Trivia

  • Because Olimar's placement in All-Star Mode is based on his own debut rather than that of Alph (whose debut in Pikmin 3 came twelve years after Olimar's debut in Pikmin), Alph will be misplaced chronologically during All-Star Mode if he appears in Olimar's place. The same applies to Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings.
  • Olimar's All-Star trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS is highly similar to his pose in his official artwork for Brawl.
  • Olimar is the only character who does not use his official alt. trophy when he is faced in rounds 4-5 in Classic Mode in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. Instead, he uses Alph's trophy.
  • In Pikmin 3, Alph does not ride the Hocotate Ship, but rather the S.S. Drake. In SSB4, he uses the Hocotate Ship for his on-screen appearance and Final Smash, regardless.
  • Olimar and Alph have different expressions when they are hit. Olimar's eyes comically bulge out, something he commonly does in Pikmin 2, whereas Alph's eyes comically wince.
  • Olimar is the only character to have only one special move in his default moveset that deals damage.
    • He is also the only character to have a special move (in this case, Winged Pikmin) where none of its custom variants deal any damage.
  • In the European version of the End of Day trophy, it mistakenly says that Olimar/Alph uses the Dolphin, while they actually use the Hocotate Ship in the Final Smash.

References