Luigi (SSB4)

Luigi in Super Smash Bros. 4
Universe	Mario
Other playable appearances	in SSB in Melee in Brawl
Availability	Starter
Final Smash	Poltergust 5000
Tier	C (26)

Luigi (ルイージ, Luigi) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4. As part of Nintendo's Year of Luigi, his return to the series was announced during the Nintendo Direct on August 7th, 2013. Traditionally, Luigi has always been an unlockable character revealed after an installment of Super Smash Bros. had been released. However, SSB4 is the first installment to break that tradition, as he was both revealed before release and is now a starter character. Charles Martinet reprises his role as Luigi's voice actor, albeit through voice clips recycled from Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Luigi is currently ranked 26th out of 58 in the tier list, placing him in the C tier. This is a vast improvement over his placement in Brawl, where he was ranked 28th out of 38, and is his best proportional placement in the series. Luigi's most notable strength is the utility of his moveset: he is difficult to punish due to his overall fast frame data, his very potent air game is supplemented by several of his grounded moves' favorable launching angles, he has numerous moves that boast outstanding combo potential, and he has a useful projectile in the form of his Fireball. Luigi's recovery is also unpredictable and long-distanced, with Green Missile and Luigi Cyclone being risky to intercept.

However, Luigi retains his overall slow and awkward mobility: his faster dashing speed is only mediocre at best, his low traction largely offsets his out of shield options and otherwise potent punishment ability, and slow air speed significantly hinders the variability of his recovery. Lastly, his overall range is short, which prevents him from racking up damage from a safe distance and making him prone to camping despite having Fireball.

Overall, Luigi tends to run hot and cold like in previous installments. While his representation remains average, the efforts of professionals like Mr. ConCon, Boss, J.Miller, and Elegant have resulted in his tournament results being better and much more consistent than ever before, particularly at the national level.

Attributes

Luigi is a middleweight whose attributes differ noticeably from other characters of the same weight class. While he has average walking speed, he has slightly below average dashing speed and the lowest traction in the game. Luigi's aerial attributes are also quite different from a typical middleweight: he has very slow falling and air speeds, low gravity, above average air acceleration, and the fourth highest jumps. As a result of these attributes, Luigi has slow mobility overall and is floaty.

Much like his older brother, Luigi can be very difficult to punish, since all but two of his regular moves (forward smash and down aerial) come out before frame 10. This, in turn, is supplemented by the immense utility of his overall moveset. His neutral attack deals respectable damage overall, has decent range and can be jab canceled. His tilt attacks also have their own perks: forward tilt can be angled, has decent range and is good for spacing beginning at 55%, up tilt has excellent combo potential up to high percentages and can KO at very high percentages, and down tilt can potentially trip grounded opponents and hinder aerial opponents that attempt to grab the edge due to using the Sakurai angle. Luigi's smash attacks are strong enough to KO at reasonable percentages, but his up smash and down smash also have some utility. Up smash has set-up potential from 0%-5% and is a very reliable follow-up from down throw beginning at 0%. Down smash is largely similar in comparison: it is a reliable follow-up from down throw beginning at 0% (albeit only against heavyweights/fast-fallers) and its front hit has set-up potential from 0%-5%. However, it is also useful for punishing rolls and damage racking due to its damage output, range and being his fastest smash attack.

Luigi's aerial attacks are also very useful: each of them have respectable damage outputs, can be autocanceled with a short hop, and possess specific perks. Neutral aerial's clean hit deals strong vertical knockback, which makes it both a great combo breaker and a situational KOing option near the upper blast line, whereas its late hit's weak vertical knockback makes it a very useful combo starter when fast fallen. Forward aerial is the fastest of its kind and is very useful for approaching, edgeguarding and combos. Back aerial is very powerful and has long range, which enable it to function as a safe KOing option or as an approach option when used as part of a reverse aerial rush. Up aerial is useful for combos and has the lowest amount of landing lag out of his aerial attacks. Lastly, down aerial is the third fastest of its kind, surpassed only by Meta Knight and Little Mac's respectively, and is able to meteor smash.

As a semi-clone of Mario, Luigi has two special moves that are derived from his older brother, yet his versions deviate in noticeable ways. Fireball is a projectile that is useful for pressuring as well as limiting an opponent's approach, recovery or edgeguarding attempt like Mario's, but is unaffected by gravity like his. Super Jump Punch has very quick start-up like Mario's, but consists of a sweetspot and sourspot unlike his, which makes it function much differently in comparison: the sweetspot boasts devastating power, which makes it a very potent punishment option, yet it is very risky due to its extremely weak sourspot and very high ending lag. Aside from these, Luigi's other special moves are completely distinct from Mario's. Green Missile deals damage and grants Luigi horizontal recovery, both of which can be increased thanks to its ability to be charged. However, it is also possible for Green Missile to misfire; in this case, it becomes even stronger than the fully charged version and it covers approximately 60% of Final Destination. Lastly, Luigi Cyclone can function as an approach option, a KOing option near the upper blast line and, with enough button mashing, a vertical recovery option. While difficult to perform, it can even gimp recoveries as well.

Finally, Luigi's grab game is among the best in the game. His grabs are among the fastest in the game, while his pummel is tied with Mr. Game & Watch's as the third most damaging in the game. His forward and up throws have minimal utility, but they are quick and deal respectable damage, with the former being a capable edgeguard set-up. His back throw, although weakened since Brawl, is just as strong as Lucas' and can KO at high percentages. His down throw, however, is by far his most useful throw. Although update 1.1.1 altered its knockback to the point of considerably nerfing its combo potential, it remains one of the most versatile throws in the game. At low percentages, it can be followed up by forward tilt, up tilt and any smash attack, while it can then be followed up with any aerial attack, Luigi Cyclone and Super Jump Punch up to medium percentages. Even at medium to high percentages, it can reliably set up an up aerial. These combos vary between floaty characters and fast-fallers, but his versatile aerial attacks can still rack up large amounts of damage regardless.

However, Luigi has noticeable weaknesses, with the most significant one being his recovery. Green Missile is slow and can be stopped by opponents willing to endure its hitbox, while Luigi Cyclone requires an extreme amount of button mashing to be effective without prior momentum. Lastly, Super Jump Punch is the least effective recovery option in his arsenal, due to it lacking any sort of horizontal movement as Luigi ascends. This means he is overly reliant on his double jump to recover, as his slow air speed will make it very difficult to return to the stage, making his long-distanced recovery slow and easily gimped. Most of Luigi's attacks and all of his grabs have very short ranges, making it very difficult for him to fight opponents with disjointed hitboxes, especially in the air. His plentiful and effective out of shield options are also usable only sporadically, since he gets pushed back very far when shielding due to his very low traction, while his lack of a reflecting move leaves him vulnerable to camping.

As in previous installments, Luigi's mobility prevents him from approaching quickly, especially from the air. This results in him having significant trouble keeping up with faster opponents, such as Sheik, Zero Suit Samus and Sonic, which in turn weakens his otherwise excellent neutral game. As a result, Luigi is must either use short hopped neutral, forward and back aerials to approach, or use Fireball to force approaches. However, there are a few methods that, at varying degrees, alleviate Luigi's problematic traction. Shield-stopping negates his dash's noticeable skid, improving his approach's safety. Fox-trotting enables Luigi to dash while only enduring a slight slide rather than the skid, making it slightly risky, yet allowing him to go on the offensive more reliably and even enabling him to play mindgames, particularly baiting. The last method is simply walking: although Luigi's walking speed is average like his dashing speed, it is not as glaringly susceptible to his slippery traction like his dash is. When coupled with proper usage of Fireball, this method can also enable him to maintain stage control. A notable user and proponent of the walking method is J.Miller.

Luigi has a number of useful custom moves. His most notable custom moves are Floating Missile and Quick Missile. Floating Missile propels Luigi in a perfectly straight line and is weaker, but charges in less than a second, making it much riskier to intercept. Quick Missile travels much farther and moves much faster, much like how Green Missile functioned in Melee, but it has less power, no traction and considerably more ending lag. Luigi also has a few other custom moves that are rather useful. Ice Ball has slower movement speed, yet has more range and can momentarily freeze opponents, completely disrupting their approach. Burial Header grants more height, descends faster, has much less landing lag and buries grounded opponents, at the cost of having a weaker sweetspot. Mach Cyclone covers almost no horizontal distance and it possesses a windbox and a concluding hitbox instead of looping hitboxes, but it grants a tremendous amount of vertical distance and its lone hitbox is very powerful, making it great at edgeguarding. However, the rest of his custom moves have advantages that are situational at best, which makes them generally not worth using.

Overall, Luigi can be a force to be reckoned with as long as his significant flaws are circumvented. While his representation in the competitive scene has lowered somewhat since update 1.1.1 due to said update considerably nerfing his down throw's combo potential, he has achieved great results in tournaments regardless.

Changes from Brawl

Luigi has been significantly buffed in the transition from Brawl to SSB4. His neutral and combo games have been improved, with the latter being among the most effective in the entire game. Additionally, he is more agile overall, which further supplements these improved traits. However, Luigi did receive a number of nerfs. His recovery was moderately worsened, some of his moves (including all of his KOing options) had their power weakened, and most of his moves have lower damage outputs. Nonetheless, he has still been established as one of the most successful characters in tournament play.

Aesthetics

• Due to the aesthetic used in SSB4, Luigi has a more cartoonish and sleeker design, while his overall color scheme is more vibrant. Additionally, his overalls' pant legs are no longer rolled up around his ankles. Altogether, these changes make him better resemble his appearances in the latest Mario games.
• Luigi is more expressive and, unlike in previous installments, much less depressive overall. While Luigi retains his panicked expression in some instances, such as when using his dash attack or while hanging from an edge, he now smiles in other instances, such as when using Fireball and during the results screen if he was defeated or if the match ended in a no contest. He also sports a fairly neutral expression in other instances, such as when using Luigi Cyclone or his forward aerial, as well as humorous or quirky expressions to further reference his awkwardness, such as while sidestepping and upon being screen KO'd.
• Like Mario, Luigi's chest now always faces the foreground.

Attributes

• Luigi dashes faster (1.34 → 1.5).
• Luigi's traction is higher (0.022 → 0.024), though it is still the lowest in the game.
• Luigi's air speed is faster (0.7332 → 0.7341766).
• Luigi's falls faster (1.22 → 1.25).
• Luigi's fast falling speed is faster (1.708 → 2.0).
• Luigi's gravity is higher (0.065 → 0.075). While this is typically a nerf due to it affecting a character's overall survivability, it is a buff in Luigi's case, as it somewhat alleviates the drawbacks that his floatiness provides.
• Short hop is lower and jump is higher, improving his air game and aerial maneuverability.
• Jump's animation has changed. Luigi now pedals his legs back and forth while in midair similarly to the Scuttle, one of his signature techniques that debuted in Super Mario Bros. 2 and has appeared in a number of other Mario games.

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack's last hit has increased base knockback (50 → 65), improving its spacing potential. It also sends Luigi forward, improving its range.
• All tilt attacks deal less damage (9% → 6% (up), 10% → 8% (forward), 9% → 8% (down)).
• Forward tilt has a shorter duration (frames 5-10 → 5-7).
• Up tilt has altered knockback (30 (base)/127 (growth) → 8/150), improving its combo and juggling potentials while retaining its KO potential.
• Down tilt can now trip opponents, but can no longer meteor smash.
• Dash attack's hits connect together much better and its last hit has increased knockback (50 (base)/100 (growth) → 60/128), improving it reliability.
• Forward smash has decreased knockback growth (135 (all angles) → 121 (upward)/116 (non-angled)/117 (downward)), hindering its KO potential.
• All angled versions of forward smash deal consistent damage instead of each angle having respective damage outputs.
• Sweetspotted up smash deals 1% less damage (15% → 14%).
• Down smash deals less damage (16%/17% → 14%/15%) and has increased start-up lag (frame 3 → 6 (front), frame 12 → 14 (back)).
• Down smash has increased knockback growth (80 (both) → 85 (front)/104 (back)), improving its its KO potential.

Aerial attacks

• Neutral, forward, up, and down aerials deal less damage (14% → 12% (neutral), 10% → 8% (forward), 13% → 11% (up), 11% → 8%/10% (down)).
• Neutral and back aerials have increased landing lag (10 frames → 14 (neutral), 12 frames → 16 (back)).
• Neutral aerial can no longer be performed twice with a single short hop. Clean neutral aerial also has decreased knockback growth (100 → 90) and a shorter duration (frames 3-6 → 3-5).
• Late neutral aerial's angle has been altered (90° → 80°).
• Forward aerial has increased range, improving its approach and edgeguarding potentials.
• Back aerial deals 2% more damage (12% → 14%) when hit with Luigi's feet, but deals less damage (12% → 8%), when hit with Luigi's body.
• Back aerial has increased ending lag (FAF 37 → 46). When coupled with Luigi's lower short hop, it can no longer be used twice with a single short hop. Clean back aerial also has a shorter duration (frames 6-10 → 6-7).
• Down aerial deals 3% less damage (11% → 8%) and has increased landing lag (12 frames → 20). Its meteor smash hitbox also has decreased knockback growth (100 → 80).
• Down aerial's meteor smash hitbox is now based on timing instead of positioning, improving its reliability. Meteor canceling is no longer possible, improving its edgeguarding potential.

Throws/other attacks

• Dash grab has decreased start-up (frame 12 → 8) and ending lag (FAF 39 → 36).
• Pummel deals 0.2% more damage (3% → 3.2%).
• Back throw deals 2% less damage (12% → 10%), reverting it to how it functioned in Melee and thus hindering its KO potential.
• Luigi has a new down throw, a Ground Pound. Compared to the previous down throw, it is better for combos due to the changes to hitstun canceling.
• Floor attacks deal 1% more damage (6% → 7%).

Special moves

• Late Fireball deals 1% less damage (6% → 5%).
• Fireball has increased range.
• Uncharged Green Missile deals 5% more damage (5% → 10%). Green Missile's hitbox has also been re-positioned to cover Luigi's entire head instead of only his neck.
• Fully charged Green Missile deals ≈6.2% less damage (26% → ≈19.8%).
• Holding a fully charged grounded Green Missile past a certain point will now cancel the move, instead of holding the charge indefinitely. Upon being overcharged, Luigi will be vulnerable for a very brief moment. While this makes it impossible to use Green Missile to stall opponents and thus force them to go into Luigi's line of fire if they want to continue fighting, it also makes it so that Luigi will not be stuck in a position that could potentially be punishable.
• Green Missile's chance of misfiring has decreased (12.5% → 10%). This improves its safety while near edges, but hinders its offensive and recovery potentials.
• Grounded Super Jump Punch's sweetspot has increased knockback growth (73 → 77), improving its KO potential. Grounded Super Jump Punch also grants less vertical distance, slightly improving its safety.
• Aerial Super Jump Punch has increased start-up (frame 6 → 8) and landing lag. It also grants less horizontal distance after ascending and much less vertical distance, to the point that it is now being unable to reach the top platform on Battlefield. Altogether, these changes hinder its recovery potential.
• Super Jump Punch's angle has been altered (90° → 88°).
• Luigi Cyclone deals 3% less damage (12% → 9%) due to consisting of six hits instead of eight. It also has increased start-up lag (frame 7 → 10)The looping hits no longer semi-spike..
• Luigi Cyclone's hits connect together better and its last hit has increased knockback (60 (base)/115 (growth) → 80/130 (grounded)/120 (aerial)), improving its KO potential near the upper blast line.
• Aerial Luigi Cyclone grants much less vertical distance, is extremely difficult to ascend with without a jump, and requires much more button mashing in order to ascend. Altogether, these changes hinder its recovery potential.
• Luigi has a new Final Smash, Poltergust 5000. Unlike Negative Zone, Poltergust 5000 traps nearby opponents and deals considerable damage and strong vertical knockback to the point of easily scoring KOs, rather than affecting a very wide area and granting Luigi easy openings to inflict more damage and/or possibly secure KOs.

Update history

Luigi has received a mix of buffs and nerfs via game updates, though his buffs outweighed his nerfs until update 1.1.1. While said update brought about only two nerfs, the nerf to his down throw was considerable enough to counter the numerous buffs that the updates gave him. The changes to shield mechanics also indirectly nerf Luigi, as it is even harder for him to punish out of shield and his best moves do not have noticeable hitlag. As a result, Luigi has become a slightly less effective character than he was during the initial release of SSB4, although he is still viable despite his most notable strengths (his combo game and punishment ability) being toned down.

1.0.4

• Forward smash damage: 14% → 15%
• Forward smash's side angle: 55° → 53°
• Down smash's second hit angle: 70° → 60°
• Down smash's second hit knockback scaling: 80 → 100
• Forward aerial's hand hitbox radius: 4.8 → 5.6
• Order of hitboxes of forward aerial reversed (no practical effect).
• Super Jump Punch (default) ground sweetspot radius: 1.6 → 1.7
• Super Jump Punch (default) ground sweetspot z-offset: 6.1 → 7.0
• Super Jump Punch (default) air sweetspot radius: 2.1 → 2.2
• Super Jump Punch (default) air sweetspot z-offset: 4.7 → 5.5

1.0.6

• Fireball deals 1% less damage the farther it goes: 6% → 5% (late).

1.1.0

• Forward aerial deals less damage (9% → 8%). While this slightly worsens its edgeguarding abilities, it also slightly improves its combo abilities.
• Fireball's ending lag is increased (total: 40 → 43 frames).
• Fiery Jump Punch (custom 2) knockback growth increased (40 → 50).
• Super Jump Punch's default grounded hitbox size increased (1.7u → 2.2u).
• Super Jump Punch's default aerial hitbox size increased (2.2u → 2.7u).
• Down tilt's angle altered from 74° to the Sakurai angle significantly hindering its function as a combo starter or set-up.
• Down tilt's knockback growth increased (54 → 65).
• Down tilt's ending lag is decreased (29 → 26).

• Down tilt's new angle improves its edgeguarding potential, though not to the same degree as in Brawl.

1.1.1

• The changes to shield mechanics have been detrimental to Luigi, as the increase in shieldstun makes it much harder for him to punish from out of shield due to his already low traction. Additionally, only a very select few of his moves benefit from these changes, with the most notable example being a fully charged or misfired Green Missile.
• Down throw's knockback has been altered (75 base/30 growth → 55 base/83 growth). The new knockback scaling removes Luigi's most notable follow-ups (very few moves are now only semi-guaranteed KO set-ups), particularly outside of medium percents.
• Down aerial spike hitbox increased (1.8 → 2.5).
• Down smash knockback growth increased (80/100 → 82/104 first/second strikes)
• Fiery Jump Punch hitbox size increased (3.8 → 4.0).
• Fiery Jump Punch horizontal displacement (6.4 → 7.0).
• Luigi Cyclone initial hitbox hitlag increased (1.0 → 1.3).
• Luigi Cyclone angle 90° → 89°.
• Aerial Luigi Cyclone final hitbox growth decreased 130 → 120.
• Clothesline Tornado damage increased (8% → 10%/12% depending on the hitbox.)
  • The sweetspot hitbox is larger.
  • The sweetspot has more base knockback: 60 → 100.
  • The sweetspot has drastically decreased growth: 120 → 70.

Moveset

• Luigi can crawl.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			3%	A one-two combo followed by a hip thrust. Its last hit slightly moves Luigi forward and, when coupled with its decent damage output and fast overall speed, it is a safe yet reliable damage racking option. It can also be jab canceled into his tilt attacks, down smash, standing grab, or Super Jump Punch.
			2%
			5%
Forward tilt			8%	A reverse roundhouse kick. It can be angled and is decent for spacing beginning at 40%.
Up tilt			6%	An overhead swipe. It can hit opponents directly behind Luigi. Like Mario's up tilt, it is very useful for initiating combos and partaking in juggling. However, it also has very high knockback growth, which allows it to KO at very high percentages (though barely below 150% without rage)
Down tilt			8%	A crouching back kick. It can trip at low percentages and even hit opponents that are trying to grab the edge.
Dash attack			1% (hits 1-6), 2% (hit 7)	A series of rapid, childish punches. Its last hit launches the opponent a fair distance away from Luigi, but it is very punishable.
Forward smash			15%	A knifehand thrust. It can be angled like his forward tilt, with the upward angled version having the most knockback growth, whereas the non-angled version has the least. It also has respectable speed, yet very poor range. However, its problematic range can be somewhat alleviated with pivoting, due to Luigi's pivot being tied with Little Mac's as the second best in the game.
Up smash			14% (head), 12% (body)	An upward headbutt. It is the most consistent KOing option out of Luigi's smash attacks, and like Mario's up smash, it renders his head intangible throughout its duration. The angle at which opponents are launched changes depending on where they were hit, as hitting from Luigi's front will cause them to be launched backward, and vice versa. Due to Luigi's traction, this also gives him an above-average slide smash.
Down smash			14% (legs), 15% (body)	A legsweep performed from a flare, an acrobatic technique used in breakdancing and gymnastics. Its front hit is fairly unreliable for KOing, but its back hit has much more knockback growth, which allows it to KO noticeably earlier. However, both hits are very reliable for punishing rolls and damage racking due to their range and overall speed. It is also possible for both hits to make contact with the opponent.
Neutral aerial			12% (clean), 6% (late)	A flying kick. It is the only sex kick in the game that launches opponents vertically. This makes it a capable combo starter and approach option either while falling or from a short hop, a very useful anti-pressure option, and even a surprise KOing option while near the upper blast line if the opponent does not react properly. Originates from Super Mario 64.
Forward aerial			8%	A downward knifehand strike. It is a quick and reliable follow-up from down throw at medium percentages, as well as being capable at edgeguarding or approaching. In addition to the hitbox on Luigi's hand, a hitbox exists on his body that has the quirk of launching opponents in the opposite direction.
Back aerial			14% (clean feet), 8% (clean legs, late)	A dropkick. It is reliable for KOing and approaching, especially when used as part of a reverse aerial rush. Like his forward aerial, its hitbox, while slightly covering Luigi's body up to his front side, has the same quirk of launching the opponent in the opposite direction if the body portion of the hitbox lands.
Up aerial			11% (clean), 7% (late)	A backflip kick. It is useful for combos like Mario's, but cannot combo into itself as easily as his due launching at a more horizontal angle.
Down aerial			10% (clean), 8% (late)	A diagonal corkscrew dropkick. Its sweetspot is a meteor smash, though it only lasts for 1 frame. Unlike in previous games, its sweetspot is now based on timing rather than positioning, making it easier to land. When coupled with down throw, its meteor smash can extend combos or even act as a KOing combo near the edge. Conversely, its sourspot deals slightly horizontal knockback, which is unreliable for edgeguarding unless performed off-stage and beginning at 140%.
Grab			—	Reaches out. While Luigi's grab ranges are relatively short, they have minimal lag. His standing grab is the fastest in the game, while his pivot grab is also very effective, due to his pivot being tied with Little Mac's as the second best in the game.
Pummel			3.2%	A headbutt. Moderately slow, but tied with Mr. Game & Watch's as the third most damaging pummel in the game.
Forward throw			9%	Spins the opponent around once and throws them forward. Very fast and Luigi's second most damaging throw, but has very minimal utility outside of dealing damage. Its only other benefits are acting either as an edgeguard set-up at high percentages, or as a set-up into dash attack. However, this combo is only effective against lightweights and middleweights beginning at 0% and against heavyweights until low percentages, depending on the latter's DI.
Back throw			10% (throw), 6% (collateral)	Spins the opponent by their legs three times before throws them backward. It also can hit other opponents while spinning, which deals minor damage and knockback. Due to reverting to how it functioned in Melee, it is less reliable at KOing than in Brawl. However, it is still a reliable KOing option, with its power rivaling Mario and Dr. Mario's back throws. Originates from Super Mario 64.
Up throw			8%	Heaves the opponent directly overhead with both hands. Like his forward throw, it is fast, but has very minimal utility outside of dealing damage. Its only other benefit is acting as a set-up into a short hopped Luigi Cyclone, a combo that is only effective on middleweights, heavyweights and fast-fallers beginning at 0%.
Down throw			6%	Shoves the opponent under himself and Ground Pounds them. An excellent combo starter that can lead into up tilt and any smash attack beginning at 0%, as well as any aerial, Luigi Cyclone and Super Jump Punch until medium percentages. Although it loses most of its combo potential at high percentages, it can combo into either Luigi Cyclone against jumping opponents, or Super Jump Punch against air dodging opponents, so long as Luigi is not affected by rage. Against fast-fallers or heavyweights, you still have a chance of making contact with an up aerial at high percents.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			7%	Gets up and kicks behind himself and then in front of himself.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			7%	Gets up and punches behind himself and then in front of himself.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	Gets up and kicks behind himself and then in front of himself.
Edge attack Edge getups			7%	Performs a two-footed legsweep while climbing up.
Neutral special	Default	Fireball	6% (clean), 5% (late)	Throws a Green Fireball from his hand. It is fairly spammable, which enables it to pressure, zone, stop approaches, or even act as a set-up for a grab. Like Mario's Fireball, it deals less damage as it covers more distance. Unlike Mario's Fireball, it is unaffected by gravity, which makes it less suitable at edgeguarding compared to Mario's Fireball.
	Custom 1	Bouncing Fireball	6% (clean), 5% (mid), 4% (late)	Functions almost identically to Mario's Fireball, although its bouncing arc is more vertical compared to his. However, its late hit deals slightly less damage and it has a noticeable amount of ending lag.
	Custom 2	Ice Ball	4%	Throws an Ice Ball from his hand. It freezes opponents at high percentages and has longer range, but deals slightly less damage and is slow.
Side special	Default	Green Missile	10% (uncharged), ≈19.8% (fully charged), 25% (misfired)	Crouches and then shoots himself forward to perform a flying battering ram. If charged on the ground for too long, the charge is canceled. It also has a 10% chance to misfire, which deals considerably more damage and knockback, grants intangibility from frames 18-22, and always travels the same distance regardless of the charge. Its lag makes it punishable whether it is used for offense or recovering, which makes reads very important in order to use it effectively.
	Custom 1	Floating Missile	≈4.3% (uncharged), ≈18% (fully charged), 23% (misfired)	Flies directly straight, which improves its accuracy, and charges faster. However, it deals less damage, especially when uncharged, and knockback.
	Custom 2	Quick Missile	≈5.15% (uncharged), ≈20% (fully charged), 20% (misfired)	Flies much farther and faster, but missing causes Luigi to slide across the ground, making it even riskier than either Green Missile or Floating Missile. It also deals less damage when uncharged and misfired, but negligibly more damage when fully charged.
Up special	Default	Super Jump Punch	25% (grounded sweetspot), 20% (aerial sweetspot), 1% (sourspot)	A jumping uppercut. It is a very potent punishing option due to its sweetspot's outstanding damage output, though its ending lag makes it very punishable as well. Its sweetspot also deals respectable shield damage and emits both a flame effect and a ping sound. In the air, its sweetspot is larger, yet weaker, and does not emit the ping sound. However, its sourspot deals minuscule damage and no knockback. As a recovery move, it grants more vertical distance if Luigi's double jump was used beforehand. It grants intangibility on frames 8-10.
	Custom 1	Fiery Jump Punch	18% (grounded sweetspot), 15% (aerial sweetspot), 1% (sourspot)	Covers more horizontal distance, grants slightly more invincibility and its sweetspot is easier to hit, but covers less vertical distance, noticeable ending lag and dealing less damage. However, it also covers more vertical distance if Luigi's double jump was used beforehand. Like aerial Super Jump Punch, it does not emit the ping sound effect when sweetspotted. It is comparable to how Luigi's Super Jump Punch functioned in Melee.
	Custom 2	Burial Header	8% (descent), 8% (landing), 1% (sourspot)	Covers significantly more vertical distance, to the point that it allows him to reach the top platform on Battlefield, and ascends even higher if Luigi's double jump was used beforehand. Instead of a flaming sweetspot, Luigi deals burying damage as he descends. This results in it dealing significantly less damage, although he descends and gets up much faster, which allows for follow-ups.
Down special	Default	Luigi Cyclone	1.5% (loop), 3% (last)	Rapidly spins around, trapping the opponent and damaging them with a series of discus clotheslines and spinning backfists before launching them by powerfully outstretching his arms. Unlike Mario Tornado and compared to Dr. Tornado, it can enable Luigi to move quickly along the ground, making it decent as a surprise approach option. While in the air, button mashing grants it two special quirks: it will enable Luigi to ascend after his first jump, which also carries his double jump's momentum to enable an easier ascent, or it can act as a pseudo-spike, though the latter technique is quite difficult to perform. Outside of these two quirks, it can also function as a KOing option near the upper blast line. It appears to be based on the Spin Jump.
	Custom 1	Mach Cyclone	6%	Covers significantly more vertical distance, especially when button mashed, and has slightly less start-up lag. Unlike Luigi Cyclone, it consists of a windbox and a hitbox, the latter of which deals twice as much damage and significantly more knockback than Luigi Cyclone's last hit. Altogether, these traits make it more efficient at recovering compared to Luigi Cyclone. However, it does not cover any horizontal distance, cannot punish rolls due to its windbox, and has more ending lag.
	Custom 2	Clothesline Cyclone	10% (first), 12% (last)	Deals significantly more damage and knockback, due to consisting of two hitboxes instead of looping hitboxes. Its first hit has deceptive range and is a semi-spike, which allows it hinder approaches. Conversely, its last hit launches opponents vertically and is extremely powerful. However, its first hit lacks KO potential until very high percentages, while its second hit is very difficult to land due to its first hit's long duration. Additionally, it has significantly more start-up and ending lag, which makes it unable to be used for recovering. It is comparable to how Luigi Cyclone functioned in SSB.
Final Smash		Poltergust 5000	30% (max captured), 10% (throw)	Equips the Poltergust 5000 and then vacuums nearby opponents into it before ejecting them out with great force. The sooner the opponents are vacuumed in, the more damage they accumulate before being ejected.

On-screen appearance

• A green Warp Pipe appears and Luigi leaps out of it while hesitantly saying "Let's-a go!" and sporting a frightened expression that appears very similar to the one he has on the cover of Luigi's Mansion.

Taunts

• Up taunt: Strikes a variety of poses in the following order: he faces the screen with one hand on his waist while displaying the V sign with the other, referencing his animation from Luigi's Mansion when he would find a key. Then he turns to the right slightly, pointing his hands that direction while giving a frightened look on his face. Then, he places his left hand just below his nose, similar to his artwork for Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time. Then he turns away from the screen, crouching as if he is sad, just like his Bogey animation in Mario Golf. Finally, he faces the screen once more, with both hands on his face, giving a frightened look that appears very similar to the one he sports on the cover of Luigi's Mansion.
• Side taunt: Planks while saying "Pow! Pow!" It is based off of one of his victory poses from Super Smash Bros. Melee. Due to it moving Luigi towards the screen as well as lowering his hurtbox, some attacks, such as Fox and Falco's Blasters, may actually miss him as a result.
• Down taunt: Bashfully kicks the ground while sighing. If it makes contact with an opponent that is hanging on an edge or is off-stage, Luigi will perform a powerful meteor smash. Conversely, if the opponent is on-stage, it instead deals set knockback. It also deals 2% in either case and is similar to the animation Luigi performs when he loses a minigame in Mario Party 2.

Up taunt	Side taunt	Down taunt

Idle poses

• Rubs the back of his head sheepishly.
• Pulls on his nose, which slightly stretches and then snaps back into place.

Crowd cheer

	English	Japanese
Cheer
Description	Wee-gee!	Rui-ji!
Pitch	Group chant	Group chant

Victory poses

A flourished remix of the Victory Theme used in Super Mario Bros.

• Planks twice, similarly to his side taunt.
• Childishly swings his arms at the air, similarly to his dash attack, then exhaustively gasps afterward. It is also the same animation used when he is selected in SSB.
• Turns around and then makes finger gun gestures with both hands while saying "Bang! Bang!"

In competitive play

Official Custom Moveset Project

Character	Custom sets available
Luigi	1311	1211	3311	3211	3111
	1312	3312	3212	2311	3231

Notable players

Active

•  Boss - Ranked 19th on the MD/VA Smash 4 Power Rankings.
•  Elegant - Currently considered the best Luigi in the world in regard to skill. Consistently places within the top 8 at regionals. Ranked 3rd on the SoCal Smash 4 Power Rankings.
•  J.Miller - The best Luigi player in Europe. Placed 1st at B.E.A.S.T 5 and 9th at Smashdown World. Ranked 2nd on the United Kingdom Smash 4 Power Rankings.
•  James - Placed 2nd at Midwest Mayhem 6: SoCal Invasion. Ranked 7th on the New Jersey Smash 4 Power Rankings.
•  LOE1 - Ranked 5th on the Michigan Smash 4 Power Rankings.
•  Luigi player - The second best Luigi player in Europe. Placed 13th at B.E.A.S.T 6. Ranked 1st on the Austria Smash 4 Power Rankings.
•  Mr. ConCon - The second best Luigi player in the United States and the best Luigi player in the world prior to update 1.1.1. Placed 7th at 2GGT: EE Saga, 9th at both 2GGT: FOW Saga and 2GGT: Fresh Saga, 17th at Final Battle, and 25th at both EVO 2015 and GENESIS 3. Ranked 19th on the SoCal Smash 4 Power Rankings. The first person to win a set against ZeRo.
•  Poke - The best Luigi player in Canada and one of the best Luigi players in the world prior to update 1.1.1. Placed 2nd at Get On My Level 2015, 3rd at Summit 2015, 7th at Enthusiast Gaming Live Expo, 13th at Canada Cup 2015, and 25th at Super Smash Con 2015. Ranked 6th on the Southern Ontario Smash 4 Power Rankings.
•  Ron - The best Luigi player in Japan. Placed 1st at Hirosuma 2 and 2nd at both Sumabato 12 and Sumabato 17. Ranked 25th on the JAPAN Power Rankings.

Inactive

• Aki - The best Luigi player in Japan before switching to Sheik after update 1.1.1.
•  ANTi - Co-mained Luigi alongside Mario before switching exclusively to Mario after update 1.1.1.
•  False - Co-mained Luigi alongside many other characters before switching to Marth and Sheik after update 1.1.1.
•  Larry Lurr - Used Luigi as a secondary prior to update 1.1.1.
•  Poltergust - Co-mained Luigi alongside Yoshi before switching exclusively to Yoshi after update 1.1.1.
•  Shel - Co-mained Luigi alongside Ryu before switching exclusively to Ryu after update 1.1.1.
•  ZD - The best Luigi player in MD/VA before switching to Fox.

Tier placement and history

Since SSB4's release, Luigi's placement was a topic of debate, as his buffs were quickly acknowledged in his transition from Brawl and saw him perceived as a mid-tier character. Players took into account his combination of a strong combo game, good projectile, and quick frame data, yet noticed the retention of his poor mobility and predictable recovery. Positive opinions on Luigi, however, saw a sudden rise from early to mid-2015, as players recognized the potency of his combos and KO set-ups from his down throw. Additionally, he was noted for having an even matchup against Diddy Kong, who was then considered the best character in the game, due to multiple high-profile cases of a Luigi player defeating a noteworthy Diddy Kong player in tournaments. The most notable instance of this was Mr. ConCon achieving a bracket reset against ZeRo. These traits resulted in Luigi achieving niche status as a strong main and counterpick, and even a position as a top-tier character in the eyes of the community. Despite having fairly limited usage at high-level play, he was quite common at low-level and mid-level play, and many of the players who dropped Diddy Kong following his nerfs in updates 1.0.6 and 1.0.8 moved on to Luigi.

However, Luigi underwent a noticeable drop in perception after update 1.1.1, due to the update bringing about changes to shield mechanics that made it harder for him to punish out of shield, and nerfing his down throw to the point of heavily altering his powerful guaranteed follow-ups and removing his down throw's guaranteed KO set-ups. However, Luigi's down throw still managed to maintain highly damaging combos at low percentages and, when coupled with his impressive performances up to update 1.1.1, he was ranked 16th on the first tier list, his best ranking in the series at the time.

Despite this, many players who mained Luigi dropped him for other characters due to the intensity of the nerfs from update 1.1.1, which was further compounded by the release of the DLC characters Corrin and Bayonetta, two matchups considered unfavorable for him. By the time of the second tier list, Luigi was ranked 29th, resulting in him going from being the third highest ranked mid-tier character to the middle of the mid-tier, and being roughly tied with his placement in Melee. While respectable, Luigi's placement was nonetheless a considerable downturn, as his drop was tied with Wario's for the second largest between the first and second tier lists.

However, Luigi's consistently strong results in some regions resulted in him rising to 26th on the third and current tier list. Incidentally, this placement is roughly similar to where he was viewed as being in accordance to popular opinion during the very early months of SSB4's lifespan.

Trophies

Luigi

Luigi recently celebrated his 30th anniversary with the Year of Luigi, but all that attention just made him even more shy and awkward. In Smash Bros., Luigi takes a lot of cues from his brother in fighting style, adding flair to moves like Super Jump Punch. His taunts, however, are truly unique.

Luigi recently celebrated his 30th anniversary with the Year of Luigi, but all that attention just made him even more shy and awkward. In Smash Bros. (as in life), Luigi tends to follow his brother's lead, but he adds his own flair to moves like Super Jump Punch. His taunts, however, are 100% Weegee.

With the Year of Luigi long gone now, it's up to you to prove to everyone that Mario's cowardly co-star is still awesome. He may share a lot of moves with his brother, but he still puts his own spin on things. When you Super Jump Punch a foe just right, for example, the noise he makes is epic. His taunts are pretty funny too. Try them!

Mario Bros. 1983

: Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon 03/2013

Luigi (Alt.)

Luigi may sulk when his down taunt is used, but his little dejected kick can actually hurt a nearby enemy fighter. It can even trigger a meteor smash! Notice an enemy leisurely hanging from the edge? Run over and pout on the edge—that foe will be the one with something to pout about!

Luigi might look a bit sulky when you use his down taunt, but when he does it next to another fighter, it can get in a little hit - well, a "little hit" that can also sometimes be a meteor smash! Say you spot a fighter hanging off the edge of the stage. Just give them a pout and a kick with this taunt, and they'll fall to their doom.

Mario Bros. 1983

: Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon 03/2013

Poltergust 5000

A ghost-sucking vacuum cleaner created by Professor E. Gadd. In Luigi's ghostly adventures, it's the only thing standing between him and complete terror. In this game, it sucks in enemies, damages them, and then fires them diagonally upward. If it's used in an area with no ceilings, you might send them soaring right off the screen!

A ghost-sucking vacuum cleaner created by Professor E. Gadd. In Luigi's ghostly adventures, it's the only thing standing between him and abject terror. In this game, it sucks in enemies, damages them, then fires them diagonally upward. Use it in an area with no ceilings, and you might send them soaring right off the screen!

• 

  Classic (3DS)

• LuigiAllStarTrophy3DS.png

  Alt. (3DS)

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  Classic (Wii U)

• LuigiAllStarTrophyWiiU.png

  Alt. (Wii U)

• 

  Poltergust 5000

In Event Matches

Solo Events

• All-Star Battle: Secret: Luigi is one of the opponents fought in this event. All of the opponents have been unlockable characters in previous Super Smash Bros. games.
• Family Ties: As Bowser Jr., the player and a giant Bowser must defeat Luigi and Mario.
• Oh Yeah, Luigi Time!: Luigi must defeat a giant Wario. After some time, a giant Mario will arrive to help the player.

Co-op Events

• A Lurking Menace: Luigi and Mario must defeat Bowser Jr. If they wait too long, a giant Bowser will arrive and the players must defeat him as well.
• Solidarity: Olimar and Rosalina & Luma must defeat Luigi and Mario. When they are defeated, Bowser and Bowser Jr. must be defeated as well.
• The Ultimate Battle: Two players select a character and must defeat the entire roster.
• Wrecking Bros.: Luigi and Mario must destroy the entirety of Wrecking Crew while Wario and King Dedede try to interfere.

Alternate costumes

Gallery

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  Luigi in the Nintendo Direct from April 8th, 2014.

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  Luigi's amiibo.

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  Using his neutral attack's last hit on Kirby.

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  Using his dash attack on Pit.

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  Luigi and Mario using their neutral aerials.

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  Using his forward smash on Mario.

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  Using Fireball as Mega Man uses Metal Blade.

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  Using his side taunt alongside Wii Fit Trainer's down taunt.

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  Using his side taunt on Skyloft.

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  Up taunt's last animation alongside Donkey Kong and Bowser.

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  Up taunt's first animation.

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  Up taunt's last animation with Crash Bomb attached and Rush looking on.

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  Up taunt's second animation alongside a yellow Pikmin.

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  Up taunt's third animation, which was inspired by artwork from Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time.

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  Luigi grabbing an edge on Skyloft.

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  Using his down taunt to meteor smash Kirby.

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  Luigi, Kirby and Mario posing. While Mario's and Kirby's poses are performed as part of their down taunts, Luigi's pose is performed immediately before he crouches to use Green Missile.

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  Luigi throwing a Metal Blade back at Mega Man.

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  Luigi buried as Villager uses Pocket.

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  Luigi and Mario jumping.

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  Luigi and Mario jumping through a section of 3D Land.

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  Luigi and Mario staring at each other.

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  Using Green Missile alongside Kirby and a Smash Ball.

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  Using his new Final Smash, Poltergust 5000.

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  Luigi with a Screw Attack attached.

Trivia

• Luigi's official artwork is based on his side taunt.
• Early in development, Luigi could wall jump, although this was scrapped in the final release.
• The trophy description for Luigi in the North American version of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U makes a reference to Weegee, a popular internet meme. However, it could also be a reference to a number of games where he excitedly refers to himself "Weegee".
• Luigi's All-Star trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS resembles his Adventure Mode trophy from Melee, albeit with a different costume.
  • In addition, Luigi's alt. trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U resembles his official artwork from Melee.
• Luigi was the first of the original four unlockable characters to be confirmed for SSB4.
• If timed correctly, Luigi's side taunt can actually enable him to avoid several attacks, as displayed in the opening video for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.
• In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, the "Luigi (With Poltergust 3000)" trophy is titled erroneously. The Poltergust that Luigi is wearing in that trophy is actually the Poltergust 5000 from Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, as evident by the Strobulb located on its back.
• When Luigi crawls, his footsteps emit the running sound effect from Mario Bros.
• Due to the fact that Luigi's head comes forward into the z-axis when he crouches, he can avoid certain projectiles that go behind his head.