Super Smash Bros.

Jigglypuff (SSB)

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This article is about Jigglypuff's appearance in Super Smash Bros. For this Pokémon in other contexts, see Jigglypuff.
Jigglypuff
in Super Smash Bros.
Jigglypuff SSB.png
PokemonSymbol(preBrawl).svg
Universe Pokémon
Other playable appearances in Melee
in Brawl
in SSB4
in Ultimate
Availability Unlockable
Tier B (6) (North America)
? (8) (Japan)
Jigglypuff (SSB)

Jigglypuff (プリン, Purin) is an unlockable character in Super Smash Bros. Mainly included due to its popularity in the anime at the time, Jigglypuff is notable for its similar appearance and nature to Kirby, and the fact that they share a lot of moves makes them semi-clones. It is the floatiest and lightest character in the game, a trait it has kept in subsequent appearances.

Jigglypuff is voiced by Rachael Lillis in English and Mika Kanai in Japanese, its voice actresses in the dubbed and the original anime.

Jigglypuff ranks 6th, right in the middle of the tier list, in the B tier. It is notable for being the lightest, floatiest, and lowest gravity character in the game. Jigglypuff has many low knockback attacks, which when combined with its floatiness, can be abused to its advantage in several combos against heavier characters, especially by gimping them or carrying them all the way to the lateral blast lines. It also has some moves with disproportionate power, like its up smash, back throw, and the famous Rest. However, because Jigglypuff is so light and floaty, it is very easy to KO. In addition, Jigglypuff lacks a rising up special move for recovery, forcing it to rely on its remaining midair jumps and Pound to recover.

Jigglypuff's pros are considered to be on par with its flaws, and because of this, it has some favorable to even matchups in the current metagame, and has achieved above average tournament representation and results. However, Jigglypuff ranks worse in Japan at 8th, due to the higher strengths some other characters have in comparison to Jigglypuff.

How to unlock

Complete 1P Game, then defeat Jigglypuff on Saffron City.

Note: Jigglypuff can be unlocked after Ness and/or Captain Falcon if criteria for the latter two is fulfilled during the 1P Game.

Attributes

Jigglypuff's ending picture in Super Smash Bros.

Most of Jigglypuff's moveset consists of low knockback attacks. Its great aerial mobility makes up for the fact that it has the second slowest dash speed. It can also use the teleport technique to help with its ground game. Jigglypuff also has in its arsenal surprisingly powerful finishing attacks, such as its up smash.

Jigglypuff's ground attacks are generally slow and weak, other than its smashes. Neutral attack, forward tilt, and down tilt have little use in general. Up tilt is also weak but can be used for combos at low-mid percentages, and it can lead into an up smash or Rest as a finisher. Forward smash is a decent finisher at high percents, up smash is one of the strongest in the game, while down smash sends the opponent at a semi-spike trajectory, making it useful for edgeguarding. Jigglypuff has some good aerials, with a good edgeguarding ability. Its down air can meteor smash, but its weak which makes it better at setting follow ups.

Jigglypuff has a unique set of special moves, which can be considered "extreme". They all tend to have incredible strengths bundled with terrible weaknesses. Its neutral special move (Pound) has short range (like all of Jigglypuff's moves) and a decent amount of startup lag, but it also does high damage, solid knockback, a lot of shield damage, and can easily give Jigglypuff additional recovery, especially horizontally. Its down special move (Rest) is known for having incredible strength if it connects, considerable ending lag, zero startup, poor range, and providing invincibility frames until its eyes close. It is an excellent combo finisher, and can be comboed into from a variety of follow ups such as up tilt, down air and up air. Its forward throw can be comboed into Rest for a kill at mid percents against fast fallers like Captain Falcon, Fox, Link along with characters with high falling speed such as Yoshi and Donkey Kong, which is known as the Space animal slayer. Its up special move, Sing, puts opponents to sleep, but unlike in future games, it keeps opponents asleep longer at low percentages. This allows it to start combos at low percents.

On the receiving end, Jigglypuff's floatiness, low weight, and small size make it difficult to land long combos on it. Furthermore, Jigglypuff's slow falling speed, five midair jumps, good air speed, and Rising Pounds allow it to recover from almost any distance horizontally. On the downside, its vertical recovery is very bad due to only three of its midair jumps giving actual height (its fourth midair jump gives next to no height, and its fifth merely slows its descent) and it lacking a rising up special move. This makes it very vulnerable to meteor smashes and semi-spike attacks like Fox's Shine spike. Also, Jigglypuff's slow falling speed makes it very easy to juggle, and very vulnerable to characters with powerful vertical finishers, such as Fox with his up smash and up aerial. Light weight also has its downside, as Jigglypuff will often be knocked out at earlier then any other character. If Jigglypuff's shield breaks when there is no ceiling, it will be Star KOed, so Jigglypuff players must be very careful when shielding multi-hit attacks and attacks that cause high shield damage. This is problematic in certain matchups, like Yoshi, who posses strong shield break combos.

Differences between game versions

NTSC-J to NTSC-U

Jigglypuff was buffed overall in the transition to NTSC-U, with the longer range on its down smash helping it edgeguard opponents, and the much higher power of Rest making it a go-to finisher out of a combo. However, the removal of momentum sliding slightly hurts its approach. Overall, Jigglypuff is slightly better than in the Japanese version.

Aesthetics

  • Change Jigglypuff has all new voice clips due to its name change from "Purin" to "Jigglypuff".
  • Change Jigglypuff has a different blinking pattern while taunting.

Attributes

  • Buff Taunt has less ending lag (FAF 67 → 61).
  • Nerf The removal of momentum sliding slightly hinders Jigglypuff's approach.

Ground attacks

  • Buff Down smash has more range on both sides as its foot hitboxes have been repositioned to cover the space past Jigglypuff's feet rather than its legs (x offset: 100 → 200).

Special attacks

  • Buff Rest deals more damage (14% → 20%) and knockback (20 (base), 140 (scaling) → 60/120), significantly improving its KO potential.
  • Change Rest now makes the ping sound effect when it connects rather than a heavy kick sound.

NTSC-U to PAL (AUS)

Jigglypuff was nerfed in its transition to PAL. While it indirectly benefits from the teleport glitch covering more distance, which in turn gives Jigglypuff better approach options, down aerial and especially Rest have smaller hitboxes; making them harder to land.

Attributes

  • Buff Teleport goes farther, making it a better approach option.

Aerial attacks

  • Nerf Down aerial has smaller hitboxes (180u/180u → 170u/170u).
  • Nerf Down aerial auto-cancels later (frame 33 → 40).

Specials

  • Nerf Rest has a much smaller hitbox (130u → 60u).

PAL (AUS) to PAL EUR

Aesthetics

  • Change Jigglypuff has all new voice clips when the game is set to French or German due to its name change from "Jigglypuff" to "Rondoudou" and "Pummeluff" respectively.

Moveset

For a gallery of Jigglypuff's hitboxes, see here.

SSB64 Jiggly.gif
File:Jigglypuff SSB Air Attacks.PNG
Jigglypuff's aerial attacks
  Name Damage Description
Neutral attack   3% Jigglypuff performs two stubby punches. The first hit is usually used in the middle of combos for some extra damage. The second hit has a bit more ending lag, but it deals more damage and it launches opponents upwards, giving it setup potential. It is overall similar to Kirby's, but with more startup lag, and Jigglypuff has no rapid jab.
4%
Forward tilt   8% Circles in place and kicks. Can be angled. Very weak for a forward tilt, but it does not have too much ending lag.
Up tilt   10% Swings a foot behind, hitting above its head for a low knockback attack that sends the opponent up at a steep angle. If hit at the correct spot, this attack can be used repeatedly as an u-tilt chain or as a setup for more powerful attacks. However, at low percents, the sourspot (closest to Jigglypuff) is very punishable and has knockback similar to a jab. It is, essentially, a slower, weaker version of Kirby's version, with a longer animation and less disjointed range.
Down tilt   10% Jigglypuff kicks forwards while crouching. The move sends the opponent upwards at a 70 degree angle. The move has high startup and ending lag, giving it limited utility.
Dash attack   10% (clean), 6% (late) A generic dash attack, Jigglypuff trips over and slides, hitting opponents in front of it.
Forward smash   16% (clean), 10% (late) This attack sends Jigglypuff forward with a quick burst of speed. It is similar to Kirby's forward smash, except it has more startup lag, and it deals less damage and knockback. Despite this, Jigglypuff's forward smash still has low startup lag for a forward smash and it still has above average knockback, making it a solid forward smash overall.
Up smash   18% (clean), 10% (late) Rocks its head back then forward for an attack. The move comes out fairly quickly, and it sends the opponent upwards, dealing high damage and very high knockback. It is one of the strongest up smashes in the game. At the last few frames of the attack, the move launches opponents horizontally, and deals much less damage and knockback. It is overall a solid up smash.
Down smash   16% (clean), 10% (late) Does a split, sending opponents on either side at a somewhat low angle. The hitbox extends quite a bit beyond Jigglypuff's feet, and this disjointed hitbox is most often used for edgeguarding, as it allows the player to avoid getting hit by the recovering opponent, while still being able to prevent the opponent from grabbing the ledge. It can also attack opponents already on the ledge. Has noticeably less range in the Japanese version.
Neutral aerial   14% (clean), 9% (late) Extends a foot out, sending the opponent back. It is similar to Kirby's, although it is slower and weaker. It is the slowest neutral aerial in the game in terms of startup lag although it still comes out fairly quickly. It has above average knockback, has a noticeably disjointed hitbox, and lasts for quite a while, making it a great spacing and edgeuarding option.
Forward aerial   13% (clean), 9% (late) Leans back and extends both feet out. The attack is not particularly strong, but it can be used for combos.
Back aerial   13% (clean), 9% (late) Spins and kicks backwards. Back aerial is fairly weak, and it can be chained into itself multiple times. The move does have short range however.
Up aerial   16% Slaps upwards, making an arc with its arm, sending opponents upward with high knockback. The hitbox extends throughout its body. Because the knockback is consistent throughout the hitbox, if the opponent is hit at the lower part of the hitbox, it may set up for aerial combos. Can KO floaty opponents at moderately high percents.
Down aerial   3% (hits 1-10), 30% (total), 3% (landing) Like all drill kicks (other than Kirby's), this attack has very low knockback and traps the opponent. When Jigglypuff lands while hitting the opponent with this attack, it can be followed up with almost any ground attack, depending on the DI. It is a very weak meteor smash, but can nonetheless be used for edgeguarding. 3% per hit (total 10 hits). The move also has a landing hit, which can actually be quite useful, as the move has very low landing lag.
Grab
Forward throw   14% Jigglypuff throws the opponents straight up. This is both bad and good, as the attack rarely KOs and can't set up edgeguards, but at low percentages, it can be useful for combos.
Back throw   16% Jigglypuff slams the opponent backwards. It is overall a fairly standard back throw, having a good amount of power.
Forward roll
Back roll
Techs
Floor attack (front)
Floor getups (front)
6% Spins around on both sides, kicks, then gets up.
Floor attack (back)
Floor getups (back)
6% Spins around on both sides, kicks, then gets up.
Edge attack (fast)
Edge getups (fast)
4% Does a flip while curling and sticks it's foot out.
Edge attack (slow)
Edge getups (slow)
4% Slowly gets up and lunges forward with its body. Will not hit foes right next to the ledge where Jigglypuff is.
Neutral special Pound 13% Does a punch forward which gives a bit of distance forward in midair. Usually used as a recovery move, as it can be aimed upwards and down, the former is referred to as Rising Pound and, when combined with midair jumps, can give Jigglypuff a good horizontal recovery, although an accidental input will cause Jigglypuff to use Sing, not useful for recovery. (This technique is required to complete Jigglypuff's Board the Platforms level.) The hitbox stays out surprisingly long and the attack does high shield damage. During the end lag, Jigglypuff can fast fall.
Up special Sing Sings, anyone nearby will be sent to sleep. Unlike in later games, opponents sleep for longer at lower percentages. Unlike most up specials, it is not a recovery move, and will most certainly lead to a self-destruct if used offstage due to its long ending lag. It has very limited use owing to its small range and because usually by the time Jigglypuff ends its song, the opponent could have already mashed out.
Down special Rest 20%, 14% (NTSC-J) Falls asleep for approximately 4 seconds, unable to perform any action during its duration. Jigglypuff has brief intangibility during the startup until its eyes close. However, with the extreme ending lag, it is not a good option to dodge attacks with, as the opponent can use almost any attack afterwards. Similar to Sing, using this move offstage will lead to a self-destruct. Normally, it leaves Jigglypuff very vulnerable, but if the opponent is right next to it, they will be sent flying by the attack. It is a powerful move (more powerful than the Falcon Punch if used near the horizontal blastzone) that deals a lot of damage, has high knockback, and can be combo'd into using an up tilt or any aerial, with these combos being possible at a variety of percentages using various moves. Much weaker in the Japanese version and it has a smaller hitbox in the PAL versions.

Announcer call

On-screen appearance

  • Releases from a Poké Ball, similar to Pikachu.
JigglypuffOnScreenAppearanceSSB.gif

Taunt

  • Inflates, puts its arms in front of it, then rocks to its right, then to its left, then to its right again, accompanied by it blinking and saying "Jigglypuff!" (プリプリーン!). Interestingly in the Japanese version, the taunt has a slightly different animation, with Jigglpyuff blinking at different times. The taunt also cannot be cancelled as early in the Japanese version.
Taunts-SSB-Jigglypuff.gif

Crowd cheer

English Japanese
Cheer File:Jigglypuff Cheer NTSC SSB.ogg File:Purin Cheer JP SSB.ogg
Description *clap* Jiggly- *clap* -puff Pur-in
Pitch Group chant Group chant

Victory poses

A cover of a portion of the main theme of Pokémon.
  • Jiggles around, then faces the camera directly (also its character select animation).
  • Swings its body from side to side and nods.
  • Rests and suddenly wakes up.
JigglypuffPose1SSB.gif JigglypuffPose2SSB.gif JigglypuffPose3SSB.gif

In competitive play

Most historically significant players

See also: Category:Jigglypuff professionals (SSB)

Numbers in brackets indicate position in the 2019-2020 Smash 64 Power Rankings

Tier placement and history

Jigglypuff's tier placement has stayed relatively consistent throughout the metagame as a midtier character. It was placed at 6th place on the first SSB64 tier list. With a solid recovery and edgeguarding ability, it could hold it's own against high tiers with exploitable recoveries like Ness. As time went on however, it's low survivability became more apparent. Not helped by the rise of characters that Jigglypuff struggled with like Fox and Yoshi. The former with up smash for early kills, and the ladder with amazing shield pressure. All this led to it dropping to 9th place in the second tier list, at the bottom of B tier. Jigglypuff would eventually rise again to 8th in the third tier list, and then again to 6th in the fourth tier list. Largely because of favorable tournament results it achieved at the time. Jigglypuff is currently 8th of the Japanese matchups, this lower position is due to it's worse aerials and slightly hindered approach in the international versions.

Techniques

Teleport

Jigglypuff performing a teleport.
Main article: Teleport (SSB)

A technique that allows Jigglypuff to slide forward a moderate distance. Jigglypuff can attack, jump, or perform other actions out of the slide (it even allows it to go offstage), and with it giving it some speed, it can be used for movement, faster than just dashing due to Jigglypuff's low dashing speed.

Rising Pound

Main article: Rising Pound

Using Pound and tilting the control stick up immediately after will cause Jigglypuff to rise up during the move's animation, which can largely increase its horizontal recovery, and is its only real shot at vertical recovery outside its midair jumps.

Fake ledge jump

See Fake ledge jumping

Description

The Balloon PKMN with the big, round eyes. It sings a soothing melody, sending those that hear it to sleep. When mad, it puffs itself up. As a Balloon PKMN, its body is light, weak, and easy to knock away.

Works:

Alternate costumes

Jigglypuff Palette (SSB).png
Jigglypuff (SSB) Jigglypuff (SSB) Jigglypuff (SSB) Jigglypuff (SSB)