Luigi (SSBM)
Overview
Following his earlier appearance in Super Smash Bros., Luigi returns in Melee, again an unlockable character. He is currently ranked 14th in the SSBM tier list and second amongst the low tier characters. Several unique elements to Luigi's physics give him advantages in Melee that he did not have in SSB, where he is ranked 3rd to last.
Per his physics in previous Nintendo games, Luigi is a floaty character with a high jump and low traction. His recovery is long but slow and predictable. His aerial attacks are quick, effective and virtually lag-free. Luigi can also lay claim to the longest wavedash in the game. This allows him to slide across the stage in lengthy bursts at speeds nearly as fast Captain Falcon's run. Additionally, due to his floaty nature and low-lag aerial attacks, Luigi's greatest strengths at high level play are the abilities to string together multiple aerials in single short hops and wavelanding aerials for fast and easy mobility along the stage.
Luigi is also a character who relies more heavily on luck than most of the others. With the 12.5% chance of a spontaneous misfire occurring on his green missile attack, he can very easily self-destruct unintentionally on smaller stages. Additionally, in order for his recovery to be at its most effective, Luigi will have had to have performed a tornado (down B) on the surface of the stage before being sent flying. As such, there is no guarantee that his maximum recovery distance will always be available in combat.
Luigi's advantages and disadvantages are fairly distinct and as the game's depth has slowly been uncovered, his position in the tier list has fallen considerably from his rank in previous tier lists. Although there is always debate amongst Luigi players, there is a general consensus that Luigi has a difficult matchup against higher-tiered characters such as Marth and Fox. As a result, many of the tournament-seasoned Luigis have either dropped off the professional scene or taken up different characters to keep pace with the steadily intesifying competition.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Long horizontal recovery
- Longest wavedash in the game
- High-damage combos
- Fast and powerful aerials
- High vertical jumping compliments vertical-trajectory ground attacks
Cons
- Sluggish dash and run
- Slow fallspeed, slowing his aerial game
- Poor projectile
- Predictable, slow recovery
- Poor horizontal jump distance
- Poor synergy of his movement (which is best on the ground) and his attacks (which are best in mid-air).
Moveset
Ground Attacks
Basic A Combo
- A - Jab = 3%
- A A - Jab = 2%
- A A A - Hip =5%
TOTAL DAMAGE = 10%
The standing neutral A button combo with Luigi does a total of 10% damage over three hits. It is useful as a low-damage opener and many players elect to omit the third strike of the combo as it will knock your opponent away from you and suffers greater lag than the jabs.
Tricks
- Projectiles - Since Luigi has no immediately obvious defense against items and other projectiles like a cape or a shine, one alternative is to time your jabs to cancel out whatever's being thrown at you, assuming it is something you are capable of snuffing out. Examples of projectile-jabbing utility can be best seen against Mario's fireballs, Link's boomerangs, Dr. Mario's pills and projectiles with similar properties.
- Jab Cancels - After the first jab of any basic A combo, you can quickly tap down at the very end of the jab animation to restart the combo. By repeating this process, you can continuously jab with only the first hit of the combo at a rate comparable to repeating all three hits of the sequence without the lag and knockback of the third hit.
Tilts
- F-tilt - Roundhouse = 10%
Luigi's forward/backward tilt is a multi-purpose tool that can be angled in three directions upwards, forwards and downwards. Both the straight and upward trajectories offer good knockback and can be used on opponents approaching from the air and on the ground.
Tricks
- Wavedash->F-tilt Approach - Characters with good melee range and disjointed hitboxes like Marth make it difficult for Luigi to approach offensively and so you must find ways to deal damage while taking as little as possible. By wavedashing in with an F-tilt, you have a quick means of sliding in with an attack during the lag of an opponent's grab/attack animation. If your opponent is at low damage, a quick wavedash backwards in the direction you came from can usually keep you out of harm's way during their hit stun.
- U-tilt - Kittenswipe = 9%
Although harmless in appearance, a Luigi up-tilt is by and large his most useful tilt in competitive Smash, particularly for its effect on fastfallers. The kittenswipe hits above Luigi as well as slightly in front of and behind him, so juggling fastfallers can be effective for at least a few strikes even with competent DI. Also, the hitbox lends itself better to hitting opponents above you on platforms than a regular up-smash.
- D-tilt - Crouch Kick = 9%
Short range, low knockback and low speed all apply to Luigi's rather lacking down-tilt. The only redeeming quality of the crouch kick is the fact that it (along with the equally ineffectual taunt spike) is one of Luigi's two only moves that will consistently hit someone who is hanging from the ledge. However, the startup animation is quite long and it offers little to no combo fluidity as Luigi's other ground attacks do.
Smashes
- F-smash - Poke - 13-17%
Luigi winds up and launches his gloved hand into the abdomen of his opponent, sending them at a forward/upward trajectory. Its usefulness is less immediately apparent than his other smashes, however with a proper understanding of its timing and can have situational use as a more of a combo finisher than a starter. It can be angled forward/up and forward/down to vary the hitbox and circumvent an opponent's shield. Additionally, charging a f-smash will cease Luigi's momentum in mid-wavedash allowing you to come to a complete stop in an interesting and unexpected way.
- U-smash - Headbutt - 17-23%
This u-smash is nearly identical to all the variations of the Mario brothers' headbutt with a up/behind trajectory, ideal for setting up aerial combos with Luigi. You can also buffer a simple u-smash in at the end of a wavedash which allows for an alternative vertical launcher to Luigi's common wavedash->d-smash approach.
- D-smash - Scissors - 17-23%
Also similar to Mario and Dr. Mario's d-smash, Luigi kicks out twice in a breakdancing motion, first in front and then behind. It is by and large the most frequently used Luigi smash in competitive play because of its good range and subsequently better range when wavesmashed. It is his most reliable vertical launcher with which to best exploit his aerial game.
Aerial Attacks
- N-air - Sex Kick - max 15%
Like many neutral air attacks, Luigi's sex kick will strike it's opponent for the entire time that his foot hangs out in the air. However, the amount of damage done decreases the longer the kick has been out. This particular n-air has high priority which can be used as a combo breaker as well as a combo starter of your own, as it pops its victim upwards.
- F-air - Chop - 12%
Luigi's chop has excellent horizontal knockback and is one of his primary KO'ing aerial attacks. It also has good knockback at low damage which lends itself well to Luigi's wavelanding ability, allowing you to string together multiple aerials over distance with proper spacing.
- B-air - Back Kick - 11%
- U-air - Flip Kick - 13%
- U-air - Spin Kick - 16%
Special Moves
- B - Fireball - 6%
- Smash B - Green Missile - 9-26%
- Up B - Super Jump Punch - 1-25%
- Down B - Luigi Cyclone - max 19%
Throws
- Forward Throw - 8%
- Back Throw - 10%
- Up Throw - 7%
- Down Throw
Misc. Attacks
- Grab Attack - Head Butt - 3%
- Dash Attack - Sissy Punch - max 11%
- Ledge Attack (under 100%) - 8%
- Ledge Attack (over 100%) - 10%
- Ground Recovery Attack (facing up) - 6%
- Ground Recovery Attack (facing down) - 5%
- Taunt - 1%
