Ness (SSBU)

Ness in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Universe	EarthBound
Other playable appearances	in SSB in Melee in Brawl in SSB4
Availability	Unlockable
Final Smash	PK Starstorm

“	Ness has a variety of moves, from long-range attacks using psychic powers known as "PSI," to short-range attacks with his bat and yo-yo. Ness can also unleash PK Thunder, a guided attack that can launch him like a rocket or help him recover!	”
—Super Smash Blog, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Official Site

Ness (ネス, Ness) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He was revealed along with all other previous fighters on June 12, 2018. Ness is classified as fighter #10.

Makiko Ōmoto reprises her role as Ness through archived voice recordings from Super Smash Bros. 4.

How to unlock

Complete one of the following:

• Play VS. matches, with Ness being the first character to be unlocked.
• Clear Classic Mode with Kirby or any character in his unlock tree, being the first character unlocked.
• Have Ness join the player's party in World of Light.

With the exception of the third method, Ness must then be defeated on Onett.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. 4

Despite his increased strength in Super Smash Bros. 4 in comparison to previous appearances in the series, Ness has seen phenomenal buffs in his transition to Ultimate. Several of his moves are stronger and more useful in combos. His forward tilt and dash attack becoming reliable KO options at high percents, his up tilt having increased combo potential, and his down tilt racking up damage much more effectively. His yo-yo smash attacks (up smash and down smash) are far more threatening, as they have not only regained their charging hitboxes, but can also now hang below edges and can be held for far longer than in previous games, a change in line with almost all other smash attacks in Ultimate. Ness's approach and zoning tools are more effective, with his neutral aerial having more range, PK Flash charging much more quickly and no longer sending him into freefall, PK Fire having reduced lag, PK Thunder dealing more damage and knockback, and PSI Magnet gaining an offensive hitbox while maintaining his horizontal momentum.

On top of his direct buffs, Ness benefits significantly from the universal changes in Ultimate. All of his aerial attacks have drastically less landing lag, especially compared to other characters, with his neutral and down aerials having less than half their previous amount of landing lag. Combined with all of his aerials except neutral and back aerial dealing more damage, this allows him to approach, pressure, and combo opponents far more effectively, especially with his new up aerial's ability to drag opponents down and his down aerial's stronger meteor smash. Additionally, he is one of the characters that benefits the most from the changes to air dodge mechanics. The ability to only air dodge once allows him to proficiently pressure and edgeguard opponents offstage with PK Thunder, and his directional air dodge grants him more distance than all other characters, save for Lucas), with whom he is tied for this attribute; it not only renders him less susceptible to juggling, but noticeably improves his recovery by granting him a reliable mixup in place of PK Thunder 2.

However, Ness did get some notable nerfs. His new up aerial has less horizontal range and requires landing all hits (which start from behind and above Ness) to deal considerable damage, hindering Ness's ability to punish and juggle opponents when transitioning from air to ground. His grab game has also been moderately nerfed, with a slower, more standardized pummel that cannot rack up damage as effectively, and a down throw with more ending lag that worsens its combo potential past low percents. Lastly, his yo-yo smash attacks now only receive half as much of a power increase when charged, and PK Flash, in exchange for its much faster charge, is significantly weaker when fully charged.

Because his neutral game, punishes, edge-guarding, and recovery have become much stronger in the face of the few minute nerfs they received, Ness has become a far more dangerous fighter than he was in previous games in the series. His tournament representation in Ultimate's early metagame has been generally stronger than in Smash 4, with several players such as FOW, BestNess, Gackt, and Awestin achieving favorable results with the character.

Aesthetics

• Ness' model features a more subdued color scheme, and some of the detailing on his clothes and weapons are more prominent, such as the stitching on his socks.
• Ness always faces the screen regardless of which direction he turns, causing his animations to be mirrored.
• The text on his yo-yo now reads "SUPER NINTENDO 2018 MOTHER". The yo-yo also produces trailing aftereffects when in motion.
• Many of his PSI moves now have their respective PSI graphics from EarthBound.
• Ness's eyes bulge and grow more circular when he is hit or frozen.
• Ness is much angrier in battle than he was in the previous installment.
• Ness's dash animation is different; he now bounces slightly when dashing.
• Ness has a new idle animation where he bounces in place with his arms to the side.
• His air dodge now resembles its Melee iteration more closely.
• Ness' victory poses have been slightly altered:
  • When Ness poses with his bat, he swings his bat only once instead of multiple times.
  • Ness skips into the victory area instead of hopping in place.
  • He has a more astonished expression during his look-about victory pose.
• Ness has a new victory theme, which is a flourished, faster arrangement of the ending of "Eight Melodies" from Mother. This victory theme is also shared with Lucas.

Attributes

• Like all characters, Ness's jumpsquat animation now takes 3 frames to complete (down from 5).
• Ness runs faster (1.46265 → 1.609).
  • Ness's initial dash is much faster (1.3 → 1.826).
• Ness walks slightly faster (0.8635 → 0.907).
• Ness's air speed is higher (0.9588 → 1.007).
• Ness's traction has been significantly increased (0.0546 → 0.131), now being tied for the fifth highest traction in the game.
• Ness jumps higher.
• Forward roll has less ending lag (FAF 31 → 30).
• Forward roll grants less intangibility (frames 4-17 → 4-15).
• Back roll has more startup with less intangibility (frames 4-17 → 5-16), and more ending lag (FAF 31 → 35).
• Spot dodge has less ending lag (FAF 28 → 26).
• Spot dodge grants less intangibility (frames 3-18 → 3-17).
• Air dodge grants more intangibility (frames 3-28 → 3-30).
• Air dodge has significantly more ending lag (FAF 34 → 60).
• The reintroduction of directional air dodges benefits Ness more than the rest of the cast, as his directional air dodge grants more distance compared to other characters' (a trait he shares with Lucas), and it provides him with a reliable recovery mixup to avoid leaving himself vulnerable by using PK Thunder.

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack:
  • The first hit now drags opponents towards Ness with the farthest hitboxes, and the second hit uses the same angles as it. This allows for the full neutral attack to connect more reliably.
  • The first hit transitions faster into the second hit (frame 7 → 5), which transitions faster into the third hit (frame 7 → 6).
  • The second hit deals less damage (2% → 1.5%).
  • The third hit has a shorter hitbox duration (frames 6-9 → 6-7).
• Forward tilt:
  • Forward tilt has drastically increased knockback, turning it into a viable KO option starting at around 155% from the center of Final Destination.
  • It deals more damage when not angled (9% → 10%).
• Up tilt:
  • Up tilt has less startup with a longer hitbox duration (frames 7-8 → 5-8), and less ending lag (FAF 32 → 29). This improves its combo potential and allows it to function more effectively as an anti-air.
  • It has more horizontal range.
  • It deals more knockback, improving the sweetspot's KO potential, without worsening its combo ability due to its decreased ending lag.
• Down tilt:
  • Down tilt deals more damage (4%/2% → 4.5%/3%).
  • It can be interrupted earlier by actions besides another down tilt (FAF 14 → 12).
  • It has higher base knockback, but lower knockback scaling. This increases its safety on hit at low percents so that opponents in range can no longer shield inbetween hits, improving its reliability for racking up damage.
  • The increased shieldstun for tilts allows down tilt to repeatedly hit and keep opponents locked into their shields until they get out of the move's range or are shield stabbed, improving its offensive utility.
  • It no longer has an increased chance to trip opponents, removing its setup potential.
• Dash attack:
  • Dash attack's last hit has drastically increased knockback, much like forward tilt, improving its KO potential.
• Up smash and down smash once again have their charging hitboxes from Melee and Brawl, hitting opponents repeatedly for 1% damage per hit. Unlike in those games, however, charging these moves still increases their damage, making the charging hitboxes far more useful. The yo-yo can also hang below the ledge, improving Ness's edgeguarding abilities significantly.
• Up smash and down smash have a lower maximum damage multiplier (1.4× → 1.2×).
• Up smash:
  • Up smash has less ending lag (FAF 56 → 53).
  • It no longer possesses an early hit that deals 9%, allowing it to KO more consistently.
  • It deals considerably more knockback, allowing it to KO under 125% from ground level, compared to being unable to KO under 160% in Smash 4.
  • It has more startup (frame 6 → 10), no longer hitting behind Ness during its first active frames.
• Down smash:
  • Down smash deals one hit less at both sides, increasing its startup (frame 10 → 12) and reducing its total damage (12% → 11%).

Aerial attacks

• All aerials have less landing lag (18 frames → 8 (neutral), 20 frames → 12 (forward), 17 frames → 10 (back), 14 frames → 8 (up), 28 frames → 12 (down)).
• Neutral aerial:
  • Neutral aerial has increased range, with more disjointed hitboxes.
  • Ness emits PSI from his hands to indicate the move's increased range. It also uses a magic effect and SFX, rather than a neutral effect with punch SFX.
• Forward aerial:
  • Forward aerial deals more damage (1% → 1.5% (hits 1-3), 4% → 5.5% (hit 4); 7% → 10% (total)).
  • The last hit has lower base knockback, but higher knockback scaling, slightly improving its KO potential.
• Up aerial:
  • Ness has a new up aerial: rather than headbutting, he waves his hand in an overhead arc while emitting PSI from his index finger. It is now a multi-hit move, dealing up to five hits.
  • Up aerial has a longer hitbox duration (frames 8-11 → 8-14 (hits 1-4), 15-16 (hit 5)), and more disjointed vertical range above Ness.
  • It has less ending lag (FAF 42 → 34). Coupled with its longer duration and multi-hit nature (guaranteeing opponents are launched during the latest active frames), this allows it to combo into itself in the air from low to mid percents.
  • The first four hits use the autolink angle. This allows Ness to drag opponents down to the ground with the move and combo into several others, which is further complemented by its lower landing lag.
  • It deals more total damage (13% → 2.5% (hits 1-4), 5% (hit 5); 15% total), with knockback compensated on the last hit if the damage from the previous hits is added. Combined with its increased combo potential, this overall drastically strengthens its damage racking ability.
  • Up aerial has drastically decreased horizontal range, hindering its use for landing and approaching directly.
  • It auto-cancels later (frame 27 → 34), no longer doing so before it is interruptible.
  • The last hit launches at a more horizontal angle. This slightly hinders its KO potential, but allows it to combo better into other moves.
• Down aerial:
  • Down aerial has less ending lag (FAF 60 → 55).
  • It deals more damage (12% → 14% (clean), 10% → 12% (late)) and has increased knockback, now being more in line with other meteor smashes.
  • It auto-cancels earlier (frame 50 → 41), allowing Ness to auto-cancel it in a short hop much like it could in earlier Smash titles.
  • The removal of teching for grounded meteor smashes, coupled with down aerial's immensely decreased landing lag, significantly improve its combo potential onstage.
  • Down aerial now uses a kick SFX instead of a magic SFX on hit.

Throws/other attacks

• Ness now grabs and pummels his opponents using PSI, with accompanying sound effects.
• Grabs:
  • Standing grab has increased ending lag (FAF 35 → 38).
  • Dash grab has more startup (frame 8 → 9) and ending lag (FAF 43 → 46).
• Pummel:
  • Pummel deals slightly more damage (1.2% → 1.3%), but is drastically slower, no longer being one of the fastest in the game.
• Down throw:
  • Down throw launches the opponent earlier (frame 30 → 28), but has slightly more ending lag (FAF 50 → 51), reducing its combo potential and its safety in doubles.
  • While the move's total damage is unchanged, it deals four hits before the throw instead of five, which have redistributed timings (frames 10/14/18/22/26 → 6/10/14/27) and damage values (0.6% (hits 1-5) → 0.5% (hits 1-3), 1.5% (hit 4)).
• Edge attack:
  • Edge attack deals more damage (7% → 9%).

Special moves

• PK Flash:
  • PK Flash charges and travels faster.
  • It has less ending lag when uncharged (FAF 70 → 65), and significantly less startup (frame 150 → 121) and ending lag (FAF 176 → 142) when fully charged.
  • It can now travel through soft and semisoft platforms. It also no longer dissipates immediately upon making contact with hard platforms, allowing its full charge to be unleashed on the ground by simply holding the button, much like in Melee.
  • The explosion has a longer hitbox duraton (2 frames → 5).
  • It no longer causes helplessness when used in the air, allowing Ness to hit opponents near edges from offstage without self-destructing.
  • Uncharged PK Flash deals more damage (9% → 11%) and has increased knockback.
  • Fully charged PK Flash deals significantly less damage (37% → 27%), hindering its KO potential despite its increased knockback values.
  • PK Flash has a more aquamarine color and emits its respective EarthBound graphic (specifically the "α" form) upon detonating.
• PK Fire:
  • PK Fire has less startup (frame 21 → 18), with its total duration reduced as well (FAF 59 → 56).
  • It has significantly less landing lag (30 frames → 12).
  • The spark is bigger and deals more damage on its initial hit (4% → 6%).
  • The flame pillar has a faster rehit rate (11 → 7), but no longer has a hitbox that deals more damage (2%/1% → 1%). As a result, it cannot deal as much damage, but it is more consistent overall.
  • PK Fire pushes Ness back slightly, similar to Lucas's PK Fire.
  • Ness uses one hand to fire the projectile while emitting a red spark from his index finger. Diamond-shaped PSI energy also rises up within the fire pillar, resembling PK Fire γ's graphics from EarthBound.
• PK Thunder:
  • PK Thunder deals more damage (8% → 11%) and has increased knockback, allowing it to KO near the top blast line at high percents.
  • The new air dodge mechanics significantly improve its edgeguarding ability, allowing Ness to pressure opponents more reliably and force them to spend their air dodge, leaving them open to punishes.
  • PK Thunder more closely resembles its appearance in EarthBound.
  • It now has an angle indicator when the ball of lighting moves close to Ness. While this allows for the player to more accurately determine the trajectory Ness will travel during PK Thunder 2, it also makes it more predictable to opponents.
• PK Thunder 2:
  • PK Thunder 2 travels further.
  • In addition to its full intangibility during frames 1-9, it grants intangibility on Ness's head during frames 10-32, improving its safety for recovery.
  • The window for using PK Thunder again after bouncing against a wall is much bigger. In addition, Ness now also enters the rebound animation when bouncing against the ground, instead of being knocked down, allowing him to use PK Thunder a second time.
  • The clean hit triggers Special Zoom upon hitting an opponent.
• PSI Magnet:
  • PSI Magnet begins absorbing projectiles faster (frame 10 → 7), and has less ending lag (FAF 30 → 25).
  • It no longer halts Ness's horizontal momentum in the air, now functioning as it did in Brawl, improving Ness' movement options.
  • It has gained a hitbox close to Ness from frame 7 onward, which deals 4% damage with weak knockback, and can repeatedly hit opponents at a slow rate. This grants the move offensive utility, and alongside the changes above, allows it to be used in combos. The lingering hitbox can also destroy weak projectiles, improving its safety when used for absorption.
  • PSI Magnet more closely resembles its appearance in EarthBound, and features a visible suction effect around the magnet.
• Final Smash:
  • PK Starstorm summons slower meteors that spread out over the stage, similar to its Brawl iteration, but can still be aimed horizontally like the Smash 4 iteration. Paula and Poo now accompany Ness during the move. PK Starstorm particle effects from EarthBound accompany each meteor, and the Sound Stone's background pattern appears in the stage's background.
  • Ness no longer sinks downward while channeling PK Starstorm while airborne. In addition, if this Final Smash was initiated while in the air, Ness is propelled upward a moderate amount at the conclusion. This can assist in recovery.

Update History

2.0.0

• Up air autocancels earlier (frame 40 → 34), matching the move's interruptibility.
• Down air deals more damage (12% → 14% (clean), 10% → 12% (late)), albeit with its knockback compensated.

Moveset

Note: All numbers are listed as base damage, without the 1v1 multiplier.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			2%	Punches twice then kicks. The first hit can lock at low percents.
			1.5%
			4%
Forward tilt			10%	A roundhouse kick that can be angled.
Up tilt			7% (spark), 5% (body)	Pushes upward with both hands that produces a PSI spark. Has a sourspot located on his body that deals 5%.
Down tilt			4.5% (foot), 3% (toes)	A swift shin kick. Extremely spammable and can be used to jab reset. Has a sourspot located on the tip of his foot.
Dash attack			4%/3% (hit 1), 7% (hit 1 aerial), 2% (hit 2), 4% (hit 3)	Sends three PSI sparks out in front of him with the third spark knocking the opponent up into the air. The first spark deals more damage to aerial targets. Good to set up juggles and pressuring from afar. Difficult to punish on shield if only the last hit connects.
Forward smash		Batter Up!	18% (low), 20% (mid), 22% (tip), 2× damage (reflected projectiles)	Swings his bat. It can reflect incoming projectiles and has a max threshold of 80% before breaking, resulting in Ness experiencing five full seconds of ending lag.
Up smash		Around the World	1% (charge), 13%	Sends his yo-yo forward and performs an "around-the-world", hitting first in front then above and behind. It has a hitbox while charging and can hang from the ledge, but can only be held for 1 extra second instead of 2 and has a max charge damage multiplier of 1.2×.
Down smash		Walk the Dog	1% (charge), 10%	Sends his yo-yo backward and "walk-the-dog" with it, hitting first behind then in front. It has a hitbox while charging and can hang from the ledge, but can only be held for 1 extra second instead of 2 and has a max charge damage multiplier of 1.2×. Might have troubles linking correctly if the opponent is at the furthest point of the back hit.
Neutral aerial			11% (clean), 7% (late)	Spins diagonally in the air with his arms outstretched, emitting PSI from his hands. Quick, and acts like a sex kick. Rather useful to break combos and as an out of shield option. Autocancels from a short hop.
Forward aerial			1.5% (hit 1-3), 5.5% (hit 4)	Sticks his palms out, generating a stream of PSI in front of him. Decently safe on shield if Ness retreats during the attack, useful to start and continue combos. Autocancels from a short hop.
Back aerial			15% (clean), 8% (late)	A dropkick that produces a PSI spark. The clean hit is very strong. Autocancels from a short hop.
Up aerial			2.5% (hits 1-4), 5% (hit 5)	Waves his hand in an arc above his head while generating PSI sparkles, hitting up to 5 times. Autocancels from a short hop.
Down aerial			14% (clean), 12% (late)	Twirls before kicking down into the air, producing a PSI spark. The clean hit can meteor smash. Autocancels from a short hop.
Grab			—	Grabs with both hands. Fast, but below average range.
Pummel			1.3%	Attacks the opponent with a discharge of PSI energy.
Forward throw		PK Throw	11%	Psychokinetically swings his opponent in a small circle in front of himself before sending them off forward. Very high base knockback, but incredibly low knockback scaling, which gives it little to no KO potential even after Sudden Death percentages. It is useful for setting up an edgeguard, however, or KO'ing an opponent early on if near the blastzone.
Back throw		Reverse PK Throw	11%	Psychokinetically swings the opponent over his head before sending them off backward, in a diagonally upwards motion. It is the opposite of his forward throw, possessing very low base knockback but incredibly high knockback scaling, making it one of the strongest back throws in the game.
Up throw			10%	Psychokinetically spins the opponent above his head before sending them up, leaving the opponent in an unfavorable position where they can be juggled, most commonly by PK Thunder.
Down throw			0.5% (hits 1-3), 1.5% (hit 4), 4% (throw)	Throws the opponent onto the ground and scorches them with PK Fire. A strong combo starter, having guaranteed follow-ups into neutral aerial, forward aerial and up aerial.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			7%	Sweep kicks in front of and behind himself.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			7%	With one hand planted on the ground, sweeps his leg behind and in front of himself.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	Kicks behind and in front of himself with both legs.
Edge attack Edge getups			9%	Flips onto the stage and does a sweep kick.
Neutral special		PK Flash	11%-27%	A green sphere of light appears above Ness and flies forward in an arc if charged. The arc it travels can be controlled, and the projectile is able to go through soft and semisoft platforms and will not dissipate upon contact with hard platforms. The longer the special button is held, the stronger the explosion will be.
Side special		PK Fire	6% (bolt), 1% (fire)	Fires a yellow lightning-bolt shaped projectile, pushing back Ness slightly. If used on the ground, it travels in a slight downward angle until it vanishes by itself or touches the ground (disappearing into a puff of smoke) or an enemy, making it explode into a quick-hitting pillar of flames. If used in the air, it fires at a downward 45° angle.
Up special		PK Thunder	11% (PK Thunder), 1% (Thunder's tail), 25% (PK Thunder 2 initial hitbox), 21% (PK Thunder 2 late hitbox)	Creates a fast-moving ball of thunder that can be aimed into opponents to deal damage and launch them in the direction they got hit from, or into Ness to turn him into a very powerful human projectile. This is referred to as PK Thunder 2. The Rocket portion of the attack has invulnerability from frame 1 to 32 and is constituted of an early and late hit. Making contact with something during PKT2 will shorten the distance traveled and slamming into a wall will let you perform another PK Thunder if you are quick enough. The tail of the thunder projectile can be used to disrupt opponents recovering.
Down special		PSI Magnet	4% per hit	Surrounds Ness with a purple energy field, allowing him to absorb energy-based projectile (like Samus' Charge Shot) or explosions and heal for 1.6× the damage he would have taken, but only at a maximum of 30% damage per projectile. It possesses a hitbox on startup and if held, and will also slightly push back opponents on release. Upon absorption, the magnet can be canceled with a jump, roll or spotdodge. Can also be used to stall Ness' vertical momentum slightly in the air.
Final Smash		PK Starstorm	8% per hit	Paula and Poo join Ness, who summons a shower of falling stars to attack his enemies. The comets will rain down over the stage and can be slightly aimed left and right.

On-screen appearance

• Ness teleports onto the stage with PSI Teleport, ending in an explosion leaving him covered in soot which he then shakes off his body.

Taunts

• Up Taunt: Turns toward the screen and nods while saying "Okay". The pose is similar to his clay model from Earthbound.
• Side Taunt: Swings his bat out in front of him and strikes a pose.
• Down Taunt: Waves his hand in an S motion while emitting a stream of PSI from his finger.

Idle poses

• Look to his right, then to his left.
• Places his finger to his forehead before pointing it forward.

Victory poses

• Walks in then looks around with a surprised expression, before rubbing the back of his head while smiling.
• Skips into the victory screen, then nods slightly, holding a pose similar to his up taunt and official Brawl render.
• Swings his bat once, then strikes a pose similar to his side taunt.

A flourished combination of the final two out of the Eight Melodies in Mother / EarthBound Beginnings.

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In competitive play

Notable players

•  Awestin - One of the best Ultimate players in Texas, as well as one of the best Ness players in the world. Consistently places 1st in large tournaments in his region, especially the Shockwave series. Placed 4th at Ultimatum and has wins over multiple top players such as BestNess, Dakpo, Lima, MVD, SDX, Captain Zack, Tamim, Trela, ESAM, and Magister.
•  BestNess - Considered one of the best Ness players in the world. Placed 5th at Super Splat Bros (in conjunction with Wii Fit Trainer) and 33rd at GENESIS 6. Has wins over Elegant, Pandarian, and Xzax.
•  FOW - One of the best Ness players in the world. Consistently places 1st in Las Vegas tournaments and placed 25th at GENESIS 6.
•  Gackt - The best Ness player in Japan, and one of the best Ness players in the world. Placed 3rd at Sumabato SP 2 and 5th at Umebura SP 2 with wins over Choco, komorikiri, Tea, and Raito.
•  Shaky - The best Ness player in NorCal. Placed 33rd at GENESIS 6.
•  taranito - One of the best Ness players in Japan. Places 17th at Umebura SP 2.

Classic Mode: Home to Onett!

Ness fights opponents largely based on his journey in EarthBound in reverse from Magicant to Onett.

Round	Opponent	Stage	Music	Notes
1	Ness	Magicant	Magicant (for 3DS / Wii U)	The opponent has his 5th alternate costume equipped
2	Lucas	New Pork City	You Call This a Utopia?!
3	3 R.O.B.s	Fourside	Fourside
4	Sheik	Gerudo Valley	Bein' Friends
5	2 Dark Toon Links	Luigi's Mansion	Unfounded Revenge / Smashing Song of Praise	When used, the only Assist Trophy summoned is Jeff.
6	Villager and Isabelle	Onett	Onett Theme / Winters Theme	When used, the only Assist Trophy summoned is Starman.
Bonus Stage
Final	Master Hand	Final Destination	Master Hand (Less than 7.0 intensity) Master Hand / Crazy Hand (7.0 or higher intensity)	Crazy Hand teams up with Master Hand on Intensity 7.0 or higher.

Note: Every stage plays a track from the EarthBound universe, no matter what universe the stage originates from.

Role in World of Light

Although Ness does not appear in the World of Light opening cutscene, he was vaporized and later imprisoned alongside the rest of the fighters (sans Kirby) when Galeem unleashed his beams of light.

The imprisoned Ness can be found in a pink cloud area reminiscent of Magicant.

In Spirit battles

As the main opponent

• Slugger & Green Glove
• Ninten (x4)
• Starman (Metal)
• Ramblin' Evil Mushroom
• Pitcher & Batter

As a minion

• Ana
• Flying Man
• Paula
• Ness' Father
• Girl from Hajimori no Mori

Spirits

Ness's Fighter Spirit can be obtained by completing Classic Mode. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 500 coins. Unlocking Ness in World of Light allows the player to preview the spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As a Fighter Spirit, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and is purely aesthetic. Each Fighter Spirit has an alternate version that replaces them with their artwork in Ultimate.

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  563. Ness

Alternate costumes

Gallery

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  Ness' fighter card.

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  Ness idling on the Bridge of Eldin.

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  Performing his up smash on Kalos Pokémon League.

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  Performing PK Flash on Frigate Orpheon.

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  Throwing Fox on Tortimer Island.

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  Crouching next to Jeff in Onett.

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  Dashing in Smashville.

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  Dodging Bowser's Bowser Bomb with Ike on Gaur Plain.

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  Diddy Kong trying to steal Ness' banana on Moray Towers.

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  Ness crouching under a Bomber next to Ganondorf on Gaur Plain.

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  Ness striking Bowser Jr. with Death's Scythe on Yoshi's Story.

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  Expelled by a Super Launch Star on Yoshi's Island.

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  Frozen by Alolan Vulpix on Tortimer Island.

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  Taunting in Onett.

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  Ness being teleported away by Abra on Arena Ferox.

Trivia

• Ness is the only one of the four original unlockable characters from Smash 64 to be playable in the E3 demo.
  • Ness is also the only one to appear on the box art. However, Captain Falcon is featured in the full group artwork.
• Ultimate is the first Smash game where Ness does not receive any new voice clips.
• Ness being unlocked by clearing Classic Mode as Kirby could be a reference to Ness being unlocked on Dream Land in the original Super Smash Bros. or how the two have shared the same voice actress throughout the whole series.
• As of Ultimate's release, Ness has had more different victory themes than any other character, receiving new ones in Brawl and Ultimate, in addition to his original one from the first two games.