Wolf (SSBB)

This article is about Wolf's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. For other uses, see Wolf O'Donnell.

Wolf
Wolf O'Donnell
Universe	Star Fox
Appears in	SSBB
Availability	Unlockable
Tier	D (22)

Wolf (ウルフ, Urufu) is a hidden character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Wolf was confirmed in the months leading up to the release via a Japanese leak of the game. He appears to be somewhat similar to Fox and Falco, although he differs from them in several ways. He's considered the "heavy" of the three, being stronger, taller, and slower (although his attacks are actually fast). His normal attacks are unique whereas his special attacks are similar to Fox's, but very different in function.

Wolf was officially confirmed on March 31st, 2008, earning distinction as the last character to be officially confirmed. His Japanese voice actor is Mahito Oba and his English voice actor is Jay Ward. Wolf can be unlocked with one of the three following ways: After beating Adventure Mode, go back to "The Ruins", skip the first door you pass when riding the second elevator down (with the purple spikes). Instead enter the second door at the bottom and defeat him. You can also face Wolf after playing 450 brawls or defeating Boss Battles with Fox or Falco.

Wolf is ranked 22nd on the current tier list due to well rounded attacks and a great reflector, but having very poor accuracy in recovery and having extreme vulnerability to chain grabs (although his reflector helps a bit) bars him from the higher tiers.

How to Unlock

• Beat Boss Battles with Fox or Falco, then defeat Wolf.
• Participate in 450 brawls, then defeat Wolf.
• Have Wolf join you in the Subspace Emissary.

Attributes

Of the three Star Fox universe characters, Wolf feels the most unique. For one, although his body is larger than either Fox or Falco, he crouches down in a stationary position making him the shortest of the three space animals while he is on the ground. His fighting style is very fluid, mixing his claws and his legs into a rather graceful string of attacks. He is somewhat weighted (mid-heavy and the third-fastest faller), and his orientation is more of a terrestrial fighter. His attacks come out quickly and have high priority, and he can string them together into a long chain of slashes and lunges. His Blaster is slower but stronger than the others, stuns opponents and is a melee attack up close, dealing additional damage. His Wolf Flash moves slightly diagonally which meteor smashes at the end of the attack (the top point of the jump), which is useful for edge guarding and as an anti air attack. Fire Wolf has the least start up lag of the three Star Fox characters, carries the opponent with him, and has good knockback at the end. Wolf also has solid K.O. potential with most of his attacks, particularly his f-air, b-air, d-air, and all of his smashes which come out quickly and have little lag. His d-air is an excellent Meteor Smash. Wolf also possesses a reflector (down special), which has many uses. First off, it reflects projectiles, returning them at double the speed and power. It comes out on 1 frame and can be held for as long as the player wishes. If held, it acts like a normal shield (besides protecting from attacks) in which it may break after constantly reflecting projectiles, although it will not break if simply held. It can also be used for gimping. It grants Wolf invincibility frames that allow him to avoid some attacks quickly (even many final smashes) or escape from some chain grabs. The reflector may also damage anyone for 3% with set knockback.

Wolf is well-rounded, but a few problems are apparent: his ledge sweet-spot is likely the smallest in the game and heavily effects his recovery, although he surprisingly gets a lot of distance from Fire Wolf and Wolf Flash (leaving his recovery only difficult to use and not as poor). His high falling speed and average jump boast a few slight weaknesses although he has a very fast lateral air speed. Also, his dashing speed is surprisingly slow (only a little faster than his walking speed, although this can be made up by just staying in the air, as Wolf has good air speed and on the ground he has both a long smash-boost and a forward smash to move quickly). His K.O. potential is decent, though unusually low for a heavy character as a result of the quick decay on his K.O. attacks. It should also be noted that Wolf is extremely susceptible to chain-throwing because of his falling speed, (though his reflector can escape them if they are not perfectly timed, since invincibility starts on frame 1), which combined with his high risk recovery makes chain grabs that allows him to be forced offstage extremely dangerous, but his weight does make him rather difficult to K.O compared to the other space animals.

What hurts is chain-grabbing and succeptibilty to certain combos combined with his dumbfire recovery. Having a such hard counter with many characters in tournaments can be a real problem.

Moveset

Normal

• Neutral Attack- A natural combo if A is pressed 3 times in a row; Wolf slashes with one arm, then the other, and bites on the third hit, delivering knockback. The first and second hits may be cancelled into other attacks. The three hits deal 3%, 2% and 4% consecutively; a total of 9% damage.
• Dash attack- Performs a back flip out of a run. The back flip halts the forward momentum of the dash, but can be used to execute a DACUS. Deals 9% damage.
• Forward Tilt- Leans forward with both arms together and swipes, separating his claws on impact. The attack has a great number of Freeze frames if it fully connects with an opponent or their shield, but it is possible to connect with only the outer of two hitboxes. Forward Tilt can be angled up or downward, and a clean hit deals 11% damage.
• Down Tilt- Performs a fast low kick that deals 6% damage, and trips opponents at low percentages.
• Up Tilt- Kicks upward in front of his body. There is a sweetspot at the tip of his boot that can KO at high percents. Deals 10% damage.

Smash

• Forward Smash- Wolf stretches his arms in front of his body and shoots forward, then twists his claws. This attack starts quickly, has excellent range, and often strikes opponents twice, but delivers below average knockback. Forward Smash moves Wolf a considerable distance forward along the ground, and has noticeable cool-down time. Deals 15% damage uncharged and 21% fully charged.
• Up Smash- Performs an upward scissor kick. Its animation can be likened to Sonic's Up Aerial. This move hits twice: the first hit pushes the opponent into the second. Wolf's Up Smash can be used in a DACUS. Deals 18% damage uncharged and 25% fully charged.
• Down Smash- Swipes his claws on either side of his body, first in front and then behind. This attack is fast and has little cool-down lag, and is considered a good finisher. The first hit, at Wolf's front, deals 14% damage, and the second hit, at Wolf's back, deals 13%. Fully charged, the first hit deals 19% and the second hit 18%. Note that Wolf has the strongest Down Smash of the three Star Fox characters in Brawl, while Fox possesses the strongest up smash, and Falco the strongest forward smash.

Aerial Attacks

• Neutral Aerial- Wolf curls up and flips several times. The attack can either connect once and deliver knockback, or hit several times and deliver small amounts of hitstun.

Neutral air deals 8% damage and delivers knockback if it connects during its startup, otherwise it deals 1% per hit.

• Forward Aerial- Slashes with his left arm. This attack delivers good vertical knockback, but has considerable landing lag. Deals 11% damage.
• Back Aerial- Kicks outward behind his body. The kick is extremely fast, delivers decent knockback, and can be used in a RAR. Deals 13% damage.
• Up Aerial- Swipes in an arc above his head. This move is used to juggle and deals 12% damage.
• Down Aerial- Strikes both arms downward as if wielding an axe. This aerial has considerable startup and finishing lag, but delivers a decent meteor smash that deals 15% damage.

Grabs and Throws

Unlike Fox and Falco, Wolf does not use his Blaster in any throws.

• Pummel- Hits his opponent with his right knee. Extremely fast compared with other pummels, but only the first pummel refreshes other moves. Deals 1% damage.
• Forward Throw- Uppercuts his opponent forward. This throw can be used to chaingrab some characters, such as Fox, by dashing forward in time. Deals 7%.
• Back Throw- Throws the opponent upward and claws them behind himself. The opponent's trajectory is diagonal and upward. Deals 7%.
• Up Throw- Throws the opponent up and slashes them with both claws. Deals 7%.
• Down Throw- Throws the opponent on the ground, does a small jump and claws them. This throw sends the opponent diagonally downward, causing them to slide along the ground and off any nearby edges, thus, it has semi-spike properties. It can be used as a DACUS setup. Deals 12%.

Taunts

Up: Leans backwards and howls.

Down: Kneels down, slaps one hand on the ground and snarls.

Side: Does three kicks while saying, "What's the matter, scared?" in a teasing manner.

Smash Taunt: On the Lylat Cruise stage, Wolf can summon various Star Fox Conversations if the player presses his or her Down Taunt button for one frame.

Matchups

Super Smash Bros. Brawl Character Matchups

Avg.

Role in Subspace Emissary

File:Wolf Subspace Emissary.jpg

Wolf in the SSE

In the Subspace Emissary, Wolf doesn't play a major role and does not interact with other video game characters, but can join the player's party after beating Tabuu. The player must enter a special Red Door in The Ruins stage, which will take them to Lylat Cruise. The player sees Wolf flying his Wolfen. He then jumps off the Wolfen, and lands on the cruise. Wolf strikes a pose and then rushes at the player attacking him or her. The player must then defeat Wolf in a one-life stock battle. After defeat, he joins the party. (Although Wolf is never in a cutscene that shows both him and another character, he does seem to stare at the person who challenges him.)

Costume Gallery

File:Alt-wolf.jpg

Wolf's changeable clothing in SSBB

• Wolf's eyepatch and armor are different colors for each costume.

Cheer

• "Wolf! (howl) Wolf!"

Trivia

• Wolf's attributes in Star Fox Assault multiplayer differ from Brawl. For example, he is actually the fastest character in the game, but does have a poor use in the Landmaster.
• Wolf appears to run and walk with a slight limp, although it may merely be a self-styled fighting approach.
• Out of all three Star Fox characters, Wolf is considered the heaviest, however, he ranks last in the heavyweight weight class. This is similar to the Pokemon characters in Melee, in which Mewtwo was the heaviest of the four characters but was still a lightweight character.
• Wolf is the only one of the last 3 unlockable characters in Brawl not to appear in the Event Match: Visitors to Flat Zone. Instead, Peach takes his place.
• Although considered by most people to be the last unlockable character (due to his fairly high difficulty in all three situations which lead toward unlocking him), he is not required to be unlocked last, because after completing Adventure Mode one can complete Boss Battles with Fox or Falco, or find the hidden door in The Ruins before finding the hidden doors in The Swamp or The Lake, which lead to Toon Link and Jigglypuff, or completing Classic and/or and event. This is also similar is unlocking Jigglypuff in Melee, as Jigglypuff wasn't required to be unlocked first. (And could even be the last to be possibly unlocked in the original game).

External links

• Wolf's page at Smash Bros. DOJO!!.
• Wolf Character Guide on SWF