Wolf (SSBB)

Wolf in Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Universe	Star Fox
Availability	Unlockable
Final Smash	Landmaster
Tier	C (14)

Wolf (ウルフ, Wolf) is an unlockable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, who, along with Fox and Falco, originates from the Star Fox universe. Wolf's entry on the Dojo website was uploaded on March 31st, 2008, two months after the game's Japanese launch, rendering him the final officially confirmed character. His Japanese voice actor is Mahito Ōba, and his English voice actor is Jay Ward. Contrary to the common perception among newer and casual players that Wolf is a semi-clone, Wolf's move set is quite different from Fox and Falco's, though his special moves, floor and ledge recovery animations, and Final Smash are similar to theirs.

Wolf is currently ranked 14th on the current tier list at the middle of the upper-mid tier. Wolf possesses tremendous mobility, with among the best air speed, and high, fast jumps. Wolf additionally possesses great air to ground transitioning, as he possesses fast falling speed, and aerials that either have low landing lag or can be auto-cancelled in a short hop. Wolf in general has fast attacks with disproportionally far reach (his back aerial being especially notorious in this regard), which when combined with the aforementioned mobility and an effective DACUS, results in effective approaching capabilities. Wolf also has an effective transcendent projectile in his Blaster, a very quick Reflector with both intangibility and hitboxes, an all-purpose throw in his down throw, well rounded power throughout his moveset, and rather strong comboing capabilities.

Wolf has two very harsh weaknesses, however: his extreme vulnerability to chain throws and a very poor recovery. Because of Wolf's combination of heavy weight, fast falling speed and acceleration, four characters can chain throw him to death, and others can perform chain throws that result in significant damage. Wolf additionally possesses a recovery that is hard to rely on. Wolf is heavily susceptible to gimps, and has a particular vulnerability to meteor smashes, as Wolf suffers a 60 frame delay when meteor cancelling, over twice as much as most other characters (even low knockback meteor smashes can send Wolf down too far to recover). His two recovery moves both have poor edge sweet spots and do not move Wolf a very far way, which forces Wolf to rely moreso on his jumps to get back to the stage. Another problem for Wolf is his atrocious vertical momentum cancelling, which causes Wolf to have a vertical endurance potential that is significantly worse than what is typical of characters with fast falling speeds (thus losing one of their primary strengths while still possessing their general weaknesses). Overall, Wolf has above average matchups with only a few counters, and his tournament results have periodically fluctuated between being unusually good for a non-high tier character (where he has outperformed some high tier characters), and being just merely above average.

How to unlock

Complete one of the following:

• Play 450 VS. matches.
• Complete Boss Battles with Fox or Falco.
• After completing the Subspace Emissary, enter a secret room fairly deep in The Ruins. (Note that this method does not show the challenger approaching screen, but a cutscene of Wolf challenging the player instead.)

The player must then fight and defeat Wolf on Lylat Cruise.

Attributes

Wolf's standing height in comparison to Fox's

Of the three playable Star Fox characters present in Brawl, Wolf's characteristics as a fighter are the most individual. Wolf is by far the heaviest space animal, but ranks only three places above Mario in terms of weight. Despite possessing a larger body frame than Fox and Falco, Wolf leans down while standing and moving along the ground, and has the shortest stance of the three. His dash speed is slow, barely outpacing his walk, but he has the third fastest fall speed, and fourth fastest horizontal air speed. While these attributes provide him with good aerial mobility, Wolf is vulnerable to chain grabbing, juggling, and certain locks due to his heavy weight and rapid falling speed. It should also be noted that fast falling does not accelerate Wolf's fall by a considerable amount, which hinders his ability to vertical momentum cancel in comparison to characters with quicker fast falls, such as Captain Falcon. However, his ability to momentum cancel horizontally, aided by his fast back aerial and his horizontally based midair jump, is one of the best in the game when compared to other characters' abilities to momentum cancel horizontally without DI.

Most of Wolf's standard attacks start quickly and have good reach, and he has a DACUS that propels him a considerable distance along the ground. Many of his attacks have the potential to KO, such as back aerial, up tilt, and his smashes. The speed and reach of his attacks allow him to punish effectively on the ground as well as in the air, and their solid damage dealing properties can build opponents' damage quickly. However, since many of his standard attacks are effective for racking up damage, they may suffer from stale move negation if not used carefully, and cause problems when Wolf tries to KO. Many of Wolf's attacks also have poor shield stun effects, which allow opponents to shield grab him easily if they block his hits. His down aerial is a relatively weak meteor smash, but it starts quickly in comparison to other meteors, and has two large overlapping hitboxes.

Wolf's special moves are variants of Fox and Falco's, with different animations and properties. His neutral special, Blaster, is a gun that fires projectile lasers, and its firing rate is slower than that of its counterparts. However, its lasers deal significant hitstun, the most damage, and have the most vertical reach - no character is capable of ducking under these lasers on level ground. It also serves as a melee weapon, delivering extra damage to foes if the blaster itself contacts them. Wolf's down special, Reflector, is a versatile move that deflects projectiles and grants him invincibility frames, which may be used to avoid attacks, and escape chain throws if his opponent makes an error. The reflector has very short reach, and delivers very weak set knockback and the least damage, but it can be used to gimp fast falling opponents with poor and/or slow vertical recoveries such as Falco.

While Wolf's air speed and recovery moves allow him to travel a considerable distance in order to recover, these moves are easily predicted, and his ledge sweet spot is one of the smallest in the game. As such, he is easily gimped, and his recovery is susceptible to edge-hogging. Wolf also suffers from the highest meteor cancel delay in the game (a window of 60 frames, compared to the average of 25, with no other character having more than 32), making it very difficult for him to survive meteors even at low percentages. This, in combination with his vulnerability to chain throwing, poses a problem, since some chain throws, such as King Dedede's down throw chain throw, can force him offstage. His side special, Wolf Flash, sends Wolf diagonally across and upward in a fast 'flash', and is used to recover horizontally. It has the potential to meteor smash if sweet spotted. Wolf Flash also has unusual characteristics that may be utilised to help Wolf recover. His up special, Fire Wolf, is a move that propels Wolf in a direction of the players' choosing. It has the least start up lag in comparison to Fox and Falco's counterpart moves, drags opponents along with it, and delivers knockback at the end, but has a very small ledge sweet spot.

Overall, Wolf is a balanced character who may face problems when matched against opponents that can exploit his weaknesses, but has strengths that earn him the position of a viable tournament contender.

Moveset

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			3%	Wolf slashes with one arm, then the other, and bites on the third hit. The 3rd hit moves Wolf forward a great distance.
			2%
			4%
Forward tilt			5% (hit 1), 6% (hit 2)	Leans forward with both arms together and swipes, separating his claws on impact. The first hitbox produces a large number of freeze frames if it connects with an opponent, and will freeze both Wolf and the opponent for a short time before the second hitbox appears and knocks them away at a low upwards angle. Overall, this attack has good reach and can be a useful follow up after connecting with aerial attacks such as back aerial and Reflector. If it hits an opponent's shield and they drop it during the freeze frames produced by the first hitbox, the second hitbox will punish them.
Up tilt			8-10%	Kicks upward in front of his body, knocking opponents vertically. There is a sweetspot on the tip his foot, which delivers the most knockback.
Down tilt			6%	Kicks out with his foot, having decent range and can cause tripping.
Dash attack			9%	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. The trajectory of the opponent depends upon the part of Wolf's body that contacts them.
Forward smash			5% (hit 1), 10% (hit 2)	Wolf stretches his arms in front of his body and thrusts forward, then twists his claws. This attack moves Wolf along the ground, making it the longest ranging forward smash in the game and often strikes opponents twice, but delivers below average knockback and has noticeable cool-down time.
Up smash			6% (hit 1), 12% (hit 2)	Does a flipping scissor kick above his head. Can be used as a sliding DACUS. This move hits twice, with the first hit usually pushing the opponent into the second. It has a small sweetspot on his body that deals the same damage as the main hitbox on his legs, that sends opponents on a horizontal trajectory instead.
Down smash			14%/12% (hit 1), 13%/10% (hit 2)	Swipes his claws on both sides of his body, first in front and then behind. Arguably Wolf's best ground finisher. It is the best down smash of all three space animals.
Neutral aerial			8% (clean), 3% (late sweetspot), 1% (late sourspot)	Wolf curls up and flips several times. If the attack connects on the first hit, it will hit once and deliver weak horizontal knockback. Otherwise, it will hit several times and deliver small amounts of hitstun but no knockback unless it hits the sweetspot, which deals minimal knockback.
Forward aerial			11%	Slashes forward with his left arm. Has decent horizontal reach and delivers a moderately high amount of vertical knockback, but has considerable ending and landing lag.
Back aerial			13%/11% (right leg), 10%/9% (left leg)	Jams his leg backwards with deceiving range. Short duration, but very fast and powerful.
Up aerial			12%	Swipes in an arc above his head. It has low vertical knockback, making it effective as a juggler, but ineffective for the purpose of KOing unless both Wolf and his opponent are near the upper blast line.
Down aerial			15% (arms), 13% (body)	Plunges both his hands below himself. It is one of the fastest meteors to land in the game, but has weak knockback, making it a tough move to KO opponents at low percentages.
Grab			—
Pummel			1%	Hits his opponent with his right knee. A fast pummel.
Forward throw			4% (hit 1), 3% (throw)	Slashes his opponent forward.
Back throw			4% (hit 1), 3% (throw)	Throws the opponent upward and claws them behind himself.
Up throw			5% (hit 1), 2% (throw)	Throws the opponent upward and slashes them with both claws. Its base knockback is too strong for Wolf to effectively follow up on.
Down throw			6% (hit 1), 6% (throw)	Throws the opponent on the ground, does a small jump and claws them. It sends the opponent diagonally downward, causing them to slide along the ground and off any nearby edges. At high percentages, it is a powerful and deadly semi-spike on the edge, which puts characters in a very inconvenient position to recover from or even sends them far enough to where they are unable to recover.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			6%	Gets up and does a kick in the front and in the back.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			6%	Gets up and punches forwards and kicks backwards.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	Spins around, kicking foes with who are close.
Edge attack (fast) Edge getups (fast)			8% (legs), 6% (body)	Quickly lunges at the opponent with a kick.
Edge attack (slow) Edge getups (slow)			10%	Slowly gets up and hammers the ground with a kick.
Neutral special		Blaster	4% (gun), 5-6% (laser)	Wolf a single shot from his blaster. The gun portion of Wolf's Blaster can damage opponents who are close to Wolf, good for spacing.
Side special		Wolf Flash	3% (dash), 10% (sweetspot), 15% (meteor sweetspot)	Wolf quickly propels himself diagonally upwards at a 35° angle. The sweetspot located at the center of Wolf that meteor smashes airborne opponents.
Up special		Fire Wolf	2% (hit 1), 1% (hits 2-8), 3% (hit 9 ground), 4% (hit 9 air)	Wolf propels himself and kicks his opponent depending on which direction is held on the Control Stick.
Down special		Reflector	3% (startup), x1.3 damage (reflected projectiles)	Wolf activates his Reflector around himself. All projectiles are deflected and do more damage than they normally would and travels at almost twice the original speed. The Reflector damages nearby foes upon activation.
Final Smash		Landmaster	5-19% (movement), 16% (turn), 20% (shot), 15% (roll), 15% (fall)	Wolf summons his Landmaster. It's the most powerful and fastest out of all three Landmasters in the game. However, it lasts a shorter duration compared to Fox and Falco's Landmasters.

Taunts

• Up: Leans his head back and howls.
• Side: Does three kicks whilst spinning on one foot, and says "What's the matter, scared?"
• Down: Kneels down, slaps one hand on the ground and snarls.
• Smash Taunt: On Lylat Cruise, Wolf can summon various Star Fox Conversations by quickly tapping down on the Control Pad (for one frame). This taunt can only be used once per match.

On-screen appearance

Ejects from a Wolfen.

Idle poses

• Slashes at the air.
• Pretends to howl.

Cheer

Wolf's NTSC and PAL cheer

File:Wolf Cheer Jap Brawl.ogg

Wolf's JPN cheer

Wo-olf! *howl* Wo-olf! *howl*

Wii Remote selection sound

Wolf's Wii Remote selection sound

Wolf says "Playtime's over!". A reference to one of his quotes from Star Fox 64.

Victory theme

This victory theme comes from the main theme of Star Fox 64. It is shared with Fox and Falco.

Victory poses

• Faces away from the screen, raises an arm, then turns to look at the camera while saying "Weaklings, the bunch of you!"
• Claws the air twice, pauses and kicks while saying "I will be the one to take you down."
• Leans forward and snarls, then stands up straight, crosses his arms, and laughs.
  • If Fox is present after a match, he will instead say "Playtime's over, Star Fox!"

In competitive play

Matchups

Super Smash Bros. Brawl Character Matchups

Avg.

Notable players

See also: Category:Wolf professionals (SSBB)

•  Choice
•  JJWolf
•  Kain
•  McPeePants
•  Seagull Joe
•  Tedeth

Tier placement and history

Wolf was ranked 16th on the first tier list (September 2008), in the high tier. He then saw a large drop, falling to 20th place on the second tier list (January 2009), and again dropping to 22nd on the third (June 2009). He hovered around the 22nd spot for a few more revisions of the list. Wolf's drop was largely due to his extreme vulnerability to chaingrabs (some of which are infinites and 0-deaths), as well as having a poor recovery. Around late 2010, several Wolf players started doing very well in tournaments (Kain was noted for being of the most dominant forces in the American Midwest). Wolf's strong mobility, aerial game, and general all-around fighting abilities were recognized in the sixth tier list (July 2011), when Wolf jumped up six places to the 16th position. Wolf was also recognized to have one of the best matchups against the overly dominant Meta Knight, as well as many even or close to even matchups against the other top tier characters; Wolf generally had strong matchups outside of the characters who are able to chaingrab him effectively. Wolf is currently ranked at 14th place in the upper-mid tier, in the eighth tier list, as of April 2013.

Role in The Subspace Emissary

Wolf in SSE

Wolf, like Jigglypuff and Toon Link, does not play a major role, or influence the story of the Subspace Emissary, and is not even seen interacting with any other characters, but may join the player's party after Tabuu has been defeated. To encounter Wolf, the player must enter a particular Red Door in The Ruins stage, which will take them to Lylat Cruise after a brief cut-scene. In the cut-scene, Wolf is seen flying his Wolfen, jumping out, and landing on the cruise ship. Wolf strikes a pose, then rushes forward to attack. Although he is the only character present in the cut-scene, he appears to stare at his challenger. The player must then defeat him in a one-life stock battle, and if they win the match, Wolf joins the party. This will also unlock him if he has not yet been unlocked.

In Event Matches

Solo Events

• Event 36: High-Tech Special Forces: Wolf is one of the bounty hunters along with Captain Falcon and Samus that Snake must defeat.
• Event 38: The Wolf Hunts the Fox: The player controls Wolf must defeat Fox and Falco on Lylat Cruise.
• Event 39: All-Star Battle x2: Wolf is one of the eight opponents fought in this event along with King Dedede, Ike, Lucario, R.O.B., Toon Link, Snake, and Sonic.

Co-op Events

• Co-Op Event 14: The Dark Guardians: Ganondorf and Wolf, who are tiny, must defeat a giant Donkey Kong and a giant Charizard on New Pork City.
• Co-Op Event 19: Shadow of Andross: A team of Fox and Falco must defeat Wolf on Lylat Cruise while being attacked by an Andross assist trophy.
• Co-Op Event 20: The Final Battle for Two: Both players select a character and must defeat Bowser, Wario, King Dedede, Wolf, Meta Knight and Ganondorf on Final Destination.
• Co-Op Event 21: The True All-Star Battle: Both players select a character and take on the entire roster on Battlefield.

Trophies

Wolf's main and Final Smash trophies can be obtained by clearing Classic Mode and All-Star mode respectively with Wolf.

Trophy descriptions

Wolf

A pilot whose real name is Wolf O'Donnell. He leads a group of mercenaries called Star Wolf. He's crossed paths with Fox many times, and each acknowledges the other as a competent rival. Wolf's constant interference with Fox is a result of Wolf's history with Fox's dad, James. Wolf's long history of criminal enterprise as resulted in a large bounty on his head.

: Star Fox 64 (NTSC), Lylat Wars (PAL)

: Star Fox: Assault

Landmaster (Wolf)

Wolf's Final Smash. Wolf analyzed Fox's Landmaster and built his own improved version, which he now calls out and boards. He's increased the output of the onboard generators and upped the vehicles firepower. However, this has substantially decreased the time the Landmaster can appear on the screen. It sports the same colors as Wolf's Wolfen.

: Super Smash Bros. Brawl

• 

  Classic Mode trophy

• 

  Landmaster trophy

Alternate costumes

Wolf's alternate costumes in Brawl

Trivia

• Whenever Wolf is in tumbling animation, there is an animation error in which his left arm would detach from his elbow. This is best noticeable whenever one pauses while he's tumbling or whenever he gets Screen KO'd.
• Oddly, Wolf has a few air animations that are directly carried over from Fox which can be seen by pausing right before the animation ends. These include his air dodging animation and all of his item throwing animations except the back throw.
• According to Sakurai, Wolf was almost cut from the roster because of time constraints. His popularity and similarities to Fox and Falco were key to his inclusion in Brawl.

External links

• Wolf's page at Smash Bros. DOJO!!.
• Can't let you do that, Starfox, a Wolf Back Room guide
• Video of Wolf's attack hitboxes
• Wolf's sound effects