Lucas (SSB4)

Lucas in Super Smash Bros. 4
Universe	EarthBound
Other playable appearance	in Brawl
Availability	Downloadable
Final Smash	PK Starstorm

“	Lucas Comes Out of Nowhere!	”
—Introduction Tagline

Lucas (リュカ, Lucas) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4 as the second downloadable character, released alongside Roy and Ryu on June 14th, 2015. He was confirmed to be a playable character during the Nintendo Direct presentation on April 1st, 2015.

Lucas' voice clips from Brawl provided by Lani Minella are reused, with some them slightly sped up.

Changes from Brawl

In the transition from Brawl to Smash 4, Lucas received a mix of buffs and nerfs. The most notable improvement being that his 10 extra frame grab release animation, which was one of his most significant flaws (shared with Ness), has been removed. However, he can no longer use the Zap Jump or Magnet Pull, which were his two most pivotal techniques in Brawl, and many of his attacks deal less damage. His combo ability has been improved in some areas (e.g. down throw, up-tilt, neutral air, up air) while toned down in others (e.g. pummel, forward tilt) and many of his attacks are more reliable on technical offense (e.g. neutral air, down air, PK Thunder 2, etc.). His recovery has been considerably buffed, with an increase in distance traveled by PK Thunder 2, as well as his Tether recovery gaining more range and a new hitbox that deals damage. Lucas also benefits from the nerfing of characters who hard countered him in Brawl such as Marth. Overall, the mix of buffs and nerfs make it difficult to determine whether or not Lucas has been overall buffed or nerfed, as well as how they will affect him in competitive play.

Lucas has received noticeable buffs in patch 1.1.0. While they do not fix some of his more critical problems, they give him significantly more reach, making him slightly more viable.

Aesthetics

Like Ness, Lucas is slightly taller and thinner, with a smaller and more proportionate head. Lucas' colors are more vibrant; his shirt now has completely horizontal stripes, he has a more rosy blush and has lost the blue hue in his eyes.

• Like Ness, Lucas now uses updated sounds for PSI related attacks.
• Lucas now keeps both eyes open while performing PSI Magnet, while in Brawl, he kept one eye shut.
• Lucas's hair doesn't move, despite it doing so in Brawl.
• Lucas is a lot more expressive, like generally having a smile on his face.

Attributes

• The extra 10 frames of Lucas' grab release have been removed, putting him in line with all other characters.
• Jumpsquat is 1 frame faster (5 → 4 frames).
• Lucas has a higher fast fall speed (1.918 → 2.192) which makes him less vulnerable to juggling.
• Lucas can no longer use the Zap Jump or Magnet Pull, limiting his advanced player options.

Ground attacks

• Damage reductions on jab combo (10% → 8.5%), up tilt (11% → 9.5%), down tilt (6% → 3%) and sourspot forward tilt (9% → 7.5%).
• Neutral attack connects reliably.
• Dash attack has reduced start-up (frame 17 → 15) and slightly less cool down (IASA frame 42 → 39). The sweetspot is now located at the tip and deals 1% more damage (12% → 13%) with horizontal knockback.
• Sourspotted dash attack deals 1% less damage (10% → 9%) with slightly decreased knockback.
• Up tilt has less cool down (IASA frame 40 → 37).
• Down tilt's close-up hitbox has a vertical trajectory which gives it better combo potential at high percent.
• Down tilt no longer trips opponents and has slightly increased cool down (IASA frame 14 → 16).
• Forward tilt has increased cool down (IASA frame 23 → 26).
• Up smash is weaker (base knockback 50 → 48 and knockback growth 85 → 77), though it's still extremely powerful.
• Forward smash is weaker (base knockback 60 → 50).
• Down smash first hit has slightly more base knockback (40 → 43).

Aerial attacks

• Damage reductions on neutral aerial (17% → 8%), forward aerial (12% → 11.5%) and down aerial (20% → 15.5%). Knockback was only compensated on forward air.
• Increased start-up on neutral aerial (frame 5 → 7), down aerial (frame 4 → 10) and up aerial (frame 5 → 7).
• Neutral, forward and up aerial no longer auto cancel in a short hop, hindering Lucas's approach options.
• Neutral aerial connects reliably with the final hit sending opponents at 60 degrees Lucas, making it an effective combo starter with its reduced base knockback (70 → 40). It also has less landing lag (18 → 13 frames).
• Neutral aerial has a different animation, with Lucas posing oddly throughout the move.
• Forward aerial has lost its clean sourspot hitbox from Brawl, making it easier to land the sweetspot.
• Down aerial connects more reliably and has less landing lag (28 → 24 frames).
• Up aerial sends at 80 degrees now.
• Up aerial has a different animation, having a closer resemblance to Ness's up aerial.
• Rope Snake covers much more distance as a tether and now has a hitbox which deals up to 4% damage with horizontal knockback.

Throws/other attacks

• Start-up reductions on standing grab (frame 13 → 12), dash grab (frame 16 → 14) and pivot grab (frame 15 → 12). Additionally, all grabs have significantly higher active frames (1 → 8 frames).
• Standing grab and dash grab have reduced cool down.
• Pivot grab has increased cool down.
• Pummel deals 1.2% instead of 3%, meaning that Lucas no longer has the best pummel in the game.
• Up throw has more growth (65 → 69).
• Down throw has decreased endlag and drastically reduced knockback growth (100 → 51), which when combined with the removal of hitstun cancelling, grants Lucas an excellent combo starter, allowing him to chain into aerial attacks (except for back air) at percentages up to around 150% depending on weight, rage, staleness and DI.
• Down throw deals slightly less damage (7% → 6.5%) and can no longer KO due to its significantly reduced knockback.
• Down throw aesthetically buries opponents during its execution.
• Front and back floor attacks deal 1% more damage (6% → 7%).
• Edge attack always deals 7% damage instead of 6% or 8%.

Special moves

• PK Freeze is slightly slower, takes longer to fully charge, now going lower than Lucas's body, similar to Ness's PK Flash. Because of this, PK Freeze no longer explodes when it touches the ground. Unlike PK Flash, using the move right before it hits the ground does not count as being fully charged.
• PK Freeze travels farther and deals more damage.
• PK Fire deals 1% more damage (8% → 9%).
• PK Thunder is larger, and PK Thunder 2 can be used again after hitting a wall (similar to Ness'). Its trapping abilities are also better and has a stronger final hit. In addition, PK Thunder 2 shoots slightly more distance.
• PK Thunder moves slightly faster. This makes it easier to recover if an opponent goes offstage attempting to gimp Lucas, but also makes situational mindgames slightly harder to play out. PK Thunder is now colored purple.
• PK Thunder 2 deals less damage.
• PSI Magnet is now larger than in Brawl, where it was only centered around his hand. This increase of range and gives it more defensive value. However, it only deals damage if the opponent is in the center of the magnet, whereas in Brawl the entire magnet dealt damage, which decreases its overall offensive value.
• PSI Magnet deals 1% less damage (9% → 8%) and heals Lucas significantly less (1.2x instead of 2.5x the damage of absorbed projectiles) than it did in Brawl. Lucas also no longer turns around if hit from behind.
• PK Starstorm now fires an aimable line of meteors from the top-center of the stage (similar to Aura Storm), just like Ness' version. This leaves it with blind spots but deals more reliable damage when it does hit. Lucas's pose when using PK Starstorm now matches Ness's pose. Lucas's version is much thicker than Ness's. It keeps a consistent width of three meteors throughout, rather than the width of 1.5 meteors Ness's does.

Update history

1.1.0

• Forward aerial's vertical displacement (1.0 → 2.9).
• Forward aerial sourspot damage increased (8% → 9%).
• Forward aerial's sourspot hitbox size decreased (3.8u → 3.3u).
• Forward tilt's sweetspot hitbox size increased (4.0u → 4.4u).
• Forward tilt's sourspot hitbox size increased (2.0u → 2.2u).
• Forward tilt's horizontal displacement (1.6 → 0).
• Down tilt's far hitbox horizontal displacement (7.0 → 7.2).
• Down tilt's middle hitbox angle altered (0° → 40°).
• Down tilt's horizontal displacement (2.7 → 3.0).
• Down tilt's growth reduced (50 → 45).
• Down tilt's close hitbox angle altered (70 → 76).
• Down tilt's base knockback increased (10 → 18).
• Down tilt's displacement (0 → 3.5).
• Grab range early size increased (2.5 → 3.0).
• Grab range later size increased (2.4u → 2.8u).
• All grabs have slightly reduced ending lag (56/66/66→51/61/61).
• PK Thunder's hitbox size increased (3.5u → 3.8u).

Moveset

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			2.5%	Kicks with his right leg twice, then does a spin kick with his left. The third kick has slightly more range.
			2%
			4%
Forward tilt			11% (sweetspot), 7.5% (sourspot)	Launches a small burst of PK energy that does more damage further from Lucas. Can be angled.
Up tilt			1.5% (hit 1), 8% (clean hit 2), 5% (late hit 2)	Does a flip kick as his foot becomes surrounded by PK energy. Can combo itself or a neutral and up air at low to mid percentages.
Down tilt			3%	Crouches and does a spinning kick. Weak, but fast and combos into itself and other moves (such as his jab and forward smash) easily.
Dash attack			13% (sweetspot), 9% (sourspot)	Lunges forward, sending forth a burst of PK energy. Does more damage further away. Has slight start-up.
Forward smash			14% (base), 15% (tip)	Whacks nearby opponents with a stick. Deals more damage at the tip. Very similar to Ness's forward smash with faster start up, but deals much less damage and is weaker.
Up smash			2% (hit 1); 19%, 18%, 16%, 14%, or 12% (clean to late hit 2)	Releases a burst of PK energy from above his head. The move has a lot of ending lag making it very punishable if missed. This move also has potential to KO very early, and is the strongest up smash in the game. It's supposedly based on PK Love, Lucas's signature attack from Mother 3. Also, Lucas appears to gain some intangibility frames on his head during a certain part of this move.
Down smash			17% (hit 1), 14% (hit 2), 11% (hit 3)	Fires three consecutive bursts of PK energy, each one with more range but less power than the last. The first hit is very powerful being able to KO as low as 60% near the ledge, this of course depends on your opponents weight and DI. The first hit is one of the strongest down smash attacks in the game.
Neutral aerial			1% (hits 1-4), 4% (hit 5)	Spins around, releasing rapid bursts of PK energy. Has decent combo potential.
Forward aerial			11.5% (sweetspot), 9% (sourspot)	Kicks, launching a burst of PK energy in front of himself. This move is very fast making it a good offstage option. The sweetspot does the most knockback.
Back aerial			12% (sweetspot), 9% (sourspot), 7% (late)	Kicks downwards from a back flip, leaving a trail of PK energy. Can meteor smash, though it's difficult to land.
Up aerial			13%	Headbutts. Similar to Ness's up air, but doesn't have as much range or knockback.
Down aerial			3.5% (rapid hits 1-3), 5% (final hit)	Launches rapid bursts of PK energy below himself. If the final hit connects it can meteor smash.
Grab aerial			4% (clean), 2.8% (late)	Sends Duster's Rope Snake in front of him to damage enemies.
Grab			—	Sends Duster's Rope Snake in front of him. Can be performed in midair as a tether.
Pummel			1.2%	Headbutts the opponent. Can be done extremely rapidly.
Forward throw			10%	Uses telekinesis to launch the opponent in front of himself. KO's at 125% to 165% near the ledge.
Back throw			10%	Telekinetically tosses the opponent behind him. Lucas's strongest throw. KO's at 100% to 130% near the ledge.
Up throw			10%	Telekinetically whirls the opponent around his head, then throws them straight up. KO's at 120% to 180%.
Down throw			6.5%	Telekinetically slams the opponent into the ground head first, leaving them briefly buried. Good for starting combos as it can link to his up tilt, up air, forward air, and neutral air, depending on your opponent's weight and DI.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			7%	Gets up and kicks at opponents from either side.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			7%	Gets up and kicks at opponents from either side.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	Gets up and kicks back and forth.
Edge attack Edge getups			7%	Climbs onto the stage and performs a low kick.
Neutral special	Default	PK Freeze	9%-22%	Releases a burst of blue, snowflake-shaped PK energy that can freeze opponents. The direction of the burst's path can be controlled, and the attack can be made stronger by holding the special button.
	Custom 1	N/A
	Custom 2	N/A
Side special	Default	PK Fire	3% (lightning), 6% (fire)	Lucas throws a lightning bolt-like projectile that turns into a burst of fire upon contact. His PK Fire doesn't leave a pillar of flame like Ness's, and also has the same trajectory whether it is launched on the ground or in midair. His PK Fire also pushes him back a bit.
	Custom 1	N/A
	Custom 2	N/A
Up special	Default	PK Thunder	2.5% (projectile head), 0.8% (projectile tail rapid hits), 8% (PKT2 initial hit), 2% (PKT2 rapid hits 1-5), 1.5% (PKT2 rapid hits 6-10), 10% (PKT2 final hit)	Launches a purple stream of lightning that can be directed into Lucas to launch him. Unlike Ness' version, it doesn't fizzle out after hitting a foe, and causes repeated damage. The latter also applies to his PK Thunder 2.
	Custom 1	N/A
	Custom 2	N/A
Down special	Default	PSI Magnet	8% (ending), heals 1.2x the damage of absorbed projectiles.	Creates a glowing orb in front of Lucas. Any energy-based projectiles it absorbs will heal him. Additionally, the orb can damage opponents inside of it when it dissipates, which allows it to be used as a situational KO move at high percents.
	Custom 1	N/A
	Custom 2	N/A
Final Smash		PK Starstorm	8% per hit	Summons a column of falling stars. Can be angled at any time and can hit opponents multiple times.

Taunts

• Up: Lucas trips, shakes his head, and gets back up.
• Side: Duster's Rope Snake taps him on the shoulder and has a brief conversation with Lucas, as Lucas shrugs towards it.
• Down: Lucas creates PSI sparks with his fingers, moving his arms in a sideways motion.

Idle Poses

• Taps the edge of his shoes on the ground.
• Shakes his fists in front of his face cowardly.

On-Screen Appearance

Rides in on a Mr. Saturn-style coffee table, then hops off. The table is based on the one that Lucas rides to Saturn Valley in Mother 3.

Victory Fanfare

A flourished remix coming directly from Brawl. It is a sped-up remix of a portion of the title theme from the original MOTHER for the Famicom Disk System.

Victory Poses

• LucasPose1WiiU.png
• LucasPose2WiiU.png
• LucasPose3WiiU.png

• He forcefully pulls one of the large needles (from Mother 3) before the large needle flies off-screen with a trail of sparkles while Lucas looks towards the screen. This is very similar to his Up Smash.
• With his back towards the screen, crouching, Lucas does something on the ground with a large stick before turning his head around towards the screen, saying "Huh?".
• He bends down on one knee and shoots hexagonal PK shocks from his fingers in the air in front of him.

Alternate costumes

Trophy

This article is in need of additional images. The editor who added this tag suggests: 3DS fighter trophies If you have a good image for this article, upload it here.

While not playable at the release of the game, there has always been a trophy of Lucas in both versions; this trophy matches his appearance in Brawl. Upon his release, he additionally received two (three in the Wii U version) trophies that match the format of the other playable characters. The existing non-fighter one remains unchanged, as with Mewtwo's non-fighter trophy.

Lucas (non-fighter)

Before adventuring, Lucas was a timid, cautious boy. His journey has made him a stronger person. Maybe he met someone to spend his life with... Hang on—we're moving way too fast! For now, remember that Lucas and Ness are favorites in the hearts of EarthBound fans.

Once upon a time, Lucas was a bit of a cry-baby. You might even say he was a wimp. But then, well...he had more than his fair share of rough times and toughened up a bit. Who knows what he's up to now? Whatever he's doing, his story - much like Ness's - lives on in the hearts of all Mother series fans.

: Mother 3

Lucas

The younger of the twin brothers from Nowhere makes his triumphant return to the game of Smash. Hailing from the Japan-only game Mother 3, Lucas's specialty is psychic projectile attacks. He can use these PSI attacks to do things like absorb enemy projectiles and deal supernatural damage!

Lucas, the younger of the twin brothers from Tazmily, comes originally from the Japan-only game, Mother 3, and now makes his triumphant return to Super Smash Bros.! Here he makes great use of his PSI powers with lots of projectile attacks, and can use his faster attacks on anybody who gets too close.

: Mother 3

Lucas (Alt.)

Lucas's up special PK Thunder can hit enemies multiple times, but if you hit yourself with it, you can then tackle and launch opponents! Lucas's up smash has the strongest launch power of any fighter's up smash. The range for this attack is wide, and it's strongest right after Lucas unleashes the attack.

Lucas's up special, PK Thunder, can either hit enemies multiple times, or hit Lucas himself to push him into a powerful charge attack. Meanwhile, his up smash attack is the most powerful launching move in the entire game, so make good use of it! It's a wide-range attack that is most effective right after Lucas unleashes it.

: Mother 3

PK Starstorm (Lucas)

You can adjust the direction of the shooting stars in this attack! Rain stars down on multiple fighters at once, or be mean and pick on a single fighter. The choice is yours! If a star connects, it will deal ongoing fire damage, making it hard for opponents to return to the stage.

• 

  Non-fighter (3DS)

• 

  Non-fighter (Wii U)

• 

  Classic (Wii U)

• 

  Alt. (Wii U)

• 

  PK Starstorm

Annoucement Video

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Gallery

• 

  Splash art.

• 

  On Coliseum.

• 

  Using PK Thunder.

• 

  Lucas's on-screen appearance.

• 

  Performing down taunt alongside Ness.

• 

  Using PK Fire with Ness.

• 

  Shaking his fists at the Wii Fit Trainer.

• 

  Healing himself.

• 

  Alternate costumes.

• 

  On Magicant with "Claus."

• 

  Taunting with Rope Snake.

Trivia

• The month he was confirmed was the same month his origin game, Mother 3, was released.
  • The announcement details for Lucas and v1.0.8 was on the same day as EarthBound's 20th anniversary.
  • The day he became available to purchase was the same day EarthBound Beginnings was released for Wii U Virtual Console.
• Lucas is the only playable character in SSB4 to not have appeared in a non-Smash game released outside of Japan.
• The tagline used for Lucas is a reference to his home of Tazmily Village being located on the Nowhere Islands.
• Segments of Lucas's trailer reference certain elements in Mother 3.
  • One scene references the endgame fight against the Masked Man, represented by Lucas's new gray costume holding a Beam Sword, and his standard costume wearing a Franklin Badge.
  • Another scene references Lucas with his twin brother Claus, and the family dog Boney (represented by a brown costume Duck Hunt).
• Because of his non-fighter trophy, Lucas is the only character who has both Brawl and SSB4 character models in the same game.
• Due to the removal of slow edge recovery options, Lucas no longer has any attack where he directly punches (his +100% edge attack in Brawl).
• Lucas is the only veteran to appear as DLC to not have new voice clips.
  • Additionally, he is the first Earthbound/Mother representative to reuse all of his voice clips from a previous Smash installment.
• Lucas is currently the only Brawl newcomer to be available as DLC.