Character Guides
This page serves as a collection of resources for each character in Super Smash Bros. If you have suggestions for more content, reach out to me @nickthename on the SSB64 discord.
The symbol indicates videos in Japanese and/or played on the Japanese version of the game. Some characters have different moves or properties in J version, a full list can be found here and this should be taken into account when imitating techniques.
All Characters
Guides
- Basic Techniques Playlist | Nate L - Watch these first!
- Four Pillars of Smash | Nate L
- Learning DI
Resources
Luigi
Advanced Techniques
Guides and Combo Videos
- Luigi Basics Tutorial | Lord Narwhal
- Movement Practice | Isai
- Neutral and Platform Fireballs | Purtle
- Edge Fireballs Guide | Purtle
- Luigi Combo Playlist | Moto, various players
Players and Vods
Players: Freean, Isai, YoshifanGM
Matches:
- Freean vs Paco ( Pikachu)
- YoshiFanGM vs Janco ( Kirby)
- YoshiFanGM vs Finio ( Captain Falcon)
- Isai vs Wizzrobe ( Yoshi)
- YoshiFanGM vs IsaiFanLink ( Link)
Mario
Advanced Techniques
Guides and Combo Videos
- 100 Marios | Red
- Various Tech Drills | Kimimaru
- Ledge Cancel Drills | Hydra
- Mario Combo Playlist | Moto, various players
Players and Vods
Players: Isai, Czar, Hydra, Kimimaru, Fireblaster
Vods:
- JaimeHR vs KD3 ( Pikachu)
- JaimeHR vs Josh Brody ( Pikachu)
- JaimeHR vs SuPeRbOoMfAn ( Pikachu)
- Superboomfan vs EG ( Falcon)
- Isai vs Sombrero ( Kirby)
- Kimimaru vs LETSGO ( Fox)
Donkey Kong
Advanced Techniques
Guides and Combo Videos
Players and Vods
Players: Tacos, Superboomfan, Darkhorse, Lorenzo
Vods:
Link
Guides and Combo Videos
Players and Vods
Samus
Advanced Techniques
Players and Vods
Players: Jouske, emptyW, SotoH, JaimeHR
Vods:
Captain Falcon
Known for his incredible speed and 0-to-death combos, Captain Falcon is one of the Smash’s most popular characters. His powerful combo game is easy to pick up but has a high skill ceiling, making him a great character for beginners and experienced players alike. If you’re looking to pick up Falcon, you’ll first want to learn his bread-and-butter uair combos. Check out Nate L’s Falcon Combos For Beginners video, then see if you can replicate the kills in Kristoff’s Simple Falcon Combos playlist.
Strong ground movement is key to Falcon’s gameplan in most matchups, so make sure to rewatch the pivoting section of Nate L’s advanced techniques guide, and start working on incorporating pivots and dash dancing into your play. If you’re used to another Smash game, you’ll find dashing works a bit different in 64, but Falcon is a great character to learn it with.
Due to his popularity, there’s no shortage of role models to look to for techniques. Superboomfan is an obvious choice as indisputably the strongest Falcon player in the world. Patience your thing? Study some matches from Alvin or JaimeHR to learn how discipline can make the Captain untouchable. Prefer to style on your opponents? Watch some of Janitor’s combo videos, or check out Zero’s matches. Prefer to focus on winning, plain and simple? The surgical styles of Lowww and KD3 are a must watch.
Advanced Techniques
Guides
- Falcon Combos For Beginners | Nate L
- Simple Falcon Combos | Kristoff
- Comboing Pika at 0% | Nate L
- Techchasing in the Falcon Ditto | Nate L
- Edgeguarding Mario | Superboomfan
Combo Videos
- SuPeRbOoMfAn: Capt. Falcon
- The Filthiest Janitor
- Slippery When Rekt | Janitor
- Zero to Death | Dishier Wand
Players and Vods
Players: Superboomfan, Alvin, Zero, KeroKeroppi, KD3, Lowww, Janitor
Vods:
- KD3 vs Josh Brody ( Pikachu)
- Zero vs Revan ( Kirby)
- Alvin vs Mariguas ( Kirby)
- KeroKeroppi vs EG ( Captain Falcon)
- Superboomfan vs Fireblaster ( Mario)
- Superboomfan vs Sekirei ( Link) and Game 4
Ness
Advanced Techniques
- DJC Rush | Kristoff
- Advanced Movement Part 1, Part 2 | Kristoff
Guides and Combo Videos
- Training mode combos
- Up-B Applications | Sekirei - “Sekirei’s video being in untranslated japanese is unfortunate but I think it goes over an extremely important recovery concept that most people don’t think about. The basic gist of the concept is that ness’s up b projectile has a maximum turning speed, so if you input an up b that makes the thunder travel in the tightest circle possible you can have the up b result in a consistent angle for ness. The only variance comes from ness’s air drift (both up/down and side to side) going into the up b.” – Fray
- Training mode tech chase combos | Kristoff
Players and Vods
Players: Nangoku, Tokiwa, Taimai, Fray, Raychu
Vods:
Yoshi
Advanced Techniques
Guides and Combo Videos
- Armor Break Percents
- How to Practice Yoshi’s Techchase | Crovy
- Killer Yoshi Practice | Hotline
- Yoshi Combos Playlist
- How Kero Wins with Yoshi
- Yoshi R&D Discord
Players and Vods
Players: Kurabba, Wizzrobe, Prince, Tacos, Hiyo
Vods:
- Kurabba vs KeroKeroppi ( Pikachu)
- Hotline vs epad10 ( Pikachu)
- Kurabba vs Nax ( Kirby)
- Take vs KD3 (/ Kirby)
- Hotline vs Spongy ( Kirby)
- Take vs KD3 (/ Kirby)
- Wizzrobe vs Alvin ( Falcon)
- Kurabba vs Superboomfan ( Falcon)
- Kurabba vs Wangera ( Jigglypuff)
- Wizzrobe vs KD3 ( Jigglypuff)
- Wizzrobe vs Alvin ( Mario)
- Hotline vs Czar ( Mario)
- Kurabba vs Fray ( Ness)
Kirby
Advanced Techniques
Guides
- Kirby Ditto Guide | Handsometom
- Edgeguarding Yoshi | Handsometom
- Platform techchasing | Handsometom
- Beginner Kirby Techniques | くーちゃん - Covers basic movement, combos, and edgeguarding.
Combos
- Simple Kirby Combos | Spongy
- Kirby Combos for Beginners | Ringedge
- Combos by Ledge | Handsometom
- kirby simple combo video | Moyashi - J Version
- Basic Kirby Combos | でじくろ - Practical combos against the cast. Some may be J version specific.
Players and Vods
Players: Fukurou, kysk, Superboomfan, Isai, Hammerheart, Revan
Vods:
- kysk vs KeroKeroppi ( Pikachu)
- Isai vs Prince ( Yoshi)
- Superboomfan vs EG ( Captain Falcon)
- Fukurou vs LD ( Fox)
- Hammerheart vs Isai ( Mario)
Fox
Fox is a ultra-mobile glass cannon that can dominate neutral or die off of a single throw and rewards technical accuracy. When you start playing fox, you’ll want to check out Nate L’s tutorial on short-hop double lasers, an important technique for racking up damage in neutral. To convert your neutral wins into stocks, practice some of Isai’s fox-a-day combos, or copy a few from Huntsman’s Fox is Fox combo video. Expect to get thrown off stage quite a bit, but don’t give up! Practice using your double jump to grab the ledge from the maximum distance, and mix up your opponent with fox’s fantastic aerial drift after up-b. Watch LD’s recovery montage for some great examples.
The gold standard for NA fox play has long been LD, aka Sleepy Fox. whose lack of rest hasn’t stopped him from racking up wins against the likes of Alvin, Josh Brody, and Revan. His distinctive reaction-heavy playstyle and famous “archetype” combos make him a great entry point for those looking to study Fox vods. His incredibly recoveries should be inspirational for any Fox that’s tired of dying off of a single backthrow. From there, make sure to check out the ultra-technical Stranded, laser-heavy Silver Spoon, and precise edgeguarding of Lowww Power.
Advanced Techniques
- Short Hop Double Laser | Nate L
- Shine Cancel | Nate L
- Advanced Fox Movement | Stranded
- Hard Fox Training Mode Drills | LETSGO
Guides and Combo Videos
- Matchup Guide: Pikachu vs Fox
- Pikachu vs Fox video notes
- Isai Combo a Day playlist
- Fox is Fox Combo Video
- LD Recovery Montage
- 120 Seconds of LD Combo Video
Players and Vods
Players: LD (aka Sleepy Fox), Stranded, Silver Spoon, Lowww, Huntsman
Vods:
- LD vs Alvin ( Pikachu)
- LD vs Revan ( Kirby)
- Silver Spoon vs Zero ( Falcon)
- Huntsman vs Fireblaster ( Yoshi)
- LD vs CTG ( Jigglypuff) - Shines only!
Pikachu
In Smash Brothers, the king wears not a crown, but a party hat. Pikachu is indisputably the strongest character in 64, with a wide assortment of tools and potential playstyles. As a result, Pikachu is one of the most popular characters in the game, and has a wide assortment of resources to learn from and players to study.
The most basic and crucial technique for Pikachu is his extended up-b, which you can learn from Nate L’s excellent tutorial video. Then check out the intermediate pikachu techniques guide for some more basic options and movement tricks. To develop your combo game, practice some examples from Kamui’s dreamland combos playlist. Pikachu tends to benefit a lot from deliberate combo practice, as his combo starters and routes can be a little less intuitive than other characters, and vary from matchup to matchup.
Speaking of matchups, Pikachu’s wide variety of tools gives him the flexibility to change up his gameplan for each opposing character. For example, against Fox and Falcon Pikachu looks to dominate the ground game and take stocks with a single grab into edgeguard, while matches against Kirby and Jigglypuff are a cautious game of aerial positioning. Take a look at some of the matchup specific resources in the Guides and Videos section below, and make use of match videos to learn the right approach.
Advanced Techniques
- Extended Up-B | Nate L
- Intermediate Pikachu Techniques
- Essential Pika UpBs | Nate L
- Advanced Pikachu Movement | Stranded
Guides and Combo Videos
- Pikachu Basics | Shizuku
- Matchup Guide: Pikachu vs Fox
- Pikachu vs Fox video notes
- Rat dittos for Intermediate Players | Isai
- Pika vs Kirby Tips | Superboomfan
- Falcon edgeguards compilation | Wario
- Pikachu Combos Playlist | Kamui, other sources
Players and Vods
Players: Wario, Nax, Alvin, SuperBoomFan, Isai, Josh Brody, Kero, Mariguas
Vods:
- Nax vs Isai ( Pikachu)
- Alvin vs Fukurou ( Kirby)
- Nax vs KD3 ( Falcon)
- Wario vs Wizzrobe ( Yoshi)
- Superboomfan vs LD ( Fox)
- Isai vs Wangera ( Jigglypuff)
- Dexter vs Hydra ( Mario)
- Robert vs Tacos ( Donkey Kong)
- Shalaka vs Meipon ( Samus)
- Wario vs Raychu ( Ness)
- Lowww vs Fray ( Ness)
- Mariguas vs Gyaki ( Link)
- Wario vs exe ( Pikachu) Ft5 - First to 5 match between Wario, #1 Japanese Pika, and exe, an online only Pika and one of the strongest players on Japanese netplay.
Jigglypuff
Advanced Techniques
See R3$T crew puff guide, below.
Guides and Combo Videos
- R3$T Crew Puff Guide
- Jigglypuff Combo tutorial | Ringedge
- 4 Tips for Puff vs Yoshi | Isai
- Puff Punish Game VOD Matrix | Tercero
Players and Vods
Players: Wangera, Isai, CTG, KD3
Vods: