Super Smash Bros Ultimate Roster With Every Character

By Ollie Brannigan · Fact-checked by Desmond Ayodele · Published November 9, 2026

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate on Nintendo Switch includes all 89 Smash Bros. characters ever made, from 40 franchises, so every fighter since the 1999 N64 original is playable in one game. This guide has the full roster with fighter numbers, debut games, DLC packs, Echo status, Classic Mode unlock chains and UltRank’s 2026 tier placements. It also has a matrix showing which of the five Smash games each fighter appears in.

On this page:

1. Every Smash Bros. character: the quick answer
2. Full Super Smash Bros. Ultimate roster (all 89 fighters)
3. DLC fighters: every Challenger Pack and what it costs
4. How to unlock every character in Smash Ultimate
5. Smash Ultimate tier list 2026 (UltRank)
6. Smash Bros. characters by game (with the every-fighter, every-game matrix)
7. Third-party fighters and franchises
8. Roster history and cut characters
9. Smash Ultimate in late 2026: Switch 2, patches and the next Smash
10. FAQ

Every Smash Bros. character: the quick answer

The Super Smash Bros. series has 89 playable characters from 40 franchises, and all of them are in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Ultimate came out worldwide on December 7, 2018. It was developed by Bandai Namco Studios and Sora Ltd. and directed by Masahiro Sakurai.

How the count works:

• Base game: 74 fighters, or 76 if Squirtle, Ivysaur and Charizard each count as one.
• DLC: 12 fighters, or 13 if Pyra and Mythra count as two.
• Total: 86 select-screen slots, 89 characters.
• Last DLC: Sora (Kingdom Hearts), October 2021.
• Latest patch: Ver. 13.0.5, released September 1, 2026, which only fixed online stability.

No Smash game has had a bigger roster. Ultimate added 23 newcomer slots, which is 24 characters: 11 in the base game, plus 12 DLC slots holding 13 characters, because Pyra and Mythra share one slot.

Full Super Smash Bros. Ultimate roster (all 89 fighters)

This table lists every Ultimate character in fighter-number order. “Debut” is the Smash game where the character first became playable. In the unlock column, “Classic: clear with X” names the fighter just before them in a Classic Mode chain. “Classic: Yoshi chain” means the fighter is on Yoshi’s chain. “Any route” means you’ll usually get that fighter through Versus challengers or World of Light.

The UltRank 2026 column shows the band from UltRank’s May 2026 list. Every fighter is ranked on that list. “Other band” means the fighter’s placement isn’t one of the bands shown in the tier section below.

#	Fighter	Franchise	Debut	Base / DLC	Echo of	How to unlock	UltRank 2026
01	Mario	Super Mario	Smash 64	Base	No	Starter	A
02	Donkey Kong	Donkey Kong	Smash 64	Base	No	Starter	Other band
03	Link	The Legend of Zelda	Smash 64	Base	No	Starter	Other band
04	Samus	Metroid	Smash 64	Base	No	Starter	A+
04ε	Dark Samus	Metroid	Ultimate	Base	Samus	Classic: clear with Incineroar	Other band
05	Yoshi	Yoshi	Smash 64	Base	No	Starter	S-
06	Kirby	Kirby	Smash 64	Base	No	Starter	Other band
07	Fox	Star Fox	Smash 64	Base	No	Starter	S-
08	Pikachu	Pokémon	Smash 64	Base	No	Starter	A+
09	Luigi	Super Mario	Smash 64	Base	No	Classic: clear with Ike	S-
10	Ness	EarthBound	Smash 64	Base	No	Classic: clear with Kirby	B-
11	Captain Falcon	F-Zero	Smash 64	Base	No	Classic: clear with Fox	Other band
12	Jigglypuff	Pokémon	Smash 64	Base	No	Any route	Other band
13	Peach	Super Mario	Melee	Base	No	Classic: clear with Falco	S-
13ε	Daisy	Super Mario	Ultimate	Base	Peach	Any route	S-
14	Bowser	Super Mario	Melee	Base	No	Classic: clear with Donkey Kong	Other band
15	Ice Climbers	Ice Climber	Melee	Base	No	Classic: clear with King K. Rool	Other band
16	Sheik	The Legend of Zelda	Melee	Base	No	Classic: clear with King Dedede	B-
17	Zelda	The Legend of Zelda	Melee	Base	No	Any route	Other band
18	Dr. Mario	Super Mario	Melee	Base	No	Classic: clear with Roy	D-
19	Pichu	Pokémon	Melee	Base	No	Classic: clear with Mr. Game & Watch	B-
20	Falco	Star Fox	Melee	Base	No	Any route	Other band
21	Marth	Fire Emblem	Melee	Base	No	Any route	D-
21ε	Lucina	Fire Emblem	Smash 4	Base	Marth	Any route	Other band
22	Young Link	The Legend of Zelda	Melee	Base	No	Classic: clear with Snake	Other band
23	Ganondorf	The Legend of Zelda	Melee	Base	No	Classic: Yoshi chain	E
24	Mewtwo	Pokémon	Melee	Base	No	Any route	Other band
25	Roy	Fire Emblem	Melee	Base	No	Classic: clear with Luigi	A
25ε	Chrom	Fire Emblem	Ultimate	Base	Roy	Classic: clear with Ridley	Other band
26	Mr. Game & Watch	Game & Watch	Melee	Base	No	Classic: clear with Isabelle	S+
27	Meta Knight	Kirby	Brawl	Base	No	Classic: clear with Simon	B-
28	Pit	Kid Icarus	Brawl	Base	No	Classic: clear with Wii Fit Trainer	Other band
28ε	Dark Pit	Kid Icarus	Smash 4	Base	Pit	Classic: clear with Wario	Other band
29	Zero Suit Samus	Metroid	Brawl	Base	No	Classic: clear with Captain Falcon	Other band
30	Wario	Wario	Brawl	Base	No	Classic: clear with Cloud	A+
31	Snake	Metal Gear	Brawl	Base	No	Classic: clear with Meta Knight	S+
32	Ike	Fire Emblem	Brawl	Base	No	Classic: clear with Little Mac	Other band
33	Squirtle (Pokémon Trainer)	Pokémon	Brawl	Base	No	Classic: clear with Bowser	Other band
34	Ivysaur (Pokémon Trainer)	Pokémon	Brawl	Base	No	Classic: clear with Bowser	Other band
35	Charizard (Pokémon Trainer)	Pokémon	Brawl	Base	No	Classic: clear with Bowser	Other band
36	Diddy Kong	Donkey Kong	Brawl	Base	No	Classic: clear with Greninja	S-
37	Lucas	EarthBound	Brawl	Base	No	Any route	Other band
38	Sonic	Sonic the Hedgehog	Brawl	Base	No	Classic: clear with Mario	S+
39	King Dedede	Kirby	Brawl	Base	No	Classic: clear with Rosalina & Luma	Other band
40	Olimar	Pikmin	Brawl	Base	No	Classic: clear with Dr. Mario	A+
41	Lucario	Pokémon	Brawl	Base	No	Any route	Other band
42	R.O.B.	R.O.B.	Brawl	Base	No	Classic: clear with Shulk	S+
43	Toon Link	The Legend of Zelda	Brawl	Base	No	Classic: clear with Richter	Other band
44	Wolf	Star Fox	Brawl	Base	No	Any route	A
45	Villager	Animal Crossing	Smash 4	Base	No	Classic: clear with Pikachu	Other band
46	Mega Man	Mega Man	Smash 4	Base	No	Classic: clear with R.O.B.	A
47	Wii Fit Trainer	Wii Fit	Smash 4	Base	No	Classic: clear with Inkling	Other band
48	Rosalina & Luma	Super Mario	Smash 4	Base	No	Classic: clear with Pokémon Trainer	Other band
49	Little Mac	Punch-Out!!	Smash 4	Base	No	Classic: clear with Bayonetta	E
50	Greninja	Pokémon	Smash 4	Base	No	Classic: clear with Sheik	Other band
51	Mii Brawler	Mii	Smash 4	Base	No	Create a Mii Fighter	A
52	Mii Swordfighter	Mii	Smash 4	Base	No	Create a Mii Fighter	Other band
53	Mii Gunner	Mii	Smash 4	Base	No	Create a Mii Fighter	Other band
54	Palutena	Kid Icarus	Smash 4	Base	No	Any route	A+
55	Pac-Man	Pac-Man	Smash 4	Base	No	Any route	Other band
56	Robin	Fire Emblem	Smash 4	Base	No	Any route	Other band
57	Shulk	Xenoblade Chronicles	Smash 4	Base	No	Classic: clear with Villager	Other band
58	Bowser Jr.	Super Mario	Smash 4	Base	No	Any route	Other band
59	Duck Hunt	Duck Hunt	Smash 4	Base	No	Classic: clear with Diddy Kong	B-
60	Ryu	Street Fighter	Smash 4 (DLC)	Base	No	Classic: Yoshi chain	A
60ε	Ken	Street Fighter	Ultimate	Base	Ryu	Any route	Other band
61	Cloud	Final Fantasy	Smash 4 (DLC)	Base	No	Classic: clear with Dark Samus	A
62	Corrin	Fire Emblem	Smash 4 (DLC)	Base	No	Any route	Other band
63	Bayonetta	Bayonetta	Smash 4 (DLC)	Base	No	Classic: clear with Sonic	A
64	Inkling	Splatoon	Ultimate	Base	No	Classic: clear with Samus	B-
65	Ridley	Metroid	Ultimate	Base	No	Classic: Yoshi chain	Other band
66	Simon	Castlevania	Ultimate	Base	No	Classic: clear with Ice Climbers	E
66ε	Richter	Castlevania	Ultimate	Base	Simon	Classic: clear with Young Link	E
67	King K. Rool	Donkey Kong	Ultimate	Base	No	Classic: clear with Link	Other band
68	Isabelle	Animal Crossing	Ultimate	Base	No	Classic: clear with Mega Man	Other band
69	Incineroar	Pokémon	Ultimate	Base	No	Classic: clear with Pit	Other band
70	Piranha Plant	Super Mario	Ultimate	DLC (standalone)	No	Purchase	Other band
71	Joker	Persona	Ultimate	DLC (Pack 1)	No	Purchase	S-
72	Hero	Dragon Quest	Ultimate	DLC (Pack 2)	No	Purchase	A
73	Banjo & Kazooie	Banjo-Kazooie	Ultimate	DLC (Pack 3)	No	Purchase	Other band
74	Terry	Fatal Fury	Ultimate	DLC (Pack 4)	No	Purchase	Other band
75	Byleth	Fire Emblem	Ultimate	DLC (Pack 5)	No	Purchase	B-
76	Min Min	ARMS	Ultimate	DLC (Pack 6)	No	Purchase	S+
77	Steve	Minecraft	Ultimate	DLC (Pack 7)	No	Purchase	S+
78	Sephiroth	Final Fantasy	Ultimate	DLC (Pack 8)	No	Purchase	B-
79	Pyra	Xenoblade Chronicles	Ultimate	DLC (Pack 9)	No	Purchase	S-
80	Mythra	Xenoblade Chronicles	Ultimate	DLC (Pack 9)	No	Purchase	S-
81	Kazuya	Tekken	Ultimate	DLC (Pack 10)	No	Purchase	S+
82	Sora	Kingdom Hearts	Ultimate	DLC (Pack 11)	No	Purchase	A

How fighters are numbered (and why Echoes share a number)

Fighter numbers follow debut order. Fighters 01 to 12 are the N64 cast, 13 to 26 are the Melee newcomers, 27 to 44 joined in Brawl, and the rest continue in order up to Sora at 82. Echo Fighters don’t get their own number. They take their parent’s number with an epsilon (ε) added, which is why Daisy is 13ε next to Peach at 13.

Older characters keep their original number even after a long absence. Pichu and Young Link were cut from Brawl and Smash 4, but in Ultimate they are still 19 and 22.

Why the roster is 86, 87 or 89

The count depends on whether shared slots count as one character or several. Two slots cause the confusion:

• Pokémon Trainer has one portrait but three fighters (Squirtle, Ivysaur and Charizard), numbered 33 to 35.
• Pyra/Mythra has one portrait but two fighters with separate movesets, numbered 79 and 80.

Count each slot once and you get 86, which is what the select screen shows when Echoes have their own slots. Count each Pokémon and each Aegis separately and you get 89, the figure used for the series total. A source that says 87 or 88 has split only one of the two slots. The three Mii Fighters (Brawler, Swordfighter and Gunner) count as separate fighters in every version of the count.

Echo Fighters and their parents

An Echo Fighter is built on another fighter’s moveset, with small changes to animations, frame data or move properties. Ultimate created the label and also applied it to two Smash 4 clones, Lucina and Dark Pit.

Echo Fighter	Parent	Fighter debut	What’s actually different
Dark Samus	Samus	Ultimate	Electric effects, floatier animations
Daisy	Peach	Ultimate	Same moves, different effects and Toad swap
Lucina	Marth	Smash 4	No sweetspot on her sword: equal damage along the blade
Chrom	Roy	Ultimate	Even damage spread, different up special
Dark Pit	Pit	Smash 4	Different side special and arrows
Ken	Ryu	Ultimate	Different specials and inputs, faster on the ground
Richter	Simon	Ultimate	Near-identical, visual and voice changes

You can show Echoes stacked on their parent’s portrait or in their own slots, using a setting in the Options menu. Stacking them shrinks the select screen, which is the main reason players end up with different roster totals.

DLC fighters: every Challenger Pack and what it costs

Ultimate has 12 DLC fighter slots holding 13 characters. Piranha Plant came first as an early-purchase bonus, then 11 Challenger Packs followed between April 2019 and October 2021. Every Challenger Pack also adds a stage and music. Piranha Plant is a standalone purchase with no stage.

Pack	Fighter	Franchise	Release date	Pass	Stage included	UltRank 2026
Bonus	Piranha Plant	Super Mario	Jan 29, 2019	None	None	Other band
1	Joker	Persona 5	Apr 17, 2019	Vol. 1	Mementos	S-
2	Hero	Dragon Quest	Jul 30, 2019	Vol. 1	Yggdrasil’s Altar	A
3	Banjo & Kazooie	Banjo-Kazooie	Sep 4, 2019	Vol. 1	Spiral Mountain	Other band
4	Terry	Fatal Fury	Nov 6, 2019	Vol. 1	King of Fighters Stadium	Other band
5	Byleth	Fire Emblem: Three Houses	Jan 28, 2020	Vol. 1	Garreg Mach Monastery	B-
6	Min Min	ARMS	Jun 29, 2020	Vol. 2	Spring Stadium	S+
7	Steve	Minecraft	Oct 13, 2020	Vol. 2	Minecraft World	S+
8	Sephiroth	Final Fantasy VII	Dec 22, 2020	Vol. 2	Northern Cave	B-
9	Pyra/Mythra	Xenoblade Chronicles 2	Mar 4, 2021	Vol. 2	Cloud Sea of Alrest	S-
10	Kazuya	Tekken	Jun 29, 2021	Vol. 2	Mishima Dojo	S+
11	Sora	Kingdom Hearts	Oct 18, 2021	Vol. 2	Hollow Bastion	A

Fighters Pass Vol. 1

Fighters Pass Vol. 1 covers Challenger Packs 1 to 5: Joker, Hero, Banjo & Kazooie, Terry and Byleth. All five came out within about nine months, from April 2019 to January 2020. Joker is the standout. UltRank’s 2026 list puts him in S-, level with Pyra/Mythra as the best DLC placement below the S+ trio. Hero sits in A, and Byleth in B-.

The pass costs $24.99 in the US. Buying the five packs separately at $5.99 each costs $29.95.

Fighters Pass Vol. 2

Fighters Pass Vol. 2 covers Challenger Packs 6 to 11: Min Min, Steve, Sephiroth, Pyra/Mythra, Kazuya and Sora. It is sold separately from Vol. 1, so buying one doesn’t give you the other. Nintendo lists Vol. 2 at $29.99 in the US.

Purchase option	Fighters	US price	Per-fighter cost
Fighters Pass Vol. 1	5	$24.99	$5.00
Fighters Pass Vol. 2	6	$29.99	$5.00
Vol. 2 packs bought one by one	6	$35.94	$5.99
Both passes	11	$54.98	$5.00
Both passes plus Piranha Plant	12	$59.97	$5.00

Vol. 2 saves you $5.95 compared with buying its six packs one at a time. If you want four or more of the six, the pass is the better deal.

Is the DLC worth it for competitive play?

For competitive play, Vol. 2 is the strongest DLC buy in Ultimate. Three of its six fighters are S+ on UltRank’s 2026 list: Steve, Kazuya and Min Min. Pyra/Mythra makes it four fighters in the top two bands. No other $29.99 purchase gets you that many top-tier characters.

Casual players should decide differently. Sora, Sephiroth, Banjo & Kazooie and Terry are some of the most popular crossovers in the game, so buy the pass with the characters you actually like. Owning a fighter you see a lot in tournaments also helps, because you can’t lab the Steve matchup offline if you don’t own Steve.

How to unlock every character in Smash Ultimate

You start Ultimate with 8 fighters and unlock the rest of the base roster by playing. There are three routes: win a “Challenger Approaching” fight in Smash (Versus) mode, clear Classic Mode to move a fighter chain forward, or free fighters in the World of Light campaign. Every route ends in a fight, and you have to win it to get the fighter.

Method	Time to unlock all	Pros	Cons
1-stock restart trick	About 90 minutes	Fastest by far, and the challenger fight is the only skill check	Repetitive, skips the content
Normal play (mixed modes)	About 10 to 12 hours	Unlocks happen naturally while you play	Roughly 10 minutes between challengers
Classic Mode chains	Several hours	Every clear moves a chain forward and earns rewards	You have to plan which fighter to clear with
World of Light	20+ hours	Story and spirits, and fighters freed there unlock everywhere	Slowest route, and the roster only grows as you reach fighters on the map

The starting 8 fighters

The starting 8 are the original N64 starters: Mario, Donkey Kong, Link, Samus, Yoshi, Kirby, Fox and Pikachu. You can also play as a Mii Fighter once you create one in the Mii Fighter menu. Every other base-game fighter has to be unlocked.

Versus mode challenger order

Challengers in Versus come in a fixed internal order, which starts with Ness, then Zelda, then Bowser. Anyone you’ve already unlocked through Classic Mode or World of Light is skipped. A new challenger appears roughly every 10 minutes of play, and the timer counts across modes, not only in Versus.

Why isn’t a new challenger appearing?

There’s a cooldown of about 10 minutes after each unlock, and a challenger only appears when a match ends. If you’ve spent your time in menus, Training or online lobbies, finish a regular match to trigger one.

Classic Mode unlock trees

Every starter heads its own Classic Mode chain. Clearing Classic with the starter, or with any fighter already unlocked in that chain, unlocks the next locked fighter in it. For example, clearing as Mario unlocks Sonic, and then clearing as Mario or Sonic unlocks Bayonetta. These are the full chains for five of the starters:

Starter	Chain, in unlock order
Mario	Sonic → Bayonetta → Little Mac → Ike → Luigi → Roy → Dr. Mario → Olimar
Donkey Kong	Bowser → Pokémon Trainer → Rosalina & Luma → King Dedede → Sheik → Greninja → Diddy Kong → Duck Hunt
Link	King K. Rool → Ice Climbers → Simon → Meta Knight → Snake → Young Link → Richter → Toon Link
Samus	Inkling → Wii Fit Trainer → Pit → Incineroar → Dark Samus → Cloud → Wario → Dark Pit
Pikachu	Villager → Shulk → R.O.B. → Mega Man → Isabelle → Mr. Game & Watch → Pichu

The other three chains start in familiar places. Kirby’s chain begins with Ness and Fox’s with Captain Falcon, and clearing as Captain Falcon then unlocks Zero Suit Samus. Yoshi’s chain is the one to run if you’re after Ryu, Ganondorf or Ridley, and clearing as Ridley unlocks Chrom. Falco leads to Peach.

World of Light unlocks

World of Light starts you with Kirby alone. You free fighters by beating them on the map, and anyone you free is unlocked in every other mode too. It’s the slowest route, but it’s the only one that also builds your spirit collection, and it ends with fights against Galeem and Dharkon, the campaign’s final bosses. Play it if you want the campaign anyway, not as a way to unlock fighters.

Fastest method: 1-stock restart trick

Restarting the game after each 1-stock match is still the fastest way to unlock everyone in 2026, because no patch has changed the unlock system. Relaunching resets the wait, since the first match after the game boots can trigger a challenger. The full run takes about 90 minutes, against 10 to 12 hours of normal play.

Lost a challenger fight? How to rematch

You don’t lose the character forever. After a lost challenger fight, a Challenger’s Approach door appears in the Games & More menu, and you can rematch the fighter there. If the fight keeps beating you, lower the CPU difficulty in the in-game options before you try again.

Smash Ultimate tier list 2026 (UltRank)

The most credible current tier list is UltRank’s 2026 list, published on May 6, 2026. It is the group’s fourth official list and is based on votes from 72 globally ranked players. Steve is first. He scored 10.426 out of a possible 10.5, and 57 of the 72 panelists ranked him number one. EventHubs reported on May 9 that the 2026 list shows more characters closing the gap on him.

UltRank uses letter bands from S down to E, with plus and minus sub-tiers. These are the confirmed placements for the top bands, B- and the bottom of the list. Combined entries such as Peach/Daisy and Simon/Richter were ranked together:

UltRank 2026 tier	Fighters	Count
S+	Steve, Sonic, Snake, Mr. Game & Watch, Kazuya, Min Min, R.O.B.	7
S-	Diddy Kong, Pyra/Mythra, Luigi, Peach/Daisy, Yoshi, Fox, Joker	7
A+	Pikachu, Samus, Palutena, Olimar, Wario	5
A	Roy, Hero, Bayonetta, Mario, Wolf, Mii Brawler, Mega Man, Cloud, Ryu, Sora	10
B-	Sephiroth, Pichu, Inkling, Ness, Sheik, Byleth, Meta Knight, Duck Hunt	8
D-	Marth, Dr. Mario	2
E	Ganondorf, Simon/Richter, Little Mac	3

The tiers hardly move now because balance changes have stopped. Ver. 13.0.1, released on December 1, 2021 in North America (December 2 in Europe and Japan), made the final fighter adjustments, and Nintendo called them final at the time. Later updates fixed bugs and changed no fighters: Ver. 13.0.2 (February 2024), 13.0.3 (October 2024), 13.0.4 (June 2025) and 13.0.5 (September 2026). Any change from one list to the next comes from players finding new things.

Did Steve ever get nerfed?

Steve hasn’t changed since the final balance patch in December 2021, and in 2026 he is still the best character by the numbers. Dabuz, one of Ultimate’s most respected players and analysts, published a tier list in January 2026 calling Steve the undisputed best character, according to EventHubs. UltRank’s panel agreed four months later.

No other fighter has his tools. He mines resources to craft better weapons, places blocks that cut off recovery routes and ledge options, and has a minecart grab that punishes defensive play. Alex, Zombie and Enderman are costumes of the same fighter, so picking Zombie doesn’t change the matchup at all.

The rest of S+ wins in different ways:

• Sonic: enough speed to make every approach a guess.
• Snake: explosives that control the stage.
• Mr. Game & Watch: fast, disjointed moves that are hard to challenge.
• R.O.B.: zoning plus strong kill power.
• Kazuya: some of the heaviest punishes in the game.
• Min Min: long-range ARMS that keep opponents at a distance.

Best characters for beginners

For a beginner climbing Elite Smash, the best pick is a top-tier fighter with a simple game plan, not the fighter at number one. Steve’s resource management, Kazuya’s inputs and Min Min’s mixed-arm system all take a long time to learn. These three make more sense:

Pick	UltRank 2026	Why it suits a climb
Pyra/Mythra	S-	Two fighters in one: Pyra’s power and Mythra’s speed, swapped with a button
Joker	S-	Arsene boosts his power, and his gun and side special are easy to read
Mario	A	A straightforward moveset with no unusual mechanics, and the fundamentals carry over to every other fighter

Mario teaches fundamentals that work on any character, which matters if you plan to switch mains later. Wolf (A) is a good choice if you want a projectile and strong kill moves without complicated inputs.

Weakest characters in 2026

UltRank’s bottom band in 2026 is E, which holds Ganondorf, Simon/Richter and Little Mac. Marth and Dr. Mario are one step above in D-. Marth also came last on a separate list by players Acola and Miya, which EventHubs reported in January 2026. His problem is well known: the tip of his sword does far more damage than the rest of the blade, so every hit depends on spacing. His Echo, Lucina, deals the same damage along the whole sword, which is why players who like the moveset often pick her instead.

Smash Bros. characters by game

Every Smash game has grown the roster, and every one except Melee and Ultimate cut fighters. This table gives the size of each game’s roster. The matrix below it shows exactly who appears in which game.

Game	Platform	Year	Base fighters	DLC fighters	Newcomers	Notable cuts
Super Smash Bros.	Nintendo 64	1999	12	0	12	None (first game)
Super Smash Bros. Melee	GameCube	2001	26	0	14	None
Super Smash Bros. Brawl	Wii	2008	39	0	18	Dr. Mario, Pichu, Young Link, Mewtwo, Roy
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U	3DS, Wii U	2014	51	7	21 (17 base, 4 DLC)	Ice Climbers, Squirtle, Ivysaur, Wolf, Snake, Lucas (Lucas returned as DLC)
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate	Nintendo Switch	2018	76	13	24 characters in 23 slots (11 base, 13 DLC in 12 slots)	None

Every fighter in every game

This matrix answers questions like “Is Wolf in Smash 4?” at a glance. “Yes” means base-game playable, “DLC” means added as paid DLC, “Cut” means the fighter had appeared before but is missing from that game, and “No” means they hadn’t debuted yet.

#	Fighter	Smash 64	Melee	Brawl	3DS / Wii U	Ultimate
01	Mario	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
02	Donkey Kong	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
03	Link	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
04	Samus	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
04ε	Dark Samus	No	No	No	No	Yes
05	Yoshi	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
06	Kirby	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
07	Fox	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
08	Pikachu	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
09	Luigi	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
10	Ness	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
11	Captain Falcon	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
12	Jigglypuff	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
13	Peach	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
13ε	Daisy	No	No	No	No	Yes
14	Bowser	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
15	Ice Climbers	No	Yes	Yes	Cut	Yes
16	Sheik (1)	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
17	Zelda	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
18	Dr. Mario	No	Yes	Cut	Yes	Yes
19	Pichu	No	Yes	Cut	Cut	Yes
20	Falco	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
21	Marth	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
21ε	Lucina	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
22	Young Link	No	Yes	Cut	Cut	Yes
23	Ganondorf	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
24	Mewtwo	No	Yes	Cut	DLC	Yes
25	Roy	No	Yes	Cut	DLC	Yes
25ε	Chrom	No	No	No	No	Yes
26	Mr. Game & Watch	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
27	Meta Knight	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
28	Pit	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
28ε	Dark Pit	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
29	Zero Suit Samus (1)	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
30	Wario	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
31	Snake	No	No	Yes	Cut	Yes
32	Ike	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
33	Squirtle (2)	No	No	Yes	Cut	Yes
34	Ivysaur (2)	No	No	Yes	Cut	Yes
35	Charizard (2)	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
36	Diddy Kong	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
37	Lucas	No	No	Yes	DLC	Yes
38	Sonic	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
39	King Dedede	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
40	Olimar	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
41	Lucario	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
42	R.O.B.	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
43	Toon Link	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
44	Wolf	No	No	Yes	Cut	Yes
45	Villager	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
46	Mega Man	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
47	Wii Fit Trainer	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
48	Rosalina & Luma	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
49	Little Mac	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
50	Greninja	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
51	Mii Brawler	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
52	Mii Swordfighter	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
53	Mii Gunner	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
54	Palutena	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
55	Pac-Man	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
56	Robin	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
57	Shulk	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
58	Bowser Jr.	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
59	Duck Hunt	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
60	Ryu	No	No	No	DLC	Yes
60ε	Ken	No	No	No	No	Yes
61	Cloud	No	No	No	DLC	Yes
62	Corrin	No	No	No	DLC	Yes
63	Bayonetta	No	No	No	DLC	Yes
64	Inkling	No	No	No	No	Yes
65	Ridley	No	No	No	No	Yes
66	Simon	No	No	No	No	Yes
66ε	Richter	No	No	No	No	Yes
67	King K. Rool	No	No	No	No	Yes
68	Isabelle	No	No	No	No	Yes
69	Incineroar	No	No	No	No	Yes
70	Piranha Plant	No	No	No	No	DLC
71	Joker	No	No	No	No	DLC
72	Hero	No	No	No	No	DLC
73	Banjo & Kazooie	No	No	No	No	DLC
74	Terry	No	No	No	No	DLC
75	Byleth	No	No	No	No	DLC
76	Min Min	No	No	No	No	DLC
77	Steve	No	No	No	No	DLC
78	Sephiroth	No	No	No	No	DLC
79	Pyra (3)	No	No	No	No	DLC
80	Mythra (3)	No	No	No	No	DLC
81	Kazuya	No	No	No	No	DLC
82	Sora	No	No	No	No	DLC

Counting notes:

1. In Melee and Brawl, Sheik was reached by transforming from Zelda mid-match, and in Brawl Zero Suit Samus was reached through Samus’s Final Smash or a special input. Both count as separate fighters in the official totals. Smash 4 gave each of them its own slot.
2. In Brawl and Ultimate, Squirtle, Ivysaur and Charizard are one Pokémon Trainer slot but count as three fighters. In Smash 4, Charizard was a standalone fighter.
3. Pyra and Mythra share one slot and count as two fighters.

Super Smash Bros. (N64, 1999): the original 12

The original N64 roster had 12 fighters, 8 starters and 4 unlockables.

• Starters: Mario, Donkey Kong, Link, Samus, Yoshi, Kirby, Fox, Pikachu.
• Unlockables: Luigi, Ness, Captain Falcon, Jigglypuff.

Ultimate gives you the same eight to start with, a nod to where the series began. All 12 have appeared in every Smash game since.

Super Smash Bros. Melee (GameCube): 26

Melee kept all 12 and added 14 newcomers: Peach, Bowser, Ice Climbers, Sheik, Zelda, Dr. Mario, Pichu, Falco, Marth, Young Link, Ganondorf, Mewtwo, Roy and Mr. Game & Watch. The total is 26 because Sheik counts separately from Zelda, even though you reach her by transforming mid-match. Melee also introduced Marth and Roy to players outside Japan, at a time when no Fire Emblem game had been released in the West.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii): 35 fighters (39 counted separately) and the first third-party fighters

Brawl was the first Smash with third-party fighters: Snake from Konami’s Metal Gear and Sonic from Sega. It added 18 newcomers in total:

• Meta Knight, Pit, Zero Suit Samus, Wario, Snake, Ike
• Pokémon Trainer (Squirtle, Ivysaur, Charizard)
• Diddy Kong, Lucas, Sonic, King Dedede, Olimar
• Lucario, R.O.B., Toon Link, Wolf

Five Melee fighters were cut: Dr. Mario, Pichu, Young Link, Mewtwo and Roy. That leaves the 12 N64 fighters, 9 returning Melee fighters (Peach, Bowser, Ice Climbers, Sheik, Zelda, Falco, Marth, Ganondorf and Mr. Game & Watch) and the 18 newcomers, for 39. The total counts Pokémon Trainer’s three Pokémon, Sheik and Zero Suit Samus separately. Brawl’s select screen shows 35 portraits.

Smash for 3DS / Wii U: 51 + 7 DLC

Smash 4 gave the transforming characters their own slots, so Sheik, Zelda, Samus and Zero Suit Samus became standalone fighters. Charizard was separated from Pokémon Trainer, and Squirtle and Ivysaur were cut. Ice Climbers, Wolf, Snake and Lucas were cut as well. Ice Climbers were reportedly dropped because the 3DS couldn’t handle them.

The 17 base newcomers were Villager, Mega Man, Wii Fit Trainer, Rosalina & Luma, Little Mac, Greninja, the three Mii Fighters, Palutena, Pac-Man, Robin, Shulk, Bowser Jr., Duck Hunt, Dark Pit and Lucina. Dr. Mario also returned. Smash 4 was the first Smash with DLC fighters:

• Returning: Mewtwo, Lucas, Roy.
• New: Ryu, Cloud, Corrin, Bayonetta.

Olimar’s alternate costume Alph also arrived in this game.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Switch): 89

Ultimate brought back everyone, including Wolf, Snake, Ice Climbers, Young Link, Pichu and the full Pokémon Trainer. It added 11 base newcomers: Inkling, Ridley, Simon, Richter, King K. Rool, Isabelle, Incineroar, Daisy, Dark Samus, Chrom and Ken. Then came 12 DLC fighter slots, from Piranha Plant to Sora, holding 13 characters. Nintendo’s fiscal-year data puts lifetime sales at 37.76 million by March 31, 2026, including about 320,000 in the January to March 2026 quarter. That makes it the third best-selling Switch game, behind Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (71.08 million) and Animal Crossing: New Horizons (49.91 million).

Third-party fighters and franchises

The 89 fighters come from 40 franchises. 15 of those franchises are from outside Nintendo, and together they provide 18 third-party fighters. Eight of Ultimate’s 12 DLC slots went to third parties. Piranha Plant, Byleth, Min Min and Pyra/Mythra are the only DLC fighters from Nintendo series.

Most-represented franchises

Super Mario has the most fighters, followed by Fire Emblem and Pokémon:

Franchise	Fighters	Count
Super Mario	Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Bowser, Dr. Mario, Rosalina & Luma, Bowser Jr., Piranha Plant	9
Fire Emblem	Marth, Lucina, Roy, Chrom, Ike, Robin, Corrin, Byleth	8
Pokémon	Pikachu, Jigglypuff, Pichu, Mewtwo, Pokémon Trainer, Lucario, Greninja, Incineroar	8 (10 counting the Trainer’s three)
The Legend of Zelda	Link, Zelda, Sheik, Young Link, Ganondorf, Toon Link	6
Metroid	Samus, Dark Samus, Zero Suit Samus, Ridley	4

Fire Emblem’s eight swordfighters are a running joke in the community. Four of them (Lucina, Chrom, Robin and Corrin) came after the success of Fire Emblem: Awakening in 2013.

Every third-party fighter

Publisher	Fighters	Franchise	Debut
Konami	Snake	Metal Gear	Brawl
Konami	Simon, Richter	Castlevania	Ultimate
Sega	Sonic	Sonic the Hedgehog	Brawl
Sega (Atlus)	Joker	Persona	Ultimate (DLC)
Sega (original publisher)	Bayonetta	Bayonetta	Smash 4 (DLC)
Capcom	Mega Man	Mega Man	Smash 4
Capcom	Ryu, Ken	Street Fighter	Smash 4 (DLC), Ultimate
Bandai Namco	Pac-Man	Pac-Man	Smash 4
Bandai Namco	Kazuya	Tekken	Ultimate (DLC)
Square Enix	Cloud, Sephiroth	Final Fantasy	Smash 4 (DLC), Ultimate (DLC)
Square Enix	Hero	Dragon Quest	Ultimate (DLC)
Square Enix / Disney	Sora	Kingdom Hearts	Ultimate (DLC)
Microsoft (Rare)	Banjo & Kazooie	Banjo-Kazooie	Ultimate (DLC)
Microsoft (Mojang)	Steve	Minecraft	Ultimate (DLC)
SNK	Terry	Fatal Fury	Ultimate (DLC)

Bandai Namco plays two roles here. It owns Pac-Man and Kazuya, and its studio co-developed Ultimate with Sora Ltd. The three DLC fighters with the best competitive results (Steve, Kazuya and Min Min) come from Microsoft, Bandai Namco and Nintendo’s own ARMS.

Roster history and cut characters

Smash started small, and the roster grew as Sakurai secured more licensing deals. Before the series even had a name, the second prototype used just four fighters: Mario, Donkey Kong, Samus and Fox. Bowser and King Dedede were planned for the N64 game, but Bowser didn’t arrive until Melee and Dedede until Brawl.

Licensing has always shaped the roster. Sakurai found Pokémon characters the hardest to license, and some people at Nintendo worried about how it would look for Mario to hit Pikachu. For Melee, the main characters of Balloon Fight, Excitebike, Clu Clu Land and Urban Champion were considered and rejected. The Ice Climbers got the retro slot instead, and Mr. Game & Watch later filled a similar role.

The cuts tell their own story. Brawl dropped five Melee clones and near-clones (Dr. Mario, Pichu, Young Link, Mewtwo and Roy) to make room for new movesets. Smash 4’s cuts were about hardware and design: Ice Climbers because of 3DS limits, and Pokémon Trainer’s switching mechanic was stripped back to Charizard alone. Ultimate’s “Everyone is here!” promise undid all of this, and it was the headline of the game’s reveal.

Will the next Smash cut characters?

Nothing is confirmed, because no new Smash has been announced. History points toward cuts, though. Every Smash except Melee and Ultimate has dropped fighters, and Ultimate’s 89 were built on four games’ worth of existing assets. A new engine on new hardware would make bringing back all 89 far harder.

Smash Ultimate in late 2026: Switch 2, patches and the next Smash

Ultimate’s content is finished, but the game is still maintained. There have been no new fighters since October 2021 and no balance changes since December 2021. Nintendo still releases small stability patches, the latest being Ver. 13.0.5 in September 2026. The game runs on Nintendo Switch 2 through backward compatibility.

Latest patch and what it changed

Ver. 13.0.5 came out on September 1, 2026, the game’s first update in more than a year. Its notes list one change: a fix for behavior when invalid data is sent or received in online battles. It added no fighters, stages or balance changes. The update before it, Ver. 13.0.4 in June 2025, fixed Mii Fighter problems, including crashes in online matches between Switch and Switch 2 players.

Will Ultimate get more patches on Switch 2?

Small fixes, probably yes: 13.0.4 and 13.0.5 both came out after Switch 2 launched. New characters or balance changes, almost certainly not. Sakurai said Ver. 13.0.1 was the last round of fighter adjustments, and nothing since has changed a fighter.

Playing Ultimate on Switch 2

Ultimate runs on Switch 2 through backward compatibility, and you can play online against Switch owners. Nintendo’s support page confirms that the wired GameCube controller works on Switch 2 with the GameCube Controller Adapter, and that rumble works in supported games such as Ultimate. According to SmashWiki, Ultimate recognizes Nintendo’s wireless Switch 2 GameCube controller, which is sold to Nintendo Switch Online members, as a GameCube controller. That controller only works on Switch 2. You can remap its buttons in Ultimate’s Controls menu.

Is a new Smash Bros. coming?

Confirmed: Nintendo has not announced a new Super Smash Bros. game. Sakurai’s most recent game as director is Kirby Air Riders for Switch 2, released in November 2025.

Reported, not confirmed: Dexerto covered insider reports between May and September 2026 that point to a new Smash, not an Ultimate port, for Switch 2 as early as 2027 or 2028. These claims come from anonymous insiders with a mixed track record. None of it is official, and there’s no confirmed roster, date or title.

Until Nintendo announces something, Ultimate’s 89 fighters are the current Smash roster and the competitive standard, and the 2026 tier list is unlikely to change much. If you’re new, do the 90-minute unlock run first, then pick one of the beginner-friendly top-tier fighters (Pyra/Mythra, Joker or Mario) and learn that one before trying anyone else.

FAQ

How many characters are in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate?

Ultimate has 89 characters, 76 in the base game and 13 from DLC. Count Pokémon Trainer and Pyra/Mythra as one fighter each and you get 86, the number of slots on the select screen.

How many Smash Bros. characters are there in total?

There are 89 across the whole series, from 40 franchises. Every one of them is playable in Ultimate, so its roster is also the series total.

Who was in Super Smash Bros. Brawl?

Brawl had 39 fighters: the 12 N64 originals; Peach, Bowser, Ice Climbers, Sheik, Zelda, Falco, Marth, Ganondorf and Mr. Game & Watch from Melee; and 18 newcomers, including Snake, Sonic, Wolf and Pokémon Trainer’s Squirtle, Ivysaur and Charizard. The matrix in the by-game section shows every fighter.

Is Wolf in Smash 4?

No. Wolf debuted in Brawl, was cut from Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U along with Snake, Ice Climbers, Squirtle, Ivysaur and Lucas, and came back in Ultimate. Of those, only Lucas returned to Smash 4, as DLC.

How do you unlock all characters in Smash Ultimate?

You unlock fighters by beating them in “Challenger Approaching” fights. These come from Versus play (about one every 10 minutes), from clearing Classic Mode with a fighter in the right chain, or from freeing them in World of Light. DLC fighters are bought from the Nintendo eShop.

What is the fastest way to unlock characters in Smash Ultimate?

The 1-stock restart trick. Play a 1-stock Versus match, jump off the edge, beat the challenger, then close and relaunch the game. It takes about 90 minutes in total.

Which Classic Mode run unlocks Luigi?

Luigi is on Mario’s chain. Clear Classic with Mario, or with any fighter already unlocked on that chain, to move through Sonic, Bayonetta, Little Mac and Ike, and Luigi comes next.

Who are the starting characters in Smash Ultimate?

Mario, Donkey Kong, Link, Samus, Yoshi, Kirby, Fox and Pikachu, the same eight who started in the 1999 N64 game. Mii Fighters are also available once you create one.

Who were the original 12 Smash Bros. characters on N64?

The original 12 were the starters Mario, Donkey Kong, Link, Samus, Yoshi, Kirby, Fox and Pikachu, plus Luigi, Ness, Captain Falcon and Jigglypuff as unlockables.

Who is the best character in Smash Ultimate in 2026?

Steve. UltRank’s May 2026 tier list ranks him first with 10.426 out of 10.5, and 57 of its 72 panelists put him at number one. Dabuz’s January 2026 list also called him the undisputed best.

Who is the worst character in Smash Ultimate in 2026?

On UltRank’s 2026 list, the bottom band is E: Ganondorf, Simon/Richter and Little Mac. Marth and Dr. Mario are just above in D-, and a separate January 2026 list by Acola and Miya put Marth last.

Which Smash Ultimate characters are DLC?

Piranha Plant, Joker, Hero, Banjo & Kazooie, Terry, Byleth, Min Min, Steve, Sephiroth, Pyra/Mythra, Kazuya and Sora. Fighters Pass Vol. 1 has the first five Challenger Packs and Vol. 2 has the last six. Neither pass includes the other.

What are Echo Fighters in Smash Ultimate?

Echo Fighters share most of a parent fighter’s moveset, with small tweaks. There are seven: Dark Samus (Samus), Daisy (Peach), Lucina (Marth), Chrom (Roy), Dark Pit (Pit), Ken (Ryu) and Richter (Simon).

Who was the last DLC character in Smash Ultimate?

Sora from Kingdom Hearts, released on October 18, 2021 as Challenger Pack 11. He completed Fighters Pass Vol. 2, and no fighters have been added since.

Article details

OB

Written by Ollie Brannigan

Ollie writes about hero shooters, battle royales and the rest of the competitive scene, from Overwatch 2 rosters and roles to new games trying to break into esports. He likes explaining how a game actually plays at a high level, not just what the patch notes say.

Covers: Overwatch & Marvel Rivals, Other Competitive Games, Fortnite & FPS

• Fact-checked by Desmond Ayodele against the sources listed below before publication.
• Published November 9, 2026

How this article was checked

• Researched from 8 sources, listed below.
• Every claim is checked by Desmond Ayodele; anything we cannot confirm is corrected, labelled or removed.

Sources (8)

1. List of Super Smash Bros. series characters - Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
2. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - SmashWiki (ssbwiki.com)
3. UltRank 2026 Official Tier List for Smash Bros. Ultimate (medium.com)
4. UltRank releases their fourth official tier list - EventHubs (eventhubs.com)
5. New tier list from Dabuz - EventHubs (eventhubs.com)
6. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Version 13.0.5 patch notes - Nintendo Life (nintendolife.com)
7. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate updated to version 13.0.5 - My Nintendo News (mynintendonews.com)
8. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Version 13.0.4 patch notes - Nintendo Life (nintendolife.com)