At this point, having your character appear in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is a tremendous honor, but there's always a good set of characters for beginner's to start off with. Looking at the roster, it's a veritable who's who of gaming icons ranging from Solid Snake and Cloud Strife, to Super Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog. With a grand total of 74 playable characters in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, the real challenge for new players is wondering just where to start.
Fortunately, Nintendo has a good idea of where to start players off, as some of the best characters for anyone new to the series are available as part of the initial starting roster of eight. Setting aside the meta tactics of a character like ace pilot Fox McCloud, the accessibility of the starting roster is definitely an intentional decision by the developers behind Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Fortunately, it leaves new players all the better off for it.
Related: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Review: Everything We've Ever Wanted
So with these fighters available right from the beginning, here are three characters new players should take control of first:
Mario
The face of Nintendo is far and away one of the most iconic characters in gaming, which is why it's such a relief that the fighter is so accessible. Featuring a menagerie of trademark moves, Mario is as balanced a character as players will find on the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate roster. Speed and strength are set up almost on a one-to-one scale, ensuring that players will be able to launch characters as well as recover from a knock back.
Anyone checking out Mario will want to familiarize themselves with his aerial Forward A as it can be used to spike players downwards if they get caught with it. It can also be used to set up ground combos for anyone that catches their opponent hovering over the stage. Just make sure to follow through with an Up B to get some decent launch after a spike. And, when in doubt, just charge your Side-A on the ground and wait for someone to come within range.
Pikachu
Anyone with some experience in Super Smash Bros. will know that Pikachu has one of the strongest Down Bs in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, as it summons its Thunder attack whenever being used. What some may not know is that Pikachu can actually grab foes to throw them up in the air before summoning Thunder and spiking them back down to the ground for some massive damage.
Add in the fact that Pikachu's recovery (Up B) and its Side B missile-like attack can gain a lot of ground back for players that have been ousted from the stage. Add in the fact that it can also keep enemies at a distance thanks to the spacing power of its Thunderbolt (Neutral B) attacks, and players should be more than capable of winning some matches with this Pokemon.
Kirby
The adorable pink blob from Dream Land is one of the strongest creatures in the history of video games, and that much is evident by the fact that he's the lone survivor in the intro to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's World of Light campaign. Still, anyone with some knowledge of the franchise will know that his recovery is one of the best, allowing him to inhale hair and float for a total of five jumps to (almost) every other fighter's two.
This extra airtime also allows players to get a bird's eye view of the battle unfolding below (provided that there's more than one other mascot in the field) and then surprise them with Kirby's Down B attack. The move will turn the star warrior into a brick and he'll plummet down on their heads if they aren't careful enough. When taking to the ground, however, Kirby can be just as deadly with his Up B sword attack which can lock others into a decent little combo. Finally, there's his Side B hammer which is capable of knocking out opponents if they've racked up enough damage.
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More characters are joining Super Smash Bros. Ultimate all the time, with Piranha Plant arriving in Smash as a freebie for early adopters around February 2019. Meanwhile, the paid-for Fighters Pass is preparing to add Persona 5's Joker to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as the first of five brand-new characters that will be delivered throughout 2019. It's possible that both of these fighters (or any of the four mystery combatants) could oust the above three as the best option for beginners to get the hang of in the early goings. For now, however, players trying to find their footing in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate can't go wrong with the characters featured above.