Trying to pick which character to main as in Nintendo’s massively crowded crossover fighting game? Here’s a simple answer.

Among video game genres, fighting games have one of the highest barriers to entry for newcomers, due to many of the most popular series being the culmination of decades’ of evolution within their franchises. Take, for example Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. series. The most recent entry, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, has over 80 characters in its roster, so how is a newbie supposed to pick who to play as?

▼ Just a portion of the Ultimate roster

Luckily, to help rookies avoid the mistake of sinking hours and hours into trying to learn how to fight with a fundamentally weak character, experienced Smash players often share lists in which they divide the roster into power rankings, or tiers, so that everyone else can know what the upper limit of a character’s effectiveness is.

Recently, hardcore Super Smash Bros. Ultimate fan and Twitter user @JOKER_YUKA2 posted a tier list that’s getting a lot of attention in Japan, so let’s take a look at the wisdom on display. First up, the lowest rank, D tier…

…huh, nobody? Well, we guess that makes sense. After all, Ultimate is the fifth game in the Smash series, so by this point the developers know enough about how the game is played that they’re no longer designing any fighters who turn out to be totally worthless. Moving on the C tier…

…hmmm, another empty block. Well, surely B tier has…

…uh, we mean, once you get to A tier…

…hold on, so that means…

…yep, @JOKER_YUKA2 has 84 characters ranked in the top-bracket S tier: Bayonetta, Dark Pit, Bowser, Bowser Jr., Corrin, Min Min, Zero Suit Samus, Sonic, Toon Link, Wolf, Zelda, Yoshi, Young Link, Pokemon Trainer, Wii Fit Trainer, Snake, Wario, Villager, Samus, Terry, Charizard, Ivysaur Richter, Sheik, Simon, Shulk, R.O.B., Ken, Dark Samus, Chrom, Rosalina & Luna, Ryu, Ridley, Roy, Squirtle, Robin, Meta Knight, Mii Swordifghter, Mii Gunner, Mr. Game & Watch, Mii Brawler, Lucina, Mega Man, Mewtwo, Lucas, Little Mac, Mario, Link, Lucario, Marth, Kirby, Luigi, Diddy Kong, Hero, Joker, King K. Rool, Ness, King Dedede, Ice Climbers, Ike, Jigglypuff, Isabelle, Pac-Man, Cloud, Ganondorf, Incineroar, Peach, Palutena, Pikachu, Daisy, Inking, Pit, Pichu, Donkey Kong, Fox, Falco, Dr. Mario, Duck Hunt, Olimar, Captain Falcon, Piranha Plant, Banjo & Kazooie, Greninja, and Byleth.

https://twitter.com/JOKER_YUKA2/status/1283347212601225216

That’s every single character in the game, all recognized by @JOKER_YUKA2 as belonging to the highest tier. And lest you think that the list was put together by someone who just hasn’t been playing long enough to appreciate anything but the shallowest aspects of the game…

https://twitter.com/JOKER_YUKA2/status/1283403738669961216

@JOKER_YUKA2’s profile (visible in the full-size photo in the above tweet) shows she’s logged over 2,005 hours of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate playtime.

Reactions to the unexpected tier list have included:

“So in the end, what actually matters is the player’s skill and ability to outthink their opponent.”
“I think this is a truly accurate tier list.”
“Everyone is different, and so everyone has their own strengths.”

“So don’t be bound by tier rankings, and just play freely as whichever character you want,” tweeted @JOKER_YUKA2 in a follow-up, and since games are meant to be fun, it’s excellent advice.

Source: Twitter/@JOKER_YUKA2 via Hachima Kiko
Top image: YouTube/Super Smash Bros.
Insert images: Twitter/@JOKER_YUKA2
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