SSBM/Luigi

Introduction

Luigi ranks at 14th on the tier list, in the D tier, placing him in the dead centre, along with his older brother, Mario. Luigi is notable for having possibly one of the best air games in all of Melee, with very fast, very powerful and very low lag aerials and very high raw jumping power. With a projectile in tow and a very long wavedash due to his poor traction, Luigi also has some very good approach options; Luigi's wavedash alone is the longest in the game, easily taking him half the distance of Final Destination and traversing the area in a speed only slightly slower than Captain Falcon's dash. Luigi also has some very efficient killers, including a fast and powerful forward smash and a decently powered sex kick for his neutral air. Luigi's traction, however, acts as a double-edged sword; while it gives him an excellent wavedash, it also limits some of his approaches on the ground if he's not wavedashing. Aditionally, Luigi's recovery is short and predictable, with very few options available to him.

"A" Moves Analysis

Ground attacks

Normal

• Neutral attack - Luigi's neutral attack combo is a three-hit attack consisting of two jabs followed by a hip bump. Useful as a low-damage opener. Because the third strike of the combo knocks the opponent away with a medium amount of lag, many players elect to omit the third strike of the combo. Luigi can repeat the first strike of the neutral attack by L-canceling. The attack consists of two jabs, both doing 1-3% damage, and the last hit does 2-5%.
• Dash attack - 10% damage (if all hits connect). Luigi dashes forward and attacks his opponent with a flurry of punches. It hits five times and does moderate damage, but it's not very useful since the last hit leaves Luigi vulnerable for a grab or smash attack.
• Strong side - 5-10% damage. Luigi's forward tilt is a sideways kick with medium knockback. It is often used simply to push the opponent away, giving Luigi extra time to maneuver, though hard to follow up with an attack. Can be angled.
• Strong up - Luigi's up tilt is a swipe that arcs over Luigi's head. Its upward trajectory makes up tilt well suited for comboing, especially against fast-fallers. Hits at an upwards angle in the front and back of him. 4-9% damage.
• Strong down - Kneels down and kicks. = 4-9% damage. Luigi crouches down and kicks low to the ground. It is a low-knockback attack and is laggy. Since this attack hugs the ground, it can be used to attack a sweet spotting enemy.

Smashes

• Forward smash - Does a quick jab for 7-19% damage. Luigi winds up and launches his hand straight into his opponent, sending them at a forward and upward trajectory. Can be angled. Sometimes used to end combos. Additionally, charging a forward smash will cease Luigi momentum mid-wavedash, with can make him stop suddenly.
• Up smash - 9-23% damage. Identical to Mario and Dr. Mario's headbutt with an up-and-behind trajectory, ideal for setting up aerial combos with Luigi. The player can also buffer it in at the end of a wavedash which allows for an alternative vertical launcher to Luigi's common wavedash to down smash approach.
• Down smash - 9-23% damage. Luigi kicks out twice in a break dancing motion, first in front and then behind. This attack has an upward trajectory and its knockback provides for aerial combos against low-damage enemies and KO's against high-damage enemies.

Other attacks

• Ledge attack - Gets up and somersaults. 8% damage.
• 100% ledge attack - Slowly gets up and thrusts his foot forward. 10% damage.
• Floor attack - Swirls around in a similar fashion to his down smash. 6% damage.

Aerial attacks

• Neutral aerial - A Sex kick - 4-15% damage. Luigi's neutral aerial has the same knockback properties of most sex kicks, and sends the opponent upwards. For this reason, Luigi's sex kick is a popular tool for juggling and comboing opponents. Can KO at high percentage. One of the strongest sex kicks in the game.
• Forward aerial - Does a quick karate chop. 6-12% damage. High horizontal knockback and is one of his primary KO'ing aerial attacks. It also has high knockback at low damage, good for wavelanding.
• Back aerial - Kicks backwards. 6-11% damage. Good for damage racking and edge guarding.
• Up aerial - Does a flip kick. 7-13% damage. Doesn't offer the same juggling properties from the ground as Mario's; however, it is often used against opponents above Luigi on platforms, or as a vertical launcher to set up an aerial finisher like the chop.
• Down aerial - Twirls his feet under him. 8-16% damage. A valuable edgeguarding alternative to the back aerial. Can meteor smash if he hits the opponent with his hip (in a similar fashion to Young Link's down aerial spike). Luigi's down aerial is a meteor smash and therefore can be meteor canceled.

Grabs & throws

• Forward throw - 4-7% damage. This throw is relatively weak but can be used near the ledge to set up Luigi's enemy for an edge-guard.
• Back throw - 5-10% damage. Luigi's strongest throw, it is used for throwing enemies off-stage and KOing.
• Up throw - 4-7% damage. Luigi's up throw can chain grab fast-fallers at low damage. If a person DI's, Luigi can follow the opponent up with a wavedash.
• Down throw - 3-7% damage. This throw sends the enemy upwards and slightly to the side, depending on the target's DI. Though it has low knockback, it does not stun the opponent long enough to combo or chain grab.

"B" Moves List

Neutral Special

Luigi's green fireballs travel in a straight line and are unaffected by gravity (matching his floaty motif) and drift around in a circle, rather than rolling like Mario's. Also, despite the fact Luigi's fireballs are green, they still make red-orange burn animations upon impact. They can be easily spammed, and can be fired at a slightly faster pace than Mario's, especially in the Negative Zone (Luigi's final smash). When firing at stage elements, the projectile's path will change based on the contact angle. As such, the move is more useful when used toward upward slopes, continuing on to foes. The move is more difficult to use on downward slopes, passing over enemies. Fireball approach is perhaps more difficult than with Mario, as the attack does not fall when used in the air. In general, Luigi's special attack is contextually less useful than Mario's, as it only travels in only one direction (forward), where Mario's move in two (forward, and downward). It also travels less distance. Luigi's fireballs deal slightly more damage than Mario's.

Side Special

Green Missile:It can be charged for about three seconds, and once let go, Luigi is launched sideways like a rocket, the distance and damage being based on how long the move is charged.

The move also has a 1 out of 8 (12.5%) chance to be a "misfire", that acts like if it was fully charged, but more powerful. It's not always beneficial, however. One possibility is Luigi charging the Green Missile and aiming at an opponent. He fires, but the misfire activates and the opponent dodges. This can very often prove hard to get back onto the stage for recovery. It also leaves the Luigi exposed to edgeguarding. In Melee, the spontaneous misfire fires Luigi extremely far. This has been toned down in Brawl, lowering the chance of a misfire suicide.

Up Special

Super Jump Punch:Luigi's sourspotted Super Jump Punch only deals 1 point of damage, and only makes a character flinch very slightly. However, if the attack's sweet spot hits a character, it becomes a powerful Fire Jump Punch which deals around 25% damage with high knockback and can KO an opponent at 60% damage or higher. Luigi can turn around after the initial hitbox, however, its usefulness is questionable. In Super Smash Bros. Melee, Luigi's attack sends him vertically upward without any horizontal range, forcing him his to rely on his Green Missile for recovery. When sourspotted, it can be used to steal KOs, as it will give Luigi the point without changing their trajectory.

Down Special

In Super Smash Brothers Melee, the Luigi cyclone is the primary vertical recovery as long as someone has very quick tap speed. There are a total of 2 hits very similar to smash 64 with one right at the beginning and one when Luigi raises his hands. This version of the cyclone has the best combo ability and very low killing ability/gimping ability. Similar to the other smash games if the Cyclone is used at the peak of Luigi's mid-air jump, it is much easier to gain height. However, unlike other smash games, the melee cyclone needs to be "charged" by using it once on the ground. It is also by far the hardest cyclone to do fully, with only people with very fast hand speed being able to do it correctly. It takes around twice the hand speed as a Jumpless Rising Cyclone from brawl. It is also a very quick out of shield move and is a good approaching move but with low priority. It is a primary combo starter vs fast fallers or heavies.

Strategies

Match-ups

Serious Advantage Match-ups

Bowser, Pichu

Advantage Match-ups

Pikachi, Y.Link, Zelda, Roy, Mew2, Yoshi, G&W, Ness, Kirby

Fair Match-ups

IC, Doc, Mario, Link

Disadvantage Match-ups

Fox, Falco, Puff, Sheik, Marth, Peach, C.Falcon, Samus, Ganon, DK

Serious Disadvantage Match-ups

None