Luigi (SSBU)

Luigi (, Luigi) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He was confirmed alongside and the rest of the veterans on June 12th, 2018 during E3 2018, with him and Yoshi being the last two veterans to be revealed. As in his appearances prior to Super Smash Bros. 4, he is unlockable, instead of being available from the start. Luigi is classified as Fighter #09.
As in SSB4, 's portrayal of Luigi from Super Smash Bros. Brawl was repurposed for Ultimate.
Luigi is ranked 18th out of 82 on the current tier list, placing him in the A+ Tier. This is a noticeable improvement from his high tier placement SSB4, where he was ranked 18th out of 54 characters and stood in the B Tier, and is his best placement in the series to date. Similarly to his brother , Luigi has excellent frame data, making him a very difficult character to punish. He has an outstanding air game, with one of the best jumping abilities of the roster, and strong aerials to boot; as most of his aerials have fast startup, low overall lag and lenient auto-cancel windows, he is able to safely use multiple aerials in a short or full hop. Additionally, Luigi boasts solid KO power and incredible combo prowess courtesy of his grab game: along with a low-endlag tether grab, his down throw is one of the best combo starters in the game, and allows him to either perform consistent zero-to-death or KO combos on the vast majority of the roster. Finally, Luigi Cyclone's frame 1 invincibility when used in the air gives Luigi a reliable combo breaker, and his grab aerial (which uniquely drops a plunger projectile) grant both combo and edgeguarding opportunities.
However, Luigi still has several noticeable weaknesses. His overall mobility is sluggish, with his air speed being one of the slowest in the game, which makes him especially susceptible to juggling and leaves him with a poor disadvantage state. When combined with his average grounded mobility and below average range, this makes it very difficult for him to fight against camping. In addition, Luigi's recovery, while long-distanced, is very predictable, as both his recovery options (Green Missile and Super Jump Punch) travel strictly in one direction, making him vulnerable to edgeguarding. Finally, the slow startup of Luigi's extended grab means it's riskier to miss up close.
Overall, Luigi is a glass cannon who, in the right situation, can perform setups for quick and unexpected KOs, but his weaknesses can allow opponents to take advantage of his poor mobility and predictable recovery. Although Luigi's early representation was subpar due to his rather poor disadvantages, it has since improved noticeably as his strengths became more noticeable in the competitive scene. This has allowed him to foster a good-sized playerbase spearheaded by players such as , , and, prior to his ban, .
==How to unlock==
Complete one of the following:
*Play VS. matches, with Luigi being the 33rd character to be unlocked.
*Clear with or any character in his unlock tree, being the 5th character unlocked after .
*Have Luigi join the player's party in World of Light.
Luigi must then be defeated on Luigi's Mansion (the Ω form is used in World of Light).
==Attributes==
Luigi is a middleweight whose attributes deviate from most other characters in his weight class. Luigi sports fairly average walking speed, dashing speed, and air acceleration, a decent initial dashing speed, below-average gravity, slow falling speed, low traction, the 2nd slowest air speed, and among the best jumping prowess in the roster, with the fourth highest jump and the tenth highest double jump. As a result, Luigi is quite floaty and his mobility is fairly sluggish overall, especially in the air.
Luigi's greatest asset is his outstanding frame data, which is easily among the fastest in the game. Because of this, similarly to his older brother , Luigi can be very difficult to punish; only two of his standard moves and five of his attacks overall have more than 9 frames of startup lag (forward smash, down aerial, Fireball, Green Missile, and Luigi Cyclone), a multitude of his moves hit on or before frame 5 (such as his neutral attack, dash attack, neutral aerial, up aerial, and his tilts), and the vast majority of his moveset has low ending lag, granting him incredible attack speed and an excellent punish game; both points are complemented by the utility of his overall moveset. His neutral attack's damage output and range are average at best, yet its two hits can lock. Its first hit also comes out on frame 2, which makes the move a fairly useful option for warding off nearby opponents. Luigi's tilt attacks also have their own perks: his forward tilt can be angled and is useful for spacing, his up tilt has excellent combo and juggling potential, and his down tilt is an incredibly quick and highly spammable move that can combo into itself and a few other moves while also being able to consistently perform 2 frame punishes at the edge. Lastly, Luigi's dash attack has quick startup; when coupled with its reduced ending lag, increased damage output and higher knockback, it is a much better move for approaching and attacking than in previous installments.
Luigi's smash attacks are among the fastest of their kind, have below-average ending lag, and are strong enough to be reliable finishers. As a result of these traits, they allow Luigi to quickly and effectively punish opponents close to him while also rendering him being difficult to punish on shield. His forward smash deals extra shield damage, his up smash is an effective anti-air attack due to rendering his head intangible while its hitboxes are active as well as functioning as an effective out of shield option, and his down smash is very useful for punishing rolls thanks to its minimal lag, respectable damage output, and long range, with its back hit being an especially good finisher. Both Luigi's up and down smashes also have set-up potential at low percentages if he successfully covers the opponent's options afterward.
Despite his extremely poor air speed, Luigi has a fantastic set of aerial attacks, courtesy of them possessing fast startup, lenient auto-cancel windows, quick interruptibility (except for neutral and back aerials) and low ending lag in general. In terms of auto-canceling, he can auto-cancel all of his aerials with a short hop, can auto-cancel all of them except neutral aerial with a short hop fast fall, and can use his forward, up and down aerials twice with a single short hop. Lastly, he can use his forward and up aerials twice with a single short hop without suffering from landing lag. Luigi's neutral aerial is the only sex kick that consistently launches an opponent vertically, which grants it a few notable perks: the clean hitbox deals high damage and respectable knockback, making it a great combo breaker and even a situational KO option while near the upper blast line at high percentages, while both it and especially the late hitbox are very useful combo starters when used with a short hop. His forward aerial has the lowest ending lag of its kind, and launches at the Sakurai angle; at low to medium percentages, these traits make it very reliable for approaching, down throw-initiated combos into itself, his neutral aerial, and his up aerial, as well as a reliable edge-guarding option at high percentages. Luigi's back aerial has the highest ending lag of his aerials by a noticeable margin, but its minimal startup, decent range and powerful clean hitbox on his feet collectively enable it to function as a safe and reliable option for KOing, edge-guarding and (when used via a reverse aerial rush) approaching. His up aerial is useful for combos: it can either extend them or, thanks to having the lowest amount of landing lag out his aerials, use its clean hitbox to start them at low percentages when SHFF'd due to its clean hit dealing above-average damage for a combo move. Its generous auto-cancel window and very low ending lag also allow Luigi to use it twice in a single short hop and still auto-cancel it successfully, a trait it shares with his forward aerial and 's neutral aerial. Lastly, Luigi's down aerial is safe to use and has a clean hitbox which is a fast meteor smash, coming out on frame 10 and with only 18 frames of ending lag, the lowest of any meteor smash. Due to his powerful aerials with generally low lag all around, Luigi has an outstanding air game. 
Luigi has an excellent grab game, but unlike in past installments, he has a tether grab due to him using the 's to grab an opponent. As a result, Luigi can grab opponents from a fairly long distance, preventing the necessity for him to get up close to do so. It also provides Luigi with a grab aerial, in which the suction cup functions as a projectile that deals minor damage and knockback. This grants Luigi an additional edge-guarding option and deceptively useful combo option that, unlike most projectiles, cannot be absorbed or reflected. Like Mario, Luigi has an average pummel, which can deal multiple hits before being followed up with any of his useful throws. His forward throw deals respectable damage and is useful for repositioning opponents or setting up edge-guards against them at high percentages. His back throw also deals respectable damage and great knockback, allowing it to KO beginning at 120% or even earlier with rage. Unlike Mario's back throw, it also lacks a noticeably long animation, which makes it noticeably more difficult for the opponent to use directional influence to survive it. Luigi's throw deals average damage and knockback, and possesses follow-up potential into forward or up aerials at low to medium percentages, depending on the opponent's DI. It also possesses a collateral hitbox to hit bystanders. Lastly, Luigi's down throw is his primary combo starter and is one of his most useful attacks: it deals average knockback, has low ending lag, and launches at a vertical angle, which collectively enable it to lead into potent and highly damaging combos, even being able to lead into potential zero-to-death combos. His down throw can combo into moves such as his up tilt, up smash, all of his aerials, Super Jump Punch and Luigi Cyclone, due to its aforementioned traits. It also functions as an excellent setup for KOs, such as by comboing into Super Jump Punch, back aerial, or Luigi Cyclone at high percentages. Although situational, Luigi's down throw also has a collateral hitbox before the throw that can hit bystanders, similarly to his up throw.
As a pseudo-clone of Mario, Luigi has a pair of special moves that are derived from his older brother, yet his versions deviate in noticeable ways. Fireball is a projectile that is useful for pressuring, hindering an opponent's approach, or setting up an attack. Unlike Mario's Fireball, Luigi's is unaffected by gravity and undulates; these traits make it somewhat less effective at hindering an opponent's recovery attempt, but allow it to cover a consistent area horizontally and vertically. Compared to Mario's version, Luigi's Fireballs have less ending lag as well as a clean hit that deals more damage, allowing him to throw another one just 1 frame before the clean hitbox ceases. Luigi's Super Jump Punch has fast startup like Mario's, but propels him vertically instead of diagonally. By extension, it consists of a sweetspot and sourspot, instead of multiple hitboxes like Mario's. Its sweetspot boasts devastating power, which makes it a very potent punishment option, yet it is very risky because of its high ending and landing lag and its sourspot being mostly useless aside from being a niche gimping option, as it only deals 1% damage and is not safe on hit due to hasving almost no knockback whatsoever.
Aside from these, Luigi's other special moves are completely distinct from Mario's. Green Missile deals damage and covers horizontal distance, both of which can be increased thanks to its ability to be charged, giving KO potential to the fully charged version. However, it also has a one-in-ten random chance of misfiring; in this case, it becomes even stronger than the fully charged version, and travels much further. Lastly, Luigi Cyclone grants Luigi some invincibility frames on startup, enabling him to break out of combos or contest opposing attacks effectively. It also functions as a KOing option near the upper blast line, and is a guaranteed follow-up from down throw even at high percentages, which can function as a reliable KO confirm (especially on platforms).
However, Luigi has some notable disadvantages. He has fairly sluggish mobility, with his extremely slow air speed and floaty physics making it difficult for him to land onstage, especially against faster characters, thus giving him a notable weakness to juggling. His range, even compared to Mario's, is well below-average and thus he struggles to approach characters with ranged or disjointed attacks, such as and . Compared to Mario, Luigi's lack of a reflector also makes it more difficult for him to deal with projectile camping (especially against characters such as , , and ) when combined with his awkward mobility.
Additionally, Luigi's poor aerial mobility hinders his ability to approach with his aerial attacks, as well as his recovery. On top of this, his recovery, although long-distanced, is linear, slow, predictable and fairly susceptible to gimping and edgeguarding. Luigi Cyclone barely grants any additional height compared to previous games, and its very high ending lag causes him to lose the height he obtained when using it, which leaves him reliant on Super Jump Punch and Green Missile for recovering; the former travels directly upward only, and the latter has noticeable lag, cannot sweetspot edges, and relies on either charging or its random misfire chance to cover a serviceable horizontal distance.
Overall, Luigi is a very solid character, but unlike Mario, he can have a tendency to run hot and cold. His extremely fast frame data, devastating combos and strong air game and grab game collectively make him a force to be reckoned with, so long as his opponents make careless mistakes. Luigi's overall combo game, KO potential, and advantage state are easily superior to his brother's, having many different set-ups that can deal absurdly high damage within seconds, and then score KOs immediately thereafter. However, Luigi's short range, merely average grounded mobility, abysmal aerial mobility, and predictable side special and up special force him to fight at close-quarters all the time, hindering both his approach and recovery. Because of this, a mastery of Luigi's recovery mix-ups and powerful combo game is crucial to achieving success with him.
==Changes from Super Smash Bros. 4==
Luigi has received some noticeable changes in his transition from SSB4 to Ultimate, with some altered animations and the introduction of the Poltergust G-00 to Luigi's moveset resulting in his moveset being further decloned from his brother . Collectively, these changes have resulted in numerous buffs and changes that improve his strengths and benefit him, but he also suffered from a few major nerfs in both the transition and game updates. As a result, he was nerfed slightly overall.
Luigi's direct nerfs have affected his playstyle quite noticeably. Luigi Cyclone travels much less vertical distance via button mashing, removing all of its usefulness for recovery, as even with very fast mashing, Luigi barely gets any additional distance at the end of the move. Alongside the addition of windboxes to it, this also removes its ability to gimp opponents and KO them at virtually any percentage if timed correctly, which was a crucial technique to his success in SSB4. His edgeguarding options are also more limited by the changes to his down smash's front hit: as the front hit now launches opponents away from Luigi instead of towards him, it no longer leads into a stage spike on opponents that are grabbing the ledge, and while the lower angle for both hits is more favourable for KOing, this is at the cost of the first hit's versatility.
In terms of indirect nerfs, the changes to air dodging have both helped and hindered Luigi, but hurt him overall: due to his floatiness, the reintroduction of directional air dodges allows him to use one for recovery in a pinch, but his air dodges have drastically more ending lag relative to the rest of the cast, thus making them more punishable, and recovery mix-ups with them are almost unfeasible due to the ability to only use one before landing. When combined with his air speed remaining the second worst in the game, as well as the severe distance nerf to Luigi Cyclone, his recovery is much more linear and easier to intercept, causing Luigi to become much more prone to edge-guarding and early offstage KOs, despite Super Jump Punch and fully charged Green Missile granting slightly more distance.
The addition of the Poltergust G-00 has brought both benefits and drawbacks to Luigi. His grabs are now much longer ranged while retaining only moderate ending lag for their range, and Luigi now has access to a grab aerial, the latter of which can be used as a spacing tool, start and/or extend combos, as well as even edge-guard opponents. Conversely, Luigi's grabs possess much more startup, and are more prone to punishment due to the ability to cancel spot dodges earlier into attacks, making them much riskier to use; this especially weakens Luigi's ability to shield grab, limiting his defensive game and the usage of his pivotal down throw.
However, Luigi has also received several buffs, with said buffs being of greater quantity than his nerfs. Some of his least useful moves in SSB4 have been significantly improved: his down tilt can be interrupted twice as fast and deals less knockback, allowing it to poke opponents much more safely and increasing its combo potential, while his dash attack has considerably decreased ending lag, connects more consistently, and has increased power, making it much safer and more reliable as a burst option, while its higher power gives it utility as a potential KO option near the edge at high percentages. Additionally, his existing KO options have been improved overall, as his forward smash, up smash, down aerial, sweetspotted Super Jump Punch, and Luigi Cyclone all have increased knockback; his forward smash and down smash's launching angles are much more favorable for KOing outright; his down smash's sweetspots out-prioritize its sourspots, and his back throw is more effective at KOing due to its much faster and farther release making it harder to DI.
Further complementing these changes, Luigi's already excellent combo game has been improved as well. His new up tilt has less ending lag and more range in front of and above him compared to his previous up tilt, his up aerial has less ending lag, and his down throw leads to deadlier combos, having more consistent KO setups and even potential zero-to-death combos due to its redistributed damage output, lower ending lag and Luigi's faster jumpsquat. Lastly, Luigi Cyclone has received far more utility overall to compensate for its recovery and gimping potential being removed: in addition to its aforementioned higher knockback, it inflicts more damage, pulls opponents in more consistently thanks to its new windboxes, connects more reliably, has increased range, and grants invincibility on startup; in particular, the lattermost change means Luigi has the fastest option to break out of combos in the game.
Luigi also benefits from some of the universal changes. Like the rest of the veterans, Luigi has had decreased landing lag in all his aerial attacks, a faster jumpsquat (now having a 3-frame jumpsquat like the rest of the cast), and his mobility enhanced in most areas, but most importantly, his infamously low traction has been greatly increased, which somewhat alleviates his problems with approaching and significantly improves his out of shield options. The increased shieldstun on grounded moves in comparison to SSB4 makes Luigi harder to punish on some of his moves, notably his newly improved down tilt. In addition, unlike most characters, Luigi has increased falling speed and gravity, making him less vulnerable to juggling while the latter increases his jump speed, allowing him to more easily take advantage of his buffed down throw and combo game when combined with his faster jumpsquat.
Overall, Luigi has become even more polarizing than in SSB4: while his combo and KO capabilities have been improved, Ultimates game engine and nerfs to crucial aspects of his toolkit have made it harder for him to take advantage of his strengths and render him easier to KO due to his worsened recovery. Because of this, Luigi fares overall worse than in SSB4, though his numerous options and terrific advantage still make him a viable character.
==Update history==
Luigi received a mix of buffs, nerfs and glitch fixes via game updates, but was buffed slightly overall. Update decreased his up aerial's ending lag, which improved its combo potential and restored its ability to auto-cancel with a short hop like in SSB and Brawl. Update granted Luigi a handful of buffs, with the most notable being a noticeable increase to Luigi Cyclone's knockback. Thanks to this buff, Luigi Cyclone now functions as a reliable KO confirm from down throw at high percentages when used on platforms.
Aside from this, Luigi received a few quality of life buffs: his up smash's knockback was increased, Green Missile's ending lag was decreased, and both his standing and pivot grabs gained 1 more active frame apiece. However, this update harmed Luigi more so than helped him by removing his down aerial's ability to meteor smash grounded opponents, which reverted it to how it functioned in SSB4. This greatly nerfed his ability to combo reliably, making zero to death combos less consistent overall.
As part of update 's near-universal nerf to projectiles, Fireball's shield damage output was decreased. Update improved his grab aerial's range by repositioning its plunger, and slightly improved his neutral attack's consistency. However, an adjustment to the timing of Luigi Cyclone's invincibility resulted in its utility being worsened slightly. Lastly, update noticeably improved his dash attack's consistency by decreasing its looping hits' knockback and adjusting its penultimate hit's angles. When coupled with the damage output buff it received in the transition to Ultimate, Luigi's dash attack has become more reliable both as a burst option and as a risky, yet viable KO option.
Overall, Luigi fares mildly better than he did at the launch of Ultimate. Although his down aerial's combo potential was worsened noticeably, his combo game remains potent thanks to the retention of his other inherent strengths, his up aerial's ending lag being decreased, and Luigi Cyclone's KO potential improving.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
==Moveset==
*Luigi can crawl.
*Luigi possesses a tether grab.
**It can be used as a grab aerial, but not as a tether recovery. 
For a gallery of Luigi's hitboxes, see here.
===Stats===
===Announcer calls===
Luigi English Announcer SSB4-SSBU.wav|English/Japanese/Chinese/Korean
Luigi German Announcer SSBU.wav|German
Luigi Dutch Announcer SSBU.wav|Dutch
Luigi French Announcer SSBU.wav|French
Luigi Spanish Announcer SSBU.wav|Spanish
Luigi Italian Announcer SSBU.wav|Italian
Luigi Russian Announcer SSBU.wav|Russian
===On-screen appearance===
*A green appears, and Luigi leaps out of it while saying "Let's-a go!" nervously and sporting a frightened expression that heavily resembles of .
LuigiOnScreenAppearanceSSBU.gif|Luigi's on-screen appearance.
===Taunts===
*Up taunt: Performs 5 poses in very quick succession. When switching from pose to pose he says, "Hoh hah hee heh hoo!"
:#Flashes the . This pose resembles the one he assumes upon collecting an item in Luigi's Mansion.
:#Points both his fingers in the direction he is facing, looking frightened.
:#Holds his finger under his nose and looks toward the screen. This pose heavily resembles the one he assumes in for .
:#Crouches down to the floor with his back turned to the player. This pose heavily resembles his bogey/loss animation from Mario Golf for the Nintendo 64.
:#Assumes a scared expression and pose with his hands on his cheeks. This pose heavily resembles his appearance on the cover artwork of Luigi's Mansion.
*Side taunt: Planks while saying "Pow pow." Due to this taunt moving Luigi forward into the z-axis and lowering his hurtbox, some attacks may actually miss him as a result.
*Down taunt: Bashfully kicks the ground while sighing. It is one of the few taunts in the game to inflict damage; it deals 2% and meteor smashes opponents with high set knockback, making it a surprisingly reliable combo starter onstage and allowing it to one-hit KO opponents who are off-stage or hanging on an edge. It is similar to the animation Luigi performs when he loses a in .
SSBULuigiTaunt1.gif|Luigi's up taunt.
SSBULuigiTaunt2.gif|Luigi's side taunt.
SSBULuigiTaunt3.gif|Luigi's down taunt.
===Idle poses===
*Rubs the back of his head sheepishly.
*Pulls his nose, which stretches slightly and then recoils back into place.
SSBULuigiIdle1.gif|Luigi's first idle pose.
SSBULuigiIdle2.gif|Luigi's second idle pose.
===Crowd cheer===
 	Cheer (English)	Cheer (Japanese/Chinese)	Cheer (Italian)	Cheer (Dutch)	Cheer (French)
Cheer 	 	 	 	 	
Description	Wee - gee! 	Lui - gi! 	Lu - i - gi! 	Lui - gi! 	Lui - gi!
 	Cheer (German)	Cheer (Spanish)	Cheer (Russian)	Cheer (Korean)
Cheer 	 	 	 	
Description	Lui - gi! 	Lui - gi! 	Lu - i - gi! 	Lu - i - gi!
===Victory poses===
*Left: Planks twice, much like in his side taunt and his artwork in SSB4. His nose twitches in brief intervals after the second plank.
*Up: With his back to the screen and his hands on his hips, Luigi nods his head twice. Then, he turns around and makes gun motions with his fingers, saying "Bang bang!" He continues to alternate between pointing his fingers and nose to the right and left.
*Right: Childishly flails his arms about in the air, first towards his right side and then his left. Afterwards, now exhausted, he gasps while holding his left hand out and resting his right hand on his knee. This is similar to his "character chosen" animation in SSB and his dash attack, albeit with a different ending animation.
LuigiVictoryPose1SSBU.gif
LuigiVictoryPose2SSBU.gif
LuigiVictoryPose3SSBU.gif
==In competitive play==
===Most historically significant players===
See also: :Category:Luigi players (SSBU)
* - The second-greatest Luigi player of all time who was active between 2019 and 2022. He spearheaded Luigi's playerbase with several top 8 finishes at majors, especially right after the pandemic where he placed 3rd at and 4th at and . He was the first Luigi player to rank in the top 50, with his best placement being 14th on the OrionRank Ultimate: Eclipse. He was banned in several regions in 2022 due to allegations regarding his conduct while drunk and has remained inactive since.
* - Debuted during the online metagame and was the best Luigi in North America's online metagame, with notable placements such as 2nd at the . Offline, he has been one of the best Luigi players in North America since 2023, ranking 88th on the LumiRank 2023 and placing 17th at and 25th at upsetting , and 33rd at .
* - One of the best Luigi players in the post-pandemic metagame, as well as one of the best European players during this time. He was the definitive best Luigi player in the first half of 2023, right before Raru's meteoric rise in the second half of the year. He was initially known for winning , but became better known for being the first Luigi player to enter grand finals at a major, placing 2nd at . He ranked 47th on the LumiRank Mid-Year 2023, making him only the second Luigi player to rank top 50 globally, although he ultimately finished 64th on the full-year ranking.
* - One of Japan's all-time best Luigi players who has been active since the early metagame, where he placed 4th at , becoming the first Luigi player to place top 8 at a major and doing so a day before Elegant's first top 8 at . Although he went on a hiatus after 2019, he returned to competitive play in 2023 and is better known for his performances during this time, especially after he placed 5th at and saw two back-to-back runner-up performances at and .
* - The greatest Luigi player of all time, who has been the best Luigi player since 2023, and one of the best players from Japan in 2024. He is the first and only Luigi player to win both a major and supermajor in any Smash game, having won , , and . He was ranked 6th on the LumiRank 2024.2, becoming the only Luigi player to ever rank in the top 10 in any Smash game.
* - The best Luigi player in North America following Elegant's ban, with his highest ranking being 66th on the UltRank 2022, and is one of the best players in Mexico. Although his activity has been either online or in-region, he has won many regionals in his region and has also placed highly at all Mexican majors he attended, including 9th at and 17th at both and . 
* - The best Luigi player in Japan in 2021 and 2022. He was first known for his upset over at , which is the largest upset at an Ultimate major, with an upset factor of 14. He has also placed highly at several majors, including 9th at , and was ranked 90th on the OrionRank 2022. He began playing over Luigi in 2023, although he keeps Luigi as a co-main.
===Tier placement and history===
Luigi's new grab (which had noticeably more lag) and nerfs to Luigi Cyclone that removed its recovery and gimping potential initially soured opinions on his viability. However, many players soon realized Luigi's combo game potential, specifically his zero-to-death combos. In addition, several Luigi players placed highly at tournaments as the metagame progressed, most notably , who, despite a rough start, eventually became a top 50 player by the end of the first year. Although Luigi's poor disadvantage state still hindered him, his perception greatly improved, and many players considered him as a mid-tier at worst.
Since then, Luigi's results only improved as his combo game developed even further: in the post-online metagame, Elegant established himself as a top 20 player in the world following a string of top 8 results at supermajor events. Even after Elegant's ban, many other Luigi players remained active in competitive play, leaving Luigi with a relatively large playerbase. Most notable among them were and , both of whom have seen placements that were on par with, if not better than, Elegant's best performances, giving Luigi a positive perception from the playerbase. As such, although he was ranked 47th on the first official tier list as an upper-mid tier, many players have argued that he should be ranked higher due to his strong results, powerful advantage state and deadly combo game. As such, he rose eight positions in the second tier list, ranking at 39th place. However, many players still consider this placement too low and argue that he should be ranked in the high tier, especially after Raru's meteoric rise to the top 20 and becoming the first Luigi player in all of Smash to win a major, as he won , and his consistently high tournament results ranked him at 11th place in the LumiRank 2024.1 as one of the fastest rising stars in Ultimate.
The second half of 2024 saw even better results and representation from Luigi mains. In August, Raru won another major, , after defeating , and in November, he reached Luigi's best result yet in a Smash tournament, winning the supermajor , also against Doramigi. Due to this and his consistently high results in majors, he rose to 6th place in the LumiRank 2024.2, and other Luigi mains like and also noticeably rose in the rankings with consistently improving results in major tournaments. With his metagame developing more and more, Luigi shot up to 18th on the third and current tier list.
==: Luigi's Nightmares==
Luigi's opponents are fighters who demonstrate a creepy or scary motif, either because of their appearance (such as Dark Link), the series they hail from (such as Bayonetta), or both (such as Ridley). This theme is further referenced by each Round being fought on a stage that is gloomy and/or set at nighttime. The boss of Luigi's route, Dracula, also fits this theme due to being a vampire; on a related note, Dracula's role as the boss also references Luigi's exploration of his castle during and 's reveal trailer.
Round 	Opponent 	Stage 	Music 	Notes
1 	(×4) 	Luigi's Mansion 	 	The Dark Toon Links' models are not brightened or darkened to differentiate them.
2 	Giant 	Brinstar 	 	
3 	 	Umbra Clock Tower 	 	
4 	(×3), (×2), and	Luigi's Mansion (Battlefield form)	 	Horde Battle (3 at a time). costume combinations:
*Hockey Mask and SSB T-shirt (Brawler)
*Magic Hat and Ashley Outfit (Swordfighter)
*Devil Horns and Vampire Garb (Brawler)
*Bear Hat and Bear Suit (Gunner)
*King K. Rool Hat and King K. Rool Outfit (Brawler)
*Majora's Mask and SSB T-shirt (Swordfighter)
5 	 	Midgar 	 	
6 	, then Giant 	Luigi's Mansion (Ω form) 	 	Mr. Game & Watch is not announced during the loading screen. Items do not appear.
Bonus Stage	Bonus Stage 	Bonus Stage 	Bonus Stage 	Bonus Stage
Final 	Dracula 	 	Phase 1: Phase 2:	
Credits roll after completing Classic Mode. Completing it as Luigi has accompany the credits.
==Role in World of Light==
Although Luigi does not appear in the World of Light opening cutscene, he was presumably vaporized and later imprisoned alongside the rest of the fighters (sans ) when Galeem unleashed his beams of light.
Luigi was one of the many fighters who fell under Dharkon's control upon Galeem's first defeat, and he can be found in the Mysterious Dimension, being guarded by the spirit after awaking .
===Fighter Battle===
No.	Image	Name 	Type	Power 	Stage 	Music
09 	 	Luigi	 	10,600	Luigi's Mansion (Ω form)	
==Spirits==
Luigi's fighter spirit can be obtained by completing as Luigi. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 300 Gold, but only after Luigi has been unlocked. Unlocking Luigi in World of Light allows the player to preview the first spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As a fighter spirit, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and is purely aesthetic. His fighter spirit has an alternate version that replaces it with his artwork in Ultimate.
Additionally, Luigi makes an appearance in various primary and support spirits.
SSBU spirit Luigi.png|4. Luigi
SSBU spirit Fox Luigi.png|25. Fox Luigi
SSBU spirit Plessie.png|77. Plessie
SSBU spirit Goo-Goo Buggy.png|81. Goo Goo Buggy
SSBU spirit Mr. L.png|100. Mr. L
SSBU spirit Papercraft Mario.png|110. Papercraft Mario
SSBU spirit Luigi (Mario Tennis Aces).png|133. Luigi (Mario Tennis Aces)
SSBU spirit Stork.png|302. Stork
SSBU spirit MONSTER.png|1,133. MONSTER
SSBU spirit Luigi (Mario Golf Super Rush).png|1,492. Luigi (Mario Golf: Super Rush)
==In Spirit Battles==
===As the main opponent===
Spirit	Spirit 	Spirit 	Spirit 	Battle parameters	Battle parameters	Battle parameters 	Battle parameters 	Battle parameters 	Battle parameters	Battle parameters 	Inspiration
No. 	Image 	Name 	Series 	Enemy Fighter(s) 	Type 	Power 	Stage 	Rules 	Conditions 	Music 	Character
25 	 	Super Mario Series 	•Tail 	 	9,300 	Mushroom Kingdom U 	•Hazard: Heavy Wind 	•Dangerously high winds are in effect 	 	 	
35 	 	Super Mario Series 	• 	 	9,200 	Peach's Castle 	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Waluigi) 	•Hostile assist trophies will appear 	 	 	
89 	 	Mario Kart Series 	• 	 	3,700 	Mario Circuit 	•Hazard: High Gravity•Item: Mario Kart 	•All fighters have reduced jump ability•The enemy can deal damage by dashing into you 	 	Luigi's 	
100 	 	Paper Mario Series 	• 	 	4,300 	Luigi's Mansion (Ω form) 	•Hazard: Fog 	•The stage is covered in fog•The enemy favors special moves•The enemy's FS Meter charges quickly 	 	 	
110 	 	Mario & Luigi Series 	• 	 	2,300 	Magicant (Battlefield form) 	•Hazard: Slumber Floor 	•The floor is sleep-inducing 	 	Dreamy Luigi 	
121 	 	Luigi's Mansion Series 	• Team 	 	4,000 	Luigi's Mansion 	N/A 	•The enemy's throws have increased power 	 	ScareScraper Luigis	
124 	Waluigi (Mario Strikers)	Super Mario Strikers Series Mario Strikers Series	• 	 	3,600 	Wuhu Island (Swordplay Colosseum)	•Item: Soccer Ball 	•Take your strongest team into this no-frills battle 	 	 	
133 	 	Mario Tennis Aces 	• • 	 	3,400 	Pokémon Stadium 2 (hazards off) 	N/A 	•The enemy favors smash attacks 	 	 	
257 	 	The Legend of Zelda Series 	• • 	 	9,000 	Wuhu Island (The boat) 	•Buoyancy Reduced 	•No one knows how to swim 	 	 	
440 	 	Pokémon Series 	• 	 	3,300 	Mushroom Kingdom II 	•Hazard: Left Is Right, Right Is Left•Move Speed ↓ 	•Left and right controls will suddenly reverse after a little while•All fighters have reduced move speed 	 	 	
578 	 	EarthBound Series 	•Giant (140 HP)	 	4,200 	Mushroomy Kingdom 	N/A 	•Stamina battle•The enemy is giant 	 	 	
584 	 	EarthBound Series 	• 	 	2,500 	Pac-Land (Battlefield form) 	•Item: Smoke Ball•Hazard: Fog 	•The stage is covered in fog•The enemy's kicks and knee strikes have increased power 	 	 	
834 	 	Animal Crossing Series 	• 	 	3,200 	Smashville 	•Earthquake 	•The enemy starts the battle with a •Periodic earthquakes will shake the stage•The enemy can swing the Hammer for a long time	 	 	
847 	 	Animal Crossing Series 	• (140 HP) 	 	3,600 	New Donk City Hall (hazards off) 	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Kapp'n) 	•Stamina battle•Hostile assist trophies will appear 	 	 	
855 	 	Animal Crossing Series 	• 	 	4,100 	Town and City 	•Item: Bananas 	•Timed battle (1:00)•The enemy loves to taunt 	 	 	
935 	 	Punch-Out!! Series 	• (120 HP) 	 	1,700 	Boxing Ring 	N/A 	•Stamina battle•The enemy loves to taunt 	 	 	
1,189 	 	SimTower SP 	• • ×2 	 	2,000 	Tomodachi Life 	•Item: Ore Club•Hazard: Heavy Wind 	•Dangerously high winds are in effect after a little while•The enemy is easily distracted by items 	 	 	
1,225 	 	Sujin Taisen: Number Battles Series 	• 	 	1,800 	Windy Hill Zone 	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Dr. Kawashima) 	•Hostile assist trophies will appear 	 	 	
1,354 	 	Tetris Series 	• 	 	3,700 	Mario Bros. (Battlefield form) 	•Hazard: Left Is Right, Right Is Left•Assist Trophy Enemies (Waluigi)	•Left and right controls will suddenly reverse after a little while •Hostile assist trophies will appear 	 	L-Tetrimino 	
1,492 	 	Mario Golf: Super Rush 	• Team ×10 	 	4,500 	Wuhu Island (bridge section) 	•Move Speed ↑•Item: Balls 	•The enemy has increased move speed•The enemy starts the battle with a Fire Bar•Defeat an army of fighters 	 	 	
===As a minion===
Spirit	Spirit	Spirit 	Spirit 	Battle parameters	Battle parameters	Battle parameters 	Battle parameters 	Battle parameters 	Battle parameters	Battle parameters 	Inspiration
No. 	Image 	Name 	Series 	Enemy Fighter(s) 	Type 	Power 	Stage 	Rules 	Conditions 	Music 	Character
81 	 	Mario Kart Series 	• • 	 	3,400 	Figure-8 Circuit 	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Chain Chomp)	•Hostile assist trophies will appear•The enemy has increased move speed 	 	 	
101 	 	Paper Mario Series 	• •Giant 	 	3,800 	Paper Mario 	•Attack Power ↑ 	•The enemy has increased attack power after a little while•The enemy deals damage when falling•The enemy is giant	 	 	
108 	 	Mario & Luigi Series 	• • • 	 	3,300 	Brinstar (Battlefield form) 	•Tiny•Giant 	•The enemy is giant•The enemy is tiny after a little while 	 	 	
128 	 	Mario Party Series 	• • • • 	 	1,600 	 	•Item Tidal Wave 	•Certain items will appear in large numbers after a little while 	 	 	
1,132 	 	Ice Hockey 	• • • 	 	1,500 	Pokémon Stadium (Ω form) 	•Slippery Stage 	•The stage's platforms are very slippery 	 	Tall thin hockey player	
1,154 	 	Marvelous: Mouhitotsu no Takarajima	• • • 	 	1,800 	Tortimer Island 	•Item: Beastball 	•Take your strongest team into this no-frills battle 	 	Jack 	
1,321 	 	Super Mario Series 	• • (Moveset 2121, Super Mushroom Hat, Yellow Toad Outfit, High Voice Type 7)• •	 	10,000 	Mushroom Kingdom U (hazards off)	•Easy to Launch•Hazard: Low Gravity 	•All fighters are easy to launch•Timed battle (1:00)•Gravity is reduced 	 	 	
==Alternate costumes==
							
							
==Gallery==
SSBU Luigi Number.png|Luigi's fighter card.
Luigi unlock notice SSBU.jpg|Luigi's unlock notice.
SSBUWebsiteLuigi1.jpg|Taunting on Magicant.
SSBUWebsiteLuigi2.jpg|Hitting with a sweetspotted Super Jump Punch on .
SSBUWebsiteLuigi3.jpg|Using Fireball on Skyloft.
SSBUWebsiteLuigi4.jpg|Hitting with the third hit of his neutral attack on Coliseum.
SSBUWebsiteLuigi5.jpg|Walking in front of Bewear on Pilotwings.
SSBUWebsiteLuigi6.jpg|Hitting with his neutral aerial on Bridge of Eldin.
SSBUWebsiteOlimar5.jpg|Taunting alongside Pikmin and on Distant Planet.
SSBUWebsiteInkling2.jpg|Being hit by 's forward smash on Luigi's Mansion.
SSBUWebsiteSukapon3.jpg|Being grabbed by Sukapon.
SSBUWebsiteKen5.jpg| using Hadoken against Luigi on Mario Galaxy.
===Fighter Showcase Video===
==Trivia==
*Oddly, the physics of the are different when the game speed is modified, which reduces the grab ranges of all of Luigi's grabs.
*In 's reveal trailer, Luigi was shown having his soul taken by Death, which led to humorous posts from the community claiming that Luigi had been officially "killed off". In turn, wrote a mock obituary for Luigi. Nintendo UK eventually responded with a short message of "Luigi is okay" as a nod to this event.
**Luigi was not shown from the rest of the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Direct (not counting menus and the like) of August 8th, 2018. Despite this, and were present in this Direct, even after being killed in 's reveal trailer.
***Luigi is also one of three characters to not appear in any in-battle footage in the Direct, the others being and the s. 
* was teased before it was officially announced through Simon's trailer, as Luigi can be seen using the new Poltergust G-00 from the aforementioned game.
*Luigi can be seen performing Green Missile in for Ultimate. He also does this in a piece of for Super Smash Bros. Melee.
*Luigi is the first and only veteran in the series to have their standard grab be changed into a tether grab between installments.
*In a promo screenshot for the game depicting Luigi in his Waluigi-inspired alternate costume, the "L" on his cap was green, but in the final game, it is purple, like in Super Smash Bros. 4.
*Luigi is one of two characters to represent an upcoming game at the time of the game's release through their moveset. The other character with this distinction is through his alternate costume.
*Luigi's yellow alternate costume has a light blue L on his cap in-game, as opposed to it being yellow and matching the rest of the cap in his render. The head icon, however, properly colors the L.
*Prior to update 3.1.0, the used during Luigi's on-screen appearance would not appear to have any lighting effects, unlike Mario's.
*Luigi is the only member of the Original 12 to be unlocked in The Dark Realm in Adventure Mode, and the only one to be unlocked in a sub-world.
*In the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Direct of November 1, 2018, Sakurai noted during the part where he described that Luigi is the original Echo Fighter, as he was initially introduced as a simple palette swap of Mario in 1983's with identical abilities. Likewise, Luigi was originally a full clone of Mario in the original Super Smash Bros., though he has since been heavily de-cloned to the point of being a pseudo-clone as of Ultimate.
*Alongside and , Luigi is one of three characters in Ultimate with a taunt that cannot be canceled, due to the fact that their non-cancelable taunts have hitboxes.
**Interestingly, it is still possible to cancel 's taunts despite them also possessing a hitbox.
*Luigi's official artwork is based on the third hit of his neutral attack, albeit featuring him with a scared expression.
*Through unlocking through versus mode and awakening all fighters in World of Light, Luigi is the last member of the Original 12 to be unlocked. However, via Mario's unlock tree in , Luigi can potentially be the first of the Original 12 to be unlocked.
*Despite having all of his animations mirrored, Luigi has different animations when using moves that involve Poltergust G-00, so he may not face the screen when he uses his grabs and his Final Smash. He is the only character with mirrored animations to hold this distinction.
*If Luigi blocks an attack with his shield, he reverts to his shielding pose from SSB4.
*If Luigi uses his grab immediately after inputting his dash attack, his dash attack voice clip will play during his grab animation.
*If Luigi is cursed or using Superspicy Curry, there is a glitch which results in his wincing expression overlapping his angry expression if he performs either his forward aerial or charges up Green Missile.
*If Luigi gets counterattacked by Blade Counter while facing left, he will be forced to show his back due to Blade Counter forcing him to use the incorrect grab release animation.
*There is a minor sound effect oversight regarding Green Missile, in which its popping sound effect plays after Luigi has already removed his head after colliding with a wall. This is due to the animation being sped up from SSB4 without the sound effect being adjusted to match the animation.
==References==
 
Category:Spirits
es:Luigi (SSBU)