Super Smash Bros: 7 Most Controversial Characters In The Series, Ranked

Summary

Pichu is controversial due to damaging itself in battles, raising questions about his place in the roster.
Meta Knight was divisive due to his all-around strength in combat, making him a challenging opponent in Brawl.
Cloud’s overwhelming strength in the game led to heated discussions and nerfs, causing controversy among fans.

With a stacked roster of over 90 playable fighters to choose from, it’s fair to say there is certainly no shortage of iconic characters to pick from when loading into a game of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. However, while the majority of these characters are beloved and have gone on to become fan favorites, there have definitely also been a select few who could be considered a little more divisive, and there are a few reasons why this could end up being the case.

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On the one hand, while it’s established that virtually anyone can join in on Smash, some third-party characters can still feel a little out of place, taking up a slot which maybe could have been reserved for someone more fitting. Of course, there’s also the chance that a character can end up being a little too strong for their own good in the game itself, which can also make them pretty polarizing in the eyes of fans. With that in mind, these are among the most divisive characters that have shown up in the immensely popular Super Smash Bros. series.

7

Pichu

As A Joke Character, Pichu Isn’t As Beloved As Most Other Fighters

First Introduced: Super Smash Bros. Melee

Joke characters are nothing new in the world of fighting games, though considering they still take up a character slot, they are often seen as somewhat controversial among many fans, and this also relates to Pichu. The main issue with Pichu is that, despite being an Electric-type Pokemon, any of its attacks that involve electricity will cause damage to itself.

As a result, people simply brushed the character to the side, but once it became popular within Smash tournaments, many began to wonder whether Pichu should even be in the series at all, considering he’s always playing at a disadvantage. At the same time, there aren’t many people out there who are going to be opposed to more Pokemon being added to a Smash game, so Pichu is a fighter who every fan has their personal opinion on.

Meta Knight’s Mobility And Strength Made Him A Terrifying Foe To Take On In Brawl

First Introduced: Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Super Smash Bros Brawl was the game that opened up the floodgates in terms of what characters could be introduced to the series. However, while Snake and Sonic were the primary characters that took many fans by surprise, it would end up being Meta Knight who was the most talked about among most pro players at the time. Usually, Smash characters will excel in one or two areas in combat, but Meta Knight was simply good all around.

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His wings enabled him to effortlessly avoid incoming attacks while also closing the gap on his opponents in barely any time at all. This isn’t even mentioning his neutral attacks, which would basically act as an impenetrable defense, making it extremely difficult to even get close, let alone damage him. While he was never considered outright broken, Meta Knight in Brawl was still an especially tricky opponent who some came to love, and others would disdain.

5

Cloud

It Seems Like Sakurai Got A Little Carried Away When Adjusting Cloud’s Power Level

First Introduced: Super Smash Bros. Wii U & 3DS

The reveal that Cloud would be added to Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS still stands as one of the most shocking reveals in the history of the franchise. Still, while fans were overjoyed to see the classic JRPG protagonist make his way into the roster, it quickly became clear he would be needing some much-needed nerfs as soon as possible.

Cloud’s combo attacks with his Buster Sword would be able to shoot people off the screen in mere seconds, even if they were still on a low percentage. At the time of his release, there were some discussions about how many of the other characters were already extremely powerful to begin with, but there were others who picked on Cloud specifically for his overwhelming strength. Ultimately, the controversy surrounding Cloud would disappear as soon as Bayonetta was announced not long after, and while he’s in a much better spot these days, long-time fans will never be able to forget the amount of carnage this iconic protagonist caused when he was released.

4

Kazuya

Tekken’s Representative Has Amassed An Army Of Both Fans And Haters

First Introduced: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Considering he is essentially the face of one of the most popular fighting game franchises of all time, nobody was surprised when Kazuya Mishima was announced as a DLC character for Smash Ultimate. As he had done with all the previous DLC fighters, Sakurai made sure that Kazuya played as similarly to his Tekken iteration as possible, for better or worse.

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On the one hand, it’s a ton of fun being able to throw out Kazuya’s classic auto combos to launch someone off the stage, but experienced players were also able to notice a few quirks in Kazuya’s kits that made him especially annoying to fight. For example, there’s a real weightiness to Kazuya’s movement, which can make it feel like he’s playing an entirely different game to everyone else. His Devil Form also felt just a tad too strong for its own good, though some argued this was intentional, considering how powerful this form of Kazuya is designed to be in the Tekken lore.

3

Fox

Fox, Even Today, Continues To Dominate The Melee Roster

First Introduced: Super Smash Bros. 64

In Super Smash Bros Melee, there are plenty of fun characters to choose from, but those who are eager to win will almost always pick Fox. This character’s speed and agility far exceed anyone else in the game, and considering how fast the moment-to-moment gameplay of Melee is, it can often feel impossible for anyone else in the roster to even keep up with him.

Not only that, Fox also has a lightning-fast side dash which can be used to both avoid and damage enemies, and even comes with a great recovery alongside some lethal poke attacks. Fox has been toned down greatly since Melee’s release, but even today, he is still by far the most popular character in Melee tournaments, so much so that some people even argue that he should be banned entirely, while others enjoy watching him in action because of his flashy fighting style.

2

Steve

The Quirky Mine Dweller Showed Up To A Mixed Reception From Fans

First Introduced: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

The majority of character reveals for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate ended up going over extremely well with the fans, but the one outlier to this was Steve. Considering Minecraft is one of the most popular games of all time, there was every reason for Steve to show up in some form or another, but while he definitely would have been a good fit being a simple Assist Trophy, the fact that he was made a fully playable character was met with mixed reception.

On the one hand, Minecraft fans, who had been desperately waiting for him to be added to the roster for many years, were finally able to jump into battle with the iconic character, but others felt his design and strange fighting style were just too unorthodox to work in a Smash game. He would only become more polarizing after he was released, with his bizarre building abilities being a lot of fun to use, but an absolute nightmare to fight against.

1

Bayonetta

Bayonetta Turned Out To Be Far Stronger Than Anyone Could Have Anticipated

First Introduced: Super Smash Bros. Wii U & 3DS

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate wasn’t the first game where Bayonetta caught controversy after appearing on a Nintendo system. When Bayonetta 2 was revealed to be an exclusive for the Wii U, conversations began to rise about whether the hack-and-slash seductress was family-friendly enough to even be on a Nintendo console, though it didn’t take long before fans warmed up to the idea, with it soon seeming inevitable that she would eventually make her way to Smash.

However, while it was clear that the Umbra Witch was going to be a formidable foe, nobody could have expected just how insanely powerful she would be when she launched. Her giant demon attacks and Witch Time ability made her virtually untouchable when used in the right hands, to the point where many pros agreed she was objectively the best character in the game for the Wii U version. This even spawned the now iconic clip of the 2018 Evo finals, where the finalists both decided to pick Bayonetta, only for them to be booed by the audience for the entire match. Thankfully, Bayonetta has been nerfed a lot since then and now feels much more fun to play in Smash Ultimate, but to say she was divisive when she was released would be putting it lightly.