Summary
The victory rate among all playable characters inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimatecomes down to just a few percentage points, according to the game’s director, Masahiro Sakurai. There are more than 50 playable characters inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate, and the difference between their win rates in online matches is actually pretty minuscule.
TheSuper Smash Bros. games make up atimeless fighting game seriesdating back to the days of the N64. While the original game sported a roster of just a dozen characters,Ultimatecurrently has 57 official fighters that players can choose from, offering plenty of styles and move sets for players to strategize around.
Game director Masahiro Sakuraireleased the information via YouTubeas part of his ongoing information series on game creation. According to Sakurai, the character with the highest win percentage in online matches wins 51.43 percent of the time, while the character with the lowest win rate still comes away with the victory in 47.18 percent of online matches. While the director wouldn’t divulge too many details about the win rate information, including which characters are at the top and bottom of the rankings, he noted that the information was tracked from online matches from across the world, which he feels verifies it as “impartial global data, without any bias.” And while Sakurai does not believe that balanced win rates should be the sole metric by which fighting games are judged, that balance has likely helpedSuper Smash Bros. Ultimateto become one of thebest-selling Nintendo Switch gamesof all time, as well as the number-one fighting game on that console.
How Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Keeps Balancing Interesting
Sakurai didn’t just make the video to brag about his team’s success in balancing characters. Rather, he used the statistic as an example to drive home his main point that when designing characters, “average and mediocre are the same thing.” Sakurai seems pleased that the win rate data reflects a near-perfect balancing of the characters, but more than that, he expressed pride that the development team managed to make the characters feel unique by amplifying both their impressive traits and their shortcomings, drawing particular attention to how the uniqueness of characters was received inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate’s character reveals.
TheSuper Smash Bros. Ultimatedirector’s work is done, as he stated in February 2024. With development of the ever-evolving game finally complete after more than five years since its initial release, it seems like Sakurai is now intent on using it as a learning tool for other developers and a benchmark by which other fighting games can be judged.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
WHERE TO PLAY
Gaming icons clash in the ultimate brawl you can play anytime, anywhere! Smash rivals off the stage as new characters Simon Belmont and King K. Rool join Inkling, Ridley, and every fighter in Super Smash Bros. history. Enjoy enhanced speed and combat at new stages based on the Castlevania series, Super Mario Odyssey, and more!Having trouble choosing a stage? Then select the Stage Morph option to transform one stage into another while battling—a series first! Plus, new echo fighters Dark Samus, Richter Belmont, and Chrom join the battle. Whether you play locally or online, savor the faster combat, new attacks, and new defensive options, like a perfect shield. Jam out to 900 different music compositions and go 1-on-1 with a friend, hold a 4-player free-for-all, kick it up to 8-player battles and more!
