[Top 15] Smash Ultimate Best Characters For Beginners! (2022 Edition)

A piece of the famous Smash Ultimate banner art of all characters

Updated:

06 Jan 2022

Smash Ultimate can often seem like a very difficult game to get started in, with dozens of characters to choose from with many of them being incredibly difficult to get the hang of. However, there’s a solution to that, and that would be this wonderful list of Smash Ultimate’s 15 Best Characters for Beginners. And without any further ado, let’s get right into the list.

15: Pac-man

Pac-man is as might a foe as he is (somewhat) simple

Pac-man, hailing from the Pac-man series crazily enough, was one of many third party characters added to Smash 4. As a fighter from an older generation of games, Pac-man has a very different but simple gameplay style at the beginner level. His projectiles are easy to understand, with other mechanics that might take some getting used to but are far simpler than some characters.

Pac-man also grants incredible room for growth, as he is considered a top 10 character by many pros for some of the tricks he can pull off and the overall power of his character.

What makes Pac-man good for beginners:

Strong, quick projectiles
Easy-to-understand mechanics
Very directional moves (press up and a, the move goes up)
Amazing recovery

See Pac-man in action

14: Snake

Snake is here to prove that being part of the military doesn't have to be complicated

Moving on from one generational symbol to the next, Snake from Metal Gear Solid pops in right above Pac-man. While Pac-man is relatively easy to understand, Snake is simply more powerful and easier to understand. You throw a bomb, they blow up. You hit them, they disappear.

What makes Snake good for beginners:

Many projectiles, all of which are controllable in some sense
Very good recovery, which is extendable with practice
Powerful, quick moves

See Snake in action

13: Simon/Richter

Simon (and Richter) break forward to vanquish demons with simple tools and a mighty whip

While Snake may be powerful and a great zoner, Simon and Richter are simply easier to use than those before them. Because of their massive, disjointed hitboxes as well as their multiple, impossible to avoid projectiles. For beginners, these fighters will be one of the first options they come to.

What makes Simon/Richter good for beginners:

Long, disjointed whip hitboxes
Average recovery for beginners, good learning curve
Amazing zoning tools, little to no interaction

See Simon/Richter in action

12: King K. Rool

King K. Rool truly delivers to both long awaitng fans and newcomers to the Smash Series alike

You might be noticing a trend here, and that would be that often the best characters are zoners. King K. Rool is an amazing beginner zoner, with incredibly powerful projectiles and an incredible passive ability with his belly armor on half his kit. If you’re first approaching this character, you’re guaranteed to beat your friends game after game.

What makes King K. Rool good for beginners:

Amazing zoning, powerful projectiles
Powerful passive ability with belly armor
Great, hard to challenge recovery
Incredible kill power

See King K. Rool in action

11: Joker

Joker makes his way in being an incredibly broken yet easy to understand character that will guide new players to greater heights

Shifting from a bunch of projectile heavy, powerhouse characters to a character with the dreaded comeback mechanic. Joker, the second of the twelve DLC characters, is a top three character in the pro scene and barely outside of the top ten beginner characters. Thanks to his amazing recovery, comeback mechanic and simple combos

What makes Joker good for beginners:

Easy combos/strings
Great recovery
Arsene literally makes him the best character in the game
Fast and powerful moves

See Joker in action

10: Terry

Command inputs aren't necessary when utilizing the simply fury of Terry Bogard

Many people would think that a traditional fighting game character would be a terrible option for beginners due to their command inputs and difficult combos, however Terry solves all of these issues. Terry is incredibly viable even without command inputs and combos, and because of this is perfect as a character a player can learn the game with.

What makes Terry good for beginners:

Amazing recovery options
Powerful, quick moves that have command inputs one can master eventually
GO!!! Meter is a perfect comeback mechanic to have on your side
Incredible combo potential

See Terry in action

9: Sonic

Sheer speed allows for some incredibly thoughtless gameplay

Sonic is one of the most recognizable faces in gaming (however there are dozens of those now), and as such is beginner friendly like other such family faces. With his kit consisting of very simplistic spin moves, a wonderful recovery, and of course the fastest moves around, Sonic opens up hundreds of possibilities for beginner players to explore with.

What makes Sonic good for beginners:

Quick movement allows for a lot of dodging and avoidance
Fast short combos that work off of his movement options
One of the best recoveries in the game that can also be used as a weapon

See Sonic in action

8: R.O.B.

Sometimes I wonder if playing R.O.B. doesn't just replace me with an A.I.

Possibly the most polarizing position on this list for experienced players, R.O.B. is a fighter that an animal could probably win with. However, it isn’t as beginner friendly as the fighters above him on this list. R.O.B. 's robotic prowess with flight, some of the fastest tilts in the game, projectiles, invulnerability and combos will make him seem like one of the best fighters to new players.

What makes R.O.B. good for beginners:

One of the best tilts in the game with down tilt
Amazing projectile gameplay
Good close-combat moves
Perfect recovery
Gimp potential

See R.O.B. in action

7: Mario

Of course Mario is near the middle of the list, being a mascot character requires you to be simple

Of course, no list is complete without Mr. Nintendo himself, Mario. Mario is a wonderful character for beginners, being an incredibly recognizable face who’s overall power and ability is almost as recognizable. Thanks to Mario’s above average recovery, quick and safe moves plus his “Jack of all trades” character design, he’s perfect for any beginner to just pick up and play.

What makes Mario good for beginners:

Good at just about everything, from zoning to close combat to recovery
Quick moves that are all safe on shield
Powerful kill potential
Insane combo game

See Mario in action

6: Bowser

Normally being huge wouldn't be a good thing in Smash, but for beginners it's wonderful

Right after Mr. Nintendo himself comes his main villain one-upping him once again in more than just design. Bowser is a beginner’s best friend, with the hardest hitting moves, invulnerability and flames that pour onto your opponents dreadful face, he is a force to be reckoned with.

What makes Bowser good for beginners:

“Tough Guy” armor that guards from low-percent attacks
Super armor on a lot of moves
Good but sometimes strange recovery
Top-tier kill power

See Bowser in action

5: Palutena

The Goddess gets a pass on having a complicated moveset

Hailing from the heavens above, Palutena presents quick, multi-hitting moves with large hitboxes and multiple gimmicky mechanics. With a counter and reflector built into one move, with some windboxes and projectiles to boot.

What makes Palutena good for beginners:

Amazing zoning tools
Counter and Reflector
Large, disjointed hitboxes + windboxes
Multi-hit moves that set up easy combos

See Palutena in action

4: Ike

Ike may be simple in character structure, but it won't be simple trying to explain how he holds that sword with one hand

Ike, a close combat swordsman and one of the most original fire emblem characters excluding present and past DLC, is by far the easiest sword-based character to understand. With no conflicting hitboxes, a massive weapon and a great recovery with powerful moves, Ike is a simple to understand and easy to use character.

What makes Ike good for beginners:

Big, powerful moves
Easy to use and good recovery
Disjointed hitboxes

See Ike in action

3: Ness

I hate this kid with a burning passion because of his mindnumbing simplicity

Ness, hailing from a series gone but not forgotten is by and large one of the most annoying and yet easy to grasp fighters in the game. Due in large part to his exceptional, yet sometimes difficult recovery, as well as his “Button-mashing” type game style allows for anyone to pick up the character and do well. However, a word of caution: Do not do this if you care about your friendships.

What makes Ness good for beginners:

Button-mashing just works for his aerials
Good learning-type recovery
Fast, easy to use, directional, disjointed moves
Killing grabs
Incredible Smash Attacks

See Ness in action

2: Samus

The galaxy's most dangerous bounty hunter is also the second most easy to understand character, surprising huh?

Moving on, we have Samus, the galaxy’s deadliest bounty hunter, and also the second easiest character to understand. While her Zero Suit counterpart is one of the more difficult characters to use, Samus is the most simplistic zoning character in the game, which makes no sense because her games require complex and precise and often infuriating movements. Her kit follows a simple blueprint: special moves are projectiles or a bomb of some sort, and normals are used for close combat.

What makes Samus good for beginners:

Incredibly long grab range
Fast and directional moves
Projectiles allow for less direct interactions
Good recovery for learning

See Samus in action

1: Kirby

The pink ball bringing doom and despair to all those in its adorable wake, Kirby rounds off this list

And of course, making number one on our list is none other than the small, round devourer of worlds, Kirby. Quite literally the single most well-designed fighter for beginners, Kirby has always been the starter character. Both in the Kirby franchise and Smash Ultimate’s own story mode, Kirby is the first and most simplistic character given to the player.

What makes Kirby good for beginners: