A popular question through countless Reddit posts, Smashboard threads, and Ask.fm questions is “Which character should I choose?” Understandably so, many new players sometimes feel lost when it comes to picking a character to pursue, practice, and refine in the competitive Melee field. In this guide, I hope to:
• Shed some light on this choosing process,
• Show how new players can, without a doubt, know they made the “right” choice.
The Choosing Process
Super Smash Bros. Melee has 26 characters. Choosing one of them on which to focus can certainly be a daunting task, seeing as each has his or her strengths and weaknesses. As they begin their journey into Melee’s competitive realm, new players tend to consult tier lists and top professionals to shape their opinion on which characters are the best to pursue. While looking up to those who have paved the way is wise, this should not be the only thing a seeking player should do.
Obviously, players play Melee competitively because—to some extent—they have a drive to play the game to the best of their ability and have the greatest chance of success. This is why “playing to win” and “playing for fun” are synonymous in the mind of a competitive player. That mindset of “playing to win” fuels players’ pursuits of characters, but again, it should not be the only thing a seeking player should do.
After all this, a question arises: where should an aspiring player look when in quest of his or her ideal character?
The answer? New players should find their best-fit character where their competitive drive and deepest enjoyment of the game meet.
Simply put: Find the character that, in your mind, gives you the “best chance to win,” and is the one you enjoy the most. This—without a doubt—worked for me when I went about choosing Marth when I discovered competitive Melee in 2007, and it still works when I go about shuffling my secondary characters.
How to Know You Made the “Right Choice”
There are some simple questions you can answer for yourself once you’ve chosen a character and begun to develop your skills with him or her (or it!). As you play, ask yourself:
• Am I enjoying the game to the utmost through this character?
• Am I continually learning new things about this character, even as I refine my technical skill?
• Do I have confidence I can do well with this character?
• Am I enjoying playing as this character more than I would with any other?
If you can answer “yes” to all of these questions, you can be certain of your choice of character.
So, when next the question arises, “Which character do you think I should choose?” answer with, “Whichever one you can enjoy and improve most from.” The choosing process is difficult and involves trial and error, but making the right choice is worth it.
by Josh “Face of Beau” Beaumont
I’ve been playing this game since it was released, and I’ve changed my main character several times.
At the very beginning, I changed main character based on its looks, or on how much I enjoyed the game they were representing.
I remember my first want-to-win change was against a friend I just couldn’t beat because he played Sheik and I was a really bad Link. After discovering advanced Melee, my character changing decisions slowly changed to this comfort-fun-grow you described in this article, and no doubt it’s the best way to pick.
This question has been answered at least five years ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGh4ZU4H5Hk
But on the real, tho, pick a character that you like, but at least play a lil of all of the top tiers to get a sense of where the meta is.
New players should also know that stylistic considerations (preferring aggression or speed or big risks or whatever) are different at a low level versus a high level. A new player looking for a heavy tank might not know that Peach essentially fills that role at a high level of play. I think it’s really good for a strong player to help newer players make informed decisions on character choice and improvement.