Luigi
All-Purpose Super-FAQ v0.5
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For Super Smash Bros: Melee
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By Matt DelGiudice (
[email protected])
Legal Statement / Copyright Statement
This document was created, edited, proofread, maintained, and nurtured by
me, Matt DelGiudice (
[email protected]). It is to be used only for private and
personal purposes. Under no circumstances is this document to be used for
promotional or profitable purposes, including being used in any way by or within
magazines, strategy guides, newspaper articles, mini-series' on FOX, etc. This
FAQ may be used on a web site as long as this disclaimer appears in full, and
the content remains completely and totally UNCHANGED. Other copyrights and
trademarks are acknowledged. Don't steal from me. My FAQ. In layman's terms:
This document Copyright 2000-2001 Matthew DelGiudice.
The latest version of this FAQ can always be found at www.gamefaqs.com.
Kirby is Copyright Hal of America. All other characters are Copyright
Nintendo of Japan/Nintendo of America.
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Table of Contents
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- Who's Luigi?
- FAQ Vocabulary List
- Luigi-at-a-glance
- Unlock Luigi
- Why you don't mess with an Italian from Brooklyn (A Moves/Throws)
- Luigi! Rub this guy out. (B-Moves)
- I'll have a number 6 with a large Sprite (Combos)
- How to taunt and look good doing it (Strategy)
- Luigi vs. Everyone (Even More Strategy)
- The colors, Duke. The colors!
- Quotes
- Info about the author (Like you care)
- Revisions
- Upcoming events
- Acknowledgements
**********************************************
Who WAS that mysterious green-hatted plumber?
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Luigi is why the games are called, "Super Mario BROS," and not simply,
"Mario." Luigi is Mario's younger, taller, thinner, higher-jumping brother, and
has been controlled by player 2 in every Mario Bros. platform game ever made.
He's often been kept in Mario's shadow for various reasons, probably due to some
massive conspiracy by Nintendo during the 90's (Mario RPG: Everyone makes a big
stink about how high Mario jumps. Yet everyone knows Luigi can jump higher AND
farther! Chew on THAT!). Anyways, despite all this, Luigi has been the star
player in a few games. These include the wretched Edutainment piece of boost
"Mario is Missing" that actually reduced my younger brother to tears, "Super
Mario Bros. 2", the NES classic in which he could clear the entire level 4-3 in
a single bound, and of course, the wonderful "Luigi's Mansion" on the GCN which
is tons of fun. Now, he's back to kick some butt in Super Smash Bros: Melee and
prove once and for all why he's the man. Because he IS THE MAN!
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FAQ Vocabulary List
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NOTE: All movements are done with the left analog stick.
Hold (direction): Hold the control stick in the specified direction.
Hold (direction), A: Hit the A button while holding the specified direction.
Smash (direction): Quickly tap the control stick in the specified direction.
Smash (direction) + A: Smash the control stick in the specified direction and
hit the A button at the same time.
Forward
Refers to the direction Luigi is facing.
Backward
Refers to the direction Luigi had his back to.
Run - Smash the control stick forward or backward.
Luigi will spring in the direction pressed, much faster than his normal walk.
J - Jump (Smash Up on the stick, X, or Y, can be directed by moving the stick
left and right)
On the ground: Luigi jumps into the air.
In the air: If he has not already done so once and is not in "free-fall", Luigi
will do a mid-air jump.
Down - Press Down on the control stick.
Luigi ducks.
Grab - Press Z when close to the opponent.
Luigi will attempt to grab his target by the collar. Follow up by hitting them
with A or throwing them by hitting a direction.
Shield - Press the L or R button down slightly.
Luigi puts up a transparent spherical shield around his body that absorbs
attacks. Can be moved slightly by slowly moving the control stick.
Reflect Shield - Push the L or R button down fully.
Luigi puts up a smaller but solid sphere shield that can reflect projectiles
when timed right.
Roll - Push Left or Right on the stick while holding up a shield.
Luigi will quickly execule a flashing somersault-like roll to the left or right.
While he is flashing, he is invinvible to all attacks except throws.
Dodge - Press Down and L or R at the same time.
Luigi will flash and execute a quick sidestep. While he is flashing, he is
invincible to all attacks except throws.
Air Dodge - Press any direction and L or R while in the air.
Luigi will flash and hover in the air for a brief moment; he will glide about
one body-length in the direciton you pressed, if you pressed one. While he is
flashing, he is invincible to all attacks except throws.
Taunt - Press up on the directional pad
Luigi kicks some dirt in the general direction of his opponents, casually
mocking their attempts to defeat him.
(air only) - Indicates move can only be done while jumping.
*****************
Luigi-at-a-glance
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Jab - A
The ol' one-two: A,A (in quick succession)
The ol' one-two + Jump-butt: A,A,A (in quick succession)
Crane Claw: Hold Up, A
Whiplash Headbutt: Smash Up + A (Hold A to charge)
Roundhouse Kick: Hold Left/Right, A
Roundhouse Kick (High): Hold Up-Left/Up-Right, A
Roundhouse Kick (Low): Hold Down-Left/Down-Right, A
Gut Stab: Smash Left/Right + A (Hold A to charge)
Low Kick: Hold Down, A
360 Roundhouse Sweep: Smash Down + A (Hold A to charge)
Berserker Punches: Run, A
Big Boot: A (air)
Luigi Chop: Forward + A (air)
Reverse Kick: Backward + A (air)
Screwdriver Kick: Down + A (air)
Flip Kick: Up + A (air)
Green Fireball: Press B
Luigi Rocket: Hold or Smash Left/Right, B (Hold B to charge)
Luigi Cyclone: Hold or Smash Down, B
Super Jump Punch: Hold or Smash Up, B (far from opponent)
Luigi Super Flaming Uppercut of Death: Hold or Smash Up, B (close to opponent)
Grab: Z
(While holding opponent):
Headbutt - A
Chuck - Press stick Forward
Airplane Spin - Press stick Backward
Ground Slam - Press stick Down
Whee! - Press stick Up
Taunt: Dirt Kick - Up on + control pad
************
Unlock Luigi
************
Unlocking Luigi is pretty simple. Start an Adventure Mode game. When you
reach the end of the first level, make sure you cross the finish line while the
seconds place on the clock is 2; i.e. XX:X2:XX. The next level will have a
hillarious cutscene and you will fight Luigi and Peach instead of Mario and
Peach. Finish the rest of adventure mode as normal, without continuing. After
defeating the final boss, the "New Challenger" screen will show up and feature a
shadow of Luigi doing the oh-so-sweet Luigi Pelvic Thrust from the first SSB.
Defeat him, and he's yours forever.
SECONDARY METHOD 1: Play 800 versus matches. They can be against friends or
against the CPU. After the 800th match, Luigi will challenge you. If you lose,
he'll challenge you again aftert each successive versus match until you beat
him.
TERTIARY METHOD 2: Copy your friend's memory card file. This only works if your
friend has unlocked Luigi using one of the three methods presented in this
section.
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Why you don't mess with an Italian from Brooklyn (A Moves/Throws)
*****************************************************************
NOTE: For all moves, any percent damages given reflect the first use on an
opponent. Repeatedly using any move will cause it to do less damage, though the
distance it sends you opponent flying when they're at a specific level of damage
will never change (i.e. you can hit Mario with the Luigi Rocket a hundred times,
but it will still send him flying the same distance on the first use or the
hundredth, provided he is at the same level of damage both times).
+ The one-two combo - Quickly tap A up to three times +
With one tap, Luigi will do a quick left jab. With a second tap, he'll follow
up with a right hook. A third tap and he'll follow THAT up with a jumping butt
to the head. These are very quick moves, and while they only do 2% damage
apiece, they're good for getting in a bit of damage here and there. Use these
attacks sparingly on opponents with low damage, as they don't stun for long and
will leave Luigi open to a quick counter-attack (especially the butt attack).
Genrally you'll want to stick with the one-two punch and leave the jump-butt out
of the equation. Of course, if you've got damage or lives to spare, it's good
move to hassle your friends.
+ Crane Claw - Hold up, A +
Luigi shapes his hand crane-style (think Karate Kid) and arcs it over his head.
It's not a very useful move as it doesn't stun much and he has more damaging
moves available. It IS good for juggling opponents who are fairly hurt (65%+),
but by that point, you should begin thinking about finishing them off with a
Smash Attack or Jump Punch.
+ Whiplash Headbutt - Smash Up + A +
Luigi rears his head back, then whips it forward, sending anything he headbutts
WAY up high. This is an excellent move regardless of your opponents position,
and is your main defense against air attacks. In addition, it has a wide hit
range and does a good amount of damaged, especially when fully charged.
+ Roundhouse Kick - Hold Forward/Backward, A +
Luigi kicks out at your opponent fairly quickly. This is a decent damage-
building move and is quick enough that it can repeatedly stun an opponent if
they try to counter with a big move. It can also be directed by tilting the
control stick up or down, which is somewhat useful when trying to nail shorter
or shrunken opponents. All in all it's a good move to poke at a cluster of
opponents or build up some damage early on in a match.
+ Gut Stab - Smash Forward/Backward + A +
Luigi sticks all five fingers out and pulls his arm inward, then stabs forward
when A is released. Good solid smash attack; like nearly all his moves it sends
your opponent up and forward, so it's at good move to get someone out of your
face for a few seconds. The attack itself is fast, but Luigi takes a moment
after the thrust to recover. It's power and range are pretty standard for a
forward smash attack, the only problem is the vertical range isn't as good as
some of the other moves. However, if you learn the horizontal range well, you
can use this move very effectively to nail an incoming foe, especially those
that are coming in from the air, who you may not be able to Headbutt. All in
all it's a decent move that should be thrown in when you're confident it will
hit, in order to keep your opponent guessing.
+ Low Kick - Hold Down, A +
Luigi turns arounbd and gives a quick kick backwards. It's difficult to
describe; it looks like he's kneeled and is flexing his arms, when he thrusts
his leg out and pokes his opponent. All in all it's not too useful of a move
because it doesn't stun for long and it sends you opponent nowhere. However,
you can hit someone with several of these in a row, especially if they are a
larger, slow character or repeatedly try to counter with a big move. I learned
this technique from the CPU Zelda. So, on its own it's not much to speak of,
but if you corner someone or they're at low damage, you can get in three or more
of these and get in a quick 20% or so.
+ 360 Roundhouse Sweep - Smash Down + A +
Drawing from his years of experience with breakdancing, Luigi kicks backwards,
lands on his hands, and whirls his legs around in a circle, switching off which
hand holds him up so he doesn't kick his own arm. His sweep is quite
interesting because it tends to knock foes straight up rather than to the side,
like most other characters. It packs a good punch and the horizontal range
isn't too shabby either, but it lacks any real vertical range, so you're limited
to using this against grounded opponents. However, it has great speed and
little recovery, making it quite effective for Dashing Smashes. I'll get to
that later, but the general idea is you cancel your run into a smash attack, and
most of the time it'll be this one.
+ Berserker Punches - Run, A +
Always a fair fighter, Luigi runs toward his opponent flailing his arms in a
circle, saying, "I'm just going to whirl my arms like this, and if you get hit,
it's your own fault!" This will hit up to six times with each punch doing 1 or
2% damage. It's fast to come out, but VERY slow to recover, and all but the
slowest counter moves can crush Luigi while he recovers. It's not a very
powerful or effective move, but it does have a few redeeming qualities, with
annoyance being one of them.
+ Big Boot - Press A (air only) +
Luigi simply moves his feet into jump-kick position and clobbers anyone he
touches. A GREAT move to use because Luigi's entire body becomes a big box of
hit area and he can nail anyone close to him. Very, very useful for safe
landings or intercepting someone jumping at you. Does the most damage and sends
enemies flying furthest as soon as he sticks his foot out. The longer he's in
that position, the less damage he'll do and the less distance hit foes will fly.
+ Luigi Chop - Forward + A (air only) +
This, in my humble opinion, is Luigi's BEST normal move. It's ridiculously
fast, it has a huge hit range, it packs a big wallop, and it does respectable
damage, to boot. Basically, Luigi brings his arm above his head and does a fast
karate chop, arcing over his head and right in front of him. He'll then bring
his hand back quickly and be ready to go again. I cannot overemphasize the
usefulness of this move. The sheer speed of the Chop makes it the best air
counter/jump-in/self-defense move in Luigi's arsenal; the fact that it sends
opponents flying out of your hair for a few seconds is just icing on the cake.
Make frequent use of this move, because Luigi is strongest when he's fighting in
the air, and this is his best air move.
+ Backward Kick - Backward + A (air only) +
This can't compete with the Luigi Chop, for two reasons: It doesn't pack as much
punch as the Chop as far as sending opponents flying away, but mainly because
it's much more awkward trying to position yourself so your back is to your
opponent, and the extra effort and time it would take is too risky. The speed
is comparable to the Chop, but again, it's just too hard to position yourself to
use the Backward Kick as an offensive tool. It's good for knocking away anyone
who's jumped up to chase you or to kick open an egg or Capsule that's behind
you, but for offense, the Chop is the way to go.
+ Screwdriver Kick - Down + A (air only) +
In the air, this move is second only to the Luigi Chop, and it ranks pretty
highly compared to his ground moves, too. For this move, Luigi curls up his
legs and twists them to the sides, then quickly stomps downward, HARD. It looks
like Mario's drill kick but (can you guess it?) it only does one big hit. But
BOY, is it a big hit. This will, like most of his other moves, hit for a good
amount of damage and send your opponent flying up and away, for quite a
distance. In spite of this, it also counts as a Meteor Attack, or Spike, even
though it doesn't sparkle or send the enemy straight down. This is THE move
when you're dropping down from above on someone, or using Luigi's superior
jumping skills to get above them. The horizontal range extends a bit to the
side of Luigi's legs, giving you even more room to work with. A powerful,
useful attack that will never fail to give you the breathing room you need.
+ Flip Kick - Up + A (air only) +
The ugly ducking of Luigi's air arsenal, the Flip Kick simply can't compare.
Luigi does an arched mid-air backflip, kicking above him as he twists. The kick
is not nearly as fast or powerful as the rest of his moves, and its usefulness
is decreased even more because the Luigi Chop hits a good area above his head.
It doesn't really send opponents anywhere, so the only time you may ever use it
is when you're falling, as the other air moves are extremely effective when
rising during a jump. All in all you won't find yourself using this much,
though I guess it could be used to stop a weapon thrown from above, but even
then you'd probably want to air dodge instead.
+ Grab - Get close and press Z +
Luigi attempts to grab his opponent by the throat. If he succeeds, he can...
+ Headbutt - Grab and press A +
Luigi bashes his skull into his opponent's forehead. About 2-3% damage per hit.
Rack up a little extra damage with one or two of these, then...
+ Chuck - Grab and press Forward +
Luigi spins around once while holding his victim and tosses them away. Good for
hitting other opponents with a living missile or throwing your opponent into a
stage hazard.
+ Airplane Spin - Grab and press Backward +
Luigi switches his grip to his opponent's feet, whirls them around three times,
then lets them go. Sends them flying a little further than the normal forward
throw, and you can bash opponents with your victim's spinning body during the
first part.
+ Ground Slam - Grab and press Down +
Luigi lifts his opponent and slams them into the ground. They'll immediately
bounce back upwards, stunned, so capitalize with a Headbutt, jumping attack, or
whatever.
+ Whee! - Grab and press Up +
Luigi tosses his opponent straight up. Again, good set-up for a follow-up air
attack or if you just got a Pokeball with Lugia in it.
+ Dirt Kick - Press Up on the control pad +
Luigi casually kicks a bit of dirt from the ground, perhaps being a little too
modest about his battle abilities. It's a pretty quick taunt, but he doesn't
say anything or do anything outrageous, so unless you kill all your opponents at
once, they may not notice your taunting. However, it has the unique honor of
being the only taunt that can do damage, meaning it's possible to hit another
taunting or recovering opponent with it for a whopping 1% damage. But that'll
get them to notice! Also, it's the only way to get the Poser Power and Poser KO
bonuses you need to get the Diskun trophy. To get the Poser KO, just put it on
a two player battle, put the damage ratio to 2.0 and your opponent's handicap to
9, with yours set to 1. Luigi's humble little taunt will send them soaring.
***********************************
Luigi! Rub this guy out. (B Moves)
***********************************
NOTE: All B Moves can be done while in the air.
+ Green Fireball - Control Stick neutral, press B. +
Luigi does does this cool sweeping wave-cross of his arms, snaps his finger and
shoots off a green fireball. His fireball travels slowly and straght through
the air, doing 5-6% damage when it hits. Useful for pestering opponents from a
short distance away or making it hard for someone to get back onto the stage.
+ Luigi Rocket - Smash/Hold control stick left or right, press B +
+ hold B to charge. +
Luigi will curl up a little bit and begin to summon his extreme hidden power.
When you release B, or when his body simply can't handle the massive amount of
energy that's been charged, he'll take off, flying through the air. He will
stop once he hits an opponent, or after flying a certain distance. Once his
flight ends, he'll fall for a distance before recovering and becoming
controllable. If he hits an opponent while in flight, he'll stop immediately
and fall to the ground. There is a 1/8 chance of Luigi's own power overcoming
him, however, and when this happens, he will explode and fly across the screen
three times as far and fast as a normal, uncharged Luigi Rocket would take him.
However, this "overshoot" will do the same damage as a fully charged Rocket
(25%), and Luigi will recover the second he stops "Rocketting" and starts
falling. Not only is the Luigi Rocket a good solid attack, but it's also
Luigi's promary means of returning to the stage when he's knocked off. It can
be used multiple times in the air, unlike many other character's Smash-B moves,
making it an extremely useful tool in Luigi's arsenal.
The Luigi rocket is also an untested alcoholic drink I've created that consists
of green lemon-line soda, vodka, and Tabasco sauce.
+ Luigi Cyclone - Smash/Hold control stick down, B +
Luigi will rapidly spin around in place with his arms outstretched for a second,
knocking away anyone he comes in contact with. During this time you can move
him left or right. This is a great move for both getting around, as Luigi
actually moves faster while this doing a Cyclone than his normal walk or run.
PLUS, his entire body is like one big square hit frame, making it difficult to
knock him out of the move with most attacks. Luigi is somewhat vulnerable to
airborne characters while spinning, but you can compensate by tapping B during
the move to make Luigi elevate off the ground a little. Take care not to use
this as you would the Mario Tornado, because Luigi only delivers one big hit
rather than a combo of 10 or so. Because of this, the Luigi Cyclone makes a
great "steamroller" type move, where you can use it to fly through a group of
foes and scatter them everywhere.
+ Super Jump Punch - Smash/Hold control stick up, B (far from opponent) +
This move sucks. Luigi will do a jump punch straight up into the air, doing 1%
damage to anyone he hits and not stunning them at all. However, when you do the
move right on top of your opponent, you'll get...
+ The Luigi Super Flaming Uppercut of Death +
+ or +
+ The Win Button - Smash/Hold control stick up, B (right on opponent) +
Luigi will do the same vertial jump punch, but anyone who he connects with
during the very start of the move will be set on fire and sent high into the
air. This can kill pretty much any character with over 100% damage on most
stages, and many of them even under 100%. The problem with the move is that you
essentially need to be RIGHT on top of your opponent, i.e. in direct contact
with them, in order for the move to work. However, with a great deal of
practice, you will be able to feel out the range of the Uppercut and know
exactly when to hit Up + B. This is an extremely powerful offensive move, but
it's main drawback is that it's not very good for returning to the stage,
because Luigi jumps STRAIGHT up. We're talking 90 DEGREES. It's not COMPLETELY
useless; if you use the Luigi Rocket and end up just underneath the ledge, you
can use the Jump Punch to get back up and make the save. Also, if you're on the
same horizontal level as the edge of the stage but a little too far out to grab
it, you can use the Jump Punch to gain some extra height and float over a little
more, again making the save. When used in conjunction with properly timed and
properly charged, Luigi Rockets, Luigi becomes a very difficult character to get
rid of.
*************************************************
I'll have a number 6 with a large Sprite (Combos)
*************************************************
Being more of an overwhelming powerhouse than a technically skilled fighter,
Luigi doesn't have many intricate, complicated, multi-hitting combos beyond the
5 or 6 hits he delivers in the Berserker Punches. However, I will add them to
the list whenever I come across a reliable, unescapable combo.
**********************************************
How to taunt and look good doing it (Strategy)
**********************************************
Remember that Luigi falls at a slower rate than most characters. This is
important when you're falling into a waiting smash attack. His slow descents
also allow him to travel greater horizontal distances in mid-air, but remember
that you are a much easier target for projectiles and fast characters. For this
reason, you MUST learn to air-dodge effectively. Remember you can travel a
short distance when air dodging, so going straight down towards the ground will
help you get into a better position of attack, faster.
Better stuff to come next update.
***************************************
Luigi vs. Everyone (Even more strategy)
***************************************
Next Update.
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The colors, Duke, the colors!
*****************************
Luigi has four costumes available. To cycle through them, press X or Y while on
the character select screen.
Normal Luigi: Green shirt and hat, blue overalls.
Fire Luigi: Dark green shirt, white hat and overalls.
Aqua Luigi: Dark blue shirt, sky blue hat and overalls.
Pink Luigi: Pink hat and shirt, red overalls.
******
Quotes
******
NOTE: I'm playing as Luigi in all these situations.
Me: ::kills Al with the Homerun bat::
Al: Can someone get that bat away from him??
Me: ::kills the other two people with the Homerun bat::
Chris: I guess not, Al.
Chris: "Every time Luigi wins, baby Jesus cries."
Me: "I'm-a Luigi! I'm-a gonna f--k-a you up!"
Chris: "When Luigi wants to win, he presses Up + B."
*************************************
Info about the author (Like you care)
*************************************
Name: Matthew DelGiudice (Dell-jew-diss)
Age: 20
Favorite/Best 3 SSB:M characters (in order) - Luigi, Marth, Samus
Weapon of Choice: Homerun bat
Favorite Stage: BRINSTAR!
Favorite Trophy: Unown
Favorite Pokemon: Machamp (In-Game: Articuno)
Most hated character: Dr. Mario
Most hated weapon: Super Scope
Favorite Final Fantasy characters: Thief, Edge, Gilgamesh, Cyan, Barret,
Steiner, Vivi, Rikku
Favorite DDR Mix: Take your pick :D
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Revisions
*********
Version 1.0 - Initial release. Covered all the basics.
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Upcoming Events
***************
- General Strategy and tips for fighting each different character.
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Acknowledgements
****************
Nintendo. Just...Nintendo.
Chris, Nick, James, Mark, Al, Pat, Justin, Adam, Frank, Brad, and Jared for
being such great punching bags.
Luigi, for being the coolest video game character ever.
