Weight

Fighter sizes and weights are all over the place, ranging from hulking, ultra-heavyweight Bowser to featherweights like Jigglypuff and Pichu, who might as well be couch cushions. Weight determines how far they’ll be launched and thrown. Lightweights move a lot more while flinching, basically, while sturdier heavyweights are harder to knock around. Heavier fighters are also slower in general than more pixie-like fighters (though there are exceptions for certain traits here and there, like Charizard’s excellent ground speed and Wario’s top-notch air mobility; see movement for relative comparisons).

But while it’s easier to hurl featherweights toward blast zones, their faster, longer travel speed makes them less susceptible to damage-racking combos. Meanwhile, heavier fighters are usually have faster fall speeds too, making them extra-susceptible to juggle hits. The most basic example is that tons of fighters can simply up tilt over and over against heavy, fast-falling fighters.

It tends to be easier to launch lighter fighters long distances, but combo opportunities shrink; heftier fighters won’t fly as far, but it’s easier to dance around them, and to rack up damage quickly on big openings.

Weight