List of SSF Tier Lists

Super Smash Flash tier lists have been released on a sporadic basis since 2015. The following is a list of all known tier lists that have been compiled for the game.

First Tier List (May 23, 2015)
This is the very first officially recognized tier list for the original Super Smash Flash. Because Super Smash Flash is not competitively viable due primarily to camera issues, this tier list was created by theorycrafting based on what was known about the game at the time. The initial list was created by compiling a CPU matchup chart as a base, then moving characters around based on attributes such as air speed, jump height, projectiles, attack range, and instakill moves. Characters like Lloyd, Zero, and Crono were praised for their long range and easy-to-hit instakill attacks, while characters like Jigglypuff, Shadow, and Blade were considered to be terrible for the opposite reasons. Tails, Knuckles, and the Mario Brothers were ranked very high as well, due to their strong projectile games and high damage output. The list was assembled by a small handful of people, though the effort was primarily handled by CSWooly and DarkErmac.

Second Tier List (December 23, 2015)
The second tier list was created by a group known as the CSFBR. This group focused much more heavily on the technical side of the game, extracting character data and finding exploits within the game engine to provide a more solid base for determining character strength than the pure speculation of the previous list. The primary contributors to this list include DSwift, Ironed Sandwich, and Skailler. While most of the changes on this list were subtle, there were a few notable updates. Knuckles rose to top tier due to his high damage output and the perceived strength of the rock, while Fox rose to high tier after it was discovered that his range and damage capabilities were much better than initially thought. On the other end, Cloud and Mewtwo dropped down into bottom tier, as their big hurtboxes were seen as being especially problematic with the newly discovered combos and techniques that made these characters particularly vulnerable to getting KO'd quickly.

Third Tier List (May 25, 2019)
This is the current tier list for the game, released almost exactly four years after the original tier list. This tier list was compiled entirely by Dark Ermac after doing a deep-dive of the game that admittedly took an excessive time investment. As a result, a number of new discoveries were made, including several new techniques such as down augmenting, glitch airs, and projectile augmenting. In addition, the entirety of the game's frame data was compiled and many mechanics were deciphered, such as the priority system, to provide a much clearer picture about what a competitive meta might look like if the game had a functioning camera.

And what a different picture it is. The entire top tier of the previous list had been replaced, as all of the characters that now inhabit it were discovered to have a significant range or combo advantage over most of the rest of the cast. The full extent of Fox, Mewtwo, and Sheik's versatile projectile games became readily apparent on top of this. Cloud also saw a significant jump due to the sheer size of his hitboxes, even though the rest of his kit was lacking in one way or another. Pikachu finally became relevant after a zero-to-death combo was discovered that works on almost every character. Even Shadow got in on the action, after it was revealed that his down attack has a ridiculous amount of downwards range, in a game where most characters struggle to hit characters below them.

Of course, it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. Zero and Inuyasha dropped a fair bit, falling behind as they were surpassed time and time again by other characters that could exploit the new discoveries better than them. Mario also fell to his lowest position yet due to his mediocre moveset forcing him to rely too much on fireball spam, which allowed Luigi to eclipse him with his overall stronger moveset. No one fell further than Blue and Knuckles, who dropped to low tier overnight when it was discovered that not only did both characters have severe range issues, but also big hurtboxes that were difficult for them to play around. The biggest loser of them all is Zelda, who is the only character in the game to have no redeeming qualities whatsoever, and Mr. Game & Watch squarely made his way to high-tier, due to his moveset being highly versatile; for example, his up smash, while powerful enough to KO incredibly qukcly, sets up combos remarkably well. Despite possessing the slowest speed, he is still fast enough to approach and rushdown his opponents relatively well.