Meta Knight is broken. Everyone knows it, yet we still talk about it nearly two decades later. If you’ve ever sat down with a Wii Remote—or a GameCube controller if you were serious—and faced a competent Meta Knight, you know the feeling of absolute despair. It’s not just that he’s fast. It’s that he feels like he’s playing a completely different game.
The Super Smash Bros Brawl tier list isn't just a ranking; it's a historical document of one of the most unbalanced competitive eras in fighting game history.
Honestly, looking back at the meta in 2026, it’s wild how much of the game revolved around a single character. If you weren't playing Meta Knight, you were playing a character who could at least survive a 10-second encounter with him. Most of the roster couldn't.
The Untouchable God: Meta Knight and the SS Tier
There is Meta Knight, and then there is everyone else. That's basically the reality of Brawl. On the official Smashback Room (BBR) rankings, he occupies his own "SS" tier.
Why? Frame data.
His moves come out so fast that they’re almost unpunishable. Take his Up-Air, for example. In the hands of a pro, Meta Knight can cycle through three Up-Airs in a single short hop. That’s absurd. Combine that with Mach Tornado—a move that priority-beats almost everything and racks up damage like a slot machine—and you have a monster.
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He has five mid-air jumps. He has four special moves that all function as recoveries. You literally cannot edge-guard him. In fact, he’s the one edge-guarding you.
- Recovery: Near-infinite.
- Speed: Blistering.
- Priority: Unmatched.
- Matchups: He has no losing matchups. Not one.
The Only Ones Who Can Compete
If you aren't picking the masked swordsman, you’re likely looking at the S and A+ tiers. This is where the "viable" characters live.
Ice Climbers: The King of the Chain Grab
Ice Climbers are technically the second-best in the game, but they’re terrifying for a different reason. If Popo and Nana grab you, and the player knows what they’re doing, the game is over. Period.
Through a technique called "desynching," the Ice Climbers can alternate throws and pummels to lock you in an infinite chain grab. It’s a 0-to-death combo that requires zero interaction from the opponent once it starts. It’s brutal to watch and even worse to experience.
Olimar: The Damage Sponge
Olimar sits at 3rd on the tier list, mostly because his Pikmin are relentless. His grab range is deceptively long, and his damage racking is the best in the game. A few well-placed White Pikmin tosses and suddenly you’re at 60% without even realizing you were hit.
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Diddy Kong and Snake
Snake is a heavy-hitter who plays like a trapper. Between his grenades, C4, and mines, the stage becomes a minefield. Diddy Kong, on the other hand, relies on his bananas. It sounds silly, but tripping is a core mechanic in Brawl (a hated one, too), and Diddy can force it at will.
The Middle of the Pack
Characters like Falco, Marth, and Wario are good. They’re solid. You can win a local tournament with them. But when you get to the national level, the gap between a character like Marth (ranked 5th) and Meta Knight (ranked 1st) feels like a canyon.
Marth has his iconic "tipper" and great reach, but he struggles against the sheer pressure of top-tier aerials. Wario has the "Wario Waft," a literal fart that charges over time and can kill at ridiculously low percentages, giving him a "robbery" factor that keeps him relevant.
The Bottom Tier: Why You Shouldn't Play Ganondorf
It’s painful. Ganondorf in Brawl is arguably the worst a character has ever been in any Smash game. He is slow. His recovery is pathetic. He is a "sandbag" for every other character to practice combos on.
If you're looking at the very bottom of the Super Smash Bros Brawl tier list, you'll find:
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- Ganondorf: Too slow to touch anyone.
- Zelda: Terrible mobility and predictable moves.
- Jigglypuff: Suffered the most from the transition from Melee to Brawl.
- Link: Too much lag on every single projectile.
In Brawl, being "heavy" was usually a death sentence because of how easy it was for characters to "chain grab" or "ledge camp" you.
Is the Meta Still Evolving?
You’d think a game released in 2008 would be "solved." Sorta.
The rankings haven't shifted much in the last few years because there are no patches. What you see is what you get. However, the discussions around Meta Knight’s legality never truly ended. Some regions banned him; most didn't. The "Unity Ruleset" tried to unify the community, but ultimately, the player base dwindled as players moved to Smash 4 and then Ultimate.
But for those who still play? The game is about precision and surviving the "Meta Knight gauntlet."
Moving Forward with Brawl
If you’re diving back into the Wii era for a nostalgia trip or a competitive challenge, here is how you should approach it:
- Pick a Top 5 Character: If you want to win, don't experiment with the bottom tiers. Stick to Meta Knight, Ice Climbers, or Olimar.
- Master the Ledge: Brawl is a very defensive game. Learning how to "plank" (hanging on the ledge to abuse invincibility) is cheap, but it's part of the high-level meta.
- Check the Rules: If you’re playing with friends, consider a "gentleman’s agreement" to ban Meta Knight or infinite chain grabs. It makes the game 100% more fun for everyone involved.
The legacy of the Brawl meta is a lesson in character design. It's a snapshot of a time when Nintendo didn't really care about competitive balance, resulting in a lopsided, chaotic, yet strangely charming competitive scene.
Grab your Wii, blow the dust off the disc, and just... maybe don't choose Ganondorf.