Super Smash Bros. Ultimate tier lists are weird. As an abstract, they look to offer an objective ranking of characters that are already meticulously and painstakingly designed to be as competitive as possible. Generally confined to the recesses of competitive circles, these lists construct a narrative around a tried-and-true handful of characters that seem to have a competitive edge. Of course, in addition to this, they also make one hell of a good meme.
On the off-chance you haven’t been on Twitter for the last month, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate tier memes have become a force to be reckoned with. Humorously ranking the characters in almost every conceivable way, each of the game’s tier memes looks to be more absurd and ridiculous than the last.
Take, for instance, this tier list created by Twitter user @TheRealQNS that ranks each Super Smash Bros. Ultimate character by their ability to solve a Rubik’s Cube. Among the Smash characters than solve a Rubik’s Cube quickly are the characters generally considered brainy like Solid Snake and Mewtwo. Of course, on the other end of the spectrum, the list states that Dark Samus, Piranha Plant, and Mr. Game & Watch cannot even comprehend the idea of a Rubik’s Cube.
smash bros tier list based on how quickly they can solve a rubik’s cube, if at all pic.twitter.com/omiSGxlIKn
—
QuackNSleigh
Another tweet, this one by Antony Fantano of The Needle Drop fame, highlights the struggle of maining a character that isn’t generally thought to be good. Using a different meme format altogether, Fantano shows off his Pac-Man skills, fully aware that the character isn’t thought of as S tier.
Playing Smash
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— CLASSIC WEEK (@theneedledrop) December 30, 2018
These memes inherently and lightheartedly poke fun at the high-level, serious corners of the Smash community. Gag tier lists, for better or for worse, force us to think critically about the way we perceive Smash. Are we going hard—Final Destination and no items? Or are we going to have a few drinks and force everyone to play as King Dedede?
Perhaps my favorite part of these memes is that they allow commerce to flow between competitive Smash players and more casual players. Despite how much fun a serious match of Ultimate may be, at the end of the day, it’s always going to be novel to watch Solid Snake beat up Pac-Man.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is now available on the Nintendo Switch. You can read DualShockers’ official review of the game here. Additionally, you can purchase the game here.
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