Isabelle is a character that doesn’t get much love and attention in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and understandably so. On top of being a more cute character, she’s a character with tools and an overall game plan that tends to leave a bad impression on players. Because of that lack of attention, judging her overall viability is a bit of a toss-up with people either being completely unsure of where she stands, thinking she’s mid tier, or thinking she’s just a bad character. As someone that mains her…I’m not exactly sure where she stands either.
That’s why I’d like to make a matchup chart. I consider overall matchup spread as the best way to determine how good or bad a character is, not factoring in things like representation or tournament results. I also have yet to see an Isabelle matchup chart for the latest version of Smash Ultimate with all the characters and patch changes finalized, so this will also serve that purpose.
This chart will be divided into five tiers, excluding the tiers for Isabelle, alternate skins and some echoes: +2, +1, Even, -1, and -2. Rather than go over each character individually, I’m going to summarize the tiers as a whole, explaining why all the characters are in there at once to the best of my ability. I will single out a few characters in each of the tiers though, just to provide an example for the summary. However, the full chart will be at the end for you to see.
One final thing to note is that I will be going off of my overall experience against these characters as Isabelle. Some things will probably be disagreed with, and other things could be straight-up wrong. Also, even though I’m gonna be summarizing the tiers in their entirety, exceptions can apply to why certain characters are in them. If you feel like any of my placements or justifications are wrong, feel free to tell me why in the comments. I think that’s everything, so let’s get started.
Isabelle Matchup Tiers
+2 Tier
Characters in the +2 tier are characters that Isabelle wins handily against. This is due to her primary tools being able to exploit these characters’ weaknesses to the point that they pretty much can’t play the game. This mostly involves either her Pocket hoarding a really good projectile, or her Fishing Rod and lingering hitboxes denying them recovery.
A character that perfectly fits here is King K. Rool. Being able to Pocket his crown makes it so that he can only use his blunderbuss as a projectile. The crown, as well as Isabelle’s Fishing Rod, makes getting back to the stage a nightmare as well, since the advantage of a constant hitbox above him is lost to these things. His entire gimmick, being belly armor, also loses to Fishing Rod, which Isabelle should have no problems throwing out against a landing King K. Rool.
+1 Tier
Isabelle wins with some trouble against characters in the +1 tier. These are characters that can be exploited by Isabelle’s strengths, but not to the same degree as fighters in the +2 tier. They also have strengths and tools of their own that could make putting them in disadvantageous positions a bit of an issue.
One example of these characters is Incineroar. While he has a recovery that can be taken advantage of, his ability to mix it up with using his Side-B, Up-B, and air dodge in any order won’t make a gimp a given. Despite being very slow and easily getting walled out by Isabelle’s projectiles, being able to Revenge a variety of her projectiles makes getting in on her a bit easier and adds even further to the damage he can deal if he manages to get a good attack or grab in.
Even Tier
Battles can go either way against characters in this tier. Isabelle can have as many advantageous tools to use against the opponent as they can have against her. Skill and matchup knowledge are much more valuable factors to winning as Isabelle than they are in the previous two tiers.
Ness is a great example of a character that fits this tier. Their advantages and disadvantages over each other lead to fights being very scrappy, with Isabelle dominating in zoning and projectiles while Ness thrives on the inside with his huge aerial hitboxes and mobility. Recovery, ledge trapping and offstage play is a mess as well; while Isabelle can gimp him and halt his recovery by pocketing his PK Thunder, Ness can mix up his recovery with his crazy air dodge distance and cover himself with his hitboxes. Basically, a lot goes on here.
-1 Tier
While Isabelle can have opportunities to win against characters in -1 tier, she’s gonna have to struggle a bit. She’ll have to work harder to get characters in positions where she can exploit them, and even those exploitable positions are questionable for her.
I think two (or three) characters that fit this description are Min Min and Pyra/Mythra. Min Min’s range and priority over weaker projectiles with her arms makes it so Isabelle has to do the opposite of her game plan, closing the distance. When she achieves that, she can get Min Min offstage and gimp her due to her recovery’s terrible horizontal range, but she can cover herself by throwing out hitboxes before seamlessly transitioning into her Up-B.
In the case of Pyra and Mythra, Mythra is able to mash on Isabelle and not be punished for it (as she can with pretty much every character in the game) while Pyra can finish her off with her stronger disjointed moves. Their recovery is the main thing keeping them from being -2 since it’s easily exploitable by everything Isabelle can do.
-2 Tier
The -2 tier consists of characters that Isabelle has a very hard time against. This is mostly due to her advantageous positioning being hard to maintain as well as her having a hard time edge guarding or ledge trapping these characters. She also struggles heavily against characters that have great out-of-shield options and buttons, as she lacks good shield pressure as well as the ability to deal with it herself.
A perfect example of this is Meta Knight. Like the previously mentioned Mythra, Meta Knight can press buttons on Isabelle and she can do very little about it. He can not only edge guard her easily with his aerials and specials, but can recover to the stage in various ways and punish any attempts made by Isabelle to edge guard with his quick frame data.
With that, this is the matchup chart. They’re not quite in order within the tiers, so bear that in mind.
Final Thoughts
Looking at this chart, Isabelle is definitely a character with problems and struggles. She’s not the worst character, but seeing how many matchups she straight-up loses in, it’s fair to say that she is indeed a bad character, even at this point in the game’s life cycle. It’s a shame because I really like Isabelle, but it is what it is.
What do you think of this matchup chart? Any placements you agree or disagree with? Why do you feel that way? What do you think of Isabelle as a character personally? I’d love to hear your thoughts.