There's no denying that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is a fun game that appeals to all demographics. You can have fun with your bros in a casual setting and have a blast playing competitively both online and at local tournaments.
With every character being so different, various playing styles emerge, not all of which are easy on the eye. Some often leave both the viewer and the player uninterested in the fight. With that said, here are the 10 most boring characters in Smash Ultimate. Note that this list isn't in any order.
Disclaimer: All the upcoming characters have the ability to be super sick but are often held back by overly predictable strategies. Even innately fun characters can turn lifeless when only their blandest tools are used.
10 Sonic
Sonic's playstyle revolves around one move: The Spin Dash. That's it. Many players will find themselves simply spamming spin dash into another move such as homing attack or up air. With Sonic's (obvious) speed, he would be well suited to an aggressive playing style.
However, many players use this to run away to the other side of the stage during any moment of pressure and start charging up another spin dash. This repetitiveness and campy playstyle quickly grow tiresome, and it is even reflected in the competitive scene. There's barely any well known Sonic mains other than the Japanese player Ken.
9 Ike
Ike has a very basic move-set that relies on the fundamentals, which means spamming his safest move, neutral air. This aerial can lead to kill-confirms like forward air or back air but that's all Ike has. His up air is also quick and serves as his only reliable anti-air.
These moves tend to be abused, leading into linear, predictable, and monotonous gameplay. Ike is a good stepping stone for those who need to get back to basics but he offers a low and dull ceiling. Ike was somewhat popular competitively at the beginning of Ultimate's life cycle but has dropped off massively, with many figuring out his barebones approach.
8 Zelda
As a zoner, Zelda's game is spacing out the opponent with Din's Fire and Phantom Slash. As such, many games turn into slogfests where Zelda runs away and spams said specials. Zelda's edgeguarding game is as plain as her neutral.
In past games, Zelda struggled with pressure. In Ultimate, she can use Nayru's Love out of shield and reset the encounter. Imagine this happening all match. Boring right? Exactly. She's also notorious for having an overpowered final smash that automatically kills at 100% while sucking in opponents like a vacuum, giving Zelda even more incentive to camp while Smash Meter is on. Fun. Just imagine a casual Zelda on a stage like Great Cave Offensive. Nightmare inducing.
7 Little Mac
Little Mac is the worst character, bar none. His abhorrent recovery and air game simply cripple him. It makes sense knowing he's a boxer but it gives him a boring tool kit. Mac's ground game makes him play a very defensive playstyle that relies on punishing with smash attacks or the KO punch. Most characters don't like that, so they can just camp him out either with projectiles or extended hitboxes for an easy win.
Mac can't do anything about it. Mac's edgeguard game is also dull, as he can't go offstage. It's a death sentence to do that, so all Mac can do is either charge a down smash or counter. Unless a player throws all caution to the wind (which can lead to some actual fun like spiking with his hilariously pathetic down air), Little Mac is a boring character for all parties involved, both casually and competitively.
6 Belmonts
As Simon and Richer are almost the same, they're being grouped together. The Belmonts' only objective is to camp out the opponent with crosses, axes, and holy water while spamming forward tilt when facing pressure. In other words, they like the red button. The only kill confirms the Belmonts go for is Holy Water into forward smash.
Next time you face one, count the number of times they try to go for it. With poor recovery and speed, they're not going to be moving much while they fling everything but the kitchen sink at their opponents. Playing the Belmonts is like parking the bus in FIFA. They're a chore to play online and to play as.
5 Pit
Pit is the perfect example of a jack of all trades but master of none. He has a tool kit that's ideal for beginners, as he has everything you need to learn in Smash. Projectiles, multiple jumps, decent frame data on everything, but something is missing with him.
That something is hype. Pit doesn't have anything that excites as part of his kit. His spike is incredibly inconsistent. He has no flashy combos and only okay juggles with forward air. His damage is mediocre. Every Pit player plays the same way because there's no room to be creative. A flowchart in character form.
4 Link (or Links)
Everyone has faced that one special person online: The Wi-fi Link. It doesn't matter which one it is, they all play the same. An endless bombardment of arrows, boomerangs, and bombs to go along with countless shield spin attacks. They run away after one successful smash attack and have more rolls than a bakery.
Any match against a Wifi Link can turn into a miserable experience that often ends in a timeout, which is made even worse if someone has a short time limit in their ruleset. The saddest part of all this? All of the Links, especially BOTW Link, are capable of sick combos.
3 Lucas
When compared to Ness, Lucas is far less hyped. He's more defensive by nature and does have great spacing tools like z-air and PK Fire, which can surprisingly kill close to the edge. That's all he'll do in neutral though. Then in an edgeguarding situation, expect plenty of PK Freeze, which is notorious for two-framing those trying to recover.
If Lucas is pressured, which he can't deal with, he's going to run away while covering his tracks with PK Fire. Lucas lacks the combos and frame data Ness has but is arguably more boring to face knowing he's just going to do one or two things all game long.
2 Isabelle
Isabelle is an inferior Villager, let's just rip that bandaid off immediately. She even has inferior zoning options compared to him, so she relies on two things only: Slingshot aerials and fishing pole. She'll usually set up shop with her fishing pole on the other side of the stage while she plants a Lloid Trap.
Isabelle players pray an unattentive opponent steps on it, although that seldom happens. It's avoidable and serves as a minor nuisance at most. Isabelle's poor speed and floatiness result in her struggling in close quarters and dying pretty early. The game just turns into a turtle race when she runs away at the first sign of pressure while trying to fling opponents away with the pole.
1 Lucina
Lucina is one of the best characters in the game and outclasses Marth with her consistent attacks. However, her gameplan is dry as dust. Lucina's gameplan revolves around falling aerials, like forward air and back air, and spacing with said aerials in the middle of the stage. She requires someone who is in touch with the fundamentals, as she has no flashy combos.
Even Marth has neat sour spot into tipper combos but Lucina doesn't have that thanks to her consistent blade. She's a top tier, yes, and plenty of people flock to play her, but Lucina rarely spawns any cool combo videos or hype moments. When people play against her, they know what they're getting into immediately. No pleasant surprises, no adventurism. Just simple, flowchart gameplay. It's fair to say Lucina is the best boring character.