There are a lot of characters in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Whereas previous entries used Trophies as a means of honoring Nintendo’s history, they’ve finally been replaced with a new concept: Spirits. Spirits can buff characters for World of Light, Spirit Board, and certain online modes. With over 80 characters, you have over 1,000 Spirits to choose from.

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Of course, with so many, some “obvious” choices may be excluded on this list of the best of the best. Your favorite Spirit may very well be the strongest in the game, or perhaps one of the absolute worst. Either way, you’re about to learn more about Spirits than you ever wanted to know.

Updated on June 02, 2023 by Jouanna Bondakji: Fighters aren't the only thing that will determine whether you win or lose in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Besides it just being cool to see so many characters as Spirits even if they didn't make it as full-fledged Fighters, Spirits can do a lot to help you get an edge in your fights. With there being so many of them, who's truly the best is mostly subjective, but there are some cases that most fans can agree on. But sometimes, it's not about the Spirit being the most powerful, but about the journey of getting them that makes them awesome.

15 Zero

Mega Man Zero dual wielding weapons

It goes without saying, but most of the best Spirits in the game are going to be four star, Legendary types. This is just the natural course of any balanced video game. The strongest will be, quite literally, whatever the strongest category is. That doesn’t mean others aren’t better or worse, though.

Zero from the Mega Man series is one of the best Legendaries in the game if only due to his obscenely helpful buffs. Not only does Zero increase your base damage astronomically, his Spirit gives the equipping character additional speed with a boost attack that launches into anyone you run into. These alone make Zero profoundly useful in any scenario.

14 Celebi

Celebi eating some berries in a field in a Pokemon anime movie

Although Pokemon's Celebi takes up three full slots on any given Spirit, those slots will be happily spent. Celebi’s special ability is called “Great Auto Heal” and it works wonders for any kind of battle. You’ve probably noticed other Spirits with “Auto Heal,” but they’re never as good or useful as they initially sound. You'll never get rung out again.

Celebi is the complete antithesis of that idea, replenishing a fighter’s health with an alarming frequency. With Celebi equipped, you can basically cheese most stamina battles by rushing in, attacking, and playing keepaway until your health fully regenerates. This strategy works for regular fights, too. Cheap, but valid.

13 Karate Joe

Karate Joe punching a pot away

Karate Joe from Rhythm Heaven is a Spirit who does exactly what Von Kaiser does with zero drawback. Von Kaiser gives a fist buff, but this is inherently flawed since countless other Spirits offer said buff while simply being better. Karate Joe is basically Von Kaiser if Von Kaiser had adequate stats.

Although only Ace rank, Karate Joe is good enough to be a viable late game Spirit. Paired with Ryu, Ken, or Little Mac, he can make their punches hit even harder with a deeper heat. Karate Joe is the reason why characters like Von Kaiser are realistically just not good enough. It makes sense for progression purposes, but not for balancing.

12 Dark Emperor

Pit running away from Dark Emperor

The Dark Emperor from Find Mii is an absolute beast of a Spirit. While he is by no means the strongest in terms of raw stats, he’s a very well-rounded Legendary Spirit who can equip three sub-Spirits. That in itself is more than enough to elevate him to fairly high heights. After all, such a combination makes the Dark Emperor fairly balanced.

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That said, balance isn’t always a good thing, especially with regard to tiering. Characters need certain advantages. Thankfully, the Dark Emperor has a surprisingly high offensive stat for a blue Spirit, making him a powerhouse who can take hits without too much worry. In a way, it’s almost unfair how good he is.

11 Hades

Hades grinning in front of a fiery domain

Hades is the Dark Emperor if the Dark Emperor was actually balanced appropriately. While overwhelmingly strong in his final form, equipping Hades means you’ll be starting each match with 30 percent damage immediately inflected towards you. Fortunately, Hades is strong enough where this is barely an issue.

He’s made even better if you equip a Spirit with autoheal. With the right set up, all of Hades’ flaws are tossed out the window. Maybe that shouldn’t be possible, but creating an overpowered Spirit is part of the fun.

10 Mecha-Fiora

Fiora in mecha from Xenoblade

Xenoblade's Mecha-Fiora is simultaneously one of the best Spirits in the game and one of the worst. On one hand, she’s a neutral powerhouse with great stats and a full set of sub-Spirit slots. On the other hand, she’s a massive spoiler. To be fair, her game has been out for over a decade now, but it’s a good enough game where spoilers are still disappointing.

We aren’t here to discuss the ethics of spoilers, though. Rather, we’re here to discuss how awesome a Spirit Mecha-Fiora is. That’s the thing about the best Spirits, they’re simple but sweet. They don’t have weird debuffs or weaknesses, and they actually offer you a decent amount of experimentation when it comes to sub-Spirits.

9 Mega Charizard X

Mega Charizard X out on the field in front of Alain

What makes Pokemon's Mega Charizard X particularly useful is just how easily and early you can get him. Realistically, he’ll be one of the first Aces you get from just playing Spirit Board or World of Light. Better yet, despite only being three stars, his stats aren’t that much worse than your average Legendary.

The best part is the fact that, despite being a Pokemon, Mega Charizard X does not have a weakness like Venusaur. There’s no real drawback to using Mega Charizard X in place of other Spirits. We're just sad he's not a fighter!

8 Sagat

Sagat during an attack animation

Although Street Fighter's Sagat is a fantastic Spirit in his own right, what makes him so great is the journey to get him. In what’s likely to be your first portal in World of Light, you’ll find yourself transported to a world map of our Earth that is completely reflective of Street Fighter 2’s original stage select screen.

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You need to work your way through the roster to get to Sagat. Not only is he one of the stronger Spirits you get from this “dungeon” of sorts, but the ride to get him is also simply incredibly fun. The best Spirits are the ones that are actually fun to get.

7 M. Bison

M. Bison Street Fighter Series taunting stance arms extended out

In your Street Fighter 2 battle royale, you’ll find yourself not stopping with Sagat, but with the four star Legendary M. Bison. Virtually the franchise’s antagonist, M. Bison is easily the strongest Street Fighter Spirit you’re going to get in the entire game.

Pair him with Ryu or Ken, and you’ll be doing an insane amount of damage. Even then, though, he’s a strong enough Spirit where he can be equipped by just about any character and carry them thanks to his absolutely astronomical stats.

6 Metal Mario

Metal Mario posing in front of his kart leaning against stacked tires

You aren’t going to get much offense off of Metal Mario. At Lv. 99, his attack stat is about as high as your average Lv. 1 Legendary. That’s really not much at all even taking account the rank differences. When it comes to defense, though? Metal Mario is a borderline disgusting tank with nearly maxed out defense.

Best of all, his added weight ensures that he's incredibly difficult to knock off. Not only can you literally take hits head on, but you also won’t be getting launched anytime soon. A properly built Metal Mario - albeit with just one slot - is a monster to behold: a being powerful enough to take any attack straight in the face.

5 The Boss

Metal Gear Solid 3 Screenshot Of The Boss Firing Weapon

Metal Gear Solid 3’s final boss, and the woman in charge of making Big Boss the man he becomes by the end of the series. It goes without saying that The Boss is one of the stronger Spirits in the game. It would be blasphemous if she wasn’t. She’s a powerhouse in her own series and in World of Light.

What makes her so noteworthy is her throwing buff. For casual players, throws and grabs don’t happen too often, so The Boss is the perfect Spirit to use if you want to get into the habit of grabbing. For competitive play, it’s an absolute must. Through The Boss, you can get a good rhythm going while styling over the opposition.

4 Calamity Ganon

Calamity Ganon and Link facing each other prepared to attack

Although Breath of The Wild's Calamity Ganon has no sub-skill slots or buffs to offer players, he is one of the best Spirits in the game if only thanks to his insanely high base power. At Lv. 1, Calamity Ganon has a power of 4932 with perfectly even offensive and defensive stats.

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As a result, a fully trained Calamity Ganon is strong enough to overpower just about anything in his path. Naturally, this is at the expense of skills and sub-Spirits, but that hardly registers as a footnote considering how over the top strong he is in terms of raw stats.

3 James McCloud

James McCloud looking at the viewer

The Spirit battle for Star Fox's father, James McCloud, is easily one of the hardest in the game. Despite being a Legendary, which in itself ensures you’re getting a tough fight, James buffs Fox so that his stats increase when he’s low on health. The longer the fight goes on, the more danger you’ll be in if you don’t beat him early.

Fortunately, James McCloud is an incredible Spirit with incredibly high base stats. Most Legendaries are, mind you, but the effort you need to put in to get James makes finally using him all the more rewarding. Or not. There’s a glitch where Fox just throws himself off-stage as soon as the battle starts.

2 Claus

Claus and Lucas playing together

Funnily enough, EarthBound's Claus is kind of in the game as an alternate costume for Lucas. Lucas’ first alt colors him to look exactly like him. An alternate costume can only get you so far, though. Real Claus fans wouldn’t be satisfied with just a color and Spirit Board knows that.

Rather than leaving fans high and dry for Claus, you have access to a Legendary Claus, a four star character with a neutral typing. It really cannot be stressed how good a neutral typing is. While a neutral character has no advantages, they also have no weaknesses. You could comfortably equip Claus and never equip anyone else ever again.

1 Geno

Geno in the middle of a boomerang throwing animation in Super Smash Bros Ultimate

Sometimes, raw power is all you need. While Geno from Super Mario RPG may not be a playable fighter in Smash (unless you count Mii Fighters, which you realistically shouldn’t), he does make for quite the overwhelming Spirit. Geno doesn’t have any frills or bells to make him useful, but instead just coasts by with high stats and a good amount of sub-Spirit slots.

Although you might prefer Geno to be a playable character if you remember Super Mario RPG, this is the next best thing as it shows that Sakurai and Nintendo clearly understand Geno’s reputation. He is a character fans want. He may not be a fighter, but he’s one of the best Spirits in the game.

NEXT: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: Every Super Mario Character, Ranked