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Filed under: Masahiro Sakurai, Super Bros. Smash For 3DS, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Super Smash Bros. Series

Mega Smash 4 Poll Analysis Week 1: Meet the Hardcore Community

smashpoll-hardcore

Introduction:

I’m excited to show you guys the first wave of information from the Mega Smash 4 Poll I’ve been conducting. The poll is open in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese and French! Thanks to the hard work of the translators who have made it possible. If you have not already, please take the poll here before reading. The poll will be open until the end of the month, but I wanted to show you some information. Furthermore, the goal of this post is to promote the poll. The more respondents we have, the more accurate the data will be. Once the poll closes, the data will be released to everyone . So please do your part and take the poll. If you have already taken it, please help promote it.

This post takes into account over 2,300 responses. As of writing, the poll has gathered almost 3,000 votes in all languages. However, in this post, I will be focused on the English results for simplicity sake. I’m going to let the data do most of the talking. This post has a ton of data in it, and I look forward to seeing the conversation that emerges as a result.

Who Voted So far (English):

Mean: 19.69271061
Mode: 19
Median: 19

Males from North America are the common poll takers. The male-to-female ratio is actually observed in all languages. Hardcore Smashers tend to be young males. The average age of the poll taker is 19 years old. About 60% of the respondents have played Project M. Most respondents claim that Smash 4 Wii U is their favorite Smash game yet. The legend on the right follows the order from biggest to smallest perctange.

Average Age For Favorite Smash Game:

Super Smash Bros. (64) 21.36170213
Super Smash Flash 20.44444444
Super Smash Bros: Brawl 20.0733945
Super Smash Bros: 4 Wii U 19.61052632
Super Smash Bros: Melee 19.53200883
Super Smash Bros: 4 3DS 19.40718563
Project M 18.91341991
I don’t own any Smash Brothers game 17.25

Respondents who said Smash 64 was their favorite game tended to be older. Super Smash Flash places second, with Brawl being third. Not owning a Smash Brothers game usually meant that the user was younger, by almost 4 years when compared to Smash 64.

83.7% of respondents owned the Wii U version. 71.5% owned the 3DS version. I believe these are good percentages to have in this poll, as most of the other questions deal with Smash 4.

Average Age for Responses on 3DS/ Wii U ownership:

Neither 19.66055046
Wii U Only 20.15498155
3DS Only 18.79752066
Both 19.4612069

Wii U only users tend to be older. This is surprising, as I assumed owning both would the older as the respondents would be more likely to work full time. 3DS only users tended to be the youngest. Perhaps, the majority of 3DS only respondents received the 3DS version as a present.

Hardcore Ranking:

(Graph removed because it featured an error)
For Glory (Competitive Player)
1 722
2 434
3 621
4 320
5 330
6 124
7 118
8 115
9 43
10 128
For Fun (Friendly Player)

Users were asked on a scale of 1 to 10 to rank how hardcore they are. 1 is the “most hardcore” while 10 is the “most casual”. Most respondents claimed they are extremely hardcore.

Mean: 3.542869641
Mode: 10
Median: 3

Legend of Zelda 559
Pokemon 490
Mario 272
Fire Emblem 172
Earthbound 111
Metroid 101
Kirby 77
Mega Man 68
DK 57
Sonic the Hedgehog 57
Xenoblade 56
Metal Gear Solid 48
Animal Crossing 45
Star Fox 41
Pikmin 32
Kid Icarus 31
F-Zero 19
Retro 14
Wario Ware 9
Wii Fit 8
Namco 6
Punch Out!! 5
Yoshi’s Island 4

Yoshi’s Island was not included as an option for about 1,400/2,300 respondents so more users may like it.

The series that are liked tend to be the more “hardcore” series, which makes sense considering the respondents.

Below, I compared the favorite series to the respondents age.

Average Age per favorite series:

Yoshi’s Island: 28.75
Metroid: 21.4
Mega Man: 20.53
DK: 20.35
Retro: 20.35
Legend of Zelda: 20.28
Namco: 20.1
Punch Out!!: 20
F-Zero: 19.75
Mario: 19.65
Star Fox: 19.65
Metal Gear: 19.34
Animal Crossing: 19.31
Fire Emblem: 19.25
Warioware: 19.25
Pokemon: 19.1
Earthbound: 19.04
Kid Icarus: 19
Sonic: 19
Kirby: 18.13
Pikmin: 18
Xenoblade: 17
Wii Fit: 15.6

Character Preferences (Interactive Version):

Most Like Votes: Captain Falcon, Ganondorf, Marth, Shulk, Mario

Most Liked Ratio: Captain Falcon, Kirby, Marth, Mario, Ganondorf

Most Dislike Votes: Diddy Kong, Rosalina and Luma, Dark Pit, Sonic, Mii Swordsman

Most Dislike Ratio: Mii Swordsman, Diddy Kong, Mii Gunner, Dark Pit, Rosalina and Luma

Captain Falcon not only got the most “like votes”, but his like-to-dislike ratio is perhaps the best in the game. His clone, Ganondorf is also well-liked by many of the English poll takers.

Most of the “dislike” characters are either considered OP (Hoo, Hah), or a “waste” of a character slot. Mii Swordsman is usually ranked one of the worst characters in the game with regards to tier list, which may explain his lack of popularity.

Character Name: Likes Dislikes Total Votes: % Like % Dislike
Mario 981 121 1102 89.02% 10.98%
Luigi 878 126 1004 87.45% 12.55%
Peach 623 169 792 78.66% 21.34%
Bowser 732 101 833 87.88% 12.12%
Yoshi 762 206 968 78.72% 21.28%
Rosalina and Luma 591 610 1201 49.21% 50.79%
Bowser Jr. 733 243 976 75.10% 24.90%
Wario 519 356 875 59.31% 40.69%
Mr. Game and Watch 708 201 909 77.89% 22.11%
Donkey Kong 673 129 802 83.92% 16.08%
Diddy Kong 495 755 1250 39.60% 60.40%
Link 924 220 1144 80.77% 19.23%
Zelda 595 188 783 75.99% 24.01%
Sheik 785 251 1036 75.77% 24.23%
Ganondorf 1073 133 1206 88.97% 11.03%
Toon Link 790 248 1038 76.11% 23.89%
Samus 721 151 872 82.68% 17.32%
Zero Suit Samus 746 319 1065 70.05% 29.95%
Pit 613 238 851 72.03% 27.97%
Palutena 504 381 885 56.95% 43.05%
Marth 1054 118 1172 89.93% 10.07%
Ike 820 124 944 86.86% 13.14%
Robin 860 171 1031 83.41% 16.59%
Kirby 788 81 869 90.68% 9.32%
King Dedede 744 176 920 80.87% 19.13%
Meta Knight 554 232 786 70.48% 29.52%
Little Mac 766 437 1203 63.67% 36.33%
Fox 811 155 966 83.95% 16.05%
Falco 704 193 897 78.48% 21.52%
Pikachu 816 108 924 88.31% 11.69%
Charizard 571 195 766 74.54% 25.46%
Lucario 604 262 866 69.75% 30.25%
Jigglypuff 865 181 1046 82.70% 17.30%
Greninja 718 167 885 81.13% 18.87%
Duck Hunt Dog 732 329 1061 68.99% 31.01%
R.O.B 638 259 897 71.13% 28.87%
Ness 961 171 1132 84.89% 15.11%
Captain Falcon 1329 79 1408 94.39% 5.61%
Villager 924 161 1085 85.16% 14.84%
Olimar 451 399 850 53.06% 46.94%
Wii Fit Trainer 532 283 815 65.28% 34.72%
Shulk 985 190 1175 83.83% 16.17%
Dr. Mario 681 259 940 72.45% 27.55%
Dark Pit 523 568 1091 47.94% 52.06%
Lucina 777 282 1059 73.37% 26.63%
Pac-Man 828 175 1003 82.55% 17.45%
Megaman 958 159 1117 85.77% 14.23%
Sonic 599 514 1113 53.82% 46.18%
Mii Fighter 473 337 810 58.40% 41.60%
Mii Swordsman 271 476 747 36.28% 63.72%
Mii Gunner 284 425 709 40.06% 59.94%

Stage Preferences (Interactive Version):

Flat-Zone X was missing from the poll for over 1,000 votes. Because of this, it has a low amount of votes. However, considering it’s like to dislike ratio, it’s probably safe to say that Flat-Zone X would be one of the most disliked stages if it was had more votes.

The legal stages in each game tend to have higher likes and percentages of likes. Since most of the respondents self-identified as “hardcore”, this is to be expected. In the same vein, the disliked stages tended to be stages with hazards, or not seen hardcore friendly.

Wii U:
Most Liked Stages: Battlefield, Final Destination, Smashville, Town and City, Delfino Plaza
Most Liked Ratio: Battlefield, Town and City, Final Destination, Smashville, Delfino Plaza
Most Disliked Stages: 75m, Pac Land, Great Cave Offensive, Dr. Wily’s Castle, Pyrosphere
Most Disliked Ratio: 75m, Pac Land. Great Cave Offensive, Flat Zone X, Pyrosphere

3DS:
Most Liked Stages: Battlefield, Final Destination, Yoshi’s Island, Corneria, Prism Tower
Most Liked Ratio: Battlefield, Final Destination, Yoshi’s Island, Corneria, Arena Ferox
Most Disliked Stages: Dr. Wily’s Castle, Mushroom Kingdom, Golden Plains, Flat Zone 2, Balloon Fight
Most Disliked Ratio: Mushroom Kingdom, Golden Plains, Flat Zone 2, Balloon Fight, Distant Planet

Wii U:                                                                            3DS:

Stage Name: Total Votes: Likes % Liked: Dislikes % Disliked: Stage Name: Total Votes: Likes % Liked: Dislikes % Disliked:
Battlefield 1781 1759 99% 22 1% Battlefield 1638 1611 98% 27 2%
Big Battlefield 1084 978 90% 106 10% Final Destination 1633 1588 97% 45 3%
Final Destination 1762 1715 97% 47 3% 3D Land 723 392 54% 331 46%
Mushroom Kingdom U 849 641 76% 208 24% Golden Plains 654 236 36% 418 64%
Mario Galaxy 1169 1052 90% 117 10% Rainbow Road 815 593 73% 222 27%
Delfino Plaza 1141 1086 95% 55 5% Paper Mario 838 511 61% 327 39%
Mario Kart 8 1061 891 84% 170 16% Mushroom Kingdom (Brawl) 641 184 29% 457 71%
Mario Kart Circuit (Brawl) 656 311 47% 345 53% Jungle Japes (Melee) 823 521 63% 302 37%
Luigi Mansion 903 761 84% 142 16% Gerudo Valley 996 859 86% 137 14%
Jungle Hijinks 826 544 66% 282 34% Spirit Train 865 600 69% 265 31%
Kongo Jungle 64 1071 957 89% 114 11% Brinstar 622 374 60% 248 40%
Skyloft 1101 1007 91% 94 9% Yoshi’s Island (Brawl) 1016 975 96% 41 4%
Bridge of Eldin 875 691 79% 184 21% Dream Land 686 498 73% 188 27%
Temple 1146 1037 90% 109 10% Corneria (Melee) 955 890 93% 65 7%
Pyrosphere 910 426 47% 484 53% Unova Pokemon League 795 600 75% 195 25%
Norfair 704 410 58% 294 42% Prism Tower 954 874 92% 80 8%
Port Town Aero Drive 719 498 69% 221 31% Mute City 851 700 82% 151 18%
Woolly World 867 657 76% 210 24% Magicant 1022 763 75% 259 25%
Yoshi’s Island 743 586 79% 157 21% Arena Ferox 902 840 93% 62 7%
The Great Cave Offensive 1076 433 40% 643 60% Flat Zone 2 601 221 37% 380 63%
Halberd 1002 925 92% 77 8% Reset Bomb Forest 740 433 59% 307 41%
Orbital Gate Assault 840 567 68% 273 33% Warioware 687 447 65% 240 35%
Lylat Cruise 893 736 82% 157 18% Distant Planet (Brawl) 520 236 45% 284 55%
Kalos Pokemon League 1061 894 84% 167 16% Tortimer Island 670 544 81% 126 19%
Pokemon Stadium 2 1079 989 92% 90 8% Boxing Ring 890 774 87% 116 13%
Onett 882 733 83% 149 17% Gaur Plain 832 585 70% 247 30%
Coliseum 798 724 91% 74 9% Balloon Fight 659 279 42% 380 58%
Castle Siege 871 776 89% 95 11% Living Room 621 334 54% 287 46%
Palutena’s Temple 962 508 53% 454 47% Find Mii 624 367 59% 257 41%
Flat Zone X 332 152 46% 180 54% Tomodachi Life 729 544 75% 185 25%
Skyworld 639 398 62% 241 38% Pictochat 2 588 395 67% 193 33%
Gamer 1012 786 78% 226 22% Green Hill Zone 617 419 68% 198 32%
Garden of Hope 659 435 66% 224 34% Wily’s Castle 962 456 47% 506 53%
Town and City 1359 1334 98% 25 2% Pac-Maze 865 554 64% 311 36%
Smashville 1510 1469 97% 41 3%
Wii Fit Studio 721 580 80% 141 20%
Boxing Ring 946 845 89% 101 11%
Gaur Plains 975 669 69% 306 31%
Duck Hunt 1079 954 88% 125 12%
75 m 1060 144 14% 916 86%
Wrecking Crew 711 363 51% 348 49%
Pilot Wings 893 791 89% 102 11%
Wuhu Island 916 830 91% 86 9%
Windy Hill 722 579 80% 143 20%
Dr. Wily’s Castle 1064 507 48% 557 52%
Pac-Land 953 266 28% 687 72%

Conclusion:

So that’s it for today. I hope you enjoy reading the data. If you have any questions, I’d be happy to answer them. Again, please help promote the poll: tinyurl.com/SmashPoll

Thanks! I look forward to sharing the final results!

4 comments
  1. Wow seriously, most of this nice to see votes on, but really?! The dislike on few of the characters are ridiculous, specifically Rosalina and Sonic. People need to understand that Rosalina is not OP at all, not even close and Sonic idk what the true reason is but that needs to stop when people wanted sonic to be better than his Brawl counter part.

    Gameprodigy12 on March 17 |
  2. […] Mega Smash Poll […]

  3. Great results, but it seems like you misread the “hardcore” ranking – the 10 and 1 have similar shades of blue, and 1 (very casual) seems like the most-voted option.

    Mike on November 28 |
    • It seems like I flipped the results when I posted it! 1 is “hardcore” 10 is “casual” (Ripped from the data)
      For Glory (Competitive Player)
      1 722
      2 434
      3 621
      4 320
      5 330
      6 124
      7 118
      8 115
      9 43
      10 128
      For Fun (Friendly Player)

      Thanks for pointing it out!

      PushDustIn on November 28 |