Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Character Profiles: Inkling

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the latest entry in Nintendo's ongoing premier platform fighter series. It's also slated to be the company's biggest release of the holiday season. After almost 20 years of battle between top characters of some of gaming's biggest franchises, Ultimate will bring together every single fighter from every Smash Bros. game to date (along with a few more) in one single game.

With so many characters to choose from, Shacknews is taking a look at each and every one of the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate characters individually, leading up to the game's big release on December 7. Because many aspects of the game are subject to change, including character damage and special move properties, these profiles should not be considered final and can be updated at any time. Any guide that has been updated will be clearly marked.

Here's what we have up so far:
#01 - Mario
#38 - Sonic

Today, we take a break from returning fighters to check out one of the new additions to the Smash Bros. roster.

Who is Inkling?

There's no one single face of Splatoon, since all Inklings are customizable. But everyone who has played Nintendo's paintballer knows what the Inklings are. They are squids. They are kids. They are a race of evolved squids that battle for whatever territory they can find.

The Inklings may have been overshadowed lately by the Octolings and the Octo Expansion, but they are still front and center in the Splatoon universe. Super Smash Bros. isn't entirely forsaking the unique looks of these creatures, offering a multitude of alternate character designs for Inkling, similar to what the game has done for Animal Crossing's Villager. Take your pick, male or female. They'll still be able to dish out more than their opponents can handle.

Inkling's Moves and Fighter Overview

Inkling is nimble and quick as a hiccup, able to move around the map quickly. In terms of an offensive arsenal, Inklings handle mostly like they would in Splatoon, which proves to be a double-edged sword. Inkling players will quickly learn that their effectiveness is only as high as their opponent's ink level.

Here are Inkling's special moves:

Splattershot (Neutral B): This is a standard Splatoon weapon and, just like in that game, it will cover any foes with ink. The more a foe is covered in ink, the higher damage the Inkling can perform.
Super Jump (Up B): The Inkling will launch skyward, much like in Splatoon when any player opts to return back to the spawn point. This move itself does little damage, but the recovery distance is high.
Splat Roller (Side B): This move can be devastating. The Splat Roller deals modest damage, but if it hits on a grounded opponent, it'll pit them into the ground temporarily. In a four-player free-for-all, getting bopped with a Splat Roller can be killer.
Splat Bomb (Down B): This takes a chunk of the Inkling's ink level and puts it into a single explosive. This will splatter ink in a large, concentrated area. It'll deal modest damage, but if opponents are inked, they'll be open to further attacks.
Killer Wail (Final Smash): This busts out one of the more effective Splatoon weapons and covers a large horizontal portion of the screen. Anyone caught in its range will often get blasted off-screen, but it's entirely avoidable by taking to the skies or ducking under its blast.

Splattershot should be the first focus for any Inkling player. Once opponents are inked, that's when it's time to jump in and follow up with three-hit combos and the like, when they'll deal heavier damage. The Inkling's Forward-Smash covers a surprisingly large distance and can score some surprise early KOs. But the Inkling's finisher will be a wildly effective Up-Smash that uses up a lot of the player's ink supply.

It's essential to keep ink levels high, but that's where the Inkling becomes quite interesting. In order to refill ink levels, the Inkling is forced to block and hit B to go into Squid Form and go underground. The block shield will diminish over time, as normal. However, the Inkling cannot be thrown or hit while refilling their ink meter. It's a quick way to avoid incoming attacks in a pinch.

Esports Observations

As one might imagine, Inkling has the Smash Bros. community intrigued. A number of competitive players are considering Inkling as either a backup or an outright main.

Long-time Rosalina & Luma main Samuel "Dabuz" Buzby is among the top players who are examining Inkling's potential as a top-level character.

Top Japanese player Yuta "Abadango" Kawamura recently attended CEO 2018 and had his chance to try out Inkling. He wasted no time showing how quick and mobile this character could be, running circles around Nairoby "Nairo" Quezada early. He also shows off what's sure to be a common finishing combo for the character: Splat Roller into Up-Smash.

While Smash 4 players are the main pro players weighing in, how about an endorsement from a top Super Smash Bros. Melee player? Juan "Hungrybox" DeBiedma appeared to like what he saw out of Inkling.

There's going to be a lot of Inkling action in the early days of the Smash Bros. Ultimate esports scene, so be on the lookout for the game's top players to uncover more from this character. As noted, a lot of top Smash players are all expressing interest in this character. And even non-Smash players have a good feeling about these squid kids.

As the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate release date has drawn closer, more detailed thoughts on Inkling have come in. Just a few days before the game's arrival, top Smash 4 player Gonzalo "ZeRo" Barrios weighed in with a positive outlook on this character.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is set to arrive in December on Nintendo Switch. Shacknews will continue looking into each of the game's characters from now through the big day, so be sure to come back for more breakdowns over the coming weeks. Need impressions on the game as a whole? Check out our recent hands-on from San Diego Comic-Con. Beyond that, discover more information concerning Nintendo's latest brawler by stopping by Shacknews' Super Smash Bros. Ultimate walkthrough and guide.