An unofficial Super Smash Bros. Ultimate database uses machine learning to make tier lists

Written by. Nick Mosier based on the original Japanese article (publication date: 2021-12-08 20:23 JST)

Lately, an unofficial Super Smash Bros. Ultimate fan-made website called Shiratsuki-theory (Japanese) has been getting the attention of Smash fans. While the site initially launched in May of this year, awareness of it spread after Twitter user Xendam introduced it to their followers.

Shiratsuki-theory’s menu is divided into Character Description, Tier/Popularity/Usage by Character, Ranking, and Popularity Ranking. The Character Description section gives fundamental information about each character, including frame data, matchups, finishing move data, and alternate picks that complement the character.

The character popularity and ranking pages show tier lists from offline and online tournaments using not only recent data, but data from past results as well.

Shiratsuki-theory is constructed using data from a number of sources and aggregated using machine learning. For example, the matchups tier lists are based on data from the community website Smash Mate. Character popularity and character rankings are based on data from online and offline tournaments. Tier lists typically have a lot of subjectivity involved, but the site strips that away and just goes by the numbers.

For the site’s creator Shiratsuki, Smash Ultimate is their first Super Smash Bros. game. But the series has a long history, and there’s a big knowledge gap for newcomers that want to play competitively. Shiratsuki says they created the site so players could get the minimum required information they need about the game.

But Shiratsuki stresses that data isn’t always accurate. There’s the possibility of the source data being incorrect, and the results may vary depending on how you draw conclusions from data. It’s ultimately all unofficial after all.

If you go in understanding that, Shiratsuki-theory is a very interesting site for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate players. It’s another example of how deep the game is and how active the community that digs deep into it is.