It's no secret that Mewtwo is my favorite Pokémon. I was pretty upset when it didn't return as a playable fighter in Brawl and that fact cemented my hatred towards Lucario. Even though Mewtwo wasn’t one of my favorite characters to use in Melee, I still did what I could to champion its return to the Smash Bros. series. I was once again let down when we learned the final Smash Bros. roster on 3DS didn’t include Mewtwo, but then Nintendo shocked us all and revealed that yes, Mewtwo would indeed be striking back as the first ever Smash Bros. DLC character.

I've had a few days now to toy around with Mewtwo in the latest Smash Bros. games. But if you didn't get it for free, is Mewtwo worth buying?

To start things off, Mewtwo is indeed fun to play as. If you have played as Mewtwo in Melee you will immediately be familiar with his moveset as it’s pretty much unchanged. Mewtwo remains floaty and is a decent sized character on screen. It also has solid jumping height too.

Mewtwo has some interesting specials. Its recovery Teleport (Up + B) has solid range and can double as a way to escape some bad situations. Disable (Down + B) will temporally daze nearby opponents facing Mewtwo and has been improved from Melee. However, I still haven't been able to make good use of the move and it feels somewhat risky and gimmicky.

Mewtwo's Confusion attack (Side + B) is a great move that can toss projectiles back at opponents. It can also be used to flip opponents around. This attack has some nice situational properties that could be explored deeper, but may not be as effective in most cases against more skilled opponents.

Mewtwo's final special move (default B), Shadow Ball, is fantastic. When fully charged, it has great damage output and solid knockback. Using it uncharged can be useful too. My biggest complaint with this attack is that opponents who touch Shadow Ball as it charges no longer take damage as they did in Melee. Regardless, if you want to play a good Mewtwo you are going to need to learn to use this attack well.

Mewtwo has some nice tilts, but they could be a bit better. This is a great way to rack up some damage while getting in close. They are also a bit safer than going all in for a Smash. Out of all of them though, down tilt is the best due to its speed and range. Its neutral jab combo is nice too, but if you miss you will be vulnerable.

Mewtwo's good jumping ability gives it some great aerial control, but there are risks (more on that later). Up air is good for juggling. Neutral air seems like an OK way to follow up some attacks with. Forward air has solid power, can be followed up with itself at times, but is hard to consistently hit. Down air is powerful and can Meteor Smash, and back air is a great tool to help push opponents off stage. These later two moves, coupled with Mewtwo's solid jumps and recovery, make it good at ledge guarding. In fact, I think this is one of the areas Mewtwo excels at and those who want to play well with it will have no choice but to take advantage of this at every opportunity, even if it can be a bit risky.

Mewtwo's Smash attacks leave something to be desired, even though they are all decent kill moves. Up Smash is great, but smaller characters seem to frequently avoid it even if done right next to them. Forward Smash is strong, but will leave you open. Down Smash is also powerful, but sadly only does damage directly in front of Mewtwo. I wish this attack did something to sweep around him because Mewtwo doesn't have many reliable options to cover both sides.

Mewtwo has some good throws, but his grab range feels weak. I often find myself missing grabs, but maybe practice will help. Its down throw is good and gives the player the option to attempt a follow up attack. Forward throw doesn’t have much knock back, but does shoot out a bunch of orbs for a follow up attack. These orbs could be used better if playing against more than one person. Back throw is strong and can sometimes be used to kill, but it’s really a great way to get people off the stage so you can try to follow up with a good ledge guard. Finally, Mewtwo’s up throw is something you should only use when your opponent is within kill percent as it’s one of his more reliable ways to get a KO.

Those of you who play with items will be happy to hear that Mewtwo has a great Final Smash. He transforms into Mega Mewtwo Y and performs, what I’m guessing is, his Psystrike attack. It’s a great animation with strong KO potential.

The biggest problem I have with Mewtwo is its weight. Even though his Pokédex entry says he weighs 279 lbs, he is the second lightest character in the current Smash Bros. roster. Only Jigglypuff weighs less than Mewtwo in Smash. This weight problem, mixed with his decent size, makes juggling risky. I've died many times at around 70 or 80 percent. If anything is going to hold this Pokémon back from top level Smash play, it's going to be his weight before anything else.

One final let down with Mewtwo is that it is the only character without any custom moves. While I haven't dabbled with this feature much, it is upsetting that a major new addition to these Smash games were ignored for the latest character. I haven't heard any official comments on the matter, but I really hope they get added at a later date.

So is Mewtwo worth adding to your Smash Bros. roster? If you can't get enough Smash Bros., I can't think of a reason not to pick it up. If you have guests frequently come over to play you'd just be a jerk to pass up on this first expansion (in some ways) to the base game. Even though he may be a bit flawed, the Pokémon semi-villain is still unique and enjoyable to play as.

The only people I'd tell to pass up on this DLC are those who don't play much Smash, or those who don't care about the character and don't have many people over to play. For everyone else, just buy it. If not for you, then for your guests who will start playing and endlessly ask you, "where's Mewtwo?"