 |
|
|
 |
|
SSBM: Depth Breakdown (12.26.03)
Matt "mattdeezie" Dahlgren
Most people don't refer to Smash Brothers in competitive terms. It's referred to as being a party game, too simplistic,
too cutesy, not deep... Some of these things mentioned are true, but none prevent it from being a high level fighting game.
On the surface, Smash Brothers IS simplistic. Every character has the same input commands, but the depth is there. It may not be the same
high/mid/low mix up game seen in other fighting games, but its there. It's just different.
Before getting into an explanation about the game, it is good to note that I am referring to one on one playing in a stock
setting (or teams). Free for all (FFA) causes a bunch of problems and has been found to be all around un-tournament worthy.
(... it's fun though!)
Page 1: Basic Mix-Ups
The Ground Game:
Instead of being based around something like a high/mid/low mix up, Smash Brothers' ground game is more based around block/throw/dodge.
Blocking is used to block air moves/dash attacks/ground moves
Throwing counters blocking
Dodging counters throwing and most air/ground moves
Moves with large hit windows, or moves that have multiple hits, counter dodging. A player can also bait their opponent to dodge, then punish them.
Rolls and Sidesteps have a period of invulnerability in which they cannot be hit by anything. Sidesteps are stationary, while rolls move
your character to a new position. In general, the sidestep is much more effective and safer than the roll. However, the roll can be used
more to space or reposition yourself. Some characters have abnormally good or bad rolls/dodges. This is a balancing factor in the game.
A good sidestep is an extremely good asset. When thrown out repeatedly, the amount of invulnerability generally outweighs the time that
you can be punished. A fast sidestep can often be just thrown out or be used to bait someone to attack you. However, even if the character
has the best sidestep, when used too predictably, a good player will punish them. Rolls, if predicted, are much easier to punish. However,
when used in moderation, they can be a decent way to space. A character with a good wavedash (explained in the advanced section) is able
to maintain space and keep more options open.
One of the reasons that the sidestep is so good is that it avoids the majority of attacks. The only way a sidestep can be punished is by:
a move that has a large hit window, a multi hit attack, or a person anticipating the sidestep. Smash attacks, tilt attacks, throws, single-hit
air attacks, and many dash attacks can all be side-stepped.
Since the sidestep is so effective, learning to punish the sidestep is a must.
Some character's dash attacks (with the ability to cross up) can be a good way to punish a sidestep. A good example of a dash attack
like this would be Fox's dash attack. It is possible to sidestep this move, but it is difficult to time and not very reliable. In
general, if you can dash attack properly when someone goes for a sidestep, there is a good chance it will launch the opponent and allow
for a combo opportunity.
Some options to counter to this would be to: hit them out of the dash before they get close enough to execute it, provided you
have the timing and a proper move to do so; crouch cancel (explained later); or to just block. If the opponent's dash attack does not
cross you up you will receive a free block throw (while holding block, press A). If the opponent successfully crosses you up, they are
safer (how safe depends on the move).
From a crossed up position (one character finishing a move to the opponents back), if your character has a good d-air, or b-air, you can
short hop backwards and attack. In some situations this is guaranteed. Even if not guarunteed it's a solid follow up. Many people, after
a cross up, will attempt to get some space, and end up getting hit. If the move bounces, you can set yourself up for a combo opportunity. (C.Falcons/Falco… d-air)
If your character has a solid multi-hit attack (Peach/Pikachu/Sheik d-smash), dashing up to the character and throwing this attack out
is generally the best way to punish the sidestep. Multi-hit attacks last longer than the invincibility of the sidestep and will hit them as
soon as they recover. Another advantage of using these moves is that they tend to be safe on block.
Probably the most basic way to punish the sidestep is just to anticipate it properly and then punish the recovery. A good way to juke
your opponent and gain a solid spacing game is if your character has a good wavedash. This will be explained in more detail later.
Here is a typeical ground game situation:
A defensive player would try to position his character so that they can bait the opponent into using a move (most likely a throw),
then dodge to gain the advantage. An offensive player would be either trying to catch the opponent off guard with the throw, or bait
the other person into dodging incorrectly, then punish them during recovery. They could also go in front of the character and use a
multi-hit attack, which would punish the sidestep as well.
The Air Game:
- Air Game: Air to Ground:
The air to ground game is pretty much similar to other general fighting games. You put yourself at risk of being hit by an anti air
attack, but if done correctly you set yourself up to do some damage. Different air moves have different priorities.
On block, if the character jumping in does not utilize an advanced tactic to keep them safe(r), most blocked air attacks give your
opponent a guaranteed block throw. In the early days of Smash Brothers, the block throw was a very dominant tactic, and is still a
dominant tactic at low level play. Keeping your air attacks safe or safer than before is essential. This is done primarily by
L-canceling, which I will explain in the more advanced area.
- Air Game: Air to Air:
Different air attacks have different range and priority. Moves that have a large hit window and are fast to execute are usually good
for trying to beat out an opponent's air attack or move. Moves that have multiple hits can be used more commonly in combos or to
possibly punish a dodge. Knowing your character's move range, hit window, and priority is very important to your overall game.
The Edge Game:
The Edge Game (known as Edge Guarding) is probably the most unique and interesting tactic that separates this game from the others.
This is the strategy of preventing your opponent from getting back to the ledge after knocking them off. This brings opportunities to
kill opponents at low percentages of health, which is extremely important. Having a solid edge game, and a solid recovery game, are both
essential to high-level SSBM play.
The Edge Game is centered around the ledge. The ledge is the edge of a platform which a character can hang on. When grabbed, the
character gets a moment of invincibility (around a second), and then there is another mix up game to get back onto the level itself.
- Edge Game: Recovery:
When on recovery, a character can either go for a chance to hit the ledge, or try to land on the level itself. Depending on how far they
were hit off of the level, they may only have a chance to hit the ledge itself.
A character trying to go for the level will probably try and recover higher on the stage. This leaves them open for many different
attacks. If the character has to use their up-b recovery move to land on the level, they are wide-open because the lag when landing
after an up-b is usually very large. That means that a character will have to try and land on the level, without getting hit, and
without using their recovery move. When recovering high, you can try and bait your opponent into attacking, and then air dodge through
the attack and land on the level. The downside to this is that if your opponent anticipates this, you can get punished pretty bad.
A character trying to go for the ledge will most likely try and recover lower on the stage. This will keep them out of range of most
ground attacks used for an edge guard. When trying to hit the ledge, an important tactic to know is hitting the "sweet spot". The sweet
spot is hitting the ledge at the furthest point away that you can grab it at. This will result in a small teleportation to the ledge.
The reason you go for this is that hitting the sweet spot prevents you from getting hit by an opponent's ground moves that are used as
an edge guard. If you hit the ledge too high, you are very vulnerable to ground attacks. Knowing your characters recovery range, and
how to hit the ledge consistently is very important. The problem with always going for the sweet spot is edge hogging, a tactic that
will be explained in the edge guarding section.
A good player will generally mix up hitting the ledge and going for the level so that they do not become roo predictable.
- Edge Game: Edge Guarding:
Probably the simplest tactic would be to go for an attack while standing on the edge of the level. While very basic, many characters
make this very dangerous. Characters with attacks that hit lower than normal (Peaches d-smash), or characters with very solid ranged
attacks (Marth's godlike f-smash) can get a lot of easy kills by just timing attacks on the ledge. However if you choose to only go for
this type of edge game, opponents can usually still hit the sweet spot, and they can just recover higher on the level and attempt to
not grab the ledge at all.
One of the best edge guarding tactics out there is edge hogging. It was mentioned above how if a character grabs the ledge, they are
invulnerable for a period of around a second. When a character is on a ledge, no other character can grab it, so edge hogging is the
tactic of grabbing onto the ledge just before another character attempts to hit it, so that your opponent's up-b recovery attack whiffs
you during your invulnerability and they fail to grab the ledge. Thus, a free kill for you as they fall and die.
Some ways to do this would be to wavedash backwards on to the ledge just before they attempt to hit it. This can also obtained by a short hop backwards as well. Also when a character already has the ledge, they can get another period of invulnerability when they do their get up move. A character can just grab the ledge, and wait until just before their opponent goes for the ledge and then time their get up move. This is most effective if the opponent has no choice but to go for the ledge.
Another tactic is going out for a spike. A spike is a move that hits the opponent straight down. You attempt to jump out and hit them
down so that they can no longer recover. In some cases it's an instant kill (depending on the damage and when the opponent is hit, they
sometimes are able to jump after being hit or use a recovery move). Usually this is more risky than it is effective. Some characters
have abnormally effective spikes (Falco), and in those cases the spike is an integral part of their game. However, the majority of
characters spiking is used as a surprise tactic or used for style points.
More often than spiking, going out and intercepting your opponent with a move that will not necessarily hit them downward, but hit them
far enough so that they cannot recover, is used. There are plenty of different tactics utilized with different characters. When doing
this you might put yourself at risk (especially if you used two jumps to get out there), however this is generally one of the most
dominating edge guarding strategies.
- Edge Game: Ledge Recovery:
Like mentioned before, getting up off of the ledge is another mix up game. From the ledge hanging position you have a variety of moves
to get up onto the ledge.
Getting up with an attack (A) can sometimes catch an opponent off guard, however if blocked deep it will guarantee your opponent a block
throw. The get up attack becomes an increasingly risky move when your character is at 100% damage or greater. If you anticipate your
opponents attempt for a block throw, you can just stand up on the ledge and possibly throw them, or dodge their attack before they have
time to react.
There is a jump feature which allows your character to jump up at around a 45 degree angle, however it is vulnerable and it takes a
while before you can cancel out of it. If you intend on jumping up off of the ledge, you can also drop down off the ledge and do your
second jump. This is really good for dropping down, then jumping up and attacking, or jumping up and wavedashing onto the ledge. Both
are good for catching people off guard. However, if anticipated and hit out of the jump, usually results in losing a stock because you
will not have another jump to save yourself.
Getting up with a roll is pretty much like regular rolling because you are invulnerable during the roll but vulnerable afterwards. Good
to throw out if you anticipate your opponent's attack right by the edge. Like the regular get up attack, the roll becomes more vulnerable
after your damage is 100% or greater.
Tech-Rolling:
Tech rolling is a pretty basic mix up, but is worth noting because being predictable with tech rolls will cost you a lot of damage. Any
time a character is in an air tumble - off of many throws and when they hit the ground - if the user presses L/R, your character does a fast
get up move. This move gets your character up off of the ground instantly, but leaves you open for a split second. If the user presses
left or right while doing a tech roll, the character tech rolls a direction. Playing against a fast character will generally allow them
to punish your tech roll with a throw. In these cases it is extremely important to mix up the directions you tech roll, and sometimes
just land flat on the ground.
In the grounded situation, your character is invulnerable for a short period of time. Also from this state, you can execute a get up
attack that has invincibility frames. The get up attack is good for catching people off guard, but on block guarantees a block throw. From
this point, mixing up the straight stand up with the attack is important. Many players tend to overuse the get up attack. Also remember
that if you lay on the ground for too long, you lose the invulnerability and then are open to attacks.
If you enter an air tumble at a high distance, you are able to circle the control stick to escape the tumble and enter the normal
air stance.
Page 2: Combo System, Advanced Tactics >>
|
| |
