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SSBM: Depth Breakdown (12.26.03)
Matt "mattdeezie" Dahlgren
Page 3: Stages & Items // Conclusion
- Stages & Items -
One of the main reasons people write off SSBM as just a party game would be looking at the variety of zany stages and items. How can a
serious match be played when there are bombombs dropping and even the stage itself is attacking you. However, just because these
options are in the game, does not mean that they have to be used when playing competitively. One of the problems with the tournament
community in general is actually coming to an agreement on what in the game is actually tournament worthy.
Stages:
Many of the stages in the game bring up a major issue in camping. Since SSBM has a much more free range of movement than in other games,
run away tactics and turtling are much bigger issues. If you think some turtles are bad in "respected" games, just think of what would
happen if you gave them stage hazards and obstacles to help them run away as well. Some players think this is a valid form of strategy
and look at the game as more of a strategy game than a normal fighting game. They believe that you should use the stage to your
advantage and do whatever it takes to win a match. To make it so that the game does not result in a stalemate, a timed stock match is
needed that will result in the person who is ahead at the end of the time limit to get the win. If exact tie in percentage it results in
Sudden Death. Sudden Death should not be gone to if there is not an exact percentage tie, even though the game defaults to it, because this
promotes even more turtling and an extremely unfair aspect of the game. Overall, this "strategy" type of game isn't exactly a "broken" game,
however it is definitely much less exciting.
To make the game more appealing and fast paced, a simple solution to solve the problem is to limit most of the stages. You could have
a list of a few solid, fast paced stages, and only those are allowed in the tournament. This concentrates more on the fighting game
aspect of the game, rather than the strategy aspect. Examples of solid stages that could be picked are Final Destination, Pokemon
Stadium, and Dreamland. One of the problems of only limiting the stages to levels like these is that it eliminates stuff like the wall
game, and multi platform game and such tactics. While this may seem bad, some consider it needed to keep the game from turning into
a turtle fest.
Some players go as far as to play with only Final Destination/oo items (probably the most traditional way to look at the game if you
want to compare it to other fighters). No matter which version of the game you like, they both have their pros and cons, and somewhere
out there you will most likely find a tournament to your suiting. I would say overall though that the game is evolving more and more
towards being a traditional fighting game.
Items:
Like stages, items are also a big issue within the tournament community. Some players consider items too random to be tournament worthy,
whereas some players consider them a great form of strategy. The pro item side considers items a new level of projectiles/projectile
catching/edge guarding game, whereas the con item side considers items too random and overpowering. There are balances between the two
sides, and like stages, you will most likely be able to find a tournament to your suiting.
The items that are generally considered to be gamebreaking are hearts, tomatoes, and Stars. To a lesser extent but still often banned
would be mushrooms, hammers, cloaks, bombombs and pokeballs.
My personal preference is to limit around half the items to the ones that don't seem too overpowering, so that the third level of
projectile strategy is still maintained, but the randomness level goes way down and the game still stays fighting based rather than item
based. Around half the items on very low. I find this to be a good balance point between the two types of players.
However, just because there is a random factor with more items doesn't mean the game itself is necessarily random. A good item player
knows how to handle the situations in which he is at an advantage and disadvantage, and be able to keep the item flow working in his favor.
Items also allow for a good tactic to dethrone campers as well. All in all it pretty much boils down to personal preference. I would say
as a whole the community (or at least the top players) tend to be moving toward less items or no items, because the technical complexity
of the fighting game alone has been more prevalent.
- Conclusion -
Hopefully this article can shed a different light on SSBM for people that never gave it a true chance.
The game generally doesn't get a lot of respect, however the community is there. So far, the community
has seen a few $1000+ tournaments, including one where the prize was close to $5000. Definitely comparable
to the "Evolution 200X series". A solid tournament scene exists as well, including the same coast rivalries
and the same trash talking. The main problem is there isn't a neutral arcade setting to meet at and play, and
then the ongoing difference in opinions concernung settings puts a thorn in our side.
Super Smash Bros. Melee... it's not just a kids game!
For more tournament info, check out: Smashboard World Forums
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