So, after watching the Smash Summit 9 I was really inspired to go back to Melee. The Professional Smashers have perfected Melee in such a way, it’s almost an Art. It’s an incredibly technical game, but they look like they are moving faster than Ultimate. And even though the game is 20 years old, the meta-game and match-ups are still changing. Pikachu, Marth, and Falco were played a lot, and did well.
They also announced that there would be a Summit this year that would be a Melee/Ultimate cross-over. No idea what that entails, but that got a bizarre idea in my head to find a character that I could main in Smash 64, Melee, Project M (or Plus more accurately), and Ultimate. In case my friends and I ever wanted to hold a bizarre Smash games tournament I suppose? Which I think would be a lot of fun actually.
Night One
So, on Night One I decided to play Melee to narrow down this supposed “perfect main” for all the still relevant Smash games (because sorry Brawl and Smash 4 are no longer being played in the area around me or by me and my friends). So, the first thing was to choose a potential character. If we look at the tier list of 64, Melee, Project M, and Ultimate there is really only three characters that are at or near the top of all the games – Fox, Captain Falcon, and Pikachu. Fox is A Tier in 64, SS Tier in Melee, A- Minus Tier in Project M, and High Tier+ in the current Ultimate Reddit Tier list. Captain Falcon is A Tier in 64, B Tier in Melee, A- Tier in Project M, and Mid Tier in the current Ultimate Reddit Tier list. Pikachu is S Tier in 64 (and my main), C Tier in Melee, B Tier in Project M, and Top Tier (the highest Tier) in the current Ultimate Reddit Tier list. So I had my list of characters to test, next I needed a way to test.
So I decided to try each character out by playing against a Level 6 CPU with them on each tournament legal stage. And I didn’t pick Random CPUs, I went down the Tier List and played the Top Tier characters on what I think is their best stage. So I fought Falco at Final Destination, Marth at Yoshi’s Story, Sheik at Fountain of Dreams, Jigglypuff at Dream Land, Peach at Battelfield, and Ice Climbers at Pokemon Stadium.
I started out with Fox and man, does Melee feel different now after so much Ultimate. The C-Stick does nothing, getting a tilt and more importantly chaining tilts is very precise, air dodges are bad ideas, you die so much sooner, and you fall so much faster. Every time I went offstage to pressure I died. It didn’t matter what attack I tried – down air, neutral air, Side-B. I can’t play offstage in Melee, maybe better players can. I also really struggled to get kills with Fox. After just a few matches I realized two things – I’m never going to be into competitive Melee and Fox is not the character for me.
I got bodied by Falco, Marth, and Sheik. I was in the matches at least with the other characters and did beat Puff pretty badly. I should have beat the Icies but I self-destructed on the final stock. I didn’t feel like a Fox Smash God. I was’t getting Up Tilt to Up Tilt to Up Air chains. I wasn’t getting any Shine combos. Which I don’t know how to do anyway. I did get a few Dash attacks to Up Smashes KO’s on recovering opponents so that did feel good. And as I kept playing I was able to get in more consecutive hits and get follow-up aerial attacks.
Next I ran it back with Captain Falcon. I did better than I did with Fox, but still lost the majority of matches. I self-destructed less, but he also felt less fluid overall. I was over-relying on his special moves for spacing, because I couldn’t get any of his tilts out fast enough. I think I may be a bit better with Captain Falcon, but Fox is more fun. I just never vibed with Captain Falcon in any game.
Then, I played through it all again with Pikachu. And this is my character! Yes, he’s a lower tier character in Melee, but if there’s going to be a fighter I play in all the games, it going to be Pikachu. I’m just most familiar with him, I don’t kill myself as often with him, and most importantly I do the most damage with him. I’m never going to be close to a Pikachu expert like Axe in Melee, but at least I won the majority of the matches with Pikachu.
I lost to Falco, but did come back to make it close after getting bodied the first stock. I beat Marth, even though on the last stock the CPU self-destructed. Just barely beat Sheik. Beat Jigglypuff, and should have won even bigger but got a bit too confident on the last stock. I almost beat Peach with dropping a stock. And then beat the Icies with two stocks left.
I was able to space with Pikachu Thunderjolt and aerials and get big kills with his Forward Smash. I would have thought that his back-air to opponents on platforms and his Thunder attack would have gotten more kills, but those attacks don’t have the punch they had in 64.
So after all that, if there’s every some bizarre tournament where you have to pick one character for Smash 64, Melee, Project M (Project +), and Ultimate I know Pikachu would be my selection. I may not do great in Melee, but at least I would know how to not die. Honestly, that sounds like a tournament I would have with my friends, or may do with my sons when they’re older.
Night Two
So, on Night Two I started my tournament prep. One of the most played characters in my region in the February Online Open was Cloud. So, I needed to work on Cloud for one Night.
Same drill as always – went to Training Mode to get down his moveset, practice combos, and kill confirms. And I continued to work on Ledge-trumping, tomahawk grabs, jab locks, and 2-framing. Then I warmed up on Level 5 CPUs. Then I played 10 Online Quickplay battles. I do not like Cloud.
People seem to have success with him, he’s won at locals in the area, and he does have professional players that main him. He was actually one of the characters my friend really liked playing as during one of our Smash marathons, but I don’ think he ever won a match against me with him. And I’ve never going to be much of a Cloud fan. His recovery is hot garbage, all of his specials except for his Up B come out slow and have a long cool down. His aerials don’t hit as much as they should for the giant sword in Cloud’s hand. I relied almost entirely on his Side-B and his dash attack. His Smash attacks and tilts aren’t good either. He can technically 2-frame or spike recovering opponents but you have to be so precise. I was having trouble killing without his Limit Break Finishing Touch.
I think I won two out of the ten matches. I got completely bodied by a couple of Links, their projectiles were too much to deal with. And a Donkey Kong destroyed me, I couldn’t do anything he just used his reach.
So, if I face a Cloud during a tournament what am I going to do? Wall out his attacks with projectiles. Harass him offstage. Just avoid his big attacks and punish the long cooldown.
Night Three
On Night Three, I concentrated on prepping my Young Link as a counter-pick against Cloud. Warmed up in Training Mode and then played against a Level 5 CPU three times; a set against a Level 6, 7, and 8 CPU; and a set against a Level 7,8, and 9 CPU. I…did not win as much as I would have liked. To be fair I started practicing later than I usually would, but the last two sets I lost 2 out of 3 matches so I would have lost those. The CPU is a much better Cloud than me I guess, ha. So, I’m not sure about my counter-pick. I guess if I lose against a Cloud with Joker I’ll counter-pick to Young Link, but if I win, I’ll just stay? I’ve put much more time into Joker, so I’m more confident with him. Still struggling to kill with Young Link even after the buffs. I also find myself pressing for kills when my opponent gets at high percents and eating up too much damage with Young Link. That was a bad habit I had when I first picking up Joker.
I finished the night with a a few 3-on-3 Squad Strikes. I think I have a pretty decent ruleset for it, my stage list (which is tourney legal stages plus some other stages I think should be included) on One Stock Elimination. If you win you get a 100% damage recovery before the next round. I wanted to play some more Cloud, more Byleth, and mess around with Rosalina & Luma. Played against three level 6 CPUs first. Random order selection, beat them all with Rosalina. Next played against Level 6, a Level 7, and Level 8 CPU. Random order selection, beat them all with Rosalina. Played against Level 7, Level 8, and Level 9 CPUs. Random order selection, beat them all with Rosalina. I was very tired and went to bed.
So, I was really feeling my Rosalina & Luma this night. I was thinking should I switch my main? She did get a small buff, recently, but it was just her shield. But I was really killing it this night with her Dair offstage (super spike! and easy to hit!) and her Up Smash. So, I guess I’m getting better either at Smash all around, or at this not great character? The very next night would help calm this thinking down a bit.
Night 4
Night 4 the plan was to prep for Byleth since that was the most used character in the last Smash Online Open. So, after doing my normal Training Mode warm up with Joker I went into Smash against CPU Byleth. First I beat Level 5 CPUs three times. Than I beat a Level 6,7, and 8 CPU. Then I took a bit of a break. Then later in the night I beat a Level 7 and 8 CPU and then lost to Level 9 CPU.
Then I went online and played Quickplay matches with Joker. Played about three sets, only would have won about one of them. Didn’t encounter any Byleths. Did play against some swordies I would probably counter-pick to Young Link during a tournament though.
Then I decided to bust out my Rosalina & Luma online for whatever reason. Played around six matches, only won two of them. Playing against live opponents reminds you how predictable even high level CPUs can be. I never got Dair spike. Never got a F Smash on a recovering opponent. And I recovered the wrong way and self-destructed multiple times.
This was a good reminder of Rosie’s weakness – she’s light, yet also tall and easy to hit AND slow. It’s like the worst of all character archetypes. And her Down-B which vacuums in projectiles and negates should be a good tool against long-range opponents. But it’s not, because it takes to long to cooldown. Despite all this for some reason, I’m still contemplating wasting a week trying to main her. Which would be a waste, she’s solidly bottom-tier. I guess there’s something appealing about being able to bust out a character not many people have match-up experience with. And it’s so much fun to Forward Air to Forward Air someone and watch them have no idea what happened. Or to get a huge F Smash on someone recovering. So, maybe she’ll be my new “clowning” character to replace Wario. But not Byleth. Nothing’s ever going to beat that Down-B hitting.
Night 5
Night 5 I prepped for Joker with my Ness. The same drill as always – Training Lab, fight progressively harder CPUs and then went online. Didn’t fight any actual Joker’s surprisingly. Got a few wins, but lost more than I won.
Night 6
Night 6, I got both my RetroFighters Brawler 64 and my Retro-bit Tribute 64 N64 controllers in the mail. So, I tested both of those on Smash 64. Not going to bore you with the testing details but will probably create a separate post.
Night 7
Night 7, I prepped my Young Link for Ness. Just the same drill again – Training, Smash vs. CPU, then Online Quickplay. Probably won around 4 out of 10 matches. I am getting better about being more patient with my Young Link and not pushing for the kills. But I’m still not always remembering to play to his strengths – always be throwing items, attack through the air, etc.
To be honest, I don’t think my Young Link or Ness are very good, even for someone of my level. Obviously, I want my main to be the best, but I want my secondary and pocket characters to be at least better than Joker against the characters I pull them out for. I lost to both a Lucina and and Ike with Young Link, and I didn’t feel like those opponents were much better than me. Would I have beat them with Joker? Maybe? I’m not confident with Joker against swordies or against very small characters. I feel like those are bad matchups for him, at least the way I play. But I have to better with Young Link against swordies than I am with Joker, and better against small fighters with Ness; otherwise what’s the point of a pocket character?
So, I don’t know, I may be having another character crisis. We’ll see if I need to switch to either of my pocket characters during the local or the Online tournament.
Anyway, this upcoming week I’m going to concentrating only on getting better at my Joker.
Side note, I may be taking a week or more of the blog, having a number of laptop issues.