- Game Versions
- Smash 3DS, Smash Wii U
THIS GUIDE IS NOW OUTDATED, AS I DON'T PLAY LUIGI AT ALL ANYMORE AND HAVEN'T DONE SO SINCE 2014. SOME OF THE INFORMATION MIGHT BE INCORRECT DUE TO PATCHES THAT HAVE BEEN RELEASED SINCE 2014 AS WELL AS OTHER NEWLY DISCOVERED TECHNIQUES NOT LISTED HERE. THAT SAID IT'S STILL A DECENT GUIDE SO IF IT HELPS YOU THAT'S GREAT 
Sooo...you picked up Luigi! You got a hang of how his moves work? Great!
...
Oh you played a match and lost miserably against an opponent you underestimated and that blocked your strategy? WHELP time to do something about that!
This is my guide dedicated to the matchups that every SSB4 Luigi main should and needs to know!
As Drybones08 already made an excellent guide regarding moves and basic strategy, I will not (unless there turns out to be a big demand for it), write anything about the specific moves or playstyle unless it is important of the matchups.
Now before we get to what you've all been waiting for.....I'd like to have a seperate section for the one move that every Luigi main needs to master, no matter what matchup it is.....:
THE SACRED DOWN THROW!
THIS, ladies and gentlemen is the key to Luigi's combo game. This is generally the only throw you should be using against most characters at low and medium percent unless they're near a ledge. You might sometimes think you can get a better followup with another throw, but 90% of the time....you really can't.
The combo ability of the DThrow is insane. You can follow it up with anything at any percent (but it doesn't lead into the true combos at high percents). This is Luigi's most important tool as it's what leads into his combos and finishers. Remember that!
How can I get the DThrow?
Here are the most notable ways to get that first grab for the dthrow:
- Fireball, then immediately rush into and grab them. If they shield or get hit, you get a grab for free.
- Shieldgrab. This is standard for every character so not much to say.
- Sourspot nair. This isn't reliable but if you hit them with a sourspotted nair close to the ground, you can immediately follow up with a grab.
- Just dashing in their face and grabbing them. VERY risky since they might use the opportunity to grab or attack you, but if they shield, roll or react slow enough you should secure the grab.
- Pivot Grab. This extends your range and is incredibly useful!
THE #REKT SUPER/FIRE JUMP PUNCH (UPB)!!
Alright making a seperate section just for this. Y'all know the UpB's sweetspot attack. You may think "oh ermagherd isn't this like the Ganon Punch or PK Flash? It looks awesome but it's useless in serious play!". You're wrong. This move is probably the most high-risk high-reward move in the game, but there are many ways to minimize the risk and maximize the reward. Better learn to use the Shoryuken (the UpB's nickname)!
For those who aren't completely familiar with it, Luigi'sShoryuken UpB (in addition to being a good recovery move) does an insane amount of damage and knockback if you are very close to the opponent and hit them with the attack's first hitboxes. Hitting them in the air does significantly less knockback (sadly) but does pretty much the same damage/percent making it still useful. Missing the punch however puts Luigi in the helpless animation and has a significant amount of lag when hitting the ground, usually meaning a free punish for the opponent. This all sounds like a very gimmicky move and it kind of is, but that does not mean it's not worth using!
KEY TIPS FOR THE ASPIRING SHORYUKEN USER
- Read your opponent. This attack is very fast so if you read one of their rolls or sidesteps perfectly, you can hit them.
- Sidestep yourself
- Do NOT attempt to do this out of shield unless you're 100% sure in yourself. The sole reason for this is Luigi's traction. When you see a poweful attack coming, you may be thinking of shielding it and instantly punishing it with the Shoryuken, but Luigi's slippery traction will most likely push you away meaning you will miss a perfectly good punish and your opponent will be safe. For punishing, either sidestep or roll.
- SIDESTEP. If you want to land this, minimize your shield usage (for the reasons above) and start sidestepping more. Luigi's sidestep is pretty fast so depending on the move used by the opponent you can sidestep and instantly shoryuken them.
- DOWNTHROW! Yes that's right! You can do dthrow>UpB at most percents guaranteed! This works a bit like Jigglypuff's Uthrow>Rest in that you have to read your opponent's DI (there is no set place/reaction). Most of the time, there's only so much they can DI meaning that it's near impossible for them to DI out of a dthrow>upB (only thing they can do is make it harder for you to hit and hope you miss, in which case they will punish you).
- TRY TO UPB NEAR A LEDGE! Why? Because like mentioned the Shoryuken has a huge amount of lag after hitting the ground while helpless. That's why........you shouldn't land. After using the Shoryuken and either hitting or missing, immediately grab the ledge while falling to cancel all lag you would have gotten when hitting the ground normally. This means that unless you miss a Shoryuken on a particularily fast character, you will most of the time not get punished.
KEY ADVANCED TECHNIQUES!
"Ermagherd I thought this was a matchup guide?" I can imagine a few people thinking. Well the reason I'm listing these techniques is that they will be useful in almost every single matchup so it's much clearer to explain them here (considering I will be referring to them often). And yes, the DThrow is a key feature in everything here. I have a seperate paragraph for this, but just another reminder in advance that THESE ARE NOT YOUR ONLY DTHROW FOLLOWUP OPTIONS. THESE ARE ONLY 2 OF 10+ DIFFERENT WAYS TO COMBO (but the most reliable iMO).
1#: FAIR CHAIN(GRAB)!
Starting off we have Luigi's main damage-racking move and combo starter. It's simple: Start with a dthrow at low percent then IMMEDIATELY follow up with 2 fast fairs outta 1 short hop. Then if possible, grab the opponent as soon as possible. Assuming you did it well (and depending on the character used against), you will be able to hit both fairs AND regrab them afterwards! If you grab them again, you will be able to follow up with anything of your choice (but at this point, they will be able to DI). My preferred followup to the second dthrow is another double fair (note that you will NOT be able to regrab them afterwards unless they let you, since after you throw them they will be able to airdodge, attack and DI before they hit the ground (still does not mean you can't hit them in midair)
At 0%, Dthrow>Fair>Fair>Dthrow deals 30% damage, which is a lot. Dthrow>Fair>Fair>Dthrow>Fair>Fair deals 48%.
As you can see, this chain deals quite a bit of damage and is especially potent at 0%. The actual hard part of doing this is to manage that first grab. Some characters are resistant to this combo (meaning they cannot be regrabbed after the first throw), but no matter what, you WILL be able to do a double fair at 0%.
Whew that was alot of talk for one move. now to move forward. Under each matchup, I WILL write at what percent you can do the dthrow>fair>>fair>dthrow combo. On a few characters you can only do it at 0% while on others it's just impossible (remember though that at 0%, double fair works no matter what)
#2: Dair Chaingrab (found by Dire Creeper)
You must be thinking: "More chaingrabs? Really? I thought they were removed?". They sort of are. It's still impossible to go grab>grab, but as the above combo showed, you can still do grab>attack>grab easily.
Here I will talk about Luigi's deadliest and most difficult advanced technique. At anywhere under 50% for most characters, a Dthrow can lead into a down air (dair). Now remember that Luigi's dair has a meteor/spike effect if you hit the sweetspot? How it works is that you first use Dthrow, then immediately short hop into the dair spike. If you land it (you will be notified by the noise), QUICKLY fast fall and IMMEDIATELY regrab!
Doing this will lock your opponent as you can continue to repeat the dthrow>dair until you reach the percent where the opponent can DI/airdodge from the dair or you miss. The chaingrab usually stops at around 60-80%, where you can just follow up into a usmash or other move. (if near an edge, just spike them right into the abyss and laugh at their misfortune).
This works on most characters. Notable exceptions are Mario, another Luigi, Dr. Mario, Peach, Kirby, Bowser and Jigglypuff (basically all the Mario characters except Jr. and the pink puffballs).
This combo is very reliable if you master the dair, but it takes some time to get used to and it can be hard to manage to do it 6+ times in a row consistently. It's still something that you should try out!
(NOTE: I do not know if the opponents can avoid this chaingrab by teching the dair. None of my opponents have ever managed to tech it)
THESE ARE NOT YOUR ONLY FOLLOWUP OPTIONS!
I've gotten tons of comments/PMs that imply people think I'm a scrub who doesn't know any followups to dthrow except fair and dair.
THIS IS NOT THE CASE! Dthrow can follow up into uair, nair, utilt, usmash, UpB and much more
example: DThrow -> Short hop -> Fair (x2) -> Land -> Utilts x2 - x5 (depends on heavy the character is) -> Uair -> Fair -> Dash attack (if they don't tech). Dthrow is very, very versatile and you should try experiementing to find your personal favourite followups. The only reason I focus on the dthrow>fair>fair>dthrow>fair>fair and dair chaingrab is because they are either easy and reliable (fair chaingrab) or more complicated but very rewarding (dair chaingrab). The main reason I'm not going more in-depth with more combos is because this is supposed to primarily be a matchup guide and not a combo guide
And of course, dthrow>Tornado is a very reliable killing move. without it or his Shoryuken, Luigi has quite some problems killing.
Soooooo....now that I have a few of the most important techniques down (understand the glory of the dthrow!), it's time for the matchups!
MATCHUP #1: LITTLE MAC
Aaaand it begins! Starting off I will be talking about the most overused character in For Glory and a popular character overall - Little Mac!
This matchup is a fun one. Mac easily outspeeds you and kills you really early. His main flaw in this matchup that makes him an easy target is his predictability (even worse than his air game).
The Approaching
A Mac player usually only has main 4 ways to approach you: His Straight Lunge (Neutral B), His Side B (Jolt Haymaker), His Dash Attack and a Running Shield grab. All four of these moves are ridiculously easy to Shieldgrab. His sidestepping is quick and most of his normal attacks have low lag, but this hardly matters since he has nothing against your grab. A little Mac player might try to mix up his game, but on the ground there's not much to do. Watch out for the occasional sidestep or tilt! Mac's ftilt is a strong OoS option and his rolls are incredibly fast. If he approaches with rolls, do your best to punish him (this can be hard).
Fire is effective against Flesh!
Your fireballs are very effective here, since his approaching consists of having to sidestep or to run at you. Both of these are easily countered by your Fireballs (if he sidesteps, mix up the timing at which you throw them at to hit him and ensure a grab). One successfull fireball hit = free grab = free combo = Free KO. Yes, with the right play you can essentially turn all of your fireballs into InstaKOs. Do NOT understand this wrong. If performed at 0%, Fireball>grab>fair>fair>grab>fair>fair is inescapable, so if done near an edge, Mac may very well fail to recover. Of course, for the Fireball to follow up into grab, Mac must be medium range/close to you, so if you mistime it, he can punish you out of hitstun (DON'T recklessly run at him unless you're 100% sure you can reach him before the hitstun ends).
The Glorious DThrow
Dthrow works like a charm: if you can, do the dair chaingrab (finish with a backthrow at around 50% to end it for him, presuming you hit him while he's off-stage). If not, you can do dthrow>fair>fair>dthrow>fair>fair at 0-5% which will already deal a hefty 50%+ damage to him, meaning another grab could end it.
Other Specials?
You may have noticed that I have not said anything about the Green Missile, Super Jump Punch and Luigi Cyclone? That's because in this particular matchup they are not that important. All 3 are obviously good for recovery if needed (Missile is especially safe since he will not go off-stage to gimp you, but he can severely punish you if you land on-stage. Don't do that). Super Jump Punch can be used to punish his all his Specials and kill after you do your first combo, but he will punish you so hard himself if you miss that it's not very reliable. All Luigi needs in this matchup are the Fireballs, Grabs and Aerials TBH. (Of course if playing the same person multiple times, feel free to use the Smashes and ground moves more to psych him out)
A very gutsy strategy could be to lure him to the edge at low percent, then immedately use the dthrow and follow up with 3 (or even 4!) fairs, sending him off-stage. He will rarely recover and if he tries, laugh while you bair, dair or fair him to his death.
He packs a Punch though...
Of course Mac DOES have some things going for him. His power is nothing to scoff at. Those smashes and Special moves HURT! His punishing game is good, but pointless if he never gets a chance to punish you. Do NOT underestimate him (especially if he's a good player). His rolls and speed can allow him to take you by surprise and beware the KO Punch if you fail to KO him early. Still, despite all that Luigi definitely has the advantage IMO
The final summary is:
+ Easy to combo
+ Easy to grab
+ Easy to read
+ Hilariously easy to edgeguard
+ He will never follow you off-stage
- He's stronger than you
- He's faster than you
- KO Punch builds fast when you combo him
- Any failures in your play he WILL punish and he punishes HARD!
- Rolls are incredibly fast and VERY hard to punish with strong moves.
At what percent can you do the Fair chaingrab?: 0-5%
Possible to dair chaingrab?: YES!
FINAL VERDICT: 6-4 in Luigi's favour! (Slight Advantage)
MATCHUP #2: ROSALINA
Soooo next up we have Rosalina. With Rosalina being considered a high-tier and is used often by casuals and pros alike, the Luigi mains need to know how to overcome this.
This is almost the opposite as the previous matchup. This time, your opponent has the advantage. Your opponent is the one baiting you. Your opponent is the one doing the projectile spacing. Your opponent is the one that juggles you and more.....
Yellow, Cute Death
Time to go into more detail regarding this: Rosalina's main support and your worst enemy is Luma. Luma can be charged up and fired at you from Long Range which none of your moves can reach. This also means unless you KO Luma or try to go in closer, Luma will continue to harass you while Rosalina can just derp around on the other side or try to get in close. Luma also blocks your fireballs by simply being in front of Rosalina (you CAN hit her however by jumping slightly over Luma, but this means you will not be able to grab as quickly). Having your Fireballs negated is a big penalty as it takes away the Fireball>grab combo. Luma also extends Rosalina's range if close, can spam projectiles at you (Star Bits) and can even gimp your recovery while Rosalina is 100% safe.
What can be done about this?
KO Luma first! Yes that's right. While it's common for Luma to die naturally on its own after prolonged combat, if the Rosalina is eager to shoot the Luma away from herself, do NOT hesitate in attacking and KOing Luma before it can cause harm. Great attacks to hit it with are smashes, fair, bair and even the Sweetspot SJP! Luma is a huge threat to Luigi, especially in skilled hands.
Lumaless Rosalina
Soo now that you got rid of Luma, the matchup should be easy, right? Sadly...No it's not. It's definitely a whole lot easier though! Even without Luma, Rosalina is still a threat. Her aerials have huge hitboxes and are particularily great at Edgeguarding and Juggling you. While she loses her projectiles, she can still use her Gravitational Pull to neutralize your Fireballs if you shoot them too far away. Here, the Luigi Cyclone becomes a very viable approach option, as it puts her into the air and is faster than many of her moves. Her smash attacks have great range, come out pretty fast and are powerful, even without Luma.
The best options here is to rely less on grabs than usual and mix up your play. Baiting her Smash attacks and hitting back with your own is a great way to deal with a Lumaless Rosalina. Dash Attack is also usable and can get her off-stage. This is not very reliable, but if you don't feel like going off-stage, you CAN attempt to nail the dair spike immediately after getting her out.
Rosalina's Defensive Options
Oh god. Obviously Luma is Rosalina's greatest asset for both offense AND defense, but she has a lot of other things that make her such a pain to deal with. Her sidesteps, rolls and airdodges are very fast and make her teleport (like Mewtwo's). While Mac also has fast rolls and sidesteps, Rosalina's unique "teleports" make her harder to read and as a result harder to and punish. This allows her to potentially stall for longer than you might think until she gets the space she needs or her Luma back. The only counters Luigi has for this is superior mindgaming by his player: remember how the Rosalina plays and try to get in some hard counters!
In addition, her floatiness is actually a huge advantage for her: Her large size and light weight make her IMMUNE to the Fair chaingrab (no matter when you throw her, a fair will usually send her backwards instead of forwards and even if you time it so she goes forward, she can react out of it after the second fair so there's no chance for a regrab). Her recovery is hard to gimp and interrupt due to its flexibility (it IS punishable upon landing, but if Rosalina grabs the edge then not so much). Note that the Dair chaingrab IS still usable and possibly the best option if you manage to get rid of Luma early.
The final summary is:
+ Very Tall/big Hitbox
+ No Projectiles without Luma
+ Lightweight
- Immune to one of the key combos
- Her aerials trump yours
- Great at gimping you
- Luma (could technically count as another 4 minuses by itself!)
- Hard to read and good camping game
At what percent can you do the Fair chaingrab?: NONE! (Impossible)
Possible to dair chaingrab?: YES! (thankfully!)
FINAL VERDICT: 8-2 in Rosalina's favour! (Big disadvantage)
MATCHUP #3: LUIGI (DITTO)
You may be thinking..."WaitWHAT!" Why would I do the ditto so soon instead of more relevant matchups like Diddy, Sheik and so..? The answer is that people are often so focused with learning to play their character and thus forget how to play AGAINST them as well. Luigi is not a widespread character but if you find yourself in a ditto with you not knowing the matchup and your opponent knowing, you'll most likely get destroyed. There's not much info here as the other matchups due to it depending on skill mostly, but I have some tips that can help you win (hopefully)
First Blood?
Remember the techniques I wrote about near the beginning of this guide? Yeah your opponent has (almost) all that at his disposal. It's a fact that both of you are gonna want to get the chaingrab immediately after the battle starts. Now your opponent has two ways to go (and so do you): Play very aggressively with fireballs and generally go in close OR play like you don't want the grab (intentionally miss smashes and pretend like you don't know the chaingrab) and then strike when the opponent rushes in to grab you. If both players use the first option, well then it's just a matter of who's more skilled at baiting and punishing. If you both use the second option and nobody tries to approach or does it very slowly then I honestly do not know (this situation has never happened to me). If he plays defensive, go on the offensive. If he goes offensive then (if you're confident) go full-on offensive yourself. If not then defend. First to get the grab gets a big lead so the early game is perhaps the most tedious part.
Also..NOTE that you CANNOT do the dair chaingrab on another Luigi!
Guard the Edge
You both have the same recoveries so stay alert. When another Luigi is recovering with the missile, you can interrupt it with a fireball, which can mean death depending on how far he was from the stage. Stage Spiking is also good option. The Jump Punch is so predictable that you can try to predict where he will be and then bair him into the stage wall, giving you the KO.
If he accidentally recovers on-stage with the Missile (and doesn't hit you), you can go for an easy Shoryuken (UpB) for free damage and a KO at mid-high percents.
NOTE THAT YOUR OPPONENT CAN DO ALL OF THIS TO YOU AS WELL (Doesn't mean he necessarily will though)!
Summary
If both of you are about equal skill/mindgames, then tech skill/strategy will be the deciding factor in the match. If you have equal tech skill/strategy, then mindgaming and pure skill will be what decides it. If you're equal in both mindgames AND tech skill then......honestly it could go either way.
The final summary is:
+ & - You play the same character
At what percent can you do the Fair chaingrab?: 0% (barely)
Possible to dair chaingrab?: NO!
FINAL VERDICT: 5-5 in Nobody's favour! (Mirror Match)
MATCHUP #4: SONIC
Fastest being in the world. Blue. Probably heard of him. Sonic is everyone's favourite Blue Hedgehog joining Smash for another year since he can't find a good game of his own this year to be in.
In Smash 4, Sonic is a character that relies on confusion, Pressure and his speed to win. He does not have any complex combos, great killing ability or outstanding edgeguards, but he is not to be taken lightly. Let's see how to beat him with everyone's favourite Plumber.
Need for Speed
Sonic's fast. REALLY fast. REALLY, REALLY FAST! This is both an advantage and a disadvantage for him. The speed means you have much less time to predict his moveset and you always have to stay on your toes. He can grab, use an aerial, dash attack and more all in the blink of an eye.
How can we deal with this?
His speed gives him horrible control, turning speed and foxtrots. Use this to your advantage. In addition, while his air and ground speed are the best, his ATTACK speed is not. He may be fast but his moves are not nearly as fast as Diddy, Sheik or even your own. Sonic's approaching options are incredibly predictable and non-varied.
Sonic BOOM!
His approaching game, like I mentioned is horrible which means a good Sonic needs to be able to read you incredibly well for him to succeed. Sadly for him, he will have a much harder time reading you than you can read him. Sonic generally has the following approach options:
- Neutral B
- Side B
- Down B
- Dash Attack
- Dash Grab
All the Specials/B moves are sooo predictable and by shielding when you see him charging/preparing to use it, he can't do anything. Dash attack? Shield. His Dash grab is his most dangerous move since when he's running at you, it's near impossible to know if he's gonna DA or Grab you. In this case....use your knowledge of him and try to deduce if he's someone who likes to DA or grab. A good Sonic will mix up his options so you will have a harder time predicting. Jumping when he's running to approach you works, but beware when landing since his Usmash and Uair are powerful moves (and you risk getting hit).
You're too slow, Sonic!
Fireballs are a great counter to his dash approaches and Specials. Rushing at you from afar with Spin Dash? Fireball to completely block his puny approach attempt (and get a punish depending on distance). Running at you Normally? Whip out the Cyclone or more Fireballs and take him by surprise. (if he shields/evades the cyclone he will get a punish on you though so watch out). Do NOT hesitate to spam fireballs at a distance: You want him to approach you.
His aerial game is nothing to be too afraid of. If he manages to catch you with a Side B or grab, he can do some Uair and Fair combos, but nothing that really hurts. In the air, most of your moves are faster than his. his uair is slow but pretty powerful and has medium range. His bair is his strongest aerial, but with significant startup lag. His fair is fast, but usually can't kill you. His dair is also fast (and can spike), but is useless off-stage and is easily punished if he misses you on the ground.
Speed is not Power
Sonic's second glaring flaw IMO besides his predictability is his lack of KO Ability. In Brawl, his KO ability was one of the worst in the game and not much has changed since then. While his Homing Attack can KO, It's incredibly predictable (it can take lots of people by surprise though). His other specials don't do anything to help in terms of KOs, forcing him to rely on edgeguards, Smashes and aerials to KO. The problems here is that Sonic doesn't excel at any of those........
Sonic's best edgeguard tactic is his spring from UpB. If you're trying to recover with the Missile, he can keep using UpB and dropping the spring on you as you recover. This can hurt and might even get early KOs for Sonic at low % assuming he manages to get you off-stage and keep you there right after the beginning of the match. It's not something to worry about too much though. Try mixing up your recovery options (save your jump until the end, or if you've been doing it for a while, try using your jump immediately after being launched off-stage) to confuse him.
Gotta put some Pressure on it!
*sigh now we come to the one point that turns this matchup from an advantage to a disadvantage for us. Sonic's PRESSURE ability. Don't worry: it has nothing to do with PP or Pokemon. His speed and great grab game means he can constantly threaten you with his Specials (which are hard to directly counter and must be avoided). The instant he sees you open (from landing, getting up from the edge, missing a grab/smash, he will smack you with a Smash or grab. With Sonic's Speed, NO MISTAKE IN YOUR PLAY GOES UNPUNISHED! (Presuming the Sonic player is good).
The final summary is:
+ No Projectiles
+ Predictable
+ Lacks KO power
- Very, very Fast (duh)
- Very confusing
- Good grab game and recovery
- His Pressure ability is great
- Great at Punishing (the punishes themselves aren't the strongest thoigh)
At what percent can you do the Fair chaingrab?: 0-5%
Possible to dair chaingrab?: YES!
FINAL VERDICT: 6-4 in Sonic's favour! (Slight disadvantage)
MATCHUP #5: DIDDY KONG
Note: This was BEFORE the nerf
Oh hey it's Mr. Overused. When it comes to ease of use as well as popularity, Diddy is this game's Meta Knight. While he IS obviously an incredibly strong character and a solid Top Tier in most people's opinions, he is a more limited character than Metaknight and does not outclass 95% of the rest of the characters....
Oh silly me why am I talking about Metaknight? Ahem...I'm guessing most people know how Diddy plays. Throw Banana...Dthrow...Upair....More Upairs....Gimps...Repeat. Diddy players are everywhere and are to be feared. Surprisingly, a great Luigi main (JMiller) recently manged to win the Smash4 tourney at BEAST while overcoming tons of Diddy players thrown at him. Is Luigi the next Diddy slayer??? :3
The Combo everyone uses, knows and fears
Yep you all know what I'm talking about. DTHROW>UPAIR. For those who do not know, this is what every single Diddy main out there wants to do as often as possible and as fast as possible, only doing mix-ups if you're in the air or their play is so bad they can't grab you and give up.
Diddy's Uair is an incredible move: Very fast, good range and incredibly powerful (kills at around 115% on Luigi). Dthrow sets up for a guaranteed uair at almost any percent and is inescapable except with good DI at higher percents so DI is VERY important. Once he has grabbed you, you can't really do anything but TRY and DI away from his followup (beware that it will fail many times though).
Uair isn't Diddy's only followup. If he gets you and reads your DI, he can get fairs and bairs as well.
Grab vs Grab
Hoo Boy. When you look at it, Luigi and Diddy are pretty similar: Both rely on dthrows to rack up early damage. The biggest difference is that Luigi's uair or fair kill incredibly late (around 150%+) while Diddy gets early kills.
This is of course bad since this becomes a contest to see who can grab the other first. Diddy has LOTS of options to get grabs on you, which brings me to the next thing: The Banana!
The Banana is his DownB and while nerfed from Brawl, it is still incredible. If you get hit dead-on by the Banana (on the ground without shielding), you will trip and Diddy will get a free grab (or Smash if close enough) on you. These can be held unlike Luigi's Fireballs and with Diddy's speed makes him incredibly unpredictable.
How do we deal with this?
Fireballs. Fireballs are your only projectile and one of the only things that makes trying to grab a Diddy even viable. Fireballs also stop Diddy's Monkey Flip (Side B) so try and spam them as much as possible without leaving yourself open. Mindgames are also essential here since both will be looking for blind spots in your opponent's play and immediately dash in for the grab. Whenever you see an opportunity or get a read, DON'T HESITATE. Diddy is fast and the risk is high so hesitation can cost you. Fireballs are not your only great option. There is one other move that really shines in this matchup...
Luigi Cyclone! (Down B). This move has great priority, can stop a Diddy's grab attempt and is a great mixup on the ground. You can also DThrow into this at high percents to kill if you are unable to land a bair or UpB. Do NOT spam it though since if you miss or he DIs out, things are not good for you. Still for this matchup I'd use the Cyclone a slight bit more than usual.
Top Tier is still Top Tier...
Don't be fooled though. When looking at the characters themselves, Diddy is clearly the better character. Luigi does not really have any special niches in the matchup except a good infighting/close range game, meaning he is slightly better off being close to Diddy (with his Specials and grabs) than many other characters.
Diddy's major flaw is his predictability, which is entirely a flaw generated by the players themselves. Diddy is very easy to pick up and play and many people play him because it increases their winning chances (and it sometimes does). Luigi isn't a widely used character while Diddy is overused, so you'll generally have a better idea of his plays than he has of yours, and this gives you an advantage.
Still, just like Meta Knight Diddy definitely has the edge over most of the cast and very skilled players can try and compensate for Diddy's weakness with pure skill and experience.
The final summary is:
+ He's light?
+ Smashes aren't that strong?
+ INCREDIBLY PREDICTABLE PLAYSTYLE
+ Not much else really.,,,,,
- Fast
- Powerful
- Good Range
- Great at gimping
-Broken Great Aerials
- Amazing Grab Game
At what percent can you do the Fair chaingrab?: 0-5%
Possible to dair chaingrab?: YES!
FINAL VERDICT: 7-3 in Diddy's favour! (Disadvantage)
More matchups coming soon. Stay tuned....
Also, I plan on making a Combo video soon showcasing the techniques, in addition to uploading some videos when I can
Sooo...you picked up Luigi! You got a hang of how his moves work? Great!
...
Oh you played a match and lost miserably against an opponent you underestimated and that blocked your strategy? WHELP time to do something about that!
This is my guide dedicated to the matchups that every SSB4 Luigi main should and needs to know!
As Drybones08 already made an excellent guide regarding moves and basic strategy, I will not (unless there turns out to be a big demand for it), write anything about the specific moves or playstyle unless it is important of the matchups.
Now before we get to what you've all been waiting for.....I'd like to have a seperate section for the one move that every Luigi main needs to master, no matter what matchup it is.....:
THE SACRED DOWN THROW!
THIS, ladies and gentlemen is the key to Luigi's combo game. This is generally the only throw you should be using against most characters at low and medium percent unless they're near a ledge. You might sometimes think you can get a better followup with another throw, but 90% of the time....you really can't.
The combo ability of the DThrow is insane. You can follow it up with anything at any percent (but it doesn't lead into the true combos at high percents). This is Luigi's most important tool as it's what leads into his combos and finishers. Remember that!
How can I get the DThrow?
Here are the most notable ways to get that first grab for the dthrow:
- Fireball, then immediately rush into and grab them. If they shield or get hit, you get a grab for free.
- Shieldgrab. This is standard for every character so not much to say.
- Sourspot nair. This isn't reliable but if you hit them with a sourspotted nair close to the ground, you can immediately follow up with a grab.
- Just dashing in their face and grabbing them. VERY risky since they might use the opportunity to grab or attack you, but if they shield, roll or react slow enough you should secure the grab.
- Pivot Grab. This extends your range and is incredibly useful!
THE #REKT SUPER/FIRE JUMP PUNCH (UPB)!!
Alright making a seperate section just for this. Y'all know the UpB's sweetspot attack. You may think "oh ermagherd isn't this like the Ganon Punch or PK Flash? It looks awesome but it's useless in serious play!". You're wrong. This move is probably the most high-risk high-reward move in the game, but there are many ways to minimize the risk and maximize the reward. Better learn to use the Shoryuken (the UpB's nickname)!
For those who aren't completely familiar with it, Luigi's
KEY TIPS FOR THE ASPIRING SHORYUKEN USER
- Read your opponent. This attack is very fast so if you read one of their rolls or sidesteps perfectly, you can hit them.
- Sidestep yourself
- Do NOT attempt to do this out of shield unless you're 100% sure in yourself. The sole reason for this is Luigi's traction. When you see a poweful attack coming, you may be thinking of shielding it and instantly punishing it with the Shoryuken, but Luigi's slippery traction will most likely push you away meaning you will miss a perfectly good punish and your opponent will be safe. For punishing, either sidestep or roll.
- SIDESTEP. If you want to land this, minimize your shield usage (for the reasons above) and start sidestepping more. Luigi's sidestep is pretty fast so depending on the move used by the opponent you can sidestep and instantly shoryuken them.
- DOWNTHROW! Yes that's right! You can do dthrow>UpB at most percents guaranteed! This works a bit like Jigglypuff's Uthrow>Rest in that you have to read your opponent's DI (there is no set place/reaction). Most of the time, there's only so much they can DI meaning that it's near impossible for them to DI out of a dthrow>upB (only thing they can do is make it harder for you to hit and hope you miss, in which case they will punish you).
- TRY TO UPB NEAR A LEDGE! Why? Because like mentioned the Shoryuken has a huge amount of lag after hitting the ground while helpless. That's why........you shouldn't land. After using the Shoryuken and either hitting or missing, immediately grab the ledge while falling to cancel all lag you would have gotten when hitting the ground normally. This means that unless you miss a Shoryuken on a particularily fast character, you will most of the time not get punished.
KEY ADVANCED TECHNIQUES!
"Ermagherd I thought this was a matchup guide?" I can imagine a few people thinking. Well the reason I'm listing these techniques is that they will be useful in almost every single matchup so it's much clearer to explain them here (considering I will be referring to them often). And yes, the DThrow is a key feature in everything here. I have a seperate paragraph for this, but just another reminder in advance that THESE ARE NOT YOUR ONLY DTHROW FOLLOWUP OPTIONS. THESE ARE ONLY 2 OF 10+ DIFFERENT WAYS TO COMBO (but the most reliable iMO).
1#: FAIR CHAIN(GRAB)!
Starting off we have Luigi's main damage-racking move and combo starter. It's simple: Start with a dthrow at low percent then IMMEDIATELY follow up with 2 fast fairs outta 1 short hop. Then if possible, grab the opponent as soon as possible. Assuming you did it well (and depending on the character used against), you will be able to hit both fairs AND regrab them afterwards! If you grab them again, you will be able to follow up with anything of your choice (but at this point, they will be able to DI). My preferred followup to the second dthrow is another double fair (note that you will NOT be able to regrab them afterwards unless they let you, since after you throw them they will be able to airdodge, attack and DI before they hit the ground (still does not mean you can't hit them in midair)
At 0%, Dthrow>Fair>Fair>Dthrow deals 30% damage, which is a lot. Dthrow>Fair>Fair>Dthrow>Fair>Fair deals 48%.
As you can see, this chain deals quite a bit of damage and is especially potent at 0%. The actual hard part of doing this is to manage that first grab. Some characters are resistant to this combo (meaning they cannot be regrabbed after the first throw), but no matter what, you WILL be able to do a double fair at 0%.
Whew that was alot of talk for one move. now to move forward. Under each matchup, I WILL write at what percent you can do the dthrow>fair>>fair>dthrow combo. On a few characters you can only do it at 0% while on others it's just impossible (remember though that at 0%, double fair works no matter what)
#2: Dair Chaingrab (found by Dire Creeper)
You must be thinking: "More chaingrabs? Really? I thought they were removed?". They sort of are. It's still impossible to go grab>grab, but as the above combo showed, you can still do grab>attack>grab easily.
Here I will talk about Luigi's deadliest and most difficult advanced technique. At anywhere under 50% for most characters, a Dthrow can lead into a down air (dair). Now remember that Luigi's dair has a meteor/spike effect if you hit the sweetspot? How it works is that you first use Dthrow, then immediately short hop into the dair spike. If you land it (you will be notified by the noise), QUICKLY fast fall and IMMEDIATELY regrab!
Doing this will lock your opponent as you can continue to repeat the dthrow>dair until you reach the percent where the opponent can DI/airdodge from the dair or you miss. The chaingrab usually stops at around 60-80%, where you can just follow up into a usmash or other move. (if near an edge, just spike them right into the abyss and laugh at their misfortune).
This works on most characters. Notable exceptions are Mario, another Luigi, Dr. Mario, Peach, Kirby, Bowser and Jigglypuff (basically all the Mario characters except Jr. and the pink puffballs).
This combo is very reliable if you master the dair, but it takes some time to get used to and it can be hard to manage to do it 6+ times in a row consistently. It's still something that you should try out!
(NOTE: I do not know if the opponents can avoid this chaingrab by teching the dair. None of my opponents have ever managed to tech it)
THESE ARE NOT YOUR ONLY FOLLOWUP OPTIONS!
I've gotten tons of comments/PMs that imply people think I'm a scrub who doesn't know any followups to dthrow except fair and dair.
THIS IS NOT THE CASE! Dthrow can follow up into uair, nair, utilt, usmash, UpB and much more
example: DThrow -> Short hop -> Fair (x2) -> Land -> Utilts x2 - x5 (depends on heavy the character is) -> Uair -> Fair -> Dash attack (if they don't tech). Dthrow is very, very versatile and you should try experiementing to find your personal favourite followups. The only reason I focus on the dthrow>fair>fair>dthrow>fair>fair and dair chaingrab is because they are either easy and reliable (fair chaingrab) or more complicated but very rewarding (dair chaingrab). The main reason I'm not going more in-depth with more combos is because this is supposed to primarily be a matchup guide and not a combo guide
And of course, dthrow>Tornado is a very reliable killing move. without it or his Shoryuken, Luigi has quite some problems killing.
Soooooo....now that I have a few of the most important techniques down (understand the glory of the dthrow!), it's time for the matchups!
MATCHUP #1: LITTLE MAC
Aaaand it begins! Starting off I will be talking about the most overused character in For Glory and a popular character overall - Little Mac!
This matchup is a fun one. Mac easily outspeeds you and kills you really early. His main flaw in this matchup that makes him an easy target is his predictability (even worse than his air game).
The Approaching
A Mac player usually only has main 4 ways to approach you: His Straight Lunge (Neutral B), His Side B (Jolt Haymaker), His Dash Attack and a Running Shield grab. All four of these moves are ridiculously easy to Shieldgrab. His sidestepping is quick and most of his normal attacks have low lag, but this hardly matters since he has nothing against your grab. A little Mac player might try to mix up his game, but on the ground there's not much to do. Watch out for the occasional sidestep or tilt! Mac's ftilt is a strong OoS option and his rolls are incredibly fast. If he approaches with rolls, do your best to punish him (this can be hard).
Fire is effective against Flesh!
Your fireballs are very effective here, since his approaching consists of having to sidestep or to run at you. Both of these are easily countered by your Fireballs (if he sidesteps, mix up the timing at which you throw them at to hit him and ensure a grab). One successfull fireball hit = free grab = free combo = Free KO. Yes, with the right play you can essentially turn all of your fireballs into InstaKOs. Do NOT understand this wrong. If performed at 0%, Fireball>grab>fair>fair>grab>fair>fair is inescapable, so if done near an edge, Mac may very well fail to recover. Of course, for the Fireball to follow up into grab, Mac must be medium range/close to you, so if you mistime it, he can punish you out of hitstun (DON'T recklessly run at him unless you're 100% sure you can reach him before the hitstun ends).
The Glorious DThrow
Dthrow works like a charm: if you can, do the dair chaingrab (finish with a backthrow at around 50% to end it for him, presuming you hit him while he's off-stage). If not, you can do dthrow>fair>fair>dthrow>fair>fair at 0-5% which will already deal a hefty 50%+ damage to him, meaning another grab could end it.
Other Specials?
You may have noticed that I have not said anything about the Green Missile, Super Jump Punch and Luigi Cyclone? That's because in this particular matchup they are not that important. All 3 are obviously good for recovery if needed (Missile is especially safe since he will not go off-stage to gimp you, but he can severely punish you if you land on-stage. Don't do that). Super Jump Punch can be used to punish his all his Specials and kill after you do your first combo, but he will punish you so hard himself if you miss that it's not very reliable. All Luigi needs in this matchup are the Fireballs, Grabs and Aerials TBH. (Of course if playing the same person multiple times, feel free to use the Smashes and ground moves more to psych him out)
A very gutsy strategy could be to lure him to the edge at low percent, then immedately use the dthrow and follow up with 3 (or even 4!) fairs, sending him off-stage. He will rarely recover and if he tries, laugh while you bair, dair or fair him to his death.
He packs a Punch though...
Of course Mac DOES have some things going for him. His power is nothing to scoff at. Those smashes and Special moves HURT! His punishing game is good, but pointless if he never gets a chance to punish you. Do NOT underestimate him (especially if he's a good player). His rolls and speed can allow him to take you by surprise and beware the KO Punch if you fail to KO him early. Still, despite all that Luigi definitely has the advantage IMO
The final summary is:
+ Easy to combo
+ Easy to grab
+ Easy to read
+ Hilariously easy to edgeguard
+ He will never follow you off-stage
- He's stronger than you
- He's faster than you
- KO Punch builds fast when you combo him
- Any failures in your play he WILL punish and he punishes HARD!
- Rolls are incredibly fast and VERY hard to punish with strong moves.
At what percent can you do the Fair chaingrab?: 0-5%
Possible to dair chaingrab?: YES!
FINAL VERDICT: 6-4 in Luigi's favour! (Slight Advantage)
MATCHUP #2: ROSALINA
Soooo next up we have Rosalina. With Rosalina being considered a high-tier and is used often by casuals and pros alike, the Luigi mains need to know how to overcome this.
This is almost the opposite as the previous matchup. This time, your opponent has the advantage. Your opponent is the one baiting you. Your opponent is the one doing the projectile spacing. Your opponent is the one that juggles you and more.....
Yellow, Cute Death
Time to go into more detail regarding this: Rosalina's main support and your worst enemy is Luma. Luma can be charged up and fired at you from Long Range which none of your moves can reach. This also means unless you KO Luma or try to go in closer, Luma will continue to harass you while Rosalina can just derp around on the other side or try to get in close. Luma also blocks your fireballs by simply being in front of Rosalina (you CAN hit her however by jumping slightly over Luma, but this means you will not be able to grab as quickly). Having your Fireballs negated is a big penalty as it takes away the Fireball>grab combo. Luma also extends Rosalina's range if close, can spam projectiles at you (Star Bits) and can even gimp your recovery while Rosalina is 100% safe.
What can be done about this?
KO Luma first! Yes that's right. While it's common for Luma to die naturally on its own after prolonged combat, if the Rosalina is eager to shoot the Luma away from herself, do NOT hesitate in attacking and KOing Luma before it can cause harm. Great attacks to hit it with are smashes, fair, bair and even the Sweetspot SJP! Luma is a huge threat to Luigi, especially in skilled hands.
Lumaless Rosalina
Soo now that you got rid of Luma, the matchup should be easy, right? Sadly...No it's not. It's definitely a whole lot easier though! Even without Luma, Rosalina is still a threat. Her aerials have huge hitboxes and are particularily great at Edgeguarding and Juggling you. While she loses her projectiles, she can still use her Gravitational Pull to neutralize your Fireballs if you shoot them too far away. Here, the Luigi Cyclone becomes a very viable approach option, as it puts her into the air and is faster than many of her moves. Her smash attacks have great range, come out pretty fast and are powerful, even without Luma.
The best options here is to rely less on grabs than usual and mix up your play. Baiting her Smash attacks and hitting back with your own is a great way to deal with a Lumaless Rosalina. Dash Attack is also usable and can get her off-stage. This is not very reliable, but if you don't feel like going off-stage, you CAN attempt to nail the dair spike immediately after getting her out.
Rosalina's Defensive Options
Oh god. Obviously Luma is Rosalina's greatest asset for both offense AND defense, but she has a lot of other things that make her such a pain to deal with. Her sidesteps, rolls and airdodges are very fast and make her teleport (like Mewtwo's). While Mac also has fast rolls and sidesteps, Rosalina's unique "teleports" make her harder to read and as a result harder to and punish. This allows her to potentially stall for longer than you might think until she gets the space she needs or her Luma back. The only counters Luigi has for this is superior mindgaming by his player: remember how the Rosalina plays and try to get in some hard counters!
In addition, her floatiness is actually a huge advantage for her: Her large size and light weight make her IMMUNE to the Fair chaingrab (no matter when you throw her, a fair will usually send her backwards instead of forwards and even if you time it so she goes forward, she can react out of it after the second fair so there's no chance for a regrab). Her recovery is hard to gimp and interrupt due to its flexibility (it IS punishable upon landing, but if Rosalina grabs the edge then not so much). Note that the Dair chaingrab IS still usable and possibly the best option if you manage to get rid of Luma early.
The final summary is:
+ Very Tall/big Hitbox
+ No Projectiles without Luma
+ Lightweight
- Immune to one of the key combos
- Her aerials trump yours
- Great at gimping you
- Luma (could technically count as another 4 minuses by itself!)
- Hard to read and good camping game
At what percent can you do the Fair chaingrab?: NONE! (Impossible)
Possible to dair chaingrab?: YES! (thankfully!)
FINAL VERDICT: 8-2 in Rosalina's favour! (Big disadvantage)
MATCHUP #3: LUIGI (DITTO)
You may be thinking..."WaitWHAT!" Why would I do the ditto so soon instead of more relevant matchups like Diddy, Sheik and so..? The answer is that people are often so focused with learning to play their character and thus forget how to play AGAINST them as well. Luigi is not a widespread character but if you find yourself in a ditto with you not knowing the matchup and your opponent knowing, you'll most likely get destroyed. There's not much info here as the other matchups due to it depending on skill mostly, but I have some tips that can help you win (hopefully)
First Blood?
Remember the techniques I wrote about near the beginning of this guide? Yeah your opponent has (almost) all that at his disposal. It's a fact that both of you are gonna want to get the chaingrab immediately after the battle starts. Now your opponent has two ways to go (and so do you): Play very aggressively with fireballs and generally go in close OR play like you don't want the grab (intentionally miss smashes and pretend like you don't know the chaingrab) and then strike when the opponent rushes in to grab you. If both players use the first option, well then it's just a matter of who's more skilled at baiting and punishing. If you both use the second option and nobody tries to approach or does it very slowly then I honestly do not know (this situation has never happened to me). If he plays defensive, go on the offensive. If he goes offensive then (if you're confident) go full-on offensive yourself. If not then defend. First to get the grab gets a big lead so the early game is perhaps the most tedious part.
Also..NOTE that you CANNOT do the dair chaingrab on another Luigi!
Guard the Edge
You both have the same recoveries so stay alert. When another Luigi is recovering with the missile, you can interrupt it with a fireball, which can mean death depending on how far he was from the stage. Stage Spiking is also good option. The Jump Punch is so predictable that you can try to predict where he will be and then bair him into the stage wall, giving you the KO.
If he accidentally recovers on-stage with the Missile (and doesn't hit you), you can go for an easy Shoryuken (UpB) for free damage and a KO at mid-high percents.
NOTE THAT YOUR OPPONENT CAN DO ALL OF THIS TO YOU AS WELL (Doesn't mean he necessarily will though)!
Summary
If both of you are about equal skill/mindgames, then tech skill/strategy will be the deciding factor in the match. If you have equal tech skill/strategy, then mindgaming and pure skill will be what decides it. If you're equal in both mindgames AND tech skill then......honestly it could go either way.
The final summary is:
+ & - You play the same character
At what percent can you do the Fair chaingrab?: 0% (barely)
Possible to dair chaingrab?: NO!
FINAL VERDICT: 5-5 in Nobody's favour! (Mirror Match)
MATCHUP #4: SONIC
Fastest being in the world. Blue. Probably heard of him. Sonic is everyone's favourite Blue Hedgehog joining Smash for another year since he can't find a good game of his own this year to be in.
In Smash 4, Sonic is a character that relies on confusion, Pressure and his speed to win. He does not have any complex combos, great killing ability or outstanding edgeguards, but he is not to be taken lightly. Let's see how to beat him with everyone's favourite Plumber.
Need for Speed
Sonic's fast. REALLY fast. REALLY, REALLY FAST! This is both an advantage and a disadvantage for him. The speed means you have much less time to predict his moveset and you always have to stay on your toes. He can grab, use an aerial, dash attack and more all in the blink of an eye.
How can we deal with this?
His speed gives him horrible control, turning speed and foxtrots. Use this to your advantage. In addition, while his air and ground speed are the best, his ATTACK speed is not. He may be fast but his moves are not nearly as fast as Diddy, Sheik or even your own. Sonic's approaching options are incredibly predictable and non-varied.
Sonic BOOM!
His approaching game, like I mentioned is horrible which means a good Sonic needs to be able to read you incredibly well for him to succeed. Sadly for him, he will have a much harder time reading you than you can read him. Sonic generally has the following approach options:
- Neutral B
- Side B
- Down B
- Dash Attack
- Dash Grab
All the Specials/B moves are sooo predictable and by shielding when you see him charging/preparing to use it, he can't do anything. Dash attack? Shield. His Dash grab is his most dangerous move since when he's running at you, it's near impossible to know if he's gonna DA or Grab you. In this case....use your knowledge of him and try to deduce if he's someone who likes to DA or grab. A good Sonic will mix up his options so you will have a harder time predicting. Jumping when he's running to approach you works, but beware when landing since his Usmash and Uair are powerful moves (and you risk getting hit).
You're too slow, Sonic!
Fireballs are a great counter to his dash approaches and Specials. Rushing at you from afar with Spin Dash? Fireball to completely block his puny approach attempt (and get a punish depending on distance). Running at you Normally? Whip out the Cyclone or more Fireballs and take him by surprise. (if he shields/evades the cyclone he will get a punish on you though so watch out). Do NOT hesitate to spam fireballs at a distance: You want him to approach you.
His aerial game is nothing to be too afraid of. If he manages to catch you with a Side B or grab, he can do some Uair and Fair combos, but nothing that really hurts. In the air, most of your moves are faster than his. his uair is slow but pretty powerful and has medium range. His bair is his strongest aerial, but with significant startup lag. His fair is fast, but usually can't kill you. His dair is also fast (and can spike), but is useless off-stage and is easily punished if he misses you on the ground.
Speed is not Power
Sonic's second glaring flaw IMO besides his predictability is his lack of KO Ability. In Brawl, his KO ability was one of the worst in the game and not much has changed since then. While his Homing Attack can KO, It's incredibly predictable (it can take lots of people by surprise though). His other specials don't do anything to help in terms of KOs, forcing him to rely on edgeguards, Smashes and aerials to KO. The problems here is that Sonic doesn't excel at any of those........
Sonic's best edgeguard tactic is his spring from UpB. If you're trying to recover with the Missile, he can keep using UpB and dropping the spring on you as you recover. This can hurt and might even get early KOs for Sonic at low % assuming he manages to get you off-stage and keep you there right after the beginning of the match. It's not something to worry about too much though. Try mixing up your recovery options (save your jump until the end, or if you've been doing it for a while, try using your jump immediately after being launched off-stage) to confuse him.
Gotta put some Pressure on it!
*sigh now we come to the one point that turns this matchup from an advantage to a disadvantage for us. Sonic's PRESSURE ability. Don't worry: it has nothing to do with PP or Pokemon. His speed and great grab game means he can constantly threaten you with his Specials (which are hard to directly counter and must be avoided). The instant he sees you open (from landing, getting up from the edge, missing a grab/smash, he will smack you with a Smash or grab. With Sonic's Speed, NO MISTAKE IN YOUR PLAY GOES UNPUNISHED! (Presuming the Sonic player is good).
The final summary is:
+ No Projectiles
+ Predictable
+ Lacks KO power
- Very, very Fast (duh)
- Very confusing
- Good grab game and recovery
- His Pressure ability is great
- Great at Punishing (the punishes themselves aren't the strongest thoigh)
At what percent can you do the Fair chaingrab?: 0-5%
Possible to dair chaingrab?: YES!
FINAL VERDICT: 6-4 in Sonic's favour! (Slight disadvantage)
MATCHUP #5: DIDDY KONG
Note: This was BEFORE the nerf
Oh hey it's Mr. Overused. When it comes to ease of use as well as popularity, Diddy is this game's Meta Knight. While he IS obviously an incredibly strong character and a solid Top Tier in most people's opinions, he is a more limited character than Metaknight and does not outclass 95% of the rest of the characters....
Oh silly me why am I talking about Metaknight? Ahem...I'm guessing most people know how Diddy plays. Throw Banana...Dthrow...Upair....More Upairs....Gimps...Repeat. Diddy players are everywhere and are to be feared. Surprisingly, a great Luigi main (JMiller) recently manged to win the Smash4 tourney at BEAST while overcoming tons of Diddy players thrown at him. Is Luigi the next Diddy slayer??? :3
The Combo everyone uses, knows and fears
Yep you all know what I'm talking about. DTHROW>UPAIR. For those who do not know, this is what every single Diddy main out there wants to do as often as possible and as fast as possible, only doing mix-ups if you're in the air or their play is so bad they can't grab you and give up.
Diddy's Uair is an incredible move: Very fast, good range and incredibly powerful (kills at around 115% on Luigi). Dthrow sets up for a guaranteed uair at almost any percent and is inescapable except with good DI at higher percents so DI is VERY important. Once he has grabbed you, you can't really do anything but TRY and DI away from his followup (beware that it will fail many times though).
Uair isn't Diddy's only followup. If he gets you and reads your DI, he can get fairs and bairs as well.
Grab vs Grab
Hoo Boy. When you look at it, Luigi and Diddy are pretty similar: Both rely on dthrows to rack up early damage. The biggest difference is that Luigi's uair or fair kill incredibly late (around 150%+) while Diddy gets early kills.
This is of course bad since this becomes a contest to see who can grab the other first. Diddy has LOTS of options to get grabs on you, which brings me to the next thing: The Banana!
The Banana is his DownB and while nerfed from Brawl, it is still incredible. If you get hit dead-on by the Banana (on the ground without shielding), you will trip and Diddy will get a free grab (or Smash if close enough) on you. These can be held unlike Luigi's Fireballs and with Diddy's speed makes him incredibly unpredictable.
How do we deal with this?
Fireballs. Fireballs are your only projectile and one of the only things that makes trying to grab a Diddy even viable. Fireballs also stop Diddy's Monkey Flip (Side B) so try and spam them as much as possible without leaving yourself open. Mindgames are also essential here since both will be looking for blind spots in your opponent's play and immediately dash in for the grab. Whenever you see an opportunity or get a read, DON'T HESITATE. Diddy is fast and the risk is high so hesitation can cost you. Fireballs are not your only great option. There is one other move that really shines in this matchup...
Luigi Cyclone! (Down B). This move has great priority, can stop a Diddy's grab attempt and is a great mixup on the ground. You can also DThrow into this at high percents to kill if you are unable to land a bair or UpB. Do NOT spam it though since if you miss or he DIs out, things are not good for you. Still for this matchup I'd use the Cyclone a slight bit more than usual.
Top Tier is still Top Tier...
Don't be fooled though. When looking at the characters themselves, Diddy is clearly the better character. Luigi does not really have any special niches in the matchup except a good infighting/close range game, meaning he is slightly better off being close to Diddy (with his Specials and grabs) than many other characters.
Diddy's major flaw is his predictability, which is entirely a flaw generated by the players themselves. Diddy is very easy to pick up and play and many people play him because it increases their winning chances (and it sometimes does). Luigi isn't a widely used character while Diddy is overused, so you'll generally have a better idea of his plays than he has of yours, and this gives you an advantage.
Still, just like Meta Knight Diddy definitely has the edge over most of the cast and very skilled players can try and compensate for Diddy's weakness with pure skill and experience.
The final summary is:
+ He's light?
+ Smashes aren't that strong?
+ INCREDIBLY PREDICTABLE PLAYSTYLE
+ Not much else really.,,,,,
- Fast
- Powerful
- Good Range
- Great at gimping
-
- Amazing Grab Game
At what percent can you do the Fair chaingrab?: 0-5%
Possible to dair chaingrab?: YES!
FINAL VERDICT: 7-3 in Diddy's favour! (Disadvantage)
More matchups coming soon. Stay tuned....
Also, I plan on making a Combo video soon showcasing the techniques, in addition to uploading some videos when I can
I shoulda had my own section just for killing moves to teach people the glory of bair and Shoryuken y'know I'm gonna do that sometime in the future) :3
Anyway glad you liked the guide. Next update should be up sometimes tomorrow :)