Lime Cultivist

Melee is my favorite smash game, for many reasons. It's incredibly fun on a competitive and casual level, yet mastering it is something I can only dream for and continue pushing myself to achieve. It's fast, technical, and unforgiving if you make one mistake against a good player. The cast sure isn't balanced, but I find the top eight plenty to handle; their metagames are well-developed, most aren't one dimensional like their lower tiered contenders are, and they are very fun to play. That's why I'm playing Fox, because being yet another boring Fox player is worth hearing for the enjoyment that I get trying to master such a difficult character. Pulling off successful tech skill feels so amazing, and I get better at every time I practice. Having a friend to play with who's just as good as I is another blessing; we both learn from each other and get experience against a real person instead of a computer.

I first started playing Smash when my friend invited me over to play Melee with him. Two times in two weeks I went over, and we played and I liked it and I was so, so incredibly bad. I don't remember that well, but I'm pretty sure I would get four-stocked by Pichu. Now, this started two weeks before Brawl came out. My friend was hyped and I was hyped; the new game would give me an ample chance to start the series and learn how to actually play the game. We both got Brawl as soon as it came out, and for four years we continued smashing. I was never his equal, but I was slowly getting better. Eventually though, we started to get a bit bored of Brawl. We tried to play Melee, and I was back to having a lot of difficulty playing successfully. Soon though, we discovered Project M. For three years we played PM, saw it grow and evolve, and halfway through that time is when the competitive aspect of Smash finally hit me in full force. I began to learn every term and every character's role in the competitive scene, and together me and my friends began to apply these skills in game. Thing like learning to wavedash and l-cancel were easy to practice, but very, very hard to apply successfully in the heat of a real match. Currently I don't know exactly where I am on the skill ladder. Not very high, I'm sure, I know that I would get absolutely destroyed by any professional player. I really hope to go to tournaments but right now I'm far too busy with college and there are no events near me. So for now I'll stick with being the second best Smash player at said college. I think I'm decent though; I play against real players usually once a week or every other week, I can apply tech skill during real matches, and I know most of the terminology and rules. In person, I want no recognition. But my name; I want people to know Lime. Just for someone to say: "Oh yeah, Lime, he's pretty good." would be such a boost of confidence. And now, I have to earn it.

As for the other Smash games, I think they're also amazing titles. I still play 64 every once in a while, and I love it for its extremely offensive gameplay and for being even more unforgiving than Melee. It also rewards tech skill a whole lot, with z-cancelled aerials having only four frames of lag. Brawl, I don't find fun competitively at all any more, but it's still a very well-made game. There's tons of content, and it gave me an incredible four years of experience. Smash 4 has even more content, and I find it nice that Sakurai went for a balance between Melee and Brawl. It seems rather balanced so far, and people are getting better before our very eyes. Also, just having a Smash game available on a handheld is incredible, something I probably never would have guessed could ever happen back when I first started with Brawl.

A lot has changed since then. And I hope, at the very least for me, that Smash never dies. Right now I'm playing a whole lot of Melee and some 64 when I can. I've mostly quit Project M - I just don't enjoy anywhere near as much as I do with Melee at this point.

I'm also enjoying playing Smash 4 now, but I do so very rarely since I don't have a wii u.

If at first stern, you gain the dog's respect.