SamuraiPanda
Smash Hero
- Joined
- May 22, 2006
- Messages
- 6,924
Ness/For those of you who don't know, the Smash Back Room is a private room that allows entry only to the intelligent few in the community who have proven their skill, dedication, and/or knowledge in Smash over the years. The SBR is most notorious for the creation of the official tier lists every year that are still the subject of alot of debate. But the SBR is actually much more than just a room that creates tier lists. We discuss all sorts of things varying from items/smashballs, tournament legality of stages, what rules to use as the standard for the largest tournaments, and of course, which characters are the best.
In the SBR the most active thread was entitled "Brawl Tiers". Yes, we're discussing tiers already. Does that mean a tier list is coming out soon? Absolutely not. Wait a year before asking when it will come out. But having a single thread to discuss 35 characters seemed like a bit much, so a few people in the SBR had a great idea.
The SBR is going to run a bit of an experiment. We will create a new thread every week to discuss a single character. The order is simply whoever we feel like talking about that week (although its usually Overswarm picking what character we talk about every week). And to expand on the idea, we decided to include all of you out there too. Roughly every week we will move that thread into the respective character's board so you all can see our thoughts and continue our discussions for us. And every time we move a thread, this thread will be updated with a summary of our thoughts, as well as a link to the thread. Keep in mind that this is just an experiment for now, we have no idea how it will evolve if it continues down the line.
Please Note: This is NOT in any particular order, and especially not a tier list.
Note that this thread is NOT used to discuss specific characters, please post your opinions and analysis of them into the threads linked below their names. The purpose for this thread is for discussion of this idea in general, as well as guesses for next week's character.
Update #1: Metaknight
3/30/08
Thread: http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=159785
Update #2: Wolf
4/9/08
Thread: http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=162112
Update #3: Game & Watch
4/15/08
Thread: http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?p=4352268
Update #4: Snake
4/22/08
Thread: http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=164582
Update #5: Diddy Kong
4/28/08
Thread: http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=165744
Update #6: R.O.B.
5/06/08
Thread: http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=167390
Update #7: Falco
5/12/08
Thread: http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=168808
Update #8: Ganondorf!
5/20/08
Thread: http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=170448
5/27/08
Thread: http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=171859
6/5/08
Thread: http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=174024
Update #11: Toon Link
6/15/08
Thread: http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=176308
Update #12: Zelda
6/30/08
Thread: http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=179238
7/08/08
Thread: http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=181286
Update #14: Captain Falcon
7/14/08
Thread: http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=182495
Summary:

Click the picture
Update #15: Pikachu
7/21/08
Thread: http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=183942
Update #16: Marth
7/29/08
Thread: http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=185489
Update #17: Bowser
8/04/08
Thread: http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=186769
8/11/08
Thread: http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=188142
8/20/08
Thread: http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=190076
Update #21: Pit
8/26/08
Thread: http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=191006
Update #22: Yoshi
9/01/08
Thread: http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=192005
9/08/08
Thread: http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=193142
Update #24: Sheik
9/15/08
Thread: http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=194295
Update #25: Donkey Kong
9/22/08
Thread: http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=195386
Update #26: Olimar
9/29/08
Thread: http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=196520
Update #27: Luigi
10/06/08
Thread: http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?p=5558327
Update #28: Zero Suit Samus
10/13/08
Thread: http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=199064
Update #29: Peach
10/20/08
Thread: http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=200587
Update #30: Sonic the Hedgehog
10/27/08
Thread: http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=202190
Update #31: Mario
11/4/08
Thread: http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?p=5805725
Update #32: Ike
11/17/08
Thread: http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=205781
Update #33: Pokemon Trainer
11/25/08
Thread: http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=207163
12/16/08
Thread: http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=211021
Update #35: Wario
4/03/08
Thread: http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=228681
Summary:
4/27/08
Thread: http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=231769
Summary:
Update #37/38: Ness/Lucas
4/27/08
Ness Thread:
http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=232808
Lucas Thread:
http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=232809
In the SBR the most active thread was entitled "Brawl Tiers". Yes, we're discussing tiers already. Does that mean a tier list is coming out soon? Absolutely not. Wait a year before asking when it will come out. But having a single thread to discuss 35 characters seemed like a bit much, so a few people in the SBR had a great idea.
The SBR is going to run a bit of an experiment. We will create a new thread every week to discuss a single character. The order is simply whoever we feel like talking about that week (although its usually Overswarm picking what character we talk about every week). And to expand on the idea, we decided to include all of you out there too. Roughly every week we will move that thread into the respective character's board so you all can see our thoughts and continue our discussions for us. And every time we move a thread, this thread will be updated with a summary of our thoughts, as well as a link to the thread. Keep in mind that this is just an experiment for now, we have no idea how it will evolve if it continues down the line.
Please Note: This is NOT in any particular order, and especially not a tier list.
Note that this thread is NOT used to discuss specific characters, please post your opinions and analysis of them into the threads linked below their names. The purpose for this thread is for discussion of this idea in general, as well as guesses for next week's character.
Update #1: Metaknight
3/30/08
Thread: http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=159785
Here's the general recap:
Metaknight:
Metaknight has a good aerial game, and while his ground game is fairly limited in comparison as far as variety is concerned, it too is effective. Metaknight's aerials all have little to no landing lag out of a short hop; he can even short hop double aerial at times.
His B moves are incredibly good as well, especially the tornado. It is very difficult to DI out of it, but DIing down (double stick works well) seems to sometimes work. Floaty characters work even better. The tornado goes stale quickly, so it cannot be spammed for utmost effectiveness. It can also be interrupted by a plethora of moves.
His biggest issue seems to be getting KOs, but this can be remedied by using his up+b aggressively or by simply d-smashing out of shield at opportune moments. Most good MK players don't seem to have a big problem with getting a KO, and I would expect this trend to continue.
Characters with strong vertical KO moves seem to fare well offensively against Metaknight due to his light size; high priority attacks also give MK trouble. While MK has no projectile, projectile spam doesn't work as well as against other non-projectile characters due to MK's speed.
MK also, due to the length of most of his approaching attacks, can become vulnerable if he misses. This includes his B moves. The Metaknight player, through good spacing, can nearly completely erase this disadvantage.
Metaknight's small size and speed make him difficult to approach and nigh impossible to combo effectively, so powerful throws are a wonderful way to KO him.
All in all, MK seems to have more strengths than weaknesses, and is only held back by the player controlling him.
Update #2: Wolf
4/9/08
Thread: http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=162112
Synopsis....
Wolf is a character that has a lot of excellent attributes, but they don't tend to mesh as well as a Wolf main would like. The obvious and most effective strategies found so far with Wolf have been very one-dimensional, as good qualities such as range, a nice projectile, and speed, are all used in the simple strategy of "blaster until they approach".
However, Wolf does have the ability to throw out his forward air and his back air with zero lag. This gives him the ability to approach an opponent and, if he makes contact, follow it up quickly. We've already seen a few Wolf players going through shields and hitting with a back air then landing behind their opponent, so Wolf's playstyle may change in the future. An increased emphasis on aerials being used effectively would also solve the problem of Wolf not having a reliable KO move, since his f-smash and d-smash are currently used as damage dealers by most Wolf players.
Wolf's recovery also seems to be holding him back. His up+b is nigh useless, and through smash DI you can DI out of the final kick at the end; it also frequently fails to grab the edge even if you are close. His over-b is excellent for distance when it is canceled, but is still very predictable. As such, Wolf can be easily punished upon recovery and often gimped.
Wolf is very much a fun character to play, but it seems that at this point in the metagame his weaknesses outweigh his strengths. It will take a lot of patience to play Wolf well.
Update #3: Game & Watch
4/15/08
Thread: http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?p=4352268
Synopsis.... -
G&W has very few weaknesses, most of which are minor. He can be grabbed out of his up+b and then, like snake, will fall to his doom if you do not throw him. Unfortunately, his up+b auto sweetspots and is an attack, so this will rarely, if ever, happen. His smash attacks have a delay before coming out, but due to their insane strength and excellent IASA frames, that delay isn't really easily punished. G&W is very light, but with good DI and smart play he can often survive until 160% with ease.
He has an excellent d-throw that can be used to tech chase with another grab or smash, and even crazier is that his down+b prevents people from using projectiles aggressively against him. Three projectiles hitting that bucket make G&W have a very powerful attack, so powerful that it is never worth it to shoot a projectile if he has two in his bucket already.
G&W is an excellent character when used with proper spacing; he is so powerful he doesn't even really need to "mix it up" as much as one would expect. He just needs to space himself properly and get off one of his ridiculously powerful smashes when his opponents are at high percent.
Also, his neutral air autocancels, his dair is a spike and has a landing hitbox, his forward air can be used as a KO move, his u-air can be used to stall until the opponent gets off the stage or air dodges, both of which set them up for disaster, and his backair shield pokes and has a final hitbox at the end that prevents the attack from being punishable.
Did I mention that his d-smash is both a vertical kill move AND can send an opponent out at a downward angle away from the stage? It makes it near impossible for a tether recovery to return if they are hit by that d-smash near the edge.
Update #4: Snake
4/22/08
Thread: http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=164582
Synopsis:
Snake lives forever and his most commonly used move does over 20% when it is fresh. He has an auto-jab that can activated by simply holding A, he has a remote mine that can be placed on the edge, his neutral air can do approximately a zillion damage and can be auto-canceled, his u-air can be auto-canceled, his bair can be auto-canceled, his fair helps his recovery, his c4 helps his recovery, and his up+b has super armor. He also has one of the best approaches in the game due to his dash attack to u-smash combo, and at the same time has one of the best defensive options in the game due to being able to simply drop a grenade. On top of all of this, his u-tilt could possibly be the best move in game as far as KO power to speed ratio. On top of all of that, his f-smash grants him the ability to give an almost for-sure KO against any opponent that manages to have their shield broken.
Snake is good.
That said, Snake suffers against projectile spam and his recovery, if done poorly, can be easily gimped. Not only can he be spiked, but if someone grabs him and doesn't hit or throw him, he will not get his up+b back and then is forced to use C4 to recover; at high percents this could kill him. His C4, while useful, cannot actively be used on the stage if he hopes to recover with it later. His down-smash, a proximity mine, can be actively used against him, and while all of Snake's moves are excellent, you are practically forced to save your u-tilt, his f-tilt becomes increasingly weaker as it is the most commonly used move, and his dash attack to u-smash combo is very hard to space properly. Almost all of Snake's moves are situational, meaning that if Snake is on the defense it can put him in a sticky situation. All of his aerials have a ton of lag if they are not auto-canceled, so Snake is practically forced to air dodge when he is in the air; this makes him predictable, and thus punishable.
While Snake's game seems fairly straightforward, a smart player can get around most of his weaknesses. Snake will undoubtedly stay one of the top competitiors for a long period of time; to beat Snake you have to play patiently and aggressively, and you can't miss an opportunity to hit him out of his recovery.
Update #5: Diddy Kong
4/28/08
Thread: http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=165744
Diddy is a creative and fast opponent with multiple options for approach and recovery. His main weakness is that he can't get KOs, but with his wonderful approach it may be that he doesn't need them! Seeing as how KOs appear quite quickly against the lighter characters in the game, we may see Diddy taking out the really light and floaty characters with relative ease in the near future!
Pressure is the name of the game with this chimp. If he's giving it all he's got, you're hard pressed to find a way to slip inside his banana fortress. On the flipside, if you manage to gain control of his bananas or can stop his "flow", Diddy has a hard time getting started again. He is definitely a momentum player, so it is likely we will only see high level Diddy's do any damage at the tournament scene.
Update #6: R.O.B.
5/06/08
Thread: http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=167390
ROB is awesome. He has practically everything you could ever want in a character. Unfortunately for ROB, what he has is rarely the BEST of what you could want with the exception of his recovery. So, ROB has to work a bit harder than other characters; but just because he isn't easy to play doesn't mean he isn't awesome! ROB has several weak spots, including beneath him, behind him, and anything at a 9 o'clock position (if ROB is the center of the clock) is totally safe from ROB. That means platforms really hurt him! ROB also has several good and bad matchups, and it seems that he is one of the few characters that is showing true one-sided matchups (for good or worse) already. Expect to see more ROB mainers out there in the next few months!
Update #7: Falco
5/12/08
Thread: http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=168808
Falco is a strange character. Many of the top smashers believe he belongs in the top tier, but many others fail to see his potential. His strengths lie in his lasers, his attacks, and his amazing chaingrab.
Lasers can be used to supplement attack strategies or they can be spammed to bring the opponent to you. Although you can fire lasers from a jump, the rate of fire is greatly increased by simply firing while standing still.
Falco has a large range of power and quick attacks to choose from. His forward smash hits slightly behind and far in front, his dash cancels into an up smash, his bair is an amazing kill move, and his dair is a spike that can easily gimp other players. Utilizing these attacks along with his amazingly quick side B and lasers can make for a great offense or defense.
Falco's chaingrab is simply amazing. 30-50% on nearly every character followed by a free running up smash or dair. This chaingrab can bring even Snake and Metaknight to their knees.
Falco's mediocre range and recovery keep him from reaching the top. Characters such as Donkey Kong and G&W can out-space Falco while characters such as ROB and Pit have no troubles with Falco's laser spam or gimpy dair.
Though he has his weaknesses, a smart Falco player can overcome them easily. Falco is one of the few characters with a strong offensive and defensive game and the ability to adjust according to your opponent's style. Although his placings are only a blip on the tournament scene radar right now, he definitely has the potential to take the position as a top tier character.
Update #8: Ganondorf!
5/20/08
Thread: http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=170448
Update #9: LinkGanon is a beast. When Brawl was first released he was considered by most to be one of the worst characters in the game. Shortly after release, however, several people discovered that a few aerials could be auto canceled with perfect timing and some of his ground moves had IASA frames. This helped Ganon's speed, but he still shines strongest in one category: power.
Ganon hits like a freakin bus full of fat people. Nearly every move is a capable killer and it only takes a few hits to get your opponent to the point of imminent doom. If you can land an auto canceled d-air and follow with an aerial you can get your opponent up to over 40% before they even touch you. Even Ganon's dash attack is a powerful kill move, destroying lighter opponents at around 80% fresh. His power combined with his far reach can catch quicker opponents off guard and send them flying. There's nothing quite like kicking Snake in the chest with a stretched out f-tilt and quietly whispering, "this is sparta" to yourself.
Although we all harp on Ganon's quickness, he isn't as slow as you'd think. His n-air comes out very fast and can catch aerial attackers off guard. His neutral jab, d-tilt, and f-tilt are all surprisingly quick and powerful. His up smash has IASA frames and can quickly cancel into a jab or a d-tilt. His real weakness lies in his running speed and the wind down on several moves. That is why only an expert can effectively wield Ganon. If you completely whiff an f-smash, a d-smash, or you fail to auto-cancel a move - you're screwed.
All in all, I'd say Ganon rules. That may sound a bit general for a summary, but we're talking about Old Man Winter here. He's certainly not top tier, but who cares? He's a badass.
5/27/08
Thread: http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=171859
Update #10: King DeDeDeLink is a character with great strengths and some massive weaknesses. His attacks are strong and quick, he has great range, and he can build up damage quickly. He sounds like the perfect character. Unfortunately his recovery is close to, if not the worst recovery in the game.
Link's forward smash can do a full 35% with both hits. It can kill light character around 90% with ease. Down smash is very quick as well and fresh it can kill many characters before 100%. His quick neutral jab combo is great for building up damage and keeping the opponent spaced. His aerials are powerful, quick, and 3 of the 5 have hardly any or no landing lag. His zair is the second best in the game and it comes out instantly with great range and 0 landing lag.
Link's dair is an amazing move. It seems to have the highest possible priority, it can kill lighter characters around 60%, and it stays out for a long time. It can be used as a meaty attack to destroy opponent hopping from the ledge, jumping from the ledge, rolling onto the ledge, etc. It can be used to keep tether users from reaching the stage. You can even jump off the stage with a flying dair to keep them from coming back (don't try it against ROB!).
Although his projectile game isn't as great as it used to be, it's still good. The boomerang has unique characteristics now that allow it to be used as an offensive projectile, a defensive projectile, or an edgeguarding technique. The bombs can be thrown far and quick, allowing you to edgeguard opponents, keep offensive players at bay, or guarantee your safe recovery. Link is able to cancel the beginning animation of the arrow shot by jumping and shooting just before you land.
Unfortunately, Link has a massive, glaring weakness: his recovery. He is one of the fastest fallers in the Smash series and this works for him and against him. It allows him to execute quick aerials, but it also causes him to fall extremely fast and often to a quick death. Characters like ROB are very very tough matchups for Link because even though Link is fairly heavy, ROB can knock Link off the stage at a mid range percentage and finish him off with an easy edgeguard. His recovery is helped slightly by his tether, throwing projectiles at the edgeguarding opponent, and his high priority up B, but he's still too easy to pick off for space animals.
You have to wonder if Sakurai has some kind of burning hatred for Link. He gives him some of the best characteristics in the game, then severely gimps him with a horrible recovery. There aren't many Link players right now due to the high amount of technical skill required and his recovery, but maybe there will be a Link fever in a few years similar to the one in the Melee years.
6/5/08
Thread: http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=174024
Dedede is a character that demonstrates the significance of match ups in Brawl. He can do so well against many of the top tier characters, but you can find counters for him all across the tier list.
DDD's physics are part of what makes him so great. He is very heavy and hard to kill with good DI. He is also one of the fastest fallers in the game, which combined with his multiple jumps makes for an amazing ability to edgeguard.
His throws make up a strong part of his game. Down throw is an amazing chaingrab on over half the cast and an infinite on five characters. Down throw will also set DDD up for a follow up, often an f-tilt or an unexpected dash attack. His back throw does a massive 16% damage as well.
DDD has a strange combination of moves. His smashes are so slow that they seem impossible to use at first. You quickly learn, however, that they have deceiving range and are quite hard to punish. Long range moves like his f-tilt, dair, and uair are great for racking up damage. Others like his bair, fair, dtilt, are surprisingly quick and very powerful. His utilt can kill light characters very easily and it is quicker than his up smash.
His recovery has its ups and downs (no pun intended). It is quick and travels far, allowing DDD to make it back from nearly any hit. On the other hand, it has a set trajectory until you cancel it and it is punishable by many characters.
To paraphrase G-reg:
"DDD is strong, he has great kill moves, he lives forever, he has great aerials, he has ridiculous throws and chaingrabs, and a good recovery.
Considering that some characters don't even have a single one of those qualities, I'd put DDD at top tier along with Snake and MK."
And one more thing: Carlos Mencia is a terrible comedian.
Update #11: Toon Link
6/15/08
Thread: http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=176308
Toon Link is a character that can be played either offensively or defensively at high level play. This is unique, as most characters tend to do better playing one way or the other. Despite this ability, Toon Link is generally best played defensively in that he shouldn't approach without an opening. Fortunately for TLink, he can create openings; this, too, is something rare.
Toon Link's projectile spam is some of the best in the game and, once started, is very difficult to get through. This allows him to keep the pressure on the opponent while not putting himself in danger! Because you are forcing your opponent to approach you can decide when and where and how your opponent will attack and, because of this ability, can know in advance what your opponent will do. This allows you attack strategically and safely.
Unfortuantely for Toon Link, despite his strong aerial game, good smashes, and good specials and recovery, he has difficulty KOing and creating setups. Most of his best techniques, such as bomb to aerial combos, bair to dair combos, repeated bair combos, etc., etc. are not only hard to pull off, but are generally only for damage! The most common KOing combo you hear about is the bair to dair, and this is incredibly dangerous. Toon Link's KO potential isn't held back by the strength of his moves, but by his in ability to set them up as well. It is night impossible to combo into Toon Link's u-air, u-smash, or f-smash, and these are 3 of his best kill moves. This often leaves Toon Link frustrated as he has to drastically change his playstyle to get a KO by abandoning his projectile game.
Most good Toon Link players simply solve this problem by continually racking up damage until you can combo into a forward air or catch them out of an air dodge or laggy aerial with a u-air or u-smash/f-smash, but this strategy simply exacerbates Toon Link's light weight. It's bad enough when you have to deal an extra 30-80% to KO your opponent simply because you are light and they are heavy, but when you are light, unable to combo into KO moves, and have to patiently wait for the opportunity rather than create it to play safely.... this puts Toon Link in a bad position.
Toon Link's potential is very high, the surface of which has barely been scratched. It is inevitable that a smart player will pick up Toon Link and overcome his very basic inherent weaknesses and simply use his strengths in such a way that Toon Link will become a very big threat.
Update #12: Zelda
6/30/08
Thread: http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=179238
Update #13: SamusZelda has a plethora of useful knockout moves, many of which that deal good damage. Add to this an incredible projectile and a decent reflector and you've got a pretty good character in terms of offense. Because of Din's Fire, she doesn't even really need to approach very often or take risks to edgeguard. She can just sit back and spam her fireball all day until she approves of the distance between her and her opponent.
Unfortunately for Zelda, landing the moves are a bit of a different story. All of her aerials are telegraphed way in advance; if Zelda is below you, expect u-air. If she is to the side, expect a fair or bair. If you are below, expect a nair or dair. All of them require precise spacing, making it very difficult to land on smaller characters controlled by smart opponents. Her smashes don't require as much spacing or timing to pull off, but while she can use her f-smash and u-smash in many situations, the ability to DI out of the final "hit" of these attacks makes them considerably less useful than her d-smash. Her d-smash sends opponents out at a crazy angle, comes out quickly and hits all around her making this arguably her best knockout move. Her tilts, while effective and powerful, come out at about the same speed as her smashes; this makes them less useful.
Zelda's recovery also limits her survivability. While there is a small hitbox when she lands, the inability to recover at odd angles makes her easy to edgeguard if she is put in a bad position. The lag afterwards, while slight, is enough to allow an opponent to attack you; since Zelda's aerials are difficult to land effectively in situations where Zelda isn't controlling her spacing, this makes it difficult for Zelda to get back to the stage from above.
Zelda is a powerful character, but a precise one; because she requires so much in her favor, it is difficult to keep yourself in a good position the entire time. Through patience and smart aggression, Zelda's opponents can keep her in trouble long enough, and it is unlikely that any but the best Zelda's will be able to deal with this pressure.
7/08/08
Thread: http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=181286
Summary:
Samus is a unique character with a lot of depth. She is much more difficult to use than the majority of characters in this game, and as such has a much harder time in tournament play. Consistency troubles aside, she is a solid character that is held above water by her natural strengths: a heavy weight, good air mobility, a strong aerial game, a strong combo game, an excellent recovery, and a good projectile game.
While Samus excels in many areas, she lacks in killing power. Many of her kill moves are slow to come out, require charging, or are very easy to see coming; it isn't often that you see a Samus player hop towards you with her back facing you, and when she does you know a bair is coming.
It is likely that Samus' issue of killing power will become less prominent over time; her aerials all auto-cancel, allowing her to short hop an aerial into an opponent, land, and then immediately f-smash or d-tilt to attempt a KO. She also has a great setup from her grab release to do large amounts of damage or potentially get off a KO move.
Samus also has the ability to turn into Zamus mid-game by using the d-pad; while this will more than likely not be a prominent feature to her gameplay, it is possible that Samus could switch into ZSS to use the items as KO capable attacks late in the game.
Update #14: Captain Falcon
7/14/08
Thread: http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=182495
Summary:

Click the picture
Update #15: Pikachu
7/21/08
Thread: http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=183942
Pikachu is a highly mobile character with a near infalliable approach due to his low lag aerials and Quick Attack Cancel. This makes him one of the best "anti-camp" characters in the game. Even his neutral B follows the edge, preventing any form of ledge camping! His TWO chain throws give him the ability to add a lot of damage to characters like Snake and Fox, and his ability to gimp with Thunder off of a simple mistake is amazingly effective. His recovery is unmatched in speed and saftey, and all of his smashes are useful.
Pikachu is a well rounded character with several good matchups and very few bad matchups; the only disadvantage this character has is that he is more difficult to pick up than some of the more straight-forward characters. However, this also acts as a boon to the rodent because very few opponents will have serious pikachu practice.
Update #16: Marth
7/29/08
Thread: http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=185489
Synopsis:
Marth has a similar feel to Melee, but almost a completely different flow. His moves are all powerful, especially when tippered, and it seems that Marth has an answer in most situations. Despite this, Marth's poor recovery and lack of range when compared to most of the other characters at tournament level play can often lead to him having to work twice as hard as other high level characters. This puts him at a disadvantage at low level play. However, his strengths are all solid and his weaknesses are fairly shallow, which leads him to being a strong character choice for veteran smashers. With the ability to get absurdly low % KOs with tippered attacks, several attacks and setups out of shield, and his over-b combo attack giving him an easy and safe damage dealer, Marth is not a character to be taken lightly.
Update #17: Bowser
8/04/08
Thread: http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=186769
Update #18: KirbyBowser is a character of extremes. He basically runs hot and cold. His advantages, such as his heavy weight, excellent out of shield options, grab release options, and his multitude of KO moves, are all very prominent. Unfortunately, his weaknesses, his large size (making him easy to combo and hit), laggy attacks, lack of options in many circumstances, and poor vertical recovery are just as obvious.
Bowser will never be the powerhouse that a player can simply pick up and destroy the opposition with, but if a player dedicates himself to this character and gets around his weaknesses it is highly likely that they can make significant marks on the tournament scene. The fact that Bowser has so many obvious weaknesses may actually be a boon to him; there are few serious Bowser mains in existence, so if you happen to run up against one you are unlikely to have experience fighting them... while they will almost certainly have experience fighting your character.
8/11/08
Thread: http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=188142
Update #19: MewtwoKirby's moveset works well for him in practically every way save for approaching the opponent. When approaching, Kirby can become predictable and vulnerable as a result. On defense though, Kirby's well spaced aerials and grabs he can actually combo out of (!!!!) make him a danger to approach. Kirby's recovery is boosted tremendously by his over-b and his down+b can be used from time to time to allow him quick and safe passage to the stage.
Kirby has a few weaknesses, such as his limited approach and light weight, but these weaknesses are all supressed at high level play and as such leave Kirby many options open. Kirby will undoubtedly be a dangerous character to play against and a hard character to play as, making him one of the few characters that will be consistently surprising their opponents.
8/20/08
Thread: http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=190076
Synopsis:
Lucario is a character with all the answers. Under a strong player, his blatant weaknesses can be seen as obstacles to overcome rather than obstacles that prevent him from succeeding. With his great range, priority, speed and (when at high %) power, this character can go toe to toe with any character in the game as long as he can prevent himself from dying early. Lucario is the very definition of "clutch"; when you are down 3 stocks to 1, it is very possible to make a comeback if you just land a few good hits. Add to that a spammable and chargeable projectile with the possibility to KO and you've got yourself a good character. His learning curve will prevent him from flooding the tournament scene, but he will always be a force to be wary of.
Update #21: Pit
8/26/08
Thread: http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=191006
With a few glaring weaknesses and nothing incredibly power to compensate, Pit becomes a character of averages. His recovery is great distance-wise, but when put into actual gameplay it is nothing especially of note; he can generally get back just as well as other characters in the game. His attacks, while good, aren't especially impressive. His specials, while annoying and unique, don't send him to the top. He doesn't even have that many matchups that seem to be incredibly in his favor!
It is true that Pit has a few things slightly above average, like the damage of his relatively quick forward-smash, the power of his bair, the excellent positioning created by all his throws, his edgeguarding tricks with his down+b, or the power and priority of his glide attack. However, these things have yet to be used effectively enough by a Pit player to show that Pit can be as dangerous as other characters.
It is extremely possible that a Pit player could learn to use arrows to position his opponent into a certain area when recovering so that Pit can edgeguard for the KO with his down+b or a gutsy Pit player could start getting his KOs by glide attacking while his opponent is attempting to recover, but for now Pit's game has become stagnant and filled primarily with gimmicky ATs such as arrow looping or wingdashing that have yet to really propel Pit's metagame. A push back to basics is primarily what this character needs to compete with the other characters that are filling the upper echelons.
Update #22: Yoshi
9/01/08
Thread: http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=192005
Update #23: Ice ClimbersAt first look he's awful, then he's great, and then he's just mediocre.
Yoshi has a few things in several matchups that make him not worthless. He has a few strengths that can REALLY surprise you. How many people have played against a Yoshi only to find themselves take an easy 40% from them spamming eggs? How many have been pivot grabbed by a Yoshi when they dashed to prevent them from throwing eggs? How many have been killed by a uair at surprisingly low %?
Unfortunately for Yoshi, these strengths don't make up for his weaknesses. His shield is ridiculously bad; while it can't be shield poked... you can just wait the moment Yoshi shields and then capitalize. Yoshi's recovery, while good as far as distance is concerned, can be less than adequate; turning off tap jump and using eggs first slightly alleviates this problem, but Yoshi is one of those characters that ends up getting tossed off the side of the stage a lot.
One of Yoshi's biggest issues is that there is rarely a time where he is at an advantage. On the ground? In the air? Recovering? Edgeguarding? He is just sub-par in all these areas when the opponent is on equal footing.
Yoshi will be a great surprise character and a smart player can get some early KOs with him to make him viable... but on the whole, he won't be too amazing.
9/08/08
Thread: http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=193142
infzy sucks for figuring out the hint way too fast :/Synopsis:
One of the most exciting characters in the game, people often look to the future rather than the present with this character. The Ice Climbers are dripping with such potential that it is almost inevitable that someone is going to appear out of thin air and rock the tournament scene. The Ice Climbers have a lot of issues, most of them nana related, but their high damaging attacks, high priority smashes, and their wonderful, wonderful grab game really sets them at a unique position in any matchup. Ice Climbers change the rules of the game in a way no other character does. Even though they have such a good grab game, their best advantage yet may be that no one ever plays them! Matchup inexperience + 0-death grabs = ICs being terrifying.
Update #24: Sheik
9/15/08
Thread: http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=194295
Synopsis:
Sheik's weaknesses and strengths are as clear as day, especially when you realize that they are practically the opposite of Zelda's. She is a combo machine at low % and can get some crazy gimps too, making her very frustrating to play against at low %. Unfortuantely for Sheik, her only realible KO move is her upsmash and that is difficult to land! Sheik's down+b solves this problem to a certain extent, but the fact that Sheik can't make it on her own means this is a problem for her for sure!
Sheik's needles are an interesting projectile and can be used as a great damage builder, and with her over-b glitch she can get some crazy good priority with her chain (although it isn't entirely practical in most cases). Her recovery isn't spectacular, but it isn't awful either.
Sheik, as a solo character, isn't that great. Depending on the user's ability to switch effectively and then get a KO, she can be a well-rounded character that can have an excellent balance of offense and defense.
Update #25: Donkey Kong
9/22/08
Thread: http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=195386
Synopsis:
DK has a great shield pressure game, a great combo game, great pressure game, great power, and can punish a single mistake severely. He's also insanely heavy.
Unfortunately, DK has a bad shield, can be comboed well, has trouble keeping up with pressure, can be gimped by several characters, and a lot of stronger attacks have lag that can get him punished severely.
DK is a character that runs hot and cold; he's either on fire and destroying, or he's getting tossed around like a ragdoll. Even the worst DK players can even the score with an f-smash or u-smash thrown out at the right times, so we know that DK players have potential... but the potential lies in being able to keep the momentum in DKs favor. If you can keep DK's opponent on edge until you find an opportunity to d-smash OOS or get a neutral-B in (if you can read their approach, just do it through their attack!), DK is a great choice for you.
DK has some nigh unwinnable matchups though, so he is almost completely limited to players that are willing to play more than one character. D3's ability to infinite grab him, Marth's ability to edgeguard with his dair (heck, anyone with a spike, really), MKs ability to keep the pressure up and edgeguard.... all make playing DK an uphill battle. Fortunately for DK, he can still dish it out against these characters; if you can read your opponent well and find that one mistake, DK can punish it better than anyone else in the game.
Update #26: Olimar
9/29/08
Thread: http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=196520
Synopsis
Olimar is a character that is rare enough and strong enough to be a wild card in any tournament. Unfortunately for Olimar, his recovery is such a glaring weakness that everyone knows it right from the getgo whether they play against Olimar or not!
Despite this, Olimar can do incredibly well in certain matchups. He also gets destroyed just as easily in other matchups. This makes Olimar a poor choice for a solo character, but an EXCELLENT choice with a pair. Olimar's fluidity and ability to make the opponent approach makes Olimar an easy character to pick up but, due to Olimar's glaring weaknesses and incredible amount of variables, he is a difficult character to master.
Olimar's super armor from his down+b helps him tremendously upon returning to the stage, and Olimar's ability to kill with a plethora of moves in a variety of directions means Olimar is dangerous at all times. No worrying about stale moves with this guy!
Last but not least, Olimar is difficult to observe. His forward smash, down-smash, and grab, can all look eerily similar. This makes it difficult for an opponetn to consistently avoid Olimar's attacks! It becomes even more difficult when the timing and range changes depending on the pikmin available. Oli players will be able to use this to their advantage for quite some time, and it is a real advantage indeed.
Update #27: Luigi
10/06/08
Thread: http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?p=5558327
Synopsis:
Luigi, like a few other rare characters, runs hot and cold. When he's doing well, he's doing WELL. Incredibly amazing KO potential with his crazy up+b (so much better than rest) that can be done out of a jab combo if your opponent doesn't DI, great combo potential, the ability to approach with one aerial and retreat with another all in the same jump, the ability to shield an attack then slide far away to prevent shield pressure... these all help him. On the flipside, his poor recovery (edgeguarding-wise, not distance-wise), his poor OOS options, and his predictability all hurt him.
Luigi is a character that can be "mastered" very easily in terms of offensive capability. Defensively is a whole other matter and is what will really set apart the good Luigi's from the bad. Even the worst Luigi's will get a jab to up+b off from time to him, or perhaps edgeguard with a series of bairs. Simple things like finding out how strong his f-smash is can make the worst Luigi player dangerous... but unfortunately, this merely clouds the waters. The best Luigi players will be the ones that always get back to the stage and have found ways to reliably approach and to create openings rather than capitalize on enemy mistakes.
Update #28: Zero Suit Samus
10/13/08
Thread: http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=199064
Synopsis:
ZSS is a character with a horrible and predictable aerial approach, a horrible grab, and very poor OOS options. Despite this, ZSS does very well when she has her opponent in a poor position; ZSS takes a lot of thinking to play, but if you can get your opponent where you want them it all pays off. Her most common kill move, her over-b, is also one of her safer and most commonly used attacking moves. This is bad, as it continually is diminished. The good news is that this attack often puts your opponent in a poor position! If you can capitalize on this, theoretically the over-b should never go stale.
It's also important to note that ZSS recovery, while tether-based, isn't that bad. She can be gimped incredibly easy if her player doesn't know what they are doing, but in the hands of a ZSS veteran she has enough options to continually be one step ahead of the opposition.
Her jab also comes out ridiculously fast. This makes it the best "OMG OMG OMG OMG GO AWAY" move in the world. When in doubt, jab once or twice then run away.
Update #29: Peach
10/20/08
Thread: http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=200587
Synopsis:
Lame, then scary, then mediocre.
Peach is a decent character that will be forever one-upped by the higher tiers. Most of her good stuff is only good if your opponent doesn't SDI properly or is just plain not used to what you do. This said, the number of Peach players is low; it is likely this will generally be in your favor as a Peach player. Peach plays vastly different than most other characters in the game, but appears to be similar; she often is as confusing as playing the Ice Climbers, though your opponent won't think of it that way.
Peach is an excellent pocket character for those that have fallen in love with her. She is a wild card of the utmost degree whose gameplay focuses on using the tried-and-true tactics of good spacing, feints, and shield pressure that can be a frustrating experience for an opponent that just wants to rush in blindly.
Update #30: Sonic the Hedgehog
10/27/08
Thread: http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=202190
Synopsis:
While Sonic counters Inui, past that he does little else that someone doesn't do better. Sonic is a very fun character to play and has many unique attributes that certainly change the matchup, but these do not overcome his blatant weaknesses. As fast as Sonic's dash may be, his aerial mobility is not up to par and as such his moves are often telegraphed far in advance. This makes it difficult to land aerials on an opponent for a KO, forcing you to use his f-smash as his main KO move. While Sonic is a lot of fun, he isn't that great; he will more than likely be a character that will bring about the occasional surprise in tournaments but will rarely reach the upper levels.
Update #31: Mario
11/4/08
Thread: http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?p=5805725
Synopsis:
Mario is a character with a ton of potential. Where this potential will lead, no one is quite sure; what is for certain is that he has a unique gimping game when you combine his bair, fair, cape, and FLUDD. Mario definitely has a good matchup against several of the characters in the cast, but unfortunately most of his strengths are outshined by other characters. Mario is a character that will more than likely be obscure in the smash tournament scene for quite some time because whenever anyone has a problem, Mario will be a second best solution. Despite this, Mario's rarity will allow those who have fallen in love with the portly plumber to do better in tournament simply due to the matchup inexperience their opponents have.
Past his gimping game, Mario doesn't have much save for a few combos out of throws (good!) that can be easily DI'ed out of if the player uses his jumps and air dodge correctly (bad!). Mario will more than likely stay middle tier at highest, but if a few Mario mains out there can show that he will do amazing against certain top tiers via his edgeguarding game it is almost certain that Mario numbers will increase.
Update #32: Ike
11/17/08
Thread: http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=205781
Synopsis:
Ike has more than enough going for him to allow a good player to use him well, and most of his weaknesses can be removed by simply picking the correct stage, so he'll always be a good counterpick character.
Unfortunately, Ike has a few really hard matchups and really has difficulty with recovering against the majority of the cast on even the neutrals. This really makes it difficult for Ike to win a set on his own... so remember, Ike fights for his friends. He doesn't go it alone. Pick up Ike along with someone else and you'll have a unique pocket character that you can throw out from time to time.
His excellent KO potential and decent damage racking abilities really allow a good player to capitalize well, and he has several tricks (such as using neutral B by the ledge, reverse up+bing to recover, tech chasing with over+b, using up+B to hit someone after they are knocked in the air, etc., etc.) that good players can throw out against the unsuspecting opponent. But as fun as he is, Ike isn't good enough to do it alone.
Update #33: Pokemon Trainer
11/25/08
Thread: http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=207163
Update #34: FoxSynopsis:
Pokémon trainer is cooooooooooool. He's also fun!!!.... and not very good competitively. The lackluster recovery of all three pokémon make their stocks disappear incredibly fast against a watchful opponent. PT's damage racking potential is through the roof, and he DOES have some good KO options, but many of them (especially with Ivysaur!) are situational. PT was originally thought to be a character that had no counterpicks because you could switch to a different character throughout the match, but we have seen that there are a number of characters that do well against all three... and more importantly, even if one of the pokémon can do well against a character it doesn't mean that will make up for the poor performance of the other two!
Despite all his drawbacks, PT would be considered a decent character. He has enough mix-ups and options in his gameplay that a smart player can really take him to a new level. For what he lacks, he makes up for in other areas for each of the pokémon. Squirtle can't take much abuse and can be gimped if he's not careful, but he's got a great in-and-out style of attack that is similar to Wario and Jiggs. Ivysaur has one of the worst recoveries in the game, but has bullet seed that adds enough damage in one or two volleys to make his opponent's life as short as Ivysaur's. Charizard is a big target and moves slow in the air, but he moves incredibly fast on the ground and has a great grab game.
What really holds them back is the time limit. The longer PT is out, the weaker the PT's pokémon of choice gets. That means if I'm facing a squirtle and I'm at high %, I can easily camp him out on the ledge or by simply hitting him away and running. Once he gets tired, his once powerful u-smash KO is no longer worth how difficult it is to land. The worst part is once you hit down+b, the opponent gets a free hit on you.... often a fully charged smash!
If a PT player comes along that is really innovative and uses all the options and is able to solve the crisis of fatigue, we could see PT doing some damage. Until then, it's not going to just be the top tiers that are going to hurt him.
12/16/08
Thread: http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=211021
Synopsis:
Fox can dish it out, but he can't take it. Fox is a character that is very certainly a threat, but his defensive options are poor when compared to other characters. The ability to be edgeguarded easily is a bad thing, and when you edgeguard him exactly like you've done in Melee for the past decade you've already got all the practice in the world so it is unlikely you'll have difficulty adapting.
His combos, while not guaranteed, are excellent, powerful, and can be used often. His shine can be used to stall for timing purposes, greatly hurting an opponent's chance at any sort of juggling game. Fox can force approaches with his laser, even on other projectile characters due to his shine, and because of this has a natural advantage that many characters do not have.
Despite his horrible matchups, this character's offensive potential makes him a viable character. The ability to use his u-smash, an easy smash to land in comparison to many KO moves in this game, to get KOs at early % against even the strongest in this game is a boon that not many can argue against.
Update #35: Wario
4/03/08
Thread: http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=228681
Summary:
Update #36: JigglypuffSummary Pending
4/27/08
Thread: http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=231769
Summary:
Summary Pending
Update #37/38: Ness/Lucas
4/27/08
Ness Thread:
http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=232808
Lucas Thread:
http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=232809
Too lazy to do summaries.