Super Smash Bros Wii U & 3DS Thread 4: New Year, Old Arguments

The "big" problem with Ridley is in my opinion not his size, but much more the problem to do his presentation inside the Metroid Franchise (after the NES-Version) justice. He is known as an flying dragon-like monster. If Sakruai want to put him inside the SSB, he would need to take away or at least turn down his main known ability flying.

Also he has no comedic potential. The most evil and serious you can get with the SSB rooster is Ganondorf, but at least he is human looking, has the 'straight man' persona of all characters, can make faces and is given humanity in Wind Waker. Ridley is complete evil in his look and his back story. He killed Samus family and never is shown to have any moral code. He was never portrayed as anything else then a complete monster. Its even questioning, if he has a consciousness, since the Space Pirates have an collective intelligence. He is the most true evil being in all of Nintendo-Franchises .. i can't see him make faces, slip on a banana and wear a bunny hood. It's properly easier to put Hitler into SSB. (which funny enough would be possible, since there was a Nintendo game were he was present).

That's all well and good, but the thing is Sakurai did say the problem was his size scale-compared-to-samus and never mentioned any of those things.
 
What? That the Soul Calibur games defines their combos incorrectly?

Here let me spell it out for you in a manner you can understand.

Hit Stun = You can't do anything except for DI

Combo = chaining attacks together while an opponent is in hit stun

So a combo in Smash Bros is reading how an opponent will DI and keeping him in the combo.

It's still a combo, they can't do anything but control the direction their character is being flung around a bit. It's still a combo by standard fighting game logic. That's like saying Killer Instinct doesn't have combos because they can combo breaker. Expand your knowledge of things before going on rants and acting like a know it all.
 
Perfect, good to go. Just toss a princess dress on him and all his detractors here will change their tune.

If Ridley was confirmed to be female like the way some Prime developers described it I bet that would actually change the tune of certain people.

Looking through some of the last pages, seeing people expect or want Ridley to be a boss again, that's all fine if you want it, I just don't see Sakurai reusing the same ideas.

When I think back to the mini boss that was the Metal Mario Bros in Smash 64, I remember how they were expanded upon in Melee's classic mode with every character and actually playable in VS matches.

Giga Bowser didn't just return as special boss but actually became playable with the Smash Ball.

Not that these examples are some sort of pattern to what to expect, it's just it's easy to see how Sakurai expands upon ideas rather than just reuses them. Ridley has been unplayable in each game but with each new title his presence in the game get's bigger and bigger. Being merely a boss again with a new look, animations, etc I think is less likely than him being a stage hazard.

Now just because he can fly (Metaknight, Charizard, Kirby, Mewtwo, Jigglypuff) doesn't mean he has to 24/7. I mean really?! Except for the 2D Metroids, Ridley has been seen standing and running in every match he had against Samus.

As for being too vicious and not comedic enough, ugh… When things like that are said it's as if Ridley has never appeared in a Smash title at all. He fit in with the cast extremely well during his boss fights and he's far less realistic than Snake. Same goes for being a wild beast with no mind of his own. Others have already pointed out the lore from the comics and Metroid Prime, so when people throw their 2 cents about Ridley's personality I don't understand why they choose to ignore this.

That's all well and good, but the thing is Sakurai did say the problem was his size scale-compared-to-samus and never mentioned any of those things.

This is absolutely 100% false. Sakurai only ever mentioned it being impossible to include him playable and then in the same breath said if the team worked hard they could do it but he might be slow, would that be ok? Paraphrasing.
 
Fighting game combos are a series of moves that are virtually impossible to escape from once you get trapped into one unless the comboer makes a mistake.

If these Smash combos shown in the last couple of pages can be escaped mid-combo then why label them as being combos that if they don't fit the definition?

There are games that allow people to break combos and at the same time it's still considered a combo. Soul Calibur, KI, and to a lesser extent KOF has this
 
Fighting game combos are a series of moves that are virtually impossible to escape from once you get trapped into one unless the comboer makes a mistake.

If these Smash combos shown in the last couple of pages can be escaped mid-combo then why label them as being combos that if they don't fit the definition?
What would you want to call them then? Strings, series, consecutive hits?

Smash combos don't really fit perfectly with the term 'combo' from other fighting games. You're dealing with different games and different communities, and that's just how the language has shaken out. Smash players tend to refer to combos where the opponent is locked into hitstun as 'true combos'. In Melee there are usually a few of those that make up the whole combo, along with reacting to DI, baiting out responses, and tech chases.

It isn't like the other character can just press a to escape combo though. In most situations it's more along the lines of pushing certain directions, and seeing if the attacker can respond correctly, or if they just have to wait it out and try to get you in a bad position. It differs for every move/percent/character, and sometimes stage. It's pretty dynamic overall.
 
That gif was from a TAS video (perfect movement), but every other gif I've posted is from real gameplay. In other words, players are approaching TAS levels of perfection with their movement. I have gifs of Falcon combos that come pretty close to that (besides the ridiculous moonwalk -> grab shit at the beginning lol)

I don't like it. What's the beef?
 
I don't like it. What's the beef?
You don't have to like it, you can play with your bros as casual as you like and have fun with the game in the way you guys enjoy it. But it's silly to see people complain about other people who want to get more out of the game. You don't have to play the game that way, you are not going to be playing the people that play that way either you are most likely going to be playing with people with your same mindset. So anyone that hopes for either side of the coin to be erased is simply ignorant.
 
Fighting game combos are a series of moves that are virtually impossible to escape from once you get trapped into one unless the comboer makes a mistake.

If these Smash combos shown in the last couple of pages can be escaped mid-combo then why label them as being combos that if they don't fit the definition?
Hitting an opponent with a series of moves while they're still in hitstun is a combo.
This applies to Smash as well. However, in Smash, you can manipulate your trajectory while still being in hitstun, making it harder for your opponent to hit you again. Then the whole mindgame/reading part comes into play.
 
You don't have to like it, you can play with your bros as casual as you like and have fun with the game in the way you guys enjoy it. But it's silly to see people complain about other people who want to get more out of the game. You don't have to play the game that way, you are not going to be playing the people that play that way either you are most likely going to be playing with people with your same mindset. So anyone that hopes for either side of the coin to be erased is simply ignorant.

Sure. All I said was it didn't appeal to me, never said anyone had to shut down the competitive smash circuits.
 
He wouldn't slave away over frame data for the characters if he wasn't trying to make a game people could at least play against each other seriously with. It's called having a game people can enjoy casually for shits and giggles and at the same time having enough meat on it's bones for people that really want to get into it to sink their teeth into. It's possible to do both at the same time.

I agree - and I can detect that Brawl is definitely a lot weaker in that category, while Melee struck a better balance in between. But when I see people complaining about, say, Lucario's Aura mechanic, or Pokemon Trainer's switching, and how that gimps them here and gives them a disadvantage there, and how it should be like this because that would be better balanced, I feel like the point of these characters and mechanics is being missed completely.

Sakurai is a top-tier designer and he knows what he's doing - just because the design decisions he makes don't align with the vision of the game as a perfectly-balanced competitive fighter doesn't mean they're not without merit.
 
I agree - and I can detect that Brawl is definitely a lot weaker in that category, while Melee struck a better balance in between. But when I see people complaining about, say, Lucario's Aura mechanic, or Pokemon Trainer's switching, and how that gimps them here and gives them a disadvantage there, and how it should be like this because that would be better balanced, I feel like the point of these characters and mechanics is being missed completely.

Sakurai is a top-tier designer and he knows what he's doing - just because the design decisions he makes don't align with the vision of the game as a perfectly-balanced competitive fighter doesn't mean they're not without merit.

switching in general was borked in Brawl for some reason, it's not just PT but also Zelda/Sheik
if switches were at Melee speed, it'd probably work

Lucario's aura mechanic is just bad though
 
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I would just like to say that, judging from this gif, I do not like items in smash. Two capsules are about the most I can stomach. When it becomes a game about random shit exploding in your face, it loses virtually everything I love about the game.

For me it's all about maneuvering in 3D space around another guy, and landing that big hit that can lead into an awesome, spectacular combo. It's what separates it from normal fighting games. Get this final smash bob omb Pokeball maxim tomato bullshit outta here.
 
IVgBnrr.gif


I would just like to say that, judging from this gif, I do not like items in smash. Two capsules are about the most I can stomach. When it becomes a game about random shit exploding in your face, it loses virtually everything I love about the game.

For me it's all about maneuvering in 3D space around another guy, and landing that big hit that can lead into an awesome, spectacular combo. It's what separates it from normal fighting games. Get this final smash bob omb Pokeball maxim tomato bullshit outta here.

Why you gotta be a dick about it?
 
IVgBnrr.gif


I would just like to say that, judging from this gif, I do not like items in smash. Two capsules are about the most I can stomach. When it becomes a game about random shit exploding in your face, it loses virtually everything I love about the game.

For me it's all about maneuvering in 3D space around another guy, and landing that big hit that can lead into an awesome, spectacular combo. It's what separates it from normal fighting games. Get this final smash bob omb Pokeball maxim tomato bullshit outta here.

Item play is fun with friends. That's about it for me. Otherwise? No items.
 
I dunno, it's my post getting parodied there.

That items gif looks amazing btw.

Oh yeah that too.

I think both arguments are just silly, is not like you would see something like that happen often. And the few times I've seen this in competitive game its because someone decided to roll into the knee again

Also I wanted to quote you pointing out tha the " A hit here, a hit there." sounds just boring. Like, have you never ever had a game with items on that also had combos in?
BTW that gif is a TAS too.
 
IVgBnrr.gif


I would just like to say that, judging from this gif, I do not like items in smash. Two capsules are about the most I can stomach. When it becomes a game about random shit exploding in your face, it loses virtually everything I love about the game.

For me it's all about maneuvering in 3D space around another guy, and landing that big hit that can lead into an awesome, spectacular combo. It's what separates it from normal fighting games. Get this final smash bob omb Pokeball maxim tomato bullshit outta here.

Isn't that a mod?
 
Nobody’s going to agree with this, but I want to get it off my chest anyway.

He used to be among my most wanted newcomers, but I become less interested in a playable Ridley as the days go by. I just don’t see it happening. I’m sure Charizard sufficiently scratches Sakurai’s fire-breathing flying dragon itch.

For a really long time I let the online Smash Bros. community’s “vocal minority” sentiment shape the way I view Nintendo. Most of us probably have it drilled into our heads that Ridley is the “last Nintendo all-star,” and that he’s some wildly iconic video game legend who absolutely demands Sakurai’s attention — to the point that extra effort should be made into working him into Smash Bros., size be damned.

Here’s the problem: Ridley isn’t a high priority character. And despite what the Internet wants you to believe, he isn’t beloved by a large audience. He’s the number two or three character from a series that doesn’t even crack Nintendo’s top ten in sales. Beyond that, in Japan — the country whose influence most affects Smash Bros. (for a variety of reasons) — Ridley just doesn’t register, at all.

Metroid already has two characters in Smash Bros. (yes, Zero Suit Samus is considered a separate character), which is more representation than dozens of other Nintendo properties have. There are also much more popular series like Brain Age, Animal Crossing, and Nintendogs which have one or no playable character, but people are absolutely fine with that. The accepted line is, “they don’t really have any characters that lend themselves to fighting or are important enough for Smash Bros.” I agree with that. But here’s the kicker: like it or not, that line also applies to Metroid. I’ve played nearly every game in the series over the last year in preparation for Smash Bros., and Metroid is unequivocally “The Samus Show.” The games seem intentionally designed so that Samus is the only character players grow attached to. She’s the lone spirit in a cold, isolated world. Everyone/everything else is peripheral, including the giant alien bosses.

—

If you don’t feel like reading that, here’s the takeaway: Ridley’s going to be a stage hazard, and you’re going to have to accept it.
 
Nobody’s going to agree with this, but I want to get it off my chest anyway.

He used to be among my most wanted newcomers, but I become less interested in a playable Ridley as the days go by. I just don’t see it happening. I’m sure Charizard sufficiently scratches Sakurai’s fire-breathing flying dragon itch.

For a really long time I let the online Smash Bros. community’s “vocal minority” sentiment shape the way I view Nintendo. Most of us probably have it drilled into our heads that Ridley is the “last Nintendo all-star,” and that he’s some wildly iconic video game legend who absolutely demands Sakurai’s attention — to the point that extra effort should be made into working him into Smash Bros., size be damned.

Here’s the problem: Ridley isn’t a high priority character. And despite what the Internet wants you to believe, he isn’t beloved by a large audience. He’s the number two or three character from a series that doesn’t even crack Nintendo’s top ten in sales. Beyond that, in Japan — the country whose influence most affects Smash Bros. (for a variety of reasons) — Ridley just doesn’t register, at all.

Metroid already has two characters in Smash Bros. (yes, Zero Suit Samus is considered a separate character), which is more representation than dozens of other Nintendo properties have. There are also much more popular series like Brain Age, Animal Crossing, and Nintendogs which have one or no playable character, but people are absolutely fine with that. The accepted line is, “they don’t really have any characters that lend themselves to fighting or are important enough for Smash Bros.” I agree with that. But here’s the kicker: like it or not, that line also applies to Metroid. I’ve played nearly every game in the series over the last year in preparation for Smash Bros., and Metroid is unequivocally “The Samus Show.” The games seem intentionally designed so that Samus is the only character players grow attached to. She’s the lone spirit in a cold, isolated world. Everyone/everything else is peripheral, including the giant alien bosses.

—

If you don’t feel like reading that, here’s the takeaway: Ridley’s going to be a stage hazard, and you’re going to have to accept it.

This right here is exactly why I've began to doubt Ridley's "shoe-in" status. I've also followed the crowd that labels Ridley as one of the characters that absolutely needs to be included, despite not giving any shits about him. Nowadays, I honestly don't really care whether he's included or not. And I won't be all that surprised if he is a stage hazard.
Don't care to eat crow, either. :P

But yes, I agree with this statement 100%.
 
I think all of that is fairly obvious to people, but despite all of that it won't change people wanting Ridley. Why should it change people wanting him?

This practically goes for any character. All of that shouldn't change what you want, but it can change your expectations.
 
I don't like it. What's the beef?
In general, I think the beef was just people explaining why they didn't agree with the reasons you dislike it. For that particular comment, I think the point is just that combos don't normally go on that long for most average players, and that the particular example isn't even human.

Like someone else said though, I respectfully disagree with your opinion. The payoff of getting to try for a combo is what makes the neutral game back-and-forth so worth it and enjoyable. Movement in Melee is amazingly fun and fluid though, so navigating is part of the fun, I'd agree there.

I would just like to say that, judging from this gif, I do not like items in smash. Two capsules are about the most I can stomach. When it becomes a game about random shit exploding in your face, it loses virtually everything I love about the game.
I know you're being facetious, but if items always ended up like that, I think I would enjoy them more. The fact that they're sometimes almost sorta like that is what me makes me occasionally turn them on at all.

I think all of that is fairly obvious to people, but despite all of that it won't change people wanting Ridley. Why should it change people wanting him?

This practically goes for any character. All of that shouldn't change what you want, but it can change your expectations.
I'd like to echo those sentiments. Pretty much the gist of the response to that post that I thought about typing out.
 
Nobody’s going to agree with this, but I want to get it off my chest anyway.

He used to be among my most wanted newcomers, but I become less interested in a playable Ridley as the days go by. I just don’t see it happening. I’m sure Charizard sufficiently scratches Sakurai’s fire-breathing flying dragon itch.

For a really long time I let the online Smash Bros. community’s “vocal minority” sentiment shape the way I view Nintendo. Most of us probably have it drilled into our heads that Ridley is the “last Nintendo all-star,” and that he’s some wildly iconic video game legend who absolutely demands Sakurai’s attention — to the point that extra effort should be made into working him into Smash Bros., size be damned.

Here’s the problem: Ridley isn’t a high priority character. And despite what the Internet wants you to believe, he isn’t beloved by a large audience. He’s the number two or three character from a series that doesn’t even crack Nintendo’s top ten in sales. Beyond that, in Japan — the country whose influence most affects Smash Bros. (for a variety of reasons) — Ridley just doesn’t register, at all.

Metroid already has two characters in Smash Bros. (yes, Zero Suit Samus is considered a separate character), which is more representation than dozens of other Nintendo properties have. There are also much more popular series like Brain Age, Animal Crossing, and Nintendogs which have one or no playable character, but people are absolutely fine with that. The accepted line is, “they don’t really have any characters that lend themselves to fighting or are important enough for Smash Bros.” I agree with that. But here’s the kicker: like it or not, that line also applies to Metroid. I’ve played nearly every game in the series over the last year in preparation for Smash Bros., and Metroid is unequivocally “The Samus Show.” The games seem intentionally designed so that Samus is the only character players grow attached to. She’s the lone spirit in a cold, isolated world. Everyone/everything else is peripheral, including the giant alien bosses.

—

If you don’t feel like reading that, here’s the takeaway: Ridley’s going to be a stage hazard, and you’re going to have to accept it.

Anything's possible, but I generally agree. The boss fights Ridley provided were fun, but I never cared for him as a character.
 
Oh yeah that too.

I think both arguments are just silly, is not like you would see something like that happen often. And the few times I've seen this in competitive game its because someone decided to roll into the knee again

Also I wanted to quote you pointing out tha the " A hit here, a hit there." sounds just boring. Like, have you never ever had a game with items on that also had combos in?
BTW that gif is a TAS too.

I just think it's frustrating to get in a combo and not be able to do anything about it. I mean champion DI all you want, it doesn't look like it would've done much of anything in that Captain Falcon vs Dr Mario gif. The hits were too rapid, and even if there was some influence there, it wouldn't have stopped Falcon from being able to do any of that. I know it's TAS but as noted, those other GIFs are quite similar.

"A hit here, a hit there" is probably a bit of an exaggeration on my part. Obviously most of my fights involve a rapid offense with a lot of hitting. It's rare, though, that someone will find themselves trapped in a series of hits. And as people have been talking about, when I say combo, that's what I mean. Trapped in hitstun. All the DI in the world isn't gonna get you out of some of these things, it just doesn't affect your movement enough, especially at low percentages, where the majority of these things seem to happen. It's just not fun to me, that kind of thing, and I don't like it. Sorry if that offends some sensibilities.

Back when I played melee religiously in college, it was almost always with items off. Lotta 1vs1 with my roommate, we were basically the two best guys in the school. We went to a Vgames tournament and got to the end, but lost to a smashboards guy who played more like these gifs. Took him out on Onett with Shiek vs his Falcon, which pissed him off cause I chose a stage that didn't mesh with his "only final destination" playstyle, but got pretty well bodied in the other two rounds. It's just a playstyle we in our group never really got into, and one I never really wanted to get into. Our fights were always tense and high-skill I felt, but honestly it just felt like two competing martial arts disciplines. I think it really showed the differences how I was able to beat him on Onett, but not Final Destination. Our abilities were really tailored to two different ways of playing the game.

The point is, I'm not against "high level" play, I'm honestly not against item-based play whatsoever in non-competitive scenarios, but I have a preference against playstyles that emphasize combos. REAL combos. Just aint my bag, that's all.
 
Right now I'm looking forward to the internet hissy fit when Ridley is a hazard. If Lucario, a pretty obvious returner, could inspire so much rage, I want to see the Ridley meltdown.

I'd also love if he was playable but I'm not counting on it.
 

Ridley's definitely going to be a playable character this time, as shown by Sakurai's trolling mastery; if he was a stage hazard he would've shown him ages ago, he would never joke with people's hopes: he knows lots of fans want him, why would he suggest something vague and then reaveal him as a stage hazard?

Look what he did with assists: straightforward reveals, no hints or trolls, just an image making it clear they were assists.
 
I think Ridley has some hope, but he's definitely not a first priority.

I think Metroid is due for a second character, but if there's a new one it will probably be something more down-to-earth like Anthony. I hope I am proven wrong in that respect. I think Ridley would stand out the most among the other Metroid characters.
 
Does anyone feel Bowser was a last minute addition to the initial reveal trailer? I'll explain why I think that later.

It isn't significant, but I just randomly thought about it.
 
You answered yourself!

Sakurai's not evil. He wouldn't joke with fans' hopes like that and then make him a hazard: the result would be heavy backlash. The troll is making us believe it's a stage hazard, so that he can then show him and say "ta-dan Ridley's playable".
 
switching in general was borked in Brawl for some reason, it's not just PT but also Zelda/Sheik
if switches were at Melee speed, it'd probably work

Lucario's aura mechanic is just bad though
The Wii's disk drive is too slow. It's a hardware issue, not a matter of game design. Put the game on an USB drive and play it via USB loader. Voila, back to Melee speed
 
Does anyone feel Bowser was a last minute addition to the initial reveal trailer? I'll explain why I think that later.

It isn't significant, but I just randomly thought about it.

I doubt it. He was in Ryuji Higurashi's promotional poster for Mega Man, so I imagine he received a list of characters that would be initially shown.

Edit: Beaten.

illust.jpg
 
Back when I played melee religiously in college, it was almost always with items off. Lotta 1vs1 with my roommate, we were basically the two best guys in the school. We went to a Vgames tournament and got to the end, but lost to a smashboards guy who played more like these gifs. Took him out on Onett with Shiek vs his Falcon, which pissed him off cause I chose a stage that didn't mesh with his "only final destination" playstyle, but got pretty well bodied in the other two rounds. It's just a playstyle we in our group never really got into, and one I never really wanted to get into. Our fights were always tense and high-skill I felt, but honestly it just felt like two competing martial arts disciplines. I think it really showed the differences how I was able to beat him on Onett, but not Final Destination. Our abilities were really tailored to two different ways of playing the game.

congrats, you couldn't even beat a mediocre Falcon player using one of his worst matchups, AND on a stage that's bad for Falcon for the MU (Final Destination)
.......good job?
 
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