For two years now, I have been producing weekly issues of the Icebox. I have been playing Smash for far longer, however.
The game has been a core part of my life ever since I was five years old. Now, I have the wonderful opportunity to compete and lead a team into battle as part of the Esports program. The one question that always comes up in conversations with other people is “How are you so good at this?”
To answer this question, it would make sense to explain all of the mechanics. Yes, I will finally reveal to you what the secret to success is in this game. Note that previous Smash games have some differences in their mechanics, so I will refer only to Ultimate since it is the most popular of the franchise and the most recent.
All characters in the game can walk, dash, crawl, jump, run, fastfall, shield, dodge, grab, throw, win and lose. Some characters are faster than others. Some can jump higher than others. Some have very long-range grabs and others win more often. Every fighter on the roster can, of course, attack. Attacks can happen in the form of specials, aerials, throws, counters, smash attacks and even some taunts.
Aerial attacks come in five forms: forward, backward, up, down and neutral. Typically, forward airs have great knockback or spike the opponent downward. Backward aerial attacks usually are very strong and are used to send opponents flying into the blast zone. Up airs usually have either one really strong hit or a series of multiple hits with good knockback. Down airs are usually spike hits but can also be traversal, meaning the character will dive downward. All of these attacks are essential in setting up combos and finishing stocks. They enable characters to do more damage when off the stage and to throw out attacks which are much safer with less lag. Picture the potential that comes with using aerials in combination with attacks and approaches.
Smash attacks come in three forms: forward, down and up. These attacks can have a variety of speeds, damage and directional launches. Smash attacks are used for finishing a stock at high damage or building up a greater percentage on your opponent. A lot of heavy characters have armor on their smash attacks, making them good tools for playing against the opponent’s tech.
Specials come in all shapes and sizes, so it’s only helpful to learn about them for your specific character and their matchups. The common themes are based on the type of special. Neutrals are usually projectiles or charged hits. Side specials can also be projectiles but also have traversal mechanics, command grabs and slashes. Up specials are always the primary recovery move for getting back onto the stage or gaining height. They normally put a character in lag so they can’t attack after using it. Down specials include reflectors, counters, planting moves and a variety of powerful hits.
Alright, so that’s the basics of attacks and their common uses. What about movement techniques? They are indeed important. Shielding is great, but dodging is even better as it pulls you out of a tight position and gives you an opportunity to counterattack. Many players abuse the dodging mechanic and it becomes the reason they lose. Characters can roll side to side or do a spot dodge, which enables them to avoid a hitbox for a brief second and stay in the same position. From there, a player might want to grab or throw out one of their “out of shield” options.
“Out of shield” is a move that is done either directly after dropping a shield or performing a spot dodge. Every character has a different move that is best for this scenario that is entirely dependent on frame data. For example, Mr. Game & Watch has the best out of shield options with either his up-smash or up-b moves. Frame data is a big deal in this game and can make or break a character.
When you are launched with great speed, do not panic. There is a mechanic called “directional input” or “DI” where you can “steer” your character in the air while they are being launched. The idea is to break their speed with the joystick so that your character doesn’t make contact with the blast zone. The direction to survive depends on where you launch. It might be directly the opposite way of movement or it might be towards the hypotenuse of the blast zone where you increase chances of survival. This is how pro players survive for so long and have potential for big comebacks.
“Teching” is the act of pressing the shield button when making contact with the stage out of an attack. This enables a player to flawlessly skip over the massive end-lag caused by eating a big attack. From a tech, a player can even roll out of the way. For example, Ganondorf’s side-special is a command grab that puts the opponent on the ground. If you roll out of the way, you can confuse the Ganondorf player and punish them, saving your own skin in the process. If Donkey Kong tries to carry you and throw you into the side of the stage, you can tech your way out of it and counter-spike Donkey Kong into the abyss like a champ.
“Low profiling” is when a character can easily avoid an attack by either doing nothing or crouching. Kirby is notorious for being able to sit under a lot of projectiles just by standing there, though he can also eat them or duck underneath them.
Finally, the last main mechanic that I can remember at the top of my head is clashing. Some attacks clash with others, meaning that both hitboxes cancel each other out. This can be useful if you want to avoid certain attacks that have advantage on you. For example, most sword fighters can use an up-air that clashes with Pikachu’s neutral special, protecting them from taking electric damage as they try to recover to the stage. Some attacks can go through the incoming attack entirely.
There are some other mechanics that are applicable to more specific scenarios in the game, but that’s still dependent on your proficiency with the techniques mentioned in this article. As a Snake player, I have to engage in a lot of wavebouncing, b-reverses, infinite recovery tech, dropdown aerials with landing hitboxes and a bunch of other cool Smash science.
Now to answer your question: “How are you so good at this?”
Well, it’s because I know all of these hidden techniques and more. I have studied hundreds of matchup scenarios, memorized numerous character-specific interactions and watched plenty of professional footage to become as good as I am. It sounds like a lot of work, but nowadays it feels like second nature. It feels similar to driving. At first, it is overwhelming but with time it can be done in a daze. Though, I do not recommend driving or playing Smash if you are prone to hypnosis.