. ___ ___ _____ ______ ______ . / \ / /\ / ___/:\ / ____/:\ / ____/:\ . / \/ /:::/ / /:::::::\::/ / /:::::::::::\:/ / /:::::::::::\:/ . / /\ /:::/ / ___/:\ /___ /:\ /___ /\ . / /:::/ \ /::/ / /::::::::\:/ ____/ /::/ _____/ /:/ ./___/:::/ \_./::/ /_____/:\ /____._/::/ /____. __/::/ . \:::::::\/ \:::\/ \:::::::::::::\:/ \:::::::::::\/ \:::::::::::::::\/ The Strategy Guide. [Optimized For Times New Roman Font Size 10 Otherwise Macro Will Not Appear Correctly] Date Created: 8/15/99 Last Updated: 8/18/99 Version: 1.5 Author: Thomas Meli (drkbynight@aol.com) Gaming Level: Intermediate - Advanced ************** Table Of Contents ************** I. Legal Stuff II. Credits III. Version History VI. Technical Jargon V. Opinions 1. Introduction A. Why I Wrote This Guide B. What Will Be In The Guide C. What Will Not Be In The Guide 2. Strengths and Weaknesses A. Strengths B. Weaknesses 3. General Strategies / Playing Tips A. Very General B. Only Pertain To Ness. 4. Fighting with Ness A. Aggressive -The Instant Kill B. Defensive 5. Juggling 6. Combo's 7. What Ness Likes And Doesn't Like A. Opponents B. Stages. 8. Methods Of Practice -Becoming The Virtuoso 9. Last Words. I. Legal Stuff Copyright 1999 Paradox Inc. ( not a real company LOL ) All Rights Reserved Use of this guide on any site needs the consent of the author. I will be glad let you use it on your site, just let me know where it is =). II. Credits I'd like to give thanks to one of my best friends George (kainn5246@aol.com), who played me constantly and didn't mind losing HAHAHA!!! Just kidding. A worthy opponent and who shared his strategies with me, as well as i do him. The man who taught me the ropes of any game i played. I'd also like to give thanks to my little bro, who for a 9 year old, kicks some serious rear at This game, and who had me laughing so hard i would tear. III. Version History 1.0 : First Version. I hope you liked it. 1.1: ASCII Art Added, Decorated a little more, Added 1 more tip. Fixed George's Screen Name Some Format Changed As Well. 1.2 Two more tips added. 1.5 Samus's Gender Fixed, 2 more tips (By Pikachu20x@aol.com), Opinions Section Added. (IV) VI. Technical Jargon. I don't know if i use any words that don't make sense, One of them I've never heard anyone use is "dash" dashing - when a player is in the air and presses down and speeds up. V. Opinions 1. (gamemaster96@hotmail.com )"Captian Falcon Beats Ness very easily. Like you do Ness does PK thunder and Captian Falcon runs up and air grabs him so maybe the Captian is the best player and he can eaisly block his foot stomp with his shoulder lift tap up A yep blocks it every time" Answer: I've Never really encountered any problems beating falcon, maybe out styles differ. Falcon is a very quick character, and you have to beware his moves because they are powerful as well as quick. I Personally don't think that falcon is that great a character, i've used him quite frequently and he just doesn't do it for me, i'd prefer Ness. Thats just the way i play. Ness is the type of character i was looking for, if you were looking for a character like falcon and think he is better, then good, use him. Play with who your comfortable with. ************ 1. Introduction ************ °°° Why I Wrote This Guide °°° I wrote this guide because in my opinion, strategy and game play is more important then anything else, and i thought the other strategy guides were lacking enough strategy and focusing on only the how-to's of things, such as a walk through of how to beat the game, or finish the bonus boards. Now don't get me wrong at all, I give them props for the great jobs they did writing it, but i wanted to write something solely on the strategy, and the mastering of a character, instead of technicalities of the character. So I hope all you gamers out there who crave what i crave, enjoy the information in this guide. °°° What will be in this guide °°° Everything you see in the table of contents basically. The strategy Of Ness. What he is good for, and what he isn't good for. General strategies that players of any character can use. Flawless Strategy on Winning or staying in the game. Group playing and 1v1 Strategies. Basically Anything pertaining to strategy you can think of (and if its not in here, e-mail to me a suggestion =)!!!! ). °°° What will Not Be in this guide °°° Many things... Every single move, its name, and how much damage it does, will not be in this guide. If you don't know what the names of moves are, it won't matter because next to them i have the directional, and the button to press. There is no legend, It should be self explanatory, A=A. Right? So why need a legend. How to beat the game will not be in this guide. A background of Ness's Family, Personal Life, Sexual Preference, And Number Of Girlfriends, will not be in this guide. Not every stage, and not every opponent will be examined, only those who i feel stand out in oppositional difficulty. I put leave these things out not because i am lazy (well i am, but that's not the reason) only because i feel they are not necessary in a strategy guide. ************************ 2. Strengths And Weaknesses ************************ °°° Strengths °°° ¥ In my opinion Ness has the best "A" Moves, and some of the quickest. ¥ He has a very good throw. Looks cool as well =). its quick unlike Yoshi's/Link's/Samus etc. ¥ He has a unbeatable juggle (see the juggle section for more info). If it is executed correctly it can bring an opponent to a very hasty death. ¥ His jumping down + A Attack can knock your opponents down and set them up for combos (see combo & Best Strategy) ¥ His Yo-yo Attack (down+A) can hit opponents in front of him, and behind him (good for group games) ¥ He has the best recovery move in the game. PK Thunder (up + b). When you get used to using it, not only can you save yourself from the depths of the unknown, but you can knock your opponent out dealing him a good 30%!!!! °°° Weaknesses (not many) °°° ¥ PK Thunder (up+b) can leave you terribly open for attack if you miss or hit an obstacle in the way. ¥ When you are Ness, it is crucial that you know how the opponent works. If the opponent is very creative, and surprises you a lot, then beware. Ness is the type of character that reacts to things, not acts. Even his offensive side consists of knowing what your opponent is going to do. Characters who can sway or change direction quickly are often harder to beat then Characters who are stagnant and don't do something. ¥ÊNess is one of the slowest characters in the game, while his throw is quick, he himself is not a fast character ¥ His recovery time is very slow. It takes him much longer to regain conciousness then most other characters ************************** General Strategies / Playing Tips ************************** °°° Very General °°° ¥ Don't let your opponent exceed very high percentages. If your opponent is still alive and he is at 200% there's a problem. People who worry about doing damage instead of winning usually lose. Trying to beat the opponent is what you must focus on. If you can kill your opponent on 33%, that's pretty damn good. Don't get me wrong, damaging someone isn't a bad thing, but when it gets out of hand, is when you will lose the game. ¥ Put Proximity Mines (for lack of a better term) in places where you know the opponent will be. Put it on a ledge and then throw your opponent of it so he is forced to hit it. Also put it by a weapon that the opponent is going to pick up. ¥ Know what your opponent is going to do! Like i said in his weaknesses, If you don't know what the opponent is going to do, then you will lose, no question, you can't improvise a fight and win against a good opponent. Know his weaknesses and exploit them. Know combo's the other person has, know ways he can execute things and where he can execute them. For example Link's infinite combo... STAY OUT OF A CORNER! You also should know that link has a slow throw, which means, set yourself up for a throw and then get the hell out of the way and attack him.. Know what your opponent is strong in, and don't let him do them. ¥ This also has to do with knowing your opponent, stay away from jugglers. If your opponent knows how to juggle, don't jump as much, run around and throw a lot. Being a juggler consists of knowing when to attack, so if your opponent can juggle, that also means that he can attack you if you are in the air with a great possibility of success. ¥ Enclosed Areas can be your friends and your enemies. In an enclosed area i once smash attacked about 10 times and then threw him for a kill. Its all about utilizing what you can do. ¥ Know when your opponent gets up, If he's just gotten down from an attack and he's bouncing you can still hit him, or throw him. This can be the threshold of a juggle, which can mean lots of damage! ¥ Look for combos! Combos are the greatest way to rack up the percentages and to ensure that you won't be attacked. If a combo is executed correctly it ensures your safety because they cannot hit you because they are unconscious. If you do it wrong however they can have a slight second to hit you, and set you up for a combo. ¥ Roll! Rolling is on of the best forms of evasion in the game. It is also the quickest way to get in an opportune position to throw someone For Example: If an opponent jumps and is dashing down for an attack and roll behind him and throw him or execute a combo. ¥ Block. So many times people lose because they do not properly block an opponents attacks or evade a hopeless situation. Some of you are saying right now, "how can you not block properly" Well what i mean by this is, people who block with an opponent out of attacking distance leave them open for a throw. ¥ Throw. This is the quickest way to nail off a good 16% And powerful enough to KO. ¥ Recover from falls! Pressing the "Z" Button as you fall quickly revives your physical inability to return to your senses. Using this when you have low percentages and quick falls where your opponent expects you to stay down, could surprise the hell out of him and make for a preemptive attack. ¥ Don't get to cocky. Underestimating your opponent will ensure your defeat ( unless he really sucks ). Never think you have the upper hand, because a good opponent is always likely to comeback. Also psychologically, when your opponent loses and loses and loses, he will lose the will to fight and feel its not worth it, so never stop trying! ¥ Start off on the right foot. diminishing your opponents stock quickly will annoy him greatly. The faster you beat him the less percentage your likely to have. Don't throw you body into everything, but make sure you don't waste time, and utilize every opportunity you get. The more percentage your opponent has, the easier it is to kill him. ¥ Know where proximity mines are. As I'm playing right now to do my research for this guide, i just stepped on my own ¥ Don't lose your concentration! Sometimes when i play, i zone out and watch my opponent beat the hell out of me. Its pretty funny actually, but my point is, don't lose your train of thought. °°° Only Pertain To Ness °°° ¥ Exploit his PK Magnet!!! Esp. On Fox's Board! know what you can / cannot absorb, and know when your opponent is most likely to do it. In fox's board, the plane can clear off 100%! Absorb the shots, and know where the plane will be next! ¥ Kill the man with the hammer. This may sound like suicide but read before you judge. Jump of a ledge where your opponent will be undoubtable standing awaiting your return, but do a PK thunder and launch yourself into him. Not only will it make the hammer ready for the taking, but it also launches him and shows him not to mess with Ness! ¥ Ledge Guard (not only Ness). One of the most rudimentary things, many players forget to do this, and waste opportunities to defeat your opponent. Its very simple, Knock your opponent off a cliff, and if you have not mastered the art of the instant kill (see instant kill duh!) this is the next best thing. Stand by a ledge and when he comes fourth, nail him with your bat (tap forward + a) Or yo-yo attack (down + a). They both will annoy him greatly. If he is above you, get ready for a juggle. proximity mine and died. So the lesson is, don't forget where you put your mines. ¥ Pokemon are your friends! Some Pokemon have attacks that you can absorb. Utilize it! ¥ Ness can reflect some projectiles with his smash attack. It is not advised that you do this too often because the smash attack takes too long to do, and the projectile will probably hit you before you have time to do the move. ¥ Let other people get weapons you can absorb like the flower. Just make sure you don't try to absorb a throw, because umm you can't and you will get hurt, and will have to run home and get your pikachu band-aid for hasty healing. =). ¥ Reflect Projectiles (By Pikachu20x): Ness' Shield is the smallest in the game. So, it'll be easier to bounce things that enemies throw at you. Take a Bomb-Om for example. Explosive. Deadly. If your enemy has one, you think "Oh no, I'm too slow to dodge that! I'm Dead!" Well, just angle your shield with the control stick to your lower left/right (Pick one direction that moves your shield to your back) and wait for him to throw, and if you're lucky, the Bomb-om will not explode. It will go right UP AND TOWARDS YOUR OPPONENT. Unfortunately, it will go too high for you to see, so it's more of luck then skill. Cancel PK Thunder (enemy Ness) (By Pikachu20x): If you edge guard, and knock enemy Ness off the stage, wait for him to use his PK Thunder. Then, you can jump out into the PK Thunder so he can't use it again, throw an enemy onto in, or use an item/PK Thunder to cancel it (NOTE: This method is untested). **************** Fighting With Ness **************** °°° Aggressive Ness °°° ¥ If your opponent likes to stay on ground, Jump and execute the down + A Attack followed by a combo, or throw. ¥ If your opponent likes jumping keep him in the air. Ness has plenty of air counter moves. (see Defensive) Note: If you are mostly aggressive you should be jumping and attacking and be on the ground doing combos & throws. ¥ An annoying thing to do is what i call, Off-Ryhtm Attacking. It consists of running and rolling. Run towards the opponent and right when he is about to counter-attack you, Roll behind him And execute a combo, or throw. ¥ In Group Games Try to use the Yo-yo attack (down + A) b/c it hits opponents behind you as well as in front of you. ¥ Throw often! Like i said earlier, throwing is a very sneaky way to get a good 16% on your opponent. Roll and then throw. If you miss, roll again, then run towards him if your to far away to throw him. If you master this, you can dominate on close range combat. ¥¥¥ THE INSTANT KILL ¥¥¥ ( I CAME UP WITH THIS!!!!! ) If you have gotten good with PK Thunder (up+b), and have superb timing you can kill someone with as little as 30%!!! Ok this is how it's done. throw an opponent off a cliff, or do a move that sends him in flight, but not to high, and then jump off the cliff with him dash down and kick him (down + a), then save yourself with PK thunder before you die as well. Another strategy with this is to sacrifice yourself. If you have 150% and your opponent has 50% your going to die anyway, so if you can't make it back, do it anyway to ensure his defeat! °°° Defensive Ness °°° Note: Strictly defensive playing is not advised by me. I don't like playing defensive (at least in super smash bros.), whenever i do, i die. Ness is a well rounded character and can play defensively as well as offensively, but in my opinion, he is a much better offensive character. I like to categorize my playing as strategically offensive, or defensively offensive. Note: When i say defensive i do not mean "evade" i mean, "not aggressive" ¥ The Vertical Yo-yo Attack (up+a) can be used as a defensive way to hit your opponents away from you, be them behind you or above you. ¥ PK Thunder when used like the "kill the man with the hammer" technique can be classified as a defensive move because you are straying from your opponent to set up an attack. Basically do the same thing you do when a person has a hammer. (see kill the man with the hammer). ************************* Juggling - Ahh.. My Sanctuary ************************* °°° The Mental State Of Juggling °°° Juggling is more mental, then it is Physical. What i mean is... You must know when to juggle, and when not to juggle. Who to juggle against, and who not to. Remember knowing what you can do can't do as much for you as knowing what you can't do. Knowing your limitations is important in any game, and in life (why the hell am i talking about this). Anyway, certain characters it is advised not to juggle as much on. Characters your should watch when you juggle. 1. Samus 2. Link 3. Kirby 4. Sometimes pikachu. The reason why you should be careful is because these characters have dash down-a moves that can penetrate your juggle. Know when you should juggle. For example, if your opponent is right next to you, it would be better to send him flying with the vertical yo-yo (tap up+a) then to hope your head butt will launch him in the air (because sometimes it doesn't). Also, if you opponent is on a low percentage double jump up in the air with him and head butt him so he doesn't have a chance to retaliate. If your opponent is cocky and thinks he can penetrate your juggle, and you know (not think... know) that you can execute it perfectly, then don't double jump. Wait for him to come to you, but remember, a good opponent will probably dash down when you least expect it so do a little jump and juggle him with confidence, then when he gets the hint, double jump and do your thing. °°° The Physical Sate Of Juggling °°° Practice Practice Practice. Practice with more then one opponent, tell your friends to gang up on you. The only way to get better is to exceed you limits! Practice with people that know what your going to do. The best way to get better, is to practice against the dreaded 4 mentioned above, and to fight Ness himself. Always put your opponent on level 9!!! (see Becoming The Virtuoso) ******* Combos ******* Note: Parenthesis () indicate a single move 1. (A) + (A) + (A) Follow Ups: 1. Run up And Throw 2. Smash Attack Note: If opponent has extremely low percentage, he may be able to counter attack)e 2. (Jump Dash Down + a) Follow Ups: 1. (hold up + a) <--Do until can't do anymore + (Vertical Yo-yo (tap up + A)) 2. (Vertical Yo-yo (tap up + a)) + Juggle 3. Vertical Yo-yo (tap up + a) Follow Ups: 1. Juggle 4. PK Fire Follow Ups: Any other combo. 2. (Jump kick (tap direction of person + a)) ************************** Things Ness Does / Doesn't Like ************************** °°° Characters °°° The 4 Dreaded Ones. 1. Samus - Samus i could never master, No particular reason, but i could just never exceed the computers level. Playing Against Samus is extremely hard because of her screw attack and because it seems to take her less time to return to his senses then other characters. The only things to your advantage is that she has the slowest throw in the game, and if she loads up her cannon, absorb it. 2. Link - I don't like link at all, I think he is a character for beginners and he has one of the crappiest recovery moves in the game, probably the worst. Use this to your advantage and stay near steep places where he can fall. Link's dash Down + a attack is very hard to juggle against, and if you are in the air it may hit you multiple times. He is only a hard character if your opponent is very good 3. Kirby - I don't know man, Kirby scares me. he doesn't have many weaknesses, and its hard to juggle against him. Although one thing you can do is, although has like 5 jumps he most likely won't attack while he's trying to get back, so use the instant death very often. 4. Sometimes Pikachu - I Say sometimes only because it depends on the player. George my Colleague is very unpredictable when he plays as pikachu and i can never really tell what he's going to do next. He is a quick character and can evade quite well, which isn't good for you. **************** Methods Of Practice **************** Practicing is crucial. Without it you will lose against any opponent. Even though my opinion is that Ness is the best character, practice with everyone, and against everyone to see who your favorite character is. If its not Ness, that's ok, just make sure your better with him then you are with Ness otherwise its a waste of time. °°° Becoming The Virtuoso °°° Being a virtuoso at a game is impossible. You never can do everything. There's always something out there, some tactic, some strategy, some combo or what not, that somebody doesn't know. Then you ask "Why did he make a part of a guide that explains how" Its simply a metaphor, trying to become close to a virtuoso will do. ¥ Practicing someone equal to you will not make you better, you must meet opponents that are better then you. See what they do, immitate them. Ask questions. Becoming A Virtuoso With Ness Checklist 1. Beat the Game On Very Hard Without Dying. 2. Play Multi player against 4 Computers (not on the same team). Do this on every board against the three people that you hate the most. 3. Win with the handicap absurdly on their side. Do this against everyone. Do these and then you should be pretty damn good. Becoming a virtuoso means that you can always pull of a combo, throw, roll, anything, exactly when you want to. It doesn't necessarily mean that your better at actually playing the game. Becoming a virtuoso has nothing to do with strategy, just the technicality of playing with your character (hopefully Ness). Making sure the technical side of your character is mastered is crucial in pulling off everything in this guide. ********* Last Words ********* E-MAIL ME!!!!!!!!! DrkByNight@aol.com I'd love to hear your e-mails, I'm open-minded which means i don't mind criticism, Tell me if you think i should add something, take something out, or if you'd like to give me some of your information and strategies, i will give you credits and we can further expand our knowledge of the character Ness, and strategies of the game super smash brothers.