Ness (Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U)


 * This article is about Ness' appearance in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. For other uses, see Ness.

Ness (ネス) is an unlockable character in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, and has appeared in every installment of the Smash Bros. series thus far. He is the main protagonist of the cult hit game EarthBound, which was the only game from its series to be released outside Japan until EarthBound Beginnings.

How to Unlock (3DS Only)
Complete the following:
 * Play 10 matches.
 * Beat Classic Mode.

After completing either option, you must fight and defeat Ness in Magicant. (Unlocking him also unlocks the Magicant stage.)

Strengths

 * PK Thunder is a very versatile ability; it can be used for both recovery and anti-recovery. If used on Ness and he hits an opponent, it will cause extreme damage and knockback, similar to PK Flash.
 * PK Fire can stop combos and can also create opening combos for Ness.
 * PSI Magnet absorbs energy projectiles and heals Ness, forcing energy-projectile users to get into close combat.
 * The second jump gives Ness an extra boost up in the air.
 * Decent throws, capable of KOing at percentages where other throws would be unable to.
 * Decent combo-based attacks.

Weaknesses

 * PK Thunder is reliant on the player, and can cause self-destructs when recovering if they miss.
 * In addition, if used as an offensive attack and the target shields themselves, it will result in heavy punishment.
 * PSI Magnet is useless when facing non-energy projectile users, reducing the amount of offense that he has in matches.
 * Lightweight and easy to knockback.
 * Most abilities are energy-related and will be weak against users that can reflect/absorb the projectiles.

Differences from Brawl
Ness has received major buffs, as well some few nerfs. Most notably, he no longer has extra frames from being grab-released. Some of Ness custom moves are now similar to Lucas's, such as one his variants of PK Flash being PK Freeze, for example.

Attributes

 * Faster ground and aerial speed.
 * Slightly lower base jump.
 * No longer suffers an extra 10 frames of grounded grab release animation.
 * Many of his attacks now include PSI sparks, serving as sourspots.

Ground Attacks

 * Jab does 2% less damage.
 * Forward Tilt has more range, and does 1% more damage with slightly more knockback scaling when angled in either direction.
 * Up Tilt now has increased range, with the addition of a PSI spark coming from Ness' hands. It now has a sourspot.
 * Down Tilt now has a 2% sourspot at the end of Ness' foot.
 * Forward Smash now only has three hitbubbles in the attack. Its base knockback has been increased slightly but its knockback scaling has more than doubled. Its tipper hitbox now has different knockback scaling values than the other hitboxes. The maximum damage has been decreased by 2% and the move has slightly lower range.
 * Up Smash now deals increased damage when charged at the sacrifice of losing its charging hitbox. The earliest hitbox on the move (behind Ness) now comes out slightly faster. It is stronger in terms of knockback.
 * Down Smash now deals increased damage when charged at the sacrifice of losing its charging hitbox. It has many more hitboxes (although this could easily be called a nerf) and its sweetspot is stronger. It is faster and potentially stronger in terms of knockback (which is now horizontal instead of vertical) and reliability for KO'ing.
 * Dash Attack has more range and has less ending lag, but now does 3% less damage to grounded opponents.

Aerial Attacks

 * Neutral Aerial's sourspot, and therefore the whole move, now has a shorter duration.
 * Forward Aerial does 4% less total damage.
 * Back Aerial has more range, however the sweetspot window has been shortened to one frame in the attack.
 * Down Aerial has a slightly different animation. There is a PSI spark in the move now. It has suffered the worst out of Ness' standard moveset in the transition between games. Although its startup and total duration are the same, its sweetspot (the Meteor Smash) window is now just a one frame window, making it much harder to land, the overall knockback is noticeably weaker and the autocancel window at the end of the move has been lengthened by a massive 21 frames (from frame 29 in Brawl to frame 50 in Smash 4), now making this move Ness' laggiest aerial and his worst overall aerial attack.

Grabs and Throws

 * Grab has increased range.
 * Down Throw now has PSI sparks, and deals less damage.
 * Up Throw's ending lag has been significantly decreased. It also has slightly higher base knockback.
 * Pivot Grab comes out slower, but now has massive disjointed range.

Special Attacks

 * PK Flash is easier to control, has less startup and ending lag, and the projectile travels faster, but causes less damage.
 * PK Fire travels much farther, almost as far as Lucas' in Brawl. However, the pillar of flames is smaller.
 * PK Thunder is bigger, has a larger hitbox, with increased hitstun. It is also easier to control, and has intangibility at the beginning of the attack, which means it cannot be cancelled out by an attack or a hurtbox during that period. It can, however, be absorbed or reflected. Additionally, the electric field Ness generates around his body is larger, being able to trap opponents at very close range.
 * PK Thunder 2 is faster and has much more knockback scaling. Additionally, when Ness bounce-hits on a wall with PK Thunder 2, he can use PK Thunder again. This only works twice.
 * PSI Magnet is much larger and has less ending lag. Additionally, it has windboxes that "sucks" projectiles into it. The field can now absorb Link and Toon Link's Bombs.
 * PK Starstorm can now be aimed, similar to Lucario's Final Smash in Brawl, Aura Storm. Ness fires a thin line of meteors from the top-center of the screen. However, it has lower duration and since the player must manually aim the attack, the player no longer can move Ness freely during the Final Smash.

Normal Attacks

 * Standard combo: Throws two punches and a kick, similar to Mario's. Two hits of 2%, then 4% for a total of 8%.
 * Dash Attack: Hits three times with PSI circles. Three hits of 4%, 2% and 4% for a total of 10%. The first hit does 7% to aerial opponents, so the maximum damage output is 13%.
 * Forward Tilt: Kicks forward with a roundhouse kick. One hit of 9%, but 10% if it's angled up or down.
 * Up Tilt: Thrusts upwards with his hands using a PSI circle. The circle does 7% damage, however his hands have a sourspot hitbox of 5%.
 * Down Tilt: Does a small thrusting kick. 2% if hit with the tip of his foot, and 4% anywhere else.

Smash Attacks

 * Forward Smash: Swings his signature baseball bat. Has great launch power. It retains its projectile reflecting properties from previous Smash games. There are three hitboxes on this attack that will do 22%, 20% and 18%, starting from the tip of his bat.
 * Up Smash: Does an "Around the World" with his yo-yo. The yo-yo will first hit behind him for 9%, then does 13% for the duration of the move.
 * Down Smash: Does a "Walk the Dog" trick with his yo-yo. The yo-yo will first hit behind him, for two hits of 1%, then 10%, then in front of him for another two hits of 1%, then 10%.

Aerial Attacks

 * Neutral Aerial: Spins around with arms outstretched. Very fast. 11% damage at the start of the move, and 7% for the late hit.
 * Forward Aerial: Gives a series of PSI shocks from his hand. Three weak hits of 1%, followed by a finishing hit of 4% for a total of 7%.
 * Back Aerial: Kicks backward with both legs. Great launch power. 15% at the start of the move, then 8% after.
 * Up Aerial: Sweeps upward with his head. High priority for juggling and a powerful KO move. 13%.
 * Down Aerial: Charges for a moment, the unleashes a kick with psychic power downwards. The very start of the attack is a meteor smash. 12% at the start (meteor smash), then 10% after.

Grabs and Throws

 * Pummel: Does a very quick headbutt. 1.2%.
 * Forward Throw: Using PSI, spins the opponent around before hurling them forward. A high base knockback move that scales very, very slowly. 11%.
 * Back Throw: Psychically hurls opponents backwards. It's among the most powerful throws in the game. 11%.
 * Up Throw: Spins opponent above his head with PSI, then throws them up. Great for juggling. 10%.
 * Down Throw: Hurls opponent beneath him and sets them on fire with PSI circles. Five hits of 0.6%, then one of 4% for a total of 7%.

Taunts

 * Up Taunt: Nods his head and says "OK".
 * Side Taunt: Holds his baseball bat in front of him.
 * Down Taunt: Gives off electric sparks from his hand.

Tips for Ness Players

 * Ness has many reliable kill moves: Back aerial, Up aerial and most importantly: Back throw. Forward Smash also, as a hard read killer. Other more situational kill moves are PK Flash and PK Thunder 2.
 * Ness' PK Fire is an excellent spacing tool. It racks up damage on hit, has a 0.8x SDI multiplier and can be comboed into anything, most likely grabs, or in the case of a badly spaced PK Fire, an Fsmash.
 * There are many uses for PK Thunder:
 * Juggle opponents with it. It keeps them up in the air.
 * Edgeguarding. The tail of PK Thunder cannot be cancelled out or otherwise be made to miss.
 * You can mindgame an opponent into running in at you during PK Thunder, then hit yourself with it, into them.
 * PK Thunder 2 has invincibility frames during the first half of the attack. This means that almost any attacks will collide with it and not harm you, most notably, counters like Marth's.
 * Pivot grabs are excellent mindgames when your opponent has their back to the edge and is facing you. Back throw will kill much earlier in that situation.
 * Ness' Neutral aerial and Forward aerial are very useful. Both can both KO at 120 when offstage. Neutral aerial is a very quick move with lots of priority and small ending lag. Forward aerial is Ness' classic spacing and zoning tool, with much range behind it.
 * PK Flash is viable against players with little experience against it.
 * It has trandescent priority, which means that anyone who runs at you to attack while PK Flash is near the ground will most likely trade a dash attack or a grab for the full force of PK Flash.
 * It has deceptive cooldown. Pivot grabs will retaliate against hasty punishes.
 * When PK Flash is only halfway charged, it can KO as early as 100%. When it loses its upwards momentum and is first coming down, it can still KO at 80%.
 * Countering the move is a bad idea. If anyone pulls out a counter before PK Flash is fully charged, you can simply delay releasing the move until their invincibility frames wear out. Otherwise, you can keep holding down the special button until the move is cancelled by the ground.
 * Using this move is a bad idea against characters who can absorb it.

Ness
''Hailing from Onett, a small town in Eagleland, this young boy sports ordinary looks that hide his psychic powers. Ness fought against the evil Gigyas in Earthbound, and in Smash Bros. he unleashes some of the same PSI moves. Watch out for PK Thunder, a guided attack that can also launch Ness like a rocket!''
 * SNES - EarthBound (08/1995)

3DS
''Ness may have psychic powers, but that doesn't mean he shies away from getting physical. His side smash packs a real punch if you hit enemies with the end of his bat, and it can even deflect projectiles! His up and down smashes also have a lot of range—Ness can land his strikes with ease!''

Wii U
''Ness may have psychic powers, but that doesn't mean he shies away from getting physical. His side smash packs a real punch if you hit enemies with the end of his bat, and it can even deflect projectiles! His up and down smashes also have a lot of range—try giving them a spin!''

Trivia

 * Ness, alongside Jigglypuff, Bowser Jr. and Ganondorf, are the only character that are Unlockables in the 3DS version, and Starters in the Wii U version.
 * Some of Ness' Custom Moves are aesthetically (and in some cases functionally) similar to Lucas' Special Moves.
 * This can be seen with PK Freeze, PK Fire Burst, Lasting PK Thunder, and Forward PSI Magnet.
 * Ness and Captain Falcon are the only two characters who were unlockable in Super Smash Bros. 64, starters in Super Smash Bros. Melee, and unlockable in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.