User blog:Plasmaster/Smash Study Hall: Ness

Hey Smashers! Welcome to the third post of Smash Study Hall! Plasmaster here.

Today I will be giving you tips and strategies on the PSI-powered, pint-sized hero, Ness from Earthbound!

Ness can be a master of combos if you play him right. His aerials are especially effective for combos. Let's get right into his standard attacks.

Ness's jab is a relatively weak combo that should only be used to increase damage on the opponent. His forward tilt is an effective side kick that has good attack power and can be useful during combos. Ness's down tilt is effective for combos as well but doesn't have quite as much launch as the forward tilt. Ness's up tilt is a powerful attack with decent range above Ness; it is useful for combos and can kill most characters at around 180%.

Ness's forward smash is an extremely effective attack; it has great launch and attack power and is also a reflector. I will go into more detail on the different ways Ness can deal with projectiles later. The attack is also a good kill move. His up smash covers a considerably wide range when you take into account Ness's size. It is useful as a combo finisher or can be used to continue combo strings at lower percentages. His down smash is very effective, covering a good range and dealing some good damage; it is best used for edge-guarding or for catching roll-happy opponents off-guard.

Ness's dash attack goes farther out than just in front of his hands; it has great range and catching an opponent with all hits of the attack is useful for starting or continuing combos.

Now for Ness's aerial attacks. His aerials are the most effective attacks in his arsenal, besides possibly his special moves. They all have a use.

Ness's up air is an effective juggling and kill move, killing most characters at just over 100%. His back air is also an effective kill move, killing most characters at just around 100%. The back air is also useful for combos and edge-guarding. Ness's neutral air is good for combos and a useful attack when short-hopping. His down air has good meteor power when sweet-spotted and has good attack power overall. His forward air is the best out of his aerial moves for combos. It combos into itself; you can usually hit an opponent three times with it, carrying them off-stage as you do so (the double jump is required to pull this off though).

His throws are all good moves, but his forward and down throws will want to be used for starting combos and his back throw for getting kills. If an opponent is climbing back onto the stage from the ledge, roll towards the ledge, grab them, and back throw. Ness is the champion of back throws, killing most characters between 80 and 95%.

Ness's special moves can be hard to hit an opponent with, but when you do, they can be very useful. It is crucial that you not spam these moves or an opponent will be able to attack Ness during the ending lag of the attacks.

PK Flash is an extremely powerful attack but also moves quite slowly. It gets more powerful the longer you hold down the special attack button; maneuver it towards your opponents to catch them in the blast; the center of the blast is the most powerful part and the move can kill at percentages as low as 60%. Due to its slow speed, PK Flash is hard to hit an opponent with. You want to hit an opponent with it when they are suffering shield break or when they are helpless. PK Flash is very useful for edge-guarding; when the opponent is recovering low, move PK Flash off the edge of the stage. When they reach the peak of their recovery, release the special attack button to hit them with the blast. This is most effective with characters like Link, Falco, Mario, and Little Mac.

PK Fire can rack up lots of damage but also has some other uses. When edge-guarding, jump up and PK Fire off the stage to hit your opponent with it; the multi-hits keep them from being able to recover, giving Ness time to get in that lethal back-air. However, PK Fire has some combo uses as well. It is a great combo starter; once the move successfully hits, dash in and grab the opponent and immediately down throw. This will get them airborne, allowing Ness to unleash some neutral or forward airs.

PK Thunder is terrible as a recovery unless you can use it accurately. If you find yourself close to the edge of the stage but you fell down too far, get away from the edge (a short distance) and then use PK Thunder; too many times I have used PK Thunder only to slam into and bounce off of a wall and die. Don't make the same mistakes. However, PK Thunder has some offensive uses as well. When Ness hits himself with it and becomes an electrified human missile, it has deadly capabilities. If an opponent is recovering to the stage, PK Thunder is an effective way to edge-guard. When an opponent is hit by PK Thunder, they are hurled in the direction the projectile came from. This means when you use it as they are recovering, they will be hit towards the edge. This is when Ness has the opportunity to run in for the meteor. Multiple PK Thunders can be used, but using them too often will result in Ness missing with it, leaving him vulnerable to attack. PK Thunder is also good for juggling opponents that are too high for Ness to simply jump up and up-air. When Ness is descending down on the stage, use PK Thunder and aim it towards the opponent that is on the ground; once they are hit by it and suffering the hitstun, fast fall to the ground to prevent being juggled.

Here is where we get to the projectiles I talked about earlier. PSI Magnet will absorb energy-based projectiles; fire, electricity, and lasers are fair game for the PSI Magnet. If you find yourself being pelted with energy-based projectiles, use PSI Magnet; it heals Ness a lot especially when absorbing Wii Fit Trainer's fully-charged Sun Salutation. If you find yourself facing down lots of non-energy-based projectiles, use the forward smash, Ness's bat, to reflect them back.

Ness is a combo king, particularly in the air. Use Ness's combos effectively to trap opponents in a state of helplessness and then finish them off with one of his many kill options.

I hope this guide helped you to improve your Ness game!

If you have any questions or comments, please let me know down in the comments. While you're at it, tell me what character you'd like me to do next!

Keep on smashing and leave it to Heropon!