Post by Anthony G on Jun 8, 2008 21:09:55 GMT -5
I know today is Sunday, but I'm not waking up tomorrow at 6:30 AM just to beat Tyler Davis at making a new character discussion thread. I know I broke a rule by making this on Sunday, and I ask all of you to please not follow my example and don't make character discussion threads on any day except Monday. I felt this is urgent and needed to be discussed.
Before I start the discussion, I would like you all to watch this video
Better Quality:
files.filefront.com/Linkaggedonwmv/;10535918;/fileinfo.html
or
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ids3nhCgzRg
As you all could see, Link has potential. At first, many of us thought him to be bottom tier, however, with a bit of technical knowledge, Link could possibly be mid-tier.
The first combo you see against the white-outfit Marth has some technicality if you watch closely. Before he does his double swing forward smash, he cancels his jab. This is known as jab-canceling. It's useful for getting a few percents before a smash attack. Most jabs are a 3-part move. He stops the jab by simply not pressing A, and finishes it with a forward smash. All of you know how jabs are near impossible to escape, so there's no harm in jab-canceling -> forward smash, for a few extra percents in return. Since Link's forward smash comes out so quickly, this is possible for him to do. Both hits from an uncharged forward smash does about 30%, so it is very good.
Next, Link's Z-Air. Link's Zair is the hookshot that comes out while he's in the air, you saw him use it as an attack multiple times throughout the video. This is Link's best move. This is the reason why I may start maining Link. Everyone remember the Shffl from Melee? The Short-Hop Fast-Fall L-Cancel? The fastest form of aerial approach in the game? Link's Zair can be shffled. You can't L-cancel in this game, but Link's Zair auto-cancels as soon as it hits the ground giving you 0 landing lag, does 10% damage, AND has great range. Link has one of the best fast falls in the game so you can make great use of this. Link's Zair gives him an advantage that no other character can do, giving Link one of the best approaches in the game.
The next thing you see in the video is the use of Link's sliding up-smash. Every character has the ability to do this, so I won't go too far in depth about it. Basically you run and do an up-smash while the momentum keeps you moving forward. This Link uses it to intercept his opponent while they are falling and is able to time it right so all 3 swings of Link's up-smash hits. Nothing really special about it, but still useful.
The next worthy thing you see is him edgehogging Ike while he is doing his Up-B. This is him using his tether recovery twice (tap z twice) on the edge and using the invincibility frames to avoid the hitboxes of Ike's sword. Any character with a tether can do this, and Link is one of the few that can. The only difficult part is getting the timing, but with a little practice it shouldn't be too hard. Later in the video, he uses the tether recovery to refresh his invincibility frames so he can stall a bit longer on the edge while Captain Falcon is doing is down-smash. Useful, but situational.
Just a little bit later, you see him using his boomerang as an edgeguarding tool against demon-outfit Link. Throw his boomerang at an angle against the stage to intercept your opponent's recovery and it should gimp them, and still allow yourself to get back to the stage. This technique is only really useful against other Links since he has a bad recovery, but it may prove to be useful against others as the metagame evolves.
Next, at the part where he "mindgames" the Fox player, he does a bomb drop which enables him to do an aerial instead of throwing the bomb. I'm not sure about the button inputs, but I'm guessing he taps neutral z to drop the bomb, and follows with a forward aerial. Brawl's engine makes it really easy to catch items, so he simply did his forward aerial and the game thought he was trying to catch the bomb, so the engine did both inputs. This isn't just good for mindgames, it's good for being able to an aerial without getting rid of your bomb beforehand. But I guess you could mix it up for mind games. Am I going to throw the bomb now or after the aerial?
The final thing you see him do is a forward-tilt lock -> charged up-b. Many of you have seen Falco's laser-locking. This is the same thing but with a physical attack. The reason why it "locks" them in this position is because of Brawl's engine. Many characters can lock their opponent. I have done it with Mario's fireballs, for example, and although hard, it's useful for inescapable damage.
I know this seems to be more of a video evaluation than anything, but this video is showing Link's potential and it's easier to discuss something when you have a visual aid. This video seems to be just a flashy, nicely edited video, but it does show Link's current metagame and his difficult learning curve.
The main downside for Link is his recovery. Will he get the same curse he had in SSB64? The only reason why he was the worst character was because his recovery was so bad. Hopefully it will not happen again.
Before I start the discussion, I would like you all to watch this video
Better Quality:
files.filefront.com/Linkaggedonwmv/;10535918;/fileinfo.html
or
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ids3nhCgzRg
As you all could see, Link has potential. At first, many of us thought him to be bottom tier, however, with a bit of technical knowledge, Link could possibly be mid-tier.
The first combo you see against the white-outfit Marth has some technicality if you watch closely. Before he does his double swing forward smash, he cancels his jab. This is known as jab-canceling. It's useful for getting a few percents before a smash attack. Most jabs are a 3-part move. He stops the jab by simply not pressing A, and finishes it with a forward smash. All of you know how jabs are near impossible to escape, so there's no harm in jab-canceling -> forward smash, for a few extra percents in return. Since Link's forward smash comes out so quickly, this is possible for him to do. Both hits from an uncharged forward smash does about 30%, so it is very good.
Next, Link's Z-Air. Link's Zair is the hookshot that comes out while he's in the air, you saw him use it as an attack multiple times throughout the video. This is Link's best move. This is the reason why I may start maining Link. Everyone remember the Shffl from Melee? The Short-Hop Fast-Fall L-Cancel? The fastest form of aerial approach in the game? Link's Zair can be shffled. You can't L-cancel in this game, but Link's Zair auto-cancels as soon as it hits the ground giving you 0 landing lag, does 10% damage, AND has great range. Link has one of the best fast falls in the game so you can make great use of this. Link's Zair gives him an advantage that no other character can do, giving Link one of the best approaches in the game.
The next thing you see in the video is the use of Link's sliding up-smash. Every character has the ability to do this, so I won't go too far in depth about it. Basically you run and do an up-smash while the momentum keeps you moving forward. This Link uses it to intercept his opponent while they are falling and is able to time it right so all 3 swings of Link's up-smash hits. Nothing really special about it, but still useful.
The next worthy thing you see is him edgehogging Ike while he is doing his Up-B. This is him using his tether recovery twice (tap z twice) on the edge and using the invincibility frames to avoid the hitboxes of Ike's sword. Any character with a tether can do this, and Link is one of the few that can. The only difficult part is getting the timing, but with a little practice it shouldn't be too hard. Later in the video, he uses the tether recovery to refresh his invincibility frames so he can stall a bit longer on the edge while Captain Falcon is doing is down-smash. Useful, but situational.
Just a little bit later, you see him using his boomerang as an edgeguarding tool against demon-outfit Link. Throw his boomerang at an angle against the stage to intercept your opponent's recovery and it should gimp them, and still allow yourself to get back to the stage. This technique is only really useful against other Links since he has a bad recovery, but it may prove to be useful against others as the metagame evolves.
Next, at the part where he "mindgames" the Fox player, he does a bomb drop which enables him to do an aerial instead of throwing the bomb. I'm not sure about the button inputs, but I'm guessing he taps neutral z to drop the bomb, and follows with a forward aerial. Brawl's engine makes it really easy to catch items, so he simply did his forward aerial and the game thought he was trying to catch the bomb, so the engine did both inputs. This isn't just good for mindgames, it's good for being able to an aerial without getting rid of your bomb beforehand. But I guess you could mix it up for mind games. Am I going to throw the bomb now or after the aerial?
The final thing you see him do is a forward-tilt lock -> charged up-b. Many of you have seen Falco's laser-locking. This is the same thing but with a physical attack. The reason why it "locks" them in this position is because of Brawl's engine. Many characters can lock their opponent. I have done it with Mario's fireballs, for example, and although hard, it's useful for inescapable damage.
I know this seems to be more of a video evaluation than anything, but this video is showing Link's potential and it's easier to discuss something when you have a visual aid. This video seems to be just a flashy, nicely edited video, but it does show Link's current metagame and his difficult learning curve.
The main downside for Link is his recovery. Will he get the same curse he had in SSB64? The only reason why he was the worst character was because his recovery was so bad. Hopefully it will not happen again.
