Rivals took the platform fighter and made it about platforming. What makes smash stand out from other fighters is that you can't rely on the same strategies in every match because the percentage of the opponent means you have to come up with a new combat strategy to fit that context. Rivals elaborates on this by not only making the fighting unique in every match but making the platforming unique in every match by having the players adapt to each others spatial resources which won't ever be the same in any 2 matches, making every Rivals match require a unique platforming strategy as well.
I think you meant cant rely on the same combos rather than strategies. You cant rely on the same strategies against good opponents unless the character is busted or thats the way to play optimally in that MU.
I had been debating getting it for a while on my computer. Then a friend that I played smash bros with recently got a computer and we both got Rivals. It has been such a good experience for both us. I would highly recommend you get it if it has you interested.
I saw gameplay of rivals once, so I got it and man, it was such a blast. I wasn’t good at first but it was so fun I’ve sunk so many hours into that game. The game comes highly recommended from me.
I have it since 2016 but just recently started to take it seriously and man... I love this game :) Every character is so unique. At first it can be a pain to learn how to deal with each one since everyone looks so broken but you can always adapt and get better
Can we talk about how cool spatial resources are? It just open such a huge window of character uniqueness and creativity! Also Mr. The one and only Adam Carra, I'm trying to develop my own platform fighter and I just want to tell you how much your talks about character and game design have helped me make it a reality and well, thanks a lot!
This has made me super interested in Rivals, where I never was before. I never thought about how they're original characters and that makes them more based on mechanics than references. Is there a demo of this?
I noticed how every character is playing a minigame within the game but I never realized how connected the whole moveset is to fostering those minigames
its simply not as engaging or as satisfying to play at a high level. this is coming from someone who has played in high level tournaments and also won 5 smash tournament locals. the competitive communities are both aids imo.
@@prisionedtaco1036 most communities are aids at the top level it seems. Rivals being more of a niche/tight-knit community has always felt less inviting than melee to be honest. Larger concentration of try-hards.
@Jake Zepeda It’s ironic that Rivals tries to be more accessible by lowering the tech execution, it actually goes to the point of it being less appealing for serious and non-serious players, unless workshop is on it. The reason for this is because the characters are so tightly linked to their specials, newcomers are forced to learn their odd gimmicks and adapt to odd design choices. In melee, you don’t need a tutorial for recovering, shielding, or grabbing. You are not forced to use techs to use the most basic elements of the game.
Great vid as always Adam, i get hype to play RoA every time. Current roadblocks: - 10 month daughter - Valorant - Melee with rollback : ) At some point i will presuade myself to play RoA more, it is freaking amazing ! Tibazz
The new smash character, Steve, is actually the most open resource character in smash so far. I mean he can literally mine the stage and create blocks and place tnt and so much more!
Why does losing intricacies in the controls have to be a bad thing? It's nice that in Rivals we don't see someone lose stocks because their joystick was off by 1 degree, or their wave landing and wave dashing aren't frame perfect. The simplifications make Rivals so much more accessible.
Spatial resources are precisely why I chose to main Isabelle in Smash Ultimate (A shame she can't properly take advantage of them), and they're why I prefer Rivals over any other game in the genre. There's just something brain-ticklingly fun about keeping in mind not only yourself and your opponent, but where your resource(s) is(are) in relation to both, and setting up for sick stuff using that is ridiculously rewarding.
Can I just say that the best thing about the rivals community is the fact that when they make their characters on workshop, they also follow Dans example with the original cast. Like epinel, his power is basically gravity and he can use it in many ways
Im loving these analysis videos, Adam! Rivals has put on the back burner for the time being so I can enjoy Definitive Edition more when it comes out (and because I just got a Switch and Smash Ult.), but I always look forward to these videos
damn i never looked twice at that game but just with this you convinced me to give it a try ! now i'm impatient to see the definitive version on switch come out
Yep, this is it. My favorite Adam Carra video. Great tournament stock footage too, I bet someone cool recommended those sets to you on Twitter or something.
I started playing today, and I think the selection of a little more than a dozen characters makes the game easier to get into. I found Maypul as my main, and the designs are super appealing as well I also think the selection of characters adds a bit of depth too, because instead of throwing more fire in the bonfire, your constructing a “format” that each character can be a part of
You know what? This isn't an overstatement, this man has it all: smart, knowledgeable, committed, exceptionally funny, charismatic, friendly. Does he even have any flaw at all? Well he isn't super good at hiding the fact that he loves the sound of his voice lol, that's for sure but ... You're right he IS one of the best youtubers of all time. It's a shame RoA is so niche, I hope he'll soon get the glory he deserves.
How did I miss this? Your editing is superb Adam. And you delivered a point that was always in the back of my head when I played this game and said to myself "I like this even more than Smash". I'm a big nintendo fan, but I mean it, Rivals was the first fighting game to get me interested in the competitive side and that I thought that I had an actual chance of winning.
I can’t wait to try this game out once the definitive edition it’s out on switch. It’s going to be my first experience with Rivals of course, and I was wondering... is there some Discord server dedicated to Rivals, even fan made, where I could learn the game with people? Let me know if you have any infos to share!
There’s rivals academy, the server Pink Yik linked, which is for learning stuff about rivals, then there’s the normal rivals server, just for the community. Both of those are official. There are also servers for every individual character, run by community members and endorsed. You can find the links to those discords in the ‘off campus’ channel in the rivals academy discord.
Love you observation of this! I have seen parts of your perspective in your other videos but I feel this re-invigorate my already love of Rivals of Aether with a more in depth talk of these concepts. Thank you Adam. Wish all well in the furthers progression of the games we desire & love, as well the endevours of our lives. I
You beautiful voice combined with awesome editing and visuals make for a great video essay, thank you for giving me a ton of videos which now I can spam at my friends who don't even want to try rivals
WOW Adam, this editing was incredible dude. The content itself was very stimulating, but the editing of each shot and visual description paired with the audible point was just so well done. You’re getting so f****** good at this stuff!
This honest to god makes me wanna become competitive again. It makes me wanna learn every single in and out of this game. This game is sick and really cool. I now wanna learn everything. Good game design, Dan, and good on you, Adam, for noticing all of this good shit.
Dude Adam you do so much for the RoA community bringing things to light so new people or interested ppl can understand exactly what makes RoA great. Thanks! Keep it up! 👏🏻
Holy crap! How do you mot have more subs?? These vids are AMAZING! And uhh, thanks for shouting out Mycolich at the end, my fav character in the workshop by far. Sub. Frickin'. Scribed.
Excuse me, I would like to know where I could get (or how) the animations and sprites of the game. Because I want to make a wallpaper with them and I can't find them
I think it's cool how every character has a gimmick. There are no Marios or Pits, everyone. has. something. Zetterburn fire, Wrastor aerial smash attacks, Orcane puddles, Kragg rock, Forsburn smoke, Absa cloud (as you said), Etalus ice (as you also said), Maypul mark, Clarien tipper, Elliana overheat, Ranno poison, Sylvanos grass. Even the DLC characters, Shovel Knight shopping and Ori having Sein.
Now all we need is rollback net code for rivals of aetger and it will be great. Maybe we need to start a kick starter or something because apparently it takes a lot of work
The devs have tried implimenting rollback netcode before, but just couldn't get the game to run with it the way they wanted to. They started to run out of the time and resources needed to keep working on it, and abandoned the project altogether. Since then, they've decided to improve the Lockstep Netcode they already had and just go from there, and even in a beta state it still feels WAY better than what it was before.
Ye, the first 4 character's don't get mentioned that much in general because as the development of the game went on it's clear that Dan got a better idea of how he wanted to design the characters (or just wanted to make them more complicated maybe), and they get more and more Rivalsy as they go, with Sylv and Elliana being crazy with mechanics, so it's easier to use them as examples.
@Adam Carra But Kragg is legitimately one of their best designed characters. The only problem are some of the dumb stuff about his recovery. He doesn’t have any dumb gimmicks because his design is just as well-rounded as the Melee cast, in that his gameplan is stupid flexible and more organic to the game’s main mechanics. I honestly wish more characters were like him.
I think the best and smartest thing that Rivals did was take the core of what makes Melee good, enhanced it, and cut away the rest. The grab-shield-attack triangle (while necessary in most other fighters) isn't what made Melee good. Grabbable ledges, or chaingrabs, or L-canceling aren't what made Melee good. All removed. Movement-based neutral, expressive combo game, and options for outplay are what make Melee what it is, and Rivals does all of that better.
8:40 this is mostly true I'd add onto it saying that in smash bros special moves often make or break characters. all the normal moves are just sets of hitboxes: speed, range, damage = good. but special moves act a little different while not as direct as rivals specials for smash characters often determine archetype of the character if a character has 3 projectiles thier insane either camping, combo-ing, or spamming. if the character has 1 or no projectiles they're melee focused with a niche ussually swords or blistering speed. also another thing I think a lot of people miss about smash bros is ussually game balance works around: character/move stats, versatility, power/synergy of moveset. examples: mr game and watch amazing stats/awful power, young link amazing power/awful versatility, yoshi amazing versatility/awful stats. this can also work in reverse or any combination.
![Rivals of Aether [Review] - Definitive Edition PC/Switch](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/GR9AL679xbQ/mqdefault.jpg)
![Rivals of Aether [Review] - Definitive Edition PC/Switch](/img/tr.png)
Rivals took the platform fighter and made it about platforming. What makes smash stand out from other fighters is that you can't rely on the same strategies in every match because the percentage of the opponent means you have to come up with a new combat strategy to fit that context. Rivals elaborates on this by not only making the fighting unique in every match but making the platforming unique in every match by having the players adapt to each others spatial resources which won't ever be the same in any 2 matches, making every Rivals match require a unique platforming strategy as well.
I think you meant cant rely on the same combos rather than strategies. You cant rely on the same strategies against good opponents unless the character is busted or thats the way to play optimally in that MU.
Well put, fellow Luke.
roa feels like a platformer with fighting game mechanics more than a platform fighter
Smash players not understanding traditional fighters challenge
@@littlemisseevee2309 damn haha
The more and more I see of the design of rivals the more I want to give the game a shot when the definitive edition comes to switch.
I had been debating getting it for a while on my computer. Then a friend that I played smash bros with recently got a computer and we both got Rivals. It has been such a good experience for both us. I would highly recommend you get it if it has you interested.
I saw gameplay of rivals once, so I got it and man, it was such a blast. I wasn’t good at first but it was so fun I’ve sunk so many hours into that game. The game comes highly recommended from me.
All I have to say is try it out. It’s truly a blast and a gem.
I'm gonna try and get as many if my friends into this as I can when the Switch version comes out.
I have it since 2016 but just recently started to take it seriously and man... I love this game :)
Every character is so unique. At first it can be a pain to learn how to deal with each one since everyone looks so broken but you can always adapt and get better
"How does Rivals Of Aether achieve depth through its characters?"
Me : *C U T E N E S S*
What about Them’s Fightin’ Herds.
@@tudoraragornofgreyscot8482 Tianhuo is easily the cutest character and you cannot change my mind
Can we talk about how cool spatial resources are? It just open such a huge window of character uniqueness and creativity!
Also Mr. The one and only Adam Carra, I'm trying to develop my own platform fighter and I just want to tell you how much your talks about character and game design have helped me make it a reality and well, thanks a lot!
What's your game called?
GDC talks help me with game design the most. These videos are helpful, but GDC is also a valuable resource for game design.
What's the game on?
Just a comment to get a notify once it's available
Ye
This channel is shockingly underrated.
"Every frame of Skelators face is a goldmine for Profile Pics."
Yeah, like how the fuck does he greenscreen all those damn animations?
5:40 and onward
Sakurai designing Steve: write that down, write that down!
It's kinda funny because Smash Bros Steve could be ported into Rivals and fit right in.
@@ballisticboo7808he’s just a mix of Krag and Shovel Knight when you think about it
This has made me super interested in Rivals, where I never was before. I never thought about how they're original characters and that makes them more based on mechanics than references. Is there a demo of this?
I noticed how every character is playing a minigame within the game but I never realized how connected the whole moveset is to fostering those minigames
Another wonderful video - great work Adam! Can’t wait to get back into Rivals with Definitive Edition!
finally, another video simping rivals, we need more of these dude, you may not be a developer but you are like the voice of the game
With all the smash bros drama going on this game is the perfect game to sink your teeth in if you like competitive fighting games.
its simply not as engaging or as satisfying to play at a high level.
this is coming from someone who has played in high level tournaments and also won 5 smash tournament locals.
the competitive communities are both aids imo.
@@prisionedtaco1036 most communities are aids at the top level it seems.
Rivals being more of a niche/tight-knit community has always felt less inviting than melee to be honest.
Larger concentration of try-hards.
@Jake Zepeda It’s ironic that Rivals tries to be more accessible by lowering the tech execution, it actually goes to the point of it being less appealing for serious and non-serious players, unless workshop is on it. The reason for this is because the characters are so tightly linked to their specials, newcomers are forced to learn their odd gimmicks and adapt to odd design choices. In melee, you don’t need a tutorial for recovering, shielding, or grabbing. You are not forced to use techs to use the most basic elements of the game.
@@justice8718 plus rivals was built ground up to be competitive, smash was built to be casual 🤷♂️
@@prisionedtaco1036 Why ? I' m quite interested
For those wondering, at 3:17, the song is called “fusion of dohl”
Do you know the music for 5:40? Just wondering if you know that too.
Dude, Idk if you edit your own videos, but the editing is ALWAYS top notch. Love these videos Adam!
I love these. You’re super good at expressing ideas and every video you put out has a higher quality than the last
The editing on this video is great and did you use a green screen stage for parts of this video?
Ye
This whole video is excellent, but as someone who starred learning video editing recently, this editing on this video is genuinely incredible.
Great vid as always Adam, i get hype to play RoA every time. Current roadblocks:
- 10 month daughter
- Valorant
- Melee with rollback : )
At some point i will presuade myself to play RoA more, it is freaking amazing !
Tibazz
The new smash character, Steve, is actually the most open resource character in smash so far. I mean he can literally mine the stage and create blocks and place tnt and so much more!
He's so much fun, he feels like Sakurai decided to take a crack at Rivals design and accidentally created the most deep character in the game
Why does losing intricacies in the controls have to be a bad thing? It's nice that in Rivals we don't see someone lose stocks because their joystick was off by 1 degree, or their wave landing and wave dashing aren't frame perfect. The simplifications make Rivals so much more accessible.
JEEZ ADAM THIS IS SUCH A GOOD VIDEO WHAT THE HELL, BLESS YOUR SOUL, GONNA GO SUB TO YOU WITH MY TWITCH PRIME™️
This is incredibly well made for someone with a low sub count, all you need to do is keep on uploading and you’ll be popular in no time.
This was SO well edited. I’m supposed to be at work working , but I couldn’t stop watching.
Spatial resources are precisely why I chose to main Isabelle in Smash Ultimate (A shame she can't properly take advantage of them), and they're why I prefer Rivals over any other game in the genre. There's just something brain-ticklingly fun about keeping in mind not only yourself and your opponent, but where your resource(s) is(are) in relation to both, and setting up for sick stuff using that is ridiculously rewarding.
@@TurboPancake media0.giphy.com/media/MPuTZQqOmYKPK/source.gif
Is the milestone system is free?
Only the free-est. It's free-FREE
@@Hnui03 I have to get it now if it's Fur-ree
Can I just say that the best thing about the rivals community is the fact that when they make their characters on workshop, they also follow Dans example with the original cast. Like epinel, his power is basically gravity and he can use it in many ways
Im loving these analysis videos, Adam! Rivals has put on the back burner for the time being so I can enjoy Definitive Edition more when it comes out (and because I just got a Switch and Smash Ult.), but I always look forward to these videos
damn i never looked twice at that game but just with this you convinced me to give it a try ! now i'm impatient to see the definitive version on switch come out
Yep, this is it. My favorite Adam Carra video. Great tournament stock footage too, I bet someone cool recommended those sets to you on Twitter or something.
Rivals of Aether: 7/10 Not enough Fishbunjin
slap city: 100/10 BEEG FISH
Can we add Slap City characters to Rivals?
This is why fraymakers exists
7.8/10 not enough water
I started playing today, and I think the selection of a little more than a dozen characters makes the game easier to get into. I found Maypul as my main, and the designs are super appealing as well
I also think the selection of characters adds a bit of depth too, because instead of throwing more fire in the bonfire, your constructing a “format” that each character can be a part of
Adam is one of the best youtubers of all time. He deserves so many more subs and views!
You know what? This isn't an overstatement, this man has it all: smart, knowledgeable, committed, exceptionally funny, charismatic, friendly.
Does he even have any flaw at all? Well he isn't super good at hiding the fact that he loves the sound of his voice lol, that's for sure but ...
You're right he IS one of the best youtubers of all time. It's a shame RoA is so niche, I hope he'll soon get the glory he deserves.
Cool video! Awesome to see you (at least I think so) using my screen stages :D
The editing on this video is fantastic. Love the presentation.
Your videos are absolutely insane man. They’re incredibly high quality and is the best stuff to come from the rivals community
How did I miss this? Your editing is superb Adam. And you delivered a point that was always in the back of my head when I played this game and said to myself "I like this even more than Smash".
I'm a big nintendo fan, but I mean it, Rivals was the first fighting game to get me interested in the competitive side and that I thought that I had an actual chance of winning.
Great video Adam! And it's fun to see the workshop characters on here
Well, that was a really fucking cool video I wasn't expecting to find off twitter. Nicely produced and those visuals are nutty.
God damn this editing is sick. Great video (as per) Adam!
I can’t wait to try this game out once the definitive edition it’s out on switch. It’s going to be my first experience with Rivals of course, and I was wondering... is there some Discord server dedicated to Rivals, even fan made, where I could learn the game with people? Let me know if you have any infos to share!
I know about the Academy. Invite: discord.gg/BE2swg
There’s rivals academy, the server Pink Yik linked, which is for learning stuff about rivals, then there’s the normal rivals server, just for the community. Both of those are official. There are also servers for every individual character, run by community members and endorsed. You can find the links to those discords in the ‘off campus’ channel in the rivals academy discord.
Here the official discord. discord.gg/roa
Glad more are intrested!
Sleepy Sleepy The Nuigurumi Fox Dreamer Thank you so much! I’ll definitely check it out 👍🏻
Hole That’s a lot of info, thank you a lot! Can’t wait to learn more!
Love you observation of this! I have seen parts of your perspective in your other videos but I feel this re-invigorate my already love of Rivals of Aether with a more in depth talk of these concepts.
Thank you Adam.
Wish all well in the furthers progression of the games we desire & love, as well the endevours of our lives.
I
Actually fantastic editing in this one Adam.
Amazing, amazing work, your analitycal skills are impressive,the editing is pro, and the passion!
I'm coming back to this video just because the transitions and editing overall are soooo clean
You beautiful voice combined with awesome editing and visuals make for a great video essay, thank you for giving me a ton of videos which now I can spam at my friends who don't even want to try rivals
WOW Adam, this editing was incredible dude. The content itself was very stimulating, but the editing of each shot and visual description paired with the audible point was just so well done. You’re getting so f****** good at this stuff!
You really surprised me with this one. This was an awesome video and extremely informative! Hope to see more like this one ~
This honest to god makes me wanna become competitive again. It makes me wanna learn every single in and out of this game. This game is sick and really cool. I now wanna learn everything. Good game design, Dan, and good on you, Adam, for noticing all of this good shit.
I came back to this video for a bit of inspiration, so I here I am. The video is better than I remembered.
Dude Adam you do so much for the RoA community bringing things to light so new people or interested ppl can understand exactly what makes RoA great. Thanks! Keep it up! 👏🏻
Holy crap! How do you mot have more subs?? These vids are AMAZING! And uhh, thanks for shouting out Mycolich at the end, my fav character in the workshop by far. Sub. Frickin'. Scribed.
Adam this editing is just👌. Good stuff my dood.
AMAZING editing. I love this. I love all of this.
oh ma gawd you learn something new every time you play this game. i didnt know clairens grab gave you the double jump back
Keep it up Adam, your content is getting better by video
can we also talk how well edited this video is?
Adam's starting to talk about mechanical synergy and I'm still thinking about that nutty shovel knight outplay
Please do more videos like this. I subscribed because of this video.
Adam, the editing on this video is fire. I been watching a couple of your Rivals videos, and this one made me subscribe. Keep it up man!
Thank you for making these videos. Rivals is an amazing game and these are amazing videos!
Maypul's Dash Attack is the only mechanic i needed to get to Plat
This editing is amazing.
Just getting back into Rivals. Feels good to play it again.
Excuse me, I would like to know where I could get (or how) the animations and sprites of the game. Because I want to make a wallpaper with them and I can't find them
I just LOVE those videos Adam, keep it up!!!
How are these videos always so good. Great editing and story.
production quality on this vid is great!
This is what makes it stand out to me. I love this game so much
As a designer I think I actually learned something from the part about how central mechanics leads to learning all mechanics.
This videos fucking beautiful. Adam never misses, and rivals is one of my biggest influences in game design.
I think it's cool how every character has a gimmick. There are no Marios or Pits, everyone. has. something. Zetterburn fire, Wrastor aerial smash attacks, Orcane puddles, Kragg rock, Forsburn smoke, Absa cloud (as you said), Etalus ice (as you also said), Maypul mark, Clarien tipper, Elliana overheat, Ranno poison, Sylvanos grass. Even the DLC characters, Shovel Knight shopping and Ori having Sein.
Dang you were not lying about those animations for the definitive trailer just being for you to edit LOL
These videos are awesome! Keep up the good work!
Now all we need is rollback net code for rivals of aetger and it will be great. Maybe we need to start a kick starter or something because apparently it takes a lot of work
The devs have tried implimenting rollback netcode before, but just couldn't get the game to run with it the way they wanted to. They started to run out of the time and resources needed to keep working on it, and abandoned the project altogether. Since then, they've decided to improve the Lockstep Netcode they already had and just go from there, and even in a beta state it still feels WAY better than what it was before.
@@antkneewashere8923 Look at that. came back here after a year and here we are!!!
Every time I watch this video, the ending gives me chills.
Every. Damn. Time.
Masterful.
My favourite part about platform fighters is that it's p much universally agreed they all have to have marth
Love this editing. Which software do you use?
Thanks for making another great video about a good game, Adam. Keep it up
omg that editing is great
absolutely incredible, please keep doing what you're doing
Cool video but when does rivals definitive edition come out? 🤓
I was just about to comment this 😂
Summer 2020
@@tr4shboat109 were halfway through summer 2020
@sorcerer bear Ok? We can literally get the definitive launch on September 21st, last day of summer, and it would still be released in summer 2020
That damn Furnace nigga smh
that shovel knight clip was crazy man
Love how Kragg was mentioned once in this video
Ye, the first 4 character's don't get mentioned that much in general because as the development of the game went on it's clear that Dan got a better idea of how he wanted to design the characters (or just wanted to make them more complicated maybe), and they get more and more Rivalsy as they go, with Sylv and Elliana being crazy with mechanics, so it's easier to use them as examples.
@@AdamCarra I think it was a budget issue. He had more devs on his team post launch.
@Adam Carra But Kragg is legitimately one of their best designed characters. The only problem are some of the dumb stuff about his recovery. He doesn’t have any dumb gimmicks because his design is just as well-rounded as the Melee cast, in that his gameplan is stupid flexible and more organic to the game’s main mechanics. I honestly wish more characters were like him.
Your entering a bubble of not only sight and sound but of Pain.
You might just be the best editor on youtube.
now make a video on the depth of workshop character design
1. Finding the overpowered move
2. Using the overpowered move
3. Avoiding the opponent's overpowered move
Fantastic video, you earned a sub.
Who the heck edits your videos? Cuz they're absolutely amazing!
Me
Fucking PHENOMENAL video. This is core a gaming or game makers toolkit levels of quality bro!! This is fucking sick!!!!!! AHHHHHH!!!!!
how tf did I only now just realize ori has hooves?
finally another uploaddd!
I just subbed
Man this feels good
Now I’m not trying to sound cheesy or anything but this video has barley enough views for how awesome it is thank you
This makes me want to make workshop characters a lot
I loved this video :) keep it up
I think the best and smartest thing that Rivals did was take the core of what makes Melee good, enhanced it, and cut away the rest. The grab-shield-attack triangle (while necessary in most other fighters) isn't what made Melee good. Grabbable ledges, or chaingrabs, or L-canceling aren't what made Melee good. All removed. Movement-based neutral, expressive combo game, and options for outplay are what make Melee what it is, and Rivals does all of that better.
I like how they made a button for short hop. I SWEAR, SHORT HOPPING IN SSB IS IMPOSSIBLE
Banger video we need more of this in depth content :D XD
Commenting to boost this in the algorithm
Would love to see another masterpiece of a video like this on Nick All-stars when that comes out.
8:40 this is mostly true I'd add onto it saying that in smash bros special moves often make or break characters. all the normal moves are just sets of hitboxes: speed, range, damage = good. but special moves act a little different while not as direct as rivals specials for smash characters often determine archetype of the character if a character has 3 projectiles thier insane either camping, combo-ing, or spamming. if the character has 1 or no projectiles they're melee focused with a niche ussually swords or blistering speed. also another thing I think a lot of people miss about smash bros is ussually game balance works around: character/move stats, versatility, power/synergy of moveset. examples: mr game and watch amazing stats/awful power, young link amazing power/awful versatility, yoshi amazing versatility/awful stats. this can also work in reverse or any combination.