Ridley is more of a swordfighter due to the fact that his entire gameplay revolves around properly spacing his tippers and commanding the space around him. At high levels Ridley rarely ever uses his Space Pirate Rush (SPR) unless it's for something like platform tech chases or very hard callouts.
True. Same for Mewtwo for exemple. He's more of a Ranged or Mix ups character cause the glass canon aspect isn't what defines him at his core. Sephiroth is also very light for exemple but same, it's not what defines him the most.
@@kyurei4478 Yep, people just know Ridley for SPR the most because it's his most infamous move. Both Mewtwo and Sephiroth are similar due to their weight and how hard they hit, people know them most for that aspect. I'm not trying to rag on the video maker, I'm just trying to put my thoughts as an actual Ridley main out there.
@@ectrosvideolibrary It's true that it's a good move to have. I didn't precise it but I'm a Mewtwo main myself so I can definitely tell both character play very similarly. The major differences are just that Sephiroth has an actual full disjoint and more range while Mewtwo has a better neutral and better close range options. When you look at the characters in game their first defining aspect is the spacing/zoning game. Neither do I. I think this is a lot of work put into it even tho I have to admit some character placements are totally wrong for me.
@@ectrosvideolibrary For sure, good work for such a video! The team succeeded to create a lot of variety despite some similarities. Even with similar characters, they're on a different side of the spectrum (faster, stronger, slower, weaker,better neutral, better edgeguard and so on). They even succeeded to find specific archetypes for some characters. Luigi heavily relies on grabs now for exemple. Very cool!
@@gabrielchee8470 "Solomar exists" when he can only use 4 moves. Steve moves, as you say, can be used to some extent. When he runs out of everything he loses a lot of moves. They are resource-based because the moveset is revolves around their resources
As a dedede main I can say he’s also a trapper, a solid part of his game plan is getting gordo set ups and edge guarding with gordo and combining gordo with other attacks
I totally agree, but I only wanted to put each character into one archetype for the sake of time, but he is completely a mix between a heavy and a trapper
@@Islanders61 I think you're confusing weight as a archetype and that's not the case. I like the attempt on the video though but you added a ton unnecessary categories.
@@dripfoe_3307 weight isn't the reason. a heavyweight in smash is a massive character that does extreme damage per hit, with mostly slow attacks to compensate. dedede fits that perfectly.
I'd put Lucario in the glass cannon category. I mean, it's designed to gradually excel in power when damaged, making him a character that literally trades off life power to get damage power, as glass cannons pretty much do.
I would say Lucario is either glass cannon or, if you're a stickler for what a class cannon could be, then Lucario is more of an all-rounder. His gimmick is not enough to set him into a different category imo, he doesn't excell in anything, he's pretty mid when it comes to literally everything about him, he just has a unique comeback gimmick. Lucario should be glass cannon or all-rounder and Olimar should be included as a resource management archetype
That's the problem with this sort of categorizing. I would consider glass cannon to be more of an attribute than an archetype. Pichu is a glass cannon, as is Pyra, but they play nothing alike. Glass cannon refers to survivability, not play style.
@@hypotheticaltapeworm How is Pyra a glass cannon? They're perfectly average in terms of weight and they're recovery isn't bad enough to a point where I could see you make the argument that they're a glass canon like say you could argue, say little mac is.
@@yoyoguy1st Whatever that doesn't take away from my point. I don't know why I thought Pyra and Mythra were much lighter than they actually are, but my point is that glass cannons don't all play alike. It's inaccurate to call it an archetype, since everyone in it would overlap with other play styles.
Bro your just wrong. Glass cannon means a character is very strong when it comes to damage output yet they do so easily. Pichu would be a perfect example, his damage and combo game is insane but he does so so early from anything. Lucina is just a swordie.
Ridley main here. You are not wrong when you say that he's hard to categorize. You decided to say he's a grappler and that's probably true at lower levels of play where SPR is more useful. Aside from his command grab (which is one of the slowest in the game) he has 1 good throw which is a combo throw. His forward and back throws don't kill or combo and the best thing his up throw does is set up for a tech chase on tri-plats. So if he isn't a grappler what would I categorize him as? A glass cannon maybe? Because of his size to weight. I would say no his attributes aren't extreme enough. A swordie? Even though he doesn't use a sword he still spends large portions of the match looking for correct spacing. Rushdown? This is a good place for him he is looking to be aggressive the whole match and do his absolute hardest not to be in disadvantage or neutral. Combo? This one also fits because he has a few select moves to start combos. Sour spot of down tilt, N-air, up tilt etc. Personally I would put him as a bait and punish character who wants to see what the opponent likes to do and then cover those options with short combos, brutal smash attacks or even a risky skewer. He's a very strange character and no one knows what to do with him so I don't blame you for not getting him exactly right, good on you for knowing how strange he is to judge
@@mcmcribblit9603 Me too, I just wish his moves were more satisfying. Forward and Down air in particular feel really wimpy, and he has such an obvious Down Air candidate that I'm honestly surprised Sora Ltd neglected it. But I honestly adore moves like Up Air for the pose and power, SPR for the reference, creativity, and utility within his kit, F Smash for its strength, F and D tilts for their range, and Skewer for the sheer brutality.
@@andymcclurg9916 F-air is actually one of my favorite moves though. You can use it from down throw at low to mid percent and get nice 25-30% string or you can use FF and use it to go into a rapid jab or f-tilt (if your spacing is good you can sweet spot it) but I agree d-air is all but pointless. Only time I use it cuz if I get it high into the blast zone to get lower quicker. Idk I love hitting down throw and hitting 3 f-airs to carry someone offstage, especially if they're DI'ing in, your almost guaranteed a stock
I'd say if no specific play style can be defined, no matter how general or specific, the character should be defined as unorthodox. They just... do their own thing.
Ridley is a heavy. Like yeah I get it he's not that "heavy" but he plays like a character in the heavy archetype, heavy refers to the archetype not their literal weight.
Maybe combo? I was thinking that myself. I’m a sonic main, and it took me awhile to figure out how to play well against sora. Sora has an amazing air game, sword game, recovery, and he’s not super slow or super heavy. That or mix-up I would guess.
Sora is a combo swordie but i cant tell which he fits better in. He has some decently complex combos but he also plays around his range and still has to space his attacks even without sour spots
The main issue is that these sub-divisions also exist in other games, but for general play style isn’t differentiated. A very good example is the classifying trapper and zoner as 2 separate categories as their gameplan is the same. In traditional fighters both are classified as zoners, but you’d save the traps vs. projectiles as a character specific variation. Another example is grounder. Why is it its own archetype with 1 character when it’s just rush-down with the poor recovery being a character specific difference?
Sonic may be a Hit & Run character in official Smash but when it comes to the Mods & Fan Games he's the Rushdown character that he should've been since Brawl
As a puff main, she is 100% not a hit and run character. Player her as a hit and run character ensures you are playing her as a bottom 10 character. She is more of a glass cannon in the sense that you can carry most characters offstage after a single opening or convert a mistake by your opponent into a rest.
Normally diddy does not but if you look up pro diddy Kong movement it’s insane. By combining monkey flip with popgun glitch diddy has some of the best air movement in the game
Mac isn't defined by his ability to space and string complex canceling combos together, he's defined by his ability to win by mashing while grounded and aerials that are just unbelievably terrible. His gameplan isn't bob, weave and touch of death, it's sit on the floor and charge f-smash
@@aetherius6221 Firstly, I don't think cancels are intrinsic to being a character centered around footsies. There's an agreement that Kazuya fits within this archetype and he doesn't have special cancels like the shotos and Terry. But also, when you watch a really good Little Mac play, the primary gameplan definitely doesn't revolve around charging F-Smash and camping. It's using his incredible ground speed to make opponents whiff aerials and punishing. Then once they stay on the ground, he pressures with his crazy tilts or counter-punches with his armored smash attacks.
I noticed that all the mixup characters also have moves to handle projectiles Magnet for ness & lucas Rob's side B (can reflect) Reflector for wolf and palutena, And steve's blocks, I guess (this might be a stretch.)
Steve's blocks are definitely not a stretch in your argument. I would actually say that his blocks are the single most defining quality he has as a mix-up, since the creativity of the user can force the opponent to have to react to the block layout.
You need to research how each character is played more, these archetypes are very primitive they oversimplify and also mis identity a lot of characters. Bowser is not the type of character he is due to having tough guy, nor is he comparable to krool Captain falcon is not a rush down character given your definition, he is played mostly bait and punish and he can barely pressure shield so not really a pressure monster. He just has really good burst options. But I will concede that it is hard to accurately do a video like this
For kkrool I would say he is a either zoner or trapper since his projectiles do stay out a while, while Bowser is more so a grappler since you often see him either comboing out of up throw or comboing into side b. And as far as captain falcon, I would just make a separate category called hype. He might be between a rush down and a hit and run, but all his moves are so flashy and I feel like he honestly deserves his own category. Oh, and now that Sora has come out I would reckon he is a hit and run, but that might just be my experience against him
King K. Rool could be a mixup too, by his definition He has good projectiles that force the opponent to attack him Bowser is kinda a all rounded grappler, I guess ? Steve is a ressource-based trapper
I definitely agree that a lot of these characters could fit into at least two different archetypes, like Dedede could be a Heavy and a Trapper for example.
I wouldn't divide the cast into quite so many categories. For instance, I really don't differentiate between ranged and zoners or tanks and heavies, but at least with the latter you do have the super armor gimmicks. Still, excellent video. I watched every minute of it and I enjoyed it. Very informative, thought out, and well presented.
@@ivrydice0954 glass cannon is a very loose archetype. he fits into pretty traditional swordie play, but floaty. he isnt as fast as the other glass cannons, aside from game and watch, who's more focused on defensive play than any of the others. he doesn't have the wtf factor of stuff like shadow ball, disable, rest, bucket, gnw up b or everything chrom does. he kinda does normal swordie things, but with puff movement. while i think he fits the glass cannon label, i think he has less cannon than the others and just plays solid neutral. or at least he's designed that way, however probably unintentional new combo routes have given him some crazy high damage combos, early kill confirms and an infinite, so yeah he has the cannon. just doesn't feel like one at all.
This is actually a really good and detailed video, sucks that you don't have more subs but if you keep making good content I think you'll do really well
It's nice to see a fairly well researched vid but the gameplay is kinda dogwater maybe use tourney vods, I know it's alot of editing but it would make your points clearer. Good vid hope ur channel grows
I definitely feel like zss is definitely hit and run or mix up. She doesn't rush down as much as she just carefully wins neutral and punishes opponents if you can get an easy read (nair flip kicks, down smash, deep edgeguards etc)
I like your representation of steve being a mix up character. The only thing I noticed is that you say steve likes to spam minecart. While not necessarily wrong, using minecart uses iron, and iron is difficult to collect, so I wouldn’t say spam. It’s certainly a good move, nonetheless.
Watching the video and enjoying it. I'm glad to see more discussion videos on this topic. I don't think there can ever be a definitive list of this sort, but therein is the fun. As you stated at the very beginning, most characters can be utilized in such different ways that characters can come across as several archetypes. I'd love a follow up to this with potentially a few guests to play devil's advocate. That would be a longform podcast I'd listen to over and over. Also, where would you place Sora? Happy holidays!
I would say he is a mix between the sword and hit and run archetypes. He does need to worry about carefully spacing his moves with his key blade sword, but he also has that flatness and great mobility that allows him to run away really well after getting a hit or doing a combo.
As a rangers fan I didn’t expect to see another hockey fan as a competitive smash fan let alone someone who knows a ton! I’m glad I came across this channel!
Sheesh, going from top player gameplay to watching average gameplay is huge whiplash. Players just running off the ledge then getting themselves SD'd is way more representative of the real game.
I'm surprised that Sonic & Meta Knight especially are on the Hit & Run Archetype over the Combo Archetype considering they have two of the best combo games in the entire game
I'm honestly surprised Chrom is not a Rushdown Character like Roy is for obvious reasons then again considering he plays the game of spacing unlike Roy who plays the up close and personal game it makes sense why Chrom is in the Swordies Archetype
Here are all the archetypes in roster order. All-Rounder: Mario, Yoshi, Kirby, Dr. Mario, and Pit/Dark Pit Grappler: Donkey Kong, Luigi, Ridley, and Incineroar Zoner: Link, Samus/Dark Samus, Young Link, Toon Link, Villager, Mega Man, Mii Gunner, and Banjo-Kazooie Rushdown: Fox, Pikachu, Captain Falcon, Sheik, Roy, Zero Suit Samus, Mii Brawler, and Joker Mix-Up: Ness, Lucas, ROB, Wolf, Palutena, and Steve Hit and Run: Jigglypuff, Meta Knight, Sonic, Wii Fit Trainer, and Inkling Combo: Peach/Daisy, Falco, Wario, Bayonetta, and Sora (IMO) Trapper: Zelda, Snake, Pac-Man, Duck Hunt, Bowser Jr., Simon/Richter, Isabelle, and Piranha Plant Puppeteer: Ice Climbers and Rosalina Tank: Bowser and K. Rool Glass Cannon: Pichu, Mewtwo, and Mr. Game and Watch Swordie: Marth/Lucina, Chrom, Ike, Mii Swordfighter, Cloud, Corrin, and Byleth Heavy: Ganondorf and Dedede Stance: Pokemon Trainer, Shulk, and Pyra/Mythra Footsie: Diddy Kong, Greninja, Ryu/Ken, Terry, and Kazuya Gimmick: Olimar and Lucario Grounder: Little Mac Resource-Based: Robin Enhancer: Hero Ranged: Min-Min and Sephiroth
I don't like how you mixed traits and tools. You could have a tank rush down. Because a rush down might have a lot of super armor. We'll not a rush down but a glass Canon. Little Mac is literally that. The smash environnement is pretty messed up for archetypes. We keep saying swordies. And they're indeed a group of character. But they anr the same archetype. Roy is a rush down. Lucia and Marth are footsies. Etc. Having a sword or tanking ability is not a trait, but a tool. And tank trait would that they use their tanking ability. Wich kkrool doesn't. It's just a bonus for him. Same for sephiroth in the ranged archetype. They only use their range to emphasize their setplay and trap gameplay. Think about it. Sephiroth put a time bomb on you, and can set up huge explosion zones. Can use both to for positioning, threatening enemies with a low percent kill. Or locking them in shield /forcing a roll. Traits and told are different. If you like Roy and we tell you to look at other swordies to find another Chara ter you like will not work. Byleth for example will look very similar despite being very different.
Megaman is more like a Ranged like Min Min and Sephiroth than a zoner IMO. He simply isn’t very dangerous at a distance, and does actually want you to get close on his terms, ie where he can use very fast killing moves like uptilt, downsmash and uptilt.
I think your definition of trapper could definitely include Yink and especially Big Link, since they're both able to have multiple projectiles out at once similar to Simon and Richter. But I do think of them as zoners as well, so either way
I'm an Inkling main. I wouldn't say she's necessarily a hit and run character. Although getting a hit and waiting for an opening is big in Inkling's neutral, I think she's more of combination of a combo and resource based character. Ink is an extremely useful resource that is almost a necessity Inkling's kit. Without her ink, it would be a lot harder for her to kill or even deal damage. Roller can't be used without ink and that's pretty much the only way for her to kill. Also if her ink is out, her damage output abysmal. She's kind of like Shiek only with shorter hitboxes. That's why she has to manage her ink so much in a game. You have to keep track of the ink meter in order to do jabs, splat bombs, roller, and every smash attack. Inkling also has an amazing aerial game that can take a character across the stage for a kill. U-tilt can lead into nair chains across stage to the blast zone, which can then be finished off into a fair. She's a lot like Wario in this case. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.
I decided to figure out the average tier placement for each archetype, where S is 7, A+ is 6, A is 5, B is 4, C is 3, D is 2, and E is 1. Here's how it ended up: Stance Changers: A+ Rushdown: A+ Mix-Up: A+ Ranged: A+ Combo: A Footsies: A Hit and Run: B Swordies: B Glass cannons: B Enhancers: B Zoners: B Puppeteers: B Tank: C All-arounders: C Trappers: C Resource Based: C Grappler: C Heavy: D Grounders: E
This is a very interesting and helpful video for newcomers to fighting games despite the fact that there is some character placements I absolutely don't agree with and I feel like you wanted to categorize too much thus some archetypalizations become pretty much useless and could be summed up in another larger archetype. But great job overall.
I know that this video is fairly recent, and you did a fairly decent job talking about this, I think there are quite a few oversights that you've made simply because you don't main EVERY SINGLE character. An updated version could be nice
This vid's definitely going into the Cool folder. Really interesting subject and sweet execution, bro. If you ever make a follow-up, I'd love for you to talk about all the characters that are fusions of archetypes.
I do think it would have been better if you just used the main archetypes. Most people in the smash community don’t really use some of the terms in this video. I think a good list would have been Rushdown Zoner: includes ranged and trappers, as well as Steve Heavy: includes tanks All Around Glass Canon: includes lucario Shoto (fighting game characters) Swordie: Includes Hero The reason I saw this is because one, a lot of the categories in this video are unused when talking about smash, two is that having that many categories complicates the video and puts characters in sub categories that are basically a modified version of another/and or are just not really a category (combo [yes they have a much better combo game then most, most combo characters play differently then each other by a lot actually], grounded [Mac is more of a glass canon because he is powerful on the ground like you said, but is weak in the air and dies early], gimmick [lucario fits glass canon because he needs to be at higher percentage to do more damage, hero is more of a swordie/zoner because of his abundance of projectiles and the need to be spaced away from his opponent].
For players who are either into Traditional Fighting Games but not Platform Fighters, it may be helpful to have a examples of each playstyle from outside of SSBU. Rushdowns are prevalent- The main one I think of is Cammy White from Street Fighter or Seth from Under Night In Birth Heavies I struggle to find, at least no heavies that don't better fit into Grappler or Tank Even with Tank the only character I could think of Juggernaut from Marvel vs Capcom Mix-Ups- Bardock is a pretty common example to give For Combo Characters I found that Black Panther in Marvel vs Capcom fits this style Most Fighting game's main characters are All Arounders, its pretty basic Game Design 101, so probably just stick to whoever the main character of a given game is... like Ryu Footsies and Swordies- Footsies are just an integral part of most traditional fighting games but if you want a character who excels in the playstyle of Footsie and Swordie characters, look for Mid Rangers like Ky Kiske from Guilty Gear Ranged Characters aren't too uncommon, I'd say Dhalsim from Street Fighter is the best example I could give Glass Cannon- Akuma and Ibuki from Street Fighter are great examples of this style Grapplers are super common, the quintessential options are Zangief from Street Fighter and Potemkin from Guilty Gear Also if you specifically like Luigi, non Heavy-Grapplers are known as Semi Grapplers with characters like R. Mika from Street Fighter or She-Hulk from Marvel vs Capcom 3 Zoner- Id say the best example for a Zoner off the top of my head is probably Iron Man in Marvel vs Capcom Trapper- Carmine from Under Night is the first idea I can think of, placing puddles of blood and causing spikes to shoot up out of Puppeteers- MOST CHARACTERS IN JOJO GAMES, otherwise I'd say Zato-1 from Guilty Gear Gimmick characters are everywhere mainly in Air Dashers. Most notable Gimmick fighters coming to mind are Pheonix Wright in Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 and Junpei Iori from Persona 4 Arena Ultimax Resource Based Characters are most commonly Zoners with Limited Arrows or Bullets. First one coming to mind is Naoto Shirogane from Persona 4 Arena Enhancer- The Main Enhancer coming to mind would probably be Hakan from Street Fighter IV Also not mentioned in the video but the Item Puller is a common archetype which functions similarly to Hero with Down Special. Faust from Guilty Gear, Teddie from Persona 4 Arena and Neco Arc from Melty Blood Stance Changers are also common- Gen from Street Fighter is the main one I think of Non-Tank or Grappler Heavies, Grounders, Hit and Run characters I'm sorry I don't have any good examples at the moment
I'm still very new to trying to play this game properly, and I had no idea there were all these Archetypes but as I watch this it's funny to see how I clearly had preferences because all of the characters I've grown to like fit into only 2 of these
Does Smash Bros have any proper “Setplay” characters, and if so, what characters would best fit into that criteria? I know a Setplay character in a traditional fighting game would be one that focuses on a specific gameplan that requires setup and especially is great at punishing knockdowns, but I’m not sure on how that translates into Smash due to the lack of common knockdowns aside from the occasional tech chase (that are far too uncommon to dedicate a character towards)
@ From the Fighting Game Glossary: “Performing a pre-planned, calculated setup after you've knocked your opponent down. There's no winging it by the seat of your pants here; set play often involves some frame kills to set up very specific timing that will make your mixups extremely ambiguous and often avoid reversals.” Essentially characters with a particular path of attack that specializes in knockdown setups, either through setting up unblockable projectiles on their getup or performing some other crucial action. The best examples I can think of would be Beerus in DBFZ with his various orb attacks or several Guilty Gear characters.
@@thequagiestsire oh I see, and if knock downs are missed techs, a character i see force that a lot is ZSS with her Zair. Also byleth can force a lot of tech situations with her fantastic Nair. And she may not have an unlockable projectile, hers does heavy shield damage. And another actually may be joker, his gun has a huge hitbox while being a massive disjoint, and unable to be reflected and can knock opponents down or even trip so honestly that may be the closest thing, sorta like a diddy kong banana peel
Shulk is absolutely a stance changer, his entire gameplan changes on a dime depending on his art, (with speed he tries to close the gap between his opponent, it’s mostly used in zoner mus where his range won’t give him much benefit, buster for when he is in his optimal range where he’s able to hit his moves with little to no risk, smash for closing stocks (very risky at high %s) which forces the opponent to respect his range even more in hopes of both not getting hit and timing out the art, shield for escaping combos and minimizing damage (especially in last hit scenarios, notice how he becomes a glass cannon with smash art but a heavy that relies on trying to get the opponent in worse positioning while still in the art) and jump for mostly recovering, but I’ve seen the art used for edgegarding and juggling in very rare situations. Lastly you don’t need to be a xenoblade character to be a stance character, this archetype has the potential to exist in every fighting game not just the one with xenoblade reps.
Thanks! Is there a rock/paper/scissors list when it comes to types? I feel I change my style up based on how I feel it’s going and it would be good to know where the matchups stand.
While botw link definitely makes very good use of his projectiles, he uses them more for setting up kill confirms (unless you're playing on elite smash, where he camps harder than a Sonic player), so even though zoner fits, he fits really well into the trapper and swordie archetypes.
Excellent stuff dood! I am Smash Noob. I've gone from trying to main Link , to trying to main Lucina. Then secondary Cloud or Shulk. It appears that I like characters with swords xD xD
I feel like too many fighters fit into multiple categories. Ridley could easily be considered a swordie or rushdown, Steve, Hero, and Inkling are definitely resource-based characters, Olimar could be considered a puppeteer, etc.
12:12 correct me if I’m wrong, but wouldn’t another title for that kind of character (in its looser definition) be “Mishima”? Bayonetta with ewgf sounds fucking terrifying
I feel like the most honest appraisal of character archetypes in smash would look more like a venn diagram than a categorized list. So many characters, in my mind, functionally meet the full criteria of more than one archetype
It's worth mentioning that, in a lot of cases, characters are more so hybrids of multiple archetypes rather than just being one archetype. This is best seen with characters such as Roy (who'd best be described as a hybrid between the sword fighter and rushdown archetypes), Ridley (who's a hybrid between Sword Fighter, Heavy weight, and Grappler), and Steve (who's a hybrid between Mixup, Trapper, Resource based, and Gimmick character). There are obviously characters who fully embody an archetype to a fault, but in most cases, characters are a mix of many different archetypes which heavily influence their playstyle
Honestly, as a Pacman main, I see that he can be used in a lot of different ways, each with their own benefit. For example, his side special, Power Pellet, makes him approach the opponent easily and then Pacman can do a simple A move to damage them. His projectiles keep opponents at bay and, along with his amazing recovery, I use him to punish opponents mid-air. The up special can be used for some kind of trap also, which is his (probably) best known about. His combos are relatively good too. That really shows how versatile he is
im an inkling main, i wouldnt really call inkling a hit and run character. while you can play that way, you shouldnt be using inkling dash dance to run away, but rather to find openings and be unpredictable. inkling has some crazy combos too. i would call inkling more of a mix-up/combo character
Steve is so odd that he can at min be classified as a resource character, an enhancer (wep upgrades) and a gimmick (through the versatility of blocks). I feel like he could likely fit in two or three more
Steve can be a mixup (zoner when mining, become combo character when prepared), a trapper (tnt and anvil shieldbreaking, backthrow spike, minecart), an enchanter (weapon upgrades and powered minecart), a gimmick (his block alone have more teches than most characters), and a resource character (for obvious reason). 5 archetypes in 1 character lol 😂
In summary: LEEROY JENKINS! Now you see me, now you don't. I hit you three times, why are you still alive? You hit me? That's cute. Now DIE! What should I do now? Happy feet! Wombo-Combo! Jack of all trades, master of none. I like to move it, move it! En-guard! Yes, I hit you with a melee attack from another planet. If I hit you, I win. If you hit me, you win. Personally, I prefer the ground! Nice shield, you got there. INTENSIFY THE FORWARD FIREPOWER! A new DM building their first dungeon for the party. Master of puppets, I'm pulling your strings, twisting your mind and smashing your dreams. Imagine being normal. This meme posted by the Gimmick Gang. Shopping list. Temporary level up. Buy one, get one free.
Hiya, ROB main here. While you're entirely correct with ROB being able to mix his playstyle up, I'd personally put him in the trapper category. His Gyro is extremely useful for essentially shutting out parts of the stage and is a good way to chip damage if people forget it's there or don't know how to play around it. It's also good for edge guarding not just by being at the edge, but also with zair drop combos that can lead to kills as low as 50% with his side-b at the ledge
Most of your archetypes aren't real archetypes. Like great pichubis a glass cannon but in what way does that tell me how I should play him? Like what is my gameplan. Same with combo characters
Ics is more of a combo character Their neutral revolves around squall, blizzblocking and blizzwalling, and abusing those to do insane combos Their disadvantage is shit but their advantage leads into insane 0-deaths And sure, grabbing is a part of neutral, but their neutral revolves around walling out zoners and being able to get the hit to lead to the combo, not the grab itself
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Things I've learned from this video: - Kazuya is a footsies based character. Just ask Tekken players - Wolf and Palutena is in the same archetype as f*cking Steve - Greninja is in the same Archetype as the Shotos - Pokemon Trainer is a stance character I guess - Joker has to approach. Beat that MKLeo! - The Ranged Category is not the same as the Zoning category I've learned so much :)
@@meteor3920 Damn, you're right It takes so much effort to learn to switch from sword Shiek to Ike with better nair and projectile. So hard to master it took me an entire half of hour to learn them
@@laffy7204 OK Pyra/mythra is very easy, but there's no way Mythra nair is better than Ike nair. while yes it does kill on its own, which makes it better rising, Ike nair is still great for killing since it confirms into lots of stuff, and it's also way safer.
Dr. Mario is definitely not an all-rounder, you covered his glaring weaknesses but failed to mention his much stronger damage-dealing and stock-taking capabilities. He is a character that can be very rewarding if you play him to his strengths, and that would be to play him as a footsie character. Due to his poor speed and survivability, you must play him paitently and analyze your enemies movements and punish any mistakes they might make, but these punishes will hurt really hard due to his damage and knockback being much stronger than Mario's.
I think that I am a rushdown and a little bit of a grappler (it means I like to grab my opponents a lot). Is there a character that fits the description?
The truest mixup character of all is random
So true
ay smash bracket
Tbf random is the best Gannon counter pick
Yo it’s smash bracket
For those wanting to jump between sections:
0:48 Rushdown
4:07 Hit and Run
6:18 Heavy
7:52 Tank
8:54 Mix-up
11:35 Combo
13:38 All Arounders
15:52 Footsie
17:47 Swordies
20:36 Ranged
21:57 Glass Cannons
23:25 Grounder
24:03 Grappler
26:10 Zoner
28:19 Trapper
31:47 Puppeteers
32:53 Gimmick
34:35 Resource Based
35:15 Enhancer
35:57 Stance Changers
You forgot tanks
Oh crap, I'll update in a sec
Don't forget Grappler at 24:03
gimmick at 32:53
@@chasegoblin Thx
Ridley is more of a swordfighter due to the fact that his entire gameplay revolves around properly spacing his tippers and commanding the space around him. At high levels Ridley rarely ever uses his Space Pirate Rush (SPR) unless it's for something like platform tech chases or very hard callouts.
True. Same for Mewtwo for exemple. He's more of a Ranged or Mix ups character cause the glass canon aspect isn't what defines him at his core. Sephiroth is also very light for exemple but same, it's not what defines him the most.
@@kyurei4478 Yep, people just know Ridley for SPR the most because it's his most infamous move. Both Mewtwo and Sephiroth are similar due to their weight and how hard they hit, people know them most for that aspect. I'm not trying to rag on the video maker, I'm just trying to put my thoughts as an actual Ridley main out there.
@@ectrosvideolibrary It's true that it's a good move to have. I didn't precise it but I'm a Mewtwo main myself so I can definitely tell both character play very similarly. The major differences are just that Sephiroth has an actual full disjoint and more range while Mewtwo has a better neutral and better close range options. When you look at the characters in game their first defining aspect is the spacing/zoning game. Neither do I. I think this is a lot of work put into it even tho I have to admit some character placements are totally wrong for me.
@@kyurei4478 Yep, gotta respect the attempt he made! I like the fact that it's hard to full categorize any character in this game.
@@ectrosvideolibrary For sure, good work for such a video! The team succeeded to create a lot of variety despite some similarities. Even with similar characters, they're on a different side of the spectrum (faster, stronger, slower, weaker,better neutral, better edgeguard and so on). They even succeeded to find specific archetypes for some characters. Luigi heavily relies on grabs now for exemple. Very cool!
Steve is definetly a Resource-Based character
olimar as well
I think it's becuz Robin is useless without resources. Solomar exists, and Steve can still fight with his basic stuff to a specific extent
@@gabrielchee8470 "Solomar exists" when he can only use 4 moves. Steve moves, as you say, can be used to some extent. When he runs out of everything he loses a lot of moves. They are resource-based because the moveset is revolves around their resources
You shutting yo damn mouth is a resource-based character
@@smithclaxton3357 that is literally one of the worst roasts I’ve heard all day.
As a dedede main I can say he’s also a trapper, a solid part of his game plan is getting gordo set ups and edge guarding with gordo and combining gordo with other attacks
yeah, haven't gotta be a dedede main to notice
I totally agree, but I only wanted to put each character into one archetype for the sake of time, but he is completely a mix between a heavy and a trapper
@@Islanders61 I think you're confusing weight as a archetype and that's not the case. I like the attempt on the video though but you added a ton unnecessary categories.
@@dripfoe_3307 weight isn't the reason. a heavyweight in smash is a massive character that does extreme damage per hit, with mostly slow attacks to compensate. dedede fits that perfectly.
He's also a grappler
I'd put Lucario in the glass cannon category. I mean, it's designed to gradually excel in power when damaged, making him a character that literally trades off life power to get damage power, as glass cannons pretty much do.
I would say Lucario is either glass cannon or, if you're a stickler for what a class cannon could be, then Lucario is more of an all-rounder. His gimmick is not enough to set him into a different category imo, he doesn't excell in anything, he's pretty mid when it comes to literally everything about him, he just has a unique comeback gimmick.
Lucario should be glass cannon or all-rounder and Olimar should be included as a resource management archetype
That's the problem with this sort of categorizing. I would consider glass cannon to be more of an attribute than an archetype. Pichu is a glass cannon, as is Pyra, but they play nothing alike. Glass cannon refers to survivability, not play style.
@@hypotheticaltapeworm How is Pyra a glass cannon? They're perfectly average in terms of weight and they're recovery isn't bad enough to a point where I could see you make the argument that they're a glass canon like say you could argue, say little mac is.
@@yoyoguy1st Whatever that doesn't take away from my point. I don't know why I thought Pyra and Mythra were much lighter than they actually are, but my point is that glass cannons don't all play alike. It's inaccurate to call it an archetype, since everyone in it would overlap with other play styles.
Bro your just wrong. Glass cannon means a character is very strong when it comes to damage output yet they do so easily. Pichu would be a perfect example, his damage and combo game is insane but he does so so early from anything. Lucina is just a swordie.
Ridley main here.
You are not wrong when you say that he's hard to categorize. You decided to say he's a grappler and that's probably true at lower levels of play where SPR is more useful. Aside from his command grab (which is one of the slowest in the game) he has 1 good throw which is a combo throw. His forward and back throws don't kill or combo and the best thing his up throw does is set up for a tech chase on tri-plats.
So if he isn't a grappler what would I categorize him as?
A glass cannon maybe? Because of his size to weight. I would say no his attributes aren't extreme enough.
A swordie? Even though he doesn't use a sword he still spends large portions of the match looking for correct spacing.
Rushdown? This is a good place for him he is looking to be aggressive the whole match and do his absolute hardest not to be in disadvantage or neutral.
Combo? This one also fits because he has a few select moves to start combos. Sour spot of down tilt, N-air, up tilt etc.
Personally I would put him as a bait and punish character who wants to see what the opponent likes to do and then cover those options with short combos, brutal smash attacks or even a risky skewer.
He's a very strange character and no one knows what to do with him so I don't blame you for not getting him exactly right, good on you for knowing how strange he is to judge
I'd categorize him as a "Fun" character tho lol
@@mcmcribblit9603 Me too, I just wish his moves were more satisfying. Forward and Down air in particular feel really wimpy, and he has such an obvious Down Air candidate that I'm honestly surprised Sora Ltd neglected it.
But I honestly adore moves like Up Air for the pose and power, SPR for the reference, creativity, and utility within his kit, F Smash for its strength, F and D tilts for their range, and Skewer for the sheer brutality.
@@andymcclurg9916 F-air is actually one of my favorite moves though. You can use it from down throw at low to mid percent and get nice 25-30% string or you can use FF and use it to go into a rapid jab or f-tilt (if your spacing is good you can sweet spot it) but I agree d-air is all but pointless. Only time I use it cuz if I get it high into the blast zone to get lower quicker. Idk I love hitting down throw and hitting 3 f-airs to carry someone offstage, especially if they're DI'ing in, your almost guaranteed a stock
I'd say if no specific play style can be defined, no matter how general or specific, the character should be defined as unorthodox. They just... do their own thing.
Ridley is a heavy. Like yeah I get it he's not that "heavy" but he plays like a character in the heavy archetype, heavy refers to the archetype not their literal weight.
Timestamps with the Characters:
0:48 Rushdown (Fox, Pikachu, Captain Falcon, Sheik, Roy, Zero Suit Samus, Mii Brawler & Joker)
4:07 Hit and Run (Jigglypuff, Meta Knight, Sonic, Wii Fit Trainer & Inkling)
6:18 Heavy (Ganondorf & King Dedede)
7:52 Tank (Bowser & King K. Rool)
8:54 Mix-Up (Ness, Lucas, R.O.B., Wolf, Palutena & Steve)
11:35 Combo (Peach, Daisy, Falco, Wario & Bayonetta)
13:38 All Arounders (Mario, Yoshi, Kirby, Dr. Mario, Pit & Dark Pit)
15:52 Footsie (Diddy Kong, Greninja, Ryu, Ken, Terry & Kazuya)
17:47 Swordfighter (Marth, Lucina, Chrom, Ike, Mii Swordfighter, Cloud, Corrin & Byleth)
20:36 Ranged (Min Min & Sephiroth)
21:57 Glass Cannons (Pichu, Mewtwo, Mr. Game & Watch & Sora)
23:25 Grounder (Little Mac)
24:03 Grappler (Donkey Kong, Luigi, Ridley & Incineroar)
26:10 Zoner (Link, Samus, Dark Samus, Young Link, Toon Link, Villager, Mega Man, Mii Gunner & Banjo-Kazooie)
28:19 Trapper (Zelda, Snake, Pac-Man, Bowser Jr., Duck-Hunt, Simon, Richter, Isabelle & Piranha Plant)
31:47 Puppeteers (Ice Climbers and Rosalina & Luma)
32:53 Gimmick (Olimar & Lucario)
34:35 Resource Based (Robin)
35:15 Enhancer (Hero)
35:57 Stance Changers (Pokémon Trainer [with Squirtle, Ivysaur and Charizard], Shulk & The Aegis [Pyra / Mythra])
Which one of the Archetipes Sora fits in? (I Want to Update it when the answer is solve)
Maybe combo? I was thinking that myself. I’m a sonic main, and it took me awhile to figure out how to play well against sora. Sora has an amazing air game, sword game, recovery, and he’s not super slow or super heavy.
That or mix-up I would guess.
tysm for putting the characters next to the sections it was very helpful ^_^
He didn’t talk about sora in glass cannons…?
Edit:nvm I see. Though I bet he’s a mix of swordie and glass cannon
I would say sora is a more combo then glass cannon bcuz his ladder combos
Sora is a combo swordie but i cant tell which he fits better in. He has some decently complex combos but he also plays around his range and still has to space his attacks even without sour spots
Traditional fighting has around 8 archetypes, it's cool to see smash have categories of their own.
The main issue is that these sub-divisions also exist in other games, but for general play style isn’t differentiated.
A very good example is the classifying trapper and zoner as 2 separate categories as their gameplan is the same. In traditional fighters both are classified as zoners, but you’d save the traps vs. projectiles as a character specific variation.
Another example is grounder. Why is it its own archetype with 1 character when it’s just rush-down with the poor recovery being a character specific difference?
Sonic may be a Hit & Run character in official Smash but when it comes to the Mods & Fan Games he's the Rushdown character that he should've been since Brawl
As a puff main, she is 100% not a hit and run character. Player her as a hit and run character ensures you are playing her as a bottom 10 character. She is more of a glass cannon in the sense that you can carry most characters offstage after a single opening or convert a mistake by your opponent into a rest.
I think puff and kirby are rushdown character's because they might not befast but they relie on getting near the opponent and overwhelming them.
17:14 Diddy's great air speed? He has bottom 10 air speed in the game lol
I think he means when using monkey flip (and rocket barrels?)
Normally diddy does not but if you look up pro diddy Kong movement it’s insane. By combining monkey flip with popgun glitch diddy has some of the best air movement in the game
Why does Mac get his own archetype called grounder when that's essentially just a footsies character anyway?
bc he literally cant do anything in the air
Rushdown footsie who suck in the air
Mac isn't defined by his ability to space and string complex canceling combos together, he's defined by his ability to win by mashing while grounded and aerials that are just unbelievably terrible. His gameplan isn't bob, weave and touch of death, it's sit on the floor and charge f-smash
isn't he just a glass cannon anyways?
@@aetherius6221 Firstly, I don't think cancels are intrinsic to being a character centered around footsies. There's an agreement that Kazuya fits within this archetype and he doesn't have special cancels like the shotos and Terry.
But also, when you watch a really good Little Mac play, the primary gameplan definitely doesn't revolve around charging F-Smash and camping. It's using his incredible ground speed to make opponents whiff aerials and punishing. Then once they stay on the ground, he pressures with his crazy tilts or counter-punches with his armored smash attacks.
I noticed that all the mixup characters also have moves to handle projectiles
Magnet for ness & lucas
Rob's side B (can reflect)
Reflector for wolf and palutena,
And steve's blocks, I guess (this might be a stretch.)
Steve's blocks are definitely not a stretch in your argument. I would actually say that his blocks are the single most defining quality he has as a mix-up, since the creativity of the user can force the opponent to have to react to the block layout.
You need to research how each character is played more, these archetypes are very primitive they oversimplify and also mis identity a lot of characters.
Bowser is not the type of character he is due to having tough guy, nor is he comparable to krool
Captain falcon is not a rush down character given your definition, he is played mostly bait and punish and he can barely pressure shield so not really a pressure monster. He just has really good burst options.
But I will concede that it is hard to accurately do a video like this
For kkrool I would say he is a either zoner or trapper since his projectiles do stay out a while, while Bowser is more so a grappler since you often see him either comboing out of up throw or comboing into side b. And as far as captain falcon, I would just make a separate category called hype. He might be between a rush down and a hit and run, but all his moves are so flashy and I feel like he honestly deserves his own category. Oh, and now that Sora has come out I would reckon he is a hit and run, but that might just be my experience against him
The problem is that he is making it sound like the things he is saying are facts
Imo Cpt. Falcon ist pretty much a rush down character
King K. Rool could be a mixup too, by his definition
He has good projectiles that force the opponent to attack him
Bowser is kinda a all rounded grappler, I guess ?
Steve is a ressource-based trapper
Yeah I agree. I didn't agree with a whole lot of the content but it looks like a ton of effort was put in and I wouldn't want to undermine that
I definitely agree that a lot of these characters could fit into at least two different archetypes, like Dedede could be a Heavy and a Trapper for example.
Even though most of the footage was both of you not knowing how to play the character, I respect the hustle and I appreciate the attempt.
As a fan of both taxonomy and smash, I have to say this is an extremely well done video. Ty for the work put into this
I wouldn't divide the cast into quite so many categories. For instance, I really don't differentiate between ranged and zoners or tanks and heavies, but at least with the latter you do have the super armor gimmicks. Still, excellent video. I watched every minute of it and I enjoyed it. Very informative, thought out, and well presented.
I like this video a lot! Thank you. I think knowing strengths and weaknesses of character archetypes would perfect the video
I believe that Sora would fit in the "Glass Cannon" category.
Glass cannon and combo based character?
he isnt very cannon-y tbh
@@iknowwhereyoulive618 Depends on how you define cannon
Sora can do a lot of damage which could make you see him as a Cannon.
@@ivrydice0954 glass cannon is a very loose archetype. he fits into pretty traditional swordie play, but floaty. he isnt as fast as the other glass cannons, aside from game and watch, who's more focused on defensive play than any of the others. he doesn't have the wtf factor of stuff like shadow ball, disable, rest, bucket, gnw up b or everything chrom does. he kinda does normal swordie things, but with puff movement. while i think he fits the glass cannon label, i think he has less cannon than the others and just plays solid neutral. or at least he's designed that way, however probably unintentional new combo routes have given him some crazy high damage combos, early kill confirms and an infinite, so yeah he has the cannon. just doesn't feel like one at all.
@@iknowwhereyoulive618 Yeah you're right, he still takes some hits before dying
This is actually a really good and detailed video, sucks that you don't have more subs but if you keep making good content I think you'll do really well
It's nice to see a fairly well researched vid but the gameplay is kinda dogwater maybe use tourney vods, I know it's alot of editing but it would make your points clearer. Good vid hope ur channel grows
These clips are hilarious. Only a few minutes in and both Falcon and Sonic just straight up SD.
I definitely feel like zss is definitely hit and run or mix up. She doesn't rush down as much as she just carefully wins neutral and punishes opponents if you can get an easy read (nair flip kicks, down smash, deep edgeguards etc)
Just in case you need something specific:
0:00 Intro
0:51 Rushdown
4:10 Hit and Run
6:21 Heavy
7:55 Tank
8:55 Mix-Up
11:37 Combo
13:43 All Rounders
15:53 Footsie
17:53 Swordies
20:41 Ranged
21:59 Glass Cannons
23:28 Grounders
24:05 Grappler
26:12 Zoner
28:21 Trapper
31:50 Puppeteers
32:56 Gimmick
34:40 Resource Based
35:17 Enhancer
35:58 Stance Changers
37:31 Conclusion
I like your representation of steve being a mix up character. The only thing I noticed is that you say steve likes to spam minecart. While not necessarily wrong, using minecart uses iron, and iron is difficult to collect, so I wouldn’t say spam. It’s certainly a good move, nonetheless.
You probably don't know how happy it makes me to find a Steve lacking and using air blocks instead.
Watching the video and enjoying it. I'm glad to see more discussion videos on this topic.
I don't think there can ever be a definitive list of this sort, but therein is the fun. As you stated at the very beginning, most characters can be utilized in such different ways that characters can come across as several archetypes.
I'd love a follow up to this with potentially a few guests to play devil's advocate. That would be a longform podcast I'd listen to over and over.
Also, where would you place Sora? Happy holidays!
I would say he is a mix between the sword and hit and run archetypes. He does need to worry about carefully spacing his moves with his key blade sword, but he also has that flatness and great mobility that allows him to run away really well after getting a hit or doing a combo.
Hey there, this is a great video, thanks for putting your time in - it's much appreciated. I am undecided on a main and this video will help.
As a rangers fan I didn’t expect to see another hockey fan as a competitive smash fan let alone someone who knows a ton! I’m glad I came across this channel!
Sup here, Preds fan and competitive player also
Do we think we are the only 3 hockey and smash fans in the world? Hahaha
Sheesh, going from top player gameplay to watching average gameplay is huge whiplash.
Players just running off the ledge then getting themselves SD'd is way more representative of the real game.
Smash videos like this are always so great. The discussion in the comments is always so informative
I'm surprised that Sonic & Meta Knight especially are on the Hit & Run Archetype over the Combo Archetype considering they have two of the best combo games in the entire game
I'm honestly surprised Chrom is not a Rushdown Character like Roy is for obvious reasons then again considering he plays the game of spacing unlike Roy who plays the up close and personal game it makes sense why Chrom is in the Swordies Archetype
Here are all the archetypes in roster order.
All-Rounder: Mario, Yoshi, Kirby, Dr. Mario, and Pit/Dark Pit
Grappler: Donkey Kong, Luigi, Ridley, and Incineroar
Zoner: Link, Samus/Dark Samus, Young Link, Toon Link, Villager, Mega Man, Mii Gunner, and Banjo-Kazooie
Rushdown: Fox, Pikachu, Captain Falcon, Sheik, Roy, Zero Suit Samus, Mii Brawler, and Joker
Mix-Up: Ness, Lucas, ROB, Wolf, Palutena, and Steve
Hit and Run: Jigglypuff, Meta Knight, Sonic, Wii Fit Trainer, and Inkling
Combo: Peach/Daisy, Falco, Wario, Bayonetta, and Sora (IMO)
Trapper: Zelda, Snake, Pac-Man, Duck Hunt, Bowser Jr., Simon/Richter, Isabelle, and Piranha Plant
Puppeteer: Ice Climbers and Rosalina
Tank: Bowser and K. Rool
Glass Cannon: Pichu, Mewtwo, and Mr. Game and Watch
Swordie: Marth/Lucina, Chrom, Ike, Mii Swordfighter, Cloud, Corrin, and Byleth
Heavy: Ganondorf and Dedede
Stance: Pokemon Trainer, Shulk, and Pyra/Mythra
Footsie: Diddy Kong, Greninja, Ryu/Ken, Terry, and Kazuya
Gimmick: Olimar and Lucario
Grounder: Little Mac
Resource-Based: Robin
Enhancer: Hero
Ranged: Min-Min and Sephiroth
How is Ridley a grappler?
@@craftymasterproductions4218 Don't ask me, ask the uploader.
Where’s zss?
@@tsoprano4891 Missed one, thanks.
I've been wanting this type of video for a long time coming. Underrated as hell!
I don't like how you mixed traits and tools. You could have a tank rush down. Because a rush down might have a lot of super armor. We'll not a rush down but a glass Canon. Little Mac is literally that.
The smash environnement is pretty messed up for archetypes. We keep saying swordies. And they're indeed a group of character. But they anr the same archetype. Roy is a rush down. Lucia and Marth are footsies. Etc.
Having a sword or tanking ability is not a trait, but a tool. And tank trait would that they use their tanking ability. Wich kkrool doesn't. It's just a bonus for him. Same for sephiroth in the ranged archetype. They only use their range to emphasize their setplay and trap gameplay. Think about it. Sephiroth put a time bomb on you, and can set up huge explosion zones. Can use both to for positioning, threatening enemies with a low percent kill. Or locking them in shield /forcing a roll.
Traits and told are different. If you like Roy and we tell you to look at other swordies to find another Chara ter you like will not work. Byleth for example will look very similar despite being very different.
Megaman is more like a Ranged like Min Min and Sephiroth than a zoner IMO. He simply isn’t very dangerous at a distance, and does actually want you to get close on his terms, ie where he can use very fast killing moves like uptilt, downsmash and uptilt.
Correct. Megaman is a fake zoner. Hes honestly more of a whiff punisher than a zoner imo. Annoying with pellets and punishing you for overextending?
Such a good UA-camr needs more subs
I’ve been playing smash my entire life and this video was so beneficial and I learned so much! Thanks for the time and effort you put in
came across this gem of a channel, your in depth and well spoken presentation is absolutely phenomenal, can't wait to see more
This video is so good and informative!! Thanks. Also amazing usage of Mother 3 OST
I think incineroar is built to be a grappler specifically according to Mr Sakurai. Idk if any other character is built similarly.
Yeah, the original video even compared Incin to Zangief (the "something of a Red Cyclone" line) so it's pretty clear
Why is nobody talking about how this guy just explained how to use every character in the game.
Because that's the point of the video that we all just spent 40 mins watching, why would any of us be surprised by this fact?
@@arianagrandefromfortnite did I say the word "Surprised" in any part of my comment?
I think your definition of trapper could definitely include Yink and especially Big Link, since they're both able to have multiple projectiles out at once similar to Simon and Richter. But I do think of them as zoners as well, so either way
I'm an Inkling main. I wouldn't say she's necessarily a hit and run character. Although getting a hit and waiting for an opening is big in Inkling's neutral, I think she's more of combination of a combo and resource based character.
Ink is an extremely useful resource that is almost a necessity Inkling's kit. Without her ink, it would be a lot harder for her to kill or even deal damage. Roller can't be used without ink and that's pretty much the only way for her to kill. Also if her ink is out, her damage output abysmal. She's kind of like Shiek only with shorter hitboxes. That's why she has to manage her ink so much in a game. You have to keep track of the ink meter in order to do jabs, splat bombs, roller, and every smash attack.
Inkling also has an amazing aerial game that can take a character across the stage for a kill. U-tilt can lead into nair chains across stage to the blast zone, which can then be finished off into a fair. She's a lot like Wario in this case.
Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.
Banjo is a trapper / zoner / brawler / mixups with his dlc move breegal blaster .
I am so happy this got randomly recommended to me. Love this video
I decided to figure out the average tier placement for each archetype, where S is 7, A+ is 6, A is 5, B is 4, C is 3, D is 2, and E is 1. Here's how it ended up:
Stance Changers: A+
Rushdown: A+
Mix-Up: A+
Ranged: A+
Combo: A
Footsies: A
Hit and Run: B
Swordies: B
Glass cannons: B
Enhancers: B
Zoners: B
Puppeteers: B
Tank: C
All-arounders: C
Trappers: C
Resource Based: C
Grappler: C
Heavy: D
Grounders: E
Great video, I have been wondering this for a long time but didn't have the know how to figure it out myself
This is a very interesting and helpful video for newcomers to fighting games despite the fact that there is some character placements I absolutely don't agree with and I feel like you wanted to categorize too much thus some archetypalizations become pretty much useless and could be summed up in another larger archetype. But great job overall.
Rushdown: Joker 2:24, Roy 3:42
Mix-up: Lucas 10:07
Combo: Bayonetta 11:46, Falco 12:42
All-Arounder: Mario 14:00, Kirby 15:08, Dark Pit 15:30
Footsie: Greninja 16:19
Swordie: Cloud 19:13, Byleth 20:14
Zoner: Link 28:00, Toon Link, 28:11
Trapper: Zelda 29:54, Richter 30:58
Puppeteer: Rosalina & Luma 32:35
Stance Changers: Pyra/Mythra 37:02
I know that this video is fairly recent, and you did a fairly decent job talking about this, I think there are quite a few oversights that you've made simply because you don't main EVERY SINGLE character. An updated version could be nice
This vid's definitely going into the Cool folder. Really interesting subject and sweet execution, bro. If you ever make a follow-up, I'd love for you to talk about all the characters that are fusions of archetypes.
That's the only thing that felt missing, but I can understand why you didn't want to add that to this already chunky video
I do think it would have been better if you just used the main archetypes. Most people in the smash community don’t really use some of the terms in this video. I think a good list would have been
Rushdown
Zoner: includes ranged and trappers, as well as Steve
Heavy: includes tanks
All Around
Glass Canon: includes lucario
Shoto (fighting game characters)
Swordie: Includes Hero
The reason I saw this is because one, a lot of the categories in this video are unused when talking about smash, two is that having that many categories complicates the video and puts characters in sub categories that are basically a modified version of another/and or are just not really a category (combo [yes they have a much better combo game then most, most combo characters play differently then each other by a lot actually], grounded [Mac is more of a glass canon because he is powerful on the ground like you said, but is weak in the air and dies early], gimmick [lucario fits glass canon because he needs to be at higher percentage to do more damage, hero is more of a swordie/zoner because of his abundance of projectiles and the need to be spaced away from his opponent].
For players who are either into Traditional Fighting Games but not Platform Fighters, it may be helpful to have a examples of each playstyle from outside of SSBU.
Rushdowns are prevalent- The main one I think of is Cammy White from Street Fighter or Seth from Under Night In Birth
Heavies I struggle to find, at least no heavies that don't better fit into Grappler or Tank
Even with Tank the only character I could think of Juggernaut from Marvel vs Capcom
Mix-Ups- Bardock is a pretty common example to give
For Combo Characters I found that Black Panther in Marvel vs Capcom fits this style
Most Fighting game's main characters are All Arounders, its pretty basic Game Design 101, so probably just stick to whoever the main character of a given game is... like Ryu
Footsies and Swordies- Footsies are just an integral part of most traditional fighting games but if you want a character who excels in the playstyle of Footsie and Swordie characters, look for Mid Rangers like Ky Kiske from Guilty Gear
Ranged Characters aren't too uncommon, I'd say Dhalsim from Street Fighter is the best example I could give
Glass Cannon- Akuma and Ibuki from Street Fighter are great examples of this style
Grapplers are super common, the quintessential options are Zangief from Street Fighter and Potemkin from Guilty Gear
Also if you specifically like Luigi, non Heavy-Grapplers are known as Semi Grapplers with characters like R. Mika from Street Fighter or She-Hulk from Marvel vs Capcom 3
Zoner- Id say the best example for a Zoner off the top of my head is probably Iron Man in Marvel vs Capcom
Trapper- Carmine from Under Night is the first idea I can think of, placing puddles of blood and causing spikes to shoot up out of
Puppeteers- MOST CHARACTERS IN JOJO GAMES, otherwise I'd say Zato-1 from Guilty Gear
Gimmick characters are everywhere mainly in Air Dashers. Most notable Gimmick fighters coming to mind are Pheonix Wright in Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 and Junpei Iori from Persona 4 Arena Ultimax
Resource Based Characters are most commonly Zoners with Limited Arrows or Bullets. First one coming to mind is Naoto Shirogane from Persona 4 Arena
Enhancer- The Main Enhancer coming to mind would probably be Hakan from Street Fighter IV
Also not mentioned in the video but the Item Puller is a common archetype which functions similarly to Hero with Down Special. Faust from Guilty Gear, Teddie from Persona 4 Arena and Neco Arc from Melty Blood
Stance Changers are also common- Gen from Street Fighter is the main one I think of
Non-Tank or Grappler Heavies, Grounders, Hit and Run characters I'm sorry I don't have any good examples at the moment
If you watch the video on mute, it looks like level 0 CPU’s are playing
I'm still very new to trying to play this game properly, and I had no idea there were all these Archetypes but as I watch this it's funny to see how I clearly had preferences because all of the characters I've grown to like fit into only 2 of these
The stance changers is my favorite archetype
This was such a great video and helps me out a lot. Thx
"Unlike zoners, these projectiles are not the main aspects of their gameplan"
*Ness, spamming PK fire*
Ya if your gsp is at 1 million. The pk fire joke is getting old.
Because that's low level play
Nice editing! Love the content
Does Smash Bros have any proper “Setplay” characters, and if so, what characters would best fit into that criteria? I know a Setplay character in a traditional fighting game would be one that focuses on a specific gameplan that requires setup and especially is great at punishing knockdowns, but I’m not sure on how that translates into Smash due to the lack of common knockdowns aside from the occasional tech chase (that are far too uncommon to dedicate a character towards)
Can you define setplay? Not too sure what that is.
@ From the Fighting Game Glossary:
“Performing a pre-planned, calculated setup after you've knocked your opponent down. There's no winging it by the seat of your pants here; set play often involves some frame kills to set up very specific timing that will make your mixups extremely ambiguous and often avoid reversals.”
Essentially characters with a particular path of attack that specializes in knockdown setups, either through setting up unblockable projectiles on their getup or performing some other crucial action.
The best examples I can think of would be Beerus in DBFZ with his various orb attacks or several Guilty Gear characters.
@@thequagiestsire oh I see, and if knock downs are missed techs, a character i see force that a lot is ZSS with her Zair. Also byleth can force a lot of tech situations with her fantastic Nair. And she may not have an unlockable projectile, hers does heavy shield damage. And another actually may be joker, his gun has a huge hitbox while being a massive disjoint, and unable to be reflected and can knock opponents down or even trip so honestly that may be the closest thing, sorta like a diddy kong banana peel
35:18 Shulk: I feel so out of place here.(can't transform) Pokemon trainer: Same here.(not Xenoblade character)
Shulk is absolutely a stance changer, his entire gameplan changes on a dime depending on his art, (with speed he tries to close the gap between his opponent, it’s mostly used in zoner mus where his range won’t give him much benefit, buster for when he is in his optimal range where he’s able to hit his moves with little to no risk, smash for closing stocks (very risky at high %s) which forces the opponent to respect his range even more in hopes of both not getting hit and timing out the art, shield for escaping combos and minimizing damage (especially in last hit scenarios, notice how he becomes a glass cannon with smash art but a heavy that relies on trying to get the opponent in worse positioning while still in the art) and jump for mostly recovering, but I’ve seen the art used for edgegarding and juggling in very rare situations. Lastly you don’t need to be a xenoblade character to be a stance character, this archetype has the potential to exist in every fighting game not just the one with xenoblade reps.
@@palpastrikead3037 you are such a loser dude it was a joke
Thanks! Is there a rock/paper/scissors list when it comes to types? I feel I change my style up based on how I feel it’s going and it would be good to know where the matchups stand.
18:10 rosalyna's observatory song, really a nice thing to remember
While botw link definitely makes very good use of his projectiles, he uses them more for setting up kill confirms (unless you're playing on elite smash, where he camps harder than a Sonic player), so even though zoner fits, he fits really well into the trapper and swordie archetypes.
Your content is awesome. Keep it up bro
This is a great video how does this guy only have 602 subscribers? Sorry 603 now.
Excellent stuff dood! I am Smash Noob. I've gone from trying to main Link , to trying to main Lucina. Then secondary Cloud or Shulk. It appears that I like characters with swords xD xD
I feel like too many fighters fit into multiple categories. Ridley could easily be considered a swordie or rushdown, Steve, Hero, and Inkling are definitely resource-based characters, Olimar could be considered a puppeteer, etc.
12:12 correct me if I’m wrong, but wouldn’t another title for that kind of character (in its looser definition) be “Mishima”?
Bayonetta with ewgf sounds fucking terrifying
I feel like the most honest appraisal of character archetypes in smash would look more like a venn diagram than a categorized list. So many characters, in my mind, functionally meet the full criteria of more than one archetype
It's worth mentioning that, in a lot of cases, characters are more so hybrids of multiple archetypes rather than just being one archetype. This is best seen with characters such as Roy (who'd best be described as a hybrid between the sword fighter and rushdown archetypes), Ridley (who's a hybrid between Sword Fighter, Heavy weight, and Grappler), and Steve (who's a hybrid between Mixup, Trapper, Resource based, and Gimmick character). There are obviously characters who fully embody an archetype to a fault, but in most cases, characters are a mix of many different archetypes which heavily influence their playstyle
As a Kirby main, you’re right! I’d say his secondary category is rushdown, or at least that’s how I play him.
Same! His combo game pretty much eats heavy weights for breakfast
Honestly, as a Pacman main, I see that he can be used in a lot of different ways, each with their own benefit. For example, his side special, Power Pellet, makes him approach the opponent easily and then Pacman can do a simple A move to damage them. His projectiles keep opponents at bay and, along with his amazing recovery, I use him to punish opponents mid-air. The up special can be used for some kind of trap also, which is his (probably) best known about. His combos are relatively good too. That really shows how versatile he is
im an inkling main, i wouldnt really call inkling a hit and run character. while you can play that way, you shouldnt be using inkling dash dance to run away, but rather to find openings and be unpredictable. inkling has some crazy combos too. i would call inkling more of a mix-up/combo character
Steve is so odd that he can at min be classified as a resource character, an enhancer (wep upgrades) and a gimmick (through the versatility of blocks). I feel like he could likely fit in two or three more
Steve can be a mixup (zoner when mining, become combo character when prepared), a trapper (tnt and anvil shieldbreaking, backthrow spike, minecart), an enchanter (weapon upgrades and powered minecart), a gimmick (his block alone have more teches than most characters), and a resource character (for obvious reason).
5 archetypes in 1 character lol 😂
Can someone tell me the name of the song in the Zoner section 26:08? I can feel the nostalgia, but can't figure out what I know it from
That's samus' win theme at the end of a game. I don't know what song its based on but that's the song used
In summary:
LEEROY JENKINS!
Now you see me, now you don't.
I hit you three times, why are you still alive?
You hit me? That's cute. Now DIE!
What should I do now?
Happy feet! Wombo-Combo!
Jack of all trades, master of none.
I like to move it, move it!
En-guard!
Yes, I hit you with a melee attack from another planet.
If I hit you, I win. If you hit me, you win.
Personally, I prefer the ground!
Nice shield, you got there.
INTENSIFY THE FORWARD FIREPOWER!
A new DM building their first dungeon for the party.
Master of puppets, I'm pulling your strings, twisting your mind and smashing your dreams.
Imagine being normal. This meme posted by the Gimmick Gang.
Shopping list.
Temporary level up.
Buy one, get one free.
Hiya, ROB main here. While you're entirely correct with ROB being able to mix his playstyle up, I'd personally put him in the trapper category. His Gyro is extremely useful for essentially shutting out parts of the stage and is a good way to chip damage if people forget it's there or don't know how to play around it. It's also good for edge guarding not just by being at the edge, but also with zair drop combos that can lead to kills as low as 50% with his side-b at the ledge
Everyone: Gets a Proper Architype that (more or less) fits them
Dr. Mario: He's sucks, lol.
Great video man, this is a video I will show every time my friends or someone says all swordies are the same 😂
Isn’t hit and run like whiff/bait punisher?
Correct, that's what it should be referred as and is missing some of the most important characters in that archetype like joker and zss
Most of your archetypes aren't real archetypes. Like great pichubis a glass cannon but in what way does that tell me how I should play him? Like what is my gameplan. Same with combo characters
That’s why he said they could fit into multiple archetypes, pichu would obviously be like pikachu since he shares the same frame data and attacks
@@janswhatsupdoc yes but what about a character that is just a glass cannon. If it doesn't describe your gamplan then it is a trait, not an archetype
Ics is more of a combo character
Their neutral revolves around squall, blizzblocking and blizzwalling, and abusing those to do insane combos
Their disadvantage is shit but their advantage leads into insane 0-deaths
And sure, grabbing is a part of neutral, but their neutral revolves around walling out zoners and being able to get the hit to lead to the combo, not the grab itself
i think iceies, rose, and olimar are all puppeteers
im guessing your and ice climber main?
@@Illseeyoutmrw oh nah i play everyone except duck hunt
Ics is a char ive been working on
Can someone tell me what the music at 13:46 (all arounder) is? Have listened to it a few times but still no clue.
Hi I don't know what it's called BUT! there's a website called Shazam that can help you find any music you ever hear, you won't have to ask about it online ever again, I highly recommend it. I sound like a bot but fr try it out.
Things I've learned from this video:
- Kazuya is a footsies based character. Just ask Tekken players
- Wolf and Palutena is in the same archetype as f*cking Steve
- Greninja is in the same Archetype as the Shotos
- Pokemon Trainer is a stance character I guess
- Joker has to approach. Beat that MKLeo!
- The Ranged Category is not the same as the Zoning category
I've learned so much :)
Forgot that Pyra/Mythra is apparently one of the hardest characters in the game
@@meteor3920 Damn, you're right
It takes so much effort to learn to switch from sword Shiek to Ike with better nair and projectile. So hard to master it took me an entire half of hour to learn them
I hope you also learned that Mii brawler is the sickest character of all time.
@@peterduprey7286 Who, better Fox?
@@laffy7204 OK Pyra/mythra is very easy, but there's no way Mythra nair is better than Ike nair. while yes it does kill on its own, which makes it better rising, Ike nair is still great for killing since it confirms into lots of stuff, and it's also way safer.
the music for little macs segment is really funny
How would you classify Sora? Is he a glass cannon with his light weight and damage dealing. Or a mix-up, or zoner? Maybe his own category?
I feel like characters like Olimar and Steve fit into a resource management archetype
Dr. Mario is definitely not an all-rounder, you covered his glaring weaknesses but failed to mention his much stronger damage-dealing and stock-taking capabilities. He is a character that can be very rewarding if you play him to his strengths, and that would be to play him as a footsie character. Due to his poor speed and survivability, you must play him paitently and analyze your enemies movements and punish any mistakes they might make, but these punishes will hurt really hard due to his damage and knockback being much stronger than Mario's.
Also makes sense as like you said, he's very damn slow and has poor recovery.
This is a great video. I’m a Mii Brawler and Mewtwo guy myself. If I had to pick a third, Bowser or Hero.
I'm a Chrom and Incineraor guy with Mewtwo as a secondary
I think that I am a rushdown and a little bit of a grappler (it means I like to grab my opponents a lot). Is there a character that fits the description?
I'm a sonic main, and I use him as a rush down fighter and it works out pretty well.
What an interesting Video! It's Perfect for Rookies... Why isn't popular?
Joker is more bait and punish since his approach options are ok but his spacing with gun and Eiha are great
Nice music choice 👍
with your own definition of resource character, steve fits there better than in the mix ups
beautiful video buddy, thank you
Steve is definitely a resource based character lol