Ike Video Thread (Critiques Welcome!)

[Rango the Mercenary]

Did some matches online with Reflex. Our last battle. His connection was good, too.

I feel my neutral is improving tremendously.

 

[JJpalmer]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwklILKhHoo just some of my lower level play advice is always appreciated if i can get my matchs of me getting bodied by a sonic player uploaded ill post those as well

 

[Ffamran]

On showdowngg and from Genesis 3, Ryo's Ike vs. Umeki's Peach: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lj0LJyiwcnw. I didn't watch all of Genesis 3, but I don't remember seeing any Ike on stream... Was Ryo the only one on stream?

Oh, and doubles; Ryo's Ike and Sol's Little Mac vs. Komorikiri's Cloud and Ranai's Villager: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCZddA6gn4k.

 

[Mario766]

Ryo was the only Ike on stream yeah.

Too bad that set with Umeki was sad as fk.

 

[Rango the Mercenary]

Went up against Dingo in Grand Finals. Got reset, and then lost the last set as well. His Cloud seriously knows how to disrespect.

-Charging Side B recovery while he had Limit Blade Beam
-"Fat-fingering" and popping an Aether on-stage when I meant to use a UTilt
-Low Aether cost me on Lylat due to the ledge

I tried my very best to avoid challenging him in the air unless I was going for an edgeguard. Cloud has CLEAR advantage on Battlefield and Lylat - let alone charging Limit on Smashville, which he decided not to even go to - and on Final Destination, he still has plenty of juggling properties without platforms. His Bairs were super hard to deal with, and I could not place a proper edgeguard on him since he mixed up every one of his recoveries.

 

[PyroTakun]

Went up against Dingo in Grand Finals. Got reset, and then lost the last set as well. His Cloud seriously knows how to disrespect.

The match begins at 02:27:00. Can someone point out how to deal with his Bairs and edgeguarding properly?

Sorry for the random chatbox, as this will be posted on YouTube. The main mistakes I know I made were:

-Charging Side B recovery while he had Limit Blade Beam
-"Fat-fingering" and popping an Aether on-stage when I meant to use a UTilt
-Low Aether cost me on Lylat due to the ledge

I tried my very best to avoid challenging him in the air unless I was going for an edgeguard. Cloud has CLEAR advantage on Battlefield and Lylat - let alone charging Limit on Smashville, which he decided not to even go to - and on Final Destination, he still has plenty of juggling properties without platforms. His Bairs were super hard to deal with, and I could not place a proper edgeguard on him since he mixed up every one of his recoveries.

Other things I've noticed:
- Trying to use D-Smash to edgeguard. This move is trash. U-Smash would've served you better and the sword slightly reaches below the edge of the stage
- Your timing on the Double Jumps vs Cloud were a little off; you did it slightly early and ate a lot of U-Airs
- There were a couple times you rolled behind Dingo right before he threw out LB Side-B and missed. I feel like you might have been able to punish with F-Smash, not too sure though
- On Battlefield when you know your opponent has to land on one of the side platforms, go for U-Smash. If you stand directly below the platform U-Smash will reach through all of it and cover all their landing options.
- Finally, you still have that terrible rolling habit and it really stuck out like a sore thumb this set. Try to mix in retreating F-Airs, B-Airs, and pivot grabs when running away. For approaching mix in tomahawks.

You still did great though, I think Cloud is a weird MU for us.

 

[Rango the Mercenary]

Yeah it is. I feel if you don't nip it in the bud and get a successful offstage gimp on him early, you've got a difficult matchup compounded with whatever the stage gives him to use against us. Also note, I edited the post to include the YouTube link to the match.

 

[AvoiD]

Have a set against The Wall (Best Yoshi) from his place a month ago, forgot to post them.

https://youtu.be/MY4rluQlqZg?t=1201

The set starts at 20:00 and ends at 31:15. There's a few other matches of me against a Rosa and another Ike throughout the vid if you wanted to take a look.

and a tournament set vs. SnorlaxPie500 (Cloud/Diddy Kong)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhfb8Tcw4-0

Wouldn't mind some help/advice in the Diddy matchup, regardless of winning it since it was a read to end the set lel. Felt like the mu is heavily in his favor throughout.

 

[CrypticStorm]

Would love some feedback on my gameplay vs this ZSS.

 

[Rango the Mercenary]

Would love some feedback on my gameplay vs this ZSS.

+Good for you using Aether to not take any chances
+Also good USmash punish

Work on this.

-Instead of charging Smashes or holding shield, mix in dash-shields when she's offstage. Focus on what you can do WHEN she recovers, not before.
-Stay out of the air. A good ZSS will fish for your jumps just so she can Uair combo you to death.
-Roll towards, not away. It's how her grapple beam works.
-Don't bother with DThrow. UThrow always connects better.
-DThrow Fair. Uair should only be saved as an airdodge read kill move (80-90% or higher), unless you're going frame-perfect for a kill confirm against Captain Falcon or Cloud.
-Buffer your Fairs. She dodged twice when both of those could have been a combo.

 

[Silent Assasin]

Hello everyone! I need your help with these match ups please! Critique me! Be as harsh on my play as you like. I don't care just comment on it. I wanna get good.

This match covers my struggle against Rosalina and Luma players.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51JPuhxARqs&index=1&list=PL-ZZxiBKUOzhQhxgSy3FiOZKcylsDzDEa

My other bad matchup against diddy kong.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXVaURItNAE&list=PL-ZZxiBKUOzhNy7kIAhBd_3eGNAMpODc5&index=2

 

[Tarastel]

Hello everyone! I need your help with these match ups please! Critique me! Be as harsh on my play as you like. I don't care just comment on it. I wanna get good.

This match covers my struggle against Rosalina and Luma players.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51JPuhxARqs&index=1&list=PL-ZZxiBKUOzhQhxgSy3FiOZKcylsDzDEa

My other bad matchup against diddy kong.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXVaURItNAE&list=PL-ZZxiBKUOzhNy7kIAhBd_3eGNAMpODc5&index=2

Just a few tips to help you out(based on the Rosalina vid).

COUNTER
You should stop relying so much on Counter. Yes, it's netted you a few kills and some damage,but against higher level players the moment you counter might be the moment you lose a stock, plus his is one of the longest lasting ones which makes it even easier to punish. Even Ryo uses counter sparingly(you can look up him and Ryuga for high level examples). You also just threw a counter during one of the matches when you didn't know what to do during the neutral, and you should never do that.

UPSMASH
Upsmash is a good move, but you shouldn't use it as frequently as you did. You kept expecting them to run into it over and over and that got you killed. Even though Ike's tilts don't pack as much of a punch, those are often more viable. Ike's smashes are more for heavy reads.

Also try some variation on when you get up onto the ledge, most of the times it was just a simple get up.

FASTFALLS
Lastly, work on your fast fall attacks. You kept attacking Rosalina's shield with aerials, which isn't completely bad so long as you space it to maximize your sword range and also fast fall so you don't just stay in the air floating for a bit. Even then, only some of his moves are safe on shield. You should try and do fast fall bairs more often since bair is one of Ike's best moves.

 

[Rango the Mercenary]

Went up against Reflex at Gwinnett Brawl. I made the mistake to use Eruption against Wario and he conditioned me into SDing on Game 2. Also, my bad ledge-jumping habit cost me. Did I miss anything else?

 

[Silent Assasin]

Tarastel Thanks for the comments! This was pretty helpful. I will be soooo much better the next time I post a video on here.

 

[Tarastel]

Tarastel Thanks for the comments! This was pretty helpful. I will be soooo much better the next time I post a video on here.

Glad to help in anyway I could.

 

[constable lemon]

I played a set this week against a really good Charizard player.

I made some critical mistakes and had some issues with just not knowing some aspects of the character I was fighting, but I'd like some input on my Ike play in general.

 

[HAVOC.]

Lol that's funny but yeah charizard is not very used especially In tourneys,I main with ZarD and I went to my first tournament a week ago and got 5th place with charizard.allow me to break him down for you
Pro's:
N-air covers entire front,top, and somewhat below and behind him,this attack can kill at really high percentages of it sweet spots (hits with flame on tip of tail)
F-air is great kill move (But it seems you learned that the hard way lol)
B-air is best kill move if it sweet spots,but has a lot of end lag unless it's full hopped in which case it can be auto cancelled
Has super Armor on all Specials except flamethrower (also has super armor on U-tilt)
Flare Blits can be edge canceled on stages with platforms which will allow them to almost instantly recover from flare blitz.
Charizard excels at two specific stages,Town and city and Duckhunt stage,because of the high platforms his U-throw can KO at around 60-70 on duck hunt stage.
Flamethrower can be directed upwards
Cons:
End lag on a lot of moves,F-air,B-air,Flare Blitz,Rock smash and Flamethrower has a lot of end lag
Is incredibly easy to camp and can be easily beaten by Link,Toon Link and Duck Hunt (This is basically what makes him a hated character by many)
Anyways your Ike gameplay was still very good,learn to fight charizard more though

 

[Rango the Mercenary]

Went up against ScAtt at Kings of the South 2. Loser's Quarters, went to Game 5. Looking for critique.

On the matchup thread, I posted some new theories and possibilities that would possibly help us in this matchup.

 

[Rango the Mercenary]

Here's my most recent matches against Dingo at Gwinnett Brawl. Lost both winner's quarters and loser's semis against him. I feel it is imperative that anyone who can point out anything do so in this video to improve the matchup chances among the Ike community.

If you notice the followups, he can practically 0-90% Ike off a single juggle, and just attempting to go offstage he can still chase us there. Plus, we simply cannot land against Cloud except on Smashville.

It especially comes down to stage management. He'll ban Final Destination, making Smashville his worst stage. Truth be told, I'm thinking of trying Duck Hunt next time we fight. Less platforms means less juggles, and on a flat stage, we hold the advantage.

But the truth is, especially with the majority of stages favoring Cloud and his juggles, and what you find in the videos, Cloud is one of Ike's dirtiest matchups. Not as bad as Sheik, but worse than Mario and Diddy Kong. And given the ever growing number of Cloud mains in the community, it is imperative we prepare ourselves for this matchup as best we can.

And just to show I'm doing my homework, here's a few things I picked up from the first vid:

-NEVER roll towards Cloud. You want to stay out of his vicinity. Roll away, shield briefly before mixing up, or attack. Note that if you roll away, he may simply Cross Slash you for ~20%.
-If he does DThrow after 30%, jump away, preparing Bair or Counter if he approaches with Fair.
-Never challenge Cloud in the air. Save your aerials for when you're reasonably spaced horizontally or following up from a combo. While it's okay to make the occasional approach with Fair or retreat with Fair/Bair, his aerials are not only faster, but his Dair will beat you out almost every time.
-If he's already in the air and landing with Dair, you can Counter or simply shield. Do not go in the air with him while he's landing or you will lose the exchange every time. If you shield, mind three things:
1) The crossup, in case he's behind you.
2) The autocancel, in case he tries an immediate followup.
3) Also note, you can punish with pivot DTilt. But whatever you do, just STAY ON THE GROUND while he's landing.
-Ledge-attack Cloud if he whiffs a punish. Don't bother trying to get up from the ledge and punish. He'll just jab you.
-Do not stay in shield against Cloud. His dash speed is too great and he can simply mixup on your OoS options with Cross Slash.
-Just like with Rosalina, it is imperative to know when you have your airhops and when he has his. This may save you against his Uair juggles. Despite being very greedy, air hopping towards the ledge, followed by an airdodge, may be your only chance.
-If you whiff DTilt while he recovers low, SHIELD. He will Uair. You can punish this if you shielded before he hits.

Note that Town & City is an optimal stage for us since half of the stage is FD, which is what we need. The platforms are too inconsistent for him to reliably land strings every time. Only on occasion will he Uair us on the platform, but we seem to have more legroom to escape.

And despite Battlefield being very bad for us, make sure you always ban Lylat. You at least have a chance on BF.

 

[Mario766]

I played a set this week against a really good Charizard player.

I made some critical mistakes and had some issues with just not knowing some aspects of the character I was fighting, but I'd like some input on my Ike play in general.

I suggest you watch my sets with Shadow.

 

[AfroShinobii]

First time regional any advice would be appreciated as I want to compete regularly.

 

[Zack117]

Thought I'd share this one with you guys. Don't remember we ever got to see those two guys fighting.

I wonder how Ryo didn't trade with Link's recovery at 1:35. Don't know the exact hitboxes of that upB but it seems the bair hit Link right when Link's hitbox switched sides. Is it even possible to time this?

All in all a very interesting set and I'm glad it went full length.

Oh and the jab1 into ftilt that took the final stock was a thing of BEAUTY!!!

 

[ZaeemZ]

First time regional any advice would be appreciated as I want to compete regularly.

hmm what i would say as things that could be changed and improved is mixing up the gab combo rather than the normal gab. for example gab 1 into down tilt or gab 2 into down tilt or gab 2 into run grab. also another thing is i would say is try to approach him in the air when he recovers, since he likes to recover low just jump out and i am 100% sure he would air dodge the second he sees you plus even if u are hit at low to mid percents you will be fine and he might die because end lag of his moves. if he doesn't throw out a move which he wouldn't wait for air dodge and punish. or try to go for ledge trump since you are unable to hit him as he goes up. those are just want i would say to focus on first then i would say use tomahawk since almost every time u landed you did with an aerial which isn't bad but tomahawk is a good mixup. hope it helps and sorry for long text also fyi this is what i think could be improved but i am no top player, just saying this as a disclaimer.

 

[Rango the Mercenary]

Thought I'd share this one with you guys. Don't remember we ever got to see those two guys fighting.

I wonder how Ryo didn't trade with Link's recovery at 1:35. Don't know the exact hitboxes of that upB but it seems the bair hit Link right when Link's hitbox switched sides. Is it even possible to time this?

All in all a very interesting set and I'm glad it went full length.

Oh and the jab1 into ftilt that took the final stock was a thing of BEAUTY!!!

Can someone tell me how Eruption flat-out missed at 12:11? The timing was spot-on.

 

[Mario766]

He was either 1 frame early

or the side really ****ed him over because Link rode the side of the stage.

Unclear though.

 

[Rango the Mercenary]

My match with Esam in winner's finals at SDS - Salt in the City 3.

And now, here's my match with Esam at Tiger Smash IV.

 

[PyroTakun]

My match with Esam in winner's finals at SDS - Salt in the City 3.

And now, here's my match with Esam at Tiger Smash IV.

I actually don't have any advice for your overall play, it was extremely solid. Maybe try to time ledge-trump B-Airs instead of Eruption when Pika has to recover from really low, but that's about it.

You did really good against Esam.

 

[ZaeemZ]

My match with Esam in winner's finals at SDS - Salt in the City 3.

And now, here's my match with Esam at Tiger Smash IV.

overall, very nice games. The only thing i would comment on are why dont you try to challenge his aerial approach with fair? And i think essam noticed that 90% of the get up options from ledge were normal get up which is a good get up but pika jab and shield grab can get u to be hit back off stage. (i am not a pro just things i thought about while watching)

 

[Rango the Mercenary]

overall, very nice games. The only thing i would comment on are why dont you try to challenge his aerial approach with fair? And i think essam noticed that 90% of the get up options from ledge were normal get up which is a good get up but pika jab and shield grab can get u to be hit back off stage. (i am not a pro just things i thought about while watching)

Fair is slower. Pika gets in easily. Bair does the trick nicely.

Gotta be safe with getup options. A roll can be punished with USmash or FSmash, while a jump can be punished with Fair strings offstage. If jabs and a grab are my biggest worry getting up neutral, I'd rather just take that and try again.

 

[FrostyLemon]

Hi everyone

I've been a casual smash player for years and have only really been practicing the last couple of months. I've been browsing this board for tips and I've signed up so that I can have my playstyle critiqued. In the first video the Mewtwo player is much better than me, I just got a bit lucky with a read.

The second match I lost and felt like my back was against the wall the whole time. Feel free to be brutal.

 

[Deleted member]

[deleting]

 

[FrostyLemon]

1. The quick draw abuse was real. Please, cut down on the use of this move. Most of the time, you should be using it to only recover. It's very punishable.

2. Too many rolls. You roll away many times when you don't need to and create more space between you and your opponent. If you're fighting a character with a projectile, that gives them room to charge or throw more projectiles, and it also slows down the pace of the game, not to mention rolls are punishable. If you're in a good position to apply pressure, don't retreat. You have range, so make use of it by shoving it into people's faces more often. You want to stay at a good range for Ike.

3. Don't burn your double jump right away, as it leaves you vulnerable. To avoid projectiles, use more run/walk shield, or use your second jump with a different timing (occasionally).

4. If Mario is in the air around you and you're on the ground, remember that his aerials are really quick and hard to punish, so be ready to shield.

Someone else could probably give you a better critique. Good luck.

No thank you that's been very helpful.

1. I'm quite conscious of the fact I use quick draw a lot. I use it mostly for getting around the stage as I find ike a bit slow, sometimes I try and use it to get close and bait them out of shield to use a jab. However when I play against better players I don't always pull it off and they just shield my slice and punish me. I'll try not to use it so often.

2. I don't think I have great reactions, that's half the reason why I play as Ike because he allows me time to think and create space. When someones gets up in my face I tend to panic a bit, but i'm getting better with grabs and using dtilt when close to an enemy.

3. Again I think I just have to get improve with my reaction time as I struggle with projectiles.

4. Thanks I'll try that.

 

[ZaeemZ]

Hi everyone

I've been a casual smash player for years and have only really been practicing the last couple of months. I've been browsing this board for tips and I've signed up so that I can have my playstyle critiqued. In the first video the Mewtwo player is much better than me, I just got a bit lucky with a read.

The second match I lost and felt like my back was against the wall the whole time. Feel free to be brutal.

1.I agree with the idea of you using way too many quick draws. some of the quick draws are good but 50% were bad and even some put you in a very bad position. the reason as to why you shouldn't quick draw so much is because it is a hit, and they will shield it and punish it with what they want. while running might be a bit slower but you can choose to grab, jab or even jump and shield many different choices.

2.something i noticed more in the second video is that you are almost never shielding. i am not saying you should always shield but the shield is one of if not a really good option for when people throw projectiles and come from the air.

3. try not to do the full three hit jab on the shield if they shield the third hit is punishable. you can do 2 hits into a grab 2 hits into a down tilt 1 hit into grab 1 hit into down tilt, can even at high percent do two hits into fast down smash if they are not paying attention (140% might work depending on weight and your rage).

4. in the mewtwo video you rolled a lot. sometimes rolling is okay but doing it a lot and in a specific direction always can hurt you.

5.a very important thing to try to do with ike is to fast fall his aerials, in the first video i don't see you fast falling most of the times, with fast falling you reduce the time they can punish you even if you hit their shield. this fast falling is also helpful if you perform tomahawks since the opponent will think you will throw an aerial but u just fast fall grab.

Those are the main things i noticed and would say to improve. I don't consider myself very skilled but these are some really good and needed basics. best of luck and maybe someone more skilled can even help you more

 

[Zack117]

Maybe some of you could share your thoughts and critique on these matches. What the hell went wrong for Ryo's Ike?

 

[Rango the Mercenary]

My latest match with Dingo. This is where I realized that solo-maining Ike just is not possible, and I feel Ike fundamentally loses to Cloud 55-45, maybe 6-4. Cloud already has true advantage on all platform stages, but can also out-neutral or, come very close to beating Ike on flat stages.

 

[Ecchin]

Hi everyone, it was a long time since i didn't post anything here, but i tried other characters lol

Here's a match of a tourney i went last month and played against one of the best players of my city and the country
i want to share with you guys for analyze what i did wrong in my neutral game to got rekt in that way haha

Ecchin vs Kiro

 

[FrostyLemon]

Hi everyone, it was a long time since i didn't post anything here, but i tried other characters lol

Here's a match of a tourney i went last month and played against one of the best players of my city and the country
i want to share with you guys for analyze what i did wrong in my neutral game to got rekt in that way haha

Ecchin vs Kiro

I'm not claiming I'm great with Ike by any means, but from watching that I would say that you were letting yourself get juggled way too easily. Try fast falling with nair or fair to stop that pressure and don't fall back onto the stage so much, especially that slow. You were just inviting him to juggle you. recover from the left or the right with quick draw.

I would have tried to hold my ground as much as I could and go for shield grabs.

 

[Deleted member]

[deleting]

 

[Rango the Mercenary]

Took 5th at Gwinnett Brawl, losing out to Fatality and Wrath.

 

[ZaeemZ]

Took 5th at Gwinnett Brawl, losing out to Fatality and Wrath.

for the captain falcon MU i would say that u should never try to sweet spot the ledge with aether, or if you do prepare to get spiked. i would say that changing the distance of the up b would have helped rather than always trying to sweet spot. another thing that could be done is challenge his recovery by jumping off and throwing a fair or bair. but that isn't needed. generally it is the fact that u lost stocks early that made u lose to fatality, otherwise it was perfect play and you could have won. against the sonic i am not too sure it just felt like sometimes u got too aggressive even though u couldn't land a hit in that situation and in turn u get hit and sonic gets some combos on u. against the sonic i would say maybe be more careful. but take this advise with a grain of salt. u are much higher level of player with ike than i am but this is just to provide with some possible feedback that might help, hopefully it helps either find what is needed to change/improve. amazing games though.