Smash 4 commentators are bad

[Saviorr]

Not all Smash 4 commentators are bad but there are plenty of commentators that are just annoying. If I want to enjoy watching a tournament match, more often than not I have to mute the volume. They shout too much and seem to think they need to always be talking even when they have nothing to say. The worst is when they start making random "OH!" noises whenever something cool happens.

It seems like it's more of a problem with Smash 4 than it is for Melee. I like and play Smash 4 more than I do Melee but I've found that I watch more Melee because how much commentators ruin Smash 4 for the spectators.

Is anyone else bothered when you're watching a good match and the whole experience is ruined by someone talking nonsense or just making gross noises?


Edit: What would be some suggestions/guidelines for good commentary? Who are your favorite commentators?

 

[Browny]

Play-by-play commentators need to be put in the bin and its worse when they try to hype up the most mundane things.

'nice ftilt'
'SICK up air!'
'AMAZING PRESSING OF THE B BUTTON AND THE CONTROL STICK AT THE SAME TIME! KREYGASM'

It's just so... amateurish. Saying what literally everyone can see for themselves. Landing a tilt is not a reason to get hype (unless its ganons uptilt)

IDK about anyone else, but I would happily advocate for people to phase out this sort of commentary. Its really annoying and adds nothing.

 

[ぱみゅ]

Being good at the mic is a really difficult job, specially considering there are no guidelines for commentators.
NOBODY is a professional commentator in the Smash Community (maybe only D1, the rest are pretty much people that like commentating even if they don't really have a school behind it).

But out of the points that have been stated here:
-Volume is difficult to set up as there are millions of factors behind it, from the mic itself, the venue noises, and even their distance to the playing setup; then they need feedback be either a person monitoring and controlling the volume or asking the viewers if everything is fine and trying to work around it, correct volume settings are not easy at all to get.
-One of the few actual intuitive rules that do not need to be written or taught is that commentators need to be active ALL THE TIME. Think of it like it's a phone call, they NEED to be saying something at all moments, always adding something even if the match is slow-paced, or players are taking too long to resume between games.
-"OH!" noises is difficult to point. Sometimes it actually helps on keeping the match interesting. Sometimes it does not. Sometimes it can be just shrugged off. There are also times an action speaks for itself and there's nothing to do besides watching in awe. I really don't have a comment about it.
-I've watched quite a number of streams, and whether it's Melee or Smash 4 or PM or Street Fighter or MVC or LoL or whatever game you name, bad commentating happens.
-"Gross noises" is another rule of thumb. Nobody should really be doing more than talking, so audibly eating, drinking, yawning, or other similar actions need to be really under control so they do not get on the mic.

Now some observations of my own:
-It is preferred to have more than one commentator, you can't burden all the content a single one to comment on everything. Most streamers fail to do this for a majority of sets.
-Most commentators are opinionated. Sometimes they cheer for a certain player. Sometimes they spend the match complaining about characters and/or stages, or even the counterpick (I'm looking at you Max Ketchum and your frowning upon FLSS), adding nothing but personal bias to the posterity. It needs to be eradicated.
-Commentators need to know what they are talking about. Countless of times they've spread wrong information.


Might add more later.

Also, I'm not even sure if this topic belongs in Competitive.

 

[Gamesfreak13563]

I feel like commentary would actually benefit from brief segues from the game at hand to discuss more general Smash Bros. topics. Discussing the matchup in general, history behind the games, and trivia would all contribute to making a stream much more interesting to watch than ridiculous reactions to mundane things characteristic of bad Let's Players.

I disagree that commentators need to be active all the time as well. Sports commentators are rarely active all the time. Pauses in the commentary can be helpful to the flow. I especially think that commentary during intense plays should be toned down so that the viewer is drawn more to the action and is not distracted by the commentary.

 

[Horseketchup]

Pierce7d is the best Smash 4 commentator I've heard. He's able to fill both the roles of play-by-play and analyst, while making insightful comments about player habits (he helps you understand why a player did something as opposed to just what a player did) I usually learn something new about the game every time he comes on the mic..

He's super professional too, and talks quickly but clearly enough that he can explain something important that just happened without missing 2 or 3 other important things in the process. He could literally be on the mic by himself and drop more knowledge than 2 other commentators combined. I guess maybe the only thing would be that it's hard for him to synergize with other commentators but that's basically because he's so good that others can't really keep up with him. I would love to see him commentate a major at some point, I don't know how it hasn't happened yet honestly. Well I guess because a lot of the time it's style over substance, where someone like Pierce would be seen as "dry" even though the content of his commentary is a step above the rest.

Btw, ESAM was on the mic a decent amount at Smashfield last night (big MI tourney before BH5) and was amazing. Like Pierce he talks at a rapid pace, and obviously has such a deep understanding of not only the game but the players at its highest levels....it feels akin to the PPMD commentary of the Smash 4 world. Would love to hear more of his commentary.

 

[Saviorr]

Being good at the mic is a really difficult job, specially considering there are no guidelines for commentators.

-One of the few actual intuitive rules that do not need to be written or taught is that commentators need to be active ALL THE TIME. Think of it like it's a phone call, they NEED to be saying something at all moments, always adding something even if the match is slow-paced, or players are taking too long to resume between games.

-Commentators need to know what they are talking about. Countless of times they've spread wrong information.

I understand that it can be hard. I also think it's worth mentioning that there may not be a lot of people willing to commentate. But why do commentators NEED to be saying something? If it's a slow match and they don't know much about the players maybe the commentators should stop talking for a moment.

Btw, ESAM was on the mic a decent amount at Smashfield last night (big MI tourney before BH5) and was amazing. Like Pierce he talks at a rapid pace, and obviously has such a deep understanding of not only the game but the players at its highest levels....it feels akin to the PPMD commentary of the Smash 4 world. Would love to hear more of his commentary.

Yeah, ESAM and PPMD are two of my favorite commentators. Maybe if people praised good commentators we would see more of players like them.
I think it helps when a commentator is an experienced player. One good commentator that comes to mind is Tantulus. He's a ROB main so he doesn't get results but he often has more match up knowledge than top players.

 

[Deleted member 269706]

I personally find them a lot more interesting and hyped up compared to the Melee commentators. Keitaro, EE, TK, Nakat, and many others are all awesome. Yeah there's a few who shall not be named who are a little annoying, but in the end I think they're doing just fine.

 

[Raijinken]

Depends on the commentator. Some are good, some aren't.

The thing that bothers me the most is bias. I can understand expecting a certain player to win, but having to listen to EVO commentators complain on stream about the ruleset (FLSS and customs) nearly made me stop watching.

Blatant knowledge gaps are also a pain, but not as bad as bias. Both tend to result in ignorance spreading wider over the viewerbase.

 

[CrazyPerson]

Commentating anything is a hard job. On one hand, you got to speak to the players that know the game well, but also got to explain to the less educated what they are seeing. Football guys need to point out the linebacker that stuffed the whole the RB was trying to get through. Baseball guys need to point out how that breaking ball threw of the timing of the batter... otherwise people don't know what they are seeing. All the while, they need to make it entertaining when it isn't at it's most exciting points.

I remember watching the Olympics a few years back.... Judo came on. (Not a great spectator sport.. though probably fun to those who love to train it.) One commentator seemed to be a commentator. The other was a Judo practitioner himself. The 1st guy asked "Tell us the differences between Judo and Karate." The practitioner answered... but I could hear annoyance in his voice... he wanted to call the match not answer the most basic of questions... but most of the audience probably wouldn't know the difference until it was explained. How could they have worked together to speak to both the die hard practitioners who look forward to this rare time their sport has the spot light... and spoken to the people who only care about it because it is the Olympics and a representative of their country is competing?

I also remember watching Winter X Games once... I really liked the slope style commentators. They threw out there lingo, while also finding time to explain to me what was going on in a language I could understand.

Switching to street... commentators were firing off there lingo but I needed to be told what I was watching and wasn't. I was confused... and bored... and changed channels.

MMA... my 2nd favorite sport to watch. Amazes me how guys like the UFC's Joe Rogan can explain the ground game so quickly and efficiently... he knows anyone can appreciate when the match looks like a rockem sockem robots match, but gives us appreciation for grappling... something people aren't likely to understand without help.

Other commentators... Mauro Ranallo (Former Pride, Elite XC, and Strikeforce)... the guy annoyed me. Tried to add a lot of emotion in but not enough substance. Good voice for the job, good speaker in general... but didn't translate to a Joe Rogan level performance.

Tieing it into smash... it is tough. They have the advantage that most people have probably played the game before. What people may not know is the players... If you just decided to study smash and you heard all this stuff about ZeRo... doesn't mean much until somebody points out how freaking good he is.

They need to speak to both the local champions who understand the game but are studying to see the next level of play... and those who are just starting to learn the game. Can't get to basic to bore the former group... but if they overwhelm the latter group with new lingo they haven't heard before... it will not be fun for that group.

Then the key word fun... many can pick up a mic and tell what is happening if the understand it themselves... being both an educator, and an entertainer that adds to the experience of the viewer is a rare gift. Because it isn't a job that pays (is it?) I doubt there will be to many people who could be great at it putting in the time to become great at it.

 

[MarioMeteor]

PhenomenalEE is an amazing commentator, and he commentated for Melee and Smash 4. When he's paired up with Tkbreezy, the most mundane match comes to life with those two.

 

[Axel311]

Melee commentators at big house I've noticed seem to take the game very seriously, more so than the smash 4 commentators.

Joking around as a commentator is all well and good. You want to keep it fun, but I feel like most of the big name commentators for smash 4 do that a little too much. They joke around to the point where it doesn't feel like they're taking the game seriously. Basically I want more in depth strategy discussion during the match and less jokes, catch phrases, emotional yelling and pointing out the obvious.

 

[Saikyoshi]

Commentators in general have always been obnoxious ("WOMBO COMO WOMBO COMBO DAT AIN'T FALCO WOMBO COMBO DAT USMASH WOMBO COMBO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"). Tournaments would be so much better if they just shut up. We can see what's going on, we don't need them. Yes, I KNOW that was an up smash. I'm LOOKING RIGHT AT IT.

Seriously, every Smash commentator or sports commentator in general is like trying to focus while sitting next to ****ing Mordecai and Rigby.

 

[Project SonicSpeed]

Some are good and some aren't. It's mostly up to the commentators to decide that for you.

 

[ThatKidSparky]

Dead air is the one of the most underused skills in commentary for the smash community. Silence is golden

 

[Saviorr]

Commentators in general have always been obnoxious ("WOMBO COMO WOMBO COMBO DAT AIN'T FALCO WOMBO COMBO DAT USMASH WOMBO COMBO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"). Tournaments would be so much better if they just shut up. We can see what's going on, we don't need them. Yes, I KNOW that was an up smash. I'm LOOKING RIGHT AT IT.

Seriously, every Smash commentator or sports commentator in general is like trying to focus while sitting next to ****ing Mordecai and Rigby.

Lol some commentators really need to control their volume but it seems like you hate commentating in general. Don't you think commentating can be done right? I guess no commentary would be better than what we have now.

I just watched a nice set with some good commentary though. It was only one person but he had a lot of interesting things to say and he helped me follow the match. The best thing about his commentary was that he never screamed and he never made the kind of "OOOHH" noises that you shouldn't hear from a grown man. As much as I like TKbreezy and D1, they make those gross "OOOHH" noises way too often.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJa-VJoK4i0

 

[Uncle Trump]

Coney, TK Breezy, EE, and D1 are my favorites, personally.

 

[Quarium]

I'm not gonna discuss anything but I'll just add that commentators are specifically told to cast things in a way that even someone that doesn't play smash would understand to a certain level when entering the stream, that must be why simple things like well spaced tilts and the such are pointed out like that, to accentuate the importance of it in a match of smash I suppose, etc.

 

[Dessa]

I love good commentating, but bad commentaying is worse than none.

As for play-by-play, it's super hard and very few people do it well. I saw a rando youtube video with a guy who did a great Howard Cosell-style play-by-play and it really added a lot to the match though! A really good PBP can make mundane matches exciting.

 

[SmashShadow]

PhenomenalEE is an amazing commentator, and he commentated for Melee and Smash 4. When he's paired up with Tkbreezy, the most mundane match comes to life with those two.

Never a dull moment when those two are on the mic.

 

[MarioMeteor]

Never a dull moment when those two are on the mic.

They're pretty much the new Prog and D1.