Video Match Analysis/Improvement Thread

[Funkermonster]

Critiques of beginner gameplay video, post videos of yourself playing and have someone else look at it for you. Posting video of yourself playing is 10X better than writing what you are losing to, because what you think you are losing to may not even be what you are losing to, or it may be the only thing you see when in reality you are actually losing because of 10 different things. I know some people mention that they don't have a capture device, but you don't really need one, if you have a phone or camera that can record well enough for someone to make out the gameplay clearly then that will work too.

And to start off:

Please be kind

 

[SamuraiPanda]

Critiques of beginner gameplay video, post videos of yourself playing and have someone else look at it for you. Posting video of yourself playing is 10X better than writing what you are losing to, because what you think you are losing to may not even be what you are losing to, or it may be the only thing you see when in reality you are actually losing because of 10 different things. I know some people mention that they don't have a capture device, but you don't really need one, if you have a phone or camera that can record well enough for someone to make out the gameplay clearly then that will work too.

And to start off:

Please be kind

First match =
- Know your range and spacing better.
- You mix up options all the time. Knowing what the opponent will do next in certain scenarios, you tend to choose the wrong attack. For example, if the opponent is on the ledge you randomly Ftilt a couple times. Ftilt would only counter one scenario: if the opponent dropped off the ledge then double jump Faired you, which I wouldn't expect with how far you were. Potentially could beat a ledge stand but needs to be very well timed.
- When something doesn't work the first time, its usually not a good idea to spam it again. Even though your second Neutral B broke her shield, that wouldn't work on a good player.
- Short hop Neutral B when she's double jumping back to the stage? Again, try to keep in mind the opponent's options before you do attacks.
- Upthrow Uair is not guaranteed. Try to use your throws to gain an advantage on position. Marth/Lucina have great horizontal range control so B/F throws are usually better to spam.

Sorry, got busy at work now I can't watch more. I might come back to it later if I have time though.

 

[Funkermonster]

First match =
- Know your range and spacing better.
- You mix up options all the time. Knowing what the opponent will do next in certain scenarios, you tend to choose the wrong attack. For example, if the opponent is on the ledge you randomly Ftilt a couple times. Ftilt would only counter one scenario: if the opponent dropped off the ledge then double jump Faired you, which I wouldn't expect with how far you were. Potentially could beat a ledge stand but needs to be very well timed.
- When something doesn't work the first time, its usually not a good idea to spam it again. Even though your second Neutral B broke her shield, that wouldn't work on a good player.
- Short hop Neutral B when she's double jumping back to the stage? Again, try to keep in mind the opponent's options before you do attacks.
- Upthrow Uair is not guaranteed. Try to use your throws to gain an advantage on position. Marth/Lucina have great horizontal range control so B/F throws are usually better to spam.

Sorry, got busy at work now I can't watch more. I might come back to it later if I have time though.

1. Didn't know about the throw thing, thanks.
2. Yeah I'm well aware of the random F-tilts and I throw out the wrong move at certain scenarios, but that's kinda the kinda thing: I don't really know what to do when my opponents on the ledge most of the time and I have difficulty gimping people recovering low. I usually expect them to do ledge attacks from the many For Glory matches I played and I throw out Ftilts in attempt to beat them outright, its a bad habit.
3. Yeah I know, I just don't know the best ways to apply a Neutral B other than jumping. Most of the time I use it doesn't work any other way.

Also if you're a mod, would it be possible to move this to the Video/Livestream Thread section? I think it may get a little more attention over there.

 

[SamuraiPanda]

1. Didn't know about the throw thing, thanks.
2. Yeah I'm well aware of the random F-tilts and I throw out the wrong move at certain scenarios, but that's kinda the kinda thing: I don't really know what to do when my opponents on the ledge most of the time and I have difficulty gimping people recovering low. I usually expect them to do ledge attacks from the many For Glory matches I played and I throw out Ftilts in attempt to beat them outright, its a bad habit.
3. Yeah I know, I just don't know the best ways to apply a Neutral B other than jumping. Most of the time I use it doesn't work any other way.

Also if you're a mod, would it be possible to move this to the Video/Livestream Thread section? I think it may get a little more attention over there.

Why yes, I can do that.

So what you're saying is you need to know a bit more about the game. For the example I used, you need to know a) What are options on the ledge, b) What are the "safest" or most commonly used options by medium level to good players, c) What is the "best" option for my opponent's character when returning from the ledge.

I'd go through and type an essay for you regarding this but unfortunately I don't have the time for that :/. I wouldn't mind sitting down with you sometime and giving you tips while playing against you. You're an AZ player right? We live in the same area, I'm in central Phoenix. I can give you tips if you catch me at a good time.

 

[Funkermonster]

Why yes, I can do that.

So what you're saying is you need to know a bit more about the game. For the example I used, you need to know a) What are options on the ledge, b) What are the "safest" or most commonly used options by medium level to good players, c) What is the "best" option for my opponent's character when returning from the ledge.

I'd go through and type an essay for you regarding this but unfortunately I don't have the time for that :/. I wouldn't mind sitting down with you sometime and giving you tips while playing against you. You're an AZ player right? We live in the same area, I'm in central Phoenix. I can give you tips if you catch me at a good time.

Yep, ya got it: Need to learn a bit more about the game on all 3 of those things. And thanks for agreeing to move my thread to the video section.
Well... there is an ASU college in Tempe that holds free weekly tournaments and friendlies for Melee and Project M every Friday, and some peeps bring their copies of Sm4sh 3DS. If ya ever head there, I can totally catch ya.

If you're interested you can find their facebook page and directions to get there right here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/368585583216684/

 

[SamuraiPanda]

Yep, ya got it: Need to learn a bit more about the game on all 3 of those things. And thanks for agreeing to move my thread to the video section.
Well... there is an ASU college in Tempe that holds free weekly tournaments and friendlies for Melee and Project M every Friday, and some peeps bring their copies of Sm4sh 3DS. If ya ever head there, I can totally catch ya.

If you're interested you can find their facebook page and directions to get there right here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/368585583216684/

No way I can dedicate 2 days/week to Smash with my schedule. I'm trying my best to make it to the Monday weeklies at Gaming Zone so you can probably catch me there. My hours suck though so I won't always make it.

 

[AnthonyFrancisco]

Ive been doing battles with two coms against me, i started at lvl3 and now at 7 thought it would help me with fast reaction time but what do you think?

 

[Oatkeeper]

Glad I found this thread. This is a match I played today and pretty much every match I played with this person was the same. I'm the Captain Falcon and any tips you could give me to help me improve would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Funkermonster]

Glad I found this thread. This is a match I played today and pretty much every match I played with this person was the same. I'm the Captain Falcon and any tips you could give me to help me improve would be greatly appreciated.

I don't play Falcon at all and I still have a lot to learn myself, but I think that guy did a hefty amount of smashes, yoshi bombs, and a few Dairs. I think you could've baited him into doing a few more of those and punish them, and block ALL hits of Dair and shieldgrab him (that's what happens to me as Yoshi at least, and I do it to them too).

I'm not that great though, so take what I say as a grain of salt.

 

[Jaxas]

How did I manage to forget about this thread?!

I would absolutely love some feedback; I'm trying to main Lucario and Zero Suit Samus, however I'm running into a few problems with each of them.
I've started doing better with Lucario lately since I switched to a more aggressive play style until higher percents (side-B wall is amazing!). I don't have any of this week's matches up on stream however, which is unfortunate.
ZSS is, of course, I can't kill. This (and the lack of precise control; I can't seem to get used to more precise movements on the Circle Pad) are my two biggest problems that I see with her.

Anyways, a few of my matches from the locals I run (see my sig for more info, we have a stream every week! Shameless self promotion):
[Sm4sh|10-11-14] Grand Finals: Blake (Kirby) VS Jaxas (Lucario, ZSS)
[Sm4sh|10-11-14] Swiss Round 3: Jaxas (Lucario, ZSS) VS gmanownyou (Yoshi) *

Spoiler: Less relevant matches

I would still love advice on these, however those 2 matches are probably the best I've played (that I have recorded) against opponents who also played at least competently.

[Sm4sh|10-11-14] Swiss Round 4: Jaxas (Lucario) VS Shy Koopa (Bowser Jr, King Dedede)
[Sm4sh|10-04-14] Top 8 (Single Game): Jaxas (Lucario) VS Pinky (Ness)
[Sm4sh|10-04-14] Swiss Round 2: Jaxas (Lucario, Sheik) VS Summer Heat (Little Mac)

* = @gmanownyou would also like tips here, though he's not likely to main Yoshi

Also, I'll try to give advice to other players soon!

 

[Funkermonster]

How did I manage to forget about this thread?!

I would absolutely love some feedback; I'm trying to main Lucario and Zero Suit Samus, however I'm running into a few problems with each of them.
I've started doing better with Lucario lately since I switched to a more aggressive play style until higher percents (side-B wall is amazing!). I don't have any of this week's matches up on stream however, which is unfortunate.
ZSS is, of course, I can't kill. This (and the lack of precise control; I can't seem to get used to more precise movements on the Circle Pad) are my two biggest problems that I see with her.

Anyways, a few of my matches from the locals I run (see my sig for more info, we have a stream every week! Shameless self promotion):
[Sm4sh|10-11-14] Grand Finals: Blake (Kirby) VS Jaxas (Lucario, ZSS)
[Sm4sh|10-11-14] Swiss Round 3: Jaxas (Lucario, ZSS) VS gmanownyou (Yoshi) *

Spoiler: Less relevant matches

I would still love advice on these, however those 2 matches are probably the best I've played (that I have recorded) against opponents who also played at least competently.

[Sm4sh|10-11-14] Swiss Round 4: Jaxas (Lucario) VS Shy Koopa (Bowser Jr, King Dedede)
[Sm4sh|10-04-14] Top 8 (Single Game): Jaxas (Lucario) VS Pinky (Ness)
[Sm4sh|10-04-14] Swiss Round 2: Jaxas (Lucario, Sheik) VS Summer Heat (Little Mac)

* = @gmanownyou would also like tips here, though he's not likely to main Yoshi

Also, I'll try to give advice to other players soon!

I only watched the first match vs that Kirby dude, Blake, and I don't play in Smash 4 (used to play him a lot in Brawl so I have experience with him in a small way), so what I'm saying is more than likely to be wrong but I thought I'd try anyway: That Kirby sure got a number of jump ins on you with his Nair and Bair, and I've seen a good number of dash attacks coming from you, some of them got punished. Maybe anti-air a little more? You did get him with some good shield grabs though, keep that up. At 1:55 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYHuY9t3bsQ&list=PLc2WO8ScJhx_kmjLVPsiuvbXNWIt9f6PA#t=115) he also killed your 1st stock with an Aura Sphere when you attempted to use Extreme Speed, so you couldn't airdodge it. But considering how you were still above the stage and weren't that far from it, I don't think you really needed to use Extremespeed in the first place. You probably coulda just air dodged the Aura Sphere and maybe drop down a little before using Extremespeed, in other words you could've recovered low. The 2nd he killed you was when he transformed into his DownB stone and caught you by surprise, I'd watch out for that if I were you.


But like I said, I don't really use Lucario much and I ain't that great, so you're probably better off with someone more experienced than I am. Still, nice to see my thread is finally getting some people, thanks.

 

[Jaxas]

I only watched the first match vs that Kirby dude, Blake, and I don't play in Smash 4 (used to play him a lot in Brawl so I have experience with him in a small way), so what I'm saying is more than likely to be wrong but I thought I'd try anyway: That Kirby sure got a number of jump ins on you with his Nair and Bair, and I've seen a good number of dash attacks coming from you, some of them got punished. Maybe anti-air a little more? You did get him with some good shield grabs though, keep that up. At 1:55 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYHuY9t3bsQ&list=PLc2WO8ScJhx_kmjLVPsiuvbXNWIt9f6PA#t=115) he also killed your 1st stock with an Aura Sphere when you attempted to use Extreme Speed, so you couldn't airdodge it. But considering how you were still above the stage and weren't that far from it, I don't think you really needed to use Extremespeed in the first place. You probably coulda just air dodged the Aura Sphere and maybe drop down a little before using Extremespeed, in other words you could've recovered low. The 2nd he killed you was when he transformed into his DownB stone and caught you by surprise, I'd watch out for that if I were you.


But like I said, I don't really use Lucario much and I ain't that great, so you're probably better off with someone more experienced than I am. Still, nice to see my thread is finally getting some people, thanks.

Thanks for the advice!
As far as anti-air stuff goes, I found that to be much easier with ZSS (basically the reason I won those matches); I think I was just playing Lucario's air game wrong in this match, since I'm still not used to the lack of lingering hitboxes.

As for recovering low, wow that's something I should know but I honestly haven't even thought about that since grabbing Sm4sh (probably because I'm a Brawl Falco main, and he just doesn't recover up...). That's definitely something I need to keep in mind as an option!

And ugh, that stone...
I still remember hitting Uair there and as soon as I pressed it going "Oh wait crap no don't-". Definitely not one of my better ideas...

Anyways, I'll try and give what analysis I can as well!
I think the first video was covered really well by SamuraiPanda, so I'll skip that one.

@ Oatkeeper
Disclaimer - I don't play Captain Falcon

Is this online (For Glory I'm assuming)?
If so, then that explains some of the mis-timings on things, so this next bit may not be an issue.
However if not, then work on your timing a bit; a lot of the time you had a solid punish lined up, but it ended up not working because your timing was off (whether too slow or too fast).

Otherwise, I think the most help I can give is to keep thinking 'consciously' during a match; even if you play by instinct for most of the match, keep a part of you thinking about, for example "All right, this guy likes to Down B a lot in the air. How do I beat that?".

Spoiler: Why did I write a punishing tutorial? Oh well, might be useful

If you don't know how to punish it, think about that a bit (when there's down time if you can't do both at once yet - "Down B would probably lose to Shield -> Grab/Jab/JC Usmash/etc, or a Dash Grab once it's landed").
Once you figure it out, punish them one of those ways each time, and figure out which works best. If they keep doing it, keep killing them for it.
While punishing, keep in mind what your best punish is ("Shield leads into both Jab and Falcon Punch, and since Falcon Punch is stronger I'm going to use that").
If they don't stop doing it, then that could definitely win you the match. Most players will stop doing what they're being punished for as much though, so you'll have to keep doing it.

This goes both ways though, so be sure not to do things you're getting punished for too much (he hit you quite a few times out of rolls, for example).

 

[Funkermonster]

Got some more help needed and I got some more videos comin later, I'll just separate them by character:


vs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mXxYrNrIps&list=UU0RMA482bkRmw4pukDNhPgQ&index=1
vs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnm1SP_sW2U&list=UU0RMA482bkRmw4pukDNhPgQ&index=4
vs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGNGC4bWgS8&index=5&list=UU0RMA482bkRmw4pukDNhPgQ and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WH6sTD3lyEY&list=UU0RMA482bkRmw4pukDNhPgQ&index=6 (both are the same guy)


vs.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxUil_7uhoo&list=UU0RMA482bkRmw4pukDNhPgQ&index=7
vs.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wn4aGKtc7RU&index=8&list=UU0RMA482bkRmw4pukDNhPgQ

Also it would be helpful to let people know not just what they were doing wrong, but also the stuff they did right. Sometimes ya might have done something pretty good in match but was unaware of it, and never practice it to make it even better and may neglect it in most other matches they do.

 

[JBones]

Could someone take a look at a couple of my matches from a recent tournament please? I'm the Yoshi in both.