Introduction
Many people approach improvement as some unreachable goal when in reality, it isn't very difficult to become moderately good at Smash. While natural skill can make it easier, it is not at all a necessity and the skills some possess naturally can be gained through time and determination. With that being said, I would like to break down one of the most (in my opinion) useful tools to learn if you truly wish to improve at any Smash game, or fighting games in general: match self-critique and self-analysis.
My Backstory (Feel Free to Skip)
I have been playing this game for 7 months. In the first month or two, I was the average smash player who thought because they beat all their friends, and watched S@X or some other tournament series that they could attend tournaments and win them without issue. In reality, I was garbage and couldn't place higher than 7th in a 15 man tournament. However, through playing the game in tournament alone I improved, perhaps not the fastest or most optimal method of improvement, but I did eventually win these weeklies very consistently. However, these were small and I have still yet to win a tournament with more than 20 people in attendance. However, I know that with time and an effective training regiment victory will come, and I believe the key to that victory is ironing out any mistake in my gameplay, and gaining a better sense of what move works in whatever situation. I, and anybody else can achieve this with a mix of a few things: tournament experience (controlling nerves, playing different people frequently), general gameplay and character knowledge (being able to perform tech skill without thought [even something as simple as RAR aerials, or L-cancelling if you play melee], matchup knowledge [how characters kill, what they are going for at what %, which options you and your opponent have]) and the most important: match critique.
What Is Match Analysis?
Match-Analysis is rewatching a match played between you and another player, generally losses (but not necessarily) in order to determine your mistakes in an attempt to fix them, as well as what scenario was created that led to your flub. Match-Analysis can also be used to determine habits in yourself and your opponent, or simply to gawk at your own masterful plays.
Why You Must SELF Analyse
There are many videos throughout the week that are posted to smashboards, r/CrazyHand, character discords, etc. with the plea: critique my match!
While this works (kind of) and a second opinion is always valued, I believe that without your own in-depth analysis, you will not improve at the fastest rate possible. The issue with someone else critiquing your match is they have no context. They can only guess at what your goal is at every point in the match, while you yourself were (hopefully) thinking something along the lines of: "I want to grab my opponent" or "I want to drop shield and punish" and so on and so forth. When you know the goal, all you need is the option you must choose to secure that goal. It is for this reason that it is a vital skill that you must have, and why you should not rely on others to critique or analyze your match. (However, others can be good at pointing out bad habits which can be difficult to spot at times.)
But How Do I Analyse?
So, how does match analysis work? It's quite simple, when broken down. During a match, you don't know the future (unless you're really feeling it.) Luckily, once the match is done you can see precisely where you went wrong, and focus on the events that led up to it. To begin, I advise you get a pen or paper, or open up a notepad on your computer and then begin watching the match. If you got bodied, analyze what started it.
Example 1
I will begin with an extreme example: you're playing Captain Falcon against a Mario, which is well known to be a bad matchup for C. Falcon. You immediately started the match off with a dash attack, which led into you getting shielded and the Mario getting a grab which led into 60% via a shield grab, utilts, and then uairs. Some people may say: "Well, that's simple! Just don't dash attack at the start of a match!" or "Man, Mario's utilt is so stupid." While both are fair points in their own right, the true issue goes much deeper than that. I mentioned earlier that you must not only analyze mistakes, but also the events leading up to them. The dash attack in this situation was a mistake, and the event leading up to it was an issue because there wasn't one. This might seem confusing, but it actually makes perfect sense. Falcon is a character that relies on breaking apart your opponent, baiting them and then punishing them with uairs for plenty of percent. However, how can one break apart their opponent if they have no information? You, the Falcon, blindly rushed in without a clue as to how the Mario would begin the match. What we gain from this scenario is:
Do not immediately dash attack.
&
Brainstorm for a safer way to begin the match, to gather information.
Now it can be seen that analysis is not only of a single match, but also ideas that carry over to every other match you will ever play. By watching that dash attack and thinking "Why did that happen?" you learn that you begin matches too aggressively. To conclude the example, an alternative to dash attack would be to rush towards Mario, then roll back as this creates pressure without putting yourself at risk, and you also learn what option Mario is more likely to take when being rushed.
Example 2
Let's say the reason you lost both of your stocks in this match, and thus lost the game, was because you (foolishly) landed into Mario and he upsmashed you. You think "Man, I guess I shouldn't land into Mario." which is the correct path your mind should take, as landing into Mario is never a good idea. However, with the knowledge that each event creates itself with a reason, you begin to think deeper. What was your plan? Let's say you wanted a falling uair, which strings into knee and would finish Mario's stock. But, you did this without considering Mario's usmash. As well, a falling uair, while lethal if it connects, is very easy to react to and while safe on block (if the opponent does not perfect shield) it is a greedy option and should only be done to punish a laggy move, or if you've gained some knowledge on when it is reasonably safe to throw out. So now, what is gained from this scenario is:
Do not land into Mario
&
Consider Mario's usmash when above him
&
Uair is a greedy option
Now that you've pinpointed the thought process that led up to this loss of stock, you now gain more knowledge about your own playstyle. Rewatch the match. How many times did you go for falling uair? Were you predictable with falling uair? Was your playstyle overall greedy, and did it get you punished? Did you rush in without considering your opponents options, or without considering your opponents defence? When you break down simple scenarios and thought processes like this, you uncover more errors in your own play and you do a better job in correcting them.
Conclusion
It is impossible to go over every example scenario and break down every thing learned from the two examples I have given. In fact, I'm sure much more can be gathered from them but I do not want to drag on.
In conclusion, the points of this guide are to:
Also, if there's anything I missed or a tip you use that helps you that I neglected to include, please feel free to mention it to me and I'll find a way to incorporate it. Thanks.
also pls follow my twitter @TMBlush if you liked the guide pls ty pls
Many people approach improvement as some unreachable goal when in reality, it isn't very difficult to become moderately good at Smash. While natural skill can make it easier, it is not at all a necessity and the skills some possess naturally can be gained through time and determination. With that being said, I would like to break down one of the most (in my opinion) useful tools to learn if you truly wish to improve at any Smash game, or fighting games in general: match self-critique and self-analysis.
My Backstory (Feel Free to Skip)
I have been playing this game for 7 months. In the first month or two, I was the average smash player who thought because they beat all their friends, and watched S@X or some other tournament series that they could attend tournaments and win them without issue. In reality, I was garbage and couldn't place higher than 7th in a 15 man tournament. However, through playing the game in tournament alone I improved, perhaps not the fastest or most optimal method of improvement, but I did eventually win these weeklies very consistently. However, these were small and I have still yet to win a tournament with more than 20 people in attendance. However, I know that with time and an effective training regiment victory will come, and I believe the key to that victory is ironing out any mistake in my gameplay, and gaining a better sense of what move works in whatever situation. I, and anybody else can achieve this with a mix of a few things: tournament experience (controlling nerves, playing different people frequently), general gameplay and character knowledge (being able to perform tech skill without thought [even something as simple as RAR aerials, or L-cancelling if you play melee], matchup knowledge [how characters kill, what they are going for at what %, which options you and your opponent have]) and the most important: match critique.
What Is Match Analysis?
Match-Analysis is rewatching a match played between you and another player, generally losses (but not necessarily) in order to determine your mistakes in an attempt to fix them, as well as what scenario was created that led to your flub. Match-Analysis can also be used to determine habits in yourself and your opponent, or simply to gawk at your own masterful plays.
Why You Must SELF Analyse
There are many videos throughout the week that are posted to smashboards, r/CrazyHand, character discords, etc. with the plea: critique my match!
While this works (kind of) and a second opinion is always valued, I believe that without your own in-depth analysis, you will not improve at the fastest rate possible. The issue with someone else critiquing your match is they have no context. They can only guess at what your goal is at every point in the match, while you yourself were (hopefully) thinking something along the lines of: "I want to grab my opponent" or "I want to drop shield and punish" and so on and so forth. When you know the goal, all you need is the option you must choose to secure that goal. It is for this reason that it is a vital skill that you must have, and why you should not rely on others to critique or analyze your match. (However, others can be good at pointing out bad habits which can be difficult to spot at times.)
But How Do I Analyse?
So, how does match analysis work? It's quite simple, when broken down. During a match, you don't know the future (unless you're really feeling it.) Luckily, once the match is done you can see precisely where you went wrong, and focus on the events that led up to it. To begin, I advise you get a pen or paper, or open up a notepad on your computer and then begin watching the match. If you got bodied, analyze what started it.
Example 1
I will begin with an extreme example: you're playing Captain Falcon against a Mario, which is well known to be a bad matchup for C. Falcon. You immediately started the match off with a dash attack, which led into you getting shielded and the Mario getting a grab which led into 60% via a shield grab, utilts, and then uairs. Some people may say: "Well, that's simple! Just don't dash attack at the start of a match!" or "Man, Mario's utilt is so stupid." While both are fair points in their own right, the true issue goes much deeper than that. I mentioned earlier that you must not only analyze mistakes, but also the events leading up to them. The dash attack in this situation was a mistake, and the event leading up to it was an issue because there wasn't one. This might seem confusing, but it actually makes perfect sense. Falcon is a character that relies on breaking apart your opponent, baiting them and then punishing them with uairs for plenty of percent. However, how can one break apart their opponent if they have no information? You, the Falcon, blindly rushed in without a clue as to how the Mario would begin the match. What we gain from this scenario is:
Do not immediately dash attack.
&
Brainstorm for a safer way to begin the match, to gather information.
Now it can be seen that analysis is not only of a single match, but also ideas that carry over to every other match you will ever play. By watching that dash attack and thinking "Why did that happen?" you learn that you begin matches too aggressively. To conclude the example, an alternative to dash attack would be to rush towards Mario, then roll back as this creates pressure without putting yourself at risk, and you also learn what option Mario is more likely to take when being rushed.
Example 2
Let's say the reason you lost both of your stocks in this match, and thus lost the game, was because you (foolishly) landed into Mario and he upsmashed you. You think "Man, I guess I shouldn't land into Mario." which is the correct path your mind should take, as landing into Mario is never a good idea. However, with the knowledge that each event creates itself with a reason, you begin to think deeper. What was your plan? Let's say you wanted a falling uair, which strings into knee and would finish Mario's stock. But, you did this without considering Mario's usmash. As well, a falling uair, while lethal if it connects, is very easy to react to and while safe on block (if the opponent does not perfect shield) it is a greedy option and should only be done to punish a laggy move, or if you've gained some knowledge on when it is reasonably safe to throw out. So now, what is gained from this scenario is:
Do not land into Mario
&
Consider Mario's usmash when above him
&
Uair is a greedy option
Now that you've pinpointed the thought process that led up to this loss of stock, you now gain more knowledge about your own playstyle. Rewatch the match. How many times did you go for falling uair? Were you predictable with falling uair? Was your playstyle overall greedy, and did it get you punished? Did you rush in without considering your opponents options, or without considering your opponents defence? When you break down simple scenarios and thought processes like this, you uncover more errors in your own play and you do a better job in correcting them.
Conclusion
It is impossible to go over every example scenario and break down every thing learned from the two examples I have given. In fact, I'm sure much more can be gathered from them but I do not want to drag on.
In conclusion, the points of this guide are to:
- Aid you in discovering and fixing your own errors
- Encourage you to analyze not just mistakes, but what caused them
- Encourage you to gain as much knowledge about yourself as you can from just one play of the game
Also, if there's anything I missed or a tip you use that helps you that I neglected to include, please feel free to mention it to me and I'll find a way to incorporate it. Thanks.
also pls follow my twitter @TMBlush if you liked the guide pls ty pls
- Applicable Games
- Smash Wii U
